Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c13.s5.7

v1.c13.s5.7

Safdar Jang showed this letter in the original to Hingané, the Maratha envoy at Delhi, who easily exposed Nāsir Jang’s double-dealing by revealing what he had written to his elder brother. He warned the wazir to be on his guard against the deep machinations of the Turāni party, as this letter was merely a device for estranging Safdar from the Peshwā and then crushing him in his isolation. [S. P. D. ii. 13.] Safdar Jang needed no such warning; he instinctively knew the Nizām’s family for his mortal enemies. On learning that Nāsir Jang had actually started for the north, the wazir took the defensive measure of posting his Maratha allies (Malhar Holkar and Jayāji Sindhia) in Kotā, to intercept Nāsir Jang and thus prevent the ravages of war from reaching his own subahs north of the Chambal. At the same time he sent the following appeal to the Peshwa through Hingané: ''This is the time for testing our alliance. If you are truly my friend, then your generals ought to oppose Nāsir Jang. I am supplying Hingané with funds for equipping an army [of Marathas] and making all arrangements for fighting Nāsir Jang. If the Marathas will not do so, I have 50,000 men under me and shall raise more from all sides." [*S. P. D.* ii. 12*e*, 13.]