Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c54.s5.31

v4.c54.s5.31

We now turn to Jaswant Rao Holkar. Having lost his guns and equipment in the battle of Indore (14th Oct. 1801), he fell back half way towards his real capital Maheshwar, but soon afterwards returned and recovered Indore (c. 10 Nov.). He next took to a roving life, plundering the country far and wide, and wearing out the detachments sent out by Sindhia in pursuit of him. His tactics are well described in the news-letters from Daulat Rao's camp: "Holkar is not fighting face to face, but practising light foray tactics (ghanimi). Our fauj go in pursuit of him and he cannot make a stand before our guns." And, again, "He roams about the country, never standing up to an open fight, but burning the villages, closing the roads to traffic and swooping down on our provision supplies. . . . Everything is dear in our camp; Holkar has left nothing in any village". When agents of General Perron visited him with a message, "Jaswant pointed to his horse and spear, and directed the men to tell their master that the former at all times afforded him a shade to sleep in, and the latter means of subsistence". (Gulgulé, PRC. ix. No. 50. Malcolm, i. 220 et seq.)