But the Peshwa was a mediocre general,
and he suffered himself to be defeated and captured.
and he suffered himself to be defeated and captured.
Cambridge History of India - v4 - Mugul Period
The higher
minds among the younger generation of the court nobility looked
up to him with the respect due to a father, while fools and knaves
hated him for his love of discipline and honesty of administration.
He was undoubtedly the foremost general of his time in India. In
statecraft and diplomacy he was no less eminent. He had the true
statesman's length of vision and spirit of moderation, and of this
we have many proofs. He won over the surviving partisans of Muba-
riz Khan by liberal provision for their support. After crushing
the rebellion of his son Nasir Jang, he destroyed unread the rebel's
despatch-box, which was reported to contain promises of adhesion
from thirty-eight nobles of his own court. Still more strongly was
his wisdom shown when in 1739, Nadir Shah, disgusted with the
imbecility of Muhammad Shah, offered the throne of Delhi to Asaf
Jah, but the latter refused to be disloyal to his master. On his
deathbed he gave his son Nasir Jang several pieces of very good
counsel-telling him to live on good terms with the Marathas, to
abstain from putting men to death except by the judge's sentence,
to scorn repose and frequently to go out on tours, to live laborious
days in doing state business, to respect the rights of his servants
and treat every man in a manner worthy of his position, to be loyal
to his king, and not to provoke war by aggression. The only wrong
policy that he followed and recommended to his son was that of
removing his local officers after only a year or two of service and
putting new men in their places, on the strange ground that thus "a
large number of God's creatures would be fed”. In fact, in spite of
his possessing exceptional military capacity, his conduct was through-
out marked by prudence, the avoidance of waste or unnecessary ex-
penditure, and simplicity of living, worthy of a pupil of Aurangzib.
With the death of Asaf Jah a change came over the scene. The
striking inferiority of his successors to him in ability and character
was aggravated by the domination of Indian warfare by the Euro-
pean system which requires far larger and far more punctual ex-
penditure on troops and munitions than was necessary in the middle
ages. Now more than ever before the life of the state depended on
the regular collection and wise expenditure of the revenue. But Asaf
Jah's sons had not half his skill in war and diplomacy, nor even the
wisdom to choose able instruments and confide in them. After his
death we find frequent change of ministers and of the fainéant ruler's
1 Hadiqat, ii, 179-180.
## p. 386 (#422) ############################################
386
THE HYDERABAD STATE (1724-1762)
guiding genius, the Vakil-i-mutlaq (corresponding to the Peshwa in
the Maratha kingdom), and consequent mismanagement of the
finances and shrinkage of revenue. The state, faced, with constant
deficit, could not pay its troops; hence arose mutinies, and finally
the pernicious system of mortgaging the revenue and government of
districts to the creditors of the state, which inflicted untold misery
on the subject population and which in the nineteenth century
required all the genius of Salar Jang and the strong support of wise
British Residents to root out. Under Asaf Jah's successors we have
a repetition of the scene of the declining ‘Abbasid Caliphate : "A
brilliant and extravagant Court, where the arts flourished and hospi-
tality and charity were practised on an immense scale, was supported
by a rapacious hierarchy of peculative officials, who were always
striving to extort a fortune from their functions before the Court
should pounce upon their corruption. ”
The indigenous troops of the Hyderabad government were in-
effective when pitted against the native forces of the Peshwa or Tipu
Sultan, and its sole defenders were the French and then the English.
On the cultural side the picture was equally dark. Light came to
Hyderabad under the Asaf Jahi dynasty, but not progress. Its rulers
continued to dream the dreams of Aurangzib's reign and to live in
the seventeenth century. Titles of hyperbolical sound and fury but
signifying no real worth were profusely showered among the officials,
regardless of the great Asaf Jah's threat of flogging.
The modern spirit was shut out with the scorn bred of ignorance.
The impact of the west, which was causing a marvellous renaissance
in the British provinces and breathing a new life into the dry bones
of Hindu society and thought, left Hyderabad untouched. Thus it
happened that the intellectual leadership of Indian Islam eluded the
grasp of the foremost Muhammadan state in India.
At the time of Asaf Jah's death, his eldest son Mir Muhammad
Panah (Ghazi-ud-din Khan) was living in Delhi as his father's deputy
at court. The viceroyalty of the Deccan was seized by his second son
Nasir Jang, who had for some years past acted as his father's lieutenant
and being present on the spot could easily get hold of his treasures
and troops. At the secret invitation of the emperor he started foc
Delhi with the object of overthrowing the new minister Safdar Jang,
but had to return from the bank of the Narbada (5 June, 1749),
as the emperor was cowed by his minister and ordered Nasir Jang
to go back, formally creating him viceroy of the Deccan with the
title of Nizam-ud-Daula. At this time Asaf Jah's daughter's son,
Muzaffar Jang, claiming the viceroyalty, went to the Carnatic in
concert with Chanda Sahib, an aspirant to the Nawabship of Arcot,
1 For Berar, Khandesh, Aurangabad and Bidar, the revenue amounted to 37
million rupees in 1785, against nearly 79 million in 1725, a reduction to less than
one-half (Jagjivandas).
## p. 387 (#423) ############################################
BUSSY DOMINATES HYDERABAD COURT
887
who had recently secured release from a Maratha prison. The two
allies bought the help of Dupleix (July) and gained Arcot after
killing its Nawab. Nasir Jang, with a vast army of 70,000 horse and
100,000 foot, marched to the Carnatic, came upon his enemies near
Valudavur (end of March, 1750), secured the abject surrender of
Muzaffar Jang (5 April), and returned to Arcot. But on 16 December
he was shot dead by Himmat Khan, the Pathan chief of Kurnool,
during a treacherous attack on his camp by the French under
Dupleix's orders, twenty miles north of Gingee. 2
The French raised Muzaffar Jang to the viceroyalty and marched
escorting him towards his capital; but on the way, at Lakkaredi-palli
(thirty-five miles south of Cuddapah city), the new viceroy fought
his Pathan dependent and was slain (13 February, 1751). Bussy, the
commander of his French escort, was bribed by his revenue minister
Raja Raghunath (a black Brahman of Chicacole, originally named
Ramdas") to transfer his support to Asaf Jah's third son, Salabat
Jang, who was at once proclaimed his successor, and ultimately
gained from Delhi the titles of Asaf-ud-daula Zafar Jang and Amir-
ul-mamalik and recognition as viceroy of the Deccan. "Muzaffar
Jang was the first to engage Europeans and bring them into the
realm of Islam. After his death the French troops continued in the
service of Salabat Jang and got (extensive) jagirs, so that they soon
became all-in-all in the Deccan" (Azad Bilgrami).
Bussy soon justified the high price paid for his support. The suc-
cession of Salabat Jang was opposed by the Peshwa, who wished the
Deccan viceroyalty to be given to Asaf Jah's eldest son, Ghazi-ud-din,
a tame scholarly priest-ridden man, without any military capacity
or ambition, under whom the Peshwa would practically govern the
Deccan as his deputy. Balaji intrigued at the imperial court in
favour of Ghazi-ud-din, and at the same time obstructed Salabat
Jang's agents in taking possession of their territory. War resulted.
But while the Peshwa was entangled in a civil war with his domestic
enemies, the Maratha governors of Gujarat and Berar, Salabat Jang
invaded Maharashtra with his French contingent and forced his way
towards Poona. The rival forces came into contact on 1 December,
1751, and there was daily fighting, the Marathas retreating and the
Mughuls advancing. In the night of 3 December, the French sur-
prised Balaji between Arangaon and Sarola 3 on the bank of the
Sina, put him to flight in his undress, slew many of his troops and
plundered all their property, including the Peshwa's idols and gold
ritual vassels. But Balaji soon rallied his scattered forces and deli-
vered a counter-attack only five days later, in which many were slain
on both sides. Salabat advanced plundering up to Talegaon Dham-
dhera, eighteen miles north-east of Poona. The campaign, however,
1 See vol. v, p. 126.
2 See vol. v, p. 127.
3 Two railway
stations, respectively eight and twenty miles south of Ahmadnagar,
## p. 388 (#424) ############################################
388
THE HYDERABAD STATE (1724–1762)
ended indecisively owing to scarcity of provisions and dissensions in
the Muslim camp. A truce was patched up and Salabat started for
his capital in the middle of April, 1752.
The danger which Salabat Jang dreaded most now approached
him. His eldest brother Ghazi-ud-din started (17 May) from Delhi
with a strong Maratha escort, in order to wrest the viceroyalty of
the Deccan which had been conferred upon him by the emperor
with the titles of Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah. To meet this invasion,
Bussy arranged for Salabat Jang a defensive subsidiary alliance with
Balaji (signed on 5 August), ceding to the Peshwa the province of
Khandesh (reserving only the imperial forts and the city of Burhan-
pur), the district of Baglan, and lands yielding 200,000 rupees a year
in the Sangamner and Jalna subdivisions, besides tribute for the
Carnatic and Hyderabad. The Peshwa on his part promised to
defend Salabat Jang against all “who might come to dispute the
Deccan with him, even if it were the vazir himself, furnished with the
emperor's authority", to look after his interests at the imperial court
against his enemies, and to keep the Marathas out of the rest of
Mughul Deccan. He also freed Salabat Jang from any liability to
pay the six million rupees for which Ghazi-ud-din had given a bond
to the Peshwa. But the storm unexpectedly blew over. Ghazi-ud-din
was poisoned by his stepmother on 16 October, only seventeen days
after his arrival at Aurangabad.
Salabat Jang thus gained security, but he had neither civil or
military capacity, nor character enough to act of his own will or trust
able agents. Throughout his régime he was a mere puppet in the
hands of his successive regents who ruled the state, while the intrigues
of his courtiers and the mutinies of his unpaid soldiery paralysed the
administration. The best of these regents was Samsam-ud-daula Shah
Nawaz Khan (in office, December 1753-July 1757), who succeeded
in removing financial insolvency, restoring administrative efficiency,
repressing foreign enemies and rebellious vassals, and giving some
peace and happiness to the subject population.
Shah Nawaz Khan was versed in many branches of knowledge,
particularly in history (in which his enduring monument is his
Maasir-ul-umara, or biographical dictionary of the Mughul peers, in
three large volumes). High-minded, sympathetic to all, habitually
charitable, a lover of justice, dealing directly with suitors in an open
court without allowing intermediaries, an expert in financial manage-
ment and diplomacy alike, “he wrought a magical change during
his four years of Chancellorship by his wisdom and administrative
genius, converted the insolvency of the State—when household goods
had to be sold for feeding the Nizam-into a balanced budget at
the end of the fourth year" (Hadiqat), and kept the Marathas within
their own limits. If he failed, in the end, to reform the government,
1 Lettres et Conventions, 261-2.
## p. 388 (#425) ############################################
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## p. 389 (#427) ############################################
BUSSY RECOVERS CONTROL OVER NIZAM 389
it was due to the selfishness and incurable love of intrigue of the entire
official class and nobility, the imbecile character of his master, and
the domination of the French praetorians. The proved worthlessness
of his indigenous troops made Salabat Jang absolutely dependent on
the French corps for protection. In his letters he represents himself
as a helpless orphan who looked for the defence of his rights to his
deceased father's brother, "mon oncle le Gouverneur Bahadour"
Dupleix! (Lettres et Conventions, p. 267).
