Ballabgarh

Flag of Ballabgarh

Chaudhary Gopal Singh, a Tewatia Jat, the founder of the house of Ballabgarh, was a residence of Alawalpur. In 1705,He established himself at Sihi (5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Ballabhgarh) after displacing the local Mughal fauzdar from there. Gopal Singh of Sihi started establishing his power in Delhi, Faridabad and Palwal areas. He attacked and killed Amzad Khan,the Chaudhary of Faridabad Pargana in 1705. He became more powerful and richer and started to waylay the Mughal caravan on Delhi-Agra royal route during the reign of Aurangzeb (d. 1707). In 1710, during the reign of Aurangzeb’s son Bahadur Shah I, the Mughal officer Murtaza Khan of Faridabad signed a treaty with Gopal Singh confirming Gopal as Chaudhary of Faridabad pargana. He wanted to expand his army and collect huge wealth but soon died in 1711. Gopal’s successor was his son Chaudhary Charan Das , who was also ambitious. When Charan Das saw weakening of the Mughal rule, he stopped paying malgujari (octroi) to Mughals. As a result, Mughals arrested and imprisoned Charan Das at Faridabad fort for a short time in 1714,during the reign of Farrukhsiyar (r. 1713-1719). His son Balram Singh freed him by pretending to pay the ransom.

Supported by his family connection with Badan Singh, the Jat Raja of Bharatpur , He extended his power by seizing the neighbouring villages and ousting their lawful owners and the local magistrates. In 1720, He killed Murtaza Khan, the local Mughal Governor Officer at Faridabad who had once imprisoned his father . He subsequently increased his power and ousted Santosh Rai from Palwal and took possession of the town. He also conquered Mehrauli, Dhankaur,Hathin and other parganas. in 1739, Mughal Emperor bestowed on him titles of “Rao” and “Naib Bakshi”. The next year He built the Balramgarh fort and founded the city of Ballabhgarh is named after him.

After Muhammad Shah’s death in 1748, Balram Singh expelled the imperial outpost at Shamspur. On 11 January 1750, Rao Balram Singh of Ballabhgarh, Maharana Suraj Mal of Bharatpur and Rana Bhim Singh of Gohad waged a battle against forces of Mir Salawat Khan , which the Jats won and Mughals had to conceded a lot concessions.

On 30 June 1750, Safdar Jung, marched against Balram but Balram managed to evade him using stratagem with the help of Marathas. Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur replaced Safdar Jung with Gaziuddin Khan (“Intizam-Ud-Daullahas” or “lmad-ul Mulk”, the imperial Mir Bakhshi) as new wizir. Safdar Jung, supported by Balram Jat and Surajmal Jat, revolted against the Mughal king. Balram Singh rose to high prominence when he plundered the emperor’s own Jagir of Sikandarbad. The Emperor send Gaziudin Khan against Balram Singh. Murtija Khan’s son Aqaibet Mahmud Khan was the chief diwan of Gaziuddin Khan, he and Balram agreed to meet to negotiate the terms of truce. Balram arrived with his son, diwan and 250 men, angry words flew, Balram put his hand on his sword, Aquibat’s guard suddenly fell upon Balram and killed him, his son, diwan and 9 other escorts. Maharaja Suraj Mal retaliated by capturing Palwal from Mughals on 27 September 1754. He also caught the qazi there and slayed the qanungo Santokh Rai for scheming Balram’s murder. In November 1755, Jats under Suraj Mal recaptured Ballabgarh from Mughals. Suraj Mal appointed sons of Rao Balram, Bishan Singh as Nazim and Kishan Singh as kiledar. In 1774 however he dismissed them from his service and they died about the same time. Next year Ajit Singh, son of Bishan Singh, and Hira Singh, son of Rao Kishan Singh, presented themselves before the Emperor at Delhi and agreed to deliver possession of the Ballabgarh parganah to the royal authority: one Najaf Khan of the imperial establishment was deputed to take it. Ajit Singh was appointed Kiladar and Nizam of Ballabgarh while Hira Singh was taken away by the Nawab Najaf Khan to Agra. The next year he came back and Ajit Singh was formally entitled Raja, and Hira Singh was called Raja and also Salar Jang. The revenue of Ballabgarh was estimated at Rs. 1,20,000 and it was made an istamrdr tenure of 60,000 rupees. Meanwhile the administration of the country had come into the hands of Madhoji Scindia who remitted the amount taken as istamrari. In 1793 Ajit Singh was murdered by his brother Zalim, but was succeeded by his son Bahadur Singh. In 1803 on the approach of General Lake, Bahadur Singh sent his son Pirthi Singh and Hira Singh sent his son Ganga Parshad to the English army. Pirthi Singh was killed at the fight at Dara Mukandra, and Ganga Parshad ran away. It appeared that Hira Singh was in collusion with the Mahrattas and so he was turned out of office; Bahadur Singh was confirmed in it in 1804 and received next year the grant of parganas Pali and Pakal in return for undertaking the police arrangements of the road. This Raja built the town of Ballabgarh which is also called Ramganj.

