PUNJAB UNDER THE LATER MUGHALS
MARTYRDOM OF MOHAN CLAN FOR MOHYAL MARYADA
By R. T. MOHAN
A book on Mohyal History states that:[1]
During the rule of Mohammad Shah Badshah (1719-1748) Mansa Ram Mohan, was honoured by the King and entrusted one Sadhu Ram Mohan, with the army appointed for the occupation of the Punjab. Prahlad Rai a contemporary bard eulogises Dewan Sadhu Ram.
This statement may raise many questions in the mind of a reader. Could a Hindu have been a trusted noble in the court of a Mughal Emperor in Delhi? Would a Mughal king depute a Hindu jagirdar to mobilise operations in Punjab, instead of a Muslim commander? What were the political conditions in Lahore during the rule of Mohammad Shah? Had the Mughal rule weakened in Punjab? And, were any other Hindu dewans/nobles playing any important role in the Punjab-Multan region?
Available accounts of this period lack the granularity of detail to identify minor actors like Mansa Ram in historical narration of that period. But we can study available history to judge whether the role attributed to these (Hindu) Mohyal stalwarts looks plausible and believable? So, we revert to the history of post-Aurangzeb period – the history of ‘later’ Mughals, as distinct from the earlier ‘great’ Mughals.
With the partial exception of Bahadur Shah, none of the successors of Aurangzeb had the qualities of kingship. They were reduced to an unenviable position of being the nominees of their supporters instead of being their leaders. After Bahadur Shah several puppet kings were put on the throne in quick succession between 1712 and 1719. We are interested here in Mohammad Shah who was selected by the “King Makers” and proclaimed emperor on 28 September, 1719. Then a lad of seventeen, never before did a more care-free sovereign sit on the throne of Delhi. He was a lover of pleasure and addicted to loose habits. He was entirely ignorant of the elementary rules of the game of politics and was not even anxious to know. And yet to his credit he managed to get rid of the “King Makers”- two Sayyed brothers. But he fell into the clutches of others, who were supplanted in turn by different sets.
Apart from the petty court intrigues the main interest in the political sphere during Muhammad Shah’s reign centres around the expansion of the Maratha influence. They spread the network of their activity from Gujrat to Bengal, and from the Narmada to the Yamuna and even up to the Ravi. There was none to obstruct this terrific onrush of their progress. The Sikhs were also consolidating their position in Punjab.
Invasion by Nadir Shah
But the most momentous event in the reign of Mohammad Shah was the invasion by Nadir Shah of Iran in 1739. He conquered Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, Peshawar and entered Punjab. On his way to Lahore the entire region (the Mohyal homeland) was subjected to wanton plunder. Zakaria Khan, the Mughal governor of Punjab, made an abject surrender. By offering a gift of twenty lakh rupees and several elephants he saved his skin, and the property and lives of the people of Lahore. Nadir Shah restored to Zakaria Khan the governorship of Lahore. However, he took as hostages a son of Zakaria and a son of Lakhpat Rai (the Vazir) – as security against revolt.
Nadir Shah then advanced towards Delhi and he was met at Karnal by the emperor himself with his army. The decisive battle at Karnal was over in two hours. Later, the victor marched into Delhi where he was entertained sumptuously by the defeated Muhammad Shah who offered every valuable item he possessed. The single costliest item was the Peacock throne which was wrought out of 1150 kg of gold and 230 kg of precious stones. Next to it was the priceless Koh-i-Nur diamond which Nadir Shah grabbed with avidity, besides emptying the royal treasury. It has been aptly remarked that “the accumulated wealth of 348 years changed hands in a moment.” The properties of chief nobles like Khan-i-Duran and Muzaffar Khan were confiscated. A strong contingent of Persian troops was sent to Awadh to bring the treasures of Burhan-ul-Mulk, the governor of that province. Nadir Shah’s agents went from house to house in Delhi to prepare inventories of the properties of the citizens of Delhi. The capital had been assessed at two crore rupees and two officers from the court supervised this exercise of recovery from the hapless population. And it was not a peaceful process. The loss of lives in the massacre at Delhi has been put at 20,000 by Jadu Nath Sarkar, besides several hundred women who committed suicide.
Having thus gratified his lust for money, Nadir demanded the hand of a Mughal princess for his son Nasrullah. A great grand-daughter of Aurangzeb was married to him. On this occasion Nadir Shah ordered illuminations, display of fireworks and lavish entertainments, while the people of Delhi were in a state of mourning. Summer having advanced, Nadir Shah marched out of Delhi on 16 May, 1739. His long and richly laden baggage train was subjected to plunder and loot by the hardy and daring peasants of Punjab, particularly the Sikhs.
Before leaving, Nadir Shah obtained a promise of a tribute of twenty lakh rupees annually from Lahore and confirmed the appointment of Zakaria as governor at Lahore and his elder son surnamed Nawaz Khan at Multan. However, Zakaria Khan died soon thereafter and his son Yahya Khan became the governor of Punjab. Lakhpat Rai was the Vazir (Prime Minister) and his brother Jaspat Rai Dewan of Yahya Khan. Sent to quell an insurgency by Sikhs around Emnabad (a town near Lahore), Dewan Jaspat Rai was killed in this engagement. Lakhpat Rai the Prime Minister followed with a large force, fully avenged his brother’s death by defeating the insurgents with great slaughter and brought a thousand captives with him to Lahore, where they were insulted and beheaded.
