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![39. [Desmukhi from Sardesmukh, an officer exercising police and
revenue jurisdiction under the Marāthas. These taxes were
confirmed in favour of Sivaji in 1665 (Ibid. 94).]
CHAPTER 15
Rāna Sangrām Singh II., A.D. 1710-34.—Sangram Singh (the
lion of battle) succeeded; a name renowned in the annals of Mewar,
being that of the opponent of the founder of the Moguls. He
ascended the throne about the same time with Muhammad Shah,[1]
the last of the race of Timur who deserved the name of emperor of
India. During the reign of Sangram, from A.D. 1716 to 1734, this
mighty empire was dismembered; when, in lieu of one paramount
authority, numerous independent governments started up, which
preserved their uncertain existence until the last revolution, which
has given a new combination to these discordant materials—
Muhammadan, Mahratta, and Rajput, in the course of one century
under the dominion of a handful of Britons! Like the Satraps of the
ancient Persian, or the Lieutenants of Alexander, each chief
proclaimed himself master of the province, the government of which
was confided to his loyalty and talents; and it cannot fail to diminish
any regret at the successive prostration of Bengal, Oudh,
Haidarabad, and other less conspicuous States, to remember that
they were founded in rebellion, and erected on ingratitude; and that
their rulers were destitute of those sympathies, which could alone
give stability to their ephemeral greatness, by improving the
condition of their subjects. With the Mahrattas the case is different:
their emergence to power claims our admiration, when tyranny
transformed the industrious husbandman, and the minister of
religion, into a hardy and enterprising soldier, and a skilful
functionary of government. Had their ambition been restrained](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-18-2048.jpg)
![within legitimate bounds, it would have been no less gratifying than
politically and morally just that the family of Sivaji should have
retained its [406] authority in countries which his active valour
wrested from Aurangzeb. But the genius of conquest changed their
natural habits; they devastated instead of consolidating; and in lieu
of that severe and frugal simplicity, and that energy of enterprise,
which were 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 Deccan, they might yet have held the
sovereignty of that vast region, where their habits and language
assimilated them with the people. But as they spread over the north
they encountered national antipathies, and though professing the
same creed, a wider difference in sentiment divided the Mahratta
from the Rajput, than from the despots of Delhi, whose tyrannical
intolerance was more endurable, because less degrading, than the
rapacious meanness of the Southron. Rajasthan benefited by the
demolition of the empire: to all but Mewar it yielded an extension of
power. Had the national mind been allowed to repose, and its
energies to recruit, after so many centuries of demoralization, all
would have recovered their strength, which lay in the opinions and
industry of the people, a devoted tenantry and brave vassalage,
whom we have so often depicted as abandoning their habitations
and pursuits to aid the patriotic views of their princes.
Deposition of Farrukhsīyar: Nizāmu-l-mulk.—The short reign
of Farrukhsiyar was drawing to a close; its end was accelerated by
the very means by which that monarch hoped to emancipate himself
from the thraldom of the Sayyids, against whose authority the
faction of Inayatu-lla was but a feeble counterpoise, and whose
arbitrary habits, in the re-establishment of the jizya, lost him even
the support of the father of his queen. It was on this occasion that
the celebrated Nizamu-l-mulk,[2]
the founder of the Haidarabad
State, was brought upon the stage: he then held the unimportant
charge of the district of Moradabad; but possessed of high talents,
he was bought over, by the promise of the government of Malwa, to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-19-2048.jpg)
![further the views of the Sayyids. Supported by a body of ten
thousand Mahrattas, these makers of kings soon manifested their
displeasure by the deposal of Farrukhsiyar, who was left without any
support but that of the princes of Amber and Bundi. Yet they would
never have abandoned him had he hearkened to their counsel to
take the field, and trust his cause to them: but, cowardly and
infatuated, he refused to quit the walls of his palace, and threw
[407] 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.”[3]
Murder of Farrukhsīyar, May 16, 1719.—Farrukhsiyar hoped
for security in the inviolability of the harem—but he found no
sanctuary even there: to use the words of the Mogul memoir, "night
advanced, and day, like the fallen star of the emperor, sunk in
darkness. The gates of the citadel were closed upon his friends: the
Wazir and Ajit Singh remained within. This night was dreadful to the
inhabitants of the city; no one knew what was passing in the palace,
and the troops under the Amiru-l-umara, with ten thousand
Mahrattas, remained under arms: morning came, and all hope was
extinguished by the royal band (Naubat) announcing the deposal of
Farrukhsiyar, in the proclamation of Rafiu-d-darajat, his successor."
The interval between the deposal and the death of an Asiatic prince
is short, and even while the heralds vociferated “long live the king!”
to the new puppet, the bowstring was on the neck of the
contemptible Farrukhsiyar.
Accession of Rafiu-d-darajāt.—The first act of the new reign
(A.D. 1719) was one of conciliation towards Ajit Singh and the
Rajputs, namely, the abrogation of the jizya; and the Sayyids further
showed their disposition to attach them by conferring the important
office of Diwan on one of their own faith: Raja Ratan Chand was
accordingly inducted into the ministry in lieu of Inayatu-lla.
Accession of Roshan-Akhtar Muhammad Shah, A.D. 1719-
48.—Three phantoms of royalty flitted across the scene in a few
months, till Roshan-Akhtar, the eldest son of Bahadur Shah, was](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-20-2048.jpg)
![[408] enthroned with the title of Muhammad Shah (A.D. 1720),
during whose reign of nearly thirty years the empire was completely
dismembered,[4]
and Mahrattas from the south disputed its spoils
with the Afghan mountaineers. The haughty demeanour of the
Sayyids disgusted all who acted with them, especially their coadjutor
the Nizam,[5]
of whose talents, displayed in restoring Malwa to
prosperity, they entertained a dread. It was impossible to cherish
any abstract loyalty for the puppets they established, and treason
lost its name, when the Nizam declared for independence, which the
possession of the fortresses of Asir and Burhanpur enabled him to
secure. The brothers had just cause for alarm. The Rajputs were
called upon for their contingents,[6]
and the princes of Kotah and
Narwar gallantly interposed their own retainers to cut off the Nizam
from the Nerbudda, on which occasion the Kotah prince was slain.
The independence of the Nizam led to that of Oudh. Saadat Khan
was then but the commandant of Bayana, but he entered into the
conspiracy to expel the Sayyids, and was one of those who drew lots
to assassinate the Amiru-l-umara. The deed was put into execution
on the march to reduce the Nizam, when Haidar Khan buried his
poniard in the Amir’s heart.[7]
The emperor then in camp, being thus
freed, returned against the Wazir, who instantly set up Ibrahim and
marched against his opponents. The Rajputs wisely remained
neutral, and both armies met. The decapitation of Ratan Chand was
the signal for the battle, which was obstinate and bloody; the Wazir
was made prisoner, and subjected to the bowstring. For the part
Saadat Khan acted in the conspiracy he was honoured with the title
of Bahadur Jang, and the government of Oudh. The Rajput princes
paid their respects to the [409] conqueror, who confirmed the repeal
of the jizya, and as the reward of their neutrality the Rajas of Amber
and Jodhpur, Jai Singh and Ajit, were gratified, the former with the
government of the province of Agra, the last with that of Gujarat and
Ajmer, of which latter fortress he took possession. Girdhardas[8]
was
made governor of Malwa to oppose the Mahrattas, and the Nizam
was invited from his government of Haidarabad to accept the office
of wazir of the empire.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-21-2048.jpg)
![The Policy of Mewār.—The policy of Mewar was too isolated for
the times; her rulers clung to forms and unsubstantial homage,
while their neighbours, with more active virtue, plunged into the
tortuous policy of the imperial court, and seized every opportunity to
enlarge the boundaries of their States: and while Amber
appropriated to herself the royal domains almost to the Jumna;
while Marwar planted her banner on the battlements of Ajmer,
dismembered Gujarat, and pushed her clans far into the desert, and
even to ‘the world’s end’;[9]
Mewar confined her ambition to the
control of her ancient feudatories of Abu, Idar, and the petty States
which grew out of her, Dungarpur and Banswara. The motive for this
policy was precisely the same which had cost such sacrifices in
former times; she dreaded amalgamating with the imperial court,
and preferred political inferiority to the sacrifice of principle. The
internal feuds of her two great clans also operated against her
aggrandizement; and while the brave Saktawat, Jeth Singh, expelled
the Rathor from Idar, and subdued the wild mountaineers even to
Koliwara, the conquest was left incomplete by the jealousy of his
rival, and he was recalled in the midst of his success. From these
and other causes an important change took place in the internal
policy of Mewar, which tended greatly to impair her energies. To this
period none of the vassals had the power to erect places of strength
within their domains, which, as already stated, were not fixed, but
subject to triennial change; their lands were given for subsistence,
their native hills were their fortresses, and the frontier strongholds
defended their families in time of invasion. As the Mogul power
waned, the general defensive system was [410] abandoned, while
the predatory warfare which succeeded compelled them to stud their
country with castles, in order to shelter their effects from the
Mahratta and Pathan, and in later times to protect rebels.
Rana Sangram ruled eighteen [twenty-four] years; under him
Mewar was respected, and the greater portion of her lost territory
was regained. His selection of Biharidas Pancholi evinced his
penetration, for never had Mewar a more able or faithful minister,
and numerous autograph letters of all the princes of his time attest
his talent and his worth as the oracle of the period. He retained his](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-22-2048.jpg)
![office during three reigns: but his skill was unable to stem the tide of
Mahratta invasion, which commenced on the death of Sangram.
Anecdotes of Rāna Sangrām Singh II.—Tradition has
preserved many anecdotes of Sangram, which aid our estimate of
Rajput character, whether in the capacity of legislators or the more
retired sphere of domestic manners. They uniformly represent this
Rana as a patriarchal ruler, wise, just, and inflexible,[10]
steady in his
application to business, regulating public and private expenditure,
and even the sumptuary laws, which were rigidly adhered to, and on
which the people still expatiate, giving homely illustrations of the
contrast between them and the existing profusion. The Chauhan of
Kotharia, one of the highest class of chieftains, had recommended
an addition to the folds of the court robe, and as courtesy forbids all
personal denial, his wish was assented to, and he retired to his
estate pluming himself on his sovereign’s acquiescence. But the
Rana, sending for the minister, commanded the sequestration of two
villages of Kotharia, which speedily reaching the ears of the chief, he
repaired to court, and begged to know the fault which had drawn
upon him this mark of displeasure. “None, Raoji; 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 had no other mode of innovating on our ancient
costume than by making you bear the charge attending a
compliance with your suggestion.” It will readily be believed, that the
Chauhan prayed the [411] revocation of this edict, and that he was
careful for the future of violating the sumptuary laws of his
sovereign.
On another occasion, from lapse of memory or want of
consideration, he broke the laws he had established, and alienated a
village attached to the household. Each branch had its appropriate
fund, whether for the kitchen, the wardrobe, the privy purse, the
queens; these lands were called thua, and each had its officer, or
thuadar, all of whom were made accountable for their trust to the
prime minister; it was one of these he had alienated. Seated with his](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-23-2048.jpg)
![chiefs in the rasora, or banqueting-hall, there was no sugar
forthcoming for the curds, which has a place in the dinner carte of
all Rajputs, and he chid the superintendent for the omission.
“Anndata” (giver of food), replied the officer, "the minister says you
have given away the village set apart for sugar."—“Just,” replied the
Rana, and finished his repast without further remark, and without
sugar to his curds.
Another anecdote will show his inflexibility of character, and his
resistance to that species of interference in state affairs which is the
bane of Asiatic governments. Sangram had recently emancipated
himself from the trammels of a tedious minority, during which his
mother, according to custom, acted a conspicuous part in the
guardianship of her son and the State. The chieftain of Dariawad
had his estate confiscated: but as the Rana never punished from
passion or pardoned from weakness, none dared to plead his cause,
and he remained proscribed from court during two years, when he
ventured a petition to the queen-mother through the Bhandarins,[11]
for the reversion of the decree, accompanied with a note for two
lakhs of rupees,[12]
and a liberal donation to the fair mediators. It
was the daily habit of the Rana to pay his respects to his mother
before dinner, and on one of these visits she introduced the
Ranawat’s request, and begged the restoration of the estate. It was
customary, on the issue of every grant, that eight days should elapse
from the mandate to the promulgation of the edict, to which eight
official seals[13]
were attached; but on the present occasion the Rana
commanded the execution of the deed at once, and to have it ere he
left the Rawala. On its being brought, he [412] placed it respectfully
in his mother’s hands, begging her to return the note to the
Ranawat; having made this sacrifice to duty, he bowed and retired.
The next day he commanded dinner an hour earlier, without the
usual visit to the Rawala: all were surprised, but none so much as
the queen-mother—the day passed—another came—still no visit,
and to a confidential message, she received a ceremonious reply.
Alarmed for the loss of her son’s affections, she pondered on the
cause, but could find none, except the grant—she entreated the
minister’s interference; he respectfully intimated that he was](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-24-2048.jpg)
![interdicted from the discussion of State affairs but with his sovereign
—she had recourse to other expedients, which proving alike fruitless,
she became sullen, punished her damsels without cause, and
refused food: Sangram still remained obdurate. She talked of a
pilgrimage to the Ganges, and befitting equipage and escort were
commanded to attend her—the moment of departure was at hand,
and yet he would not see her. She repaired by Amber on her route
to Mathura, to worship the Apollo of Vraj,[14]
when the great Raja Jai
Singh (married to the Rana’s sister)[15]
advanced, and conducted her
to his new city of Jaipur, and to evince his respect “put his shoulder
to the travelling litter or palki,” and promised to return with her and
be a suppliant to his brother-in-law for the restoration of his regard.
