Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c9.s4.12

v1.c9.s4.12

While this internal trouble was raging in the Medinipur cantonment, towards the end of February 1750, a body of several thousand Marāthas slipped past him and plundered the country as far as Rājmahal, whence they turned towards Murshidābād. About 6th March, Mir Habib at the head of 12,000 horse arrived four miles from that city, and had a skirmish with Mir Jafar’s troops, who were driven back nearer to the capital. For some days the two armies lay facing each other, but the Marāthas continued to send out parties daily to burn and plunder all around them. (Qāsimbāzār factory letters, 4th and 9th March 1750.) At this news, Alivardi quickly fell back from Medinipur to Bardwān, but on hearing of his march the raiders turned aside and took refuge in the jungles of West Bengal. The Nawāb halted at Bardwān, in diwan Mānikchānd’s garden outside the city, for some time, and then returned to Medinipur (April 1750.) The baffled Marāthas had shown themselves here, but disappeared before the Nawāb’s arrival. Permanent quarters for the officers and men and mansions for the Nawāb were now built here and the ladies of the harem were summoned from Murshidābād, as no officer would undertake the perilous post of *faujdār* of Medinipur and the Nawāb was therefore compelled to stay there in person.