Maharaja Ajit Singh Rathore, born on February 19, 1679, was a prominent ruler of the Marwar region, now known as Jodhpur, in present-day Rajasthan, India. He also served as the Mughal Governor of Gujarat for two terms from 1715–1717 and 1719–1721. As opposed to his father Maharaja Jaswant Singh Rathore who was a close friend of the Indian Emperor Shah Jahan, Rana Ajit Singh’s life was marked by strategic alliances, conspiracies and betrayals against his own in the relentless pursuit of worldly gains, sovereignty and kingdom.
Early Life and Struggle for the Jodhpur Throne
Jaswant Singh of Marwar died at Jamrud in December 1678. His two wives were pregnant but, there being no living male heir, the lands in Marwar were converted by the Indian emperor Aurangzeb into territories of the Mughal empire so that they could be managed as jagirs. He appointed Indra Singh Rathore, a nephew of Jaswant Singh, as ruler there. Historian John F. Richards stresses that this was intended as a bureaucratic exercise rather than an annexation.
There was opposition to Aurangzeb’s actions because both pregnant women gave birth to sons during the time that he was enacting his decision. In June 1679, Durgadas Rathore, a senior officer of the former ruler, led a delegation to Delhi where they pleaded with the Emperor to recognise the older of these two sons, Ajit Singh, as successor to Jaswant Singh and ruler of Marwar.
The Emperor refused, offering instead to raise Ajit Singh and to give him the title of Raja, with an appropriate noble rank, when he attained adulthood. However, the offer was conditional on Ajit being brought up as a believer in God and all Prophets and saints of God, which was anathema to the petitioners who were idol worshippers and considered themselves racially superior Rajputs.
The dispute escalated when Ajit Singh’s younger brother died. Aurangzeb sent a force to capture the two queens and Ajit from the Rathore mansion in Delhi but his attempt was rebuffed by Durgadas Rathore, who initially used gunfire in retaliation and eventually escaped from the city to Jodhpur along with Ajit and the two queens, who were disguised as men. Some of those accompanying the escapees detached themselves from the party and were killed as they fought to slow down the pursuing Mughals.
It is believed that the Dhaa Maa (wet nurse) of infant prince Ajit Singh of Marwar, Goora Dhaa put her beloved son on the royal bed instead of Ajit Singh and put the sleeping prince Ajit into a basket and smuggle him with others out of Delhi. Others opine a slave girl with her infant posed as Rani and remained behind to be captured. The Indian Emperor deigned to accept this deceit and sent the child to be raised as in the palace.
Jadunath Sarkar mentioned that Aurangzeb brought up a milkman’s son in his harem as Ajit Singh. The child was renamed Mohammadi Raj and the act of changing religion meant that, by Hindu-Rajput custom, the imposter child lost all hereditary entitlement to the lands of Marwar that he would otherwise have had if he had indeed been Ajit Singh.
Continuing to play along with the deceit, Aurangzeb refused to negotiate with representatives of Ajit Singh, claiming that child to be the imposter. He sent his son, Muhammad Akbar, to occupy Marwar. Ajit Singh’s mother convinced the Rana of Mewar, Raj Singh I, who is commonly thought to be her relative, to join in fighting against Delhi.
Richards says that Raj Singh’s fear that Mewar would also be invaded was a major motivation for becoming involved; another historian, Satish Chandra, thinks that there were several possible alternatives, including Singh seeing an opportunity to assert Mewar’s position among the Rajput principalities of the region. The combined Rathore-Sisodia forces were no match for the Indian army, Mewar was itself attacked and the Hindu Rajputs had to retire to the hills, from where they engaged in sporadic guerrilla warfare.
For 20 years after this event, Marwar remained under the direct rule of an Indian governor appointed from Delhi. During this period, Durgadas Rathore and Akheraj Singh Rajpurohit (Rajguru of Ajit Singh) carried out a relentless struggle against the Indian forces. Trade routes that passed through the region were plundered by the guerrillas, who also looted various treasuries in present-day Rajasthan and Gujarat. These disorders adversely impacted the finances of the empire.
