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History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c41: Chapter XXVII

History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c41

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English

Contents

Chapter XXVII

v2.c41.1

The province of Orissa was conquered from the Musalmans by the Bhonsle chiefs of Nagpur, who are wrongly called Rajahs of Berar by European writers because their ancestor Pārsojī Bhonsle was appointed collector of *chauth* by *Chhatrapati* Shāhu¹. Much misunderstanding exists even at the present day regarding the position of the Bhonsles of Nagpur. They were not the agents of the Brahman Peshwas, and being Bhonsles or people of the same village as the ancestors of Shāhjī, the father of Śivājī, they gave out that they were the agnates of the Maratha royal families of Satara and Kolhapur. They resented the usurpation of royal power in the Maratha kingdom to the best of their abilities² and Raghujī Bhonsle I had at one time even dreamt of giving a son in adoption to the imbecile *Chhatrapati* Shāhu or Śivājī III. Inexorable fate brought the fermagant Tārā-Bāī to the Court of Satara during the last days of Shāhu and permitted her to palm off an impostor as her own grandson to be adopted as the heir to the Maratha throne. It is quite possible that had a Bhonsle of Nagpur been adopted by Shāhu the trend of Maratha history might have been quite different.

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¹ *Mārāthi Riyāsat, Madhya Bibhāg, Vol. III, p. 280.*

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² *Ibid., Vol. II, p. 6.*

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The Peshwas were mightily jealous of the power and the prestige of the Bhonsles of Nagpur in Northern India and modern Maratha historians rightly deplore the long-standing jealousy between the sons of Bājī Rāo I and Raghujī Bhonsle I, which prevented the latter from sending succour to the unfortunate Nawāb Siraj-ud-daulah on the eve of the fateful battle of Plassey, where a Maratha contingent added to the faithful bands of bodyguards under the faithful Mīr Mardān ’Alī and Rājā Mohan Lāl and the French troops under M. St. Claire might have changed the course of Indian history.

v2.c41.5

In the beginning the arrangements for the government of Orissa followed the celebrated Mārāṭhī adage, “do nothing new, do not change the old.” The shell of the government remained Mughal but the core was entirely changed. Nominally Mīr Ḥabībullah was the Na’ib Nāẓim of the Mughal ṣūbah of Orissa under the Nawāb Nāẓim ’Alīwardī Khān Mahābat Jang, who held his appointment under His Majesty the Emperor Aḥmad Shāh. In reality Aḥmad Shāh was trembling for his very life under the tutelage of the great Musalman traitor Ghāziuddin II Firūz Jang, the worthy spawn of the archtraitor Chinkilich Khān, Niẓām-ul-mulk Āṣaf Jāh I of Ḥaidarābād, Deccan. ’Alīwardī Khān was really an independent prince who had thrown off the mask of obedience to the shadow Emperor Muḥammad Shāh of Delhi by refusing to forward the revenues of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1742 on the pretext of Maratha incursions. In reality Orissa had been ceded to the Bhonsles of Nagpur in full sovereignty, and Mīr Ḥabībullah was their governor. The new Maratha government was, therefore, a forerunner of the masterly stroke of diplomacy known in the Dual Government of Clive in Bengal.

v2.c41.6

The river Sonamukhia is perhaps a mistake for the Suvarṇarekhā, which we find to be the southern boundary of the province of Bengal as soon as the English East India Company had assumed the reins of government of that province. Mīr Ḥabib was invested with the supreme command of the Maratha army of occupation in Orissa. Under him there was a Maratha officer, a relation of Raghuji Bhonsle, who had strict orders to obey the Musalman Nā’ib Nāẓim. Mīr Ḥabib managed the revenue department of the province and also received the sum of twelve lakhs annually as the *chauth* from Bengal. He discharged the arrears of pay due to the Afghan mercenaries, whom he had employed after the defeat and death of Muṣṭafā Khān and Shamsher Khān at the hands of ’Alīwardī. He discharged them gradually and strengthened his own position in the province of Orissa. His fall was swift. Raghuji sent his own son Jānujī as his deputy and the commander of all Maratha troops in Orissa. In the meanwhile, Mīr Ḥabib’s own officers had grown jealous of his power and prestige and turned traitors to him. Gradually they turned Jānujī’s mind against his trusted ally. Jānujī was of an overbearing disposition and would not pay implicit obedience even to his own father. He ordered Mīr Ḥabibullah to render accounts of the revenues of Orissa. He was caught at a disadvantage when his own troops were away from Katak, surrounded with Maratha troops and hacked to pieces according to the orders of Jānujī. According to a Maratha account, ’Alīwardī brought about the death of Mīr Ḥabibullah by a stratagem. He forged a letter using the name of Mīr Ḥabibullah and contrived to have it put in Jānujī’s hands, who ordered the execution of Mir Habibullah immediately.¹ Mirzā Muṣliḥ-uddīn who had negotiated the treaty of peace between Mir Ḥabīb and ’Alīwardī, was now appointed Na’ib Nāẓim of Orissa, both by Raghu jī Bhonsle I and ’Alīwardī Khan. He was a man of peaceful disposition and permitted matters to drift. He recognised himself not as a subordinate of the Nawāb Nāẓim of Bengal but the deputy of the Bhonsle chief of Nagpur.² In the end he was obliged to resign his office because he could not manage to collect sufficient revenue to keep the government of Orissa going, such was the devastation of the province during the twelve years’ war between the Mughals and the Marathas. He had foolishly agreed to pay four lakhs more over and above the stipulated amount of the *chauth* and failed to pay it. In 1755, a little before or after the death of Raghuji Bhonsle I, Mir Muṣliḥ-uddīn formally resigned and a few months later a Maratha or Deccani Brahman was appointed the *ṣūbāh* or governor of the province.³ Śivarām Bhaṭṭa Sāṭhe, called Sheobhat Sāntrā by mistake by Musalman and European writers, took up the reins of government in 1756 during the rule of Jānujī and continued to rule over the province for eight years. He is repeatedly mentioned in the correspondence of the officers of the East India Company, a portion of which has been made public by the Record Office of the British Empire in India.

