Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c54.s12.8

v4.c54.s12.8

The war transferred to Maharashtra proper this year inflicted unspeakable misery on the people. A letter from Ujjain, written on 21st July 1802, says, “Holkar’s horsemen are in the Ahmadnagar district. In Desh all the cities have been devastated and the peasants are being subjected to extreme oppression”. The same tale is told in two letters of 22nd August and 24th October: “Holkar’s *fauj* are perpetrating a deluge (*pralay*) by extorting blackmail. . . . The famine is extreme. . . . The ryots have none to save them.” (Gulgulé D.)