Rathore-Holkar Relations In 18th Century were very tense and therefore Rajasthan’s politics during that period was very violent and full of hatred.
Mughal empror Aurangzeb died in 1707 A.D. mughal empire started disintegrating. In third decade of 18th century Mughal decline was at peak. Marathas became very powerful and the started to collect tax from Rajput states which the call Khandabi (खण्डनी) and Chauth (चौथ).
Rathore rulers of Marwar also had to pay tax to Maratha feuds. on the amount of tax to be collected from Marwar, Rathore-Holkar Relations became tense.
In 1728, Peshwa Baji Rao First, pursuing his policy of Northern expansion assigned the saranjami of Marwar to Malhar Rao Holkar.[1] Although the Rathore-Maratha relations were friendly at one time,[2] and unfriendly at another,[3] in connection with the affairs in Gujrat, we do not hear anything positive about the direct Holkar-Rathore contacts before 1736. It was during his sojourn in Rajasthan in 1735-1736 that Baji Rao asked Malhar Rao to collect money from Marwar even at the cost of a military campaign.[4]
It was further necessitated on Account of the attitude of Maharaja Abhay Singh towards the Peshwa. Since the Rajput-Mughal debacle at Rampura in October-November 1734, the Rathore Chief had been an active member of the anti-Maratha party led by Wazir Qamaruddin at the Mughal Court.[5] On the advice of Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur, Baji Rao decided to break this group by leading a campaign against the Rathore principality.[6]
Accompanied by Ranoji Sindhya, Kanthaji, Anand Rao Panwar and Pratap Singh Hada, Malhar Rao, passing through Shahpura, made for Marwar in the early months of 1736. The Rathores, in absence of the Maharaja, who was at Delhi at that time, assembled at Merta under the command of Bhandari Bijai Raj. Later on, Umed Singh of Shahpura also joined him with a force of 4,000 soldiers.
With his arrival at Merta, Holkar started negotiations to settle the amount of the money to be paid at that moment through the embassy of Pratap Singh Hada. The Rathore Commander had specific instructions from his Maharaja not to encourage the Marathas by making big financial commitments. However, the Rathores were confident (in case of talks broke down) that they would be able to take up the military challenge with their strong defensive arrangements at Merta. The joining of the Shabpuja ruler had swelled their enthusiasm and boosted their morale.
As had been visualized the talks failed eventually and the Holkar, having occupied the town, laid siege to The Marathas dug trenches and under their cover made a push towards the walls of the fort. The Rathores regularly operated their artillery from the fort, and the advance of the enemy was repulsed, inflicting heavy casualities. At one time it seemed that the Marathas would flee but the heavy exchange of fire, which continued for two months, exhausted the Rathore defence The Bhandari surrendered in the beginning of april 1736. A big sum was paid to the Holkar. Soon after it, Nagaur, too, was invested and Bakht Singh was forced to pay the tribute. The Holkar rejoined the Peshwa triumphantly at the end of april.[7]
It appears from a letter of Malhar Rao to the Peshwa dated 13th March, 1742 that the amount fixed by the Bhandari was partly paid and an agreement was concluded to pay the rest of the amount in installments. However, the payments were not regular and arrears accumulated. The Holkar did try to collect the arrears by leading a military campaign in 1742 but the gloomy picture, painted by him in his letter, indicated that the Marwari people of Sojat, Raipur and Jaitaran resisted the Maratha inroads. Through guarilla tactics, they harassed the invaders. Forced by this resistance, Malhar Rao withdraw from Marwar with a suggestion to the Peshwa that a powerful army was required if a fair collection had to be made which could be possible only after the rains.[8]
In 1743, Maharaja Jay Singh of Jaipur died. This came as a heaven sent opportunity to the Marathas to interfere in the political affairs of Rajasthan. Marwar, too, did not remain unaffected. However, the Maratha interference also gave rise to a closer family relationship between the Rathores and the Holkar. When faced with the revolt of his brother Bakht Singh in the middle of 1748, Maharaja Abhay Singh sent his envoy Man Roop Chand Bhandari to secure the help of Malhar Rao. The Bhandari waited upon the Holkar at Bundi. An agreement was reached by which the Maratha leader agreed to help the Rathore Chief if the latter paid money at the rate of Rs. 11,000/- per day, and if Abhay Singh agreed to support the cause of Madho Singh at Jaipur and Umed Singh at Bundi.
By this time Bakht Singh had gained the governorship of Gujrat and Ajmer for himself With the Mughal support he hoped to secure the Jodhpur throne. He also invited Maharaja Gaj Singh of Bikaner to join him at Sambhar. But the Holkar, having came to know of this, rushed towards Sambhar and before the union of the two could take place, forced Bakht Singh to reconcile with his brother.
The Maratha interference unnerved the Nagaur Chief and he promised to remain loyal to his elder brother. In the midst of the Sambhar campaign, Malhar Rao received the information from the Peshwa to immediately look into the situation at Jaipur where Maharaja Ishwari Singh had complicated the political relationship by flouting the Peshwa-Kachhwaha agreement of 1748.
