Battle of Maonda and Mandholi: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|War between Jat-ruled Bharatpur and Kachawaha territory of Jaipur}}{{Infobox military conflict

| result            = Jaipur victory<ref name="Rima Hooja">{{Cite book |last=Hooja |first=Rima |title=A History of Rajasthan |publisher=Rupa Publication |year=2006 |location=New Delhi |pages=726, 736}}</ref><ref name="Alwar Gazetteer">{{Cite book |last=Ram |first=Maya |title=Rajasthan District Gazetteer, Alwar |year=1968 |page=61}}</ref><ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 2">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O0oPIo9TXKcC |title=A History of Jaipur: C. 1503–1938 |first=Jadunath |last=Sarkar |year=1994 |page=259|isbn=9788125003335 }}</ref>

| strength1        = 16,000 horsemen and infantry<ref name=CT>{{Cite book|first=Jadunath|last=Sarkar|title=Fall of the Mughal Empire vol-2|publisher=Orient Black Swan|year=2007|isbn=9788125032458|pages=284|quote=The Kachwaha tribe could no longer restrain themselves. The long halt of Jawahar at Pushkar gave them enough time to assemble their tribal levy of 16,000 horse besides infantry.}}</ref>

| strength2        = Unknown

| casualties1      = 2000-3000 according to [[Jadunath Sarkar]],<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1" />  

3000 according to [[Hari Ram Gupta]]<ref name="ram">{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |title=History of the Sikhs: Sikh Domination of the Mughal Empire, 1764-1803|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82wwAQAAIAAJ|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|year=2000|isbn=9788121502139|pages=329|quote=Jawahir Singh fought a furious battle with Madho Singh of Jaipur in December, 1767, at Maonda, 37 kms south-west of Narnaul in which the Rajputs lost about 3,000 men and Jats nearly 2,000.}}</ref>

| casualties2       = 2000 according to [[Hari Ram Gupta]]<ref name="ram"/><ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1" />

The '''Battle of Maonda and Mandholi''' was fought between the [[Rajput]] rulers of [[Jaipur]] and the [[Jat]] rulers of [[Bharatpur, Rajasthan|Bharatpur]] in 1767 in [[Rajasthan]]. [[Jawahar Singh]] of [[Bharatpur State|Bharatpur]] was leading an army back from [[Pushkar]] when the forces of [[Madho Singh I|Madho Singh]] of Jaipur met them by [[Maonda]] and [[Mandholi]] villages, near present-day [[Neem ka Thana]]. The battle resulted in the [[rout]] of the Bharatpur army by the Jaipur forces.<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O0oPIo9TXKcC |title=A History of Jaipur: C. 1503–1938 |first=Jadunath |last=Sarkar |year=1994 |pages=253–256|isbn=9788125003335 }}</ref>

[[Suraj Mal]] had been a loyal ally to the house of Jaipur. He used to visit Jai Singh II every [[Vijayadashami|Dussehra]] and present gifts to him, and whenever Jai Singh passed through [[Bharatpur State|Bharatpur]] territory Surajmal would wait upon him and feed the Jaipur troops and then lay the keys of his forts before Jai Singh as Suraj Mal used to consider him, his Father. Jai Singh also favoured the Bharatpur Raja and secured a province worth five [[lakh]] rupees a year for him. These good relations continued till Surajmal's death.<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1" />

Upon Suraj Mal's death, his successor, [[Jawahar Singh]], was very proud of the wealth and soldiers that he had inherited from his father. Jawahar Singh's army was trained and led by Europeans like [[René-Marie Madec|Madec]] and Samru and consisted of 15,000 cavalry, 25,000 infantry (excluding the garrisons) and 300 pieces of artillery. With the number of troops at his disposal, he did not find a need for a continued alliance with [[Madho Singh I|Madho Singh]], the son of Jai Singh and then Raja of Jaipur. The hostility between the Rajas of Bharatpur and [[Jaipur state|Jaipur]] continued to grow.<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1" />

 

In 1767, Jawahar Singh marched through Jaipur territory with his whole army along with French trained battalions and artillery guns to reach [[Pushkar]]. There, he met with the ruler of [[Jodhpur State|Marwar]] state; [[Vijay Singh of Marwar|Vijay Singh]] and an agreement was signed between them to oust the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], who were raiding in [[Rajputana]] following their defeat at the hands of [[Ahmed Shah Abdali]] in 1761.  

