After the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, the Afghans returned to North and the Marathas had to the South, leaving the Sikhs and the Jats to fill the void. Delhi has always been the heart of political life of Haryana and the neighbouring territory. It underwent swift decline after the disintegration of the Mughal empire, starting from the early 18th century. The main steps in this direction were the sacking of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Civil Wars of the nobility or feudal lords and the atrocities of Gulam Kadir. The situation was finally resolved by the British, who occupied the Mughal capital in 1803, after defeating the Marathas in its vicinity.

Capture of Haryana by British :

• The year 1803 is an important year in the history of Haryana. In this year, the area of what is now present day Haryana and Delhi came under the control of the East India Company of Great Britain. At that time, Delhi was being ruled by the old and weak Mughal ruler, Shah Alam. But the real power lay in the hands of the Maratha leader, Daulat Rao Scindia, who acted as his regent. On 6th September, 1803, the battle between General Lake's British forces and the Marathas took place near village Partapganj. On 30th September, 1803, the Maratha leader Daulat Rao Scindia also decided to make peace with the British by signing a treaty with the East India Company.

Administration of Haryana under Britishers :

• The British did not find it easy to administer Haryana. The people being of a somewhat spirited and independent disposition did not always find it to their taste. The tract was inhabited predominantly by martial races, who lost no chance in resisting the British whenever and wherever they could. The Meos, Gujjars and Ahirs of Gurgaon, the Jats and Ranghars of Rohtak, Bishnois and Jats of Hisar and the Sikhs of Karnal, all of them were strongly opposed to the new regime.

Division of Haryana in 1805 :

• In 1805, the British divided Haryana into two parts for administrative and political reasons. A smaller part called the Assigned Territories, was kept directly under the control of the Company. The larger part was divided and handed over to various local rulers, who were faithful and loyal to the British.
• The assigned territories consisted of the areas under Panipat, Sonipat, Ganaur, Palam, Palwal, Nuh, Nagina, Hathin, Firozpur, Jhirkha, Sohna and Rewari. This area was administered by East India Company officer called the resident and he reported directly to the Governor-General.
• The other larger part was divided into various princely states and handed over to loyal local kings and nawabs. But, these arrangements did not go down too well with the people of Haryana, who are by nature, independent minded and do not like outsiders meddling in their affairs. Therefore, they, especially the Jats of Rohtak, Ahirs and Meos of Gurgaon, rose again and again in revolt against the rulers. But by 1809, the British had established full control over the territory of Haryana.

Division of Bengal and Haryana :

• Most of the areas of Haryana and Delhi together became one of the six divisions of the North-Western province called the Delhi division. The Delhi division was further sub-divided into seven princely states and five districts. The princely states were Bahadurgarh, Ballabhgarh, Dujana, Farukhnagar, Jhajjar, Loharu and Pataudi. The five districts were Delhi, Gurgaon, Rohtak, Panipat and Hisar. These districts were divided into tehsils and tehsils into zilas. The officer heading the Delhi division was now called a Commissioner named as Resident. At this time, some areas of present day Haryana were outside the Delhi division and they were considered as part of the upper region. These were the districts of Ambala and Thanesar and the princely states of Buria and Jind. But the people of upper region and Delhi division though administratively in different provinces, were closely bound by socio-cultural ties. This administrative system continued till the Revolt of 1857.

Some Revolts against East India Company :

Chhachhrauli Revolt :

• Chhachhrauli is little town in the state of Haryana near Karnal. It was once the capital of one of the India's 562 princely states. These forts and palaces now have various government offices in them. The Raja of Kalsia built a big, sprawling fort for himself, which comprised of a throne room, a khazana (treasury) and reception rooms. The whole of the fort was painted with murals. The Kalsia family donated the fort to the town of Chhachhrauli for its own use in 1940.

Jind Revolt :

• The administration of Jind was entrusted to Prince Fateh Singh. Though Raja Bhag Singh did not like the arrangement, yet he did not oppose it. In fact, he had neither the will nor the means to do it. Bhag Singh died in 1819 and Fateh Singh succeeded him. He ruled for a short time only and died 3 years later (in 1822). Now Sangat Singh (11 year old) succeeded him. But, before they could think of dealing with him, he died a sudden death on 2nd November, 1834.

Kaithal Revolt :

• The British attacked Kaithal on 10th April, 1843 after the death of Bhai Udey Singh. His mother Queen Veer Sahab Kaur and his widow Suraj Kaur along with warrior Tek Singh compelled the British to take back, but after five days Maharaja Patiala withdrew his support and the British defeated the queen on 15th April, 1843 and established their empire.