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¹ *Marāthī Riyāsat Madhya Bibhag, Vol. II, p. 413.*

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² *Sa’ir-ul-Muta’kharin, Eng. trans., Vol. II, pp. 115-17.*

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³ *Bengal District Gazetteer, Puri, p. 40.*

v2.c41.10

Upon the death of Rāmachandra Deva II of Khurda in 1742-43 Mir Ḥabīb tried to place the rājā of Paṭiyā Padmanābha Deva on the throne, but Padmanābha was slain by the adherents of the house of Khurda. The succession of the Khurda *gadi* now passed on to Vīra Kiśora Deva I, a grandson of Rāmachandra Deva II. The war with Padmanābha Deva took place in the second *aṅka* or the first year of his reign. The *Mādalā Pāñji*, as the late Mr. Monmohan Chakravarti has recorded, states that the Mughals were driven out of Orissa in his fourth *aṅka* or 1745-46. Vīra Kiśora I ruled in troublesome times. The Marathas laid waste the *parganah* of Khinda and captured Puri in the seventeenth *aṅka* or the fourteenth year of his reign. He continued to rule till 1779.¹ In the twenty-third *aṅka* the Khurda territories were attacked by another chief named Nārāyaṇadeva of Parlakimedi and Vīra Kiśora's *Diwān* was sent to Katak to beg for help from the Maratha governor. Nārāyaṇadeva was expelled, but the *parganahs* of Lembai,² Rahang and Puri town had to be mortgaged to the Marathas. He was bled systematically by his general (*Bakhshī*) Dāmodara Bhramaravara, who captured the king and carried him a prisoner to Katak, where the Maratha governor Rājārām Pundit kept him in prison. Two dreadful famines are recorded as having broken out during the reign of this prince.³

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¹ *Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal*, 1837, Vol. VI. p. 765; *Ibid.*, 1898, Vol. LXVII, part I, p. 383.

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² *Bengal District Gazetteer, Puri*, p. 48.

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³ *Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal*, 1837, Vol. VI, p. 766.

v2.c41.14.1

The records of the Honourable East India Company, as far as they are available to the public, show that Śivarām was a very able and energetic officer. We can judge this from the tone of annoyance and petulance in the correspondence of the officers of the East India Company with him. Just before the date on which the published Calendar begins, Nawāb Mīr Ja'afar 'Alī Khān entered into a separate treaty with Rājā Jānujī Bhonsle regarding the payment of *chauth*.¹ The earliest letter on record is a circular issued on the 26th January, 1761, to three Maratha officers named Mukunda Pandit, Sheobhat Sāntrā and one Rāgmānji Jāchak. The last named person cannot be recognised in the mutilated form in which his name has been preserved by the Persian *munshis* employed by the British Government. The correct Marathi form ought to be Raghunāthji Jāchak. In this letter the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William requests these three Maratha officers to order their people not to molest the Company's forces.² On the same date two letters were issued to an agent of the East India Company, named Ghulām Muṣṭafā, directing him to be regular and careful in sending letters to and from Madras.

v2.c41.14.2

From these two and subsequent letters it is evident that the Company stationed agents at Balasore and Katak to forward their correspondence between Calcutta and Madras by the land route.³ The district of Medinipur had been ceded to the East India Company some time before November, 1760, as on the 12th of that month Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī was directed to order the *Faujdārs* of Medinipur and Chittagong to come to Calcutta immediately.⁴ On the same date another letter was written to the same Nawāb requesting him to send some troops to assist the Company in the expulsion of the Marathas from Medinipur.¹ A letter to Rāgmānjī Jāchak or Raghunāthjī Jāchak offers compliments on the 15th November 1760.² On the same date another letter was written to another agent named Gopalpuri requesting him to forward letters to Madras. Issues of the same date contain another letter to Rājā Nārāyaṇ Deo, perhaps the same as that against whom an application for help was sent to the Marathas by Vira Kiśora Deva I,³ regretting the Company’s inability to supply troops to him. The recently ceded districts were not yet completely conquered, as a letter was received from Nawāb Qāsim ’Alī Khān in which he says that he is determined to punish the Rājās of Burdwan and Medinipur.

v2.c41.14.3

Sulaiman Beg, the *Faujdār* of Hughly, informed the governor that the utmost attention will be paid to troops proceeding to Burdwan and Medinipur.⁴ On the 26th November of the same year two letters were written to one Mīr Wāriṣ ’Alī, evidently the *Faujdār* of Hijli, asking for help to purchase rice for the people of Mr. Dacre.⁵ Misrī Khān was probably the *Faujdār* of Medinipur, as two letters were received from him on the 26th of November stating that as all arrears have been paid to the sepoys at Medinipur, no revenue can be sent from that *chaklah* and that he is prevented from seeing the governor out of fear of highwaymen. A reply was sent to him on the 28th stating that the Company’s troops will be sent soon and requesting him to transact business in the usual manner.¹ A letter was received from Rājā Jugal Kishor in which the latter describes the manner in which Medinipur was formerly plundered.² This interesting document, if recovered in original and published in full, may throw very interesting light on the history of Orissa in 1760. On the 1st of December of the same year Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ of Kāśijorā was informed that the Company’s troops will shortly proceed to Medinipur to chastise the disaffected. On the 3rd of the same month Rāgmānji Jāchak was requested to order his people not to molest the Company’s men or intercept any English letters coming from Madras.

v2.c41.14.4

A watch and other things were presented to him.³ The officer in charge of the frontier station of Medinipur was a certain Major White, whom Misri Khān of Medinipur was directed to consult on all points on the 7th of the same month.⁴ A letter was written on the 14th of the same month to one Khūsh-hāl Singh of Balasore requesting him to favour the chief of Medinipur with his attentions. The tone of the letter indicates that this man was a Maratha officer.⁵ Rājā Nārāyaṇ Deo of Parlakimedi was informed on the 18th of the same month that guns cannot be supplied to him until sufficient reason is given for their use. On the same date Misri Khān of Medinipur informed the Governor that the sepoys at that place had been paid but there were some who had not received four months' pay and they were very discontented.¹

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¹ *See poste.*

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² *Imperial Records Department; Calendar of Persian Correspondence. Calcutta, 1911, Vol. I, 1759-67, p. 52, No. 838.*

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³ *Ibid., Nos. 839-40.*

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⁴ *Ibid., p. 35, No. 567.*

v2.c41.19

¹ *Ibid.*, No. 568.

v2.c41.20

² *Ibid.*, p. 36, No. 582.

v2.c41.21

³ *Ibid.*, Nos. 579, 583.

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⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 37, Nos. 596, 606.

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⁵ *Ibid.*, p. 38, Nos. 622-23.

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¹ Ibid., p. 39, Nos. 634-35, 639.

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² Ibid., p. 40, 647.

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³ Ibid., Nos. 652, 660.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 41, No. 674.

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⁵ Ibid., p. 43, No. 695.

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¹ *Ibid.*, p. 44, Nos. 707-8.

