| THE
MUD FORT KUCHESAR
Code No- AT-HR01
 The
Mud Fort of Kuchesar tells of the chequered history of the
Jats who vied with the Sikhs, Marathas, Rohillas & Rajputs
as well as French adventurers and the East India Company, to
fill the vacuum of the declining Mughal power.
By
the 1740s the Jats had become a first rate military power. The
Jat rulers of Kuchesar, who hail from Mandoti in Haryana, built
their mud-fort somewhere in the mid 18th century. The family
traces its adventurous descent from the Jats of the Dalal sub-caste.
Bhual and his three brothers first arrived in this area early
in the 18th century. His grandson Chhatar Singh served with
Mirza Ali Beg, the Jagirdar of Chitsauna, obtaining both power
and a large estate. His sons joined Jawahar Singh, the Jat ruler
of Bharatpur to avenge the death of his father Suraj Mal. Najib-ud-Daulah
recalled them back and offered the jagir of Kuchesar
with the title of Rao and the office of 'chormar', destroyer
of thieves. In 1763, the Jat fort of Kuchesar was captured and
razed. By 1782, it was recovered and has since remained with
the family, which was granted a perpetual lease in 1790 by the
Mughal Emperor Shah Alam and then by the British in 1807.
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The
Mud Fort of the Jats of Kuchesar was built in the mid-18th century
with seven turrets as a defense against British cannon attack,
and a wide moat was dug to create the ramparts. Its main palace
sits atop a large bastion overlooking gardens on three sides
and the ruins of a replica of Robert Clive's Calcutta house
to its west. The
banks of Brij Ghat, 24 kms away on the holy Ganges, make an
interesting picnic outing among fields of sugarcane and mango
orchards. Guest can ride horse and swim at The Mud Fort. Only
80 kms from New Delhi, Kuchesar is a short drive from the stress
and crowding of the capital. |