In 1754 Shah Nawaz exacted 500,000 rupees as tribute from
Raghuji of Nagpur, and arrested Surja Rao, the rebel officer of
Nirmal. Next year he sent the Nizam to Mysore and levied over
five million. Early in 1756, he repulsed Janoji Bhonsle's officers who
were raiding Bidar, and by a friendly alliance with the Peshwa
reduced the Pathan Nawabs of Bankapur and Savanur to obedience.
A year later he subdued Ramchandra Nimbalkar, the Maratha
grantee of Bhalki. The imperial forts of Asir and Daulatabad—the
greatest in the Deccan—were gained for the Nizam by bribery. But
his attempt to rid his master of French domination led to Shah Nawaz
Khan's fall. These foreign troops had been constantly troubling the
Government for their pay of 2,900,000 rupees a year. They now
demanded the great fort of Bidar in addition to holding vast districts
in Chicacole and Rajahmundry. Bussy's chief of artillery, Ibrahim
Khan Gardi, was seduced by Nizam 'Ali, and Shah Nawaz induced
Salabat Jang to dismiss the French corps. Bussy took leave to go to
his grants in Chicacole, but on the way he seized the city of Hydera-
bad, and stood at bay in the Chaumahalla palace (14 June, 1756). Here
he received from Pondicherry a reinforcement of 300 Europeans and
2000 Gardi troops under M. Law. Salabat and Shah Nawaz failed
to dislodge Bussy after a two months' siege, and at last had to make
peace with him (August).
Within a year of this, French intrigue succeeded in overthrowing
the great minister. The pay of the army was due for two years, and
"instigated by others" the soldiers caused a riot in the city and forced
the Nizam to dismiss Shah Nawaz (23 July, 1757) and appoint the
pro-French Basalat Jang as regent. A terrible popular' rising broke
out that day; the ruffians and the mob of the city wanted to sack
Shah Nawaz's house; but two nights later he escaped to Daulatabad,
abandoning his house to plunder. Profiting by this internal division,
the Peshwa's son Vishvas Rao invaded the country east of Auranga-
bad. So, Salabat made terms with Shah Nawaz and induced him to
return (13 November). But all power now passed into the hands of
Nizam 'Ali, who was appointed heir and regent. The campaign of
Nizam 'Ali against the Peshwa in the Sindkhed region ended in a
peace by which the Marathas gained two and a half million rupees
worth of land in the Deccan and the fort of Naldrug (January, 1758).
All this time Bussy and his force had been absent on the east coast.
## p. 390 (#428) ############################################
390
THE HYDERABAD STATE (1724–1762)
They now returned to Aurangabad, where Bussy's manager Haidar
Jang completely deceived Shah Nawaz, seduced Nizam Ali's army
by paying 800,000 rupees, and at last, on 5 April, 1758, caused Shah
Nawaz to be arrested. Salabat Jang himself was placed under a
French guard. Haidar was planning to imprison Nizam 'Ali and to
seize the supreme power, when he himself was treacherously mur-
dered by that prince (12 May), who escaped the vengeance of the
French brigade by “marvellous skill and bravery". A riot raged
through the city, in the course of which Shah Nawaz and his son were
murdered in prison by Lachhmana, an officer of the French corps.
The new regent Basalat Jang (the fifth son of Asaf Jah) proved a
cypher. The French star waned as the English asserted their armed
superiority in the Carnatic in the Seven Years' War. These disasters
reacted on the French position at the Nizam's court. Bussy was
recalled by Lally to the Madras coast (June, 1758). Nizam 'Ali came
back to Hyderabad, and after some quarrel among the three brothers
succeeded in being invested with all power vice Basalat Jang dis-
missed (June, 1759).
The Nizam's army, deprived of its French corps and Ibrahim Khan
Gardi's artillery (the latter having entered the Peshwa's service
now), was reduced to helplessness. On the other hand, the strength
and ambition of the Marathas proportionately increased from the
adhesion of Ibrahim Khan, which stiffened their "myriads of light
horse" with French-drilled modern artillery. The Peshwa renewed
war with the Nizam; his cousin Sadashiv Bhao gained the important
fort of Ahmadnagar by terms (9 November, 1759). A vast Maratha
army under the Peshwa's brother Raghunath and cousin Sadashiv,
with Ibrahim Gardi's artillery, began the invasion in the beginning
of January, 1760. Nizam 'Ali with Salabat Jang issued forth to
oppose them and reached Udgir on the 11th. Daily fighting began
immediately. Hopelessly outnumbered, the Nizam planned to force
his way to Dharur and join a large body of his troops who were
detained there. The Mughul force, only 7000 strong, was completely
enveloped by 60,000 Maratha horse, its progress impeded, and its
supplies cut off. “This time the Cossack-tactics of the Marathas
were combined with the European mode of warfare (of Ibrahim
Khan Gardi) against the Nizam. ” The march from Udgir to Ausa
was a long drawn agony. The small Mughul army, slowly moving
in the open field in close column, presented a sure target to the
French-drilled artillery hovering round, while the dispersed and
wheeling Maratha horse were practically safe from their enemy's fire.
It was the situation of Panipat inverted in favour of the Marathas.
When on 3 February the Nizam reached Ausa, forty miles south of
Dharur, 40,000 Marathas attacked his rear-guard, which
straggling some miles behind, and a great disaster fell on it, all the
commanders and most of the men being killed. The victorious
was
## p. 391 (#429) ############################################
NIZAM 'ALI DEPOSES SALABAT JANG
391
Marathas then fell upon the Mughul centre and the battle raged till
sunset. The Nizam's army was in no condition to fight any more.
So, he made peace by ceding territory, yielding six million rupees in
the province of Aurangabad, half of Bijapur and Bidar, the forts of
Asir, Daulatabad and Mulher, and the cities of Bijapur and Burhanpur
to the Peshwa (February, 1760). The descendants of Asaf Jah retained
nothing more than Hyderabad, some parts of the province of Bijapur,
and a little of Bidar, and that, too, on condition of paying the
Marathas one-fourth of the revenue.
This was the apogee of Maratha success. Nemesis came at Panipat
within one year, followed by the death of Balaji Rao, the succession
of his minor son, and the internal dissensions caused by the guilty
ambition of his brother Raghunath Rao, which paralysed the Maratha
power. Seizing this opportunity, Nizam 'Ali invaded Maharashtra
in November, 1761, and made his way to within fourteen miles of
Poona. The Peshwa made peace (2 January, 1762), relinquishing
nearly half of his father's territorial gains in the Mughul Deccan.
Nizam 'Ali returned to Bidar, seized the government, and threw
Salabat Jang into prison (6 July, 1762), where the latter died two
years later. The shadowy emperor of Delhi sanctioned the usurpation
by creating Nizam 'Ali viceroy with the title of Nizam-ul-mulk Asaf
Jah II.
With the accession of Nizam 'Ali (1762) a long period of stability
begins in the affairs of the Mughul Deccan. We have at last one man
ruling for forty-one years, and passing an undisputed succession on
to his progeny. Family dissensions, except for a short and futile
outbreak by his son, end. At the same time the centre of gravity of
the Maratha power slowly shifts from Poona to northern India. The
Peshwa's family was stricken by disease, physical and moral. The
ensuing peace could have been utilised for reforming the Hyderabad
state and improving its people's lot, if only there had been wise rulers
and honest ministers.
## p. 392 (#430) ############################################
CHAPTER XIV
THE RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
THE
HE aged emperor Aurangzib died in February, 1707, worn out
by his long guerrilla campaign in the Deccan. His successor, Bahadur
Shah, decided, on the advice of Zu-'l-Fiqar Khan, the viceroy of
the Deccan, to put into effect Aurangzib's plan of restoring Shahu,
the grandson of Shivaji, who, after the capture and execution of his
father Shambhuji in 1689, had been brought up in the Mughul court.
He was not twenty-six years old. Daud Khan, the deputy viceroy,
who was stationed at Aurangabad, was directed to give him all
possible assistance. After Shambhuji's death, the direction of Maratha
affairs had fallen into the hands of his half-brother Raja Ram. Raja
Ram died in 1700, whereupon his widow Tara Bai, a strong and
masterful woman, declared herself regent for her infant son Shivaji,
and profiting by the disorders at Delhi, reconquered Poona and
Chakan from the Mughuls. The return of Shahu, as was intended,
threw an apple of discord into the Maratha camp. Tara Bai refused
to give up her son's claims. She declared that Shahu was an im-
postor, assembled her ministers, and made them take an oath of
fidelity to resist the pretender to the last gasp. Shahu was granted
the customary due of chauth and sardeshmukhil of the six Deccan
provinces of Khandesh, Berar, Aurangabad, Bidar, Hyderabad and
Bijapur, and the governorship of Gondwana, Gujarat and Tanjore;
all these, of course, he was to hold from the emperor. Starting from
north of the Narbada in May, 1707, he advanced slowly southwards
during the rains, entered Satara, and was crowned in January, 1708.
He made Gadadhar Prahlad his Pratinidhi,? Bahiro Pant Pingle his
Peshwa, and Dhanaji Jadav his Senapati or commander-in-chief.
Tara Bai fell back upon Panhala, the great stronghold twelve miles
from Kolhapur, which became the capital of the rival kingdom.
As soon as the rains were over, Shahu, after celebrating the Dasahra,
the festival which marks the opening of the campaigning season,
marched against Tara Bai and took Panhala. In 1712, Tara Bai was
removed from the administration by a palace intrigue, and her place
was taken by her co-wife Rajas Bai, who claimed the throne for her
son Shambhuji;3 but this did not help Shahu, whose hold on his new
· For the meaning of the terms, see M. G. Ranade, Rise of the Maratha Power,
chap. xi and Sen, Administrative System of the Marathas, pp. 97, 243.
3 The office of Pratinidhi or King's Representative was created by Raja Ram
in 1690 and was supernumerary to Shivaji's Council of Eight. The word Peshwa,
or Prime Minister, is Persian, and dates from Muhammad I Bahmani (1358-77),
Shivaji preferred the Sanskrit title Mukhya Pradhan. Briggs, Ferishta ui, 150
note ; Grant Duff, 1, 150.
3 For details, see Kincaid and Parasnis (1931 edition), pp. 204-5.
9
## p. 393 (#431) ############################################
BALAJI VISHVANATH
393
kingdom became every day more precarious. Very few of the great
Maratha leaders had espoused his cause, and his rule was practically
confined to his capital, and a few hill-forts garrisoned by his com-
manders. The Deccan was in a state of open anarchy. The Desh-
mukhs and petty chiefs had fortified themselves in the villages in
which they resided, and plundered caravans, held up travellers to
ransom, and made war on one another with impunity. The new
viceroy of the Deccan, Chin Qilich Khan, who succeeded Daud
Khan at Aurangabad in 1712 with the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk, was
inclined to favour the Kolhapur party, and Chandra Sen Jadav,
the Senapati, who had assumed that office on the death of his father
Dhanaji in 1708, had gone over to Kolhapur, owing to a disagree-
ment with Shahu. This disagreement led to the rise of a very remark-
able man, who was destined to become the saviour of his country.
