Rao Amar Singh (30 December 1613 – 25 July 1644) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of Raja Gaj Singh I of the Rathore Kingdom of

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. 'Maru' is a Sanskrit word for desert. The word 'wad' literally means fence in Rajasthani languages. Engl ...

in seventeenth-century

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

. After he was disinherited and exiled by his family, he entered into the imperial Mughal service. His legendary bravery and battle prowess resulted in elevation to a high rank in the imperial nobility and personal recognition by the emperor, who made him the ''

subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

'' (governor) of a region that was directly ruled by the emperor himself, Nagaur. In 1644, he was enraged by an attempt by the emperor to levy a fine on him for an unauthorized absence. In the emperor's presence, he stabbed and killed the Wazir of Mughal

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

, Salabat Khan, who had been asked to collect the fine. He is celebrated in some popular ballads of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, Western Uttar Pradesh and

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Family

Amar Singh was born on 11 December 1613 as the eldest son, thus heir apparent to his father Yuvraj Gaj Singh I of who in turn was heir apparent to his father as the eldest son of Raja Sur Singh of Marwar. His mother Songariji was the granddaughter of Rao Man Singh Songara of

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

maternal uncle of Maharana Pratap Singh I of

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...

Life

On the death of his father, the Rathore throne of the Kingdom of

was given to his 11 year old younger half brother, Kunwar

Jaswant Singh Major Jaswant Singh (3 January 193827 September 2020) was an Indian Army officer and politician. He was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and was one of India's longest serving parliamenta ...

, as per his father's wish. This was due to Raja Gaj Singh being extremely fond Jaswant Singh's mother Sisodiniji Pratap Deiji and also due to the influence of his favourite khawasin (concubine), Anara Begum, who was on bad terms with Yuvraj Amar Singh. He instead received the pargana of Nagaur and the ruling title of Rao. He was accompanied by Girdharji Vyas a Pushkarna

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

from

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

as an elderly advisor and administrator in Nagaur. Girdharji was one of the main commander of the army who fought Mughals in Agra to avenge Amar Singh death. Girdharji attained martyrdom with the brave fellow Rathore kinsman Baludas Champawat fighting Mughals at Agra.

Commemoration in popular culture

Amar Singh Rathore is considered an icon of extraordinary might, will and freedom. Neither fear, nor greed were able to affect his decisions. He died as a free man. The bravery of Amar Singh Rathore and Ballu Champavat is still remembered in folk songs in Rajasthan and around Agra. A Hindi movie based on Amar Singh was made in 1970, named 'Veer Amar Singh Rathore' and directed by Radhakant. Dev Kumar, Kumkum and Zeba Rehman were the lead actors of the movie in Black and White. A Gujarati movie was also made on the same subject and the lead role was played by Gujarati actor Upendra Trivedi. A gate of Agra Fort was named after him as 'Amar Singh Gate' which is a major tourist attraction in Agra. A small excerpt from a Punjabi ballad on Amar Singh Rathore describes his angry entry into Shah Jahan's '' Diwan-i-Khas'' and Salabat Khan's attempts to hold him back. -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathore, Amar Singh 1613 births 1644 deaths People from Rajputana Indian warriors 17th-century Indian people

Family

Life

Commemoration in popular culture

See also

References