The Sultanate of Delhi established in 1206
depended on the support of Muslim nobles. Jhajjar was also a Muslim State
and on account of its nearness to Delhi, the area of Rohtak-Jhajjar influenced
the struggles among the aspirants for the throne of Delhi. One instance in
this regard supports the above statement. Towards the end of the Tughlaq period
just before the invasion of Timur, the nobles of Delhi and Haryana were sharply
divided in their loyalties towards the rival claimants to the throne. One
group supported Mahmud Shah at Delhi but the Amirs of Ferozabad, Panipat and
Jhajjar favoured Nusrat Shah who set-up a rival court at Firozabad close to
Delhi1. With the decline of the Mughal empire, the territorial ambitions were
let loose. The Maratha Chieftains Holkar and Sindhia were vigorously engaged
in extending their territories in this area. Emperor Shah Alam-II also followed
this course when he visited the various parts of Rohtak district. In his campaign
of collection of revenue, he (Mughal Prince) alongwith Marathas came to restore
his outpost at Jhajjar2.
Suraj Mal, the then ruler
of the Bharatpur State dislodged the Nawab of Farrukhnagar from his estate.
Later while Jhajjar passed into hands of Walter Reinhardt, husband of Begum
Samru of Sardana. Now we should turn our attention to the colourful personality
of George Thomas who carved out a principality in Haryana in 1798 including
Beri, Meham & Jhajjar. George Thomas came to India in 1780-81 and remained
in the service of Begum Samru before being adopted by Appa KandeRao as his
son. The Maratha chieftain operating under the overlordship of Mahadji Sindhia
gave the parganas of Jhajjar and Beri to George Thomas in return for the forces
which he was required to maintain. It was a gift only in name. In the beginning
George Thomas only succeeded in obtaining possession of Beri; eventually,
he asserted his authority over the adjacent territory and made Jhajjar his
headquarters. In the end, this area came under Marathas under Sindhia.
The
rising power of Sindhia in North India was completely broken by the British
under General Lake in the Second Maratha war. As a consequence, the area passed
on to the British rulers . Lord Lake established a number of estates to serve
buffer outposts between the British border and the Sikhs. Territories were thus
granted to the Chiefs of Dujana, Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh. General Lake granted
Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh to Nawab Nijabat Ali Khan, a leader of free lancers
who like Abd-us-Samad Khan had also transferred his allegiance to the British.
The Bahadurgarh Jagir was included in the Jhajjar estate.
During the movement of 1857, Abd-ur-Rahman Khan, Nawab of Jhajjar,
was suspected of having abetted the freedom fighters and others who were waging
war against the British Government. The Jhajjar territory was placed under the
management of Col. Lawrence pending the result of Nawab's trial. Having been
found guilty, the Nawab was sentenced to be hanged. He was executed on the 23rd
December in front of the Red Fort and his body was consigned to the ignominy
of a nameless pit.
Haryana
as a State was created on November 1, 1966. In 1968, Sirsa tahsil was bifurcated
into Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils and Bhiwani tahsil was bifurcated into Bhiwani
and Loharu. The above administrative arrangement continued till 1972 when whole
of Loharu and Bhiwani tahsils, 32 villages of Hansi and 17 villages of Hissar
tahsils were excluded and included in the then formed Bhiwani district2. Tohana
sub-tahsil of the Hissar tahsil was upgraded to a tahsil in 1972.
Bahadur Jang Khan, Nawab of Bahadurgarh
was at Charkhi-Dadri in May, 1857 and remained there until he surrendered
to the British like his cousin, the Nawab of Jhajjar. The Nawab of Bahadurgarh
assisted the freedom fighters indirectly. Keeping into the consideration of
his old age, it was decided not to try him for life but to confiscate his
possessions. Nawab was removed to Lahore where he was given a pension of Rs.
1,000 a month. The district of Rohtak including Jhajjar areas together with
the rest of the Delhi and Hissar divisions were detached from North-Western
Provinces after 1857 and passed on to the Punjab by the Government of India
Notification No. 606 of the 13th April, 1858. After transfer to the Punjab,
Rohtak district experienced several changes before assuming its final form.
Bahadurgarh estates were added to the Sampla tahsil. Jhajjar, including some
areas of Narnaul, Kanaudh and Dadri was at first created as a new district
but was abolished shortly afterwards in 1860 when parts of it were assigned
to the Phulkian Chiefs as a reward for their loyal services. While the Jhajjar
tahsil it- self was added to Rohtak district. As already said, Bahadurgarh
was added to Rohtak district in 1860.On the abolition of the Hissar division
in 1884, the Rohtak district including Jhajjar areas was transferred to the
Delhi division. In 1908 Bahadurgarh area was a part of Sampla tahsil. The
Rohtak district consisted of four tahsils, Rohtak, Gohana, Jhajjar and Sampla
but in April, 1910 the last named tahsil was abolished for reasons of administrative
economy, and its area was divided between the Rohtak and Jhajjar tahsils.
Thereafter, the Jhajjar areas including Rohtak district was then attached
to the Ambala division. In 1948, Dujana State was merged in Jhajjar tahsil
and a new sub-tahsil of Nahar was created.
