Balwant Singh: Difference between revisions

https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kashi_the_City_Illustrious_Or_Benares/GItEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0</ref> Mansaram Singh was the son of Manoranjan Singh, a zamindar of Banaras region and resident of Gangapur village. Upon Mansaram Singh's death in '''1738''', Balwant Singh succeeded him as '''Raja of Kaswar'''. During the course of his reign, he expanded his authority and was later recognized as the '''Maharaja of Benares''', becoming the founder of the semi-independent Benares State.<ref>Hindu Tribes and Castes Volume 1 by Matthew Atmore Sherring, p. 45

Balwant Singh emerged as the founder of the Benares Raj's political power during the declining years of the Mughal Empire. His rise was closely connected to the administrative abilities of his father, Mansa Ram, a Bhumihar Brahmin who served as the revenue manager under Rustam Ali Khan, the lessee of the sarkars of Benares, Jaunpur, Ghazipur and Chunar.<ref>History of Banaras: From the Earliest Times Down to 1937 by A.S. Altekar

The Afghan ascendancy proved short-lived. Before the arrangement could be fully implemented, Balwant Singh expelled Sahib Zaman Khan from Jaunpur and by April 1751 had recovered all his former possessions. However, the restoration of Safdar Jang's authority created a new challenge.<ref>Marathi Riyasat 4 Sthirabuddhi Raja Ram by Govind Sakharam Sardesai, p. 13 https://archive.org/details/jbqf_marathi-riyasat-4-sthirabuddhi-raja-ram-by-govind-sakharam-sardesai-marathi</ref><ref>Tuhfa-i-taza by Fakir Khairuddin Muhammad Ilahabadi, p. 29</ref><ref>Khairuddin, ''Tawarikh-i-Jaunpore,'' p. 42</ref> Determined to punish those who had sided with his enemies, Safdar Jang marched through Jaunpur into Benares, plundered Gangapore, and dispatched forces across the Ganges to suppress Balwant Singh. Faced with overwhelming odds, Balwant Singh attempted reconciliation by sending his trusted officer Lal Khan with a gift of two lakh rupees and an offer to increase his annual tribute by an additional two lakh rupees. Although initially encouraged to present himself before the Nawab, he declined to do so. Political developments at the Mughal court soon compelled Safdar Jang to abandon the campaign. At the end of March 1752, the Nawab concluded peace with Balwant Singh, confirmed him in possession of his territories through a ''khilat'', fixed his annual revenue at fifteen lakh rupees, and appointed Syed Nurul Hasan Khan Bilgrami as ''sazawal'' to supervise revenue payments.<ref>The Siyar-ul- Mutaqherin Vol III by Seid Gholam Hossein Khan, p. 308

Following this settlement, Balwant Singh concentrated on consolidating his authority. Taking advantage of the continued difficulties faced by his suzerain between 1752 and 1754, he strengthened his position further by transferring his capital from Gangapore to Ramnagar on the southern bank of the Ganges, where he constructed a substantial stone fort.<ref>Tuhfa-i-taza by Fakir Khairuddin Muhammad Ilahabadi, p. 31</ref> He also began planning the incorporation of the fertile belt surrounding Benares, bounded by the Ganges in the north, the Karamnasa River in the east, the Son River and the Kaimur Hills in the south, thereby laying the territorial foundations of the Benares Raj.<ref>Shuja Ud Daulah Vol I by Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal, p. 25

https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Native_Chiefs_and_Their_States_in_18/4uoHAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=chandel+rajput+bijaigarh&pg=PA15&printsec=frontcover</ref> Early in 1754, Balwant Singh captured the neighbouring fort of Agore, controlled by Chandel Rajput kinsmen of Vijay Singh, on the banks of the Son River,<ref>Tuhfa-i-taza by Fakir Khairuddin Muhammad Ilahabadi, p. 34</ref><ref>Tareekh-e-Banaaras Volume Number-001 by Syed Mazhar Hasan, p. 133

https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.85274</ref><ref>''Tarikh-i-Ahmad Shahi'' by Fakir Khairuddin</ref>

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=pGAIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>reducing the autonomy of many lesser zamindars by placing their estates under the supervision of his own officials.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> He then moved against Himmat Bahadur, a Naga Goswami the zamindar of Garwara and a veteran of '''Battle of Panipat III''',<ref>The 'naked' warrior who helped British capture India

https://ia601402.us.archive.org/13/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.98263/2015.98263.Benares-And-The-English-East-India-Company1764-1795_djvu.txt</ref><ref>Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires - by William R. Pinch<nowiki/>https://assets.cambridge.org/052185/1688/excerpt/0521851688_excerpt.htm</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2GxAZicXao</ref> and Shaikh Kabul Muhammad of Machhlishahr, both of whom had earlier supported Sahib Zaman Khan during the Afghan occupation. Using the expulsion of one of Himmat Bahadur's retainers as a pretext, Balwant Singh launched a campaign against Garwara. Although Himmat Bahadur escaped after his fortifications were breached by artillery, the resistance continued under his son Sukhnandan Singh until Balwant Singh pacified the region by granting Garwara to Budh Singh at an annual revenue assessment of ₹80,000.<ref name=":7">Tareekh-e-Banaaras Volume Number-001 by Syed Mazhar Hasan, p. 189

