Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c28.s12.9

v2.c28.s12.9

Suraj Mal had been slain so suddenly and his army had dispersed so unexpectedly, when they had twofold odds in their favour, that at first the Ruhelas could not believe in their good fortune. The Jat State was still the richest and strongest in Hindustan and the Ruhelas naturally expected a bloody reprisal upon their homes by the infuriated Jat nation. Hence, immediately after the fall of Suraj Mal, Najib returned to Najibabad instead of following up his victory by an invasion of the Jat kingdom. Even later when he became aware of the internal divisions in the Jat State and Jawahir’s inability to embark on a vendetta immediately, he was distracted by a Sikh incursion into the upper Doab. "The tide of victory [over Zain Khan, faujdar of Sarhind] bore forty thousand warriors across the Jamuna, and at first there was no one to resist them. They took Saharanpur on 20 Feb. 1764." Najib had to hurry to the scene and buy the raiders off with eleven lakhs of Rupees. A Marathi letter rightly remarks, "The Sikhs have done great good to the Jat Rajah; they have saved his kingdom." At the same time, Najib was dunned by Abdali for the unpaid tribute of Hindustan. These events gave a respite to Jawahir Singh.