CHAPTER 3

=The Rājput League.=—The league formed at this time by the three chief powers of Rajputana has already been noticed in the Annals of Mewar. It was one of self-preservation; and while the Rathors added to Marwar from Gujarat, the Kachhwahas consolidated all the districts in their neighbourhood under Amber. The Shaikhavati federation was compelled to become tributary, and but for the rise of the Jats, the State of Jaipur would have extended from the lake of Sambhar to the Jumna [369].

=Īsari Singh, A.D. 1743-60.=—Isari Singh succeeded to a well-defined territory, heaps of treasure, an efficient ministry, and a good army; but the seeds of destruction lurked in the social edifice so lately raised, and polygamy was again the immediate agent. Isari Singh was the successor of Jai Singh, according to the fixed laws of primogeniture; but Madho Singh, a younger son, born of a princess of Mewar, possessed conventional rights which vitiated those of birth. These have already been discussed, as well as their disastrous issue to the unfortunate Isari Singh, who was not calculated for the times, being totally deficient in that nervous energy of character, without which a Rajput prince can enforce no respect. His conduct on the Abdali invasion admitted the construction of cowardice, though his retreat from the field of battle, when the commander-in-chief, Kamaru-d-din Khan, was killed, might have been ascribed to political motives, were it not recorded that his own wife received him with gibes and reproaches. There is every appearance of Jai Singh having repented of his engagement on obtaining the hand of the Sesodia princess, namely, that her issue should succeed, as he had in his lifetime given an appanage unusually large to Madho Singh, namely, the four parganas of Tonk, Rampura, Phaggi, and Malpura.[9.3.1] The Rana also, who supported his nephew’s claims, assigned to him the rich fief of Rampura Bhanpura in Mewar,[9.3.2] which as well as Tonk Rampura, constituting a petty sovereignty, were, with eighty-four lakhs (£840,000 sterling), eventually made over to Holkar for supporting his claims to the ‘cushion’ of Jaipur. The consequence of this barbarous intervention in the international quarrels of the Rajputs annihilated the certain prospect they had of national independence, on the breaking up of the empire, and subjected them to a thraldom still more degrading, from which a chance of redemption is now offered to them.

=Mādho Singh, A.D. 1760-78.=—Madho Singh, on his accession, displayed great vigour of mind, and though faithful to his engagements, he soon showed the Mahrattas he would admit of no protracted interference in his affairs; and had not the rising power of the Jats distracted his attention and divided his resources, he would, had his life been prolonged, in conjunction with the Rathors, have completely humbled their power. But this near enemy embarrassed all his plans. Although the history of the Jats is now well known, it may not be impertinent shortly to commemorate the rise of a power, which, from a rustic condition, in little more than half a century was able to baffle the armies of Britain, led by the most popular commander it ever had in the East; for till the siege of Bharatpur the name of Lake was always coupled with victory [370].

=The Jāts of Bharatpur.=—The Jats[9.3.3] are a branch of the great Getic race, of which enough has been said in various parts of this work. Though reduced from the rank they once had amongst the ‘Thirty-six Royal Races,’ they appear never to have renounced the love of independence, which they contested with Cyrus in their original haunts in Sogdiana. The name of the Cincinnatus of the Jats, who abandoned his plough to lead his countrymen against their tyrants, was Churaman. Taking advantage of the sanguinary civil wars amongst the successors of Aurangzeb, they erected petty castles in the villages (whose lands they cultivated) of Thun and Sansani,[9.3.4] and soon obtained the distinction of Kazaks, or ‘robbers,’ a title which they were not slow to merit, by their inroads as far as the royal abode of Farrukhsiyar. The Sayyids, then in power, commanded Jai Singh of Amber to attack them in their strongholds, and Thun and Sansani were simultaneously invested. But the Jats, even in the very infancy of their power, evinced the same obstinate skill in defending mud walls, which in later times gained them so much celebrity. The royal astronomer of Amber was foiled, and after twelve months of toil, was ingloriously compelled to raise both sieges.