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Rekha temple at Chharrā, near Purulia, Manbhum

v2.c41.31

The arrangements made by the East India Company for the defence of Medinipur were not needless, as Śivarām invaded the Company's territories and on the 28th of December, 1760, the Governor wrote to Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī Khān requesting him to proceed to Birbhum to oppose the Marathas.² Another officer, named Muṣliḥ-uddīn Muḥammad Khān, states on the 31st of the same month that the revenue of the *parganah* of Tamluk had been paid by him to the Nawāb.³ It is impossible to find out whether this person is the same as Mīrzā Ṣaliḥ, the friend of Mīr Ḥabib, who was created Mīr Muṣliḥ-uddīn by 'Aliwardī Khān at the conclusion of the treaty with the Marathas in 1751. On the 2nd of January, 1761, Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī was informed that Mahābat Khān had been directed to pay the revenue of Tamluk. A more conciliatory tone was now adopted towards Rājā Nārāyaṇ Deo, as on the 2nd he was informed that his measures against the Marathas were approved by the Governor.⁴ Evidently Nārāyaṇ Deo had to be recognised as an ally of the Company against the Marathas, who had helped Vira Kiśora Deva I to drive him out. In the same breath the Governor orders Rāgmānjī Jāchak to forward the Governor's letter immediately.⁵ It cannot be understood how the officer of an enemy may be ordered not to intercept correspondence. On the 9th Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ of Kāśijoṛā was desired to attend on Mr. Johnstone. On the 12th a letter was received from Khūsh-hāl Singh, formerly of Balasore, praying that the allowance formerly given to the Faujdār of Medinipur may be granted to him.¹ On the same date Rāgmānjī or Raghunāthjī was informed by the Governor that the English East India Company were not prepared to pay any duties to the agent of the Marathi governor.² On the 24th of January a complaint was received from Luṭf-ur-rahmān, the Faujdār of Balasore, about the oppression of one Mr. Burdett and his muṭsaddīs on account of which trade had come to a standstill in that port. The position of Balasore is very ambiguous and it appears that the Factor or trade agent in that port possessed considerable powers even during Maratha occupation. Luṭf-ur-rahmān was probably a Musalman in Maratha employ. Two days later a letter was written to Mukund Pandit directing him not to molest the Company's forces and copies of it were sent to Śivarām and Rāgmānjī or Raghunāthjī.³

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² *Ibid.*, p. 46, No. 737.

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³ *Ibid.*, p. 46, No. 743.

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⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 48, No. 762.

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⁵ *Ibid.*, No. 763.

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¹ Ibid., p. 49, Nos. 782, 794.

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² Ibid., p. 50, No. 801.

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³ Ibid., p. 52, Nos. 827, 838.

v2.c41.39.1

Troops continued to be poured into the south-eastern frontier and on the 29th January, Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ of Kāśijoṛā was directed to assist the Company's troops proceeding to the frontier station.⁴ To this the latter replied that he would try his best to supply bullocks and coolies.⁵ From letters written by the Governor on the 4th February 1761, it appears that Khush-hāl Chand was now at Katak and that Mr. Burdett had left Balasore after the troubles and had appointed Ghulām Muṣṭafa *munshī* at Balasore. Khūsh-hāl Chand was requested to send his bills to Ghulām Muṣṭafa at Balasore and the latter was directed to raise money locally. He was informed that otherwise money would be sent to him in specie from Calcutta.¹ Mr. Burdett’s departure from Balasore after the troubles created by him brought the Company’s business in Balasore factory to an end. The Nawāb Mīr Qāsim ’Alī Khān was informed on the 5th of February that the Marathas had attacked Mr. Johnstone’s army at Medinipur and two pieces of ordnance had been sent to him.² This is the first recorded instance of an action between the Company’s troops and the Marathas. It refers to Śivarām Bhaṭṭa’s first offensive against the Company for the stoppage of *chauth*. On the 6th letters were written to Murali Rām and Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ directing them to remain with Mr.

v2.c41.39.2

Johnson (Johnstone) and on the next day a letter was written to Rājā Jagadānanda³ requesting him to secure his own country from molestation by the Marathas and to pay the revenue to Mr. Johnson. On the 8th a letter was written to Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ of Kaśijoṛā requesting him to provide provisions for Mr. Johnson’s army.⁴ On the 10th February, 1761, the Governor informed Mīr Qāsim ’Alī and Rāgmānjī Jāchak that Śivarām Bhaṭṭa attacked Medinipur but retired to Katak on the arrival of the Company's troops. The latter was informed of the Governor's pleasure on hearing that he had directed Sa'adat Khān not to levy customs on the Company's cloth.¹ This is the only recorded narrative of the Maratha invasion of Medinipur in 1760-61. We do not know what was the real position of Rāgmānjī Jāchak or Raghunāthjī Jāchak, because he seems to ignore the Sūbhā Śivarām Bhaṭṭa Sāṭhe. On the 12th of the same month he wrote to the British stating that he has written to Sa'adat Khān not to demand duty on the Company's cloth. At the same time expresses pleasure, perhaps diplomatic, on hearing that the Company's troops have reached Medinipur in spite of the fact that his own troops were worsted in a skirmish.

v2.c41.39.3

He also writes to the Governor requesting him to direct that British troops should not be allowed to create any disturbance.² Very probably Rāgmānjī or Raghunāthjī was an officer at Nagpur and the British kept on flirting with the Central Government of the Bhonsles, while war was going on in the Medinipur with Maratha troops in Orissa. Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī Khān had written praying for British troops for the defence of Murshidabad. He was informed on the 14th that the Marathas had retired towards Katak. But in consequence of the Nawāb's request troops were sent under Mr. Knox to bar the road from Medinipur.³ On the 15th of the same month Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ of Kāśijoṛā was requested to supply labour and provisions to the troops under Major Knox.⁴ On the 17th Rājā Jagadānanda was directed to pay the revenue to Mr. Johnstone, chief of Medinipur. On the same date a complaint was sent to Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ about the behaviour of his officers towards Messrs. Johnstone and White. A circular was issued to Rājā Rāj Nārāyaṇ, Rājā Ānanda Lāl and the Na’ib Mahābat Qūli Khān directing them to provide draught animals, labour and provisions for Captain Knox and Dilawar Jang Bahādur, sent to drive out the Marathas.⁴ On the 23rd of the same month the Munshī Ghulām Muṣṭafa received a letter to be forwarded to John Bristow, who was to pay Rs. 100 to the officers of the Durbar for the release of Khūsh-hāl Chand and Rs. 400 as wages to the Company’s servants employed in the postal agency to Madras.

