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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Etext prepared by Ken West, maghreb@pcisys.net + + + + + +The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan, by H. G. Keene + + + + + +THE FALL OF THE MOGHUL EMPIRE OF HINDUSTAN, +A NEW EDITION, +WITH CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. + +1887 + + + + +PREFACE. + +Two editions of this book having been absorbed, it has been +thought that the time was come for its reproduction in a form +more adapted to the use of students. Opportunity has been taken +to introduce considerable additions and emendations. + +The rise and meridian of the Moghul Empire have been related in +Elphinstone's " History of India: the Hindu and Mahometan Period; +" and a Special Study of the subject will Also be found in the " +Sketch of the History of Hindustan" published by the present +writer in 1885. Neither of those works, however, undertakes to +give a detailed account of the great Anarchy that marked the +conclusion of the eighteenth century, the dark time that came +before the dawn of British power in the land of the Moghul. Nor +is there is any other complete English book on the Subject. + +The present work is, therefore, to be regarded as a monograph on +the condition of the capital and neighbouring territories, from +the murder of Alamgir II. in 1759 to the occupation of Dehli by +Lake in 1803. Some introductory chapters are prefixed, with the +view of showing how these events were prepared; and an account of +the campaign of 1760-1 has been added, because it does not seem +to have been hitherto related on a scale proportioned to its +importance. That short but desperate struggle is interesting as +the last episode of mediΎval war, when battles could be decided +by the action of mounted men in armour. It is also the sine qua +non of British Empire in India. Had the Mahrattas not been +conquered then, it is exceedingly doubtful if the British power +in the Bengal Presidency would ever have extended beyond Benares. + +The author would wish to conclude this brief explanation by +reproducing the remarks which concluded the Preface to his second +edition. + +"There were two dangers," it was there observed; "the first, that +of giving too much importance to the period; the second, that of +attempting to illustrate it by stories such as those of Clive +and Hastings which had been told by writers with whom +competition was out of the question. Brevity, therefore, is +studied; and what may seem baldness will be found to be a +conciseness, on which much pains have been bestowed." + +"The narrative," it was added, "is one of confusion and +transition; and chiefly interesting in so far as it throws light +on the circumstances which preceded and caused the accession of +the East India Company to paramount power in India." The author +has only to add an expression of his hope that, in conjunction +with Mr. S. Owen's book, what he has here written may help to +remove doubts as to the benefits derived by the people of India +from the Revolution under consideration. + +Finally, mention should be made of Mr. Elphinstone's posthumous +work, "The Rise of British Power in the East." That work does +not, indeed, clash with the present book; for it did not enter +into the scope of the distinguished author to give the native +side of the story, or to study it from the point of view here +presented. For the military and political aims and operations of +the early British officers in Madras and Bengal, however, +Elphinstone will be found a valuable guide. His narrative bears +to our subject a relation similar to that of the "Roman de Rou" +to the history of the Carling Empire of Northern France. + +OXFORD, 1887. + +CONTENTS. + +PART I. + +CHAPTER I + +Preliminary Observations on Hindustan and the City of Dehli + +CHAPTER II. + +Greatness of the Timurides + +Causes of Empire's decline + +Character of Aurungzeb + +Progress of disruption under his descendants + +Muhamadan and Hindu enemies + +The stage emptied + +CHAPTER III. + +Muhamad Shah + +CHAPTER IV. + +Ahmad Shah + +Alamgir II. + +CHAPTER V, + +Afghan invasion + +CHAPTER VI. + +Overthrow of Mahrattas at Panipat + +PART II. + +CHAPTER I. + +A.D. 1760-67. + +1760. Movements of Shahzada Ali Gohar, after escaping +from Dehli + + Shojaa-ud-Daulal + + His Character + + Ramnarayan defeated + + M. Law + +1761. Battle of Gaya + +1762. March towards Hindustan + +1763. Massacre of Patna + +1764. Flight of Kasim and Sumroo + + Battle of Buxar + +1705. Treaty with British + +1767. Establishment at Allahabad + + Legal position + +CHAPTER II. + +A.D. 1764-71. + +1764. Najib-ud-Daula at Dehli + + Mirza Jawan Bakht Regent + + The Jats + + The Jats attacked by Najib + + Death of Suraj Mal + +1765. Jats attack Jaipur . + +1766. Return of Mahrattas + +1767. Ahmad Abdali defeats Sikhs . + +1768. Mahrattas attack Bhartpur + +1770. Rohillas yield to them + + Death of Najib-ud-Daula + + State of Rohilkand + + Zabita Khan . + +1771. Mahrattas invite Emperor to return to Dehli + +CHAPTER III. + +A.D. 1771-76 + + Agency of Restoration . + + Madhoji Sindhia + + Emperor's return to Dehli . . . . + +1772. Zabita Khan attacked by Imperial force under Mirza +Najaf Khan + + Flight of Zabita + + Treaty with Rohillas + + Zabita regains office + + Mahrattas attack Dehli . + +1773. Desperation of Mirza Najaf . + + Mahrattas attack Rohilkand . + + Opposed by British + + Advance of Audh troops + + Restoration of Mirza + + Abdul Ahid Khan . + + Suspicious conduct of Rohillas + + Tribute withheld by H. Rahmat + +1774. Battle of Kattra + +1775. Death of Shojaa-ud-Daula + + Zabita Khan rejoins Jats + + Najaf Kuli Khan + + Successes of Imperial army + +1776. Zabita and the Sikhs + + Death of Mir Kasim + +CHAPTER IV. + +A.D. 1776-85 + + Vigour of Empire under M. Najaf + + Zabita rebels again + +1777. Emperor takes the field . + + And the rebellion is suppressed + + Sumroo's Jaigir + +1778. Abdul Ahid takes the field against the Sikhs + + Unsuccessful campaign + +1779. Sikhs plunder Upper Doab + + Dehli threatened, but relieved + +1780. Mirza Najaf's arrangements + + Popham takes Gwalior + + Death of Sumroo + +1781. Begam becomes a Christian + +1782. Death of Mirza + + Consequent transactions + + Afrasyab Khan becomes Premier + + Mirza Shaffi at Dehli + +1783. Murder of Shaffi + + Action of Warren Hastings + +1784. Flight of Shahzadah Jawan Bakht + + Madhoji Sindhia goes to Agra + + Afrasyab murdered + +1785. Tribute demanded from British, but refused + + Death of Zabita + + Sindhia supreme + + Chalisa Famine + + State of Country + + +CHAPTER V. + +A.D. 1786-88. + +1786. Gholam Kadir succeeds his father Zabita + + Siege of Raghogarh + +1787. British policy + + Measures of Sindhia + + Rajput confederacy + + Battle of Lalsot + + Mohammed Beg's death + + Defection of his nephew Ismail Beg + + Greatness of Sindhia + + Gholam Kadir enters Dehli + + But checked by Begam Sumroo and Najaf Kuli + + Gholam Kadir joins Ismail Beg + +1788. Battle of Chaksana + + Emperor proceeds towards Rajputana + + Shahzada writes to George III. + + Najaf Kuli rebels + + Death of Shahzada + + Siege of Gokalgarh + + Emperor's return to Dehli + + Battles of Fatihpur and Firozabad + + Confederates meet at Dehli + + Sindhia is inactive + + Benoit de Boigne + +CHAPTER VI. + +A.D. 1788 + + Defection of Moghuls and retreat of Hindu Guards + + Confederates obtain possession of palace + + Emperor deposed + + Palace plundered + + Gholam Kadir in the palace + + Emperor blinded + + Approach of Mahrattas + + Apprehensions of the spoiler + + Moharram at Dehli + + Explosion in palace + + Gholam Kadir flies to Meerut + + His probable intentions + + His capture and punishment + + Sindhia's measures + + Future nature of narrative + + Poetical lament of Emperor + +PART III. + +CHAPTER I. + +A.D. 1788 - 94. + + Sindhia as Mayor of palace + + British policy + +1789. Augmentation of Sindhia's Army + +1790. Ismail Beg joins the Rajput rising + + Battle of Patan + + Sindhia at Mathra + + Siege of Ajmir + + Jodhpur Raja + + Battle of Mirta + + Rivals alarmed + + French officers + +1792. Sindhia's progress to Puna + + Holkar advances in his absence + + Ismail Beg taken prisoner + + Battle of Lakhairi + + Sindhia rebuked by Lord Cornwallis + + His great power + + Rise of George Thomas + +1793. He quits Begam's service + + Sindhia at Punah + +1794. His death and character + +CHAPTER II. + +A.D. 1794 - 1800. + + Daulat Rao Sindhia + + Thomas adopted by Appa Khandi Rao + +1795. Revolution at Sardhana + + Begum delivered by Thomas + + Becomes a wiser woman + + Movements of Afghans + + Battle of Kurdla + +1796. De Boigne retires + +1797. General Perron + + Musalman intrigues + + Afghans checked + + Succession in Audh + +1798 War of the Bais + +1799. Afghans and British, and treaty with the Nizam + + Rising of Shimbunath + + Thomas independent + + Revolt of Lakwa Dada + +1801. Holkar defeated at Indor + + Power of Perron + +CHAPTER III. + +A.D. 1801-3. + + Feuds of Mahrattas + + Perron attacks Thomas + + Thomas falls + +1802. Treaty of Bassein + +1803. Marquis of Wellesley + + Supported from England + + Fear entertained of the French + + Sindhia threatened + + Influence of Perron + + Plans of the French + + The First Consul. + + Wellesley's views + + War declared + + Lake's Force + + Sindhia's European officers + + Anti-English feelings, and fall of Perron + + Battle of Dehli + + Lake enters the capital + + Is received by Emperor + + No treaty made + +CHAPTER IV. + +CONCLUSION + + Effect of climate upon race + + Early immigrants + + Early French and English + + Empire not overthrown by British + + Perron's administration + + Changes since then + + The Talukdars + + Lake's friendly intentions towards them + + Their power curbed + + No protection for life, property, or traffic + + Uncertain reform without foreign aid + + Concluding remarks + +APPENDIX. + + + +THE FALL OF THE MOGHUL EMPIRE OF HINDUSTAN. + +PART I. + +CHAPTER I. + +Preliminary Observations on Hindustan and the City of Dehli. + +THE country to which the term Hindustan is strictly and properly +applied may be roughly described as a rhomboid, bounded on the +north-west by the rivers Indus and Satlej, on the south-west by +the Indian Ocean, on the south-east by the Narbadda and the Son, +and on the north-east by the Himalaya Mountains and the river +Ghagra. In the times of the emperors, it comprised the provinces +of Sirhind (or Lahore), Rajputana, Gujrat, Malwa, Audh (including +Rohilkand, strictly Rohelkhand, the country of the Rohelas, or +"Rohillas" of the Histories), Agra, Allahabad, and Dehli: and the +political division was into subahs, or divisions, sarkars or +districts; dasturs, or sub-divisions; and parganahs, or fiscal +unions. + +The Deccan, Panjab (Punjab), and Kabul, which also formed parts +of the Empire in its widest extension at the end of the +seventeenth century, are omitted, as far as possible, from +notice, because they did not at the time of our narration form +part of the territories of the Empire of Hindustan, though +included in the territory ruled by the earlier and greater +Emperors. + +Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa also formed, at one time, an integral +portion of the Empire, but fell away without playing an important +part in the history we are considering, excepting for a very +brief period. The division into Provinces will be understood by +reference to the map. Most of these had assumed a practical +independence during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, +though acknowledging a weak feudatory subordination to the Crown +of Dehli. + +The highest point in the plains of Hindustan is probably the +plateau on which stands the town of Ajmir, about 230 miles south +of Dehli. It is situated on the eastern slope of the Aravalli +Mountains, a range of primitive granite, of which Abu, the chief +peak, is estimated to be near 5,000 feet above the level of the +sea; the plateau of Ajmir itself is some 3,000 feet lower. + +The country at large is, probably, the upheaved basin of an +exhausted sea which once rendered the highlands of the Deccan an +island like a larger Ceylon. The general quality of the soil is +accordingly sandy and light, though not unproductive; yielding, +perhaps, on an average about one thousand lbs. av. of wheat to +the acre. The cereals are grown in the winter, which is at least +as cold as in the corresponding parts of Africa. Snow never +falls, but thin ice is often formed during the night. During the +spring heavy dews fall, and strong winds set in from the west. +These gradually become heated by the increasing radiation of the +earth, as the sun becomes more vertical and the days longer. + +Towards the end of May the monsoon blows up from the Indian Ocean +and from the Bay of Bengal, when a rainfall averaging about +twenty inches takes place and lasts during the ensuing quarter. +This usually ceases about the end of September, when the weather +is at its most sickly point. Constant exhalations of malaria take +place till the return of the cold weather. + +After the winter, cacurbitaceous crops are grown, followed by +sowings of rice, sugar, and cotton. About the beginning of the +rainy season the millets and other coarse grains are put in, and +the harvesting takes place in October. The winter crops are +reaped in March and April. Thus the agriculturists are never out +of employ, unless it be during the extreme heats of May and June, +when the soil becomes almost as hard from heat as the earth in +England becomes in the opposite extreme of frost. + +Of the hot season Mr. Elphinstone gives the following strong but +just description: "The sun is scorching, even the wind is hot, +the land is brown and parched, the dust flies in whirlwinds, all +brooks become dry, small rivers scarcely keep up a stream, and +the largest are reduced to comparative narrow channels in the +midst of vast sandy beds." It should, however, be added, that +towards the end of this terrible season some relief is afforded +to the river supply by the melting of the snow upon the higher +Himalayas, which sends down some water into the almost exhausted +stream-beds. But even so, the occasional prolongation of the dry +weather leads to universal scarcity which amounts to famine for +the mass of the population, which affects all classes, and which +is sure to be followed by pestilence. Lastly, the malaria noticed +above as following the monsoon gives rise to special disorders +which become endemic in favouring localities, and travel thence +to all parts of the country, borne upon the winds or propagated +by pilgrimages and other forms of human intercourse. Such are the +awful expedients by which Nature checks the redundancy of a +non-emigrating population with simple wants. Hence the +construction of drainage and irrigation-works has not merely a +direct result in causing temporary prosperity, but an indirect +result in a large increase of the responsibilities of the ruling +power. Between 1848 and 1854 the population of the part of +Hindustan now called the North-West Provinces, where all the +above described physical features prevail, increased from a ratio +of 280 to the square mile till it reached a ratio of 350. In the +subsequent sixteen years there was a further increase. The latest +rate appears to be from 378 to 468, and the rate of increase is +believed to be about equal to that of the British Islands. + +There were at the time of which we are to treat few +field-labourers on daily wages, the Metayer system being +everywhere prevalent where the soil was not actually owned by +joint-stock associations of peasant proprietors, usually of the +same tribe. + +The wants of the cultivators were provided for by a class of +hereditary brokers, who were often also chandlers, and advanced +stock, seed, and money upon the security of the unreaped crops. + +These, with a number of artisans and handicraftsmen, formed the +chief population of the towns; some of the money-dealers were +very rich, and 36 per cent. per annum was not perhaps an extreme +rate of interest. There were no silver or gold mines, external +commerce hardly existed, and the money-price of commodities was +low. + +The literary and polite language of Hindustan, called Urdu or +Rekhta, was, and still is, so far common to the whole country, +that it everywhere consists of a mixture of the same elements, +though in varying proportions; and follows the same grammatical +rules, though with different accents and idioms. The constituent +parts are the Arabised Persian, and the Prakrit (in combination +with a ruder basis, possibly of local origin), known as Hindi. +Speaking loosely, the Persian speech has contributed nouns +substantive of civilization, and adjectives of compliment or of +science; while the verbs and ordinary vocables and particles +pertaining to common life are derived from the earlier tongues. +So, likewise, are the names of animals, excepting those of beasts +of chase. + +The name Urdu, by which this language is usually known, is said +to be of Turkish origin, and means literally "camp." But the +Moghuls of India first introduced it in the precincts of the +Imperial camp; so that as Urdu-i-muali (High or Supreme Camp) +came to be a synonym for new Dehli after Shahjahan had made it +his permanent capital, so Urdu-ki-zaban meant the lingua franca +spoken at Dehli. It was the common method of communication +between different classes, as English may have been in London +under Edward III. The classical languages of Arabia and Persia +were exclusively devoted to uses of law, learning, and religion; +the Hindus cherished their Sanskrit and Hindi for their own +purposes of business or worship, while the Emperor and his Moghul +courtiers kept up their Turkish speech as a means of free +intercourse in private life. The Chaghtai dialect resembled the +Turkish still spoken in Kashgar. + +Out of such elements was the rich and still growing language of +Hindustan formed, and it is yearly becoming more widely spread +over the most remote parts of the country, being largely taught +in Government schools, and used as a medium of translation from +European literature, both by the English and by the natives. For +this purpose it is peculiarly suited, from still possessing the +power of assimilating foreign roots, instead of simply inserting +them cut and dried, as is the case with languages that have +reached maturity. Its own words are also liable to a kind of +chemical change when encountering foreign matter (e.g., jau, +barley: when oats were introduced some years ago, they were at +once called jaui "little barley"). + +The peninsula of India is to Asia what Italy is to Europe, and +Hindustan may be roughly likened to Italy without the two +Sicilies, only on a far larger scale. In this comparison the +Himalayas represent the Alps, and the Tartars to the north are +the Tedeschi of India; Persia is to her as France, Piedmont is +represented by Kabul, and Lombardy by the Panjab. A recollection +of this analogy may not be without use in familiarizing the +narrative which is to follow. + +Such was the country into which successive waves of invaders, +some of them, perhaps, akin to the actual ancestors of the Goths, +Huns, and Saxons of Europe, poured down from the plains of +Central Asia. At the time of which our history treats, the +aboriginal Indians had long been pushed out from Hindustan into +the mountainous forests that border the Deccan; which country has +been largely peopled, in its more accessible regions, by the +Sudras, who were probably the first of the Scythian invaders. +After them had come the Sanskrit-speaking race, a congener of the +ancient Persians, who brought a form of fire-worshipping, perhaps +once monotheistic, of which traces are still extant in the Vedas, +their early Scriptures. This form of faith becoming weak and +eclectic, was succeeded by a reaction, which, under the auspices +of Gautama, obtained general currency, until in its turn +displaced by the gross mythology of the Puranas, which has since +been the popular creed of the Hindus. + +This people in modern times has divided into three main +denominations: the Sarawagis or Jains (who represent some sect +allied to the Buddhists or followers of Gautama); the sect of +Shiva, and the sect of Vishnu. + +In addition to the Hindus, later waves of immigration have +deposited a Musalman population somewhat increased by the +conversions that occurred under Aurangzeb. The Mohamadans are now +about one-seventh of the total population of Hindustan; and there +is no reason to suppose that this ratio has greatly varied since +the fall of the Moghuls. + +The Mohamadans in India preserved their religion, though not +without some taint from the circumjacent idolatry. Their +celebration of the Moharram, with tasteless and extravagant +ceremonies, and their forty days' fast in Ramzan, were alike +misplaced in a country where, from the movable nature of their +dates, they sometimes fell in seasons when the rigour of the +climate was such as could never have been contemplated by the +Arabian Prophet. They continued the bewildering lunar year of the +Hijra, with its thirteenth month every third year; but, to +increase the confusion, the Moghul Emperors also reckoned by +Turkish cycles while the Hindus tenaciously maintained in matters +of business their national Sambat, or era of Raja Bikram Ajit. + +The Emperor Akbar, in the course of his endeavours to fuse the +peoples of India into a whole, endeavoured amongst other things +to form a new religion. This, it was his intention, should be at +once a vindication of his Tartar and Persian forefathers against +Arab proselytism, and a bid for the suffrages of his Hindu +subjects. Like most eclectic systems it failed. In and after his +time also Christianity in its various forms has been feebly +endeavouring to maintain a footing. This is a candid report, from +a source that cannot but be trusted, of the result of three +centuries of Missionary labour. + +"There is nothing which can at all warrant the opinion that the +heart of the people has been largely touched, or that the +conscience of the people has been affected seriously. There is no +advance in the direction of faith in Christ, like that which +Pliny describes, or Tertullian proclaims as characteristic of +former eras. In fact, looking at the work of Missions on the +broadest scale, and especially upon that of our own Missions, we +must confess that, in many cases, the condition is one rather of +stagnation than of advance. There seems to be a want in them of +the power to edify, and a consequent paralysis of the power to +convert. The converts, too often, make such poor progress in the +Christian life, that they fail to act as leaven in the lump of +their countrymen. In particular, the Missions do not attract to +Christ many men of education; not even among those who have been +trained within their own schools. Educated natives, as a general +rule, will stand apart from the truth; maintaining, at the best, +a state of mental vacuity which hangs suspended, for a time, +between an atheism, from which they shrink, and a Christianity, +which fails to overcome their fears and constrain their +allegiance." Extract from Letter of the Anglican Bishops of +India, addressed to the English Clergy, in May, 1874. + +The capital cities of Northern India have always been Dehli and +Agra; the first-named having been the seat of the earlier +Musalman Empires, while the Moghuls, for more than a full +century, preferred to hold their Court at Agra. This dynasty, +however, re-transferred the metropolis to the older situation; +but, instead of attempting to revive any of the pristine +localities, fixed their palace and its environs upon a new--and a +preferablepiece of ground. + +If India be the Italy of Asia, still more properly may it be said +that Dehli is its Rome. This ancient site stretches ruined for +many miles round the present inhabited area, and its original +foundation is lost in a mythical antiquity. A Hindu city called +Indraprastha was certainly there on the bank of the Jamna near +the site of the present city before the Christian era, and +various Mohamadan conquerors occupied sites in the neighbourhood, +of which numerous remains are still extant. There was also a city +near the present Kutb Minar, built by a Hindu rajah, about 57 +B.C. according to General Cunningham. This was the original (or +old) Dilli or Dehli, a name of unascertained origin. It appears +to have been deserted during the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni, +but afterwards rebuilt about 1060 A.D. The last built of all the +ancient towns was the Din Panah of Humayun, nearly on the site of +the old Hindu town; but it had gone greatly to decay during the +long absence of his son and grandson at Agra and elsewhere. + +At length New Dehlithe present citywas founded by Shahjahan, +the great-grandson of Humayun, and received the name, by which it +is still known to Mohamudans, of Shahjahanabad. The city is seven +miles round, with seven gates, the palace or citadel one-tenth of +the area. Both are a sort of irregular semicircle on the right +bank of the Jamna, which river forms their eastern arc. The plain +is about 800 feet above the level of the sea, and is bordered at +some distance by a low range of hills, and receiving the drainage +of the Mewat Highlands. The greatest heat is in June, when the +mean temperature in the shade is 92‘ F.; but it falls as low as +53‘ in January. The situationas will be seen by the mapis +extremely well chosen as the administrative centre of Hindustan; +it must always be a place of commercial importance, and the +climate has no peculiar defect. The only local disorder is a very +malignant sore, which may perhaps be due to the brackishness of +the water. This would account for the numerous and expensive +canals and aqueducts which have been constructed at different +periods to bring water from remote and pure sources. Here +Shahjahan founded, in 1645 A.D., a splendid fortified palace, +which continued to be occupied by his descendants down to the +Great Revolt of 1857. + +The entrance to the palace was, and still is, defended by a lofty +barbican, passing which the visitor finds himself in an immense +arcaded vestibule, wide and lofty, formerly appropriated to the +men and officers of the guard, but in later days tenanted by +small shopkeepers. This opened into a courtyard, at the back of +which was a gate surmounted by a gallery, where one used to hear +the barbarous performances of the royal band. Passing under this, +the visitor entered the 'Am-Khas or courtyard, much fallen from +its state, when the rare animals and the splendid military +pageants of the earlier Emperors used to throng its area. +Fronting you was the Diwan-i-Am (since converted into a canteen), +and at the back (towards the east or river) the Diwan-i-Khas, +since adequately restored. This latter pavilion is in echelon +with the former, and was made to communicate on both sides with +the private apartments. + +On the east of the palace, and connected with it by a bridge +crossing an arm of the river, is the ancient Pathan fort of +Salimgarh, a rough and dismal structure, which the later Emperors +used as a state prison. It is a remarkable contrast to the rest +of the fortress, which is surrounded by crenellated walls of high +finish. These walls being built of the red sandstone of the +neighbourhood, and seventy feet in height, give to the exterior +of the buildings a solemn air of passive and silent strength, so +that, even after so many years of havoc, the outward appearance +of the Imperial residence continues to testify of its former +grandeur. How its internal and actual grandeur perished will be +seen in the following pages. The Court was often held at Agra, +where the remains of a similar palace are still to be seen. No +detailed account of this has been met with at all rivalling the +contemporary descriptions of the Red Palace of Dehli. But an +attempt has been made to represent its high and palmy state in +the General Introduction to the History of Hindustan by the +present writer. + +Of the character of the races who people the wide Empire of which +Dehli was the metropolis, very varying estimates have been +formed, in the most extreme opposites of which there is still +some germ of truth. It cannot be denied that, in some of what are +termed the unprogressive virtues, they exceeded, as their sons +still exceed, most of the nations of Europe; being usually +temperate, self-controlled, patient, dignified in misfortune, and +affectionate and liberal to kinsfolk and dependents. Few things +perhaps show better the good behaviour one may almost say the +good breeding of the ordinary native than the sight of a crowd +of villagers going to or returning from a fair in Upper India. +The stalwart young farmers are accompanied by their wives; each +woman in her coloured wimple, with her shapely arms covered +nearly to the elbow with cheap glass armless. Every one is +smiling, showing rows of well-kept teeth, talking kindly and +gently; here a little boy leads a pony on which his white-bearded +grandfather is smilingly seated; there a baby perches, with eyes +of solemn satisfaction, on its father's shoulder. Scenes of the +immemorial East are reproduced before our modern eyes; now the +"flight into Egypt," now St. John and his lamb. In hundreds and +in thousands, the orderly crowds stream on. Not a bough is broken +off a way-side tree, not a rude remark addressed to the passenger +as he threads his horse's way carefully through the everywhere +yielding ranks. So they go in the morning and so return at night. + +But, on the other hand, it is not to be rashly assumed that, as +India is the Italy, so are the Indian races the Italians of Asia. +All Asiatics are unscrupulous and unforgiving. The natives of +Hindustan are peculiarly so; but they are also unsympathetic and +unobservant in a manner that is altogether their own. From the +languor induced by the climate, and from the selfishness +engendered by centuries of misgovernment, they have derived a +weakness of will, an absence of resolute energy, and an +occasional audacity of meanness, almost unintelligible in a +people so free from the fear of death. Many persons have thought +that moral weakness of this kind must be attributable to the +system of caste by which men, placed by birth in certain grooves, +are forbidden to even think of stepping out of them. But this is +not the whole explanation. Nor, indeed, are the most candid +foreign critics convinced that the system is one of unmixed evil. +The subjoined moderate and sensible estimate of the effects of +caste, upon the character and habits of the people is from the +Bishops' letter quoted above. "In India, Caste has been the bond +of Society, defining the relations between man and man, and +though essentially at variance with all that is best and noblest +in human nature, has held vast communities together, and +established a system of order and discipline under which +Government has been administered, trade has prospered, the poor +have been maintained, and some domestic virtues have flourished." + +Macaulay has not overstated Indian weaknesses in his Essay on +Warren Hastings, where he has occasion to describe the character +of Nand Komar, who, as a Bengali man-of-the-pen, appears to have +been a marked type of all that is most unpleasing in the Hindoo +character. The Bengalis, however, have many amiable +characteristics to show on the other side of the shield, to which +it did not suit the eloquent Essayist to draw attention. And in +going farther North many other traits, of a far nobler kind, will +be found more and more abundant. Of the Musalmans, it only +remains to add that, although mostly descended from hardier +immigrants, they have imbibed the Hindu character to an extent +that goes far to corroborate the doctrine which traces the morals +of men to the physical circumstances that surround them. The +subject will be found more fully treated in the concluding +chapter. + +CHAPTER II. + +A.D. 1707-19. + + + +Greatness of Timur's DescendantsCauses of the Empire's +DeclineCharacter of AurangzebProgress of Disruption under his +SuccessorsMuhamadan and Hindu enemiesThe Stage emptied. + + + +For nearly two centuries the throne of the Chaghtais continued to +be filled by a succession of exceptionally able Princes. The +brave and simple-hearted Babar, the wandering Humayun, the +glorious Akbar, the easy but uncertain-tempered Jahangir, the +magnificent Shahjahan, all these rulers combined some of the best +elements of Turkish character and their administration was +better than that of any other Oriental country of their date. Of +Shahjahan's government and its patronage of the arts both +decorative and useful we have trustworthy contemporary +descriptions. His especial taste was for architecture; and the +Mosque and Palace of Dehli, which he personally designed, even +after the havoc of two centuries, still remain the climax of the +Indo-Saracenic order, and admitted rivals to the choicest works +of Cordova and Granada. + +The abilities of his son and successor ALAMGIR, known to +Europeans by his private name, AURANGZEB, rendered him the most +famous member of his famous house. Intrepid and enterprising as +he was in war, his political sagacity and statecraft were equally +unparalleled in Eastern annals. He abolished capital punishment, +understood and encouraged agriculture, founded numberless +colleges and schools, systematically constructed roads and +bridges, kept continuous diaries of all public events from his +earliest boyhood, administered justice publicly in person, and +never condoned the slightest malversation of a provincial +governor, however distant his province. Such were these emperors; +great, if not exactly what we should call good, to a degree rare +indeed amongst hereditary rulers. + +The fact of this uncommon succession of high qualities in a race +born to the purple may be ascribed to two main considerations. In +the first place, the habit of contracting, marriages with Hindu +princesses, which the policy and the latitudinarianism of the +emperors established, was a constant source of fresh blood, +whereby the increase of family predisposition was checked. Few if +any races of men are free from some morbid taint: scrofula, +phthisis, weak nerves, or a disordered brain, are all likely to +be propagated if a person predisposed to any such ailment marries +a woman of his own stock. From this danger the Moghul princes +were long kept free. Khuram, the second son of Jahangir, who +succeeded his father under the title of Shah Jahan, had a Hindu +mother, and two Hindu grandmothers. All his sons, however, were +by a Persian consort the lady of the Taj. + +Secondly, the invariable fratricidal war which followed the +demise of the Crown gave rise to a natural selection (to borrow a +term from modern physical science), which eventually confirmed +the strongest in possession of the prize. However humanity may +revolt from the scenes of crime which such a system must perforce +entail, yet it cannot be doubted that the qualities necessary to +ensure success in a struggle of giants would certainly both +declare and develop themselves in the person of the victor by the +time that struggle was concluded. + +It is, however, probable that both these causes aided ultimately +in the dissolution of the monarchy. + +The connections which resulted from the earlier emperors' Hindu +marriages led, as the Hindus became disaffected after the +intolerant rule of Aurangzeb, to an assertion of partisanship +which gradually swelled into independence; while the wars between +the rival sons of each departing emperor gave more and more +occasion for the Hindu chiefs to take sides in arms. + +Then it was that each competitor, seeking to detach the greatest +number of influential feudatories from the side of his rivals, +and to propitiate such feudatories in his own favour, cast to +each of these the prize that each most valued. And, since this +was invariably the uncontrolled dominion of the territories +confided to their charge, it was in this manner that the reckless +disputants partitioned the territories that their forefathers had +accumulated with such a vast expenditure of human happiness and +human virtue. For, even from those who had received their +titledeeds at the hands of claimants to the throne ultimately +vanquished, the concession could rarely be wrested by the +exhausted conqueror. Or, when it was, there was always at hand a +partisan to be provided for, who took the gift on the same terms +as those upon which it had been held by his predecessor. + +Aurangzeb, when he had imprisoned his father and, conquered and +slain his brothers, was, on his accession, A.D. 1658, the most +powerful of all the Emperors of Hindustan, and, at the same time, +the ablest administrator that the Empire had ever known. In his +reign the house of Timur attained its zenith. The wild Pathans of +Kabul were temporarily tamed; the Shah of Persia sought his +friendship; the ancient Musalman powers of Golconda and Bijapur +were subverted, and their territories rendered subordinate to the +sway of the Empire; the hitherto indomitable Rajputs were subdued +and made subject to taxation; and, if the strength of the +Mahrattas lay gathered upon the Western Ghats like a cloud risen +from the sea, yet it was not to be anticipated that a band of +such marauders could long resist the might of the great Moghul. + +Yet that might and that greatness were reduced to a mere show +before his long reign terminated; and the Moghul Empire resembled + to use a familiar image one of those Etruscan corpses which, +though crowned and armed, are destined to crumble at the breath +of heaven or at the touch of human hands. And still more did it +resemble some splendid palace, whose gilded cupolas and towering +minarets are built of materials collected from every quarter of +the world, only to collapse in undistinguishable ruin when the +Ficus religiosa has lodged its destructive roots in the +foundation on which they rest. Thus does this great ruler furnish +another instance of the familiar but everneeded lesson, that +countries may be over-governed. Had he been less anxious to stamp +his own image and superscription upon the palaces of princes and +the temples of priests; upon the moneys of every market, and upon +every human heart and conscience; he might have governed with as +much success as his free thinking and pleasure-seeking +predecessors. But he was the Louis Quatorze of the East; with +less of pomp than his European contemporary, but not less of the +lust of conquest, of centralization, and of religious conformity. +Though each monarch identified the State with himself, yet it may +be doubted if either, on his deathbed, knew that his monarchy was +dying also. But so it was that to each succeeded that gradual but +complete cataclysm which seems the inevitable consequence of the +system which each pursued. + +One point peculiar to the Indian emperor is that the persecuting +spirit of his reign was entirely due to his own character. The +jovial and clement Chaghtai Turks, from whom he was descended, +were never bigoted Mohamadans. Indeed it may be fairly doubted +whether Akbar and his son Jahangir were, to any considerable +extent, believers in the system of the Arabian prophet. Far +different, however, was the creed of Aurangzeb, and ruthlessly +did he seek to force it upon his Hindu subjects. Thus there were +now added to the usual dangers of a large empire the two peculiar +perils of a jealous centralization of power, and a deep-seated +disaffection of the vast majority of the subjects. Nor was this +all. There had never been any fixed settlement of the succession; +and not even the sagacity of this politic emperor was superior to +the temptation of arbitrarily transferring the dignity of +heir-apparent from one son to another during his long reign. +True, this was no vice confined exclusively to Aurangzeb. His +predecessors had done the like; but then their systems had been +otherwise genial and fortunate. His successors, too, were +destined to pursue the same infatuated course; and it was a +defeated intrigue of this sort which probably first brought the +puppet emperor of our own time into that fatal contact with the +power of England which sent him to die in a remote and +dishonoured exile. + +When, therefore, the sceptre had fallen from the dead man's +hands, there were numerous evil influences ready to attend its +assumption by any hands that were less experienced and strong. +The prize was no less than the possession of the whole peninsula, +estimated to have yielded a yearly revenue of the nominal value +of thirty-four millions of pounds sterling, and guarded by a +veteran army of five hundred thousand men. + +The will of the late emperor had left the disposal of his +inheritance entirely unsettled. "Whoever of my fortunate sons +shall chance to rule my empire," is the only reference to the +subject that occurs in this brief and extraordinary document. + +His eldest surviving son consequently found two competitors in +the field, in the persons of his brothers. These, however, he +defeated in succession, and assumed the monarchy under the title +of BAHADUR SHAH. A wise and valiant prince, he did not reign long +enough to show how far he could have succeeded in controlling or +retarding the evils above referred to; but his brief occupation +of the monarchy is marked by the appearance of all those powers +and dynasties which afterwards participated, all in its +dismemberment, and most in its spoil. Various enemies, both Hindu +and Musalman, appeared, and the Empire of the Chaghtai Turks was +sapped and battered by attempts which, though mostly founded on +the most selfish motives, involved a more or less patriotic +feeling. Sikhs, Mahrattas, and Rajputs, all aimed at +independence; while the indigenous Mohamadans, instead of joining +the Turks in showing a common front to the common enemy, weakened +the defence irrecoverably by opposition and rivalry. + +In the attempt to put down the Sikhs, Bahadur died at Lahor, just +five years after the death of his father. The usual struggle +ensued. Three of the princes were defeated and slain in detail; +and the partisans of the eldest son, Mirza Moizudin, conferred +upon him the succession (by the title of JAHANDAR SHAH), after a +wholesale slaughter of such of his kindred as fell within their +grasp. After a few months, the aid of the governors of Bihar and +Allahabad, Saiyids of the tribe of Barha, enabled the last +remaining claimant to overthrow and murder the incapable Emperor. +The conqueror succeeded his uncle under the title of FAROKHSIAR. + +The next step of the Saiyids, men of remarkable courage and +ability was to attack the Rajputs; and to extort from their +chief, the Maharajah Ajit Sing, the usual tribute, and the hand +of his daughter for the Emperor, who, like some of his +predecessors, was anxious to marry a Hindu princess. But the +levity and irresolution of the Emperor soon led to his being, in +his turn, dethroned and slaughtered. The race was now quite worn +out. + +A brief interregnum ensued, during which the all-powerful Saiyids +sought to administer the powers of sovereignty behind the screen +of any royal scion they could find of the requisite nonentity. +But there was a Nothing still more absolute than any they could +find; and after two of these shadow-kings had passed in about +seven months, one after the other, into the grave, the usurpers +were at length constrained to make a choice of a more efficient +puppet. This was the son of Bahadur Shah's youngest son, who had +perished in the wars which followed that emperor's demise. His +private name was Sultan Roshan Akhtar ("Prince Fair Star"), but +he assumed with the Imperial dignity the title of MOHAMMAD SHAH, +and is memorable as the last Indian emperor that ever sat upon +the peacock throne of Shah Jahan. + +The events mentioned in the preceding brief summary, though they +do not comprehend the whole disintegration of the Empire, are +plainly indicative of what is to follow. In the final chapters of +the First Part we shall behold somewhat more in detail the +rapidly accelerating event. During the long reign of Mohammad +foreign violence will be seen accomplishing what native vice and +native weakness have commenced; and the successors to his +dismantled throne will be seen passing like other decorations in +a passive manner from one mayor of the palace to another, or +making fitful efforts to be free, which only rivet their chains +and hasten their destruction. One by one the provinces fall away +from this distempered centre. At length we shall find the throne +literally without an occupant, and the curtain will seem to +descend while preparations are being made for the last act of +this Imperial tragedy. + +CHAPTER III. + +A.D. 1719-48 + + + +Muhammad Shah Chin Kulich Khan, his retirement from Dehli +Movements of the Mahrattas Invasion of Nadir Shah Ahmad Khan +repulsed by the Moghuls. + + + +GUIDED by his mother, a person of sense and spirit, the young +Emperor began his reign by forming a party of Moghul friends, who +were hostile to the Saiyids on every conceivable account. The +former were Sunnis, the latter Shias; and perhaps the animosities +of sects are stronger than those of entirely different creeds. +Moreover, the courtiers were proud of a foreign descent; and, +while they despised the ministers as natives of India, they +possessed in their mother tongue Turkish a means of +communicating with the Emperor (a man of their own race) from +which the ministers were excluded. The Saiyids were soon +overthrown, their ruin being equally desired by Chin Kulich, the +head of the Turkish party, and Saadat Ali, the newly-arrived +adventurer from Persia. These noblemen now formed the rival +parties of Turan and Iran; and became distinguished, the one as +founder of the principality of Audh, abolished in 1856, the other +as that of the dynasty of Haidarabad, which still subsists. Both, +however, were for the time checked by the ambition and energy of +the Mahrattas. Chin Kulich was especially brought to his knees in +Bhopal, where the Mahrattas wrung from him the cession of Malwa, +and a promise of tribute to be paid by the Imperial Government to +these rebellious brigands. + +This was a galling situation for an ancient nobleman, trained in +the traditions of the mighty Aurangzeb. The old man was now +between two fires. If he went on to his own capital, Haidarabad, +he would be exposed to wear out the remainder of his days in the +same beating of the air that had exhausted his master. If he +returned to the capital of the Empire, he saw an interminable +prospect of contempt and defeat at the hands of the +Captain-General Khan Dauran, the chief of the courtiers who had +been wont to break their jests upon the old-fashioned manners of +the veteran. + +Thus straitened, the Nizam, for by that title Chin Kulich was now +beginning to be known, took counsel with Saadat, the Persian, who +was still at Dehli. Nadir Shah, the then ruler of Persia, had +been for some time urging on the Court of Dehli remonstrances +arising out of boundary quarrels and similar grievances. The two +nobles, who may be described as opposition leaders, are believed +to have in 1738 addressed the Persian monarch in a joint letter +which had the result of bringing him to India, with all the +consequences which will be found related in the History of +Hindustan by the present writer, and in the well-known work of +Mountstuart Elphinstone. + +It would be out of place in this introduction to dwell in detail +upon the brief and insincere defence of the Empire by Saadat +'Ali, in attempting to save whom the Khan Dauran lost his life, +while the Nizam attempted vain negotiations. The Persians, as is +well-known, advanced on Dehli, massacred some 100,000 of the +inhabitants, held the survivors to ransom, and ultimately retired +to their own country, with plunder that has been estimated at +eighty millions sterling, and included the famous Peacock Throne. + +The Nizam was undoubtedly the gainer by these tragic events. In +addition to being Viceroy of the Deccan, he found himself +all-powerful at Dehli, for Saadat 'Ali had died soon after the +Khan Dauran. Death continuing to favour him, his only remaining +rival, the Mahratta Peshwa, Baji Rao, passed away in 1740, on the +eve of a projected invasion of Hindustan. In 1745 the Province of +Rohelkhand became independent, as did the Eastern Subahs of +Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Leaving his son to represent him at +Dehli, the Nizam settled at Haidarabad as an independent ruler, +although he still professed subordination to the Empire, of which +he called himself Vakil-i-Mutlak, or Regent. + +Shortly after, a fresh invader from the north appeared in the +person of Ahmad Khan Abdali, leader of the Daurani Afghans, who +had obtained possession of the frontier provinces during the +confusion in Persian politics that succeeded the assassination of +Nadir. But a new generation of Moghul nobles was now rising, +whose valour formed a short bright Indian summer in the fall of +the Empire; and the invasion was rolled back by the spirit and +intelligence of the heir apparent, the Vazir's son Mir Mannu, his +brother-in-law Ghazi-ud-din, and the nephew of the deceased +Governor of Audh, Abul-Mansur Khan, better known to Europeans by +his title Safdar Jang. The decisive action was fought near +Sirhind, and began on the 3rd March, 1748. This is memorable as +the last occasion on which Afghans were ever repulsed by people +of India until the latter came to have European leaders. The +death of the Vazir took place eight days later. This Vazir +(Kamr-ul-din Khan), who had long been the head of the Turkish +party in the State, was the nominal leader of the expedition, in +conjunction with the heir-apparent, though the chief glory was +acquired by his gallant son Mannu, or Moin-ul-din. The Vazir did +not live to share the triumph of his son, who defeated the enemy, +and forced him to retire. The Vazir Kamr-ul-din died on the 11th, +just before the retreat of the Afghans. A round shot killed him +as he was praying in his tent; and the news of the death of this +old and constant servant, who had been Mohammad's personal friend +through all the pleasures and cares of his momentous reign, +proved too much for the Emperor's exhausted constitution. He was +seized by a strong convulsion as he sate administering justice in +his despoiled palace at Dehli, and expired almost immediately, +about the 16th of April, A.D. 1748. