Ajit Singh of Marwar

Ajit Singh (1679–1724) was the Maharaja of Marwar (later Jodhpur) state in the present-day Rajasthan and the son of Maharaja Jaswant Singh.

Maharaja Jaswant Singh, ruler of Marwar, died in 1679 without immediate male heirs. However, two of his wives were pregnant at the time of his death. These circumstances allowed the mughal emperor Aurangzeb to intervene; he appointed a Muslim to rule over Marwar, which upset the Rathore clan a great deal. One of Jaswant Singh's pregnant widows gave birth, in due course, to a male child, who was named Ajit Singh. After the birth of this rightful heir, prominent grandees of Marwar, including Durgadas, went to Delhi along with the infant Ajit Singh and asked Aurangzeb that the infant be confirmed in his late father's estates and titles. Aurangzeb did not absolutely refuse, but suggested, supposedly for the infant's own safety, that Ajit grow up in his harem.

The nurturing of the head of the Rathore clan in Aurangzeb's staunchly Muslim household was not acceptable to the clan. It is said that Crown prince Ajit Singh along with his mother Queen was staying at a place called "Bhuli Bhatiyari" near Jhandewalan of modern Delhi. Durga Das and the Dhaa Maa (wet nurse) of Ajit Singh, Goora Dhaa (The Sainik Kshatriyas Gehlot Rajput of Mandore) and others of the delegation resolved upon smuggling Ajit Singh out of Delhi. Even as they approached the outskirts of the city, the mughal guard fell in hot pursuit of them. Durgadas and his 300 men, notable among them Raghunandan Bhati, had to make their escape while fighting hand-to-hand with the much larger Mughal guards. Every so often, some 15-20 Rajputs would fall behind to check the Mughal pursuers, in the process getting themselves killed, thus allowing the forward party to create some distance between Ajit and the Mughals. This continued till the evening; Durgadas was left with just seven men out of the 300 he started with, but he managed to convey the infant Ajit Singh to safety in Jaipur. Later, the infant was removed to the safety of Aravali hills near Abu Sirohi, a remote town on the southern fringes of Marwar, and grew up in anonymity.

For 20 years after this event, Marwar remained under the direct rule of a mughal governor. During this period, Durgadas carried out a relentless struggle against the occupying forces. Trade routes that passed through the region were plundered by the guerillas, 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 mughals. Durgadas took advantage of the disturbances following this death to seize Jodhpur and eventually evict the occupying mughal force. Ajit Singh was proclaimed Maharaja of Jodhpur. He rebuilt all the temples that had been descecrated by the occupying Mughals.

After he was killed by son Bakhat Singh in 1724, he was succeeded by his eldest son Abhai Singh.

See also

• Rulers of Marwar
• Marwar