A History of the Mahrattas v1.c25: Chapter XVIII
A History of the Mahrattas v1.c25
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Chapter XVIII
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PREVIOUSLY to Shao’s demise, orders in his name had been sent to Yeswunt Rao Dhabaray and Rughoojee Bhonslay, requiring their presence at Satara. The former had become totally imbecile from habits of debauchery, and, as had probably been foreseen, neither Dhabaray nor Dummajee Gaekwar, the commander of his army, attended. Most of the other Jagheerdars were present, but if any were disposed to resist the Peishwa’s authority, they remained passive, until they should see what part Rughoojee Bhonslay would assume. But Rughoojee’s ambition was now controlled by the caution of age and the admonition of experience. He was not only intent on directing annual incursions into Bengal, but owing to the absence of his son Janojee, who accompanied Nasir Jung into the Carnatic with ten thousand horse, and to the number of troops which he was compelled to leave in his own territories, he arrived at Satara in the month of January, 1750, with a force only estimated at 12,000 men. His disposition was pacific towards the Peishwa, but he made some demur in acknowledging Ram Raja. He required, in testimony of his being a Bhonslay and the grandson of Raja Ram, that Tara Bye should first eat with him in presence of the cast, deposing on the food they ate together that Ram Raja was her grandson. On this being complied with in the most solemn manner, Rughoojee declared himself satisfied; and after a long conference with the Peishwa, he gave his assent to the propriety of the plans submitted for his consideration. As a proof of the good understanding which subsisted between them, Ballajee took occasion to proceed in advance to Poona, leaving the Raja in Rughoojee’s charge, and requesting that he would accompany him to Poona with the whole of the Jagheerdars, for the purpose of concluding the arrangements made by the will of the late Raja. From this period Poona may be considered the capital of the Mahrattas. Ballajee, in the success of his schemes, almost overlooked Tara Bye; but although upwards of seventy years of age, she soon convinced him that it was dangerous to slight a woman of her spirit. On pretence of paying her devotions at the tomb erected over her husband's ashes in the fort of Singurh, she went there and endeavoured to persuade the Punt Suchew to declare for her as head of the Mahratta empire. Ballajee, after much persuasion, induced her to come to Poona, and having flattered her ambition with the hope of having a large share in the administration, at last obtained her influence with Ram Raja in confirming the many schemes he had now to carry into effect.
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Rughoojee Bhonslay received new sunnuds for Berar, Gondwaneh and Bengal; and some Jagheer lands, which had belonged to the Pritee Needhee, adjoining Berar, were transferred to him. The sunnuds for half of Guzerat were sent to Yeswunt Rao Dhabaray, which, as he had never yet accounted for a share of the revenue to the state, gave Dummajee Gaekwar to understand what he might expect from the increasing power of the Peishwa. Ranoojee Sindia died¹ about this period, and his eldest son, Jyapa, was confirmed in his Jagheer. The whole of Malwa, estimated at about one hundred and fifty lacks of rupees of annual revenue, was, with the exception of about ten lacks, divided between Holkar and Sindia; that is, seventy-four and a half lacks were conferred on the former, and sixty-five and a half lacks on the latter. The remaining ten lacks were held by various Jagheerdars, of whom Anund Rao Powar was the most considerable: all of them were subservient to the views of the Peishwa, and from them he had to apprehend no opposition.
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¹ I have not been able to ascertain the date of Ranoojee Sindia's death. By a history of Sindia's family, procured for me by Major Robert Close, the resident envoy with Doulut Rao Sindia, it appears that the event happened at Shujahalpoor, but the date is not recorded. [Rānojī Sindia died in 1745, near Shujalpur, where his cenotaph stands (I.G. (1908), Central India, p. 134).]
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Ballajee Rao, without intending to employ them, confirmed the eight Purdhans, and for a short time nominated Gungadhur Sree Newass as Pritee Needhee; but, on the application of Rughoojee Bhonslay and of some other Jagheerdars, when about to return to their respective districts, he made them a promise to release Jugjeewun Pureshram, and did accordingly restore him to his rank and liberty. But, as the Raja's establishment was to be much reduced, and it was necessary to secure in his interests such of his officers as he could not employ, the Peishwa reserved a great part of the Pritee Needhee's lands as Jagheers and assignments to the persons in question, particularly the tract west of Kurar between the Oormooree and the Warna, where he apprehended an insurrection supported by the Raja of Kolapoor.
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Futih Sing Bhonslay, the adopted son of Shao, was confirmed in the possession of his jagheer, in various minor claims on shares of revenue, and in the title of Raja of Akulkote,¹ which, except the detached claims alluded to, are still enjoyed by his descendants. An appointment created by Shao for a relation of the Muntree, and which was termed Ajahut surdeshmookh or general agent for collecting the surdeshmookhee, was nominally preserved; but jagheer lands were assigned in lieu of the right of interference in the collections of the ten per cent., on the six soobehs of the Deccan.
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¹ [The present Akalkot State is bounded on the north by Hyderābād; on the east by a portion of Kurandvād (Junior) State and Hyderābād; on the south by Bijāpur District and Hyderābād; and on the west by the Sholāpur District, the Collector of which acts as Political Agent of the State. The Chief became a British feudatory in 1849, and in 1868 his liability to furnish a cavalry contingent was commuted for an annual tribute of Rs. 14,500. During the minority of the present Chief, who ranks as a first-class Sardār of the Deccan, the State was managed by the British Government. (I.G. Bom., 1909, ii. 508–11.)]
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The appointment of Sur-Lushkur was taken from the family of Somwoushee, and given to Nimbajee Naik Nimbalkur. All these changes and appointments were made in name of the Raja, but it was now well understood that the Peishwa's authority was supreme in the state, and generally admitted without dissatisfaction.
