The Maldot Tribe.
The tortuous policy, the never-ending and scarcely-to-be-comprehended border feuds of these regions, must, for a long while, generate such appeals. Since these associated bands attach no dishonour to their predatory profession, it will be some time before they acquire proper notions; but when they discover there is no retreat in which punishment may not reach them, they will learn the benefits of cultivating the arts of peace, of whose very name no trace exists in their history.
We have lost sight of the Rawal, the title of the prince of Jaisalmer, in the prominent acts of his minister. Gaj Singh, who occupies the gaddi of Jaisal, to the prejudice of his elder brothers, who are still in exile in Bikaner, appears very well suited to the minister’s purpose, and to have little desire beyond his horses, and vegetating in quiet. The physiognomists of Jaisalmer, however, prognosticate the development of moral worth in due season; a consummation devoutly to be wished, and the first symptom of which must be the riddance of his minister by whatever process. The artful Salim deemed that it would redound to his credit, and bolster up his interest, to seek a matrimonial alliance with the Rana’s family of Mewar. The overture was accepted, and the coco-symbol transmitted to the Rawal, who put himself at the head of the Bhatti chivalry to wed and escort his bride through the desert. The Rathor princes of Bikaner and Kishangarh, who were at the same time suitors for the hands of another daughter and a granddaughter of the Rana, simultaneously arrived at Udaipur with their respective cortèges; and this triple alliance threw a degree of splendour over the capital of the Sesodias, to which it had long been a stranger. Gaj Singh lives very happily with his wife, who has given him an heir to his desert domain. The influence of high rank is seen in the respect paid to the Ranawatji (the title by which she is designated), even by the minister, and she exerts this influence most humanely for the amelioration of her subjects[[10]] [278].
[1]. [A.D. 1762.]
[2]. See Appendix No. [III]. for a copy of this treaty. [See end of Vol. III.]
[3]. Art. III. “In the event of any serious invasion directed towards the overthrow of the principality of Jessulmer, or other danger of great magnitude occurring to that principality, the British Government will exert its power for the protection of the principality, provided that the cause of the quarrel be not ascribable to the Raja of Jessulmer.”
[4]. The attitude assumed by the energetic governor of Bombay, Mr. Elphinstone, on that occasion, will for a long time remain a lesson to the triumvirate government of Sind. To the Author it still appears a subject of regret, that, with the adequate preparation, the season, and everything promising a certainty of success, the pacific tone of Lord Hastings’ policy should have prevented the proper assertion of our dignity, by chastising an insult, aggravated in every shape. A treaty of amity and mutual intercourse was the result of this armament; but although twelve years have since elapsed, our intercourse has remained in statu quo; but this is no ground for quarrel. [Rāo Bharmall of Cutch, on account of his disloyalty to the British Government, was coerced by a force commanded by Captain MacMurdo, the Resident, which, on 25th March 1819, escaladed the fort of Bhuj, and compelled the Rāo to surrender (BG, v. 162).
[5]. [This prediction has been fulfilled by recent events.]
[6]. It is my intention (if space is left) to give a concise statement of the effects of our alliances, individually and collectively, in the States of Rajwara, with a few hints towards amending the system, at the conclusion of this volume. [This was not done.]