https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tareekh-e-banaaras-volume-number-001-syed-mazhar-hasan-ebookshttps://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tareekh-e-banaaras-volume-number-001-syed-mazhar-hasan-ebooks</ref><ref>Tuhfa-i-taza by Fakir Khairuddin Muhammad Ilahabadi, p. 36-37</ref><ref name=":7" />Later that year he attacked Machhlishahr, treacherously captured Shaikh Kabul Muhammad, and incorporated the zamindari into his dominions.<ref>Tuhfa-i-taza by Fakir Khairuddin Muhammad Ilahabadi, p. 37</ref><ref>Tareekh-e-Banaaras Volume Number-001 by Syed Mazhar Hasan, p. 190

Encouraged by these repeated successes, Balwant Singh next sought to acquire the strategically vital fortress of Chunar, one of the strongest forts in northern India and the principal military base of the Nawabs of Awadh east of the Ganges. Following the death of Safdar Jang in 1754 and the resulting instability within Awadh, he secretly negotiated with the fort's de facto commandant, Agha Mir, offering a bribe of one lakh rupees in exchange for the surrender of Chunar.

The conspiracy was discovered by the new Nawab, Shuja-ud-Daula, who personally marched against Balwant Singh in November 1756. Unable to resist the superior Awadhi forces in the open, Balwant Singh retreated to the strong fortress of Bijaygarh and appealed to the Marathas for assistance. During the campaign, the widow of Bariar Singh, the zamindar of Pindra and Balwant Singh's mother-in-law, mounted a determined defence against the Nawab's forces, compelling them to negotiate rather than storm her position. After occupying Chunar, Shuja-ud-Daula appointed a new commandant, although Balwant Singh treated the young heir of the former killadar, Agha Khale, with generosity after he came into his custody.

Shuja-ud-Daula subsequently attempted to remove Balwant Singh from power altogether. However, several influential advisers warned the Nawab that a prolonged war against the Raja would prove costly and destabilize Awadh. Fazl Ali Khan, the faujdar of Ghazipur, estimated that such a campaign would require at least 10,000 cavalry for a year and enormous financial expenditure. Courtiers sympathetic to Balwant Singh further argued that any attempt to destroy him would unleash widespread disorder across eastern Awadh.

Taking advantage of these divisions, Balwant Singh dispatched his trusted officer Lal Khan to the Nawab with gifts amounting to five lakh rupees and offered to increase his annual tribute by an additional five lakh rupees. Faced with mounting political difficulties, Shuja-ud-Daula accepted the proposal in February 1757. He confirmed Balwant Singh in possession of all his territories and additionally granted him the pargana of Bhadohi as a jagir, effectively recognizing the Raja's authority while avoiding a costly military campaign.

Balwant Singh nevertheless remained determined to eliminate his regional rivals. Angered by Fazl Ali Khan's support for the Nawab, he bribed senior officials in the Awadh administration and launched incursions into Ghazipur. When Fazl Ali attempted to organize resistance, the Awadh government, influenced by officials favourable to Balwant Singh, interpreted his actions as rebellion and dispatched troops against him. Fazl Ali fled to Patna, allowing Balwant Singh to occupy the entire sarkar of Ghazipur. He confiscated the former faujdar's estates and redistributed the twenty-two parganas among his own followers on fixed revenue assignments.

With Ghazipur secured, Balwant Singh consolidated his administration by suppressing refractory taluqdars and neighbouring chiefs. He subdued the Babhandeva, the Hiyobunsi Raja of Ballia, Durg Vijayi Singh of Seringal, and the Rajput zamindars of Lakhnesar. In 1759 he expelled Vikramjit, Raja of Kuntit, from territory administered under the Nazim of Allahabad, further extending the influence of the Benares Raj.

By the time of the Battle of Plassey in 1757, Balwant Singh had transformed what had begun as a revenue lease into a substantial territorial principality through a combination of military conquest, political opportunism, diplomacy, and administrative consolidation. Contemporary observers described his dominions as comprising approximately ninety-six parganas, making him one of the most powerful regional rulers between Awadh and Bengal. As the English East India Company emerged as the dominant power in Bengal after Plassey, Balwant Singh recognized the significance of these developments and sought to establish communication with the new political order, although the Nawab of Awadh remained reluctant to alter his existing policy towards the Raja.

In early 1759, Balwant Singh, in coordination with Mahammad Quli Khan, encouraged Prince Ali Gauhar (later Emperor Shah Alam II)—the fugitive heir to the Mughal throne—to launch a campaign to reclaim eastern territories from rebel control. Upon the Prince’s arrival at Jhusi on January 23, 1759, Balwant Singh paid homage, pledged 200,000 rupees to fund the expedition, and received a robe of honour from the Prince. Although Balwant Singh did not join the march eastward, he initiated troop recruitment within his domain. Following the failure of the expedition, Ali Gauhar retreated through Benares in late June 1759. Balwant Singh extended civil hospitality and offered assistance approximately 10 miles outside Benares.