Not long after this event, Badan Singh, the younger brother of Churaman, and a joint proprietor of the land, was for some misconduct placed in restraint, and had remained so for some years, when, through the intercession of Jai Singh and the guarantee of the other Bhumia Jats, he was liberated. His first act was to fly to Amber, and to bring its prince, at the head of an army, to invest Thun, which, after a gallant defence of six months, surrendered and was razed to the ground. Churaman and his son, Mohkam Singh, effected their escape, and Badan Singh was proclaimed chief of the Jats, and installed, as Raja, by Jai Singh in the town of Dig, destined also in after times to have its share of fame.

Badan Singh had a numerous progeny, and four of his sons obtained notoriety, namely, Surajmall, Sobharam, Partap Singh, and Birnarayan. Badan Singh subjected several of the royal districts to his authority. He abdicated his power in favour of his elder son, Surajmall, having in the first instance assigned the district of Wer,[9.3.5] on which he had constructed a fort, to his son Partap.

Surajmall inherited all the turbulence and energy requisite to carry on the plans of his predecessors. His first act was to dispossess a relative, named Kaima, of the castle [371] of Bharatpur, afterwards the celebrated capital of the Jats.[9.3.6] In the year S. 1820 (A.D. 1764), Surajmall carried his audacity so far as to make an attempt upon the imperial city; but here his career was cut short by a party of Baloch horse, who slew him while enjoying the chase. He had five sons, namely, Jawahir Singh, Ratan Singh, Newal Singh, Nahar Singh, Ranjit Singh, and also an adopted son, named Hardeo Bakhsh, picked up while hunting. Of these five sons, the first two were by a wife of the Kurmi[9.3.7] tribe; the third was by a wife of the Malin, or horticultural class; while the others were by Jatnis or women of his own race.

Jawahir Singh, who succeeded, was the contemporary of Raja Madho Singh, whose reign in Jaipur we have just reached; and to the Jat’s determination to measure swords with him were owing, not only the frustration of his schemes for humbling the Mahratta, but the dismemberment of the country by the defection of the chief of Macheri. Jawahir Singh, in A.H. 1182, having in vain solicited the district of Kamona, manifested his resentment by instantly marching through the Jaipur territories to the sacred lake of Pushkar, without any previous intimation. He there met Raja Bijai Singh of Marwar, who, in spite of his Jat origin, condescended to ‘exchange turbans,’ the sign of friendship and fraternal adoption. At this period, Madho Singh’s health was on the decline, and his counsels were guided by two brothers, named Harsahai and Gursahai, who represented the insulting conduct of the Jat and required instructions. They were commanded to address him a letter warning him not to return through the territories of Amber, and the chiefs were desired to assemble their retainers in order to punish a repetition of the insult. But the Jat, who had determined to abide the consequences, paid no regard to the letter, and returned homewards by the same route. This was a justifiable ground of quarrel, and the united Kothribands marched to the encounter, to maintain the pretensions of their equestrian order against the plebeian Jat. A desperate conflict ensued, which, though it terminated in favour of the Kachhwahas and in the flight of the leader of the Jats, proved destructive to Amber, in the loss of almost every chieftain of note[9.3.8] [372].

=Separation of Mācheri or Alwar State, A.D. 1771-76.=—This battle was the indirect cause of the formation of Macheri into an independent State, which a few words will explain. Partap Singh, of the Naruka clan, held the fief of Macheri; for some fault he was banished the country by Madho Singh, and fled to Jawahir Singh, from whom he obtained _saran_ (sanctuary), and lands for his maintenance. The ex-chieftain of Macheri had, as conductors of his household affairs and his agents at court, two celebrated men, Khushhaliram[9.3.9] and Nandram, who now shared his exile amongst the Jats. Though enjoying protection and hospitality at Bharatpur, they did not the less feel the national insult, in that the Jat should dare thus unceremoniously to traverse their country. Whether the chief saw in this juncture an opening for reconciliation with his liege lord, or that a pure spirit of patriotism alone influenced him, he abandoned the place of refuge, and ranged himself at his old post, under the standard of Amber, on the eve of the battle, to the gaining of which he contributed not a little. For this opportune act of loyalty his past errors were forgiven, and Madho Singh, who only survived that battle four days, restored him to his favour and his fief of Macheri.

