CHAPTER 14
Rāna Jai Singh, A.D. 1680-98.
Treaty between Rāna Jai Singh and Aurangzeb.
The Jaisamund Lake.
Rana Jai Singh and his heir Amar Singh.
Rebellion of Amar Singh.
Rāna Amar Singh II., A.D. 1698-1710.
Amra early availed himself of the contentions amongst the sons of Aurangzeb to anticipate events, and formed a private treaty[[8]] with the Mogul heir-apparent, Shah Alam, when commanded to the countries west of the Indus, on which occasion [396] the Mewar contingent[[9]] accompanied him, and fought several gallant actions under a Saktawat chieftain.
Breach between the Rājputs and the Mughal Empire.
Rājput Apostates.
Shāh Alam Bahādur Shāh, Emperor, A.D. 1707-12.
The Rise of the Sikhs.
Sacrifice of the Right of Primogeniture.
The injudicious support afforded by the emperor to the apostate chief of Rampura first brought the triple federation into action. The Rana, upholding the cause of Himmat Singh, made an attack on Rampura, which the apostate usurper Ratan Singh, now Raj Muslim Khan, defeated, and was rewarded for [400] it by the emperor.[[23]] But the same report conveyed to the king “that the Rana determined to lay waste his country, and retire to the hills,”[[24]] which was speedily confirmed by the unwelcome intelligence that Sawaldas, an officer of the Rana’s, had attacked Firoz Khan, the governor of Pur Mandal, who was obliged to retreat with great loss to Ajmer;[[25]] on which occasion this loyal descendant of the illustrious Jaimall lost his life.[[26]] The brave Durgadas, who conveyed the rebellious Akbar through all opposition to a place of refuge, again appeared upon the stage—his own prince being unable to protect him, he had found a safe asylum at Udaipur, and had the sum of five hundred rupees daily paid for his expenditure—a princely liberality. But the result of this combination was reserved for the following reigns, Shah Alam being carried off by poison,[[27]] ere he could correct the disorders which were rapidly breaking up the empire from the Hindu-Kush to the ocean. Had his life been spared, his talents for business, his experience, and courteous manners might have retarded the ruin of the monarchy, which the utter unworthiness of his successor sunk beyond the power of man to redeem. Every subsequent succession was through blood; and the sons of Shah Alam performed the part for which they had so many great examples. Two brothers,[[28]] Sayyids, from the town of Barha in the Duab, were long the Warwicks of Hindustan, setting up and plucking down its puppet kings at their pleasure; they had elevated Farrukhsiyar when the triumvirs of Rajasthan commenced their operations.
Farrukhsīyar, Emperor, A.D. 1712-19.
The pageant of an emperor, guided by the Sayyids, or those who intrigued to supplant their ministry, made an effort to oppose the threatening measures of the Rajputs; and one of them, the Amiru-l-umara,[[30]] marched against Raja Ajit, who received private instructions from the emperor to resist his commander-in-chief, whose credit was strengthened by the means taken to weaken it, which engendered suspicions of treachery. Ajit leagued with the Sayyids, who held out to the Rathor an important share of power at court, and agreed to pay tribute and give a daughter in marriage to Farrukhsiyar.
Marriage of Farrukhsīyar: Grant to the British.
This gorgeous court ought to have been, and probably was, impressed with a high opinion of the virtuous self-denial of the inhabitants of Britain; and if history has correctly preserved the transaction, some mark of public gratitude should have been forthcoming from those who so signally benefited thereby. But to borrow the phraseology of the Italian historian, “Obligations which do not admit of being fully discharged are often repaid with the coin of ingratitude”: the remains of this man rest in the churchyard of Calcutta, without even a stone to mark the spot![[33]]
The Jizya Reimposed.
Rāna Amar Singh asserts Rājput Independence.
Death of Rāna Amar Singh.
[1]. ‘The Cushion,’ by which a Rajput throne is designated.
[2]. [Dūb, Cynodon dactylon, the most common and useful Indian grass (Watt, Comm. Prod., 463 f).]
[3]. Gaddi ki an.