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A.D. 1748-54. + + + +Ahmad Shah The Rohillas Ghazi-ud-din the younger +Perplexities of the Emperor Alamgir II. placed on the throne. + +SELDOM has a reign begun under fairer auspices than did that of +Ahmad Shah. The Emperor was in the flower of his age; his +immediate associates were men distinguished for their courage and +skill; the Nizam was a bar to the Mahrattas in the Deccan, and +the tide of northern invasion had ebbed out of sight. + +There is, however, a fatal element of uncertainty in all systems +of government which depend for their success merely upon personal +qualities. The first sign of this precarious tenure of greatness +was afforded by the death of the aged Nizam Chin Kulich, Viceroy +of the Deccan, which took place immediately after that of the +late Emperor. + +The eldest son of the old Nizam contended with the nephew of the +deceased Saadat whose name was Mansur, but who is better known +by his title of Safdar Jang for the Premiership, or office of +Vazir, and his next brother Nasir Jang held the Lieutenancy of +the Deccan. The command in Rajputan, just then much disturbed, +devolved at first on a Persian nobleman who had been his Bakhshi, +or Paymaster of the Forces, and also Amir-ul-Umra, or Premier +Peer. His disaster and disgrace were not far off, as will be seen +presently. The office of Plenipotentiary was for the time in +abeyance. The Vazirship, which had been held by the deceased +Kamr-ul-din was about the same time conferred upon Safdar Jang, +who also succeeded his uncle as Viceroy or Nawab of Audh. Hence +the title, afterwards so famous, of Nawab-Vazir. + +Having made these dispositions, the Emperor followed the +hereditary bent of his natural disposition, and left the +provinces to fare as best they might, while he enjoyed the +pleasures to which his opportunities invited him. The business of +state fell very much into the hands of a eunuch named Jawid Khan, +who had long been the favourite of the Emperor's mother, a Hindu +danseuse named Udham Bai, who is known in history as the Kudsiya +Begam. The remains of her villa are to be seen in a garden still +bearing her name, on the Jamna side a little beyond the Kashmir +Gate of New Dehli. For a time these two had all at their command; +and the lady at least appears to have made a beneficent use of +her term of prosperity. Meanwhile, the two great dependencies of +the Empire, Rohilkand and the Panjab, become the theatre of +bloody contests. + +The Rohillas routed the Imperial army commanded by the Vazir in +person, and though Safdar Jung wiped off this stain, it was only +by undergoing the still deeper disgrace of encouraging the Hindu +powers to prey upon the growing weakness of the Empire. + +Aided by the Mahrattas under Holkar and by the Jats under Suraj +Mal, the Vazir defeated the Rohillas at the fords of the Ganges; +and pushed them up into the malarious country at the foot of the +Kumaon mountains, where famine and fever would soon have +completed their subjugation, but for the sudden reappearance in +the north-west of their Afghan kindred under Ahmad Khan the +Abdali. + +The Mahrattas were allowed to indemnify themselves for these +services by seizing on part of the Rohilla country, and drawing +chauth from the rest; consideration of which they promised their +assistance to cope with the invading Afghans; but on arriving at +Dehli they learned that the Emperor, in the Vazir's absence, had +surrendered to Ahmad the provinces of Lahor and Multan, and thus +terminated the war. + +An expedition was about this time sent to Ajmir, under the +command of Saadat Khan, the Amir-ul-Umra, the noble of the Shiah +or "Iranian" party already mentioned as commanding in Rajputan, +and who was also the Imperialist Viceroy of Agra. He wasted his +time and strength, however, in an attack upon the Jats, through +whose country the way went. When at last he neared Ajmir he +allowed himself to be entangled in the local intrigues which it +was the object of his expedition to suppress. He returned after +about fifteen months of fruitless campaigning, and was dismissed +from his office by the all-powerful Jawid, Ghazi-ud-din succeeded +as Amir-ul- Umra. + +Almost every section of the History of Ahmad Shah abstracted by +Professor Dowson (VIII.) ends with some sinister allusion to this +favourite eunuch and his influence. The Emperor had nothing to +say as to what went on, as his mother and Jawid were the real +rulers. The Emperor considered it to be most suitable to him to +spend his time in pleasure; and he made his Zanana extend a mile. +For weeks he would remain without seeing the face of a male +creature. There was probably no sincere friend to raise a +warning; and the doom deepened and the hand wrote upon the wall +unheeded. The country was overrun with wickedness and wasted with +misery. The disgrace of the unsuccessful Saadat returning from +Ajmir, was enhanced by his vainly attempting to strike a blow at +the Empress and her favourite. They called in the Turkish element +against him, and contrived to alienate his countryman, Safdar +Jang, who departed towards his Viceroyship of Audh; leaving the +wretched remains of an Empire to ferment and crumble in its own +way. + +The cabinet of the Empress was now, in regard to Ghazi-ud-din and +the Mahrattas, in the position of a necromancer who has to +furnish his familiars with employment on pain of their destroying +him. But an escape seemed to be afforded them by the projects of +Ghazi-ud-din, who agreed to draw off the dangerous auxiliaries to +aid him in wresting the Lieutenancy of the Deccan from his third +brother Salabat Jang who had possessed himself of the +administration on the death of Nasir Jang, the second son and +first successor of Chin Kulich, the old Nizam. He was to be +represented at Dehli by a nephew. + +Gladly did the Persian party behold their rival thus depart; +little dreaming of the dangerous abilities of the boy he had left +behind. This youth, best known by the family affix of +Ghazi-ud-din (2nd), but whose name was Shahabuddin, and who is +known in native histories by his official title of Aamad-ul-Mulk, +was son of Firoz Jang, the old Nizam's fourth son. He at once +assumed the head of the army, and may be properly described, +henceforth, as "Captain-General." He was but sixteen when the +news of his uncle's sudden death at Aurangabad was brought to +Dehli. Safdar Jang, returning from Lucknow, removed the Emperor's +chief favourite, Jawid, by assassination (28th August, 1752) and +doubtless thought himself at length arrived at the goal of his +ambition. But the young Ghazi, secretly instigated by the weak +and anxious monarch, renewed against the Persian the same war of +Turan and Iran, of Sunni and Shia, which in the last reign had +been waged between the uncle of the one and the grandfather of +the other. The only difference was that both parties being now +fully warned, the mask of friendship that had been maintained +during the old struggle was now completely dropped; and the +streets of the metropolis became the scene of daily fights +between the two factions. Many splendid remains of the old cities +are believed to have been destroyed during these struggles. The +Jats from Bhurtpore came up under Suraj Mal, their celebrated +leader, and plundered the environs right and left. The Vazir's +people, the Persian partly, breached a bastion of the city wall, +and their victory seemed near at hand. But Mir Mannu, the famous +Viceroy of the Punjab who was Ghazi's near kinsman sent a +body of veterans to aid the Moghul cause; the account is +confused, but this seems to have turned the tide. The Moghuls, or +Turks, for the time won; and Ghazi assumed the command of the +army. The Vazirship was conferred on Intizam-ud-daulah the Khan +Khanan (a son of the deceased Kamr-ul-din, and young Ghazi's +cousin), while Safdar Jang falling into open rebellion, called +the Jats under Surajmal to his assistance. The Moghuls were thus +led to have recourse to the Mahrattas; and Holkar was even +engaged as a nominal partizan of the Empire, against his +co-religionists the Jats, and his former patron the Viceroy of +Audh. The latter, who was always more remarkable for sagacity +than for personal courage, soon retired to his own country, and +the hands of the conqueror Ghazi fell heavily upon the +unfortunate Jats. + +The Khan Khanan and the Emperor now began to think that things +had gone far enough; and the former, who was acquainted with his +kinsman's unscrupulous mind and ruthless passions, persistently +withheld from him a siege-train which was required for the +reduction of Bhartpur, the Jat capital. The Emperor was thus in a +situation from which the utmost judgment in the selection of a +line of conduct was necessary for success, indeed for safety. The +gallant Mir Mannu, son of his father's old friend and servant +Kamar-uddin, was absent in the Panjab, engaged on the arduous +duty of keeping the Afghans in check. But his brother-in-law, the +Khan Khanan, was ready with alternative projects, of which each +was courageous and sensible. To call back Safdar Jung, and openly +acknowledge the cause of the Jats, would probably cost only one +campaign, well conceived and vigorously executed. On the other +hand, to support the Captain-General Ghazi honestly and without +reserve, would have secured immediate repose, whilst it crushed a +formidable Hindu power. + +The irresolute voluptuary before whom these plans were laid could +decide manfully upon neither. He marched from Dehli with the +avowed intention of supporting the Captain-General, to whom he +addressed messages of encouragement. He at the same time wrote to +Surajmal, to whom he promised that he would fall upon the rear of +the army (his own !), upon the Jats making a sally from the +fortress in which they were besieged. + +Safdar Jang not being applied to, remained sullenly aloof: the +Emperor's letter to the Jats fell into the hands of Ghazi-ud-din, +the Captain-General, who returned it to him with violent menaces. +The alarmed monarch began to fall back upon his capital, pursued +at a distance by his rebellious general. Holkar meanwhile +executed a sudden and independent attack upon the Imperial camp, +which he took and plundered at Sikundrabad, near Bolandshahr. The +ladies of the Emperor's family were robbed of everything, and +sent to Dehli in country carts. The Emperor and his minister lost +all heart, and fled precipitately into Dehli, where they had but +just time to take refuge in the palace, when they found +themselves rigorously invested. + +Knowing the man with whom they had to deal, their last hope was +obviously in a spirited resistance, combined with an earnest +appeal to the Audh Viceroy and to the ruler of the Jats. And it +is on record in a trustworthy native history that such was the +tenor of the Vazir's advice to the Emperor. But the latter, +perhaps too sensible of the difficulties of this course from the +known hostility of Safdar Jang, and the great influence of +Ghazi-ud-din over the Moghul soldiery, rejected the bold counsel. +Upon this the Vazir retired to his own residence, which he +fortified, and the remaining adherents of the Emperor opened the +gates and made terms with the Captain-General. The latter then +invested himself with the official robes of the Vazirate (5th +June, 1754) and convened the Moghul Darbar, from which, with his +usual address, he contrived to obtain as a vote of the cabinet +what was doubtless the suggestion of his own unprincipled +ambition. "This Emperor," said the assembled nobles, "has shown +his unfitness for rule. He is unable to cope with the Mahrattas: +he is false and fickle towards his friends. Let him be deposed, +and a worthier son of Timur raised to the throne." This +resolution was immediately acted upon; the unfortunate monarch +was blinded and consigned to the State prison of Salim Garh, +adjoining the palace; and a son of Jahandar Shah, the competitor +of Farokhsiar, proclaimed Emperor under the sounding title of +Alamgir II., July, 1754 A.D. The new Emperor (whose title was due +to the fact that his predecessor the great Aurangzeb had been +the first to bear it) was in the fifty-fourth year of his age. He +was a quiet old devotee, whose only pleasures were reading +religious books and attending divine service. His predecessor was +not further molested, and lived on in his captivity to his death +in 1775, from natural causes, at the age of fifty. Ghazi-ud-din +was at the same time acknowledged as Vazir in the room of the +Khan Khanan. That officer was murdered about five years later, +according to Beale (Orl. Bl. Dicty in voc.) So also the +Siyar-ul-mutikharin. + +One name, afterwards to become very famous, is heard of for the +first time during these transactions; and, since the history of +the Empire consists now of little more than a series of +biographies, the present seems the proper place to consider the +outset of his career. Najib Khan was an Afghan soldier of +fortune, who had attained the hand of the daughter of Dundi Khan, +one of the chieftains of the Rohilkand Pathans. Rewarded by this +ruler with the charge of a district, now Bijnaur, in the +north-west corner of Rohilkand, he had joined the cause of Safdar +Jang, when that minister occupied the country; but on the +latter's disgrace had borne a part in the campaigns of +Ghazi-ud-din. When the Vazir first conceived the project of +attacking the government, he sent Najib in the command of a +Moghul detachment to occupy the country, about Saharanpur, then +known as the Bawani mahal, which had formed the jagir of the +Ex-Vazir Khan Khanan. This territory thus became in its turn +separated from the Empire, and continued for two generations in +the family of Najib. Though possessing the unscrupulous nature of +his class, he was not without the virtues that are found in its +best specimens. He was active, painstaking, and faithful to +engagements; when he had surmounted his early difficulties he +proved a good administrator. He ruled the dwindled Empire for +nine years, and died a peaceful death, leaving his charge in an +improved and strengthened condition, ready for its lawful +monarch. He was highly esteemed by the British in India. (v. inf +89 ) + +The dominions of Akbar and Aurangzeb had now indeed fallen into a +pitiable state. Although the whole of the peninsula still +nominally owned the sway of the Moghul, no provinces remained in +the occupation of the Government besides part of the upper Doab, +and a few districts south of the Satlaj. Gujarat was overrun by +the Mahrattas; Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa were occupied by the +successor of Aliverdi Khan, Audh and Allahabad by Safdar Jang, +the central Doab by the Afghan tribe of Bangash, the province now +called Rohilkand by the Rohillas. The Panjab had been virtually +abandoned; the rest of India had been recovered by the Hindus, +with the exception of such portions of the Deccan as still formed +the arena for the family wars of the sons of the old Nizam. Small +encroachments continued to be made by the English traders. + + + +CHAPTER V + +A.D. 1754-60. + + + +Progress of Ghazi ud-din Ahmad Khan enters Dehli Escape of +the Prince Ali Gauhar Murder of the Emperor Ahmad the Abdali +advances on Dehli End of Ghazi's career. + +No sooner was the revolution accomplished than the young +kingmaker took effective measures to secure his position. He +first seized and imprisoned his relation the Khan Khanan, whose +office he had usurped, as above stated. The opportune death of +Safdar Jang (17th October, 1754) removed another danger, while +the intrepidity and merciless severity with which (assisted by +Najib Khan) he quelled a military mutiny provoked by his own +arbitrary conduct, served at once as a punishment to the +miserable offenders and a warning to all who might be meditating +future attacks. + +Of such there were not a few, and those too in high places. The +imbecile Emperor became the willing centre of a cabal bent upon +the destruction of the daring young minister; and, though the +precautions of the latter prevented things from going that +length, yet the constant plotting that went on served to +neutralize all his efforts at administration, and to increase in +his mind that sense of misanthropic solitude which is probably +the starting-point of the greatest crimes. + +As soon as he judged that he could prudently leave the Court, the +Minister organized an expedition to the Panjab, where the gallant +Mir Mannu had been lately killed by falling from his horse. Such +had been the respect excited in men's minds towards this +excellent public servant, that the provinces of Lahor and Multan, +when ceded to the Afghans in the late reign, had been ultimately +left in his charge by the new rulers. Ahmad the Abdali even +carried on this policy after the Mir's death, and confirmed the +Government in the person of his infant son. The actual +administrators during the minority were to be the widow of Mannu +and a statesman of great local experience, whose name was Adina +Beg. This man was a Hindu by origin, a, self-made man, bold and +intelligent. + +It was upon this opportunity that the Vazir resolved to strike. +Hastily raising, such a force as the poor remnant of the imperial +treasury could furnish, he marched on Lahor, taking with him the +heir apparent, Mirza Ali Gauhar. Seizing the town by a coup de +main, he possessed himself of the Lady Regent and her daughter, +and returned to Dehli, asserting that he had extorted a treaty +from the Afghan monarch, and appointed Adina Beg sole +Commissioner of the provinces. + +However this may have been, the Court was not satisfied; and the +less so that the success of the Minister only served to render +him more violent and cruel than ever. Nor is it to be supposed +that Ahmad the Abdali would overlook, for any period longer than +his own convenience might require, any unauthorized interference +with arrangements made by himself for territory that he might +justly regard as his own. Accordingly the Afghan chief soon lent +a ready ear to the representations of the Emperor's party, and +swiftly presented himself at the head of an army within twenty +miles of Dehli. Accompanied by Najib Khan, (who was in secret +correspondence with the invader,) the Minister marched out to +give battle; and so complete was the isolation into which his +conduct had thrown him, that he learned for the first time what +was the true state of affairs when he saw the chief part of the +army follow Najib into the ranks of the enemy, where they were +received as expected guests. + +In this strait the Minister's personal qualities saved him. +Having in the meantime made Mannu's daughter his wife, he had the +address to obtain the intercession of his mother-in-law; and not +only obtained the pardon of the invader, but in no long time so +completely ingratiated himself with that simple soldier as to be +in higher power than even before the invasion. + +Ahmad Khan now took upon himself the functions of government, and +deputed the Minister to collect tribute in the Doab, while Sardar +Jahan Khan, one of his principal lieutenants, proceeded to levy +contributions from the Jats, and Ahmad himself undertook the +spoliation of the capital. + +From the first expedition Ghazi returned with considerable booty. +The attack upon the Jats was not so successful; throwing +themselves into the numerous strongholds with which their country +was dotted, they defied the Afghan armies and cut off their +foraging parties in sudden sallies. Agra too made an obstinate +defence under a Moghul governor; but the invaders indemnified +themselves both in blood and plunder at the expense of the +unfortunate inhabitants of the neighbouring city of Mathra, whom +they surprised at a religious festival, and massacred without +distinction of age or sex. + +As for the citizens of Dehli, their sufferings were grievous, +even compared with those inflicted twenty years before by the +Persians of Nadir Shah, in proportion as the conquerors were less +civilized, and the means of satisfying them less plentiful. All +conceivable forms of misery prevailed during the two months which +followed the entry of the Abdali, 11th September, 1757, exactly +one hundred years before the last capture of the same city by the +avenging force of the British Government during the Great Mutiny. + +Having concluded these operations, the invader retired into +cantonments at Anupshahar, on the Ganges, and there proceeded to +parcel out the Empire among such of the Indian chiefs as he +delighted to honour. He then appointed Najib to the office of +Amir-ul-umra, an office which involved the personal charge of the +Palace and its inmates; and departed to his own country, from +which he had lately received some unsatisfactory intelligence. +The Emperor endeavoured to engage his influence to bring about a +marriage which he desired to contract with a daughter of the +penultimate Emperor, Muhammad Shah: but the Abdali, on his +attention being drawn to the young lady, resolved upon espousing +her himself. He at the same time married his son Timur Shah to +the daughter of the heir apparent, and, having left that son in +charge of the Panjab, retired with the bulk of his army to +Kandahar. + +Relieved for the present from his anxieties, the Minister gave +sway to that morbid cruelty which detracted from the general +sagacity of his character. He protected himself against his +numerous enemies by subsidizing a vast body-guard of Mahratta +mercenaries, to pay whom he was led to the most merciless +exactions from the immediate subjects of the Empire. He easily +expelled Najib (who since his elevation must be distinguished by +his honorific name of Najib ud daula, "Hero of the State"): he +destroyed or kept in close confinement the nobles who favoured +the Emperor, and even sought to lay hands upon the heir apparent, +Ali Gohar. + +This prince was now in his seven-and-thirtieth year, and +exhibited all those generous qualities which we find in the men +of his race as long as they are not enervated by the voluptuous +repose of the Palace. He had been for some time residing in a +kind of open arrest in the house of Ali Mardan Khan, a fortified +building on the banks of the river. Here he learned that the +Minister contemplated transferring him to the close captivity of +Salim Garh, the state prison which stood within the precincts of +the Palace. Upon this he consulted with his companions, Rajah +Ramnath and a Musalman gentleman, Saiyid Ali, who with four +private troopers agreed to join in the hazardous enterprise of +forcing their way through the bands which by this time invested +the premises. Early the following morning they descended to the +courtyard and mounted their horses in silence. + +There was no time to spare. Already the bolder of the assailants +had climbed upon the neighbouring roofs, from which they began to +fire upon the little garrison, while their main forces guarded +the gateway. But it so happened that there was a breach in the +wall upon the river side, at the rear of the premises. By this +the Prince and his friends galloped out, and without a moment's +hesitation plunged their horses into the broad Jamna. One alone, +Saiyid Ali, stayed behind, and single-handed held the pursuers at +bay until the prince had made good his escape. The loyal follower +paid for his loyalty with his life. The fugitives found their way +to Sikandra, which was the centre of Najib's new fief; and the +Prince, after staying some time under the protection of the +Amir-ul-Umra, ultimately reached Lucknow, where, after a vain +attempt to procure the co-operation of the new Viceroy in an +attack upon the British, he was eventually obliged to seek the +protection of that alien power. + +Ahmad the Abdali being informed of these things by letters from +Dehli, prepared a fresh incursion; the rather that Adina Beg, +with the help of the Mahrattas had at the same time chased his +son, Timur Shah, from Lahor; while with another force they had +expelled Najib from his new territory, and forced him to seek +safety in his forts in the Bawani Mahal. The new Viceroy of Audh +raised the Rohillas and his own immediate followers in the +Abdali's name; the Mahrattas were driven out of Rohilkand; and +the Afghans, crossing the Jamna in Najib's territory to the north +of Dehli, arrived once more at Anupshahar about September, 1759, +whence they were enabled to hold uninterrupted communication with +Audh. + +The ruthless Ghazi was now almost at the end of his resources. He +therefore resolved to play his last card, and either win all by +the terror of his monstrous crime, or lose all, and retire from +the game. + +The harmless Emperor, amongst his numerous foibles, cherished the +pardonable weakness of a respect for the religious mendicants, +who form one of the chronic plagues of Asiatic society. Taking +advantage of this, a Kashmirian in the interest of the Minister +took occasion to mention to Alamgir that a hermit of peculiar +sanctity had recently taken up his abode in the ruined fort of +Firozabad, some two miles south of the city, and (in those days) +upon the right bank of the Jamna, which river has now receded to +a considerable distance. The helpless devotee resolved to consult +with this holy man, and repaired to the ruins in his palanquin. +Arrived at the door of the room, which was in the N.E. corner of +the palace of Firoz Shah, he was relieved of his arms by the +Kashmirian, who admitted him, and closed the entrance. A cry for +aid being presently heard was gallantly responded to by Mirza +Babar, the emperor's son-in-law, who attacked and wounded the +sentry, but was overpowered and sent to Salim Garh in the +Emperor's litter. The latter meanwhile was seized by a savage +Uzbek, named Balabash, who had been stationed within, and who +sawed off the defenceless monarch's head with a knife. Then +stripping off the rich robe he cast the headless trunk out of the +window, where it lay for some hours upon the sands until the +Kashmirian ordered its removal. The date of this tragic event is +between the 10th and 30th of November, 1759 (the latter being the +day given by Dowson, vol. viii. p. 243). The late Minister, +Intizam-ud-Daula, had been murdered by order of his successor +three days earlier. A grandson of Kam Bakhsh (the unfortunate son +of Aurangzeb) was then taken out of the Salim Garh and proclaimed +Emperor by the sonorous title of "Shah Jahan II." But he is not +recognised on the list of emperors, and his reign such as it +was lasted but a moment. Ghazi - (or Shahab) ud-din attempted +to reproduce the policy of the Sayyids by governing behind this +puppet; but the son of the murdered emperor proclaimed himself in +Bihar (v. inf.), and Ahmad the Abdali moved against Ghazi, as we +shall see in the next chapter. Discretion was the only part of +valour left, and the young and unscrupulous politician fled to +Bhartpur, where he found a temporary asylum with Suraj Mal. + +As this restless criminal here closes his public life, it may be +once for all mentioned that he reluctantly and slowly retired to +Farukhabad, where he remained till Shall Alam came there in 1771 +(inf. p. 98); that being driven from thence at the Restoration he +once more became a wanderer, and spent the next twenty years of +his life in disguise and total obscurity; till being accidentally +discovered by the British police at Surat, about 1791, he was, by +the Governor-General's orders, allowed to depart with a small sum +of money to Mecca, the refuge of many a Mohamadan malcontent. +Returning thence he visited Kabul, where he joined one of the +Dehli princes in an attempted invasion of India. The prince went +mad at Multan, and Ghazi, leaving him there, went on to +Bandelkhand, where he received a grant of land on which he +chiefly passed the remainder of his days. He died in 1800, and +was buried at Pakpatan in the Panjab (v. Journal of the As. Soc. +of Bengal, No. CCXXVI. 1879, pp. 129, ff.) + +The vengeance of the Abdali, therefore, fell upon the unoffending +inhabitants of the capital once more they were scourged with +fire and sword. Leaving a garrison in the palace, the Abdali then +quitted the almost depopulated city, and fell back on his old +quarters at Anupshahar, where he entered into negotiations with +the Rohillas, and with the Nawab of Audh, of which the result was +a general combination of the Musalmans of Hindustan with a view +of striking a decisive blow in defence of Islam. But these events +will form the subject of a separate chapter. + +CHAPTER VI. + + + +The Campaign of Panipat. + + + +THE Mahratta confederacy was in 1759 irresistible from the +borders of Berar to the banks of the Ganges. On one side they +were checked by the Nizam and Haidar, on the other by +Shujaa-ud-daula, the young ruler of Audh. Between these limits +they were practically paramount. To the westward a third +Mohamadan power, the newly-formed Daurani empire, was no doubt a +standing menace; but it is very possible that, with Ahmad Shah, +as with the other Moslem chiefs, arrangements of a pacific nature +might have been made. All turned upon the character and conduct +of one man. That man was Sadasheo Rao, the cousin and minister of +the Mahratta leader, the Peshwa, into whose hands had fallen the +sway of Mahratta power. For their titular head, the descendant of +Sivaji the original founder, was a puppet, almost a prisoner, +such as we, not many years ago, considered the Mikado of Japan. + +The state of the country is thus described by a contemporary +historian, quoted by Tod: "The people of Hindustan at this +period thought only of personal safety and gratification. Misery +was disregarded by those who escaped it; and man, centred solely +in self, felt not for his kind. This selfishness, destructive of +public, as of private, virtue, became universal in Hindustan +after the invasion of Nadir Shah; nor have the people become more +virtuous since, and consequently are neither happy nor more +independent." + +Ahmad Khan (known as "the Abdali"), whom we are now to recognise +as Ahmad Shah, the Daurani emperor, returned to Hindustan (as +stated in the last chapter) late in the summer, and marched to +Dehli, when he heard of the murder of Alamgir II. The execrable +Shahabuddin (or Ghazi-ud-din the younger) fled at his approach, +taking refuge with the Jats. Mahratta troops, who had occupied +some places of strength in the Panjab, were defeated and driven +in. The capital was again occupied and plundered, after which the +Shah retired to the territory of his ally Najib, and summoned to +his standard the chiefs of the Rohillas. On the other hand the +Mahrattas, inviting to their aid the leaders of the Rajputs and +Jats, moved up from the South. They possessed themselves of the +capital in December 1759. + +The main force of the Mahrattas that left the Deccan consisted of +20,000 chosen horse, under the immediate command of the minister, +Sadasheo, whom for convenience we may in future call by his title +of "the Bhao." He also took with him a powerful disciplined corps +of 10,000 men, infantry and artillery, under a Mohamadan soldier +of fortune, named Ibrahim Khan. This general had learned French +discipline as commandant de la qarde to Bussy, and bore the +title, or nickname, of "gardi," a souvenir of his professional +origin. + +The Bhao's progress was joined by Mahratta forces under Holkar, +Sindhia, the Gaikwar, Gobind Pant, and others. Many of the Rajput +States contributed, and Suraj Mal brought a contingent of 20,000 +hardy Jats. Hinduism was uniting for a grand effort; Islam was +rallied into cohesion by the necessity of resistance. Each party +was earnestly longing for the alliance of the Shias under Shujaa, +Viceroy of Audh, whose antecedents led men on both sides to look +upon them as neutral. + +The Bhao had much prestige. Hitherto always victorious, his +personal reputation inspired great respect. His camp, enriched +with the plunder of Hindustan, was on a scale of unwonted +splendour. "The lofty and spacious tents," says Grant-Duff, +"lined with silks and broadcloths, were surmounted by large +gilded ornaments, conspicuous at a distance..... Vast numbers of +elephants, flags of all descriptions, the finest horses, +magnificently caparisoned .... seemed to be collected from every +quarter .... it was an imitation of the more becoming and +tasteful array of the Moghuls in the zenith of their glory." Nor +was this the only innovation. Hitherto the Mahrattas had been +light horsemen, each man carrying his food, forage, bedding, head +and heel ropes, as part of his accoutrements; marching fifty +miles after a defeat, and then halting in complete readiness to +"fight another day." Now, for the first time, they were to be +supported by a regular park of artillery, and a regular force of +drilled infantry. But all these seeming advantages only +precipitated and rendered more complete and terrible their +ultimate overthrow. + +Holkar and Suraj Mal, true to the instincts of their old +predatory experience, urged upon the Bhao, that regular warfare +was not the game that they knew. They counselled, therefore, that +the families and tents, and all heavy equipments, should be left +in some strong place of safety, such as the almost impregnable +forts of Jhansi and Gwalior, while their clouds of horse harassed +the enemy and wasted the country before and round him. But the +Bhao rejected these prudent counsels with contempt. He had seen +the effect of discipline and guns in Southern war; and, not +without a shrewd foresight of what was afterwards to be +accomplished by a man then in his train, resolved to try the +effect of scientific soldiership, as he understood it. The +determination proved his ruin; not because the instrument he +chose was not the best, but because it was not complete, and +because he did not know how to handle it. When Madhoji Sindhia, +after a lapse of twenty years, mastered all Asiatic opposition by +the employment of the same instrument, he had a European general, +the Count de Boigne, who was one of the great captains of his +age; and he allowed him to use his own strategy and tactics. +Then, the regular battalions and batteries, becoming the nucleus +of the army, were moved with resolution and aggressive purpose, +while the cavalry only acted for purposes of escort, +reconnoissance, and pursuit. In the fatal campaign before us, we +shall find the disciplined troops doing all that could fairly be +expected of them under Asiatic leaders, but failing for want of +numbers, and of generalship. + +On arriving at Dehli, the Bhao surrounded the citadel in which +was situated the palace of the emperors. It was tenanted by a +weak Musalman force, which had been hastily thrown in under the +command of a nephew of Shah Wali Khan, the Daurani Vazir. After a +brief bombardment, this garrison capitulated, and the Bhao took +possession and plundered the last remaining effects of the +emperors, including the silver ceiling of the divan khas, which +was thrown into the melting-pot and furnished seventeen lakhs of +rupees ( £170,000). + +Ahmad, in the meantime, was cantoned at Anupshahr, on the +frontier of the Rohilla country, where he was compelled to remain +while his negotiations with Shujaa were pending. So came on the +summer of 1760, and the rainy season was at hand, during which, +in an unbridged country, military operations could not be carried +on. All the more needful that the time of enforced leisure should +be given to preparation. Najib, the head of the Rohillas, was +very urgent with the Shah that Shujaa should be persuaded to take +part against the Mahrattas. He pointed out that, such as the +Moghul empire might be, Shujaa was its Vazir. As Ahmad Shah had +hitherto been foiled by the late Nawab Safdar Jang, it was for +his majesty to judge how useful might be the friendship of a +potentate whose predecessor's hostility had been so formidable. +"But," added the prudent Rohilla, "it must be remembered that the +recollection of the past will make the Vazir timorous and +suspicious. The negotiation will be as delicate as important. It +should not be entrusted to ordinary agency, or to the impersonal +channel of epistolary correspondence." + +The Shah approved of these reasonings, and it was resolved that +Najib himself should visit the Vazir, and lay before him the +cause which he so well understood, and in which his own interest +was so deep. The envoy proceeded towards Audh, and found the +Vazir encamped upon the Ganges at Mahdi Ghat. He lost no time in +opening the matter; and, with the good sense that always +characterized him, Najib touched at once the potent spring of +self. Shia or Sunni, all Moslems were alike the object of +Mahratta enmity. He, Najib, knew full well what to expect, should +the Hindu league prevail. But would the Vazir fare better? +"Though, after all, the will of God will be done, it behoves us +not the less to help destiny to be beneficent by our own best +endeavours. Think carefully, consult Her Highness, your mother: I +am not fond of trouble, and should not have come all this +distance to see your Excellency were I not deeply interested." +Such, as we learn from an adherent of Shujaa's, was the substance +of the advice given him by the Rohilla chieftain. + +The nature of these negotiations is not left to conjecture. The +narrative of what occurred is supplied by Kasi Raj Pandit, a +Hindu writer in the service of the Nawab Vazir, and an +eye-witness of the whole campaign. He was present in both camps, +having been employed in the negotiations which took place between +the Mahrattas and Mohamadans; and his account of the battle (of +which a translation appeared in the Asiatic Researches for 1791, +reprinted in London in 1799) is at once the most authentic that +has come down to our times, and the best description of war ever +recorded by a Hindu. + +Shujaa-ud-daulah, after anxious deliberation, resolved to adopt +the advice of his Rohilla visitor. And, having so resolved, he +adhered honestly to his resolution. He sent his family to +Lucknow, and accompanied Najib to Anupshahr, where he was warmly +received by the Daurani Shah, and his minister Shah Wali Khan. + +Shortly after, the united forces of the Moslems moved down to +Shahdara, the hunting-ground of the emperors, near Dehli, from +which, indeed, it was only separated by the river Jamna. But, the +monsoon having set in, the encounter of the hostile armies was +for the present impossible. The interval was occupied in +negotiation. The Bhao first attempted the virtue of Shujaa, whom +he tempted with large offers to desert the Sunni cause. Shujaa +amused him with messages in which our Pandit acted as go-between; +but all was conducted with the knowledge of Najib, who was fully +consulted by the Nawab Vazir throughout. The Shah's minister, +also, was aware of the transaction, and apparently disposed to +grant terms to the Hindus. Advantage was taken of the +opportunity, and of the old alliance between Shujaa and the Jats, +to shake the confidence of Suraj Mal, and persuade him to abandon +the league, which he very willingly did when his advice was so +haughtily rejected. It was the opinion of our Pandit, that a +partition of the country might even now have been effected had +either party been earnest in desiring peace. He did not evidently +know what were the Bhao's real feelings, but probably judged him +by the rest of his conduct, which was that of a bold, ambitious +statesman. From what he saw in the other camp, he may well have +concluded that Najib had some far-seeing scheme on foot, which +kept him from sincerely forwarding the proposed treaty. Certainly +that astute Rohilla was ultimately the greatest gainer from the +anxieties and sufferings of the campaign. But the first act of +hostility came from the Bhao, who moved up stream to turn the +invader's flank. + +About eighty miles north of Dehli, on the meadowlands lying +between the Western Jamna Canal and the river (from whose right +bank it is about two miles distant), stands the small town of +Kunjpura. In the invasion of Nadir Shah, it had been occupied by +a force of Persian sharpshooters, who had inflicted much loss on +the Moghul army from its cover. Induced, perhaps, by the +remembrance of those days, Ahmad had made the mistake of placing +in it a garrison of his own people, from which he was now +separated by the broad stream of the Jamna, brimming with +autumnal floods. Here the Bhao struck his first blow, taking the +whole Afghan garrison prisoners after an obstinate defence, and +giving up the place to plunder, while the main Afghan army sat +idle on the other side. + +At length arrived the Dasahra, the anniversary of the attack of +Lanka by the demigod Ram, a proverbial and almost sacred day of +omen for the commencement of Hindu military expeditions. Ahmad +adopted the auspices of his enemy and reviewed his troops the day +before the festival. The state of his forces is positively given +by the Pandit, as consisting of 28,000 Afghans, powerful men, +mounted on hardy Turkoman horses, forty pieces of cannon, besides +light guns mounted on camels; with some 28,000 horse, 38,000 +foot, and about forty guns, under the Hindustani Musalmans. The +Mahrattas had more cavalry, fewer foot, and an artillery of 200 +guns; in addition to which they were aided, if aid it could be +called in regular warfare, by clouds of predatory horsemen, +making up their whole force to over 200,000, mostly, as it turned +out, food for the sabre and the gun. + +On the 17th of October, 1760, the Afghan host and its allies +broke up from Shahdara; and between the 23rd and 25th effected a +crossing at Baghpat, a small town about twenty-four miles up the +river. The position of the hostile armies was thus reversed; that +of the northern invaders being nearer Dehli, with the whole of +Hindustan at their backs, while the Southern defenders of their +country were in the attitude of men marching down from the +north-west with nothing behind them but the dry and war-wasted +plains of Sirhind. In the afternoon of the 26th, Ahmad's advanced +guard reached Sambalka, about half-way between Sonpat and +Panipat, where they encountered the vanguard of the Mahrattas. A +sharp conflict ensued, in which the Afghans lost a thousand men, +killed and wounded, but drove back the Mahrattas on their main +body, which kept on retreating slowly for several days, +contesting every inch of the ground until they reached Panipat. +Here the camp was finally pitched in and about the town, and the +position was at once covered by digging a trench sixty feet wide +and twelve deep, with a rampart on which the guns were mounted. +The Shah took up ground four miles to the south, protecting his +position by abattis of felled timber, according to his usual +practice, but pitching in front a small unprotected tent from +which to make his own observations. + +The small reverse of the Mahrattas at Sambalka was soon followed +by others, and hopes of a pacific solution became more and more +faint. Gobind Pant Bundela, foraging near Meerut with 10,000 +light cavalry, was surprised and slain by Atai Khan at the head +of a similar party of Afghans. The terror caused by this affair +paralysed the Bhao's commissariat, while it greatly facilitated +the foraging of the Shah. Shortly after, a party of 2,000 +Mahratta horsemen, each carrying a keg of specie from Dehli, fell +upon the Afghan pickets, which they mistook for their own in the +dark of night. On their answering in their own language to the +sentry's challenge, they were surrounded and cut up by the enemy, +and something like £200,000 in silver was lost to the Bhao. +Ibrahim and his disciplined mercenaries now became very clamorous +for their arrears of pay, on which Holkar proposed that the +cavalry should make an immediate attack without them. The Bhao +ironically acquiesced, and turned the tables upon Holkar, who +probably meant nothing less than to lead so hare-brained a +movement. + +During the next two months constant skirmishes and duels took +place between parties and individual champions upon either side. +In one of these Najib lost 3,000 of his Rohillas, and was very +near perishing himself; and the chiefs of the Indian Musalmans +became at last very urgent with the Shah to put an end to their +suspense by bringing on a decisive action. But the Shah, with the +patience of a great leader, as steadily repressed their ardour, +knowing very well that (to use the words of a modern leader on a +similar occasion) the enemy were all the while "stewing in their +own-gravy." For this is one of the sure marks of a conqueror, +that he makes of his own troubles a measure of his antagonist's +misfortunes; so that they become a ground, not of losing heart, +but of gaining courage. + +Meanwhile the vigilance of his patrol, for which service he had +5,000 of his best cavalry employed through the long winter +nights, created almost a blockade of the Mahrattas. On one +occasion 20,000 of their camp-followers, who had gone to collect +provisions, were massacred in a wood near the camps by this +vigilant force. + +The Bhao's spirit sank under these repeated blows and warnings, +and he sent to the Nawab Vazir, Shujaa-ud-daulah, to offer to +accept any conditions that might still be obtainable. All the +other chiefs were willing, and the Shah referred them to the +Rohillas. But Najib proved implacable. The Pandit went to the +Rohilla leader, and urged on him every possible consideration +that might persuade him to agree. But his clear good sense +perceived the nature of the crisis. "I would do much," he said, +"to gratify, the Nawab and show my respect for his Excellency. +But oaths are not chains; they are only words, things that will +never bind the enemy when once he has escaped from the dangers +which compel him to undertake them. By one effort we can get this +thorn out of our sides." + +Proceeding to the Shah's tent he obtained instant admission, +though it was now midnight. Here he repeated his arguments; +adding that whatever his Majesty's decision might be was +personally immaterial to himself. "For I," he concluded, "am but +a soldier of fortune, and can make terms for myself with either +party." The blunt counsel pleased the Shah. "You are right, +Najib," said Ahmad, "and the Nawab is misled by the impulses of +youth. I disbelieve in the Mahratta penitence, and I am not going +to throw you over whom I have all along regarded as the manager +of this affair. Though in my position I must hear every one, yet +I promise never to act against your advice." + +While these things were passing in the Moslem camp, the +Mahrattas, having exhausted their last resource by the plunder of +the town of Panipat, sent all their chiefs on the same evening to +meet in the great durbar-tent. It was now the 6th of January, and +we may fancy the shivering, starving Southerners crouched on the +ground and discussing their griefs by the wild torchlight. They +represented that they had not tasted food for two days, and were +ready to die fighting, but not to die of hunger. Pan was +distributed, and all swore to go out an hour before daybreak and +drive away the invaders or perish in the attempt. + +As a supreme effort, the Bhao, whose outward bearing at durbar +had been gallant and dignified, had despatched a short note to +our Pandit, who gives the exact text. "The cup is full to the +brim, and cannot hold another drop. If anything can be done, do +it. If not, let me know plainly and at once; for afterwards there +will be no time for writing, or for speech." The Pandit was with +Shujaa, by the time this note arrived the hour was 3 A.M. and +he handed it to his master, who began to examine the messenger. +While he was so doing, his spies ran in with the intelligence +that the Mahrattas had left their lines. Shujaa, at once hastened +to the Shah's tent. + +Ahmad had lain down to rest, but his horse was held ready saddled +at the entry. He rose from his couch and asked, "What news?" The +Nawab told him what he had heard. The Shah immediately mounted +and sent for the Pandit. While the latter was corroborating the +tidings brought by his master, Ahmad, sitting on his horse, was +smoking a Persian pipe and peering into the darkness. All at once +the Mahratta cannon opened fire, on which the Shah, handing his +pipe to an orderly, said calmly to the Nawab, "Your follower's +news was very true I see." Then summoning his prime minister, +Shah Wali, and Shah Pasand the chief of his staff, he made his +dispositions for a general engagement when the light of day came. + +Yes, the news was true. Soon after the despatch of the Bhao's +note, the Mahratta troops broke their fast with the last +remaining grain in camp, and prepared for a mortal combat; coming +forth from their lines with turbans dishevelled and +turmeric-smeared faces, like devotees of death. They marched in +an oblique line, with their left in front, preceded by their +guns, small and great. The Bhao, with the Peshwa's son and the +household troops, was in the centre. The left wing consisted of +the gardis under Ibrahim Khan; Holkar and Sindhia were on the +extreme right. + +On the other side the Afghans formed a somewhat similar line, +their left being formed by Najib's Rohillas, and their right by +two brigades of Persian troops. Their left centre was led by the +two vazirs, Shujaa-ud-daulah and Shah Wali. The right centre +consisted of Rohillas, under the well-known Hafiz Rahmat and +other chiefs of the Indian Pathans. Day broke, but the Afghan +artillery for the most part kept silence, while that of the +enemy, losing range in its constant advance, threw away its +ammunition over the heads of the enemy and dropped its shot a +mile to their rear. Shah Pasand Khan covered the left wing with a +choice body of mailed Afghan horsemen, and in this order the army +moved forward, leaving the Shah at his usual post in the little +tent, which was now in rear of the line, from whence he could +watch and direct the battle. + +On the other side no great precautions seem to have been taken, +except indeed by the gardis and their vigilant leader, who +advanced in silence and without firing a shot, with two +battalions of infantry bent back to their left flank, to