Selections from the Peshwa Daftar 2.intro

Language: Marathi

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Letters and dispatelases relating to the battle of Panipat.

(G-I.)/(69/2)

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पेशवे दप्तरांतून निवडलेले कागद

२

पानिपत प्रकरण

१७४७-१७६१

[ किंमत रु. २ आ. ३ ]

गव्हर्नमेंट सेंट्रल प्रेस, मुंबई

१९३०

“*Maratha Operations in Northern India*”

*with reference to*

*THE PANIPAT CAMPAIGN, 1747-1761*

The disaster of Panipat occurred on Wednesday 14th January 1761, but rightly observed from a true historical perspective, it appears as the result not of a day or a month, but as the legitimate consequence of the aggressive policy deliberately launched by the first Peshwa and strenuously pursued by his two eminent successors Bajirao I and Balajirao. This ambition of the Peshwas in aiming at what in common parlance is termed “Hindu-Pad-Padshahi”, naturally brought them into conflict with the various potentates, who were holding sway between the river Nerbudda on the south and the Himalayan range in the north. The power of the Great Moghal received its final fatal blow at the hands of Nadirshah in the early months of 1739, after which the Emperor’s existence became so precarious that he was entirely at the mercy of any invader of superior strength. The Peshwa for a time gave promise of being able to keep peace and order between the various warring elements; but the distractions of the Poona Government due to the intrigues of Tarabai and the Nizam after the death of Shahu, and its defective organization in point of unity of purpose and of command, came in the way of his ambitious policy being carried to success in the north, where he had practically to give a free hand to his trusted lieutenants Malharrao Holker and the Scindia brothers, Jayappa and Dattaji. Among other troubles within the Delhi empire were (1) the wars of succession started by the claimants to the thrones of Jaipur and Jodhpur and (2) the attempt of the Nawab Vazir of Oudh to put down the rising and rebellious Rohilla chiefs, who were a constant menace to his possession of Oudh. To complicate the situation still further, Ahmadshah, the Abdali King of Kabul, began frequently to repeat the *rôle* of his late master Nadirshah. In this way, the Rajput Princes, the Rohilla chiefs, the Vazirs of the Emperor’s court and the conquering Marathas represented by various commanders often at variance with one another, all contributed to the development of events that culminated in Panipat, not to mention at the same time the Jat, the Bundela and other petty chieftains, who often threatened to cut the Maratha lines of communication with the south.

Students of history will thus realize, what a huge affair both in length of time and the range and complexity of its parts this Panipat episode was, and what amount and variety of detailed information is necessary before one can study it in all its bearings.

The unpublished papers here presented, numbering about 150, are neither exhaustive nor do they supply all the links of the various problems; but they certainly make a weighty contribution towards elucidating many of the events and transactions and render necessary a revision of our former judgments on many points.

2. *Factions in the Imperial Court*

The first four letters contain news of the emperor’s Court sent to the Peshwa by his agents, the Hingne brothers. The Emperor, like all weak men, seems to have been wavering between two opposite forces, the

MO Ca 51—a

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Muhammadan factions urging Nadirshah to come and save the Empire, and the rising power of the Marathas, who had been on terms at the gates of Delhi for over ten years. Raghoji Bhonsle by his repeated invasions stopped the annual flow of revenue from Bengal into the Imperial treasury. Scindia and Holker had planted themselves firmly in Malwa and Rajputana. At the beginning of 1747 Nadirshah thus writes to the Mughal Emperor (No. 1): “It is now eight or nine years since I returned from India. You have not utilised this interval in improving your administration. Your officers do not obey you. They behave like independent lords. This has given the Marathas a free hand. With a loyal supporter like myself to stand by you, you can easily put your house in order. If you do not do it now, when will you do it? Put aside your pleasures for a while and start at once at the head of your forces. I will send you 25,000 troops under two able commanders; with their help you can in two years’ time easily conquer the whole of the Deccan. If you need my presence too, I am quite ready to come. Do not delay.” This letter was couched in most ardent and affectionate terms. In the struggle for the gadi of Jaipur, Malharrao Holker fighting on the side of Ishwarsing, inflicted a crushing defeat on Madhosing. An important letter giving news of the suicide of Ishwarsing by poison and the subsequent atrocities inflicted on the Maratha forces by the Rajputs, supplies the missing link and explains how the Marathas and the Rajputs came to be so entirely estranged (No. 31).

