Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c42.s2.53

v3.c42.s2.53

Ghulām Qādir, after abandoning Delhi fort (10th October), at first closed the ferries over the Jamunā for twenty miles on the opposite bank to which he had removed his army. But the vast number of the Marathas enabled them to cross over below and above the guarded points in successive bodies and to rove round the Ruhela camp at a distance, cutting off its supplies so effectively that scarcity of food was as acute in it as during their occupation of Delhi. On the 20th of the month a stunning blow fell on him: his great fortress and storehouse of Aligarh opened its gates to the Marathas. The Ruhela in despair turned southwards and moved from place to place without any plan and fighting the Marathas without any decisive result except suffering the loss of men and horses which he could ill afford to bear. At last about the 4th of November he took refuge in Mirat fort, which the Marathas invested. Their strength was further increased by the coming of Ali Bahadur (11th Dec.) and the blockade was made very stringent. Utter want of food and close confinement worked havoc among the crowded multitude of the besieged. Men and beasts died in hundreds and their corpses poisoned the air. Ghulām Qādir now offered to release the captive princes in return for a free pardon and the guarantee of his patrimony, but the negotiations failed. Then he tried to massacre the helpless Delhi royal family still in his hands, but was prevented from this last infamy by Maniyār Singh at the risk of his life from the drawn sword of his infuriated master.