Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c55.s9: § 9. George Thomas under Āpā Khāndé Rao
Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c55.s9
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§ 9. George Thomas under Āpā Khāndé Rao
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But such a good fighter could not long remain unnoticed. Āpā Khāndé Rao, the Marātha governor of the country west of Delhi (Mewāt) engaged him (c. Oct. 1793) and placed a battalion of sepoys under him. He worked for this master for four years.
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Early in the year 1794, we find Thomas raising fresh troops, collecting revenue by force from the ever-refractory peasantry of Mewāt, and (in April) supporting his unpaid soldiery by looting Gurgāon and two other villages in Begam Samru's jāgir of Pādishāhpur taluq. As Āpā Khāndé Rāo enlarged the contingent of Thomas, he assigned to him Tijārā, Tapukrā and Firuzpur as fiefs for the maintenance of his troops, and he had to fight repeatedly before he could impose his authority on the wild unruly peasantry* (March-July 1794). Tijārā was occupied only after a fight, Bahādurgarh was looted by him, and Jhajhar captured. Soon afterwards Jhajhar, Pataudi and the neighbouring villages were added to his jāgir, raising his income (on paper) to 1½ lakhs of Rupees a year.
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In November 1795, Thomas was sent by Āpā Khāndé Rāo to the Sāharanpur district to drive away a horde of 5,000 Sikh raiders who were investing the fort of Jalālābād. Lakhwā Dādā then appointed Thomas as warden of the marches to guard the Jamunā frontier of the Upper Doāb, and raised his contingent to 2,000 infantry, 200 cavalry, and 16 pieces of artillery, and for their maintenance assigned to him the parganas of Pānipat, Sonpat and Karnāl. In July 1796, Thomas took a noble revenge. Begam Samru had been imprisoned by her troops and her step-son Zafaryāb Khan placed in power nine months before, (Oct. 1795). But on 9th July 1796, Thomas moved by her appeal, marched with his sepoys very secretly to Sardhānā, where he was joined by some troops in the Begam’s interest, with whom he had already concerted her restoration. The Marātha sardārs in Delhi were privy to the plot, and encouraged it. She was restored to the lordship of Sardhānā and sent her worthless step-son into confinement. (PRC. viii. 206.)
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∗ Thomas defeats Bakhtā, the rebel zamindār of Rewāri (DY. ii. 120), makes raids near Delhi (Sep. 1794. DY. ii. 128-129)--forces the nephew of Gangā Vishnu Āhir, rebel, to surrender his fort of Belji. (Oct. DY. ii. 136.)
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Throughout 1796, Thomas had to fight the Sikhs on both banks of the Jamunā and was always successful. (§ 7 ante.) But in 1797 his fortune took a turn for the worse. He had so long managed somehow or other to get on with Āpā Khāndé Rāo, inspite of Āpā’s jealousy, failure to keep his promises, and even treacherous plots against his life. Āpā died on 25th June 1797, and his nephew Vāman Rāo succeeded to his governorship and continued to keep Thomas in his service for some time.
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But the Maratha administration fast deteriorated. Thomas could not get the promised pay from his employer, and found the income of his sandy jāgir unequal to meet the expenses of his troops. So, he was driven to support his contingent by the plunder he got during the state of continual warfare in which he was engaged. In 1797 he made a raid from his base at Jhajhar upon the Jaipur town of Urikā (35 m. n. e. of Jhunjhunu) and took a ransom of Rs. 52,000 from it, but the town was destroyed by an accidental fire.
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§ 10. Battle of Fathpur, February 1798
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At the beginning of the next year (1798), Lakhwā Dādā ordered Vāman Rao to invade the Jaipur kingdom for collecting the tribute due. Thomas was offered a subsidy of half a lakh of rupees a month, and joined Vāman Rāo with three battalions of infantry (each 400 strong), 300 Ruhelā musketeers, 200 peasant militia of Hariānā, 90 horsemen, and fourteen pieces of artillery. The confederates set out from Karnāl and entered the Shekhāwati district in the north side of the Kachhwā kingdom, levying contributions from the villages on the way. Bāgh Singh of Khāndelā and other disloyal barons of that district welcomed and subsidised the invaders out of spite for their liege lord the Rajah of Jaipur.
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Thomas after severe fighting took possession of the fortified city of Fathpur, 30 miles north of Sikar, and made it his base. A large Jaipur army under Rodoji Khawās arrived, encamped eight miles from Fathpur, and on 8th February advanced to attack Thomas's position. But Rajput incapacity to co-ordinate movements and the personal cowardice of their supreme commander (who had followed the tailor's profession before his Rajah's favour made him prime minister) enabled Thomas and his highly capable lieutenant Morris to handle their very much smaller but highly disciplined corps so skilfully that the isolated attacks of the two wings of the Jaipur army were beaten back as they came up one after another. Then Rodoji ordered a general charge by his centre, consisting of 6,000 picked royal troops. But "this main body had by this time become a confused mass, without order, regularity, or method. . . Mr. Thomas perceiving them at a stand, commenced a heavy fire of grape-shot, when after sustaining much loss, the enemy retreated."
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A last desperate charge followed the retreat. It brought no change in the issue of the day, but redeemed the honour of the Rajputs. A dense body of Jaipur cavalry headed by Ranjit Singh, the chieftain of Chomu, advanced sword in hand to recover a pair of 24 pounder guns which their comrades had abandoned in the earlier retreat. The Marātha cavalry supporting Thomas fled away before the onset, and the Rajput horsemen breaking into Thomas's left wing pellmell with these fugitives, began to cut down a great number of his sepoys. "The moment was critical... Mr. Thomas, with the only gun that remained, which he loaded up to the muzzle, and about 150 of his followers, waited the event with fortitude. After permitting the enemy to approach within forty yards, he gave them three discharges of his gun accompanied by three volleys of musketry." The rout of the enemy was complete. The brave baron of Chomu was severely wounded, Bahādur Singh and Pāhār Singh (of the Khangārot branch) fell, but the two guns were recovered. On that long and bloody day, the Rajput casualties exceeded 2,000, while Thomas lost 300 men. But peace was soon made by Vāman Rao under orders of Daulat Rao Sindhiā.
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Disgusted with his Marātha employers, George Thomas now decided to set up an independent State of his own.