Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c11.s2: § 8. Imperial campaigns in Malwa and Rajputana, 1734-35, fail
Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c11.s2
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§ 8. Imperial campaigns in Malwa and Rajputana, 1734-35, fail
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In October 1734, the imperial Court planned a grand campaign under its two highest officers, the *wazir* Qamruddin and the *bakhshi* Khān-i-Daurān, to expel the Marāthas from Mālwa and Rājputāna. Next month the *wazir* started from Delhi, at the head of 25,000 men, *via* Agra for Bundelkhand where Pilāji Jādav was roving. Two or three light engagements took place between them in February 1735, as the result of which Pilāji retreated to Sipri and Kulāras, while the *wazir* stayed at Narwar, 24 miles north of the enemy's position. After a few more skirmishes, Pilāji withdrew his baggage from Bundelkhand and set out for the Deccan by the Chānda and Deogarh route (April.) The *wazir* returned to Delhi, arriving there on 9th May, 1735. [S. P. D., xiv. 22, 21.]
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The campaign in the western theatre had been entrusted to Khān-i-Daurān. He set out from Delhi at the same time as the *wazir* and on the way to Ajmir was joined by Jai Singh of Jaipur, Abhay Singh of Jodhpur, and Rao Durjan Sāl of Kotā with their contingents. In this way his force became a vast host (whose number was swelled by rumour to two hundred thousand men) with artillery and munition carts "beyond count."
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Crossing the Mukundarā pass, the imperial army reached Rampurā territory, where Holkar and Sindhia were sighted (early in February.) Its unwieldy size, composite character and slack organisation foredoomed it to failure against the Marātha light horse led by born cavalry generals like Malhar and Rānoji. For eight days the Marāthas circled round Khān-i-Daurān, absolutely immobilising his army, cutting off its provisions and fodder, and capturing horses and camels from it. Then the Marāthas made a lightning raid. Leaving the *bakhshi* and his allies there, they crossed the Mukundarā pass, went to Bundi-Kotā and thence into the now defenceless Jaipur and Jodhpur territories, the imperialists painfully toiling up far behind them. Finding the field clear, Malhar raided many places in this region. The loot of the rich city of Sambhar, then under the Emperor's direct administration, on 28th February, yielded him a rich harvest. The *faujdār* Fakhru was robbed of everything he possessed (worth three *lakhs* of Rupees, besides 3 or 4 elephants) and let off with only the clothes he stood in. The *qāzi* of the city, after slaying his women in the Hindu manner of *jauhar*, fought the invaders with frenzy, and fell down wounded. Early in March, the position of the two sides was this: Khān-i-Daurān had taken post at Kotā, Jai Singh near his capital, and Malhar and Rānoji some 20 miles from the latter.—(Siyar, ii. 83, S. P. D., xiv. 23, 21, Rustam Ali in Elliot, viii. 51.)
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Thus, in both the theatres of war, the armies of the empire failed to achieve any decisive result and were, indeed, hard put to it to defend and feed their unwieldy numbers. The smaller Marātha forces had completely rendered them immobile and powerless. At last, the wazir offered a bribe of five lakhs to Pilāji for vacating Mālwa. In Rājputāna, Khān-i-Daurān, after wasting many weeks at Bundi in utter inaction, listened to Jai Singh’s advice and induced the Marāthas to retire beyond the Narmadā by promising them on behalf of the Emperor 22 lakhs as the chauth of Mālwa. This understanding was effected on 22nd March at a meeting between Khān-i-Daurān and the two Marātha generals through the mediation of Jai Singh,—the camps of Khān-i-Daurān and Jai Singh being then at Kotā and that of the Marāthas at Bundi.* (S. P. D.,
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∗ The later negotiations on this point will be described afterwards. (S.P.D. xiv. 31, 47.)
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In April 1735 Holkar and Sindhia invaded Mārwār, under orders of Bāji Rāo in order to punish Abhay Singh for his recent hostile action. Their orders were to spare the territories of Jaipur and Mewār with scrupulous care. Indeed, the ravaging of Abhay xiv. 27, 23; xxii. 284.) From this inglorious campaign the two heads of the Mughal army returned to Delhi at the end of April, 1735. The Marātha generals retired, Rānoji to Ujjain, Malhar to Kālābāgh, and Pilāji to Sironj (June.) (S. P. D., xiv. 29, 30.)
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§ 9. North-Indian pilgrimage of Peshwa's mother, 1735.
