Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c46: Appendix B. Was there Kachhwa Treachery at Patan?
Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c46
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Appendix B. Was there Kachhwa Treachery at Patan?
v4.c46.2
Authentic accounts of the fighting at Patan have come down to us. Not one of them alleges that the Jaipur generals were bribed by Mahādji Sindhia to “keep aloof during the fight” and treacherously leave their Rathor allies to fight and perish unaided, as Tod asserts in the following passage:
v4.c46.3
“An unlucky stanza which a juvenile *charan* had composed after the battle of Tunga, had completely alienated the Kachhwas from their [ Rathor ] supporters, to whom they could not but acknowledge their inferiority. . . . This stanza was retained in recollection at the battle of Patan; and if universal affirmation may be received as proof, it was the cause of its loss, and with it that of Rajput independence. [ Kachhwa ] national pride was humbled; a private agreement was entered into between the Marathas and the Jaipureans, whereby the latter, on condition of keeping aloof during the fight, were to have their country secured from devastation. As usual the Rathors charged up to the muzzles of De Boigne’s cannon, sweeping all before them, but receiving no support, they were torn piecemeal by showers of grape, and compelled to abandon the field. . . . Even the women, it is averred, plundered the Rathors of their horses on that disastrous day; so heart-broken had the traitorous conduct of their [ Kachhwa ] allies rendered them. . . Both these ribald strains are still the taunt of either
v4.c46.4
race; by such base agencies are thrones overturned, and heroism rendered abortive.”
v4.c46.5
The contemporary evidence of eye-witnesses proves that the mercenary drilled sepoys and artillery commanded by Abdul Matlab Khan and Ala Yar Beg, that had entered Ismail Beg’s service, were so exasperated at their pay being long in arrears that they agreed to be neutral in the coming fight as soon as Sindhia paid them 1½ lakhs of Rupees. Treachery there was at Patan, but it was between the two Muslim groups of the same army and not between the two Rajput clans.
v4.c46.6
If the Jaipur Rajah came to terms with Sindhia after this battle much earlier than the lord of Jodhpur, it was primarily because his kingdom lay directly in the path of the victor, while Marwar was at a safer distance. Secondly, the Jaipur Rajah was merely a defaulter of tribute to Sindhia, while the Jodhpur Rajah had in addition robbed him of the fort and subah of Ajmer and was unwilling to give these possessions back; therefore, his offence was unpardonable, and these two Rajput kingdoms did not stand on the same footing in the eyes of Sindhia.
v4.c46.7
There was a rupture between the Rathors and the Kachhwas *after* the battle, but money was at the root of it. Bijay Singh had agreed to help Sawai Pratap Singh with his Rathor cavalry on condition of their full expenses being borne by the Jaipur Government. Sawai Jai Singh II was popularly believed to have left behind him many *krores* of treasure; but in reality his successor at the time of this battle was utterly impoverished, his vassals were withholding their annual tributes and his war-wasted fields were yielding no revenue. This fact the Rathor contingent would not recognise and they at last abandoned the Jaipur cause in anger.