->Soldier stories |
Evan692365 (talk | contribs) Structure improved and content revised |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description| | {{Short description|Raja of Nurpur from 1618 to 1646}} | ||
{{Multiple issues| | {{Multiple issues| | ||
{{more citations needed|date=July 2021}} | {{more citations needed|date=July 2021}} | ||
{{ | {{Cleanup rewrite|date=October 2025}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2021}} | {{Use Indian English|date=July 2021}} | ||
{{Infobox royalty | {{Infobox royalty | ||
| name | | name = Raja Jagat Singh | ||
| image | | image = File:Raja Jagat Singh of Nurpur.jpg | ||
| caption | | caption = Raja Jagat Singh of Nurpur | ||
| image_size | | image_size = | ||
| succession | | succession = [[Nurpur kingdom|Raja of Nurpur]] | ||
| reign | | reign = 1618 – January 1646 | ||
| predecessor = [[Suraj Mal of Nurpur]] | | predecessor = [[Suraj Mal of Nurpur]] | ||
| successor | | successor = [[Rajrup Singh]] | ||
[[Rajrup Singh]] | | issue = {{Unbulleted list|Rajrup Singh|Bhau Singh|Guleri Rani}} | ||
| issue | | spouse = | ||
| spouse | | father = Raja Vasudev | ||
| mother = | |||
| father | | birth_date = {{birth date text|1575}} | ||
| mother | |||
| birth_date | |||
| birth_place = [[Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh|Nurpur]], [[Nurpur kingdom]], [[Mughal Raj|Mughal India]] (present-day [[Himachal Pradesh]], India) | | birth_place = [[Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh|Nurpur]], [[Nurpur kingdom]], [[Mughal Raj|Mughal India]] (present-day [[Himachal Pradesh]], India) | ||
| death_date | | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1646|1575}} | ||
| death_place = [[Chitral]] | | death_place = [[Chitral]] (present-day [[Pakistan]]) | ||
| religion | | religion = [[Hinduism]] | ||
| signature | | signature = | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Raja Jagat Singh''' (1575–1646) was the ruler of the [[Nurpur kingdom]] from 1618 to 1646. | |||
''' | |||
== | ==History== | ||
When the [[Nurpur kingdom]] was being heavily taxed in 1630 by the Mughals, its king Raja Jagat Singh instead of taxing sided with people, who were starving during the famine and paid taxes from his own pocket. A lack of rain for three years caused the [[Deccan famine of 1630–1632|Deccan famine of 1630–32]]. It affected the Gujarat, Malwa, and Deccan regions while the [[Mughals]] carried out a war campaign. While the entire province lay dead, [[Shah Jahan]]'s war camp was “fair and spacious, plentifully stored with all provisions, being supplied with all things from all parts, far and near”.<ref>. Ibid PP.50</ref> While people in the entire province were dying due to famine caused by his own army, Shah Jahan was collecting money to build the [[Taj Mahal]], the construction of which began on 1632. Taxes in the Mughal Empire were among the highest in the world; according to the estimates of J.N.U scholar Shireen Moosvi, Mughals took 56.7% of total produce from peasants.<ref>The Economy of the Mughal Empire C. 1595: A Statistical Study, Shireen Moosvi, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp.301</ref> Where the state's revenue needed to be used to quell the famine, Shah Jahan used it to build the Taj Mahal. According to contemporary sources like a letter written by a [[Dutch East India Company]] lawyer, the famine led to 7.4 million deaths.<ref>Winters et al, “A famine in [[Surat]] in 1631 and Dodos on Mauritius: a long lost manuscript rediscovered”, Archives of natural history, Volume 44, Issue 1(2017), Edinburgh University Press</ref> In contrast to Mughal tax regime of 1632, [[Hindu king]]s like Raja Jagat Singh and Raja of Bundelkhand took one-sixth (16.6%) as laid out in the Hindu scriptures. They rebelled to prevent further famines. The Bundelkhand rebellion by [[Jhujhar Singh]] was stopped in 1635 but Jagat Singh fought until 1642, when the Taj Mahal was completed and no more additional funds were needed. | |||
He was immortalized by the poet Gambhir Rai, who wrote of his military expeditions, four years after he had died:The Rhapsodies of Gambhír Rái, the Bard of Núrpur, A.D. 1650.— by [[John Beames]], C.S. A composition by bard Gambhir Raj mentions starvation and hunger in the period of Jagat Singh and his generosity in dealing with the catastrophe " जैसा राजा जगत सिंह अगर होता कोई, नौ द्वीप भूमंडल में भूखा रहे ना कोई |" Like Raja Jagat Singh, if there was anyone, no one would have gone hungry in the nine valleys and basins of the [[Shivalik hills]].I | |||
