Maratha invasions of Bengal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maratha invasions of Bengal
Part of Battles involving the Maratha Empire
DateAugust 1741 – May 1751
Location
Bengal Subah (West Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Orissa)
Result
  • Signing of a peace protocol
  • Maratha Army agreed to never cross the Hooghly River[1]
  • De facto Maratha control over Orissa in 1741, but de jure remained a part of Bengal Subah till 1751.[2][3][4]
  • After the assassination of Mir Habib, the governor of Orissa in 1751, Marathas formally incorporated Orissa in their dominion.[2][4]
  • Nawab of Bengal agreed to pay Rs. 1.2 million of tribute annually as the chauth of Bengal and Bihar, and the Marathas agreed not to invade Bengal again.[5][1]
  • The Nawab of Bengal also paid Rs. 3.2 million to the Marathas, towards the arrears of chauth for the preceding years.[6]
Territorial
changes		 Incorporation of Orissa into the Maratha Empire[7][4]
Belligerents
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Maratha Empire

Nawab of Bengal

Mallabhum
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Raghuji Bhonsle
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Bhaskar Pandit †
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Janoji Bhonsle
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Sabaji Bhonsle

Alivardi Khan


Gopal Singha Dev[9]
Strength
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg 40,000[4] (in 1742)
12,000[10] (in 1748)		 15,000 Cavalry and 8,000 Musketeers[10] (in 1748)
Casualties and losses
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg 48,000 in Battle of Burdwan 1747 [11] 400,000 civilians deaths[12]

The Maratha invasions of Bengal (1741-1751),[13][14] also known as the Maratha expeditions in Bengal, refers to the frequent invasions by the Maratha forces in the Bengal Subah (West Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Orissa), after their successful campaign in the Carnatic region at the Battle of Trichinopoly. The leader of the expedition was Maratha Maharaja Raghoji Bhonsle of Nagpur.[15] The Marathas invaded Bengal six times from August 1741 to May 1751. Nawab Alivardi Khan succeeded in resisting all the invasions in western Bengal, however, the frequent Maratha invasions caused destruction to the Hindu population in the western Bengal Subah, resulting in heavy civilian casualties and widespread economic losses.[16]

During their occupation, the Bargi mercenaries of the Marathas are said to have perpetrated massacres against the local population. [17] According to estimation of Chief of Dutch Factory Jan Kerssebom's memoirs perhaps close to 400,000 Hindu people in western Bengal and Bihar were killed.[18] Contemporary accounts of the invasions report mass gang rape against women and children,[19][20][21][22][23][24] and mutilation of victims by the Marathas which included cutting off their hands and noses.[25][26] According to the Bengali text Maharashtra Purana, "Durga ordered her followers to be gracious to the Muslim Nawab and oppose the Marathas, because the evil-minded ones had killed Brahmans and Vaisnavas."[16] The Marathas intended to establish their rule in western Bengal by attracting the local Hindu zamindars against the Muslim Nawab but the high atrocities against the Hindu population diminished all the possibilities of such an alliance.[16]

The Nawab of Bengal agreed to pay Rs. 1.2 million of chauth from the revenue of Bengal and Bihar, and the Marathas agreed not to invade Bengal again.[5] Following the conclusion of hostilities and disbanding his forces, Alivardi Khan became immensely wealthy even though he had lost one dominion of his estate to the Marathas.[17] The Nawab of Bengal also paid Rs. 3.2 million to the Marathas, towards the arrears of chauth for the preceding years.[6] The chauth was paid annually by the Nawab of Bengal up to 1758, until the annexation of Bengal by the East India Company.[27]

Invasions of Bengal[]

From 1741 to 1751, the Marathas under Raghuji Bhonsle invaded Bengal six times. The first one in 1741, as also the third in 1744, were led by Raghuji's general Pandit Bhaskar Ram Kolhatkar or Bhaskar Pandit, a Brahmin. The second in 1742 and the fourth in 1745 were led by Raghuji himself. The fifth in 1747 and the sixth in 1748 were undertaken by Janoji and Sabaji respectively. These invasions caused heavy destruction in the armies of the Nawab of Bengal. Nawab Alivardi Khan was successful in repelling only the first invasion in 1741. in 1743 two Maratha Armies invaded - one belonged to Raghuji Bhosla, the other to Balaji Rao. Alivardi Khan was obliged to pay him subsidy, promising to pay him Chauth tax.[28] The continuous conflict took a heavy toll on the population of Bengal.[4]

