Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur, Mughals and Marathas |
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Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur, Mughals and Marathas |
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Sawai Jai Singh (1700 –1743 A.D.)
easily finds a place among the three preeminent Kachhawaha rulers of Amber,
the other two being Raja Man Singh, who figures so prominently during the
reigns of Akbar and Jahangir and Mirza Raja Jai Singh, one of the most
conspicuous and influential noble during the reigns of Shah Jahan and
Aurangzeb, although he had become the ruler of Amber during the reign of
Jahangir in 1622 A.D. The students of Medieval India are familiar with the
singular achievements of these tow rulers in the fields of administration,
war, diplomacy and patronage to art, architecture and literature. |
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Jai Singh and Aurangzeb |
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Sawai Jai Singh was
son of Raja Bishan Singh, great – grand – son of Maharaja Ram
Singh (son of Mirza Raja Jai Singh). He was born in 1688 A.D.,
and after his father’s death in 1699 A.D. at Kohat in the north
– west, ascended the gaddi of Amber on 23 January 1700 A.D. at
the time of his enthronement, he was awarded a mansab of
1500/1200. Jai Singh witnessed advent or exit of Seven Mughal
Emperors, including Aurangzeb. After his accession, he was
appointed in the Deccan against the Marathas. He waited upon the
Emperor then in the South, in October 1701, and was posted under
Prince Bidar Bakht, son of Prince Azam Shah who was supposed to
be a strong contestant for the throne, whenever the long and
ruinous reign of Emperor Aurangzeb would end. After Shivaji’s
escape from Agra in 1666 A.D., Aurangzeb’s attitude towards the
rulers of Amber had never been favourable. However, on account
of Jai Singh’s excellent services in the capture of Konkana fort
of the Marathas, an increase of 500 was made in his mansab.
During 1703 –06, the remained with Bidar Bakht in Khandesh and
Malwa. In 1705, Bidar Bakht secured appointment of Jai Singh as
his naib or deputy in Malwa of which he was the Governor.
In 1706, Bidar Bakht was appointed as subahadar as of Gujarat
and the governorship of Malwa was conferred upon Amanulla Khan.
It seems from the subsequent events the Jai Singh continued to
remain in Mal and joined Bidar Bakht, then proceeding towards
Gwalior via Ujjain to participate in the war of succession
following Aurangzeb’s death on February 10, 1707. As Jai Singh
had been close to Bidar Bakht, he took part in the battle of
Jajau (8th June 1707), fought near Agra on the side of Bidar
Bakhat and his father Azam against Shah Alam (later Emperor
Bahadur Shah) who had come to known of his father’s death near
Peshawar. |
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Jai Singh and Emperor Bahadur
Shah; defies the Mughal authority |
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Shah Alam or Bhahdur
Shah, after his victory, declared that all those nobles who had
taken Azam’s side in the war of succession would be pardoned and
accordingly Zulfiqar Khan was again appointed as Mir Bakshi and
his father Asad Khan, though not made Wazir again, was appointed
Wakil – I – Mutlaq, a higher though less influential post. Thus
the Irani group was placated, and in the same manner the Turani
nables were appointed on high posts. Ghazi – ud din Khan, who
was the most prominent noble in the Turani group (which had
mostly remained neutral in the war of succession) was given the
subah of Gujarat. But in case of Amber and Kota, a different
policy was adopted, probably on the advice of Munim Khan, the
new Wazir, who had no experience of large policy matters. As Jai
Singh wrote to Maharana Amar Singh II of Mewar, Amber was being
taken into Khalisa for his taking Azam’s side. His protest that
Amber had remained the Watan of the Kachhawa has for centuries
and never before such an order had been passed, was ignored by
the Mughal government on the ground that there was a dispute for
Amber between Jai Singh and his brother Bijai Singh (who had
fought on the side of Bahadur Shah in the recent war of
succession), and hence the Kachhawaha capital was being resumed.
