Chandaus
Chandaus is a village in Gabhana tahsil in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
Location
Jat Gotras
History
Girish Chandra Dwivedi[1] 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.
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)
Chandaus War 1746
The Chandaus War was in important event in the career of Maharaja Suraj Mal. Chandaus town is in Aligarh district. In 1745, the Delhi Mughal Badsah Aurangzeb became angry with Nawab Fateh Ali Khan of koīl (Aligarh), so to punish him Badsah sent an Afghan Chieftain Asad Khan. Fateh Ali Khan expected loss and insult in war with Asad Khan, so he sought help of Maharaja Suraj Mal. In the month of November 1745, hardly a month had passed for Suraj Mal and it was his first opportunity to take independent decisions in matters of external political and army affairs. Suraj Mal assured Fateh Ali Khan to help and sent an army under command of his son and later he himself moved to koīl (Aligarh). When Asad Khan attacked koīl (Aligarh) in early 1746, war took place at Chandaus in which Asad Khan was killed and the royal army was defeated. Thus with the active help and strength of Suraj Mal, Fateh Khan could save his jagir. This war helped in increasing the power of Bharatpur state. [2] [3]
Notable persons
External links
References
- ↑ The Jats - Their Role in the Mughal Empire/Chapter VI,p.127
- ↑ Mahendra Singh Arya etc,: Ādhunik Jat Itihas, Agra 1998, Page-297
- ↑ Prakash Chandra Chandawat:Maharaja Suraj Mal aur unka yug (1745-1763), Jaypal Agencies Agra, 982, Page-59-60
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