A.D. 1765-71.
Najib-ud-daulah and Jawan Bakht The Jats Bhartpur State
Suraj Mal Najib attacks Jats Negotiations Death of Suraj
Mal Jats attack Jaipur Return of the Mahrattas They attack
Bhartpur Rohillas yield Death of Najib State of Rohilkand
Zabita Khan Mahrattas invite Emperor to return to Dehli.
AT the conclusion of Part I. we saw that the Abdali ruler of
Kabul had returned to his own land, soon after the battle of
Panipat, in 1761, having recognized the legitimate claims of the
exiled heir to the throne (1764), and placed that prince's eldest
son, Mirza Jawan Bakht, in the nominal charge of affairs, under
the protection of Najib-ud-daulah, the Rohilla (Indian Afghan). A
better choice could not have been made in either case. The young
regent was prudent and virtuous, as was usual with the men of his
august house during their earlier years, and the premier noble
was a man of rare intelligence and integrity. Being on good terms
with his old patrons, Dundi Khan Rohilla, and the Nawab of Audh,
Shujaa-ud-daulah, and maintaining a constant understanding with
Malhar Rao Holkar, whom we have seen deserting the cause of his
countrymen, and thus exempted from their general ruin at Panipat,
Najib-ud-daulah swayed the affairs of the dwindled empire with
deserved credit and success. The Mahratta collectors were
expelled from the districts of the Doab, while Agra admitted a
Jat garrison; nor did the discomfited freebooters of the southern
confederacy make any farther appearance in Hindustan for eight
years, if we except the share borne by Malhar Rao, acting on his
own account in the disastrous campaign against the British in
1765.
The area on which these exertions were made was at first but
small, and the lands directly swayed by Najib-ud-daulah were
bounded, within 100 miles south of the capital, by the
possessions of the Jats, who, however, were at the time friendly.
Of the rise of this singular people few authentic records appear
to exist. It is, however, probable that they represent a later
wave of that race, whether true Sudras, or a later wave of
immigrants from Central Asia, which is found farther south as
Mahratta; and perhaps they had, in remote times, a Scythian
origin like the earlier and nobler Rajputs. They affect Rajput
ways, although the Rajputs would disdain their kinship; and they
give to their chiefs the Rajput title of "Thakur," a name common
to the Deity and to great earthly lords, and now often used to
still lower persons. So much has this practice indeed extended,
that some tribes use the term generically, and speak of
themselves as of the "Thakur" race. These, however, are chiefly
pure Rajputs. It is stated, by an excellent authority, that even
now the Jats "can scarcely be called pure Hindus, for they have
many observances, both domestic and religious, not consonant with
Hindu precepts. There is a disposition also to reject the fables
of the Puranic Mythology, and to acknowledge the unity of the
Godhead." (Elliot's Glossary, in voce "Jat.") Wherever they are
found, they are stout yeomen; able to cultivate their fields, or
to protect them, and with strong administrative habits of a
somewhat republican cast. Within half a century, they have four
times tried conclusions with the might of Britain. The Jats of
Bhartpur fought Lord Lake with success, and Lord Combermere with
credit; and their "Sikh" brethren in the Panjab shook the whole
fabric of British India on the Satlaj, in 1845, and three years
later on the field of Chillianwala. The Sikh kingdom has been
broken up, but the Jat principality of Bhartpur still exists,
though with contracted limits, and in a state of complete
dependence on the British Government. There is also a thriving
little principality that of Dholpur between Agra and Gwalior,
under a descendant of the Jat Rana of Gohad, so often met with in
the history of the times we are now reviewing (v. inf. p. 128.)
It is interesting to note further, that some ethnologists have
regarded this fine people as of kin to the ancient GetΎ, and to
the Goths of Europe, by whom not only Jutland, but parts of the
south-east of England and Spain were overrun, and to some extent
peopled. It is, therefore, possible that the yeomen of Kent and
Hampshire have blood relations in the natives of Bhartpur and the
Panjab.
The area of the Bhartpur State is at present 2,000 square miles,
and consists of a basin some 700 feet above sea level, crossed by
a belt of red sandstone rocks. It is hot and dry; but in the
skilful hands that till it, not unfertile; and the population has
been estimated at near three-quarters of a million.
At the time at which our history has arrived, the territory
swayed by the chiefs of the Jats was much more extensive, and had
undergone the fate of many another military republic, by falling
into the hands of the most prudent and daring of a number of
competent leaders. It has already been shown (in Part I.) how
Suraj Mal, as Raja of the Bhartpur Jats, joined the Mahrattas in
their resistance to the great Musalman combination of 1760. Had
his prudent counsels been followed, it is possible that this
resistance would have been more successful, and the whole history
of Hindustan far otherwise than what it has since been. But the
haughty leader of the Hindus, Sheodasheo Rao Bhao, regarded Suraj
Mal as a petty landed chief not accustomed to affairs on a grand
scale, and so went headlong on his fate.