Accompanied by a Rathore force under Man Roop Chand, Holkar subdued the Kachhwaha Chief in august. On his return he came to Pushkar for a holy bath and there he met the Rathore Maharaja. Both exchanged theturbans, dined on the same table and became Dharambhais. A family realation, thus, was established.[9]
The new relationship was also important from the political point of view. Although Bakht Singh had reconciled with his brother under the pressure of Holkar, yet he remained dissatisfied at heart.[10] Abbay Singh had ensured the moral and material support of the Holkar for his family against the probable designs of his brother. The Holkar, on his part, honored the new tie with due dignity and political sagacity.
Ram Singh succeeded Abhay Singh in July 1749. As was expected, Bakht Singh refused to recognize him as the head of the Rathore State. He approached the Holkar, through Madho Singh, the rival claimant of Jaipur throne, to support his cause.[11] But the Holkar remained indifferent to his requests. Instead, he sent tika and an elephant to Ram Singh at the time of his coronation.[12]
When the position of the latter was threatened by his uncle with the Mughal support in April 1750, Malhar Rao sent a powerful force under the command of his son to stand by Ram Singh at Pipar.[13]
In the beginning of 1751 the political atmosphere in Rajasthan took a new turn. Maharaja Ishwari Singh of Jaipur had committed suicide and Madho Singh had been installed as the next ruler by Malhar Rao in the last week of December, 1750. Its repercussions were rightly visualized by Ram Singh in his State.
The cause of Madho Singh was strongly supported by Bakht Singh throughout. Now that Bakht Singh had the ruler of Jaipur as his ally, on whose moral and material support he could count, Ram Singh thought that this would run the political scale against him at Jodhpur. He, therefore, sent his envoys to the Holkar to acquaint him with the new developments and procure his military support in case his uncle renewed his attempts to overthrow him. Bakht Singh, too, contacted the Holkar. He informed Madho Singh that he, being his ally, should use his influence not only to thwart the moves of Ram Singh to gain the Holkar arms, but act in a way that would bring the Marathas on his side. However, at the same time, he made him aware of the intention of the Holkar to effect a compromise, which he detested most. He was confident of his political victory provided the Holkar did not join Ram Singh once again.[14]
Malhar Rao, then being aware of the political weakness of the Rajput States, entertained the envoys from both the parties. He found nothing substantial in the claim of Bakht Singh. However, he wanted to steer clear of the opposing diplomatic pressures from Maharaja Madho Singh, on behalf of Bakht Singh, on one side[15]and Ram Singh, with whose father he had already established family relationship, on the other, that he might stand to gain from both in future.
The diplomatic pressures and counter-pressures continued for a month but before he could take a final stand, the affairs of Wazir Safdar Jang in Ruhelkhand drew his attention. It was a more lucrative job, in comparison to the Rathore affairs. Hence he withdrew from Rajasthan in the first week of February, 1751, leaving the uncle and the nephew to decide their fate in their own way.[16] The Holkar’s departure demoralized Ram Singh and he could not stand the onslaught of his uncle, when the latter finally marched on to Jodhpur and occupied it on 21st June, 1751.[17]
Ram Singh, having moved to Marot, deputed Purohit Jagan Nath to Jaipur with the intention of creating favorable political atmosphere so that Madho Singh might revise his stand and come to his support.[18]
Bakht Singh instructed his envoys to counter-influence such moves.[19] The new situation, in which his erstwhile ally was vigorously extending his away over his state, required the Kachhwaha Chief to safeguard his vested interest by supporting Ram Singh henceforth. But he lacked the resources to fight Bakht Singh. The Marathas were the only power at that time, from whom help could be sought. Madho Singh advised the Purohit to try the Holkar once again He also acquainted the Maratha leader with the new developments and strongly recommended that the Rathore delegation headed by Jagan Nath be given a favorable audience.[20]
Reviewing the political situation at Jaipur, Jodhpur and the purpose of the mission of Purohit Jagan Nath, the Maratha envoy, Govind Tamaji, stationed at Jaipur, wrote in July, 1751 to his counterpart, Bapuji Mahadev Hingane at Delhi, that a war between Ram Singh and Bakht Singh might last for a year; the purohit was empowered to pay any sum that would furnish him with a force of 10,000 men for a month or two; and if the Marathas got involved in it they would gain a crore of rupees.[21] Bapuji Mahadev suggested to the HolkharAnd the Sindhia not to lose such an opportunity and to give weight to the requests of the agents of Ram Singh.[22]
Bakht Singh was taken a back by the changed Attitude of Madho Singh. However, the situation was saved by deputing Raj Singh Chohan with a hundi of rupees two lacs to the Holkar as the price of his continued neutrality.[23] When the Purohit and his party met Malhar Rao, he tried to put them off on the pretext that he would have to get the permission of the peshwa.[24] On much insistence of the Purohit and recalling his moral responsibility in the name of the late Maharaja, he told the envoys that he would meet the Sindhiya in that connection.[25]
The delegation, after persistent negotiations of two months,[26] succeeded in securing the support of the Sindhia, rather than of the Holkor, for the cause of their master. Before leaving for Marot, the Purohit paid a handsome amount sufficient for a force of ten to twelve thousand in advance to the Sindhia, in return for which the latter assured the former that soon after the closure of the Afgan affairs, he would move towards Marwar.[27]
After this the Holkar family refrained from involving in the internal political affairs of Marwar. However, their social contacts with the ruling Rathore Chiefs remained cordial. Contemporary documents of last half of the eighteenth Century show that gifts, nazars, tikas and dealing with the Sindhia and the Peshwa. Even the betrayal of the faith Rathore rulers always relied on the friendship of the Holkar family while on the part of the Yasvant Rao Holkar during Jaipur-Jodhpur war in March, 1807 did not disturb the family ties of both the houses.[28]
Thus we see that the Rathore-Holkar Relations In 18th Century were very tense and were changing rapidly, even on day to day basis.
