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::,4 HISTORY 0)1 MODERN INDIA

Ranjit Singh built up a powerful, disciplined, an~ well-equipped


army along European lines with the help of European in~tructors. liis
new army was not confined co the Sikhs. He also recruited Gurkh
Biharis, Oriyas, Pathans, Dogras, and Punjabi Muslims. He set ~
modern foundties to manufacture cannon at Lahore and employed
Muslim gunners to man them. It is said that he possess~d the second
best army in Asia, the first being che army of the .f;nghsh East India
Company .
Ranjit Singh had great capacity for choosing his ministers and
officials. His court was scudded with outstandin g men. He was tolerant
and liberal in rdigious matters. He patronised not o.rily Sikh, but also
Muslim and Hindu holy men. Many of his importan t mir~isters and
command ers were Muslims and Hindus. The most prominen t .and
trusted of his minis_ters was Fakir Azizuddin , while his finance minister
was Dewan Dina Nath. His was a state based on equal opportunities
for all. Political power was not used for exclusive Sikh benefit. On the
other hand, the Sikh peasant was as oppressed by Silili chiefs as was ·the
Hindu or Muslim peasant. In fact, the structure of the Punjab as a state
under Ranjit Singh was similar to the structure of the other Indian
states of the eighteenth century.
When the British forbade Ranjit Singh in 1809 to cross the Sutlcj
and took the Sikh states east of the river under their protection , he
kept quiet for he realised that his strength was no match for the British.
Thus, by his diplomati c realism and military strength, he temporarily
saved his kingdom from English encroachm ent. But he did not remove
the foreign thre~.t, he· only left it for his successors. And so, after his
·death, ~hen his kingdom was torn by an intense internal struggle for
power, .the English moved in and conquere d it.

THE .RISE AND FALL OF THE MARATH A POWER

The most importan t challenge to the decaying Mughal power came ·


from the Maratha kingdom, which was the most powerful of the
succession states. In fact, it alone possessed the strength to fill che
political vacuum created by the disintegra tion of the Mughal Empire.
d
Moreover , it produced a number of brilliant command ers aD

l
Indian States and Society in the Eighteenth Century 35

statesmen needed for the task. But the Maratha sardars lacked unity,
and they lacked the outlook and programme necessary for founding
an all-India empire. And so they failed to replace the Mughals. They
did, however, succeed in waging continuous war against the Mughal
Empire, till they destroyed it. · .
Shahu, the grandson of Shivaji, had been a prisoner of Aurangzeb
since 1689. Aurangzeb had treated him and his mother with great
dignicy, honour, and consideration, paying full attention to their
rdigious, caste, and other needs, hoping perhaps to arrive at a politi~al
agreement with Shahu. Shahu was released ~ 1707 after Aurangzeb's
death. Very soon, a civil war broke out between Shahu at Satara and
his aunt Tara Bai at Kolhapur, who had carried out an ·anti-Mughal
struggle since 1700 in the name of her son, Shivaji II, after the death
of her husband Raja Ram. Maratha sardars, each of whom had a large
following of soldiers loyal to himsel~ alone, began to side with one or
the other contender for power. They used this opportunity to increase
their power ~d inAuence by bargaining with the two contenders for
power. Several of them even intrigued with the Mughal viceroys of
the Deccan. Arising from the conflict between Shahu and his rival at
Kolhapur, a new system of Maratha government was evolved under the
leadership ofBalaji Vishwanath, the Peshwa of King Shahu. With this
change began the second period-the period of Peshwa domination-
in Maratha history, in which the Maratha state was transformed into
an empire.
Balaji Vishwanath, a brahmin, started life as a petty revenue official
and then rose step by step. He rendered Shahu loyal and useful service
in _suppressing his enemies. He excelled in diplomacy and won over
many of the big Maratha sardars to Shahu's· cause. In 1713, Shahu
made him his Peshwa or the mukh pradhan (chief minister). Balaji
Vishw:math gradually consolidated Shahu's hold and his own over the
Maratha sardars, and over most of Maharashtra except for the region
south of Kolhapur where Raja Ram's descendants ruled. The Peshwa
concentrated power in his office and eclipsed the other ministers
and sardars. In fact, he and his son Baji Rao I made the Peshwa the
functional head of the Maratha empire.
· Balaji Vishwanath took. full advantage of the internal conflicts
of the Mughal officials ·to increase Maratha power. He had induced
Zulfiqar Khan to 'grant the chauth and sardeshmukhi of the Deccan.
r
36 HISTORY OF MODERN IN
DIA