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But Yemmajee Sewdeo, who recovered his liberty at the same time with the Pritee Needhee, threw himself into the fort of Sangola near Punderpoor, where he raised an insurrection and made head against the Peishwa, until suppressed by Sewdasheo Chimnajee Bhow.
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The Peishwa, in the measures which have been detailed, owed much of his success to his Dewan Mahadajee Punt; who, next to his cousin Sewdasheo Rao, possessed greater influence over Ballajee Bajee Rao than any other person. Sewdasheo Rao Bhow, on his expedition to Sangola, was accompanied by Ram Raja, for the purpose of giving Yemmajee Sewdeo no excuse for resistance; and during their stay at that place, the Raja agreed to renounce the entire power and to lend his sanction to whatever measures the Peishwa might pursue, provided a small tract around Satara was assigned to his own management; conditions to which Ballajee Rao subscribed, but they were never fulfilled. The Raja, under a strong escort, returned from Sangola to Satara, when an extraordinary difference arose between the Peishwa and his cousin Sewdasheo Rao, which had well-nigh overturned the whole of the plan which Ballajee Rao had been labouring to establish.
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Sewdasheo Rao had at this time connected himself with Ramchundur Baba Shenwee¹; a person, to whom, although his conduct was extremely exceptionable, especially in the manner by which he obtained power, the Mahratta country is much indebted. This person, originally known by the name of Ramchundur Mulhar,² was Koolkurnee of the village of Aroolee, subject to the Sawunts of Waree, from whose power he was obliged to flee as a defaulter in the revenues of his village. He came to Satara, where he was taken into the service of Kucheswur Baba Uteetkur, and by him recommended to Bajee Rao, under whom he distinguished himself, both as a soldier and a man of business. Bajee Rao appointed him Dewan to Ranoojee Sindia, and it partly accounts for Ranojee’s proverbial poverty that Ramchundur made a large fortune. At Ranoojee’s death he bribed Sewdasheo Rao Bhow, in hopes of being continued by his interest as the Dewan of Jyapa; but as Jyapa disliked him, and Mulhar Rao Holkar opposed the arrangement, the Peishwa removed him from the situation. This circumstance, trifling as it appears, was the seed from which sprung much mischief. It was the foundation of enmity between Holkar and the Bhow, and between Ramchundur and the Peishwa. Sewdasheo Rao appointed Ramchundur his own Dewan, and at his suggestion applied to the Peishwa for the same share of authority as had been held by his father, Chimnajee Appa. Ballajee refused, as it must occasion the supersession of Mahadajee Punt Poorundhuree, to whom he owed innumerable obligations. On which, Sewdasheo Rao Bhow, after his expedition to Sangola, made overtures to the Kolapoor Raja; was appointed his Peishwa and obtained the cession of three forts, Pargurh, Kullanidhee, and Chundgurhee, together with a jagheer of five thousand rupees a year. A war was prevented by the admirable conduct of Mahadajee Punt, who voluntarily resigned his situation, and Sewdasheo Rao, quitting his Peishwaship at Kolapoor, returned as prime minister to Poona.
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¹ [The Shēnvīs, who come from Goa and the south Konkan, are a sect of Brahmans who have played a considerable part in the history of Bombay. During the later years of the Pēshwā's rule they were subjected to some amount of persecution, and were reduced to the position of Tri Karmis, or those permitted to perform only three out of the six Vedic rites. They subsequently styled themselves Gāud Brahmans (of Tirhūt), and still more recently Gāud Sarasvats, i.e. residents on the Sarasvatī river in the Panjāb. Unlike other sects of Brahmans they are fish-eaters. The name of the caste may be connected with sena (Kanarese), ‘a village revenue official.’ (B.G., xv. pt. i. 139, and xviii. 175.) See also Wilson, Indian Caste (1877), ii. 29, 30, who suggests that the name may be a corruption of Kanarese shānbhōg, a village-accountant. Crooke (Fryer's Travels (Hakluyt), i. 199) gives a derivation of the name ‘from Mahr, chhiā-navē, “ninety-six,” probably from the number of their sections.’ The former derivation from sena, or perhaps shānbhōg, seems more probable. See note, p. 343, ante.]
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² When Bramins rise in the world they generally drop their father's name, unless they were very great men. For instance, Sewdasheo Chimnajee, had his father been a person of no note, would have styled himself Sewdasheo Punt; Ramchundur dropped his father's name, Mulhar, when he became a great man.
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The arrangements before and consequent to the Raja’s death had, as already adverted to, prevented the Mahrattas from seizing an opportunity of enlarging their conquest in the Deccan, afforded by the absence of so great an army in the Carnatic. A negotiation with Ballajee Rao had been opened by Ghazee-ud-deen, the eldest son of Nizam Ool Moolk, through Mulhar Rao Holkar. The Peishwa agreed to support his pretensions, and wrote to the Emperor, Ahmed Shah, requesting that Ghazee-ud-deen might be appointed viceroy, assigning as a reason, that the whole Deccan, from the absence of the army and the disorders in the Carnatic, would soon be overrun by independent plunderers.¹ In the meantime, the Peishwa having prepared his troops moved towards Aurangabad, but before quitting Poona he prevailed on the Punt Suchew to give him the fort of Singurh in exchange for Toong and Tikona, and in order to sooth Tara Bye, whose great age had not rendered her less active and intriguing, he incautiously removed his own troops from the fort of Satara, and, having placed in it the Gurhkurees and old retainers, who had great respect for the widow of Raja Ram, gave up the entire management to her. The Raja was kept with a separate establishment in the town of Satara, but perfectly at large, and a splendid provision was assigned to him and his officers ; the expense of which amounted to the annual sum of sixty-five lacks of rupees.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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About the time that Ballajee Bajee Rao was summoned to Satara on account of Shao’s illness, Nasir Jung proceeded on the well-known Carnatic expedition, which ended so disastrously for that prince. Moorar Rao Ghorepuray and some other Mahrattas continued in the Carnatic Payeen Ghaut; but Janojee Bhonslay, Rughoojee’s son, left the army, either upon the defeat of Muzuffir Khan in March, 1750, or with Shah Nuwaz Khan, who quitted Sulabut Jung and repaired to Aurungabad during the siege of Kurnoul² in March, 1751. The fall of Nasir Jung was wrought by the intrigues of M. Dupleix.³ He gained a Bramin named Ramdass, a native of Sicacole, in the confidence of Nasir Jung, and through him raised seditions in the army, which Dupleix called into operation by an attack on the camp. Nasir Jung was treacherously shot on the 5th December, 1750, by Mohummud Khan, the Patan Nabob of Kurpa, one of the conspirators. Nasir Jung was totally destitute of his father’s prudence, and if successful in his fortunes would probably have sunk into a Mahomedan sensualist; but he was in some respects a superior person, and with a better education in a European country, he had many of the qualities to form the gallant knight and the accomplished gentleman. He possessed bravery and generosity, a taste for poetry and literature, and as he came to an untimely end his memory is cherished by the Deccan Moghuls, to whom he is known partly by his own writings, but principally from the works of his friend Meer Gholam Ally of Belgram.
