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R. Barn — The Bajrarjggarh Mint and Goins. 
[No. 4, 
succeeded him, appears to have been of a decidedly weaker nature, and 
Madhoji Sindia at once attempted to force him to cede certain districts 
in lieu of tribute, and a few years later, asserting that the Raja was 
negotiating with the British Government, then at war with Sindia, 
he took the fort of Raghugarh and made Balvant Simgh and his son 
Jai Simgh prisoners, and confiscated the Raj. One Slier Simgh, of the 
same caste, then commenced a predatory warfare against Sindia, and 
by threats induced the villagers inhabiting the state to leave the land, 
most of them going to Bhopal, with the Diwan of which state, Chutta 
IOian, he had made friends. Sher Simgh’s warfare only extended against 
the Mahrathas, and he took particular delight in mutilating Brahmans 
and killing their children, and had established such a reputation that, 
through fear of his few hundred men, a convoy of 4,000 or 5,000 men, 
bringing Sindia’s wife and the families of his officers, hesitated before 
him. By the mediation of Chutta Khan however, Sher Simgh was 
induced to let them pass. After many attempts, Sher Simgh, with the 
help of a tribe of thieves, managed to effect the escape of Jai Simgh from 
the fort at Bhilsa where he was imprisoned, and sent him to Jaipur to 
enlist the help of the Rajas of that state and Jodhpur. Their represen¬ 
tations induced Sindia to release Balvant Simgli and restore him on 
condition of the payment of a large sum, which naturally turned out im¬ 
possible, and Balvant Simgh retired to Jaipur where he died in three 
years. 
He had left an agent named Durjan Lai at the court of Sindia, 
whom he advised to leave when he himself retired to Jaipur. Durjan 
Lai at once followed the example of Sher Simgh, but was crushed, though 
not without difficulty by Sindia’s forces, and fled to Sagar, where he re¬ 
mained till the death of Madh5ji in 1798 A.D. Jai Simgh then joined 
him in an attempt to aid Madhoji’s widow, but Daulat Rao’s forces 
under General Perron utterly defeated them, and they fell back into the 
position of guerillas. Durjan Lai however, separating from Jai Simgh, 
seized the estate of Dhulip Simgh of Ahirvara, and changed the name of 
the capital from Undl to Bahadurganj, while Jai Simgh retired to 
Raghugarh. Durjan Lai then extended his conquests over twenty-two 
districts, but was overthrown by General Jean Baptiste in 1803, and 
after remaining head of a body of Kind Rajputs, who perpetually 
harried Sindia’s country, died in 1810. Jai Simgh had assumed the title 
in 1798, and appears to have been of an extremely cruel nature, though 
capable, and admired by his followers for his bravery. He put to death 
several of his own wives, two of his kinsmen and their whole families 
for various reasons, and it is said he was temporarily insane, conse¬ 
quent on the excessive use of opium and hemp drugs, coupled with an 