v2.c41.39.4

At the same time Mukund Pandit, Rāgmānjī Jāchak and Śivarām Bhaṭṭa were requested to direct their people to release Khush-hāl Chand as he was but a poor and inoffensive postal agent (dāk munshī). This letter most probably shows the end of hostilities on the Balasore-Medinipur frontier. On the 24th Nawāb Mīr Qāsim ’Alī Khān was informed that Nanda Kumar had been imprisoned, as his treasonable correspondence with the Shāhzādah ’Alī Gauhar (afterwards the Emperor Shāh ’Alam II), Kāmgār Khān and Śivarām Bhaṭṭa had been discovered. On the same day the Nawāb was informed that nothing incriminating had been found among the papers of the old traitor Durlabhrām but that a certain Rājāram had decamped and fled to the Marathas.² On the 8th of March a letter was written to Śivarām upbraiding him for his excesses at Medinīpur and informing him that the Maratha *parganah* of Pataspur had not been spared. He was requested to direct his officers not to create any disturbances.¹ The earliest communication from the Mayurbhañja Rājā on record was received on the 15th of March in which he prayed that some officers may be sent to his State to transact business with him personally and asking for some favour to be shown to Motirām, perhaps his own agent. A reply was sent immediately, professing friendship and informing the Rājāh that he should correspond direct with the governor as all other zamindars were doing.

v2.c41.39.5

On the same date another letter was written to one Murat Nārāyaṇ Das advising him to remain on friendly terms with his neighbourhood and referring to the letter written on the same day to the Rājāh of Mayurbhanj. The name of the Rājā of Mayurbhañja, to whom the letter was addressed, cannot be ascertained but most probably he was Dāmodar Bhañja, who ascended the throne in 1761. On the 17th another letter was written to Śivarām acknowledging receipt of his letter in which he stated that Khūsh-hāl Chand has been released.² In March 1761, one Muḥammad Sādiq was *Faujdār* of Balasore and a letter was written to him on the 22nd informing him that Mr. Bristow had been sent to Balasore to serve as the postal agent. The next day another letter was written to Rāgmānji Jāchak informing him that Śivarām "has a clean heart and no evil intentions" and requesting him to send a discreet person. The Governor informed him that he was also sending a confidential messenger to the former. The English Governor attempted to flirt with Śivarām in a separate letter written to him on the same day.¹ Evidently the Maratha officers in the province of Orissa had become nervous on account of the presence of British troops on their northern frontier at Medinipur and Śivarām seems to have written to the Governor urging their recall.

v2.c41.39.6

To this a reply was sent on the 26th of March informing Śivarām that a breach of peace would be likely if the removal of troops from Medinipur was persistently urged.² Rāgmānjī Jāchak continued to play a difficult part and informed the British in a letter which was received on the 2nd April that the united efforts of the Company and his own self would soon terminate all disturbances.³ Despairing of getting the *chauth* from the provinces of Bengal and Bihar the Marathas seemed to have demanded the *chauth* of Medinipur on account of its being a part of the *Subāh* of Orissa. On the 10th of the same month a letter was written to Śivarām in which he was informed that though Mīr Ja'afar gave up the *chauth* of Katak, whereby perhaps is meant that the *chauth* from Bengal was stopped, Medinipur had been independent of it for a long time and had been made over to the Company for the maintenance of troops. The Marathas should, therefore, give up all claims to *chauth* from the Bengal districts.⁴ The British government in India has not yet considered it opportune to make the letters received from the Maratha officers public, as original letters do not appear in the calendars. Apparantly letters were received both from Jānujī Bhonsle and his officers in Orissa. On the 12th of April a letter was written to Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī informing him that he had already been instructed about the reply which he was required to send to Jānujī Bhonsle.

v2.c41.39.7

The Nawāb was informed that to evade payment on the plea of the ruinous state of the country might only protract negotiations. He was advised to grant the application of Muṣliḥ-ud-dīn Muḥammad Khān and Gaṅgā Nāik for an agreement so that the disturbances might come to an end and the tenants might remain in tranquility. A broad hint was dropped to the Nawāb in the statement that the Marathas were not strong enough to invade Bengal.¹ Muṣliḥ-ud-dīn Muḥammad had been sent by Jānujī as his representative but we do not know what his application to the Nawāb actually was. It appears that while advising the Nawāb to come to speedy agreement with the Marathas about *chauth*, he was secretly instructed to refuse payment. On the 21st April, Śivarām threatened to invade Bengal if *chauth* was not paid immediately. To this a reply was sent two days later informing him that the Nawāb Qāsim 'Alī had replied to Rāja Jānujī's letter direct and that *as he was no longer the chief of Katak* he had no business to demand *chauth* or to create disturbance in Medinipur.² A letter was now written to Rāgmānjī Jāchak, who appears to have been treacherous to his own people, because the English regarded him as being their friend, but Śivarām as their particular enemy. This letter is to the same effect as that of Śivarām Bhaṭṭa. We do not know what change had come over Śivarām Bhaṭṭa Sāṭhe and what position he now held after being removed from the chiefship of Katak.

v2.c41.39.8

Puri temple records prove that Sivarām was the governor of Orissa till 1764,¹ and this statement is supported by Sardesai, who states that British agents created a suspicion in the weak mind of Jānuji Bhonsle against Sivarām, and the patriotic and loyal chief was deposed for his loyalty to the Bhonsle family and his very just wars against the English in Bengal.² The Rāja of Mayurbhanj was playing a deep and dubious game. He was corresponding direct with the Governor of the presidency of Fort William, as he was a zamindar of the Medinipur district in addition to being a ruling chief in the Orissa Garhjats. On the 24th a letter was written to the Rāja informing him that Mr. Johnstone of Medinipur had been directed to treat him in a friendly manner. Mr. John Bristow, chief of Balasore, was directed on the next day to charge 2 1/2 per cent on all goods for which merchants applied to him for a passport of the English East India Company. On the 28th of April a letter was received from Nawab Mir Qāsim 'Alī Khān, in which the latter states that he will reply to Rāja Jānuji's letter on receipt of instructions from the Governor.³ On the 30th of April 1761, two letters were received from the Rāi Rāyān, in the first of which he wrote to the Governor asking him to write to the chief of Medinipur directing the latter to be careful in the affairs of Jaleswar and to prevent different persons from taking possession of it.

