Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. I, Part I: History of Gujarat c15.2

c15.2

It will be evident from what has been related in the Musalmán portion of this history that long before 1760, the Maráthás had a firm foothold in Gujarát, and were able to dictate to the local chiefs the policy of the Dakhan Court. Long before 1819 too, Marátha influence was on the wane before the rising fortunes of the British. Between these two dates however is comprised the whole or nearly the whole of the period during which the Maráthás were virtually paramount in Gujarát. From each of these two dates the political history took a new departure, and on this account they serve respectively to denote the starting point and terminus of Marátha supremacy. Most of what took place before 1760 is so interwoven with the interests and intrigues of the Muhammadan delegates of the court of Dehli that it has been fully described in the history of the Musalmán Period. It is however necessary, in order to trace the growth of Marátha power, to briefly set forth in a continuous narrative the events in which this race was principally concerned, adding such as transpired independently of Musalmán politics. This task is rendered easier by the very nature of Marátha policy, which has left little to be recorded of its action in Gujarát beyond the deeds and fortunes of its initiators and their adherents.