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² Khuzaneh Amirah, Suroo Azad, and Mahratta MSS.
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³ [In the struggle for mastery in southern India, the English supported Nāsir Jang, second son of the late Nizām, for the Nizām’s hrone, and Muhammad Alī, an illegitimate son of Anwaruddīn, for the Nawābī of the Carnatic. The candidates favoured by the French were respectively Muzaffar Jang, a grandson of the late Nizām, and Chanda Sāheb.]
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Muzuffir Jung assumed the viceroyalty of the six soobehs of the Deccan by aid of his allies, the French. The traitor Ramdass, a fit instrument for the unprincipled ambition of Dupleix, was raised to the situation of prime minister by the title of Raja Rugonath Dass. Nor must we omit to mention Abdool Rehman, the Dewan of Monsieur Bussy, better known by his title of Hyder Jung. The father of this man, a defaulter of revenue under the Nizam's government at Masulipatam, had on several occasions, when in power, been friendly to the French, and in his distress fled to Pondicherry, where he was protected and treated with much kindness by Dupleix. His son, Abdool Rehman, then a boy, soon acquired the French language, was useful to Dupleix in carrying on his intrigues with Ramdass; and upon the success of them, accompanied Bussy when he marched with Muzuffir Jung: he was soon styled the French Dewan, and received from the new made Nabob the title of Hyder Jung. But the Patan Nabobs, dissatisfied at not receiving all they had expected by the death of his predecessor, conspired against Muzuffir Jung, who, although victorious, fell in action in the end of January, 1751. Sulabut Jung, third son of Nizam Ool Moolk, was chosen to succeed him.
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Ballajee Bajee Rao, on the plea of requiring money to assist his ally Ghazee-ud-deen, demanded a contribution from Syud Lushkur Khan,¹ then Governor of Aurungabad, the secret friend of Ghazee-ud-deen, which, on pretence of coercion, Syud Lushkur Khan levied to the amount of fifteen lacks of rupees. On obtaining this supply, the Peishwa proceeded to the banks of the Kistna in order to oppose Sulabut Jung, who, attended by the French corps under Monsieur Bussy, was advancing towards Hyderabad. The armies had scarcely come in sight of each other when news from Satara, of an alarming nature, was received by the Peishwa, in consequence of which he closed with the first overtures made by Sulabut Jung, and returned to the westward with the utmost expedition.²
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¹ Or Rookun-ud-dowlah.
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² Mahratta MSS., Orme, Khuzaneh Amirah, &c.
v1.c25.23.1
Tara Bye, when the Peishwa departed to Aurungabad, sounded Ram Raja in regard to his assuming the control usurped by his servant Ballajee Bajee Rao, but not finding him fit for her purpose, she pretended to have had no serious intentions in the proposal, but dispatched messengers to Dummajee Gaekwar, representing the unprotected state of the country and recommending his immediate march to Satara, to rescue the Raja and the Mahratta state from the power of the Bramins. This request was immediately acceded to, and Tara Bye, as soon as certain accounts were received of Gaekwar’s approach, invited the Raja into the fort of Satara and made him prisoner. She then reproached him with his want of spirit; regretted that ‘she had ever rescued him from a life of obscurity, for which only he could have been destined; declared that he could not be her grandson or the descendant of the great Sivajee; that he was neither a Bhonslay nor a Mohitey, but a base born Gonedulee,¹ changed in the house where he had been first conveyed; that she would make atonement on the banks of the holy Kistna for ever having acknowledged him.’ She ordered the havildar to fire upon his attendants, most of whom, unconscious of what had happened, remained near the gate of the fort; and she directed the guns to be pointed at the houses in the town below, belonging to the partisans of the Concanee Bramins.
