History of Bharatpur
Bharatpur, like Alwar, was once a part
of the Matsya Desh of old. History binds itself inextricably linked
with mythology; for it was here that the Pandava brothers are supposed
to have spent their 13th year of exile some 3500 years back (see
Mahabharata for the full story). and all of it is not hogwash, for
there're some fine archaeological remains of this ancient civilization
preserved in the Bharatpur Museum.
¤ A Jat Legacy Takes Shape
But the most interesting bit in Bharatpur's history comes much
later, in the late medieval times when it belonged to the Jats.
Actually it all started in the late 17th century, with the Jats of the
villages of Sinsini and Thoon rising against the Mughal power. The
leaders then were the father-son duo, Bhajjasingh and Rajaram. Though
the Jats claimed to have descended from the moon god (it was a matter
of great prestige to claim descent from the gods themselves), many
historians give them the status of nothing more than a gang of
robbers. Whatever it was, the Jats were out to declare their arrival
on the scene. The noted historian James Tod quips: "Though
reduced from the rank they once had among the 36 royal races, they
appear never to have renounced the love for independence." So how
could there be no conflict between these daring sons of the soil and
the powerful Mughals, who had already established a stronghold in
India way back in the 1526?
So leaving aside the plough, the Jats took up the sword instead. They
became more than active in the 18th century, when leaders like
Churaman and Badan Singh brought them together and turned them into a
formidable force. Churaman first started with a few neighbouring
villages of Bharatpur. Then his ambitions grew – he rose against
the Mughal power and his men attacked and plundered the Imperial
capitals. They staged rebellions around Delhi during Aurangzeb's time
(1658-1707) that were not easy to quell. The Mughals, finally irked to
the maximum, killed Churaman in 1721 and tried to crush the Jats. But
the Jats being Jats were quite indomitable. They rose again with Badan
Singh (Churaman's brother) and by the 1750s their armies were marching
all over the tract between Delhi and Agra. Now the Mughals had no
other choice but to recognize the Jat potential, and with that, Jai
Singh II of Jaipur (see History of Jaipur for more on Jai Singh and
his connection with the Mughals) conferred the title of 'Raja' to
Badan Singh and installed him in the town of Deeg. and Deeg was on its
way to having its glorious share of fame and beauty.
¤ Intrigrity between the Jats and Rajputs
The dauntless Jats did not have a smooth sailing with the blood 'n'
blade Rajputs too, who had established themselves all over Rajasthan.
Obviously! Marital alliances between the two did lessen the tension,
but only marginally. (Pssst! This must have been quite a fad in those
days, for the Mughals were also into marrying Rajput princesses (see
History of Amber for details). The two warring groups went into
frequent showdowns, but their greatest enemy, however, remained the
mighty Mughals.
¤ Forts and Palace Construction
After Badan Singh came his eldest son, Raja Suraj Mal, inheriting all
the turbulence and energy of his predecessors. He further consolidated
the Jat Empire and put the resources to good effect, building many
forts and palaces all over the place. The greatest among them are the
Deeg Palace and the Bharatpur Fort (Badan Singh had built a fort at
Wiir too, but justly gave it to another son, Pratap Singh). Suraj
Mal's ambitions rose, and he regularly raided the cities of Agra and
Delhi and carried back unimaginable booty. Under his strong
leadership, the Jats were able to hold Agra for 13 years, until ousted
by the Marathas in 1774. They even marched on to Delhi in 1763, much
to the alarm of the Mughals whose once-mighty empire was then speeding
towards inevitable collapse. But with a final heave of strength, the
Mughals managed to kill Suraj Mal. (see History of Haryana for more).
Following the death of Suraj Mal, his son Jawahar Singh, was installed
on the throne at Deeg.
¤ The British Gain Ground
In the meantime the British (then the East India Company) tried to
gain ground with these powerful Jats. With their long term plans in
mind, they were soon pushing their way into Bharatpur Fort. But
Colonel Lake's siege (1805) was fended off well by Ranjit Singh,
another of Suraj Mal's son. The Brits could remain there for merely
four months, and that too by suffering heavy losses. Lake lost over
3,000 men, the most disastrous setback in his illustrious career.
Ultimately the British had to go into an agreement with the Jats in
1818. But this proved to be a disastrous step in the long run, because
it was in Bharatpur that the British first developed their fatal
Doctrine of Paramountcy, the result of such alliances. The doctrine
was first enunciated as a concept by Charles Metcalfe in 1820, and
implied the duty of the British to act as "supreme guardians of
general tranquility, law and right to maintain the legal succession"
in the princely states. It obviously meant the planting of a British
Resident or sometimes even troops in these states wherein the prince
became a puppet ruler.
¤ British became the supreme political power
In 1825 Lord Combermere attacked Lohargarh from a strategic point in
the north east and successfully captured it after a month-long seige.
and with that, Bharatpur became the last one to acknowledge British
suzerainty in Central India.
¤ The Jats Supremacy
The Jats, being of peasant stock, were never held in high esteem by
the elitist Rajputs of Rajasthan. No matter how bravely they fought,
they would invariably be snubbed as a 'gang of robbers'. In fact
historians, too, did not pay much heed to their doings before the 17th
and 18th centuries, that is, until the pinnacle of their glory.
Obviously the Jats were always trying to assert their supremacy over
other fellow human beings. Once what happened was that a maharaja of
Bharatpur was snubbed by an insolent young Rolls Royce salesman. It
hurt the Jat's pride immensely, and to counter that, he brought a
whole fleet of Rolls Royces. and guess what he did with them? He made
them Bharatpur's garbage collecting vehicles!
Here's something more, though it has nothing to do with elitism.
Maharaja Jawahar Singh, Badan Singh's grandson, was a figure of note.
It is said that he had a harem of 150 women and 30 sons. How he
managed to bring up so many children is beside the point; he didn't
even recognize them off hand. One French missionary, Father Wendel,
writes that "The swarm was so large that he had difficulty in
recognizing his own offspring; each of them had to announce his
mother's name and his own name and the place of residence, when he
came to his father's reverence." |
