92.17.122.162 at 12:53, 20 April 2022

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{{Infobox royalty
| embed =
| name = George Thomas
| title = Raja from Tipperary
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| image = General George Thomas.jpg
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| alt = General George Thomas
| caption =
| succession = Raja of Hansi
| moretext =
| reign = 1798–1801
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| predecessor = [[Gwalior State]]
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| successor = [[Gwalior State]]
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1756 
| birth_place = [[Roscrea]], [[County Tipperary|Tipperary]], [[Ireland]]
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1802|1756}}
| death_place = [[Berhampur]], [[Bengal Presidency]]
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| issue = Alec<br>Annie
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| religion = [[Catholic]]
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'''George Thomas''', nicknamed '''Jaharai Jung''' and '''Jahazi Sahib''',<ref name=TOIgt1/><ref name=GrBio1/> ({{Circa|1756}}{{snd}}22 August 1802) was an [[Irish people|Irish]] [[mercenary]] and later a [[Raja]] who was active in 18th-century India. From 1798 to 1801, he ruled a small kingdom in [[India]], which he carved out of [[Hisar district|Hisar]] and [[Rohtak district]]s of [[Haryana]].

==Early life==
Thomas was born in [[Roscrea]], [[County Tipperary|Tipperary]], [[Ireland]], where his father was a poor Catholic tenant farmer near Roscrea who died when George was a child. Originally forced to [[Impressment|press-gang]] at [[Youghal]], where he worked as a labourer on the docks, Thomas deserted from the [[Royal Navy|British Navy]] at the age of 25 in [[Madras]] in 1782. Still illiterate at the age of 32, he led a group of [[Pindari]]s north to [[Delhi]] by 1787, where he took service under [[Begum Samru]] of [[Sardhana]].<ref name=gaz/><ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Thomas, George|volume=26|page=866}}</ref>

Though he was the favourite general of Begum Samru, due to jealous intrigues of his French rival ''Le Vassoult'' (committed suicide in 1795) he was supplanted in 1792 in her favour. He then transferred his allegiance to [[Apa Khande Rao]], a [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] chieftain under [[Mahadaji Scindia]] of [[Gwalior State]].<ref name="EB1911"/> He worked for [[Apa Khande Rao]] for four years from 1793 to 1797 to conquer Haryana by subduing [[Rajputs]] of Rajasthan, [[Shekhawati|Kachawa Shekhawat thakur rulers of Haryana and Shekhawati]], [[Mughals]] under vizir [[Mirza Najaf Khan]] and [[Bhatti clan|Bhatti Muslim Rajputs]].<ref name=akr1>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2RKTigrrP1cC Haryana, a Historical Perspective, Satish Chandra Mittal, 1986, Pp.17]</ref><ref name=akr2>[https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8126903945 History of the Marathas, R.S. Chaurasia, pp.24]</ref><ref name=akr3>{{Cite web |url=http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/Gurgaon_1983/Chapter_II.pdf |title=Gurgaon Gazeteers 1983 of Revenue Department of Haryana, Chapter II, pp.5 |access-date=19 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319071143/http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/Gurgaon_1983/Chapter_II.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In return for service to the Marathas, he was made the [[jagir]] of [[Jhajjar]]. Here he constructed a fort known as Georgegah, which was locally known as [[Jahazgarh]].<ref name="Rajas 76">Sir Lepel Henry Griffin, The Rajas of the Punjab: Being the History of the Principal States in the Punjab and Their Political Relations with the British Government, Trübner, 1873, p.76</ref>

==Raja of Hansi==
[[File:Country of George Thomas, Haryana.jpg|thumb|250px|George Thomas' Kingdom, with his Capital at Hansi]]
On the death of his patron Apa Khande Rao in 1797, Thomas declared independence from the Marathas. He quickly took possession of [[Rohtak]] and [[Hisar (city)|Hisar]] and made [[Hansi]] as his capital.<ref name=gaz/> Later that year his requests to the Chiefs of the [[Phulkian Misl]] for assistance against the Marathas were rejected.<ref name="Rajas 76"/> He thereafter launched a campaign against [[Jind]] whilst the Phulkian Chief's was in [[Lahore]]. Despite lifting his siege of Jind, Thomas, and his forces were forced to flee from Sikh forces during a night attack, forcing Thomas to sue for peace.<ref name="Rajas 76"/> The peace only lasted until 1799, when the Phulkian Misl launched further expeditions against neighbouring Jind and [[Kaithal|Kythal]] and decimated portions of Thomas's large army.<ref name="Rajas 76"/> In January 1800 he invaded [[Patiala]] but was repelled by the Sidhu's of [[Patiala]].<ref>History of Sirsa Town, Atlantic Publishers & Distri, p.43</ref>