In folklore the most renowned incident that resulted in victory of Raja Jagat Singh became the | |||
'''Legend of Fort Taragarh''' 1640–1642, Near [[Dalhousie, India]]-[[Khajjiar]], that event of victory is celebrated even today every year on 10 April at fort Taragarh made on the highest peak of this area on meeting point of Hathidhar range with sub range of [[Dhauladhar]] range below Kakira. This fort was made to keep away any armies coming from Nurpur and or Punjab side. Down this fort towards all side is thousands feet deep stiff descent all sides except only North side that is towards Chamba side. Below this fort towards north side is a small and long flat valley formed where people of Taragarh have constructed their houses and Draman to Chamba road also passes through a village named Bariean da Gala. At such a highly inaccessible location, the impregnable fort was built after a Brahmin named Tara offered his sacrifice to protect from demons. Taragarh Fort was so well fortified by Jagat Singh and his sons that according to local folklore it took the huge Mughal army 12 years to annex it. It is said that Mughal forces surrounding the fort had planted Mango saplings which fruited in the course of siege and soldiers enjoyed their fruits (this place near Taragarh fort is to-day called ‘''Amb ka Bagh''’ literally meaning ‘Mango Orchard’). To break the moral of invading army, the sons and men of Jagat Singh threw pudding made from bitches milk out of the fort. Mughal soldiers saw this pudding and reported to the commander of cordoning forces who could not believe his eyes and died of shock. When this news reached the Mughal emperor that despite such a long siege the Raja and his men are still feasting on milk pudding he decided to negotiate with Jagat Singh who eventually opened the gates of the fort on his terms. After 12 years of anti-taxation rebellion against the Mughals and the War of Taragarh 1640–1642, he was not only granted condonation on 10 April 1642 but his knighthood of 12,000 Mansabadari was restored as was the honour of ‘favourite of Mughals’ since he was needed in the Afghanistan campaign.<ref>Dogra Legends of Art & Culture By Aśoka Jeratha, Ashok Jerath, Indus Publishing, p172,173</ref> | |||
==Death== | |||
During '''[[Mughal Central Asia campaign|Second Balkh and Badakhshan military expedition 1644-1645]]''' to [[Central Asia]], he excelled while accompanying Mughal prince [[Murad Bakhsh]] to subdue [[Uzbegs]] of [[Khanate of Bukhara]] for which Raja had recruited over 14000 men from his own principality. [[John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone|Elphinstone]] speaking of this great Rajput conquest into Central Asia says:{{blockquote| "the spirit of the Rajputs never showed more brilliantly than in this unusual duty. They stormed mountain passes, made forced marches over snow, they constructed redoubts by their own labour. The Raja himself taking the axe like the rest and bore up against the tempest of frozen region as firmly as against the fierce and repeated attack of the enemy".}} In December 1645 he had completed military expedition to the northeastern tip of Afghanistan for Mughals and had reached [[Tajikistan]]-[[Pakistan]]-[[Afghanistan]] axis. As he had only scattered the enemies, he expected hostilities on his return journey. | |||
Instead of going back to [[Badakhshan]] and [[Balkh]] from [[Sarhad-e Broghil]] he attempted to cross [[Broghil Pass]] to reach [[Chitral]] from where he had started his expedition in 1644 but died due to a snow storm in January 1646. His grandson built a temple/memorial in Haridwar for the lost souls. | |||
== | |||
''' | |||
Instead of going back to [[Badakhshan]] and [[Balkh]] from [[Sarhad-e Broghil]] he attempted to cross [[Broghil Pass]] | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
*{{cite book|title=Chronology of Royal Family of Pathania|first=Raghunath Singh Pathania|last=Translated by Walia|publisher=Archive Department H.P|year=2004|isbn=}} | *{{cite book|title=Chronology of Royal Family of Pathania|first=Raghunath Singh Pathania|last=Translated by Walia|publisher=Archive Department H.P|year=2004|isbn=}} | ||