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In the meantime, this armed clash with the empire had come at an inopportune moment for the Peshwā. He had arranged for a complete North Indian pilgrimage for his mother Rādhā Bāi. She crossed the Tāpti at Burhānpur on 9th March 1734, in charge of the astrologer, Bābuji Nāyak Joshi, who had lived long in Benares and was familiar with North Indian shrines. Everywhere she was supplied with escort by the officers of the imperial Government and the local chiefs, while the Rājput Rājahs whose capitals she visited treated her with the high respect due to a noble Brāhman widow and the mother of an all-conquering son. They personally welcomed her, introduced her to their queens, and gave her rich presents. Travelling in this way, Rādhā Bāi
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Singh's kingdom would only please Jai Singh, as Bāji Rāo wrote to his master. (S.P.D., xiii. 49.) xiv. 14 probably belongs to the March of this year.
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visited Udaipur (6th May), Nāthdwārā, Jaipur (c. 16 July), Mathurā, Kurukshetra, Allahabad, Benāres and Gayā (November), then back again to Benāres, whence she turned to Bundelkhand in January 1736, and finally reached Punā on 2 May. (S. P. D., ix. 12, 13, 14, xiv. 21, 31, 39, 51, xxii. 330; Vamsha Bh., p. 3223.)
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§ 10. How Jai Singh promoted Maratha interests in Hindustan.
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When the vast armament and heavy expenditure of the imperial campaign in the first quarter of 1735 not only failed to crush the Marāthas but ended only with the promise to pay a huge contribution of 22 *lakhs*, the Emperor was naturally angry at this disgraceful result. His Court threw the blame for it on Jai Singh as the officer most directly concerned from his office of *subahdār* of Agra and Mālwa, and on Khān-i-Daurān, his ally and constant supporter at Court. Sādat Khān, the governor of Oudh, told the Emperor, "Jai Singh has ruined the entire empire by his secret support of the Marāthas. Give me only the governorship of Agra and Mālwa, I do not ask for any money aid. Jai Singh has asked for a *kror* of Rupees to equip his army for this war, but I have enough treasure of my own. The Nizām is my friend; he will hinder the Marāthas from crossing the Narmadā.” Sarbuland Khān equally denounced Jai Singh.
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The Emperor censured Jai Singh and Khān-i-Daurān for having bought the Marathas off. The Khān pleaded, “I only promised the Marātha generals who had entered Mālwa that they would be given as *jāgir* those parganahs of the province which were in the hands of the refractory Ruhelas and other brigands, but that they should never trouble any district under the Emperor’s (rule.) Bāji Rāo is obedient to your Majesty in every way. See how he has brought his family to Northern India on the plea of bathing in the Ganges. His mother also has come here on pilgrimage. . . . The Marāthas cannot be effectually subdued by fighting. But by friendly negotiations I shall induce Bāji Rāo, or at least his brother Chimnāji, to come and meet the Emperor. If his desires are granted, the imperial dominions will be freed from disturbance in future. If, on the other hand, Sādat Khān and the Nizām unite, they will set up another Emperor.” (*S. P. D.*, xiv. 47, 39, 31.)
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This talk of removing him from his two viceroyalties reached Jai Singh’s ears and positively antagonised him towards the Emperor. A selfish opportunist, he never had much loyalty to the throne. Calling the Marātha agent at his Court to a secret council, he told him, “I have hitherto guarded the prestige and interests of Bāji Rāo because I cannot trust the Turks (i.e., the Mughal royal house.) If the latter triumph over the Deccani forces, they will disregard us. Therefore, in every matter I shall follow the Peshwā’s behest.” He then (August 1735) sent a proposal to Bāji Rāo to come to him at the head of 5,000 horse, taking care not to plunder any place on the way. Jai Singh would pay the daily expenses of this force (Rs. 5,000) in addition to the *chauth* of Mālwa and the rent of Pilāji Jadav’s *jāgir*,—a total of 20 *lakhs* in cash. After the Peshwā’s arrival in Jaipur, Jai Singh would take counsel with him on the situation, secure assurances and oaths of safe-conduct from the Emperor through Khān-i-Daurān and then take the Peshwā to interview the Emperor. Otherwise, the Peshwā would return home from Jai Singh’s country. (*S. P. D.*, xiv. 47.)
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On the other side, at the end of September the Emperor formed his plan of operations against the Marāthas during the coming winter. He first reconciled Abhay Singh to the *wazir*. Agra, Mālwa, and even Gujrāt were proposed to be put in charge of the *wazir*, with orders not to molest Jai Singh’s territory if he loyally joined the Emperor’s cause with his own contingent; otherwise he was to be chastised as he deserved. It was decided that as soon as the river levels would fall sufficiently low in autumn the Emperor himself would march out of Delhi, while Jai Singh and Khān-i-Daurān would proceed to the Deccan via Jaipur, and the wazir with Abhay Singh and Sādat Khān would take the route via Gwālior. (S. P. D., xiv. 39.)
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§ 11. Bāji Rāo's visit to Rajputana, 1736.
