New History of the Marathas v2.c30.58

v2.c30.58

The battle of Panipat was fought on 14th January 1761. The very next day the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam in his effort to recover Bengal sustained a severe defeat on the river Son at the hands of the British forces led by Major Carnac. Shah Alam’s French officers were taken prisoners and he had to throw himself on the British protection. The day after this event, that is on the 16th January, Pondicherry, the rival of Madras, fell into British hands, thereby smashing the French power in India. These three days proved momentous in determining the future fate of this country. The Peshwa sank to his grave under the blow of Panipat, and for a few years the British had no rival on the horizon. The tone of their behaviour and correspondence markedly changed from the days of the Peshwa Bajirao I to those of Madhavrao, as the missions of Gordon and Price amply testify. The rise of Haidar Ali in the South was also the direct result of the Maratha rout at Panipat.