This was not correct as Jai Singh had been ruling at Amber since
1700 A.D. and Bijai Singh had till now never contested his
brother as right. To the Rajputs it must have appeared that the
Mughal government was trying to extend its Marwar policy adopted
by it after 1679 i.e. following Maharaja Jaswant Singh’s death,
in case of Amber also. The developments in Rajputana and the
contemporary letters preserved in the Rajasthan State Archives,
Bikaner, reveal the real motives of Bahadur Shah and his chief
adviser, the wazir Munim Khan. Bhimsen, a contemporary
historian, writes that the object of taking the Rajput states
into Kalisa was to acquire more land to ease to some extent the
problem of scarcity of land required for granting tankhwah
jagirs or what has been termed as the jagirdari crisis. The fact
that Bahadur Shah refused to restore Jodhpur to Ajit Singh,
posthumous son of Maharaja Jaswant Singh, in 1708 i.e. even
after about 34 years of that ruler’s death shows that the Mughal
government wanted to do away with its commitment not to touch
the Watan (jagirs) of the Rajput rulers, so as to bring them in
line with the other nobles who could not advance any hereditary
claim. The uncompromising stand of Aurangzeb had led to Mughal -
Marwar war in 1679, which was still continuing and his son and
successor Bahadur Shah, though much more moderate and practical
than his father, now caused it to spread over a major part of
Rajputana during 1708 – 10. The Rajputs, with the decisive
support of Mewar and moral support to Chhatrasal Bundela and
even Shuhu to whom Jai Singh had written letters seeking their
co – operation and charging the Mughal government of being anti
– Hindu and for reversing the wise policy of Emperor Akbar,
expelled the Mughal garrisons from Amber and Jodhpur and put to
rout the Mughal garrison from Amber and Jodhpur and put to rout
the Mughal troops every where, till Emperor Bahadur Shah, after
having successfully dealt with his brother Kambaksh, felt
obliged to accept the Rajput demands unconditionally, when
returning from the Deccan on way to Punjab to deal with the Sikh
resistance under Banda Bahadur. This happened on 11th June 1710,
when Jai Singh and Ajit Singh waited upon the Emperor during the
march (and not in his camp) near Ajmer. Though repeatedly
summoned to join duty in the war against the Sikhs, they did not
go to Sadhora, After Bahadur Shah’s death at Lahore in February
1712, Jai Singh and Ajit Singh came on the central stage of
politics of the Mughal Empire. By not applying his policy of
what Prof. Satish Chandra calls a pardon and conciliation
towards the Rajpts from the very beginning of his reign, Bahadur
Shah further damaged the delicately balanced relationship
between the Rajput rulers and Mughal government which had
already suffered grievous blows at the hands of Aurangzeb,
Henceforth reciprocity and the blind loyalty was to be the basis
of relationship between the Rajput rulers and the Mughal
government.
It is from the time of Jahandar Shah who succeeded Bahadur Shah
in March 1712 that Jai Singh and other Rajput rulers began to be
wooed by the Mughal Emperors by being offered high mansabs and
governorships. Another war of succession following the one at
Lahore was in the offing. Jai Singh and Ajit Singh were given
mansabs of 7000/7000, and, as Farrukhsiyar, nephew of the
Emperor, advanced from Patna, governorship of Malwas and Gujarat
were conferred upon the two rulers. When Farrukhsiyar became
Emperor in January 1713, he reconfirmed the grant of
governorship of Malwa to Jai Singh, who also officially received
the title of Sawai for the first time. |
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Jai Singh & Relations with
the Marathas |
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We may now take up
in greater detail Jai Singh’s relations with the Marathas. As
noted that Jai Singh, soon after his enthronement, had been
posted in the Deccan where he distinguished himself in the
capture of Khelna fort of the Marathas, for which service
Aurangzeb had increased his mansab by 500. Till Aurangzeb’s
death in 1707, Jai Singh, now 18 years old, remained active in
the operations against the Marathas and in keeping Malwa safe
from their incursions, as Prince Bidar Bakhfs deputy. But when
Jai Singh was waging a war against the Mughal Government during
1708 –10 A.D., in co – operation with Mewar and Ajit Singh, he
had written to Shahu to support Kam Baksh against emperor
Bahadur Shah and to entangle him in the Deccan, a task which, he
wrote, even Maratha sardars had successfully done in case of
Aurangzeb. Again in 1711 A.D., it was feared that Bahadur Shah,
now free from the Sikh campaign, might visit Rajputana again.
Jai Singh, as a contemporary letter shows, wrote to Durgadas
Rathore to call the Marathas in the north so that Emperor’s
designs against the Rajputas might get frustrated. The letters
to Shahu and others show that Jai Singh and other Rajput rulers
were appreciative of the Maratha resistance against the Mughals
and were prepared to seek their help whenever they themselves
were facing threat from the Mughal government. However, the
Rajputs knew it well that Maratha presence in Malwa and Gujarat
would, in the long run, endanger their own safety, and obstruct
their desire to extend their influence in Malwa and Gujarat, if
the crumbling Mughal Empire gave them an opportunity to do so.
As the subsequent developments show, Jai Singh along with Mewar
and Jodhpur rulers always remained averse to the prospects of
Malwa and Gujarat, if the crumbling Mughal empire gave them an
opportunity to do so. As the subsequent developments show, Jai
Singh along with Mewar and Jodhpur rulers always remained averse
to the prospects of Malwa and Gujarat coming under the
domination of the Marathas and the time was to prove them right.
Jai Singh therefore, was opposed to the Maratha demand to levy
chauth from Malwa and Gujarat.