3. *The Marathas enter the lists on behalf of Safdar-Jang*

The serious illness of Shahu and his eventual death at the end of 1749 called away Scindia and Holker to the south for a year. They returned with renewed vigour at the end of 1750 after receiving an urgent call from Vazir Safdar-Jang who had been paralysed by the activities of the insatiable Rohillas,—which are illustrated by numerous letters (Nos. 14, 19, 20-24).

Jayappa and Malharrao joined their forces in the beginning of 1751 and marched against the Rohillas. In their first encounter with them they inflicted a defeat on Sadulla Khan in March (No. 32). No paper detailing the further progress of this campaign has been so far discovered and there is a distinct gap for the next few years in our knowledge of the subject, although we know already that the Rohillas were completely routed near Farrukhabad.

4. *Raghunathrao and the Afgan menace*

The next important project undertaken by Scindia and Holker was to persuade Ghaziuddin, the eldest son of the Nizam, to proceed to the Deccan to claim his father’s dominion. Ghaziuddin was, however, murdered at Aurangabad and the project failed. The Peshwa soon after despatched his brother the young Raghunathrao to settle the affairs of the north, which were gradually taking a bad turn for the Marathas owing to serious differences between Jayappa Scindia and Malharrao Holker (No. 35). The various alternatives suggested for solution and the consequent orders are contained in No. 39. The next few papers (Nos. 46, 47) refer to the

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Raghunathrao's expedition of 1755 and his sudden return to the south, Jayappa Scindia's entry into Marwar and his murder in July 1755, are subjects already well known and authenticated in history. The circumstances of his murder and the manner in which it was avenged are given in several letters (Nos. 48-56). Then followed a fierce struggle resulting from the invasion of India by Ahmadshah Abdali in the winter of 1756-57 (Nos. 68, 69, 71). His southern progress was, however, suddenly arrested by the stubborn Jats near Agra (No. 72) and he returned to his country in the summer, committing frightful atrocities on the way (No. 71). Thereupon the Rohilla Chief Najibkhan, who is described as a secret agent of the Abdali, is seen making overtures to Raghunathrao (No. 77). Affairs began to take a serious turn after Raghunathrao had left for the south, in the autumn of 1758, without having finally settled the affairs of Northern India. No. 88 contains a warning. The coming danger to the Maratha policy was foreseen and measures suggested for averting it (No. 89). Mismanagement of Maratha affairs becomes evident when responsible officers like Hingne and Antaji Mankeshwar came to be severely handled by the Peshwa (Nos. 91, 97, 98, 105). Najibkhan in the meantime was not idle; he was for a long time creating mischief. But what we learn for the first time in these papers is (No. 103) that Abdali did not rashly enter into a conflict with the Marathas. He tried his utmost to come to some amicable and workable understanding with them. The Peshwa at Poona did not realise the gravity of the situation in the north, being engrossed in schemes for gathering money anyhow to pay his debts in the south. He should have realised that in the distracted condition of affairs he could hardly expect to get his coffers filled.