cover +their advance from the attack of the Persian cavalry forming the +extreme right of the enemy's line. The valiant veteran soon +showed the worth of French discipline, and another division such +as his would have probably gained the day. Well mounted and +armed, and carrying in his own hand the colours of his own +personal command, he led his men against the Rohilkhand columns +with fixed bayonets, and to so much effect that nearly 8,000 were +put hors de combat. For three hours the gardis remained in +unchallenged possession of that part of the field. +Shujaa-ud-daulah, with his small but compact force, remained +stationary, neither fighting nor flying, and the Mahrattas +forebore to attack him. The corps between this and the Pathans +was that of the Daurani Vazir, and it suffered severely from the +shock of an attack delivered upon them by the Bhao himself at the +head of the household troops. The Pandit, being sent through the +dust to inform Shujaa of what was going on, found Shah Wali +vainly trying to rally the courage of his followers, of whom many +were in full retreat. "Whither would you run, friends," cried the +Vazir, "your country is far from here." + +Meanwhile, on the left of the Mohamadan line, the prudent Najib +had masked his advance by a series of breastworks, under cover of +which he had gradually approached the hostile force. "I have the +highest stake to-day," he said, "and cannot afford to make any +mistakes." The part of the enemy's force immediately opposed to +him was commanded by the then head of the Sindhia house, who was +Najib's personal enemy. Till noon Najib remained on the +defensive, keeping off all close attacks upon his earthworks by +continuous discharges of rockets. But so far the fortune of the +day was evidently inclined towards the Mahrattas. The Mohamadans' +left still held their own under the two Vazirs and Najib; but the +centre was cut in two, and the right was almost destroyed. +Victory seemed to await the Mahrattas. + +Of the circumstances which turned the tide and gave the crisis to +the Moslems, but one account necessarily exists. Hitherto we have +had the guidance of Grant-Duff for the Mahratta side of the +affair, but now the whole movement was to be from the other side, +and we cannot do better than trust the Pandit. Dow, the only +other contemporary author of importance if we except Gholam +Hosain, who wrote at a very remote place is most irremediably +inaccurate and vague about all these transactions. The Pandit, +then, informs us that, during those earlier hours of the +conflict, the Shah had watched the fortunes of the battle from +his tent, guarded by the still unbroken forces on his left. But +now, hearing that his right was reeling and his centre was +defeated, he felt that the moment was come for a final effort. In +front of him the Hindu cries of Har! Har! Jai Mahadeo! were +maintaining an equal and dreadful concert with those of Allah! +Allah! Din! Din! from his own side. The battle wavered to and fro +like that of Flodden as described by Scott. The Shah saw the +critical moment in the very act of passing. He therefore sent 500 +of his own body-guard with orders to arise all able-bodied men +out of camp, and send them to the front at any cost. 1,500 more +he sent to encounter those who were flying, and slay without pity +any who would not return to the fight. These, with 4,000 of his +reserve troops, went to support the broken ranks of the Rohilla +Pathans on the right. The remainder of the reserve, 10,000 +strong, were sent to the aid of Shah Wali, still labouring +unequally against the Bhao in the centre of the field. The Shah's +orders were clear. These mailed warriors were to charge with the +Vazir in close order, and at full gallop. As often as they +charged the enemy in front, the chief of the staff and Najib were +directed to fall upon either flank. These orders were immediately +carried out. + +The forward movement of the Moslems began at 1 P.M. The fight was +close and obstinate, men fighting with swords, spears, axes, and +even with daggers. Between 2 and 3 P.M. the Peshwa's son was +wounded, and, having fallen from his horse, was placed upon an +elephant. The last thing seen of the Bhao was his dismounting +from another elephant, and getting on his Arab charger. Soon +after the young chief was slain. The next moment Holkar and the +Gaikwar left the field. In that instant resistance ceased, and +the Mahrattas all at once became helpless victims of butchery. +Thousands were cut down; other thousands were drowned in +escaping, or were slaughtered by the country people whom they had +so long pillaged. The Shah and his principal commanders then +retired to camp, leaving the pursuit to be completed by +subordinate officers. Forty thousand prisoners are said to have +been slain. Among the prisoners was Ibrahim, the valiant and +skilful leader of the gardis. Though severely wounded, he was +taken care of in Shujaa's tents, where his wounds received +surgical attention. Shujaa also endeavoured to extend protection +to the head of the house of Sindhia. A subordinate member of the +clan, the afterwards celebrated Madhoji who was to become in +his turn master of the whole country fled from the field; and +the late Colonel Skinner used to describe how this chief in +whose service he at one time was would relate the mental +agonies he endured on his light Deccanee mare from the lobbing +paces and roaring breath of a big Northern horse, on which he was +pursued for many miles by an Afghan, greedy of blood and booty. + +Jankoji, the then head of the family, was killed next day, a +victim to the enmity of Najib, whose policy included +relentlessness. Ibrahim Gardi was taken from Shujaa by a mixture +of force and fraud. He was put into the charge of the Afghan +Vazir, and died in that charge a week after. A headless body, +supposed to be that of the Bhao, was found some twenty or thirty +miles off. The body, with that of the Peshwa's son, received the +usual honours of Hindu cremation at the prayer of the Nawab +Shujaa. Several pretenders to the name of this Oriental Sebastian +afterwards appeared from time to time; the last was in captivity +in 1782, when Warren Hastings procured his liberation. + +After these things the allies moved to Dehli; but the Daurani +troops became mutinous and quarrelsome; and they parted on ill +terms. Shujaa marched back to Mahdi Ghat, whence he had come six +months before, with the titular appointment of Vazir of the +Empire. The Shah, having written to the fugitive Shah Alam, to +salute him as emperor, got what money he could out of the +exhausted treasury and departed to his own country. Najib Khan +remained at Dehli under the title of Najib-ud-daulah, with a son +of the absent emperor as ostensible regent. Having made these +dispositions, Ahmad the Abdali returned to his own country, and +only once again interposed actively in the affairs of the Indian +peninsula. + +Such was the famous Campaign of Panipat, the first disaster, on a +great scale, of the power of the Mahratta confederacy, and the +besom which swept the land of Hindustan for the advent of the +British. + +It appears that, at this period, the Shahzada had applied to +Colonel Clive for an Asylum in Calcutta, while the Colonel was at +the same time in receipt of a letter from the minister at Dehli +the unscrupulous Ghazi-ud-din calling on him to arrest the +prince as a rebel and forward him to Court in custody. Clive +contented himself by sending him a small present in money. About +the same time, however, Clive wrote to Lord Chatham (then Prime +Minister, and Mr. Pitt), recommending the issue of orders +sanctioning his demanding the Viceroyship of the Eastern Subahs +on behalf of the King of England; an application which he +guaranteed the Emperor's granting on being assured of the +punctual payment of fifty lakhs a year, the estimated fifth of +the revenues. "This," he says, "has of late been very ill-paid, +owing to the distractions in the heart of the Moghul Empire, +which have prevented the Court from attending to their concerns +in those distant provinces." Although nothing came of these +proceedings, they are here noted as the presage of future events. + + +PART II. + + + +CHAPTER I. + +The English Shujaa-ud-daulah Shahzada enters Bihar; his +character Ramnarayan defeated M. Law Battle of Gaya March +towards Hindustan Massacre of Patna Flight of Kasim and Sumro + Battle of Buxar Treaty with British Text of Treaty +Establishment at Allahabad Emperor's establishment +Authorities cited Broome's Bengal Army Legal position. + +THE events related in the foregoing introductory chapters had led +to a complete obscuration of the Timuride family and power. +Whether or no that dynasty was to resume its sway once more +depended entirely on the turn that events were to take at this +crisis; and chiefly on what might happen in the eastern provinces +of Bihar and Bengal, where a new power was rapidly making itself +felt. To that quarter, therefore, general attention was +henceforth drawn; and the new power the English began to be, +by common consent, treated as arbiter of the future. The Nawab of +Audh was also an important element in the problem, as it then +appeared; and the return of the ruler of Kabul to the plains +where he had so lately struck a blow that seemed decisive, was a +matter of almost daily expectation. + +1759. When in 1759 the heir to what was left of the empire of +Hindostan had gallantly cut his way through the myrmidons sent +against him by the ruthless Minister, he crossed the Jamna and +took refuge with Najib-ud-daulah, the Afghan, who was then at +Saharanpur in the Fifty-Two Parganas. But finding that noble +unable to afford him material support, and still fearing the +machinations of his enemy, he gradually retired to Lucknow, +intending perhaps to wait there until the return of the Abdali +leader might afford him an opportunity of turning upon the +Mohamadan and Hindu rebels. + +The present viceroy of Audh was Shujaa-ud-daulah, the son of the +famous Safdar Jang, whom he equalled in ability, and far exceeded +in soldierly qualities. On his first succession to his father's +now almost independent fief he was young, and content with the +unbounded indulgence of those bodily faculties with which he was +largely endowed. He is described as extremely handsome, and above +the average stature; with an acute mind, somewhat too volatile; +and more prone by nature to the exercises of the field than to +the deliberations of the cabinet. But neither was the son of +Safdar Jang likely to be brought up wholly without lessons in +that base and tortuous selfishness which, in the East even more +than elsewhere, usually passes for statecraft; nor were those +lessons likely to be read in ears unprepared to understand them. +Shujaa's conduct in the late Rohilla war had been far from frank; +and he was particularly unwilling to throw himself irredeemably +into the cause of a ruined sovereign's fugitive heir. Foiled in +his application to the Viceroy of Audh, the Shahzada (Prince) +then turned to a member of the same family who held the Fort and +District of Allahabad, and was named Mohammad Kuli Khan. To this +officer he exhibited an imperial patent in his own name for the +lieutenancy of Bahar, Bengal, and Orissa, which were then the +theatre of wars between the British traders of Calcutta and the +family of the usurping Viceroy of those Subahs, Aliverdi Khan. +The Prince proposed to Mohammad Kuli that they should raise the +Imperial standard and reduce both competitors to their proper +level. The governor, a man of ambition and spirit, was warmly +encouraged to this scheme by his relation, the Viceroy of Audh +(for reasons of his own, which we shall speedily discover, Shujaa +highly approved of the arrangement); and a powerful official, +named Kamgar Khan, promised assistance in Bihar. Thus supported, +the Prince crossed the frontier stream (Karamnassa) in November, +1759, just at the time that his unfortunate father lost his life +in the manner related above. (Part I. chapter v.) + +1760. In the distracted state of the country it was more than a +month before the news of this tragedy arrived in camp, which was +then pitched at a village called Kanauti, in Bihar. The Prince +immediately assumed the succession, and, as a high aim leads to +high shooting, his title was to be nothing short of "sovereign of +the known world," or SHAH ALAM. He is recorded to have ordered +that his reign should be reckoned from the day of his father's +"martyrdom"; and there are firmans of his patent-office still +forthcoming in confirmation of the record. He was at once +recognised as emperor by all parties; and, for his part, he +wisely confirmed Shujaa-ud-daulah as Vazir; while he intrusted +the command of the army in Hindustan, in the room of the assassin +Ghazi, to Najib-ud-daulah, the Abdali's nominee. + +Having made these arrangements he proceeded to collect revenue +and establish himself in Bihar. He was at this time a tall, +portly man, forty years old, or thereabout, with the +constitutional character of his race, and some peculiarities of +his own. Like his ancestors, he was brave, patient, dignified, +and merciful; but all contemporary accounts support the view +suggested by his whole history, and debit him with defects which +more than balanced these great virtues. His courage was rather of +the nature of fortitude than of that enterprising boldness which +was absolutely necessary in his situation. His clemency did great +harm when it led him to forgive and ignore all that was done to +him, and to lend his ear and his hand to any person of stronger +will who was nearest to him at the moment. His patience was of a +kind which ere long degenerated into a simple compromise with +fortune, in which he surrendered lofty hopes for the future in +exchange for immediate gratifications of sense. In a word, +writers unacquainted with English history have combined to +produce a picture which bears a strong likeness, both in features +and position, to that of Charles the Second of Britain, after the +death of his father. + +The Eastern Subahs were at this time held by Clive's nominee, Mir +Jafar Khan, known in English histories as Meer Jaffier, and the +Deputy in Bihar was a Hindu man of business, named Raja +Ramnarayan. This official, having sent to Murshidabad and +Calcutta for assistance, attempted to resist the proceedings of +his sovereign; but the Imperial army defeated him with +considerable loss, and the Hindu official, wounded in body and +alarmed in mind, retired into the shelter of Patna, which the +Moghuls did not, at that time, think fit to attack. + +Meantime, the army of the Nawab having been joined by a small +British contingent, marched to meet the Emperor, who was worsted +in an engagement that occurred on the 15th of February, 1760. On +this the Emperor adopted the bold plan of a flank march, by which +he should cut between the Bengal troops and their capital, +Murshidabad, and possess himself of that town in the absence of +its defenders. But before he could reach Murshidabad, he was +again overtaken and repulsed by the activity of the English (7th +April), and, being by this time joined by a small body of French +under a distinguished officer, he resolved to remain in Bihar and +set about the siege of Patna. + +These French were a party of about one hundred officers and men +who had refused to join in the capitulation of Chandarnagar three +years before, and had since been wandering about the country +persecuted by their relentless victor Clive. Their leader was the +Chevalier Law, a relation of the celebrated speculator of the +Regency; and he now hastened to lay at the feet of the Royal +adventurer the skill and enterprise of his followers and himself. +His ambition was high and bold, perhaps more so than his previous +display of abilities might well warrant. But he soon saw enough +of the weakness of the Emperor, of the treachery and low motives +of the Moghul nobles, to contract the hopes his self-confidence +had fostered. To the historian Gholam Hossain Khan he said: + +"As far as I can see, there is nothing that you could call +government between Patna and Dehli. If men in the position of +Shujaa-ud-daulah would loyally join me, I could not only beat off +the English, but would undertake the administration of the +Empire." + +The very first step in this ambitious programme was never to be +taken. Whilst the Emperor with his new adherents (and a hundred +Frenchmen under even such a leader as Law were as strong as a +reinforcement of many thousand native troops under a faithless +Moghul)whilst these strangely matched associates were +beleaguering Patna, Captain Knox, at the head of a small body of +infantry, of which only 200 men were European, ran across the 300 +miles between Murshidabad and Patna in the space of thirteen +days, and fell upon the Imperial army, whom he utterly routed and +drove southward upon Gaya. The Imperial army was now commanded by +Kamgar Khan; for Mohammad Kuli had returned to Allahabad, and +been murdered by his unscrupulous cousin Shujaa, who seized upon +the province and fort. The Emperor, as is evident from his +retreating southward, still hoped to raise the country in his +favour, and his hopes were so far justified that he was joined by +another Moghul officer, named Khadim Hossain. Thus reinforced, he +again advanced on Patna opposed by Knox, who in his turn had been +joined by a Hindu Raja named Shatab Rai. Another defeat was the +result, and the baffled sovereign at length evacuated the +country, and fled northward, pursued by the whole united forces +of the British and the Bengal Nawab. The son of the latter, +however, being killed in a thunderstorm in July, the allied +armies retired to cantonments at Patna, and the pertinacious +Imperialists once more posted themselves between that place and +the capital, at their old station of Gaya. + +1761. Early next year, therefore, the Anglo-Bengali troops once +more took the field, and encountering the Imperialists at Suan, +near the city of Bihar, gave them a fresh overthrow, in which Law +was taken prisoner, fighting to the last, and refusing to +surrender his sword, which he was accordingly permitted to +retain. + +Next morning the British commander paid his respects to the +Emperor, who was now quite weary of the hopeless struggle he had +been maintaining for nearly two years, and who willingly departed +towards Hindustan. He had by this time heard of the battle of +Panipat, and of the plans formed by the Abdali for the +restoration of the empire; and there is reason to believe that, +but for the jealousy of Mir Kasim, whom a late revolution +(brought about by the English) had placed in the room of Mir +Jafar, the Emperor would have been at once reinstated at Dehli +under British protection. Before he went he created Mir Kasim +Subahdar; and the fiscal administration also vested in him, the +English having so determined. The Emperor was to have an annual +tribute of £240,000. + +1762. As affairs turned out there was much to be done and +suffered by the British before they had another opportunity of +interfering in the affairs of Hindustan; and a strange series of +vicissitudes impended upon the Emperor before he was to meet them +in the palace of his fathers. On his way to the northwest he fell +into the hands of the ambitious Nawab Vazir of Audh, who had +received the Abdali's orders to render the Emperor all +assistance, and who carried out the letter of these instructions +by retaining him for some two years in an honourable confinement, +surrounded by the empty signs of sovereignty, sometimes at +Benares, sometimes at Allahabad, and sometimes at Lucknow. + +1763. In the meanwhile the unscrupulous heroes who were +founding the British Government of India had thought proper to +quarrel with their new instrument Mir Kasim, whom they had so +lately raised to the Masnad of Bengal. This change in their +councils had been caused by an insubordinate letter addressed to +the Court of Directors by Clive's party, which had led to their +dismissal from employ. The opposition then raised to power +consisted of all the more corrupt members of the service; and the +immediate cause of their rupture with Mir Kasim was about the +monopoly they desired to have of the local trade for their own +private advantage. They were represented at that Nawab's Court by +Mr. Ellis, the most violent of their body; and the consequence of +his proceedings was, in no long time, seen in the murder of the +Resident and all his followers, in October, 1763. The scene of +this atrocity (which remained without a parallel for nearly a +century) was at Patna, which was then threatened and soon after +stormed by the British; and the actual instrument was a +Franco-German, Walter Reinhardt by name, of whom, as we are to +hear much more hereafter, it is as well here to take note. + +This European executioner of Asiatic barbarity is generally +believed to have been a native of Treves, in the Duchy of +Luxemburg, who came to India as a sailor in the French navy. From +this service he is said to have deserted to the British, and +joined the first European battalion raised in Bengal. Thence +deserting he once more entered the French service; was sent with +a party who vainly attempted to relieve Chandarnagar, and was one +of the small party who followed Law when that officer took +command of those, who refused to share in the surrender of the +place to the British. After the capture of his ill-starred chief, +Reinhardt (whom we shall in future designate by his Indian +sobriquet of " Sumroo," or Sombre) took service under Gregory, or +Gurjin Khan, Mir Kasim's Armenian General. + +Broome, however, adopts a somewhat different version. According +to this usually careful and accurate historian, Reinhardt was a +Salzburg man who originally came to India in the British service, +and deserted to the French at Madras, whence he was sent by Lally +to strengthen the garrison of the Bengal settlement. The details +are not very material: Sumroo had certainly learned war both in +English and French schools. + +After the massacre of the British, Kasim and his bloodhound +escaped from Patna (which the British stormed and took on the 6th +of November), and found a temporary asylum in the dominions of +Shojaa-ud-daulah. That nobleman solemnly engaged to support his +former antagonist, and sent him for the present against some +enemies of his own in Bundelkand, himself marching to Benares +with his Imperial captive, as related in the preceding page. + +1764. In February, 1764, the avenging columns of the British +appeared upon the frontier, but the Sepoys broke into mutiny, +which lasted some time, and was with difficulty and but +imperfectly quelled by Colonel Carnac. Profiting by the delay and +confusion thus caused, the allies crossed into Bihar, and made a +furious, though ultimately unsuccessful attack upon the British +lines under the walls of Patna on the 3rd of May. +Shujaa-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Audh, temporarily retiring, the +Emperor resumed negotiations with the British commander; but +before these could be concluded, the latter was superseded by +Major (afterwards Sir Hector) Monro. This officer's arrival +changed the face of affairs. Blowing from guns twenty-four of the +most discontented of the sepoys, the Major led the now submissive +army westward to Buxar (Baksar), near the confluence of the +Karamnassa with the Ganges, where the two Nawabs (for Kasim and +the Audh Viceroy had now united their forces) encountered him to +be totally routed on the 23rd October, 1764. + +The Emperor, who had taken no part in the action, came into the +camp on the evening of the following day. By the negotiations +which ultimately ensued, the British at last obtained a legal +position as administrators of the three Subahs, with the further +grant of the Benares and Ghazipur sarkars as fiefs of the Empire. +The remainder of the Subah of Allahabad was secured to the +Emperor with a pecuniary stipend which raised his income to the +nominal amount of a million a year of our money. + +But the execution of these measures required considerable delay, +and some further exercise of that pertinacious vigour which +peculiarly distinguished the British in the eighteenth century. + +Shujaa-ud-daulah fled first to Faizabad in his own territories; +but, hearing that Allahabad had fallen, and that the English were +marching on Lucknow, he had recourse to the Pathans of Rohilkand, +whose hospitality he afterwards repaid with characteristic +ingratitude. Not only did the chiefs of the Rohillas harbour the +Nawab Vazir's family at Bareilly, but they also lent him the aid +of 3,000 of their troops. Further supported by the restless +Mahrattas of Malhar Rao Holkar, a chief who always maintained +relations with the Musulmans, Shujaa returned to the conflict. + +1765. It may be easily imagined that what he failed to do with +the aid of Mir Kasim and his own territory, he did not effect +with his present friends as an exile; and Kasim having fled, and +Sumroo having entered the service of the Jats of Bhartpur, the +Vazir consented to negotiate with the English; the latter, under +strong pressure from Clive, who had lately returned to India, +showing themselves perfectly placable, now that it had become +impossible for them to insist upon the terms, so distasteful to +an Eastern chief, which required the surrender of his infamous +guests. General Carnac, who had resumed the command, gave the +Nawab and his allies a final defeat near Cawnpore, and drove the +Mahrattas across the Jamna. The treaty confirming the terms +broached after the battle of Buxar was now concluded, and Audh, +together with part of the Doab, made over to the Nawab Vazir +Shujaa-ud-daulah, who, being thus reinstated as a feudatory of +the British Diwans, returned to his own country, leaving Shah +'Alam at Allahabad as a British pensioner. + +The terms accorded to the Emperor will be seen from the +counterpart issued by him, part of which is subjoined: + +" + + + Whereas, in consideration of the attachment and services +of the high and mighty, the noblest of nobles, the chief of +illustrious warriors, our faithful servants and loyal +well-wishers, worthy of royal favour the English Company, we have +granted to them the Diwani of the Soobahs of Bengal, Bahar, and +Orissa, from the beginning of the spring harvest of the Bengal +year 1171, as a free gift and fief (Al tumgha), without the +association of any other person, and with an exemption from the +payment of the tribute of the Diwan which used to be paid to this +court; it is therefore requisite that the said Company engage to +be security for the sum of twenty-six lakhs of rupees a year for +our revenue (which sum has been imposed upon the Nawab), and +regularly remit the same. + +"Given on the 8th Safar, in the sixth year of our reign." + +The Nawab was to continue Subahdar, the Company was to be his +colleague for purposes of civil and fiscal administration, they +were to support the Nawab's (Nizamat) expenses, and to pay the +tribute (Nazarana) in his name. + +The Emperor's establishment during the next few years is thus +described by a British officer who enjoyed his intimacy: "He +keeps the poor resemblance of a Court at Allahabad, where a few +ruined omrahs, in hopes of better days to their prince, having +expended their fortunes in his service, still exist, the ragged +pensioners of his poverty, and burden his gratitude with their +presence. The districts in the king's possession are valued at +thirty lakhs, which is one-half more than they are able to bear. +Instead of gaining by this bad policy, that prince, unfortunate +in many respects, has the mortification to see his poor subjects +oppressed by those who farm the revenue, while he himself is +obliged to compound with the farmers for half the stipulated sum. +This, with the treaty payment from the revenues of Bengal, is all +Shah Alum possesses to support the dignity of the Imperial house +of Timor. [Dow. ii. 356, A.D. 1767.] + +The following further particulars respecting Shah 'Alam's Court +at this period are furnished by Gholam Hossain, and should be +noted here as relating to personages of some of whom we shall +hear more anon. + +Mirza Najaf Khan, the Imperial General, was a Persian noble of +high, even of royal, extraction, and destined to play a +conspicuous part in the events related in a large portion of the +remainder of this history. It will suffice, for the present, to +state that, having been a close follower of Mohammad Kuli, he +joined the British after that Chief's murder (Vide Sup. p. 68) +and was by them recommended to the Emperor for employment. He +received a stipend of one lakh a year, and was nominated Governor +of Kora, where he occupied himself in the suppression of +banditti, and in the establishment of the Imperial authority. +Under the modest state of steward of the household, +Manir-ud-daulah was the Emperor's most trusted councillor and +medium of communication with the English. Raja Ram Nath, whom we +saw accompanying the prince in his escape from Dehli, continued +about him; but the chief favourite was an illiterate ruffian +called by the title Hissam-ud-daulah, who stooped to any baseness +whereby he could please the self-indulgent monarch by pandering +to his lowest pursuits. The duties of the office of Vazir were +delegated by Shujaa to his son Saadat Ali, who afterwards +succeeded him as Nawab of Audh. + +Fallen as the Emperor truly was, and sincerely as we may +sympathize with his desire to raise the fortunes of his life, it +might have been well for him to have remained content with the +humble but guaranteed position of a protected Titular, rather +than listen to the interested advice of those who ministered, for +their own purposes, to his natural discontent. + +In this chapter I have been partly referring to Mill. Not only is +that indefatigable historian on his strongest ground when +describing battles and negotiations of the British from civil and +military despatches recorded at the India House, but in treating +of the movements of the native powers he has had access to a +translation of the very best native work upon the subject the +Siar-ul-mutakharin which was written by Ghulam Hossain Khan, a +Musalman gentleman of Patna, himself an eye-witness of many of +the scenes described. His account of the capture of Law, for +example, given at length in a foot-note to Mill's short account +of the action of Gaya after which the affair occurred, is full of +truthfulness and local colour. + +Since, however, the events were already amply detailed, and the +best authorities exhausted in a standard work accessible to most +English readers; and since, moreover, they did not occur in +Hindustan, and only indirectly pertained to the history of that +country, I have not thought it necessary to relate them more +minutely than was required to elucidate the circumstances which +led to the Emperor Shah Alam becoming, for the first time, a +pensioner on British bounty, or a dependent on British policy. + +Those who require a complete account of the military part of the +affair will find it admirably given in Broome's Bengal Army, a +work of which it is to be regretted that the first volume alone +has hitherto been made public. Of the value of this book it would +be difficult to speak too highly. Coming from the pen of an +accomplished professional man, it sets forth, in a manner no +civilian could hope to rival, the early exploits of that army of +which the author was a member. It may be well to note, in +concluding this chapter, what appears to have been at this time +the legal relation of the British settlers in Bengal towards the +Government of the Empire. In 1678 the Company's Agents had +obtained a patent conferring upon them the power of trading in +Bengal. In 1696 they purchased from the Nawab the land +surrounding their factory, and proceeded to protect it by rude +fortifications. A number of natives soon began to settle here +under the protection of the British; and when the Nawab, on this +account, was desirous of sending a judicial officer to reside +among them, the factors staved off the measure by means of a +donation in money. The grant of land and permission of a formal +kind for the fortifications followed in 1716 on Mr. Hamilton's +cure of the Emperor Farokhsiar. During all this period tribute +continued to be paid (nominally at least) to the Emperor; but in +1759, by espousing, as stated in the beginning of this chapter, +the cause of Mir Jafar, the British committed acts of open +rebellion against the Sovereign. By the treaty of Benares, +however, they returned to their nominal allegiance, and became +once more subjects, tenants and even subordinate officials of the +Great Moghul ( Vide Judgment of Lord Brougham in the case of the +Mayor of Lyons v. East India Company). Elphinstone (Rise of Brit. +Power, 438ΔΔ) finds this "treaty difficult to explain." But the +fact is that all the contemporaneous powers concerned looked upon +the Empire as the legitimate source of authority; and not only +then but for many years after. The British had no legal status +until they received the Emperor's grant; and to think of the +arrangement as "a treaty" may be a source of misapprehension. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +A.D. 1765-71. + + + +Najib-ud-daulah and Jawan Bakht The Jats Bhartpur State +Suraj Mal Najib attacks Jats Negotiations Death of Suraj +Mal Jats attack Jaipur Return of the Mahrattas They attack +Bhartpur Rohillas yield Death of Najib State of Rohilkand +Zabita Khan Mahrattas invite Emperor to return to Dehli. + + + +AT the conclusion of Part I. we saw that the Abdali ruler of +Kabul had returned to his own land, soon after the battle of +Panipat, in 1761, having recognized the legitimate claims of the +exiled heir to the throne (1764), and placed that prince's eldest +son, Mirza Jawan Bakht, in the nominal charge of affairs, under +the protection of Najib-ud-daulah, the Rohilla (Indian Afghan). A +better choice could not have been made in either case. The young +regent was prudent and virtuous, as was usual with the men of his +august house during their earlier years, and the premier noble +was a man of rare intelligence and integrity. Being on good terms +with his old patrons, Dundi Khan Rohilla, and the Nawab of Audh, +Shujaa-ud-daulah, and maintaining a constant understanding with +Malhar Rao Holkar, whom we have seen deserting the cause of his +countrymen, and thus exempted from their general ruin at Panipat, +Najib-ud-daulah swayed the affairs of the dwindled empire with +deserved credit and success. The Mahratta collectors were +expelled from the districts of the Doab, while Agra admitted a +Jat garrison; nor did the discomfited freebooters of the southern +confederacy make any farther appearance in Hindustan for eight +years, if we except the share borne by Malhar Rao, acting on his +own account in the disastrous campaign against the British in +1765. + +The area on which these exertions were made was at first but +small, and the lands directly swayed by Najib-ud-daulah were +bounded, within 100 miles south of the capital, by the +possessions of the Jats, who, however, were at the time friendly. + +Of the rise of this singular people few authentic records appear +to exist. It is, however, probable that they represent a later +wave of that race, whether true Sudras, or a later wave of +immigrants from Central Asia, which is found farther south as +Mahratta; and perhaps they had, in remote times, a Scythian +origin like the earlier and nobler Rajputs. They affect Rajput +ways, although the Rajputs would disdain their kinship; and they +give to their chiefs the Rajput title of "Thakur," a name common +to the Deity and to great earthly lords, and now often used to +still lower persons. So much has this practice indeed extended, +that some tribes use the term generically, and speak of +themselves as of the "Thakur" race. These, however, are chiefly +pure Rajputs. It is stated, by an excellent authority, that even +now the Jats "can scarcely be called pure Hindus, for they have +many observances, both domestic and religious, not consonant with +Hindu precepts. There is a disposition also to reject the fables +of the Puranic Mythology, and to acknowledge the unity of the +Godhead." (Elliot's Glossary, in voce "Jat.") Wherever they are +found, they are stout yeomen; able to cultivate their fields, or +to protect them, and with strong administrative habits of a +somewhat republican cast. Within half a century, they have four +times tried conclusions with the might of Britain. The Jats of +Bhartpur fought Lord Lake with success, and Lord Combermere with +credit; and their "Sikh" brethren in the Panjab shook the whole +fabric of British India on the Satlaj, in 1845, and three years +later on the field of Chillianwala. The Sikh kingdom has been +broken up, but the Jat principality of Bhartpur still exists, +though with contracted limits, and in a state of complete +dependence on the British Government. There is also a thriving +little principality that of Dholpur between Agra and Gwalior, +under a descendant of the Jat Rana of Gohad, so often met with in +the history of the times we are now reviewing (v. inf. p. 128.) +It is interesting to note further, that some ethnologists have +regarded this fine people as of kin to the ancient GetΎ, and to +the Goths of Europe, by whom not only Jutland, but parts of the +south-east of England and Spain were overrun, and to some extent +peopled. It is, therefore, possible that the yeomen of Kent and +Hampshire have blood relations in the natives of Bhartpur and the +Panjab. + +The area of the Bhartpur State is at present 2,000 square miles, +and consists of a basin some 700 feet above sea level, crossed by +a belt of red sandstone rocks. It is hot and dry; but in the +skilful hands that till it, not unfertile; and the population has +been estimated at near three-quarters of a million. + +At the time at which our history has arrived, the territory +swayed by the chiefs of the Jats was much more extensive, and had +undergone the fate of many another military republic, by falling +into the hands of the most prudent and daring of a number of +competent leaders. It has already been shown (in Part I.) how +Suraj Mal, as Raja of the Bhartpur Jats, joined the Mahrattas in +their resistance to the great Musalman combination of 1760. Had +his prudent counsels been followed, it is possible that this +resistance would have been more successful, and the whole history +of Hindustan far otherwise than what it has since been. But the +haughty leader of the Hindus, Sheodasheo Rao Bhao, regarded Suraj +Mal as a petty landed chief not accustomed to affairs on a grand +scale, and so went headlong on his fate. + +Escaping, like his friend Holkar, from the disaster of Panipat +though in a less discreditable way, for he did not profess to +take the field and then fly in the midst of battle, as the other +did Suraj Mal took an early opportunity of displacing the +Mahratta Governor of the important fort of Agra, and at the same +time, occupied some strong places in the Mewat country. The +sagacious speculator, about the same time, dropped the falling +cause of Ghazi-ud-din, whose method of statesmanship was too +vigorous for his taste, and who, as has been above shown, retired +soon after from a situation which he had aided to render +impracticable. But a criminal of greater promise, about the same +time, joined Suraj Mal. This was none other than the notorious +Sumroo, who had wisely left his late protector the Nawab of Audh, +at the head of a battalion of Sepoys, a detail of artillery, and +some three hundred European ruffians of all countries. + +Thus supported, the bucolic sagacity of the Jat Raja began for +the first time to fail him, and he made demands which seemed to +threaten the small remains of the Moghul Empire. Najib-ud-daulah +took his measures with characteristic promptitude and prudence. +Summoning the neighbouring Musalman chiefs to the aid of Islam +and of the empire, he took the field at the head of a small but +well-disciplined Moghul army, and soon found the opportunity to +strike a decisive blow. + +In this campaign the premier was so fortunate as to obtain solid +assistance from the Biloch chiefs of Farokhnagar and Bahadurgarh, +who were in those days powerful upon both banks of the Jamna up +to as far north as Saharanpur on the eastern, and Hansi on the +western side. The actual commencement of hostilities between +Suraj Mal and the Moghuls arose from a demand made by the former +for the Faujdarship (military prefecture) of the small district +of Farokhnagar. Unwilling to break abruptly with the Jat chief, +Najib had sent an envoy to him, in the first instance, pointing +out that the office he solicited involved a transfer of the +territory, and referring him to the Biloch occupant for his +consent. The account of the negotiation is so characteristic of +the man and the time, that I have thought it worth preserving. +The Moghul envoy introduced himself in conformity with Eastern +custom by means of a gift, which, in this instance, consisted +of a handsome piece of flowered chintz, with which the rural +potentate was so pleased that he ordered its immediate conversion +into a suit of clothes. Since this was the only subject on which +the Jat chief would for the present converse, the Moghul proposed +to take his leave, trusting that he might reintroduce the subject +of the negotiations at a more favourable moment. "Do nothing +rashly, Thakur Sahib," said the departing envoy; "I will see you +again to-morrow." "See me no more," replied the inflated boor, +"if these negotiations are all that you have to talk of." The +disgusted envoy took him at his word, and returned to Najib with +a report of the interview. "Is it so?" said the premier. "Then we +must fight the unbeliever; and if it be the pleasure of the Most +High God, we will assuredly smite him." + +But before the main body of the Moghuls had got clear of the +capital, Suraj Mal had arrived near Shahdara on the Hindan, +within six miles of Dehli; and, had he retained the caution of +his earlier years, he might have at once shut up the Imperialists +in their walled city. But the place being an old hunting-ground +of the Emperor's the Thakur's motive in coming had been chiefly +the bravado of saying that he had hunted in a royal park, and he +was therefore only attended by his personal staff. While he was +reconnoitring in this reckless fashion, he was suddenly +recognised by a flying squadron of Moghul horse, who surprised +the Jats, and killed the whole party, bringing the body of the +chief to Najib. The minister could not at first believe in this +unhoped-for success, nor was he convinced until the envoy who had +recently returned from the Jat camp identified the body by means +of his own piece of chintz, which formed its raiment. Meanwhile +the Jat army was marching up in fancied security from +Sikandrabad, under Jowahir Singh, the son of their chief, when +they were suddenly charged by the Moghul advanced guard, with the +head of Suraj Mal borne on a horseman's lance as their standard. +In the panic which ensued upon this ghastly spectacle, the Jats +were thoroughly routed and driven back into their own country. +This event occurred towards the end of the year. + +Foiled in their unaided attempt, they next made a still more +signal mistake in allying themselves with Malhar Rao Holkar, who, +as we have seen, was secretly allied to the Musalmans. At first +they were very successful, and besieged the premier for three +months in Dehli; but Holkar suddenly deserted them, as was only +to have been expected had they known what we know now; and they +were fain to make the best terms that they could, and return to +their own country, with more respectful views towards the empire +and its protector. + +But the young Thakur's thirst of conquest was by no means +appeased, and he proceeded in 1765 to attack Madhu Sing, the +Rajput ruler of Jaipur, son of the Kachwaha Raja Jai Singh, who +had lately founded a fine city there in lieu of the ancestral +site, Amber. Descended from Kusha, the eldest son of the Hindu +demigod Rama, this tribe appears to have been once extensive and +powerful, traces of them being still found in regions as far +distant from each other as; Gwalior and the Northern Doab. (Vide +Elliot, in voc.) In this attempt Jowahir appears to have been but +feebly sustained by Sumroo, who immediately deserted to the +victors, after his employer had been routed at the famous Lake of +Pokar, near Ajmir. Jowahir retreated first upon Alwar, thence he +returned to Bhartpur, and soon after took up his abode at Agra, +where he not long afterwards was murdered, it is said at the +instigation of the Jaipur Raja. A period of very great confusion +ensued in the Jat State; nor was it till two more of the sons of +Suraj Mal had perished one certainly by violence that the +supremacy of the remaining son, Ranjit Singh, was secured. In his +time the Jat power was at its height; he swayed a country thick +with strongholds, from Alwar on the N.W. to Agra on the S.W., +with a revenue of two millions sterling, and an army of 60,000 +men. + +Meantime the Mahrattas, sickened by their late encounter with +Carnac (p. 73), and occupied with their own domestic disputes in +the Deccan, paid little or no attention to the affairs of +Hindustan; and the overtures made to them by the Emperor in 1766, +from Allahabad, were for the time disregarded, though it is +probable that they caused no little uneasiness in the British +Presidency, where it was not desired that the Emperor should be +restored by such agency. + +At this period Najib, as minister in charge of the metropolis and +its immediate dependencies, though skilfully contending against +many obstacles, yet had not succeeded in consolidating the empire +so much as to render restoration a very desirable object to an +Emperor living in ease and security. Scarcely had the premier +been freed from the menace of the Eastern Jats by his own prowess +and by their subsequent troubles, than their kindred of the +Panjab began to threaten Dehli from the west. Fortunately for the +minister, his old patron, the Abdali, was able to come to his +assistance; and in April, 1767, having defeated the Sikhs in +several actions, Ahmad once more appeared in the neighbourhood of +Panipat, at the head of 50,000 Afghan horse. + +He seems to have been well satisfied with the result of the +arrangements that he had made after crushing the Mahrattas in the +same place six years before; only that he wrote a sharp reprimand +to Shujaa-ud-daulah for his conduct towards the Emperor. But +this, however well deserved, would not produce much effect on +that graceless politician, when once the Afghan had returned to +his own country. This he soon after did, and appeared no more on +the troubled scene of Hindustan. + +Profiting by the disappearance of their enemy, the Mahrattas, +having arranged their intestine disputes, crossed the Chambal (a +river flowing eastward into the Jamna from the Ajmir plateau), +and fell upon the Jaipur country towards the end of 1768. Hence +they passed into Bhartpur, where they exacted tribute, and whence +they threatened Dehli in 1769. Among their leaders were two of +whom much will be seen hereafter. One was Madhoji Sindhia"Patel" +the other was Takuji Holkar. The first of these was the natural +son of Ranoji Sindhia, and inherited, with his father's power, +the animosity which that chief had always felt against Najib and +the Rohillas. The other was a leader in the army of Malhar Rao +Holkar (who had lately died), and, like his master, was friendly +to the Pathans. Thus, with the hereditary rivalry of their +respective clans, these foremost men of the Mahratta army +combined a traditional difference of policy, which was destined +to paralyze the Mahratta proceedings, not only in this, but in +many subsequent campaigns. + +1770. Aided by Holkar, the Dehli Government entered into an +accommodation with the invaders, in which the Jats were +sacrificed, and the Rohillas were shortly after induced by +Najib-ud-daulah to enter into negotiations. These led to the +surrender to the Mahrattas of the Central Doab, between the +provinces held by the Emperor to the eastward, and the more +immediate territories administered in his name from Dehli. These +latter tracts were spared in pursuance of the negotiations with +the Emperor which were still pending. + +Soon after these transactions the prudent and virtuous minister +died, and was succeeded in his post by his son, Zabita Khan. It +is not necessary to enlarge upon the upright and faithful +character of Najib-ud-daulah, which has been sufficiently obvious +in the course of our narrative, as have also his skill and +courage. It would have been well for the empire had his posterity +inherited the former qualities. Had Zabita, for instance, +followed in his father's steps, and had the Emperor at the same +time been a man of more decision, it was perhaps even then +possible for a restoration to have taken place, in which, backed +by the power of Rohilkand, and on friendly terms with the +British, the Court of Dehli might have played off Holkar against +Sindhia, and shaken off all the irksome consequences of a +Mahratta Protectorate. + +The preceding record shows how superior Najib-ud-daulah's +character and genius were to those of the native Hindustani +nobles. It may be interesting to see how he impressed a European +contemporary, who had excellent opportunities of judging: + +"He is the only example in Hindustan of, at once, a great and a +good character. He raised himself from the command of fifty horse +to his present grandeur entirely by his superior valour, +integrity, and strength of mind. Experience and abilities have +supplied the want of letters and education, and the native +nobleness and goodness of his heart have amply made amends for +the defect of his birth and family. He is now about sixty years +of age, borne down by fatigue and sickness." (Mr. Verelst, to +the Court of Directors, March 28th, 1768, ap. Mill.) + +Since this prominent mention has been made of the Rohillas, and +since they are now for a short time to play a yet more +conspicuous part in the fortunes of the falling empire, it will +be well to give a brief description of their situation at the +time. + +It has been seen how Ali Mohammad rose in the reign of Mohammad +Shah, and had been removed from Rohilkand by the aid of Safdar +Jang, the Viceroy of Audh. On the latter falling into disgrace, +Ali Mohammad returned to his native province about A.D. 1746. In +the next two or three years he continued successfully to +administer the affairs of the fair and fertile tract, but, +unfortunately for his family, died before his heirs were capable +of acting for themselves. Two relations of the deceased chief +acted as regents Dundi Khan, the early patron of Najib, and +Rahmat Khan, known in India by the title of Hafiz, or +"Protector." Safdar Jang continued to pursue them with relentless +purpose; and although the important aid of Ahmad, their foreign +fellow-clansman, and the necessity of combining against the +Mahrattas, prevented the Audh Viceroy's hostility from taking any +very active form, yet there can be no doubt but that he +bequeathed it to his successor, Shujaa, along with many other +unscrupulous designs. The Rohilla Pathans, for their part, were +as a race determined fighters, but generally false, fickle, and +dissolute. + +In 1753 the elder son of Ali Mohammad had made an attempt to +remove the Protector and his colleague from their post. It was +not successful, and its only result was to sow dissensions among +the Rohillas, which caused their final ruin. In 1761, however, +they bore a part in the temporary overthrow of the Mahrattas at +Panipat; and during the next seven years the Rohilla power had +passed the frontier of the Ganges, and overflowed the Central +Doab, while the Najibabad family (who had a less close connection +with local politics, but were powerful kinsmen and allies) had +possession of the Upper Doab, up to the Siwalik Hills, above +Saharanpur. Nevertheless, this seeming good fortune was neither +permanent nor real. + +In 1769, as we have just seen, Najib, though well disposed, was +unable to prevent the Central Doab from passing under the +Mahratta sway, and he died soon after its occupation occurred. +Dundi Khan also passed away about the same time; and the +Protector Rahmat was left alone in the decline of his +ever-darkening days, to maintain, as best he might, an usurped +authority menaced by a multitude of foes. + +Zabita Khan, the son and successor of the late minister, and +himself an Afghan or Pathan by race, did nevertheless for a time +contribute to the resources of the Protector, his co-religionist +and quasi countryman. + +He may, therefore, be reckoned amongst the Rohillas at this +period; and, as far as extent of territory went, he might have +been an ally of some importance. But territory in imbecile hands +and with foes like the Mahrattas was anything but a source of +strength. While these indefatigable freebooters spread themselves +over the whole Upper and Central Doab, and occupied all Rohilkand + excepting the small territory of Farakhabad, to the south of +the latter and north of the former Zabita khan, instead of +endeavouring to prepare for the storm, occupied himself in +irritating the Emperor, by withholding the tribute due at +Allahabad, and by violating the sanctity of the Imperial zenana +at Dehli by intrigues with the Begams. + +Thus passed the winter of 1770-71, at the end of which the +Mahrattas swarmed into the Doab, and occupied the metropolis; +only respecting the palace, where the Prince Regent and the +Imperial family continued to reside. Zabita, having organized no +plan, could offer no resistance, and escaped towards his +northward possessions. + +By the connivance of his hereditary ally, Takuji Holkar (as Grant +Duff supposes), he left the field open for the Deccani marauders +to treat directly with Shah Alam for his restoration to the +throne of his father. + + + +NOTE. The authority chiefly followed in the portion of this +chapter that relates to Rohilla affairs, has been Hamilton's +"History of the Rohillas," a valuable collection of +contemporaneous memoirs, although not always quite impartial. +Captain Grant Duff's research and fairness are beyond all praise, +wherever transactions of the Mahrattas are concerned. The sketch +of Jat politics is derived from the Siar-ul-Mutakharin and the +Tarikh-i-Mozafari; but it is as well to state, once for all that +the native chroniclers seldom present anything like complete +materials for history. A credulous and uncritical record of +gossip combined with a very scanty analysis of character and +motive characterizes their works, which are rather a set of +highly-coloured pictures without proportion or perspective, than +those orderly annals from which history elsewhere has chiefly +been compiled. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A.D. 1771-76. + + + + + +Agency of Restoration Madhoji Sindhia - Zabita attacked Mirza +Najaf Khan Flight of Zabita Treaty with Rohillas Zabita +regains office Mahrattas attack Dehli Desperation of Mirza +Najaf Mahrattas attack Rohilkand Opposed by British Advance +of Audh Troops Re-employment of Mirza Abdul Ahid Khan +Suspicious conduct of Hafiz Rahmat and Rohillas Tribute +withheld by Hafiz Rahmat - Battle of Kattra Death of +Shujaa-ud-daulah Campaign against Jats Najaf Kuli Khan +Successes of the Imperial Army Zabita and Sikhs Death of Mir +Kasim. + + + +IT would be interesting to know the exact terms upon which the +Mahrattas engaged to restore the Emperor to his throne in the +palace of Shahjahan. But, since they have even escaped the +research of Captain Grant Duff, who had access to the archives of +Punah, it is hopeless for any one else to think of recovering +them. The emissary employed appears to have been the person of +indifferent character who, like the Brounker and Chiffinch of the +English restoration of 1660, had been usually employed in less +dignified agencies. Unacquainted with this man's name, we must be +content to take note of him by his title of Hissam, or Hashim Ud +Daula. The Mahrattas were, amongst other rewards, to receive a +present fee of ten lakhs of rupees (nominally expressible at +£100,000 sterling, but in those days representing as much, +perhaps, as ten times that amount of our present money), nor +would they stir in the matter until they received the sum in hard +cash. It is also probable that the cession of the provinces of +Allahabad and Korah formed part of the recompense they hoped to +receive hereafter. + +Though the Emperor, if he guaranteed this latter gift, was +parting from a substance in order to obtain a shadow, yet the +very receipt of that substance by the others depended upon +circumstances over which they had (as the phrase is) no control. +Early in the year 1771 the Emperor had sent to the authorities in +Calcutta, to consult them on his proposed movements; and they had +strongly expressed their disapprobation. But Shujaa-ud-daula, for +reasons of his own, earnestly, though secretly, encouraged the +enterprise. The Emperor set out in the month of May, at the head +of a small but well-appointed army, amongst whom was a body of +sepoys drilled after the European fashion, and commanded by a +Frenchman named Medoc, an illiterate man, but a good soldier. The +command-in-chief was held by Mirza Najaf Khan. A British +detachment, under Major-General Sir Robert Barker, attended him +to the Korah frontier, where the General repeated, for the last +time, the unwelcome dissuasions of his Government. The Emperor +unheedingly moved on, as a ship drives on towards a lee shore; +and the British power closed behind his wake, so that no trace of +him or his Government ever reappeared in the provinces that he +had so inconsiderately left. + +From this date two great parties in the Empire are clearly +defined; the Musalmans, anxious to retain (and quarrel over) the +leavings of the great Afghan leader, Ahmad Abdali; and the +Mahrattas, anxious to revenge and repair the losses of Panipat. +The Audh Viceroy acts henceforth for his own hand ready to +benefit by the weakness of whichever party may be worsted; and +the British, with more both of vigour and of moderation, follow a +like course of conduct. + +Arrived at Farrukhabad, the Imperial adventurer confirmed the +succession of that petty state to the Bangash chief, whose father +was lately dead, and received at the investiture a fine +(peshkash) of five lakhs of rupees. He then cantoned his army in +the neighbourhood, and awaited the cessation of the periodical +rains. The Mahratta army, some 30,000 strong, was still encamped +at Dehli, but Madhoji Sindhia, the Patel, waited upon the Emperor +in his cantonments, and there concluded whatever was wanting of +the negotiations. The Emperor then proceeded, and entered his +capital on Christmas Day. + +At that time of year Dehli enjoys a climate of great loveliness; +and it may be supposed that the unhappy citizens, for their +parts, would put on their most cheerful looks and the best +remnants of their often plundered finery, to greet the return of +their lawful monarch. The spirit of loyalty to persons and to +families is very strong in the East, and we can imagine that, as +the long procession marched from Shahdara and crossed the shrunk +and sandy Jamna, Shah Alam, from the back of his chosen elephant, +looked down upon a scene of hope and gaiety enough to make him +for the moment forget both the cares of the past and the +anxieties of the future, and feel himself at last every inch a +king. + +1772. Whatever may have been his mood, his new allies did not +leave him to enjoy it long. Within three weeks of his return to +the palace of his forefathers, he was induced to take the field; +and he set out northward at the head of 90,000 men, the greater +number of whom were Mahratta horsemen. It has already been shown +that Zabita Khan had escaped to his own estates a year before. +The Bawani Mahal (comprising fifty-two pergunnahs, now included +in the districts of Saharanpur and Muzaffarnaggar) contained +three strongholds: Pathargarh on the left, Sukhartal on the right +of the Ganges, and Ghausgarh, near Muzaffarnagar. The first two +had been built by the late minister, Najib-ud-daulah, to protect +the ford which led to his fief in the north-western corner of +Rohilkand, for the Ganges is almost always fordable here, except +in the high floods. The last was the work of Zabita Khan himself, +and its site is still marked by a mosque of large size and fine +proportions. Upon these points the first attacks of the +Imperialists were directed. Ghausgarh was hurriedly evacuated at +their approach to be completely plundered; and Zabita was soon +driven to take refuge in his eastern fort of Pathargarh, nearest +to any aid that the Rohilkand Pathans might be able and willing +to afford. The open country, and minor strongholds and towns were +left to the mercy of the invaders. + +Although this campaign was dictated by a Mahratta policy, yet the +small Moghul nucleus bore a certain part, being ably commanded by +the Persian, Mirza Najaf Khan, who has been already mentioned as +Governor of Korah, and of whom we shall hear frequently during +the account of the next ten years. + +This nobleman, who bore the title "Mirza" in token of belonging +to the late royal family of Persia, evinced the same superiority +over the natives of India which usually characterized the +original immigrants. He had married his sister to a brother of +the former Viceroy, Safdar Jang, and attached himself to the late +unfortunate Governor of Allahabad, Mohammad Kuli Khan, a son of +his brother-in-law (though whether his own nephew or by another +mother does not appear). On the murder of the Governor by his +unscrupulous cousin Shujaa, Najaf Khan succeeded to his place in +the favour of the Emperor, and commanded, as we have seen, the +force which accompanied the Emperor on his restoration. + +To the combined armies Zabita opposed a spirited resistance; but +the aid of the Rohilla Afghans (or Pathans, as they are called in +India) was delayed by the menacing attitude of Shujaa; and the +Mahratta and Moghul armies having crossed the Ganges by a mixture +of boldness and stratagem, Zabita Khan fled to the Jat country, +leaving his family and the greater part of the treasures amassed +by his father to fall into the hands of the enemy. + +This occasion is especially memorable, because among the children +of Zabita was his eldest son, a beautiful youth, named Gholam +Kadir Khan, whom the Emperor is said, by tradition, to have +transmuted into a haram page, and who lived to exact a fearful +vengeance for any ill-treatment that he may have received. + +At the approach of the monsoon the Emperor, dissatisfied at not +receiving the whole of the share of the spoils promised him by +his covetous allies, returned to the metropolis. The Mahrattas +(who even during his presence in the camp had paid him but scanty +respect) now threw off the last shreds of disguise, and +appropriated all the profits of the campaign. They at the same +time restored to Zabita Khan whom they hoped hereafter to make +into a serviceable tool the members of his family taken at +Pathargarh; receiving in exchange a ransom of a lakh and a half +of rupees, which was advanced to them on Zabita's account, by the +Viceroy Shujaa-ud-daulah. + +The rainy season of 1772 was spent by the Emperor at Dehli; by +the Mahrattas at Agra and in the neighbourhood. They would +willingly have proceeded to complete the reduction of all +Rohilkand, but that Mirza Najaf flatly refused to join or +sanction such a course; seeing clearly that it must involve a +collision with Shujaa-ud-daulah, who was supported by the British +alliance, and of whose traditional policy the annexation of the +province formed an essential part. The Rohillas, on their part, +occupied themselves in negotiations with the Audh Viceroy, in the +hope of reconstructing the Mohamadan League, which had once been +so successful. + +The result of which was a treaty, drawn up under the good offices +of the British general, Sir R. Barker, by which the protector, +Hafiz Rahmat Khan, bound himself to join Shujaa in any steps he +might take for the assistance of Zabita Khan, and pay him forty +lakhs of rupees, in four annual instalments upon condition of the +Mahrattas being expelled from Rohilkand. This treaty, which +proved the ruin of the Rohillas, was executed on the 11th of +July, 1772. + +The next step in the destruction of these brave but impolitic +Pathans was the outbreak of several violent quarrels, in which +brother fought against brother and father against son. Zabita +Khan, meanwhile, being secretly urged by the faithless Shujaa, +had made terms for himself with the Mahrattas, who engaged to +procure not only his pardon but his investiture with the office +of Premier Noble, formerly held by his father, Najib-ud-daulah. +Their barefaced boldness in restoring Zabita Khan's family and +appropriating the ransom paid to the Emperor's account for them +has been already mentioned. + +With the view of paving the way for the removal from power of +Mirza Najaf, they next addressed themselves to creating +disturbances in the country around Dehli. For they knew that this +would at once alarm the Emperor and involve the Mirza in +difficulty and danger; and they foresaw in the result of such +intrigues an easy method of ruining one whom they justly regarded +as an obstacle to the recall to office of their protege Zabita. +They accordingly instigated Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the +Bhartpur Jats, to prefer a claim to the fief of Balamgarh, held +by a petty chieftain of his own nation. This chief solicited aid +from the Emperor against his powerful rival; and in the end of +the year 1772 Mirza Najaf Khan, who henceforth figures in the +native histories by his newly-acquired title of +Zulfikar-ud-daulah, sent a force under a Biloch leader to the aid +of the Balamgarh man. The Mahrattas, on the other hand, sent a +force from Agra, which joining with the Bhartpur Jats, forced the +Imperialists to retreat towards the capital; but the Patel, +disapproving of the Rohilla element contributed to this +confederacy by the presence of Zabita Khan, retired towards +Jaipur, where he occupied himself in plundering the Rajputs. +Takuji Holkar and the other Mahratta chiefs, feeling strong +enough to dispense with his aid, and anxious, for reasons of +their own, to fulfil their promise to Zabita, advanced towards +Dehli, but were met at a place called Baddarpur, ten miles south +of the city, by a force under the minister himself. In the action +which ensued, the Moghul force which, though well disciplined and +well led by Mirza Najaf, seconded by M. Medoc and some efficient +native officers, was numerically weak, fell back upon Humayun's +tomb, within four miles of the palace of New Dehli. Here ensued a +series of skirmishes, which lasted four days; till the Mirza +having had a nephew slain, retreated to the new town by way of +Daryaoganj, followed by a strong detachment of the enemy. He +still obstinately defended the palace and its environs; but +Hissam-ud-daulah (whose backstair influence has been already +mentioned) went in person to the Mahratta camp the following day, +and informed them, as from his master, that the brave minister +would be sacrificed by his weak and ungrateful master. Holkar and +his train of black and unkempt pygmies swarmed insolently into +the palace, where they dictated their own terms. The Mahrattas, +who were anxious to return to the Deccan, were not disposed to +make difficulties; their main terms were the restoration to the +office of premier noble of Zabita Khan, and the cession of those +provinces in the Lower Doab which had been under the direct sway +of the Emperor, while he enjoyed British protection. These terms +being granted, they picked a quarrel with Mirza Najaf Khan, about +a payment which he was alleged to have guaranteed them during the +Sukhartal campaign, and obtained an order from the Emperor +banishing him the court. These events occurred at the end of +December, just a twelvemonth after the unfortunate monarch's +restoration. + +1773 Finding Zabita Khan in office, and the pander Hisam in +high favour, the heroic ax-minister, having still with him a +strong and faithful escort of Moghul horse, together with the +remains of the trained infantry, and having sent to Saharanpur +for his adopted son, Afrasyab Khan, who had some squadrons with +him for the protection of that district, threw himself into a +fortified house outside the Kabul Gate of the city. The forces of +the new Minister surrounded him, while the Mahrattas looked on +with curiosity, which seems to have been tempered by admiration +for his heroism; and the next day he formed one of those +desperate resolutions which have so often been known to influence +the course of Asiatic politics. Putting on all his armour, and +wearing over it a sort of shroud of green, in the fashion used +for the grave-clothes of a descendant of the Prophet, Najaf Khan +rode out at the head of his personal guards. As the small band +approached the Mahratta camp, shouting their religious war-cries +of "Allah Ho Akbar," and "Ya Hossain," they were met by a +peaceful deputation of the unbelievers who courteously saluted +them, and conducted them to camp in friendly guise. + +It can only be supposed that the news of the Peshwa's death, +which had recently arrived from Punah, and the unsettled state of +the Rohilla quarrel combined to render the Mahrattas indisposed +to push matters to extremity against a man of Najaf Khan's +character and influence, and thus gave rise to this extraordinary +scene. The result was that the ex-minister's excitement was +calmed, and he agreed to Join the Mahrattas in an attack on +Rohilkand. One cannot but remark the tortuous policy of these +restless rievers. First they move the Emperor upon the Rohillas; +then they move the Rohilla, Zabita Khan, upon the Emperor; and +then, having united these enemies, they make use of a fresh +instrument to renew the original attack. With this new ally they +marched upon Rohilkand by way of Ramghat, below Anupshahar, where +the Ganges is fordable during the winter months; and at the same +time parties of their troops devastated the Doab. + +Meanwhile the British, finding that the Emperor was unable to +protect the provinces about Allahabad, which they had put into +his charge, made them over to the Viceroy of Audh, to whose +management they had been attached previous to the negotiations +that followed the battle of Buxar, and between whose dominions +and those of the British they formed the connecting link. They +had been abandoned by the Emperor when he proceeded to Dehli, +contrary to the remonstrance of the Bengal Council, and though +his own lieutenant had reported, and with perfect accuracy, that +he could not regard the order to give them up to the Mahrattas as +a free act of his master's. It would, indeed, have been an easy +step towards the ruin of the British to have allowed the +Mahrattas to take possession of this tract, and so form a +permanent lodgement upon the borders of the possessions in Bihar +and the Eastern Subahs which the British held by the indefeasible +and twofold tenure of conquest, and of an Imperial grant. And it +so happened that the necessary transfer could not be carried out +without an armed demonstration for the expulsion or coercion of +the usurping Mahrattas. The expenses of this expedition were +naturally met by the Viceroy. Judged even by modern standards, +this cannot but be regarded as a perfectly legitimate act of +self-defence. It is, however, thus characterized by Macaulay: +"The provinces which had been torn from the Mogul were made over +to the government of Audh for about half a million sterling.'' +The British having joined their forces to those of the +Vazir-Viceroy Shujaa, accordingly marched to meet the invaders. +Hafiz Rahmat, whom we have lately seen treating with those +powers, now became anxious about the money-payments for which he +had engaged, in the usual reckless Oriental way, and entered into +negotiations with the Mahrattas. In this scheme, the sudden +arrival of the British and Audh armies surprised him and he was +forced to abandon it for the present and join the allies in an +advance against the Mahrattas, who precipitately retired on +Etawa, and thence to their own country in May, 1773. + +It has been already seen that Mirza Najaf Khan was a family +connection of Shujaa-ud-daulah, and an old friend of the British +general; and, on the retreat of his Mahratta supporters, he came +over to the allied camp, where he met the reception due to his +merits. + +The allied armies moved on to Anupshahar, accompanied by the +ex-minister, who was attended by his faithful Moghuls. This town, +which had, as we have seen, been a cantonment of Ahmad the +Abdali, was particularly well situated for the advanced post of a +power like the British, seeking to hold the balance among the +native states of Hindustan. To the north were the fords of +Sukhartal, by which the Najibabad Rohillas passed from one part +of their dominions to another; to the south was the ford of +Ramghat, leading from Aligarh to Bareilly. It remained a British +cantonment from this time until some time subsequent to the +occupation of the country in general, in 1806; after which the +town of Meerut was found more central, and Anupshahar ceased to +be a station for troops. It is a thriving commercial entrepot in +our days, though much menaced by the Ganges, on whose right bank +it stands. The only memorial of the long-continued presence of a +British force is now to be found in two cemeteries, containing +numbers of tombs from which the inscriptions have disappeared. + +At this station Najaf Khan took leave of his patrons, having +received from Shujaa-ud-daulah the portfolio (or, to use the +Eastern phrase, the pencase), of Deputy Vazir, and from the +British General a warm letter of recommendation to the Emperor. +It was especially magnanimous on the part of the Vazir to let +bygones be bygones, since they included the murder, by himself, +of his new Deputy's kinsman and former patron Mohammad Kuli Khan, +the former Governor of Allahabad; and it was not an impolitic, +though probably unintentional, stroke on the part of Sir R. +Barker to lend his assistance towards introducing into the +direction of the Imperial councils a chief who was as strongly +opposed to the Rohillas as to the Mahrattas. + +Armed with these credentials, and accompanied by a small but +compact and faithful force, the Mirza proceeded to Court to +assume his post. The newly-created premier noble, Zabita Khan, +took refuge with the Jats; but Hisam-ud-daulah, who had been for +some time in charge of the local revenue (Diwan-i-Khalsa) was +dismissed, put under arrest, and made to surrender some of his +ill-gotten wealth. An inadequate idea may be formed of the want +of supervision which characterized Shah Alam's reign, by +observing that this man, who had not been more than two years in +charge of the collections of a small and impoverished district, +disgorged, in all, no less than fifteen lakhs of rupees. He was +succeeded in his appointment by Abdul Ahid Khan (who bears +henceforth the title of Majad-ud-daulah), while Manzur Ali Khan, +another nominee of the minister's, became Vazir, or Controller of +the Household. Of these two officers it is only necessary here to +observe, that after events showed the former who was a Musalman +native of Kashmir as a character marked by the faithlessness +and want of manly spirit for which the people of that country are +proverbial in India. The latter was to turn out either a very +blundering politician, or a very black-hearted traitor. + +Title and lucrative office were now conferred upon the +Kashmirian, Abdul Ahid, whose pliant manners soon enabled him to +secure a complete influence over his indolent master. Najaf Khan +seems to have been equally deceived at the time; but after-events +showed the difference between the undeceiving of a worn-out +voluptuary, and that of a nature unsuspicious from its own +goodness. + +Such were the first fruits of Najaf's alliance with the Viceroy +of Audh; the price was to be paid in the bestowal of the Imperial +sanction upon the final destruction of the Rohilla Pathans. It +has been already seen how this province, which ran up between the +personal domains of the crown and the fief of the Viceroy of +Audh, had been seized, first by Ali Mohammad, and latterly by his +son's guardian, the Protector Rahmat Khan. But ever since Ali +Mohammad's wars with the late Vazir, Safdar Jang, the rulers of +Audh had probably coveted the province, and the retreat of the +Mahrattas and their occupation in domestic pursuits in the Deccan +afforded just the occasion for which Shujaa-ud-daula was waiting. +Much eloquent indignation has been vented by Macaulay and Mill on +the subject of the accession to this campaign of the British +Governor, Mr. Hastings. As I am not writing a history of British +administration, I shall only observe that the Emperor, whose +servants the British professed themselves, had conferred the +authority usurped by Rahmat Khan upon the Vazir, with whom they +had been for some years in alliance. As allies of both parties +they were clearly at liberty to throw in their help against the +common enemies of both, especially when these chanced to be their +own enemies also. The Mahrattas were the foes of all rulers on +that side of India; and the Rohillas were either in collusion +with the Mahrattas or unable to oppose them. It was essential, if +not to the safety of the possessions of the Vazir-Viceroy, at +least to British interests in Bengal, that a band of faithless +usurpers should not be allowed to hold a country which they could +not, or would not, prevent from affording a high road for the +Mahrattas at all seasons of the year. That view, perhaps, +commended itself to the House of Lords when they finally +acquitted Mr. Hastings, after a protracted trial, in which some +of the ablest of the Whig orators had been engaged against the +accused. It is easy for historians, writing long after the +passions, the temptations, the necessities of the moment have +ceased to press, to criticize the acts of the past by the "dry +light" of pure reason and abstract morality. But the claims of +necessity should not be ignored in delivering what is intended to +form a sort of judicial award. + +It is perhaps a mark of the good sense and justice of the English +nation that, when they had considered the matter calmly, they +should have come to the conclusion that to condemn Hastings would +be to condemn their own existence in India. Such a conclusion +would logically require their retirement from the country _ a +step they did not feel at all called upon to take. This appears +the moral of the acquittal. Even Macaulay, who objects to the +decision of the Peers acquitting Hastings as inadmissible at the +bar of history nevertheless confesses that it was generally +approved by the nation. At all events, this particular affair was +dropped out of the charges even before the impeachment began. + +But, however important to the existence of the British in India +might be the possession of this frontier territory by the +strongest ally they could secure, the conduct of the Emperor (or +rather of Mirza Najaf, in whose hands he was not quite a free +agent) remains the special subject of inquiry in this place. I +think, however, that both the minister and his master were quite +justified in wishing to transfer the province of Rohilkand from +the hands of Rahmat to those of the Vazir. It has been already +seen that the Pathan usurpers of that province had always been +foes of the Moghul power, since the first rebellion of Ali +Mohammad, with the solitary exception of the campaign of 1761, +when they joined their Abdali kinsman at Panipat. It has also +been seen that the fords by which the Ganges could be crossed in +the cold weather were in their country, but that they could never +hold them; and that, lastly, they were known to have been lately +in treaty with the Mahrattas, without reference to the interests +of the Empire. Eastern politicians are not usually or especially +scrupulous; but, when it is remembered that the Rohillas were +feudatories who had neither the will nor the power to be +faithful, it must follow that here were substantial +considerations of vital importance to the Dehli Government, +sufficient to give them a fair inducement to sanction the +enterprise of one who was their chief minister and most powerful +supporter. + +Of Shujaa's own motives there is not so much palliation to offer. +He had often received aid from the Rohillas, and was under +personal obligations to them, which ought to have obliterated all +earlier memories of a hostile character; and, whatever grounds +the Emperor may have had for consenting to an attack upon the +Pathans, or the British for aiding the same, none such are likely +to have seriously actuated the Vazir in his individual character. +If he thought the Rohillas were inclined to negotiate with the +Mahrattas, he must have seen how those negotiations had been +broken off the instant he came to their assistance; and if he +wished to command the movements of the Mahrattas, he might first +have endeavoured to strengthen the hands of the Imperial +Government, and to cordially carry out his share of the treaty of +1772. + +It must, however, be added although the Vazir's character was +not such as to render him altogether entitled to such +justifications that the latter of those engagements had been +better fulfilled by himself than by the Pathans. For while, on +the one hand, he had driven the Mahrattas out of the country, the +Protector Rahmat Khan, on his part, had neither collected the +wage of that service from the other chiefs, nor paid it himself. +Moreover, the Vazir's proceedings were only directed against the +usurping Protector and his actual adherents; and he was joined by +Zabita and some Rohilla chiefs, while others, among whom were the +sons of the late Dundi Khan, held aloof altogether, and Faizula +Khan, the son of the first founder of the Rohilla power, Ali +Mohammad, and in every way the most respectable of the clan, +though he would not desert an old friend in his hour of need, yet +strongly disapproved of his proceedings, and urged him to fulfil +his compact and pay the Vazir's claim. The bribe by which Zabita +had been detached from the confederacy, was an assignment of the +district in the neighbourhood of Meerut, which had cleared itself +of Mahratta occupation under the late Vazir's rule. + +1774. In October, 1773, the fort of Etawa fell, and the last +Mahratta forces were driven from the Doab. The next two or three +months were occupied in vain negotiations on the part of the +Vazir with the Rohillas; and in more serious combinations with +the Imperial Government, and with the British. And in January, +1774, the allied armies moved forward. On the 12th of April the +British entered Rohilkand; the Protector, when finally summoned +to pay what he owed, having replied by a levee en masse of all +who would obey his summons. At the same time, the Emperor ordered +out a column which he accompanied for a few marches; and issued +patents confirming the Vazir Shujaa-ud-daula in his Doab +conquests, as also in the grant already made by the British of +Korah and Allahabad. This latter circumstance removes all ground +for calling in question the cession of those provinces by their +temporary masters, and shows that the Emperor was conscious of +his own inability to hold them, or to grant them to enemies of +Audh and of England. + +On the 23rd of the same month (April) the British army completely +surprised the camp of the Protector, who was defeated and slain, +after a brave but brief resistance at Kattra. Faizula was +pardoned and maintained in his own patrimonial fief of Rampur +(still held by his descendants), while the rest of the province +was occupied, with but little further trouble, by the Vazir, in +strict conformity to an Imperial firman to that effect. + +The army of the Empire, under Mirza Najaf Khan, the Deputy Vazir, +had not arrived in time to participate actively in this brief +campaign; but the Vazir acknowledged the importance of the moral +support that he had received from the Empire by remitting to +court a handsome fine, on his investiture with the administration +of the conquered territory. He also gave the Mirza some +reinforcement, to aid him in his pending operations against the +Jats of Bhartpur. Zabita Khan was at the same time expelled from +his lately acquired fief at Meerut, but was again put in charge +next year; a proof, were proof required, of the weakness of the +Home administration of Majad-ud-daulah, who (it need hardly be +said) received a bribe on the occasion. + +Anticipating a little, we may notice that the Viceroy of Audh, at +the very climax of his good fortune, met the only enemy whom +neither force can subdue nor policy deceive. Shujaa-ud-daulah +died in January, 1775; and as it was not possible for so +conspicuous a public character to pass away without exciting +popular notice, the following explanation of the affair was +circulated at the time; which, whether a fact or a fiction, +deserves to be mentioned as the sort of ending which was +considered in his case probable and appropriate. It was believed +that, the family of Rahmat Khan having fallen into his hands, +Shujaa-ud-daulah sent for one of the fallen chief's daughters, +and that the young lady, in the course of the interview, avenged +the death of her father by stabbing his conqueror with a poisoned +knife. "Although," says the author of the Siar-ul-Mutakharin, who +is the authority for the story, "there may be no foundation of +truth in this account, yet it was at the time as universally +believed as that God is our Refuge." + +The editor of the Calcutta translation of 1789 asserts that he +had satisfactory proof of the truth of this story. The Viceroy +died of a cancer in the groin; and the women of his Zanana, who +were let out on the occasion, and with one of whom he (the +translator) was acquainted, had made a song upon the subject. +They gave full particulars of the affair, and stated that the +young lady she was only seventeen had been put to death on +the day the Viceroy received the wound. (S. U. M., III. 268.) + +The death of the Viceroy-Vazir, however occasioned, was a serious +blow to the reduced Empire of Dehli, which was just then +beginning to enjoy a gleam of sunshine such as had not visited it +since the day when Mir Mannu and the eldest son of Mohammad Shah +defeated the Abdali, in 1743. Had the career of Shujaa-ud-daulah +been prolonged a few years, it is possible that his ambitious +energy, supported by British skill and valour, and kept within +bounds by Mirza Najaf Khan's loyal and upright character, would +have effectually strengthened the Empire against the Mahrattas, +and altered the whole subsequent course of Indian history. + +But Shujaa's son and successor was a weak voluptuary, who never +left his own provinces; and although the Mirza, his deputy in the +Vazirship and real locum tenens, received for his lifetime the +reward of his merits, yet he was unable of himself to give a +permanent consolidation to the tottering fabric. + +It has been seen that he was meditating a campaign against the +Jats, whom Zabita's recent fall had again thrown into discontent, +when summoned to Rohilkand, in 1774. In fact, he had already +wrested from them the fort of Agra, and occupied it with a +garrison of his own, under a Moghul officer, Mohammad Beg, of +Hamadan. Not daunted by this reverse, Ranjit Singh, the then +ruler of that bold tribe the Jats, advanced upon the capital, and +occupied Sikandrabad with 10,000 horse. The forces left in Dehli +consisted of but 5,000 horse and two battalions of sepoys; but +they sufficed to expel the intruder. He shortly afterwards, +however, returned, reinforced by the regulars and guns under +Sumroo; but by this time the Mirza was returned from Rohilkand, +and after the rains of 1774, marched against them, aided by a +chief from Hariana, named after himself Najaf Kuli Khan, who +brought into the field some 10,000 troops. This man, who was a +good soldier and a faithful follower of the minister, was a +converted Hindu, of the Rathur tribe; a native of the Bikanir +country bordering on Rajputana Proper to the south, and to the +north on Hariana and other states immediately surrounding the +metropolis. Having been in service at Allahabad, under the father +of Mohammad Kuli, the connection and early patron of the Mirza, +he became a Mohammadan under the sponsorship of the latter, and +ever after continued a member of his household. At the time of +which I write, he had been appointed to the charge of districts +returning twenty lakhs a year, with the title of Saif-ud-daulah. + +The departure of the Mirza for this campaign was extremely +agreeable to the Diwan, Majad-ud-daulah, for he never lost an +opportunity of prejudicing the Emperor's mind against this +powerful rival, in whose recent appointment to the office of Naib +Vazir, moreover, he had found a special disappointment. Indeed, +Shah Alam, between these two ministers, was like the hero of +mediΎval legend between his good and evil angels; only differing +in this, that in his case the good influence was also, to a great +extent, the most powerful. What the wily Kashmirian might have +done in the way of supplanting the Mirza, if the latter had been +signally worsted, and he himself had been otherwise fortunate, +cannot now be certainly conjectured, for a fresh revolt of +Zabita's summoned the Diwan to the northward, whilst his rival +was successfully engaged with the Jats. In this expedition +Majad-ud-daulah displayed a great want of spirit and of skill, so +that Zabita became once more extremely formidable. Fortunately at +this crisis Dehli was visited by an envoy, soliciting investiture +for the new Viceroy of Audh, Asaf-ud-daulah. Accompanying the +embassy was a force of 5,000 good troops, with a train of +artillery, the whole under command of the deceased Shujaa's +favourite general, Latafat Khan. This timely reinforcement saved +the metropolis, and allowed of a settlement being made with the +incorrigible Zabita, which preserved, to some extent at least, +the dignity of the Government (Vide next chapter). + +Meanwhile the Imperialists had found the Jats, under their +chieftain, intrenched near Hodal, a town sixty miles from Dehli, +on the Mathra road. Dislodged from this, they fell back a few +miles, and again took up a position in a fortified village called +Kotban, where the Mirza endeavoured to blockade them. After +amusing him with skirmishes for about a fortnight, they again +fell back on Dig, a stronghold, to become the scene of still more +important events a few years later. Dig the name is perhaps a +corruption of some such word as Dirajgarh is a strong fort, +with a beautiful palace and pleasure-grounds adjoining, on the +shores of an artificial lake, fed by the drainage of part of the +Alwar Highlands. Observing that the sallies of the Jats had +ceased, the Mirza left their camp at Dig in his rear, and marched +to Barsana, where a pitched battle was fought. + +1775. The van of the Imperialists was commanded by Najaf Kuli. +In the centre of the main line was the Mirza himself, with +battalions of sepoys and artillery, under officers trained by the +English in Bengal, on the two wings. In the rear was the Moghul +cavalry. The enemy's regular infantry 5,000 strong, and led by +Sumroo advanced to the attack, covered by clouds of Jat +skirmishers, and supported by a heavy cannonade, to which the +Mirza's artillery briskly replied, but from which he lost several +of his best officers and himself received a wound. A momentary +confusion ensued; but the Mirza, fervently invoking the God of +Islam, presently charged the Jats at the head of the Moghul +horse, who were, it will be remembered, his personal followers. +Najaf Kuli, accompanied by the regular infantry, following at the +double, the Jats were broken; and the resistance of Sumroo's +battalions only sufficed to cover the rout of the rest of the +army, and preserve some appearance of order as he too retreated, +though in somewhat better order, towards Dig. An immense quantity +of plunder fell into the hands of the victors, who soon reduced +the open country, and closely invested the beaten army. Such, +however, was the store of grain in the Fort of Dig, that the +strictest blockade proved fruitless for a twelvemonth; nor was +the Fort finally reduced till the end of March, 1776, when the +garrison found means not improbably by connivance to escape +to the neighbouring castle of Kumbhair with portable property on +elephants. The rest of the Thakur's wealth was seized by the +victors his silver plate, his stately equipages and +paraphernalia, and his military chest, containing six lakhs of +rupees which may perhaps be regarded as not very inferior, in +relative value, to a quarter of a million sterling of our modern +money. + +In the midst of these successes, and whilst he was occupied in +settling the conquered country, the Mirza received intelligence +from Court that Zabita Khan, emboldened by his easy triumph over +the Diwan, Majad-ud-daulah (Abdul Ahid Khan), had taken into his +pay a large body of Sikhs, with whom he was about to march upon +the metropolis. + +The enterprising minister returned at once to Dehli, where he was +received with high outward honour. He was, on this occasion, +attended by the condottiere Sumroo, who, in his usual fashion, +had transferred his battalions to the strongest side soon after +the battle of Barsana. Sumroo's original patron, Mir Kasim, died +about the same time, in the neighbourhood of Dehli, where he had +settled, after years of skulking and misery, in the vain hope of +obtaining employment in the Imperial service. The date of his +death is given by Broome (Hist. of Beng. Army, p. 467) as 6th +dune, 1777: it is added that his last shawl was sold to pay for a +winding-sheet, and that his family were plundered of the last +wreck of their possessions. But the detail of this year's events +and their consequences requires a fresh chapter. + + + +NOTEThe following is the text of the supplemental treaty of +1772, as given by Captain Hamilton. (The former portion having +provided in general terms for an alliance, offensive and +defensive.) "The Vuzeer of the Empire shall establish the +Rohillas, obliging the Mahrattas to retire, either by peace or +war. If at any time they shall enter the country, their expulsion +is the business of the Vuzeer. The Rohilla Sirdars, in +consequence of the above to agree to pay to the Vuzeer forty +lakhs of rupees, in manner following viz., ten lakhs, in +specie, and the remaining thirty lakhs in three years from the +beginning of the year 1180 Fussulee." Only redundant or +unimportant phrases have been omitted: there is not a word of +payment to the Mahrattas. The contention that the Vazir of Oudh +was only surety for the payment to the Mahrattas is not very +pertinent. For the Mahrattas did not quit Rohilcand till the +Vazir expelled them, and the money was not paid. But, as we have +seen, the gloss is unsupported. Besides Hamilton, +Tarikh-i-Mozafari and Francklin's "Shah Alum" have been the chief +authorities for this chapter. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A.D. 1776-85. + + + +Vigour of Mirza Najaf Zabita rebels Emperor takes the Field, +and the Rebellion is suppressed Sumroo's Jaigir Abdul Ahid +takes the Field Unsuccessful Campaign against the Sikhs Dehli +threatened, but relieved by Najaf Mirza's arrangements Popham +takes Gwalior Begum Sumroo Death of Mirza Najaf Consequent +Transactions Afrasyab Khan becomes Premier Mirza Shaffi +returns to Dehli Is it Peace? Murder of Shaffi Action of +Mr. Hastings Flight of Shahzada Madhoji Sindhia goes to Agra + Afrasyab's Death Tribute claimed from British Death of +Zabita Khan Sindhia supreme Chalisa famine State of Country + General distress. + + + +1776. THE splendid exertions of Mirza Najaf, though not yet at +an end, might have been expected to give the Empire a +breathing-time wherein to recover its strength. If we except the +British in Bengal, it was now the most formidable military power +on this side of India. No more than three fortified places +remained to the Jats of all their once vast possessions. The +Mahrattas had been occupied in the Deccan by the events that +followed upon the death of their Peshwa, Madho Rao; and the whole +of their forces were temporarily withdrawn during the course of +the year, by order of his successor. Najaf held viceregal state +at Agra, surrounded not only by his faithful Moghuls and +Persians, but by two brigades of foot and artillery, under the +command, respectively, of Sumroo and of Medoc. The Mirza's chief +Asiatic subordinates were Najaf Kuli Khan his adopted son, the +converted Hindu, otherwise Saif-ud-daulah; and Mohammad Beg of +Hamadan: two officers of whom frequent mention will be found in +the progress of this narrative. Mirza Shaffi, the minister's +nephew, also held a high command. Shah Alam lived the life of +ease which had become a second nature to him, at Dehli, +surrounded by able servants of the Mirza's selection. One of +these, indeed, soon obtained an apparent ascendancy over the +indolent monarch, which was destined to afford another instance +of the wisdom of that maxim invented of old in the East, "Put not +your trust in Princes." The only enemy who could disturb the +repose of what may be termed the Home Districts was Zabita Khan, +who still exhibited all the faithlessness so common with his +race, and a turbulent disposition peculiar to himself. Finding +all present hope of aid from the Jats and Mahrattas at an end +(and instigated, it was suspected, by his late unsuccessful +opponent, the Financial Minister, Abdul Ahlid Khan), Zabita, as +stated at the close of the preceding chapter, turned to the +Sikhs: a people who, in the decay of the Empire, had established +themselves in the Sirhind territory, notably in Pattiala, and in +Jhind. These pushing warriors of whose prowess, both against +and for the British, modern history tells so much gladly +accepted the invitation of the Pathan insurgent, and, crossing +the Jamna in considerable numbers, joined his force at Ghausgarh, +the fort between Saharanpur and Muzafarnagar, of which mention +has been already made. It is even stated by Francklin (though, as +usual, without specification of authority) that the Pathan on +this occasion embraced the religion of the Sikhs, a sort of +eclectic Monotheism tinctured with Hindu doctrine. + +1777. This conduct was justly regarded by the Mirza as a gross +instance, not merely of disloyalty, but what in his eyes was +even worse of impiety. In the opinion of a stern soldier of +Islam, such as the Persian Prince had always shown himself to be, +the act of joining with unbelievers was unpardonable. He +therefore despatched a strong force against the combined rebels, +under the command of an officer named Abdul Kasim Khan. Nothing +daunted, the Confederates drew out their troops in front of the +fort of Ghausgarh, and at once engaged the Imperial troops, whom +they at the same time outflanked with a large body of horse, who +got into the rear of the Imperialists without being perceived. +Placed between two attacks, and deprived of their leader by a +stray shot, the latter soon gave way, and Zabita, having pursued +them for some distance, returned to his stronghold triumphant. On +this Mirza Najaf Khan resolved to take the field with all his +power, and ere long presented himself before Ghausgarh, +accompanied by the Emperor in person. The Mirza was aided in this +campaign by the force of 5,000 men, with artillery, contributed +by the new Viceroy of Audh, as part of the peshkash, or fine for +the investiture, and for the succession to the office of Vazir of +the Empire, which had been held by his father, and which he +desired to retain against the counter-claims of the Nizam and of +other competitors. (Vide last chapter, p. 115.) The Pathan had, +however, evacuated the fort on receiving notice of their +approach, and retreated with his allies to their country beyond +the Jamna, closely followed by the Imperial forces. An attempt at +negotiation having been contemptuously rejected by the +Captain-General, Mirza Najaf Khan, the two armies engaged on the +famous field of Panipat, and the action which ensued is described +(with manifest exaggeration) as having been only less terrible +than the last that was fought on the same historic ground, +between the Mahrattas and the Musalmans, in 1761. Beyond this the +native historians give no particulars of the battle, which raged +till night, and with not unequal fortunes, if we may judge from +the result for on the following morning Zabita Khan's renewed +applications to treat were favourably received; on which occasion +his estates were restored, and a double matrimonial alliance +concluded. The Mirza himself condescended to take the Pathan's +sister as his wife, while his godson (so to speak), Najaf Kuli, +was promised the hand of Zabita's daughter. The pardon of this +restless rebel was attributed to the intercession of Latafat, the +General of the Audh Vazir, who is said to have had a large bribe +on the occasion. (Francklin, chap. Y.) + +Peace being thus restored to Hindustan, the Minister revisited +Agra, where he proceeded to provide for the administration of the +country. + +The English sought his alliance; but the negotiation failed +because he would not surrender Sumroo. Asaf-ud-daulah, Viceroy of +Audh, was recognized as titular Vazir; a trustworthy chief, +Maulah Ahmad Dad, was appointed to the charge of Sirhind; Najaf +Kuli Khan held the vast tract extending from that frontier to the +borders of Rajputana; and Sumroo was placed in charge of the +country adjoining Zabita Khan's lands, in the centre of which he +fixed his capital at Sardhana, long destined to remain in the +possession of his family, and where a country house and park, +familiar to the English residents at Meerut, still belong to the +widow of his last descendant. This territory, nominally assigned +for the maintenance of the troops under the adventurer's command, +was valued in those days at six laths of rupees annually; so that +the blood-stained miscreant, whose saturnine manners had given +him a bad name, even among the rough Europeans of the Company's +battalion, found his career of crime rewarded by an income +corresponding to that of many such petty sovereigns as those of +his native country. + +1778. The beginning of this year was marked by a bloodless +campaign, to which Majad-ud-daulah led the Emperor. The Rajputs +were the object of the attack, and they were rigorously mulcted. +The Mirza's personal share in this matter was confined to that of +a peacemaker. He probably disapproved of the campaign, which had +been undertaken in a spirit of rivalry to himself; and by +obtaining terms for the Rajputs he made new ties while displaying +his own power. He accompanied the return of the expedition to +Dehli, where his daughter was married to Najaf Kuli in the +presence of the Emperor. + +Mirza Najaf Khan then departed once more to Agra, the seat of his +administration and his favourite abode. But his repose was not of +long continuance, and he was soon called upon for fresh +exertions; the Sikhs having risen against Maulah Ahmad Dad, the +Faujdar of Sirhind, whom they defeated and slew. On the receipt +of this intelligence the Emperor had deputed Abdul Ahid Khan +known to us by his title of Nawab Majad-ud-daulah with an army +nominally under the command of one of the Imperial Princes, to +indict signal chastisement upon obstinate offenders. If the +surmise of the native historians be correct that Abdul Ahid +Khan had been privy to the late combination between the Sikhs and +Zabita Khan against Mirza Najaf the fact of his being sent +against them, without any objection from so wise and loyal a +minister as the Mirza, can only be accounted for by citing it as +a proof of the peculiar danger to which great men are exposed, +under an Eastern despotism, of reposing their confidence in +secret enemies. That Abdul Ahid was even then plotting against +his patron will be seen to be likely from his subsequent conduct, +and certainly derives no confutation from the circumstance of his +being a native of Kashmir, a country the faithlessness of whose +inhabitants is proverbial, even in Indian story. + +The Prince, whose standard was the rallying point of the army, is +variously named as Jawan Bakht, Farkhanda Bakht, and Akbar; the +former being the name of the Prince whom we saw acting as Regent +during the Emperor's residence under English protection at +Allahabad, the later that of the future successor to the titular +Empire. Whoever it may have been, the outset of the expedition +promised him success, if not distinction. The Imperial host, +20,000 strong and with an efficient park of artillery. came in +contact with the enemy at Karnal; but Majad-ud-daulah preferred +negotiation to fighting, and induced the Sikhs to pay down a sum +of three lakhs, and pledge themselves to the payment of an annual +tribute. Joining the Sikh forces to his own, the Majad-ud-daulah +next proceeded northwards, but was brought to a check at Pattiala +by Amar Singh, the Jat chief of that state. Here fresh +negotiations ensued, in which the perfidious Kashmirian is said +to have offered to allay himself with the Sikhs for the +destruction of Mirza Najaf Khan, on condition of being supported +by them in his endeavours to be made Prime Minister in the room +of that statesman. Whether the Jat leader had profited by the +lesson lately read to his brethren of Bhartpur, or whether he was +merely actuated by a desire to try conclusions with the +Kashmirian, having penetrated the cowardice of his character, is +matter for conjecture. Whatever the intrigue may have been, it +was soon frustrated. A large Sikh reinforcement profited by the +time gained in the negotiation to advance from Lahor; the Karnal +force deserted the Imperial camp, and a general onset was made +upon it the following morning. Led by a half-hearted commander +and an inexperienced Prince, the Imperialists offered but a faint +resistance; but their retreat was covered by the artillery, and +they contrived to escape without suffering much in the pursuit, +and indeed without being very closely followed up. It is +interesting to observe, among the names of the Sikh Sirdars, who +played this game of "diamond cut diamond" with the Kashmirian, +that of Ranjit Singh, afterwards the wily Egbert of the Panjab +Heptarchy, and the firm friend of Britain for nearly forty years. + +This disastrous campaign occurred in the cold weather of 1778-79, +and the victorious Panjabis poured into the Upper Doab, which +they forthwith began to plunder. + +1779. Meanwhile, Mirza Najaf Khan remained in contemptuous +repose at Agra, only interrupted by a short and successful dash +at some Rajput malcontents, who had been stirred up, it is +thought, at the instigation of his rival Majad-ud-daulah. That +inefficient but unscrupulous intriguer is also shown by Captain +Grant Duff to have been at the same time engaged in a +correspondence with Madhoji Sindhia, in view to joining, when +once he should have gained possession of the power of the Empire, +in an attack on the British Provinces. Duff gives this story on +the authority of Sindhia's own letters, which that chief's +grandson had placed in his hands; but he does not say whether the +fickle Emperor was or was not a party to this iniquitous +conspiracy for the ruin of his faithful servant and his +long-established friends. + +Certain it is that Sindhia was at that time very far from the +statesmanlike views and reasonable aims which he ultimately +adopted. Towards the close of the year, indeed, he took the +ill-judged step of joining with Haidar Ali and the Nizam with the +object of expelling the British from every part of the Indian +Continent. But Mr. Hastings soon disturbed the plans of the +confederates and ere long rendered them hopeless. Some were +conquered by force of arms, others were conciliated; and Sindhia +in particular, received a lesson which made upon his sagacious +mind a permanent impression. + +1780. There was, in the country now known as Dholpur, between +Agra and Gwalior, a local Jat landholder who had in the decay of +the Empire followed the example of Suraj Mal (of Bhurtpore) and +assumed independence. In 1771, when Shah Alam was returning to +the throne of his ancestors, Chatr Singh, the then Zemindar, +advanced money to the Treasury, and was soon after created a peer +by the title of Maharaj Rana. Henceforth he figures in history as +the "Rana of Gohad." Having a hereditary feud against the +Mahrattas and a hereditary claim, such as it was, to the fortress +of Gwalior, then in Sindhia's hands, he seemed to Hastings a +useful instrument for causing a diversion. Major Popham, one of +the best of the local officers, was accordingly sent to assist +the Rana and stir up a confederation of Jat and Rajput powers to +aid against the Musalman-Mahratta alliance by which British +interests were threatened. The situation of the fort of Gwalior +on a scarped and isolated rock over 200 feet high, need not here +be more than mentioned; the manner of its capture, however, +cannot be too often referred to as an instance of what resolution +and conduct can effect in Asiatic warfare. Having prepared +scaling ladders in such secrecy that even his European officers +were ignorant of what was being done or planned, Popham sent a +storming party of sepoys, backed by twenty Europeans, to a place +at the foot of the rock pointed out to him by some thieves. It +was the night of the 3rd August, 1780, and the party, under the +command of Captain Bruce, were shod with cotton to render their +approach inaudible. The enemies' rounds were passing as they came +near the spot; so the assaulting column lay down and waited until +the lights and voices had ceased; then the ladders were placed +against the cliff, and one of the robber guides mounting returned +with intelligence that the guard had gone to sleep. The next +moment the first ladder was mounted by Lieutenant Cameron, the +engineer officer, and the others followed in silence, Captain +Bruce having reached the rampart with twenty sepoys, a scuffle +ensued which lasted till Popham arrived with the Europeans and +made good the entrance. Thus was this strong place captured, and +without the loss of one single life on the British side. The fort +was made over to the Rana, but he did not long retain it, Sindhia +having recaptured it. He soon afterwards took Gohad also (1784), +and the descendants of the Jat chief are now known as Ranas of +Dholpur. + +We have seen how marked a feature of the Emperor's character was +his inability to resist the pertinacious counsels of an adviser +with whom he was in constant intercourse; and it is certain that +he gave Majad-ud-daulah all the support which his broken power +and enfeebled will enabled him to afford. + +But the danger was now too close and too vast to allow of further +weakness. The Emperor's eyes seem to have been first opened by +his army's evident confusion, as it returned to Dehli, and by the +prevaricating reports and explanations which he received from its +commander. If Mirza Jawan Bakht was the prince who had +accompanied the ill-stared expedition, we know enough of his +prudence and loyalty to be sure that he would have done all in +his power to make his father see the matter in its true light; +and what was wanting to his firm but dutiful remonstrances, would +be supplied by the cries of fugitive villagers and the smoke of +plundered towns. + +Najaf Khan was urgently summoned from Agra, and obeyed the call +with an alacrity inspired by his loyal heart, and perhaps also by +a dignified desire for redress. As he approached the capita], he +was met by the Prince and the baffled Kashmirian. To the former +he was respectful, but the latter he instantly placed under +arrest, and sent back under a strong guard. The fallen Minister +was confined, but in his own house; and the Mirza, on reaching +Dehli, confiscated, on behalf of the Imperial treasury, his +wealth, stated to have amounted to the large sum (for those days) +of twenty lakhs, reserving nothing for himself but some books and +a medicine chest. This was the second time he had triumphed over +an unworthy rival, and signalized his own noble temper by so +blending mercy with justice as has seldom been done by persons +situated as he was. Abdul Ahid Khan or Majad-ud-daulah was a +fop, very delicate in his habits, and a curiosity-seeker in the +way of food and physic. It is said by the natives that he always +had his table-rice from Kashmir, and knew by the taste whether it +was from the right field or not. + +Fully restored to the Imperial favour, the Mirza lost no time in +obeying the pressing behests of his Sovereign, and sending an +adequate force under his nephew, Mirza Shafi, to check the +invaders. Their army, which had been collected to meet the +Imperialists, drew up and gave battle near Meerut, within forty +miles of the metropolis; but their unskilled energy proved no +match for the resolution of the Moghul veterans, and for the +disciplined valour of the Europeanized battalions. The Sikhs were +defeated with the loss of their leader and 5,000 men, and at once +evacuated the country. + +1780. It cannot have escaped notice we have been here reviewing +the career of one whose talents and virtues merited a nobler +arena than that on which they were displayed, and who would have +indeed distinguished himself in any age and country. Profiting by +experience, the successful Minister did not repeat the former +blunder of retiring to Agra, where, moreover, his presence was no +longer required; but continued for the brief remainder of his +life to reside in the metropolis, and enjoy the fruit of his +laborious career in the administration of the Empire, to which he +had restored something of its old importance. Mirza Shafi +commanded the army in the field; while Mohammad Beg, of Hamadan, +was Governor of the Fort and District of Agra. Najaf Khan himself +was appointed Amir-ul-Umra (Premier Noble); his title, as it had +long been, was Zulfikar-ud-daulah "Sword of State." + +I have not thought it necessary to interrupt the narrative of the +Mirza's successes by stopping to notice the death of Sumroo. This +event occurred at Agra on the 4th of May, 1778, as appears from +the Portuguese inscription upon his tombstone there. He appears +to have been a man without one redeeming quality "stern and +bloody-minded, in no degree remarkable for fidelity or devotion +to his employers" the one essential virtue of a free lance. +This character is cited from the memoirs of Skinner, where it is +also added that he cannot have been devoid of those qualities +which attach the soldiery to their officer. But even this becomes +doubtful, when we find the late Sir W. Sleeman (who was in the +habit of moving about among the natives, and is an excellent +authority on matters of tradition), asserting that he was +constantly under arrest, threatened, tortured, and in danger at +the hands of his men. + +The force was maintained by his widow, and she was accordingly +put in charge of the lands which he had held for the same +purpose. + +This remarkable woman was the daughter (by a concubine) of a +Mohamadan of Arab descent, settled in the town of Kotana, a small +place about thirty miles north-west of Meerut, and born about +1753. On the death of her father, she and her mother became +subject to ill-treatment from her half-brother the legitimate +heir; and they consequently removed to Dehli about 1760. It is +not certain when she first entered the family of Sumroo, but she +did not become his wife till some time afterwards. It has even +been doubted if any formal marriage-ceremony ever took place, for +Sumroo had a wife living, though insane; and the fact was +probably sufficiently notorious to prevent any Catholic clergyman +in that part of the country from celebrating a bigamous alliance +with the rites of the Church. + +1781 . At his death he left a son, baptized as "Aloysius," who +was still in his minority; and the Minister, observing the +Begum's abilities, saw fit to place her in charge, as has been +already said. The ultimate result amply justified his choice. In +1781 under what influence is not recorded she embraced +Christianity, and was baptized, according to the ritual of the +Latin Church, by the name of Johanna. Her army is stated to have +consisted, at this time, of five battalions of Sepoys, about 300 +Europeans, officers and gunners, with 40 pieces of cannon, and a +body of Moghul horse. She founded a Christian Mission, which grew +by degrees into a convent, a cathedral, and a college; and to +this day there are some 1,500 native and Anglo-Indian Christians +resident at Sardhana. + +1782. - On the 26th April died Mirza Najaf Khan, after a +residence in India of about forty-two years, so that he must have +been aged at least sixty. He appears to have been an even greater +and better man than his predecessor, Najib-ud-daulah, over whom +he had the advantage in point of blood, being at once a +descendant of the Arabian prophet, and a member of the Saffavi +house, which had been removed from the throne of Persia by the +usurpation of Nadir Shah. Captain Scott who was a good scholar +and well acquainted with Native politics, as Persian Secretary to +the Governor-General of British India records of the Mirza that +no one left his presence dissatisfied. If he could grant a +request he would, and that with a grace as if it pleased him; if +he could not, he could always convince the petitioner of his +sorrow at being obliged to refuse. The faulty side of him appears +to have been a love of money, and (towards the last part of his +life, at least,) of pleasure. It will be seen in the sequel how +soon his gains were dissipated, and his house overthrown. At his +death he wielded all the power of the Empire which his energies +and virtues had restored. He was Deputy Vazir of the absentee +Viceroy of Audh, and Commander-in-Chief of the army. He held the +direct civil administration, with receipt of the surplus +revenues, agreeably to Eastern usages, of the province of Agra +and the Jat territories, together with the district of Alwar to +the south-west and those portions of the Upper Doab which he had +not alienated in Jaidad. But he died without issue, and the +division of his offices and his estates became the subject of +speedy contests, which finally overthrew the last fragments of +Moghul dominion or independence. The following notice of these +transactions is chiefly founded on a Memorial, drawn up and +submitted to the British Governor at Lucknow in 1784, by the +Shahzada Jawan Bakht, of whom mention has been already made more +than once, and who had, for the ten years preceding the Emperor's +return to Dehli, in '71, held the Regency under the title of +Jahandar Shah. After referring to the fact that Majad-ud-daulah +(the title, it may be remembered, of Abdul Ahid Khan) had been +and still was in custody, but that an equerry of the Emperor's +procured the issue of patents confirming existing appointments, +the Prince proceeds, "The morning after the Mirza's death, I +saw the attendants on His Majesty were consulting to send some +persons to the house of the deceased, in order to calm +disturbances; and at last the Wisdom enlightening the world +resolved on deputing me to effect that object. [I] having +departed with all speed, and given assurances to the afflicted, +the friends of the departed had leisure to wash and dress the +body, and the clamour began to cease. After necessary +preparation, I attended the corpse to the Masjid, and the rites +of Islam having been performed, sent it to the place of +interment, under the care of Afrasyab Khan, who was the +cherished-in-the- bosom" (adopted) "son" of the noble deceased; +whose sister also regarded him as her adopted son. + +"Afrasyab Khan soon became ambitious of the dignities and +possessions of the deceased, and the Begam (deceased's sister) +petitioned his Majesty in his favour, with earnest entreaty; but +this proved disagreeable to the far-extending sight of the royal +Wisdom, as Mirza Shaffi Khan, who had a great army and +considerable resources, looked to the succession, and would never +agree to be superseded in this manner, so that contentions would +necessarily ensue." There can be no doubt of the correctness of +Shah Alam's views. Mirza Shaffi was the nearest relative of the +deceased, and in actual possession of the command of the army. He +was thus not merely the most eligible claimant, but the best able +to support his claims. But the Emperor never, as we have seen, +a man of much determination was now enfeebled by years and by a +habit of giving way to importunity. + +"Instigated," proceeds Jawan Bakht, "by female obstinacy, the +Begam would not withdraw her request, and her petition was at +length, though reluctantly, honoured with compliance. The khillat +of Amir-ul-Omra and acting Minister was conferred upon Afrasyab +by his Majesty, who directed this menial (though he [the writer] +was sensible of the ill-promise of the measure) to write to Mirza +Shaffi to hasten to the presence." + +It is not quite clear whether the measure, to which this +parenthesis represents the prince as objecting, was the +appointment of Afrasyab, or the summons to the Mirza. He was +evidently opposed to the former, who was a weak young man, devoid +of resources either mental or material. On the other hand, his +own matured good sense should have shown him that no good +consequences could follow the temporizing policy which brought +the rivals face to face at Court. Afrasyab's first measure was to +release the Kashmirian Ex-Minister Majad-ud-daulah (Abdul Ahid +Khan) from arrest, and by his recommendation this foolish and +notorious traitor was once more received into the Imperial +favour. In the meanwhile, Mirza Shaffi arrived at Dehli, and took +up his quarters in the house of his deceased uncle, whose widow +he conciliated by promising to marry her daughter, his first +cousin. A period of confusion ensued, which ended for the time in +the resignation of Afrasyab, who retired to his estate at Ajhir, +leaving his interests at Court to be attended to by +Majad-ud-daulah and by the converted Rajput Najaf Kuli. Shortly! +after his departure, Mirza Shaffi surrounded the houses of these +agents, and arrested Majad-ud-daulah on the 11th September, 1782, +and the Rajput on the following day, confining them in his aunt's +house under his own eye. The Prince upon this received orders to +negotiate with the Mizra, who was appointed to the office he had +been so long endeavouring to compass. But Afrasyab Khan, his +absent competitor, had still allies at Court, and they succeeded +in bringing over to his cause M. Paoli, the commander of Begam +Sumroo's Brigade, together with Latafat Khan, commandant of the +battalions that had been detached to the Imperial service by the +Viceroy of Audh. This took place a few days only after the arrest +of the agents, and was almost immediately followed by the +desertion from Mirza Shaffi of the bulk of the army. The Emperor +put himself at the head of the troops, and proceeded to the +Minister's house. Finding the premises had been evacuated the +Shah marched in triumph not quite after the magnificent fashion +of his ancestors to the Jamma Masjid, and Mirza Shaffi fled to +Kosi, in the vicinity of Mathra, acting by the advice of the +prince, as the latter informs us. The army did not pursue the +fugitive, and the latter enlarged Majad-ud-daulah, who promised +to intercede for him with the Emperor, and also made a friend in +Mohamad Beg of Hamadan, whom we have already met with as Governor +of Agra. + +1783. While the Moghuls were disturbing and weakening the +empire by these imbecile contentions, Madhoji Sindhia, the Patel, +was hovering afar off, like an eagle on the day of battle. His +position had just been greatly improved by the treaty of Salbai, +an arrangement which was probably the result of the spirited +policy pursued by Hastings, of which the storming of Gwalior was +a specimen. Coote and Stuart too, in Madras, and Goddard in the +Deccan, struck repeated blows at the confederacy. Peace, too, was +concluded between the French and English in India as in Europe. +Sindhia was one of the first to submit, and in 1782 acceded to +that famous instrument, in which the British authorities had +recognized him as the representative chief of the Mahrattas, the +Peshwa being still a minor, and the ostensible head of the +Regency, Nana Farnavis, being a mere civilian, though otherwise +an able man. The British Governor-General also, naturally alarmed +at what was going on, and foreseeing danger from the +interposition of the Mahrattas, with whom his Government had, +till lately, been engaged in a deadly conflict, soon after sent +two officers to the Imperial Court, being the first English +Embassy that had visited the city of the Moghul since the +memorable deputation from the infant Factory to the throne of +Farokhsiar. + +But before these officials could arrive, further complications +had occurred; Mirza Shaffi returning to Dehli, in company with +Mohamad Beg, requested that his new opponents, Paoli and Latafat, +might be sent to them with authority to treat, and the +application was granted, much against the advice of the prince, +who tells us that he proposed either that an immediate attack +should be made upon the rebels before they had time to +consolidate their power, or else that they should be summoned to +the presence, and made to state their wishes there. To the envoys +elect, he observed that, even were the concession made of sending +a deputation to treat with refractory subjects, he would advise +that only one should go at a time. "But," he continues, "as the +designs of Providence had weakened the ears of their +understandings, an interview appeared to them most advisable; - a +mutual suspicion rendering each unwilling that one should go and +the other remain in camp, lest he who went should make his own +terms without the other." What a glimpse this gives of the +dissolution of all that we are accustomed to call society! The +two envoys set out, but never returned: like the emissaries sent +to the Jewish captain, as he drove furiously along the plain of +Esdraelon to ask, Is it peace? The European was slain at once, +the Audh general being imprisoned and deprived of sight. Mirza +Shaffi and Mohamad Beg next began to quarrel with each other. The +Emperor was now much perplexed, but matters were arranged for the +time through the instrumentality of the prince and by the return +of Afrasyab, who became reconciled to his late competitor. The +three nobles were presented with khillats (dresses of honour) and +Mirza Shaffi became Premier, under the title of Amir-ul-Umra, +while Majad-ud-daulah reverted to his ancient post of Intendant +of the Home Revenues. We pursue the prince's narrative. + +"It was at this period that much anxiety and melancholy intruding +on the sacred mind of his Majesty, the Asylum of the World, and +also on the breast of this loyal servant," their attention was +turned towards the English alliance, which had been in abeyance +for some years. On the 23rd of September, 1783, Mirza Shaffi, who +had been to Agra, was shut out from the palace on his return, +probably owing to Afrasyab Khan's renewed desire to obtain the +chief place in the State. On this the Mirza retired to Agra +again, and naturally adopted a hostile attitude, an emissary was +sent forth to treat with him, in the person of Mohamad Beg +Hamadani. The meeting took place in the open air in front of the +main gate of the old Fort of Agra; and when the elephants, upon +which the two noblemen were seated, drew near to each other, the +Mirza held out his hand in greeting, when Mohamed Beg at once +seized the opportunity, and pistolled him under the arm. It is +asserted, indeed, by some that the actual crime was perpetrated +by the attendant who occupied the back seat of the howdah; +possibly Ismail Beg Khan, nephew of the Hamadani. + +Afrasyab, who had instigated this murder, profited by it, and +succeeded to the post of his ambition, while the mind of the +prince became still more anxious, and still more bent upon +opening his case, if possible, in a personal interview with the +English Governor. + +Meanwhile, the envoys of the latter were not less urgent on their +employer to support the Emperor with an army. "The business of +assisting the Shah" thus they wrote in December, 1783 "must +go on if we wish to be secure in India, or regarded as a nation +of faith and honour." Mr. Hastings was not deaf to these +considerations, and subsequent events proved their entire +soundness. He desired to sustain the authority of the Empire, +because he foresaw nothing from its dissolution but an +alternative between Chaos and the Mahrattas; and, but for the +opposition of his council in Calcutta, he would have interposed, +and interposed after his fashion, with effect. Yet his not doing +so was afterwards made the ground of one of the charges (No. 18) +against him, and he was accused of having intrigued in the +interest of Madhoji Sindhia, the Patel. That Mr. Hastings, when +overruled in his desire of anticipating Sindhia in Court +influence at Dehli, preferred seeing the latter succeed, rather +than the Empire should fall a prey to complete anarchy; that he +"turned the circumstance to advantage" to use Grant Duff's +phrase was neither contrary to sound statesmanship, nor to the +particular views of the British Government, which was then +occupied in completing the treaty of Salbai. Under this compact +Central India was pacified, and the Carnatic protected from the +encroachments of the notorious Haidar Ali Khan, and his son, the +equally famous Tippu Sahib. It is important here to observe that +the Calcutta Gazettes of the day contain several notices of the +progress of the Sikhs, and the feeble opposition offered to them +by the courtiers. All these things called for prompt action. + +1781. On the 27th March, the British Governor arrived at +Lucknow, and Jawan Bakht resolved to escape from the palace, and +lay before him an account of Dehli politics, such as should +induce him to interpose. The design being communicated to his +maternal uncle, a body of Gujars, from the prince's estate, was +posted on the opposite bank of the river, and everything fixed +for the 14th of April. About 8 P.M., having given out that he was +indisposed, and on no account to be disturbed, the prince +disguised himself, and, secretly departing from his chamber in +the palace, passed from the roof of one building to the roof of +another, until he reached the aqueduct which crossed the garden +of the palace. The night was stormy, and the prince was suffering +from fever, but he found a breach where the canal issued, by +which he got to the rampart of the Salimgarh. Here he descended +by means of a rope, and joined his friends on the river sands; +and, with a considerable mixture of audacity and address, found +means to elude the sentries and get across the river. One trait +is worth preserving, as illustrative of the characteristic +clemency of the house of Timur. "I believe," said the prince, in +talking of this night's adventure to Mr. Hastings, "I ought to +have killed the guide who showed me where to ford the river; but +my conscience disapproved, and I let him go, preferring to trust +myself to the care of Providence. In effect, the man justified my +suspicions, for he instantly went to the nearest guard and gave +him information of my route, as I learned soon after; but I made +such speed that my pursuers could not overtake me." + +His Highness reached Lucknow, where he impressed all who met him +with a highly favourable opinion of his humanity, his +intelligence, and his knowledge of affairs; but the only +consolation he received, either from the Viceroy or from Mr. +Hastings, hampered as the latter was by the opposition of his +council, was the advice to turn to Madhoji Sindhia. Captain +Jonathan Scott (who was on Hastings' staff) says that the prince +received an allowance of £40,000 a year from the British +Government (Scott's Ferishta, vol. ii. 242.) + +In the meanwhile Mohamed Beg, who had returned to his old +residence at Agra, continued to trouble the repose of the new +minister Afrasyab, so that he also turned to the redoubled Patel, +and this successful soldier who had barely escaped +four-and-twenty years before from the slaughter of Panipat, now +found himself master of the situation. The movements of the +Mahratta chief began, indeed, to be all-important. They were thus +noticed in the Calcutta Gazette for 18th April: "We learn that +Sindhia is going on a hunting party. ... . We also learn that he +will march towards Bundelkund." He marched in the direction, as +it proved, of Agra. + +He sent an envoy to Lucknow to treat with the Governor-General, +and proceeded in person to Hindustan, proposing to meet the +Emperor, who was on his way to dislodge Mohamad Beg from the fort +of Agra. + +The Calcutta Gazette for May 10th says, "His Majesty has +signified by letters to the Governor-General and Sindhia that he +will march towards Agra." + +The Emperor's desire to put himself into the hands of Sindhia was +very much increased by the violent conduct of Afrasyab towards +one who, whatever his faults, had endeared himself, by long +years' association, to the facile monarch. Majad-ud-daulah, the +Finance Minister, having attempted to dissuade his Majesty from +going to Agra, the haughty Moghul sent Najaf Kuli Khan with a +sufficient force to Majad's house, and seizing him, with the +whole of his property, kept him in close arrest, in which he +continued for the most part till his death, in 1788. + +On his arrival, Sindhia had an interview with Afrasyab Khan, at +which it was agreed to concert a combined attack upon Mohamad Beg +forthwith. Three days after, the minister was assassinated, viz., +2nd November, 1784. The actual hand that struck this blow was +that of Zain-ul-Abidin, brother of Mirza Shaffi, who, no doubt, +was not unwilling to have an opportunity of punishing the +supposed author of his uncle's murder; but there were not wanting +those who, on the well-known maxim, cui bono, attributed the +instigation to Sindhia. Francklin records, on the authority of +one Said Raza Khan, that Zain-ul-Abidin found shelter with +Sindhia immediately after the murder, which was effected in the +very tent of the victim. Rajah Himmat Bahadur (the Gosain leader) +at once proceeded to Sindhia's tent, accompanied by the chief +Moghul nobles, where all joined in congratulations and +professions of service. + +1785 The latter, at all events, immediately stepped into the +dead man's shoes, leaving the title of Vazir to the Audh Viceroy; +and contenting himself with the substance of authority. Calling +the Peshwa of Puna the head of the Mahrattas by the revived +title of Plenipotentiary of the Empire, formerly borne (it may be +remembered) by the first Nizam, he professed to administer as the +Peshwa's deputy. He assumed with the command of the army, the +direct management of the provinces of Dehli and Agra, and +allotted a monthly payment of sixty-five thousand rupees for the +personal expenses of Shah Alam. In order to meet these expenses, +and at the same time to satisfy himself and reward his followers, +the Pate] had to cast about him for every available pecuniary +resource. Warren Hastings having now left India, the time may +have been thought favourable for claiming some contribution from +the foreign possessors of the Eastern Subahs. Accordingly we find +in the Calcutta Gazette the following notice, under the date +Thursday, 12th May, 1785: + +"We have authority to inform the public that on the 7th of this +month the Governor-General received from the Emperor Shah Alam +and Maha Rajah Madagee Sindia an official and solemn disavowal, +under their respective seals, of demands which were transmitted +by them, on Mr. Macpherson's accession to the Government, for the +former tribute from Bengal. + +"The demands of the tribute were transmitted through Major Brown, +and made immediately upon his recall from the Court of Shah Alam, +but without any communication of the subject to Mr. Anderson. + +"Mr. Anderson was immediately instructed to inform Sindhia that +his interference in such demands would be considered in the light +of direct hostility, and a breach of our treaty with the +Mahrattas; and Shah Alam was to be informed that the justice of +the English to his illustrous house could never admit the +interference or recommendation of other powers, and could alone +flow from their voluntary liberality. + +"A disavowal of claims advanced unjustly and disrespectfully was +insisted upon; and we are authorized to declare that Mr. +Anderson's conduct in obtaining that disavowal was open and +decided, highly honourable to him as a public minister. He acted +in conformity to the orders of Government even before he received +them. He founded his remonstrances on a short letter which he had +received from the Governor-General, and upon circumstances which +passed in the presence of Sindhia, at Shah Alam's Darbar, as +Major Brown was taking his leave. + +"The effects which Mr. Anderson's remonstrance produced are very +satisfactory and creditable to Government, and such explanations +have followed upon the part of Sindhia, as must eventually +strengthen our alliance with the Mahrattas, expose the designs of +secret enemies, and secure the general tranquillity of India." + +The revolution begun by the Patel was soon completed. Zabita Khan +died about this time; and Mohamad Beg, being deserted by his +troops, had no resource but to throw himself upon the mercy of +the Mahratta chief. The fort of Agra surrendered on the 27th of +March, 1785; and all that remained of the power of the Moghul +party was the fort of Aligarh, where the widow and brother of the +late minister, Afrasyab Khan, still held out, in the hope of +preserving the property of the deceased, the bulk of which was +stored there. This stronghold, which the late Najaf Khan had +wrested from the Jats, had been fortified with great care, and it +had a strong garrison, but, having held out from July to +November, the Governor was at last prevailed upon, by the +entreaties of the ladies, to avert from them the horrors of a +storm, and make terms with the besiegers. The result of the +capitulation was that the eldest son of the deceased Afrasyab +received an estate, yielding a yearly revenue of a lakh and a +half of rupees. The rest of the property valued at a crore, a +sum then corresponding to a million of money, but really +representing much more of our present currency was seized by +Sindhia. + +The latter was now supreme in Hindustan; the disunited Moghul +chiefs, one and all, acknowledged his authority; and a Mahratta +garrison, occupying the Red Castle of Shah Jahan, rendered the +Emperor little more than an honourable pageant. He joined, +however, personally in all the operations of 1785, and did not +return to Dehli until the middle of the following year. Sindhia +did not at the time accompany him, but retired to his favourite +cantonment of Mathra. + +It has been already mentioned that there is little or nothing +recorded of the condition of the country or of the people by +native historians. It must not, however, be thought that I am +satisfied with recording merely the dates of battles, or the +biographies of prominent men. On the contrary, the absence of +information upon the subject of the condition of the nation at +large, is a great cause of regret and disappointment to me. A few +particulars will be found in the concluding chapter. + +In 1783, when Afrasyab Khan was distracting the country by his +ambitious attempts, occurred a failure of the periodical rains, +followed by one of those tremendous famines which form such a +fearful feature of Indian life. In Bengal, where the monsoon is +regular, and the alluvial soil moist, these things are almost as +unknown as in England: but the arid plains of Hindustan, basking +at the feet of the vastest mountain-chain in the world, become a +perfect desert, at least once in every quarter of a century. The +famine of 1783-4 has made a peculiarly deep impression upon the +popular mind, under the name of the "Chalisa," in reference to +the Sambat date 1840, of the era of Vikram Adit. An old Gosain, +who had served under Himmat Bahadur, near Agra, once told the +author that flour sold near Agra that year 8 seers for the rupee; +which, allowing for the subsequent fall in the value of money, is +perhaps equivalent to a rate of three seers for our present rupee + a state of things partly conceivable by English readers, if +they will imagine the quartern loaf at four shillings, and +butcher's meat in proportion. + +These famines were greatly intensified by the want of hands for +field-labour, that must have been caused by the constant drafting +of men to the armies, and by the massacre and rapine that +accompanied the chronic warfare of those times. The drain on the +population, however, combined with the absence of the +tax-gatherer, must have given this state of things some sort of +compensation in the long run. Some few further particulars +regarding the state of the country will be found in the +concluding chapter. + + + +NOTE.Besides the Mozafari, the principal authorities for this +chapter have been Francklin's "Shah Alum" (v. inf. p. 194) the +narrative of the Shahzadah published by Warren Hastings and the +continuation of Ferishta by Captain Jonathan Scott. This +gentleman has already been mentioned (V. sup. p. 132), he was +assisted in compiling his narrative by Maj. Polier, who was at +Dehli at the time. All these authorities are strictly original +and contemporaneous; and in general agree with each other. The +Memoirs of Iradat Khan have also been consulted a Dehli noble +of the period. A traditional account of the Famine by an "Old +Resident" of Aligarh may not be without interest. It is taken +from the Dehli Gazette of 6th June, 1874. "As told by many +persons who witnessed it, the disastrous circumstance which +occurred during Sindiah's rule and prior to Du Boigne's +administration known by the people as the 'Chaleesa Kaut,' the +severe famine of A.D. 1783 in a considerable degree desolated the +country, and the many ruinous high mounds still visible in the +district owe their origin to this calamity. The inhabitants +either fell victims, or fled to other parts where they met a +similar fate, for the famine was a general one. It was described +to me by those who lived then, that for the two previous years +the rains were very unfavourable, and the produce very scanty, +the third year, A.D. 1783, the people entertained strong hopes +that the season would be a propitious one: but sad was their +condition when they found the rainy months, 'Assaur and Sawun, +passing off with a scorching sun. In 'Bhadoon' they had clouds +but no rain, and when the calamity came, all hopes were gone the +price of grain was enormous and with difficulty it could be +procured, thousands died of sheer starvation within their walls +and streets, and the native governments rendered no assistance to +ameliorate or relieve the wants of their unfortunate subjects. +Children were left to go astray and find their sustenance in the +wild berries of the peepul, burrh, and goolur, and thus became an +easy prey to the wild beasts who in numbers roved round the +country in open day, living on carcases. About the middle of +September or 'Kooar,' the rains fell, and so regularly that the +grain which was thrown in the fields in the two previous years +and did not generate for want of moisture, now came up profusely, +and abundant was the produce. The state of things gradually +changed for the better in October and November. An old Brahmin of +Secundra Rao narrated that some years before 1810 the harvest was +so plentiful that on the occasion he built a house which was on a +very high plinth: he filled the plinth instead of with mud with +an inferior course of small grain called 'kodun,' selling at that +time uncommonly cheap, much lower than the cost of mud would be; +when the famine came he dug up the coarse grain, which was found +good, and sold it, and with the money he made his house a pucka +one, besides gaining a large sum in coin." + + + +CHAPTER V. + +A.D. 1786-88. + + + +Gholam Kadir Pillars of the State Siege of Raghogarh +British policy Measures of Sindhia Rajput Confederacy +Battle of Lalsaut Muhammad Beg's death Defection of Ismail +Beg Greatness of Sindhia Gholam Kadir enters Dehli Is +checked by Begam Sumroo and Najaf Kuli Khan Gholam Kadir +pardoned; joins Ismail Beg Battle of Chaksana Rajput Embassy + Emperor takes the field Shahzada writes to George III. +Najaf Kuli rebels Death of Shahzada Emperor's return Battle +of Firozabad Confederates at Dehli Their difficulties +Sindhia inactive Benoit de Boigne. + + + +1786. The eldest son of the deceased chief of the Bawani Mahal +was that Gholam Kadir, whom we have seen already in the character +of a captive and a page. It does not appear under what +circumstances he had recovered his liberty; but, on the death of +Zabita Khan, he at once succeeded to his estates, under the title +of "Najib-ud-daulah Hoshyar Jang." As in the lower empire of +Byzantium, so in the present case, in proportion as the State +crumbled, the titles of its unserviceable supporters became more +sonorous, until at last there was not a pillar of the ruinous +fabric, however weak and however disengaged from the rest of the +body, but bore some inscription equally "imposing" in both senses +of the word. Daulah or Daulat means "The State," and the Musalman +nobles were called Arkan-i-Daulat "Columns of the +Commonwealth." Of these one was its Sword, another its Asaph (the +"Recorder" of David and Solomon), a third its Hero, and a fourth +its Shield. The young "Najib" Gholam Kadir Khan, was now the most +prominent representative of the Hindustani Afghans. Among the +Moghuls the leading spirit was Mohamad Beg of Hamadan, for whom +the Patel provided employment by sending him with an army into +Malwa, where he was for some time occupied by the siege of +Raghogarh. This was a very strong fort, held by a colony of +Kachwaha Rajputs since the times of Najaf Khan, and commanding +one of the main roads between Hindustan and the Mahratta country. +It had resisted the Mahrattas when they first invaded Malwa, and +it was destined to resist Sindhia's successors almost down to our +own times. It is now a peaceful market town, and the traces of +its former strength are all that it retains of a military +character. + +Sindhia's progress in the Doab was more rapid, nor was it long +before Musalman jealousy began to be aroused. The Patel opened +negotiations with Mirza Jawan Bakht, having the object of +inducing. that prince to return to the capital; but from this he +was strongly dissuaded by the Viceroy Vazir, acting under the +advice of Major Palmer, the British Resident at Lucknow. That +gentleman considered the interests of the Company and of the +Vazir as deeply bound up in the fate of the prince. Whilst he +remained under their joint protection, the Mahratta usurpation +must be incomplete; should he fall into the power of the Patel, a +permanent Mahratta occupation would be established, which would +be a serious danger indeed. + +1787. Under these circumstances the acting Governor-General +Macpherson, who, as already noted, had succeeded Mr. Hastings +when the latter left India, resolved on retaining a British +Brigade in the Doab; and Lord Cornwallis, on taking office the +following year, confirmed the measure. That a change began to +come over the policy of the British in India about this time is +well known, however the English might strive to hide it from +others or even from themselves: see, for instance, the +following passage from the Calcutta Gazette for March 8th, 1787:- + +"Though the Mussulmans dwindle into insignificance, we have +nothing to apprehend from the Hindus. Many have urged the +necessity of upholding the influence of Moghuls to counterbalance +the power of Hindus; but this should seem bad policy, as we would +causelessly become obnoxious, and involve ourselves in the +interests of a declining State, who are at the same time our +secret enemy and rivals." + +The new Governor, likewise, further alarmed Sindhia by sending a +minister to reside at the Peshwa's Court at Punah, and the Patel +anxiously set himself to work to consolidate his power in +Hindustan, so as to be ready for the storm, from whatever quarter +it might break. Impressed with the success which had attended his +predecessor, Mirza Najaf, Sindhia's first care was to organize a +body of regular troops a measure repugnant to the old politics +of the Mahrattas, but none the less approving itself to his +judgment on that account. + +The nucleus of this force was the corps raised and organized, in +1785, by Benoit de Boigne, an officer whose history, as it forms +an excellent illustration of the condition of Hindustan in the +latter part of the last century, will be given briefly in a note +at the end of this chapter. The General in command of Sindhia's +forces was a Mahratta, named Appa Khandi Rao, of whom we shall +hereafter have occasion to make further mention. + +In civil matters, the first step taken by the Patel was the +sequestration of a number of the Jaigirs of the Musalman nobles +a cause of discontent to the sufferers, and of alarm to the +remainder; but even this step had a military character, for the +Jaigirs were fiefs bestowed for military service, and their +reduction formed part of the system under which he was +endeavouring to organize a standing army. With this view he at +the same time recalled Mohamad Beg from the siege of Raghogarh +and attempted, vainly, to induce that Chief to disband his +levies. + +Amongst other unpopular measures must also be enumerated the +removal of Raja Narayan Dass, who had for some time been in +charge of the Home Revenues, and who was replaced by Shah +Nizam-ud-din, a creature of Sindhia's. At the same time the +Gosain leader, Himmat Bahadur, went into open rebellion in +Bundelkand, on being called upon to give an account of the +management of his Jaigir, a measure which he construed as +portending resumption. + +Nor was it an easy matter, at this particular juncture, to set +about military reforms, for the Rajputs, emboldened perhaps by +the resistance of Raghogarh, now began to organize a combination, +which not only implied a considerable loss of power and of +revenue, but likewise threatened to cut off the Patel's +communications