CHAPTER 9

=Foreign Policy of Zālim Singh.=—The foregoing reflections bring us back to political considerations, and these we must separate into two branches, the foreign and domestic. We purposely invert the discussion of these topics for the sake of convenience.

Zalim’s policy was to create, as regarded himself, a kind of balance of power; to overawe one leader by his influence with another, yet, by the maintenance of a good understanding with all, to prevent individual umbrage, while his own strength was at all times sufficient to make the scale preponderate in his favour.

Placed in the very heart of India, Kotah was for years the centre around which revolved the desultory armies, or ambulant governments, ever strangers to repose; and though its wealth could not fail to attract the cupidity of these vagabond powers, yet, by the imposing attitude which he assumed, Zalim Singh maintained, during more than half a century, the respect, the fear, and even the esteem of all; and Kotah alone, throughout this lengthened period, so full of catastrophes, never saw an enemy [548] at her gates. Although an epoch of perpetual change and political convulsion—armies destroyed, States overturned, famine and pestilence often aiding moral causes in desolating the land—yet did the regent, from the age of twenty-five to eighty-two,[10.9.1] by his sagacity, his energy, his moderation, his prudence, conduct the bark intrusted to his care through all the shoals and dangers which beset her course. It may not excite surprise that he was unwilling to relinquish the helm when the vessel was moored in calm waters; or, when the unskilful owner, forgetting these tempests, and deeming his own science equal to the task, demanded the surrender, that he should hoist the flag of defiance.

There was not a court in Rajwara, not even the predatory governments, which was not in some way influenced by his opinions, and often guided by his councils. At each he had envoys, and when there was a point to gain, there were irresistible arguments in reserve to secure it. The necessities, the vanities, and weaknesses of man he could enlist on his side, and he was alternately, by adoption, the father, uncle, or brother of every person in power during this eventful period, from the prince upon the throne to the brat of a Pindari. He frequently observed that “none knew the shifts he had been put to”; and when entreated not to use expressions of humility, which were alike unsuited to his age and station, and the reverence he compelled, he would reply, “God grant you long life, but it is become a habit.” For the last ten years he not only made his connexion with Amir Khan subservient to avoiding a collision with Holkar, but converted the Khan into the make-weight of his balance of power; “he thanked God the time was past when he had to congratulate even the slave of a Turk on a safe accouchement, and to pay for this happiness.”

Though by nature irascible, impetuous, and proud, he could bend to the extreme of submission. But while he would, by letter or conversation, say to a marauding Pindari or Pathan, “let me petition to your notice,” or “if my clodpole understanding (_bhumia buddh_) is worth consulting”; or reply to a demand for a contribution, coupled with a threat of inroad, “that the friendly epistle had been received; that he lamented the writer’s distresses, etc. etc.,” with a few thousand more than was demanded, and a present to the messenger, he would excite a feeling which at least obtained a respite; on the other hand, he was always prepared to repel aggression, and if a single action would have decided his quarrel, he would not have hesitated to engage any power in the circle. But he knew even success, in such a case, to be ruin, and the general [549] feature of his external policy was accordingly of a temporizing and very mixed nature. Situated as he was, amidst conflicting elements, he had frequently a double game to play. Thus, in the coalition of 1806-7, against Jodhpur, he had three parties to please, each requesting his aid, which made neutrality almost impossible. He sent envoys to all; and while appearing as the universal mediator, he gave assistance to none.

It would be vain as well as useless to attempt the details of his foreign policy; we shall merely allude to the circumstances which first brought him in contact with the British Government, in A.D. 1803-4, and then proceed to his domestic administration.