*{{cite book|title=Art Culture and History of Himalayan Kingdoms|author=Sukhdev Singh Charak|year=1979|language= English| | *{{cite book|title=Art Culture and History of Himalayan Kingdoms|author=Sukhdev Singh Charak|year=1979|publisher=Ekatā Buksa Prā. Li. |language= English|isbn= 978-9937105507}} | ||
*{{cite book |title=Forts and Palaces of the Western Himalayas |first=Aśoka |last=Jeratha |publisher=Indus Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=9788173871047 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2oZiyOqReoC}} | *{{cite book |title=Forts and Palaces of the Western Himalayas |first=Aśoka |last=Jeratha |publisher=Indus Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=9788173871047 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2oZiyOqReoC}} | ||
*{{cite book |title=Dogra Legends of Art and Culture |first=Aśoka |last=Jeratha |publisher=Indus Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=9788173870828 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ToONShWeEB0C}} | *{{cite book |title=Dogra Legends of Art and Culture |first=Aśoka |last=Jeratha |publisher=Indus Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=9788173870828 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ToONShWeEB0C}} | ||
| Line 97: | Line 50: | ||
*{{commons category-inline}} | *{{commons category-inline}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh | {{DEFAULTSORT:Jagat Singh}} | ||
[[Category:1575 births]] | |||
[[Category:1646 deaths]] | |||
[[Category:17th-century Indian monarchs]] | [[Category:17th-century Indian monarchs]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:People from the Nurpur kingdom]] | ||
Revision as of 12:02, 18 March 2026
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
| Raja Jagat Singh | |
|---|---|
 Raja Jagat Singh of Nurpur | |
| Raja of Nurpur | |
| Reign | 1618 – January 1646 |
| Predecessor | Suraj Mal of Nurpur |
| Successor | Rajrup Singh |
| Born | Template:Birth date text Nurpur, Nurpur kingdom, Mughal India (present-day Himachal Pradesh, India) |
| Died | 1646 (aged 70–71) Chitral (present-day Pakistan) |
| Issue |
|
| Father | Raja Vasudev |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Raja Jagat Singh (1575–1646) was the ruler of the Nurpur kingdom from 1618 to 1646.
History
When the Nurpur kingdom was being heavily taxed in 1630 by the Mughals, its king Raja Jagat Singh instead of taxing sided with people, who were starving during the famine and paid taxes from his own pocket. A lack of rain for three years caused the Deccan famine of 1630–32. It affected the Gujarat, Malwa, and Deccan regions while the Mughals carried out a war campaign. While the entire province lay dead, Shah Jahan's war camp was “fair and spacious, plentifully stored with all provisions, being supplied with all things from all parts, far and near”.<ref>. Ibid PP.50</ref> While people in the entire province were dying due to famine caused by his own army, Shah Jahan was collecting money to build the Taj Mahal, the construction of which began on 1632. Taxes in the Mughal Empire were among the highest in the world; according to the estimates of J.N.U scholar Shireen Moosvi, Mughals took 56.7% of total produce from peasants.<ref>The Economy of the Mughal Empire C. 1595: A Statistical Study, Shireen Moosvi, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp.301</ref> Where the state's revenue needed to be used to quell the famine, Shah Jahan used it to build the Taj Mahal. According to contemporary sources like a letter written by a Dutch East India Company lawyer, the famine led to 7.4 million deaths.<ref>Winters et al, “A famine in Surat in 1631 and Dodos on Mauritius: a long lost manuscript rediscovered”, Archives of natural history, Volume 44, Issue 1(2017), Edinburgh University Press</ref> In contrast to Mughal tax regime of 1632, Hindu kings like Raja Jagat Singh and Raja of Bundelkhand took one-sixth (16.6%) as laid out in the Hindu scriptures. They rebelled to prevent further famines. The Bundelkhand rebellion by Jhujhar Singh was stopped in 1635 but Jagat Singh fought until 1642, when the Taj Mahal was completed and no more additional funds were needed. He was immortalized by the poet Gambhir Rai, who wrote of his military expeditions, four years after he had died:The Rhapsodies of Gambhír Rái, the Bard of Núrpur, A.D. 1650.