History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c61.s7: § 13. Emperor's displeasure with Jai Singh for his failure.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c61.s7
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§ 13. Emperor's displeasure with Jai Singh for his failure.
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As early as the beginning of January, 1666, when Jai Singh retreated for the first time, Aurangzib had censured him for his failure and asked him to show what he had gained with the vast army and treasure given to him. When Jai Singh’s second campaign produced no better result, he felt that he had fallen under his master's wrath, and that if this failure were not relieved, his lifelong devotion to the Mughal throne would be forgotten and he would be dismissed with every mark of ignominy. The unhappy general tried hard to retain the command of the Deccan army, so as to get another chance of retrieving his fame. He was troubled by Court news of the Emperor's angry remarks on him and of a talk about sending Prince Muazzam to the South to supersede him in the viceroyalty. He then besought his son and friends at Court to exert themselves to save him; he offered the prime minister a bribe of Rs. 30,000 for inducing the Emperor to let him continue as subahdar. But it was all in vain. (B.S. 415; H.A. 89 b—93 a, Jai Singh's explanation to Emperor; 195 a—196 b, Jai Singh to Ram Singh at Court.)
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The escape of Shivaji from Agra (August 1666) added to Jai Singh's troubles; he was held to be in some way responsible for the conduct of his son Ram Singh, who was more than suspected of having connived at Shivaji's flight. After Jai Singh's final retirement to Bir (October), he received orders to return to Aurangabad and on the 23rd March following (1667) he was recalled to Court and the viceroyalty of the Deccan was given to Prince Muazzam, assisted by Jaswant Singh. (A.N. 1037.)
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§ 14. Misery and death of Jai Singh, 1667.
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The Rajput veteran of a hundred fights made over charge to his successor at Aurangabad in May 1667, and bent his way towards Northern India in humiliation and disappointment. His brilliant career which had been passed under three Emperors and in which he had won laurels from Qandahar to Mungir and Balkh to Maharashtra, was clouded by a single ill-success at its close. Not a pice of the krore of Rupees of his own money that he had spent in the Bijapur war would be repaid by his master. Broken-hearted from disgrace and disappointment, and labouring under disease and old age, Jai Singh sank in death on reaching Burhanpur, on 2nd July, 1667. Like Walsingham of Elizabeth's Court, he died a bankrupt after serving too faithfully an exacting but thankless master.
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§ 15. Vindication of Jai Singh.
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Aurangzib refused to forgive Jai Singh the one failure of his life. But the Rajah had never a fair chance in this war. His army was hopelessly inadequate for the conquest of so large and rich a kingdom; his war material and food supply were sufficient for a month or two only, and he had no siege-guns. At the same time the power of the Bijapur State was unimpaired in contrast with its exhausted condition when Aurangzib himself captured its capital 19 years later. Its king was still able and energetic; its nobility laid aside their factious quarrels for the time being; and, in addition, Qutb Shah and many neighbouring zamindars joined Adil Shah against Jai Singh, as they "knew that the Mughal conquest of Bijapur would be the prelude to the conquest of all Deccan and Karnatak." (H.A. 90 a.) As Jai Singh rightly observed to Aurangzib, "Your Majesty knows how small Shivaji's territory is and yet how very long our troops had to fight against him (before achieving success.) Surely, a war against such a kingdom as Bijapur requires very great effort and organization (of resources.)"
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Small as Jai Singh's army was relatively to the task laid upon it, he was badly served by his subordinates. The couriers on whom he depended for news about the enemy's movements were "liars, pro-Deccanis and greedy of gain. The Bijapuris bribed them into betraying to them all information about the imperial army. In the Mughal camp itself they acted as the enemy's spies." (H.A. 89b.) Many of his officers were unreliable, and refused or delayed in carrying out his orders.*
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∗ For example, Daud Khan used openly to condemn the war with Adil Shah as contrary to the Quran, wishing thereby to discourage the Muslim soldiery under Jai Singh (H.A. 190b.) The qiladar of Parenda negligently dispersed the banjaras collected
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(*Ibid.*, 93, 73*b*—74*a*.) And the imperial officers at the base did not keep his army regularly supplied with grain.
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Success under these conditions was not humanly possible. Jai Singh died, overwhelmed with loss, disappointment and public disgrace. But the best defence of his reputation as a general and diplomatist is the 18 months' siege and the employment of the entire resources of the empire under the very eyes of Aurangzib by which alone Bijapur was captured in 1686.
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Immediately after the death of Jai Singh, his secretary and favourite manager, Udairaj,—to whom we owe the valuable letter-book, *Haft Anjuman*,—went to the governor of Burhanpur and turned Muhammadan, to save himself from the persecution of the Rajah's followers. From this they suspected that he had brought about Jai Singh's death by poison.* Kumar Kirat Singh wished to avenge his father's death by dragging the renegade out of the governor's house and killing him with insult, but he found it impossible to molest a Muslim. (*Dil.* 63-64).
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by order of Jai Singh and the latter had very great difficulty in assembling again the 12,000 banjaras that he needed during his march. (93*b*.)
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∗ Manucci tells the bazar gossip that Aurangzib caused poison to be given to Jai Singh on the road (ii. 152), while Tod makes Kirat Singh the murderer of his father!