She made a tour of the sacred places, and on return accepted the
escort of the Prince of Amber. The laws of hospitality amongst the
Rajputs are rigid: the Rana could not refuse to his guest the request
for which he had left his capital: but averse to owing reconciliation
to external intercession, and having done enough for the
suppression of intrigue, he advanced to meet the cortège when
within one march of Udaipur, as if to receive the Amber prince; but
proceeding direct to his [413] mother’s tents, he asked her blessing,
and having escorted her to the palace, returned to greet and
conduct his brother prince; all the allusion he made to the subject
was in the simple but pithy expression, “family quarrels should be
kept in the family.”
Another anecdote shows him as the vigilant shepherd watching
over the safety of his flock. As he sat down to dinner, tidings arrived
of an invasion of the Malwa Pathans, who had rifled several villages
at Mandasor, carrying the inhabitants into captivity. Pushing the
platter from him, he ordered his armour, and the nakkara to beat 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. They departed: several hours after, the chief
of Kanor arrived, having left a sick-bed, and with a tertian come in
obedience to his sovereign’s summons. Vain was his prince’s
dissuasion to keep him back, and he joined the band as they came](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-25-2048.jpg)
![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 a bira[16]
from the Rana’s own hand, a distinction which he held
to be an ample reward for his wounds, and testimonial of the worth
of his father. The existence of such sentiments are the strongest
tests of character.
On another occasion, some parasite had insinuated suspicions
against the chief of the nobles, the Rawat of Salumbar, who had just
returned victorious in action with the royal forces at Malwa, and had
asked permission to visit his family on his way to court. The Rana
spurned the suspicion, and to show his reliance on the chief, he
dispatched a messenger for Salumbar to wait his arrival and
summon him to the presence. He had reached his domain, given
leave to his vassals as they passed their respective abodes,
dismounted, and reached the door of the Rawala, when the herald
called aloud, “The Rana salutes you, Rawatji, and commands this
letter.” With his hand on the door where his wife and children
awaited him, he demanded his horse, and simply leaving his ‘duty
for his mother,’ he [414] mounted, with half a dozen attendants, nor
loosed the rein until he reached the capital. It was midnight; his
house empty; no servants; no dinner; but his sovereign had
foreseen and provided, and when his arrival was announced,
provender for his cattle, and vessels of provision prepared in the
royal kitchen, were immediately sent to his abode. Next morning
Salumbar attended the court. The Rana was unusually gracious, and
not only presented him with the usual tokens of regard, a horse and
jewels, but moreover a grant of land. With surprise he asked what
service he had performed to merit such distinction, and from a
sentiment becoming the descendant of Chonda solemnly refused to
accept it; observing, that even if he had lost his head, the reward
was excessive; but if his prince would admit of his preferring a
request, it would be, that in remembrance of his sovereign’s favour,
when he, or his, in after times, should on the summons come from
their estate to the capital, the same number of dishes from the royal
kitchen should be sent to his abode: it was granted, and to this day](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-26-2048.jpg)
![his descendants enjoy the distinction. These anecdotes paint the
character of Sangram far more forcibly than any laboured effort. His
reign was as honourable to himself as it was beneficial to his
country, in whose defence he had fought eighteen actions; but
though his policy was too circumscribed, and his country would have
benefited more by a surrender of some of those antique prejudices
which kept her back in the general scramble for portions of the
dilapidated monarchy of the Moguls, yet he was respected abroad,
as he was beloved by his subjects, of whose welfare he was ever
watchful, and to whose wants ever indulgent. Rana Sangram was
the last prince who upheld the dignity of the gaddi of Bappa Rawal;
with his death commenced Mahratta ascendancy, and with this we
shall open the reign of his son and successor.
Rāna Jagat Singh II., A.D. 1734-51. Difficulties of Rājput
Combination.—Jagat Singh II., the eldest of the four sons of
Sangram, succeeded S. 1790 (A.D. 1734). The commencement of his
reign was signalized by a revival of the triple alliance formed by
Rana Amra, and broken by Raja Ajit’s connexion with the Sayyids
and the renewal of matrimonial ties with the empire, the abjuration
whereof was the basis of the treaty. The present engagement, which
included all the minor states, was formed at Hurra, a town in Mewar
on the Ajmer frontier, where the confederate princes met at the
head of their vassals. To insure unanimity, the Rana was invested
with paramount control, and headed the forces which were [415] to
take the field after the rains, already set in.[17]
Unity of interests was
the chief character of the engagement, had they adhered to which,
not only the independence, but the aggrandisement, of Rajasthan,
was in their power, and they might have alike defied the expiring
efforts of Mogul tyranny, and the Parthian-like warfare of the
Mahratta. They were indeed the most formidable power in India at
this juncture; but difficult as it had ever proved to coalesce the
Rajputs for mutual preservation, even when a paramount superiority
of power, both temporal and spiritual, belonged to the Ranas, so
now, since Amber and Marwar had attained an equality with Mewar,
it was found still less practicable to prevent the operation of the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-27-2048.jpg)
![principles of disunion. In fact, a moment’s reflection must discover
that the component parts of a great feudal federation, such as that
described, must contain too many discordant particles—too many
rivalries and national antipathies—ever cordially to amalgamate. Had
it been otherwise, the opportunities were many and splendid for the
recovery of Rajput freedom; but though individually enamoured of
liberty, the universality of the sentiment prevented its realization:
they never would submit to the control required to work it out, and
this, the best opportunity which had ever occurred, was lost. A
glance at the disordered fragments of the throne of Akbar will show
the comparative strength of the Rajputs.
League of Nizamu-l-mulk with Rājputs and Marāthas.—
Nizamu-l-mulk had completely emancipated himself from his
allegiance, and signalized his independence, by sending the head of
the imperial general, who [416] ventured to oppose it, as that of a
traitor, to the emperor. He leagued with the Rajputs, and instigated
Bajirao to plant the Mahratta standard in Malwa and Gujarat. In
defending the former, Dayya Bahadur fell;[18]
and Jai Singh of Amber,
being nominated to the trust, delegated it to the invader, and Malwa
was lost. The extensive province of Gujarat soon shared the same
fate; for in the vacillating policy of the court, the promise of that
government to the Rathors had been broken, and Abhai Singh, son
of Ajit, who had expelled Sarbuland Khan[19]
after a severe contest,
following the example of his brother prince of Amber, connived with
the invaders, while he added its most northern districts to Marwar. In
Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, Shujau-d-daula, and his deputy Allahwirdi
Khan,[20]
were supreme, and Safdar Jang[21]
(son of Saadat Khan)
was established in Oudh. The basest disloyalty marked the rise of
this family, which owed everything to Muhammad Shah. It was
Saadat Khan who invited Nadir Shah, whose invasion gave the final
stab to the empire; and it was his son, Safdar Jang, who, when
commandant of the artillery (mir-i-atish), turned it against his
sovereign’s palace, and then conveyed it to Oudh. Of the Diwans of
Bengal we must speak only with reverence; but, whether they had
any special dispensation, their loyalty to the descendant of](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-28-2048.jpg)
![Farrukhsiyar has been very little more distinguished than that of the
satraps enumerated, though the original tenure of Bengal is still
apparent, and the feudal obligation to the suzerain of Delhi
manifested, in the homage of petite serjanterie, in transmitting with
the annual fine of relief (one hundred mohars) the spices of the
eastern archipelago. Yet of all those who gloried in the title of fidwi
padshah-i-ghazi, the only ‘slave of the victorious king,’ who has been
generous to him in the day of his distress, is the Diwan of Bengal,
better known as the English East India Company. In the hour of
triumph they rescued the blind and aged descendants of the
illustrious Babur from a state of degradation and penury, and
secured to him all the dignity and comfort which his circumstances
could lead him to hope; and the present state of his family,
contrasted with the thraldom and misery endured while fortune
favoured the Mahratta, is splendid. Yet perhaps the most acute
stroke of fortune to this fallen monarch was when the British
governor of India lent his aid to the descendant of the rebellious
Safdar Jang to mount the throne of Oudh, and to assume, in lieu of
the title of wazir of the empire, that of king. We can [417]
appreciate and commiserate the feeling; for the days of power were
yet too recent[22]
for Akbar Sani (the second) to receive such
intelligence without a shock, or without comparing his condition with
him whose name he bore. It is well to pause upon this page of
eastern history, which is full of instruction; since by weighing the
abuses of power, and its inevitable loss through placing a large
executive trust in the hands of those who exercised it without
sympathy towards the governed, we may at least retard the day of
our decline.
Marātha Raids. The Campaign of Nādir Shāh.—The Mahratta
establishments in Malwa and Gujarat constituted a nucleus for others
to form upon, and like locusts, they crossed the Nerbudda in
swarms; when the Holkars, the Sindhias, the Puars, and other less
familiar names, emerged from obscurity; when the plough[23]
was
deserted for the sword, and the goat-herd[24]
made a lance of his
crook. They devastated, and at length settled upon, the lands of the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-29-2048.jpg)
![indigenous Rajputs. For a time the necessity of unity made them act
under one standard, and hence the vast masses under the first
Bajirao, which bore down all opposition, and afterwards dispersed
themselves over those long-oppressed regions. It was in A.D. 1735
that he first crossed the Chambal[25]
and appeared before Delhi,
which he blockaded, when his retreat was purchased by the
surrender of the chauth, or fourth of the gross revenues of the
empire. The Nizam, dreading the influence such pusillanimous
concession might exert upon his rising power, determined to drive
the Mahrattas from Malwa, where, if once fixed, they would cut off
his communications with the north. He accordingly invaded Malwa,
defeated Bajirao in a pitched battle, and was only prevented from
following it up by Nadir Shah’s advance, facilitated by the Afghans,
who, on becoming independent in Kabul, laid open the frontiers of
Hindustan.[26]
In this emergency, “great hopes were placed on the
valour of the Rajputs”; but the spirit of devotion in this brave race,
by whose aid the Mogul power was made and maintained, was
irretrievably alienated, and not one of those high families, who had
throughout been so lavish of their blood in its defence, would obey
the summons to the royal standard, when the fate of India was
decided on the plains of Karnal.[27]
A sense [418] of individual
danger brought together the great home feudatories, when the
Nizam and Saadat Khan (now Wazir) united their forces under the
imperial commander; but their demoralized levies were no match for
the Persian and the northern mountaineer. The Amiru-l-umara was
slain, the Wazir made prisoner, and Muhammad Shah and his
kingdom were at Nadir’s disposal. The disloyalty of the Wazir filled
the capital with blood, and subjected his sovereign to the condition
of a captive. Jealous of the Nizam, whose diplomatic success had
obtained him the office of Amiru-l-umara, he stimulated the avarice
of the conqueror by exaggerating the riches of Delhi, and declared
that he alone could furnish the ransom negotiated by the Nizam.
Nadir’s love of gold overpowered his principle; the treaty was
broken, the keys of Delhi were demanded, and its humiliated
emperor was led in triumph through the camp of the conqueror,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-30-2048.jpg)
![who, on March 8, A.D. 1739, took possession of the palace of Timur,
and coined money bearing this legend:
King over the kings of the world
Is Nadir, king of kings, and lord of the period.
Plunder and Massacre at Delhi.—The accumulated wealth of
India contained in the royal treasury, notwithstanding the lavish
expenditure during the civil wars, and the profuse rewards scattered
by each competitor for dominion, was yet sufficient to gratify even
avarice itself, amounting in gold, jewels, and plate to forty millions
sterling, exclusive of equipages of every denomination. But this
enormous spoil only kindled instead of satiating the appetite of
Nadir, and a fine of two millions and a half was exacted, and levied
with such unrelenting rigour and cruelty on the inhabitants, that
men of rank and character could find no means of escape but by
suicide. A rumour of this monster’s death excited an insurrection, in
which several Persians were killed. The provocation was not lost: the
conqueror ascended a mosque,[28]
and commanded a general
massacre, in which thousands were slain. Pillage accompanied
murder; whilst the streets streamed with blood, the city was fired,
and the dead were consumed in the conflagration of their late
habitations. If a single ray of satisfaction could be felt amidst such a
scene of horror, it must have been when Nadir commanded the
minister of the wretch who was the author of [419] this atrocity, the
infamous Saadat Khan, to send, on pain of death, an inventory of his
own and his master’s wealth; demanding meanwhile the two millions
and a half, the original composition settled by the Nizam, from the
Wazir alone. Whether his ‘coward conscience’ was alarmed at the
mischief he had occasioned, or mortification at discovering that his
ambition had ‘o’erleaped itself,’ and recoiled with vengeance on his
own head, tempted the act, it is impossible to discover, but the guilty
Saadat became his own executioner. He swallowed poison;[29]
an
example followed by his diwan, Raja Majlis Rae, in order to escape
the rage of the offended Nadir. By the new treaty, all the western
provinces, Kabul, Tatta, Sind, and Multan, were surrendered and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-31-2048.jpg)
![united to Persia, and on the vernal equinox, Nadir, gorged with spoil,
commenced his march from the desolated Delhi.[30]
The philosophic
comment of the native historian on these events is so just, that we
shall transcribe it verbatim. “The people of Hindustan at this period
thought only of personal safety and gratification; misery was
disregarded by those who escaped it, and man, centred wholly in
self, felt not for his kind. This selfishness, destructive of public and
private virtue, was universal in Hindustan at the invasion of Nadir
Shah; nor have the people become more virtuous since, and
consequently neither more happy nor more independent.”