Aurangzeb died in 1707; he was to prove the last of the great Indian emperors. Durgadas Rathore and Akheraj Singh Rajpurohit took advantage of the disturbances following this death to seize Jodhpur and eventually evict the Indian forces.
Ajit Singh Reclaiming Marwar and Relations with the Mughals
After years of resistance, Ajit Singh successfully regained control over Marwar in 1707, following Emperor Aurangzeb’s death. To secure his position and navigate the complex political landscape, he entered into a strategic alliance with the Mughal Empire. In 1715, Ajit Singh’s daughter, Bai Indira Kanwar, was married to Emperor Farrukhsiyar.
This union perhaps marked the last instance of a Mughal Indian emperor marrying a Hindu Rajput princess. Despite the marriage, relations remained strained, leading Ajit Singh to play a pivotal role in Farrukhsiyar’s deposition and assassination in 1719. Following her husband’s death, Indira Kanwar returned to Jodhpur, renounced her ties to the Indian court, and reverted to Hindu Rajput customs.
After consolidating his rule over Marwar, Ajit Singh grew increasingly bold as the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah had marched south. He formed an alliance with Mirza Raja Jai Singh II of Amber and set upon capturing his ancestral lands which had been occupied by the Mughal India. The Rajput kings started raiding Mughal camps and outposts, several towns and forts were captured, the biggest blow for the Mughals was however the capture of Sambhar which was an important Salt manufacturing site.
Ajit Singh and the Desicion to Desecrate Holy Shrines in Ajmer
In 1709 Ajit Singh made plans to conquer Ajmer and destroy the Muslim shrines and Mosques, however Jai Singh II of Jaipur was afraid that the destruction of Muslim shrines would lead to the wrath of the Mughal emperor after he had returned from the Deccan. Ajit Singh however ignored Jai Singhs advise and led his army towards Ajmer, ending the Rathore-Kachwaha alliance.
Ajit Singh laid siege to Ajmer on 19 February, the Mughal garrison led by Shujaat Khan negotiated with Ajit Singh by offering him 45,000 rupees, 2 horses, an elephant and the holy town of Pushkar in exchange for sparing the shrine and the mosques. Ajit Singh agreed to the terms and returned to his capital.
In June 1710 Bahadur Shah I marched to Ajmer with a large army and called Ajit Singh to Ajmer, he was joined by Mirza Jai Singh II.
When Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah Pardoned Ajit Singh
The rebellious Ajit Singh was finally pardoned and was formally accepted as the Raja of Jodhpur by the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Azam Shah in 1708, thus granting the Rathore clan control over the Kingdom of Marwar and the city of Jodhpur. In 1712 Ajit Singh was given more power with his appointment as Mughal governor of Gujarat.
In 1713, the new Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar appointed Ajit Singh as governor of Thatta. Ajit Singh refused to go to the impoverished province and Farrukhsiyar sent Husain Ali Braha to bring Ajit Singh into line, but also sent a private letter to Ajit Singh promising him blessings if he defeated Husain. Instead Ajit Singh chose to negotiate with Husain, accepting the governorship of Thatta with a promise for a return to Gujarat in the near future.
One of the other conditions of the peace agreement was the marriage of one of the daughters of the Jodhpur Raja with the Mughal emperor. This gave him the time to prepare for war against the Mughals and on 1719 he invaded Delhi and captured it, and later executed Faruksiyar, bringing the Mughal Empire closer to its end. Rafi ud-Darajat was set on the throne as the new Mughal emperor.
Grand Marriage of Ajit Singh’s Daughter Indira Kanwar with Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar
Indira Kanwar was born in 1696 as Maharajkumari Shri Indira Kanwar Baiji Lall Sahiba, the daughter of Ajit Singh, the Maharaja of Marwar (later Jodhpur) state in the present-day Rajasthan. Her mother was Shri Rani Udot Kanwarji Maji Sahiba (Amolak de Ranawat), daughter of Maharaj Shri Gaj Singh Sahib, the brother of Maharana Shri Jai Singh, Maharana of Mewar.
She was the grand daughter of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. She was also related to Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani, daughter of Raja Udai Singh of Mewar, the wife of Mughal Emperor Jahangir and the mother of the next Indian Emperor Shah Jahan. She was the sister of Bakht Singh and Abhai Singh, the next rulers of Jodhpur State.
