Suraj Mal (13 February 1707 – 25 December 1763) was a

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

ruler of Bharatpur in present-day state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. Under him, the Jat rule covered the present-day districts of

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 New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capita ...

, Bharatpur,

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur prin ...

, Etawa,

Hathras Hathras is a historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the headquarters of Hathras district, formed on 3 May 1997 by merging parts of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. It is a part of the Aligarh Division. The primary spoken language is a ...

Mainpuri Mainpuri is a city in Mainpuri district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Mainpuri district and is situated to the north-east of Agra and is 270 km from New Del ...

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

, and

Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9(old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the National ...

. A contemporary historian had described him as "the

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

of the Jat tribe" and by a modern writer as the "Jat

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

", because of his "political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision." The people, under Suraj Mal, overran the Mughal garrison at

. Suraj Mal was killed in an ambush by the

Rohilla Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Ro ...

troops on the night of 25 December 1763 near the

Hindon River Hindon River, a tributary of Yamuna river, is a river in India that originates in the Saharanpur district, from the Shakumbhari devi range Upper Sivaliks in Uttar Pradesh. The river is entirely rainfed and has an approximate catchment area of . ...

, Shahadra, Delhi. In addition to the troops stationed at his forts, he had an army of 25,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry when he died.

Early life

Suraj Mal was born on 13 February 1707, to Badan Singh and Rani Devki into a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

family of Sinsinwar clan in Bharatpur, Mughal India (present-day Rajasthan, India). Suraj Mal was the founder of the Kingdom of Bharatpur. The Hindu Kingdom reached its zenith under Suraj Mal.

Establishment of Bharatpur

Suraj Mal conquered the site of Bharatpur from Khemkaran Sogaria, the son of Rustam, in 1733 and established Bharatpur town in 1743. He fortified the city by building a massive wall around the city and started living in Bharatpur from 1753.

Lohagarh Fort

Iron Fort - Bharatpur India (4609963201)

Lohagarh Fort was considered an impregnable fort, it was built in 18th century by Suraj Mal. It remains the only fort in India that was never militarily subdued, even the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

failed to capture it despite trying during several attacks under the command of British General Lake. The siege in 1805 lasted for six weeks but the British failed to conquer the fort. Suraj Mal built many other forts and palaces. The fort has three royal palaces inside built between 1730 and 1850. The attack on the fort by General Lake was done as he wanted to create enmity between

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

and

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

so he reminded

Ranjit Singh of Bharatpur Maharaja Ranjit Singh (2 May 1745 – 6 December 1805) was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bharatpur (r.1778–1805) and successor of Maharaja Kehri Singh, he was bestowed by the title of ''Farzand Jang'' meaning ''Son of War'' ...

of the treaty. At that time

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marat ...

was in his protection and the Raja refused to hand him to the British. The British then laid a siege to the fort but were defeated badly. Many of their soldiers and officers were killed. After two days, the British managed to break a section of fort's wall and Suraj Mal attacked them with artillery. In the third attack, the British successfully crossed the moat but the attack of maharaj filled the moat with the bodies of soldiers. General Lake was asked to secure a peace treaty but he refused, as he reasoned that reinforcement were arriving. The combined forces of Holkar, Amir Khan and

then attacked the British. When the British forces was reinforced from the troops that came from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, they renewed the attack. The British soldiers were attacked by boulders but some of them succeeded to enter the fort, the British however suffered heavy losses. Around 3,000 were killed and several thousand were injured. After this General Lake entered into a peace treaty with the

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

. Jawahar Burj and the Fateh Burj were built to celebrate the victory over the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and the

. The fort is surrounded by deep moats. There is a legend which states that the fort will fall down if a crocodile takes up all the water of the moats. Another legend states that a gate of the fort was brought from Delhi which

Alauddin Khilji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

brought from the fort of

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...

. The gate was brought and fixed in the fort in the 17th century.

Military career

Plunder of old Delhi

The Mughal emperor had taken back the domain of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

and

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

from

Safdar Jang Abul Mansur Mirza Muhammad Muqim Ali Khan (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was a major figure at the Mughal court during the declining years of the Mughal Empire. He became the second Nawab of Awadh when he succeeded S ...

, wazir of

Oudh State The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

, and to avenge his humiliation,

rebelled and attacked Delhi. Surajmal also fought under Safdar Jang against the Mughals. On Suraj's advice,

reacted by appointing Akbar Ādilshāh as emperor. On 14 May the supporters of Surajmal sacked Chārbāg, Bāg-e-kultāt and Hakīm Munīm Bridge, and the next day Jaisinghpura, burning several areas. On 16 May Surajmal under Safdar Jang attacked Delhi and defeated Sādil Khan and Raja Devidatta in a battle.