Results to the Rājputs.—At this eventful era in the political
history of India, the Rajput nation had not only maintained their
ground amidst the convulsions of six centuries under the paramount
sway of the Islamite, but two of the three chief States, Marwar and
[420] Amber, had by policy and valour created substantial States out
of petty principalities, junior branches[31]
from which had established
their independence, and still enjoy it under treaty with the British
Government. Mewar at this juncture was defined by nearly the same
boundaries as when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded her in the tenth
century, though her influence over many of her tributaries, as Bundi,
Abu, Idar, and Deolia, was destroyed. To the west, the fertile district
of Godwar carried her beyond her natural barrier, the Aravalli, into
the desert; while the Chambal was her limit to the east. The Khari
separated her from Ajmer, and to the south she adjoined Malwa.
These limits comprehended one hundred and thirty miles of latitude
and one hundred and forty of longitude, containing 10,000 towns
and villages, with upwards of a million sterling of revenue, raised
from a fertile soil by an excellent agricultural population, a wealthy
mercantile community, and defended by a devoted vassalage. Such
was this little patriarchal State after the protracted strife which has
been related; we shall have to exhibit her, in less than half a century,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-32-2048.jpg)
![on the verge of annihilation from the predatory inroads of the
Mahrattas.
The Coming of the Marāthas.—In order to mark with
exactitude the introduction of the Mahrattas into Rajasthan, we must
revert to the period[32]
when the dastardly intrigues of the advisers
of Muhammad Shah surrendered to them as tribute the chauth, or
fourth of his revenues. Whether in the full tide of successful
invasion, these spoilers deemed any other argument than force to be
requisite in order to justify their extortions, they had in this
surrender a concession of which the subtle Mahrattas were well
capable of availing themselves; and as the Mogul claimed
sovereignty over the whole of Rajasthan, they might plausibly urge
their right of chauth, as applicable to all the territories subordinate
to the empire.
The Rājput Coalition.—The rapidity with which these desultory
bands flew from conquest to conquest appears to have alarmed the
Rajputs, and again brought about a coalition, which, with the
characteristic peculiarity of all such contracts, was commenced by
matrimonial alliances. On this occasion, Bijai Singh, the heir of
Marwar, was affianced to the Rana’s daughter, who at the same time
reconciled the princes [421] of Marwar and Amber, whose positions
at the court of the Mogul often brought their national jealousies into
conflict, as they alternately took the lead in his councils: for it was
rare to find both in the same line of politics. These matters were
arranged at Udaipur.[33]
But as we have often had occasion to
observe, no public [422] or general benefit ever resulted from these
alliances, which were obstructed by the multitude of petty jealousies
inseparable from clanship; even while this treaty was in discussion,
the fruit of the triple league formed against the tyranny of
Aurangzeb was about to show its baneful influence, as will presently
appear.
Bājirāo visits Mewār. Negotiations with the Marāthas.—
When Malwa was acquired by the Mahrattas, followed by the cession
of the chauth, their leader, Bajirao, repaired to Mewar, where his visit](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-33-2048.jpg)
![created great alarm.[34]
The Rana desired to avoid a personal
interview, and sent as his ambassadors [423], the chief of Salumbar
and his prime minister, Biharidas. Long discussions followed as to the
mode of Bajirao’s reception, which was settled to be on the same
footing as the Raja of Banera,[35]
and that he should be seated in
front of the throne. A treaty followed, stipulating an annual tribute,
which remained in force during ten years,[36]
when grasping at the
whole they despised a part, and the treaty became a nullity.[37]
The
dissensions which arose soon after, in consequence of the Rajput
engagements, afforded the opportunity sought for to mix in their
internal concerns.
Right of Primogeniture.—It may be recollected that in the
family engagements formed by Rana Amra there was an obligation
to invest the issue of such marriage with the rights of primogeniture;
and the death of Sawai Jai Singh[38]
of Amber, two years after Nadir’s
invasion, brought that stipulation into effect. His eldest son, Isari
Singh, was proclaimed Raja, but a strong party supported Madho
Singh, the Rana’s nephew, and the stipulated, against the natural
order of succession. We are [424] left in doubt as to the real designs
of Jai Singh in maintaining his guarantee, which was doubtless
inconvenient; but that Madho Singh was not brought up to the
expectation is evident, from his holding a fief of the Rana Sangram,
who appropriated the domain of Rampura for his support, subject to
the service of one thousand horse and two thousand foot, formally
sanctioned by his father, who allowed the transfer of his services. On
the other hand, the letter of permission entitles him Kshema,
‘prosperous,’ an epithet only applied to the heir-apparent of Jaipur.
Five years, however, elapsed before any extraordinary exertions
were made to annul the rights of Isari Singh, who led his vassals to
the Sutlej in order to oppose the first invasion of the Duranis.[39]
It
would be tedious to give even an epitome of the intrigues for the
development of this object, which properly belong to the annals of
Amber, and whence resulted many of the troubles of Rajputana. The
Rana took the field with his nephew, and was met by Isari Singh,[40]
supported by the Mahrattas; but the Sesodias did not evince in the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-34-2048.jpg)
![battle of Rajmahall that gallantry which must have its source in
moral strength: they were defeated and fled. The Rana vented his
indignation in a galling sarcasm; he gave the sword of state to a
common courtesan to carry in procession, observing “it was a
woman’s weapon in these degenerate times”: a remark the
degrading severity of which made a lasting impression in the decline
of Mewar. Elated with this success, Isari Singh carried his
resentments and his auxiliaries, under Sindhia, against the Haras of
Kotah and Bundi, who supported the cause of his antagonist. Kotah
stood a siege and was gallantly defended, and Sindhia (Apaji) lost an
arm:[41]
on this occasion both the States suffered a diminution of
territory, and were subjected to tribute. The Rana, following the
example of the Kachhwahas, called in as auxiliary Malhar Rao Holkar,
and engaged to pay sixty-four lakhs of rupees (£800,000) on the
deposal of Isari Singh. To avoid degradation this unfortunate prince
resolved on suicide, and a dose of poison gave Madho Singh the
gaddi, Holkar his bribe, and the Mahrattas a firm hold upon
Rajasthan. Such was the cause of Rajput abasement; the moral
force of the vassals was lost in a contest unjust in all its associations,
and from this period we have only the degrading spectacle of civil
strife and predatory spoliation till the existing treaty of A.D. 1817
[425].
Death of Rāna Jagat Singh II., A.D. 1751.—In S. 1808 (A.D.
1752) Rana Jagat Singh died. Addicted to pleasure, his habits of
levity and profusion totally unfitted him for the task of governing his
country at such a juncture; he considered his elephant fights[42]
of
more importance than keeping down the Mahrattas. Like all his
family, he patronized the arts, greatly enlarged the palace, and
expended £250,000 in embellishing the islets of the Pichola. The
villas scattered over the valley were all erected by him, and many of](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-35-2048.jpg)
![those festivals devoted to idleness and dissipation, and now firmly
rooted at Udaipur, were instituted by Jagat Singh II.
CHAPTER 16
Rāna Partāp Singh II., A.D. 1751-54.—Partap II. succeeded in
A.D. 1752. Of the history of this prince, who renewed the most
illustrious name in the annals of Mewar, there is nothing to record
beyond the fact, that the three years he occupied the throne were
marked by so many Mahratta invasions[1]
and war contributions. By a
daughter of Raja Jai Singh of Amber he had a son, who succeeded
him.
Rāna Rāj Singh II., A.D. 1754-61.—Rana Raj Singh II. was as
little entitled to the name he bore as his predecessor. During the
seven years he held the dignity at least seven shoals of the
Southrons overran Mewar,[2]
and so exhausted this country, that the
Rana was compelled to ask pecuniary aid from the Brahman collector
of the tribute, to enable him to marry the Rathor chieftain’s
daughter. On his death the order of succession retrograded,
devolving on his uncle [426],
Rāna Arsi Singh II., A.D. 1761-73.—Rana Arsi, in S. 1818, A.D.
1762. The levity of Jagat Singh, the inexperience of his successors
Partap and Raj Singh, with the ungovernable temper of Rana Arsi,
and the circumstances under which he succeeded to power,
introduced a train of disorders which proved fatal to Mewar. Until this
period not a foot of territory had been alienated. The wisdom of the
Pancholi ministers, and the high respect paid by the organ of the
Satara government, for a while preserved its integrity; but when the
country was divided by factions, and the Mahrattas, ceasing to be a
federate body, prowled in search of prey under leaders, each having
an interest of his own, they formed political combinations to suit the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-36-2048.jpg)
![ephemeral purposes of the former, but from which they alone reaped
advantage. An attempt to depose Partap and set up his uncle Nathji
introduced a series of rebellions, and constituted Malhar Rao Holkar,
who had already become master of a considerable portion of the
domain of Mewar, the umpire in their family disputes.
Malhār Rāo Holkar invades Mewār. Famine, A.D. 1764.—The
ties of blood or of princely gratitude are feeble bonds if political
expediency demands their dissolution; and Madho Singh, when
firmly established on the throne of Amber, repaid the immense
sacrifices by which the Rana had effected it by assigning his fief of
Rampura, which he had not a shadow of right to alienate, to Holkar:
this was the first limb severed from Mewar.[3]
Holkar had also
become the assignee of the tribute imposed by Bajirao, but from
which the Rana justly deemed himself exempt, when the terms of all
further encroachment in Mewar were set at nought. On the plea of
recovering these arrears, and the rent of some districts[4]
on the
Chambal, Malhar, after many threatening letters, invaded Mewar, and
his threats of occupying the capital were only checked by draining
their exhausted resources of six hundred thousand pounds.[5]
In the
same year[6]
a famine afflicted them, when flour and tamarinds were
equal in value, and were sold at the rate of a rupee for one pound
and a half. Four years subsequent to this, civil war broke out and
continued to influence all posterior proceedings, rendering [427] the
inhabitants of this unhappy country a prey to every invader until
1817, when they tasted repose under British protection.
Civil War in Mewār. Revolt of Ratan Singh.—The real cause
of this rebellion must ever remain a secret: for while some regard it
as a patriotic effort on the part of the people to redeem themselves
from foreign domination, others discover its motive in the selfishness
of the hostile clans, who supported or opposed the succession of
Rana Arsi. This prince is accused of having unfairly acquired the
crown, by the removal of his nephew Raj Singh; but though the
traditional anecdotes of the period furnish strong grounds of
suspicion, there is nothing which affords a direct confirmation of the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-37-2048.jpg)
![crime. It is, however, a public misfortune when the line of succession
retrogrades in Mewar: Arsi had no right to expect the inheritance he
obtained, having long held a seat below the sixteen chief nobles;
and as one of the ‘infants’ (babas) he was incorporated with the
second class of nobles with an appanage of only £3000 per annum.
His defects of character had been too closely contemplated by his
compeers, and had kindled too many enmities, to justify expectation
that the adventitious dignity he had attained would succeed in
obliterating the memory of them; and past familiarity alone
destroyed the respect which was exacted by sudden greatness. His
insolent demeanour estranged the first of the home nobility, the
Sadri chieftain,[7]
whose ancestor at Haldighat acquired a claim to
the perpetual gratitude of the Sesodias, while to an unfeeling pun on
a personal defect of Jaswant Singh of Deogarh is attributed the
hatred and revenge of this powerful branch of the Chondawats.
These chiefs formed a party which eventually entrained many of
lesser note to depose their sovereign, and immediately set up a
youth called Ratna Singh, declared to be the posthumous son of the
last Rana by the daughter of the chief of Gogunda, though to this
hour disputes run high as to whether he was really the son of Raj
Singh, or merely the puppet [428] of a faction. Be the fact as it may,
he was made a rallying point for the disaffected, who soon
comprehended the greater portion of the nobles, while out of the
‘sixteen’ greater chiefs five[8]
only withstood the defection: of these,
Salumbar, the hereditary premier, at first espoused, but soon
abandoned, the cause of the Pretender; not from the principle of
loyalty which his descendants take credit for, but from finding the
superiority of intellect of the heads of the rebellion[9]
(which now
counted the rival Saktawats) too powerful for the supremacy he
desired. Basant Pal, of the Depra tribe, was invested with the office
of Pardhan to the Pretender. The ancestor of this man accompanied
Samarsi in the twelfth century from Delhi, where he held a high
office in the household of Prithiraj, the last emperor of the Hindus,
and it is a distinguished proof of the hereditary quality of official
dignity to find his descendant, after the lapse of centuries, still
holding office with the nominal title of Pardhan. The Futuri[10]
(by](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-38-2048.jpg)
![which name the court still designates the Pretender) took post with
his faction in Kumbhalmer; where he was formally installed, and
whence he promulgated his decrees as Rana of Mewar. With that
heedlessness of consequences and the political debasement which
are invariable concomitants of civil dissension, they had the
meanness to invite Sindhia to their aid, with a promise of a reward
of more than one million sterling[11]
on the dethronement of Arsi.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-39-2048.jpg)
![Zālim Singh of Kotah.—This contest first brought into notice
one of the most celebrated Rajput chiefs of India, Zalim Singh of
Kotah, who was destined to fill a distinguished part in the annals of
Rajasthan, but more especially in Mewar, where his political sagacity
first developed itself. Though this is not the proper place to delineate
his history, which will occupy a subsequent portion of the work, it is
impossible to trace the events with which he was so closely
connected without adverting slightly to the part he acted in these
scenes. The attack on Kotah, of which his father was military
governor (during the struggle to place Madho Singh on the throne of
Amber), by Isari Singh, in conjunction with Sindhia, was the first
avenue to his distinguished career, leading to an acquaintance with
the Mahratta chiefs, which linked him with their policy for more than
half a century [429]. Zalim having lost his prince’s favour, whose
path in love he had dared to cross, repaired, on his banishment from
Kotah, to the Rana, who, observing his talents, enrolled him
amongst his chiefs, and conferred on him, with the title of Raj Rana,
the lands of Chitarkhera for his support. By his advice the Mahratta
leaders, Raghu Paigawala and Daula Miyan, with their bands, were
called in by the Rana, who, setting aside the ancient Pancholi
ministry, gave the seals of office to Agarji Mehta. At this period (S.