Madho Singh died of a dysentery, after a rule of seventeen years. Had he been spared, in all human probability he would have repaired the injurious effects of the contest which gave him the _gaddi_ of Amber; but a minority, and its accustomed anarchy, made his death the point from which the Kachhwaha power declined. He built several cities, of which that called after him Madhopur, near the celebrated fortress of Ranthambhor, the most secure of the commercial cities of Rajwara, is the most remarkable. He inherited no small portion of his father’s love of science, which continued to make Jaipur the resort of learned men, so as to eclipse even the sacred Benares.

=Prithi Singh II., A.D. 1778.=—Prithi Singh II., a minor, succeeded, under the guardianship of the mother of his younger brother, Partap. The queen-regent, a Chondawatni, was of an ambitious and resolute character, but degraded by her paramour, Firoz, a Filban, or ‘elephant-driver,’ whom she made member of her council, which disgusted the chiefs, who alienated themselves from court and remained at their estates. Determined, however, to dispense with their aid, she entertained a mercenary army under the celebrated Ambaji, with which she enforced the collection of the revenue. Arath Ram was at [373] this period the Diwan, or prime minister, and Khushhaliram Bohra, a name afterwards conspicuous in the politics of this court, was associated in the ministry. But though these men were of the highest order of talent, their influence was neutralized by that of the Filban, who controlled both the regent Rani and the State. Matters remained in this humiliating posture during nine years, when Prithi Singh died through a fall from his horse, though not without suspicions that a dose of poison accelerated the vacancy of the _gaddi_, which the Rani desired to see occupied by her own son. The scandalous chronicle of that day is by no means tender of the reputation of Madho Singh’s widow. Having a direct interest in the death of Prithi Singh, the laws of common sense were violated in appointing her guardian, notwithstanding her claims as Patrani, or chief queen of the deceased. Prithi Singh, though he never emerged from the trammels of minority and the tutelage of the Chondawatni, yet contracted two marriages, one with Bikaner, the other with Kishangarh. By the latter he had a son, Man Singh. Every court in Rajputana has its pretender, and young Man was long the bugbear to the court of Amber. He was removed secretly, on his father’s death, to the maternal roof at Kishangarh; but as this did not offer sufficient security, he was sent to Sindhia’s camp, and has ever since lived on the bounty of the Mahratta chief at Gwalior.[9.3.10]