In the end, he signed a pact with


the Saiyid brothers. All the ter
that had earlier formed Shiva ritori
ji's kingdom were restored to
was also assigned the chauth Shahu, Wh
and sardeshmukhi of the six
of the Deccan. In return Shah provinc~
u, ~h o had already recognis
nominally, Mughal suzerainty ed, though
, agreed to place a body
cavalry at the emperor's servic of 15,000
e, to prevent rebellion and
in the Deccan, and to pay an plundering
annual tribute of 10 lakhs of
also walked barefoot and pa rupees. He
id obeisance at the tomb of
at Khuldabad in 1714. In 17 Aurangzeb
19, Balaji Vishwanath, at the he
Maratha force, accompanied ad of a
Saiyid Hussain Ali Khan to
helped the Saiyid brothers in Delhi and
overthrowing Farrukh Siyar.
he and the other Maratha sard At Delhi,
ars witnessed at first ha nd the we
of the Empire and were filled akness
with the ambition of expans
north. ion in the
For the efficient colle~tion of
the chauth and sardeshmukhi
Deccan, Balaji Vishwanath ass of the
igned separate areas to Marath
who kept the greater part of a sardars,
the collection for their expe
system of assignment of the nses. This
chauth and sardeshmukhi also
the Peshwa to increase his pe enabled
rsonal power through patrona
increasing number of ambitiou ge. An
s sardars began to flock roun
the long run, this was to be a ma d him. Iri
jor source of weakness of the
Empire. Already the system of Maratha
watans and saranjams (jagirs) ha
the Maratha sardars strong, au d made
tonomous, and jealous of cent
,::hey now began to establish ral power.
their control in the distant lan
Mughal: Empire, where they ds of the
gradually settled do ~n as mo
autonomous chiefs; Thus, the re or less
conquests of the Marathas ou
original kingdom were not ma tside their
de by a central army directly co
by the Maratha king or the . ntrolled
Peshwa, but by sardars with
private armies. During the pro their own
cess . of conquest, these sardar
clashed with one another; If the s ofien
central authority tried to cont
too strictly, they did not hesit rol them
the Nizam, the Mughals, or the ate to joi n hands with en • b h
English. emies, e t ey
Balaji Vishwanath died in 17
20. He was succ d d
I
his 20-year-old son BaJt·· Rao I h
bold and bn•lh·ant commander d
. In sp ite of his yo
cc: e as Pes wa by
h B ..
an an ambitiou utd , a11 Rao was a
I
He has been descn'bed as "th an c1ever.statesman
e greatest exponesnt of .
after Sh1va. ..,, Led by Baii Rao the . .
J1 • 1 M th guen il.la tac nc s
, ara as waged
numerous
dian States and Society in the Eighteenth Century 37
In

