History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c38.34

Language: English

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The subsequent history of Orissa during the reign of Shāh Jahān I is a mere string of names. Muta’qad Khān governed Orissa till 1641 and the order removing him was issued from the Imperial Court on the 9th March 1640, but he did not reach the Court before the 29th July 1641. It is recorded that he died in extreme old age on the 17th October 1651. His successor was Shāh Nawāz Khān Safāwī, who ruled for a short time only. He was removed by an order dated the 8th March 1642, but remained in charge of the province till the end of that year. It appears that from 1642 till the death or flight of Shuja’ from Bengal, Orissa remained an appanage of Prince Shuja’s joint Viceroyalty of the three provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Shāh Nawāz Khān was succeeded by Āghā Muḥmmad Zamān Tiharānī who governed the province from 1642 to 1645. His order of appointment is dated the 8th March 1642, and that of removal, 21st November 1645. Muta'qād Khān was again appointed on the 21st November 1645 to be recalled to Court in the 22nd year of the reign of Shāh Jahān (July 1648 to June 1649). Then followed Samsāmuddaulah,¹ an agent of Prince Shuja' in 1654. The next agent of Shuja' was Tarbiyat Khān *alias* Shafiullah Birlas *Vilāyet-zā* who ruled over the province from 1655 to 1666. He was followed by Khwajah Bakhardad Ashraf Khān. Shān Jahān fell ill in September 1657 and from that date till the day of prince Shuja's final departure from Dacca (6th May 1660) there was great anarchy in Orissa.

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Most of the troops and officers were withdrawn from Orissa by Shuja' for his two expeditions against Āgra and finally for his prolonged struggle with Mīr Jumlā I in the Rajmahal and Maldah districts. During this period Hindu Zamindars in the Mughal portion of Orissa practically became independent, built forts and plundered the country. By the autumn of 1659 Mīr Jumlā I had established himself sufficiently to detach Ihtishām Khān to take charge of the province of Orissa. Ihtishām says in his *Muraqāt-i-Hassan* that he would reach Medinipur on the 25th November 1658. At this time prince Shuja' was in complete possession of the country between Benares and Dacca and, therefore, no officer of Aurangzib could have reached Medinipur. Moreover Iḥtishām was detached after the defeat of Shuja‘ in January 1659 and, therefore, it is more probable that he reached Medinipur in the year 2 instead of 1 of the reign of Aurangzib, *i. e.*, on the 14th November 1659. His stay in Orissa was too short to enable him to restore order. His first act as *Ṣūbaḥdār* of Orissa was to issue an order proclaiming that the *Khuṭba* should be read in all Masjids of Orissa in the name of the new emperor Aurangzib. Next he issued an order to all officers and Zamindars announcing his own appointment to the Government of Orissa. He ordered the officers and Zamindars to meet him at Narayangadh, where he would march from Medinipur.

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Iḥtishām Khān was replaced a year later by Khān-i-Daurān, who came from Allahabad in September 1660. Iḥtishām attempted to take with him as prisoners, for default of revenue, the brothers of Rājā Nilakantha Deva, Gopināth, the brother of Bharat Paṭṭanāyaka and the chief officer of Rājā Mukunda Deva. The *Faujdār* of Cuttack secured the release of Gopināth Paṭṭanāyaka by himself signing a bond for Rs. 14,000 to Iḥtishām Khān. All other captives were released on similar conditions. During the reign of Shāh Jahān Purushottama was succeeded by Narasimha in 1630 and by Gaṅgādhara in 1655. Within a year Gaṅgādhara was succeeded by Balabhadra. These dates are given slightly differently by Hunter based on the vernacular account of Bhavānīcharan Bandopādhyāya. According to this account Purushottama was slain in battle and ruled from 1607 to 1628. He was succeeded by Narasimha, who ruled from 1628 to 1653. Gaṅgādhara ruled from 1653 to 1654.¹ During the period of anarchy there appears to have been a change of rulers in the nominal chieftainship of Orissa. According to Stirling Balabhadra ruled for thirty-nine years² but Hunter assigns only eight years to him.³ According to the Muraqāt-i-Hassan Narasimha was slain by Muta'qād Khan during his attack on Khurda. His nephew Gaṅgādhara was made Rājā. But Balabhadra, the elder brother of Narasimha, became Rājā of Khurda after killing Gaṅgādhara.

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An impostor appeared during the rule of Prince Shuja' and gave out that he was Gaṅgādhara, but he was slain by a confederacy of Zamindars near Katak. A second impostor appeared at Delhi and claimed to be Gaṅgādhara. He is referred to in a letter from the Khān-i-Daurān to Court in which it is stated that a third impostor was in prison near Katak.