The final struggle

Raghunathrao's penetration into the extreme west of the Punjab as far as Attock in the summer of 1758, changed the whole situation. The Punjab had long been coveted by the Abdali, and if his officials had not been driven away by the Marathas, the Sutlaj would possibly have been fixed as dividing the spheres of influence of the Afgan and the Maratha powers and the dispute would possibly have been amicably settled. Dattaji Scindia again entered the Punjab and established his outposts in the west, so that it became a point of honour with both powers, the one to keep what was once conquered, the other to reclaim what was lost. The Abdali however was fully conscious of the Maratha strength and almost up to the last moment tried his utmost to come to an understanding with them. No. 106 contains an account of the first move of Abdali who sent his agent Yakub-Ali-Khan to Delhi during the monsoon of 1759 to settle matters in the Emperor's presence between all the contending parties, the Rohillas, the Rajputs, the Jats and others. Although this agent Yakub-Ali-Khan stayed in India for some two years on this mission, he was not able to achieve any tangible results (No. 108). It was unfortunate that the Peshwa himself, his brother and his cousin, who were mainly responsible for the general policy in the north, did not promptly proceed to Delhi to settle the affairs of the empire, into which a further disturbing factor was introduced by the growing estrangement between Scindia and Holker.

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6. The Peshwa's neglect

With the fresh light thrown by these papers, one can fix the responsibility for the Panipat disaster primarily on the Peshwa himself, who was either fast losing his health or over-confident of his power or too much addicted to the pursuit of pleasure to spare his attention for graver concerns at a distance. Few men in the south realised the situation that was developing in Bhau's forces in the north, and no one heeded the warnings on the point uttered by smaller men like Hingne, Antaji Mankeshwar or Bundele. Gangoba Chandrachud and his master Malharrao Holker were the only ones who gave the alarm of the coming danger (No. 116), but the haughty Bhau, relying too much on the efficacy of the artillery of Ibrahim-Khan, sneered at them as cowards. Overtures for peace were, however, continued by both the parties throughout the period of hostility. Matters began to assume a serious aspect for Bhau even during his victorious entry into Delhi (No. 130); and Nana Fadnis himself sounds an ominous note of alarm in his letter of September 15, 1760 (No. 131). Naro Gangadhar Mujumdar's letter (No. 133) confirms the culpable negligence of the Peshwa even after he was fully informed of the awkward predicament of Bhau's forces in the Delhi region. The absurdities of rumour are illustrated by a letter which announces a victory for Bhau on the field of Panipat (No. 138). Nothing has been discovered in the records so far which could materially add to our present knowledge of the final stage of the struggle. Possibly all such communications were intercepted by the enemy. Abdali, even after the crushing Maratha rout on January 14, 1761, tried to effect an understanding with the Peshwa in the following June (No. 146). The death of the Peshwa (No. 147) in the same month brings the whole episode to its dismal close.

7. Minor points extracted from the Peshwas' Diaries

In addition to the letters so far produced a few striking extracts from the Peshwas' Diaries are collected together in the last number (No. 149), which clear several small doubtful points. Laxmibai, wife of Vishwasrao, who is commonly supposed to have gone with her husband to Panipat, is now proved to have lived at Trimbakeshwar with her relatives at the time of the battle. Several entries refer to the marriage of the Peshwa with Radhabai of the Vakhre family. The affair was being long considered at Sidhtek where the Peshwa spent some months. Many eligible girls were assembled for the Peshwa's inspection, of whom at least three were married on the occasion at Hiradpuri near Paithan, one by the Peshwa himself, another by Nilkanth Mahadeo Purandare, and the third by Vireshwar Dixit Manohar. The travelling expenses of the ladies, their dresses, their marriage festivities and the alms given away on the occasion, are all found entered in the Diaries. The entertainment of Abdali's agent Gulrai, the obsequies of Vishwasrao, the robes of honour sent to Abdali as a present, the visits paid by Malharrao Holker's wife Gautamabai and his young grandson to the Peshwa, returning to the south, Narayanrao's attack of small-pox, and the rewarding of Janoji Bhintada for having safely conducted Parvatibai back from Panipat, are some of the items of fresh information given here which students of history would value.

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हस्ताक्षर स्वतःचे

The letter of Kashiraj Shivdeo. (Vide No. 148)