ha l ~m pi r~ , try in g to compel the Mu hal


ug
caJnpaigns agains_t the M ht to co lle ct the chau"'- f
st
g
areas
to first, gidveth them th e rig ,,n o va
LJ :cials
ha kingdom. B 17 40 h ,
OID
e M ar at
and second, to cc e esc ar ea s to th
w on co nt ro l ov er M ly G'UJ ~ en
s ha d arat,
Baii Rao difed, thde lkMharatdha1h of Gaekwad,
a wa,
H ol ku
., • . e M ar at ha fa m ili es
and partS o Bun e an to pr om in en ce du rin g th is e . d. '
e m
Sindhia, and Bho··nsRleacam k d ai n N iz· am -u l-M . pk'no
ul w er
.
m
• l!l '- B e to co nt s po
All his .urc,· aJJ · o wor . ta nt ly in tri gu ed with the Raja
hi s pa rt, co ns
the Deccan. The latter, on ug ha l of fic ials to weaken the
rd ar s an d M
of Kolhapur, the Maratha sa et on th e fie ld of batde and both
th e tw o m
Peshwa's authority. Twice lle d to ·gr an t the Marathas the
st ed an d co m pe
times the Nizam was wor
d sa rdts hm ul eh i o f th e Deccan provinces.
chauth an ig n ag ai nst the Sidis ofJanjira
te d a lo ng ca m pa
In 1733, Baji Rao star ai nl and. Simultaneously, a
d th em fro m th e m
and, in the end, e~elle st ar te d. In the end, -Salsette and
Po rtu gu es e w as
campaign against the rtu gu es e co nt i,m ed to hold their
ut th e Po
Bassein w~re captured.. B
est coast.
other possessions on the w t pe rio d of 20 years, he had
17 40 . In a sh or
Baji Rao died in April sta te . From the kingdom of
o f th e M ar at ha
changed the character in to an empire, expanding in th
e
be en .tr an sf or m ed
Maharashtra it had .firm foundations of an empire.
er, fui~ ed to la y th e
north. He, howev cu pi ed , bu t lit de attention was
uere d an d oc
New territories were conq co nc er n of th e successful sardars
n. Th e ch ie f
paid to their administratio
revenues.
was with the collection o f ji R ao (k nown more widely as
d so n B al aj i Ba
Baji Rao's 18-year-ol to 17 61 . He was as able as his
sh w a fr om 17 40
• Nana Saheb) was the Pe ah u di ed in 1749 and by his will
erge tic . K in g Sh
father . though less en th e Peshwas hands. The office
~ of st at e af fa irs in
left the managemen he re di ta ry an d the Peshwa was
be co m e
of the Peshwa had already be ca m e th e official head of the
e. N ow he
the de/acto ruler of the stat is fa ct , sh ifted the government to
a sy m bo l of th
administration and, as fi th
Poona, his head qu ar te rs. s father and ur er
th e fo ot ste ps of hi
Balaji Baji Rao followed
in
er en t di re ct io ns , ta ki ng Maratha powe~o
ff
extended the empire in di ra n th e w h~le ofInd ia· MJ·dara da•
m ie s no w ov er
new heights. Maratha ar B delkh and was conso Jbate hd
uj ar at an d un a a
control over Malwa, G d, m . 1751 ' the Bengal Naw
Bengal was repeatedly invaded an
,
38 · HISTORY OP MODERN INDIA

to cede Orissa. In the south, the state of Mysore and other lllinor
principalities were forced to pay tribute. In 1760; the Nizam of
Hyderabad }Vas defeated at Udgir and compelled to ~ede vast tenitotjes
yidding an annual revenue of Rs 62 Iakh. In the, north, the Marathas
soon became the power behind the Mughal throne. Marching through
the Gangetic Doab a~d Rajpu~ana, they reached Delhi where, in 1752,
they helped Imad-ul-Mulk to become the wazir. The new wazir soon
became a puppet in their hands. From Delhi, they turne.d to the Punjab
and soon brpught it under control after expelling ~e agent of Ahmad
1

Shah Abdali. This brought them into conflict with . the doµghty
warrior-king of Afghanistan, who once again marched into_·India to
settle accounts with the Maratha power. • ··
A major .conflict foi; mastery over north India now began. Ahma~
Shah Abdali soon formed an alliance with Najib-u~-Daulah .of
Rohilkhand and Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh, both of whom liad
suffered at the hands of the Maratha sardars. Recognisir~g the great
importance of the .c oming struggle, the Peshwa despatched a powerful
army to the north under the nominal command of his minor son,
the actual command being in the hands of his cousin Sadashiv Rao
Bhau. An important arm of this force was a contingent of Eur~pean-
. style infantry and artillery commanded by Ibrahim Khan Gardi. The
Marathas now tried to .find allies among the northern powers. But their
earlier behaviour and political ambitions had antagonised all these
Powers. They . had interfered
_
in the internal .
- a-~ irs of th e R aJputana
arriu ·
·
st?,tes an~ le~ed huge fines and tributes upon them. They had made
large territorial ~d monetary claims upon ·A-w;aclh Th • . .
• h d · e1r actions m
the PunJab a angered the Sikh chiefs. ·Simila I th J h. r.
· 1 · · r Y, e at c iers on
whom, they had a so imposed heavv fines di"d th ' .
·· 1 , not trust em 1h
had, tn~refore, to fight their enemies all alon r th · ey
. f d ul M 11- · e, except ror e weak
support o Ima - - u~. Moreover the seni·o M h
• k d "th
constantly b1c ere w1 one another. ' r arat a commanders
The two forces met at Panipat on 14 Januar Th M
1761
army was completely routed, The Peshwa's son y~ h ·R e a.ratha
th , 1s was ao, Sad"' ... L.
ers pensh ed ~1v
Rao . Bhau, and numerous o er Maratha
· command .
I 8
. battlefield, as did near y 2 ,000 soldiers. Those who .fled were on the
b the Afghan cavalry an~ robbed and plundered by the Jats, d-Ursued
Y. f the Panipat region. trs, illld
Gu1arso
Indian States and Society in the Eighteenth Century 39

