Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c10.s5: § 11. Slackness and indecision of Delhi Court
Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c10.s5
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§ 11. Slackness and indecision of Delhi Court
v1.c10.s5.1
Let us now see what the imperial Government had been doing in the meantime in the face of this terrible danger. The Emperor had received many and early warnings of the coming invasion, but infatuation had seized his Court, and even the fresh memory of the loss and humiliation suffered in consequence of Nādir's invasion could not awaken any of his officers to a sense of their duty and the needs of the situation. Irresolution, conflict of counsel, procrastination and inertia now marked the measures of the Delhi Government to an even more shameful extent than when the Persian conqueror was threatening it.
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As early as 1st September 1747, Muhammad Shāh had received from Amīr Beg (Nāsir Khān’s deputy at Kābul) the copy of a proclamation issued by Abdālī on 15th July, appointing Muhammad Hāshim Afridi the chieftain (“mālik and grey-beard”) of all the Afridi tribesmen in the Peshāwar district. (Anandrām, 298.) About the middle of November followed the report of Abdālī’s occupation of Kābul and of the appearance of a detachment of his troops near Attock, oppressing and plundering the entire district. Close on its heels came the news of the invader’s capture of Peshāwar and the flight of Nāsir Khān to Lāhor.
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The situation which resulted at Lāhor from Hayātullah’s usurpation of its government put the imperial Court into the greatest perplexity. The usurper held the lawful deputy governor Yahiyā Khān in his hands, and the despatch of a force from the capital to oust him might drive him to kill his captive, who was also a son-in-law of the wazir. Therefore, by the wazir’s advice the Emperor had temporised with Hayātullah, sent him smooth messages, and even held protracted parleys with the envoy sent by the rebel to Delhi to negotiate for the grant of the subahdāri to him. The situation was made more critical by Abdālī’s conquest of Qandahār and Kābul, which naturally raised the fear that if he invaded India the least sign of disfavour at the Delhi Court would drive Hayātullah into the arms of the invader. Therefore, the Delhi Government, instead of boldly facing the danger and crushing the rebel at Lāhor by a prompt and vigorous attack, found wisdom in doing nothing but talking indecisively and letting matters drift.
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Even when the Emperor learnt that the invaders had taken Peshāwar and their advanced troops had appeared near Attock (early in November), he did not realize the seriousness of the threat tc Lāhor. True, he sent his advance tents out of Delhi one day’s march towards the Panjāb on 23rd November; but he fixed a date fully three weeks later (14th December) for actually starting from his capital. He was confirmed in his blindness by the report that the Afghān raiders had gone back from Attock to Peshāwar. The news was very grateful to his indolent and weak character. He had lived in Delhi now for 28 years since his accession, without ever going more than a few miles outside his capital (except on two occasions only.) He had grown extremely ease-loving, and in addition was now suffering from the effects of the opium habit.
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At this time he fell ill again and the doctors forbade him to be moved.
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What was to be done to meet the danger from the north-west? On this question there was a sharp division of opinion at his Court. Seasoned captains told His Majesty that unless he led the army in person, the ease-loving soldiers of Hindustān would not face the veterans of Irān. The carpet-knights of the Court, who had never seen a battle, bragged that the Afghān upstart did not deserve the honour of the Shāhān-shāh taking the field in person against him and that any one of his nobles could bring him back a captive tied hand and foot. [Mujmil, 99.] The wazir, who was wiser, warned the Emperor that if he wished to achieve victory he must march out of Delhi and go at least to some place nearer to Lāhor, such a Pānipat or Karnāl, and thence send the army on under the wazir to meet the invasion. "The Emperor in speech agreed to this counsel, but he could never resolve on such action and constantly put off the date fixed for his starting." (Anandrām, 308-312.) Nothing was therefore done. Inaction is the course dearest to imbeciles.
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§ 12. Army sent from Delhi to oppose Abdali.
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On 22nd December Muhammad Shāh learnt that Abdāli had begun his march from Peshāwar towards Lāhor with a strong force. But even then the urgency of the case was not brought home to his mind. By this time his malady had progressed too far to permit him to move, and yet he would not allow his only son, Prince Ahmad, to go in his place at the head of this expedition. So, all the State treasuries were emptied and 60 *lakhs* of Rupees were thus collected which were distributed among the nobles to enable them to equip themselves for this campaign. That aged drunkard and smooth-tongued advocate of utter inaction, the wazir Qamruddin Khān, was appointed supreme commander, with Safdar Jang (*subahdār* of Oudh), Ishwari Singh (Rājah of Jaipur and chief of the Rajput feudatories), and Nāsir Khān (late governor of Kābul) as his assistants.
