Rajput Rebellion (1708–1710)

Rajput Rebellion 1708–1710

Rajput rebellion 1708—1710

Part of Mughal-Rajput Wars and Decline of the Mughal Empire

A Mewari painting showing the alliance between Maharaja Ajit Singh, Maharana Amar Singh II, Maharaja Jai Singh II and Veer Durgadas Rathore.

Date	21 April 1708 – 11 June 1710
Location	Rajputana (Modern day Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi NCR)
Result	Rajput victory Mughal emperor sued for peace. Restoration of the Rajput holdings which had been annexed by the previous Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Muhammad Shah

Mir Khan

The Rajput rebellion began in 1708, due to the harsh treatment of the Rajput Rajas by the Mughal emperor. It erupted into a two-year rebellion that forced the Mughal emperor to sue for peace, give them gifts, and restore the Rajput holdings which had been annexed by the previous Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

Background

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After the death of Aurangzeb, a battle for succession began amongst the Mughal princes. Jai Singh II and commanded a thousand troops under Bidar Bakht. On 8 June 1707, Bidar Bakht and his father Azam Shah were killed in battle and Jai Singh retreated. Bahadur Shah, as emperor, marched towards Rajputana where the Rathors under Durgadas shortly after the Rathore Rebellion. Ajit Singh had taken Jodhpur after the death of Aurangzeb and ousted Mehrab Khan and the Mughal garrisons. During this campaign Bahadur Shah was suspicious of Jai Singh II as he had been a good friend of Bidar Bakht and fought Bahadur at Jajau. Jai Singh's younger brother Bijay Singh on the other side had been with Bahadur Shah for a longer period of time. Therefore, when Bahadur Shah stopped at Amber on 10 January 1708 on his way to Marwar, he made Bijay Singh the Raja of Amber and removed Jai Singh from his post and made him an ordinary Jagirdar. When Bahadur Shah reached close to Marwar, Ajit Singh started negotiations after seeing the size of the imperial army. On 24 March, Bahadur Shah was forced to march south due to his brother Kam Baksh's rebellion. The emperor forced Ajit Singh and Jai Singh II to march with him and empowered Bijay Singh by giving him the title of Mirza Raja. However Bijay Singh was powerless in Amber as Jai Singh's men had neutralized the Mughal authorities there. Bahadur Shah had thus repeated the Marwar scenario of Aurangzeb which had previously resulted to the thirty-year war with the Rathors. Ajit Singh and Jai Singh II fled from the Mughal camp when they got a chance at Mandleshwar on 21 April 1708, they met Maharana Amar Singh and made an alliance. Jai Singh II also married the Maharana's daughter. The Rajput rebellion had thus begun.

Rebellion

The Rajput states of Marwar and Amber united under Jai Singh II and Durgadas Rathore. The Mughal regent Asad Khan attempted to make peace with the Rajputs, however this was unsuccessful. Ajit Singh and Jai Singh had taken their capitals back from the Mughal Garrisons. Jodhpur was captured in July and Amber in October 1708. Mughal forces under Sayyid Hussain Barha and Churaman attempted to retake Amber, however they were defeated. Jai Singh in his letter to Chattrasal has written that "among the dead were all three Faujdars". The Rajputs captured the treasury in Sambhar and distributed it among the people. Bahadur Shah attempted for peace with Ajit Singh and Jai Singh. The Rajputs demanded the restoration of their lands taken by Aurangzeb in 1679 and the expulsion of the Mughal forces from Rajputana. However Bahadur Shah refused and the war continued. Mughal faujdars were sent to pillage the farms and villages. Mir Khan, the faujdar of Narnol had gathered 7,000 mughals and was joined by 6,000 Jats under Churaman. However, in January 1710 this army was defeated by Gaj Singh Naruka of Javli, who was loyal to Jai Singh. On 24 March 1710, Muhammad Shah, the governor of Tonk was defeated and abandoned his holdings. The Rajput Rajas had formed military outposts at Rewari and Narnaul, 45 miles from Delhi and sent their armies towards Delhi, Rohtaka and Agra. Jai Singh sent letters to the Bundelas, Sikhs and the Marathas seeking an alliance against the Mughal forces.

Aftermath

In May 1710, Bahadur Shah negotiated with the Rajputs by sending them Gifts and letters. The rise of Banda Singh Bahadur and death of Wazir Khan, faujdar of Sirhind, further weakened the Mughal Empire. On 11 June 1710 Jai Singh and Ajit Singh were invited to the Mughal court and were given robes of honour, presents and governorships of Malwa and Gujarat.

References

^ Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur: C.1503–1938. Orient Blackswan. p. 162. ISBN 9788125003335.
^ Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977). The history and culture of the Indian People. Bharatiya Vidhya Bhawan. pp. 140–141.
^ Rajasthan Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. 1 January 2008. pp. 100–103. ISBN 9788176258418.
Hooja, Rima (2018). Rajasthan, A concise history. Rupa Publications. pp. 458–459. ISBN 978-81-291-5043-1. Almost simultaneously, the triple alliance forces defeated the imperial army near the famous salt-lake town of Sambhar. Sambhar was occupied in October 1708. For several years thereafter, Marwar and Dhoondhar jointly ruled Sambhar. Around the same time, widespread resentment and rebellion across many parts of Rajasthan against the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah went a long way in forcing him to change his policy towards Jai singh and Ajit Singh. Individual imperial farmans, confirming them as rulers of their lands were issued in the early summer (May–June) of 1710. Some time afterwards, Emperor Bahadur Shah was prevailed upon to accept Jai Singh back at the court.
^ Bhatnagar, V.S. (1974). Life and times of Sawai Jai Singh. Impex India. pp. 62–63. The Rajputs broke open the treasury and disbursed its contents among the people.....three thousand enemy soldiers, as Jai Singh wrote to Chattrasal Bundela on October 16, 1708 were killed in the bloody engagement.......The Rajputs had despatched their armies towards Rohtak, Delhi and Agra and had established ouposts at Rewari and Narnaul.

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