REFERENCES
- Abhay Singh And Baji Rao entered into An Agreement of mutual help Against Trimbak Rao Dabhade in February, 1731 At Ahmedabad.
- With the murder of Pilaji Giakwar, planned by the Maharaja in March, 1732, The Rathore-Maratha relations deteriorated. (for details, see theAuthor’s book)
[5] Selections from Peshwa DAftar, XVL 89, 91; Seir-ul-Mutaqherin IP. 286., MK. II P. 114.
- [6] Selections from Peshwa DAftar, XIII Letter 49; XXII Letter 341; MK. II P. 145.
[7] Selections from Peshwa DAftar, XIII Letter 49, XIV Letter 14 (the correct date of the letter is April 1, 1736); Mirat -i-Ahmadi II. pp. 192-193 (It refers to Hoikar’s movements into Marwar via Bhinmal); Tarik-i-Hind (Elliot And Dowson VIII, p. 52); MK. II, PP. 145-146 (It relates that the Holkar entered into Marwar from Gujrat side with 50 thousand horses, looted Jalore, Sojat, Bilara And then marched towards Merta. One of the groups invaded Jodhpur upto Ratanara, now A suburb of the town of Jodhpur)
[8] Selections from Peshwa DAftar, XXVII Letter 2 (the correct date of the letter is 13th March, 1742).
[9] Mirat-i-Ahmadi II-PP. 376-377; Hingane Daftar I Letter 32; Vamsha Bhaskar IV PP. 3483-3543; Dayal Das Khyat, II Leafs 70-72; MK. II. PP. 155-160.
[10] His meeting with elder brother At Ajmer on December 26, 1748 ended All of A sudden. It was their last meeting (Hingane Daftar I Letter 32).
[11] A. Kharita (Draft) from Madho Singh to Bakht Singh dated 11th day of the bright half of the Karttika Vikram Samvat 1807/ 9th November, 1749 Jaipur Records Rajasthan Archives.
[12] Selections from Peshwa DAftar, XXVII Letter 40; Vamsha Bhaskar IV P. 3585; MK. II PP. 164.
[13] Seir-ul-Mutaqherin, III., p. 317; S.P.D. II Letter 16: XXI Letter 25, 27, 35.
[14] Selections from Peshwa DAftar,: II Letter 31;A parwana from Bakht Singh to Prem Singh Gogawat dated 9th day of the bright half of Pausha Vikram Samvat 1807/26th December 1750, Jaipur Records Rajasthan Archives; A Kherita from Bakht Singh to Madho Singh dated 11th day of the bright half of Pausha Vikram Samvat 1807 (the year is not given but has been deduced by its contents/28th December 1750. Jaipur Records Rajasthan Archives
[15] A Kharita (draft) from Madho Singh to Bakhat Singh dated 15th day of the bright half of Pausha Vikram Samvat 1807/31st December 1750. Jaipur Records Rajasthan Archives.
[16] Selections from Peshwa DAftar, XXVII Letter 64, 65; A kharita (draft) from Madho Singh to Ram Singh dated 12th day of the dark half of Phalguna Vikram Samvat 1807/12th Feb. 1751, Jaipur Records Rajasthan Archives.
[17] A kharita (draft) from Madho Singh to Malhar Rao Holker dated the 1st day of the dark half of the Bhadrapada Vikram Samvat 1808/28th July 1751. Jaipur Records Rajasthan Archives: Hingane Daftar I Letter 59.
[18] 18,A Kharita (draft) from Madho Singh to Malhar Rao Holkar dated the 1st day of the dark half of the Bhadrapada Vikram Samvat 1808/28th July 1751. Jaipur Records Rajasthan Archives.
[19] Ibid.
[20] A letter of the MarathaAgent At Jaipur, 1751A.D., Aritcle in Indian Historical Record Commission Proceeding (1944), pp. 110-112.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Holkar Shahichya Itihanchi Sadhnen I Letter 143.
[23] Rathore Daneshwar Vamshawali, p. 366. VV. 413.
[24] Ibid. VV. 414-417; Hingane Dafter I Letter 59.
[25] Ibid., Vamsha Bhaskar IV PP. 3630-3631.
[26] Hingane Daftar I Letter 59.
[27] Ibid., Marwar Ri Kyyat, II. P, 182.
[28] G. R. Parihar, Marwar And the Marathas, Chapters IV-VI.
