Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c25.s5.6

v2.c25.s5.6

In May 1757 the prince went to the Baluch settlements south-west of Delhi to get something out of his jagirs in that region. At Jhajhar its zamindar Hasan Ali Khan (a nephew of Kāmgār) evaded payment of tribute to him. The prince sent a force against Kaliānā, the seat of the late Sitārām Khazānchi's widow Satbhāni and sons (Devidat and Shambhunath.) They submitted and signed undertakings to pay tribute for their estate. Hasan Ali now followed their example. The prince next advanced northwards to the Hisār district; but the villagers evacuated their homes and took refuge in the hills in order to escape from his soldiery who lived solely on plunder. As the result of it, utter want of provisions forced his troops to disperse. The prince turned aside to Kanaud (16 m. n. of Nārnol), put a small garrison there, and came to Nārnol which was vacated by the Jaipur Rajah's officers. But his plunder of this unresisting town excited indignation and the Jaipur troops cut off the prince's outpost at Kanaud. Reinforcements, 4,000 strong, now came from Jaipur to the local officers, and they hemmed Shah Alam in in a fortalice in the neighbourhood. The prince fled to Rewari and Farrukhnagar abandoning his artillery because the draught-oxen were seized by the Rajputs, and his own followers deserted him to return to Delhi. Musa Khan Baluch (the heir of Kāmgār) who had paid to the Marathas and taken a lease from them, was forced to promise revenue to the prince also !