Suraj Mal, the Jat ruler who plundered Delhi and never bowed to Mughals

It was the 18th century that the Mughals were witnessing a decline in power and the Afghan invaders were threatening the land of Hindustan. The political and social systems were in flux, covering the region that stretched from the Hindukush in the north to the dense jungles of the Northeast.
At the time, Maratha forces were targeting the throne of Delhi. This political chaos gave rise to the Jat rulers of the Braj region (the land from Delhi to Agra). Their emergence notably weakened the Mughals, who faced growing instability in the region.
Born into the martial Jat community, Suraj Mal brought Jat dominance in the Braj region to its peak. On October 20, 1752, the Mughals bestowed upon Suraj Mal the title of ‘Rajendra’ while his father Raja Badan Singh was granted the title of ‘Mahendra’.
In the beginning, the Jats were under Mughal rule and had served in the Mughal Royal Army for decades. It was only in the first half of the 18th century that the Jats began dominating the Braj region and growing into a military power in their own right — one strong enough to rise against the Mughals.
Raja Badan Singh died in 1756, and Suraj Mal, who had been the de facto ruler, officially ascended the throne of Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Under Suraj Mal, the state reached its zenith, securing control over parts of Western UP, parts of Rajasthan, and the outskirts of Delhi.
The area under Suraj Mal’s control was part of the Yamuna Doab region, which was fertile and valued at nearly Rs 1 crore, about one-eighth of the total revenue of the Mughal Empire, which Suraj Mal and his successors rarely paid.
In the early phase of his life, Suraj Mal fought alongside the Mughals against the Marathas. However, later, the situation turned and the Jat leader found himself against his previous comrades.
The indecisive battle against the Marathas in 1737 led the Jat army to prepare for upcoming actions in the following years.

The Procession into the Fort at Bharatpur (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Lohagarh Fort, a renowned stronghold in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, was constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1732. Situated on an artificial island, its construction spanned eight years.
Suraj Mal, celebrated for his architectural prowess, is also credited with building numerous other forts and palaces throughout his kingdom.
Sayyid Ghulam Husain writes in his words about Suraj Mal, “the eye and shinning taper of the jat tribe – a prince who rendered himself famous by his good manners and civil department, as well as by his conquests and his superior knowledge in the arts of government”.
Maharaja Suraj Mal, entitled ‘the Plato of the Sinsinwar Jat tribe’ and the ‘Jat Ulysses’, came after his visionary approach and political sagacity in the trajectory of Northern India in the 18th century.
Suraj Mal, seeking the opportunity of the declining Mughal power, attacked Delhi along with Safdarjung, Nawab of Awadh, an incident famous as the Plunder of Delhi. Between May 9 and June 4, 1753, a series of skirmishes unfolded, predominantly favouring Safdarjung.
Tensions between Safdarjung and the noble Intizam-ud-Daulah had been escalating since March 1753, creating instability within the Mughal court. Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur struggled to control these powerful figures.
Although he ordered Safdarjung to return to his governorship in Oudh, Safdarjung instead camped just outside Delhi after leaving on March 26, 1753.
Initially hesitant, Safdarjung’s position shifted when he received reinforcements from Suraj Mal and Salabat Khan (another rebel from the Mughal court).
Feeling empowered, he incited the Jats to loot Old Delhi. On May 9, 1753, they unleashed chaos, plundering and burning parts of the city, forcing civilians to seek refuge in the fortified New Delhi while seizing vast sums of money from the outskirts.