Battle of Kumher

Mughal Emperor

Alamgir II Aziz-ud-Din Muhammad (6 June 1699 – 29 November 1759), better known as Alamgir II, was the fifteenth Mughal Emperor of India, who reigned from 3 June 1754 to 29 November 1759. He was the son of Jahandar Shah. Born Aziz-ud-Din, the second s ...

and his rebellious courtier

Siraj ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...

were having a factional feud. Suraj Mal had sided with Siraj. Alamgir sought the help of the

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

Khanderao Holkar Khanderao Holkar ( 23 November 1723 – 1754 CE) was the only son of Malhar Rao Holkar, the founder of the Holkar dynasty of Indore, and Gautama Bai. He was the husband of Ahilyabai Holkar. Life Khanderao Holkar was born on 23 November 1723 ...

, son of the Maharaja of Indore,

Malhar Rao Holkar Malhar Rao Holkar (16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766) was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the es ...

, laid a siege on Suraj Mal's

Kumher Kumher (formerly Kumbher) is a historical city and land of Yaduvanshi Sinsinwars the initial name of this city was Kuber. It is located in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, India. Geography Kumher is located at . It has an average elevation of 17 ...

in 1754. While inspecting the troops on an open

palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

in the battle of Kumher, Khanderao was hit and killed by a cannonball from the Bharatpur army. The siege was lifted and a treaty was signed between maharaj Suraj Mal and Marathas, which later proved helpful for Suraj Mal in consolidating his rule.''Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813'', by Jaswant Lal Mehta, pp606
/ref>''Images of Women in Maharashtrian Literature and Religion
', edited by

Anne Feldhaus Anne Feldhaus (Phelḍahāusa, Âna; born 1949) is Distinguished Foundation Professor of Religious Studies, Emeritus Professor, at Arizona State University. Her field of specialty is Maharashtra, India, combining philological and ethnographic app ...

, pp185-186

Battle of Bharatpur

It was fought between army of bharatpur and

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...

on 12 February 1757. Ruler

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

of the Afghan Durrani empire, attacked on Bharatpur. Durrani dared not proceed to attack on

Deeg Deeg is a historical town and a municipality in Bharatpur district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated north of Bharatpur and northwest of Agra. In Hindu mythology, Deeg was situated along the ''parikrama'' path of Krishna, whic ...

. Suraj Mal's troops fought against him in Ballabgarh, Chaumunha, Gokul, Kumher and in Bharatpur. the army stopped Afghan army. Surajmal's forces defeat the Abdali's forces. At last Abdali had to leave the war and retreat. During this he ruined and looted the holy places of Mathura and Vrindavan.

Suraj Mal and Abdali

After his victory over Dattaji on 10 January 1760, Ahmad Shah came to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, and called upon Suraj Mal to pay him tribute and join his camp. On such occasions Suraj Mal invariably played a humble role, pleading that he was a petty zamindar. He informed the Shah that he would readily pay his share to the lawful Government of Delhi at the fixed time of payment. If the Durrani stayed in India and assumed sovereignty, he would obey him as his legal master. At the time of demand he possessed no money as his country had been ruined by the constant movements and pillage of

and Afghans. It was not in Durrani's nature to tolerate such defiance. He besieged Surajmal's fort of Dig on 6 February 1760*. After a short while he realized that it would require a very long period to reduce a strongly fortified, largely garrisoned and heavily provisioned fortress. In such cases he did not make it a matter of prestige. He quietly raised the siege, and marched in pursuit of

. Having routed the Maratha chief at Sikandarabad on 4 March 1760,

marched upon Koil (modern Aligarh) which belonged to Suraj Mal, and invested the fort of Ramgarh. It was commanded by Durjansal. The fort was well-garrisoned and fortified, and large stocks of provisions had been stored therein. The fort could have resisted for long; but the qiladar was disheartened at the occupation of the entire upper Ganga Doab by the Afghans, and to save himself from massacre he capitulated in a fortnight or so.

Capture of Agra Fort

Agra was the richest town during that period. Suraj Mal decided to capture Agra fort to re-establish his influence in doab region. On 3 May 1761 the army of Suraj Mal with 4000 soldiers reached Agra under the command of Balram and gave the message of Suraj Mal to the (in charge) of Agra fort that the army wanted to cross the Yamuna and needed camping place. The gave the sanction for camping. Meanwhile, the army started entering the fort, which was resisted by the guards in which 200 people died. The army started war from Jama masjid. During this period Maharaja Suraj Mal stayed at

to observe the situations. On 24 May 1761 Suraj Mal along with Imād and Gangadhar Tantya moved from Mathura, crossed Jamuna and reached

. From Aligarh his army moved and captured the areas of ruler koīl and

Jalesar Jalesar is a Nagar Palika in Etah Sub District, Etah district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. There is a fort of Awagarh near Jalesar, Awagarh is from Jalesar It is connected by road to other towns such as Hathras, Etah, Aligarh, Firoz ...

