Chapter 14 — Annals of Mewar

Amra was followed by Sangram Singh, who reigned for eighteen years. He ascended the throne a year before the accession of Muhammad Shah, the last of the race of Timiir who deserved the name of emperor of India. During his reign, the empire of the Moguls was completely dismembered. In lieu of one paramount power, numerous independent governments started up, and preserved an uncertain existence until, in the course of a hundred years, they were brought, Muhammadan, Rajput, and Mahratta, under the dominion of the British. Like the satraps of the ancient Persian, or the lieutenants of Alexander, each chief proclaimed himself master of the province, the government of which had been confided to his loyalty and talents; and it cannot fail to diminish any regret at the successive prostration of Bengal, Oudh, and Hyderabad, and other less conspicuous states, to remember that they were founded in rebellion, and erected on ingratitude, and that their rulers were destitute of what alone could have given stability to their thrones, namely, sympathy with the condition of their subjects. With the Mahrattas the case is different. Their emergence to power claims our admiration, for it was the spirit of resistance to tyranny which transformed their husbandmen and ministers of religion into hardy and enterprising soldiers; and had their ambition been restrained within legitimate bounds, it would have been politically and morally just that the family of Sivaji should retain its authority in countries which his valour had wrested from Aurangzeb. But the genius of conquest changed their natural habits. They devastated instead of consolidating; and in place of that severe and frugal simplicity and that energy of enterprise which were, in the beginning, their peculiar characteristics, they became distinguished for mean parsimony, low cunning, and dastardly depredation. Had they, retaining their original character, been content with their proper sphere of action, the Dekhan, they might yet have held the sovereignty of that vast region, where the habits and manners of the people were not incompatible with their own. But in the north the Mahratta was a foreigner; and though professing the same creed as the Rajput, he was, in sentiment, less akin to him than the Mogul, whose tyrannical intolerance was more endurable because less degrading than the rapacious meanness of the Southron. The short reign of Farrukhsiyar was drawing to a close. The recall of Inayat Ulla had proved but a feeble counterpoise to the thraldom of the Syads, while his arbitrary habits and the re-establishment of the jezia lost the unfortunate monarch all his Hindu supporters, including Ajit of Marwar, the father of his queen. It was at this time that the celebrated Nizam-ul-mulk, the founder of the Hyderabad state, was brought upon the stage. He was holding the unimportant charge of the district of Muradabad, and the Syads, knowing him to be a man of ability, bought him over to further their views by promising him the governorship of Malwa. Having thus strengthened their position, and with a body of 10,000 Mahrattas to support them, they suddenly declared the deposal of Farrukhsiyar, who was left without any assistance save that of the princes of Ambar and Bundi. Had he hearkened to their counsel to take the field and trust his cause to them, the situation might still have been saved. But, cowardly and infatuated, he refused to quit the walls of his palace, and threw himself upon the mercy of his enemies, who made him dismiss the faithful Rajputs and admit a guard of honour of their troops into the citadel. Farrukhsiyar hoped for security in the inviolability of the harem; but even there he found no sanctuary. To use the words of the Mogul chronicle — " Night advanced, and the gates of the citadel were closed upon his friends. No one knew what was passing in the palace, and the troops under the Amir-ullimra, with 10,000 Mahrattas, remained under arms all the night. Morning came, and all hope was extinguished by the royal guard announcing the deposal of the emperor and the accession of his successor Rafi-ud-darjat. The interval between the deposal and the death of an Asiatic king is short; and even while the heralds vociferated " long live the king" to the new puppet, the bow-string was on the neck of the contemptible Farrukhsiyar. The first act of the new reign was one of conciliation towards Ajit Singh and the Rajputs, — the abrogation of the jezia; and the Syads still further showed their disposition to court their favour by dismissing Inayat Ulla, and appointing to the high office of Diwan one of their own faith, Raja Rattan Chand. In the course of the next few months, three phantoms of royalty flitted across the scene, to be succeeded by Muhammad Shah, the eldest son of Bahadur Shah, during whose reign of nearly thirty years, the empire fell completely to pieces. The haughty demeanour of the Syads disgusted all who acted with them, especially their coadjutor the Nizam, whom, by reason of the talents he displayed in restoring Malwa to order, they regarded with suspicion and fear. It was impossible to cherish any abstract loyalty for the puppets they established, and the Nizam determined to make himself independent, and marched for the Dekhan. The brothers had good cause for alarm. The Rajputs were recalled to their contingents, and