Jawahar Singh
Jawahar Singh (r. 1763–1768) (Hindi: महाराजा जवाहर सिंह) was a Jat ruler of the Bharatpur State. He succeeded to the throne when his father Suraj Mal died in 1763.
| Jawahar Singh | |
|---|---|
| Maharaja Sawai of Bharatpur State Bharatendra (Lord of the Bharatá)[1] Prithvendra (The Lord of the World) Prince of Victories | |
 Portrait of Maharaja Jawahar Singh | |
| Maharaja of Bharatpur State | |
| Reign | 1763–68 |
| Predecessor | Maharaja Suraj Mal |
| Successor | Maharaja Ratan Singh |
| House | Sinsinwar Dynasty |
| Father | Maharaja Suraj Mal |
| Mother | Rani Gauri [2][3] |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Early life
During Ahmed Shah Abdali's invasion of India in 1757, Abdali attacked Ballabhgarh. The fort was sieged, Jawahar Singh had to escape from the fort in the night as the 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 the Jat territory and holy city of Mathura. According to historian Jadunath Sarkar, the Marathas fled from the north and not a single Maratha soldier fought for the holy city of Mathura which had the holiest of Vaishnav shrines, their "Hindupat-Padshahi" didn't involve any duty to protect it. But the Jats were determined to defend this sacred city. Jawahar Singh with 10,000 men blocked the path of the Afghans. Of these 10,000, 5,000 Jats in Chaumuhan had to face Jahan Khan's troops, in the fight that followed the Jat cavalry charged the Afghan positions and almost ten to twelve thousand men died on both sides and the remnants of the Jat army had to retreat. Afghans subsequently carried out a general massacre in the unfortified city of Mathura. The people were looted, their property plundered and acts of iconoclasm followed.[4]
Military career
In 1764, Jawahar Singh attacked Najib Khan and later bombarded Delhi. He enlisted the help of the Sikh chiefs for the campaign. He also asked for help from Malhar Rao Holkar. The Rohillas were sieged inside the fort and peace negotiations were being carried out. Jawahar Singh was also desperate for peace because he realized the Holkar were double dealing with him and wer in secret negotiation with Najib Khan. The campaign was not much of a success as Jawahar Singh had spent more money then he received.[4]
Jawahar Singh also defeated the Marathas under Holkar with the help of the Sikhs sent by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia near Dholpur in 1766, when Holkar tried to help Jawahar's brother, Nahar Singh gain the throne of Bharatpur. Jawahar Singh had to retreat after some time when Raghunath Rao arrived in northern Malwa. In 1767, after his recent success against the Marathas, he surprised their garrisons in Kalpi and attacked Maratha territory, the Maratha local agent fled and the whole area came under the rule of Jawahar Singh.[4]
Skirmish of Maonda and Mandholi
In 1767, Jawahar Singh allied with the ruler of Marwar state Vijay Singh; 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 welcomed by Madho Singh.[5]
Jawahar when returning from Pushkar had attacked the villages of Jaipur in revenge and looted them besides molesting the villagers. The Kachwaha army followed them and at Mandoli, near the border of Bharatpur state, the Kachwahas delivered their attack and skirmish 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. Still, Rajputs lost double men than Jats.. Baggage and guns of Bharatpur state had to be abandoned in the battlefield while retreating.[5]
The Rajputs under Madho Singh then decided to invade the Bharatpur state to follow up on their victory. There was no battle of Kama. The Rajputs later departed due to the arrival of a fresh contingent of 20,000 Sikhs, who were employed by Jawahar Singh.[5]
Maharaja Jawahar Singh modernized the Jat army by employing Europeans like Sombre to train the Jat army.[6]
Death
He was assassinated by one of his favourite soldiers in August 1768.[4]
References
- Bharatpur Upto 1826: A Social and Political History of the Jats by Ram Pande
- 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 (1950). Fall of the Mughal Empire, volume 2. p. 453.
- Sarkar, Jadunath (2007). 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.
- Pandey, Uma Shanker (2019). European Adventurers in North India. p. 91. ISBN 9781000145090.
- Dr Natthan Singh: Jat – Itihas (Hindi), Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad Gwalior, 2004