Author: K Natwar Singh
Publisher: Rupa
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 136
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8171675107
Description
Although Maharaja Suraj Mal was an outstanding soldier-statesman of 18th century Hindustan, this is his first full length and authoritative 'Life' to appear in the English language and fills a serious gap in our knowledge of a tumultuous period of North Indian history in the 18th century.
Although Maharaja Suraj Mal was an outstanding soldier-statesman of 18th century Hindustan, this is his first full length and authoritative 'Life' to appear in the English language. For all those interested in Indian history it is fortunate that a well known author and distinguished diplomat has found time to write this absorbing and indispensable book. Coming as he does from the nobility of Bharatpur, K Natwar-Singh is eminently qualified to write about Sural Mal, whom millions of Jats even today hold in devotional high esteem,
K Natwar-Singh’s narrative unfolds the saga of Suraj Mal’s inspiring life and extraordinary achievement. It also offers the reader a lively account of the declining decades of the Mughal Empire, to which the Jats along with the Marathas and Sikhs made so significant a contribution. With great clarity and an uncommon understanding of the historical complexities of 18th Century India, the author brings to life the principal actors and sets them against the uneasy mood and temper of their times.
REVIEWS :
Anyone who wants to know what, through the ages in India, has made a man successful in politics should read this book . . .I have read the book with fascination because I was interested not only in the decline and fall of the Mogul Empire but also in the temporary rise of Hindu power in northern and southern India. . . The book is an important contribution to the history of a period which in its combination of anarchy and play of power is no less typical of India than the period of unchallenged imperium.
—Nirad C Chaudhuri
A solid work based on much research and an intimate knowledge of the terrain. It fills a serious gap in our knowledge of a tumultuous period of North Indian history in the 18th century.
—T.G.P. Spear
The Perspective of this book is unusual and arresting. . .an account which is graphic and full of life, also accurate and detailed K Natwar-Singh tells it all with a fresh verve, and it is a fascinating story worth telling
—Prof. Hugh Tinker
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Prologue
Aurangzeb and Suraj Mal’s Forebears
Badan Singh and Suraj Mal: Consolidation and Construction
Early Campaigns of Suraj Mal
Suraj Mal and Safdar Jung
The Siege of Kumher, January-May 1754
Rebellion of Jawahar Singh
Suraj Mal versus Ahmed Shah Abdali
Neither War nor Peace
Suraj Mal and the Third Battle of Panipat
Capture of Agra and Conquest of Haryana
Last Battle and Death
The Achievement of Maharaja Suraj Mal
Notes
Appendix 1 : Names of Maharaja Suraj Mal’s Brothers
Appendix 2 : Genealogical Charts
Appendix 3 : A Note on Sujan Charitra
Appendix 4 : Account of Suraj Mal;s Death in Siyar
Appendix 5 : The House of Bharatpur
Appendix 6 : The Mughal Emperors of India
Bibliography
Index