12. Progression of the Empire Till now we have learnt about the of the Indore administration. She was a rise of the Maratha power and its capable, astute and excellent administrator. expansion. We studied the developments She made new laws for agricultural cess, from the foundation of the Swaraj till its revenue collection etc. and put the affairs expansion into an empire. In this chapter, of the State in order. She strove to bring we take a brief review of the Sardar more land under cultivation, digging wells families, who gave their valuable for farmers, promoting trade and industry, contribution for expanding the Maratha building lakes and tanks. kingdom in the northern parts of India. She built temples, Ghats, Maths, The Holkars of Indore : Malharrao Dharamshalas, drinking water facilities at was the founder of the Holkar rule at all important places of pilgrimage in the Indore. He served the Maratha state for a four quarters of India. This effort of hers long time. He was was important for the cultural integration well-versed in of the country. She looked into judicial guerrilla warfare. matters personally and dispensed justice. He proved his She was very generous. She had great valour in the love of books. She ruled ably for twenty- northern campaigns eight years and enhanced the Maratha of the Marathas at prestige in the North. She brought peace the time of Bajirao and order to her Kingdom and made her I and Nanasaheb people happy. Yashwantrao Holkar tried Peshwa. He was to save the Maratha Kingdom when it instrumental in was on the decline. Malharrao Holkar establishing the The Bhosales of Nagpur : Parasoji Maratha supremacy in Malwa and was given the jagir of Varhad and Rajputana. He proved to be of great help Gondawan during to Peshwa Madhavrao in reviving the the reign of Shahu Maratha prestige in the North after the Maharaj. Among defeat at Panipat. Punyashloka Ahilyabai the Bhosales of Holkar was the Nagpur, Raghuji wife of Khanderao, was the bravest who was and the most Malharrao’s son. capable. He brought Khanderao died in the area surrounding the battle of Raghuji Bhosale Tirucherapalli and Kumbheri. After a Arcot in the South under Maratha few days, dominance. Shahu Maharaj had assigned Malharrao also to him the chauthai rights of Bengal, passed away. After Bihar and Odisha. He brought these him, Ahilyabai territories under the Maratha dominance. assumed the reins Ahilyabai Holkar In 1751 ce the Bhosales of Nagpur won the Odisha territory from Ali Vardi Khan. politics at Delhi, when they felt that the Till 1803 ce Marathas dominated Odisha. Marathas might have become weak after the battle of Panipat. They managed to get Diwani rights of Bengal province and Do you know ? wanted to capture the Emperor of Delhi. In these adverse circumstances, Mahadji The Maratha ditch – The British Shinde defeated the British and reinstated at Kolkata used to fear the Bhosales the Emperor on the throne. The emperor from Nagpur. So, to protect the city was pleased with his bravery and conferred of Kolkata from a possible Maratha the title of ‘Vakil – i – Mutlak (Chief agent attack, they dug a ditch around the of the emperor) upon him, which meant city. That ditch came to be known that he had the authority of civil and as the Maratha ditch. military rights. He accepted that position on behalf of the minor Peshwa Savai The Shindes of Gwalior : Bajirao I Madhavrao. Due to this, the Marathas had rightly judged gained full control of the Empire. It was the capabilities of very difficult to save the tottering empire. Ranoji Shinde and Mahadji managed the difficult affairs with made him a Sardar strong determination and looked after the in the North. After Delhi affairs during 1784 ce to 1794 ce. Ranoji’s death, his The heirs of Najib Khan, responsible sons Jayappa, for the Panipat battle, were still plotting Dattaji and against the Marathas in Rohilkhand. Mahadji, too, Najib’s grandson Ghulam Kadir captured proved their valour the Red Fort and tortured the Emperor and his begums for their wealth. He gouged Mahadaji Shinde and strengthened out the Emperor’s eyes and took hold of the Maratha rule in North India. the royal treasure. In these circumstances, Peshwa Madhavrao conferred the Mahadji defeated Kadir. He confiscated family title on Mahadji. Mahadji was a the wealth from him and returned it to the brave General and an astute statesman. emperor. He reinstated the Emperor on the Mahadji was instrumental in re- throne of Delhi. Thus, Mahadji