Kuchesar

Kuchesar was a Zamindari, or princely estate, in British India, located in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, at a distance of 80 km from Delhi.

The Jat rulers of Kuchesar, who hailed from Mandoti in Haryana, built their mud-fort sometime in the mid-18th century. The mud-fort of Kuchesar tells of the chequered history of the Jats who vied with the Sikhs, Marathas, Rohillas & Rajputs, as well as with French adventurers and the British East India Company, to fill the vacuum created by the decline of the Mughal empire.

Clan history

The ruling family of Kuchesar belonged to the Dalal clan of the Jat caste. Mr. Crook in his book "“The Tribes and Castes of the north western provinces and Avadh”" writes about the origin of the Dalal clan of Jats. He recounts that in the village of Sillauti, located in the Rohtak district of Haryana, there lived in a long-bygone era a man by name Dhanna Rai, who belonged to the Jat caste. He married a woman of the Badgujar Rajput caste. They had three sons, by name Deswal, Dalle and Maan. The descendants of the three brothers formed three major lineages ("gotra"s) and came to be known as Deswal, Dalal and Maan Jats respectively.

In Kuchesar

In the lineage of Dalle (ie., in the Dalal clan) was born a certain Bhual. He and his three brothers Jagram, Jatmal and Gurva, are credited with founding a principality in Kuchesar. Bhaul had one son named Maujiram, who had two sons namely Ramsingh and Chhatar Singh. Chhatar Singh was very brave; he served under Mirza Ali Beg, the Muslim lord of nearby Chitsauna, obtaining both power and a large estate. His sons helped Jawahar Singh, the Jat ruler of Bharatpur, to avenge the death of his father Maharaja Suraj Mal. Najib-ud-daulah called them back and conferred on them the jagir of Kuchesar with the title of Rao; he also gave them the sobriquet "chor-maar", or destroyer of thieves.

When Jawahar Singh made war with the rulers of Delhi, the latter attacked Kuchesar. The Dalal Jats were defeated; their fort of Kuchesar was captured and razed. Rao Maganiram and Ramdhan Singh were arrested and imprisoned in the fort of Koyal.

The two brothers escaped from prison, reached Moradabad and aligned with the Marathas. In 1782, Maganiram and Ramdhan Singh, along with an army, recaptured Kuchesar from the Muslims. Rao Maganiram died after this victory. As per Jat custom, his widow and his younger brother were married to each other. By 1790, Ramdhan Singh had recaptured all of Kuchesar estate; he had also acquired Pooth, Siana, Thana Farida, Datyane and Saidpur on Malguzari lease from the rulers of Delhi. After 1782, Kuchesar mud-fort remained in unbroken possession of the family; it was granted to them in perpetual lease by the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam in 1790, a grant confirmed by the British in 1807.

British era

The British formalized their authority over the area in 1803; they recognized the estate of Kuchesar and its estate-holders without alteration to the "status quo". Rao Ramdhansingh died in 1816 and was succeeded by Rao Fatehsingh who died in 1839. The latter was succeeded by his son Rao Bahadur Singh, who was killed in 1847.

Raja Gulab Singh aided the British during the uprising of 1857. He had no sons; the estate was managed by Rani Jaswant Kumari pending a settlement. She died quite soon afterwards, and was followed in these offices by Gulab Singh's only daughter, Bhup Kumari. Although she was childless, Bhup Kumari's husband Raja Khusal Singh, nephew of Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh, laid claim to the estates; this was disputed by other claimants. In 1868, the Panchyat court divided the estate into three parts:
*share of 6/16 to Umrao Singh;
*share of 5/16's to Pratap Singh;
*remaining share of 5/16 to Khusal Singh. In 1898, Umrao Singh died and Rao Giriraj Singh inherited the portion held by him.

Chronology of estate-holders

The chronology of Kuchesar Jat estate-holders is as under:
*Bhual
*Maujiram
*Rao Chhatar Singh
*Rao Maganiram
*Rao Ramdhan Singh, brother of Maganiram
*Rao Fateh Singh
*Rao Bahadur Singh
*Rao Gulab Singh
**Rani Jaswant Kumari, widow of Gulab Singh
**Bhup Kumari, daughter of Gulab Singh
*Khusal Singh, husband of Bhup Kumari
*Pratap Singh
*Umrao Singh
*Giriraj Singh.