Balaji Vishvanath was a Chitpavanor Konkanastha Brahman,
whose ancestors were hereditary Deshmukhs or revenue officers of
Shrivardhan near Bankot. His early history is obscure, but towards
the end of the seventeenth century his father appears to have migrated
to the Deccan and taken service at the Satara court. For a time he
served under Dhanaji Jadav, the Senapati, who held him in high
esteem and gave him several responsible posts. This aroused the
jealousy of Dhanaji's son Chandra Sen, and shortly after the latter
became Senapati a quarrel broke out which caused Balaji to flee
for his life to Shahu's protection. Chandra Sen insolently demanded
his surrender from Shahu, and being refused, proceeded to join the
Kolhapur faction. Balaji Vishvanath, in gratitude to Shahu, made
himself invaluable to the king, in whose favour he rose daily higher
and higher. He enlisted fresh forces, for which he received the title
of Senakarta, or 'maker of armies", and came to terms with the
Nizam. He next attacked a notorious robber-chief, Damaji Thorat
of Hingangaon, who, however, defeated him and held him up to
ransom. He had better luck in putting down another rebel, Krishna
Rao of Khatav. Meanwhile, Shahu had despatched an army under
Bahiro Pant Pingle, the Peshwa, to protect the Konkan and over-
throw Kanhoji Angria, the hereditary admiral of the Maratha fleet,
who had taken the opportunity afforded by these disorders to ally
himself with Kolhapur, advance up the Bhor Ghat and seize the
forts of Rajmachi and Lohagarh, commanding this important high-
way into the Deccan.
But the Peshwa was a mediocre general,
and he suffered himself to be defeated and captured. Angria now
threatened to march on Satara. Shahu was in despair, and "looked
“
around him to discover a fit person to recover his conquered districts”.
He applied to the Pratinidhi, but that officer excused himself on the
* The story of his early years, told by Grant Duff (1, 316), has been modified
by later researches. See Kincaid and Parasnis, 202 sqq. and Sardesai, Main
Currents of Maratha History, D. 102.
## p. 394 (#432) ############################################
394 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
.
ground that "the army was not at his devotion". Then, in the words
of the Maratha chronicler,
he sent for the Eight Pradhans, communicated to them the accounts he had
received, and desired them to take the necessary measures for checking these
depredations. They all remained silent. He then looked towards Balaji, who
got up and addressed the Raja, saying, "If you will give me orders, through
your good fortune they will be carried into effect. ” Upon this the Raja placed
his hand on Balaji's head and desired him to take the troops. The Maharaja
gave him the entire administration of affairs with the robes of the Peshwaship.
His fame and greatness were daily augmented; the Eight Pradhans of the State
became subject to him.
The new Peshwa set about his task with a will. Being himself a
Konkani and an old friend of Angria's, his task was a comparatively
easy one. He arranged a meeting with the Maratha admiral at a
spot not far from the modern town of Lonavla, and soon came to
terms with him. He persuaded him to release the unfortunate ex-
Peshwa, Bahiro Pant Pingle, and to transfer his allegiance from
Kolhapur to Shahu; in return, he undertook to get him confirmed
in the title of Sarkhel (admiral) and to allow him to retain possession
of Rajmachi and other strongholds. At the same time, he joined him
in attacking Angria's hereditary enemy, the Sidi, who was deprived
of many of his conquests in the Konkan. This was Balaji's first great
diplomatic triumph. Kanhoji Angria, however, until his death in
1729, remained an ally rather than a vassal of the Peshwas. The
Angrias behaved like independent rulers, making war at will upon
their neighbours, the Sidis, the Portuguese and the English, and
levying what they chose to call "the chauth of the Sea" upon coastal
traffic. Several expeditions sent against these pests from Bombay
were repulsed with loss, until, in 1755, Clive and Watson, co-
operating with the Peshwa's land forces, overthrew their stronghold
at Gheria or Vijayadurg, and put an end to their power.
Balaji, on his return from the Konkan, determined to put a stop
to anarchy in Shahu's kingdom. Freebooters were suppressed with
a strong hand, and an example was made of Damaji Thorat, whose
stronghold was razed to the ground, while he himself was thrown
into a dungeon. Civil government was restored, and the Pratinidhi
and the Ashtapradhan, or Cabinet of Eight, were appointed. But the
old system of government established by Shivaji was no longer
workable. Conditions had changed, and at home the real power lay
in the hands of the Peshwa, while in the more distant parts of the
country the great Maratha chiefs were virtually independent. Balaji
realised that the only possible working arrangement was a confederacy
of the Maratha leaders; but even then, the separatist tendencies were
constantly at work, and the jealousy felt by the Maratha chiefs for
1 See Ives, A Voyage from England to India, I, chap. VII. Clement Downing,
History of the Indian Wars (ed. Foster, 1924), pp. 28 sqq.
## p. 395 (#433) ############################################
SHIVAJI'S SWARAJYA
395
the power wielded at the court by the Brahman Peshwa was a con-
stant source of friction and danger. 1
But Balaji was by no means contented with merely keeping the
peace: his ambitions and far-seeing mind had already conceived the
plan of freeing his country entirely from foreign domination. His
master was still the vassal of Delhi, and the Peshwa's dream was to
make Shahu absolute sovereign over Shivaji's Swarajya, that is, all
the districts ruled over by Shivaji at the time of his decease. The hour
was propitious. The once-mighty Mughul empire was fast breaking
up. The throne of Delhi was occupied by a series of puppet-rulers,
all the real power being concentrated in the hands of the so-called
"King-Makers", the Sayyid brothers. One of these, Husain 'Ali
Khan, became viceroy of the Deccan in 1715. He found, however,
that he could make no headway against court-intrigues which went
on during his absence, and the depredations of the local Maratha
chiefs. In 1716, he was severely defeated by Khande Rao Dabhade,
the veteran Maratha leader, who was levying chauth on the Gujarat
border. In desperation, therefore, he opened negotiations with
Shahu, through the good offices of one Shankaraji Malhar. This gave
to Balaji Vishvanath a long-sought opportunity, and the terms which
he proposed to the Sayyid were as follows:
(1) The emperor should confirm king Shahu in the right of col-
lecting the chauth and sardeshmukhi from the six provinces of the
Deccan and Mysore, Trichinopoly and Tanjore: Shahu was to exercise
sovereign rights in all the territory composing Shivaji's swarajya,
except certain portions of Khandesh, in lieu of which, territories in
the Pandharpur district should be ceded. The fortresses of Shivner
and Trimbak should be restored, and recent Maratha conquests in
Gondwana and Berar confirmed. Shahu's mother and family should
be allowed to return to the Deccan.
(2) Shahu, on his side, was to pay a million rupees as tribute in
return for the swarajya, and 10 per cent. of the annual income for
the hereditary rights of sardeshmukhi: to maintain a body of 15,000
horse in the emperor's service in return for the chauth; and to protect
the country from depredation and robbery.
The wretched emperor Farrukh-siyar protested in vain against this
base surrender of his rights and territories : Husain 'Ali Khan,
accompanied by Balaji and 16,000 Maratha horse under Khande Rao
Dabhade, marched on Delhi, and after some fierce street-fighting
Sayyid 'Abdullah seized the emperor, blinded him, threw him into
a dungeon, and finally (1719) murdered him. Balaji remained in
1 M. G. Ranade, op. cit. pp. 208 sqq.
% In common parlance, his aim was to re-establish the Hindu-pad-pad-
shahi, or Hindu Empire of India.
3 For its extent, see P. V. Mavji, "Shivaji's Swarajya", in JBBRAS, XX, 30, sqq.
+ See chap. XI, p. 339.
## p. 396 (#434) ############################################
396 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
Delhi until the new emperor, Muhammad Shah, was forced to get
rid of his unwelcome visitors by issuing three imperial rescripts for
the chauth, sardeshmukhi and swarajya respectively. Balaji returned
in triumph to Satara, where honours were showered upon him; but
he was now nearing sixty, and the hardships of the campaign had
proved too great for him. He retired to his country-house at Saswad
near Purandar, where he expired in April, 1720. His lifework had
been completed.
Balaji Vishvanath may without exaggeration be termed the second
founder of the Maratha empire. Without his directing brain, Shahu
Raja, enervated by his upbringing in the Mughul court, would not
have survived for a year. His two great diplomatic triumphs were
the conciliation of Angria and the treaty with Delhi, but scarcely
less characteristic was his method of revenue collection, to which the
Marathas owed to a great extent their power. As Elphinstone points
out,” he deliberately preferred assignments on other proprietors, like
chauth or sardeshmukhi, to a solid territorial possession, or even a
consolidated sum. Hence the net work of revenue-collectors was spread
everywhere in the imperial domains, affording the Marathas endless
opportunities of spreading their influence. Pretexts for interference
and encroachment in an extensive territory were better than clearly
defined rights in a small one. Secondly, by insisting that the revenue
should be calculated on the assessments of the time of Todar Mal
or Malik 'Ambar, which, he knew well, a country ravaged by war
could never pay, he could always have a bill for arrears in hand.
Thirdly, by parcelling out the revenue among the chiefs, he ensured
that, while each had an interest in increasing the contribution to the
common stock, none had a compact property such as might render
him independent of the government. Lastly, the system was pur-
, .
posely made so complicated as to throw all the power into the hands
of Brahman revenue-collectors and agents, who, being of the same
caste as the Peshwa himself, naturally played into his hands. The
scheme was typical in its ingenuity.
"Balaji Vishvanath”, says Sir Richard Temple, "had a calm, com-
prehensive and commanding intellect, an imaginative and aspiring
disposition, and an aptitude for ruling rude natures by moral force,
a genius for diplomatic combinations, and a mastery of finance. " It
is impossible to dispute the justice of this estimate.
When Balaji Vishvanath died, he left two sons, Baji Rao, a young
man of twenty-two, and Chimaji Appa, a boy of twelve. Both were
destined to play a distinguished part in their country's destinies. At
the time of his father's death, Baji Rao was on field-service; but on
his return, two weeks later, he was invested by Shahu with the
Peshwa's robes of office: the Peshwaship, more Indico, was already
1 The terms are given in detail in Grant Duff, 1, 337 sqq.
? History of India, Book xri, chap. 11.