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Even after this, the delay made by them in moving was disgraceful. The wazir was given formal leave to depart on 8th January 1748, but he had to halt for 4 or 5 days to enable the artillery to join him. Ishwari Singh had asked for the fort of Rantambhor, which the Emperor refused, and the Rājah grew lukewarm in his zeal and put off his own march as long as he decently could.
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At long last this huge army, numbering with its camp followers more than two hundred thousand souls and encumbered with heavy artillery, began its slow and ponderous march from Delhi, halting frequently on the way. It had not yet reached Narela (16 miles north of Delhi), when the news came that Abdāli had already taken Lāhor and was raising fresh troops there. The Delhi army was overcome with terror of the enemy. The generals sent a deputation to the Emperor, begging that he should despatch his son to lead them. There was no help for it now; the Emperor agreed. Prince Ahmad started from Delhi on 31st January. Overtaking the main army near Sonpat, he quickened its pace. Karnāl was rapidly crossed (19th February) because of the bad omen of its having witnessed another foreign invader's triumph over the Delhi forces nine years earlier! Here it was learnt that Ali Muhammad Ruhela, the imperial *faujdār* of Sarhind, had deserted his station and fled to his home, Aonla in the Barily district, so that the most important outpost between Lāhor and Delhi was left without a defender. The prince, therefore, pushed on as fast as he could and arrived near Sarhind on the 25th.
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The enemy had not yet been sighted nor had any news of his movements reached the imperialists. But he could not be far off. In this situation the Delhi army made an incredible blunder which can be explained only by the utter fatuity of its chiefs and the hopeless degeneration of public life in India in that age. As a sufferer, Anandrām Mukhlis, writes, "The nobles displayed an astounding ignorance and neglect. They made no attempt to collect intelligence; they did not care to guard their communications with Delhi in the rear, nor the route for the coming of provisions to their camp, but left Sarhind in this state (of negligence.) The enemy's cavalry would have met with no obstacle on the way if it had made a dash on Delhi".
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The women of the wazir's harem and all the heavy baggage, treasure, and surplus stores and carts of this huge army were left in the small fort of Sarhind with a garrison of 1,000 horse and foot under a eunuch of the wazir, while the army advanced towards the Satlaj. The straight route between Sarhind and Lāhor crosses that river at Ludhiāna, but as the water-level was lower at the ford of Machhiwārā, 22 miles above Ludhiāna, the imperial chiefs decided to make a detour via Machhiwārā, thus leaving the customary and shorter road far to their left. And yet they did not send any detachment to hold Ludhiāna, nor even posted scouts there to watch for the enemy's appearance. Worse than that, the advancing army immediately lost touch with its depot at Sarhind, as it did not care to maintain a lengthening chain of outposts from that base to itself.
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As against such incredible infatuation and military incompetence, the enemy displayed unusual alertness and activity. Abdālī’s force consisted of about twelve thousand* mounted men, without heavy artillery, but extremely mobile and armed with nearly a thousand light pieces (swivels, jizail) placed on camels which could move as fast as the cavalry. In addition, the ruthless vigour of this veteran lieutenant of the Persian Napoleon maintained strict secrecy about his movements. "Abdālī had ordered his troops to slay every Indian whom they might find in their camp or in the plains, so that not a single spy of the wazir or of any other noble who went out to scout returned alive". (Mujmil, 101.) Thus, quite in the dark about the enemy’s position and intentions, the doomed Indian army marched out of Sarhind on 27th February and reached Bharaoli (14 miles north of that town and eleven miles short of Māchhiwārā.) While halting here, the imperialists were astonished to learn that Abdālī had cut into their rear, seized Sarhind, annihilated its garrison, and got possession of all their treasure artillery and women left there. We shall now see how this happened. [Anand., 313-15, 322-324, 333-337 ; Bayān, 228,232 ; TAh. 4b.-5a.]
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∗ According to Ānandrām (p. 332) Abdālī left Lahor with nearly 30,000 men. Six to seven thousand men had accompanied Abdālī from Peshāwar to Lahor acc. to Ashub, ii. 454, (25,000 acc. to Ānandrām, 312.)
Linked texts (1)
- Bayān-i wāqiʿ — Khwāja ʿAbd al-Karīm Kashmīrī 1780, Persian