View of Old Delhi (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

This violence underscored the Mughal Empire’s decline and the power struggles among its nobility.
It was in 1754, following the plunder of Delhi, that the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II found himself locked in a bitter power struggle with his courtier, Siraj ud-Daulah. Amidst the turmoil, Suraj Mal aligned himself with Siraj, seeing it as an opportunity to further weaken the Mughal Empire.
To counter this, Alamgir turned to the formidable Holkar Marathas of Indore for support.
The Holkars, under Khanderao, son of the powerful Malhar Rao Holkar, laid siege to Suraj Mal’s town of Kumher. It was a tense standoff.
But in a dramatic twist of fate, Khanderao, while inspecting his troops in an open palanquin, was struck down by a cannonball from Suraj Mal’s forces. His death sent shockwaves through the Maratha camp, forcing the Holkars to lift the siege.
In the aftermath, Suraj Mal and the Marathas brokered a treaty. This agreement, sealed with mutual respect, not only brought an end to the conflict but also proved instrumental for Suraj Mal in strengthening his rule.
Having successfully defended the fort of Kumher against an overwhelming force of 80,000 led by Malhar Rao Holkar and other regional powers, Suraj Mal’s reputation soared. His name spread across India, cementing his legacy as a formidable and strategic leader.

Expansion of Jats under Suraj Mal (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Suraj Mal did not stop at plundering Delhi and resisting the Mughal Empire, but in a bold move to re-establish Jat authority in the Doaba region, Suraj Mal decided to take Agra under his rule. He captured Agra Fort on June 12, 1761, after a month-long siege.
This victory was critical, not only for its strategic value, but also for reviving Jat influence in a region previously dominated by the Mughals. Suraj Mal’s tactics involved the clever use of bribery and psychological warfare, ultimately compelling the fort’s kiledar (governor of a fort) to surrender.
The Battle of Panipat in 1761 drastically altered the political landscape of Northern India, dismantling the Maratha Empire’s dominance and leaving a power vacuum. In the aftermath of the battle, one leader who emerged with a strategic vision was Maharaja Suraj Mal, the Jat ruler of Bharatpur.
Suraj Mal recognised the shifting tides of power and saw an opportunity to influence the region’s future. With the Marathas weakened by their defeat, he envisioned forming a Jat confederacy that could align with Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Rohillas, remove Najib-ud-Daula from Delhi, and place his protégé, Ghazi-ud-Din, in a position of influence over the Mughal Empire’s policies.
To achieve this, Suraj Mal sent his sons, Jawahar Singh and Nahar Singh, to extend Jat’s influence into Haryana, a fertile region poised for expansion.
They were joined by Rao Gujarmal of Rewari, a trusted ally bound to Suraj Mal by a deep sense of loyalty and brotherhood, known as ‘Pagdi bhai’. Their mission was to consolidate Jat’s control over the Doab region while keeping an eye on the movements of the Rohilla chiefs.
This bold initiative reflected Suraj Mal’s determination to reshape the political order. As the Marathas’ dominance faded, the Jats, under Suraj Mal’s leadership, began to assert themselves as a rising force in Northern India, marking a significant shift in the balance of power.
Following his conquest of Agra, Suraj Mal set his sights on expanding Jat’s dominion into Haryana.

View across the Kusum Sarovar Tank towards Suraj Mal’s Cenotaph (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

In 1763, tensions escalated between the Jats and the Baloch, driven by the Jats’ desire for expansion and the Baloch’s antagonistic approach. Initially, Jawahar Singh, Suraj Mal’s son, attempted to capture Farrukhnagar from Musavi Khan but faced defeat.
Undeterred, Suraj Mal took charge, laying siege to the fort in October 1763. After two months of steadfast resistance, Musavi Khan ultimately surrendered, allowing the Jats to seize Farrukhnagar on 12 December 1763. The captured Baloch chief was sent to Bharatpur.
Following this victory, Suraj Mal set his sights on Bahadurgarh, a stronghold held by another Baloch leader, Bahadur Khan. Concerned about the Jat’s growing influence, Najib-ud-Daula called for a military response against Suraj Mal before Ahmad Shah Abdali could intervene.
On the night of December 25, 1763, Maharaja Suraj Mal was tragically ambushed near the Hindon River and killed, marking a major loss for the Jat confederacy. Despite his death, Suraj Mal’s legacy has endured as he laid the groundwork for Jat dominance in Northern India.