Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c26.s3.12

v2.c26.s3.12

So, Rajputana received another visit from the locust swarms of the south about the middle of 1758. In the July of that year Jankoji Sindhia was pressing Ummed Singh Sisodia of Shāhpurā for his tribute, and he paid a hurried visit to Raghunath Rao, then on his return journey from the Panjab to Maharashtra through eastern Rajputana and Malwa. At the end of that month Jankoji secured a promise of four lakhs from Shāhpurā and went to Kota, where the new Rajah had died. Here he imposed a succession fee on the late Rajah’s successor, and here Malhar soon afterwards joined him (August) and helped to realize the money. The two Maratha generals now came to some sort of settlement of the long-standing rivalry between their families for sharing the Maratha acquisitions in Rajputana and Malwa. Jankoji then passed into Jaipur territory via Mālpurā. Rajah Madho Singh had entered into every anti-Maratha coalition since 1754, and he was now coerced into promising 36 lakhs, payable in four years, the present year’s instalment of 9 lakhs to be enhanced by the addition of a nazar of three lakhs (September.) Since July last Jankoji had been receiving repeated letters from the retreating Raghunath Rao, urging him to leave Rajputana for the present and march to Delhi, where a strong Maratha force was needed for defending their new gains in the Doab and the Panjab, as there were persistent rumours of Abdali's intention to invade India again. Jankoji halted during October and November on the eastern side of the Jaipur kingdom for the coming of his uncle and guardian Dattaji, who had at this time taken post in Rupnagar, "thinking day and night how to lighten the Peshwa's load of debt." At last uncle and nephew united, started for Delhi, and reached Najafgarh on 26 December 1758. *