with Punah. Raja Partab Singh (head of the +Kachwahas, and Dhiraj of Jaipur), called for the aid of the head +of the Rathor clan, Maharaja Bijai Singh of Jodhpur, who had +married his daughter, and who adopted his cause with alacrity. +Joined by the Rana of Udaipur, and by other minor chiefs, the +Rajput leaders found themselves at the head of a force of 100,000 +horse and foot, and 400 pieces of artillery, and with this array +they took post at Lalsot, a town forty-three miles east from +Jaipur, and there awaited the attack of the Imperial forces, with +the more confidence that they were aware of the growing +disaffection of the Moghul nobles. + +Here they were encountered at the end of May, 1787, by an +enormous force under Sindhia in person, with Ambaji Inglia, Appa +Khandi, M. de Boigne, and other trusty lieutenants. The Moghul +horse and the regular infantry in the Imperial service were under +the general direction of Mohamad Beg and his nephew. The latter, +a young man who will play a conspicuous part in the succeeding +pages, was named Ismail Beg, and was the son of Nahim Beg, who +had accompanied his brother Mohamad from Hamadan, the two +attaching themselves to their Persian countryman, Mirza Najaf, +during that minister's later prosperity. Ismail Beg had married +his uncle's daughter, and was a person of great spirit, though +not, as it would seem, of much judgment or principle. + +The battle, as described by Native history, began by a +reconnaisance of Ismail Beg at the head of 300 Moghul horse. A +large body of Rajput horse made way before him, but the Mahrattas +not following up, and nearly half his men being slain, he was +forced to retreat to his uncle's division. This terminated the +fighting for that day, but the next morning Ismail renewed the +fight, leading on his artillery on foot, and followed by his +uncle on an elephant with the rest of the corps. They were +throughout the day engaged with the bulk of the Rajput army, but +a heavy storm arose from the westward, as evening came on. The +Mahrattas, having been in the meantime severely handled by a body +of Rajput swordsmen mad with opium, the battle degenerated into a +cannonade, at long ranges and at fitful intervals. Suddenly a +chance round-shot dropped into the Moghul ranks, which, after +overthrowing two horsemen, made a bound and struck Mohamad Beg on +the right arm. He fell from his elephant, and, coming in contact +with a small stack of branches of trees that had been piled at +hand for the elephants' fodder, received a splinter in his temple +which proved instantly mortal. Ismail, hearing of this event, +exclaimed, "I am now the leader!" and immediately addressed the +troops, and concluded the action for that day with a brisk +cannonade. The next day (the 1st of June, and the third of this +protracted engagement) both sides continued to fight till towards +evening, when a body of some 14,000 infantry surrounded Sindhia's +tents and clamorously demanded an issue of pay very probably in +arrear and sent a message at the same time to the Jaipur Raja, +offering to join him on receipt of two lakes of rupees. The Raja +readily accepting these terms, the battalions joined his camp and +received their money on the spot. + +Meanwhile, such was the distress in the Moghul-Mahratta camp, +isolated, at it was, in an enemy's country, that wheat was +selling at four seers the Rupee, and there was every prospect of +the scarcity increasing; while the countless camp-followers of +the Rajputs were engaged in nightly depredations, stealing the +elephants and horses from the midst of the sentries. Under these +circumstances, the Patel broke up his quarters the next evening, +and fell back upon Alwar, whence Ismail Beg marched off without +leave towards Agra, taking with him 1,000 horse, four battalions, +and six guns. Sindhia, justly regarding this as an open act of +defection, instantly made terms with Ranjit Singh, the leader of +the Jats, and pushed on all his forces to the pursuit, at the +same time throwing a strong reinforcement into the fort of Agra, +the garrison of which was placed under the command of Lakwa Dada, +one of his best officers. + +The following version of the affair appears in the Calcutta +Gazette: + +"Reports are various respecting the particulars of an engagement +between Scindia and the Rajahs of Joynaghur and Jeypore; it is +certain a very bloody battle was fought near Joynaghur about the +end of last month, in which, though the enemy were repulsed in +their attack on his advanced body by Scindia's troops, with much +gallantry, they were ultimately in a great measure victorious, as +Scindia lost a part of his artillery during the engagement, which +was long and obstinate, and in which upwards of 2,000 men were +killed on either side. Both armies, however, still kept the +field. Among the chiefs of note who fell on the part of Scindia, +is Ajeet Roy. On that of the Joynaghur Rajah, is Mohamed Beg +Humdanee, a very celebrated commander, much regretted by that +party, and, but for whose loss, it is said that the Mahrattas +would have been totally defeated. Several of Scindia's +battalions, with a considerable corps of artillery, went over to +the enemy on the 1st instant, but the intelligence we have yet +received does not enable us to account for this revolt." + +Francklin says, in general terms, that Mohamad Beg went over at +the commencement of the action, and that it was Partab Singh who +conferred the command of the Moghuls upon Ismail Beg. But Partab +Singh would have no voice in such a matter, and Francklin +inconsistently adds that the trained battalions of the late +Afrasyab's force went over later in the day. Where no authorities +are given, it is inevitable that we should judge for ourselves. +And, after all, the point is not of much importance. It is, +however, pretty clear that the Moghul nobles were grievously +discontented; that their discontents were known to the Rajputs +before they provoked a collision; and that the latter were joined +by them as soon as a likelihood appeared of Sindhia's being +defeated. + +General de Boigne used to relate that this was the hour of +Sindhia's moral greatness. He made vast efforts to conciliate the +Jats, appealing to the Thakur's rustic vanity by costly presents, +while he propitiated the feeling of the Bhartpur army, and the +patriotism of the country at large, by restoring to the Jats the +fortress of Dig, which had been held for the Emperor ever since +its conquest by Najaf Khan. He likewise placed his siege-train in +the charge of his new allies, who stored it in their chief fort +of Bhartpur. At the same time he wrote letters to Poona, +earnestly urging a general combination for the good cause. + +Ismail Beg, on his part was not idle. His first effort was to +procure the co-operation of the Rajputs, and had they not been +too proud or too indolent to combine actively with him, it is +possible that Mahratta influence might have been again +overthrown, and the comparatively glorious days of Mirza Najaf +Khan renewed in the Empire of Hindostan. A fresh associate, too, +in these designs are now to appear upon the scene, which, for a +brief but terrible period, he was soon after to fill. This was +Gholam Kadir, who hastened from Ghausgarh to join in the +resuscitation of Mohamadan interests, and to share in the gains. +The Emperor, moreover, was known to be in private correspondence +with the Rajput chiefs, who shortly after this inflicted another +defeat on the Mahrattas under Ambaji. + +Unable to resist this combination, Sindhia fell back upon +Gwalior, and Ismail Beg hotly pressed the siege of Agra. + +Towards the end of the rainy season of 1787, Gholam Kadir +approached Dehli, and encamped on the Shahdara side of the river, +his object at this time being, in all probability, a renewal of +his father's claims, and attempts to obtain the dignity of +Amir-ul-Umra or Premier Noble. He is always understood to have +been acting under the direction of Manzur Ali Khan, Controller of +the Imperial Household, who thought to secure a valuable support +for the cause of Islam by introducing the young Pathan chief into +the administration. The Mahratta garrison was commanded by a +son-in-law of the Patel, known in Musalman History as the Desmukh + which is interpreted "Collector of Land Revenue," and by a +member of the Imperial Household, on whom, from some unexplained +reason, had been bestowed the title of the great Aulia Saint Shah +Nizam-ud-din, and who had lately been placed in charge of the +Home Revenues, as stated above (p. 152.) These officers +immediately opened fire from the guns on the riverside of the +fort, and the young Rohilla replied from the opposite bank. At +the same time, however, he did not fail to employ the usual +Eastern application of war's sinews; and the Moghul soldiers of +the small force being corrupted, the Mahrattas made but a feeble +resistance. Gholam Kadir crossed the river, and the Imperial +officers fled to the Jat Fort of Balamgarh, leaving their camp +and private effects to the mercy of the victor. + +It need hardly be observed that the firing on the palace was an +act of gross disrespect, and, unless explained, of rebellion. Nor +was the young chief blind to the importance of basing his +proceedings on an appearance of regularity. He accordingly +entered into a correspondence with the above mentioned Manzur Ali +(a nominee, it may be remembered, of the late Mirza Najaf Khan). +By the agency of this official, Gholam Kadir was introduced to +the Diwan Khas, where he presented a Nazar of five gold mohurs, +and was graciously received. He excused his apparent violence by +attributing it to zeal for the service of his Majesty, formally +applied for the patent of Amir-ul-Umra, and with professions of +implicit obedience withdrew to cultivate the acquaintance of the +courtiers, retiring at night to his own camp. Matters remained in +this condition for two or three days, when Gholam Kadir, +impatient perhaps at the non-occurrence of any circumstance which +might advance his designs, re-entered the Palace with seventy or +eighty troopers, and took up his abode in the quarters usually +occupied by the Amir-ul-Umra. + +Meanwhile, Begam Sumroo, who was with her forces operating +against a fresh rising of the Cis-Satlaj Sikhs, hastened from +Panipat and presented herself in the palace. Awed by this loyal +lady and her European officers, and finding the Moghul courtiers +unwilling to enter into any combination against them, the baffled +Rohilla retired across the river, and remained for some time +quiet in his camp. Francklin, indeed, states that the cannonade +was renewed immediately on Gholam Kadir's return to his camp; but +it is more probable that, as stated above, this renewal did not +occur until the arrival of Najaf Kuli Khan. The Emperor showed on +this occasion some sparks of the temper of old time, before +misfortune and sensual indulgence had demoralized his nature. He +sent Moghul chiefs to keep an eye on the Pathan, while he +increased his household troops by a levy of 6,000 horse, for the +pay of whom he melted a quantity of his personal plate. He also +despatched messengers to the converted Rathor, Najaf Kuli Khan, +who was on his estate at Rewari, urging his immediate attendance +in Dehli. + +Rewari is in what is now the district of Gurgaon, and lies about +fifty miles S.W. of Dehli. It is a country of mixed mountain and +valley; the former being a table-land of primitive rocks, the +latter the sandy meadow land on the right bank of the river +Jamna. Here, in a district wrested by his former patron from the +Jats, Najaf Kuli had been employed in endeavours to subjugate the +indigenous population of Mewatis, a race professing Islam like +himself, but mixing it with many degrading superstitions, and +resembling their neighbours the Minas of Rajputana and the +Bhattis of Hariana in habits of vagrancy and lawlessness, which +above half a century of British administration has even now +failed to eradicate. + +Najaf Kuli Khan obeyed the Imperial summons, and reached Dehli, +where he encamped close to the Begam Sumroo, in front of the main +gate of the Palace, on the 17th November, 1787. The general +command of the Imperial troops was conferred upon the Emperor's +second son, Mirza Akbar, who, since the flight of his elder +brother, had been considered as heir apparent, and who now +received a khillat of seven pieces. The son of a Hindu official, +named Ram Rattan, was appointed the Prince's deputy (although he +was by descent nothing but a modi or "chandler"); and a cannonade +was opened on the camp of Gholam Kadir, who replied by sending +round shot into the palace itself, some of which fell on the +Diwan Khas. + +Sindhia's conduct at this juncture has never been explained. He +was himself at Gwalior, and his army under Lakwa Dada, shut up in +the fort of Agra, was defending itself as well as it might +against the forces under Ismail Beg. At the same time the author +of the Tarikh-i-Mazafari assures us that Ambaji Inglia one of +Sindhia's most trusty lieutenants, arrived in Dehli with a small +force, and that his arrival was the signal for a reconciliation +between the Emperor's principal adherents and Gholam Kadir, who +was then introduced to the presence, and invested with the +dignity of Premier Noble (Shah Alam himself binding upon his head +the jewelled fillet called Dastar-u-Goshwara). It is probable +that a compromise was effected, in which Gholam Kadir, by +receiving the desired office at the hands of the Mahratta +minister, was supposed to have acknowledged the supremacy of the +latter. The whole story is perplexing. When cannonaded, the +Pathan chief suddenly appears within the palace; when Sindhia's +troops arrive, he receives the investiture that he was seeking in +opposition to Sindhia; and at the moment of success he marches +off to Aligarh. This latter movement is, however, accounted for +by Francklin, who attributes it to the news of Prince Jawan Bakht +being at hand with the forces of Himmat Bahadur, who had joined +the cause of Ismail Beg. At all events, if Gholam Kadir owed this +sudden improvement in his position to the good offices of the man +whose garrison he had so lately chased from Dehli, he did not +evince his gratitude in a form that could have been expected; for +he lost no time in marching against Sindhia's late conquest of +Aligarh, which fort almost immediately fell into his hands. He +then proceeded to join his forces to those of Ismail Beg, before +Agra; and remained for some months assisting at the siege of that +fort; these operations being subject to constant annoyance from +the Jats, and from the troops of Sindhia, who finally crossed the +Chambal at the end of the cold season of 1787, having received +large reinforcements from the Deccan. Ismail Beg and Gholam Kadir +immediately raised the siege of Agra, turned upon the advancing +army, and an obstinate battle took place at Chaksana, eleven +miles from Bhartpur, on the 24th April. The particulars of this +action are not given by the native historian, whom I here follow, +but they are detailed by Grant Duff, who probably had them from +General de Boigne, who was present at the action, and with whom +that writer had frequent conversations at Chamberi after the +General's retirement to his native country. The Mahratta army was +commanded by Rana Khan, a man who, having in the capacity of a +water-carrier been the means of assisting Sindhia to escape from +the carnage of Panipat in 1761, had been much protected by him; +and being otherwise a man of merit, was now become one of the +chief officers of the army. Besides M. de Boigne there was +another French officer present, whose name is given by Duff as +Listeneaux, perhaps a mistake for some such word as Lestonneaux. +John Hessing was also in this campaign, as may be gathered from +the epitaph on his tomb, which is close to that of Sumroo at +Agra. (See Appendix.) The Musalman leaders fought well, Gholam +Kadir threw himself upon the infantry of the right wing, and +broke them. Ismail Beg with all the impetuosity of his character +vigorously attacked the battalions of M. de Boigne, but was +received with sang froid and resolution. The Mahratta horse +supported the infantry fairly, but were overmatched for such +severe duty by the weight of the Moghul cavalry and their +superior discipline. It is probable, however, that the infantry, +formed and led by Europeans, would have been more than a match +for all their attempts, had not three of the battalions deserted +and joined the enemy, while the Jat cavalry failed to sustain the +efforts of the remaining sepoys. The army of Rana Khan, under +these circumstances, withdrew under cover of night to Bhartpur; +and Ismail Beg renewed the siege of Agra, while Gholam Kadir +moved northward in order to protect his own possessions from an +incursion of the Sikhs, with which he was then just threatened. + +While these transactions were going on to the south and +south-east of the capital, the Emperor had been occupied by a +campaign which he conducted personally in the west, and which +might have given Sindhia much anxiety had it been directed by a +more efficient leader. As events turned, this expedition is +chiefly remarkable as being the last faint image of the once +splendid operations of the great military monarchy of Akbar and +of Aurangzeb. + +At the end of 1787, and probably in consequence of Ismail Beg's +attempts to secure the co-operation of the Rajputs, an embassy +from Jodhpur had presented itself at the Court of Shah Alam, +bearing a handsome nazar (gift of homage or respect) and a golden +key. The envoy explained that he was instructed by his master +Bijai Singh, the Rathor leader, to present this, the key of the +Fort of Ajmir, in token of his wish that an Imperial army under +his Majesty in person might march thither and take possession of +that country; adding that Partab Sing, the Kachwaha Dhiraj of +Jaipur joined in the application. + +It seems plain that principle and prudence should have combined +to deter the Emperor from consenting to this invitation, whereby +he took an active step of hostility towards Sindhia, his +minister, and at this time perhaps his most powerful and best +disposed supporter. But the dream of a Musalman restoration, even +with Hindu aid, will always have a fascination for the sons of +Islam; and the weak Shah Alam adopted the proposal with an +alacrity such as he had not shown for many years. On the 5th of +January, 1788, he marched from Dehli, accompanied by several of +the princes and princesses of his family. From the fact of Mirza +Akbar continuing to be regarded as heir apparent, and from some +other considerations, it may be gathered that the last attempt of +Jawan Bakht in the Emperor's favour, and its eventual defeat, +must have already taken place; for such is the confused manner in +which these events are related by my authorities some leaving +out one part, and some another, while the dates shine few and +far, like stars in a stormy night that the relative position of +events is sometimes left entirely open to conjecture. But it is +certain that the excellent prince whom we have heretofore +encountered more than once, did about this time make his +appearance at the capital, with a small contingent supplied him +by the Viceroy of Audh, adding to his force such irregular troops +as he was able to raise upon the way; and that on this occasion +it was that he addressed to George III. of Britain the touching +yet manly appeal from which I make the following extract: +"Notwithstanding the wholesome advice given from the throne to +Sindhia, to conciliate the attachment of the ancient nobility, +and to extend protection to the distressed peasantry, that +ungrateful chief, regardless of the royal will, has established +himself in continued and unvaried opposition; until he, having by +his oppressions exasperated the Rajas and Princes of the Empire, +particularly the most illustrious prince of Jainagar, Raja Partab +Singh, as likewise the ruler of Jodhpur, both of whom are allied +by blood to our family, these chiefs united to chastise the +oppressor, gave him battle, and defeated him; but the +machinations of the rebellious increased. On one side, Gholam +Kadir Khan (son of the detested Afghan Zabita Khan) has raised +the standard of rebellion. His example having encouraged others, +the disturbance became so formidable as to penetrate even to the +threshold of the Imperial palace; so that our august parent was +compelled to make use of the most strenuous exertions." + +This statement of the condition of the Empire is interesting, as +being given by a contemporary writer in all respects the best +able to judge. He concludes by an urgent appeal to the British +monarch for assistance "to restore the royal authority, punish +the rebellious and re-establish the house of Timur, and, by this +kind interposition, to give repose to the people of God, and +render his name renowned among the princes of the earth." + +Among the pressing disturbances noted by the prince was +undoubtedly the defection of Najaf Kuli Khan, whom we have lately +seen combined with the Begam in the protection of the Emperor +against the insults of Gholam Kadir, but who had since gone into +open rebellion, upon an attempt made by the faction in temporary +power to supplant him in his government by one Murad Beg. This +Moghul officer having been put in charge of some part of the +convert's territorial holding, the latter not unnaturally +regarded the act as a menace to his whole power, waylaid the +Moghul on his way to his new post, and put him in confinement at +Rewari. + +But the men who had given the advice which led to this misfortune +did not stop there, but proceeded to strike at the prince +himself, whom they accused to the Emperor of designs upon the +throne. He obtained however the titular office of Governor of +Agra, and seriously attempted, with the aid of Ismail Beg, to +obtain possession of the fort and province. Foiled in this, and +escaping narrowly an attempt upon his person by Gholam Kadir, he +ultimately retired to the protection of the British at Benares, +where he died a mortified and heartbroken man on the 31st May, in +the eventful year 1788. It is not quite clear, from the records +of these transactions, why the prince, experienced statesman as +he was, attempted to ally himself to those Musalman malcontents +rather than to the Mahratta Chief, whose ability and resources +must have been well known to him. It must, however, be admitted +that Sindhia was just then showing an inaction which was +calculated to arouse Jawan Bakht's suspicions, and we can trace, +in the letter quoted a short time back, signs of hostility in his +mind against that wily politician. Idle as the speculation may +now appear, it is difficult to refrain from a passing thought on +the manner in which his choice of associates affected the fate +not merely of his royal Father, but of Hindustan and the British +power there. United with Sindhia he would in all probability have +drawn off Gholam Kadir and changed the whole fortunes of the +country. Dis aliter visum. + +The prince, who was known to the English as Jahandar Shah, is +described as "an accomplished gentleman, irreproachable in his +private character, constant, humane, and benevolent" (Francklin, +p. 162). He was about forty at the time of his death which was +caused by a fit, and is narrated in detail at p. 256 of the +selections from the Calcutta Gazettes, in a manner somewhat more +minute than that of Francklin, whose account (taken as usual from +Raza Khan) appears inaccurate as well as incomplete. + +Unattended therefore by this, his best and nearest friend, the +poor old Emperor began his march to the westward. On the way it +appeared well to take the opportunity of reducing Najaf Kuli, +who, confident in his stronghold of Gokalgarh, would make no +submission unless he were appointed premier. As we know that the +Controller Manzur Ali, who was at present all-powerful, was in +favour of the claims of Gholam Kadir, we may suppose that these +terms were rejected with scorn, and the trenches were accordingly +opened and the fort invested. The Emperor's army on this occasion +consisted, according to Francklin, of some battalions of +half-drilled infantry (called Najibs), the body guard, called the +"Red Battalion," a very considerable body of Moghul horse, and +three disciplined regiments which had been raised and drilled by +the deceased Sumroo, and now with a detail of artillery and about +two hundred European gunners, served under the well-known Begam; +with these forces Shah Alam sate down before Gokalgarh. On the +5th April, 1788, the besieged made a vigorous sally, and charged +close up to the tents of the Emperor. Such was the unprepared +state of the royal camp, that the whole family were in imminent +danger of being killed or captured; the imperial army was already +in commotion, when, at this moment, three battalions of the +Begam's Sepoys and a field piece dashed up, under the command of +her chief officer Mr. Thomas. The infantry deployed with the gun +in the centre, and threw in a brisk fire of musketry and grape, +which checked the sortie, and gave the Imperialists time to form. +The Moghul horse lost their leader: on the other side the Chela +(adopted son) of the chief was shot dead; Himmat Bahadur, at the +head of his Gosains (a kind of fighting friars who were then +beginning to be found useful as mercenaries), delivered a frantic +charge, in which they lost 200 men; and Najaf Kuli was finally +driven in with the loss of his field-guns. He soon after opened +negotiations through the inevitable Manzur Ali; and, the Begam +Sumroo joining in his favour, he was admitted to the presence and +fully pardoned. In the same Darbar, the Begam was publicly +thanked for her services, and proclaimed the Emperor's daughter, +under the title of Zeb-un-Nissa "Ornament of her sex." + +The expedition, however, exhausted itself in this small triumph. +Whether from mistrust of the Rajputs, or from fear of Sindhia, +who was just then hovering about Bhartpur, the Emperor was +induced to turn back on the 15th April, and reached the capital +by a forced march of twenty-four hours, accompanied by Himmat +Bahadur. The Begam retired to Sirdhana, and Gholam Kadir and +Ismail Beg parted, as we have already seen, after the indecisive +action of Chaksana, a few days later. Though disappointed in +their hopes of aid from Dehli, the Rajput chiefs fought on, and +the tide of Sindhia's fortunes seemed to ebb apace. After the +last-named fight he had fallen back upon Alwar, but only, to be +encountered by Partab Singh, the Kachwaha prince, of Jaipur, who +drove him back once more upon Agra. Here Ismail Beg met him again +and chased him across the Chambal. Meanwhile Ambaji Inglia was +prevented from rendering aid to his master by the persistence of +the Rathors of Jodhpur, who put him to flight after an obstinate +engagement. Thus cut off, Sindhia remained under the friendly +protection of the Chambal until the month of June, when Rana Khan +joined him with a fresh body of troops that he had received from +the Deccan. Thus reinforced Sindhia once more marched to the +relief of his gallant follower Lakwa Dada, who still held out in +the Fort of Agra. The attack was made on this occasion from the +eastward, near the famous ruins of Fatihpur-Sikri, and was met by +Ismail Beg with one of his furious cavalry charges. De Boigne's +infantry and artillery however repulsed him, before Gholam Kadir, +who was returning to the Moghul's aid, had been able to cross his +forces over the Jamna, or effect a junction. Ismail Beg, who was +severely wounded, did not hesitate to plunge his horse into the +stream, swollen and widened as it was by the melting of the +Himalayan snows. The Mahrattas, satisfied with having raised the +siege, did not pursue him, and the two Mohammadan chiefs once +more united their forces at Firozabad. Francklin (who very seldom +gives a date) says that this final battle took place on the 22nd +August. He also states that Gholam Kadir had already joined +Ismail Beg, but drew off on the approach of the Mahratta army. +The former statement is easily seen to be erroneous, as both the +noblemen in question were in a very different scene in August of +that year. The latter is possible, but the weight of authorities, +Mahratta and Musalman, is in favour of the account given above. +Francklin carelessly adds: "Agra surrendered," the fact being +that the gallant governor Lakwa Dada was a brother officer of +Rana Khan's, and his relief had been the object of the battle. +About this time de Boigne retired from Sindhia's employ and went +to Lucknow, where he entered into a business partnership with the +famous Claude Martine, or Martin. Whether this step was caused by +weariness, by doubts of ultimate success, or by hopes of more +material advantage, is not known. But the immediate consequence +that followed was, that the Patel went into cantonments at +Mathra, and remained there watching events throughout the whole +of that eventful autumn. + +There is reason to believe that Gholam Kadir whether from +avarice, from ambition, from a desire to avenge some personal +injury, or from a combination of any two or of the whole of these +motives had by this time formed a project, vague perhaps at +first, of repeating the career of crime with which Ghazi-ud-din +had startled Asia nearly thirty years before. Meantime he spoke +Ismail fair, seeing in him a chief, worsted indeed for the +moment, but a rallying-point for the Moghuls, on account as much +of his proved valour as his high birth; one who would be alike +useful as a friend, and dangerous as a foe. He accordingly +explained, as best he could, his late defection, and persuaded +the simple soldier to lose no time in collecting his scattered +forces for an attack upon the capital. No sooner had the Beg left +for this purpose, than Gholam Kadir also departed, and proceeding +to Dehli renewed his hypocritical professions of loyalty through +the instrumentality of Manzur Ali Khan. + +He asserted that Ismail Beg, who had arrived before him, and who +now joined forces with him, was like himself actuated by the sole +desire to save the Empire from the usurpations of the Mahratta +chief; and, as far as the Beg was concerned, these professions +were possibly not without foundation. At present the conduct of +both leaders was perfectly respectful. In the meantime a small +force was sent to Dehli by Sindhia and entered the palace, upon +which the confederates, whose strength was not yet fully +recruited, retired to their former encamping ground at Shahdara +the scene, it may be remembered, of Surajmal's fall in the days +of Najib-ud-daulah. In this situation the confederates began to +be straitened for provisions, for it was now the month of July, +and the stock of winter crops, exhausted as were the +agriculturists by years of suffering and uncertainty, was running +low, whilst the lawless character of the young Pathan and his +Rohillas was not such as to encourage the presence of many +grain-dealers in their camp. Desertions began to take place, and +Gholam Kadir prepared for the worst by sending off his heavy +baggage to Ghausgarh. He and his companions renewed to the +Emperor their messages of encouragement in the project of +throwing off the yoke of Sindhia; but the Emperor, situated as he +was, naturally returned for answer, "That his inclinations did +not lie that way." Shah Alam was sustained in this firm line of +conduct by the presence of the Mahratta troops under Himmat +Bahadur, and by the ostensible support of Gul Mohammad, Badal Beg +Khan, Sulaiman Beg, and other Moghul courtiers whom he believed +to be faithful; and it seemed for the moment as if the +confederates' cause was lost. + +Thus pressed, these desperate men at length dropped all disguise +and opened fire on the palace with all their heavy guns. The +Emperor on this invited the aid of his Mahratta minister, who was +now at Mathra, only a week's hard marching from the capital. It +was Madhoji Sindhia's undoubted duty to have hastened to the +relief of him whom he professed to serve; but it must be admitted +that the instances he had already witnessed of Shah Alam's want +of resolution and of good faith may have furnished the minister +with some excuse for wishing to read him a severe lesson. He had +also had sufficient taste of the fighting powers of the Musalmans +to lead him to avoid a general engagement as long as possible, +since every day would increase the probability of their +quarrelling if left to themselves, while external attacks would +only drive them to cohere. + +Sindhia accordingly pursued a middle path. He sent to the Begam +Sumroo, and urged her to hasten to the Emperor's assistance; but +the prudent lady was not willing to undertake a task from which, +with his vastly superior resources, she saw him shrink. He +likewise sent a confidential Brahmin, who arrived on 10th July, +and five days after, appeared a force of 2,000 horse under +Rayaji, a relation of Sindhia's. The Ballamgarh Jats likewise +contributed a small contingent. + + + +NOTE. The following account of de Boigne's early career is from +Captain Duff, who knew him at Chamberi, about the year 1825: + +After describing his adventures as a youthful soldier of fortune, +first as an ensign in the French army, and then in the Russian +service in the Levant, whence he reached Cairo, and finally got +to India by what is now called the Overland Route, the writer +proceeds to state that M. de Boigne was appointed an ensign in +the 6th Native Battalion under the Presidency of Madras, from +whence he, not long after, proceeded to Calcutta, bearing letters +of recommendation to Mr. Hastings, the Governor-General. He was +then permitted to join Major Browne's Embassy to Dehli (in 1784, +vide sup.), when he took the opportunity of visiting Sindhia's +camp, on the invitation of Mr. Anderson, the British resident. +Gohad being at this time besieged by Sindhia (who had treated de +Boigne very scurvily), the latter communicated a plan for its +relief to a Mr. Sangster, who commanded 1,000 sepoys and a train +of artillery in the service of the Gohad Rana. The scheme broke +down, because the Rana could not or would not advance the +required sum of money. + +De Boigne next made overtures to the Raja of Jaipur, and was +commissioned by him to raise two battalions; but Mr. Hastings +having meanwhile recalled him to Calcutta, the Raja was induced +to alter his intentions. De Boigne finally entered the service of +his original enemy, Madhoji Sindhia, on an allowance of Rs. 1,000 +a month for himself, and eight all round for each of his men. To +the privates he gave five and a half, and paid the officers +proportionately from the balance. M. de Boigne gradually got +European officers of all nations into his corps. Mr. Sangster, +from the service of the Rana of Gohad, joined him, and became +superintendent of his cannon foundry. + +Some account of the further proceedings of General de Boigne will +appear in the succeeding pages: and some notes regarding the +close of his life will be found in the Appendix. Though moving in +an obscure scene he was one of the great personages of the +World's Drama; and much of the small amount of the civil and +military organization upon which the British administration in +Hindustan was ultimately founded is due to his industry, skill, +and valour. + +CHAPTER VI. + +A.D. 1788. + + + +Defection of Moghuls - Confederates obtain possession of Palace +Emperor deposed Palace plundered Gholam Kadir in the Palace +Emperor blinded Approach of Mahrattas Apprehensions of +Spoiler The Moharram Explosion in Palace Flight to Meerut - +Probable Intentions Capture of Gholam Kadir His Punishment +Excuse for his Deeds Sindhia's Measures Future nature of +Narrative Poetical Lament Col. Francklin. + + + +ALARMED by these various portents, Gholam Kadir lost no time in +summoning all his adherents from Ghausgarh, stimulating their +zeal with the promise of plunder. At the same time he deputed +Ismail Beg across the river to practice upon the fidelity of the +garrison; and such was the Beg's influence that the Moghul +portion of the Imperial troops joined him immediately, and left +the unfortunate Emperor to be protected exclusively by +unbelievers, under the general direction of the Gosain leader, +Himmat Bahadur. This mercenary, not perhaps having his heart in +the cause, terrified by the threats of the Pathan, and (it is +possible) tampered with by traitors about the emperor's person, +soon withdrew; and the confederate chiefs at once crossed the +river, and took possession of the city. + +The Emperor now became seriously anxious, and, after a +consultation with his attendants, resolved on deputing Manzur Ali +to seek a personal explanation with Gholam Kadir and Ismail Beg. +It has always been customary to tax this official with the +responsibility of this measure, and of the appalling results +which followed; but it does not appear absolutely necessary to +impute his conduct to complicity with the more criminal part of +Gholam Kadir's designs; and his subsequent fate is perhaps some +sort of argument in his favour. But, be this as it may, he went +to the chiefs by order of the Emperor, and demanded, "What were +their intentions?" In the usual style of Eastern manners they +replied, "These slaves are merely in attendance for the purpose +of presenting their duty in person to his Majesty." "Be it so," +said the Controller; and his acquiescence seems to have been +unavoidable. "But," he added, "you surely need not bring your +army into the palace: come with a small retinue, lest the +Governor should shut the gates in your faces." Upon this advice +the two noblemen acted, and entered the Am Khas on the forenoon +of the following day (18th of July) with some half hundred +men-at-arms. Each received a khilat of seven pieces, together +with a sword and other presents; Gholam Kadir also receiving a +richly-jewelled shield. They then returned to their respective +residences in the town, where Ismail Beg spent the rest of the +day in making arrangements in order to preserve the safety and +confidence of the inhabitants. Next day, he removed his quarters +permanently to the house formerly occupied by Mohammad Shah's +Vazir, Kammar-ud-din Khan; and his men were quartered a couple of +miles south of the city, in and about the celebrated monumental +tomb of the ancient Saint, Shah Nizam-ud-din. Gholam Kadir's men +were nearer the palace, where the present Native Infantry +cantonment is, in Dariaoganj; while his officers occupied the +vast premises formerly belonging successively to the Ministers +Ghazi-ud-din and Mirza Najaf, outside of the Cabul Gate. The +ostensible state of Dehli politics was now this; Gholam Kadir was +Premier (an office he swore upon the Koran faithfully to +discharge), vice Madhoji Sindhia, dismissed; and the combined +armies were the troops of the Empire, commanded by Ismail Beg. + +Under these circumstances Gholam Kadir did not want a pretext, +and at seven in the morning of Friday, the 29th July, he returned +to the palace, where he had an interview with the Emperor in the +Diwan Khas. Francklin is at fault again here; making his second +interview one with that which occurred more than a week before. +Citing the authority of Ismail Beg, who stood by, he represented +that the army was prepared to march on Mathra, and to chase the +Mahrattas from Hindustan; but that they first demanded a +settlement of their arrears, for which the Imperial treasury was +alone responsible, and alone sufficient. + +This harangue, at its conclusion, was warmly echoed by the +Controller, by his Deputy, and by Ramrattan Modi. On the other +side. Lalla Sital Das, the Treasurer, who was at once summoned, +declared that, whatever might be the responsibility of the +Treasury for an army in whose raising it had had no share, and by +whose service it had not hitherto at all profited, at least that +its chests contained no means for meeting the claims. He boldly +urged that the claims should be resisted at all hazards. + +Gholam Kadir replied by an assumed fit of ungoverned anger, and +producing an intercepted letter from Shah Alam, calling upon +Sindhia for help, ordered the Emperor to be disarmed, together +with his personal guard, and removed into close arrest; and then, +taking from the privacy of the Salim Garh a poor secluded son of +the late Emperor Ahmad Shah, set him on his throne, hailed him +Emperor, under the title of Bedar Bakht, and made all the +courtiers and officials do him homage. It is but just to record, +in favour of one whose memory has been much blackened, that +Manzur Ali, the Controller, appears on this occasion to have +acted with sense, if not spirit. When Bedar Bakht was first +brought forward, Shah Alam was still upon the throne, and, when +ordered to descend, began to make some show of resistance. Gholam +Kadir was drawing his sword to cut him down, when the Controller +interposed; advising the Emperor to bow to compulsion, and retire +peacefully to his apartments. For three days and nights the +Emperor and his family remained in close confinement, without +food or comfort of any sort; while Gholam Kadir persuaded Ismail +Beg to return to his camp, and devoted himself to wholesale +plunder during the absence of his associate. The latter's +suspicions were at length aroused, and he soon after sent an +agent to remind Gholam Kadir that he and his men had received +nothing of what it had been agreed to pay them. But the faithless +Pathan repudiated every kind of agreement, and proceeded to +defend the palace and apply all that it contained to his own use. + +Ismail Beg, now sensible of his folly, lost no time in sending +for the heads of the civic community, whom he exhorted to provide +for their own protection; at the same time strictly charging his +own lieutenants to exert themselves to the very utmost should the +Pathans attempt to plunder. For the present, Gholam Kadir's +attention was too much taken up with the pillage of the Imperial +family to allow of his doing much in the way of a systematic sack +of the town. Dissatisfied with the jewellery realised from the +new Emperor, to whom the duty of despoiling the Begams was at +first confided, he conceived the notion that Shah Alam, as the +head of the family, was probably, nay, certainly, the possessor +of an exclusive knowledge regarding the place of a vast secret +hoard. All the crimes and horrors that ensued are attributable to +the action of this monomania. On the 29th, he made the new +Titular, Bedar Bakht, inflict corporal chastisement upon his +venerable predecessor. On the 30th, a similar outrage was +committed upon several of the ladies of Shah Alam's family, who +filled the beautiful buildings with their shrieks of alarm and +lamentation. On the 31st, the ruffian thought he had secured +enough to justify his attempting to reconcile Ismail Beg and his +men by sending them a donative of five lakhs of rupees. The +result of this seems to have been that a combined, though +tolerably humane and orderly attempt was made to levy +contributions from the Hindu bankers of the city. + +On the 1st of August a fresh attempt was made to wrest the +supposed secret from the Shah, who once more denied all knowledge +of it, employing the strongest figure of denial. "If," said the +helpless old man, "you think I have any concealed treasures, they +must be within me. Rip open my bowels, and satisfy yourself." The +tormentor then tried cajolery and promises, but they were equally +futile. "God protect you, who has laid me aside," said the fallen +Monarch. "I am contented with my fate." + +The aged widows of former Emperors were next exposed to insult +and suffering. These ladies were at first treated kindly, their +services being thought necessary in the plunder of the female +inhabitants of the Imtiaz Mahal, whose privacy was at first +respected. But on the failure of this attempt, the poor old women +themselves were plundered and driven out of the palace. When +other resources had been exhausted, the Controller fell under the +displeasure of his former protege, and was made to disburse seven +lakhs. On the 3rd August, Gholam Kadir gave proof of the degraded +barbarity of which Hindustani Pathans can be guilty, by lounging +on the throne on the Diwan Khas, side by side with the nominal +Emperor, whom he covered with abuse and ridicule, as he smoked +the hookah in his face. On the 6th, he destroyed the same throne +for the sake of the plating which still adhered to it, which he +threw into the melting-pot; and passed the next three days in +digging up the floors, and taking every other conceivable measure +in pursuit of his besetting chimera the hidden treasure. During +this interval, however, he appears to have been at times +undecided; for, on the 7th he visited the Emperor in his +confinement, and offered to put on the throne Mirza Akbar, the +Emperor's favourite son who did in fact ultimately succeed. The +only answer to these overtures was a request by Shah Alam that he +might be left alone, "for he was weary," he said, "of such state +as he had lately known, and did not wish to be disturbed with +public business." + +At length arrived the memorable 10th of August, which, perhaps, +as far as any one date deserves the distinction, was the last day +of the legal existence of the famous Empire of the Moghuls. +Followed by the Deputy Controller, Yakub Ali, and by four or five +of his own most reckless Pathans, Gholam Kadir entered the Diwan +Khas, and ordered Shah Alam to be brought before him. Once more +the hidden treasure was spoken of, and the secret of its deposit +imperiously demanded; and once more the poor old Emperor whom +we not long ago saw melting his plate to keep together a few +troops of horse with perfect truth replied that if there was +any such secret he for one was in total ignorance of it. "Then," +said the Rohilla, "you are of no further use in the world, and +should be blinded." "Alas!" replied the poor old man, with native +dignity, "do not so: you may spare these old eyes, that for sixty +years have grown dim with the daily study of God's word." The +spoiler then ordered his followers to torture the sons and +grandsons of the Emperor, who had followed, and now surrounded +their parent. This last outrage broke down the old man's +patience. "Take my sight," he cried, "rather than force upon it +scenes like these." Gholam Kadir at once leaped from the throne, +felled the old man to the ground, threw himself upon the +prostrate monarch's breast, and, so some historians relate, +struck out one of his eyes with his own dagger. Then rising, he +ordered a byestander apparently a member of the household, +Yakub Ali himself to complete the work. On his refusing, he +slew him with his own hand. He then ordered that the Princes +should share the fate of their father and be deprived of +eyesight, but desisted from this part of his brutality on the +pressing, remonstrance of the Treasurer, Lalla Sital Das. The +Emperor was, however, completely blinded by the Pathans, and +removed to Salimgarh, amid the shrill lamentations of women, and +the calmer, but not less passionate curses of men, who were not +scourged into silence without some difficulty and delay. +Francklin, following his usual authority, the MS. narrative of +Saiyid Raza Khan, says that, under these accumulated misfortunes, +the aged Emperor evinced a firmness and resignation highly +honourable to his character. It is pitiable to think how much +fortitude may be thrown away by an Asiatic for want of a little +active enterprise. There were probably not less than half-a-dozen +points in Shah Alam's life when a due vigour would have raised +him to safety, if not to splendour; but his vigour was never +ready at the right moment. There is a striking instance in +Khair-ud-din's Ibratnama. Gholam Kadir asking the blind Emperor +in mockery "If he saw anything?" was answered, "Nothing but the +Koran between thee and me." + +The anxious citizens were not at once aware of the particulars of +this tragedy; but ere long rumours crept out to them of what +crimes and sufferings had been going on all day in the Red +Castle, behind those stern and silent walls that were not again +to shield similar atrocities for nearly seventy years. Then +another day of horror was to come, when one of the princes who +were tortured on the 10th of August, 1788, was to see women and +children brutally massacred in the same once splendid courts; and +to find himself in the hands of adherents whose crimes would +render him a puppet if they succeeded, and a felon if they +failed. + +But on the 12th more money was sent to Ismail Beg; and, as +before, the citizens were offered as the victims of the +reconciliation. They now began to leave the city in large +numbers; but on the 14th flying parties of Mahrattas began to +appear from the southward, and somewhat restored confidence. +Ismail Beg, who had long ceased to have any real confidence in +Gholam Kadir, and who (let us hope for the credit of human +nature) felt nothing but disgust at his companion's later +excesses, now opened negotiations with Rana Khan. On the 17th a +convoy of provisions from Ghausgarh was cut off, and a number of +the Pathans who escorted it put to the sword or drowned in +attempting to cross the river. On the 18th the Mahrattas came up +in considerable force on the left bank of the Jamna, where they +blockaded the approach from all but the side of the Musalman +camp. In the city the shops were shut, and supplies began totally +to fail. Scarcity even began to prevail in the palace, and the +troops within to murmur loudly for their share of the spoil. Next +day the spoiler condescended to argue with some who remonstrated +with him on his treatment of the Royal Family. Their condition +was in truth becoming as bad as it could well be; many of the +women dying daily of starvation. It is almost with relief that we +find, that the increasing scarcity compelling fresh acts of +spoliation, the Controller, who had so much helped in bringing +about this deplorable state of affairs, became himself its +victim, being deprived of everything that he possessed. Thus +passed the month of August, 1788, in Dehli. + +The courage of Gholam Kadir did not at once yield to his growing +perils and difficulties. He appropriated an apartment in the +palace probably