v2.c41.39.9

In the second letter the Rāy Rāyān requested the governor to release the jagirs of Rājā Makaranda Kiśor.¹ A strange letter was addressed to Śivarām on the 4th of May, stating that the Governor "received a letter on the cover of which was a large seal bearing the addressee's name. Believes that the letter was written without his orders and sends it back to him without opening it. Desires him to reprimand the munshis and to chastise severely those who wrote it. Has already informed him that the Nawab has answered Rājā Jānuji's letter concerning the chauth. Is surprised that notwithstanding this, the addressee continues to create disturbances. Tells him that his conduct is bound to bring upon him the Rājā's wrath." On the same date the Rāy Rāyān was informed that the jāgirs of Makaranda Kiśor were confiscated, because he created disturbances and opposed the Company's troops when they went to Medinipur.² Four days later, on the 8th of May another letter was addressed to Śivarām informing him that Mr. John Bristow was appointed to negotiate with him regarding a certain dispute, which is not specified.³ On the 27th of the same month a letter was written to Rāgmānji Jāchak informing him that Mr. John Bristow had been deputed to quell the disturbance in the country between Medinipur and Katak and requesting the former to co-operate with the latter. On the 28th a letter was received from the Nawāb Mir Qāsim 'Ali enquiring whether the Marathas had invaded Burdwan.

v2.c41.39.10

On the same day another letter was sent to one Rahmat Khān, which is a copy of that addressed to Rāgmānji Jāchak on the previous day. On the same day another letter was written to Śivarām regarding his complaint about the arrest of four messengers (gasīds) sent with letters to Calcutta. The arrest was denied and Śivarām informed that Mr. Bristow had been sent to settle the dispute. On the 1st of June Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī was informed that the report about the Maratha invasion of Bengal was baseless and was spread by Śivarām. This letter also states that troops have been sent to oppose the Marathas.¹ On the 2nd Rāja Jānujī Bhonsle was informed that no reply had been received to the previous letter addressed to him and that a severe famine prevailed in Bengal. The Governor had received a visit from Muṣliḥ-uddīn Muḥammad Khān and hoped that his own envoys would receive favourable attention from the Maratha government.

v2.c41.39.11

Another letter was issued on the same day to Śivarām concerning the chauth in which he was informed that the governor had written to Rāja Jānujī on the subject but no reply had been received and that the Nawāb had been requested to settle the matter shortly with Jānujī's people.² On the 24th of the same month the Rāy Rāyān was informed that Makaranda Kiśor's jagirs would be restored if the latter waited upon the Governor.³ On the 12th of September of the same year the Governor sent a proposal to Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī Khān for an invasion of Maratha dominions in Katak and Orissa. It is stated that, though Śivarām had agreed to remain within his own jurisdiction, he cannot be trusted as he is likely to invade Bengal as soon as an opportunity presents itself. Therefore, the English Governor thought that it was advisable to chastise Śivarām in such a way as to compel him to make a precipitate retreat. It was proposed at the same time that a *parganah* in Orissa might be assigned for the payment of the Company’s troops who would collect the revenue from Orissa and deliver it to the Nawāb. This is the beginning of the nefarious proposal to invade Orissa in order to stifle the repeated Maratha demands for *chauth*. Just at that moment the English East India Company were strong enough to undertake an invasion of Orissa, as the same letter informs the Nawāb that there is a large number of troops in Calcutta and more are coming from Madras.

v2.c41.39.12

The Bhonsles of Nagpur were certainly correct in demanding twelve lakhs of rupees as the *chauth* of Bengal and Bihar from the Musalman *ṣūbahdār* of these two provinces according to the treaty of 1751. Mir Qāsim ’Alī was as much in the shoes of ’Alīwardī Khān as the latter’s grandson Sirāj-ud-daulah was. His refusal to pay the *chauth* and its countenance by the Governor of Fort William was as much moral and legal as the British refusal to pay the stipulated tribute of twenty-six lakhs to the Emperor Shāh ’Alam II after his departure from Allahabad to Delhi in 1771. The British proposals for the conquest of Orissa¹ were received with great nervousness by the Nawāb, who had already received a foretaste of the treatment he was to expect from his task-masters, the English factors of the East India Company. The Nawāb procrastinated, entered into a long correspondence with the Governor of Fort William about the costs of the expedition and finally agreed. He was informed on the 11th December that Major Karnac was to co-operate with Bū 'Alī Khān in driving Śivarām out of Orissa and on the same date another letter was written to Bū 'Alī Khān to march by way of Birbhum or Bishnupur with expedition.¹ On the 20th of the same month the Nawāb was requested to select a capable person for the Nāibship of Orissa, who was to accompany the Company's troops under Major Carnac.² On the 9th of January 1762 the Nawāb was informed that his letter forbidding the invasion of Katak had been received.

v2.c41.39.13

Therefore at that time Mir Qāsim 'Alī Khān was not prepared to invade Orissa.³ On the 16th of the same month another letter was written to the Nawāb enquiring about the proposed invasion of Orissa. The Governor attempted to excite the Nawāb by stating that the Marathas were now demanding *chauth* for three years and because the Nawāb was not paying the *chauth* it would be a good pretence for them to invade the country. It would be better if the Nawāb, on the other hand, entered Orissa and captured Katak, which was an integral part of his *subahship*. Once Katak was in the occupation of the Nawāb, it would not be easy for the Marathas to make inroads into Bengal. The Governor then advises the Nawāb to pay no *chauth*, to dismiss the *wakils* from Nagpur in a civil manner and to invade Katak without delay. He adds that most probably Jānuji will not make any serious attempt to defend Orissa, but if he does so, English troops joined with the forces of the Nawāb will be able to repell the attack. English troops have been ready for some time to march to Katak.

v2.c41.39.14

The letter ends with a request to the Nawāb to send 1,500 or 2,000 horse into Orissa and to select a Nāib Nāzim.¹ A letter received from Śivarām on the 10th February “declares more emphatically than before that if the *chauth* is not forwarded, a body of troops will march into Bengal to enforce payment of it.”² A reply was sent to this on the 16th acknowledging Śivarām’s letter, demanding the restitution of the goods plundered and the revenue collected from the Maratha *parganahs* of Pataspur and Shāhbandar by British troops. The English Governor replied that the claims must be examined before any restitution was made. On the same date a letter was received from Nawāb Mir Qāsim ’Alī stating that he was also conscious of the advantage that would be derived by driving out the Marathas from Katak, but he entered into details about the cost of the expedition.³ We learn from a letter written on the 2nd of March that Mir Qāsim ’Alī had actually ordered Saiyad Muḥammad Khān with 1,500 horse to accompany English troops and to assign one or two *parganahs* “as a gratuity to the English troops.” The Governor of the English East India Company now replies that it was more for the benefit of the Nawāb that he wanted to conquer Orissa. Formerly the Nawāb thought the conquest of Orissa to be necessary and agreed to bear the costs of the expedition but now he thinks otherwise.

