Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c8.s5.20

v1.c8.s5.20

For the time being the Marātha menace had been dispelled, but the Nawāb's Government was at its wits' end for money. The three annual raids had caused an enormous loss of wealth and shrinkage of revenue. As the Peshwā's agent at the Court of the Nawāb told him in December 1746, "Raghuji, after coming to your country has plundered and destroyed ten times the value of the *chauth* of the province." At the same time, the Nawāb had to increase his defensive force to an immense extent; and his army bill alone amounted to one *kror* and eighty *lakhs* of Rupees a year. The result was that bankruptcy stared him in the face and he was driven to raise money by every means fair or foul.