Jawahar Singh
Maharaja Jawahar Singh (r. 1763–1768) (Hindi: महाराजा जवाहर सिंह) was a ruling Maharaja of the Bharatpur State. He succeeded to the throne when his father Maharaja Suraj Mal died in 1763. At the time of Maharaja Suraj Mal's death in 1763, Jawahar Singh was in Farrukhnagar.[1]
| Jawahar Singh | |
|---|---|
| Maharaja | |
| Maharaja of Bharatpur State | |
| Reign | 1763–68 |
| Predecessor | Maharaja Suraj Mal |
| Successor | Maharaja Ratan Singh |
| House | Sinsiniwar Jat Dynasty |
| Father | Maharaja Suraj Mal |
| Mother | Rani Gauri of the Gori clan[1] |
Early life
During Abdali's invasion of India in 1757, he attacked Ballabhgarh. The fort was put under siege, Jawahar Singh who was besieged in the fort had to escape from the fort in the night as defence of the fort was not possible in the face of heavy bombardments of Abdali's guns. After taking the city Abdali sent his generals Jahan Khan and Najib Khan with 20,000 men to attack Jat territory and holy city of Mathura. According to Jadunath Sarkar Marathas fled from the north and not a single maratha soldier fought for holy city of Mathura which had many holiest of Vaishnav shrines, their "Hindupat-Padshahi" didn't involve duty to protect. But the Jats were determined to defend this sacred city. Jawahar Singh with 10,000 men blocked the path of Afghans. In the fight that followed almost ten to twelve thousand men died on both sides and remnants of Jat army had to retreat. Afghans subsequently carried out a general massacre in unfortified city of Mathura. The people were looted, their property plundered and act of iconoclasm followed.[2]
Military achievements
In 1764 Jawahar Singh attacked Najib Khan and later bombarded Delhi. He enlisted help of Sikh chiefs for the campaign. He also asked help of Malhar Rao Holkar. The Rohillas were besieged in the fort and peace negotiations were carried out. Jawahar Singh was also desperate for peace because he realized that Holkar was double dealing with him and was in secret negotiation with Najib Khan. The campaign wasn't much of a success as Jawahar Singh had spent more money then he received.[2]
Jawahar Singh also defeated Marathas under Holkar near Dholpur in 1766, when Holkar tried to help his brother Nahar Singh to gain the throne. Jawahar Singh had to retreat after some time when Raghunath Rao came to north Malwa. In 1767 after his recent success against Marathas, he surprised the maratha garrisons in Kalpi and attacked Maratha territory, maratha local agent fled and whole area came under the rule of Jawahar Singh.[2]
Battle of Maonda and Mandholi
The battle of Mandoli followed the growing enmity between Jat Rajah of Bharatpur and Madho Singh of Jaipur state. Jawahar Singh the ruler of Bharatpur state had defeated his step brother Nahar Singh earlier thus making him escape to the nearby Jaipur state in refuge. The insult meted out at himself made Nahar Singh desperate. Hence he succumbed to death by poisoning himself leaving his widow behind in the Jaipur state. Jawahar now demanded his widow, who is described by Jadunath Sarkar as one of the most beautiful women on the earth. Further Jawahar was also keeping his eyes upon the Narnol district, which was a territory of Jaipur state. The Jats along with their Sikh allies had made several incursion into the Jaipur state and their unchecked aggression made Madho Singh intrigue against Jawahar and the Bharatpur state.[3]
In 1767, Jawahar Singh allied with the ruler of Vijay Singh of Marwar state; and marched through Jaipur territory with his whole army along with artillery to meet Vijay Singh at Pushkar. An agreement was signed between Vijay Singh and Jawahar Singh to oust the Marathas from the north. The meeting between the two was not liked by the Madho Singh. According to Jadunath Sarkar Madho Singh in his letter to Vijay Singh reprimanded him for sitting equally with a "peasant's son" and a mere servant of Jaipur.[3]
Jawahar when returning from Pushkar thus attacked the villages of Jaipur in revenge and looted them besides molesting the villagers. The Kachwaha army followed them and at Mandoli, near border of Bharatpur state, Kachwahas delivered their attack and battle broke out. The Rajput artillery had lagged behind giving the Jats initial success. But, later they had to escape into their territory after fierce battle which resulted in heavy casualties from both sides. Baggage and Guns of Bharatpur state had to be abandoned in the battlefield while retreating.[3]
The Rajputs under Madho Singh then decided to invade the Bharatpur state to follow-up their victory. Another battle was fought at Kama resulting in Jawahar's defeat and retreat of Bharatpur army along with Sikh mercenary. The Rajputs later departed due to arrival of fresh contingent of 20,000 Sikhs, who were employed by Jawahar Singh.[3]
Death
He was assassinated by one of his favourite soldiers in August 1768.[2]
References
- Dwivedi, Girish Chandra; Prasad, Ishwari (1989). The Jats, their role in the Mughal Empire. Arnold Publishers. p. 238. ISBN 978-81-7031-150-8.
- Sarkar, Jadunath. The Fall of the Mughal Empire, Vol II. Delhi: Orient Black Swan. pp. 272–286. ISBN 9788125032458.
- Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur: C. 1503–1938. pp. 254–256. ISBN 9788125003335.
- Dr Natthan Singh: Jat – Itihas (Hindi), Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad Gwalior, 2004