=Monson’s Campaign. Gallantry of the Koila Chief.=—When the ill-fated expedition under Monson traversed Central India to the attack of Holkar, the regent of Kotah, trusting to the invincibility of the British arms, did not hesitate, upon their appearance within his territory, to co-operate both with supplies and men. But when the British army retreated, and its commander demanded admission within the walls of Kotah, he met a decided and very proper refusal. “You shall not bring anarchy and a disorganized army to mix with my peaceable citizens; but draw up your battalions under my walls; I will furnish provisions, and I will march the whole of my force between you and the enemy, and bear the brunt of his attack.” Such were Zalim’s own expressions; whether it would have been wise to accede to his proposal is not the point of discussion. Monson continued his disastrous flight through the Bundi and Jaipur dominions, and carried almost alone the news of his disgrace to the illustrious Lake. It was natural he should seek to palliate his error by an attempt to involve others; and amongst those thus calumniated, first and foremost was the regent of Kotah, “the head and front of whose offending”—non-admission to a panic-struck, beef-eating army within his walls—was translated into treachery, and a connivance with the enemy; a calumny which long subsisted to the prejudice of the veteran politician. But never was there a greater wrong inflicted, or a more unjust return for services and sacrifices, both in men and money, in a cause which little concerned him; and it nearly operated hurtfully, at a period (1817) when the British Government could not have dispensed with his aid. It was never told, it is hardly yet known at this distant period, what devotion he evinced in that memorable retreat, as it is misnamed, when the troops of Kotah and the corps of the devoted Lucan were sacrificed to ensure the safety of the army until it left the Mukunddarra Pass in its rear. If there be any incredulous supporter of the commander in that era of our shame, let him repair to the altar of the Koila chief, who, like a true Hara, ‘spread his carpet’ at the ford of the Amjar, and there awaited the myrmidons [550] of the Mahrattas, and fell protecting the flight of an army which might have passed from one end of India to the other. Well might the veteran allude to our ingratitude in 1804, when in A.D. 1817 he was called upon to co-operate in the destruction of that predatory system, in withstanding which he had passed a life of feverish anxiety. If there was a doubt of the part he acted, if the monuments of the slain will not be admitted as evidence, let us appeal to the opinion of the enemy, whose testimony adds another feature to the portrait of this extraordinary man.

Besides the Koila chief, and many brave Haras, slain on the retreat of Monson, the Bakhshi, or commander of the force, was made prisoner. As the price of his liberation, and as a punishment for the aid thus given to the British, the Mahratta leader exacted a bond of ten lakhs of rupees from the Bakhshi, threatening on refusal to lay waste with fire and sword the whole line of pursuit. But when the discomfited Bakhshi appeared before the regent, he spurned him from his presence, disavowed his act, and sent him back to Holkar to pay the forfeiture as he might.[10.9.2] Holkar satisfied himself then with threatening vengeance, and when opportunity permitted, he marched into Haraoti and encamped near the capital. The walls were manned to receive him; the signal had been prepared which would not have left a single house inhabited in the plains, while the Bhils would simultaneously pour down from the hills on Holkar’s supplies or followers. The bond was again presented, and without hesitation disavowed; hostilities appeared inevitable, when the friends of both parties concerted an interview. But Zalim, aware of the perfidy of his foe, declined this, except on his own conditions. These were singular, and will recall to mind another and yet more celebrated meeting. He demanded that they should discuss the terms of peace or war upon the Chambal, to which Holkar acceded. For this purpose Zalim prepared two boats, each capable of containing about twenty armed men. Having moored his own little bark in the middle of the stream, under the cannon of the city, Holkar, accompanied by his cavalcade, embarked in his boat and rowed to meet him. Carpets were spread, and there these extraordinary men, with only one eye[10.9.3] between them, settled the conditions of peace, and the endearing epithets of ‘uncle’ and ‘nephew’ were bandied, with abundant mirth on the peculiarity of their situation; while—for the fact is beyond a doubt—each boat was plugged, and men were at hand on the first appearance of treachery to have sent them all to the bottom of the river.[10.9.4] But Holkar’s [551] necessities were urgent, and a gift of three lakhs of rupees averted such a catastrophe, though he never relinquished the threat of exacting the ten lakhs; and when at length madness overtook him, “the bond of Kaka Zalim Singh” was one of the most frequently repeated ravings of this soldier of fortune, whose whole life was one scene of insanity.

=Relations with Marāthas and Pindāris.=—It will readily be conceived that the labours of his administration were quite sufficient to occupy his attention without intermeddling with his neighbours; yet, in order to give a direct interest in the welfare of Kotah, he became a competitor for the farming of the extensive districts which joined his southern frontier, belonging to Sindhia and Holkar. From the former he rented the Panj-mahals, and from the latter the four important districts of Dig, Pirawa, etc.,[10.9.5] which, when by right of conquest they became British, were given in sovereignty to the regent. Not satisfied with this hold of self-interest on the two great predatory powers, he had emissaries in the persons of their confidential ministers, who reported every movement; and to ‘make assurance doubly sure,’ he had Mahratta pandits of the first talent in his own administration, through whose connexions no political measure of their nation escaped his knowledge. As for Amir Khan, he and the regent were essential to each other. From Kotah the Khan was provided with military stores and supplies of every kind; and when his legions mutinied (a matter of daily occurrence) and threatened him with the bastinado, or fastening to a piece of ordnance under a scorching sun, Kotah afforded a place of refuge during a temporary retreat, or ways and means to allay the tumult by paying the arrears. Zalim allotted the castle of Shirgarh for the Khan’s family, so that this leader had no anxiety on their account while he was pursuing his career of rapine in more distant scenes.