9
## p. 397 (#435) ############################################
BAJI RAO
397
becoming hereditary. ' Baji Rao, though so young, was admirably
suited for the post. Balaji, according to some of his critics, was a
statesman rather than a soldier; he was even said not to have been
a skilled horseman, and a spiteful story was told that at one time
he had required a man on each side to hold him on! None, even in
jest, could say this of Baji Rao, who had been brought up in the
saddle, and had led a cavalry charge at an age when other lads are
still at school. A contemporary artist represented him in the dress
of a common trooper, sitting with his reins on his horse's neck, while
he rubbed between his hands ears of corn. ? On this dry grain he
would subsist for days, and at night he would sleep on the ground
like an ordinary soldier, his bridle over his arm, and his lance stuck
in the ground beside him. Such a man the Marathas would fo
as they followed Shivaji in the old days, to the gates of Hell if need
be. From the moment he took office, he set out to carry into effect
his father's lofty designs for the extension of the Hindu-pad-padshahi.
Balaji's expedition to Delhi had revealed to him the weakness of the
Mughuls, and Baji Rao conceived the bold plan of attacking and
overcoming the rich and fertile plains of Malwa, and extending
Maratha rule into the heart of Hindustan. With a foresight rare in
one so young he saw that such a plan would, by giving occupation
to the turbulent Maratha chiefs, not only extend the boundaries
of Shahu's kingdom, but lead to peace nearer home. This ambitious
policy was vehemently opposed by Shripat Rao, the Pratinidhi. The
Pratinidhi or viceroy was really the first, and the Peshwa the second,
official in the court; and Shripat Rao and the other Deccanis viewed
with jealousy the meteoric rise of the young Chitpavan from the
Konkan. At the Council the Pratinidhi stigmatised an invasion of
Hindustan, before Shahu's domestic dissensions were composed, as
rash and imprudent, and he advised as an alternative the reduction
of Kolhapur and the reconquest of the Carnatic. But Baji Rao's
eloquence swept aside all opposition. "Now is our time”, said the
gallant Peshwa, “to drive the strangers from the country of the
Hindus, and acquire immortal renown. Let us strike at the trunk
of the withering tree, and the branches will fall off themselves. By
directing our efforts to Hindustan, the Maratha flag shall fly from
the Krishna to Attock. ” “You shall plant it beyond the Himalayas! "
exclaimed Shahu, carried away by the Peshwa's eloquence. "You
are, indeed, a noble son of a worthy father! " From this day onwards,
the faces of the Marathas were turned northwards: it is significant
that the chief gateway of every Maratha fortress is the Delhi Gate.
In 1724, Baji Rao crossed the Narbada in force. ' Little resistance
1 Sen, op. cit. pp. 151 sqq.
2 Grant Duff, 1, 419.
8 In the Kinnara Khanda, is the expression in the Chitnis Bakhar. The
Kinnaras, or celestial musicians, dwelt in a fabled country beyond the Hima-
layas. Kincaid and Parasnis render the words as “the throne of the Almighty".
## p. 398 (#436) ############################################
398 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
was met with, for some of the Rajputs were now beginning to side
with the Marathas, and Raja Jay Singh of Amber actively assisted
them. Malwa was repeatedly overrun, and three Maratha chiefs,
Udaji Powar, Malhar Rao Holkar, and Ranoji Sindia were left
behind to collect the tribute. They were the founders of the princely
houses of Dhar, Indore and Gwalior : the two latter were soldiers
of fortune, who had won ther spurs on the battle-field. Malhar Rao
Holkar was of the Dhangar or shepherd caste, and had started life as
a trooper: Ranoji Sindia had originally been in the service of
Shahu. Another family which arose into prominence at that time
was that of the Gaikwars of Baroda. Damaji Gaikwar won distinc-
tion at the battle of Balapur in 1720, when fighting against the Nizam
under Khande Rao Dabhade, for which Shahu conferred upon him
the title of Shamsher Bahadur, or illustrious swordsman, which is
still borne by his descendants. ? About this time also arose the prac-
tice of assigning the attack on a particular province to a certain
commander. To Khande Rao Dabhade (who had been made Senapati
for defeating the forces of Husain 'Ali Khan in 1716) was in this
way assigned the collection of the dues in Baglan and Gujarat. In
1720, Pilaji Gaikwar, the nephew of Damaji, built himself a fortress
at Songarh, fifty miles east of Şurat, and proceeded to levy chauth
and sardeshmukhi as Khande Rao's lieutenant. Sarbuland Khan, the
Mughul viceroy, was powerless to interfere, and presently Pilaji was
joined by Kanthaji Kadam Bhande, an officer of Shahu. From this
time onwards, the fair province of Gujarat enjoyed no respite from
the Maratha stranglehold.
When the Marathas (says their historian) proceeded beyond their boundary,
to collect revenue and make war were synonymous; whenever a village resis-
ted, its officers were seized, and compelled by threats, and sometimes by torture,
more or less severe, to come to a settlement; money was seldom obtainable, but
securities from bankers, with whom all the villages had dealing, were prefer--
able, as they were exchanged for bills payable in any part of India. 3
The harvest season was, for obvious reasons, usually selected for
these mulukgirit operations; villages which resisted were plundered
and fired, and the crops destroyed. Only when the monsoon made
the movements of troops impossible did the wretched inhabitants
obtain a temporary respite. Then
A deceitful calm succeeded; the fall of the rain brought back the cheering
green: the beautiful province of Gujarat, which for hundreds of miles may vie
with the finest parks of the nobles of England, was clothed, in all its natural
beauties, by rapid verdure and luxuriant vegetation. Tranquillity seemed to
reign, where a short time before, nothing was to be seen but perpetual skir-
1 The popular story that Ranoji was the Peshwa's slipper-bearer does not
appear to rest on good ground. In Selections from Peshwa's Daftar, vol. VII, No.
23, is a list of Shahu's officers, with their ranks, in 1715.
2 Vide infra, p. 402.
8 Grant Duff, 1, 464, and compare the passage quoted in the footnote.
4 An expedition to enforce the payment of revenue (p. 412 infra).
## p. 399 (#437) ############################################
THE NIZAM LEAVES DELHI
399
mishing, murder and robbery in open day: caravans pillaged even when strongly
escorted, and villages burning or deserted. 1
The scene now changes once more to Delhi. Chin Qilich Khan,
the Nizam-ul-Mulk, finding it impossible to cope with the disorders
and corruption of the Mughul court, determined to set up for himself
in the Deccan. In 1720 he suddenly crossed the Narbada and marched
southwards. Asirgarh and Burhanpur capitulated, and Chandra Sen
Jadav and a number of disaffected Marathas flocked to his standard.
He routed Dilavar and 'Alim 'Ali Khan, the governor of the Deccan,
who had been sent against him by the Sayyids, at the battles of
Khandwa and Balapur (June-August, 1720). In the latter battle, a
detachment of Marathas under Khande Rao Dabhade and Damaji
Gaikwar fought on the imperialist side with great gallantry. Further
opposition was ended when Sayyid Husain Ali was murdered, and
his brother defeated and thrown into prison, thus putting an end to
the power of the "king-makers" for ever. The Nizam now made his
.
way to the Deccan unopposed. No sooner did he arrive than he began
to renew his intrigues with Chandra Sen Jadav and other rebels and
also with Kolhapur, but he was everywhere foiled by the young
Peshwa, who had stationed the head of the army with a considerable
army of observation to watch him. In 1722, however, he was recalled
by the emperor, and on 21 February, at Agra, he was formally in-
vested with the office of minister. He at once set himself to restore
the empire to some sort of order, and to abolish revenue-farming, the
grant of assignments and the innumerable other abuses which had
arisen. But his efforts only excited the derision of the young emperor
and his degenerate court, who were determined to thwart everything
he attempted to do, and even ridiculed to his face the stern soldier,
whose rough manners were better adapted to the camp than the
palace. In December, 1723, the Nizam could tolerate this state of
things no longer. He determined to shake the dust of Delhi from off
his feet, and under the pretext of going on a hunting expedition to
retire to the Deccan. Muhammad Shah, however, knew that this
practically amounted to a declaration of independence, and treacher-
ously sent word to Mubariz Khan, the governor of Hyderabad, to
intercept and kill him if possible. Shahu, who disliked Mubariz
Khan, decided to help the Nizam, and Baji Rao found himself for
the first and last time, fighting side by side with his rival. The decisive
engagement took place at Shakarkhelda in Berar (11 October, 1724). 8
Mubari Khan was routed and killed, and the Nizam marched on to
Hyderabad and took it. He determined to make the city his capital,
for which it offered many advantages. Being further from Satara
than Aurangabad, it enabled him to conceal his movements more
i Grant Duff, 1, 366. For the Marathas in Gujarat, see Irvine, Later Mughuls,
II, chap. VIII, and Forbes, Ras Mala, Book II (chaps. I and v).
See chap. XII, p. 344.
3 See chap, XII, p. 350.
## p. 400 (#438) ############################################
400 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
>
effectually from the Marathas; and it was better placed for operations
against the Carnatic, upon which the Nizam had already designs.
From this time dates the virtual independence of the Nizam, and a
new factor is added to Deccan politics. Having failed to put him
out of the way, the emperor pardoned and confirmed him in the
government of the Deccan, depriving him, however, of the post of
minister and the provinces of Gujarat and Malwa.
The peace between the Nizam and the Marathas could not, in
the nature of things, endure very long. The Nizam chafed at the
presence of the Maratha tax-gatherers in Hyderabad, and in 1726,
while Baji Rao was away in the Carnatic, he pursued assiduously
his favourite policy of fishing in troubled waters always an easy
matter, as the Maratha chiefs cordially disliked the Chitpavan
domination at Shahu's court. Once again he came to terms with
prince Shambhuji of Kolhapur, who viewed with apprehension the
Peshwa's growing interest in Carnatic affairs. In 1726, while Baji
Rao was absent on a campaign, the two allies made a surprise attack
on Shahu, who was for a time in considerable danger. ?
The return of Baji Rao, however, soon restored that situation, and
after the Dasahra festival, on 13 September, 1727, the Peshwa ad-
vanced northwards, driving his enemy before him across the Godavari,
and devastating the country all round him. By a series of masterly
maneuvres he then proceeded to draw the Nizam into the waterless
region between Aurangabad and Paithan. Here he surrounded and
attacked him near the town of Palkhed (11 March, 1728). The
Nizam's artillery alone saved him from annihilation: retreat through
the devastated area was impossible, and on 22 March he was compelled
to sue for peace. Thus Baji Rao, unaided, had brought to his knees
the foremost soldier of his time. It was a feat of arms of which any
commander might well have been proud. The treaty was signed at
Mungi Shevgaon. The Nizam agreed to reinstate the Maratha tax-
gatherers, to pay up all arrears of chauth and sardeshmukhi, and to
recognise Shahu as sole monarch of the Deccan; but like an honour-
able soldier, he refused to consent to a clause requiring him to sur-
render his ally Shambhuji. The importance of this treaty can scarcely
be overestimated. It was a diplomatic triumph of the first order,
and a worthy sequel to the brilliant mancuvres in the field which
had preceded it. It left Shahu at last the undisputed ruler in his
ancestor's swarajya, and it was a deadly blow to Baji Rao's rivals in
the Maratha court. Little wonder that, after this, Shahu depended
still more upon his young minister, who had once again saved him
from virtual annihilation.