Haryana Revolts against Company :

Revolt                                                Year                                                         Leader
Chhachhrauli Revolt                      1818                                                       Jodh Singh
Rania Revolt                                    1818                                                       Jobit Kha
Revolt of Farmers                           1824                                                       Surajmal
Jind Revolt                                       1814                                                       Pratap Singh
Balawali Revolt                               1835                                                       Gulab Singh
Kaithal Revolt                                  1843                                                       Gulab Singh and Suraj Kaur
Ladwa Revolt                                   1845                                                       Ajit Singh

Revolt of 1857 :

• The revolt of 1857 was sparked by the introduction of the Enfield rifle in the Indian Army. This news spread like wildfire among the sepoys of the army. Both Hindus and the Muslims were outraged at the use of cow’s fat and ‘hog’s lard’ respectively. They soon formed Panchayats in all corps and decided to socially boycott any sepoy, who used these cartridges.

Cause of Revolt in Haryana :

• As we have already seen, British rule in Haryana was unpopular. The rural people were particularly unhappy and dissatisfied. The destruction of village communities, the economic policies of exploitation, the work of the Christian missionaries, added to frequent famines and recurring epidemics, had made the people feel miserable and at heart suspect the British administration.

Spread of Revolt in Haryana :

• Although, the mutiny appears to have broken out suddenly without much pre-planning, the general discontent that prevailed helped in inflaming large areas. Except for the princely states of Jind, Kalsia, Buria and some small jagirs in Ambala and Thanesar, whole of the Haryana region was severely affected by the revolt.These are :

Gurgaon :

• They were resisted in the urban areas by loyal Khanzadas, who were also supported by loyal police, but they were soon overcome. Major Eden, the political agent at Jaipur intervened in Gurgaon with a large contingent, but without much success. In Gurgaon, the struggle continued even after the fall of Delhi, which occurred on 20th September, 1857.Throughout October, Brigadier-General Showers tried to suppress the turbulent Meos, Gujjars, Ranghars, Ahirs and the rebel princes.

Rohtak :

• In the Rohtak district, the revolt broke out on 24th May, when Tafzal Hussain reached there and attacked government offices in the name of Bahadur Shah. Deputy Commissioner, Loch was unable to cope with the situation and left the district first for Gohana and then for Delhi. The rebels then had a free hand.

Hisar :

• At Hisar, the uprising began with the troops stationed at Hisar, Hansi and Sirsa, which in turn incited the civil population. There was killing of Europeans, destruction of property and looting of Mahajans and other loyal elements. Mohammad Azam, a prince of the royal family, proclaimed the end of the British rule and established his authority in the district.

Narnaul :

• The Narnaul Battle was the fiercest. It was also the most decisive. On the Haryana side, Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh, Nawab Samad Khan of Jhajjar, Rao Shahmed Khan of Mewat, along with Rao Kishan Gopal, together presented a most formidable force. Though Indians fought very bravely (16th November, 1857), the British succeeded in defeating them. With the reverse at Narnaul, the cause of the mutineers was finally lost in Haryana.

Panipat :

• At Panipat, the Jat peasantry along with the other civil population were able to resist for sometime. The British were successful in mobilising forces from Karnal, Patiala and other places and able to reduce the resisting village.

End of Revolt in Haryana :

• The British succeeded in gaining back the whole of Haryana by November, 1857. The failure of the mutiny brought severe punishment for the city of Delhi and the whole Haryana region. All the prominent leaders on whom the British could lay their hands were severely punished. Bahadur Shah was tried by a Military Commission and exiled to Burma with selected members of his family. Two of his sons were shot. Of the other rebel leader, the Nawab of Jhajjar, Nawab of Farukhnagar and the Raja of Ballabhgarh were hanged. Rao Tula Ram, Chief of Rewari, escaped to Iran and from there to Afghanistan, where he died in 1863.

Result of Revolt (1858-1885) :

• After the 1857 Revolt, the British in February, 1858, removed Haryana from the North-Western province and merged it with Punjab. The region of Haryana was divided into two divisions that of Hisar and Delhi. Delhi division consisted of the districts of Delhi, Gurgaon and Panipat while the Hisar division consisted of the districts of Hisar, Sirsa and Rohtak. The districts were further divided into tehsils, tehsils into zilas and zilas into villages. The Punjab Government in 1871 ordered setting up of district committees or Zila Samiti. In 1883, Punjab District Board Act gave more power to these Zila Samities.