Escaping, like his friend Holkar, from the disaster of Panipat
though in a less discreditable way, for he did not profess to
take the field and then fly in the midst of battle, as the other
did Suraj Mal took an early opportunity of displacing the
Mahratta Governor of the important fort of Agra, and at the same
time, occupied some strong places in the Mewat country. The
sagacious speculator, about the same time, dropped the falling
cause of Ghazi-ud-din, whose method of statesmanship was too
vigorous for his taste, and who, as has been above shown, retired
soon after from a situation which he had aided to render
impracticable. But a criminal of greater promise, about the same
time, joined Suraj Mal. This was none other than the notorious
Sumroo, who had wisely left his late protector the Nawab of Audh,
at the head of a battalion of Sepoys, a detail of artillery, and
some three hundred European ruffians of all countries.
Thus supported, the bucolic sagacity of the Jat Raja began for
the first time to fail him, and he made demands which seemed to
threaten the small remains of the Moghul Empire. Najib-ud-daulah
took his measures with characteristic promptitude and prudence.
Summoning the neighbouring Musalman chiefs to the aid of Islam
and of the empire, he took the field at the head of a small but
well-disciplined Moghul army, and soon found the opportunity to
strike a decisive blow.
In this campaign the premier was so fortunate as to obtain solid
assistance from the Biloch chiefs of Farokhnagar and Bahadurgarh,
who were in those days powerful upon both banks of the Jamna up
to as far north as Saharanpur on the eastern, and Hansi on the
western side. The actual commencement of hostilities between
Suraj Mal and the Moghuls arose from a demand made by the former
for the Faujdarship (military prefecture) of the small district
of Farokhnagar. Unwilling to break abruptly with the Jat chief,
Najib had sent an envoy to him, in the first instance, pointing
out that the office he solicited involved a transfer of the
territory, and referring him to the Biloch occupant for his
consent. The account of the negotiation is so characteristic of
the man and the time, that I have thought it worth preserving.
The Moghul envoy introduced himself in conformity with Eastern
custom by means of a gift, which, in this instance, consisted
of a handsome piece of flowered chintz, with which the rural
potentate was so pleased that he ordered its immediate conversion
into a suit of clothes. Since this was the only subject on which
the Jat chief would for the present converse, the Moghul proposed
to take his leave, trusting that he might reintroduce the subject
of the negotiations at a more favourable moment. "Do nothing
rashly, Thakur Sahib," said the departing envoy; "I will see you
again to-morrow." "See me no more," replied the inflated boor,
"if these negotiations are all that you have to talk of." The
disgusted envoy took him at his word, and returned to Najib with
a report of the interview. "Is it so?" said the premier. "Then we
must fight the unbeliever; and if it be the pleasure of the Most
High God, we will assuredly smite him."
But before the main body of the Moghuls had got clear of the
capital, Suraj Mal had arrived near Shahdara on the Hindan,
within six miles of Dehli; and, had he retained the caution of
his earlier years, he might have at once shut up the Imperialists
in their walled city. But the place being an old hunting-ground
of the Emperor's the Thakur's motive in coming had been chiefly
the bravado of saying that he had hunted in a royal park, and he
was therefore only attended by his personal staff. While he was
reconnoitring in this reckless fashion, he was suddenly
recognised by a flying squadron of Moghul horse, who surprised
the Jats, and killed the whole party, bringing the body of the
chief to Najib. The minister could not at first believe in this
unhoped-for success, nor was he convinced until the envoy who had
recently returned from the Jat camp identified the body by means
of his own piece of chintz, which formed its raiment. Meanwhile
the Jat army was marching up in fancied security from
Sikandrabad, under Jowahir Singh, the son of their chief, when
they were suddenly charged by the Moghul advanced guard, with the
head of Suraj Mal borne on a horseman's lance as their standard.
In the panic which ensued upon this ghastly spectacle, the Jats
were thoroughly routed and driven back into their own country.
This event occurred towards the end of the year.
Foiled in their unaided attempt, they next made a still more
signal mistake in allying themselves with Malhar Rao Holkar, who,
as we have seen, was secretly allied to the Musalmans. At first
they were very successful, and besieged the premier for three
months in Dehli; but Holkar suddenly deserted them, as was only
to have been expected had they known what we know now; and they
were fain to make the best terms that they could, and return to
their own country, with more respectful views towards the empire
and its protector.
