ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SIKHS RELATIONS WITH J&#256&#7788S OF BHARATPUR</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="SIKHS,RELATIONS,WITH,JlS,BHARATPUR"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279SIKHS' RELATIONS WITH J&#256&#7788S OF BHARATPUR. Hind&#363 J&#257&#7789s, who have ethnic affinity with the Sikh Ja&#7789&#7789s of the Punjab, had emerged, like the Sikhs, as a new political power in the region south of Delhi. Their first revolt in 1669 under their leader Gokul was ruthlessly suppressed by the Mu<u>gh</u>al authority, but they soon found another leader in R&#257j&#257 R&#257m who continued the struggle till his death in July 1688. Ch&#363&#7771&#257man (d. 1721), his younger brother and successor to leadership, was an astute politician. He professed allegiance to Emperor Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h-I (1707-12) and received from him <i>mansab</i> of 1500 <i>z&#257t</i> and 500 <i>sow&#257r</i>. He joined the imperial campaign against the Sikhs at Sa&#7693haur&#257 and Lohga&#7771h in 1710.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;S&#363raj Mall, the adopted son of Ch&#363&#7771&#257man's son, Badan Si&#7749gh, was the real founder of the J&#257&#7789 state of Bharatpur. He was killed on 25 December 1763 in a battle near Delhi against Naj&#299b ud-Daulah, the Ruh&#299l&#257 chief who had been appointed M&#299r Ba<u>kh</u>sh&#299 and Regent at Delhi by Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 after the battle of P&#257n&#299pat (1761). S&#363raj Mall's son and successor Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh (d. 1768), appealed to the Sikhs for help. The latter responded immediately. 40,000 of them under the overall command of Sard&#257r Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 crossed the Yamun&#257 on 20 February and plundered the country around it. Naj&#299b ud-Daulah rushed back to save his own territories and the immdediate pressure on the J&#257&#7789s was removed.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh now made preparations to avenge his father's death. Besides his own army, he hired 25,000 Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 cavalry and decided to engage some Sikhs also, and fixed an interview with the Sikh <i>sard&#257rs</i> encamped at Bar&#257r&#299 Gh&#257&#7789 on the east bank of the Yamun&#257, 20 km north of Delhi. He forded the Yamun&#257 on an elephant and was led on foot into an assembly of about 100 Sikh <i>sard&#257rs</i>. The meeting began with <i>ard&#257s</i>, the supplicatory Sikh prayer, in which they pleaded, "Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh, son of S&#363raj Mall and a devotee of Gur&#363 N&#257nak, has sought refuge with <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 j&#299o desiring redress for his father's blood. So help us God !" Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh, enlisted 15,000 Sikhs. The fighting went on for 20 days. Naj&#299b was defeated and forced to retire into the Red Fort on 9 January 1765. Within a month the Ruh&#299l&#257s of Naj&#299b ud-Daulah suffered another defeat at the hands of the Sikhs in the Na<u>kh</u>&#257s or horse-market and in Sabz&#299 Ma&#7751&#7693&#299. Just at this time news arrived of a fresh invasion of the Punjab by Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299, the Sikhs hastening back to protect their own homeland.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh's Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 allies later went over to aid his western neighbour, R&#257j&#257 M&#257dho Si&#7749gh of Jaipur, taking sides also with his stepbrother, N&#257har Si&#7749gh, who was in independent possession of Dholpur. Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh engaged 25,000 Sikhs under the command of Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 to help him in his campaign against Jaipur, but the R&#257jp&#363t ruler made his peace with him. He then took into his pay a fresh force of 7,000 Sikhs and attacked N&#257har Si&#7749gh, who called in the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s to his help. The Sikhs defeated the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s in a fierce battle fought on 13-14 March 1766. N&#257har Si&#7749gh took refuge with M&#257dho Si&#7749gh of Jaipur. Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh seized Dholpur and the Sikhs captured several hundred horses of the defeated Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s. M&#257dho Si&#7749gh of Jaipur attacked Bharatpur in December 1767. Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh again engaged 10,000 Sikhs to fight for him, but was defeated on 29 February 1768 with a heavy loss of life. He enrolled another 10,000 Sikhs making a total of 20,000 at 7,00,000 rupees per mensem. As he again advanced to meet M&#257dho Si&#7749gh, the latter retired without giving a fight.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh was assassinated in June 1768. His younger brother, Ratan Si&#7749gh, was also murdered in April 1769. His two brothers, Naval Si&#7749gh and Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh, contested the succession. The former occupied Bharatpur while the latter invited the Sikhs for help. The Sikhs arrived near 'Al&#299ga&#7771h on 26 January 1770. Naval Si&#7749gh proceeded to check their advance, but fled in panic without firing a shot. The Sikhs chased him as far as Chun&#257r where Walter Reinhard (1720-78), a European adventurer commonly known as Samr&#363, tried to bring about peace. A fortnight's negotiations commencing on 8 February 1770 ended in smoke and the Sikhs marched back plundering J&#257&#7789 villages on the way. Naval Si&#7749gh, regrouping his troops, followed them. The Sikhs suddenly turned back on 24 February 1770 and surrounded the J&#257&#7789 advance guard under Rene Madec (1736-84), another European adventurer, and Gop&#257l R&#257o Mar&#257&#7789ha. In the battle that followed, almost the entire Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 cavalry was cut to pieces and Gop&#257l R&#257o was wounded. Three of Rene Madec's six companies were completely wiped out. On the approach of the main body of the J&#257&#7789s, the Sikhs withdrew.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Bha&#7749g&#363, Ratan Si&#7749gh, <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i>. Amritsar, 1914<BR> <li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Gur&#363 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i> [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Ga&#7751&#7693&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i>Sard&#257r Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257</i>. Patiala, 1969<BR> <li class="C1"> Gupta, Hari Ram, <i>History of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1978-82<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Har&#299 R&#257m Gupta<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>