Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c41.s2.1

v3.c41.s2.1

Having thus briefly surveyed the course of events during Mahadji Sindhia’s loss of control over northern affairs, we shall study his policy and resources during the same troubled period. First of all, from his halting place near Dig he sent off to Malwa the families of his Deccani officers along with his own wives and children and all his heavy artillery, tents and surplus baggage. At the same time he bade his camp-followers and other noncombatants go away wherever they could find their bread, so that quite two-thirds of this vast horde left him [on 11th August. *Akh.* SJ. ms 74.] As for his troops he firmly refused to throw away his good money on the faithless Hindustanis still with him, though he owed them nearly a year's pay; he would spend the money more usefully on the fresh and reliable troops expected from the Deccan. The Hindustanis were offered a small daily subsistence, but the discharge of their arrears was made conditional upon the conquest of Jaipur! Their captains were offered jāgirs instead of money, in full clearance of their dues, but only in the Doab tracts of which he had been recently robbed and which they must reconquer from the usurpers. In fact Mahadji was deliberately working for the departure of these disloyal and useless troops from his army in disgust at his insolvency and the famine prices then raging; he said that their covert treason and passive conduct had led to the failure of his Lālsot campaign, and he would therefore pay cash to none but the Deccanis. [*Akh.*]