But the young Thakur's thirst of conquest was by no means
appeased, and he proceeded in 1765 to attack Madhu Sing, the
Rajput ruler of Jaipur, son of the Kachwaha Raja Jai Singh, who
had lately founded a fine city there in lieu of the ancestral
site, Amber. Descended from Kusha, the eldest son of the Hindu
demigod Rama, this tribe appears to have been once extensive and
powerful, traces of them being still found in regions as far
distant from each other as; Gwalior and the Northern Doab. (Vide
Elliot, in voc.) In this attempt Jowahir appears to have been but
feebly sustained by Sumroo, who immediately deserted to the
victors, after his employer had been routed at the famous Lake of
Pokar, near Ajmir. Jowahir retreated first upon Alwar, thence he
returned to Bhartpur, and soon after took up his abode at Agra,
where he not long afterwards was murdered, it is said at the
instigation of the Jaipur Raja. A period of very great confusion
ensued in the Jat State; nor was it till two more of the sons of
Suraj Mal had perished one certainly by violence that the
supremacy of the remaining son, Ranjit Singh, was secured. In his
time the Jat power was at its height; he swayed a country thick
with strongholds, from Alwar on the N.W. to Agra on the S.W.,
with a revenue of two millions sterling, and an army of 60,000
men.
Meantime the Mahrattas, sickened by their late encounter with
Carnac (p. 73), and occupied with their own domestic disputes in
the Deccan, paid little or no attention to the affairs of
Hindustan; and the overtures made to them by the Emperor in 1766,
from Allahabad, were for the time disregarded, though it is
probable that they caused no little uneasiness in the British
Presidency, where it was not desired that the Emperor should be
restored by such agency.
At this period Najib, as minister in charge of the metropolis and
its immediate dependencies, though skilfully contending against
many obstacles, yet had not succeeded in consolidating the empire
so much as to render restoration a very desirable object to an
Emperor living in ease and security. Scarcely had the premier
been freed from the menace of the Eastern Jats by his own prowess
and by their subsequent troubles, than their kindred of the
Panjab began to threaten Dehli from the west. Fortunately for the
minister, his old patron, the Abdali, was able to come to his
assistance; and in April, 1767, having defeated the Sikhs in
several actions, Ahmad once more appeared in the neighbourhood of
Panipat, at the head of 50,000 Afghan horse.
He seems to have been well satisfied with the result of the
arrangements that he had made after crushing the Mahrattas in the
same place six years before; only that he wrote a sharp reprimand
to Shujaa-ud-daulah for his conduct towards the Emperor. But
this, however well deserved, would not produce much effect on
that graceless politician, when once the Afghan had returned to
his own country. This he soon after did, and appeared no more on
the troubled scene of Hindustan.
Profiting by the disappearance of their enemy, the Mahrattas,
having arranged their intestine disputes, crossed the Chambal (a
river flowing eastward into the Jamna from the Ajmir plateau),
and fell upon the Jaipur country towards the end of 1768. Hence
they passed into Bhartpur, where they exacted tribute, and whence
they threatened Dehli in 1769. Among their leaders were two of
whom much will be seen hereafter. One was Madhoji Sindhia"Patel"
the other was Takuji Holkar. The first of these was the natural
son of Ranoji Sindhia, and inherited, with his father's power,
the animosity which that chief had always felt against Najib and
the Rohillas. The other was a leader in the army of Malhar Rao
Holkar (who had lately died), and, like his master, was friendly
to the Pathans. Thus, with the hereditary rivalry of their
respective clans, these foremost men of the Mahratta army
combined a traditional difference of policy, which was destined
to paralyze the Mahratta proceedings, not only in this, but in
many subsequent campaigns.
1770. Aided by Holkar, the Dehli Government entered into an
accommodation with the invaders, in which the Jats were
sacrificed, and the Rohillas were shortly after induced by
Najib-ud-daulah to enter into negotiations. These led to the
surrender to the Mahrattas of the Central Doab, between the
provinces held by the Emperor to the eastward, and the more
immediate territories administered in his name from Dehli. These
latter tracts were spared in pursuance of the negotiations with
the Emperor which were still pending.
Soon after these transactions the prudent and virtuous minister
died, and was succeeded in his post by his son, Zabita Khan. It
is not necessary to enlarge upon the upright and faithful
character of Najib-ud-daulah, which has been sufficiently obvious
in the course of our narrative, as have also his skill and
courage. It would have been well for the empire had his posterity
inherited the former qualities. Had Zabita, for instance,
followed in his father's steps, and had the Emperor at the same
time been a man of more decision, it was perhaps even then
possible for a restoration to have taken place, in which, backed
by the power of Rohilkand, and on friendly terms with the
British, the Court of Dehli might have played off Holkar against
Sindhia, and shaken off all the irksome consequences of a
Mahratta Protectorate.