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The agreement of 22nd March 1735 not having been ratified by the Emperor, Bāji Rāo planned a grand campaign in the north under his own command in the coming winter. He started from Punā on 9th October. The light forayers of Holkar in 1734 and 1735 had created terror throughout Rājputāna and given the people a close acquaintance with Marātha rapacity at their very doors. The failure of the entire force of the empire, led by the two highest officers of the State in the first quarter of 1735 had taught the Indian world to believe that the Marāthas were invincible and that no protection was to be looked for either from Delhi or from their own chiefs. The news of the coming of the dread master of the Marātha generals threw all Rājputāna into alarm and despair.* But Bāji Rāo's object was to visit the Rājput Courts personally and impose *chauth* by peaceful persuasion if possible.
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∗ Tod, i. Mewar, Ch. 15, Maharana's letter to Biharidas Pancholi.
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After taking a fort named Kukshi on the Gujrat frontier of Dhār, the Peshwā advanced north through Dongarpur and Loniwādā, arriving at the southern frontier of Mewār (c. 15 January, 1736.) The Mahārānā made every arrangement for giving him a worthy reception. The ceremonial of the meeting was thus settled : the Mahārānā was to make a bow (*praṇām*) to the Peshwā as a Brāhman, the holiest of all Hindu castes, while the latter as a priest was to bless the temporal ruler. Arrived near Udaipur, Bāji Rāo was lodged in the Champā-bāgh garden in the village of Ahar, and received a purse of Rs. 5,000, robes, horses and an elephant as welcome-gift to a guest. Next day a grand *darbār* was held by the Mahārānā, to which the Peshwā was called. Two cushions had been laid down side by side; the Mahārānā advanced to the door of the hall, welcomed the Peshwā, and led him to the cushion meant for him, but Bāji Rāo respectfully sat down below it on the floor, on a lower level than the Mahārānā. He waved the *chāmar* (fly whisker) over the Rājput’s head, who protested saying, “*You should be adored by us, being a Brāhman;*” but Bāji Rāo diplomatically replied, “I count you alone as king, for you have sixteen chiefs (*umārā*) under you."'*
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Then he proceeded to business. After long higgling, the Mahārānā had to sign a treaty promising to pay an annual tribute of Rs. 1,60,000, to cover which the Banhādā pargana was ceded to the Marāthas. This amount was divided into three equal shares, assigned to Holkar, Sindhia and Pawār. The management was at first entrusted to Holkar, but subsequently Sindhia acted as the receiver-general. This treaty remained in force for ten years, after which it became a nullity. (Tod, i. Mewar, Ch. 15.)
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There was a breach while these negotiations were pending. The Mahārānā invited Bāji Rāo to visit his Jagmandir palace in the midst of the Picholā lake. Bāji Rāo took this to be a trap for murdering him, flew into a rage, and could be pacified only by the Mewār ministers agreeing to pay a fine of seven *lakhs*! Three *lakhs* out of this sum was paid in cash to Bāji Rāo, under the name of "gift of gold to a Brāhman at a funeral", out of the property of the Mahārānā’s grandmother, who had recently died.
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∗ A friend advised Bāji Rāo not to be too grasping in his dealings with the Maharana, adding, "You need not go to an extreme in your demands on the Ranaji. Act so as to keep him satisfied. You cannot grasp the whole world in one day." (S.P.D. xiv. 54.) *Vamsha Bh.*, 3236-8, gives these details, as well as those in the next two paragraphs. In Sanskrit a *Chakravarti* or Sovereign is defined as a king ruling over a circle of twelve sub-kings. *S.P.D.* xiv. 50, 51.
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Matters having been thus settled in Mewār, Bāji Rāo advanced north towards Jaipur, making a pilgrimage to Nāthdwārā (25 miles north of Udaipur) on the way. Thence he marched to Jahājpur (25 miles north-west of Bundi.) Jai Singh had hastened southwards with all his forces to meet him on the way. Their interview took place at the village of Bhambholāo* near Kishangarh. Jai Singh had asked from the Peshwā equality of honour with the Mahārānā, but Bāji Rāo told him that the lord of Udaipur was equal in status with his own king Shāhu as he had never owned the Muslim Pādishāh as master, while Jai Singh was a mere imperial mansabdār. A pavilion was pitched in the middle for the meeting while the two armies stood fully armed on the two sides, (c. 15 February.) The two chiefs descended from their elephants, embraced, and sat down on the same cushion, the Peshwā on the right and Jai Singh on the left. Bāji Rāo, in spite of his being a priest by caste and the prime minister of the greatest Hindu Rājah in India, had the manners of a moss-trooper, which had been anything but improved by his infatuation for Mastānī, a Muslim girl with the morals of a *vivandière*. He enjoyed his pipe, blowing the smoke into the face of his host. Now, the Jaipur Rājah, though a Rājput, was a man of refined tastes, and had consorted with scholarly Europeans. He did not enjoy this rough horseplay of the Deccani, but was powerless to check it. The Marātha captains were presented to Jai Singh one by one; only Malhar Holkar sulked in his tent, as Bāji Rāo did not now ask Jai Singh to restore Bundi to Budh Singh, although they had promised to Rājah Shāhu to do so when Pratāp Singh Hādā was at Satārā begging Marātha aid for him.
