Summary

Modern Indian History Class 05

Maratha continued (5:04 PM)

Military rise of Marathas:
In 1719, Marathas allied with the Sayyid brothers of the Hindustani group to remove Farukksiyar and place Muhammad Shah as a puppet ruler.
In return they got:
Independent status in Maharashtra (Shahu recognized the authority of the Mughal emperor, therefore independent here means autonomous like successor state, that is not legally but in practice).
Chauth(1/4th of revenue) of Malwa and Gujarat.
Chauth and Serdeshmukhi (1/10th of the revenue) of 6 Mughal provinces of Deccan.
However, Nizam got rid of the Sayyid brothers and restored the status of Mohammad shah, and then became governor of Hyderabad in 1724.
Therefore Marathas lost the gains made.
In 1727-28, Baji Rao sent an army to Gujarat and extracted the right to 60% of the revenue of Gujarat from its Mughal governor.
In 1728 Baji Rao defeated Hyderabad and regained Chauth and Serdeshmukhi of Deccan.
Chauth is 1/4th of the revenue and Serdeshmukhi is 1/10th of the revenue.
Chauth was a tool of foreign policy and only applied to non-Maratha territory in return for Maratha protection, that is the protected state gave 1/4th of revenue to prevent future Maratha attacks on itself.
When the protected state could not pay Chauth anymore it lost protection and was then annexed by Marathas.
Serdeshmukhi was introduced by Chhatrapati Shivaji, Deshmukh gave 1/10th of revenue as a symbol of recognizing his authority as Serdeshmukh (head of Deshmukh).
Serdeshmukhi can be applied to Maratha and non-Maratha territories.
In 1731 Marathas defeated a joint attack by nizam and the local chiefs of Gujarat.
In 1729 captured Malwa and reached Rajasthan.
In 1736 defeated Portuguese and Ethiopian Muslims at the Konkan coast, this signified the naval strength of the Marathas.
In 1737 Bajirao plundered Delhi and kept Mohammad Fhah temporarily captive.
In 1738 Marathas defeated a large Mughal army led by Nizam and then signed the treaty of Bhopal in 1739 where they got Suba of Malwa and sovereignty over all territory between river Chambal and Narmada.
During 1745-51, Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur regularly attacked Bengal Suba and forced Alivardi Khan to give Orissa and Chauth of Bengal and Bihar.
Chauth was paid until 1757 after which EIC controlled Bengal Suba and Marathas lost Orissa to the British/EIC in the 2nd Anglo-Maratha war in 1803-05.
In 1751, Nana Sahib attacked Hyderabad territory in Konkan and signed the Treaty of Bhalke, where Salabat Jung gave Khandesh to Marathas.
From 1751 onwards Marathas regularly attacked Rajputs, they extracted annual tributes and interfered in succession but could never conclusively defeat Rajputs, therefore did not try for annexation.
In 1752 Mughals came under Maratha protection, due to fear of Afghan invasions(Ist Afghan invasion in 1748, 2nd in 1756-61, and 3rd in 1799).
In 1754 Marathas interfered in Mughal succession and placed Alamgir-II as puppet emperor.
In 1765 Marathas defeated Mysore and extracted tribute.
In 1766 Hyderabad gave northern Circars to EIC in return for Military protection from Marathas and Mysore.
In 1795 Battle of Kharda was the last battle between the Marathas and Hyderabad, where the Marathas emerged victorious, EIC stayed neutral as it also had a military alliance with the Marathas since the treaty of Salbai, in 1782.
In 1798 Hyderabad became the 1st state to sign a subsidiary/subordinate alliance with EIC where it lost control over foreign policy and military to EIC and return got military protection of EIC.
Marathas failed to defeat Sikhs.
Therefore by the mid-18th century Marthas emerged as the top power in India and it was the 3rd battle of Panipat that halted their rise and thereafter their decline began.