v2.c41.39.15

If in future the Nawāb considers it necessary to drive the Marathas out of Orissa and if he applies to the English for help, then the Company would certainly help him, but as Orissa has been separated from the subahship for a long time and ceded to the Marathas, the Governor will look upon this as a new conquest and the Nawāb will have to pay all expenses of the expedition.¹ On the 19th of the same month the Nawāb enquired what would be the cost of the conquest of Orissa from the Marathas.² On the 1st of April a letter to Saiyad Muḥammad Khān contained the information that the idea of sending troops to Orissa had been deferred. The next day the Nawāb was informed that the cost of 1,000 cavalry and 2,000 Tilangas with 10 pieces of cannon would be Rs. 1,50,000 monthly and as the conquest of Orissa might take three or four months the total cost might amount to five or six lakhs of rupees.³ On the 1st of May Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī disapproved of the expedition to Orissa. The dispute with the English East India Company and the quarrel with the notorious Mr. Ellis was getting hotter and the short but glorious reign of Mīr Qāsim 'Alī was drawing to a close.⁴ Therefore the earliest proposal for a British invasion of Orissa was dropped.

v2.c41.40

⁴ Ibid., p. 53, No. 852.

v2.c41.41

⁵ Ibid., p. 54, No. 869,

v2.c41.42

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 55, Nos. 878-79.

v2.c41.43

² *Ibid.*, p. 56. Nos. 880, 884.

v2.c41.44

³ *Ibid.*, Vol. III, p. IX.

v2.c41.45

⁴ *Ibid.*, Vol. I, p. 57, Nos. 887, 889, 891.

v2.c41.46

¹ *Ibid.*, pp. 58-59, Nos. 900, 908.

v2.c41.47

² *Ibid.*, p. 60, No. 913.

v2.c41.48

³ *Ibid.*, p. 61, No. 923.

v2.c41.49

⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 62, No. 932.

v2.c41.50

¹ Ibid., p. 64, Nos. 44-46.

v2.c41.51

² Ibid., pp. 66-67, Nos. 956-57, 961-62.

v2.c41.52

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 73, No. 1001.

v2.c41.53

² *Ibid.*, p. 76, Nos. 1020-22, 1024.

v2.c41.54

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 78, Nos. 1032-15.

v2.c41.55

² *Ibid.*, pp. 79-80, No. 1044.

v2.c41.56

³ *Ibid.*, p. 83, No. 1068.

v2.c41.57

⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 85, No. 1082.

v2.c41.58

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 86, No. 1085.

v2.c41.59

² *Ibid.*, pp, 88-89, Nos. 1099, 1109.

v2.c41.60

¹ Bengal Destrict Gazetteer; Puri, p, 42,

v2.c41.61

² Mārāthi Riyāsat, Madhya Bibhāg, Vol. IV, p. 308.

v2.c41.62

³ Ibid., p. 90, Nos. 1110, 1112-13, and 1115.

v2.c41.63

¹ Ibid., p, 92, Nos. 1123-24.

v2.c41.64

² Ibid., p, 93. Nos. 1134-35.

v2.c41.65

³ Ibid., p. 94, Nos. 1142.

v2.c41.66

¹ Ibid., pp. 102-5, Nos. 1189-92, 1195.

v2.c41.67

² Ibid., p. 110, Nos, 1245-46.

v2.c41.68

³ Ibid., p. 115, No. 1274.

v2.c41.69

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 122, No. 1324.

v2.c41.70

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 136, Nos. 1394-95.

v2.c41.71

² *Ibid.*, p. 139, No. 1407.

v2.c41.72

³ *Ibid.*, p. 140, No. 1418.

v2.c41.73

¹ *Ibid.*, pp. 141-42, No. 1425.

v2.c41.74

² *Ibid.*, p. 146, No. 1445.

v2.c41.75

³ *Ibid.*, Nos. 1446-47.

v2.c41.76

¹ Ibid., p. 150, No. 1463.

v2.c41.77

² Ibid., p. 153, No. 1476.

v2.c41.78

³ Ibid., p. 154, Nos. 1481-82.

v2.c41.79

⁴ Ibid., p. 160, No. 1509.

v2.c41.80

Ruined rekha temple at Chharrā near Purulia, Manbhum

v2.c41.81.1

Certain other letters digested in the calendar throw interesting sidelight on the condition of Orissa in 1761. On the 10th of October a letter was written to the Rājā of "Parsautam" (Purushottam or Puri) informing him of the loss of one of the Company's ships in his zamindari and that one Englishman with 100 men and 2 women reached the shore and were now in the *chāklā* of Makhdum. The Rājā's manager was not permitting them to depart, this was very improper and the Rājā should direct his *Diwān* to do so immediately. On the same date another letter to the same effect was addressed to Śivarām with a request to supply them with necessaries and send them to Calcutta with a passport (*dastak*).¹ On the 18th of the same month a letter was written to Śivarām informing him that Dayārām who came with Mr. John Bristow to take possession of Pataspur and other Maratha *parganahs* and then to wait on Mr. Burdett, the chief of Medinipur, might be sent to receive the money due. This amount was apparently the reparation due on British ravages in Orissa. On the next day another letter was addressed to Raḥamat Khān, the *Faujdār* of Balasore, informing him that Dayārām and Husain Beg came with John Bristow to Calcutta as *wakils* from Śivarām and that the Maratha claims had been settled with him. On the 20th of the same month a letter was written to Ghulām Muṣṭafa, *Ḍāk Munshi*, that money had been provided to get the crew of the lost ship and send them to Calcutta.

v2.c41.81.2

On the same date another letter was written to *Ḍāk Munshi* Abdus-Ṣubhān, the brother of Ghulām Muṣṭafa and to Śivarām. A second letter to Ghulām Muṣṭafa states that the Governor has been informed that the ship-wrecked men have been taken to Katak.² On the 25th of January, 1762, a letter written to Sivarām states that Mr. John Bristow was dead and expresses satisfaction at the appointment of Daryā Khān as the the *Faujdār* of Balasore. In another letter of the same date the Dāk Munshī Ghulām Muṣṭafā Khān is directed to maintain friendly relations with Daryā Khān.¹ Daryā Khān wrote to the Governor after his arrival at Balasore to send an English factor to Balasore and wrote for a dastak for Bakshi Rāo Mūdī, servant of Rājah Jānujī who had come to Calcutta and wanted to proceed to Murshidabad. On the 22nd of February the Governor wrote to Daryā Khān stating that it was needless to station an English factor at Balasore but that a dastak would be given to Bakhshi Rāo and that he would be despatched in a sloop.² On the 2nd of March Śivarām wrote expecting that some arrangement would be made with his agent Dayārām. To this a reply was sent on the 4th stating that a reply had been sent through Ghulām Muṣṭafā Munshī.

