Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c47.s3.9

v4.c47.s3.9

The task that Mahādji Sindhia undertook when he agreed at Pushkar to be the Mahārānā’s protector was one of uncommon difficulty. It was nothing less than that of administering the vast kingdom of Mewār as the guardian of a perpetually minor owner. The country was torn by baronial factions that had destroyed the regular government. The Mahārānā was a harmless imbecile, and yet if either faction could get hold of him it could use his name to legalise its tyranny and usurpations. Hence, some outside authority superior to the national administration had to be imposed on the country to ensure internal peace, the enforcement of law, and the collection of revenue. In short, Mahādji Sindhia found that he was called upon to play the part of a modern British Resident governing a protected Native State during the long minority or incompetence of its ruler. But unlike the British in the days of their paramountcy, Sindhia had neither the civil service nor the “subsidiary force”, nor even a capable agent from outside at his disposal for getting this work done.