Even the Pindaris were conciliated with all the respect and courtesy paid to better men. Many of their leaders held grants of land in Kotah: so essential, indeed, was a good understanding with this body, that when Sindhia, in A.D. 1807, entrapped and imprisoned in the dungeons of Gwalior the celebrated Karim,[10.9.6] Zalim not only advanced the large sum required for his ransom, but had the temerity to pledge himself for his future good conduct: an act which somewhat tarnished his reputation for sagacity, but eventually operated as a just punishment on Sindhia for his avarice.

The scale of munificence on which the regent exercised the rites of sanctuary (saran) towards the chiefs of other countries claiming his protection, was disproportioned to the means of the State. The exiled nobles of Marwar and Mewar [552] have held estates in Kotah greater than their sequestrated patrimonies. These dazzling acts of beneficence were not lost on a community amongst whom hospitality ranks at the head of the virtues. In these regions, where the strangest anomalies and the most striking contradictions present themselves in politics, such conduct begets no astonishment, and rarely provokes a remonstrance from the State whence the suppliant fled. The regent not only received the refugees, but often reconciled them to their sovereigns. He gloried in the title of ‘peace-maker,’ and whether his conduct proceeded from motives of benevolence or policy, he was rewarded with the epithet, sufficiently exalted in itself. “They all come to old Zalim with their troubles,” he remarked, “as if he could find food for them all from 'his handful of soil.'”

To conclude: his defensive was, in its results, the reverse of his offensive policy. Invariable and brilliant success accompanied the one; defeat, disappointment, and great pecuniary sacrifices were the constant fruits of the other. Mewar eluded all his arts, and involved Kotah in embarrassments from which she will never recover, while his attempt to take Sheopur, the capital of the Gaurs, by a _coup de main_, was signally defeated. Had he succeeded in either attempt, and added the resources of these acquisitions to Kotah, doubtless his views would have been still more enlarged. At an early period of his career, an offer was made to him, by the celebrated Partap Singh of Jaipur, to undertake the duties of chief minister of that State: it is vain to speculate on what might have been the result to the State or himself, had he been able to wield her resources, at that time so little impaired.

=Zālim Singh’s Domestic Policy. Character of Mahārāo Ummed Singh.=—Let us now view the domestic policy of the regent; for which purpose we must again bring forward the pageant prince of Kotah, the Raja Ummed Singh, who was destined never to be extricated from the trammels of a guardianship which, like most offices in the East, was designed to be hereditary; and at the age of threescore and ten, Ummed Singh found himself as much a minor as when his dying father ‘placed him in the lap’ of the Protector Zalim Singh. The line of conduct he pursued towards his sovereign, through half a century’s duration, was singularly consistent. The age, the character, the very title of Nana, or ‘grandsire,’ added weight to his authority, and the disposition of the prince seemed little inclined to throw it off. In short, his temperament appeared exactly suited to the views of the regent, who, while he consulted his wishes in every step, acted entirely from himself. The Maharao was a prince of excellent understanding, and possessed many of those qualities inherent in a Rajput. He was fond of the chase, and was the best horseman and marksman in the country; and the [553] regent gained such entire ascendancy over him, that it is doubtful whether he was solicitous of change. Besides, there was no appearance of constraint; and his religious occupations, which increased with his age, went far to wean him from a wish to take a more active share in the duties of government. His penetration, in fact, discovered the inutility of such a desire, and he soon ceased to entertain it; while in proportion as he yielded, the attentions of the minister increased. If an envoy came from a foreign State, he was introduced to the prince, delivered his credentials to him; and from him received a reply, but that reply was his minister’s. If a foreign noble claimed protection, he received it from the prince; he was the dispenser of the favours, though he could neither change their nature or amount. Nay, if the regent’s own sons required an addition to their estates, it could only be at the express desire of the Maharao; and to such a length did the minister carry this deference, that an increase to his personal income required being pressed upon him by the prince. If horses arrived from foreign countries for sale, the best were set aside for the Maharao and his sons. The archives, the seal, and all the emblems of sovereignty remained as in times past in the custody of the personal servants of the prince, at the castle, though none durst use them without consent of the regent. He banished his only son, Madho Singh, during three years, to the family estate at Nanta, for disrespect to the heir-apparent, Kishor Singh, when training their horses together; and it was with difficulty that even the entreaty of the Maharao could procure his recall. There are many anecdotes related to evince that habitual deference to everything attached to his sovereign, which, originating in good feeling, greatly aided his policy. The regent was one day at prayer, in the family temple in the castle, when the younger sons of the Maharao, not knowing he was there, entered to perform their devotions. It was the cold season, and the pavement was damp; he took the quilt which he wore from his shoulders, and spread it for them to stand upon. On their retiring, a servant, deeming the quilt no longer fit to be applied to the regent’s person, was putting it aside; but, guessing his intention, Zalim eagerly snatched it from him, and re-covering himself, observed it was now of some value, since it was marked with the dust of the feet of his sovereign’s children. These are curious anomalies in the mind of a man who had determined on unlimited authority. No usurpation was ever more meek, or yet more absolute; and it might be affirmed that the prince and the regent were made for each other and the times in which they lived.

