Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c35.s10: § 15. Fall of Dig
Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c35.s10
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§ 15. Fall of Dig
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In six weeks famine completed its work in that crowded den. Finally, in the night of 29th April 1776, Ranjit Singh himself fled away with the remnant of his troops and took the road to Kumbher, after some skirmishes with Himmat Bahadur’s horsemen who barred his path. “As soon as the news of this flight reached the Mughal camp, the soldiers rushed into the fort with impetuosity for plundering. There occurred during the first shock much tumult and bloodshed; a number of women and children were killed. The plunderers set fire to the city. The gunpowder of which there was an enormous quantity, was stored in many different buildings. During three consecutive days, explosions leaped up at every moment from the magazines, which were fatal to the victors and the vanquished alike. The Musalmans took delight in showing their contempt for the religion of the idolators by filling their pagodas with the entrails, heads and bones of oxen and kine.” Three widowed Jat Ranis committed suicide to avoid outrage. [Modave, 298-299, 231. G. Ali, iii. 91.]
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When day broke, Mirzā Najaf entered the fort and appointed Zain-ul-abidin Khan to prevent plunder and outrage by his troops. But it took three days to restore order, and Najaf Khan gained very little out of the spoils of his victory. In the citadel and the fortified mansion of Badan Singh the defenders held out for a day more, regardless of Sombre’s guns turned upon them at point-blank range. At night, after massacring their women in the Rajput fashion, the survivors sallied forth and were killed to a man, though they slew a greater number of their enemies.*
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Besides the abundance of arms, cannon, and munitions found in the fort, some buried treasure (said to amount to six lakhs) was secured by the Mirzā. But it was quite inadequate for discharging the long arrears of his soldiers' pay, and he was overwhelmed by their clamour. “His distress even after such a victory was so great that Najaf Quli and Afrāsiyāb proposed to him to give up the city of Agra to his army for plunder, on the condition that this concession would pay off everything which was due to them by the Nawab. But he rejected these vile counsels.” [Modave, 299. CPC. v. 306, 370.]
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∗ “The whole of the Jat territory was now reduced to subjection, and it was only at the intercession of Rani Kishori, the widow of Suraj Mal, that the conqueror allowed Ranjit Singh to retain the fort of Bharatpur with an extent of territory yielding an income of nine lakhs.” N.W.P. Gaz, viii. Muttra 163.
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§ 16. Najaf Khan's campaign in the middle Doab, 1776.
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His one problem now was how to support his overgrown army. So, after being freed from the Dig enterprise, he sent away his lieutenants to collect revenue in their respective jagirs. The rainy season which followed the fall of Dig was spent by Najaf in renewed military preparations near Agra. Shortly before its close, early in October, Afrāsiyāb Khan crossed the Jamuna at Mathurā and entering the south-western corner of the Aligarh district began to establish his authority over the refractory zamindars of that region, mostly Jats and Gujars whom Suraj Mal had first subjected to his rule. The chief of these was Phup Singh (a Tenwa Jat unconnected by blood with the house of Bharatpur) who had made himself master of Mursān and Sāsni and assumed the title of Rajah, (accession in 1749, death in 1798.) In December 1776 Najaf arrived before Mursān, after his letters from Agra had failed to bring this rebel to obedience. Afrāsiyāb and other generals were called up and with an overwhelming force he laid siege to Mursān. His big guns breached the walls in a few days. Though the garrison fought bravely, wounding Himmat Bahadur Gosāin, the place became untenable in 17 days, and one night (3rd January 1777) the Rajah fled away from it to Sāsni. Mirzā Najaf followed him thither; Phup Singh now made a full submission and was confirmed, through Himmat Bahadur's mediation, in such of his forts and lands as he still held. Mursān was joined to Afrāsiyāb's fief. The Mirzā next made a rapid march and captured Chharra-Bhamauri, 25 miles east of Aligarh. By this time January had ended, and Najaf Khan received an urgent call from his master to another field.*
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∗ Doab campaign, Oct. 1776--Jan. 1777.--DC. Ibrat. i. 290-291. Miskin 321. Muna Lal 176. Atkinson, N.W.P. Gazetteer, ii. 435-441 (Mursan.) 444 (Bhamauri.)