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Ajit Singh of Marwar
Ajit Singh Rathore (19 February 1679 – 24 June 1724) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Marwar, in present-day Rajasthan, and the son of Jaswant Singh Rathore. He also served as the Mughal Subahdar of Gujarat for two terms from 1715–1717 and 1719–1721.
Jaswant Singh of Marwar died at Jamrud in December 1678. His two wives were pregnant but, there being no living male heir, the lands in Marwar were converted by the emperor Aurangzeb into territories of the Mughal Empire so that they could be managed as jagirs. He appointed Indra Singh Rathore, a nephew of Jaswant Singh, as ruler there. Historian John F. Richards stresses that this was intended as a bureaucratic exercise rather than an annexation.
There was opposition to Aurangzeb's actions because both pregnant women gave birth to sons during the time that he was enacting his decision. In June 1679, Durgadas Rathore, a senior officer of the former ruler[citation needed], led a delegation to Shahjahanabad where they pleaded with Aurangzeb to recognise the older of these two sons, Ajit Singh, as successor to Jaswant Singh and ruler of Marwar. Aurangzeb refused, offering instead to raise Ajit and to give him the title of raja, with an appropriate noble rank, when he attained adulthood. However, the offer was conditional on Ajit being brought up as a Muslim, which was anathema to the petitioners.
The dispute escalated when Ajit Singh's younger brother died. Aurangzeb sent a force to capture the two queens and Ajit from the Rathore mansion in Shahjahanabad but his attempt was rebuffed by Durgadas Rathore, who initially used gunfire in retaliation and eventually escaped from the city to Jodhpur along with Ajit and the two queens, who were disguised as men. Some of those accompanying the escapees detached themselves from the party and were killed as they fought to slow down the pursuing Mughals.
It is believed that the Dhaa Maa (wet nurse) of infant prince Ajit Singh of Marwar, Goora Dhaa put her beloved son on the royal bed instead of Ajit Singh and put the sleeping prince Ajit into a basket and smuggled him with others out of Delhi.[need quotation to verify] Others opine a slave girl with her infant posed as Rani and remained behind to be captured. Aurangzeb deigned to accept this deceit and sent the child to be raised as a Muslim in his harem. Jadunath Sarkar mentioned that Aurangzeb brought up a milkman's son in his harem as Ajit Singh. The child was renamed Mohammadi Raj and the act of changing religion meant that, by custom, the imposter lost all hereditary entitlement to the lands of Marwar that he would otherwise have had if he had indeed been Ajit Singh.
Continuing to play along with the deceit, Aurangzeb refused to negotiate with representatives of Ajit Singh, claiming that child to be the imposter. He sent his son, Muhammad Akbar, to occupy Marwar. Ajit Singh's mother convinced the Rana of Mewar, Raj Singh I, who is commonly thought to be her relative, to join in fighting against the Mughals. Richards says that Raj Singh's fear that Mewar would also be invaded was a major motivation for becoming involved; another historian, Satish Chandra, thinks that there were several possible alternatives, including Singh seeing an opportunity to assert Mewar's position among the Rajput principalities of the region. The combined Rathore-Sisodia forces were no match for the Mughal army, Mewar was itself attacked and the Rajputs had to retire to the hills, from where they engaged in sporadic guerrilla warfare.
For 20 years after this event, Marwar remained under the direct rule of a Mughal governor. During this period, Durgadas Rathore and Akheraj Singh Rajpurohit (Rajguru of Ajit Singh) carried out a relentless struggle against the occupying forces. Trade routes that passed through the region were plundered by the guerrillas, who also looted various treasuries in present-day Rajasthan and Gujarat. These disorders adversely impacted the finances of the empire.
Aurangzeb died in 1707; he was to prove the last of the great Mughals. Durgadas Rathore and Akheraj Singh Rajpurohit took advantage of the disturbances following this death to seize Jodhpur and eventually evict the occupying mughal force.