The preceding record shows how superior Najib-ud-daulah's
character and genius were to those of the native Hindustani
nobles. It may be interesting to see how he impressed a European
contemporary, who had excellent opportunities of judging:
"He is the only example in Hindustan of, at once, a great and a
good character. He raised himself from the command of fifty horse
to his present grandeur entirely by his superior valour,
integrity, and strength of mind. Experience and abilities have
supplied the want of letters and education, and the native
nobleness and goodness of his heart have amply made amends for
the defect of his birth and family. He is now about sixty years
of age, borne down by fatigue and sickness." (Mr. Verelst, to
the Court of Directors, March 28th, 1768, ap. Mill.)
Since this prominent mention has been made of the Rohillas, and
since they are now for a short time to play a yet more
conspicuous part in the fortunes of the falling empire, it will
be well to give a brief description of their situation at the
time.
It has been seen how Ali Mohammad rose in the reign of Mohammad
Shah, and had been removed from Rohilkand by the aid of Safdar
Jang, the Viceroy of Audh. On the latter falling into disgrace,
Ali Mohammad returned to his native province about A.D. 1746. In
the next two or three years he continued successfully to
administer the affairs of the fair and fertile tract, but,
unfortunately for his family, died before his heirs were capable
of acting for themselves. Two relations of the deceased chief
acted as regents Dundi Khan, the early patron of Najib, and
Rahmat Khan, known in India by the title of Hafiz, or
"Protector." Safdar Jang continued to pursue them with relentless
purpose; and although the important aid of Ahmad, their foreign
fellow-clansman, and the necessity of combining against the
Mahrattas, prevented the Audh Viceroy's hostility from taking any
very active form, yet there can be no doubt but that he
bequeathed it to his successor, Shujaa, along with many other
unscrupulous designs. The Rohilla Pathans, for their part, were
as a race determined fighters, but generally false, fickle, and
dissolute.
In 1753 the elder son of Ali Mohammad had made an attempt to
remove the Protector and his colleague from their post. It was
not successful, and its only result was to sow dissensions among
the Rohillas, which caused their final ruin. In 1761, however,
they bore a part in the temporary overthrow of the Mahrattas at
Panipat; and during the next seven years the Rohilla power had
passed the frontier of the Ganges, and overflowed the Central
Doab, while the Najibabad family (who had a less close connection
with local politics, but were powerful kinsmen and allies) had
possession of the Upper Doab, up to the Siwalik Hills, above
Saharanpur. Nevertheless, this seeming good fortune was neither
permanent nor real.
In 1769, as we have just seen, Najib, though well disposed, was
unable to prevent the Central Doab from passing under the
Mahratta sway, and he died soon after its occupation occurred.
Dundi Khan also passed away about the same time; and the
Protector Rahmat was left alone in the decline of his
ever-darkening days, to maintain, as best he might, an usurped
authority menaced by a multitude of foes.
Zabita Khan, the son and successor of the late minister, and
himself an Afghan or Pathan by race, did nevertheless for a time
contribute to the resources of the Protector, his co-religionist
and quasi countryman.
He may, therefore, be reckoned amongst the Rohillas at this
period; and, as far as extent of territory went, he might have
been an ally of some importance. But territory in imbecile hands
and with foes like the Mahrattas was anything but a source of
strength. While these indefatigable freebooters spread themselves
over the whole Upper and Central Doab, and occupied all Rohilkand
excepting the small territory of Farakhabad, to the south of
the latter and north of the former Zabita khan, instead of
endeavouring to prepare for the storm, occupied himself in
irritating the Emperor, by withholding the tribute due at
Allahabad, and by violating the sanctity of the Imperial zenana
at Dehli by intrigues with the Begams.
Thus passed the winter of 1770-71, at the end of which the
Mahrattas swarmed into the Doab, and occupied the metropolis;
only respecting the palace, where the Prince Regent and the
Imperial family continued to reside. Zabita, having organized no
plan, could offer no resistance, and escaped towards his
northward possessions.
By the connivance of his hereditary ally, Takuji Holkar (as Grant
Duff supposes), he left the field open for the Deccani marauders
to treat directly with Shah Alam for his restoration to the
throne of his father.
NOTE. The authority chiefly followed in the portion of this
chapter that relates to Rohilla affairs, has been Hamilton's
"History of the Rohillas," a valuable collection of
contemporaneous memoirs, although not always quite impartial.
Captain Grant Duff's research and fairness are beyond all praise,
wherever transactions of the Mahrattas are concerned. The sketch
of Jat politics is derived from the Siar-ul-Mutakharin and the
Tarikh-i-Mozafari; but it is as well to state, once for all that
the native chroniclers seldom present anything like complete
materials for history. A credulous and uncritical record of
gossip combined with a very scanty analysis of character and
motive characterizes their works, which are rather a set of
highly-coloured pictures without proportion or perspective, than
those orderly annals from which history elsewhere has chiefly
been compiled.