Bishan Singh (environmentalist)
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Mirza Raja Bishan Singh (c. 1672 - 1699) was a
Kachwaha The Kachhwaha is a Rajput clan found primarily in India. They claim descent from the Suryavanshi (Solar) dynasty. Etymology According to Cynthia Talbot, the meaning of word ''Kachhwaha'' is tortoise. Origin There are numerous theories on ...
Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...
ruler of the
Kingdom of Amber The Kingdom of Amber, later the Kingdom of Jaipur or the Jaipur State, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachhwaha, Kachwaha Rajput dynasty. The kingdom was established by Dulha Rai, po ...
(also called, the Kingdom of Amer or Dhundhar, or Jaipur State). He succeeded his grandfather Mirza Raja
Ram Singh I Mirza Raja Ram Singh I was the Raja of the Kingdom of Amber and head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan, succeeding his father Mirza Raja Jai Singh I. He also served as the general of the Mughal Empire and commander-in-chief of its army as well as t ...
since his father Kishan Singh died in the lifetime of his grandfather. He was also the
Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...
subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...
of the province of
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
from the year 1687 to 1695 during the reign of
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 ...
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
. He was succeeded by
Sawai Sawai may refer to: *Sawai (surname), a Japanese surname *Sawai (title), a title of honor used in India *Sawai language, a South Halmahera language of Austronesian stock spoken in Indonesia *Sawai, Car Nicobar, a village in the Andaman and Nicobar ...
Jai Singh II Sawai Jai Singh II (3 November 1688 – 21 September 1743), was the 30th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He became the ruler of Amber at the age of 11, after ...
.


Accession

On the death of his grandfather Ramsingh I, the 16-year-old Bishan Singh returned to Amer with his Kachwaha clansmen. He had been serving with Ram Singh in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, even though the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
had demanded that he be sent to serve in the
Deccan Wars The Deccan wars were a series of military conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the descendants of the Maratha Empire, Maratha ruler Shivaji from the time of Shivaji's death in 1680 until the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Shivaji was ...
. But remembering the fate of other Hindu princes when serving in the Mughal armies on distant campaigns, Ram Singh had evaded that order. For this he had been demoted in rank and reduced in the possession of some estates. Bishan, on the other hand, was entirely deprived of his rank and lands. Bishan Singh was thus the first ruler of Amer to sit on the throne without any rank or status in the Mughal nobility. When Aurangzeb recognized Bishan Singh as
Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...
(30 April 1688), made him commander of 2500 cavalry, and gave him a cash advance for their maintenance, it seemed that the Amer royal family had come out of its dark days. The restoration came with a harsh condition: Bishan Singh was commanded to uproot the Jat rebels in the Agra province or these grants would be revoked.


Rebellions

At this stage, while Aurangzeb was fighting in the Deccan Wars, North India was also covered by strife. The main rebellions were of the Rajputs in
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 ...
,
Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
,
Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...
. Only the three weaker states of Amer,
Bundi Bundi is a town in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. Climate The climate is hot semi arid (BSh), not having enough rainfall to qualify as a tropical savanna climate (Aw). The climate is quite warm, and most of the ra ...
, and
Datia Datia, is a town and the district headquarter of the Datia District of Gwalior Chambal region in north Madhya Pradesh, a state in Central India. Datia is world famous for Pitambara Peeth, a shakti pilgrimage site. It is an ancient town, ...
were in Mughal service. These were being used mostly against their own brethren by Aurangzeb. The other major rebellions were of the
Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...
in Punjab and the Jats in
Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
. He was appointed faujdar of Mathura and assigned the responsibility of suppressing the Mathura revolt and establishing an outpost for the imperial army fighting the Jats under Bidar Bakht. He did a good job on both tasks, although the campaign of Bidar Bakht in Sinsini was delayed owing to Jat opposition, but in the end, the imperial army triumphed. Mughal and Rajput armies jointly attacked Sinsini and captured it after a struggle of five months, in the month of January 1690. In this war 200 Mughals and 700 Rajputs were killed against 1500 Jats. Bishan Singh also took 500 prisoners from the Jat stronghold of Soghar. Bishan Singh ruled over the areas of Mathura, Kama, Mahaban prangana up to the Doab's edge, and modern-day Bharatpur. Rajaram died in their own inter-clan feud, while his brothers Churaman and Rupa continued to rebel against Delhi, until then, no Jat kingdom had developed, and the land was populated by Jats who had no recognized authority, allowing Bishan Singh to easily beat them. Although Sinisini and Soghar were seized, Jats continued to rebel and disturbing the area, making peace impossible since Bishan Singh lacked the resources to manage the entire district, which was filled by hostile Jats. Bishan Singh was accused of negligence by Aurangzeb. Mathura's Faujadari was taken from him.


Continued pressure from Aurangzeb

In 1696 Aurangzeb now commanded Bishan Singh, despite his previous dismissal, to serve in his ruinous Deccan Wars. Bishan pleaded with and bribed Mughal officials, Aurangzeb's sons, and the emperor's favorite daughter Zinat-un-nissa, until the order was changed to a summons for his 7-year-old son Jai Singh II. Fearing the same fate as his father Kishan Singh, and other Rajput princes, Bishan Singh evaded the order to go to the Deccan for almost two years. Displeased, Aurangzeb transferred Bishan Singh to Afghanistan with half the Kachwaha clan, while the rest were placed under Jai Singh II. The emperor then sent his men to force the child to fight in his wars. In Afghanistan, Bishan Singh served under
Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...
who spent every winter in Peshawar and moved to Kabul for the summer. Like his grandfather, Bishan Singh died in this bitterly cold region (31 December 1699). The child
Jai Singh II Sawai Jai Singh II (3 November 1688 – 21 September 1743), was the 30th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He became the ruler of Amber at the age of 11, after ...
then came to the throne and raised his family and kingdom (known as Jaipur after him) to the first rank in Rajasthan after an eventful career of 44 years.


See also

* House of Kachwaha


References


Sources

''A History of Jaipur'' by Sir
Jadunath Sarkar Sir Jadunath Sarkar, (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty. Sarkar was educated in English literature and worked as a teacher for some time but later shifted his focus to h ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Bishan 1670s births 1699 deaths Bishan