There still remained the smouldering embers of the war to be
extinguished. In Gujarat, Trimbak Rao Dabhade, who had suc-
1 Irvine, Later Mughuls, II, 146, 154.
minds among the younger generation of the court nobility looked
up to him with the respect due to a father, while fools and knaves
hated him for his love of discipline and honesty of administration.
He was undoubtedly the foremost general of his time in India. In
statecraft and diplomacy he was no less eminent. He had the true
statesman's length of vision and spirit of moderation, and of this
we have many proofs. He won over the surviving partisans of Muba-
riz Khan by liberal provision for their support. After crushing
the rebellion of his son Nasir Jang, he destroyed unread the rebel's
despatch-box, which was reported to contain promises of adhesion
from thirty-eight nobles of his own court. Still more strongly was
his wisdom shown when in 1739, Nadir Shah, disgusted with the
imbecility of Muhammad Shah, offered the throne of Delhi to Asaf
Jah, but the latter refused to be disloyal to his master. On his
deathbed he gave his son Nasir Jang several pieces of very good
counsel-telling him to live on good terms with the Marathas, to
abstain from putting men to death except by the judge's sentence,
to scorn repose and frequently to go out on tours, to live laborious
days in doing state business, to respect the rights of his servants
and treat every man in a manner worthy of his position, to be loyal
to his king, and not to provoke war by aggression. The only wrong
policy that he followed and recommended to his son was that of
removing his local officers after only a year or two of service and
putting new men in their places, on the strange ground that thus "a
large number of God's creatures would be fed”. In fact, in spite of
his possessing exceptional military capacity, his conduct was through-
out marked by prudence, the avoidance of waste or unnecessary ex-
penditure, and simplicity of living, worthy of a pupil of Aurangzib.
With the death of Asaf Jah a change came over the scene. The
striking inferiority of his successors to him in ability and character
was aggravated by the domination of Indian warfare by the Euro-
pean system which requires far larger and far more punctual ex-
penditure on troops and munitions than was necessary in the middle
ages. Now more than ever before the life of the state depended on
the regular collection and wise expenditure of the revenue. But Asaf
Jah's sons had not half his skill in war and diplomacy, nor even the
wisdom to choose able instruments and confide in them. After his
death we find frequent change of ministers and of the fainéant ruler's
1 Hadiqat, ii, 179-180.
## p. 386 (#422) ############################################
386
THE HYDERABAD STATE (1724-1762)
guiding genius, the Vakil-i-mutlaq (corresponding to the Peshwa in
the Maratha kingdom), and consequent mismanagement of the
finances and shrinkage of revenue. The state, faced, with constant
deficit, could not pay its troops; hence arose mutinies, and finally
the pernicious system of mortgaging the revenue and government of
districts to the creditors of the state, which inflicted untold misery
on the subject population and which in the nineteenth century
required all the genius of Salar Jang and the strong support of wise
British Residents to root out. Under Asaf Jah's successors we have
a repetition of the scene of the declining ‘Abbasid Caliphate : "A
brilliant and extravagant Court, where the arts flourished and hospi-
tality and charity were practised on an immense scale, was supported
by a rapacious hierarchy of peculative officials, who were always
striving to extort a fortune from their functions before the Court
should pounce upon their corruption. ”
The indigenous troops of the Hyderabad government were in-
effective when pitted against the native forces of the Peshwa or Tipu
Sultan, and its sole defenders were the French and then the English.
On the cultural side the picture was equally dark. Light came to
Hyderabad under the Asaf Jahi dynasty, but not progress. Its rulers
continued to dream the dreams of Aurangzib's reign and to live in
the seventeenth century. Titles of hyperbolical sound and fury but
signifying no real worth were profusely showered among the officials,
regardless of the great Asaf Jah's threat of flogging.
The modern spirit was shut out with the scorn bred of ignorance.
The impact of the west, which was causing a marvellous renaissance
in the British provinces and breathing a new life into the dry bones
of Hindu society and thought, left Hyderabad untouched. Thus it
happened that the intellectual leadership of Indian Islam eluded the
grasp of the foremost Muhammadan state in India.
At the time of Asaf Jah's death, his eldest son Mir Muhammad
Panah (Ghazi-ud-din Khan) was living in Delhi as his father's deputy
at court. The viceroyalty of the Deccan was seized by his second son
Nasir Jang, who had for some years past acted as his father's lieutenant
and being present on the spot could easily get hold of his treasures
and troops. At the secret invitation of the emperor he started foc
Delhi with the object of overthrowing the new minister Safdar Jang,
but had to return from the bank of the Narbada (5 June, 1749),
as the emperor was cowed by his minister and ordered Nasir Jang
to go back, formally creating him viceroy of the Deccan with the
title of Nizam-ud-Daula. At this time Asaf Jah's daughter's son,
Muzaffar Jang, claiming the viceroyalty, went to the Carnatic in
concert with Chanda Sahib, an aspirant to the Nawabship of Arcot,
1 For Berar, Khandesh, Aurangabad and Bidar, the revenue amounted to 37
million rupees in 1785, against nearly 79 million in 1725, a reduction to less than
one-half (Jagjivandas).
## p. 387 (#423) ############################################
BUSSY DOMINATES HYDERABAD COURT
887
who had recently secured release from a Maratha prison. The two
allies bought the help of Dupleix (July) and gained Arcot after
killing its Nawab. Nasir Jang, with a vast army of 70,000 horse and
100,000 foot, marched to the Carnatic, came upon his enemies near
Valudavur (end of March, 1750), secured the abject surrender of
Muzaffar Jang (5 April), and returned to Arcot. But on 16 December
he was shot dead by Himmat Khan, the Pathan chief of Kurnool,
during a treacherous attack on his camp by the French under
Dupleix's orders, twenty miles north of Gingee. 2
The French raised Muzaffar Jang to the viceroyalty and marched
escorting him towards his capital; but on the way, at Lakkaredi-palli
(thirty-five miles south of Cuddapah city), the new viceroy fought
his Pathan dependent and was slain (13 February, 1751). Bussy, the
commander of his French escort, was bribed by his revenue minister
Raja Raghunath (a black Brahman of Chicacole, originally named
Ramdas") to transfer his support to Asaf Jah's third son, Salabat
Jang, who was at once proclaimed his successor, and ultimately
gained from Delhi the titles of Asaf-ud-daula Zafar Jang and Amir-
ul-mamalik and recognition as viceroy of the Deccan. "Muzaffar
Jang was the first to engage Europeans and bring them into the
realm of Islam. After his death the French troops continued in the
service of Salabat Jang and got (extensive) jagirs, so that they soon
became all-in-all in the Deccan" (Azad Bilgrami).
Bussy soon justified the high price paid for his support. The suc-
cession of Salabat Jang was opposed by the Peshwa, who wished the
Deccan viceroyalty to be given to Asaf Jah's eldest son, Ghazi-ud-din,
a tame scholarly priest-ridden man, without any military capacity
or ambition, under whom the Peshwa would practically govern the
Deccan as his deputy. Balaji intrigued at the imperial court in
favour of Ghazi-ud-din, and at the same time obstructed Salabat
Jang's agents in taking possession of their territory. War resulted.
But while the Peshwa was entangled in a civil war with his domestic
enemies, the Maratha governors of Gujarat and Berar, Salabat Jang
invaded Maharashtra with his French contingent and forced his way
towards Poona. The rival forces came into contact on 1 December,
1751, and there was daily fighting, the Marathas retreating and the
Mughuls advancing. In the night of 3 December, the French sur-
prised Balaji between Arangaon and Sarola 3 on the bank of the
Sina, put him to flight in his undress, slew many of his troops and
plundered all their property, including the Peshwa's idols and gold
ritual vassels. But Balaji soon rallied his scattered forces and deli-
vered a counter-attack only five days later, in which many were slain
on both sides. Salabat advanced plundering up to Talegaon Dham-
dhera, eighteen miles north-east of Poona. The campaign, however,
1 See vol. v, p. 126.
2 See vol. v, p. 127.
3 Two railway
stations, respectively eight and twenty miles south of Ahmadnagar,
## p. 388 (#424) ############################################
388
THE HYDERABAD STATE (1724–1762)
ended indecisively owing to scarcity of provisions and dissensions in
the Muslim camp. A truce was patched up and Salabat started for
his capital in the middle of April, 1752.
The danger which Salabat Jang dreaded most now approached
him. His eldest brother Ghazi-ud-din started (17 May) from Delhi
with a strong Maratha escort, in order to wrest the viceroyalty of
the Deccan which had been conferred upon him by the emperor
with the titles of Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah. To meet this invasion,
Bussy arranged for Salabat Jang a defensive subsidiary alliance with
Balaji (signed on 5 August), ceding to the Peshwa the province of
Khandesh (reserving only the imperial forts and the city of Burhan-
pur), the district of Baglan, and lands yielding 200,000 rupees a year
in the Sangamner and Jalna subdivisions, besides tribute for the
Carnatic and Hyderabad. The Peshwa on his part promised to
defend Salabat Jang against all “who might come to dispute the
Deccan with him, even if it were the vazir himself, furnished with the
emperor's authority", to look after his interests at the imperial court
against his enemies, and to keep the Marathas out of the rest of
Mughul Deccan. He also freed Salabat Jang from any liability to
pay the six million rupees for which Ghazi-ud-din had given a bond
to the Peshwa. But the storm unexpectedly blew over. Ghazi-ud-din
was poisoned by his stepmother on 16 October, only seventeen days
after his arrival at Aurangabad.
Salabat Jang thus gained security, but he had neither civil or
military capacity, nor character enough to act of his own will or trust
able agents. Throughout his régime he was a mere puppet in the
hands of his successive regents who ruled the state, while the intrigues
of his courtiers and the mutinies of his unpaid soldiery paralysed the
administration. The best of these regents was Samsam-ud-daula Shah
Nawaz Khan (in office, December 1753-July 1757), who succeeded
in removing financial insolvency, restoring administrative efficiency,
repressing foreign enemies and rebellious vassals, and giving some
peace and happiness to the subject population.
Shah Nawaz Khan was versed in many branches of knowledge,
particularly in history (in which his enduring monument is his
Maasir-ul-umara, or biographical dictionary of the Mughul peers, in
three large volumes). High-minded, sympathetic to all, habitually
charitable, a lover of justice, dealing directly with suitors in an open
court without allowing intermediaries, an expert in financial manage-
ment and diplomacy alike, “he wrought a magical change during
his four years of Chancellorship by his wisdom and administrative
genius, converted the insolvency of the State—when household goods
had to be sold for feeding the Nizam-into a balanced budget at
the end of the fourth year" (Hadiqat), and kept the Marathas within
their own limits. If he failed, in the end, to reform the government,
1 Lettres et Conventions, 261-2.
## p. 388 (#425) ############################################
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## p. 389 (#427) ############################################
BUSSY RECOVERS CONTROL OVER NIZAM 389
it was due to the selfishness and incurable love of intrigue of the entire
official class and nobility, the imbecile character of his master, and
the domination of the French praetorians. The proved worthlessness
of his indigenous troops made Salabat Jang absolutely dependent on
the French corps for protection. In his letters he represents himself
as a helpless orphan who looked for the defence of his rights to his
deceased father's brother, "mon oncle le Gouverneur Bahadour"
Dupleix! (Lettres et Conventions, p. 267).