=Partāp Singh, A.D. 1778-1803.=—Partap Singh[9.3.11] was immediately placed upon the _gaddi_ by the queen-regent, his mother, and her council, consisting of the Filban, and Khushhaliram, who had now received the title of Raja, and the rank of prime minister. He employed the power thus obtained to supplant his rival Firoz, and the means he adopted established the independence of his old master, the chief of Macheri. This chief was the only one of note who absented himself from the ceremony of the installation of his sovereign. He was countenanced by the minister, whose plan to get rid of his rival was to create as much confusion as possible. In order that distress might reach the court, he gave private instructions that the zemindars should withhold their payments; but these minor stratagems would have been unavailing, had he not associated in his schemes the last remnants of power about the Mogul throne. Najaf Khan[9.3.12] was at this time the imperial commander, who, aided by the Mahrattas, proceeded to expel the [374] Jats from the city of Agra. He then attacked them in their stronghold of Bharatpur. Nawal Singh was then the chief of the Jats. The Macheri chief saw in the last act of expiring vigour of the imperialists an opening for the furtherance of his views, and he united his troops to those of Najaf Khan. This timely succour, and his subsequent aid in defeating the Jats, obtained for him the title of Rao Raja, and a sanad for Macheri, to hold direct of the crown. Khushhaliram, who, it is said, chalked out this course, made his old master’s success the basis of his own operations to supplant the Filban. Affecting the same zeal that he recommended to the chief of Macheri, he volunteered to join the imperial standard with all the forces of Amber. The queen-regent did not oppose the Bohra’s plan, but determined out of it still higher to exalt her favourite: she put him at the head of the force, which post the minister had intended for himself. This exaltation proved his ruin. Firoz, in command of the Amber army, met the Rao Raja of Macheri on equal terms in the tent of the imperial commander. Foiled in these schemes of attaining the sole control of affairs, through the measure adopted, the Macheri chief, at the instigation of his associate, resolved to accomplish his objects by less justifiable means. He sought the friendship of the Filban, and so successfully ingratiated himself in his confidence as to administer a dose of poison to him, and in conjunction with the Bohra succeeded to the charge of the government of Amber. The regent queen soon followed the Filban, and Raja Partap was yet too young to guide the state vessel without aid. The Rao Raja and the Bohra, alike ambitious, soon quarrelled, and a division of the imperialists, under the celebrated Hamidan Khan, was called in by the Bohra. Then followed those interminable broils which brought in the Mahrattas. Leagues were formed with them against the imperialists one day, and dissolved the next; and this went on until the majority of Partap, who determined to extricate himself from bondage, and formed that league, elsewhere mentioned, which ended in the glorious victory of Tonga, and for a time the expulsion of all their enemies, whether imperial or Mahrattas.

To give a full narrative of the events of this reign, would be to recount the history of the empire in its expiring moments. Throughout the twenty-five years’ rule of Partap, he and his country underwent many vicissitudes. He was a gallant prince, and not deficient in judgment; but neither gallantry nor prudence could successfully apply the resources of his petty State against its numerous predatory foes and its internal dissensions. The defection of Macheri was a serious blow to Jaipur, and the necessary subsidies soon lightened the hoards accumulated by his predecessors. Two payments [375] to the Mahrattas took away eighty lakhs of rupees (£800,000); yet such was the mass of treasure, notwithstanding the enormous sums lavished by Madho Singh for the support of his claims, besides those of the regency, that Partap expended in charity alone, on the victory of Tonga, A.D. 1789, the sum of twenty-four lakhs, or a quarter of a million sterling.

In A.D. 1791, after the subsequent defeats at Patan, and the disruption of the alliance with the Rathors, Tukaji Holkar invaded Jaipur, and extorted an annual tribute, which was afterwards transferred to Amir Khan, and continues a permanent incumbrance on the resources of Jaipur. From this period to A.D. 1803, the year of Partap’s death, his country was alternately desolated by Sindhia’s armies, under De Boigne or Perron, and the other hordes of robbers, who frequently contested with each other the possession of the spoils.[9.3.13]

