New History of the Marathas v1.c18.71

v1.c18.71

10. Guerilla warfare described.—This peculiar form of war-fare called by the Marathas Ganimi-Kava requires a word of explanation. The Marathas took pride in being called ganims or “plunderers,” and developed their peculiar method of fighting which the chronicler Chitnis thus describes. “The Mughal forces are huge in numbers, standing firm only in open ground. The Marathas on the other hand suddenly erupt at one place to-day and tomorrow elsewhere some fifty miles away. Then they come round again and execute unexpected raids, making only a show of a fight, plunder and fly away. They fall upon foraging parties, attack weakly held Mughal posts, capture strategic points and thus inspire confidence among their followers. They devastate Mughal territory from the river Godavari to Bhaganagar, carrying away pack animals, horses and elephants, create confusion among the enemy, and remain concealed in unfrequented thickets widely apart and make a sudden dash upon the Mughal armies proceeding towards Jinji, occasionally engaging in an open encounter and any how preventing them from reaching their destination. The Emperor found himself non-plussed how to overcome these pests. They seemed to be ubiquitous and illusive like the wind. When the attacking Mughal forces had gone back, the scattered Marathas, like water parted by the oar, closed again and resumed their attack as before.” “ If a Mughal officer resisted the Marathas and was defeated and captured by them, he had to provide his own ransom, and the Emperor would often dismiss such unfortunate sufferers on the suspicion of cowardice. Hence it was safer for a Mughal commander to bribe the Marathas than to fight them. Certainly it was cheaper. Worse than these, many imperialists made a concert with the enemy and enriched themselves by robbing the Emperor’s own subjects and innocent traders.⁹