During his short period of rule, he established a mint in Hansi and released rupees of his own kingdom. His area of control included area from [[Ghaggar]] river in the north to [[Beri, Jhajjar|Beri]] in south and from [[Meham]] in the east to [[Bhadra, Rajasthan|Bhadra]] in west. He rebuilt the [[Asigarh Fort]] at Hansi, which was in ruined state and built defensive walls and fortifications.<ref name=gaz>{{cite web|title=Haryana District Gazetteers|url=http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/gazetteer_india_hisar.pdf|website=Gazetteer of India, Haryana|publisher=Haryana Gazetteers organisation, Revenue Department, Haryana|accessdate=8 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501213030/http://revenueharyana.gov.in/html/gazeteers/gazetteer_india_hisar.pdf|archive-date=1 May 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He divided his area of control into 4 small paraganas.<ref name=gaz/> Historian [[Jadunath Sarkar]] (1870–1958) describes his conquests as "Oval in shape, with ill-defined and ever-shifting frontiers, it extended 13 to 28 miles in different directions. On the north lay the [[Ghaggar-Hakra River|Ghaggar river]] which separates it from the lands under Sikh occupation; the west the country of predatory Bhatti tribes, beyond which lay the deserts of [[Bikaner]]. The south was bounded by the [[Rewari]] district."<ref name=jns1>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2RKTigrrP1cC [[Jadunath Sarkar]], p.251. In Haryana, a Historical Perspective, Satish Chandra Mittal. 1986. Pp.18]</ref> He raised an army of eight battalions of infantry comprising 6000 men, fifty pieces of cannon, 1000 cavalry, including the [[Jat people|Jat]]s who made up two battalions of Infantry and one-fourth of his cavalry (paid pensions to them and encouraged them to settle in Hariana, colonisation of land through pensions to [[sipahi]]s contributed to Hariana becoming a stable military labour market in the 1790s), 1500 [[Rohilla]] Muslims and 2000 soldiers guarding his several forts.<ref name=bagartribune1>Nonica Datta, [http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99jul03/saturday/head1.htm "Forming an identity"], [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 3 July 1999.</ref><ref name=mulayjat1>Nonica Datta, 1999, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sBBuAAAAMAAJ&q=ancestors+were+forcibly+circumcised+by+the+Emperors,+and+not+converted+by+persuasion&dq=ancestors+were+forcibly+circumcised+by+the+Emperors,+and+not+converted+by+persuasion&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxstrY9KPXAhUMjJQKHSqYA_4Q6AEIJDAA "Forming an Identity: A Social History of the Jats], [[Oxford University]] Press, page 12.</ref>

He styled himself as the ''Raja of Hansi'' and he also liked to introduce himself as ''Raja from Tipperary''. He marched on the kingdoms of Jaipur, Bikaner and Udaipur and was sometimes victorious. George told his biographer, [[William Francklin]],<ref name=TOIgt1/><ref name=GrBio1/>
"I established my capital, rebuilt the walls long since decayed, and repaired the fortifications (of the 12th century fort of Prithiviraj Chauhan). As it had been long deserted, at first I found difficulty in providing for inhabitants. But by decrees, I selected between five and six thousand persons to whom I allowed every lawful indulgence. I established a mint and coined my own rupees, which I made current in my army and country; as from the commencement of my career at Jhajhar I had resolved to establish independence. I employed workmen and artificers of all kinds. I cast my own artillery, commenced making muskets, matchlocks and powder and in short, made the best preparations for carrying on an offensive and defensive war."