First invasion (1741)[]

After the inauguration of Alivardi Khan as the Nawab of Bengal, the provincial governor of Orissa, Zafar Khan Rustam Jung, more commonly known as Murshid Quli II, revolted against him. The revolt was crushed by Alivardi in March 1741, but Murshid Quli II escaped with his family and took shelter of Raghuji Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur. Raghuji agreed to assist Murshid Quli II in regaining Orissa. Murshid Quli II's son-in-law Mirza Baker, assisted by Maratha troops and the rebel forces of Orissa (who were dissatisfied with the governor of Orissa), invaded Orissa in August 1741. Orissa's governor, Syed Ahmed Khan (a nephew of Alivardi Khan), was defeated and captured along with his family.[4]

Hearing of this, Alivardi rushed to Orissa and Alivardi's commander Mir Jafar freed Syed Ahmed and his family.[4] Alivardi regained control of Orissa and returned to Murshidabad. Marathas retook Orissa in 1749.[29]

Bargi atrocities[]

Further information: Bargi

The Hindu Maratha warriors invaded and occupied western Bengal up to the Hooghly River.[16] During that period of invasion by the Marathas, warriors called as "Bargis", perpetrated atrocities against the local Hindu Bengalis.[16][17] As reported in Burdwan Kingdom's and European sources, the Bargis are said to have plundered villages,[30] and Jan Kersseboom, chief of the Dutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that perhaps 400,000 Hindu civilians in Western Bengal were dead owing to the invasion of Bargis.[12][18] The resulting casualties of Bargi onslaught against in Bengal are considered to be among the deadliest massacres in Indian history.[30] According to the 18th-century Bengali text Maharashtra Purana written by Gangaram:[16]

They shouted over and over again, 'Give us money', and when they got no money they filled peoples' nostrils with water, and some they seized and drowned in tanks, and many died of suffocation. In this way they did all manner of foul and evil deeds. When they demanded money and it was not given to them, they would put the man to death. Those who had money gave it, those who had none were killed.

According to the Bengali text Maharashtra Purana:[16]

Durga ordered her followers to be gracious to the Muslim Nawab and oppose the Marathas, because the evil-minded ones had killed Brahmans and Vaisnavas.

The Bargi atrocities were corroborated by contemporary Dutch and British accounts.[17] Jan Kersseboom, chief of the Dutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that perhaps around 400,000 people were killed due to the Bargis during their occupation of western Bengal and Bihar.[18] This devastated Bengal's economy, as many of the people killed in the Bargi raids included merchants, textile weavers,[18] silk winders, and mulberry cultivators.[12] The Cossimbazar factory reported in 1742, for example, that the Bargis burnt down many of the houses where silk piece goods were made, along with weavers' looms.[18]

British writer Robert Orme reported that the Marathas caused so much distress to the local population that many of them "were continually taking flight" in large numbers to Calcutta whenever they heard rumours of the Marathas coming.[12] Many people in western Bengal also fled to take shelter in East Bengal, fearing for their lives in the wake of the Maratha attacks.[31]

End of hostilities[]

In 1751, the Marathas signed a peace treaty with the Nawab of Bengal, according to which Mir Habib (a former courtier of Alivardi Khan, who had defected to the Marathas) was made provincial governor of Orissa under nominal control of the Nawab of Bengal.[4] It made The Nawab of Bengal a tributary to the Marathas who agrees to pay Rs. 1.2 million annually as the chauth of Bengal and Bihar, and the Marathas agreed not to invade Bengal again.[5] The Nawab of Bengal also paid Rs. 3.2 million to the Marathas, towards the arrears of chauth for the preceding years.[6]

