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Kuchesar, District Bulandshahr (UP)
The
Mud Fort of Kuchesar 
tells
of the chequered history of the Jata 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 defence against British cannon attack, and a wide moat was dug to create the remparts. Its main palace sits atop a larage bastion overlooking gardens on three sides and the ruins of a replica of Robert Clive's Calcutta house to its west.
The banks of Brijghat, 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.
* US$ Rates would apply for Foreign Nationals Only.
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