appointed his son Balaji Bajirao alias
Nanasaheb the Peshwa. Following the
invasion of Nadirshah, there was instability
in Delhi. In these circumstances,
Nanasaheb tried to stabilize the Maratha
rule in the North. Ahmadshah Abdali
posed a challenge to the Marathas at
Panipat. We shall learn about these
developments in this chapter.
Situation in the North : The region
to the north-west of Ayodhya province at
the foothills of the Himalayas was called
Rohilkhand in the 18th century. The
Pathans who had migrated from
Afghanistan had settled in this region.
They were known as Rohillas. The
Rohillas had wrought havoc in the Doab
region of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
The Nawab of Ayodhya invited the
Marathas to subdue the Rohillas. The
Marathas chastised the Rohillas.
Conflict with the Afghans :
Ahmadshah Abdali, the ruler of
Afghanistan, was attracted by the riches
of India. He marched on the Punjab in
1751 ce. There was anarchy in the Mughal
territory. The Mughals were facing the
threat of Abdali’s invasion. In these
circumstances, the Mughals found it
necessary for their own protection, to seek
the help of the Marathas. The Emperor
was sure of the Maratha strength and
integrity. There was no other power strong
enough to protect Delhi. Therefore, the
Emperor entered into a treaty with the
Marathas in April 1752. According to this
treaty, the Marathas agreed to protect the
Mughal power from enemies like the
Rohillas, the Jats, the Rajputs and the
Afghans. In return, the Marathas were to
get cash money, the right to collect
chauthai in the territories of the Punjab,
Multan, Rajputana, Sindh and Rohilkhand
and the Subhedari of Ajmer and Agra
provinces.
As per the treaty, the Peshwa sent the
Shinde-Holkar armies for the protection of
Delhi on behalf of the Chhatrapati. When
Abdali learnt that the Marathas were
marching to Delhi, he went back to his
country. Because the threat of Abdali was
thus thwarted due to the Marathas, the
Emperor gave them Chauthai rights to the
Mughal subhas. These subhas included
Kabul, Kandahar and Peshawar. Though
the subhas were previously a past of the
Mughal empire, now they were part of
Abdali’s Afghanistan. As per the treaty, it
was a duty of the Marathas to win the
subhas back from Abdali and annexe them
to the Mughal Empire. Abdali however,
wanted to bring under Afghan control, the
region up to the Punjab. So a conflict
between the Marathas and Abdali was
imminent and inevitable.
Raghunathrao, brother of the Peshwa
Nanasaheb, accompanied by Jayappa
Shinde and Malharrao
Holkar, undertook the
campaign of North
India to combat
Abdali.
The local rulers
in the north saw the
Marathas from the
South as their
competitors. They did
not take into account
the broad vision of the Marathas and remained neutral, offering no help to the
Marathas. They did not like the Maratha
supremacy and interventions in the Delhi
court. Surajmal Jat and Rani Kishori were
the only ones who helped the Marathas
wounded in the battle of Panipat.
Also, some of the orthodox sects in
the North saw Marathas as people
belonging to other religions. They, too,
left aside the broad vision of the Marathas.
They persuaded Abdali to invade India
with a view to reducing the Maratha
might. They expected that Abdali would
defeat the Marathas and drive them away
back to the South, beyond the river
Narmada.
The Maratha standard on Attock :
Najibkhan was a Rohilla chief. He found
it hard to tolerate the Maratha supremacy
in the North. At the behest of Najibkhan,
Abdali invaded India again. This was the
fifth time he had invaded India. He
captured Delhi. He returned to Afghanistan
with a huge booty. Raghunathrao and
Malharrao Holkar marched to the North
again. They captured Delhi. Then, driving
out Abdali’s officers, they captured the
Punjab. The Marathas pursued Abdali’s
soldiers right up to Attock in 1758 ce.
The Maratha standard was raised at
Attock. Attock is in present day Pakistan.
From Attock, the Marathas pushed the
campaign up to Peshawar. However, they
did not make proper arrangements to look
after this newly conquered territory.
Dattaji’s valour : To get a firm hold
over the Punjab and to crush Najibkhan,
the Peshwa sent Dattaji Shinde and
Janakoji Shinde to the North. Dattaji went
to the North. Keeping Dattaji engaged in
negotiations, Najibkhan established
contacts with Abdali. He requested Abdali to come to his help. On receiving the
message from Najibkhan, Abdali invaded
India again. Dattaji and Abdali confronted
each other at Buradi Ghat on the banks
of the Yamuna. A fierce fight ensued.
Dattaji showed tremendous valour. He
met with a heroic death in this battle.Sadashivraobhau : Nanasaheb sent
his cousin Sadashivraobhau and eldest
son Vishwasrao to the North to crush
Abdali. Sadashivraobhau was
Chimajiappa’s son. He had with him, a
huge army and a
powerful artillery.