v2.c41.81.3

Another letter to the same purport was written three days later.³ In a letter written to Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī on the 11th of the some month the Governor of the English East India Company informed the Nawāb that he had written to Rāja Jānujī to settle the question of chauth with the Nawāb⁴ One Purushottama Chaudhuri wrote to the Governor informing him of his appointment as Chaudhurī of Orissa. In reply the Governor informed him that he had no concern with Orissa but the chāklā of Medinipur was separate and in possession of the Company and that Rāja Rāj Nārāyaṇ of Kāśijoṛa had been appointed Chaudhurī of the English possession.⁵ On the 2nd of May of the same year we find that Bhāskar Paṇḍit had been appointed Faujdār of Balasore in the place of Rahmat Khān. Nothing further is heard of Daryā Khān. Bhāskar Pandit sent Ḥayāt Khān and Dayārām to the Governor of the English East India Company. The Governor actually expresses friendship towards Śivarām in this letter.¹ A letter written to Śivarām on the 15th of May discloses the fact that Bhāskar Paṇḍit was his younger brother. On the next day another letter was written to Bhāskar Paṇḍit complaining that one Chaitan Sutuār possessed some papers about the estate of the late Mr. John Bristow but refused to deliver them. The Governor sent one Rāmkānto for them, but as the latter was returning Chaitan lodged a complaint against him and got the latter imprisoned.

v2.c41.81.4

The Governor sent two sepoys with a dastak to bring Rāmkānto back and hoped that the Faujdār would help him by directing his people to release Rāmkānto. One Govind Rāo wrote to the Governor expressing a desire to pay him a visit. The governor wrote to him on the same day sending a dastak.²

v2.c41.82

¹ *Ibid.*, pp. 126-27, Nos. 1343-44.

v2.c41.83

² *Ibid.*, pp. 128-29, Nos. 1350-57.

v2.c41.84

¹ Ibid., p. 143, Nos. 1430-31.

v2.c41.85

² Ibid., p. 147, No. 1451.

v2.c41.86

³ Ibid., pp. 150-51, Nos. 1462, 1464 and 1466.

v2.c41.87

⁴ Ibid., p. 152, No. 1470.

v2.c41.88

⁵ Ibid., p. 156, No. 1490.

v2.c41.89

¹ Ibid., p. 161, No. 1516.

v2.c41.90

² Ibid., pp. 162-63. Nos. 1523, 1526. and 1529.

v2.c41.91

Matters approached a crisis towards the end of the month of May, 1762, when Śivarām sent a letter from Rāja Jānuji to be forwarded to the Nawāb Mir Qāsim 'Alī Khān and in which Rāja Jānuji states that he has been ordered by the Paṇḍit Pradhān (the Peshwā Mādhav Rāo Ballāl 1761-72) to invade Bengal in consequence of the chauth from Bengal not being received.³ Govind Rāo, to whom the Governor sent a dastak on the 16th of May, was an envoy from Rāja Jānuji of Nagpur. On the 6th of July the Governor wrote to Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī Khān stating that the Rāo had arrived with letters from Jānuji and had desired to have a letter of introduction to the Nawāb from him. The Governor had therefore given him a letter of introduction and now requested the Nawāb to reply what he thought fit.¹ On the 9th of the same month Śivarām was informed of the arrival of Govind Rāo in Calcutta.²

v2.c41.92

³ Ibid., p. 164, Nos. 1535-6.

v2.c41.93

¹ Ibid., p. 167, No. 1561.

v2.c41.94

² Ibid., p. 168, Nos. 1561.

v2.c41.95

On the 7th of February, 1763, intimation was sent to the Nawāb Mīr Qāsim 'Alī Khān of the attack on the port of Balasore by some French ships-of-war during which nine sloops were captured. This is one of the last communications received by that unfortunate prince about the affairs of the port of Balasore. On the 3rd of June, 1763, Rāja Sītārām Rāj of Vizianagram wrote to Col. Clive stating that he had defeated Śivarām and Rāja Nārāyaṇ Dev. He was waiting on the frontier of Orissa for English help and promised to send tribute.³

v2.c41.96

³ Ibid., p. 222, No. 1793.

v2.c41.97.1

When the Hindus and Musalmans of Bengal were expiating for the sins of Nanda Kumār Ray, Durlabhrām Ray and Mīr Ja'afar 'Alī Khān, committed on the field of Plassey (23rd June 1757), and by other Indians on the fields of Katwa, Udhuanala and Munger, British diplomacy and perhaps British gold kept the Bhonsles of Berar from joining hands with Mīr Qāsim 'Alī Khān. A letter from Śivarām Bhaṭṭa received on the 10th of Septembar, 1763, expresses a desire to join the English East India Company in the new war and surprise at the fact that the Governor had not informed him of the victory of Katwa. This was the position on the political stage of north-eastern India when the brave Muḥammad Taqī Khān laid down his life for the cause of Musalman independence in India on the battle field of Katwa. The Dāk Munshis in Orissa served to some extent as political spies and agents. On the 13th of September the Dāk Munshi Ghulām Muṣṭafa was written to and directed to warn the Marathas to abstain from all acts of hostility and to inform Śivarām Bhaṭṭa that the friendship subsisting between the English and the Marathas would be broken off if his people made any disturbances. Orissa was threatened with an invasion by the new Madras army. A politic letter written to Śivarām Bhaṭṭa on the same day informed him of the glorious English victory of Giriyā or Gaṛhiyā, Udhuānālā, Kaṭwā, Murshidābād and Suri (Śiuṛi).

v2.c41.97.2

The latter was requested to capture Mir Qāsim 'Alī, if he came that way.¹ The Marathas of Berar and Nagpur failed to take advantage of the great opportunity of joining hands with Mir Qāsim 'Alī in this war also, as they had done in 1757. They paid very dearly for it at Assaye and Argaon in 1803, at Sitabaldi in 1817, and finally during the regime of Lord Dalhousie. Nawāb Qāsim 'Alī Khān tried his best to secure the alliance of the Marathas. On the 22nd of November, 1763, Ghulām Muṣṭafa informed the Governor that Śivarām Bhaṭṭa had received several letters from Mir Qāsim 'Alī promising the chauth of Bengal and appointing him Faujdār of Jaleswar and Medinipur. In consequence thereof Bhāskar Pandit and Būlī Khān started from Balasore but were dissuaded from doing so by the writer. Thus did the Indian Musalman serve his own community in the middle of the eighteenth century A. D.¹ Another letter written by the same worthy informed the Governor that Śivarām Bhaṭṭa was prevented from marching on Jaleswar by his quarrel with Rāja Vira Kiśora Deva I and that Maratha troops in Balasore were now busy against the hill Rajas. A letter from Śivarām Bhaṭṭa, received on the same date, 25th November 1763, offers congratulations on the victories and demands *chauth*.² Another letter from the same person received on the 5th January 1764, states that he would have joined the English troops if the Governor had not informed him that his help was not required.