[4]. I give these anecdotes as related to me by his descendant and representative the Raja of Banera, while seated in a balcony of his castle overlooking the plains of Mewar. Often have I quenched my thirst at the fountain, and listened to their traditionary tales. It is a spot consecrated to recollections: every altar which rises around it is a text for the ‘great ancients’ of the clans to expatiate on; and it is, moreover, a grand place of rendezvous, whether for the traveller or sportsman. Bhim dislocated his spine in a feat of strength. He was celebrated for activity, and could, while his steed was urged to his speed, disengage and suspend himself by the arms from the bough of a tree; and to one of these experiments he owed his death.
[5]. [The Bhojpur lake, which covered an area of 250 square miles, was much larger, the Jaisamund covering only 21 square miles (Smith, EHI, 396; Erskine ii. A. 8 f.).]
[6]. [Pancholi, Panchauli, of which the derivation is uncertain, perhaps pancha-kula, ‘five houses,’ is the local title of the Desi or Māthur Kāyasths, or writer caste (Census Report Mārwār, 1891, ii. 111).]
[7]. Beri Sal of Bijolia, Kandal of Salumbar, Gopinath of Ghanerao, and the Solanki of Desuri.
[8]. "Private Treaty between the Rana and Shah Alam Bahadur Shah, and bearing his sign-manual.
"Six articles of engagement, just, and tending to the happiness of the people, have been submitted by you, and by me accepted, and with God’s blessing shall be executed without deviation—
"1. The re-establishment of Chitor as in the time of Shah Jahan.
"2. Prohibition of kine-killing.[[A]]
"3. The restoration of all the districts held in the reign of Shah Jahan.
"4. Freedom of faith and religious worship, as during the government of him whose nest is Paradise (Akbar).
"5. Whoever shall be dismissed by you shall receive no countenance from the king.
“6. The abrogation of the contingent for the service of the Deccan.”[[B]]
[A]. From the second of these articles, which alternate between stipulations of a temporal and spiritual nature, we may draw a lesson of great political importance. In all the treaties which have come under my observation, the insertion of an article against the slaughter of kine was prominent. This sacrifice to their national prejudices was the subject of discussion with every ambassador when the States of Rajasthan formed engagements with the British Government in 1817-18, “the prohibition of kine-killing within their respective limits.” From the construction of our armies we could not guarantee this article, but assurances were given that every practical attention would be paid to their wishes; and kine are not absolutely slain within the jurisdiction of any of these Rajput princes. But even long habit, though it has familiarized, has not reconciled them to this revolting sacrifice; nor would the kine-killer in Mewar be looked upon with less detestation than was Cambyses by the Egyptians, when he thrust his lance into the flank of Apis. But in time this will be overlooked, and the verbal assurance will become a dead letter; men of good intention will be lulled into the belief that, because not openly combated, the prejudice is extinct, and that homage to our power has obliterated this article of their creed. Thus Aurangzeb thought, but he avowedly and boldly opposed the religious opinions of his tributaries; we only hold them in contempt, and even protect them when productive of no sacrifice. Yet if we look back on the early page of history, we shall find both policy and benevolence combined to form this legislative protection to one of the most useful of domestic animals, and which would tempt the belief that Triptolemus, the lawgiver of Sparta, had borrowed from Manu [Laws, xi. 60, 69, 71], or rather from the still greater friends of dumb creatures, the Jains, in the law which exempted not only the lordly bull from the knife, but “every living thing.”
[B]. The Mewar contingent had been serving under Azam in the south, as the following letter from him to the Rana discloses:—“Be it known to Rana Amra Singh, your arzi [petition] arrived, and the accounts of your mother gave me great grief, but against the decrees of God there is no struggling. Pray for my welfare. Raja Rae Singh made a request for you; you are my own; rest in full confidence and continue in your obedience. The lands of your illustrious ancestors shall all be yours—but this is the time to evince your duty—the rest learn from your own servants—continue to think of me.”
“Your Rajputs have behaved well.”
