Suraj Mal Jat

Maharaja Suraj Mal Jat  1707 - 1763

                                                                       Lohgarh Fort Bharatpur
                                            

 While researching about the Maratha Era, I came across Maharaja Suraj Mal, who played an important part before and after Panipat.

My footfalls took me all the way to Braj, Mathura, and Deeg. Far away from the Maratha stronghold. This was then, Jat territory. I would like to introduce to you, Maharaja Suraj Mal.

At the time of his birth, the Jats were making their presence felt under his father Badan Singh, in and around the Jamuna.

Who then was Suraj Mal and what role did he play to make him so powerful in 1757.

The Jats were known as tillers of their land and also as warriors. Badan Singh (Suraj Mal's father), had consolidated the Jat faction to a certain extent and prepared an army to defend his land. The tribe was lawless and it was Suraj Mal who turned this to his advantage into an army of warriors, so feared that it shook the Mughals, Marathas and Rajputs into noticing and respecting them. He ruled his kingdom from Bharatpur.

Suraj Mal was an astute, shrewd and powerful warrior. His war strategies and the desire to keep his land safe from all intruders from within and foreigners was his foremost priority.

There are many incidences in his life which give credence to this.

I will take you through some of them.

With Safdar Jung:

Safdar Jung was named the Wazir of Delhi by Prince Ahmed after Muhammad Shah died in 1748. There was constant strife amongst the Turrani and Irani factions and Safdar Jung who was a Shia, had many enemies in court. The Rohillas of Rohilkhand opened a new front against him. Knowing how powerful the Jat ruler was, the Wazir did not want to alienate him. Suraj Mal on the other hand, had an expanding kingdom to rule but no Imperial recognition. Hence both parties needing each other extended a hand of friendship towards each other.

In the Wazir's time of need, Suraj Mal fought by his side. Before Malhar Rao Holkar came to the aid of the warring factions, an astute diplomatic move by Suraj Mal, assured the Wazir of his office and the viceroyalties  of Oudh and Allahabad.

Suraj Mal saved his ally from ruin but made an enemy in Imad who had proposed to be the emperor of Hindustan.

Suraj Mal and Ahmad Shah Abdali:

With tact and diplomacy he averted an open war with Abdali. The message he sent says it all.

In Qudratullah's - "Jam - i - Jahan Nama", a passage summarises his negotiation with Abdali.

" You have not conquered India yet. If you have taken hold of an inexperienced child ( Imad-Ul-Mulk Ghazi-ud-din ), who held Delhi, what is their to be proud of? Why this delay in attacking me? I have spent large sums of money on these forts. The Shah can fight with me and the world will remember that a Badshah came from Vilayat and conquered Delhi, but was helpless against an insignificant Zamindar."  

The forts were so strong that Abdali returned back to Delhi and could never defeat Suraj Mal. Not only his arrogance but also his supreme confidence in his ability shines through in this message.

Seige of Kumher Jan - May -1754:

It was here that Suraj Mal defied a combined army of about 80,000 troops of the Mughals and Marathas. Again through negotiation and still not losing any territory, Suraj Mal acquired further greatness and achieved the glory of being able to bargain with 2 chiefs, ( Raghunath Rao and Malhar Rao Holkar with Imad), who in their own armies were equal in rank with him, and could impose on them his conditions for a treaty. The combined forces had laid seige on Kumher for 4 months and although the fort was stocked with provisions, there was shortage of water. Credit should also be given to his wife Rani Hansia whose bold initiative brought about the break of the siege and helped Suraj Mal emerge unscathed.

Panipat:

 2 severe blows were dealt to the Marathas while they prepared for war with Abdali. One was the defection of Shuja-ud-daula to the Abdali camp and second was the sudden desertion and departure of  Suraj Mal from Delhi.

There are four main reasons for this desertion given by historians:

1) The families of the Marathas were not sent to Gwalior. Suraj Mal had insisted that a light army with no burdens would be able to move quickly.

2) The Wazirship was not offered to Ghaziuddin-Imad-Ul-Mulk

3) The removal of the Gilt and silver ceiling at the Diwan-E-Khas.( Suraj Mal was completely against this).

4) The management of Delhi was not given to Suraj Mal. (This was not possible at the time as rightfully the throne belonged to Shah Alam the Emperor).

There are conflicting theories about his reasons for the desertion, as is bound to happen amongst historians, but the fact is, he left the Marathas to fight the battle against Abdali, without his backing.

To his credit, unlike Shuja-ud-Daula of Oudh, he did not join Abdali and secured his kingdom from the marauders. After Panipat, all the battle weary who came into his territory, were given food, clothing and shelter.

He also built beautiful forts and palaces in Bharatpur, Deegh, Kumher and Weir. Aside of these gardens, lakes, palaces and temples were also built by him, each structure more aesthetically beautiful than the other. The poet Somnath in his poetry "Sujan Vilas' has described it extensively.