the princes of Kotah and Nirwah gallantly interposed their own retainers to prevent the rebellious governor from crossing the Narbadda. But the attempt was futile; Kotah was slain, and the Nizam, taking possession of Barhanpur, laid the foundations of the Hyderabad state. The independence of Oudh was soon to follow. The founder of this kingdom was Sadat Khan, commandant of the garrison at Biana. He entered into a conspiracy with the emperor to overthrow the Syads. In the tumult which ensued, both the brothers were killed, and Sadat Khan was rewarded with the title of Bahadur Jang and the government of Oudh. The ties which bound him to the throne of Delhi were of the weakest, and before he died they were altogether severed. The Rajputs took no part in these upheavals, and as a reward for their neutrality Muhammad Shah confirmed the repeal of the jesiay and appointed the Raja of Ambar to the government of Agra, and the Raja of Jodhpur to that of Gujarat and Ajmir. The policy of Mewar was too isolated for the times; her rulers clung to forms and unsubstantial homage, while their neighbours, with more active vigour, plunged into the tortuous policy of the imperial court, and seized every opportunity to enlarge the boundaries of their states; and while Ambar appropriated to herself the royal domains almost to the Jumna, while Marwar planted her banner on the battlements of Ajmir, dismembered Gujarat, and pushed her clans far into the desert, Mewar confined her ambition to the control of her ancient feudatories of Abu, Idar, and the petty states which grew out of her, Dangarpur and Banswara. The motive for this policy was precisely the same that had cost such sacrifices in former times; she dreaded amalgamating with the imperial court, and preferred political inferiority to the sacrifice of principle. Rana Sangram died in 1734. Under him Mewar was respected, and the greater portion of her lost territory was regained. Not a little of his success was due to the ability of his minister Behari Das Pancholi, who was held in honourable regard by all the princes of Rajasthan. He held his office during three reigns; but his skill was unable to stem the tide of Mahratta invasion, which commenced on the death of Sangram. Many anecdotes relating to Rana Sangram have been preserved, some of which are worthy of perusal; for though the incidents recorded are trivial enough, they afford an insight into Rajput life and ideas such as we can gain from no other source, and thereby aid us in our estimate of Rajput character. These anecdotes uniformly represent the Rana as a patriarchal ruler, wise, just, and inflexible, steady in his application to business, and averse from all forms of extravagance, whether public or private. To regulate the latter, he made sumptuary laws which were rigidly adhered to, and on which the people still expatiate, contrasting with the existing profusion and luxury the simplicity and frugality of former days. On one occasion, it is related, the Chohan of Kotario, a chieftain of the first rank, recommended the Rana to make an addition to the folds of the court robe, and as courtesy forbade personal denial, his wish was assented to, and he retired to his estate pluming himself on his sovereign's acquiescence and his own influence. But, on his departure, the Rana sent for his minister, and commanded the sequestration of two villages of Kotario; which fact reaching the ears of the chieftain, he straightway repaired to court, and begged to know the fault which had drawn upon him this mark of displeasure. " None, Raoji," was the reply; " but on a minute calculation I find the revenue of these two villages will just cover the expense of the superfluity of garment which obedience to your wishes will occasion me; and as every iota of my own income is appropriated, I have no other means of complying with your suggestion than to make you bear the charge which it involves." It may readily be believed that the Chohan begged the revocation of the edict, and that he entertained for the future a higher regard for the sumptuary laws of the state. On another occasion, from lapse of memory or want of consideration, the Rana himself broke one of the laws he had established, and alienated a village attached to the royal household. Each branch of the household expenditure had its appropriate fund, whether for the kitchen, the wardrobe, the privypurse, or the royal harem. Lands and villages set apart for this purpose were called thua, and each had its officer, or thaaddr, who was accountable for his trust to the prime minister. The revenue from the particular village which the Rana had alienated was devoted to the provisioning of the royal kitchen; and when the Rana and his chiefs sat down in the rassora, or banqueting hall, to partake of the evening repast, there was no sugar forthcoming for the curds, a dish which has a place in the dinner carte of every Rajput. The superintendent was called and upbraided for the omission. " Anddta" (giver of food), replied the officer, " the minister says you have given away the village set apart for sugar." — "Just," said the Rana, and finished his meal without further remark, and without sugar to his curds. A third anecdote illustrates the almost divine character with which the Ranas of Udaipur were invested by their subjects. As Sangram sat down to dinner one night, tidings arrived of