Chapter 0* Grand Strategy of Lord '^ L E S L E Y

C H A P T E R 0 * GRAND STRATEGY OF LORD ’^ LE S L E Y , ORGANISATIC OF OPPOSING FORCES, RELATIVE STRENGTH, A» GENERAL WELLESLEY’S CAMPAIGN IN THE DECCA lord Morntnpton, better known as Marquess Wellesley came to India in April He was the fourth Governor Ceneral. He was thirty seven years of age and was in the full tide of his physical and mental vigour. A sound classical scholar, he commanded a forceful style. In intellifi;ence, he was far superior to his famous brother, Arthur, the future Duke of Welllne;ton, but he lacked the stolidity and the endur ing qualities of the younger man. rie had a brilliant mind, an ardent temperament and an unlimited capacity for work. Welleslev was an intimate friend of Pitt, Oranville and Dundas, the three jrreat statesmen who then directed in Enp;land, the p;eneral interest of the empire. He firmlv believed that the British rule for India was a blessing. "I can declare," said Wellesley, "my conscientious conviction that no crreater blessing can be conferred on the ^ native inhabitation of India than the extension of the British authority. ” Wellesley thus can.e to India inspired with the sense of mission. The loss of the American Colonies had to be compensated by creatine a new empire in India to secure a perennial source of wealth for the enrichment of England's economy. He was also carrying the white man’s b u r d e n .^ His predecess Lord hastiniô, inspite .of his great abilities, labours and reforming r.eal, had left behind a corrupt administration. It needed a strong man to put an end to the growing corruption, v/ellesley with his courage and resolution was ideallv suited. When Wellesley landed in India, England was at war with France. T’he star of Napoleon nad risen on the horizon and the peace of Europe was threatened. The French East India Company had secured a foothold in India. It was a competitor to the British East India Company not only in the commercial field but also in political sphere. In the south, Hyder Ali and later, his son "îpu Sultan had established close contacts with the French, 'îpu deluded himself with the belief that Napolear would be landing In India, any day with a laree French Army which would defeat the British. Had the French navy not been defeated by Nelson the drtair. would have come true. Although Wellesley knew tnat Napolean was defeated in the Battle of the Kile, he blew, out of all portion the ■* menace of the French, and set about destroyin^^ Tipu. The total assistance which the unfortunate Tipu received from France was the arrival of a contingent of 15^ Frenchimen from Mauritius, "^he Duke of iVellin^ton reacted to it by the remark 2 "That certainly cannot be very dangerous to us." The President of the Board of Control of the Honourable Company, Mr. Dundas with an insatiable appetite for terri tories however, was deeply interested in fostering the petard about the French menace. He wrote to Wellesley ’’ a s a general principle, I have no liesitation in stating that we are entitled under tne circumstances of the present time to consi der the admission of any French force into Tipu’s army, be it greater or smaller, as direct hostilitv to U3" - a point of view that completplv coincided with the Governor General’s ovm . ^ The short sighted Nizan. joined the iinglish and in the Battle of S^rinf'apattam Tipu was killed on 4th May, 1799; thus Wellesley wiped out one enemy and extended the Empire, not bv occupying the territory and buying trouble for himself but bv reinstalling the Hindu kinp who had been ousted by Hyder. Welleslev wrote to the Directors that the glory of the victory, had never been surpassed (if it has ever been equalled) in the history of military transactions of the l^ British nations in India. "If you will have a little patience, the death of the Nizam w ill probablv enable me to gratify your voracious appetite for lands and fortresses. Seringapattan "I think, to stav vour stomach a while, no^" to mention Tan,lore and PoHgar countries. Perhaps, I may be able to give you a supper of Oudh and the Carnatik, if vou would still be hungry.”