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Trimbuck Punt, commonly called Nana Poorundhuree, Govind Rao Chitnees and the officers in the Peishwa’s interests at Satara, were at first disposed to ridicule this attempt as that of a mad old woman, but on hearing of the approach of Dummajee Gaekwar from Sonegurh, they quitted the town and assembled troops at the village of Arla on the banks of the Kistna. On the advance of Gaekwar by the Salpee Ghaut, although they had twenty thousand and their opponent only fifteen thousand men, they made an irresolute attack and retired to Neemb; where they were next day followed up, attacked, and defeated by the Guzerat troops. Dummajee Gaekwar immediately went to pay his respects to Tara Bye; and several forts in the neighbourhood were given up to her. Satara was well stored with provisions, and the Pritee Needhee promised to aid her cause. It was the intelligence of these proceedings which recalled the Peishwa; but before he returned, Nana Poorundhuree had redeemed his lost credit by attacking and compelling the army of Dummajee Gaekwar to retire to Jore Khora, where they expected to be joined by the Pritee Needhee from Kurar and by troops from Guzerat. In this hope, however, they were disappointed;
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and as Shunkrajee Punt, Soobehdar of the Concan, was assembling troops in their rear, whilst the Peishwa’s army, which had marched nearly four hundred miles in thirteen days, was close upon them, Dummajee sent a messenger to treat with Ballajee, who solemnly agreed to abide by the terms proposed, and enticed him to encamp in his neighbourhood; where, as soon as he got him into his power, he demanded the payment of all the arrears due from Guzerat and the cession of a large portion of his territory. Dummajee represented that he was but the Mootaliq of Dhabaray, the Senaputtee, and had no authority for complying with what was required. On this reply, the Peishwa sent private orders to seize some of the family of Gaekwar and of Dhabaray, residing at Tullygaom, and imprison them in the hill fort of Loghur; whilst at a set time he treacherously surrounded, attacked, and plundered the camp of Dummajee Gaekwar, and sent him into confinement in the city of Poona.¹ The Peishwa next tried to induce Tara Bye to give up the fort and the Raja, but having assembled her garrison, she required an oath from every man that she would stand by her to the last; such of them, however, as chose, were allowed the option of quitting the fort or joining in the solemn asseveration.
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Some of the Peishwa’s troops became impressed with an idea that she was a Deo (or good spirit), and others, that she was a Dyt (or evil spirit), but all the Mahrattas were so strongly of opinion that Tara Bye was the rightful regent, that Ballajee found there was more to be apprehended from proceeding to extremities than leaving her unmolested; although her party, to become formidable, only required a leader of reputation. Perplexing as the affair was in the meantime, the conduct of Tara Bye proved in the end advantageous to the Peishwa, as it took from him the odium of being the first to confine the Raja to the fort of Satara. Tara Bye did not merely confine him to the fort; his prison, which still exists, was a damp, stone dungeon, and his food was of the coarsest grain.
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¹ Gonedulees are a low cast of musicians, in the house of one of whom Raja Ram had been first concealed. [The Gōndhalis (Gonedulees) take their name from the gōndhal (from Marāthi gondharne, ‘to make a noise’), a dance in honour of the goddess Bhavānī, and style themselves sons or devotees of the goddess. Supposed to have come originally from Tuljāpur in Hyderābād State, they are now found in various parts of the Deccan, particularly in Sātāra District and Kolhāpur State. They appear to be ethnically akin to the Marāthā Kunbī, and differ little from the latter in dress and appearance. Though occasionally begging in the name of Bhavānī, their chief occupation is gōndhal-dancing, and the singing of religious, historical, or amorous songs, called powadas. They also perform tamāshas, or rude plays, before the lower classes, in which songs describing the exploits of Bhavānī and other goddesses are sung. The investiture of their boys with a sacred necklace of cowries is a custom peculiar to them. With the spread of education the Gōndhalis are said to be relinquishing their hereditary calling, and their ballads which frequently related historical events with almost Biblical simplicity, are being forgotten. A specimen of one of these powadas, describing the satī of Rāmabāi, widow of Mādhu Rāo Pēshwā, is given in J.B. Anth. S., ii. 179. (See also Acworth’s Marāthi Ballads; J.B. Anth. S., i. 371; and Russell, T. and C.C.P.)]
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¹ In consequence of this treachery, it is said that Dummajee ever after refused to salute the Peishwa, except with his left hand.
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Dummajee Gaekwar was the only person whom the Peishwa dreaded; but as he was a close prisoner at Poona, Ballajee now proceeded towards Aurungabad, in prosecution of his engagements with Ghazee-ud-deen, and wherever Sulabut Jung’s authority was acknowledged, he carried on the usual Mahratta plan of contribution or plunder. Monsieur Bussy, who was the principal adviser in directing the movements of the Moghul army, was himself at the head of a battalion of five hundred Europeans and a body of five thousand disciplined Sepoys, and, as the best means of repelling these aggressions, recommended that the war should be carried into the Mahratta country. Sulabut Jung advanced accordingly to Ahmednugur, where he deposited his heavy stores and baggage, whilst Raja Rugonath Dass, his prime minister, opened a communication with Tara Bye ¹ and also with Sumbhajee, Raja of Kolapoor.² The Peishwa and his officers were not prepared for this unexpected plan of operations, and were proportionally disconcerted on finding their own schemes anticipated. They had intended, by supporting Ghazee-ud-deen or Sulabut Jung according to circumstances, to weaken both; to conquer the whole Deccan; or to obtain large cessions, which, they foresaw, must at all events be granted to them by the one party or the other. To repel Sulabut Jung they had recourse to the Mahratta system, and with forty thousand horse surrounded and attacked the Moghul army in their usual desultory manner; but the French artillery, consisting of eight or ten field pieces, galled them severely, and the Moghuls, supported by this powerful auxiliary, advanced towards Poona, totally destroying every village in their route. The Peishwa, alarmed at their progress, endeavoured to negotiate; and at the same time to augment dissension and jealousy, which had already become considerable among Sulabut Jung’s officers in regard to the views of the French. Monsieur Bussy, as the best means of counteracting such schemes and securing his influence, exerted himself with judgment and energy. On one occasion he planned an attack on the Mahratta camp, and chose the night of the 22d November, at the moment of an eclipse of the moon,¹ when the Hindoos are employed in devotional exercises. The whole Mahratta army fled before him, and some valuable booty was taken, particularly some gold utensils belonging to the Peishwa. This exploit, although the Mahrattas sustained very little loss,² made a great impression, and had perhaps more effect in raising the reputation of Bussy amongst the natives of India, than affairs of moment, where he displayed much ability and decision.