In 1754 Shah Nawaz exacted 500,000 rupees as tribute from
Raghuji of Nagpur, and arrested Surja Rao, the rebel officer of
Nirmal. Next year he sent the Nizam to Mysore and levied over
five million. Early in 1756, he repulsed Janoji Bhonsle's officers who
were raiding Bidar, and by a friendly alliance with the Peshwa
reduced the Pathan Nawabs of Bankapur and Savanur to obedience.
A year later he subdued Ramchandra Nimbalkar, the Maratha
grantee of Bhalki. The imperial forts of Asir and Daulatabad—the
greatest in the Deccan—were gained for the Nizam by bribery. But
his attempt to rid his master of French domination led to Shah Nawaz
Khan's fall. These foreign troops had been constantly troubling the
Government for their pay of 2,900,000 rupees a year. They now
demanded the great fort of Bidar in addition to holding vast districts
in Chicacole and Rajahmundry. Bussy's chief of artillery, Ibrahim
Khan Gardi, was seduced by Nizam 'Ali, and Shah Nawaz induced
Salabat Jang to dismiss the French corps. Bussy took leave to go to
his grants in Chicacole, but on the way he seized the city of Hydera-
bad, and stood at bay in the Chaumahalla palace (14 June, 1756). Here
he received from Pondicherry a reinforcement of 300 Europeans and
2000 Gardi troops under M. Law. Salabat and Shah Nawaz failed
to dislodge Bussy after a two months' siege, and at last had to make
peace with him (August).
Within a year of this, French intrigue succeeded in overthrowing
the great minister. The pay of the army was due for two years, and
"instigated by others" the soldiers caused a riot in the city and forced
the Nizam to dismiss Shah Nawaz (23 July, 1757) and appoint the
pro-French Basalat Jang as regent. A terrible popular' rising broke
out that day; the ruffians and the mob of the city wanted to sack
Shah Nawaz's house; but two nights later he escaped to Daulatabad,
abandoning his house to plunder. Profiting by this internal division,
the Peshwa's son Vishvas Rao invaded the country east of Auranga-
bad. So, Salabat made terms with Shah Nawaz and induced him to
return (13 November). But all power now passed into the hands of
Nizam 'Ali, who was appointed heir and regent. The campaign of
Nizam 'Ali against the Peshwa in the Sindkhed region ended in a
peace by which the Marathas gained two and a half million rupees
worth of land in the Deccan and the fort of Naldrug (January, 1758).
All this time Bussy and his force had been absent on the east coast.
## p. 390 (#428) ############################################
390
THE HYDERABAD STATE (1724–1762)
They now returned to Aurangabad, where Bussy's manager Haidar
Jang completely deceived Shah Nawaz, seduced Nizam Ali's army
by paying 800,000 rupees, and at last, on 5 April, 1758, caused Shah
Nawaz to be arrested. Salabat Jang himself was placed under a
French guard. Haidar was planning to imprison Nizam 'Ali and to
seize the supreme power, when he himself was treacherously mur-
dered by that prince (12 May), who escaped the vengeance of the
French brigade by “marvellous skill and bravery". A riot raged
through the city, in the course of which Shah Nawaz and his son were
murdered in prison by Lachhmana, an officer of the French corps.
The new regent Basalat Jang (the fifth son of Asaf Jah) proved a
cypher. The French star waned as the English asserted their armed
superiority in the Carnatic in the Seven Years' War. These disasters
reacted on the French position at the Nizam's court. Bussy was
recalled by Lally to the Madras coast (June, 1758). Nizam 'Ali came
back to Hyderabad, and after some quarrel among the three brothers
succeeded in being invested with all power vice Basalat Jang dis-
missed (June, 1759).
The Nizam's army, deprived of its French corps and Ibrahim Khan
Gardi's artillery (the latter having entered the Peshwa's service
now), was reduced to helplessness. On the other hand, the strength
and ambition of the Marathas proportionately increased from the
adhesion of Ibrahim Khan, which stiffened their "myriads of light
horse" with French-drilled modern artillery. The Peshwa renewed
war with the Nizam; his cousin Sadashiv Bhao gained the important
fort of Ahmadnagar by terms (9 November, 1759). A vast Maratha
army under the Peshwa's brother Raghunath and cousin Sadashiv,
with Ibrahim Gardi's artillery, began the invasion in the beginning
of January, 1760. Nizam 'Ali with Salabat Jang issued forth to
oppose them and reached Udgir on the 11th. Daily fighting began
immediately. Hopelessly outnumbered, the Nizam planned to force
his way to Dharur and join a large body of his troops who were
detained there. The Mughul force, only 7000 strong, was completely
enveloped by 60,000 Maratha horse, its progress impeded, and its
supplies cut off. “This time the Cossack-tactics of the Marathas
were combined with the European mode of warfare (of Ibrahim
Khan Gardi) against the Nizam. ” The march from Udgir to Ausa
was a long drawn agony. The small Mughul army, slowly moving
in the open field in close column, presented a sure target to the
French-drilled artillery hovering round, while the dispersed and
wheeling Maratha horse were practically safe from their enemy's fire.
It was the situation of Panipat inverted in favour of the Marathas.
When on 3 February the Nizam reached Ausa, forty miles south of
Dharur, 40,000 Marathas attacked his rear-guard, which
straggling some miles behind, and a great disaster fell on it, all the
commanders and most of the men being killed. The victorious
was
## p. 391 (#429) ############################################
NIZAM 'ALI DEPOSES SALABAT JANG
391
Marathas then fell upon the Mughul centre and the battle raged till
sunset. The Nizam's army was in no condition to fight any more.
So, he made peace by ceding territory, yielding six million rupees in
the province of Aurangabad, half of Bijapur and Bidar, the forts of
Asir, Daulatabad and Mulher, and the cities of Bijapur and Burhanpur
to the Peshwa (February, 1760). The descendants of Asaf Jah retained
nothing more than Hyderabad, some parts of the province of Bijapur,
and a little of Bidar, and that, too, on condition of paying the
Marathas one-fourth of the revenue.
This was the apogee of Maratha success. Nemesis came at Panipat
within one year, followed by the death of Balaji Rao, the succession
of his minor son, and the internal dissensions caused by the guilty
ambition of his brother Raghunath Rao, which paralysed the Maratha
power. Seizing this opportunity, Nizam 'Ali invaded Maharashtra
in November, 1761, and made his way to within fourteen miles of
Poona. The Peshwa made peace (2 January, 1762), relinquishing
nearly half of his father's territorial gains in the Mughul Deccan.
Nizam 'Ali returned to Bidar, seized the government, and threw
Salabat Jang into prison (6 July, 1762), where the latter died two
years later. The shadowy emperor of Delhi sanctioned the usurpation
by creating Nizam 'Ali viceroy with the title of Nizam-ul-mulk Asaf
Jah II.
With the accession of Nizam 'Ali (1762) a long period of stability
begins in the affairs of the Mughul Deccan. We have at last one man
ruling for forty-one years, and passing an undisputed succession on
to his progeny. Family dissensions, except for a short and futile
outbreak by his son, end. At the same time the centre of gravity of
the Maratha power slowly shifts from Poona to northern India. The
Peshwa's family was stricken by disease, physical and moral. The
ensuing peace could have been utilised for reforming the Hyderabad
state and improving its people's lot, if only there had been wise rulers
and honest ministers.
## p. 392 (#430) ############################################
CHAPTER XIV
THE RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
THE
HE aged emperor Aurangzib died in February, 1707, worn out
by his long guerrilla campaign in the Deccan. His successor, Bahadur
Shah, decided, on the advice of Zu-'l-Fiqar Khan, the viceroy of
the Deccan, to put into effect Aurangzib's plan of restoring Shahu,
the grandson of Shivaji, who, after the capture and execution of his
father Shambhuji in 1689, had been brought up in the Mughul court.
He was not twenty-six years old. Daud Khan, the deputy viceroy,
who was stationed at Aurangabad, was directed to give him all
possible assistance. After Shambhuji's death, the direction of Maratha
affairs had fallen into the hands of his half-brother Raja Ram. Raja
Ram died in 1700, whereupon his widow Tara Bai, a strong and
masterful woman, declared herself regent for her infant son Shivaji,
and profiting by the disorders at Delhi, reconquered Poona and
Chakan from the Mughuls. The return of Shahu, as was intended,
threw an apple of discord into the Maratha camp. Tara Bai refused
to give up her son's claims. She declared that Shahu was an im-
postor, assembled her ministers, and made them take an oath of
fidelity to resist the pretender to the last gasp. Shahu was granted
the customary due of chauth and sardeshmukhil of the six Deccan
provinces of Khandesh, Berar, Aurangabad, Bidar, Hyderabad and
Bijapur, and the governorship of Gondwana, Gujarat and Tanjore;
all these, of course, he was to hold from the emperor. Starting from
north of the Narbada in May, 1707, he advanced slowly southwards
during the rains, entered Satara, and was crowned in January, 1708.
He made Gadadhar Prahlad his Pratinidhi,? Bahiro Pant Pingle his
Peshwa, and Dhanaji Jadav his Senapati or commander-in-chief.
Tara Bai fell back upon Panhala, the great stronghold twelve miles
from Kolhapur, which became the capital of the rival kingdom.
As soon as the rains were over, Shahu, after celebrating the Dasahra,
the festival which marks the opening of the campaigning season,
marched against Tara Bai and took Panhala. In 1712, Tara Bai was
removed from the administration by a palace intrigue, and her place
was taken by her co-wife Rajas Bai, who claimed the throne for her
son Shambhuji;3 but this did not help Shahu, whose hold on his new
· For the meaning of the terms, see M. G. Ranade, Rise of the Maratha Power,
chap. xi and Sen, Administrative System of the Marathas, pp. 97, 243.
3 The office of Pratinidhi or King's Representative was created by Raja Ram
in 1690 and was supernumerary to Shivaji's Council of Eight. The word Peshwa,
or Prime Minister, is Persian, and dates from Muhammad I Bahmani (1358-77),
Shivaji preferred the Sanskrit title Mukhya Pradhan. Briggs, Ferishta ui, 150
note ; Grant Duff, 1, 150.
3 For details, see Kincaid and Parasnis (1931 edition), pp. 204-5.
9
## p. 393 (#431) ############################################
BALAJI VISHVANATH
393
kingdom became every day more precarious. Very few of the great
Maratha leaders had espoused his cause, and his rule was practically
confined to his capital, and a few hill-forts garrisoned by his com-
manders. The Deccan was in a state of open anarchy. The Desh-
mukhs and petty chiefs had fortified themselves in the villages in
which they resided, and plundered caravans, held up travellers to
ransom, and made war on one another with impunity. The new
viceroy of the Deccan, Chin Qilich Khan, who succeeded Daud
Khan at Aurangabad in 1712 with the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk, was
inclined to favour the Kolhapur party, and Chandra Sen Jadav,
the Senapati, who had assumed that office on the death of his father
Dhanaji in 1708, had gone over to Kolhapur, owing to a disagree-
ment with Shahu. This disagreement led to the rise of a very remark-
able man, who was destined to become the saviour of his country.
