of independence, the Mughals were on
the offensive whereas the Marathas were
on the defensive. This situation however
was reversed at the end of the war of
independence. The Mughals were thrown
on the defensive against the Marathas. In
the latter half of the eighteenth century,
the Marathas subdued the Mughals and
extended the Maratha power to cover
practically the whole of India. We shall
study this in the present chapter.
Release of Shahu Maharaj : After
the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, there
ensued a struggle among his sons for the
throne of Delhi. Prince Azamshah was in
the South. At once, he marched towards
Delhi to seize the imperial throne. Prince
Shahu was in his captivity. Azamshah
believed that if Shahu Maharaj was
released, there would arise a conflict
between him and Maharani Tarabai for
the gadi of the Maratha Chhatrapati.
Azamshah felt that this would sap the
Maratha strength and therefore, released
Shahu Maharaj.
Coronation of Shahu Maharaj :
Immediately after his release, Shahu
Maharaj marched towards Maharashtra.
He was joined by some Maratha Sardars,
but Maharani
Tarabai did not
accept his claim to
the throne. The
armies of Shahu
Maharaj and
Maharani Tarabai
fought a battle at
Khed on the bank
of the Bheema.
Shahu Maharaj Shahu Maharaj
won the battle. He captured Satara. He got
himself crowned. Satara became the capital
of the Maratha kingdom.
For a while, the mutual opposition
between Maharani Tarabai and Shahu
Maharaj continued. Maharani Tarabai
proclaimed her minor son Shivaji II as the
Chhatrapati at Pahnala in 1710 ce. This
gave rise to an indendepent Maratha
Kingdom at Kolhapur besides the one at
Satara.
The early part of Shahu Maharaj’s life
was spent in Mughal camps. So, he had
seen Mughal politics from close quarters.
He knew the finer points of Mughal and
especially North Indian politics.
He knew the strengths and weaknesses
of the Mughal empire very well. Also, he
was acquainted with the influential people
in the Mughal Court. All these factors
helped him deciding the new direction of
Maratha politics in the changing
circumstances.
Aurangzeb’s successors had given up
his policy of destroying the Maratha power.
So the Marathas adopted a new policy.
Instead of fighting with the Mughal power,
they decided to protect it and expand their
own empire in that role. They believed that
restoring an old temple is as good as
building a new one.
The Mughal power faced the threat of
the Irani and Afghani invaders from the
north-west and also of the local Pathan,
local Rajput, Jat and Rohilas rulers. The
internal competition and tussle in the court
had also weakened the Mughal power. Due
to all these the Delhi Court needed the help
of the Marathas.
Balaji Vishwanath : After Shahu
Maharaj was released by the Mughals, he made Balaji Vishwanath, a Peshwa. Balaji
hailed from Shrivardhan, in Konkan. He
was competent and experienced. He
convinced many Sardars that Shahu
Maharaj was the real heir of the Maratha
empire and made them join hands with
him.
Kanhoji Angre was the chief of
Maratha Navy. He chose to side with
Maharani Tarabai and attacked the
territories of Shahu Maharaj. This gave
rise to a difficult situation. Under these
circumstances, Shahu Maharaj sent Balaji
to fight against Kanhoji Angre. Balaji
avoided the war and won Kanhoji over to
Shahu Maharaj’s side.
Chauthai and Sardeshmukhi rights :
After strengthening the position of Shahu
Maharaj in Maharashtra, Balaji turned his
attention to the politics in the North. The
Delhi court, after the death of Emperor
Aurangzeb, was marked by bickering and
confusion. The Sayyid brothers, Abdulla
(Hasan) and Hussein Ali had become very
influential. With their help, in 1719 ce
Balaji obtained from the Mughal Emperor,
the grants or sanads to collect chauthai
and sardeshmukhi from the Mughal territory
in the Deccan. These sanads gave the
Marathas the rights to collect one fourth
part (chauthai) and one tenth part
(sardeshmukhi) of the revenue from the
Mughal territory in the Deccan.
Bajirao I :
After the death of
Balaji Vishwanath,
Shahu Maharaj
appointed Balaji’s
son, Bajirao I the
Peshwa in 1720 ce.
He expanded the
Maratha Empire
during his term of
20 years. Nizam’s defeat at Palkhed : The
Mughal emperor Farukhsear appointed
Nizam – ul – Mulk the Subhedar of Deccan.
In 1713 ce Nizam tried to establish his
separate existence at Hyderabad. The
Emperor had given the Marathas the rights
to recover Chauthai-Sardeshmukhi from
the Mughal areas. Nizam was against it.
He captured some part of the Pune
Pargana. Bajirao decided to checkmate the
Nizam. He defeated the Nizam at Palkhed
near Aurangabad. The Nizam accepted the
Maratha right to collect ChauthaiSardeshmukhi.
As the Mughal power had become
weak, Bajirao knew that there was more
scope to expand the empire towards
northern side. Shahu Maharaj supported
his policy.
Malwa : Malwa in todays Madhya
Pradesh was part of the Mughal empire.
Bajirao sent Malharrao Holkar, Ranoji
Shinde and Udaji Pawar under the
leadership of his brother Chimajiappa to
Malwa. There, they strengthened the posts.
Bundelkhand: Bundelkhand means
some part of today’s Madhya Pradesh and
Uttar Pradesh - areas around Jhansi,
Panna and Sagar.
King Chhatrasal had established his
own kingdom in Bundelkhand. The Mughal
Subhedar Mohmmad Khan Bangush of
Allahabad attacked Bundelkhand and had
defeated Chhatrasal. Chhatrasal appealed
to Bajirao for help.
Bajirao took a large army and went
to Bundelkhand. He defeated Bangush.
Chhatrasal honoured Bajirao. This is how
Marathas established their supremacy in
Malwa and Bundelkhand.
Bajirao demanded from the Emperor
the office of the Subhedar of Malwa. As
the Emperor declined this demand, Bajiraomarched on Delhi in 1737 ce. The Mughals
were taken by surpriseThe battle of Bhopal : The Emperor
felt uneasy on account of Bajirao’s Delhi
expedition. He invited the Nizam to
protect Delhi. Nijam marched against
Bajirao with his huge army. Bajirao
defeated him at Bhopal. Nizam agreed to
secure the sanad of Malwa subhedari for
the Marathas from the Badshah.
The defeat of Portuguese : The
territories of Vasai and Thane on the
Konkan coast were in the possession of
the Portuguese. The Portuguese rulers
oppressed their subjects. Bajirao sent his
brother Chimajiappa to subdue the
Portuguese. Chimaji conquered Thane and
the adjacent areas. In 1739 ce, he laid
siege to the Vasai fort. The fort was very
strong. The Portuguese had a powerful
artillery. In spite of all this, Chimaji
continued the siege with perseverance and
forced the Portuguese to surrender. The
fort of Vasai and large parts of the
Portuguese territory passed into the hands
of the Marathas.
Death of Bajirao : Nadirshah, the
Emperor of Iran, invaded India. Following
the order of Shahu Maharaj, Bajirao set
out for the North with a big army to
defend the Mughal power. By the time he
reached Burhanpur, Nadirshah had
returned to Iran with an enormous booty
looted from Delhi. In April 1740, Bajirao
breathed his last at Raverkhedi on the
banks of the Narmada.
Bajirao was a great General. With
his valour, he established the Maratha
supremacy in the North. He won status
for the Maratha power as a formidable
power in the whole of India.
In his time, the Shinde, Holkar,
Pawar, Gaikwad families attained
prominence.
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