. They reached Agra to help his army at

in the first week of June. Suraj Mal arrested the family members of the guards staying in Agra town and pressurized the guards of fort for surrender. At last the agreed to surrender by receiving a bribe of Rs 1 lakh and jagir of five villages. Thus after a seize of one month Maharaja Suraj Mal captured Agra Fort on 12 June 1761.

Death

Fight with Surajmal and Najib. The Rohilla under

Najib-ud-daula Najib ad-Dawlah ( ps, نجيب الدوله), also known as Najib Khan Yousafzai ( ps, نجيب خان), was a Rohilla Yousafzai Afghan who earlier served as a Mughal serviceman but later deserted the cause of the Mughals and joined Ahmed S ...

had now been encircled and the war was inevitable. Ruhella alongside Baloch Sayyidu Muhammad Khan, Afzal Khan, Zaibita Khan had mobilized the troops which was still weaker in number and weaponry against King Surajmal Military. Suraj Mal's army foray on to the enemy was mobilized from both front and rear end and it was potent enough to have decimated the combined

and Baloch in two days, but a deceitful ambush by Sayyidu near the

Hindon river Hindon River, a tributary of Yamuna river, is a river in India that originates in the Saharanpur district, from the Shakumbhari devi range Upper Sivaliks in Uttar Pradesh. The river is entirely rainfed and has an approximate catchment area of . ...

base took Suraj Mal with surprise. Outnumbered and suddenly Suraj Mal attained Martyrdom on the night of 25 December 1763.

Legacy

His large cenotaph is at

Kusum Sarovar Kusum Sarovar is a sacred water reservoir with a historic sand monument in its backdrop. It is situated on the holy Govardhan Hill between Manasi Ganga and Radha Kund in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Kusum Sarovar is considered ...

Govardhan Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of a MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pr ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

.Cenotaph of Raja Sooruj Mull, Govurdhun. 97140, British Library online collection
/ref> His imposing

chattri ''Chhatri'' are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they serve as decorative elements. The earliest example of chhatri being used in the ...

is flanked on either side by two smaller chattris of his two wives, ''"Hansiya"'' and ''"Kishori"''.D. Anand, 1992
Krishna: The Living God of Braj
Page 56. These memorial chattris were built by his son and successor

Jawahar Singh Jawahar Singh () ( hi, महाराजा जवाहर सिंह) was a Jat ruler of the Bharatpur State. He succeeded to the throne when his father Suraj Mal died in 1763. Early life During Ahmed Shah Abdali's invasion of India in 1 ...

. The architecture and carving is in the pierced stone style and the ceiling of cenotaphs are adorned with paintings of the life of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

and Suraj Mal. His court poet

Sūdan Sūdan ( hi, सूदन) (1700–1753) was the main court poet of Maharaja Suraj Mal, the Bharatpur ruler in Rajasthan. He was Mathur by caste, resident of Mathura and the most favourite poet of the Bharatpur Maharaja Suraj Mal. He had accom ...

recorded his biography in ''Sujān Charitra''. Notable institutes named after him include

Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology is a private engineering college located in Janakpuri, Delhi. The college is affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. Administration Maharaja Surajmal Institute is a self-financing priv ...

Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, Bharatpur Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, formerly Brij University, Bharatpur, is a state university located at Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. The main University campus is located outside of the main city in the Kumher region of the district housing ...

and Surajmal Stadium metro station.

In popular culture

* In 2019 Hindi film ''

Panipat Panipat () is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on List of National Highways in India, NH-1. The three major battles fought in First Battle of Panipat, 1526, Second Battle of ...

'', Suraj Mal's character was portrayed by

Manoj Bakshi Manoj Bakshi is an Indian actor who acts in films, television and theatre. He is famous for his roles in ''Bajrangi Bhaijaan'' (2015), '' Delhi Belly'' (2011), ''Jab Tak Hai Jaan'' (2012), ''Gori Tere Pyaar Mein'' (2013), ''Junooniyat'' (2016) ...

. * In 1994

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

TV series ''

The Great Maratha ''The Great Maratha'' is an Indian historical drama television series directed by Sanjay Khan and produced by Numero Uno International Limited. The drama aired on DD National. The series is based on the life of Mahadaji Shinde. The show compris ...

'', Suraj Mal's character was portrayed by Arun Mathur.

References

External links

Suraj Mal
at '' Britannica'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaja Suraj Mal Rulers of Bharatpur state History of Rajasthan History of Uttar Pradesh History of Haryana Medieval India Hindu monarchs 1707 births 1763 deaths Jat