=Jagat Singh, A.D. 1803-18.=—Jagat Singh succeeded in A.D. 1803, and ruled for seventeen [fifteen] years, with the disgraceful distinction of being the most dissolute prince of his race or of his age. The events with which his reign is crowded would fill volumes were they worthy of being recorded. Foreign invasions, cities besieged, capitulations and war-contributions, occasional acts of heroism, when the invader forgot the point of honour, court intrigues, diversified, not unfrequently, by an appeal to the sword or dagger, even in the precincts of the court. Sometimes the daily journals (_akhbars_) disseminated the scandal of the Rawala (female apartments), the follies of the libertine prince with his concubine Raskafur, or even less worthy objects, who excluded from the nuptial couch his lawful mates of the noble blood of Jodha, or Jaisal, the Rathors and Bhattis of the desert. We shall not disgrace these annals with the history of a life which discloses not one redeeming virtue amidst a cluster of effeminate vices, including the rankest, in the opinion of a Rajput—cowardice. The black transaction respecting the princess of Udaipur, has already been related (Vol. I. p. 536), which covered him with disgrace, and inflicted a greater loss, in his estimation, even than that of character—a million sterling. The treasures of the Jai Mandir were rapidly dissipated, to the grief of those faithful hereditary guardians, the Minas of Kalikoh, some of whom committed suicide rather than see these sacred deposits squandered on their prince’s unworthy pursuits. The lofty walls which surrounded the beautiful city of Jai Singh were insulted by every marauder; commerce was interrupted, and agriculture rapidly declined, partly from insecurity, but still more from the perpetual exactions of his minions [376]. One day a tailor[9.3.14] ruled the councils, the next a Bania, who might be succeeded by a Brahman, and each had in turn the honour of elevation to the donjon keep of Nahargarh, the castle where criminals are confined, overlooking the city. The feodal chiefs held both his authority and his person in utter contempt, and the pranks he played with the ‘Essence of Camphor’ (_ras-kafur_),[9.3.15] at one time led to serious thoughts of deposing him; which project, when near maturity, was defeated by transferring “this queen of half of Amber,” to the prison of Nahargarh. In the height of his passion for this Islamite concubine, he formally installed her as queen of half his dominions, and actually conveyed to her in gift a moiety of the personality of the crown, even to the invaluable library of the illustrious Jai Singh which was despoiled, and its treasures distributed amongst her base relations. The Raja even struck coin in her name, and not only rode with her on the same elephant, but demanded from his chieftains those forms of reverence towards her which were paid only to his legitimate queens. This their pride could not brook, and though the Diwan or prime minister, Misr Sheonarayan, albeit a Brahman, called her ‘daughter,’ the brave Chand Singh of Duni[9.3.16] indignantly refused to take part in any ceremony at which she was present. This contumacy was punished by a mulet of £20,000, nearly four years’ revenue of the fief of Duni!

=Death of Jagat Singh.=—Manu allows that sovereigns may be deposed,[9.3.17] and the aristocracy of Amber had ample justification for such an act. But unfortunately the design became known, and some judicious friend, as a salvo for the Raja’s dignity, propagated a report injurious to the fair fame of his Aspasia, which he affected to believe; a mandate issued for the sequestration of her property, and her incarceration in the castle allotted to criminals. There she was lost sight of, and Jagat continued to dishonour the _gaddi_ of Jai Singh until his death, on a day held especially sacred by the Rajput, the 21st of December 1818, the winter solstice, when, to use their own metaphorical language, “the door of heaven is reopened.”

Raja Jagat Singh left no issue, legitimate or illegitimate, and no provision had been made for a successor during his life. But as the laws of Rajputana, political or religious, admit of no interregnum, and the funereal pyre must be lit by an adopted child if there be no natural issue, it was necessary at once to inaugurate a successor [377]; and the choice fell on Mohan Singh, son of the ex-prince of Narwar. As this selection, in opposition to the established rules of succession, would, but for a posthumous birth, have led to a civil war, it may be proper to touch briefly upon the subject of heirs-presumptive in Rajputana, more especially those of Jaipur: the want of exact knowledge respecting this point, in those to whom its political relations with us were at that time entrusted, might have had the most injurious effects on the British character. To set this in its proper light, we shall explain the principles of the alliance which rendered Jaipur a tributary of Britain.

Footnote 9.3.1:

[Tonk now in the State of that name; Rāmpura 65 miles E., Phaggi 32 miles E., Mālpura about 50 miles S.W. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.3.2:

[Now lost to Mewār, being included in Indore State.]

Footnote 9.3.3:

It has been seen how the Yadu-Bhatti princes, when they fell from their rank of Rajputs, assumed that of Jats, or Jāts, who are assuredly a mixture of the Rajput and Yuti, Jat or Gete races. See Vol. I. p. 127. [The Author possibly refers to the attack of Cyrus on the Massagetae, whose connexion with the Jāts is not supported by evidence (Herodotus i. 204 ff.).]

