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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[NOVEMBER, 1889.
Sukchain died in 1751 without doing anything remarkable, leaving three sons - Alam Singh who died in 1764, Gajpat Singh, the founder of the Jind State, and Balaki Singh, the founder of the Dialpuriâ family. Alam Singh was a good soldier and took part in the capture of Sarhand already mentioned, getting a large accession of territory in consequence. But he died childless a year or so afterwards, Gajpat Singh succeeding to his estates. Gajpat Singh was a remarkable man and a prominent figure in those troublous times.. Like all the Sikh chiefs of the day he underwent many ups and downs, alternately fighting and serving the feeble Court of Dehli, being sometimes its prisoner, sometimes its petted official, and sometimes its open foe. In 1772 he received the title of Raja from the Emperor Shah Alam and according to Jind History began to coin as an independent prince in that year. If this be correct - and it would seem to be so his coinage and that of his State is exceedingly interesting, as showing that he actually borrowed the die in use in the Patiala State in its entirety, although it showed Ahmad Shah to be suzerain, whereas his own suzerain was Shah Alam. Ordinarily, of course, if he borrowed a coinage at all it would have been that of Shah Alam.17 Gajpat Singh died in 1786 and was succeeded by his son, Bhag Singh. His coin is shown in fig. 15.
Bhag Singh was also a prominent ruler and had a long reign, dying in 1819. He was distinguished as being the first Sikh Chief to seek an alliance with the British Government. This was in 1803. He was also the unele, but hardly the friend, of the great Rañjit Singh of Lâhôr, whose mother, the ill-starred Bibi Raj Kanwar, was his sister. He did much for his State, though his later years were clouded by illness and family troubles. He is represented by figs. 17 and 18, his coins being peculiar in having the reverse quite blank.
Bhag Singh was succeeded by his son Fath Singh, who had a short and uneventful reign, dying in 1822. I have no specimen of his coin.
He was succeeded by his son, Sangat Singh, an extravagant debauchee, who thoroughly misgoverned his State and died childless in 1834. His coin is that shown in fig. 16.
On the death of Sangat Singh, under Sikh law the state lapsed to its suzerain, the British Government; but after some consideration the collateral heir, Sarap Singh, was allowed to succeed to the major portion of it. A fine and gallant soldier, a just and honest man, a truly loyal feudatory of the British Crown, doing signal service in the Mutiny, - he greatly increased the importance and prestige of his State during his long and prosperous reign. He died in 1864. His coin is represented in fig. 21.
His successor, Raghbir Singh, who died as lately as 1885, was worthy of his illustrious father. It is to him that I owe the two specimens of his coinage given in figs. 19 and 20.
1T As a commentary on the above and on the fact of all the PañjAb coins even to the present day purporting to acknowledge the suzerainty of Abmad Sush, I may here quote the following remarks regarding the Jaypur State coinage, made by me in Punjab Notes and Querier, Vol. II., note No. 695.
"A quantity of gold mohars of the Jaypůr Rijks that lately (1883) passed through my hands, exhibited that numismatia falsification of history which appears to be the rule in the modern coins of the petty States of Indis.
All the Jaypur specimens bore the name of Muhammad Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal Emperor of Dehlt, dethroned by the English in 1857 A.D., and they exhibited every year of his reign from 1 to 19, and some had in addition the Samvat year olearly legible, it being added in intention to every coin. The die, as usual, had been larger than the coin, but from the whole colleotion the legend except that the coin of the year 1 had dalin full, instead of merely the date in figures. It ran thus :
obverse,
مکہ مبا رک ۱۳۲۳ بادشاہ غازی محمد بهادر شاه |
میمنت مانوس ضرب سوا ئی جالي بور ۱۰ سنے جلوس
reverse, Thoue dates correspond exactly to facta, for Bahadur Shah succeeded in 1837, so that his your 10 is 1847, which islo A.H. 1268. The coin of the year 19 is interesting as being one of the very last ooina struok under the Mughal Dynasty. [It afterwards passed into the collection of the late Mr. Gibbs].
These coins then clearly show Bahadur Shah ma suzerain of the Jaypůr Rajke, but such was never the fact. The British Government took over Jáypdr as suzerain in 1918, vigorously asserted its rights in 1885, when the Rait Mangal Sep, in whose time all these coins were struck, came to the throne, and especially interfered in the management of the State until 1857."
Prinsep's Useful Tables, 1834, Part I., pp. 9 to 4, may be usefully read in connection with the above remarks.