When Ajit Singh had expelled the imperial officers from his state during the wars of succession, and had captured Ajmer. Husain Ali Khan was sent against him, but the emperor, at the instance of his favourites, who were hostile to the Sayyids, secretly encouraged Ajit Singh to resist the imperial troops. His resistance was, however, of no avail. Husain Ali overran Jodhpur, and Ajit Singh was obliged to submit, to send his son Abhay Singh to court, and offer a daughter in marriage to Farrukhsiyar.
Owing to his anxiety to return at once to Court, Husain Ali Khan had not been able to wait in Rajputana, until Rajah Ajit Singh had finished the necessary preparations for the dispatch of his daughter to Delhi. When the dispute with the Sayyids had been allayed and Husain Ali Khan had taken his departure to the Dakhin, Shaista Khan, the Emperor’s maternal uncle, was sent on 15 May 1715 to bring the bride from her home at Jodhpur. He arrived with her at Delhi on 23 September 1715, and tents were erected within the palace for her reception.
The Rajput Princess was then sent to the palace of Amir-ul-umara, and the preparations for the wedding were made over to Qutb-ul-mulk. Four days afterwards the Emperor repaired to the mansion of Amir-ul-umara, and there on repetition of the creed, the lady denounced idol worship and superiority of lineage and accepted believe in one God and all his prophets and messengers sent acrosss nations. The same night the marriage rite was performed by Shariyat Khan, the chief Qazi after the Emperor gave one lakh of gold coins to her as her Mahr or dower. The nobles presented their congratulations, and the Qazi received a present of Rs. 2,000.
The bridegroom’s gifts to the bride were provided on a regal scale by the Emperor’s mother, Sahiba-i-Niswan Begum, and sent to the bride’s quarters on 11 December 1715, accompanied by many nobles, who were entertained by Qutb-ul-mulk. On the 16th the ceremony of applying henna to the bridegroom’s hands and feet was carried out, and the persons who brought it were entertained in the usual way. On 17 December 1715, the whole of the Diwan-i-am and the courtyard, both sides of the road within the palace, and the plain towards the Jamuna were illuminated by lamps placed on bamboo screens.
In the evening, Farrukhsiyar came out by the Delhi Gate of the palace, seated on a movable throne and wearing, according to usage, the clothes sent to him by the bride’s father, of which Khemsi Bhandari had been the bearer. The Emperor was preceded by platforms, on which stood women singing and dancing as they were carried along. Fireworks were let off. The Emperor entered the house of Amir-ul-umara and there completed the usual ceremonies. Those observed on this occasion were a mixture of Rajput and Hindu-Muslim usages. One which caused much remark was the offer to the guest of a drink made of rose-water, sugar, and opium.
This mixture was pressed on them by the Rajputs on the plea that it was the custom of their country. Many Muhammadans drank of it, but some objected. There was another thing never seen before in an imperial wedding. A gold plate had been made with five divisions, and each of these divisions was filled with precious stones. In one, diamonds; in another, rubies; in the third, emeralds in the fourth, topazes; and in the fifth, which was in the center of them all, large and valuable pearls. Farrukhsiyar returned late at night, bringing the bride with him to the palace, which he entered by the Lahore Gate, it being unlucky to go and come by the same route. The festivities continued to the end of the month.
Farrukhsiyar’s third wife was Bai Bhup Devi, daughter of Jaya Singh (the Raja of Kishtwar, who had denounced idol worship and accepted belief in one God and received the name of Bakhtiyar Khan). After Jaya Singh’s death he was succeeded by his son, Kirat Singh. In 1717, in response to a message from the Mufti of Delhi, her brother Kirat Singh sent her to Delhi with her brother Mian Muhammad Khan. Farrukhsiyar married her, and she entered the imperial harem on 3 July 1717.
Brutal Regicide and Execution of the Indian Emperor by Ajit Singh
In 1919, Ajit Singh conspirired with the Sayyid Brothers (the leaders of the powerful anti-Emperor faction in the court) and Maratha Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath to depose the Indian Emperor Farrukhsiyar.
