Battle of Gangwana

The Gangwana war (Gangwana battle) was fought on 27 May 1741 at Gangwana near Ajmer between Bakht Singh Rathore and Sawai Jai Singh. Jat army took part in this battle under the leadership of Suraj Mal.

The Battle of Gangwana

The Battle of Gangwana was a military engagement fought between the Kingdom of Marwar and a combined army of the Jaipur Kingdom and the Mughal Empire in 1741.[1] The battle resulted in a peace treaty favorable to Marwar and ended a period of Jaipur domination in present day Rajasthan.

Jat History

Girish Chandra Dwivedi mentions ....It has been noticed in the preceding chapter that by seventeen forties the Jats had grown into a first rate military power. The reputation of Suraj Mal as a skillful commander and his Jats as gallant fighters spread far and wide and "there came repeated solicitations for his sword from the highest in the land."⁴⁰ Reference has already been made of their participation in the Battle of Gangwana (1741). Next the Bharatpur troops accompanied Muhammad Shah and Safdar Jang in the Rohilla expedition (May, 1745). 'Memoires des Jats' is the only source referring to the Jat participation in it. But even this does not enlighten us any more beyond speaking of their heroic fight (in that otherwise shameful campaign) and rating that as "the most honoured of all their exploits (until then)". It adds that after the termination of this campaign, the Emperor granted a 'seropa' to Suraj Mal. This expedition, however, inglorious for the Mughal army, added to the popularity of Suraj Mal and he was now poised for a bigger role.^{41, XVIII}

About six months later in Agahan, Samvat 1802 (28th October to 27th November, 1745), Suraj Mal extended help to Fateh Ali (son of Sabit Khan, the governor of Aligarh) against Asad Khan Khanahzad, the agent⁴² of Saadat Khan, the fourth Bakshi of Muhammad Shah. Asad Khan with 10,000 men issued from Delhi and subsequently seized parts of the paternal estates of Fateh Ali in Aligarh district. This alarmed Fateh Ali and through his Vakil he supplicated Suraj Mal (then on a hunting excursion at Noh, a place beside the Yamuna) for help. Later Fateh Ali personally met him at Ikhu with the request and discussed the plans for the proposed campaign. It looks almost certain that the possibility of his own local interest being affected by Asad's movements also influenced his decision to espouse the cause of Fateh AIi. The opposite troops met in the neighbourhood of Chandos (16 miles from Aligarh), where, in a swift action Suraj Mal completely routed and killed Asad Khan putting his soldiers to flight. They were given a hot chase upto 7 miles and large booty fell into the hands of the Jat pursuers. Suraj Mal sent Jawahar Singh to Kol and he himself returned to Sahar to meet his father.⁴³ Incidentally Suraj Mal's fight against Asad Khan was destined to create some trouble for him a few years later.

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40. Sarkar, Fall, II, 434: Tarikh-i-Bharatpur, 4b; Sujan, II; Memoires des Jats, 30.

41. Memoires des Jats, 30-31, Sarkar, Fall, II, 434; For details or this expedition see Sarkar, Fall, I, 57ff.,

XVIII. also Sujan, 16-26; Bharatpur Gazetteer, 63.-Fditor.

42. Sarkar, Fall, I, 309, 341; Sujan; the only source to have described this campaign, does not specify the mutual relationship between the two. It, however, suggests Salabat Khan's deep interest in Asad Khan. Sujan, 40.

43. Sujan, 9-24; Suraj Mal earlier humbled certain Sultan Khan(?) (Sujan, 10)

The Gangwana war 27 May 1741

On 7 May 1741 when Jai Singh was busy in negotiations with Peshwa Balaji Bajirao in Dholpur, he received information about Bakht Singh Rathore's planning of attack on Amber. Jai Singh returned with an army of 50000 people. This army included Jats also. There was encounter by Bakht Singh with the army of Jai Singh at place called Gangwana near Ajmer. This battle was fought on 27 May 1741. Jat army took part in this battle under the leadership of Suraj Mal. Bakht Singh was defeated.

References

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