New History of the Marathas v2.c30.27

v2.c30.27

4. The victor’s plight, conciliating the Peshwa.— During his residence of two months at the capital, Shah Abdali confirmed the arrangement that Bhau Saheb had made, by declaring Shah Alam Emperor, his son Jawan Bakht then at Delhi acting as the heir. He appointed Najib Khan to the post of Mir Bakhshi and entrusted the management of the Empire’s affairs jointly to him and Jawan Bakht. He refused to appoint Shuja-ud-daula as the Wazir, a reward which he was ardently expecting from the Shah for the valuable part he had played as an ally in the recent struggle. Shuja felt this as a bitter humiliation and left abruptly for Lucknow on 7th March. This indeed in no way affected the Shah as he hardly cared now for the politics of India. He was now faced with an open mutiny of his own Afghan troops, who had received no pay for the last 18 months of their sojourn in India. They had expected to go back rich and wealthy by the acquisition of Indian spoil, but this could not be, as they had little or no plunder this time. They had not received even their pay. Their maintenance alone cost the Shah as much as the Marathas or about a crore of Rupees per annum. The Maratha camp at Panipat was plundered, but hardly any thing valuable was found there as the Marathas had sold every bit of whatever could fetch them food. The Shah himself lived in a gorgeous palace at Delhi apparently unconcerned about his return, while his troops were longing to go home fearing that as the Marathas were expected to return headed by the Peshwa, another war would be inflicted on them. When the pressure of the clamour became severe, the Shah asked Najib Khan to procure money to pay his troops, as the Khan was now the sole custodian of the imperial affairs. Najib Khan urged his utter helplessness in the matter of funds, and said he had already given away all that he could possibly procure. He suggested that Surajmal Jat should be attacked and made to yield treasure of which he possessed plenty. It meant another war, and the Afghan troops declared they would not move unless they received their past wages. The Shah could find no way out of the difficulty and decided upon returning home. He left Delhi on 20th March and reached Afghanistan in May.