The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c11.17

c11.17

The gardis have left a very bad record in the military annals of the Marathas. They were mercenaries of the worst type drawn from all parts of India and were not bound to the Maratha empire by any bond of common tradition or common interest. They had been attracted by prospects of pay and preferment and had therefore not the least hesitation in changing masters. Muzaffar Khan, one of their officers, had left the Nizam’s service for that of the Peshwa. After a difference with his new master he left Poona for Shrirangapattan and then joined the Nawab of Savnur. He had taken a prominent part in the defence of that place against the allied armies of the Peshwa and the Nizam. After the fall of Savnur he had been readmitted into the Peshwa’s service in spite of the protest of Sadashiv Rao, but he plotted against the life of that prince and was executed. Ibrahim Khan, his colleague and successor in the Peshwa’s new regiments, had also changed masters, but not so frequently, and he had not been disloyal to the Peshwa or his cousin, to whom he seems to have been personally attached. But the evil reputation left by Muzaffar was enhanced by the part taken by some of the *gardi* leaders in the political intrigues of Raghoba, and the murder of the young Peshwa Narayan Rao irretrievably tarnished their reputation.¹