 

This meeting between the two was not liked by Madho Singh. According to Jadunath Sarkar, Madho Singh reprimanded Vijay Singh for sitting equally with Jawahar Singh, whom he considered a mere peasant and a servant of Jaipur.<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1"/>

Jawahar thus attacked and plundered the villages of Jaipur and molested its villagers in revenge while returning from Pushkar. The [[Kachwaha]] army followed and attacked forces of Bharatpur at [[Mandholi]], which was the last station of the Jaipur state and was located near to the frontiers of Bharatpur state. The [[Jaipur State|Jaipur]] artillery had lagged behind, causing their first attack to be repulsed by the Bharatpur army. [[Jat people|Jats]], hoping to escape from the battlefield, entered a narrow pass ahead of them. In the middle of the pass, the Kachwaha cavalry overtook them. Jaipur forces stood firmly against the guns of Bharatpur and finally threw themselves, with swords in hand, onto Jat army. The Jat army fled with the first shock of Jaipur cavalry abandoning their baggage and artillery which was captured by Jaipur forces. With the rest of Singh's army dispersed, the French sepoys of [[Walter Reinhardt Sombre|Samru]] and Madec saved Jawahar Singh and enabled him to retreat into his territory. The royal umbrella of Jawahar Singh was also abandoned in the battlefield along with their baggage and artillery.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hooja |first=Rima |title=A History of Rajasthan |publisher=Rupa Publication |year=2006 |location=New Delhi |pages=726}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Jadunath |title=The Fall of Mughal Empire Vol. 2 |publisher=Orient Black Swan |pages=285}}</ref>

The Bharatpur army thus retreated into their territory after being defeated<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 2"/> in the fierce battle which resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, death toll supposedly reaching 5,000. The soldiers of Bharatpur abandoned their artillery and royal standards, including the royal umbrella of their king. According to Sarkar, the Jaipur army lost most of their important generals with death toll on their side reaching 2000–3000. This had happened due to the superior artillery of Bharatpur and the presence of French led sepoys of Samru and Madec, on the other hand Kachwaha artillery and infantry was lagging behind.<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1"/> According to some sources Jawahar Singh's defeat is ascribed to him insulting the Jaipur Raja by not intimating him about his motive while tresspasing through his territory. It is why the Rajputs attacked Jawahar Singh and defeated him.<ref name="Alwar Gazetteer"/> According to Rima Hooja, Pratap Singh led the Jaipur forces to victory against Jawahar Singh.<ref name="Hooja">{{Cite book |last=Hooja |first=Rima |title=A History of Rajasthan |publisher=Rupa Publication |year=2006 |location=New Delhi |quote=Pratap Singh quickly returned to serve it, and led the Jaipur forces to victory against Jawahar Singh of Bharatpur in the battle of Mawade in 1767. The battlefield is also called Maonda-Mandholi, and is located in the torawati hills |page=726}}</ref>

Madho Singh then decided to invade Bharatpur in order to follow up his victory. Madho Singh again defeated Jawahar Singh at the [[Battle of Kama|Kama]]. Madho Singh later retreated to his state due to the arrival of fresh contingent of 20,000 [[Sikhs|Sikh]] mercenaries, employed by Jawahar Singh for seven Lakh a month. The fortune of Jats was shaken in the battle and the result had been fatal to them. They returned home pillaged, stupefied and overthrown. The land beyond [[Chambal River|Chambal]] (recently conquered by Jawahar Singh) rose after the first report of the rout. His own country was the prey of enemy who followed him close. Madho Singh died in the following year due to illness from the fatigue of the campaign. On the other hand Jawahar Singh was assassinated by one of his own trusted servicemen.<ref name="Jadunath Sarkar 1"/>