Consequently, Ajit Singh invaded Delhi and besieged the Red Fort, entered the palace grounds, stabbed Qutb-ul-Mulk and arrested the Emperor. The Emperor was dragged to a small room in Tripoliya Gate, where he was tortured, blinded with a needle and later executed in a gruesome manner. On 2 March 1719, Rafi-Ud-Darjat, a 19 year old cousin of the deposed emperor was placed on the Indian throne by Ajit Singh and Mirza Jai Singh II of Jaipur. Rafi-Ud-Darjat was the youngest son of Rafi-ush-Shan, the nephew of Azim-ush-Shan and a grandson of Bahadur Shah I, the son of Aurangzeb Alamgir.
According to historical accounts, the deposed emperor’s eyes were gouged off in multiple attempts as the first try failed so he had to bear much pain. Later, he was stripped naked and paraded in the streets of Delhi on filthy animals. He was kept in prison for months and his skin was peeled off and limbs were cut one by one. He was starved and hence he became weak, and finally he was strangled to death.
Contemporary evidence suggests that through public opinion did not approve of Farrukhsiyar’s reign but turned against the rebels after his execution. The way in which the royal members of the royal family were treated provoked an outburst of anger in Delhi and the rest of the Empire.
Posthumously, the Emperor whose full name was Abul Muzaffer Muinuddin Muhammad Farrukhsiyar came to be revered by the citizens of Delhi as “Shahid-i-Marhum” or The Martyr received with Mercy.
On coins issued during Farrukhsiyar’s reign, the following phrase was inscribed: “Sikka Zad az Fazl-e-Haq bar sim-o-zar Badshah-e-Bahr-o-Bar Farrukhsiyar” (By the grace of the true God, struck on silver and gold, the emperor of land and sea, Farrukhsiyar). The terminology is important because of the Sikh symbolism also sorrounding around same concepts like One God, Truth his Name, Sachha Badshah, Piri-Miri, etc. There are 116 coins from his reign on display at the Lahore Museum and the Indian Museum in Kolkata. The coins were minted in Kabul, Kashmir, Ajmer, Allahabad, Bidar and Berar.
After committing the brutal regicide, Ajit Singh reclaimed his widowed daughter along with dowry and returned to Jodhpur. At the time of setting out from Delhi, Ajit Singh had been appointed to command the vanguard. Thereupon he commenced to make excuses, on the ground that if he left his daughter, Indira Kunwar, behind him, she would either poison herself or her name and fame would be assailed. Yielding to these pleas, Abdullah Khan made the lady over to her father. She performed a ceremony of purification in the Hindu-Rajput fashion, and gave up her Mughal attire.
Then, with all her property, estimated to exceed 1,00,00,000 Rupees (£1,000,000) in value, she was sent off to her native country of Jodhpur. The Chief Justice of the Empire issued a ruling that the giving back of a revert go Islam back to idol worshippers was entirely opposed to Islamic law. But, in spite of this opposition, Abdullah Khan insisted on conciliating Ajit Singh. There was no previous occasion of a Rajput Princess been given back to her tribe after she had once entered the imperial harem.
The new Emperor in Delhi Rafi-ud-Darajat was also forced to grant the Brahmin Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath excess taxation rights namely Chauth (25% Extra Tax above Exisiting rates) and Sardeshmukhi (10% further Excess Taxation) rights in 6 Indian Provincnes.
Ajit Singh who had already served as the Subedar (governor) of Gujarat from 1715 to 1717 was appointed again as the Subedar of Gujarat from 1719 to 1721. In 1723, Ajit Singh again turned against the central government and attacked and killed the Governor of Ajmer.
Murder of Ajit Singh by his own Son Bakht Singh
Regarding his final days a lot of stories are there regarding Ajit Singh’s death. Persian sources indicate that it was his son Bakht Singh who assassinated Ajit Singh on June 24, 1724. Historical accounts suggest that his son, Bakht Singh, orchestrated the murder, possibly driven by internal family conflicts and political ambitions. Jadunath Sarkar believes that the Jodhpur court blamed the Jaipur raja because of their rivalry.
Notably, the practice of sati which was common among Rajput nobility in the region was observed upon his death, with 63 women, including his wives and concubines, accompanying him onto the funeral pyre.