. lhe Peshwa, who was marching north to help his cousin, was
stunned by the tragic news. Already seriously ill, his end was hastened
~d he died "in June 1761. . .
The Maratha defeat at Panipat was a disaster for them. They lost
the cream of ~heir army and their political prestige suffered a big blow.
Most of all, their defeat gave an opportunity to the English East India
Company to consolidate its power in Bengal and south India. Nor did
the Afghans benefit from their victory. They could not even hold the
Punjab. In fact, the Third Battle of Panipat did not decide who was to
rule India, but rather, who was not. The war, was therefore cleared for
the rise of British power in India.
The 17-year-old Madhav Rao.became the Peshwa in 1761. He was
a ·ta1ented soldier and statesman. Within a short period of 11 years,
he· restored the lost fortunes of the Maratha empire. He defeated the
Nizam, ~ompelled Haidar Ali of Mysore to pay tribute, and reasserted
control over northern India by defeating the Rohelas and subjugating
the Rajput states and Jat chiefs. In 1771, the Marathas brought back
Emperor Shah Alam to Delhi, who now became their pensioner. Thus,
it appeared as if Maratha ascendancy in the north had been recovered.
Once again, however, a blow fell on the Marathas for Madhav
Rao died of consumption in 1772. The Maratha empire was now in a
state of confusion. At Poona, there was a·struggle for power between
Raghunath Rao, the younger brother of Balaji Baji Rao, and Narayan
Rao, the younger brother of Madhav Rao. Narayan Rao was killed in
1773. He was succeeded by his posthumous son, Sawai Madhav Rao.
Out of frustration, Raghunath Rao went over to the British and tried
to capture power with their help. This resulted in the First Anglo-
Maratha War.
The Peshwa's power was now on the wane. At Poona, there was
constant intrigue between the supporters of Sawai Madhav Rao,
headed by Nana Phadnis, and the partisans of Raghunath Rao. In
the meantime, the big Maratha sardars had been carving out semi-
independent states in the north, which could seldom cooperate.·
Gaekwad at Baroda, Bhonsle at Nagpur, Holkar at Indore and
Sindhia at Gwalior were the most important. They had established
regular administrations on the pattern of Mughal administration
and possessed their separate armies. Their allegiance to the Peshwas
HISTORY OP l\fODERN INDIA

became more and more nominal. Instead, they joined opposing


factions at Poona and intrigued with the enemies of the Maratha
empire.
Among .the Maratha rulers in the north, Mahadji Sindhia was
the most important. He organised a powerful European-style army,
comprising equally of Hindu and Muslim soldiers, with the help of
French and Portuguese officers and gunners. He established his own
ordnance factories near Agra. He also established control over Emperor
Shah Alam in 1784. From the emperor, he secured the appointment
of the Peshwa as the Emperor's Deputy (Naib-i-Munaib), on the
condition that Mahadji would act on behalf of the Peshwa~Bur he
spent his energies intriguing against Nana Phadnis. He was also a bitter
enemy of Holkar of Indore. He died in 1794. He and Nana Phadnis,
who died in 1800, were the last of the great soldiers and statesmen·who
had raised Maratha power to its height in the eighteenth century.
(Sawai Madhav Rao died in 1795 and was succeeded by Baji Rao II,
son of Raghunath Rao. the British had by now decided to put an end
to the Maratha challenge to their supremacy irt India. They divided·the
mutually wcµ-nng Maratha sardars through clever diplomacy and then
overpowered them in separate battles during the Second Maratha War,
1803-05, and the Third Maratha War, 1816-19. While other Maratha
states were permitted to remain as subsidiary states, the house of the
Peshwas was extinguished.
Thus, the Maratha dream of controlling the . Mughal Empire
and establishing their own empire over large parts of the country
could not be realised. This was basically because the Maratha empire
represented the same decadent social order as the Mughal Empire
and suffered from the same underlying weaknesses. The Maraclia
chiefs were very similar t<' the later Mughal nobles, just as the
saranjami system was similar to the Mu~al system of jagirs. So long
as there existed a strong central authonty and the need for mutual
cooperation against a common enemy, the Mughals, they remained
united in a loose union. But at the first opportunity, they tended to
assert their ·autonomy. If anything, they were even less'. disciplined
than the Mughal nobles. Nor .did the Mara~a sardars try to develop
They failed to encourage science and technology or
a new economy.

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