Jai Singh’s first governorship of Malwa; actively campaigns
against the Marathas; Peshwa secures important gains
Though incursions in Malwa had begun even during Aurangzeb’s
period, after 1711 A.D. these became more serious in intensity
and more frequent in occurrence. During his first governorship
of Malwa (1715 - 17), Jai Singh vigorously campaigned against
the Marathas and inflicted a crushing defeat upon them at
Pulsed. He was, however, recalled (October 1716) to lead
campaign against Churaman Jat and the charge of Malwa was given
to Muhammad Amin Khan. The Marathas had already secured from
Zulfiqar Khan, who was given the charge of Deccan suba by
Bahadur Shah in 1708, the right to collect chauth and
sardeshmukhi in the Deccan. They obtained its official
ratification when Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath accompanied Hussain
Ali to Delhi in late 1718, shortly before the deposition of
Farrukhsiyar. |
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Maratha incursions in Mewar;
Jai Singh and Maharana take counter steps |
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When Baji rao
succeeded his father to Peswaship in 1720 at the age of 19, he
advocated a vigorous policy of Maratha expansion in the North.
In 1724, the Marathas create trouble on the borders of Kota
Bundi and the following year they carried out depredation in
Mewar on a large scale. Maharana Sangram Singh II of Mewar even
wrote to Jai Singh that if measures were not taken to restrain
the Marathas, chaos and disorder would soon spread throughout
northern India.
Sawai Jai Singh and Maharana took several steps to contain the
growing Maratha threat. As we learn from a letter of Nizam to
Jai Singh, they even approved the idea to support Shambhaji of
Kolhapur against Chhatrapati Shahu and to win over some of
Shahu’s nobles in favour of Kolhapur. Jai Singh, however, never
put much faith in Nizam. On his own, he wrote to each and every
ruler of Rajputana to set out with their armies the moment they
learnt or the arrival of the Marathas in Mewar, Rampura etc. Jai
Sinhg’s letters and in some cases their draft (Draft Kharitas)
are preserved in the Rajasthan State Archives and also letters
which show that his move was welcomed by the Rajput states. |
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Jai –Singh Peace Negotiations |
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At the same time,
Jai Singh was too far – sighted a statesman to miss the hard
realities of the situation. He knew that Auranghzeb had totally
failed to crush the Marathas or dampen their spirit, despite
campaigning against them for nearly half a century, and throwing
in all he could for this purpose during the last 25 years of his
reign. The spectacular Maratha victories in Malwa at Palkhed
(Feb.1728) and Amjhera in November 1728 further showed that any
military solution to the Maratha problem would be futile
attempt. But even before these two resounding victories over the
Nizam and the Raja Girdhar Bahadur, the Governor of Malwa, Jai
Singh had sent Joshi Shambhu Ram to Satara promising to secure
for Chhatrapati Shohu jagirs of 10 lacs of rupees each in subahs
Malwa and Gujarat. The Maratha demand of chauth from these
provinces came to nearly 50 lacs of rupees. Jai Singh also
conveyed the assurance that he would obtain suitable mansabs for
some of the Maratha sardars who should then serve the Mughal
government on such conditions as would be worked out. Jai Singh
kept the Emperor informed of his offer. In return for these
concessions, Shahu was to ensure that no disturbances were
created by the Marathas in these subahs . But in that very year,
Sarbuland Khan, the governor of Gujarat, unable to resist the
Maratha pressure, conceded the Maratha demand of chauth from
Gujarat and soon the province passed into their hands. |
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Jai Singh’s Second
Governorship of Malwa |
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Jai Singh was
appointed to Malwa after the defeat and death of Raja Girdhar
Bahadur in the battle of Amjhera in November 1728 at the hands
of Peshwa’s brother, Chimnaji Appa. Girdhar Bahadur, like other
members of a powerful group of nobles which included Wazir
Qamruddin Khan, Saadat Khan and Muhammad Khan Bangash, was
totally against any peace or compromise with the Marathas. A
brave and upright soldier, Girdhar Bahadur’s defeat and death
shortly after Nizamas humiliating defeat at Palkhed, strengthen
the hands of Jai Singh and Mir Bakshi Khan-I-Dauran who favored
some kind of settlement with the Marathas within the framework
of the Mughal empire. This was the time when the Nizam in the
Deccan, Alivardi Khan in Bihar and Bengal and Bangash in subah
Allahabad were trying to carve out their independent
principalities. It was apparent that the Mughal eippire was
crumbling. Jai Singh hoped that by granting appropriate mansabs
and jagirs to the Marathas, he would be able to win them over. In
February 1730, Chhatrapati Shahu accepted Jai Singh’s offer to
secure a jagir worth ten lacs of rupees in Malwa for his adopted
son Kushal Singh. The Marathas restored Mandu to Jai Singh,
which they had recently captured. After his agreement Jai Singh
remained in Malwa for some time and then returned to Amber. |
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