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¹ Original letter from a spy in the service of Tara Bye to Govind Rao Chitnees.
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² Copy of original letter to the Raja of Kolapoor.
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¹ [According to Hindu belief an eclipse is caused by a demon, Rāhu, swallowing the sun or moon, and people must avoid pollution for the period of the eclipse. Food and drink taken during an eclipse possess poisonous properties, and people must therefore abstain from them while the eclipse lasts. They bathe at the end of the eclipse, to rid themselves of the pollution caused by the supposed decease of the planet. In Madras, people beat drums in the hope of scaring away the demon, and the belief in the calamitous character of an eclipse is so strong that no marriage takes place during the month in which an eclipse falls. See Crooke, P.R. and F.L., i. 18-23.]
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² The Mahratta army was encamped at Rajapore, on the bank of a river, which I am inclined to think is Rajapore on the Ghore river, not far from the spot which was long a cantonment of the Bombay army. Only one man of any consequence was wounded, Baboo Rao, the son of Rammajee Punt Mahdoo Bhanoo, by a cannon ball in the foot; from this circumstance, and the Mahrattas not having suffered materially, it is evident that their account is correct, and that the surprise was incomplete; if the French had got close they would have used grape or cannister, which, independent of the still more destructive musketry, would have told both on the men and horses.
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The Mahrattas, although surprised, appeared in the course of the ensuing day as active as ever, but the Moghuls continued to advance, plundered Ranjangaom, and totally destroyed Tullygaom (Dumdairay). At last, on the 27th November they were attacked by the Mahrattas in the most determined manner, and nothing but the French artillery prevented a total defeat. The Mahrattas on this occasion were led by Mahadajee Punt Poorundhuree, the late Dewan, supported by two of the sons of Ranojee Sindia, Duttajee and Mahadajee, and Koneir Trimbuck Yekbootee. The last-mentioned person performed feats of valour, obtained the distinguishing appellation of Phakray,¹ or the heroic, and from that day bore a silver bangle on his horse's leg, which among Mahrattas implies that the rider is always to conquer or die.² This success did not prevent the advance of the Moghuls, but on their arrival at Korygaom on the Beema, a spot which was afterwards to become so famous to the British arms, Raja Rugonath Dass, in consequence of overtures from the Peishwa, had an interview with Sewdasheo Rao Bhow, and an armistice would have taken place, but news arrived that one of the Mahratta officers had surprised the fort of Trimbuck, which the Peishwa refused to restore, and Sulabut Jung insisted on immediately proceeding to retake it. The Moghul army returned to Ahmednugur, to replenish their ammunition and take on their battering guns. They moved towards Joonere, but the Mahrattas constantly harassed them: accounts of difficulties of the road for transporting their guns, and intelligence of Rughoojee Bhonslay's progress to the eastward, conspired with other circumstances to damp the hasty and short-lived ardour of Sulabut Jung. His troops were in arrears and clamorous for their pay, and the more their services were required the more urgent they became: many of the principal officers were discontented, and it was at last determined by Bussy's advice to close with the Peishwa's overtures. An armistice was concluded, and the army of Sulabut Jung returned towards Hyderabad. But the symptoms of disaffection did not cease; Rugonath Dass, the Dewan, was assassinated at Balkee on the 7th April, in a tumult apparently created by the soldiery on account of their arrears.³
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¹ [The Marāthi word Phānkda, or Phākde, means ‘smart, dashing, fine-spirited, clever, proficient, adept.’ (Molesworth's Marāthi Dictionary.)]
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² This Koneir Trimbuck afterwards led the assault at Hooly Onore and escaped, but was shot through the head when standing with Sewdasheo Chimnajee Bhow, in Monsieur Bussy's batteries, before Savanoor in May, 1756. His relations were handsomely provided for by Jagheer assignments.
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³ Khuzaneh Amirah, Mahratta MSS., Hudeequ-i-Alum, and Tareekh-dil-ufroz.
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But whilst these events were passing in the west, the experienced Rughoojee, whose operations have been alluded to, was engaged in making those acquisitions which closed his long and active life with great reputation among his countrymen. His anxiety to return from Poona towards Berar in 1750, was owing to apprehended commotions in his own territory, and to his desire of seizing what he deemed a favourable conjuncture for prosecuting his views. His son Janojee, having returned from the army of Nasir Jung, was sent into Kuttack to support Meer Hubeeb and to invade Bengal. That province had been freed from Mahratta ravages for a whole year, but they now returned with a keener desire to possess themselves of its resources; and Aliverdy Khan, seeing no other relief, ceded the whole of the province of Kuttack,¹ as far north as Ballasore, which (1751.) was granted in the name of Meer Hubeeb as the nominal deputy of the Nabob of Bengal, but as the real servant of Rughoojee Bhonslay. Meer Hubeeb did not long enjoy the situation thus acquired. Owing to the jealousy of his coadjutor, Janojee, he was, on pretence of having withheld balances of revenue, confined until he should render an account, but unable to brook the disgrace, he rushed out with a few followers upon the guards placed over him and was cut to pieces. Twelve lacks of rupees, in lieu of further claims, was the amount which was settled for the chouth of Bengal and Bahar; but the reason of Rughoojee’s accepting a sum so inadequate is found in the events which were passing in the Deccan. As soon as the Peishwa and Sulabut Jung went to war, Rughoojee surprised and took Gawelgurh and Nurnallah; made himself master of Manikdroog; occupied the districts dependent on these forts; and whilst Sulabut Jung, by Bussy’s advice, advanced towards Poona, Rughoojee not only laid the whole country between the Payn Gunga and Godavery under contribution,² but drove out the Moghul *thannas* and established his own.
