The Battle of Sarai Sobhachand was fought between Suraj Mai, the ruler of Bharatpur and Mir Bakshi Saadat Khan in 1750. The latter was the Nawab Wazir of Awadh under the reign of Ahmad Shah, the Mughal Emperor. The conflict arose between the Mir Bakshi and Suraj Mai because Saadat Khan wanted to restore the portions of territory which were captured by the Jat ruler in his Subah of Agra and Mathura.

It is interesting to note that Saadat Khan actually was not marching towards Bharatpur. He was sent by the Mughal emperor to provide military aid to Bakht Singh of Marwar. After the death of Abhai Singh, the ruler of Marwar, on 21 June 1749, his son Ram Singh succeeded him. But this succession was interrupted by Ram Singh’s maternal uncle Bakht Singh who wanted to take hold of the Jodhpur throne. Mir Bakshi Saadat Khan, thus, marched with a force of eighteen thousand men to help him. However, he wanted to proceed to Ajmer not by the well equipped Delhi-Agra road but through Mewat which was under the dominion of Suraj Mai. Mir Bakshi’s plan was to deal with the Jats first and then proceed to Ajmer and unite with the waiting forces of Bakht Singh Rathore.

Mir Bakshi made a very relaxed and laid back progress which was marked with his halt at several places. He first halted at Pataudi for ten days. Then he ruined Mewat and brought the mud fort of Neemrana, which was on the northern boundary of Suraj Mai’s dominion, under his control. All this while Suraj Mai had been watching the activities of the Mughal army but he did not want to show his hand first. Then it so happened that some imposing soldiers picked a quarrel with the Jat barracks of Neemrana fort and drove them out. This action was interpreted by Saadat Khan as a huge victory and ordered his drums to be beaten. The sudden ecstasy of an insignificant success packed him with overconfidence and made him to change the entire plan of his campaign. He made a halt Neemrana fort and called back his advance guards. In spite of the earnest request of some of the veteran officers of his army, he decided to conquer the Jat region first and then go to Ajmer.

When Mir Bakshi got to Sarai Sobhachand, Suraj Mai with a force of six thousand soldiers surrounded the Mughals on New Year’s Day of 1750. Suraj Mai was accompanied by important Jat chiefs like Gokla and his brother Surat Ram, Bairam Singh and Pratap Singh. Saadat Khan, being surrounded on all sides, asked Delhi for reinforcements but they arrived too late. The Jats charged with speed and determination—caused deaths to many helpless Mughals, and the rest lost heart when Hakim Khan was shot dead and Ali Rustam Khan was wounded—the two gallant officers who had brought reinforcements from Delhi. Mir Bakshi was now at the mercy of Suraj Mai and asked for peace. Suraj Mai courteously accepted the peace offer. This was an act of statesmanship; he was on a winning spree and did not want to antagonise or provoke the Delhi government.

This victory of Sarai Sobhachand brought great prestige and self-confidence to Raja Suraj Mai. It proved the military potential of Jats in Hindustan. At that point of time there was no one to match Suraj Mai’s military strength, diplomatic skill, administrative ability and soundness of political judgement.