1824, A.D. 1768), Mahadaji Sindhia was at Ujjain, whither the
conflicting parties hastened, each desirous of obtaining the
chieftain’s support. But the Pretender’s proposals had been already
entertained, and he was then encamped with Sindhia on the banks
of the Sipra.[12]
Battle at the Sipra, and Siege of Udaipur, A.D. 1769.—The
Rana’s force, conducted by the chief of Salumbar, the Rajas of
Shahpura and Banera, with Zalim Singh and the Mahratta auxiliaries,
did not hesitate to attack the combined camp, and for a moment
they were victorious, driving Mahadaji and the Pretender from the
field, with great loss, to the gates of Ujjain. Here, however, they
rallied, and being joined by a fresh body of troops, the battle was
renewed with great disadvantage to the Rajputs, who, deeming the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-40-2048.jpg)
![day theirs, had broken and dispersed to plunder. The chiefs of
Salumbar, Shahpura, and Banera were slain, and the auxiliary Daula
Miyan, Raja Man (ex-prince of Narwar), and Raj Kalyan, the heir of
Sadri, severely wounded. Zalim Singh had his horse killed under him,
and being left wounded on the field, was made prisoner, but
hospitably treated by Trimbak Rao, father to the celebrated Ambaji.
The discomfited troops retreated to Udaipur while the Pretender’s
party remained with Sindhia, inciting him to invest that capital and
place Ratna on the throne. Some time, however, elapsed before he
could carry this design into execution; when at the head of a large
force the Mahratta chief gained the passes and besieged the city.
The Rana’s cause now appeared hopeless. Bhim Singh of Salumbar,
uncle and successor to the chief slain at Ujjain, with the Rathor chief
of Badnor (descendant of Jaimall), were the only nobles of high rank
who defended their prince and capital in this emergency; but the
energies of an individual saved both.
Amar Chand, Minister of Mewār.—Amra Chand Barwa, of the
mercantile class, had held office in the preceding reigns, when his
influence retarded the progress of evils which no human means
could avert. He was now displaced, and little solicitous of recovering
his [430] transient power, amidst hourly increasing difficulties, with a
stubborn and unpopular prince, a divided aristocracy, and an
impoverished country. He was aware also of his own imperious
temper, which was as ungovernable as his sovereign’s, and which
experienced no check from the minor Partap, who regarded him as
his father. During the ten years he had been out of office,
mercenaries of Sind had been entertained and established on the
forfeited lands of the clans, perpetuating discontent and stifling
every latent spark of patriotism. Even those who did not join the
Pretender remained sullenly at their castles, and thus all confidence
was annihilated. A casual incident brought Amra forward at this
critical juncture. Udaipur had neither ditch nor walls equal to its
defence. Arsi was engaged in fortifying Eklinggarh, a lofty hill south
of the city,[13]
which it commanded, and attempting to place thereon
an enormous piece of ordnance, but it baffled their mechanical skill](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-41-2048.jpg)
![to get it over the scraggy ascent. Amra happened to be present
when the Rana arrived to inspect the proceedings. Excuses were
made to avert his displeasure, when turning to the ex-minister, he
inquired what time and expense ought to attend the completion of
such an undertaking. The reply was, “A few rations of grain and
some days”: and he offered to accomplish the task, on condition that
his orders should be supreme in the valley during its performance.
He collected the whole working population, cut a road, and in a few
days gave the Rana a salute from Eklinggarh. The foster-brother of
the Rana had succeeded the Jhala chieftain, Raghu Deo, in the
ministerial functions. The city was now closely invested on every side
but the west, where communications were still kept open by the
lake, across which the faithful mountaineers of the Aravalli, who in
similar dangers never failed, supplied them with provisions. All
defence rested on the fidelity of the mercenary Sindis, and they
were at this very moment insolent in their clamours for arrears of
pay. Nor were the indecisive measures daily passing before their
eyes calculated to augment their respect, or stimulate their courage.
Not satisfied with demands, they had the audacity to seize the Rana
by the skirt of his robe as he entered the palace, which was torn in
the effort to detain him. The haughtiness of his temper gave way to
this humiliating proof of the hopelessness of his condition; and while
the Dhabhai (foster-brother) counselled escape by water to the
mountains, whence he might gain Mandalgarh, the Salumbar chief
confessed his inability to offer any advice [431] save that of recourse
to Amra Chand. He was summoned, and the uncontrolled charge of
their desperate affairs offered to his guidance. He replied that it was
a task of which no man could be covetous, more especially himself,
whose administration had formerly been marked by the banishment
of corruption and disorder, for that he must now call in the aid of
these vices, and assimilate the means to the times. “You know also,”
he added, "my defect of temper, which admits of no control.
Wherever I am, I must be absolute—no secret advisers, no
counteraction of measures. With finances ruined, troops mutinous,
provisions expended, if you desire me to act, swear that no order,
whatever its purport, shall be countermanded, and I may try what](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2840-250618081612-1eb4cdce/75/Human-Resource-Management-volume-1-1st-Edition-Portolese-Test-Bank-42-2048.jpg)
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- 5. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 1 Chapter 07 Retention and Motivation True/False Questions Section One 1. Loss of an employee is termed as retention. False; Easy 2. Voluntary turnover is the type of turnover in which the employee initiates for different reasons. True; Easy 3. The turnover rates of different departments of an organization are identical to the overall turnover rate of the organization. False; Easy 4. Direct turnover costs are the only costs associated with high turnover rates. False; Easy 5. Recruitment process has no role to play in retention of employees. False; Easy Section Two 6. The Progression of Job Withdrawal Theory focuses on behaviors of employees to accept their work situation. False; Easy 7. The Hawthorne studies were conducted by Elton Mayo between 1927 and 1932. True; Easy 8. According to Maslow, if an individual has received a salary for the current month, then his/her physiological needs may not continue to serve as a motivating factor for him/her. True; Easy 9. Theory Y is also called the authoritarian management style. False; Easy 10. The carrot and stick approach can be traced back to the British Seven Years’ War. True; Easy 11. The carrot approach does not de-motivate employees because of its emphasis on rewards and incentives. False; Easy
- 6. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 2 12. The Job Descriptive Index enables comparisons of job satisfaction across time and industries. True; Easy Section Three 13. Health plans and paid time off are beyond the scope of a comprehensive compensation package. False; Easy 14. Outcome fairness is the process used to determine the outcomes received. False; Easy 15. When the employee feels that the concerns of all stakeholders involved have been taken into account, the outcome fairness of a conflict can be termed as representative. True; Easy 16. The first step in handling a conflict should be arbitration. False; Easy 17. Task significance measures the degree to which the job has impact on others, internally or externally. True; Easy 18. Job enlargement involves adding new challenges or responsibilities to a current job, creating job satisfaction. True; Easy 19. A systems approach focused on policies and procedures is adequate to help employees maintain satisfactory work-life balance. False; Easy 20. In a merit-based pay system, all the employees are rewarded irrespective of their performance against the projected targets. False; Easy Multiple Choice Questions Section One 21. Losing an employee is called _____. a. replacement b. turnover c. succession d. retention e. arbitration b; Easy 22. When employees have no choice in their termination, it is called _____ turnover. a. voluntary
- 7. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 3 b. autonomous c. optional d. involuntary e. elective d; Easy 23. Five out of the twelve employees who left their jobs at Xenon Inc. in the last quarter were from their R&D division. The R&D division, which was thirty people strong at the beginning of this quarter, is now short five valuable employees. Which of the following is the right turnover rate for this division in this quarter? a. 41% b. 16% c. 5% d. 12% e. 30% b; Hard 24. Which of the following is an example of indirect turnover costs? a. Costs of leaving b. Administrative hiring costs c. Replacement costs d. Loss of production e. Transition costs d; Easy 25. _____ outline the strategies that the organization will use to reduce turnover and address employee motivation. a. Pension plans b. Health-care plans c. Retention plans d. Staffing plans e. Rightsizing plans c; Easy 26. The primary focus of retention plans is to outline strategies that: a. enable a company to produce a diverse and cost-effective product line. b. help a company reduce turnover and address employee motivation. c. provide a company with powerful marketing strategies at low costs. d. enforce the organizational hierarchy and bring in a high degree of control. e. align organizational activities to its values and mission. b; Easy 27. Emily Jones, a junior design artist with a studio called Eye for Design, was known to be very good at her job. She had a lot of experience from working on numerous projects and she often mentored new employees successfully. She was paid well and her colleagues and peers, some of whom Emily knew for four years, appreciated her helpful and lively nature. It came as a surprise to everyone when Emily resigned after the recent round of annual appraisals. During her exit interview, Emily said that the only reason that she was taking this move was because she had a strong feeling that she was stagnant in her career. Her reason for leaving is the _____ in her job in this company. a. lack of growth
- 8. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 4 b. internal pay inequity c. problems with management d. heavy workload e. mismatch between jobs and skills a; Moderate 28. A poor work-life balance seen in employees who have no time for recreation and family life shows the direct impact of _____ as a reason for turnovers. a. internal pay inequity b. lack of growth c. mismatch between jobs and skills d. heavy workload e. favoritism d; Easy Section Two 29. A set of systematic HR practices that create an environment where the employee has greater involvement and responsibility for the organization’s success is referred to as the _____. a. high performance work systems b. employee referral programs c. global expansion plans d. market development plans e. career development programs a; Easy 30. The Progression of Job Withdrawal Theory focuses on: a. the physical and environmental factors of the workplace affecting performance. b. a set of behaviors employees develop in succession to avoid their work situation. c. the five distinct levels of needs through which human motivation may be understood. d. the various aspects of the work environment that cause satisfaction or dissatisfaction. e. the impact of management styles on employee motivation and retention. b; Easy 31. John Dakota works in the sales division of a large consumer goods company. Many of his coworkers have noticed a drop in his performance over the last few months. He has been taking frequent leaves, or calling in sick as well. He recently asked his manager, Mr. Carr, to transfer him to another division of the company and has been asked to substantiate his request with reasons. Which of the following statements is true with regard to John? a. John’s physiological and safety needs are unmet. b. John’s work environment provides a lot of motivators for him. c. John is in the physical withdrawal stage. d. John’s behavior change in the recent past has gone unnoticed. e. John is disengaged and completely uninvolved in his work demands. c; Moderate 32. The conclusion drawn from the Hawthorne studies was that worker output increased dramatically because: a. employees were allowed to decide their break times autonomously.
- 9. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 5 b. there was a high degree of micromanagement. c. employees were allowed to choose the type of jobs they did. d. employees received attention and felt valued. e. managers satisfied all their demands regarding work conditions. d; Easy 33. Which of the following levels of needs from Maslow’s Theory of Motivation represents the basic needs of an individual? a. Self-actualization needs b. Physiological needs c. Esteem needs d. Social needs e. Safety needs b; Easy 34. Which of the following levels of needs from Maslow’s Theory of Motivation is aimed at helping an individual better him- or herself by realizing his or her complete potential? a. Self-actualization needs b. Esteem needs c. Social needs d. Safety needs e. Physiological needs a; Easy 35. The implication of Maslow’s theory is that to motivate an employee, the provided opportunities for need satisfaction must target: a. only the basic and instinctual needs that everyone seeks to meet. b. higher order needs alone because they relate to growth. c. all five types of needs that operate within any individual. d. those needs that have already been satisfied by the employee. e. all needs except for social needs, as they are unrelated to work performance. c; Easy 36. What was the term used by Herzberg for factors that satisfied the employees? a. Satisfiers b. Need factors c. Hygiene factors d. Withdrawal factors e. Motivators e; Easy 37. Company policy and salary are examples of _____ factors. a. need b. hygiene c. satisfaction d. withdrawal e. motivational b; Easy 38. Theory X is also called the _____ management style. a. authoritative
- 10. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 6 b. permissive c. authoritarian d. democratic e. liberal c; Easy 39. Which of the following statements represents the Theory X view? a. Most people want to make an effort at work. b. People will apply self-control and self-direction in pursuit of company objectives. c. People usually accept and actually welcome responsibility. d. Most workers will use imagination and ingenuity in solving company problems. e. The average person needs to be directed. e; Easy 40. The belief that employees enjoy work, accept responsibility, and exercise self-direction is endorsed by _____. a. Theory Y b. Two-factor theory c. Hierarchy of Needs theory d. Theory X e. Progression of Job Withdrawal theory a; Easy 41. Which of the following will a Theory Y manager do? a. Threaten employees with punishment b. Blame employees of avoiding responsibility c. Provide employees with detailed directions d. Use his/her authority to make employees work e. Allow employees to use self-direction e; Easy 42. The stick approach utilizes _____ to maximize employee performance. a. rewards b. monetary incentives c. punitive actions d. appraisals e. promotions c; Easy 43. If a manager gives his employees an ultimatum that they need to increase sales in the coming quarter by 20% or leave the company, he is following the _____ approach. a. carrot b. Theory Y c. incentive d. stick e. authoritative d; Easy 44. Which of the following is true with regard to the carrot and stick approach? a. Incentives represent a negative approach to motivating employees. b. The carrot approach takes a punitive look at retention.
