Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c36.s2: § 3. Ghausgarh fortifications and environs described
Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c36.s2
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§ 3. Ghausgarh fortifications and environs described
v3.c36.s2.1
Thirteen miles north-east of the city of Shamli in the Muzaffarnagar district, and close to the boundary between that district and Saharanpur, stands the fort of Ghausgarh built by Najib-ud-daulah, in the midst of a predominantly Afghan population in the upper Doab. It is located within a triangle formed by the three cities of Thana Bhawan (in the west) Luhari( in the east) and Jalalabad (at the northern apex.) Each side of the triangle is about three miles in length. A little river named the Krishni drains the tract, running through the trangle roughly parallel to its western side and separating Ghausgarh and Luhari from Jalalabad and Thana Bhawan. There are some extensive marshes west of Jalalabad and south of Luhari, and the country is full of ups and downs so that any heavy shower' creates deep pools here and there, expands the swamps into the fields around and turns every lane into a streamlet and every stream into a torrent. Today this region presents a doleful picture of decay, depopulation, poverty and epidemics ; malaria and insanitary conditions of living have completed the work of desolation begun by the ruin of the house of Najib-ud-daulah in the 18th century. But in 1777 it was the home of a dense and prosperous Afghan population,—Jalalabad being an Orakzai Pathan colony, Luhari an Afridi and Ghausgarh an Umarkhel Ruhela settlement; cultivation extended for a considerable distance outside the above four cities, and there were besides many villages thickly dotting the surrounding district. In 1777, after the loss of Najibabad, Ghausgarh was the last refuge of the proud Ruhelas whom Najib had raised to supreme glory in the realm, and here were concentrated the last remnant of that hero’s army led by the elders of his tribe, especially his brother Sultān Khan; here were lodged the wives and children of all the leading men of the tribe. Here in 1777 the Ruhelas fought with their backs to the wall, and it is no wonder that their conduct in this war has extorted the admiration of every eulogist of the imperial Court whose memoir has come down to us.
v3.c36.s2.2
The Afghan defence was materially aided by the condition of their enemies. The terrain was full of hollows and mounds and overspread with swamps, which admirably favoured the Afghan tactics of ambuscade and night attack. Therefore, the imperialists had to avoid any advance close to the forts and rash assaults on them, especially as the Emperor’s person had to be safeguarded. But their weakness, in spite of their superior numbers and powerful artillery, lay in their divided command and the determination of Abdul Ahad to cross every plan of Najaf Khan so as to rob him of the credit of victory. Najaf Khan was no doubt the Mir Bakhshi or supreme head of the army, but Abdul Ahad,—the grey beard, broken in health, broken in heart by the death of his dancing girl wife Waziran, and a Kashmiri by blood,—had got himself nominated as second Bakhshi! His absolute sway over Shah Alam’s mind turned him into the defacto commander-in-chief, over the head of Mirzā Najaf. The open wrangles between these two chiefs and their mutual recriminations after every reverse stiffened the Ruhela resistance and damaged the imperial prestige, so that everywhere lawless men began to raise their heads and plunder the highways without fear. Hence, a decisive issue was unduly delayed, and the coming of the rainy season inflicted unspeakable hardship on the royal army in that low swampy region, especially as the rainfall that year was abnormally heavy. The end came very quickly only after Najaf Khan had called up his able lieutenant Afrāsiyāb with his powerful contingent from the middle Doab and conducted the war on his sole initiative.
v3.c36.s2.3
§ 4. Siege of Ghausgarh ; constant indecisive fighting.
v3.c36.s2.4
The Emperor at first halted at the village of Rāipur (4½ miles south of Ghausgarh), his left protected by the Krishni, his right by a large swamp, and his front by a branch of the same river. Najaf Khan led the vanguard with his own contingent. On 8th June he advanced in full force and attacked Luhari, the eastern corner of the triangle, easily occupying the gardens south of that village. The Ruhela patrol fell back after a little skirmishing; the Mughals followed in reckless chase "driving the villagers away like droves of sheep" and thus fell into the ambush prepared by the Afghans with their customary skill in the broken ground outside the village. Two hundred of the imperialists were shot down; the rest broke and fled away. Najaf Khan, coming up with his artillery, arrested the counter pursuit, rescued the fugitives, and held his own trenches. On Zābita's side the brunt of the fighting fell upon the Sikhs, and on the imperial side upon 2,000 mounted Maratha spearmen under Wāgh Rāo, who formed the respective vanguards. The attack was repeated on the 11th. The Sikh horse made a detour and turned the right flank of the imperial trenches; but they were repulsed by the steady fire of Latāfat Ali's *najib* battalions and field artillery. The engagement was mutually broken off at sunset, after the Ruhelas had lost a thousand men.
v3.c36.s2.5
Najaf Khan's spirit was now up. The small Afghan rustic militia had successfully repulsed the entire imperial army, four or five times their own number and led by the Commander-in-chief of the Empire, acting under the eyes of the Emperor himself. The enterprise promised to be even more disgraceful than Muhammad Shah's Bangarh campaign against Ali Muhammad Ruhela. In the race against the approaching rainy season it was essential for the imperialists to win a decision before this month was over. So a third attack was launched, on 13th June. This time the defences on the Thana Bhawan side, or the western corner of the triangle, were probed, but with no better result; "about two hundred of the imperialists were slain; the Afghans fought well, but were finally driven back to their trenches, and the engagement broke off at 2 p.m."
v3.c36.s2.6
Thereafter the imperialists used to ride up daily and waste their powder by firing at the Ruhela trenches, without being able to tempt the enemy to come out into the open. Nine days passed in this kind of inaction, and then on 23rd June, both sides engaged in a a regular battle, which raged with greater obstinacy and heavier slaughter than usual till some hours after sunset. But again the Ruhela trenches were not carried and Najaf Khan had to fall back without victory. This fourth repulse within sixteen days led to bitter public wrangling in the Emperor's presence: Mirzā Najaf taunted Abdul Ahad with enjoying the spectacle of the battle from a house-top safe in the rear, and wilfully causing the defeat by holding back the reinforcements which might have turned the drawn battle into a victory for the imperialists. The Kashmiri retorted by charging the Commander-in-chief with blindly leading his men into a useless butchery. The Emperor sided with his favourite, and Najaf Khan in disgust retired to his tent to sulk in idleness for some time.