recovered establishing the Maratha supremacy and the Maratha prestige which was lost after prestige in North India after the Maratha the battle of Panipat. He controlled the defeat at Panipat. He realised that the politics of India by putting the Emperor guerilla tactics of the Marathas would not under Maratha control. be suitable for the warfare in the plains of Due to the family feuds amongst the the North. He trained his army and Peshwas, Raghunathrao opted to go to the modernised his artillery under the British camp. He wanted to become a guidance of a French military expert de Peshwa with the help of the British. It was Boigne. With the help of this trained army, not acceptable to the Maratha Statesmen. he subdued the Rohillas, the Jats, the This led to an inevitable conflict between Rajputs and the Bundellas. the Marathas and the British. The conflict The British began to take interest in the between the two great powers. The Marathas and the British would finally Khanderao Dabhade and his son decide who the ruler of India would be. Trimbakrao laid the foundation of Maratha From Mumbai, the British marched on power in Gujarat. After the death of the Marathas via Borghat. The Maratha Khanderao, his wife Umabai routed the army gathered under the leadership of Mughal Sardar of Ahmadabad. She Mahadaji Shinde. The Marathas blocked conquered the fort there. the supply of foodgrains to the British, Later, the Gaikwads made Vadodara using guerrilla tactics. Both the armies in Gujarat a seat of their power. The met at Wadgaon (on today’s Pune-Mumbai Pawars of Dhar and Dewas in Madhya Road). The British were defeated in this Pradesh rendered valuable assistance to battle and were forced to surrender the the Shindes and the Holkars in expanding custody of Raghunathrao to the Marathas. the Maratha power in the North. Delhi was under Maratha control till The Maratha State was in disarray 1803 ce. When we note that the British after the death of Peshwa Madhavrao. conquered India after battling with the Nana Phadanvis, the famous administrator Marathas, we understand the importance of the Peshwas and a Maratha statesman, of Mahadaji’s achievements. After setting set right the in order, the affairs of Delhi, Mahadaji affairs of the came to Pune. He died at Wanawadi near State with the Pune where a memorial is built to him. help of Like the Shindes, the Holkars and the Mahadaji. While Bhosales, some other prominent Maratha Mahadaji was Sardars also rendered noteworthy service busy restoring to the Maratha Raj. the Maratha supremacy in the North, Nana managed the affairs of the Nana Phadnavis South. In this, he was helped by the Patwardhans, Haripant Phadke, the Rastes and other Sardars. As a result of this, Maratha supremacy was established in the South. The Holkars of Indore, Bhosales of Nagpur, Shindes of Gwalior, Gaikwads of Vadodara brought glory to the Maratha Shinde Chhatri, Wanawadi, Pune power on the basis of their valour, The navy raised by Shivaji Maharaj leadership qualities and capability. They was strengthened by Kanhoji Angre and were the pillars of the Maratha power in his son Tulaji. With this strong navy, they its last phase. contained the naval powers of the The Maratha Sardars were successful Portuguese, the British and the Siddhis. in establishing the influence of the They defended the coastline of the Maratha power both in North and South Maratha State. India. After the death of Mahadaji Shinde and Nana Phadanavis, the Maratha power began to wane. At that time, Bajirao II, the son of Raghunathrao was the Peshwa. He did not have leadership qualities and had many vices. He was unable to unite the Maratha Sardars. The internal strife between the Sardars weakened their power. During the reign of Bajirao II, the Maratha influence in the North and South waned further. The British replaced the Marathas. The British captured Pune in 1817 ce and hoisted their flag ‘Union Jack’ there. In 1818 ce the British defeated Marathas in the battle of Ashti in Solapur district and finally the Maratha power came to an end. This event marks a major change in the History of India. After this, the British managed to gain control over a major part of India. India came into contact with the Western world. That led to many changes in India’s social system. Many old things became redundant or were pushed aside. This was a major transformation. A major change took place. The medieval period of Indian history came to an end. The Modern period began. .