Battle of Maonda and Mandholi

The Battle of Maonda and Mandholi was fought between the rulers of Jaipur and Bharatpur in 1767 in Rajasthan. Maharaja Jawahar Singh of Bharatpur was leading an army on his way back from Pushkar when the forces of Sawai Maharaja Madho Singh of Jaipur ambushed them near Maonda and Mandholi villages close to present day Neem ka Thana. Both the Jats and Rajputs claimed themselves victorious in this battle, but apparently the loss did not have much repercussions on the strength of the Jats, whereas Madho Singh had to suffer such a severe blow that his power never recovered.[1]

Background

On 6 November 1767, the Rathore and Jat Raja's met together on the banks of the sacred lake, exchanged turbans and sat down side by side on the same carpet like full brothers, and sent an invitation to Madho Singh I to come and join them. The Kachwaha Rajput , was provoked because of his insecurity from the Bharatpur state that challenged the privileged caste backed hereditary status of the Rajputs. He sharply reprimanded Vijay Singh for having degraded his Rathore ancestry by admitting a mere servant of the Jaipur state as his brother and political equal. Jawahar Singh singh was expecting this .[2]

The battle

The Jats with their immense force and ponderous artillery and baggage train had almost reached his own country, when at Maonda, only 23 miles (37 km) south-west of Narnaul. The Kachwaha army which had been following him, delivered the attack (14 December). Here a narrow defile lay before the Jats; They sent their baggage ahead, covering it with the troops in the rear. The first attack of the Rajput horse in the open was repulsed by the Jats making a counter march against them as the Kachwaha artillery and infantry were still lagging behind. The Kachwaha horsemen, after firmly standing a devastating fire from Jawahar Singh's guns for some time, threw themselves sword in hand on the enemy, the Jats gave a stiff blow to the rajputs until the Rajputs had to disperse.

Aftermath

The Rajputs immediately dispersed , and an indescribable scene of confusion followed, during which the French sepoys of Samru and Madec kept their heads, and with equal coolness and daring maintained the battle, fighting with their backs to the rocky walls till nightfall. They saved Jawahar Singh and enabled him to make an escape, though the rest of his army had dispersed in flight long before. But all his artillery- 70 pieces of different calibres, tents and baggage including his royal umbrella, had to be abandoned on the field. The total loss on the two sides together was about 5000 men. The Rajputs lost 2500 men mostly because of artillery fire ; But most of the principal chiefs fell on the field. There was hardly a noble family in Jaipur that did not sacrifice a son or two on that day. Dalil Singh, the commander-in-chief of the Jaipur army, fell in the fight with three generations of his descendants, and none but the boys of ten remained to represent the baronial houses of Jaipur.[3]

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References
  1. Ram sarup, Joon (1967). The history of the jats. Delhi: Jaitly printing press. pp. Chapter X.
  2. Ram sarup, Joon (1967). History of the jats. Delhi: Jaitly printing press. pp. Chapter X.
  3. History of Jaipur by Jadunath Sarkar pg. 256

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