   

   Deegh Palace                        

In his death, as in his life, Suraj Mal has attained glory. He died in a fierce battle against Najib-ud-daulah at just 56 years of age depriving the Jats of a great Statesman, and Military leader.

Maharaja Suraj Mal's great and unrivalled achievement was to create a kingdom bringing together all the Jat factions and gaining them respect, as a formidable force, in the uncertain times of the 18th Century.

Courtesy: Maharaja Suraj Mal.  K. Natwar Singh

Courtesy: History of the Marathas. G.S.Sardesai 

Photographs: Google Images and the book Maharaja Suraj Mal

                                

Solstice at Panipat - A Review

I am back after a long hiatus.
The year 2011 is the 250th year of Panipat. The war that changed the course of History.
It is also the war, which up until this day, we remember with scorn. Even today, the Marathas look back in shame and are weighed down by the defeat in Panipat. "जीवाचे पानीपत झाले" ( My life is lost like Panipat), is a common phrase.

Yes we lost that war, but is it fair to condemn the thousands of warriors , who lay down their lives. Fighting for freedom?
India for Indians being their belief and their sole objective. Living each day through all adversities? Miles away from their homeland, braving the rains and the cold, in unknown terrains, without food and shelter for months on end?
They were brave and fearless, these Marathas and it is our duty to give them their due respect and honour each and every one of them.
It was the day of Makar Sakrant when the great Sadashiv Rao Bhau Peshwa and the 19 year old Vishwas Rao lost their lives amongst many others.
What more befitting a way, than to pay tribute to them 250 years later, than with a book describing those times.
Named aptly "SOLSTICE AT PANIPAT". It is written by Dr Uday Kulkarni. An army Doctor by profession and an intense researcher of history.
When I hear people talk about Panipat, I hear anger, bitterness and scorn. I could cite ignorance as one of the major reasons and hearsay as the other for this attitude.
Panipat was not caused in a day. It was a conglomeration of events which occurred over a period of time. Right from the time Baji Rao Ist. became the Peshwa, till January 1761. The seeds of Panipat were sown in 1720 and the seed became a huge unavoidable battle in 1761.
As the great historian Mr. Ninad Bedekar writes in the Forward to the book:
"There are Three main Questions that are asked about Panipat"
1) Why was the battle fought by the Marathas and the Afghans?
2) How was it fought in Panipat?
3) What happened after the battle at Panipat in 1761?
Dr. Kulkarni has answered these questions with great elan. His research has been thorough. He has taken the time and immense effort to visit the places around and in which the campaign took place. Relating the event with the help of maps and drawings, he has made the book true to life.
His exact depiction of the year and a half which led to the war, and the circumstances in which the campaign met its end are written with a precision of a history researcher.
I would suggest that every person who is an avid reader of Maratha history or interested in the bygone era must read this book.
I end with an excerpt from "Evan Bells"
The battle of Panipat was a triumph and a glory for the Marathas. They fought in the cause of "India for the Indians, while the great Muhammadan princes of Delhi, Oudh, and the Deccan stood aside intriguing and trimming. And though the Marathas were defeated, victorious Afghans retired and never interfered in the affairs of India".

Balaji Vishwanath and Shrivardhan

Shri Shivchatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundation for the Hindu Self Rule and it was handsomely carried forward by the Bhat family from Shrivardhan.

The line of the Bhat Peshwas began from BalajiVishwanath and ended after 105 years, when Baji Rao II. accepted defeat and handed the reigns to British Rule.

Shrivardhan was ruled by the Siddi's of Janjira since the 1400's. The governance of the talukas and districts was given to the Brahmins.
The governance of Dandarajpuri fell in the hands of the Bhats.Later fed up with atrocities by the Abyssinians the Bhat family left Shrivardhan. It was at this time that Balaji Vishwanath travelled to Satara and through his courage and wisdom was confered the title of Peshwa by Shahu Maharaj in 1710.

Shrivardhan is a quaint town, with lush Vadi's and narrow lanes. Extremely picturesque and quiet, it gives the hint of the sea from every direction.

NanaSaheb alias Balaji Bajirao who was the 3rd. Peshwa, decided to build a Vada (a distinct style of a house) in the birthplace of Balaji Vishwanath. The foundation stone of the house was 20mtrs. long and 13mtrs. wide. It boasted of a water body and beautifully carved lotus flowers on the steps leading to it.
Today all this is hidden with a building which the Municipal Corporation uses for games and an auditorium.

I had made it a point to go and see for myself the birthplace of the 1st. Peshwa after whom the glorious era of the Peshwa's came into existence.

Standing Proud and Tall is the statue of Balaji Vishwanath, the only memory of this courageous administrator.








What is heartening to see, however is that at the entrance to Shrivardhan, there is a placard stating the Birthplace of the 1st Peshwa.

To reach Shrivardhan, you can take the Mumbai Pune Expressway to Pali then onwards via the Mumbai Goa Expressway to Mangaon and onwards to Shrivardhan.

Unexplored and hence cut off from being a "Tourist Attraction", its beauty engulfs you, imploring you to become a part of its bounty.