- 11. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 7 c. The stick approach involves offering of some rewards and incentives. d. The carrot approach fails when extremely challenging goals are set. e. The carrot and stick approach arose from modern management theory. d; Easy 45. _____ interviews are used to gain information as to what the employee liked at the organization, and what he/she believe should be improved. a. Screening b. Exit c. Selection d. Stress e. Intake b; Easy 46. Which of the following is a standardized and widely used measure of the five facets of job satisfaction? a. Job Descriptive Index b. Job Design Index c. Job Safety Analysis d. Job Characteristics Index e. Job Enlargement Index a; Easy 47. Which of the following is desirable when developing an employee satisfaction survey? a. Exclusion of management from the process b. Dissemination of results of survey to employees c. Lack of anonymity in employee responses d. Nondisclosure of the purpose and goal of the survey e. Wide-ranging questions about peripheral issues b; Easy 48. The first step in retention planning involves: a. collating JDI and other survey findings. b. evaluating current retention plans. c. setting clear goals for reduced turnover. d. creating individual strategies for the goals. e. budgeting to track money spent on the retention plan. a; Easy Section Three 49. _____ is the formalized process to assess how well an employee does his or her job. a. Succession planning b. Management training c. Performance appraisal d. Conflict management e. Job enrichment c; Easy 50. _____ is defined as a process for identifying and developing internal people who have the potential for filling positions.
- 12. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 8 a. Succession planning b. Management training c. Performance appraisal d. Conflict management e. Job specification a; Easy 51. _____ refers to the judgment that people make with respect to the outcomes they receive versus the outcomes received by others with whom they associate with. a. Personal judgment b. Outcome fairness c. Procedural justice d. Biased judgment e. Moral fairness b; Easy 52. When the employee perceives that the person making the decision does not have bias or vested interest in the outcome, it is called _____. a. confirmation bias b. judgment bias c. omission bias d. congruence bias e. bias suppression e; Easy 53. An employee determines the outcome fairness of a conflict to be consistent when it is consistently: a. based on correct information. b. aligned with moral societal standards. c. applied across other persons and periods of time. d. perceived to be free of bias and vested interests. e. believed that any mistakes in the decision or process will be remedied. c; Easy 54. The first step in handling conflict should involve: a. arbitration with the help of an outside person. b. discussion between people in conflict with each other. c. mediation with the help of a neutral third party. d. discussion with a panel of representatives from the company. e. communication with lawyers to initiate legal action. b; Easy 55. _____ is when a neutral third party from outside the organization hears both sides of a dispute and tries to get the parties to come to a resolution. a. Arbitration b. Dissolution c. Mediation d. Bias suppression e. Disciplinary action c; Easy
- 13. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 9 56. The degree to which the job has an impact on others, internally or externally, is referred to as its _____. a. skill variety b. task identity c. functional autonomy d. role definition e. task significance e; Easy 57. _____ means to enhance a job by adding more meaningful tasks to make the employee’s work more rewarding. a. Job rotation b. Job analysis c. Job enrichment d. Job specification e. Job differentiation c; Easy 58. The process of adding new challenges or responsibilities to a current job is called _____. a. job rotation b. job analysis c. job specification d. job differentiation e. job enlargement e; Easy 59. An assembly line job has: a. low task identity. b. high skill variety. c. low predictability. d. high requirement for analytic skills. e. high self-direction. a; Moderate 60. Employee empowerment is characterized by: a. restricting innovation to focus on the most efficient use of resources. b. reducing autonomy to bring order and accountability among employees. c. managing employees through close task supervision to ensure high quality. d. providing employees with information to reduce dependence on managers. e. creating a structure where employees are not burdened with decision-making. d; Easy Short Answer/ Essay Questions Section One 61. What is meant by turnover? What are the two types of turnover? Losing an employee is called turnover. Two types of turnover are voluntary turnover and involuntary turnover. Voluntary turnover is the type of turnover which the employee initiates for many different reasons. Voluntary turnover can be somewhat predicted and
- 14. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 10 addressed in HR. Involuntary turnover is where the employee has no choice in their termination, for example, employer-initiated due to nonperformance. Easy 62. Explain the various costs associated with turnovers with examples. The costs associated with turnovers can be divided into indirect costs and direct costs. Direct turnover costs include the cost of leaving, replacement costs, and transition costs, while indirect turnover costs include the loss of production and reduced performance. To avoid these costs, HR departments develop retention plans. Easy 63. What are the causes of employee turnover? Common causes of employee turnover include: • poor match between the job and the skills of the employee • lack of growth or opportunities for upward mobility in the company • internal pay equity or dissatisfaction in one’s pay in relation to that of others • management practices like micromanagement, favoritism, and pressure • workloads that reduce the level of job satisfaction and work-life balance Easy Section Two 64. Describe Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs with one example of how it can be used to enhance employee motivation. Maslow divides the needs into physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs. Maslow proposed that if one already has a need met, giving more of that same need will no longer motivate. Many companies only motivate based on the lower level needs, such as pay. Development of training opportunities for example, can motivate employees on higher level self-actualization needs. Easy 65. How can high turnover be explained in terms of Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory? Herzberg developed motivational theories based on actual motivation factors and hygiene factors. Hygiene factors are those things which are expected in the workplace, and will de-motivate employees if absent, but not actually motivate them when present. If managers try to motivate only based on hygiene factors, turnover can be high. Motivation on both of the factors is vital for a good retention plan. Easy 66. What is an exit interview? How can it improve retention plans? Exit interviews of employees who are leaving the organization can provide important retention information. An exit interview is an interview performed by HR or a manager which seeks information as to what the employee liked at the organization, and what they think should be improved. Exit interviews can be a valuable way to gather information about employee satisfaction and can serve as a starting point for determining any
- 15. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 11 retention issues that may exist in the organization. However, the exit survey data should be reviewed over longer periods of time with several employees to make sure that retention plans are not based on the feedback of only a few people. Easy 67. Describe the structure and value of the Job Descriptive Index. The Job Descriptive Index is a standardized and widely used measure of job satisfaction that looks at five aspects of job satisfaction: present job, present pay, opportunities for promotion, supervision, and coworkers. Each of the five facets contains 9 or 18 questions and can be given in whole, or only one facet can be measured. The value of the scale is that it enables an HR manager to measure job satisfaction over a period of time and compare current results to past results and even compare job satisfaction at their company compared to their industry. This allows the HR manager to consider changes in the organization, such as a change in compensation structure, and see how job satisfaction was impacted by the change. Easy Section Three 68. What is the role of performance appraisals in increasing retention? Performance appraisal is a formalized process to assess how well an employee does his or her job. The effectiveness of this process can contribute to employee retention, in that employees can gain constructive feedback on their job performance and it can be an outlet for the manager to work with the employee to set goals within the organization. This process can assist in ensuring the employee’s upper level self-actualization needs are met, but also can address some of the motivational factors as developed by Hertzberg, such as achievement, recognition, and responsibility. Easy 69. Describe the meaning and purpose of succession planning. Succession planning is defined as a process for identifying and developing internal people who have the potential for filling positions. Succession planning is sometimes called the talent bench, because successful companies always have talented people “on the bench” or ready to do the job should a key position become vacant. The goals of most succession plans are to identify high-potential employees capable of advancing to positions of higher responsibility and training them to be ready to for a promotion, along with ensuring diversity. Easy 70. “Work-Life balance comes down to not an organizational strategy, but an individual one.” Explain. Most companies look at a systems approach of work-life balance, instead of a systems and individual approach. The systems approach to work-life balance includes policies and procedures which allow people flexibility, such as the option of telecommuting and flextime. However, looking at the individual differences is equally important as the needs of each individual are unique. Easy
- 16. © 2011 LauraPortolese Dias, published by Flat World Knowledge 12 Fill in the Blanks Section One 71. _____ plans are implemented to reduce turnover costs. Retention; Easy 72. _____ is the type of turnover in which the employee has no choice in the termination. Involuntary turnover; Easy Section Two 73. If in the physical withdrawal stage, an employee is unable to leave the job situation, he/she resorts to _____ withdrawal. psychological; Easy 74. The Hawthorne studies were designed to study the impact of _____ factors of the workplace on employee motivation. physical and environmental; Easy 75. _____ are our most basic needs, including food, water, and shelter. Physiological needs; Easy 76. In Herzberg’s theory, recognition is a _____. motivation factor; Easy 77. The Job Descriptive Index evaluates the five aspects of _____. job satisfaction; Easy Section Three 78. _____ is the process of identifying and developing internal people who have the potential for filling positions. Succession planning; Easy 79. _____ is the process of adding more meaningful tasks to make the employee’s work more rewarding. Job enrichment; Easy 80. When an outside person hears both sides of a conflict and makes a specific decision about how things should proceed, the process is called _____. arbitration; Easy
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- 18. 39. [Desmukhi fromSardesmukh, an officer exercising police and revenue jurisdiction under the Marāthas. These taxes were confirmed in favour of Sivaji in 1665 (Ibid. 94).] CHAPTER 15 Rāna Sangrām Singh II., A.D. 1710-34.—Sangram Singh (the lion of battle) succeeded; a name renowned in the annals of Mewar, being that of the opponent of the founder of the Moguls. He ascended the throne about the same time with Muhammad Shah,[1] the last of the race of Timur who deserved the name of emperor of India. During the reign of Sangram, from A.D. 1716 to 1734, this mighty empire was dismembered; when, in lieu of one paramount authority, numerous independent governments started up, which preserved their uncertain existence until the last revolution, which has given a new combination to these discordant materials— Muhammadan, Mahratta, and Rajput, in the course of one century under the dominion of a handful of Britons! Like the Satraps of the ancient Persian, or the Lieutenants of Alexander, each chief proclaimed himself master of the province, the government of which was confided to his loyalty and talents; and it cannot fail to diminish any regret at the successive prostration of Bengal, Oudh, Haidarabad, and other less conspicuous States, to remember that they were founded in rebellion, and erected on ingratitude; and that their rulers were destitute of those sympathies, which could alone give stability to their ephemeral greatness, by improving the condition of their subjects. With the Mahrattas the case is different: their emergence to power claims our admiration, when tyranny transformed the industrious husbandman, and the minister of religion, into a hardy and enterprising soldier, and a skilful functionary of government. Had their ambition been restrained
- 19. within legitimate bounds,it would have been no less gratifying than politically and morally just that the family of Sivaji should have retained its [406] authority in countries which his active valour wrested from Aurangzeb. But the genius of conquest changed their natural habits; they devastated instead of consolidating; and in lieu of that severe and frugal simplicity, and that energy of enterprise, which were 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 Deccan, they might yet have held the sovereignty of that vast region, where their habits and language assimilated them with the people. But as they spread over the north they encountered national antipathies, and though professing the same creed, a wider difference in sentiment divided the Mahratta from the Rajput, than from the despots of Delhi, whose tyrannical intolerance was more endurable, because less degrading, than the rapacious meanness of the Southron. Rajasthan benefited by the demolition of the empire: to all but Mewar it yielded an extension of power. Had the national mind been allowed to repose, and its energies to recruit, after so many centuries of demoralization, all would have recovered their strength, which lay in the opinions and industry of the people, a devoted tenantry and brave vassalage, whom we have so often depicted as abandoning their habitations and pursuits to aid the patriotic views of their princes. Deposition of Farrukhsīyar: Nizāmu-l-mulk.—The short reign of Farrukhsiyar was drawing to a close; its end was accelerated by the very means by which that monarch hoped to emancipate himself from the thraldom of the Sayyids, against whose authority the faction of Inayatu-lla was but a feeble counterpoise, and whose arbitrary habits, in the re-establishment of the jizya, lost him even the support of the father of his queen. It was on this occasion that the celebrated Nizamu-l-mulk,[2] the founder of the Haidarabad State, was brought upon the stage: he then held the unimportant charge of the district of Moradabad; but possessed of high talents, he was bought over, by the promise of the government of Malwa, to
- 20. further the viewsof the Sayyids. Supported by a body of ten thousand Mahrattas, these makers of kings soon manifested their displeasure by the deposal of Farrukhsiyar, who was left without any support but that of the princes of Amber and Bundi. Yet they would never have abandoned him had he hearkened to their counsel to take the field, and trust his cause to them: but, cowardly and infatuated, he refused to quit the walls of his palace, and threw [407] 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.”[3] Murder of Farrukhsīyar, May 16, 1719.—Farrukhsiyar hoped for security in the inviolability of the harem—but he found no sanctuary even there: to use the words of the Mogul memoir, "night advanced, and day, like the fallen star of the emperor, sunk in darkness. The gates of the citadel were closed upon his friends: the Wazir and Ajit Singh remained within. This night was dreadful to the inhabitants of the city; no one knew what was passing in the palace, and the troops under the Amiru-l-umara, with ten thousand Mahrattas, remained under arms: morning came, and all hope was extinguished by the royal band (Naubat) announcing the deposal of Farrukhsiyar, in the proclamation of Rafiu-d-darajat, his successor." The interval between the deposal and the death of an Asiatic prince is short, and even while the heralds vociferated “long live the king!” to the new puppet, the bowstring was on the neck of the contemptible Farrukhsiyar. Accession of Rafiu-d-darajāt.—The first act of the new reign (A.D. 1719) was one of conciliation towards Ajit Singh and the Rajputs, namely, the abrogation of the jizya; and the Sayyids further showed their disposition to attach them by conferring the important office of Diwan on one of their own faith: Raja Ratan Chand was accordingly inducted into the ministry in lieu of Inayatu-lla. Accession of Roshan-Akhtar Muhammad Shah, A.D. 1719- 48.—Three phantoms of royalty flitted across the scene in a few months, till Roshan-Akhtar, the eldest son of Bahadur Shah, was
- 21. [408] enthroned withthe title of Muhammad Shah (A.D. 1720), during whose reign of nearly thirty years the empire was completely dismembered,[4] and Mahrattas from the south disputed its spoils with the Afghan mountaineers. The haughty demeanour of the Sayyids disgusted all who acted with them, especially their coadjutor the Nizam,[5] of whose talents, displayed in restoring Malwa to prosperity, they entertained a dread. It was impossible to cherish any abstract loyalty for the puppets they established, and treason lost its name, when the Nizam declared for independence, which the possession of the fortresses of Asir and Burhanpur enabled him to secure. The brothers had just cause for alarm. The Rajputs were called upon for their contingents,[6] and the princes of Kotah and Narwar gallantly interposed their own retainers to cut off the Nizam from the Nerbudda, on which occasion the Kotah prince was slain. The independence of the Nizam led to that of Oudh. Saadat Khan was then but the commandant of Bayana, but he entered into the conspiracy to expel the Sayyids, and was one of those who drew lots to assassinate the Amiru-l-umara. The deed was put into execution on the march to reduce the Nizam, when Haidar Khan buried his poniard in the Amir’s heart.[7] The emperor then in camp, being thus freed, returned against the Wazir, who instantly set up Ibrahim and marched against his opponents. The Rajputs wisely remained neutral, and both armies met. The decapitation of Ratan Chand was the signal for the battle, which was obstinate and bloody; the Wazir was made prisoner, and subjected to the bowstring. For the part Saadat Khan acted in the conspiracy he was honoured with the title of Bahadur Jang, and the government of Oudh. The Rajput princes paid their respects to the [409] conqueror, who confirmed the repeal of the jizya, and as the reward of their neutrality the Rajas of Amber and Jodhpur, Jai Singh and Ajit, were gratified, the former with the government of the province of Agra, the last with that of Gujarat and Ajmer, of which latter fortress he took possession. Girdhardas[8] was made governor of Malwa to oppose the Mahrattas, and the Nizam was invited from his government of Haidarabad to accept the office of wazir of the empire.
