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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
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