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¹ [The Katak (Kuttack) Province was distinct from the part of Orissa in British hands, which comprised the Midnapur District and part of Hooghly. ‘The Marāthās never attempted to establish any civil administration in the province, being content to allow the local chiefs to rule as best they could, subject to the necessity of satisfying, so far as possible, the boundless rapacity of the robber state. Orissa remained under the heel of the banditti until 1803.’ (O.H.I., p. 488.)]
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² Mahratta MSS.
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Before the succeeding events in the Deccan can be explained, it becomes necessary to revert to the eldest son of Nizam Ool Moolk, and to those affairs of the Imperial court, in which the Mahrattas were engaged. Ghazee-ud-deen Khan, although desirous of proceeding to the Deccan, had been detained at Delhi since the death of his father, and it seems probable from his commencing the negotiations with the Mahrattas that bribes may have been employed by his brothers, to ensure his being kept there. The Imperial court, soon after the accession of Ahmed Shah, was subjected to a fresh alarm, by intelligence of the return of Ahmed Shah Abdallee towards Lahore, of which, as well as of the province of Mooltan, Meer Munnoo, son of the late Vizier, Kummur-ud-deen Khan, was Governor. Meer Munnoo purchased the forbearance of the Abdallee by the cession of the revenues of four districts; and this expedient left the Vizier, Sufdur Jung, at liberty to follow up certain schemes, which he had in progress against the Rohillas. The growing power and encroachments of these adventurers excited the Vizier’s particular jealousy, as they threatened to extend themselves over his own territories in the province of Oude.
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The death of Ali Mohummud Rohillah, which happened a short time before Sufdur Jung’s appointment as Vizier, had afforded him an opportunity of raising dissensions amongst those who pretended to the succession, and during the period when Ahmed Shah Abdallee threatened Lahore, civil war raged amongst the Rohillas.¹ At last, Sadoollah Khan, the third son of Ali Mohummud, by the abilities of Hafiz Rehmut, his guardian, became the successful competitor, and although his two elder brothers, who during the struggle were prisoners amongst the Abdallee, afterwards returned to claim their inheritance, Sadoollah Khan, whilst supported by Hafiz Rehmut, maintained the ascendancy he had gained.² But Sufdur Jung, as soon as apprehensions from the Abdallee were tranquillized, marched into Rohilcund, reduced the territory to temporary obedience, and appointed one of his dependants, a Kaeeth³ named Newul Raee, to be governor of his new conquests; the Rohillas, however, soon rose upon Newul Raee, whom they defeated and slew.
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Sufdur Jung, proceeding to punish their rebellion, was also totally defeated, and therefore called to his aid Mulhar Rao Holkar, Jyapa Sindia, and the Jath Prince, Sooruj Mull.¹ With these auxiliaries he soon overran the country of the Rohillas, forced most of them to seek refuge in the Kumaoon hills, and gave up the greater part of their territory as assignments, in lieu of subsidy, to Holkar and Sindia.² Whilst Mahratta affairs were in this prosperous state in Hindoostan, their capital in the Deccan was, as we have seen, endangered by the advance of Sulabut Jung. Rugonath Rao, who had proceeded on an expedition to Surat, was recalled; and Mulhar Rao Holkar received the most pressing letters from the Peishwa to repair to the Deccan with or without Ghazee-ud-deen. Holkar, then near the Kumaoon hills, immediately on receipt of these letters, moved to the southward, and had crossed the Ganges, when he was informed by the Vizier, and by news from Delhi, that peace had been concluded in the Deccan. Upon this intelligence, Holkar wrote to the Peishwa, stating his readiness to advance to his aid, but that in consequence of these reports he should await further orders.³ In the meantime, the Vizier, Sufdur Jung, was summoned to Delhi, in consequence of another invasion of Ahmed Shah Abdallee, who on this occasion made himself master of Mooltan and Lahore; the entire cession of which was conferred upon him by the Emperor before Sufdur Jung could reach the capital.
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Had it not been for this precipitate measure, the Vizier would have used every endeavour to expel the Abdallee, and had engaged Holkar and Sindia as auxiliaries, by promise of great rewards, the more necessary as they were obliged to withdraw their troops from the lately assigned districts.⁴
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¹ Seyr Mutuakhereen.
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² Forster’s Travels.
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³ [i.e. Kāyasth, the writer-caste of Bengal, whose origin has been the subject of much controversy. They claim to be Kshatrīyas, but by reason of observing the ceremonies of the Sūdras were styled Vratya, or incomplete Kshatrīyas. They are probably a functional group, developed in response to the demand for an official and literary class; and this caste of writers and clerks may have included elements drawn
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¹ [Suraj Mal (Sooruj Mull) was the virtual founder of the Bharatpur dynasty, between A.D. 1725 and 1763. He was killed in a skirmish in 1763. The splendid buildings which he erected at Dīg (Deeg) have been described by Fergusson, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, ed. 1910, vol. ii, pp. 178–81.]
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² Seyr Mutuakhereen.
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³ Mahratta MSS., where his letter is given.
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⁴ Seyr Mutuakhereen.
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On this occasion, the Mahrattas, before they evacuated the from the lower grades of society. The Kāyasths of Behār pride themselves on being distinct from the Kāyasths of Bengal. They also appear to be a functional caste recruited from various grades or classes of society. (Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal, i. Calcutta (1892.))]
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districts, consistent with their usual policy of making the best bargain they can on both sides, are said to have exacted a bond for fifty lacks of rupees from the subjugated Rohillas.¹
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¹ Forster's Travels. The Mahratta MS., in this part, merely says that Holkar interceded with the Vizier for the Rohillas, and made peace between them: the writer of a Mahratta MS. would probably leave the article of the bond, or some equivalent, to be understood as a thing of course.