Footnote 9.3.4:

[Sansani about 10 miles N.W. of Bharatpur city: Thūn 12 miles W. of Sansani. For the sieges of Thūn by Jai Singh in 1716 and 1722, see Irvine, _Army of the Indian Moghuls_, 285 ff.; for Sansani, Manucci ii. 320 f. iv. 242.]

Footnote 9.3.5:

[About 28 miles S.W. of Bharatpur city.]

Footnote 9.3.6:

[In 1761 he captured Agra, which the Jāts held till they were ousted by the Marāthas in 1770 (_IGI_, v. 83).]

Footnote 9.3.7:

The Kurmi (the Kulumbi of the Deccan) is perhaps the most numerous, next to the Jats, of all the agricultural classes. [In 1911 there were 7 million Jāts and 3¾ million Kurmis in India.]

Footnote 9.3.8:

Having given a slight sketch of the origin of the Jats, I may here conclude it. Ratan Singh, the brother of Jawahir, succeeded him. He was assassinated by a Gosain Brahman from Bindraban, who had undertaken to teach the Jat prince the transmutation of metals, and had obtained considerable sums on pretence of preparing the process. Finding the day arrive on which he was to commence operations, and which would reveal his imposture, he had no way of escape but by applying the knife to his dupe. Kesari Singh, an infant, succeeded, under the guardianship of his uncle, Newal Singh. Ranjit Singh succeeded him, a name renowned for the defence of Bharatpur against Lord Lake. He died A.D. 1805, and was succeeded by the eldest of four sons, namely, Randhir Singh, Baldeo Singh, Hardeo Singh, and Lachhman Singh. The infant son of Randhir succeeded, under the tutelage of his uncle; to remove whom the British army destroyed Bharatpur, and plundered it of its wealth, both public and private. [The son of Randhīr Singh was Balwant Singh, who was cast into prison by his cousin, Dūrjansāl. He was captured by Lord Combermere when he stormed Bharatpur in 1826. Balwant Singh was restored, and dying in 1853, was succeeded by Jaswant Singh, who died in 1893, and was succeeded by his son Rām Singh, deposed for misconduct in 1900, and succeeded by his son Kishan Singh, born in 1899 (_IGI_, viii. 74 ff).]

Footnote 9.3.9:

Father of two men scarcely less celebrated than himself, Chhatarbhuj and Daula Ram.

Footnote 9.3.10:

Two or three times he had a chance of being placed on the _gaddi_ (_vide_ letter of Resident with Sindhia to Government, March 27, 1812), which assuredly ought to be his: once, about 1810, when the nobles of Jaipur were disgusted with the libertine Jagat Singh; and again, upon the death of this dissolute prince, in 1820. The last occasion presented a fit occasion for his accession; but the British Government were then the arbitrators, and I doubt much if his claims were disclosed to it, or understood by those who had the decision of the question, which nearly terminated in a civil war.

Footnote 9.3.11:

[The Author’s dates do not agree with those of Prinsep (_Useful Tables_, ed. 1834, p. 112) which are given in the margin.]

Footnote 9.3.12:

[Najaf Khān, Amīru-l-Umara, Zulfikāru-d-daula, died A.D. 1782.]

Footnote 9.3.13:

[For these campaigns see Compton, _European Military Adventurers_, 145 ff., 237 ff.]

Footnote 9.3.14:

Rorji Khawass was a tailor by birth, and, I believe, had in early life exercised the trade. He was, however, amongst the Musahibs, or privy councillors of Jagat Singh, and (I think) one of the ambassadors sent to treat with Lord Lake.

Footnote 9.3.15:

_Ras-Karpūr_ or _Kapūr_, I am aware, means ‘corrosive sublimate,’ but it may also be interpreted ‘essence of camphor’ [Kāfūr].

Footnote 9.3.16:

[About 75 miles S. of Jaipur city.]

Footnote 9.3.17:

[The reference is possibly to the text: “That king who through folly rashly oppresses the kingdom will, with his relations, ere long be deprived of his life and of his kingdom” (_Laws_, vii. 111).]