Balaji Vishvanath was a Chitpavanor Konkanastha Brahman,
whose ancestors were hereditary Deshmukhs or revenue officers of
Shrivardhan near Bankot. His early history is obscure, but towards
the end of the seventeenth century his father appears to have migrated
to the Deccan and taken service at the Satara court. For a time he
served under Dhanaji Jadav, the Senapati, who held him in high
esteem and gave him several responsible posts. This aroused the
jealousy of Dhanaji's son Chandra Sen, and shortly after the latter
became Senapati a quarrel broke out which caused Balaji to flee
for his life to Shahu's protection. Chandra Sen insolently demanded
his surrender from Shahu, and being refused, proceeded to join the
Kolhapur faction. Balaji Vishvanath, in gratitude to Shahu, made
himself invaluable to the king, in whose favour he rose daily higher
and higher. He enlisted fresh forces, for which he received the title
of Senakarta, or 'maker of armies", and came to terms with the
Nizam. He next attacked a notorious robber-chief, Damaji Thorat
of Hingangaon, who, however, defeated him and held him up to
ransom. He had better luck in putting down another rebel, Krishna
Rao of Khatav. Meanwhile, Shahu had despatched an army under
Bahiro Pant Pingle, the Peshwa, to protect the Konkan and over-
throw Kanhoji Angria, the hereditary admiral of the Maratha fleet,
who had taken the opportunity afforded by these disorders to ally
himself with Kolhapur, advance up the Bhor Ghat and seize the
forts of Rajmachi and Lohagarh, commanding this important high-
way into the Deccan.
But the Peshwa was a mediocre general,
and he suffered himself to be defeated and captured. Angria now
threatened to march on Satara. Shahu was in despair, and "looked
“
around him to discover a fit person to recover his conquered districts”.
He applied to the Pratinidhi, but that officer excused himself on the
* The story of his early years, told by Grant Duff (1, 316), has been modified
by later researches. See Kincaid and Parasnis, 202 sqq. and Sardesai, Main
Currents of Maratha History, D. 102.
## p. 394 (#432) ############################################
394 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
.
ground that "the army was not at his devotion". Then, in the words
of the Maratha chronicler,
he sent for the Eight Pradhans, communicated to them the accounts he had
received, and desired them to take the necessary measures for checking these
depredations. They all remained silent. He then looked towards Balaji, who
got up and addressed the Raja, saying, "If you will give me orders, through
your good fortune they will be carried into effect. ” Upon this the Raja placed
his hand on Balaji's head and desired him to take the troops. The Maharaja
gave him the entire administration of affairs with the robes of the Peshwaship.
His fame and greatness were daily augmented; the Eight Pradhans of the State
became subject to him.
The new Peshwa set about his task with a will. Being himself a
Konkani and an old friend of Angria's, his task was a comparatively
easy one. He arranged a meeting with the Maratha admiral at a
spot not far from the modern town of Lonavla, and soon came to
terms with him. He persuaded him to release the unfortunate ex-
Peshwa, Bahiro Pant Pingle, and to transfer his allegiance from
Kolhapur to Shahu; in return, he undertook to get him confirmed
in the title of Sarkhel (admiral) and to allow him to retain possession
of Rajmachi and other strongholds. At the same time, he joined him
in attacking Angria's hereditary enemy, the Sidi, who was deprived
of many of his conquests in the Konkan. This was Balaji's first great
diplomatic triumph. Kanhoji Angria, however, until his death in
1729, remained an ally rather than a vassal of the Peshwas. The
Angrias behaved like independent rulers, making war at will upon
their neighbours, the Sidis, the Portuguese and the English, and
levying what they chose to call "the chauth of the Sea" upon coastal
traffic. Several expeditions sent against these pests from Bombay
were repulsed with loss, until, in 1755, Clive and Watson, co-
operating with the Peshwa's land forces, overthrew their stronghold
at Gheria or Vijayadurg, and put an end to their power.
Balaji, on his return from the Konkan, determined to put a stop
to anarchy in Shahu's kingdom. Freebooters were suppressed with
a strong hand, and an example was made of Damaji Thorat, whose
stronghold was razed to the ground, while he himself was thrown
into a dungeon. Civil government was restored, and the Pratinidhi
and the Ashtapradhan, or Cabinet of Eight, were appointed. But the
old system of government established by Shivaji was no longer
workable. Conditions had changed, and at home the real power lay
in the hands of the Peshwa, while in the more distant parts of the
country the great Maratha chiefs were virtually independent. Balaji
realised that the only possible working arrangement was a confederacy
of the Maratha leaders; but even then, the separatist tendencies were
constantly at work, and the jealousy felt by the Maratha chiefs for
1 See Ives, A Voyage from England to India, I, chap. VII. Clement Downing,
History of the Indian Wars (ed. Foster, 1924), pp. 28 sqq.
## p. 395 (#433) ############################################
SHIVAJI'S SWARAJYA
395
the power wielded at the court by the Brahman Peshwa was a con-
stant source of friction and danger. 1
But Balaji was by no means contented with merely keeping the
peace: his ambitions and far-seeing mind had already conceived the
plan of freeing his country entirely from foreign domination. His
master was still the vassal of Delhi, and the Peshwa's dream was to
make Shahu absolute sovereign over Shivaji's Swarajya, that is, all
the districts ruled over by Shivaji at the time of his decease. The hour
was propitious. The once-mighty Mughul empire was fast breaking
up. The throne of Delhi was occupied by a series of puppet-rulers,
all the real power being concentrated in the hands of the so-called
"King-Makers", the Sayyid brothers. One of these, Husain 'Ali
Khan, became viceroy of the Deccan in 1715. He found, however,
that he could make no headway against court-intrigues which went
on during his absence, and the depredations of the local Maratha
chiefs. In 1716, he was severely defeated by Khande Rao Dabhade,
the veteran Maratha leader, who was levying chauth on the Gujarat
border. In desperation, therefore, he opened negotiations with
Shahu, through the good offices of one Shankaraji Malhar. This gave
to Balaji Vishvanath a long-sought opportunity, and the terms which
he proposed to the Sayyid were as follows:
(1) The emperor should confirm king Shahu in the right of col-
lecting the chauth and sardeshmukhi from the six provinces of the
Deccan and Mysore, Trichinopoly and Tanjore: Shahu was to exercise
sovereign rights in all the territory composing Shivaji's swarajya,
except certain portions of Khandesh, in lieu of which, territories in
the Pandharpur district should be ceded. The fortresses of Shivner
and Trimbak should be restored, and recent Maratha conquests in
Gondwana and Berar confirmed. Shahu's mother and family should
be allowed to return to the Deccan.
(2) Shahu, on his side, was to pay a million rupees as tribute in
return for the swarajya, and 10 per cent. of the annual income for
the hereditary rights of sardeshmukhi: to maintain a body of 15,000
horse in the emperor's service in return for the chauth; and to protect
the country from depredation and robbery.
The wretched emperor Farrukh-siyar protested in vain against this
base surrender of his rights and territories : Husain 'Ali Khan,
accompanied by Balaji and 16,000 Maratha horse under Khande Rao
Dabhade, marched on Delhi, and after some fierce street-fighting
Sayyid 'Abdullah seized the emperor, blinded him, threw him into
a dungeon, and finally (1719) murdered him. Balaji remained in
1 M. G. Ranade, op. cit. pp. 208 sqq.
% In common parlance, his aim was to re-establish the Hindu-pad-pad-
shahi, or Hindu Empire of India.
3 For its extent, see P. V. Mavji, "Shivaji's Swarajya", in JBBRAS, XX, 30, sqq.
+ See chap. XI, p. 339.
## p. 396 (#434) ############################################
396 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
Delhi until the new emperor, Muhammad Shah, was forced to get
rid of his unwelcome visitors by issuing three imperial rescripts for
the chauth, sardeshmukhi and swarajya respectively. Balaji returned
in triumph to Satara, where honours were showered upon him; but
he was now nearing sixty, and the hardships of the campaign had
proved too great for him. He retired to his country-house at Saswad
near Purandar, where he expired in April, 1720. His lifework had
been completed.
Balaji Vishvanath may without exaggeration be termed the second
founder of the Maratha empire. Without his directing brain, Shahu
Raja, enervated by his upbringing in the Mughul court, would not
have survived for a year. His two great diplomatic triumphs were
the conciliation of Angria and the treaty with Delhi, but scarcely
less characteristic was his method of revenue collection, to which the
Marathas owed to a great extent their power. As Elphinstone points
out,” he deliberately preferred assignments on other proprietors, like
chauth or sardeshmukhi, to a solid territorial possession, or even a
consolidated sum. Hence the net work of revenue-collectors was spread
everywhere in the imperial domains, affording the Marathas endless
opportunities of spreading their influence. Pretexts for interference
and encroachment in an extensive territory were better than clearly
defined rights in a small one. Secondly, by insisting that the revenue
should be calculated on the assessments of the time of Todar Mal
or Malik 'Ambar, which, he knew well, a country ravaged by war
could never pay, he could always have a bill for arrears in hand.
Thirdly, by parcelling out the revenue among the chiefs, he ensured
that, while each had an interest in increasing the contribution to the
common stock, none had a compact property such as might render
him independent of the government. Lastly, the system was pur-
, .
posely made so complicated as to throw all the power into the hands
of Brahman revenue-collectors and agents, who, being of the same
caste as the Peshwa himself, naturally played into his hands. The
scheme was typical in its ingenuity.
"Balaji Vishvanath”, says Sir Richard Temple, "had a calm, com-
prehensive and commanding intellect, an imaginative and aspiring
disposition, and an aptitude for ruling rude natures by moral force,
a genius for diplomatic combinations, and a mastery of finance. " It
is impossible to dispute the justice of this estimate.
When Balaji Vishvanath died, he left two sons, Baji Rao, a young
man of twenty-two, and Chimaji Appa, a boy of twelve. Both were
destined to play a distinguished part in their country's destinies. At
the time of his father's death, Baji Rao was on field-service; but on
his return, two weeks later, he was invested by Shahu with the
Peshwa's robes of office: the Peshwaship, more Indico, was already
1 The terms are given in detail in Grant Duff, 1, 337 sqq.
? History of India, Book xri, chap. 11.
9
## p. 397 (#435) ############################################
BAJI RAO
397
becoming hereditary. ' Baji Rao, though so young, was admirably
suited for the post. Balaji, according to some of his critics, was a
statesman rather than a soldier; he was even said not to have been
a skilled horseman, and a spiteful story was told that at one time
he had required a man on each side to hold him on! None, even in
jest, could say this of Baji Rao, who had been brought up in the
saddle, and had led a cavalry charge at an age when other lads are
still at school. A contemporary artist represented him in the dress
of a common trooper, sitting with his reins on his horse's neck, while
he rubbed between his hands ears of corn. ? On this dry grain he
would subsist for days, and at night he would sleep on the ground
like an ordinary soldier, his bridle over his arm, and his lance stuck
in the ground beside him. Such a man the Marathas would fo
as they followed Shivaji in the old days, to the gates of Hell if need
be. From the moment he took office, he set out to carry into effect
his father's lofty designs for the extension of the Hindu-pad-padshahi.