- 22. The Policy ofMewār.—The policy of Mewar was too isolated for the times; her rulers clung to forms and unsubstantial homage, while their neighbours, with more active virtue, plunged into the tortuous policy of the imperial court, and seized every opportunity to enlarge the boundaries of their States: and while Amber appropriated to herself the royal domains almost to the Jumna; while Marwar planted her banner on the battlements of Ajmer, dismembered Gujarat, and pushed her clans far into the desert, and even to ‘the world’s end’;[9] Mewar confined her ambition to the control of her ancient feudatories of Abu, Idar, and the petty States which grew out of her, Dungarpur and Banswara. The motive for this policy was precisely the same which had cost such sacrifices in former times; she dreaded amalgamating with the imperial court, and preferred political inferiority to the sacrifice of principle. The internal feuds of her two great clans also operated against her aggrandizement; and while the brave Saktawat, Jeth Singh, expelled the Rathor from Idar, and subdued the wild mountaineers even to Koliwara, the conquest was left incomplete by the jealousy of his rival, and he was recalled in the midst of his success. From these and other causes an important change took place in the internal policy of Mewar, which tended greatly to impair her energies. To this period none of the vassals had the power to erect places of strength within their domains, which, as already stated, were not fixed, but subject to triennial change; their lands were given for subsistence, their native hills were their fortresses, and the frontier strongholds defended their families in time of invasion. As the Mogul power waned, the general defensive system was [410] abandoned, while the predatory warfare which succeeded compelled them to stud their country with castles, in order to shelter their effects from the Mahratta and Pathan, and in later times to protect rebels. Rana Sangram ruled eighteen [twenty-four] years; under him Mewar was respected, and the greater portion of her lost territory was regained. His selection of Biharidas Pancholi evinced his penetration, for never had Mewar a more able or faithful minister, and numerous autograph letters of all the princes of his time attest his talent and his worth as the oracle of the period. He retained his
- 23. office during threereigns: but his skill was unable to stem the tide of Mahratta invasion, which commenced on the death of Sangram. Anecdotes of Rāna Sangrām Singh II.—Tradition has preserved many anecdotes of Sangram, which aid our estimate of Rajput character, whether in the capacity of legislators or the more retired sphere of domestic manners. They uniformly represent this Rana as a patriarchal ruler, wise, just, and inflexible,[10] steady in his application to business, regulating public and private expenditure, and even the sumptuary laws, which were rigidly adhered to, and on which the people still expatiate, giving homely illustrations of the contrast between them and the existing profusion. The Chauhan of Kotharia, one of the highest class of chieftains, had recommended an addition to the folds of the court robe, and as courtesy forbids all personal denial, his wish was assented to, and he retired to his estate pluming himself on his sovereign’s acquiescence. But the Rana, sending for the minister, commanded the sequestration of two villages of Kotharia, which speedily reaching the ears of the chief, he repaired to court, and begged to know the fault which had drawn upon him this mark of displeasure. “None, Raoji; 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 had no other mode of innovating on our ancient costume than by making you bear the charge attending a compliance with your suggestion.” It will readily be believed, that the Chauhan prayed the [411] revocation of this edict, and that he was careful for the future of violating the sumptuary laws of his sovereign. On another occasion, from lapse of memory or want of consideration, he broke the laws he had established, and alienated a village attached to the household. Each branch had its appropriate fund, whether for the kitchen, the wardrobe, the privy purse, the queens; these lands were called thua, and each had its officer, or thuadar, all of whom were made accountable for their trust to the prime minister; it was one of these he had alienated. Seated with his
- 24. chiefs in therasora, or banqueting-hall, there was no sugar forthcoming for the curds, which has a place in the dinner carte of all Rajputs, and he chid the superintendent for the omission. “Anndata” (giver of food), replied the officer, "the minister says you have given away the village set apart for sugar."—“Just,” replied the Rana, and finished his repast without further remark, and without sugar to his curds. Another anecdote will show his inflexibility of character, and his resistance to that species of interference in state affairs which is the bane of Asiatic governments. Sangram had recently emancipated himself from the trammels of a tedious minority, during which his mother, according to custom, acted a conspicuous part in the guardianship of her son and the State. The chieftain of Dariawad had his estate confiscated: but as the Rana never punished from passion or pardoned from weakness, none dared to plead his cause, and he remained proscribed from court during two years, when he ventured a petition to the queen-mother through the Bhandarins,[11] for the reversion of the decree, accompanied with a note for two lakhs of rupees,[12] and a liberal donation to the fair mediators. It was the daily habit of the Rana to pay his respects to his mother before dinner, and on one of these visits she introduced the Ranawat’s request, and begged the restoration of the estate. It was customary, on the issue of every grant, that eight days should elapse from the mandate to the promulgation of the edict, to which eight official seals[13] were attached; but on the present occasion the Rana commanded the execution of the deed at once, and to have it ere he left the Rawala. On its being brought, he [412] placed it respectfully in his mother’s hands, begging her to return the note to the Ranawat; having made this sacrifice to duty, he bowed and retired. The next day he commanded dinner an hour earlier, without the usual visit to the Rawala: all were surprised, but none so much as the queen-mother—the day passed—another came—still no visit, and to a confidential message, she received a ceremonious reply. Alarmed for the loss of her son’s affections, she pondered on the cause, but could find none, except the grant—she entreated the minister’s interference; he respectfully intimated that he was
- 25. interdicted from thediscussion of State affairs but with his sovereign —she had recourse to other expedients, which proving alike fruitless, she became sullen, punished her damsels without cause, and refused food: Sangram still remained obdurate. She talked of a pilgrimage to the Ganges, and befitting equipage and escort were commanded to attend her—the moment of departure was at hand, and yet he would not see her. She repaired by Amber on her route to Mathura, to worship the Apollo of Vraj,[14] when the great Raja Jai Singh (married to the Rana’s sister)[15] advanced, and conducted her to his new city of Jaipur, and to evince his respect “put his shoulder to the travelling litter or palki,” and promised to return with her and be a suppliant to his brother-in-law for the restoration of his regard. She made a tour of the sacred places, and on return accepted the escort of the Prince of Amber. The laws of hospitality amongst the Rajputs are rigid: the Rana could not refuse to his guest the request for which he had left his capital: but averse to owing reconciliation to external intercession, and having done enough for the suppression of intrigue, he advanced to meet the cortège when within one march of Udaipur, as if to receive the Amber prince; but proceeding direct to his [413] mother’s tents, he asked her blessing, and having escorted her to the palace, returned to greet and conduct his brother prince; all the allusion he made to the subject was in the simple but pithy expression, “family quarrels should be kept in the family.” Another anecdote shows him as the vigilant shepherd watching over the safety of his flock. As he sat down to dinner, tidings arrived of an invasion of the Malwa Pathans, who had rifled several villages at Mandasor, carrying the inhabitants into captivity. Pushing the platter from him, he ordered his armour, and the nakkara to beat 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. They departed: several hours after, the chief of Kanor arrived, having left a sick-bed, and with a tertian come in obedience to his sovereign’s summons. Vain was his prince’s dissuasion to keep him back, and he joined the band as they came
- 26. up with theinvaders. 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 a bira[16] from the Rana’s own hand, a distinction which he held to be an ample reward for his wounds, and testimonial of the worth of his father. The existence of such sentiments are the strongest tests of character. On another occasion, some parasite had insinuated suspicions against the chief of the nobles, the Rawat of Salumbar, who had just returned victorious in action with the royal forces at Malwa, and had asked permission to visit his family on his way to court. The Rana spurned the suspicion, and to show his reliance on the chief, he dispatched a messenger for Salumbar to wait his arrival and summon him to the presence. He had reached his domain, given leave to his vassals as they passed their respective abodes, dismounted, and reached the door of the Rawala, when the herald called aloud, “The Rana salutes you, Rawatji, and commands this letter.” With his hand on the door where his wife and children awaited him, he demanded his horse, and simply leaving his ‘duty for his mother,’ he [414] mounted, with half a dozen attendants, nor loosed the rein until he reached the capital. It was midnight; his house empty; no servants; no dinner; but his sovereign had foreseen and provided, and when his arrival was announced, provender for his cattle, and vessels of provision prepared in the royal kitchen, were immediately sent to his abode. Next morning Salumbar attended the court. The Rana was unusually gracious, and not only presented him with the usual tokens of regard, a horse and jewels, but moreover a grant of land. With surprise he asked what service he had performed to merit such distinction, and from a sentiment becoming the descendant of Chonda solemnly refused to accept it; observing, that even if he had lost his head, the reward was excessive; but if his prince would admit of his preferring a request, it would be, that in remembrance of his sovereign’s favour, when he, or his, in after times, should on the summons come from their estate to the capital, the same number of dishes from the royal kitchen should be sent to his abode: it was granted, and to this day
- 27. his descendants enjoythe distinction. These anecdotes paint the character of Sangram far more forcibly than any laboured effort. His reign was as honourable to himself as it was beneficial to his country, in whose defence he had fought eighteen actions; but though his policy was too circumscribed, and his country would have benefited more by a surrender of some of those antique prejudices which kept her back in the general scramble for portions of the dilapidated monarchy of the Moguls, yet he was respected abroad, as he was beloved by his subjects, of whose welfare he was ever watchful, and to whose wants ever indulgent. Rana Sangram was the last prince who upheld the dignity of the gaddi of Bappa Rawal; with his death commenced Mahratta ascendancy, and with this we shall open the reign of his son and successor. Rāna Jagat Singh II., A.D. 1734-51. Difficulties of Rājput Combination.—Jagat Singh II., the eldest of the four sons of Sangram, succeeded S. 1790 (A.D. 1734). The commencement of his reign was signalized by a revival of the triple alliance formed by Rana Amra, and broken by Raja Ajit’s connexion with the Sayyids and the renewal of matrimonial ties with the empire, the abjuration whereof was the basis of the treaty. The present engagement, which included all the minor states, was formed at Hurra, a town in Mewar on the Ajmer frontier, where the confederate princes met at the head of their vassals. To insure unanimity, the Rana was invested with paramount control, and headed the forces which were [415] to take the field after the rains, already set in.[17] Unity of interests was the chief character of the engagement, had they adhered to which, not only the independence, but the aggrandisement, of Rajasthan, was in their power, and they might have alike defied the expiring efforts of Mogul tyranny, and the Parthian-like warfare of the Mahratta. They were indeed the most formidable power in India at this juncture; but difficult as it had ever proved to coalesce the Rajputs for mutual preservation, even when a paramount superiority of power, both temporal and spiritual, belonged to the Ranas, so now, since Amber and Marwar had attained an equality with Mewar, it was found still less practicable to prevent the operation of the
- 28. principles of disunion.In fact, a moment’s reflection must discover that the component parts of a great feudal federation, such as that described, must contain too many discordant particles—too many rivalries and national antipathies—ever cordially to amalgamate. Had it been otherwise, the opportunities were many and splendid for the recovery of Rajput freedom; but though individually enamoured of liberty, the universality of the sentiment prevented its realization: they never would submit to the control required to work it out, and this, the best opportunity which had ever occurred, was lost. A glance at the disordered fragments of the throne of Akbar will show the comparative strength of the Rajputs. League of Nizamu-l-mulk with Rājputs and Marāthas.— Nizamu-l-mulk had completely emancipated himself from his allegiance, and signalized his independence, by sending the head of the imperial general, who [416] ventured to oppose it, as that of a traitor, to the emperor. He leagued with the Rajputs, and instigated Bajirao to plant the Mahratta standard in Malwa and Gujarat. In defending the former, Dayya Bahadur fell;[18] and Jai Singh of Amber, being nominated to the trust, delegated it to the invader, and Malwa was lost. The extensive province of Gujarat soon shared the same fate; for in the vacillating policy of the court, the promise of that government to the Rathors had been broken, and Abhai Singh, son of Ajit, who had expelled Sarbuland Khan[19] after a severe contest, following the example of his brother prince of Amber, connived with the invaders, while he added its most northern districts to Marwar. In Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, Shujau-d-daula, and his deputy Allahwirdi Khan,[20] were supreme, and Safdar Jang[21] (son of Saadat Khan) was established in Oudh. The basest disloyalty marked the rise of this family, which owed everything to Muhammad Shah. It was Saadat Khan who invited Nadir Shah, whose invasion gave the final stab to the empire; and it was his son, Safdar Jang, who, when commandant of the artillery (mir-i-atish), turned it against his sovereign’s palace, and then conveyed it to Oudh. Of the Diwans of Bengal we must speak only with reverence; but, whether they had any special dispensation, their loyalty to the descendant of
