Hathras

The Rajas of Hathras and Mursan both share common lineage to Nandram Thenua of Jawar the famous rebel ruler who revolted against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Nandram’s influence remained unimpaired until his death in 1695 A.D. He left fourteen sons, of whom only three need be mentioned here: Zulkaran, the eldest; Jai Singh, the second son; and Bhoj Singh, the seventh son. The Hathras family is descended from Raja Jai Singh, and that of Mursan from Zulkaran Singh. Zulkaran died before his father, and for some years, Bhoj Singh took the lead amongst the brethren. It is probable that the authority of Fauzdar Bhoj Singh varied just as he was able to secure the favor of the local Government officers. At last, in 1716 A.D., Bhoj Singh obtained from Sayyid Abdullah, the famous minister of Farrukhsiyar, a grant in terms similar to that conferred upon Nandram by Aurangzeb, and in the following year a remission of revenue as jagir. The two brothers, Jai Singh and Bhoj Singh, divided the tappa equally between them and transmitted their possessions to their sons. Bhoj Singh died in 1750 A.D. and left three sons. Of these, Mohan Singh obtained taluka Simardhari; Jagat Singh, the eldest son, received talukas Barha and Tuksan, and left Barha to his eldest son, Partab, whilst his second son, Muktwal Singh, received Tuksan and transferred it to Phup Singh of Mursan. Kanjal Singh, the third son of Bhoj Singh, received Chotwa and Kotha Patta, but he was ousted in 1768 on account of arrears, and the talukas were divided between the Hathras and Mursan Rajas.

We have now to trace the history of the family of Jai Singh. He died in 1749 A.D., and left two sons: Sawant Singh, the younger son, received a number of villages as his share, which he formed into a taluka named Tubrari; but the greater portion of the estate came into the hands of the eldest son, Baran Singh, a man of great vitality and determination of character. In 1752, Raja Baran Singh induced the amil of the Oudh Vazir to transfer to him the taluqa of Jalesar pargana and the surrounding villages, held until then by a clan of Porach Rajputs, and when Maharaja Surajmal, in 1760, expelled Ratan Singh, the Porach talukadar of Mendu, Baran Singh had influence enough to secure the revenue management for himself. Baran Singh died in 1768 and left two sons. The younger of these, by name Sakat Singh, succeeded to most of those villages included in his father’s estate which had formed a portion of the old tappa Joar. These were divided after his death into two smaller talukas, Karas and Karil – the former fell to the share of his son Durga Singh, and the second son, Udai Singh, obtained Karil. But all the individual acquisitions of Raja Baran Singh descended to his eldest son, Raja Bhuri Singh, who did not survive many years, and during whose time the estate appears neither to have increased nor diminished. Bhuri Singh died in 1775 A.D., and Dayaram, his youngest son, found means to supplant his elder brother, Nawal Singh, in by far the larger part of his father’s possessions. The latter retired to Beswan and founded the Beswan taluka.
Dayaram was among the most powerful and influential rulers in the region, and his fort was said to be among the strongest in India. He was angered by the constant interference of the British administration in the affairs of his state and at the increasing revenue demands. Thus, he refused to pay revenue to the East India Company and also began providing shelter to rebels against the British Raj in his fort. After all attempts at negotiation broke down, the East India Company sent a powerful artillery force to besiege his fort. Dayaram and his loyal soldiers held out for several weeks. However, his fort was ultimately destroyed, and Dayaram, along with his followers, was captured and exiled.

Raja Govind Singh, son of Raja Dayaram, signed a treaty withthe British and took the Jamindari of nearly 120 villages(including the township of Koel) and started living in Vrindavan (today a part of Mathura). The adopted son of Shri Govind Singh named Shri Harnarayan Singh also remained a devotee of the British in Vrindavan. Shri Harnarayan Singh had no issue, so he adopted the third son of Raja Ghan Shayam Singh of Mursan state named Raja Mahendra Pratap later on, who a famous Freedom Fighter, the president of the first Indian National Government in exile and the first Noble peace prize nominee from India.