v2.c41.97.3

In the same letter it is stated that Rāo Govind was being sent to decide the affairs of Mayurbhañja and Keuñjhar. On the 6th of June, Rāo Govind informed the Governor that he had been deputed to regulate the affairs of these two States.³ A letter received from Śivarām Bhaṭṭa on the next day reiterates the demand for *chauth* but a reply was sent on the next day containing a request to send Govind Rāo Rāo to Calcutta for some necessary business. Śivarām Bhaṭṭa informed the Governor that Govind Rāo was his own brother.⁴ On the 5th of February a letter was received from Mīr Ja'afar 'Alī Khān that he was coming to Calcutta and desired that Govind Rāo should meet him at that place. A similar letter was also written to Govind Rāo.¹ On the 21st of February a complaint was received from the Rājā of Mayurbhañja regarding disturbances committed by several people in his territory and stating that he was obliged to use force to drive them out. Three days later, a letter from Nawāb Mir Ja'afar 'Alī was forwarded to Śivarām Bhaṭṭa.² On the 26th of the same month Śivarām was informed that Messrs. Marriott, Hope and More had been appointed to reside at Katak, Mālud, and Balasore. On the same day Bhāskar Pandit, the *Faujdār* of Balasore, was informed that Mr. Marriott had been posted at Balasore to forward letters to and from Madras.³ A letter received from Śivarām on the 1st April 1764 states that the affair of Sarnudpur (?) had been settled and Orissa granted to Mahārāja Jānūji.

v2.c41.97.4

A demand for *chauth* was also made in the same letter.⁴ The period of administration of Śivarām Bhaṭṭa was drawing to a close. A letter received on the 21st of April from Chimnā Sāhu informed the Governor that the former had been appointed *Sūbahdār* of Orissa. A letter addressed to Nawab Mir Ja'afar 'Alī states that his etter to Śivarām Bhaṭṭa was forwarded through an English gentleman stationed in Katak and encloses the reply of Śivarām. Three days later on the 24th, the usual congratulatory letter was despatched to the new Maratha *ṣubahdār* Chimnā Sāhu.⁵ The Governor of the English East India Company writes to the Nawāb Mir Ja'afar 'Alī on the 24th April, 1764, that Śivarām Bhaṭṭa had been imprisoned and that his friends were trying to rescue him. The Nawāb was assured that as the Marathas in Orissa were fighting between themselves they would have no time to interfere in the affairs of Bengal.¹ A letter received from Chimnā Sāhu confirms the news of the imprisonment of Śivaram Bhaṭṭa.² Śivarām Bhaṭṭa came to Orissa after its devastation for twelve years by the Mughal-Maratha wars. He found the province desolated and the boundaries roughly demarcated. He left it much more settled. His settlement of the revenues of Orissa was for a sum very much less in comparison with the last settlement of Shuja’-ud-dīn Muḥammad Khān :—

v2.c41.98

¹ Ibid., pp. 238-39, Nos. 1868, 1874-75.

v2.c41.99

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 153, No. 1948.

v2.c41.100

² *Ibid.*, p. 254, Nos. 1951-52.

v2.c41.101

³ *Ibid.*, p. 271, Nos. 1909-10.

v2.c41.102

⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 272, Nos. 2012-13.

v2.c41.103

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 281, Nos. 2048-49.

v2.c41.104

² *Ibid.*, p. 284, Nos. 2072-75.

v2.c41.105

³ *Ibid.*, p. 286, Nos. 2079-80.

v2.c41.106

⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 295, No. 2140.

v2.c41.107

⁵ *Ibid.*, p. 301, Nos. 2172, 2175-76.

v2.c41.108

¹ *Ibid.*, p. 302 No. 2178.

v2.c41.109

² *Ibid.*, p. 306, No. 2201.

v2.c41.110

| Gold *Muhars* | 231 | | |
| Rupees of different sorts | 3,82,829 | 8 | 0 |
| Cowries...*Kahans* | 27,82,446 | 1 | 0³ |

v2.c41.111

³ *Asiatick Researches* Vol. XV, pp. 216-17.

v2.c41.112

This is the figure for the *Amlī* year 1167-1760 A. D. Śivarām Bhaṭṭa Sāthe is described by Stirling as the most energetic of the Maratha *sūbahdārs* of Orissa. He is said to have settled the revenues of the province nominally at 18,000,00 of Arcot rupees, out of which 14,00,000 were regular land revenue (*Bandobasti mulk*). The help which he gave to Vira Kiśora Deva I cost the latter the whole of his possessions between the river Dayā, the Chilka lake and the sea with the tribute of fourteen of the Garhjat Rājās to settle the demands of his allies. The violent expulsion of Śivarām Bhaṭṭa in *Amlī* 1171 is recorded by Stirling, who states that Śivarām was expelled from the government by a powerful faction countenanced by the Court of Nagpur. Chimnāji Sāhu and Udepurī Gosāin exercised the powers of government for some time until Bhavāni Kāluā Pandit arrived in the province with a *sanad* from the Court of Nagpur. Śivarām Bhaṭṭa formed a powerful party in the north-eastern Garhjats and for a length of time disturbed the administration of his successors. During the subsequent contest a number of districts were devastated.¹ J. Motte, who was sent by Clive to investigate about the diamond mines of Sambalpur in 1766, states that on October 19th he found the new *ṣūbahdār* Bhavāni Pandit encamped on the other side of the Mahānadī, having taken the field against Śivarām.² On the 2nd May 1764 the Governor of the East India Company in Bengal was informed by Chimnāji Sāhu that Śivarām Bhaṭṭa was a prisoner and his partizans, like Mukunda Pandit, had been defeated and that orders might be sent to the English officers at Balasore and Medinipur to prevent their coming that way. Therefore, on that date the Governor informed him that orders had been sent to Jaleswar and Medinipur regarding Mukunda Pandit and his friends and he was informed that the Nawāb's visit to Calcutta had been delayed by the invasion of Bihar by Mīr Qāsim 'Ali Khān and his allies.³

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