3rd battle of Panipat, 1761 (6:56 PM)

It was fought between Ahmed Shah Abdali/Durrani(he was the founder of Modern Afghanistan and of the Durrani empire, a trusted commander of Nadir Shah, declared himself king of Afghanistan after Nadir Shah's death, began 1st Afgan invasion in 1748 that failed, began 2nd Afgan invasion that concluded in 3rd battle of Panipat).
He was supported by Siuja-Ud Duala (Nawab of Awadh who wanted to weaken Marathas).
Najib-ud-Dula(ruler of Rohilkhandd).
Farrukabad under Bangash Pathan.
Jats under Surajmal temporarily supported Marathas.
Mughals (only technically) as Mughals came under Maratha protection due to fear of Afgan invasion.
Thus mainly only Marathas were on the other side.
Reasons for the battle:
The conflict between 2 rising neighbouring powers, that is Marathas in India and Abdali in Afghanistan.
In 1756 Afghan raided northern India and Abdali appointed his son Timur Shah as governor of Punjab.
Nana saheb sent his brother who defeated and removed Timur from Lahor, this was the peak of the Maratha empire.
Now nana saheb thought of making his son Vishwas Rao emperor of India.
Those Mughals who were anti-Maratha had earlier requested the help of Abdali.
Attacks by Abdali culminated in the 3rd battle of Panipat.
Why Abdali won?
A stronger alliance by Abdali- Awadh supported Abdai as it wanted to weaken the Marathas who were its rivals, therefore declined to support Marathas.
Rohillas and Bangash Pathans expected greater influence in north India if Afghani Abdali won.
Sikhs, Rajputs, and Jats stayed neutral due to constant plundering in the past by Marathas, therefore Marthas failed to convince other Indian powers.
A higher number of soldiers (60000 vs 50000).
Disunity between Maratha Sardars, for example, Bhonsle of Nagpur didn't fight, therefore factionalism played a role.
The better military leadership of Abdali.
Abdali's forces had better artillery, for example, horses mounted guns.
Abdali's forces were successful in cutting off the supply lines between Delhi and Panipat and therefore famine-like conditions existed in the Maratha camp in Panipat with no food for men and no fodder for horses, while Afghan supply routes stayed functional.
Maratha's hallmark strategy of Guerrilla warfare was not suited for the vast plain fields of Panipat.
Impact of loss:
Marathas lost important leaders like Sadashiv Rao Bhau and Viswas Rao died fighting.
While Nana Saheb died within weeks of the 3rd battle of Panipat.
Now factionalism began in Maratha Politics leading to the weakening of central authority.
Marathas got militarily weakened as they lost important leaders and 50000 men.
Abdali returned to Afghanistan with loot as there was a revolt in his army in Afghanistan(an anti-Abdali military general planned a coup in Afghanistan).
Thus 3rd battle of Panipat decided who will not rule India and not who will rule India.
Now there was a vacuum of power at the centre that was filled later by EIC by defeating multiple regional wars of India one by one.

Why were so many empires shaking battles fought in Panipat? (7:56 PM)

Battles were not fought for the city of Panipat but because this region was the gateway to Delhi.
Anyone who wanted to capture Delhi from the west had to pass through Khyber pass in Afghanistan and then enter India via Punjab.
For the ruler of Delhi strategically it was best to stop the enemy at the gates, that is in this region having Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra, and Thanesar.
This region had vast fields suitable for large armies.
This region had many warrior classes making military recruitment easy for the army.
The region was agriculturally productive and close to Delhi therefore easy supplies for fighting men.
Suitable weather for long battles.
Muhammad of Gazni fought in Thanesar in 1014 and his empire extended from Iran to Pakisthan by 1030.
Ghori fought Prithaviraj in Thanesar in 1191.
1st battle of Panipat led to the end of the Delhi Sultanate and the establishment of the Mughal empire.
2nd battle of Panipat led to the re-establishment of the Mughal empire.
The battle of Karnal led to Nadir Shah becoming emperor for 60 days.
The 3rd battle of Panipat prevented Maratha from becoming an all-Indian power.

The topic of the next class: Maratha administration.