Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c34.s12.1

v3.c34.s12.1

This settlement made, the Maratha sardars crossed into the Doab on 2nd February 1773, and Najaf Khan did the same the next day, with the Mughalia troops who had decided to follow him for a living. Zābita, too, joined his Deccani patrons and promised to help their enterprise in Rohilkhand with his local knowledge and influence. The allied force traversed the Doab rapidly and reached Rāmghāt, on the west bank of the Ganges, 40 miles south-east of Bulandshahar, on the 15th. Their object was to obtain peaceful possession of the districts of Kora and Allahabad, by virtue of the imperial rescript granted to them. For this purpose they sent envoys to the Nawab of Oudh, demanding from him in his sovereign’s name delivery of the lands he had usurped since 1765. They also called upon the trans-Ganges Ruhelas, especially Hāfiz Rahmat Khan, to pay up the indemnity promised in January 1771.