Between 1798 and 1801, he built [[Jahaj Kothi Museum|Jahaj Kothi]] (c. 1796) and Jahaj Pul at [[Hisar (city)|Hisar]], Haryana which was his residence, which was also used by [[James Skinner (East India Company officer)|James Skinner]] after George's defeat. He ruled the area independently up to 1801, when he was driven out by the [[Sikhs]].<ref name=gaz/> At Hansi, he was finally defeated and captured by [[Patiala]]'s army under General Sahib Singh and has his guns, throne and crown stripped off him.<ref name="EB1911"/> Here he abandoned all his conquests and retired east into British territory.

==Death==
He died, at [[Baharampur]] near [[Murshidabad]] in Bengal, of a fever on board his boat on his way to [[Calcutta]] down the [[Ganges]] river on 22 August 1802.<ref name="EB1911"/> He is buried in a grave at [[Residency Cemetery, Babulbona]] in Baharampur.<ref name=mi1>[https://archive.org/stream/ALlistOfInscriptionsOnChristianTombsPunjabKashmirNWFPVol1Inscriptions_201404/A%20Llist%20of%20Inscriptions%20on%20Christian%20Tombs%20Punjab,%20Kashmir%20&%20NWFP%20Vol%201%20Inscriptions%20_djvu.txt A list of inscriptions on Christian tombs or monuments in the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir, and Afghanistan; possessing historical or archaeological interest. By: Irving, Miles. Published: (1910), Vol. VII, Pp.2]</ref><ref name=gr2>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120617/spectrum/main3.htm British Legacy in Stone, The Tribune, June 17, 2012]</ref>

==Legacy==
The [[Jahaj Kothi Museum]], formerly George's residence, is named for him, as is Jahaj Pul suburb in [[Hisar (city)|Hisar]] of [[Haryana]] state in [[India]].<ref name=gaz/><ref name="hisar jano1">{{cite web |url=http://www.hisarjano.com/sylabs.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6878ttFm3?url=http://www.hisarjano.com/sylabs.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 June 2012 |title=Hisar jano |publisher=Jambh Shakti Trust |access-date=23 May 2012 }}</ref>

George met his biographer [[William Francklin]] on the way to Berhampur shortly before his death, and narrated his exploits to William, who published George's biography "Military memoirs of George Thomas" in 1805, based on direct interaction and original documents.<ref name=TOIgt1>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Desi-Irish-Raja-of-Haryana/articleshow/53360680.cms Desi Irish Raja of Haryana, Times of India newspaper, Jul-24-2016]</ref><ref name=GrBio1>[https://archive.org/details/militarymemoirs01frangoog Military memoirs of George Thomas, William_Francklin, 1805]</ref>

[[James Skinner (East India Company officer)|James Skinner]], while serving the Marathas, had earlier fought against George Thomas. After George's defeat, Skinner lived at [[Jahaj Kothi Museum|Jahaj kothi]] in Hisar. Skinner himself died at [[Hansi]] on 4 December 1841, at the age of 64.<ref name=skin>[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/addorimss/s/019addor0005475u00008vrb.html Skinner's Tomb, St. Jame's Church, Delhi] ''[[British Library]]''.</ref><ref>[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/addorimss/s/019addor0005475u00007vrb.html St Jame's Church, with tomb of William Fraser] ''[[British Library]]''.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Maratha Empire]]
*[[Company rule in India]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[William Francklin]], 1805, [https://archive.org/details/militarymemoirs01frangoog "Military memoirs of George Thomas" biography]
*Hennessy, MN "George Thomas – the Rajah from Tipperary", London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1971. {{ISBN|0-283-48492-6}}
*"George Thomas – the Rajah from Tipperary", ''The Calcutta Review'', No. CXL (1880) (reprint of [[Henry George Keene (1826–1915)|H. G. Keene]], ''George Thomas – An episode from the Great Anarchy'')
*Bidwell, Shelford, ''Swords for hire: European Mercenaries in Eighteenth Century India'' (1971). John Murray.
*Haefs, Gisbert, ''Raja'' (2000), btb Verlag, a historical novel in German

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas (Soldier), George}}
[[Category:People from Hisar (city)]]
[[Category:1802 deaths]]
[[Category:1756 births]]
[[Category:Irish mercenaries]]
[[Category:Mercenaries in India]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Haryana]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:18th-century Irish people]]
[[Category:People from Roscrea]]

George Thomas soldier - Revision history

92.17.122.162 at 12:53, 20 April 2022