=Zālim Singh and his Servants.=—It was to be expected that a man whose name was long synonymous with wisdom [554] should show discernment in the choice of his servants. He had the art of attaching them to his interests, of uniting their regard with a submissive respect, and no kindness, no familiarity, ever made them forget the bounds prescribed. But while he generously provided for all their wants, and granted them every indulgence, he knew too well the caprice of human nature to make them independent of himself. He would provide for them, for their relations and their dependents; his hand was ever bestowing gratuities on festivals, births, marriages, or deaths; but he never allowed them to accumulate wealth. It is to be remarked that his most confidential servants were either Pathans or Mahratta pandits: the first he employed in military posts, the other in the more complicated machinery of politics. He rarely employed his own countrymen; and the post of Faujdar, now held by Bishan Singh, a Rajput of the Saktawat clan, is the exception to the rule. Dalil Khan and Mihrab Khan were his most faithful and devoted servants and friends. The stupendous fortifications of the capital, with which there is nothing in India to compete, save the walls of Agra, were all executed by the former. By him also was raised that pride of the regent, the city called after him, Jhalrapatan;[10.9.7] while all the other forts were put into a state which makes Kotah the most defensible territory in India. Such was the affectionate esteem in which Dalil was held by the regent, that he used often to say, “he hoped he should not outlive Dalil Khan.” Mihrab Khan was the commander of the infantry, which he maintained in a state of admirable discipline and efficiency;[10.9.8] they received their _bis roza_, or twenty days’ pay, each month, with their arrears at the end of every second year [555].

Footnote 10.9.1:

I may once more repeat, this was written in A.D. 1820-21, when Zalim Singh had reached the age of fourscore and two. [He died, aged 84, in 1824.]

Footnote 10.9.2:

If my memory betrays me not, this unfortunate commander, unable to bear his shame, took poison.

Footnote 10.9.3:

It should be remembered that Zalim was quite blind, and that Holkar had lost the use of one eye. [See Vol. II. p. 1234.]

Footnote 10.9.4:

[Compare the meeting of Alexander I. of Russia and Napoleon at Tilsit on June 25, 1807.]

Footnote 10.9.5:

[Dīg, in Bharatpur State; Pirāwa, one of the Central India districts included in Tonk State (_IGI_, xx. 151).]

Footnote 10.9.6:

[Karīm Khān surrendered to the British in 1818, and was given an estate in Gorakhpur District.]

Footnote 10.9.7:

Jhālarapātan, ‘the city of the Jhāla,’ the regent’s tribe. [Others explain the name to mean city (_pātan_) of springs (_jhālra_): or city of bells, because it contained 108 temples (_IGI_, xiv. 123).]

Footnote 10.9.8:

Mihrab Khan was the commandant of one division of Zalim’s contingent, placed at my disposal, which in eight days took possession of every district of Holkar’s adjacent to Haraoti, and which afterwards gained so much credit by the brilliant escalade of the Saudi fortress, when co-operating with General Sir John Malcolm. The Royals (_Raj-Paltan_) were led by Saif Ali, a gallant soldier, but who could not resist joining the cause of the Maharao and legitimacy in the civil war of 1821.