Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c47.s1.6

v4.c47.s1.6

The battle of Mertā (fought on 10th September 1790), though decisive as a military victory, at first made Sindhia’s position worse than before and robbed him of its expected fruits. Holkar’s simmering quarrel with him for an equal partition of his north Indian conquests and spoils of war, at once burst into flame, and the Holkar contingent (in concert with Ali Bahādur’s) left Sindhia’s army by way of protest. This open split between the two Maratha chiefs neutralised the effect of their recent victories; the Rajputs stiffened in their resistance, and Mahādji’s hope of obtaining the due contributions by negotiation faded into the horizon. Everywhere the peasantry rose in arms against the Deccanis. Ismail Beg’s father Munim Beg took possession of Gokulgarh (the fort of Rewāri) and raided up to Kot-Putli and other places under Maratha control. Rao Rajah Pratāp Singh of Alwar, the steadfast ally of Sindhia, died on 24th November 1790, and a civil war broke out among the ministers of his successor which paralysed that kingdom. De Boigne was finding great difficulty in maintaining his brigade owing to Sindhia’s failure to pay their salary for want of money. At the same time a severe famine due to the failure of rains raged in Rajputana, and grain and fodder reached the extreme of scarcity.