Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c12.s2.2

v1.c12.s2.2

The tangled web of Kachhwa-Maratha diplomacy can be now unloosened and laid out in clear outlines with the help of the contemporary Marathi letters, though some self-inconsistency naturally occurs in them as the terms demanded and offered varied from time to time. We have seen how Ishwari Singh shortly after his accession had to patch up a peace with the Mahārānā by promising to give his younger brother an appanage of 24 lakhs of Rupees a year (1743), and that in February 1745 he had bought the help of some Marātha generals in Northern India (notably Ramchandra Baba) and routed the Maharana's forces, and then refused to fulfil his promise. Next, Malhar Holkar had been bribed by Madho Singh to espouse his cause and detach a force from his contingent to support Madho Singh in 1747, but the attempt had ended in utter failure at Rajmahal (March.) This victory made Ishwari Singh inordinately proud and his brother could expect nothing from him thereafter. So, the Maharana's envoy had gone to Punā and entreated the Marātha Court to exact from Ishwari Singh the fulfilment of his first promise, offering Shāhu a tribute of ten lakhs or more for this service.