[9]. It consisted of twenty-two Nakkaraband chiefs, i.e. each entitled to a kettle-drum, and fifteen Turais, or chiefs, entitled to brass trumpets. ["As a mark of favour, kettle-drums (naqqārah) and the right to play them (naubat) might be granted to a subject, but he must be a man of the rank of 2000 sawār (troopers) or upwards. As an invariable condition, however, it was stipulated they should not be used when the Emperor was present, or within a certain distance from his residence" (Irvine, Army of the Indian Moghuls, 30, 208 f.).]
[10]. In lieu of all, what reward does Britain hold out to the native population to be attached? Heavy duties exclude many products of their industry from the home market. The rates of pay to civil officers afford no security to integrity; and the faithful soldier cannot aspire to higher reward than £120 per annum, were his breast studded with medals. Even their prejudices are often too little considered, prejudices, the violation of which lost the throne of India, in spite of every local advantage, to the descendants of Aurangzeb.
[11]. [Jizya, meaning ‘tribute,’ was a capitation tax imposed on subjects (zimmi) who did not follow the state religion, Islām. Its hardship lay in the fact that it was additional to, and about the same amount as the revenue demand, the latter being thus nearly doubled. Great merchants in the time of Aurangzeb paid Rs. 13.8; the middle class Rs. 6.12; the poor Rs. 3.8 per annum per head (Manucci ii. 234). On the Jizya see Hughes, Dict. Islām, 248; Smith, Akbar the Great Mogul, 65 f.; Keene, Turks in India, 153 ff.; Grant Duff, Hist. of the Mahrattas, 145; Jadunath Sarkar, Life of Aurangzib, iii. 305 ff.]
[12]. Rampura Bhanpura (city of the sun) to distinguish it from Rampura Tonk. Rao Gopal was of the Chandarawat clan. See note, p. 306.
[13]. Rao Dalpat Bundela of Datia, a portion of whose memoirs were presented to me by the reigning prince, his descendant.
[14]. A.D. 1706-7. [The Mahrattas crossed the Nerbudda in 1705 (Grant Duff, Hist. Mahrattas, 177; Malcolm, Memoir Central India, i. 58 ff.). The latter remarks that they came to attack the government, not the people, and acted with the concurrence of the Hindu chiefs discontented with the policy of Aurangzeb.]
[15]. Rao Dalpat (Bundela), and Rao Ram Singh (Hara).
[16]. [Twenty miles south of Agra, June 7, 1707.]
[17]. [Nawāb Bāi, daughter of the Rāja of Rājauri, Kashmīr, who died in 1690 (Manucci ii. 57, note).]
[18]. See History of the Tribes, article ‘Jats,’ p. 127.
[19]. A.D. 1709-10.
[20]. Memoirs of Iradat Khan, p. 58 [translated by Captain Jonathan Scott; extracts from the work of Irādat Khān will be found in Elliot-Dowson vii. 534 f.]; also autograph letters of all those princes, with files of the regular newspapers (akhbars) of the day, in my possession, dated from the emperor’s camp.
[21]. Memoirs of Iradat Khan.
[22]. Hence the corruption of horde.
[23]. Newspapers, dated 3rd Rajab, San. 3—(3rd year of his reign).
[24]. Newspapers, 10th Rajab, San. 3.
[25]. Newspapers, 5th Shavval, San. 3.
[26]. The following edict, which caused this action, I translated from the archives; it is addressed to the son of Sawaldas:—“Maharana Amra Singh to Rathor Rae Singh Sawaldasot (race of Sawaldas)—Lay waste your villages and the country around you—your families shall have other habitations to dwell in—for particulars consult Daulat Singh Chondawat: obey these.” Asoj, S. 1764 (Dec. A.D. 1708).
[27]. [February 18] A.D. 1712. [The Musalmān authorities do not corroborate the assertion that he was poisoned.]
[28]. Husain Ali and Abdu-lla Khan.
[29]. Next to kine-killing was the article inhibiting the introduction of the Adalat, or British courts of justice, into the Rajput States, in all their treaties with the British Government in A.D. 1817-18, the very name of which is abhorrent to a native.
[30]. The title of Husain Ali,—as Kutbu-l-mulk (the axis of the State), was that of his brother Abdu-lla.