the Burj-i-Tilla or "Golden Bastion." Here he +caroused with his officers, while the younger members of the +royal family played and danced before them like the common +performers of the streets. And they were rewarded by the +assurance on the part of their tormentor that, however deficient +they might be in princely virtues, their talents would preserve +them from wanting bread. Khair-ud-din adds a strange account of +Gholam Kadir going to sleep among them; and on waking, he is +represented as reviling them for their lack of courage in not +stabbing him while thus at their mercy! Many of the younger +princesses were exposed to insult and outrage, according to this +writer. Gholam Kadir at the same time partially suppressed the +discontents of his men, though not without risk to his life. At +length, on the 7th of September, finding the Mahrattas increasing +in numbers and boldness, and fearing to be surrounded and cut +off, Gholam Kadir moved his army back to its old encampment +across the river, and despatched part of his plunder to +Ghausgarh, conciliating his followers by the surrender of what +was less portable, such as the rich tents and equipage which had +been lately used by the Emperor on his expedition to Rewari. On +the 14th he paid a further visit to his camp, being under +apprehensions from Ismail Beg, but returned to the palace soon +after, in order to make one more attempt to shake what he +considered the obstinacy of Shah Alam about the hid treasure. +Foiled in this, and hemmed in by difficulties, it may be hoped +that he now began to perceive with horror the shadow of an +advancing vengeance. His covering the retreat to the eastward of +the palace and city favours the supposition. + +Meanwhile the great ceremony of mourning for the sons of Ali drew +on; the Moharram, celebrated in Hindustan alike by the Shias, who +venerate their memory, and by the Sunnis, who uphold their +murderers. The principal features of this celebration are +processions of armed men, simulating the battle of Karbala; and +the public funeral of the saints, represented, not by an effigy +of their bodies, but by a model of their tombs. Loving spectacle +and excitement, with the love of a rather idle and illiterate +population whose daily life is dull and torpid, the people of +India have very generally lost sight of the fasting and +humiliation which are the real essence of the Moharram, and have +turned it into a diversion and a show. But there was no show nor +diversion for the citizens of Dehli that year, menaced by +contending armies, and awed by the knowledge of a great crime. At +length, on the 11th October, the last day of the fast, a sense of +deliverance began to be vaguely felt. It began to be known that +Ismail Beg was reconciled to Rana Khan, and that the latter was +receiving reinforcements from the Deccan. Lestonneaux, with the +formidable "Telinga" battalions of de Boigne, had already +arrived; all was movement and din in the Pathan camp at Shahdara. +Finally, as the short chill evening of the autumn day closed in, +the high walls of the Red Castle blabbed part of their secret to +those who had so long watched them. With a loud explosion, the +powder magazine rose into the air, and flames presently spread +above the crenellated parapets. The bystanders, running to the +rampart of the town, facing the river, saw, by the lurid light, +boats being rowed across; while a solitary elephant was moving +down at his best pace over the heavy sands, bearing the rebel +chief. Gholam Kadir had finally departed, leaving the Salimgarh +by a sally-port, and sending before him the titular Emperor, the +plundered controller of the household, and all the chief members +of the royal family. + +The exact events which had passed in the interior of the palace +that day can never now be known. Whether, as is usually thought, +Gholam Kadir tried to set fire to the palace, that his long crime +might be consummated by the destruction of Shah Alam among the +blazing ruins of his ancestral dwelling; or whether, as the +author of the Mozafari supposes, he meant to hold out against the +Mahrattas to the last, and was only put to flight by the +explosion, which he attributed to a mine laid by them, can only +be a matter for speculation. To myself, I confess, the popular +story appears the more probable. If Gholam Kadir meant to stand a +siege, why did he send his troops across the river? and why, when +he was retiring at the appearance of a mine which he must have +known was likely to be one of the siege operations did he +remove the royal family, and only leave his chief victim? Lastly, +why did he leave that victim alive? Possibly he was insane. + +The Mahratta general immediately occupied the castle; and the +exertions of his men succeeded in extinguishing the flames before +much injury had occurred. Shah Alam and the remaining ladies of +his family were set at liberty, provided with some present +comforts, and consoled as to the future. Rana Khan then awaited +further reinforcements from Sindhia, while the Pathans retired +towards their own country. + +The Court of Punah saw their advantage in strengthening the +Patel, and sent him a strong body of troops, led by Takuji Holkar +in person, on condition that both that chief and the Peshwa +should participate in the fruits of the campaign. The arrival of +these forces was welcomed alike by Rana Khan and by the long +harassed citizens of Dehli; and after the safety of the palace +had been secured, the rest of the army, commanded by Rana Khan, +Appa Khandi Rao, and others, started in pursuit of Gholam Kadir, +who found himself so hard pressed that he threw himself into the +Fort of Meerut, three marches off, and about equi-distant from +Dehli, from Ghausgarh, and from the frontiers of Rohilkand. Why +he did not, on leaving Dehli, march due north to Ghausgarh cannot +be now positively determined; but it is possible that, having his +spoil collected in that fort, he preferred trying to divert the +enemy by an expedition in a more easterly direction; and that he +entertained some hopes of aid from his connection, Faizula Khan +of Rampur, or from the Bangash of Farrukhabad. + +Be this as it may, the fort of Meerut sheltered him for the time, +but in that fort he was ere long surrounded. The investing army +was large, and, as the chances of escape diminished, the Pathan's +audacity at length began to fail, and he offered terms of the +most entire and abject submission. These being sternly rejected, +he prepared for the worst. On the 21st of December a general +assault was delivered by the Mahratta army; against which Gholam +Kadir and his men defended themselves with resolution throughout +the short day. But his men in general were now weary, if not of +his crimes at all events of his misfortunes, and he formed the +resolution to separate from them without further delay. He +accordingly stole out of the fort that night, mounted on a horse, +into whose saddle-bags he had stuffed a large amount of the most +valuable jewellery from the palace plunder, which he had ever +since retained in his own keeping, in view of an emergency. He +rode some twelve miles through the winter night, avoiding the +haunts of men, and apparently hoping to cross the Jamna and find +refuge with the Sikhs. At last, in the mists of the dawn, his +weary horse, wandering over the fields, fell into a slope used +for the descent of the oxen who draw up the bucket from the well, +for the purposes of irrigation. The horse rose and galloped off +by the incline made for the bullocks, but the rider was either +stunned or disabled by his bruises, and remained where he fell. +As the day dawned the Brahmin cultivator came to yoke his cattle +and water the wheat, when he found the richly-dressed form of one +whom he speedily recognized as having but lately refused him +redress when plundered by the Pathan soldiery. "Salam, Nawab +Sahib!" said the man, offering a mock obeisance, with clownish +malice, to his late oppressor. The scared and famished caitiff +sate up and looked about him. "Why do you call me Nawab?" he +asked. "I am a poor soldier, wounded, and seeking my home. I have +lost all I have, but put me in the road to Ghausgarh, and I will +reward you hereafter." Necessarily, the mention of this fort +would have put at rest any doubt in the Brahmin's mind; he at +once shouted for assistance, and presently carried off his prize +to Rana Khan's camp. Hence the prisoner was despatched to +Sindhia, at Mathra, while the Pathans, left to themselves, +abandoned the Fort of Meerut and dispersed to their respective +homes. Bedar Bakht, the titular Emperor, was sent to Dehli, where +he was confined and ultimately slain, and the unfortunate +controller, Manzur Ali, who had played so prominent a part in the +late events as to have incurred general suspicion of treacherous +connivance, was tied to the foot of an elephant and thus dragged +about the streets until he died. + +For the Rohilla chief a still more horrible fate was prepared. On +his arrival at Mathra, Sindhia inflicted upon him the punishment +of Tashhir, sending him round the bazaar on a jackass, with his +face to the tail, and a guard instructed to stop at every +considerable shop and beg a cowree, in the name of the Nawab of +the Bawani. The wretched man becoming abusive under the +contemptuous treatment, his tongue was torn out of his mouth. +Gradually he was mutilated further, being first blinded, as a +retribution for his treatment of the Emperor, and subsequently +deprived of his nose, ears, hands and feet, and sent to Dehli. +Death came to his relief upon the road, it is believed by his +being hanged upon a tree 3rd March, 1789, and the mangled trunk +was sent to Dehli, where it was laid before the sightless +monarch, the most ghastly Nazar that ever was presented in the +Diwin Khas. + +Perhaps, if we could hear Gholam Kadir's version of the +revolution here described, we might find that public indignation +had to some extent exaggerated his crimes. It is possible that +the tradition which imputes his conduct to revenge for an alleged +cruelty of Shah Alam may be a myth, founded upon a popular +conception of probability, and only corroborated by the fact that +he died childless. Perhaps he merely thought that he was +performing a legitimate stroke of State, and imitating the +vigorous policy of Ghazi-ud-din the younger; perhaps the plunder +of the palace was necessary to conciliate his followers; perhaps +the firing of the palace was an accident. But the result of the +combination of untoward appearances has been to make his name a +bye-word among the not over-sensitive inhabitants of Hindustan, +familiar, by tradition and by personal experience, with almost +every form of cruelty, and almost every degree of rebellion. It +is said that during moments of reaction, after some of his +debauches in the palace (v. p. 183), Gholam Kadir attempted to +justify his conduct by representing himself as acting under +supernatural inspiration. "As I was sleeping," he averred, "in a +garden at Sikandra, an apparition stood over me and smote me on +the face saying, Arise, go to Dehli, and possess thyself of the +palace." It may be that at such times he experienced some +feelings of remorse. At all events, his punishment was both +immediate and terrible, and his crimes proved the ruin of his +house. Ghausgarh was forthwith razed to the ground, so that as +already mentioned no vestige but the mosque remains. The +brother of the deceased fled to the Panjab. + +The first care of the Patel, after these summary vindications of +justice, was to make provision for the administration of +Hindustan, to which he probably foresaw that he should not be +able to give constant personal attention, and in which he +resolved to run no further risks of a Musalman revival. The +fallen Emperor was restored to his throne, in spite of his own +reluctance, "in spite of his blindness," as the native historian +says, who knew that no blind man could be a Sultan; and at the +enthronement, to which all possible pomp was lent, the agency of +the Peshwa, with Sindhia for his deputy, was solemnly renewed and +firmly established. We also learn from Francklin that an annual +allowance of nine lakes of rupees was assigned for the support of +the Emperor's family and Court, an adequate civil list if it had +been regularly paid. But Shah Nizam-ud-din, who had been restored +to office, was an unfit man to be entrusted with the uncontrolled +management of such a sum; and during the Patel's frequent and +protracted absences, the royal family were often reduced to +absolute indigence. Sayid Raza Khan, on whose authority this +shocking statement rests, was the resident representative of the +British Minister at Lucknow, and was the channel through which +the aged Emperor received from the British Government a monthly +allowance of 2,000 rupees. This, together with the fees paid by +persons desirous of being presented, was all that Shah Alam could +count on in his old age for the support of his thirty children +and numerous kinsfolk and retainers. Captain Francklin was an +eye-witness of the semblance of State latterly maintained in the +Red Castle, where he paid his respects in 1794. He found the +Emperor represented by a crimson velvet chair under an awning in +the Diwan Khas, but the Shah was actually in one of the private +rooms with three of his sons. The British officers presented +their alms under the disguise of a tributary offering, and +received some nightgowns, of sprigged calico, by way of honorific +dresses. + +The so-called Emperor being now incapable of ruling, even +according to the very lax political code of the East, and all +real power being in the hands of a Hindu headborough supported by +mercenary troops, the native records, to which I have had access, +either cease altogether, or cease to concern themselves with the +special story of Hindustan. And, indeed, as far as showing the +fall of the empire, my task is also done. I do not agree with +those who think that the empire fell with the death of Aurangzeb, +or even with the events that immediately preceded the campaign of +Panipat, in 1761. I consider the empire to have endured as long +as "the king's name was a tower of strength"; as long as Nawabs +paid large fines on succession, and contending parties intrigued +for investiture; as long as Shujaa-ud-daulah could need its +sanction to his occupation of Kattahir, or Najaf Khan led its +armies to the conquest of the Jats. We have seen how that state +of affairs originated, and how it came to an end; there is +nothing now left but to trace briefly the concluding career of +those who have played their parts in the narrative, and to +introduce their successors upon the vast and vacant theatre. In +so doing it must be borne in mind that, although we, from our +present standpoint, can see that the Moghul Empire was ended, it +did not altogether so appear to contemporaries. Whether +federation or disintegration be the best ideal destiny, for a +number of Provinces whose controlling centre has given way, is a +question which may admit of more than one answer. But it is, in +any case, certain that in the year 1789 the Provinces of which +the Empire had been composed, were not ripe for independent and +organic existence. There was still, therefore, a craving for a +paramount power; and that craving was to be finally met by the +British. In the meanwhile the almost effete machinery of the +Empire, directed and administered by Sindhia, made the best +available substitute; General de Boigne who had the most +complete information on the subject bears unequivocal testimony +on this subject. His words will be found at the beginning of the +next chapter. + + + +NOTE. It would be curious to know what became of Gholam Kadir's +jewel-laden horse after the rider fell into the pit. In Skinner's +life, it is conjectured that he came into the hands of M. +Lestonneaux. It is certain that this officer abruptly abandoned +Sindhia's service at this very time. Perhaps the crown jewels of +the Great Mughal are now in France. The Emperor (who composed +poetry with estimation under the name of "Aftab") solaced his +temporary captivity by writing verses, which are still celebrated +in Hindustan, and of which the following is a correct +translation. The resemblance to the Psalms of David is +noticeable: + +"The storms of affliction have destroyed the Majesty of my +Government: and scattered my State to the winds. + +I was even as the Sun shining in the firmament of the Empire: but +the sun is setting in the sorrowful West. + +It is well for me that I have become blind; for so I am hindered +from seeing another on my throne. + +Even as the saints were afflicted by Yazid; so is the ruin that +has fallen upon me, through the appointment of Destiny. + +The wealth of this world was my sickness; but now the Lord hath +healed me. + +I have received the just reward of mine iniquities; but now He +hath forgiven me my sins. + +I gave milk to the young adder; and he became the cause of my +destruction. + +The Steward who served me thirty years compassed my ruin; but a +swift recompense hath overtaken him. + +The lords of my council who had covenanted to serve me; even they +deserted me, and took whatsoever in thirty years I had put by for +my children. + +Moghuls and Afghans alike failed me; and became confederates in +my imprisonment. + +Even the base-born man of Hamadan, and Gul Mohammad, full of +wickedness; Allah Yar also, and Solaiman and Badal Beg all met +together for my trouble. + +And now that this young Afghan hath destroyed the dignity of my +empire; I see none but thee, O Most Holy! to have compassion upon +me. + +Yet peradventure Timur Shah my kinsman may come to my aid; and +Madhoji Sindhia, who is even as a son unto me he also will surely +avenge my cause. + +Asaf-ud-daula and the chief of the English; they also may come to +my relief. + +Shame were it if Princes and People gathered not together; to the +end that they might bring me help. + +Of all the fair women of my chambers none is left to me but +Mubarik Mahal. + +O Aftab! verily thou hast been this day overthrown by Destiny; +yet God shall bless thee and restore thy fallen brightness." + + + +Francklin's Shah Alum has been constantly referred to. He was an +officer of great diligence, who had large local opportunities, +having been in Dehli, the Doab, and Rohilkand, from 1793 to 1796, +on a survey ordered by the British Government. He had access to +many native sources of information; but unfortunately never cites +any in the margin but Sayid Raza's MS. I have not hesitated to +combat his views on several points; but there are few English +writers on the subject to whom we are more indebted. Besides this +work, and one to be hereafter noticed, he was the author of books +on Ancient Palibothra and on snake-worship. He died a +lieutenant-colonel in the Bengal army. + + + +PART III. + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A.D. 1789-94. + + + +Sindhia as Mayor of Palace British Policy Augmentation of +Army under General de Boigne Ismail Beg joins the Rajput rising + Battle of Patan Sindhia at Mathra Siege of Ajmir Jodhpur +Rajah Battle of Mirta Rivals alarmed French Officers +Progress to Puna Holkar advances Ismail Beg taken Battle of +Lakhairi Sindhia rebuked Power of Sindhia Rise of George +Thomas Thomas quits Begam Sindhia at Puna - Death and +character of Madhoji Sindhia Koil in the last Century. + + + +FROM the time of the revolution of 1788 each of the dismembered +provinces has its separate history; and the present record +naturally shrinks to the contracted limits of a local history of +the capital, and of the districts more especially connected with +it by proximity or by political ties. Still, since the country is +one that has long been occupying our attention, and the persons +who have made it do so are still upon the scene, it may be +interesting to those who have followed the narrative thus far if +a brief conclusion is presented to them. The story of the +empire's fall will thus be completed, and the chasm between the +Moghul rule and the English rule will be provisionally bridged. +It must, moreover, be remembered that the visible centre of +authority is a thing for which men will always look. And, even in +the fallen state of the Dehli monarchy this was still in the +palace of the descendant of Babar. To use de Boigne's words, +written in 1790: "le respect .... envers la maison de Timour +regnait a tel point que, quoique toute la peninsule se fut +sucessivement soustraite a son autorite, aucun prince .... de +l'Inde ne s'etait arroge le titre de souverain. Sindhia +partageait le respect, et Shah Alam etait toujours assis sur le +Trone Mogol, et tout se faisait en son nom." + +It has been already shown how "Maharaja Patel," as Madhoji +Sindhia is called by the native writers, assumed the actual +government, whilst he secured for the youthful chief of the +Mahratta confederacy the titular office of "Agent +Plenipotentiary," which had been once or twice previously used to +designate mighty Viceroys like the first Nizam. + +In providing this distinction for his native superior, the +usually shrewd old minister intended to blind his countrymen and +his rivals; and by another still more clumsy coup de theatre, he +assumed to himself the position of a servant, as harmonizing with +the rural dignity of Beadle or Headborough, which, as we have +seen, he persisted in affecting. Decorated however by the blind +old Emperor with the more sonorous appellations of +Madar-ul-Maham, Ali Jah, Bahadur ("Exalted and valorous Centre of +Affairs"), he played the Mayor-of-the-Palace with far more effect +at Dehli than it would have been possible for him to do at Punah. +Circumstances, moreover, were now far more in his favour than +they had been since 1785. During the three years that followed, +the Rohillas of Ghausgarh were broken, Muhammad Beg was dead, the +strength of the brave but indolent Rajputs was much paralyzed, +and Najaf Kuli Khan who never had opposed him, but might have +been formidable if he pleased had succumbed to a long attack of +dropsy. Ismail Beg, it is true, was still in existence, and now +more than ever a centre of influence among the Moghuls. But +Ismail Beg was at present conciliated, having joined the Patel's +party ever since his former associate, Gholam Kadir, had +proceeded to such criminal excesses in the palace. As a further +means of attaching to him this important, even if not very +intelligent chief, the Patel about this time conferred upon him a +portion of Najaf Kuli's fief in the Mewat country south of Dehli. +By this he not only pleased the Moghul noble, but trusted to +furnish him with occupation in the reduction and management of +the wild mountaineers of that district. It was indeed idle to +hope that Ismail Beg would remain faithful in the event of any +future resurrection of the Musalman power; and it could not be +denied that something of the kind might at any time occur, owing +to the menacing attitude of the Afghans, who were still very +powerful under the famous Ahmad Abdali's son, Timur Shah. Indeed, +this was a ceaseless difficulty during the whole of Madhoji's +remaining life; and one that would have been still more serious, +but for the anxiously pacific policy which, for the most part, +characterized the British administration during that period. Nor +did the Minister at this time enjoy the advantage of being served +by European commanders. Lestonneaux retired suddenly in the +beginning of 1789; and de Boigne, as above-mentioned, had also +left the army, and was engaged in commercial pursuits at Lucknow. +But the army continued to comprise a certain proportion of +regular troops; nor was it long before M. de Boigne, being +earnestly solicited by Madhoji, and offered his own terms, +resumed his command, augmented this portion of the force, and +assumed a position of confidence and freedom which had not +previously been allowed him. The skeletons of his two original +battalions remained to form the nucleus of the new force. The +battalion of Lestonneaux or whatever the name was deserted by +its commandant, with eight months' arrears due to it, was +disorganized and mutinous; and Sindhia meditated an attack upon +it with an overwhelming body of horse. De Boigne however +interceded, representing that the soldiers were not to blame for +their colonel's defection and that their demand, though it might +not be expressed with due respect, was after all founded on +justice. Sindhia relented so far as to award a present payment of +half the arrears, and a permission that the men should be +absorbed in the brigade about to be formed; but the astute +Savoyard took care first to make them pile their arms, so that +their future entertainment should be as individuals only. The +officers were at the same time cashiered; and thus the mutiny of +a battalion was patiently and ingeniously suppressed without its +precious material being lost to the service. The requisite new +recruits were principally raised from Rohilkand and Audh the +future nurseries of the famous Bengal army. The officers were the +most respectable Europeans that the General could collect; and +the non-commissioned posts were given to picked men of the old +battalions. + +The augmented force gradually reached the strength of three +brigades, each brigade consisting of eight battalions of sepoys, +each 700 strong; with 500 cavalry and forty fieldpieces. The +General was allowed 10,000 rupees per mensem for his own pay, and +a liberal scale was fixed for the European officers, whose number +was from time to time increased, and the whole force, forming a +small army in itself, marched under the white cross of Savoy, the +national colours of its honourable chief. A gratuity was secured +to all who might be wounded in action, and it was guaranteed that +their pay should go on while in hospital. Invalids were to have +pensions in money and grants of land. + +It soon had to take the field: for Ismail Beg's loyalty, already +wavering in view of an Afghan invasion, gave way entirely in the +beginning of 1790 before the solicitations of the Rajput chiefs. +These high-spirited men, longing for an opportunity to strike +another blow for national independence, fancied, and not without +reason, that they could reckon upon the aid of the restless +Ismail with whom they had already combined during the Lalsaut +campaign in 1787. + +The corps of de Boigne formed part of the army sent under the +command of Sindhia's Mahratta generals, Lakwa Dada and Gopal Rao +Bhao, to prevent if possible the junction of Ismail Beg with his +Rajput allies. But the Moghul soldier of fortune was determined +not to yield without a struggle. No sooner did he raise his +standard than thousands of disbanded Afghan and Persian horsemen +flocked to his headquarters. In March de Boigne left his employer +at his favourite cantonment of Mathra, and sending before him a +cloud of Mahratta horse, marched upon Ismail Beg with a complete +brigade, including fifty pieces of artillery. On the morning of +the 10th May they came upon him at a place called Patan, in the +rocky country between Ajmir and Gwalior, not many miles from the +scene of the former battle at Lalsaut. For three weeks or more +nothing was effected, but on the 19th June Ismail announced his +intention of attacking the Mahratta lines. De Boigne sent a +messenger to say that he would spare him the fatigue of the +journey, and advanced to the encounter with all his force on the +following morning. + +The Rajputs had come up; but there was no longer union between +them; for the Patel, taking advantage of a temporary soreness +felt by the Kachwahas of Jaipur on some trifling provocation, had +contrived to secure their inaction before the battle began. +Notwithstanding this defection, a large body of infantry still +stood firm, but European skill and resolution conquered in the +end. Ismail at the head of his Moghul cavaliers repeatedly +charged de Boigne's artillery, sabring the gunners at their +posts. Between the charges the infantry were thinned by +well-directed volleys of grape, and the squares had to be formed +with the greatest rapidity as the cavalry of the enemy once more +attacked them. De Boigne's squares, however, resisted all +attempts throughout the afternoon, and a general advance of the +whole line at length took place, before which the enemy gradually +broke. De Boigne placing himself at the head of one of his +battalions, ordered the others to follow, and precipitated his +foot upon the enemy's batteries. The first was carried with the +shock; at eight in the evening he was master of the second; the +third fell an hour later; the Moghuls' resistance was completely +overpowered, and their leader was chased into the city of Jaipur. +Ismail also lost in this engagement one hundred guns, fifty +elephants, two hundred stand of colours and all his baggage; and +on the following day a large portion of his army, amounting to +seven battalions of foot and ten thousand irregular troops, went +over to the victors. On this, as on many other occasions, the +Mahratta cause was jeopardised by jealousies; Holkar holding +aloof during the action, which would have begun earlier, and in +all probability proved more decisive and with less loss, had he +given due co-operation. There is a modest account of this action +from de Boigne's pen in the Calcutta Gazette for 22nd July, 1790. +The letter is dated 24th June four days after the battle and +does not represent the exertions of the Mahrattas in anything +like the serious light adopted in Captain Grant Duff's work, to +which I have been principally indebted for my account of the +action. The gallant writer estimates Ismail Beg's Moghul horse, +however, at 5,000 sabres; and admits that the Mahrattas would +have sustained severe loss but for the timely firmness of the +regular battalions. The fact appears to be that the diminished +Rajput infantry, deficient in discipline and zeal, and wanting +the prestige and coolness inspired among Asiatics by the presence +of European leaders, did not support the cavalry, and that the +latter become exhausted by their vain assaults upon the +well-trained squares. Seeing this, de Boigne marched up his men +(10,000 strong, by his own account), under the protection of a +steady cannonade from his own guns, and stormed the enemy's camp. +He estimates his own loss at 120 killed and 472 wounded; the +enemy's foot were not much cut up, because they were intrenched; +"but they have lost a vast number of cavalry." He says of +himself, "I was on horseback encouraging our men; thank God I +have realized all the sanguine expectations of Sindhia; the +officers in general have behaved well; to them I am a great deal +indebted for the fortune of the day." This was the most important +victory that Sindhia had ever gained, and fully justified the +increased confidence that he had shown his Savoyard General. The +memoir above cited, estimates the whole combined forces of the +enemy at 25,000 foot and 20,000 horse, but it is probable that +they were not all engaged. Patan, a fortress which has been +compared to Gibraltar, was taken by storm after three days of +open trenches, and Ismail Beg fled to the Panjab. + +The Patel himself was not present with the army during this +campaign, but remained at Mathra, which was a favourite residence +of his, owing to its peculiar reputation for holiness among the +Hindus. This ancient city, which is mentioned both by Arrian and +by Pliny, is the centre of a small district which is to the +worshippers of Vishnu what Palestine is to Christians, and the +Western part of Arabia is to the people of the Prophet. Here was +born the celebrated Krishna, reported to be an incarnation of the +Deity; here was his infant life sought by the tyrant Kans; hence +he fled to Gujrat; returning when he came to man's estate, and +partially adopting it as his residence after having slain his +enemy. + +We have seen how the general of Ahmad the Abdali massacred the +inhabitants, with a zeal partaking of the fanatic and the robber +in equal proportions, in 1757. Since then the place, standing at +the head of the Bhartpur basin, and midway between Dehli and the +Rajput country, had recovered its importance, and now formed +Madhoji's chief cantonment. Here it was that he received the news +of the battle of Patan, and of the temporary disappearance of +Ismail Beg; and hence he proceeded to Dehli, and there obtained a +fresh confirmation of the office of Plenipotentiary for the +Peshwa, together with two fresh firmans (or patents). One +conferring upon himself the power to choose a successor in the +Ministry from among his own family, and the other an edict +forbidding the slaughter of horned cattle (so highly reverenced +by the Hindus) throughout all the territory which still owned the +sway, however nominal, of the Moghul sceptre. + +Soon after he ordered his army, commanded as before, to return to +Rajputana, and punish Bijai Singh, the Rathor leader of Jodhpur, +for abetting the resistance of Ismail Beg. On the 21st of August +the General arrived at Ajmir, and took the town on the following +day. He then sat down to form the regular siege of the citadel, +called Taragarh (a fastness strong by nature, and strengthened +still more by art, and situated on an eminence some 3,000 feet +above sea-level). Bijai Singh, in Rajput fashion, was ready to +try negotiation, and thought that he might succeed in practicing +upon one whom he would naturally regard in the light of a +mercenary leader. He accordingly sent a message to de Boigne +offering him the fort, with the territory for fifty miles round +Ajmir if he would desert his employer. But the General sent him +for answer that "Sindhia had already given him both Jodhpur and +Jaipur, and that the Rajah could not be so unreasonable as to +expect him to exchange the whole of those territories for the +portion offered." After delivering himself of this grim piece of +humour, and leaving a force to blockade the citadel, General de +Boigne marched west to encounter the Rajah. Burning to retrieve +the disgrace of Patan, Bijai Singh was marching up from Jodhpur +to the relief of Taragarh when de Boigne met him at Mirta, a +walled town about two marches distant from Ajmir and 76 miles +N.E. of Jodhpur. It stands on high ground, the western wall being +of mud, the eastern of masonry. On the 9th September the armies +approached, and Gopal Rao was for attacking at once, but the +General, with his accustomed coolness, pointed out that, not only +were the men fatigued with marching and in need of repose, but +that the day was too far advanced to allow of due pursuit being +made should they as was to be hoped gain the action. It was +therefore determined to try the effect of a surprise after the +men had had a meal and a few hours repose. The forces on either +side were not unequal. The Rajputs had the better in point of +cavalry, their strength in this arm has been computed at 30,000 +sabres. The Mahrattas had the advantage in artillery and in +disciplined foot. The lines of the Rajputs were partially covered +in rear by the walls of the town. But the spot was of evil omen. +Bijai Singh had sustained a severe defeat on this very ground +near forty years before. Nevertheless, years had not taught the +Rathors wisdom, nor misfortune schooled them to prudence. De +Boigne came up in the grey of the morning, when the indolent +Hindus were completely off their guard. And when the Rajah and +his companions were roused from the drunken dreams of Madhu, they +already found the camp deserted, and the army in confusion. Fifty +field pieces were piercing the lines with an incessant discharge +of grape-shot, and Colonel Rohan who commanded de Boigne's right +wing had, with unauthorised audacity, thrown himself into the +midst of the camp at the head of three battalions. Rallying a +strong body of horse and the Rajput cavaliers were brave to a +fault the Rajah fell furiously upon the advanced corps of +infantry, which he hoped to annihilate before they could be +supported from the main army. But European discipline was too +much. for Eastern chivalry. Hastily forming hollow square the +battalions of de Boigne awaited the storm; the infantry of +Waterloo before the gendarmerie of Agincourt. The ground shook +beneath the impetuous advance of the dust-cloud sparkling with +the flashes of quivering steel. But when the cloud cleared off, +there were still the hollow squares of infantry, like living +bastions, dealing out lightnings far more terrible than any that +they had encountered. The baffled horsemen wheeled furiously +round on the Mahratta cavalry, and scattered them to the four +corners of the field. They then attempted to gallop back, but it +was through a Valley of Death. The whole of the regular troops of +the enemy lined the way; the guns of de Boigne, rapidly served, +pelted them with grape at point-blank distance; the squares +maintained their incessant volleys; by nine in the morning nearly +every man of the 4,000 who had charged with their prince lay dead +upon the ground. Unfatigued and almost uninjured, the +well-trained infantry of de Boigne now became assailants. The +battalions rapidly deployed, and advancing with the support of +their own artillery, made a general attack upon the Rajput line. +By three in the afternoon all attempt at resistance had ceased. +The whole camp, with vast plunder and munitions of war, fell into +the hands of the victors. The middle-ages were over in India; and +the prediction of Bernier was vindicated by the superiority of +scientific warfare over headlong valour. The town was easily +taken, and the fall of Taragarh, the lofty and almost +impregnable-looking citadel that frowns above Ajmir, followed +soon after. The echo of this blow resounded throughout native +India. The Nana Farnavis heard it at Punah, and redoubled his +Brahmin intrigues against his successful countryman. He likewise +stimulated the rivalry of Takuji Holkar, who, with more of +practical sagacity, resolved to profit by Sindhia's example, and +lost no time in raising a force similarly organised to that which +had won this great victory. De Boigne, almost worn out himself, +allowed his victorious troops no time to cool, but marched on +Jodhpur, and arrived at Kuarpur in the vicinity of the capital on +the 18th of November. But his presence was enough. The Rajas of +Udaipur and Jodhpur hastened to offer their submission to the +chief who combined the prestige of the house of Timur with the +glamour of the fire-eating Feringhee. Sindhia (to borrow a phrase +from the gambling table) backed his luck. He gave de Boigne an +increased assignment of territory; and authority to raise two +more brigades, on which by express permission of the blind old +Shah was conferred the title of Army of the Empire. The territory +assigned to the General extended from Mathra to Dehli, and over +the whole Upper Doab, yielding a total revenue of about +twenty-two lakhs of rupees, a large sum for those days. After +liquidating the pay of the troops it was estimated that this left +a balance in his favour of about 40,000 rupees a year besides his +pay, and very large perquisites. He also exercised unlimited +civil and military jurisdiction. His headquarters were at +Aligarh, where he exercised quasi-royal sway over the whole +surrounding country. Some further work, however, awaited de +Boigne before he finally retired into purely civil +administration. Among the last to hold out against the good +fortune and genius of Sindhia was the founder of the present +state of Indore, Jeswant Rao Holkar, who resolved to try the +effect upon his rival of a blow struck with his own weapons. The +Duke of Wellington in 1803 took much the same view of this +fondness on the part of the Mahrattas for European discipline and +fashions in war as that vainly urged on Sheodasheo Rao by Malhar +Rao Holkar in 1760. "Sindhia's armies had actually," so wrote +General Wellesley in 1803, "been brought to a very favourable +state of discipline, and his power had become formidable by the +exertions of European officers in his service; but, I think, it +is much to be doubted whether his power or rather that of the +whole Mahratta nation would not have been more formidable if +they had never had a European or an infantry soldier in their +service, and had carried on their operations in the manner of the +original Mahrattas, only by means of cavalry." Malhar Rao and +Wellesley were two great authorities; but, in any case, when once +any State had introduced the new system, all its rivals were +compelled to do likewise, and the State which did it with the +most energy prevailed. The citation above given is from Owen's +Selections, p. 336. + +This was the hey-day of European adventure in the East. France, +still under the influence of feudal institutions, continued to +send out brave young men who longed, while providing for +themselves, to restore the influence of their country in India, +shaken as it had been by the ill success of Dupleix, Lally, and +Law. The native princes, on the other side, were not backward in +availing themselves of this new species of wardog. A Frenchman +was worth his weight in gold; even an Anglo-Indian the race is +now relegated to the office-stool fetched, we may say, his +weight in silver. But men of the latter class, though not +deficient in valour, and not without special advantages from +their knowledge of the people and their language, were not so +fully trusted. Doubtless the French officers would be more +serviceable in a war with England; and that contingency was +probably never long absent from the thoughts of the native +chiefs. With the exception of the Musalman Viceroys of Audh and +the Deccan, every native power dreaded the advance of the +English, and desired their destruction. In fact, now that the +Empire was fallen, a general Hindu revival had taken its place, +the end of which was not seen till the Sikhs were finally subdued +in 1849. + +Holkar's new army was commanded by a French officer, whose name +variously spelt, was perhaps du Drenec. He was the son of an +officer in the Royal navy of France, and is described as an +accomplished and courteous gentleman. He usually receives from +contemporary writers the title of Chevalier, and his conduct +sustained the character of a well-born soldier. + +1792. The Patel lost no time in pushing his success in the only +quarter where he now had anything to fear. The combination of the +Nana in the cabinet and Holkar with an Europeanized army in the +field, was a serious menace to his power; and with enterprising +versatility he resolved at once to counteract it. With this view +he obtained khillats of investiture, for the Peshwa and for +himself, from the Emperor, and departed for Puna, where he +arrived after a slow triumphal progress, on the 11th of June, +1792. On the 20th of the same month the ceremony took place with +circumstances of great magnificence; the successful deputy +endeavouring to propitiate the hostility of the Nana by appearing +in his favourite character of the Beadle, and carrying the +Peshwa's slippers, while the latter sate splendidly attired upon +a counterfeit of the peacock throne. All men have their foibles, +and Sindhia's was histrionism, which imposed on no one. The thin +assumption of humility by a dictator was despised, and the +splendid caparisons of the nominal chief were ridiculed by the +Mahrattas and Brahmans of the old school. + +Meanwhile Holkar saw his opportunity and struck his blow. +Profiting by the absence of his rival, he for the first time +since 1773, advanced on Hindustan; and summoning Ismail Beg like +an evil spirit from his temporary obscurity, he hurled him upon +the country round the capital, while he himself lost no time in +forcing a rupture with Sindhia's civil deputy in Rajputana. + +In the northern part of the Rewari country is a place called +Kanaund; about equidistant from Dehli and Hansi, to the south of +both cities. Here Najaf Kuli Khan had breathed his last in a +stronghold of earth faced with stone, on the borders of the great +Bikanir desert, among sand-hills and low growths of tamarisk; and +here his widow a sister of the deceased Gholam Kadir +continued to reside. A call to surrender the fort to Sindhia's +officers being refused by the high-spirited Pathan lady, gave +Ismail Beg occasion to reappear upon the scene. He hastened to +her aid, but found the place surrounded by a force under the +command of M. Perron, a French officer whose name will often +recur hereafter. The Beg, as usual, attacked furiously, and, as +usual, was defeated. He took refuge in the fort which he +contrived to enter, and the defence of which he conducted for +some time. But the lady being killed by a shell, the garrison +lost heart, and began to talk of throwing overboard the Moghul +Jonah. The latter, obtaining from Perron a promise of his life +being spared, and having that strong faith in the truth of his +promise which is the real homage that Asiatics pay to Europeans, +lost no time in coming into camp, and was sent into confinement +at Agra, where he remained till his death a few years later. +Francklin, writing about 1794, says that he had no chance of +deliverance so long as Mahratta sway endured at Dehli; but that +he might, otherwise, still live to play a conspicuous part. But I +believe he died about four years later. His residence was in the +quarters near the Dehli Gate of the Fort, popularly known as Dan +Sah Jat's house, still standing. + +De Boigne meantime took the field in person against Holkar, who +brought against him not only the usual host of Mahratta horsemen, +but, what was far more formidable, four battalions of sepoys +under Colonel du Drenec. The forces of the Empire, of somewhat +inferior strength, brought Holkar to action at Lakhairi, not far +from Kanaund, and on the road to Ajmir. The battle which ensued, +which was fought in the month of September, 1792, was considered +by M. de Boigne as the most obstinate that he ever witnessed. The +ground had been skilfully chosen by du Drenec; he held the crest +of a pass, his rear being partly protected by a wood; a marsh +covered his front, while the sides were flanked by forests. The +regular infantry was supported by a strong artillery, and guarded +by 30,000 cavalry. Having reconnoitred this position from a +rising ground, de Boigne advanced under a discouraging fire from +Holkar's batteries; and as his own guns whose advance had been +unexpectedly impeded came into action he hoped to silence those +of the enemy. But his artillery officer was unlucky that day. A +tumbril being struck in de Boigne's batteries, led to the +explosion of ten or twelve others; and Holkar observing the +confusion, endeavoured to extricate his cavalry from the trees, +and charge, while du Drenec engaged the enemy's infantry. But the +charge of Holkar's horse was confused and feeble (here Ismail +Beg's absence must have been felt), and de Boigne sheltering his +men in another wood, soon repulsed the cavalry with a +well-directed and well-sustained discharge from 9,000 muskets. As +they retreated, he launched his own cavalry upon them, and drove +them off the field. It was now his turn once more to advance. +Re-forming his infantry and guns in the shelter of the thick +tree-growth, he fell upon the left of the enemy where the +regulars still maintained themselves. Raw levies as they were, +they fought bravely but unskilfully till they were annihilated; +their European officers were nearly all slain, and their guns +taken, to the number of thirty-eight. The battle was lost without +retrieval, mainly owing to the inefficiency of Holkar's horse; +thus vindicating the wise, if premature, confidence of Ibrahim +Gardi at Panipat more than thirty years before. Holkar, with the +remnant of: his army, crossed the Chambal, and fell back on +Malwa, where he revenged himself by sacking Ujain, one of +Sindhia's chief cities. + +While these things were taking place, a new rebuff was being +prepared for himself by the Emperor, from whom neither age nor +misfortune had taken that levity of character which, partly +inherited from his ancestors, partly constitutional to himself, +formed at once his chief weakness and his greatest consolation. +In his dependent condition, enjoying but the moderate stipend of +ninety thousand pounds a year for his whole civil list and that +not punctually paid the blind old man turned envious thoughts +upon the prosperity of the provinces which he had formerly ceded +to his old protectors, the British. Accordingly, in July 1792, +the Court newsman of Dehli was directed to announce that +despatches had been sent to Punah, instructing Sindhia to collect +tribute from the administration of Bengal. A similar attempt had +been made, it will be remembered, though without success, in 1785 +(vide sup. Pt. II. c. iv. in fin. ) The present attempt fared no +better. This hint was taken certainly, but not in a way that +could have been pleasant to those who gave it; for it was taken +extremely ill. In a state-paper of the 2nd of August, Lord +Cornwallis, the then Governor General, gave orders that +information should be conveyed to Madhoji Sindhia to the effect +that in the present condition of the Dehli court he, Sindhia, +would be held directly responsible for every writing issued in +the name of the Emperor, and that any attempt to assert a claim +to tribute from the British Government would be "warmly +resented." Once more the disinclination of the British to +interfere in the Empire was most emphatically asserted, but it +was added significantly, that if any should be rash enough to +insult them by an unjust demand or in any shape whatever, they +felt themselves both able and resolved to exact ample +satisfaction. + +This spirited language, whether altogether in accordance with +abstract right or not, was probably an essential element in the +maintenance of that peaceful policy which prevailed in the +diplomatic valley that occurred between Warren Hastings and the +Marquess Wellesley. Sindhia (not unmindful of Popham's Gwalior +performance just twelve years before) hastened to assure the +British Government that he regarded them as supreme within their +own territories; and that, for his part, his sole and whole +object was to establish the Imperial authority in those +territories that were still subject to the Emperor. + +In this he had perfectly succeeded. The fame of his