Kirat Singh

Who was Kirat Singh?

Kirat Singh Rana or Rana Kirat Singh was the last Jat ruler of Gohad state in Madhya Pradesh, India. He was the first Jat Rana ruler of Dholpur. He was from Bamraulia gotra of Jats.

After the death of Rana Chhatar Singh in 1785 the entire Gohad area suffered from anarchy, killing and other disruptive crimes for the next 18 years. The Jat rebels could be controlled neither by Marathas nor by the British. The revolutionary Jats unanimously declared Kirat Singh son of Samant Tarachand of village Neerpur in 1803. Samant Tarachand was a cousin of Rana Chhatar Singh. The coronation ceremony of Kirat Singh took place at ‘Bagathara fortress’, situated at a distance of 12 miles from Gohad, as Gohad and Gwalior were in possession of Sindhias.

In the Second Anglo-Maratha War at Laswari on 1 November 1803, Lord Lake defeated Sindhia and tarnished his reputation. In this war the Jats helped the British. The British army officers had great affection for Jats. Later, the British entered a treaty with Jats and with their help defeated Marathas and won back Gwalior and Gohad from them. The British kept Gwalior with them and handed over Gohad to Jats in 1804.