— by John Beames, C.S. A composition by bard Gambhir Raj mentions starvation and hunger in the period of Jagat Singh and his generosity in dealing with the catastrophe " जैसा राजा जगत सिंह अगर होता कोई, नौ द्वीप भूमंडल में भूखा रहे ना कोई |" Like Raja Jagat Singh, if there was anyone, no one would have gone hungry in the nine valleys and basins of the Shivalik hills.I In folklore the most renowned incident that resulted in victory of Raja Jagat Singh became the Legend of Fort Taragarh 1640–1642, Near Dalhousie, India-Khajjiar, that event of victory is celebrated even today every year on 10 April at fort Taragarh made on the highest peak of this area on meeting point of Hathidhar range with sub range of Dhauladhar range below Kakira. This fort was made to keep away any armies coming from Nurpur and or Punjab side. Down this fort towards all side is thousands feet deep stiff descent all sides except only North side that is towards Chamba side. Below this fort towards north side is a small and long flat valley formed where people of Taragarh have constructed their houses and Draman to Chamba road also passes through a village named Bariean da Gala. At such a highly inaccessible location, the impregnable fort was built after a Brahmin named Tara offered his sacrifice to protect from demons. Taragarh Fort was so well fortified by Jagat Singh and his sons that according to local folklore it took the huge Mughal army 12 years to annex it. It is said that Mughal forces surrounding the fort had planted Mango saplings which fruited in the course of siege and soldiers enjoyed their fruits (this place near Taragarh fort is to-day called ‘Amb ka Bagh’ literally meaning ‘Mango Orchard’). To break the moral of invading army, the sons and men of Jagat Singh threw pudding made from bitches milk out of the fort. Mughal soldiers saw this pudding and reported to the commander of cordoning forces who could not believe his eyes and died of shock. When this news reached the Mughal emperor that despite such a long siege the Raja and his men are still feasting on milk pudding he decided to negotiate with Jagat Singh who eventually opened the gates of the fort on his terms. After 12 years of anti-taxation rebellion against the Mughals and the War of Taragarh 1640–1642, he was not only granted condonation on 10 April 1642 but his knighthood of 12,000 Mansabadari was restored as was the honour of ‘favourite of Mughals’ since he was needed in the Afghanistan campaign.<ref>Dogra Legends of Art & Culture By Aśoka Jeratha, Ashok Jerath, Indus Publishing, p172,173</ref>
Death
During Second Balkh and Badakhshan military expedition 1644-1645 to Central Asia, he excelled while accompanying Mughal prince Murad Bakhsh to subdue Uzbegs of Khanate of Bukhara for which Raja had recruited over 14000 men from his own principality. Elphinstone speaking of this great Rajput conquest into Central Asia says:
"the spirit of the Rajputs never showed more brilliantly than in this unusual duty. They stormed mountain passes, made forced marches over snow, they constructed redoubts by their own labour. The Raja himself taking the axe like the rest and bore up against the tempest of frozen region as firmly as against the fierce and repeated attack of the enemy".
In December 1645 he had completed military expedition to the northeastern tip of Afghanistan for Mughals and had reached Tajikistan-Pakistan-Afghanistan axis. As he had only scattered the enemies, he expected hostilities on his return journey.
Instead of going back to Badakhshan and Balkh from Sarhad-e Broghil he attempted to cross Broghil Pass to reach Chitral from where he had started his expedition in 1644 but died due to a snow storm in January 1646. His grandson built a temple/memorial in Haridwar for the lost souls.
References
- Translated by Walia, Raghunath Singh Pathania (2004). Chronology of Royal Family of Pathania. Archive Department H.P.
- Sukhdev Singh Charak (1979). Art Culture and History of Himalayan Kingdoms. Ekatā Buksa Prā. Li. ISBN 978-9937105507.
- Jeratha, Aśoka (2000). Forts and Palaces of the Western Himalayas. Indus Publishing. ISBN 9788173871047.
- Jeratha, Aśoka (1998). Dogra Legends of Art and Culture. Indus Publishing. ISBN 9788173870828.
- Brentnall, Mark, ed. (2004). The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire. Vol. 1 - Himachal Pradesh. Indus Publishing. ISBN 9788173871634.