an invasion of the Malwa Pathans, who had rifled several villages of Mandisor, carrying the inhabitants into captivity. Pushing his plate from him he ordered his armour, and the nakara to beat for the assemblage of his chieftains. With all speed, a gallant band formed on the terrace below; but they prevailed on the Rana to leave the punishment of the desultory aggression to them, as unworthy of his personal interference. Shortly after they had departed, the chief of Kanorh arrived, having left a sick bed to obey his sovereign's summons. In vain the prince endeavoured to keep him back, and he joined the band just as they came up with the invaders. The foe was defeated and put to flight, but the sick chieftain fell in the charge, and his son was severely wounded by his side. On the young chief repairing to court, he was honoured with the bira from the chiefs own hand, a distinction which he held to be an ample reward for his wounds and testimonial to the worth of his father. The bira is the betel leaf folded up, containing aromatic spices, and presented to departing guests. The Kanorh chieftain being of the second grade of nobles, was not entitled to the distinction of receiving it from the sovereign's own hand. Sangram's reign was honourable to himself, and beneficial to his country, in whose defence he fought eighteen battles, and though his policy was too circumscribed, and his country would have been benefited by a surrender of some of those antique prejudices which kept her back in the general scramble for portions of the dilapidated kingdom of the Moguls, yet he was respected abroad and beloved by his own subjects. Rana Sangram was the last prince who upheld the dignity of the throne of Bappa Rawal; for, with the reign of his son and successor, commenced the period of Mahratta ascendancy. Jaggat Singh, the eldest of the four sons of Sangram, succeeded in 1734. The commencement of his reign was signalised by a revival of the triple alliance formed by Rana Amra, and broken by Raja Ajit's connection with the Syads. The new engagement, which included all the minor states, was formed at Hurlah, a town in Mewar on the Ajmir frontier, where the confederate princes met at the head of their vassals. To insure unanimity^ the Rana was invested with paramount control and the leadership of the forces. Had the Rajputs adhered to their compact, they might have secured not only the independence but the aggrandisement of Rajasthan, and have defied alike the expiring efforts of Mogul tyranny and the Parthian-like warfare of the Mahrattas. They were, indeed, the most formidable power in India at this juncture. But even in the days when the Rana's superiority was unquestioned, it had never been an easy task to unite the princes of Rajasthan for mutual preservation; and now that Ambar and Marwar had attained positions equal to, if not higher than, that of Mewar, the difficulty was tenfold greater. The opportunities were many and splendid for the recovery of Rajput freedom; but though individually enamoured of liberty, they would never submit to the control necessary for its realisation, and thus the best opportunity that had ever occurred was lost. A glance at the condition of the Mogul empire at the close of the Jaggat Singh's reign will make clear the comparative strength of the Rajputs. The Nizam had completely emancipated himself from his allegiance, and signalised his independence by sending to the emperor the head of the general who ventured to dispute it. He leagued with the Rajputs, and instigated Baji Rao, the Mahratta leader, to plant his standard in Malwa and Gujarat. Jai Singh of Ambar, who had been nominated governor of the former place, delegated it to the invader, and Malwa was lost. The extensive province of Gujarat shared the same fate, and was handed over by Ajit of Marwar, who, however, retained the most northern districts, which he added to his own territory. Shuja-ud-daula was supreme in Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, while Safdar Jang, the son of Sadat Khan, was established in Oudh. The basest disloyalty marked the rise of this last family, which owed everything to Muhammad Shah. It was Sadat Khan who brought about the sack of Delhi by Nadir Shah, which gave the last stab to the empire; and it was Safdar Jang who, when commander of the artillery, turned it against his sovereign's palace, and then conveyed it to Oudh. But we are anticipating. The Mahratta establishments in Malwa and Gujarat constituted a nucleus for others to form upon. They crossed the Narbadda in swarms, and many wellknown names, such as the Holkars, the Sindhias, and the Puars, now began to emerge from obscurity. At this time, they were united under one standard, that of Baji Rao. It was in 1735 that he first crossed the Chambal and appeared before Delhi, which he blockaded, and exacted chouth, or a fourth part of the revenues of the empire, as the price of his withdrawal. The Nizam, dreading the influence such pusillanimous concession might exert upon his rising power, determined to drive the Mahrattas out of Malwa, where, if once settled, they would cut off his communications with the north. He, accordingly, crossed the Narbadda, defeated Baji Rao in a pitched battle, and was only prevented from following up his victory by the advance of Nadir Shah from Afghanistan.

Chapter 14 — Break-up of the Mogul Empire