Balwant Singh: Difference between revisions
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== Early Administration and Expansion == | == Early Administration and Expansion == | ||
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. | 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 | ||
https://books.google.co.in/books/about/History_of_Banaras.html?id=9sc7tAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y</ref> Impressed by Mansa Ram's efficiency, Rustam Ali Khan secured for him the title of Raja Bahadur from the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah. Mansa Ram, however, declined the distinction and requested that it instead be conferred upon his son, Balwant Singh.<ref name=":0">The Bulwuntnamah: Translated from the Tuhfa-i-taza By Khayr al-Dīn Muḥammad Ilāhābādī | |||
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=pGAIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref> | |||
Balwant Singh soon demonstrated considerable administrative and political ability. Determined to establish an independent political position, he selected Titharia as his seat of power, renamed it Gangapore, and constructed a mud fort there. Although he continued to acknowledge his Mughal and Awadhi suzerains by making regular revenue payments, he consistently exploited periods of political instability to strengthen his authority. During the absence of Nawab Safdar Jang from Awadh, he withheld revenue payments, expelled the Nawab's ''sazawal'' (revenue officer) from Benares, and expanded his influence by raiding neighbouring territories. Around the end of 1749, he captured the fort of Bhadohi from the Rajput zamindar Duswant Singh. When Muhammad Quli Khan, the deputy governor of Allahabad, marched against him with a large force, Balwant Singh decisively defeated the expedition near Bhadohi in mid-1750, greatly enhancing his prestige and military reputation. | In 1728, when Saadat Khan, the Nawab of Awadh, obtained the lease of the eastern sarkars from Murtaza Khan, Mansa Ram continued to administer them on behalf of Rustam Ali Khan. Following Rustam Ali Khan's political decline, Mansa Ram succeeded in obtaining for Balwant Singh the lease of the sarkars of Benares, Jaunpur and Chunar on an annual revenue of thirteen lakh rupees.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Tareekh-e-Banaaras Volume Number-001 by Syed Mazhar Hasan | ||
https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tareekh-e-banaaras-volume-number-001-syed-mazhar-hasan-ebooks</ref><ref>THE FIRST TWO NAWABS OF AWADH,ED.2ND by SRIVASTAVA, ASHIRBADI LAL | |||
https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12411</ref> The Kotwali and Mint of Benares, along with the fort of Jaunpur, remained outside his jurisdiction, while Ghazipur was assigned to another official named Shaikh Abdullah.<ref>Tuhfa-i-Taza by Fakir Khairuddin, p. 10</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>The Bulwuntnamah: Translated from the Tuhfa-i-taza By Khayr al-Dīn Muḥammad Ilāhābādī, p. 100 | |||
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=pGAIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref><ref name=":1">Memoir Of The Ghazeepoor District Pt.1 by Oldham, Wilton | |||
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.53598/page/n93/mode/2up</ref> Consequently, on 9 June 1738, Balwant Singh became the hereditary lessee (''lessee de jure'') of the sarkars of Benares, Jaunpur and Mirzapur.<ref>History of Banaras: From the Earliest Times Down to 1937, p. 59 | |||
https://books.google.co.in/books/about/History_of_Banaras.html?id=9sc7tAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y</ref><ref>Tuhfa-e-Taza by Maulana Khairuddin, p. 10</ref><ref name=":1" /> | |||
Following Mansa Ram's death, Balwant Singh secured direct imperial recognition through a sanad issued under the seal of the Mughal wazir Qamruddin Khan, with the support of Amir Khan, the governor of Allahabad. The sanad conferred upon him the title of Raja and confirmed his lease over the sarkar of Benares and three additional parganas at an annual tribute of thirteen lakh rupees. On this occasion, Balwant Singh presented a ''nazrana'' of ₹21,775 to Emperor Muhammad Shah.<ref>T.T. by Khairuddin, p. 21</ref><ref>The Bulwuntnamah: Translated from the Tuhfa-i-taza By Khayr al-Dīn Muḥammad Ilāhābādī, p. 122-128 | |||
</ref><ref>Tareekh-e-Banaaras Volume Number-001 by Syed Mazhar Hasan, p. 129-130 | |||
<nowiki>https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tareekh-e-banaaras-volume-number-001-syed-mazhar-hasan-</nowiki></ref><ref name=":1" /> | |||
Balwant Singh soon demonstrated considerable administrative and political ability. Determined to establish an independent political position, he selected Titharia as his seat of power, renamed it Gangapore, and constructed a mud fort there.<ref>Tuhfa-i-Taza by Khairuddin, p. 21</ref><ref>The Bulwuntnamah: Translated from the Tuhfa-i-taza By Khayr al-Dīn Muḥammad Ilāhābādī [https://books.google.co.in/books?id=pGAIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=] p. 129-130</ref> Although he continued to acknowledge his Mughal and Awadhi suzerains by making regular revenue payments, he consistently exploited periods of political instability to strengthen his authority. During the absence of Nawab Safdar Jang from Awadh, he withheld revenue payments, expelled the Nawab's ''sazawal'' (revenue officer) from Benares, and expanded his influence by raiding neighbouring territories. Around the end of 1749, he captured the fort of Bhadohi from the Rajput zamindar Duswant Singh. When Muhammad Quli Khan, the deputy governor of Allahabad, marched against him with a large force, Balwant Singh decisively defeated the expedition near Bhadohi in mid-1750, greatly enhancing his prestige and military reputation. | |||
The wider political crisis caused by the Bangash Pathans of Farrukhabad further strengthened Balwant Singh's position. After Ahmad Khan Bangash defeated Safdar Jang in 1750, Afghan commanders occupied Jaunpur and Ghazipur with the objective of displacing Awadhi authority. Sahib Zaman Khan, supported by Akbar Shah of Azamgarh and other local chiefs, assembled a large force and captured Surharpur and Jaunpur. Despite these successes, the Afghan commanders hesitated to advance directly against Balwant Singh, who established his camp at Murahoo in preparation for resistance. | The wider political crisis caused by the Bangash Pathans of Farrukhabad further strengthened Balwant Singh's position. After Ahmad Khan Bangash defeated Safdar Jang in 1750, Afghan commanders occupied Jaunpur and Ghazipur with the objective of displacing Awadhi authority. Sahib Zaman Khan, supported by Akbar Shah of Azamgarh and other local chiefs, assembled a large force and captured Surharpur and Jaunpur. Despite these successes, the Afghan commanders hesitated to advance directly against Balwant Singh, who established his camp at Murahoo in preparation for resistance. | ||