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When Sufdur Jung arrived in the neighbourhood of the capital he heard of the irrevocable concession that had been made to the Abdallee, and was therefore at a loss how to employ or compensate his Mahratta auxiliaries²; but the Peishwa, who had only concluded an armistice until a favourable opportunity of breaking it should offer, continued to urge the advance of Holkar and Sindia to his support, and carried on a close intercourse with Ghazee-ud-deen, both through Holkar and his own Wukeels at Delhi.³ It was therefore easy to satisfy all parties, by permitting Ghazee-ud-deen to proceed, accompanied by his Mahratta allies, to try his fortune on that field of adventure, the Deccan.
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² Seyr Mutuakhereen.
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³ Mahratta MSS.
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On the assassination of Raja Rugonath Dass, Sulabut Jung, who was at Hyderabad, sent for Syud Lushkur Khan and Shah Nuwaz Khan, the ablest and most popular men under his government, who were then residing at Aurungabad. Both were inimical to the French, the former secretly, the latter openly; both, however, had latterly endeavoured to obtain the good opinion of Bussy, whose influence over Sulabut Jung was already paramount. By Bussy's advice Syud Lushkur Khan was raised to the office of Dewan, and Shah Nuwaz Khan was made Soobehdar of the province of Hyderabad. Syud Lushkur Khan was intimately connected with the Mahrattas, and secretly favoured the cause of Ghazee-ud-deen. When positive accounts reached Sulabut Jung that Ghazee-ud-deen was on his route to the Deccan, Syud Lushkur Khan had the address to persuade Sulabut Jung and Bussy, that by his resigning his situation as Dewan and pretending to go over to the Mahrattas, he should be able, from his influence with many of their chiefs, to induce a great number of them, either to join Sulabut Jung as allies or to remain neutral in the quarrel. Shah Nuwaz Khan was accordingly appointed to act as Vizier, whilst Syud Lushkur Khan proceeded to the residence of Janojee Nimbalkur at Kurmulla.¹ On the approach of Ghazee-ud-deen the Peishwa moved towards Burhanpoor. Syud Lushkur Khan and Janojee Nimbalkur had an interview with him, at which Syud Lushkur Khan, as if the envoy of Sulabut Jung, began by stating that his master had received letters from the Emperor, from which it appeared that Ghazee-ud-deen was merely to proceed to Aurungabad, settle the government in his own name, appoint his brother deputy, and return to Delhi. The Peishwa, however, perfectly understood that he intended to join Ghazee-ud-deen, and wished to obtain his support; but, however desirable it might be to have a fit minister at Hyderabad in his own interest, he was sensible of the abilities of Syud Lushkur Khan, and doubtful of what might be his conduct when he obtained power. He nevertheless wrote to Ghazee-ud-deen respecting these overtures. The letter was referred to his ministers, Syud Ashkar Khan and Mohummud Anwar Khan, who, dreading Syud Lushkur Khan more as a rival than an enemy, desired the Peishwa to detain both him and Nimbalkur, and bring them on to camp.² When the whole army, joined by the Peishwa and the Moghul troops from Burhanpoor, who declared for Ghazee-ud-deen, arrived in the neighbourhood of Aurungabad, it Sept. 12. amounted to one hundred and fifty thousand men.
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¹ Mahratta MSS. and Khuzaneh Amirah.
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² Mahratta MSS., Hudeequ-i-Alum, Khuzaneh Amirah, Orme.
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Whilst both sides were preparing for the campaign as soon as the rains subsided, negotiations began on the part of Sulabut Jung; and circumstances appeared which rendered it as impossible to deny the validity of the elder brother’s title from Delhi, as his undoubted claim by priority of birth. In the meantime, the Peishwa required, and obtained, from Ghazee ud-deen, on behalf of himself and his officers, the entire cession of the territory west of Berar, from the Taptee to the Godavery.³ There seemed to be a prospect of settling the claims of all parties, when Ghazee-ud-deen in an evil hour accepted an invitation to an entertainment provided in the city, partook of a poisoned dish prepared by the hands of the mother of Nizam Ally, and expired the same night.⁴
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³ Mahratta MSS., Khuzaneh Amirah, &c.
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⁴ Mahratta MSS. Mr. Orme following a common, but certainly an unnatural supposition, states that he was poisoned by his own
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Sulabut Jung was thus left without a rival, and became desirous of withholding the cessions yielded by his brother to the Mahrattas; but having once admitted the validity of Ghazee-ud-deen’s appointment, the whole Mahratta power being now collected, supported by Mohummud Anwar Khan and the Burhanpoor chiefs, whose safety for the time lay in making common cause with Ballajee Rao, Bussy saw that it was both consistent and necessary to avoid war, and the alienation of the provinces in question was confirmed by Sulabut Jung on condition that Rughoojee Bhonslay withdrew his garrisons beyond the Payn Gunga, with which he immediately complied.
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A.D. 1753.—After peace was thus restored, the Mahratta armies proceeded to their respective territories—Holkar and Jyapa Sindia to Hindoostan, and the Peishwa to Poona. Syud Lushkur Khan was reinstated as prime minister, and Sulabut Jung departed for Hyderabad. On the route to that place M. Bussy was taken ill, and was obliged to proceed to Masulipatam on the sea-coast for the recovery of his health. Syud Lushkur Khan took that opportunity of weaning Sulabut Jung from Bussy’s influence, and in the course of a few months artfully detached the French corps and contrived to carry Sulabut Jung to Aurungabad, preparatory to the entire removal of Europeans
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mother, a mistake which may perhaps have arisen from not being aware that all Nizam Ool Moolk’s sons were by different mothers, except Ghazee-ud-deen and Nasir Jung, who were full brothers. Colonel Wilks mentions that the poison was administered by the mother of Sulabut Jung; and Mr. Mill, without adverting to the relative situations of Aurungabad and the Moghul capital, because the author of the Seyr Mutuakhereen is better informed regarding the affairs of Delhi, and because the murder of Ghazee-ud-deen was favourable to the French, accuses both of patriotic credulity, and rejects the story of the poison. That the fact is not stated in Persian MSS. is easily accounted for; the authors wrote under the government of Nizam Ally, of whose mother, whether true or false, but especially if true, such a story would have cost them their lives. The Seyr Mutuakhereen may be cited as written far beyond the stretch of his power, but its information is avowedly derived from the works of Meer Ghoolam Ally, written in the Deccan.