The chauth was paid annually by the Nawab of Bengal up to 1758, until the East India Company took over.[27]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Nitish K. Sengupta (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. pp. 158–163. ISBN 9780143416784. Alivardi showed exemplary courage and military skill in every frontal battle that took place between his forces and the Marathas, in each of which, almost without exception, he had the upper hand.
  2. ^ a b Sen, Sailendra Nath (2010). An Advanced History of Modern India. Macmillan India. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-230-32885-3.
  3. ^ Sarkar, Jadunath (1991). Fall of the Mughal Empire (4th Vol. I ed.). Orient Longman. ISBN 978-81-250-1149-1.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h ড. মুহম্মদ আব্দুর রহিম. "মারাঠা আক্রমণ". বাংলাদেশের ইতিহাস. ২৯৩–২৯৯.
  5. ^ a b c OUM. pp. 16, 17
  6. ^ a b c Jaswant Lal Mehta (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813. ISBN 9781932705546.
  7. ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (2010). An Advanced History of Modern India. Macmillan India. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-230-32885-3. In 1751,...promising cession of the province of Orissa...Orissa came under the Bhonsle's control.
  8. ^ McLane, John R. (September 1993). Land and local kinship in eighteenth-century Bengal. Cambridge University Press. pp. 155–156. ISBN 0521410746.
  9. ^ Buddhadev Nandi (19 January 2019). "Bishnupur — when myth transcends history". The Statesman.
  10. ^ a b Jadunath Sarkar, Fall of Mughal Empire Volume 1, Pg.90
  11. ^ ড. মহম্মদ আব্দুর রহিম. বাংলাদেশের ইতিহাস. আলীবর্দী ও মারাঠা আক্রমণ. পৃ. ২৯৭.
  12. ^ a b c d P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780521028226.
  13. ^ McLane, John R. (2002). Land and Local Kingship in Eighteenth-Century Bengal. Cambridge University Press. p. 166. ISBN 9780521526548.
  14. ^ Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 516. ISBN 9780313335389.
  15. ^ SNHM. Vol. II, pp. 209, 224.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780521028226.
  17. ^ a b c d P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 9780521028226.
  18. ^ a b c d e Kirti N. Chaudhuri (2006). The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company: 1660-1760. Cambridge University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780521031592.
  19. ^ Gupta, Brijen Kishore (1962). Sirajuddaullah and the East India Company, 1756-1757: Background to the Foundation of British Power in India. Brill Archive. p. 23. horrors perpetrated by the Marathas on women and children which included gang rape.
  20. ^ Edwardes, Allen (1966). The Rape of India: A Biography of Robert Clive and a Sexual History of the Conquest of Hindustan. Julian Press. p. 131. 'Tis reported that no fewer than 10 or a Dozen of 'em will rape a beautiful Woman, that they cut off the Cullions [testicles] of Men & embugger Children of both sexes thereafter selling them into slavery
  21. ^ Sarkar, Sir Jadunath (1964). Fall of the Mughal Empire. M. C. Sarkar. p. 54. The Maratha soldiers were notorious for their practice of gang-rape in invaded territories from a very early time
  22. ^ Seminar. R. Thapar. 1989. Repeated Maratha invasion of Bengal from the 1740s causing mass migration of people, ... in the beginning the Marathas raped and violated women, but later, the villagers took to guerrilla tactics to resist them
  23. ^ A History of the Freedom Movement: Being the Story of Muslim Struggle for the Freedom of Hind-Pakistan, 1707-1947. Renaissance Publishing House. 1957. "Maratha soldiers," as Jadunath Sarkar observes "were notorious for their practice of gang rape in invaded country from a very early time." Describing their atrocities and devastations in Bengal he has cited from several contemporary writers
  24. ^ The New Cambridge Modern History. CUP Archive. 1970. p. 555. they indulged in the unspeakable practice of gang-rape
  25. ^ McDermott, Rachel Fell (28 June 2001). Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams: Kali and Uma in the Devotional Poetry of Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-803071-3. The Marathas plundered, stole, set fire to villages and crops, tortured the inhabitants, cutting off their victim's hands and noses, raping them, and drowning them.
  26. ^ Coupland, Sir Reginald (1946). Britain and India, 1600-1945. Longmans, Green. Terrible accounts have been preserved of Maratha raids in Bengal, of " murder and mutilation, arson and rape, practiced indiscriminately and without restraint
  27. ^ a b Jadunath Sarkar (1997) [First published 1932]. Fall of the Mughal Empire (4th ed.). ISBN 9788125011491. [1]
  28. ^ Marshall, P. J. (2 November 2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02822-6.
  29. ^ Jadunath Sarkar,Fall of the Mughal Empire Volume 1, Pg. 97
  30. ^ a b C. C. Davies (1957). "Chapter XXIII: Rivalries in India". In J. O. Lindsay (ed.). The New Cambridge Modern History. Vol. Volume VII: The Old Regime 1713–63. Cambridge University Press. p. 555. ISBN 978-0-521-04545-2. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  31. ^ Aklam Hussain (1997). History of Bangladesh, 1704-1971. Vol. 2. University of Michigan, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. p. 80. ISBN 9789845123372.
Retrieved from ""