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Ajit Singh of Marwar
Ajit Singh Rathore (19 February 1679 – 24 June 1724) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Marwar, in present-day Rajasthan, and the son of Jaswant Singh Rathore. He also served as the Mughal Subahdar of Gujarat for two terms from 1715–1717 and 1719–1721.
Jaswant Singh of Marwar died at Jamrud in December 1678. His two wives were pregnant but, there being no living male heir, the lands in Marwar were converted by the emperor Aurangzeb into territories of the Mughal Empire so that they could be managed as jagirs. He appointed Indra Singh Rathore, a nephew of Jaswant Singh, as ruler there. Historian John F. Richards stresses that this was intended as a bureaucratic exercise rather than an annexation.
There was opposition to Aurangzeb's actions because both pregnant women gave birth to sons during the time that he was enacting his decision. In June 1679, Durgadas Rathore, a senior officer of the former ruler[citation needed], led a delegation to Shahjahanabad where they pleaded with Aurangzeb to recognise the older of these two sons, Ajit Singh, as successor to Jaswant Singh and ruler of Marwar. Aurangzeb refused, offering instead to raise Ajit and to give him the title of raja, with an appropriate noble rank, when he attained adulthood. However, the offer was conditional on Ajit being brought up as a Muslim, which was anathema to the petitioners.
The dispute escalated when Ajit Singh's younger brother died. Aurangzeb sent a force to capture the two queens and Ajit from the Rathore mansion in Shahjahanabad but his attempt was rebuffed by Durgadas Rathore, who initially used gunfire in retaliation and eventually escaped from the city to Jodhpur along with Ajit and the two queens, who were disguised as men. Some of those accompanying the escapees detached themselves from the party and were killed as they fought to slow down the pursuing Mughals.
It is believed that the Dhaa Maa (wet nurse) of infant prince Ajit Singh of Marwar, Goora Dhaa put her beloved son on the royal bed instead of Ajit Singh and put the sleeping prince Ajit into a basket and smuggled him with others out of Delhi.[need quotation to verify] Others opine a slave girl with her infant posed as Rani and remained behind to be captured. Aurangzeb deigned to accept this deceit and sent the child to be raised as a Muslim in his harem. Jadunath Sarkar mentioned that Aurangzeb brought up a milkman's son in his harem as Ajit Singh. The child was renamed Mohammadi Raj and the act of changing religion meant that, by custom, the imposter lost all hereditary entitlement to the lands of Marwar that he would otherwise have had if he had indeed been Ajit Singh.
Continuing to play along with the deceit, Aurangzeb refused to negotiate with representatives of Ajit Singh, claiming that child to be the imposter. He sent his son, Muhammad Akbar, to occupy Marwar. Ajit Singh's mother convinced the Rana of Mewar, Raj Singh I, who is commonly thought to be her relative, to join in fighting against the Mughals. Richards says that Raj Singh's fear that Mewar would also be invaded was a major motivation for becoming involved; another historian, Satish Chandra, thinks that there were several possible alternatives, including Singh seeing an opportunity to assert Mewar's position among the Rajput principalities of the region. The combined Rathore-Sisodia forces were no match for the Mughal army, Mewar was itself attacked and the Rajputs had to retire to the hills, from where they engaged in sporadic guerrilla warfare.
For 20 years after this event, Marwar remained under the direct rule of a Mughal governor. During this period, Durgadas Rathore and Akheraj Singh Rajpurohit (Rajguru of Ajit Singh) carried out a relentless struggle against the occupying forces. Trade routes that passed through the region were plundered by the guerrillas, who also looted various treasuries in present-day Rajasthan and Gujarat. These disorders adversely impacted the finances of the empire.
Aurangzeb died in 1707; he was to prove the last of the great Mughals. Durgadas Rathore and Akheraj Singh Rajpurohit took advantage of the disturbances following this death to seize Jodhpur and eventually evict the occupying mughal force.