Bahadur Singh having died in 1806, Narayan Singh, his son, succeeded but died also in the same year. Anirudh Singh became Raja and ruled till 1818. His minor son Sahib Singh came next and the widow of Anirudh Singh built the Chhatri with a pakka tank in memory of her deceased husband. Sahib Singh died childless in 1825 and was succeeded by his uncle Ram Singh. In the time of this prince the parganahs of Pali and Pakal were resumed by the Government, the Magistrate of Delhi undertaking the charge. Faridabad parganah meanwhile was left in the charge of Ram Singh and he was considered responsible for maintaining the public peace on the Muttra road between the limits of the Burhiya bridge and mauza Pirthala in Palwal. Ram Singh died in 1829 and Nahar Singh, his son, came to power. The earlier years of his reign saw great mischief and intrigue caused by Abhe Ram and Pirthi Singh the ministers, through whose mismanagement the estate fell into debt. In 1839 Abhe Ram was dismissed and Nawal Singh the maternal uncle of Nahar Singh came into power: he ejected Pirthi Singh and in conjunction with Ram Parshad, nephew to Deo Kanwar, became the actual ruler, though all acts continued to be done in the name of Raja Nahar Singh.

In 1840 Nawal Singh becoming absolute, disputes ran high and di-organisation increased, so the British Agent was appealed to and his interference sought. Enquiries were instituted through a special Commissioner deputed to Ballabgarh and the management of the territory was experimentally entrusted to Kanwar Madho Singh, a grand nephew of Raja Bahadur Singh (the first chief within the time of the British influence), but the plan failed and parganah Interest. Faridabad was taken under British management. The young Raja however protested against this and when he attained his majority and urged his competency to manage his own affairs, the territory was restored to him. Yet, after a long reign, he was implicated in correspondence with the mutineers in 1857. Raja Nahar Singh, Nawab Ahmed Ali Khan of Farrukhnagar, and rulers of neighbouring principalities such as Rewari and Jhajjar, took part in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. On 10 September 1857, just four days before the British Army stormed Delhi, Nahar Singh wrote a letter to Governor General of India, Lord Ellenborough (1842–1844), whom he had met as a young man, seeking his protection. According to a 2011 auction catalogue, “it seems was written as a ruse to deceive the British in the event of his capture… as he was fully committed to the cause of Indian Independence”.

After the mutiny was suppressed, Nahar Singh along with all the rulers were captured, tried and hanged on 9 January 1858 and their state was confiscated by the British Raj. The territory of Ballabhgarh was added into the Delhi district as a new tehsil, which was now made part of Punjab, while Faridabad became the headquarters of the pargana till now in jagir by the Ballabgarh rulers. It was made a municipality in 1867. The state was confiscated.