^ This clearly shows that Wellesley had worked out the Grand Strategy for the extension of the empire in India. He proposed to isolate the târathas and secure the alliance of the Nizam, and the Rajput princes. He already had dominated the Southern Kingdom of Carnatic. The enemitv between the' I'.arathas and the Nizam was wellknov/n. "^he Marat/ias did not .loin the British in the Mysore war realising the imprudence of augmenting the strength of a potential enemy that had already become invisible. When Welleslev assumed charfre as a Governor General, he found the Nizam in a sullen mood. He had been defeated by the Fiarathas in the battle of Kharda In >.arch, 1795 . He had strengthened his armv with French Con^"indents, which did not suit British Policy. a conspicious displav of tact and boldness, Wellesley offered a subsidiary alliance to the Nizam which was concluded on 2nd October, 1^00. This gave Nizam the security he was lo o k in g for. The British troops were to be stationed in his territory to fulfill this obligation. He also agreed to discharge all the Frenchmen from his service. Thus with a sineile stroke of diplomacy Wellesley succeeded in both reclaiming: the Nizam to the fold of the Company’s faithful allies and in securins: the dispersal of French troops. T’he Nizam ceded the territory known as Northern Circars to the Company for maintenance of the subsidiary force. The Company now had a contiguous area from Bengal to Madras. The most important power at that time was that of fhe Marathas. However, after the death of Kadhavrao Peshwa, the Marathas were engaged in mutual annihilation. The premature death of Madhavrao Peshwa was disastrous for the Karathas. The death of Mahadji Shinde on 12t-h February 179^ followed by the sudden death of Savai Madhavrao, on 27th October, 1795 precipitated the matters. Kahadji Shinde was not only a com petent soldier but also a practical statesman which is evident from the role he played in the First Anglo Maratha war. Although he could not tolerate Nana Phadnis, the great statesman, both had unquestionable loyalty to the ruling Pashwa. Mahadjl 3hlnde conceived the bold project of «stab- lishine a Maratha hegemony and chose north India as hl3 field of action where he performed the role of a Kingmaker but in the name of the Peahwa. With the sudden death of Saval iiSdhavrao, the question of succession to the Masnad raided its ugly head and Nar^ Phadnis and Bajirao II, the son of Raghoba further weakened the Maratha unity. In the end Dajirao II received the robes of Peshwaship on 6th December 1796 and patched up the quarr«l with Nana Phadnls but the two could not work in hanoony. Daulatrao Shinde succeeded Mahadji Shinde. He inherited a well trained army but he was unlike his father neither a soldier nor a statesman. He was befriended by Bajirao II which created a wicked combination. The house of Shindes was always hostile to the holkars. however, Kahadji Shinde and Malharrao Holkar had kept the jealousy and rivalry within U nits. But Yeshwantrao, a hot headed dare devil who forced his way up soon had a crrlevance when Bajirao II, and Daulatrao, thoughtlessly, jfot Yeshwantrao Kolkar's brother Tukoji trampled to death under the feet of an elephant and arrested the son of his eldest brother. Ke demanded justice which Bajirao II failed to do. Yeshwantrao now marched on Poona with a large army and defeated the Joint armies of Daulatrao Shinde and Bajirao II who had to run awuy from Poona. Wellesley watched the growing feebleness of the Peshwa's authority which, he noted, was reduced ”to a state of extreme weakness bv ^he imbecilitv of his counsels, by the instabilitv and trecherv of his disposition and by the 7 prevalence of internal -liocord." The last straw on the caniel's back was the death of Nana Phadnis on 13th March 1J?00 and with him departed all the wisdom and moderation of the Maratha Government. Althoucrh he respected the Snt^lish for their valor, he had steered the N'aratha Kingdom away from any alliance with them. Nana had too much wisdom to involve the Maratha empire in war with the British. '^he f u t u r e o f th e k a r a t 1,a 3 was now in the hands of three desperate n.en--3ajirao Peshwa, Daulatrao 3hinde and Yeshwantrao Holkar. When Bajirao was forced to flee from Poona he went to the British for help. This was a golden opportunity for ’lelleslev. Ke had been watching the iVaratha affairs with keen interest. He now realised that if he up held the claim of Bajirao to the Kasnad, Holkar and Shinde would automatically become second rate powers. Bajirao sounded the death knell of the Maratha power on 31st December, 1?^02 when he sif?:ned the Treaty of Vasai. Wellesley had caught another prey in his snare of' subsidiary alliance svatem. It eave him a rieht for military intervention in Maratha territory. He had in fact anticipated this event. An army under Maj Oen Wellesley was assembled at Harihar under orders of Comrr.ander-in-Chief of Madras.

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