Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c56.s13.1

v4.c56.s13.1

The next step in Wellesley's scheme was to draw the allies and vassals of Sindhia away from his side. This was a very easy task, because Marātha rapacity and want of statesmanship had created a host of enemies among their agents and feudatories in North India. The first and foremost among these was the widowed Begam Samru of Sardhānā. As an imperial fief-holder, her army was legally under the orders of Sindhia, by virtue of his office as the Bakhshi of the Empire. But she was eager to preserve her independent status in relation to Sindhia’s viceroy of Hindustan, and her treasure, both of which had been threatened by Perron and Ambaji Inglé in concert in 1801. Moreover, as a Christian she had long maintained friendly relations with the British. During her love-intrigue with Levassoult (1795) she had tried to flee for refuge in British Indian territory. More recently she had sent to Wellesley an application to be taken under British protection with a guarantee for her jāgir. The only question for the Governor-General was how to save her from Sindhia’s vengeance if she declared for the English or her treasonable correspondence was discovered before Perron’s army had been defeated. Four out of her eight trained battalions (all under European officers) were now attached to Sindhia’s army in the Deccan and therefore surrounded by enemies far from home. The Governor-General therefore wrote to his brother in the Deccan “to contrive means to enable those battalions to join General Wellesley.” The course of the battle of Assaye showed how the contrivance worked.