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∗ The only name approaching this that I can find in the map near Kishangarh is Bonabhao, 7 m. due east of Pushkar and 13 m. s. w. of Kishangarh. (Ind. Atlas, 33 S. E.)
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Then Jai Singh went back to his capital, telling Bāji Rāo that it was better for him to return to the Deccan as the time was not favourable for his intended attack on Delhi; he might come next year with better preparations. In the meantime, Jai Singh promised to use his influence at the imperial Court to secure for Rājah Shāhu the grant of *chauth* and the cession of Mālwa from the Emperor. From this point, Bāji Rāo retraced his steps to the Deccan, halting on the way at Begham (25 miles n.e. of Chitor), where he paid a visit to the dispossessed Budh Singh, in the company of Malhar and Pratāp Hādā, and spoke a few kind words to soothe his feelings. (*Vamsha* Bh., 3238—3240; S. P. D., xiv. 52, 56, xxii. 331, 333.)
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§ 12. Imperialists open peace negotiations with Baji Rao, 1736.
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In the meantime, while Bāji Rāo was still in Mewār (January), his agent Mahādev Bhat Hingané went to Jaipur and was introduced by the minister Ayā Mal (Rājāmal) to Jai Singh, who agreed to present the Peshwā with five *lakhs*,—two *lakhs* in cash and the balance in costly robes, jewellery, five horses and one elephant. The Rājah sent a message to Bāji Rāo inviting him to his dominions and promising to introduce him to the Emperor and arrange a lasting peace between the Mughal Government and the Marātha, by securing for the latter the grant of 20 *lakhs* in cash and a *jāgir* worth 40 *lakhs* a year in Mālwa, the subsidy being assigned on Dost Muhammad Khān of Bhopāl. With this offer, Ayā Mal went to Bāji Rāo’s camp. Another Marātha wakil, Dādāji Pant, attended the camp of Khān-i-Daurān, negotiating through the medium of Rānoji Sindhia and Rāmchandra Bābā Shenvi. The Bakhshi sent Nejābat Ali Khān from his side with money to Bāji Rāo. (S. P. D., xiv. 50, 51.)
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In short, as Bāji Rāo wrote to his mother, the Emperor and his councillors were eager to make friends with him. He himself had no armed conflict anywhere. A state of war had existed between his generals and the imperial officers (especially Muhammad Khān Bangash) in the country south of Dholpur. But as soon as peace overtures were received from Delhi through Jai Singh, Bāji Rāo sent out orders (7th Feb.) to his officers to suspend hostilities. The Marātha detachment in Jodhpur territory* was recalled. Khān-i-Daurān at first proposed to come from Delhi and meet the Peshwā, but evidently he did not, and the negotiations were opened on behalf of the Emperor by Yādgār Kashmiri, Kripā Rām and Nejābat Ali Khān, who left Delhi on 8 March. Bāji Rāo next went into Ahirwādi (north-east of Sironj), sending his agent Bābu Rāo to Delhi, on whose return with a reply from the imperial Court the Peshwā set out for the Deccan (end of April, 1736.) (S. P. D., xiv. 51, 56, 58, 52; Siyar, ii. 84; Later Mughals, ii. 284.)
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∗ Malhar and Rānoji marched to Merta, guided by Pratāp S. Hādā. Pratap at first visited Ummed Singh Sisodia of Shāhpurā (acting as Abhay Singh's agent) and the bhāndāri (Marwar minister) within the city and discussed terms with them. But no ransom having been agreed upon, Pratap returned to the Maratha camp and hostilities were begun. On the first day the Marathas captured the town, which was totally deserted, the inhabitants having fled to the fort. Then siege was laid to the fort and trenches carried towards its walls. The garrison made repeated sorties on the trenches, each side losing some officers of note in the encounters. The Marathas were bombarded from the fort walls and driven out of the outermost trench of the defenders which they had occupied after the retirement of the Rajputs from it. Heavy exchange of fire went on from day to day. [S.P.D., xiv. 14. This letter was written by Malhar and Ranoji from their camp before Merta, to the Peshwa, and is dated by the editor, in a correction, 1st April 1736. But as Sambhar was sacked on 28 Feb. 1735, that year is more likely for this letter, and the date should be 12th April, 1735; but the day of the week given in the latter agrees only with 1734.]
Linked texts (2)
- Selections from the Peshwa Daftar — Marathi
- Vaṃśabhāskar — Sūryamall Miśraṇ 1840, raj