Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c25.s4.20

v2.c25.s4.20

Raghunāth and Malhar next met together and adopted the plan of withdrawing their forces from the Doab, abandoning a part of that tract to the wazir, and concentrating their efforts on the conquest of the Panjab. Crossing the Jamunā again from Saharanpur and plundering Thāneshwar on the way, they took Sarhind (21 March 1758) and finally Lahor (*c.* 20 April), as we have seen in chapter 14. During their absence, Najib drove out the wazir’s agents and recovered Barāut, Saharanpur and other places which had formerly belonged to him! As Najib had failed to pay the five lakhs promised on 3rd September 1757, the wazir imprisoned his envoy Meghrāj on 8 May 1758, and two days later issued an imperial rescript appointing Vital Shivdev faujdar of Saharanpur *vice* Najib, in the vain hope of thus supplanting the Ruhela! [*TALS.* 151*b*, 164*a*, 165*b*, 177*b*, *DC.* *SPD.* xxvii 225, 224.]