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The author of the Seyr Mutuakhereen, in some extracts regarding the Mahrattas, seemed to me to misunderstand the Khuzaneh Amirah, but as I never saw the entire original of the former, the supposed errors may be those of the translator, not of the author. [Waring (A History of the Mahrattas, London, 1810, p. 148) accepts Orme’s statement that Ghāzi-ud-dīn died of poison given him by his own mother.’]
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from his territory. Bussy's illness was long and severe, but as soon as he could travel, he collected his troops and repaired to Aurungabad, where he procured the dismissal of Syud Lushkur Khan and the appointment of Shah Nuwaz Khan as minister.
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The excuse made for detaching his corps was the difficulty of raising funds, which was obviated for the future by territorial cessions on the east coast, consisting of Sicacole, Rajamundree and Ellore.¹ M. Bussy placed a body of one hundred and fifty Europeans and two thousand five hundred Sepoys to protect his new acquisitions, the gross revenue of which was afterwards extravagantly estimated by the French at upwards of thirty millions of rupees.² Bussy farmed the revenues to Vijyaram Raje, a principal Deshmookh, who had recommended himself by his ability. The rent was moderate, enforced without rigour, accurate accounts were prepared, and most of the hereditary officers, if not those possessing rent-free lands, were confirmed in their property. Facts which do Bussy and his nation great honour.³
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¹ Orme, Hudeequ-i-Alum, Khuzaneh Amirah.
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² Orme.
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³ Grant's Political Analysis. The native historians do not agree with Mr. Grant respecting the French management of the northern Circars, but his authority is quite conclusive. [The northern Circars (properly, Sarkārs) comprised the modern districts of Guntūr, Godāvarī, Kistna, Ganjām, and Vizagapatam. The country had been so devastated that the actual revenue realizable was not large (O.H.I., p. 477). The expression ‘The Circars,’ i.e. ‘governments,’ was first used by the French in the time of Bussy, another name for the tract being the Carling or Carlingo country, apparently a corruption of Kalinga. Chicacole is now Vizagapatam, while Rājāmandri and Ellore are included in the modern Godāvari district.]
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The Peishwa had no sooner made the arrangements immediately necessary for the occupation of the districts ceded to him, and their appropriation amongst the chiefs, than he prepared a large force for an expedition into the Carnatic. The troops of Mysore were engaged as allies of the French in the well-known war of Coromandel, and the period was so favourable for recovering arrears of tribute, that he on that account deferred other plans which he had projected on the side of Guzerat. But before he took his departure in person, Ballajee endeavoured to pave the way for effecting a compromise with Tara Bye. During his absence at Aurungabad, she had occupied the districts of Waee and Satara, aided by five or six thousand Mahrattas and Ramoosees, whom she had entertained in her service. A large force was therefore sent to invest Satara and starve her into submission. Anund Rao Jadow, the havildar of the fort, convinced of the folly of resistance, had formed a design of carrying the Raja out of her power, but the circumstances coming to her knowledge, she ordered him to be beheaded, a sentence which the garrison executed on their own commander, as well as several others subsequently implicated in a like scheme. Baboo Rao Jadow, a person unconnected with the late havildar and a relation of the Jadows of Sindkheir, was appointed to the command of the fort. The Peishwa, on his way to the Carnatic, sent to assure Tara Bye that if she would submit, the control of the Raja’s person and establishment should remain at her disposal; but to this proposal Tara Bye would not listen unless Ballajee Bajee Rao would come to Satara, acknowledge her authority, and give such personal assurances as should satisfy her on the subject.
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A.D. 1754.—The expedition into the Carnatic was the most profitable, in regard to the recovery of tribute, of any in which Ballajee Rao had been engaged. When the Mahrattas proceeded beyond their boundary, to collect revenue and to make war were synonymous; whenever a village resisted its officers were seized and compelled by threats, and sometimes by torture, more or less severe, to come to a settlement; ready money was seldom obtained, but securities from bankers, with whom all the villages had dealings, were preferable, as they were exchanged by the holders for bills payable in any part of India. When the garrisons of fortified places made an unsuccessful resistance they were put to the sword.¹ On the present Moolkgeeree (such was the name given to these expeditions), Hooly Onore was taken by storm, and the Peishwa was bought off from attacking Seringapatam by a sum of money; whilst professions of attachment and submission, and promises of greater regularity in the future payment of the Mahratta claims, were also tendered on the occasion. Ballajee Rao, content with this success, returned with his cousin Sewdasheo Chimnajee to Poona in the month of June, and his brother Rugonath Rao, as soon as the rains abated, set off, accompanied by Duttajee Sindia and Sukaram Bappoo, on an expedition to Guzerat.
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¹ [Sir Thomas Munro (Gleig, Life, ii. 14) wrote: ‘The Mahratta Government, from its foundation, has been one of the destructive that ever existed in India. It never relinquished the predatory spirit of its founder, Sewajee. That spirit grew with its power; and when its empire extended from the Ganges to the Cavery, this nation was little better than a horde of imperial thieves. All other Hindoo states took a pride in the improvement of the country, and in the construction of pagodas, tanks, canals and other public works. The Mahrattas have done nothing of this kind; their work has been chiefly desolation. They did not seek their revenue in the improvement of the country, but in the exactions of the established chout from their neighbours, and in predatory incursions to levy more.’ This and other evidence is given in O.H.I., pp. 637, 638, q.v. See also J. Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times, 1919, pp. 479–90.]
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