[31]. A white swelling or tumour on the back.
[32]. The ceremony is described, as it was celebrated, with true Asiatic pomp. “The Ameer-ool Omra conducted the festivities on the part of the bride, and the marriage was performed with a splendour and magnificence till then unseen among the princes of Hindust’han. Many pompous insignia were added to the royal cortège upon this occasion. The illuminations rivalled the planets, and seemed to upbraid the faint lustre of the stars. The nuptials were performed at the palace of the Ameer-ool Omra, whence the emperor conveyed his bride with the highest splendour of imperial pomp to the citadel, amidst the resoundings of musical instruments and the acclamations of the people” (Scott’s History of Aurangzeb’s Successors, vol. i. p. 132)[p. 132)]. [For the cure of Farrukhsīyar by Surgeon W. Hamilton see C. R. Wilson, Early Annals of the English in Bengal, ii. 235.]
[33]. [There is a monument of Hamilton in St. John’s Church, Calcutta (IGI, x. 280).]
[34]. [Ināyatu-lla Khān, a Persian of Naishapur, was tutor of Zebu-n-nissa Begam, daughter of Aurangzeb, and held high office in his reign and in that of Farrukhsīyar. He died in 1726 (Beale, s.v.).]
[35]. 13 rupees on every 2000 rupees.
[36]. [Altamgha, ‘the red seal,’ technically ‘a royal grant’[grant’]. On its remission by Bābur see Erskine, Hist. of India, i. 467. Elliot remarks that the altamgha as a tax was enforced as early as the time of Alāu-d-dīn and Fīroz Shāh (Elliot-Dowson iii. 365). For the use of the seal see Memoirs of Jahāngīr, trans. Rogers-Beveridge, 23.]
[37].
"Memorandum of Requests.
"1. The Mansab of 7000, the highest grade of rank.
"2. Farman of engagement under the panja private seal and sign that the jizya shall be abolished—that it shall no longer be imposed on the Hindu nation; at all events, that none of the Chagatai race shall authorize it in Mewar. Let it be annulled.
"3. The contingent of one thousand horse for service in the Deccan to be excused.
"4. All places of Hindu faith to be rebuilt, with perfect freedom of religious worship.
"5. If my uncles, brothers, or chiefs, repair to the Presence, to meet no encouragement.
"6. The Bhumias of Deolia, Banswara, Dungarpur, and Sirohi, besides other zamindars over whom I am to have control, they shall not be admitted to the Presence.
"7. The forces I possess are my chiefs—what troops you may require for a given period, you must furnish with rations (peti), and when the service is over, their accounts will be settled.
"8. Of the Hakkdars, Zamindars, Mansabdars, who serve you with zeal and from the heart, let me have a list—and those who are not obedient I will punish; but in effecting this no demand is to be made for Paemali."[[A]]
"List of the districts attached to the Panjhazari,[[B]] at present under sequestration, to be restored—Phulia, Mandalgarh, Badnor, Pur, Basar, Ghayaspur, Pardhar, Banswara, Dungarpur. Besides the 5000 of old, you had on ascending the throne granted an increase of 1000, and on account of the victory at Sinsini 1000 more, of two and three horse."[[C]]
"Of three crores of dams[[D]] in gift (inam), namely, two according to farman, and one for the payment of the contingent in the Deccan, and of which two are immediately required, you have given me in lieu thereof Sirohi.
“Districts now desired—Idar, Kekri, Mandal, Jahazpur, Malpur (and another illegible).”
[A]. Destruction of property, alluding to the crops which always suffered in the movements of disorderly troops.
[B]. Mansab of 5000.
[C]. It was usual to allow two and three horses to each cavalier when favour was intended.
[D]. 40 dams to the rupee.
[38]. [Sāhu, ‘the honest, respectable man,’ a title given by Aurangzeb to Sivaji, son of Sambhaji (Grant Duff, 184).]
[39]. [Desmukhi from Sardesmukh, an officer exercising police and revenue jurisdiction under the Marāthas. These taxes were confirmed in favour of Sivaji in 1665 (Ibid. 94).]