Successors of Ajit Singh and the Khejarli Massacre
As a result of a conspiracy between Abhai Singh and his brother, Bakht Singh, their father, Ajit Singh, was killed and Abhai Singh became the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Marwar. He was crowned in 1724, and ruled until 1749.
In 1726, Abhai Singh of Marwar granted the estate of Khejarli to Thakur Surat Singh, who became the first ‘Thakur of Khejarli’.
In 1730, under his order, minister Giridhar Bhandari led a royal party to Khejarli to fell some Khejri trees that were sacred to the villagers. The trees were to be burned to produce lime for constructing a new palace.
A local woman called Amrita Devi Bishnoi protested the tree-felling because such acts were prohibited by the Bishnoi’s religion. The feudal party said they would not cut the trees if she paid a bribe, which she refused to do since she saw such an exchange as ignominious and insulting to her faith. She said that she would rather give away her life to save the trees than to pay. She and her three daughters (Asu, Ratni, and Bhagu) were then killed by the royal soldiers.
News of the deaths spread, and summons to a meeting was sent to 84 Bishnoi villages. The meeting determined that one Bishnoi volunteer would sacrifice their life for every tree cut down. Older people began hugging the trees intended to be cut, and many were killed.
These efforts failed to have the desired impact. Bhandari claimed that the Bishnois were sacrificing aging people they no longer saw as useful to society. In response to this, young men, women, and children began to follow the example of the old. In the end, 363 Bishnois died in the incident.
The development shocked the tree-felling party. The group returned to Jodhpur with their mission unfulfilled, and Abhai Singh subsequently ordered that no more trees should be felled.
Seize of Ahmadabad City by Bakht Singh
In 1730 a taxation depute against Sarbuland Khan (Nawab of Gujarat) resulted in Abhai Singh laying siege to the city of Ahmedabad. Bakht Singh personally led the storming of the city, the Marwar army lost 120 soldiers and 700 were injured while Sarbuland Khan lost his son in the cannonade and most of his men were slaughtered along with high ranking Mughal Mansabdars (nobles), some ranking as high as 3,000.
Sarbuland Khan surrendered after three days of fighting, after which the Mughal emperor was forced to make Abhai Singh the lord of Ahmedabad and the governor of Gujarat Bakht Singh was commended for his bravery during the battle.
Conclusion
Ajit Singh Rathore’s turbulent reign was marked by shifting loyalties, strategic betrayals, and a relentless pursuit of power. His actions, particularly his role in the brutal regicide of Emperor Farrukhsiyar, epitomized the ruthless nature of Mughal-era politics, where violence and treachery often determined the fate of rulers.
While Ajit Singh’s resistance against Mughal domination reflected Rajput aspirations for autonomy, his willingness to blind, torture, and execute a sovereign who had once been his son-in-law, showcased the darker realities of power struggles in medieval India. The gruesome treatment meted out to Mughals Indian Emperor Farrukhsiyar, culminating in his slow, agonizing death, provoked widespread outrage and underscored the brutality inherent in the empire’s decline.
In the end, Ajit Singh himself met a violent death allegedly at the hands of his own sons, Bakht Singh and Abhay Singh, mirroring the cycle of betrayal and vengeance that defined his life. His legacy, therefore, remains one of both defiance and cruelty, a testament to the relentless and often merciless nature of political ambition in an era dominated by war and intrigue.
The story of Ajit Singh and the brutal oppression inflicted by the Rajputs upon Mughals and on their own people and relatives also serves as a powerful counter to the mainstream Brahmanical Islamophobic narrative that portrays the Mughals as the primary oppressors and the Rajputs as innocent victims. While dominant historical discourses often depict Rajput rulers as valiant defenders of Hindu society against so-called “Muslim tyranny,” the reality is far more complex.
Ajit Singh and his heirs actions, particularly his violent suppression of dissent, caste-based oppression, and ruthless political maneuvering, reveal that exploitation and brutality were not exclusive to any one ruling group. Instead, power struggles, feudal oppression, and caste hierarchies played a significant role in shaping historical injustices, challenging the simplistic victim-perpetrator binary that has been used to demonize the Mughals while whitewashing the oppressive practices of Hindu rulers.