Ibrahimkhan
Gardi was the
chief of the
artillery. He had
defeated the
Nizam in the
battle of Udgir in
1760 ce, on the
strength of this
artillery.The Battle of Panipat : In his
campaign of the North, Sadashivraobhau
captured Delhi. The armies of the
Marathas and Abdali confronted each
other at Panipat. On 14 January 1761, the
Marathas opened the battle by attacking
Abdali’s army. This was the Third Battle
of Panipat. Vishwasrao fell a victim to
an enemy bullet in the battle. When
Sadashivraobhau learnt this, he fiercely
attacked the enemy in a frenzy. He
disappeared in the battle fray. Seeing that
their leader had disappeared, the Maratha
soldiers lost courage. At that very moment,
the reserve contingents of Abdali launched
an attack on the Marathas with a fresh
vigour. The Marathas were defeated. A
whole generation of young men in
Maharashtra was killed. Many brave
Sardars fell on the battlefield. The
Marathas believed that an outsider like
Abdali had no moral right to rule here.
The Marathas fought at Panipat with the
broad perspective that India is for Indians.Sadashivraobhau had explained the
broad, all-inclusive viewpoint of the
Marathas in his correspondence with the
rulers in the North, saying that they were
all native to the land and Abdali was an
enemy from a foreign country. But the
rulers in the North did not respond
favourably to him and took a neutral
attitude. Naturally, the Marathas had to
shoulder the responsibility of protecting
India. We can say that the Marathas
were the first in our history to realise that
India was one country and it was
necessary for all to lend support to the
king irrespective of his religion.
Peshwa Madhavrao : After the
death of Peshwa Nanasaheb, his son
Madhavrao succeeded him to the office
of the Peshwa. Madhavrao kept the
Nizam and Hyder Ali at bay. He
established the
supremacy of the
Marathas in the
North again.
After the defeat
of the Marathas at
Panipat, the Nizam
once again resumed
his anti-Maratha
activities. He
invaded the Maratha
territory. Madhavrao
defeated the Nizam
at Rakshasbhuvan near Paithan.
Hyder Ali was the Sultan of Mysore.
Taking advantage of the Maratha defeat
at Panipat, Hyder Ali attacked their
territory in Karnataka. The Marathas
defeated Hyder in a battle at Moti Talav
near Srirangapattan. He then agreed to
cede the region north of the river
Tungabhadra to the Marathas.
Peshwa Madhavrao died in 1772 ce.
In the history of the Marathas, he is
described as an honest, hard-working,
determined administrator who was keen
on public welfare. The death of this
capable Peshwa was an irreparable loss
to the Maratha State.
Peshwa Madhavrao provided
special attention towards the welfare
of farmers. He dug many wells in
Pune and increased the water supply
to the city. Administrators like Nana
Phadnavis and judges like
Ramshastri Prabhune emerged under
his rule. He reformed the judiciary
for better justice to the common
people. He started artillery and
ammunition factories. He also
established a mint to make coins.
Peshwa Madhavrao
The two Peshwas who succeeded
Peshwa Madhavrao, namely Narayanrao
and Sawai Madhavrao, did not live long.
During their term, Peshwa was in the grip
of family feuds. Raghunathrao, who had
once raised the Maratha standard at
Attock, sought shelter with the British to
satisfy his greed for power. This led to a
war between the Marathas and the British.Hyder Ali died in 1782 ce. After him
his son Tipu became the Sultan of
Mysore. He was a skilled warrior, a
scholar and a poet. He used his competence
to increase the might of his Kingdom. He
established contact with French and shook
the foundation of British supremacy. He
died in 1799 ce in a battle against the
British.
The Maratha Supremacy Rises
Once Again : The Maratha prestige in
the North had suffered a severe setback
because of the debacle at Panipat.
Madhavrao dispatched Mahadji Shinde,
Tukoji Holkar, Ramchandra Kanade and
Visajipant Biniwale to re-establish the
Maratha rule in the North. The Maratha
army defeated the Jats, the Rohillas and
the Rajputs. The Marathas restored the
Emperor Shah Alam to the throne of
Delhi under their own protection. The
Maratha power was revived in the North.
The Marathas suffered a heavy loss
in the battle of Panipat. Abdali’s army
also suffered losses. He did not benefit
financially in the battle. In fact, Abdali
or his descendants did not muster enough
courage to invade India again. They
realised that only the Marathas had the
strength and capacity to control the
anarchy in the North. They expressed
their wish that the Marathas should
protect the Empire. They sent a messenger
to Pune to establish cordial relations. It
is important to note that the Marathas
overcame the great defeat at Panipat and
successfully revived their supremacy in
the politics of the North. Malharrao
Holkar, Ahilyabai Holkar and Mahadji
Shinde had a lion’s share in all this.
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