- 29. Farrukhsiyar has beenvery little more distinguished than that of the satraps enumerated, though the original tenure of Bengal is still apparent, and the feudal obligation to the suzerain of Delhi manifested, in the homage of petite serjanterie, in transmitting with the annual fine of relief (one hundred mohars) the spices of the eastern archipelago. Yet of all those who gloried in the title of fidwi padshah-i-ghazi, the only ‘slave of the victorious king,’ who has been generous to him in the day of his distress, is the Diwan of Bengal, better known as the English East India Company. In the hour of triumph they rescued the blind and aged descendants of the illustrious Babur from a state of degradation and penury, and secured to him all the dignity and comfort which his circumstances could lead him to hope; and the present state of his family, contrasted with the thraldom and misery endured while fortune favoured the Mahratta, is splendid. Yet perhaps the most acute stroke of fortune to this fallen monarch was when the British governor of India lent his aid to the descendant of the rebellious Safdar Jang to mount the throne of Oudh, and to assume, in lieu of the title of wazir of the empire, that of king. We can [417] appreciate and commiserate the feeling; for the days of power were yet too recent[22] for Akbar Sani (the second) to receive such intelligence without a shock, or without comparing his condition with him whose name he bore. It is well to pause upon this page of eastern history, which is full of instruction; since by weighing the abuses of power, and its inevitable loss through placing a large executive trust in the hands of those who exercised it without sympathy towards the governed, we may at least retard the day of our decline. Marātha Raids. The Campaign of Nādir Shāh.—The Mahratta establishments in Malwa and Gujarat constituted a nucleus for others to form upon, and like locusts, they crossed the Nerbudda in swarms; when the Holkars, the Sindhias, the Puars, and other less familiar names, emerged from obscurity; when the plough[23] was deserted for the sword, and the goat-herd[24] made a lance of his crook. They devastated, and at length settled upon, the lands of the
- 30. indigenous Rajputs. Fora time the necessity of unity made them act under one standard, and hence the vast masses under the first Bajirao, which bore down all opposition, and afterwards dispersed themselves over those long-oppressed regions. It was in A.D. 1735 that he first crossed the Chambal[25] and appeared before Delhi, which he blockaded, when his retreat was purchased by the surrender of the chauth, or fourth of the gross revenues of the empire. The Nizam, dreading the influence such pusillanimous concession might exert upon his rising power, determined to drive the Mahrattas from Malwa, where, if once fixed, they would cut off his communications with the north. He accordingly invaded Malwa, defeated Bajirao in a pitched battle, and was only prevented from following it up by Nadir Shah’s advance, facilitated by the Afghans, who, on becoming independent in Kabul, laid open the frontiers of Hindustan.[26] In this emergency, “great hopes were placed on the valour of the Rajputs”; but the spirit of devotion in this brave race, by whose aid the Mogul power was made and maintained, was irretrievably alienated, and not one of those high families, who had throughout been so lavish of their blood in its defence, would obey the summons to the royal standard, when the fate of India was decided on the plains of Karnal.[27] A sense [418] of individual danger brought together the great home feudatories, when the Nizam and Saadat Khan (now Wazir) united their forces under the imperial commander; but their demoralized levies were no match for the Persian and the northern mountaineer. The Amiru-l-umara was slain, the Wazir made prisoner, and Muhammad Shah and his kingdom were at Nadir’s disposal. The disloyalty of the Wazir filled the capital with blood, and subjected his sovereign to the condition of a captive. Jealous of the Nizam, whose diplomatic success had obtained him the office of Amiru-l-umara, he stimulated the avarice of the conqueror by exaggerating the riches of Delhi, and declared that he alone could furnish the ransom negotiated by the Nizam. Nadir’s love of gold overpowered his principle; the treaty was broken, the keys of Delhi were demanded, and its humiliated emperor was led in triumph through the camp of the conqueror,
- 31. who, on March8, A.D. 1739, took possession of the palace of Timur, and coined money bearing this legend: King over the kings of the world Is Nadir, king of kings, and lord of the period. Plunder and Massacre at Delhi.—The accumulated wealth of India contained in the royal treasury, notwithstanding the lavish expenditure during the civil wars, and the profuse rewards scattered by each competitor for dominion, was yet sufficient to gratify even avarice itself, amounting in gold, jewels, and plate to forty millions sterling, exclusive of equipages of every denomination. But this enormous spoil only kindled instead of satiating the appetite of Nadir, and a fine of two millions and a half was exacted, and levied with such unrelenting rigour and cruelty on the inhabitants, that men of rank and character could find no means of escape but by suicide. A rumour of this monster’s death excited an insurrection, in which several Persians were killed. The provocation was not lost: the conqueror ascended a mosque,[28] and commanded a general massacre, in which thousands were slain. Pillage accompanied murder; whilst the streets streamed with blood, the city was fired, and the dead were consumed in the conflagration of their late habitations. If a single ray of satisfaction could be felt amidst such a scene of horror, it must have been when Nadir commanded the minister of the wretch who was the author of [419] this atrocity, the infamous Saadat Khan, to send, on pain of death, an inventory of his own and his master’s wealth; demanding meanwhile the two millions and a half, the original composition settled by the Nizam, from the Wazir alone. Whether his ‘coward conscience’ was alarmed at the mischief he had occasioned, or mortification at discovering that his ambition had ‘o’erleaped itself,’ and recoiled with vengeance on his own head, tempted the act, it is impossible to discover, but the guilty Saadat became his own executioner. He swallowed poison;[29] an example followed by his diwan, Raja Majlis Rae, in order to escape the rage of the offended Nadir. By the new treaty, all the western provinces, Kabul, Tatta, Sind, and Multan, were surrendered and
- 32. united to Persia,and on the vernal equinox, Nadir, gorged with spoil, commenced his march from the desolated Delhi.[30] The philosophic comment of the native historian on these events is so just, that we shall transcribe it verbatim. “The people of Hindustan at this period thought only of personal safety and gratification; misery was disregarded by those who escaped it, and man, centred wholly in self, felt not for his kind. This selfishness, destructive of public and private virtue, was universal in Hindustan at the invasion of Nadir Shah; nor have the people become more virtuous since, and consequently neither more happy nor more independent.” Results to the Rājputs.—At this eventful era in the political history of India, the Rajput nation had not only maintained their ground amidst the convulsions of six centuries under the paramount sway of the Islamite, but two of the three chief States, Marwar and [420] Amber, had by policy and valour created substantial States out of petty principalities, junior branches[31] from which had established their independence, and still enjoy it under treaty with the British Government. Mewar at this juncture was defined by nearly the same boundaries as when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded her in the tenth century, though her influence over many of her tributaries, as Bundi, Abu, Idar, and Deolia, was destroyed. To the west, the fertile district of Godwar carried her beyond her natural barrier, the Aravalli, into the desert; while the Chambal was her limit to the east. The Khari separated her from Ajmer, and to the south she adjoined Malwa. These limits comprehended one hundred and thirty miles of latitude and one hundred and forty of longitude, containing 10,000 towns and villages, with upwards of a million sterling of revenue, raised from a fertile soil by an excellent agricultural population, a wealthy mercantile community, and defended by a devoted vassalage. Such was this little patriarchal State after the protracted strife which has been related; we shall have to exhibit her, in less than half a century,
- 33. on the vergeof annihilation from the predatory inroads of the Mahrattas. The Coming of the Marāthas.—In order to mark with exactitude the introduction of the Mahrattas into Rajasthan, we must revert to the period[32] when the dastardly intrigues of the advisers of Muhammad Shah surrendered to them as tribute the chauth, or fourth of his revenues. Whether in the full tide of successful invasion, these spoilers deemed any other argument than force to be requisite in order to justify their extortions, they had in this surrender a concession of which the subtle Mahrattas were well capable of availing themselves; and as the Mogul claimed sovereignty over the whole of Rajasthan, they might plausibly urge their right of chauth, as applicable to all the territories subordinate to the empire. The Rājput Coalition.—The rapidity with which these desultory bands flew from conquest to conquest appears to have alarmed the Rajputs, and again brought about a coalition, which, with the characteristic peculiarity of all such contracts, was commenced by matrimonial alliances. On this occasion, Bijai Singh, the heir of Marwar, was affianced to the Rana’s daughter, who at the same time reconciled the princes [421] of Marwar and Amber, whose positions at the court of the Mogul often brought their national jealousies into conflict, as they alternately took the lead in his councils: for it was rare to find both in the same line of politics. These matters were arranged at Udaipur.[33] But as we have often had occasion to observe, no public [422] or general benefit ever resulted from these alliances, which were obstructed by the multitude of petty jealousies inseparable from clanship; even while this treaty was in discussion, the fruit of the triple league formed against the tyranny of Aurangzeb was about to show its baneful influence, as will presently appear. Bājirāo visits Mewār. Negotiations with the Marāthas.— When Malwa was acquired by the Mahrattas, followed by the cession of the chauth, their leader, Bajirao, repaired to Mewar, where his visit
- 34. created great alarm.[34] TheRana desired to avoid a personal interview, and sent as his ambassadors [423], the chief of Salumbar and his prime minister, Biharidas. Long discussions followed as to the mode of Bajirao’s reception, which was settled to be on the same footing as the Raja of Banera,[35] and that he should be seated in front of the throne. A treaty followed, stipulating an annual tribute, which remained in force during ten years,[36] when grasping at the whole they despised a part, and the treaty became a nullity.[37] The dissensions which arose soon after, in consequence of the Rajput engagements, afforded the opportunity sought for to mix in their internal concerns. Right of Primogeniture.—It may be recollected that in the family engagements formed by Rana Amra there was an obligation to invest the issue of such marriage with the rights of primogeniture; and the death of Sawai Jai Singh[38] of Amber, two years after Nadir’s invasion, brought that stipulation into effect. His eldest son, Isari Singh, was proclaimed Raja, but a strong party supported Madho Singh, the Rana’s nephew, and the stipulated, against the natural order of succession. We are [424] left in doubt as to the real designs of Jai Singh in maintaining his guarantee, which was doubtless inconvenient; but that Madho Singh was not brought up to the expectation is evident, from his holding a fief of the Rana Sangram, who appropriated the domain of Rampura for his support, subject to the service of one thousand horse and two thousand foot, formally sanctioned by his father, who allowed the transfer of his services. On the other hand, the letter of permission entitles him Kshema, ‘prosperous,’ an epithet only applied to the heir-apparent of Jaipur. Five years, however, elapsed before any extraordinary exertions were made to annul the rights of Isari Singh, who led his vassals to the Sutlej in order to oppose the first invasion of the Duranis.[39] It would be tedious to give even an epitome of the intrigues for the development of this object, which properly belong to the annals of Amber, and whence resulted many of the troubles of Rajputana. The Rana took the field with his nephew, and was met by Isari Singh,[40] supported by the Mahrattas; but the Sesodias did not evince in the