Zakaria Khan’s elder son Nawaz Khan was still the governor of Multan. Yahya Khan refused to give his elder brother his share of the vast effects left by Zakaria Khan. Nawaz Khan marched to Lahore at the head of a large number of troops, imprisoned Yahya Khan with all his officers of state , including the old Vazir Lakhpat Rai, took possession of his deceased father’s estates and proclaimed himself viceroy (governor) of Punjab without waiting for orders from the Emperor Muhammad Shah, who was anyway too weak to intervene. Nawaz Khan summoned his own Dewan Kaura Mal from Multan and put him at the head of affairs. He struck his own coins, relinquished his Sunni faith and adopted the Shia faith. Meanwhile Ahmad Shah Abdali (a.k.a. Durrani) had become the master of Afghanistan, after the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747. His eyes were fixed on India as the source of wealth and glory.
Yayhya Khan escaped from imprisonment with the help of an indulgent aunt and reached Delhi. Nawaz Khan was also hauled up. Fearful of his own acts, Nawaz Khan opened a secret correspondence with Ahmad shah Abdali, who initiated moves to invade India. Nawab Kamr-ud-din Khan, uncle of Nawaz Khan, was the grand-vazir at Delhi. Taunted and advised by him to stand firm in his allegiance to the hereditary sovereign of the family, Nawaz Khan resolved to oppose the invading Abdali. He first fielded Zila Khan a Pathan chief of Kasur, who went over to the enemy with all his troops. Defence of Lahore also crumbled after some resistance and Nawaz Khan fled to Delhi with all his jewels and valuables. The Abdali conqueror made his triumphant entry into Lahore in January 1748 and levied a heavy contribution on the city. Lakhpat Rai the former Vazir also obtained his freedom after paying his high quota of contribution.
Ahmad Shah Abdali appointed Lakhpat Rai as the governor and Momin Khan as Dewan at Lahore and proceeded towards Delhi. The Mughal troops took up entrenched position near Sirhind and were joined by Raja Isar Singh of Jaipur and other allies. The fight was most sanguinary one and after several interesting flip flops of fate, the Abdalis lost and fled. They re-crossed Attock, back to Afghanistan. The watchful Sikhs harassed their rear, as usual. Kamr-ud-din Khan, on whose counsel the emperor generally relied, died in the battle when struck by a cannon ball. His son Mir Manu, who was the real hero of this victory was appointed the governor of Punjab. When the news of Kamr-ud-din’s death reached the emperor, he wept bitterly: “cruel fate! thus to break the staff of my old age.” Thus afflicted Muhammad Shah breathed his lost on the morning of 14 April, 1748.
Ahmad Shah was the next emperor of Delhi. His name-sake Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan continued his invasions of India. His second invasion was in December 1749. The Subedar of Lahore granted Abdali the revenues of four mahals and he returned. The third invasion took place in December, 1751 in order to collect the promised revenue of four mahals. Muin-ul-Mulk the governor had to surrender to Abdali on 5 March 1752. The Punjab was lost to the empire and the subas of Lahore and Multan were added to the Abdali kingdom by a treaty which was confirmed by the emperor at Delhi. Abdali next conquered Kashmir.
The helpless Mughal emperor Ahmad Shah craved Maratha protection and entered into an agreement described as “a defensive subsidiary treaty”. Through this the Marathas gained from the emperor the chauth of Punjab, Sind and Doab, in addition to the subedari of Ajmer and Agra. In exchange the Marathas agreed to protect the emperor against external enemies and recalcitrant subjects. The expanding power of the Marathas, the Sikhs and other Hindu as also Muslim states in India and the repeated invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali to squeeze whatever was left in the post-Nadir Shah period, make very interesting reading for a student of history. [2] But here we return to the political situation in respect of the reign of Muhammad Shah. As described above, the Punjab was in chaos, Hindus were holding responsible posts of Vazir and Dewan in Lahore as also Multan and the emperor Muhammad Shah was clutching at every straw to save himself. So, the presence of Mansa Ram Mohan and Sadhu Ram Mohan holding exalted positions in the court of Mohammad Shah, Emperor, is plausible and entrusting a Mohyal noble with a military campaign, quite believable.
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Summary of History of Mohans
Dewan Sadhu Ram had a grandson, Jai Ram, who was very beautiful (chander saroop). The king brought Jai Ram to Delhi, converted him to Islam forcibly and got him married to a royal princess. Mohan fraternity at Mamdot could not stand this insult of forcible conversion. They challenged the king and, in an unequal fight, the whole clan of Mohans was massacred at the battlefield, except Dewan Sadhu Ram, who was still on royal duty at Lahore! Members of Mohan caste today are mainly the descendants of Sadhu Ram. A few other families of Mohans claim their ancestry to the survivors of that carnage.
Full details, together with the text of the Jangnama (in 173 verses) on which the narration is based, has been published recently in the form of a booklet. Here, it is available at the end of an earlier section HISTORY AT A GLANCE and may be seen there.
[1] T. P. Russel Stracey, The History of the Mohyals, p. 41.
[2] This account is based on (i) Mohammad Latif, History of the Punjab, pp. 212-19; R. C. Majumdar, The Maratha Supremacy (Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan) and a few other standard works.