Balaji's expedition to Delhi had revealed to him the weakness of the
Mughuls, and Baji Rao conceived the bold plan of attacking and
overcoming the rich and fertile plains of Malwa, and extending
Maratha rule into the heart of Hindustan. With a foresight rare in
one so young he saw that such a plan would, by giving occupation
to the turbulent Maratha chiefs, not only extend the boundaries
of Shahu's kingdom, but lead to peace nearer home. This ambitious
policy was vehemently opposed by Shripat Rao, the Pratinidhi. The
Pratinidhi or viceroy was really the first, and the Peshwa the second,
official in the court; and Shripat Rao and the other Deccanis viewed
with jealousy the meteoric rise of the young Chitpavan from the
Konkan. At the Council the Pratinidhi stigmatised an invasion of
Hindustan, before Shahu's domestic dissensions were composed, as
rash and imprudent, and he advised as an alternative the reduction
of Kolhapur and the reconquest of the Carnatic. But Baji Rao's
eloquence swept aside all opposition. "Now is our time”, said the
gallant Peshwa, “to drive the strangers from the country of the
Hindus, and acquire immortal renown. Let us strike at the trunk
of the withering tree, and the branches will fall off themselves. By
directing our efforts to Hindustan, the Maratha flag shall fly from
the Krishna to Attock. ” “You shall plant it beyond the Himalayas! "
exclaimed Shahu, carried away by the Peshwa's eloquence. "You
are, indeed, a noble son of a worthy father! " From this day onwards,
the faces of the Marathas were turned northwards: it is significant
that the chief gateway of every Maratha fortress is the Delhi Gate.
In 1724, Baji Rao crossed the Narbada in force. ' Little resistance
1 Sen, op. cit. pp. 151 sqq.
2 Grant Duff, 1, 419.
8 In the Kinnara Khanda, is the expression in the Chitnis Bakhar. The
Kinnaras, or celestial musicians, dwelt in a fabled country beyond the Hima-
layas. Kincaid and Parasnis render the words as “the throne of the Almighty".
## p. 398 (#436) ############################################
398 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
was met with, for some of the Rajputs were now beginning to side
with the Marathas, and Raja Jay Singh of Amber actively assisted
them. Malwa was repeatedly overrun, and three Maratha chiefs,
Udaji Powar, Malhar Rao Holkar, and Ranoji Sindia were left
behind to collect the tribute. They were the founders of the princely
houses of Dhar, Indore and Gwalior : the two latter were soldiers
of fortune, who had won ther spurs on the battle-field. Malhar Rao
Holkar was of the Dhangar or shepherd caste, and had started life as
a trooper: Ranoji Sindia had originally been in the service of
Shahu. Another family which arose into prominence at that time
was that of the Gaikwars of Baroda. Damaji Gaikwar won distinc-
tion at the battle of Balapur in 1720, when fighting against the Nizam
under Khande Rao Dabhade, for which Shahu conferred upon him
the title of Shamsher Bahadur, or illustrious swordsman, which is
still borne by his descendants. ? About this time also arose the prac-
tice of assigning the attack on a particular province to a certain
commander. To Khande Rao Dabhade (who had been made Senapati
for defeating the forces of Husain 'Ali Khan in 1716) was in this
way assigned the collection of the dues in Baglan and Gujarat. In
1720, Pilaji Gaikwar, the nephew of Damaji, built himself a fortress
at Songarh, fifty miles east of Şurat, and proceeded to levy chauth
and sardeshmukhi as Khande Rao's lieutenant. Sarbuland Khan, the
Mughul viceroy, was powerless to interfere, and presently Pilaji was
joined by Kanthaji Kadam Bhande, an officer of Shahu. From this
time onwards, the fair province of Gujarat enjoyed no respite from
the Maratha stranglehold.
When the Marathas (says their historian) proceeded beyond their boundary,
to collect revenue and make war were synonymous; whenever a village resis-
ted, its officers were seized, and compelled by threats, and sometimes by torture,
more or less severe, to come to a settlement; money was seldom obtainable, but
securities from bankers, with whom all the villages had dealing, were prefer--
able, as they were exchanged for bills payable in any part of India. 3
The harvest season was, for obvious reasons, usually selected for
these mulukgirit operations; villages which resisted were plundered
and fired, and the crops destroyed. Only when the monsoon made
the movements of troops impossible did the wretched inhabitants
obtain a temporary respite. Then
A deceitful calm succeeded; the fall of the rain brought back the cheering
green: the beautiful province of Gujarat, which for hundreds of miles may vie
with the finest parks of the nobles of England, was clothed, in all its natural
beauties, by rapid verdure and luxuriant vegetation. Tranquillity seemed to
reign, where a short time before, nothing was to be seen but perpetual skir-
1 The popular story that Ranoji was the Peshwa's slipper-bearer does not
appear to rest on good ground. In Selections from Peshwa's Daftar, vol. VII, No.
23, is a list of Shahu's officers, with their ranks, in 1715.
2 Vide infra, p. 402.
8 Grant Duff, 1, 464, and compare the passage quoted in the footnote.
4 An expedition to enforce the payment of revenue (p. 412 infra).
## p. 399 (#437) ############################################
THE NIZAM LEAVES DELHI
399
mishing, murder and robbery in open day: caravans pillaged even when strongly
escorted, and villages burning or deserted. 1
The scene now changes once more to Delhi. Chin Qilich Khan,
the Nizam-ul-Mulk, finding it impossible to cope with the disorders
and corruption of the Mughul court, determined to set up for himself
in the Deccan. In 1720 he suddenly crossed the Narbada and marched
southwards. Asirgarh and Burhanpur capitulated, and Chandra Sen
Jadav and a number of disaffected Marathas flocked to his standard.
He routed Dilavar and 'Alim 'Ali Khan, the governor of the Deccan,
who had been sent against him by the Sayyids, at the battles of
Khandwa and Balapur (June-August, 1720). In the latter battle, a
detachment of Marathas under Khande Rao Dabhade and Damaji
Gaikwar fought on the imperialist side with great gallantry. Further
opposition was ended when Sayyid Husain Ali was murdered, and
his brother defeated and thrown into prison, thus putting an end to
the power of the "king-makers" for ever. The Nizam now made his
.
way to the Deccan unopposed. No sooner did he arrive than he began
to renew his intrigues with Chandra Sen Jadav and other rebels and
also with Kolhapur, but he was everywhere foiled by the young
Peshwa, who had stationed the head of the army with a considerable
army of observation to watch him. In 1722, however, he was recalled
by the emperor, and on 21 February, at Agra, he was formally in-
vested with the office of minister. He at once set himself to restore
the empire to some sort of order, and to abolish revenue-farming, the
grant of assignments and the innumerable other abuses which had
arisen. But his efforts only excited the derision of the young emperor
and his degenerate court, who were determined to thwart everything
he attempted to do, and even ridiculed to his face the stern soldier,
whose rough manners were better adapted to the camp than the
palace. In December, 1723, the Nizam could tolerate this state of
things no longer. He determined to shake the dust of Delhi from off
his feet, and under the pretext of going on a hunting expedition to
retire to the Deccan. Muhammad Shah, however, knew that this
practically amounted to a declaration of independence, and treacher-
ously sent word to Mubariz Khan, the governor of Hyderabad, to
intercept and kill him if possible. Shahu, who disliked Mubariz
Khan, decided to help the Nizam, and Baji Rao found himself for
the first and last time, fighting side by side with his rival. The decisive
engagement took place at Shakarkhelda in Berar (11 October, 1724). 8
Mubari Khan was routed and killed, and the Nizam marched on to
Hyderabad and took it. He determined to make the city his capital,
for which it offered many advantages. Being further from Satara
than Aurangabad, it enabled him to conceal his movements more
i Grant Duff, 1, 366. For the Marathas in Gujarat, see Irvine, Later Mughuls,
II, chap. VIII, and Forbes, Ras Mala, Book II (chaps. I and v).
See chap. XII, p. 344.
3 See chap, XII, p. 350.
## p. 400 (#438) ############################################
400 RISE OF THE MARATHA EMPIRE (1707-1761)
>
effectually from the Marathas; and it was better placed for operations
against the Carnatic, upon which the Nizam had already designs.
From this time dates the virtual independence of the Nizam, and a
new factor is added to Deccan politics. Having failed to put him
out of the way, the emperor pardoned and confirmed him in the
government of the Deccan, depriving him, however, of the post of
minister and the provinces of Gujarat and Malwa.
The peace between the Nizam and the Marathas could not, in
the nature of things, endure very long. The Nizam chafed at the
presence of the Maratha tax-gatherers in Hyderabad, and in 1726,
while Baji Rao was away in the Carnatic, he pursued assiduously
his favourite policy of fishing in troubled waters always an easy
matter, as the Maratha chiefs cordially disliked the Chitpavan
domination at Shahu's court. Once again he came to terms with
prince Shambhuji of Kolhapur, who viewed with apprehension the
Peshwa's growing interest in Carnatic affairs. In 1726, while Baji
Rao was absent on a campaign, the two allies made a surprise attack
on Shahu, who was for a time in considerable danger. ?
The return of Baji Rao, however, soon restored that situation, and
after the Dasahra festival, on 13 September, 1727, the Peshwa ad-
vanced northwards, driving his enemy before him across the Godavari,
and devastating the country all round him. By a series of masterly
maneuvres he then proceeded to draw the Nizam into the waterless
region between Aurangabad and Paithan. Here he surrounded and
attacked him near the town of Palkhed (11 March, 1728). The
Nizam's artillery alone saved him from annihilation: retreat through
the devastated area was impossible, and on 22 March he was compelled
to sue for peace. Thus Baji Rao, unaided, had brought to his knees
the foremost soldier of his time. It was a feat of arms of which any
commander might well have been proud. The treaty was signed at
Mungi Shevgaon. The Nizam agreed to reinstate the Maratha tax-
gatherers, to pay up all arrears of chauth and sardeshmukhi, and to
recognise Shahu as sole monarch of the Deccan; but like an honour-
able soldier, he refused to consent to a clause requiring him to sur-
render his ally Shambhuji. The importance of this treaty can scarcely
be overestimated. It was a diplomatic triumph of the first order,
and a worthy sequel to the brilliant mancuvres in the field which
had preceded it. It left Shahu at last the undisputed ruler in his
ancestor's swarajya, and it was a deadly blow to Baji Rao's rivals in
the Maratha court. Little wonder that, after this, Shahu depended
still more upon his young minister, who had once again saved him
from virtual annihilation.
There still remained the smouldering embers of the war to be
extinguished. In Gujarat, Trimbak Rao Dabhade, who had suc-
1 Irvine, Later Mughuls, II, 146, 154.