- 35. battle of Rajmahallthat gallantry which must have its source in moral strength: they were defeated and fled. The Rana vented his indignation in a galling sarcasm; he gave the sword of state to a common courtesan to carry in procession, observing “it was a woman’s weapon in these degenerate times”: a remark the degrading severity of which made a lasting impression in the decline of Mewar. Elated with this success, Isari Singh carried his resentments and his auxiliaries, under Sindhia, against the Haras of Kotah and Bundi, who supported the cause of his antagonist. Kotah stood a siege and was gallantly defended, and Sindhia (Apaji) lost an arm:[41] on this occasion both the States suffered a diminution of territory, and were subjected to tribute. The Rana, following the example of the Kachhwahas, called in as auxiliary Malhar Rao Holkar, and engaged to pay sixty-four lakhs of rupees (£800,000) on the deposal of Isari Singh. To avoid degradation this unfortunate prince resolved on suicide, and a dose of poison gave Madho Singh the gaddi, Holkar his bribe, and the Mahrattas a firm hold upon Rajasthan. Such was the cause of Rajput abasement; the moral force of the vassals was lost in a contest unjust in all its associations, and from this period we have only the degrading spectacle of civil strife and predatory spoliation till the existing treaty of A.D. 1817 [425]. Death of Rāna Jagat Singh II., A.D. 1751.—In S. 1808 (A.D. 1752) Rana Jagat Singh died. Addicted to pleasure, his habits of levity and profusion totally unfitted him for the task of governing his country at such a juncture; he considered his elephant fights[42] of more importance than keeping down the Mahrattas. Like all his family, he patronized the arts, greatly enlarged the palace, and expended £250,000 in embellishing the islets of the Pichola. The villas scattered over the valley were all erected by him, and many of
- 36. those festivals devotedto idleness and dissipation, and now firmly rooted at Udaipur, were instituted by Jagat Singh II. CHAPTER 16 Rāna Partāp Singh II., A.D. 1751-54.—Partap II. succeeded in A.D. 1752. Of the history of this prince, who renewed the most illustrious name in the annals of Mewar, there is nothing to record beyond the fact, that the three years he occupied the throne were marked by so many Mahratta invasions[1] and war contributions. By a daughter of Raja Jai Singh of Amber he had a son, who succeeded him. Rāna Rāj Singh II., A.D. 1754-61.—Rana Raj Singh II. was as little entitled to the name he bore as his predecessor. During the seven years he held the dignity at least seven shoals of the Southrons overran Mewar,[2] and so exhausted this country, that the Rana was compelled to ask pecuniary aid from the Brahman collector of the tribute, to enable him to marry the Rathor chieftain’s daughter. On his death the order of succession retrograded, devolving on his uncle [426], Rāna Arsi Singh II., A.D. 1761-73.—Rana Arsi, in S. 1818, A.D. 1762. The levity of Jagat Singh, the inexperience of his successors Partap and Raj Singh, with the ungovernable temper of Rana Arsi, and the circumstances under which he succeeded to power, introduced a train of disorders which proved fatal to Mewar. Until this period not a foot of territory had been alienated. The wisdom of the Pancholi ministers, and the high respect paid by the organ of the Satara government, for a while preserved its integrity; but when the country was divided by factions, and the Mahrattas, ceasing to be a federate body, prowled in search of prey under leaders, each having an interest of his own, they formed political combinations to suit the
- 37. ephemeral purposes ofthe former, but from which they alone reaped advantage. An attempt to depose Partap and set up his uncle Nathji introduced a series of rebellions, and constituted Malhar Rao Holkar, who had already become master of a considerable portion of the domain of Mewar, the umpire in their family disputes. Malhār Rāo Holkar invades Mewār. Famine, A.D. 1764.—The ties of blood or of princely gratitude are feeble bonds if political expediency demands their dissolution; and Madho Singh, when firmly established on the throne of Amber, repaid the immense sacrifices by which the Rana had effected it by assigning his fief of Rampura, which he had not a shadow of right to alienate, to Holkar: this was the first limb severed from Mewar.[3] Holkar had also become the assignee of the tribute imposed by Bajirao, but from which the Rana justly deemed himself exempt, when the terms of all further encroachment in Mewar were set at nought. On the plea of recovering these arrears, and the rent of some districts[4] on the Chambal, Malhar, after many threatening letters, invaded Mewar, and his threats of occupying the capital were only checked by draining their exhausted resources of six hundred thousand pounds.[5] In the same year[6] a famine afflicted them, when flour and tamarinds were equal in value, and were sold at the rate of a rupee for one pound and a half. Four years subsequent to this, civil war broke out and continued to influence all posterior proceedings, rendering [427] the inhabitants of this unhappy country a prey to every invader until 1817, when they tasted repose under British protection. Civil War in Mewār. Revolt of Ratan Singh.—The real cause of this rebellion must ever remain a secret: for while some regard it as a patriotic effort on the part of the people to redeem themselves from foreign domination, others discover its motive in the selfishness of the hostile clans, who supported or opposed the succession of Rana Arsi. This prince is accused of having unfairly acquired the crown, by the removal of his nephew Raj Singh; but though the traditional anecdotes of the period furnish strong grounds of suspicion, there is nothing which affords a direct confirmation of the
- 38. crime. It is,however, a public misfortune when the line of succession retrogrades in Mewar: Arsi had no right to expect the inheritance he obtained, having long held a seat below the sixteen chief nobles; and as one of the ‘infants’ (babas) he was incorporated with the second class of nobles with an appanage of only £3000 per annum. His defects of character had been too closely contemplated by his compeers, and had kindled too many enmities, to justify expectation that the adventitious dignity he had attained would succeed in obliterating the memory of them; and past familiarity alone destroyed the respect which was exacted by sudden greatness. His insolent demeanour estranged the first of the home nobility, the Sadri chieftain,[7] whose ancestor at Haldighat acquired a claim to the perpetual gratitude of the Sesodias, while to an unfeeling pun on a personal defect of Jaswant Singh of Deogarh is attributed the hatred and revenge of this powerful branch of the Chondawats. These chiefs formed a party which eventually entrained many of lesser note to depose their sovereign, and immediately set up a youth called Ratna Singh, declared to be the posthumous son of the last Rana by the daughter of the chief of Gogunda, though to this hour disputes run high as to whether he was really the son of Raj Singh, or merely the puppet [428] of a faction. Be the fact as it may, he was made a rallying point for the disaffected, who soon comprehended the greater portion of the nobles, while out of the ‘sixteen’ greater chiefs five[8] only withstood the defection: of these, Salumbar, the hereditary premier, at first espoused, but soon abandoned, the cause of the Pretender; not from the principle of loyalty which his descendants take credit for, but from finding the superiority of intellect of the heads of the rebellion[9] (which now counted the rival Saktawats) too powerful for the supremacy he desired. Basant Pal, of the Depra tribe, was invested with the office of Pardhan to the Pretender. The ancestor of this man accompanied Samarsi in the twelfth century from Delhi, where he held a high office in the household of Prithiraj, the last emperor of the Hindus, and it is a distinguished proof of the hereditary quality of official dignity to find his descendant, after the lapse of centuries, still holding office with the nominal title of Pardhan. The Futuri[10] (by
- 39. which name thecourt still designates the Pretender) took post with his faction in Kumbhalmer; where he was formally installed, and whence he promulgated his decrees as Rana of Mewar. With that heedlessness of consequences and the political debasement which are invariable concomitants of civil dissension, they had the meanness to invite Sindhia to their aid, with a promise of a reward of more than one million sterling[11] on the dethronement of Arsi.
- 40. Zālim Singh ofKotah.—This contest first brought into notice one of the most celebrated Rajput chiefs of India, Zalim Singh of Kotah, who was destined to fill a distinguished part in the annals of Rajasthan, but more especially in Mewar, where his political sagacity first developed itself. Though this is not the proper place to delineate his history, which will occupy a subsequent portion of the work, it is impossible to trace the events with which he was so closely connected without adverting slightly to the part he acted in these scenes. The attack on Kotah, of which his father was military governor (during the struggle to place Madho Singh on the throne of Amber), by Isari Singh, in conjunction with Sindhia, was the first avenue to his distinguished career, leading to an acquaintance with the Mahratta chiefs, which linked him with their policy for more than half a century [429]. Zalim having lost his prince’s favour, whose path in love he had dared to cross, repaired, on his banishment from Kotah, to the Rana, who, observing his talents, enrolled him amongst his chiefs, and conferred on him, with the title of Raj Rana, the lands of Chitarkhera for his support. By his advice the Mahratta leaders, Raghu Paigawala and Daula Miyan, with their bands, were called in by the Rana, who, setting aside the ancient Pancholi ministry, gave the seals of office to Agarji Mehta. At this period (S. 1824, A.D. 1768), Mahadaji Sindhia was at Ujjain, whither the conflicting parties hastened, each desirous of obtaining the chieftain’s support. But the Pretender’s proposals had been already entertained, and he was then encamped with Sindhia on the banks of the Sipra.[12] Battle at the Sipra, and Siege of Udaipur, A.D. 1769.—The Rana’s force, conducted by the chief of Salumbar, the Rajas of Shahpura and Banera, with Zalim Singh and the Mahratta auxiliaries, did not hesitate to attack the combined camp, and for a moment they were victorious, driving Mahadaji and the Pretender from the field, with great loss, to the gates of Ujjain. Here, however, they rallied, and being joined by a fresh body of troops, the battle was renewed with great disadvantage to the Rajputs, who, deeming the
- 41. day theirs, hadbroken and dispersed to plunder. The chiefs of Salumbar, Shahpura, and Banera were slain, and the auxiliary Daula Miyan, Raja Man (ex-prince of Narwar), and Raj Kalyan, the heir of Sadri, severely wounded. Zalim Singh had his horse killed under him, and being left wounded on the field, was made prisoner, but hospitably treated by Trimbak Rao, father to the celebrated Ambaji. The discomfited troops retreated to Udaipur while the Pretender’s party remained with Sindhia, inciting him to invest that capital and place Ratna on the throne. Some time, however, elapsed before he could carry this design into execution; when at the head of a large force the Mahratta chief gained the passes and besieged the city. The Rana’s cause now appeared hopeless. Bhim Singh of Salumbar, uncle and successor to the chief slain at Ujjain, with the Rathor chief of Badnor (descendant of Jaimall), were the only nobles of high rank who defended their prince and capital in this emergency; but the energies of an individual saved both. Amar Chand, Minister of Mewār.—Amra Chand Barwa, of the mercantile class, had held office in the preceding reigns, when his influence retarded the progress of evils which no human means could avert. He was now displaced, and little solicitous of recovering his [430] transient power, amidst hourly increasing difficulties, with a stubborn and unpopular prince, a divided aristocracy, and an impoverished country. He was aware also of his own imperious temper, which was as ungovernable as his sovereign’s, and which experienced no check from the minor Partap, who regarded him as his father. During the ten years he had been out of office, mercenaries of Sind had been entertained and established on the forfeited lands of the clans, perpetuating discontent and stifling every latent spark of patriotism. Even those who did not join the Pretender remained sullenly at their castles, and thus all confidence was annihilated. A casual incident brought Amra forward at this critical juncture. Udaipur had neither ditch nor walls equal to its defence. Arsi was engaged in fortifying Eklinggarh, a lofty hill south of the city,[13] which it commanded, and attempting to place thereon an enormous piece of ordnance, but it baffled their mechanical skill
- 42. to get itover the scraggy ascent. Amra happened to be present when the Rana arrived to inspect the proceedings. Excuses were made to avert his displeasure, when turning to the ex-minister, he inquired what time and expense ought to attend the completion of such an undertaking. The reply was, “A few rations of grain and some days”: and he offered to accomplish the task, on condition that his orders should be supreme in the valley during its performance. He collected the whole working population, cut a road, and in a few days gave the Rana a salute from Eklinggarh. The foster-brother of the Rana had succeeded the Jhala chieftain, Raghu Deo, in the ministerial functions. The city was now closely invested on every side but the west, where communications were still kept open by the lake, across which the faithful mountaineers of the Aravalli, who in similar dangers never failed, supplied them with provisions. All defence rested on the fidelity of the mercenary Sindis, and they were at this very moment insolent in their clamours for arrears of pay. Nor were the indecisive measures daily passing before their eyes calculated to augment their respect, or stimulate their courage. Not satisfied with demands, they had the audacity to seize the Rana by the skirt of his robe as he entered the palace, which was torn in the effort to detain him. The haughtiness of his temper gave way to this humiliating proof of the hopelessness of his condition; and while the Dhabhai (foster-brother) counselled escape by water to the mountains, whence he might gain Mandalgarh, the Salumbar chief confessed his inability to offer any advice [431] save that of recourse to Amra Chand. He was summoned, and the uncontrolled charge of their desperate affairs offered to his guidance. He replied that it was a task of which no man could be covetous, more especially himself, whose administration had formerly been marked by the banishment of corruption and disorder, for that he must now call in the aid of these vices, and assimilate the means to the times. “You know also,” he added, "my defect of temper, which admits of no control. Wherever I am, I must be absolute—no secret advisers, no counteraction of measures. With finances ruined, troops mutinous, provisions expended, if you desire me to act, swear that no order, whatever its purport, shall be countermanded, and I may try what
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