political +sagacity, and the terror of General de Boigne's arms, were +acknowledged from the Satlaj to the Ganges, and from the +Himalayas to the Vindhyas. And for nearly ten years the history +of Hindustan is the biography of a few foreign adventurers who +owed their position to his successes. In the centre of the +dominions swayed by the Dictator-Beadle were quartered two who +had attained to almost royal state in the persons of General de +Boigne and the Begam Sumroo: the one at Sardhana, the other at +Aligarh. The Chevalier du Drenec, who had not been well used by +Holkar, left (without the slightest blame) the service of that +unprosperous chief, and joined his quasi-compatriot and former +antagonist, the Savoyard de Boigne, as the commandant of a +battalion. The "dignity of History" in the last century has not +deigned to preserve any particulars of the private life of these +gallant soldiers; but one can fancy them of an evening at a table +furnished with clumsy magnificence, and drinking bad claret +bought up from the English merchants of Calcutta at fabulous +prices; not fighting over again the battle of Lakhairi, but +rather discussing the relative merits of the slopes of the Alps +and the cliffs of the Atlantic; admitting sorrowfully the merits +of the intermediate vineyards, or trilling to the bewilderment of +their country-born comrades, light little French songs of love +and wine. + +Among the officers of the Begam's army there would be few +congenial companions for such men. The Brigadier, Colonel +Levaissoult (or le Vasseur; it is impossible to be quite sure of +these names as manipulated by the natives of India), seems to +have been a young man of some merit. Her only other European +officer who was at all distinguished was an Irishman named George +Thomas, who had deserted from a man-of-war in Madras Roads about +ten years before, and after some obscure wanderings in the +Carnatic, had entered the Begam's service, and distinguished +himself, as we have seen, in the rescue of Shah Alam before +Gokalgarh, in 1788. The officers of the Begam's little army had +never recovered the taint thrown over the service by its original +founder, the miscreant Sumroo, and the merits of the gallant +young Irishman, tall, handsome, intrepid, and full of the +reckless generosity of his impulsive race, soon raised him to +distinction. About his military genius, untaught as it must have +been, there could be no doubt in the minds of those who had seen +the originality of his movement at Golkalgarh; his administrative +talents, one would suppose, must have given some indication by +this time of what they were hereafter to appear in a more leading +character, and upon a larger stage. + +Some time in 1792 the partiality of the Begam for M. Levaissoult +began to show itself; and Mr. Thomas who was not only conscious +of his own merits, but had all the hatred of a Frenchman which +characterized the British tar of those days, resolved to quit her +service and attempt a more independent career. With this view he +retired, in the first instance, to Anupshahar on the Ganges, so +often noticed in these pages, and now, for some time, the +cantonment of the frontier brigade of the English establishment +in the Presidency of the Fort William. Here he found a hospitable +welcome, and from this temporary asylum commenced a +correspondence with Appa Khandi Rao, a chief whom he had formerly +met in the Mahratta army, and whose service he presently entered +with an assignment of land in Ismail Beg's former Jaigir of +Mewat. In the Mewat country he remained for the next eighteen +months, engaged in a long and arduous attempt to subjugate his +nominal subjects; in which employment we must for the present +leave him engaged. + +In the meanwhile the Begam had been married to M. Levaissoult, +according to the rites of the ancient Church to which both +adhered. Unfortunately for the lady's present reputation and the +gentleman's official influence, the marriage was private; the +only witnesses of the ceremony being two of the bridegroom's +friends, MM. Saleur and Bernier. + +All this time Sindhia was at Punah endeavouring to raise his +influence in the Mahratta country to something like a level with +his power in Hindustan. But the situation was one of much greater +difficulty in the former instance than in the latter. In the one +case he had to deal with a blind old voluptuary, of whom he was +sole and supreme master; in the other the sovereign Madhu Rao +Peshwa was in the vigour of life, and had a confidential adviser +in the Nana Farnavis, who was almost a match for the Patel in +ability, and had an undoubted superiority in the much greater +unity of his objects and the comparative narrowness of his field +of action. It is no part of my task to trace the labyrinth of +Mahratta politics in a work which merely professes to sketch the +anarchy of Hindustan; it will be sufficient for our present +purpose to state that the Tarikh-i-Muzafari, the Persian history +to which we have heretofore been so largely indebted, notices an +incident as occurring at this time which is not detailed in the +usually complete record of Captain Grant Duff, though it is not +at variance with the account that he gives of Punah politics in +1794. The Persian author briefly states that the Peshwa (whose +mind was certainly at this time much embittered against Madhoji +Sindhia) sent assassins to waylay him at a little distance from +the city, against whose attack the Patel defended himself with +success, but only escaped at the expense of some severe wounds. +From the situation of the writer, who appears always to have +lived in Bihar or Hindustan, as well as from the vagueness with +which he tells the story, it is evidently a mere rumour deriving +some strength from the fact that Madhoji died at Wanauli, in the +neighbourhood of the Mahratta capital, on the 12th February of +that year, in the midst of intrigues in which he was opposed, not +only by the Nana, but by almost all the chiefs of the old +Mahratta party. + +An interesting and careful, though friendly analysis of the +Patel's character will be found in the fifth chapter of Grant +Duff's third volume. As evinced in his proceedings in Hindustan, +we have found him a master of untutored statecraft, combining in +an unusual manner the qualities of prudence in counsel and +enterprise in action; tenacious of his purposes, but a little +vulgar in his means of affecting opinion. He was possessed of the +accomplishment of reading and writing; was a good accountant and +versed in revenue administration; and thus able to act for +himself, instead of being obliged, like most Mahratta leaders, to +put himself into the hands of designing Brahmans. My valued +friend Sir Dinkar Rao informs me that, among other traditions of +high Mahratta society, he has been told by aged men that the +Maharaja was never known to evince serious displeasure save with +cowards and men who fled in battle. To all others his favour was +equal, and solely apportioned to merit, no matter what might be +their creed, caste, or colour. He showed discrimination and +originality in the wholesale reform that he introduced into the +organization of the army, and the extensive scale on which he +employed the services of soldiers trained and commanded by men of +a hardier race than themselves. Sic fortis Etruria crevit; and it +is curious to find the same circumstances which in the Middle +Ages of Europe caused the greatness of the Northern Italian +States thus reproducing themselves in the Italy of the East. + + + +NOTE. The following extract from the Dehli Gazette of June 5th, +1874, gives the existing tradition as to the domicile of the +officers at Aligarh: "De Boigne lived in his famous mansion, +called Sahib Bagh, between the fort and city, and on leaving for +France he gave it to Perron, who considerably improved the +building and garden, which was well laid out with all +descriptions of fruit trees procured from distant climes. He so +adorned the place that it was said by the French officers that +the garden was next to that of Ram Bagh, on the Agra river, so +beautiful was the scenery. Perron had a number of officers in his +army, English, French, and Italian. Next to Perron was Colonel +Pedron, who commanded the fortress of Allygurh; this officer had +his mansion in an extensive garden, which at the British conquest +was converted into the Judges' Court, and the site is the same +where it now stands. There are still some old jamun trees of the +said garden in the school compound. Chevalier Dudernaque was +another officer of distinction in Perron's Brigade; his house was +on the edge of the city, it still stands in the occupancy of +Khooshwuk Allee, a respectable Mahomedan, who has an Illaqua in +Sahnoul." History of Coel. Aligurhs, by an Old Resident. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +A.D. 1794-1800. + + + +Daulat Rao Sindhia Thomas adopted by Appa Khandi Rao +Revolution at Sardhana Begam Sumroo attacked but delivered +Begam Sumroo becomes a wiser Woman Movements of Afghans De +Boigne retires General Perron Musalman intrigues Afghans +checked Succession in Audh War of "The Bais" Afghans and +British Rising of Shimbunath Thomas independent Revolt of +Lakwa Dada Holkar's defeat at Indor Power of Perron. + + + +1794. THE powers and dignities of the old Patel were peaceably +assumed by Daulat Rao, the son of the deceased's youngest nephew, +whom he had, shortly before his death made preparations to adopt +as a son. This new minister was only in his fifteenth year, but +the chiefs of the Deccan soon becoming involved in war with their +Musalman neighbours, and Takuji Holkar shortly afterwards +becoming imbecile both in mind and in body, the young man had +leisure to consolidate his power. He retained eight battalions +always about him, under the command of a Neapolitan named Filose, +and continued to reside at Punah; the Begam Sumroo and her new +husband were at Sardhana; de Boigne at Aligarh; and Thomas still +engaged in conquering the country which had been nominally +conferred upon him by a chieftain who had no right to it himself. +Nothing can better show the anarchy that prevailed than such a +state of things as this last mentioned. + +The news of Madhoji's death, and the short suspense that followed +on the subject of the succession, caused some little confusion at +Dehli, and led Appa Khandi Rao to visit the metropolis, on which +occasion Thomas attended him. Here they received investiture to +their several fiefs from Sindhia's local representative, Gopal +Rao Bhao; but it was not long before this chief, stirred up, says +Thomas's biographer, by the Begam and her husband, begam to +tamper with the fidelity of Appa Khandi's men, who mutinied and +confined their chief. Thomas retaliated by plundering the Begam's +estates to the south of Dehli, and loyally escorted his master to +Kanaund. On this occasion Appa (who seems not to have been +destitute of good impulses) adopted him as his son, made him some +handsome presents, and conferred upon him the management of +several contiguous tracts, yielding in all an annual revenue of +one lakh and a half of the money of those days. + +One cannot wonder at the faith in the pagoda-tree which formed so +prominent an article of the English social creed of those days, +when we thus find a common sailor, at forty years of age, +attended by a body-guard of chosen cavaliers, and managing +districts as large and rich as many a minor kingdom. No doubt the +price paid was high. Thomas's exertions were evidently prodigious +and ceaseless; while his position nay, his very existence was +extremely precarious. On the other hand, his prospect of +realizing any part of his good fortune, and retiring to enjoy it +in his native Tipperary - which must have sometimes presented +itself to his mind was certainly not hopeful. To the degenerate +Europeans of the present day, whose programme involves constant +holidays in a mountain climate, occasional furloughs to England, +and, when resident in India, a residence made endurable by +imported luxuries, and by every possible precaution against heat, +there is something almost incredible in this long life of exile, +where the English language would not be heard for years, and +where quilted curtains and wooden shutters would be all the +protection of the most luxurious quarters, and an occasional +carouse upon fiery bazaar spirits the chief excitement of the +most peaceful intervals of repose. Such intervals, however, were +very rare; and the sense of constant struggles in which one's +success was entirely due to one's own merits, must have been the +chief reward of such a life as Thomas was now leading. + +Foremost among the difficulties with which he had to contend was +the uncertain character of his chief: and he was at the time of +which we are treating 1794 strongly tempted by Lakwa Dada to +enter the service of Sindhia, in which he was offered the command +of 2,000 horse. This temptation, however, he manfully resisted, +and continued true to Appa, even though that chief was neither +true to his follower nor to himself. Whilst thus engaged in a +cause of but small promise, he was once more exposed to the +machinations of the Begam, who, influenced by her husband, +marched into Thomas's new district and encamped about three +marches S.E. from Jhajar, at the head of a force of four +battalions of infantry, twenty guns, and four squadrons of horse. +Thomas made instant preparations to meet the invasion, when it +was suddenly rolled away in a manner which presents one of the +characteristic dissolving views of that extraordinary period. + +The ruffianly character of most of the officers in the Sardhana +service has been already mentioned. With the exception of one or +two, they could not read or write, and they had all the debauched +habits and insolent bearing which are the besetting sins of the +uneducated European in India; especially when to the natural +pride of race are added the temptations of a position of +authority for which no preparation has been made in youth. Among +these men (whom Le Vaissoult, not unnaturally, refused to admit +to his dinner-table) was a German or Belgian, now only known to +us by the nickname of Liegeois, probably derived from his native +place. With this man it is supposed that Thomas now opened a +correspondence by means of which he practiced on the disaffection +of his former comrades. The secrecy which the Begam continued to +preserve on the subject of her marriage naturally added to the +unpopularity of Le Vaissoult's position; and the husband and wife +hurried back to Sardhana on learning that the officers had +commenced negotiations with Aloysius the son of the deceased +Sumroo, who resided at Dehli with the title of Nawab Zafaryab +Khan, and had carried over with them a portion of the troops. +Finding the situation untenable, they soon resolved on quitting +it and retiring into the territories of the British with their +portable property, estimated at about two lakhs of rupees. With +this view they wrote to Colonel McGowan, commanding the brigade +at Anupshahar; and finding that officer scrupulous at +participating at the desertion of an Imperial functionary, Le +Vaissoult, in April, 1794, addressed the Governor General direct. +The result was that Sindhia's permission was obtained to a secret +flitting; and Le Vaissoult was to be treated as a prisoner of +war, allowed to reside with his wife at Chandarnagar. + +Towards the end of 1795, Zafaryab, at the head of the revolted +soldiery set out from Dehli; determined, by what judicial +stupidity I cannot tell, to cut off the escape of that enemy for +whom, if he had been wise, he ought to have paved the road, had +it been with silver. The intelligence of this movement +precipitated Le Vaissoult's measures; and he set out with his +wife the latter was in a palankeen, the former armed and on +horseback with a mutual engagement between them that neither +was to survive if certified of the death of the other. The troops +who still remained at Sardhana, either corrupted by the +mutineers, or willing to secure the plunder before the latter +should arrive, immediately set out in pursuit. The sequel is thus +told by Sleeman, who gathered his information from eye-witnesses +on the spot: "They had got three miles on the road to Meerut, +when they found the battalions gaining fast upon the palankeen. +Le Vaissoult drew a pistol from his holster and urged on the +bearers. He could have easily galloped off and saved himself, but +he would not quit his wife's side. At last the soldiers came up +close behind them. The female attendants of the Begam began to +scream, and looking into the litter, Le Vaissoult observed the +white cloth that covered the Begam's breast stained with blood. +She had stabbed herself, but the dagger had struck against one of +the bones of her chest, and she had not courage to repeat the +blow. Her husband put the pistol to his temple and fired. The +ball passed through his head, and he fell dead to the ground." +This tragedy is somewhat differently detailed in the account +furnished by Thomas to his biographer, which is made to favour +the suspicion that the Begam intentionally deceived her husband +in order to lead him to commit suicide. Thomas says that Le +Vaissoult was riding at the head of the procession, and killed +himself on receiving a message from the rear attested by the +sight of a blood-stained garment borne by the messenger: but it +is hard to see why a man in his position should have been absent +from his wife's side at such a critical moment. Thomas was +naturally disposed to take an unfavourable view of the Begam's +conduct; but the immediate results of the scene were certainly +not such as to support the theory of her having any understanding +with the mutineers. She was carried back to the Fort, stripped of +her property, and tied under a gun. In this situation she +remained several days, and would have died of starvation but for +the good offices of a faithful ayah, who continued to visit her +mistress, and supply her more pressing necessities. + +The new Nawab was a weak and dissolute young man; and the Begam +had a friend among the officers, Saleur, whom the reader may +recollect as one of the witnesses of her marriage. She was ere +long released, and M. Saleur lost no time in communicating with +Thomas, whose aid he earnestly invoked. The generous Irishman, +forgetful of the past, at once wrote strongly to his friends in +the service, pointing out that the disbandment of the force would +be the only possible result of their persisting in disorderly +conduct, so detrimental to the welfare of the Emperor and his +minister. He followed up this peaceful measure by a rapid march +on Sardhana, where he surprised the Nawab by dashing upon him at +the head of the personal escort of horse, which formed part of +the retinue of every leader of those days. The troops, partly +corrupted, partly intimidated, tired of being their own masters, +and disappointed in Zafaryab, made a prisoner of their new chief. +He was plundered to the skin, and sent back to Dehli under +arrest; while the Begam, by the chivalry of one she had ill-used +for years, recovered her dominions, and retained them unmolested +for the rest of her life. The secret of her behaviour is probably +not very difficult of discovery. Desirous of giving to her +passion for the gallant young Frenchman the sanction of her +adopted religion, she was unwilling to compromise her position as +Sumroo's heir by a publicly acknowledged re-marriage. She had +large possessions and many enemies; so that, once determined to +indulge her inclinations, she had to choose between incurring +scandalous suspicions, and jeopardising a succession which would +be contested, if she were known to have made a fresh and an +unpopular marriage. + +M. Saleur was now appointed to the command of the forces; but the +astute woman never again allowed the weakness of her sex to +imperil her sovereignty; and from the period of her restoration +by Thomas (who spent two lakhs of rupees in the business), to the +date of her death in 1836, her supremacy was never again menaced +by any domestic danger. Having, as far as can be conjectured, now +arrived at the ripe age of forty-two, it may be hoped that she +had learned to conquer the impulse that sometimes leads a female +sovereign to make one courtier her master, at the expense of +making all the rest her enemies. The management of her extensive +territories henceforward occupied her chief attention, and they +were such as to require a very great amount of labour and time +for their effective supervision: stretching from the Ganges to +beyond the Jamna, and from the neighbourhood of Aligarh to the +north of Mozafarnagar. There was also a Jaigir on the opposite +side of the Jamna, which has formed the subject of litigation +between her heirs and the Government in recent times. Her +residence continued to be chiefly at Sardhana, where she +gradually built the palace, convent, school, and cathedral, which +are still in existence. Peace and order were well kept throughout +her dominions; no lawless chiefs were allowed to harbour +criminals and defraud the public revenue; and the soil was +maintained in complete cultivation. This is considerable praise +for an Asiatic ruler; the reverse of the medal will have to be +looked at hereafter. + +Death soon relieved her of all anxiety on the score of her +undutiful stepson, who drank himself to death in his arrest at +Dehli, leaving a daughter, who married a Mr. Dyce, and became the +mother of Mr. D. O. Dyce-Sombre, whose melancholy story is fresh +in the memory of the present generation. Zafaryab Khan was buried +like his infamous father at Agra. But his monument is not in the +cemetery, but in a small church since secularized. + +Thomas was now, for the moment, completely successful. The +intrigues of his Mahratta enemy Gopal Rao ended in that officer +being superseded, and Thomas's friend Lakwa Dada became +Lieutenant-General in Hindustan. Appa Khandi, it is true, +commenced a course of frivolous treachery towards his faithful +servant and adopted son, which can only be accounted for on the +supposition of a disordered intellect; but Thomas remained in the +field, everywhere putting down opposition, and suppressing all +marauding, unless when his necessities tempted him to practise it +on his own account. + +About this time we begin, for the first time, to find mention of +the threatening attitude of the Afghans, which was destined to +exercise on the affairs of Hindustan an influence so important, +yet so different from what the invaders themselves could have +anticipated. Timur Shah, the kinsman to whom Shah Alam alludes in +his poem, had died in June, 1793; and after a certain amount of +domestic disturbance, one of his sons had succeeded under the +title of Zaman Shah. The Calcutta Gazette of 28th May, 1795, thus +notices the new ruler: + +"Letters from Dehli mention that Zaman Shah, the ruler of the +Abdalees, meditated an incursion into Hindustan, but had been +prevented, for the present, by the hostility of his brothers. . . +. . We are glad to hear the Sikhs have made no irruption into the +Doab this season." + +This Zaman Shah is the same who died, many years later, a blind +pensioner of the English at Ludiana; and for the restoration of +whose dynasty, among other objects, the British expedition to +Kabul in 1839 took place. + +To this period also belongs the unsuccessful attempt to revive +Musalman power in the South of India, in which the Nizam of the +Deccan engaged with the aid of his French General, the famous +Raymond. The battle fought at Kardla, near Ahmadnagar, on the +12th March, 1795, is remarkable for the number of Europeans and +their trained followers who took part on either side. On the +Nizam's side, besides a vast force of horse and foot of the +ordinary Asiatic kind, there were no less than 17,000 infantry +under Raymond, backed by a large force of regular cavalry and +artillery. The Mahrattas had 10,000 regulars under Perron, 5,000 +under Filose, 3,000 under Hessing, 4,500 under du Drenec and +Boyd. An animated account of this battle will be found in Colonel +Malleson's excellent book, The Final Struggles of the French in +India, in which, with admirable research and spirit, the gallant +author has done justice to the efforts of the brave Frenchmen by +whom British victory was so often checked in its earlier flights. +The power of the Musalmans was completely broken by Perron and +his associates on this occasion. It is further remarkable as the +last general assembly of the chiefs of the Mahratta nation under +the authority of their Peshwa (Grant Duff, ii. 284-8). The Moghul +power in the Deccan was only preserved by the intervention of the +British, and has ever since been dependent on their Government. + +Early in 1796 a change was perceptible in the health of General +de Boigne, which time and war had tried for nearly a quarter of a +century in various regions. He had amassed a considerable fortune +by his exertions during this long period, and entertained the +natural desire of retiring with it to his native country. Sindhia +had no valid ground for opposing his departure, and he set out +for Calcutta somewhere about the middle of the year, accompanied +by his personal escort mounted upon choice Persian horses who +were afterwards taken into the British Governor's body-guard. In +the profession of a soldier of fortune, rising latterly to almost +unbounded power, de Boigne had shown all the virtues that are +consistent with the situation. By simultaneous attention to his +own private affairs he amassed a fortune of nearly half a million +sterling, which he was fortunate enough to land in his own +country, where it must have seemed enormous. He lived for many +years after as a private gentleman in Savoy, with the title of +Count, and visitors from India were always welcome and sure of +being hospitably entertained by the veteran with stories of +Mahratta warfare. On the 1st February, 1797, he was succeeded, +after some brief intermediate arrangements, by M. Perron, an +officer of whom we have already had some glimpses, and whom de +Boigne considered as a steady man and a brave soldier. Like +Thomas, he had come to India in some humble capacity on board a +man-of-war, and had first joined the native service under Mr. +Sangster, as a non-commissioned officer. De Boigne gave him a +company in the first force which he raised, with the title of +Captain-Lieut. On the absconding of Lestonneaux, in 1788, as +above described when that officer was supposed to have +appropriated the plunder taken by Gholam Kadir on his flight from +Meerut Perron succeeded to the command of a battalion, from +which, after the successes of the army against Ismail Beg, he +rose to the charge of a brigade. He was now placed over the whole +regular army, to which the civil administration, on de Boigne's +system, was inseparably attached, and under him were brigades +commanded by Colonel du Drenec and by other officers, chiefly +French, of whom we shall see more hereafter. De Boigne, while +entertaining a high opinion of Perron's professional ability, +seems to have misdoubted his political wisdom, for both Fraser +and Duff assert that he solemnly warned Daulat Rao Sindhia +against those very excesses into which partly by Perron's +counsel he was, not long after, led. "Never to offend the +British, and sooner to discharge his troops than risk a war," was +the gist of the General's parting advice. + +Sindhia remaining in the Deccan, in pursuance of his uncle's plan +of managing both countries at once, the ax-Sergeant became very +influential in Hindustan, where (jealousies with his Mahratta +colleagues excepted) the independent career of George Thomas was +the only serious difficulty with which he had to contend. + +For the present the two seamen did not come in contact, for +Thomas confined his operations to the west and north-west, and +found his domestic troubles and the resistance of the various +neighbouring tribes sufficient to fully occupy his attention. +Scarcely had he patched up a peace with his treacherous employer, +and brought affairs in Mewat to something like a settlement, when +his momentary quiet was once more disturbed by the intelligence +that Appa had committed suicide by drowning himself, and that his +son and successor, Vaman Rao, was showing signs of an intention +to imitate the conduct of the deceased in its untruthful and +unreliable character. With the exception of a brief campaign in +the Upper Doab, in which the fortified towns of Shamli and +Lakhnaoti had rebelled, Thomas does not appear to have had any +active employment until he finally broke with Vaman Rao. + +The rebellion of the Governor of Shamli (which Thomas suppressed +with vigour) seems to have been connected with the movements of +the restless Rohillas of the Najibabad clan, whose chief was now +Bhanbu Khan, brother of the late Gholam Kadir, and an exile among +the Sikhs since the death of his brother and the destruction of +the Fort of Ghausgarh. Profiting by the long-continued absence of +Sindhia, he re-opened that correspondence with the Afghans which +always formed part of a Mohamadan attempt in Hindustan, and +appealed, at the same time, to the avarice of the Sikhs, which +had abundantly recovered its temporary repulse by Mirza Najaf in +1779. The grandson of the famous Abdali soon appeared at Peshawar +at the head of 33,000 Afghan horse. But the Sikhs and Afghans +soon quarrelled; a desperate battle was fought between them at +Amritsar, in which, after a futile cannonade, the Sikhs flung +themselves upon Zaman's army in the most reckless manner. The +aggregate losses were estimated at 35,000 men. The Shah retreated +upon Lahor; and the disordered state of the Doab began to be +reflected in the only half-subdued conquests of the Viceroy of +Audh in Rohilkand. + +At this crisis 'Asaf-ud-daulah, the then holder of this title, +died at Lucknow, 21st September, 1797, and it was by no means +certain that his successor, Vazir 'Ali, would not join in the +reviving struggles of his co-religionists. It must be remembered +that, in virtue of its subjugation to the Sindhias, the Empire +was now regarded as a Hindu power, and that Shia and Sunni might +well be expected to join, as against the Mahrattas or the +English, however they might afterwards quarrel over the spoil, +should success attend their efforts. Furthermore it is to be +noted that in this or the following year the Afghans, under Zaman +Shah, were known to be advancing again upon Lahor. + +This state of things appeared to the then Governor-General of the +British possessions sufficiently serious to warrant an active +interposition. The calm courage of Sir John Shore, who held a +local investigation into what, to most politicians, might have +appeared a very unimportant matter namely, whether the +heir-apparent was really 'Asaf-ud-daulah's son or not; the grave +decision against his claims (the claims of a de facto prince); +his deposition and supersession by his eldest uncle, Saadat 'Ali +the Second; and Vazir 'Ali's subsequent violence, when, too late +to save his throne, he contrived, by the gratuitous murder of Mr. +Cherry, the British resident at Benares, to convert his position +from that of a political martyr to that of a life-convict, are +all amply detailed in the well-known History of Mill, and in the +Life of Lord Teignmouth by his son. Shore, at the same time, sent +an embassy to Persia under Mahdi 'Ali Khan, the result of which +was an invasion of Western Afghanistan and the consequent +retirement of the Shah from the Panjab. The events referred to +only so far belong to the History of Hindustan, that they are a +sort of crepuscular appearance there of British power, and show +how the most upright and moderate statesmen of that nation were +compelled, from time to time, to make fresh advances into the +political sphere of the Empire. + +About this time died Takaji Holkar, who had lately ceased to play +any part in the politics, either of Hindustan or of the Deccan. +He was no relation, by blood, of the great founder of the house +of Holkar, Malhar Rao; but he had carried out the traditionary +policy of the clan, which may be described in two words +hostility to Sindhia, and alliance with any one, Hindu or +Musalman, by whom that hostility might be aided. He was succeeded +by his illegitimate son Jaswant Rao, afterwards to become famous +for his long and obstinate resistance to the British; but for the +present only remarkable for the trouble that he soon began to +give Daulat Rao Sindhia. + +1798. The latter, meanwhile, as though there were no such +persons as Afghans or English within the limits of India, was +engaging in domestic affairs of the most paltry character. His +marriage (1st March) with the daughter of the Ghatgai, Shirji +Rao, put him into the hands of that notorious person, whose +ambition soon entangled the young chief in the obscure and +discreditable series of outrages and of intrigues regarding his +uncle's widow, known as the War of the Bais. The cause of these +ladies being espoused by Madhoji's old commander, Lakwa Dada, +whom the younger Sindhia had, as we have seen, raised to the +Lieutenant-Generalship of the Empire, a serious campaign +(commenced in May) was the result. Sindhia's army (nominally the +army of the Emperor) was under the chief command of Ambaji +Inglia, and in 1798 a campaign of some magnitude was undertaken, +with very doubtful results. + +The ladies first retreated to the camp of the Peshwa's brother, +Imrat Rao, but were captured by a treacherous attack ordered by +Sindhia's general, and undertaken by M. Drugeon, a French +officer, at the head of two regular brigades, during the +unguarded hours of a religious festival. This was an overt act of +warfare against Sindhia's lawful superior, the Peshwa, in whose +protection the ladies were, and threw the Peshwa into the hands +of the British and their partizans. + +Sindhia, for his part, entered into negotiations with the famous +usurper of Mysore, Tippu Sultan, who was the hereditary opponent +of the British, and who soon after lost his kingdom and his life +before the Mahrattas could decide upon an open espousal of his +cause. + +1799. The glory of the coming conquerors now began to light up +the politics of Hindustan. The Afghans retired from Lahor in +January, and were soon discovered to have abandoned their +attempts on Hindustan for the present. But it was not known how +long it might be before they were once more renewed. The +celebrated treaty of "subsidiary alliance" between the British +and the Nizam (22nd June, 1799), occupied the jealous attention +of Sindhia, who had accommodated matters with the Peshwa, and +taken up his quarters at Punah, where his immense material +resources rendered him almost paramount. Still more was his +jealousy aroused by the knowledge that, as long as the attitude +of the Afghans continued to menace the ill-kept peace of the +Empire, the British must be of necessity driven to keep watch in +that quarter, in proportion, at least, as he, for his part, might +be compelled to do so elsewhere. To add to his perplexities, +Jaswant Rao Holkar, the hereditary rival of his house, about this +time escaped from the captivity of Nagpur. to which Sindhia's +influence had consigned him. Thus pressed on all sides, the +Minister restored Lakwa Dada to favour, and by his aid quelled a +fresh outbreak in the Upper Doab, where Shimbunath, the officer +in charge of the Bawani Mahal, had called in the Sikhs in aid of +his attempts at independence. Shimbunath was met and repulsed by +a Moghul officer, named Ashraf Beg; and, hearing that Perron had +sent reinforcements under Captain Smith, retired to the Panjab. + +At the same time the Mahratta Governor of Dehli rebelled, but +Perron reduced him after a short siege, and replaced him by +Captain Drugeon, the French officer already mentioned in +reference to the war of the Bais. + +Thomas was for the present quite independent; and it may interest +the reader to have a picture, however faint, of the scene in +which this extraordinary conversion of a sailor into a sovereign +took place. Hansi is one of the chief towns of the arid province +curiously enough called Hariana, or "Green land," which lies +between Dehli and the Great Sindh Deserts. When Thomas first +fixed on it as the seat of his administration, it was a ruin +among the fragments of the estates which had belonged to the +deceased Najaf Kuli Khan. His first care was to rebuild the +fortifications and invite settlers; and such was his reputation, +that the people of the adjacent country, long plundered by the +wild tribes of Bhatiana, and by the Jats of the Panjab, were not +slow in availing themselves of his protection. Here, to use his +own words, "I established a mint, and coined my own rupees, which +I made current (!) in my army and country . . . . cast my own +artillery, commenced making muskets, matchlocks, and +powder.....till at length, having gained a capital and country +bordering on the Sikh territories, I wished to put myself in a +capacity, when a favourable opportunity should offer, of +attempting the conquest of the Panjab, and aspired to the honour +of placing the British standard on the banks of the Attock." + +His new possessions consisted of 14 Pargannas, forming an +aggregate of 250 townships, and yielding a total revenue of +nearly three lakhs of rupees, Thomas being forced to make very +moderate settlements with the farmers in order to realize +anything. From his former estates, acquired in the Mahratta +service, which he still retained, he derived nearly a lakh and a +half more. + +Having made these arrangements, Thomas consented to join Vaman +Rao, the son of his former patron, in a foray upon the Raja of +Jaipur; and in this was nearly slain, only escaping with the loss +of his lieutenant, John Morris, and some hundreds of his best +men. He then renewed his alliance with Ambaji Sindhia's favourite +general, who was about to renew the war against Lakwa Dada in the +Udaipur country. + +This new campaign was the consequence of Lakwa having connived at +the escape of the Bais, a trait of conduct creditable to his +regard for the memory of Madhoji Sindhia, his old master, but +ruinous to his own interests. For the moment, however, the Dada +was completely successful, routing all the detachments sent +against him, and taking possession of a considerable portion of +Rajputana. + +Thomas did not join this campaign without undergoing a fresh +danger from the mutiny of his own men. This is a species of peril +to which persons in his position seem to have been peculiarly +open; and it is related that the infamous Sumroo was sometimes +seized by his soldiers, and seated astride upon a heated cannon, +in order to extort money from him. In the gallant Irishman the +troops had a different subject for their experiments; and the +disaffection was soon set at rest by Thomas seizing the +ringleaders with his own hands, and having them blown from guns +on the spot. This is a concrete exhibition of justice which +always commands the respect of Asiatics; and we hear of no more +mutinies in Thomas's army. + +1800. In 1800 the sailor-Raja led his men once more against +their neighbours to the north and northwest of his territories, +and gathered fresh laurels. He was now occupied in no less a +scheme than the conquest of the entire Panjab, from which +enterprise he records that he had intended to return, like +another Nearchus, by way of the Indus, to lay his conquests at +the feet of George the Third of England. But the national foes of +that monarch were soon to abridge the career of his enterprising +subject, the Irish Raja of Hansi. For the present, Perron marched +into the country of the Dattia Raja, in Bandelkhand, and entirely +defeated Lakwa Dada, who soon after cried of his wounds. His +success was at first balanced by Holkar, who routed a detachment +of the Imperial army, under Colonel Hessing, at Ujain. Hessing's +four battalions were completely cut up; and of eleven European +officers, seven were slain and three made prisoners. This event +occurred in June, 1801. But it was not long before the disaster +was retrieved at Indor (the present seat of the Holkar family), +by a fresh force under Colonel Sutherland. Holkar lost +ninety-eight guns, and his capital was seized and sacked by the +victors, about four months after the former battle. + +The French commander of the regular troops was indeed now master +of the situation. Victorious in the field, in undisturbed +possession of the Upper Doab, and with a subordinate of his own +nation in charge of the metropolis and person of the sovereign, +General Perron was not disposed to brook the presence of a rival + and that a Briton in an independent position of sovereignty +within a few miles of Dehli. The French sailor and the English +sailor having surmounted their respective difficulties, were now, +in fact, face to face, each the only rival that the other had to +encounter in the Empire of Hindustan. + + + +NOTE. Thomas describes the Begam as small and plump; her +complexion fair, her eyes large and animated. She wore the +Hindustani costume, made of the most costly materials. She spoke +Persian and Urdu fluently, and attended personally to business, +giving audience to her native employee behind a screen. At +darbars she appeared veiled; but in European society she took her +place at table, waited on exclusively by maid-servants. Her +statue, surmounting a group in white marble by Tadolini, stands +over her tomb in the Church at Sardhana. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A.D. 1801-3. + + + +Feuds of the Mahrattas Perron attacks Thomas End of Thomas +Treaty of Bassein Lord Wellesley Treaty of Lucknow +Wellesley supported Fear of the French Sindhia threatened +Influence of Perron - Plans of the French The First Consul +Wellesley's Views War declared Lake's Force Sindhia's +European Officers, English and French Anti-English Feelings and +Fall of Perron Battle of Dehli Lake enters the Capital +Emperor's Petition No Treaty made. + + + +1801. THE end was now indeed approaching. Had the Mahrattas +been united, it is possible that their confederacy might have +retrieved the disasters of 1760-1, and attained a position in +Hindustan similar to that which was soon after achieved by the +Sikhs in the Panjab. But this could not be. The Peshwa still +assumed to be Vicegerent of the Empire, as well as head of the +Mahrattas, under the titular supremacy of Satara, and Sindhia +affected to rule in Hindustan as the Peshwa's Deputy. But the new +Peshwa, Baji Rao having dislodged the usurping minister Nana +Farnavis had proceeded to provoke the Holkars. Jeswant Rao, the +present head of that clan, took up arms against the Peshwa, whose +side was espoused by Sindhia; and Sindhia consequently found +himself constrained to leave the provinces north of the Narbadda +to the charge of subordinates. Of these the most powerful and the +most arrogant was the promoted Quarter-Master Sergeant, now +General Perron. + +As long as the last-named officer was in a subordinate position, +he evinced much honourable manhood. But the extremes of +prosperity and adversity proved alike the innate vulgarity of the +man's nature. + +When every hereditary prince, from the Satlaj to the Narbadda, +acknowledged him as master, and he enjoyed an income equal to +that of the present Viceroy and the Commander-in-Chief of India +combined; at this climacteric of his fortunes, when he was +actually believed to have sent an embassy to the First Consul of +the French Republic, instead of seriously and soberly seeking to +consolidate his position, or resign it with honour, his insolence +prepared the downfall which he underwent with disgrace. + +Not content with openly flouting his Mahratta colleagues, and +estranging such of the Europeans as were not his connections or +his creatures, he now summoned George Thomas to Dehli, and called +upon him to enter Sindhia's service in other words, to own his +(Perron's) supremacy. The British tar repudiated this invitation +with national and professional disdain; upon which a strong +Franco-Mahratta army invaded his territories under Louis +Bourquin, one of Perron's lieutenants. Judgment formed no part of +Thomas's character; but he acted with his wonted decision. +Sweeping round the invading host, he fell upon the detachment at +Georgegarh one of his forts which was being beleaguered and +having routed the besiegers with great loss, threw himself into +the place, and protected his front with strong outworks, +resolving to await assistance from Holkar, or to seize a +favourable opportunity to strike another blow. + +Events showed the imprudence of this plan. No aid came; the +French being reinforced, invested his camp, so as to produce a +blockade: corruption from the enemy joined with their own +distress to cause many desertions of Thomas's soldiers, till at +length their leader saw no alternative but flight. About 9 P.M. +therefore, on the 10th November, 1801, he suddenly darted forth +at the head of his personal following, and succeeded in reaching +Hansi by a circuitous route, riding the same horse a fine +Persian upwards of a hundred miles in less than three days. But +his capital was soon invested by his relentless foes as strictly +as his camp had been; and although the influence of his character +was still shown in the brave defence made by the few select +troops whom neither hope nor fear could force from his side, he +was at last obliged to see the cruelty of taxing their fidelity +any farther. M. Bourquin was much incensed against this obstinate +antagonist; but the latter obtained terms through the mediation +of the other officers, and was allowed to retire to British +territory with the wreck of his fortune, on the 1st of January, +1802. He died in August, on his way down to Calcutta, and was +interred at Barhampur. He left a family, of whom the Begam Sumroo +at first took charge, but their descendants have now become mixed +with the ordinary population of the country. + +This extraordinary man was largely endowed by Nature, both +morally and physically. During the time of his brief authority he +settled a turbulent country, and put down some crimes, such as +female infanticide, with which all the power of Britain has not +always coped successfully. It would have been profitable to the +British Government had they supported him in his manful struggles +against Mahratta lawlessness, and against French ambition and +ill-will. + +1802. The overthrow of Thomas was nearly the last of Sindhia's +successes. Having made a final arrangement with the Bais (from +whom we here gladly part), he confined his attention to the +politics of the Deccan, where he underwent a severe defeat from +Holkar, at Punah, in October, 1802. The Peshwa, on whose side +Sindhia had been fighting, sought refuge with the British at +Bassein, and Holkar obtained temporary possession of the Mahratta +capital. On the 31st of December the celebrated treaty of Bassein +was concluded with the Peshwa. It appears from the Wellington +Dispatches, published by Mr. Owen in 1880, that this treaty was +certainly not conceived in a spirit of hostility to Daulat Rao. +He was a party directly, to the preceding negotiations and, by +the agency of his minister, "to the whole transaction." (Owen's +Selection, p. 30.) Still, as Mr. Wheeler has pointed out, this +instrument tended to substitute the British as the paramount +power in Hindustan (Short History, p. 433), and "shut Sindhia out +from the grand object of his ambition, namely, to rule the +Mahratta empire in the name of the Peshwa." One of the articles +of the treaty debarred the Mahrattas from entertaining French +officers. Grant Duff had seen a secret letter written shortly +after the date of the treaty by the Peshwa in which he summoned +Sindhia to Punah. (II. Grant Duff, p. 384.) Then, not only +supplanted by the British as Protector of the Mahratta State, but +alarmed on the score of his position in Hindustan, Sindhia began +to intrigue with the hitherto inactive Mahratta chief, Raghoji, +the Bhonsla Raja of Nagpur. + +Aided by the British under the already famous Arthur Wellesley, +the Peshwa soon regained his metropolis, which Sindhia was +preparing to occupy. That chief was still further estranged in +consequence of the disappointment. + +Holkar now held aloof, wisely resolving to remain neutral, at +least until his rival should be either overthrown or +irresistible. The Governor- General, Marquis Wellesley, apprised +by his brother and other political officers of the intrigues of +Sindhia, demanded from the latter a categorical explanation of +his intentions. And this not being given, General Wellesley was +ordered to open the campaign in the Deccan, while General Lake +co-operated in the Doab of Hindustan. + +In order to appreciate the grounds of this most important +measure, it will be necessary to break through the rule by which +I have been hitherto guided of keeping nothing before the reader +besides the affairs of Hindustan proper. The motives of Lord +Wellesley formed part of a scheme of policy embracing nearly the +whole inhabited world; and whether we think him right or wrong, +we can hardly avoid the conclusion that the virtual assumption of +the Moghul Empire at this time was due to his personal character +and political projects. + +As far back as February, 1801, the Governor-General had +co-operated in European affairs by sending a contingent to Egypt +under General Baird; though the force arrived too late to +participate actively in a campaign by which the French were +expelled from that country. A twelvemonth later the Marquis +received official intimation of the virtual conclusion of the +negotiations on which was based the Peace of Amiens. In the +interval he had sent his brother, Mr. Henry Wellesley, to +Lucknow, and had concluded through that agency the famous treaty +of the 10th November, 1801, by which British rule was introduced +into Gorakpur, the Eastern and Central Doab, and a large part of +Rohilkand. The immediate result of this will be seen ere long. + +Having inaugurated these important changes in the position of +British power in the East, Lord Wellesley now notified to the +Court of Directors (by whom he had conceived himself thwarted), +his intention to resign his office, and to return to Europe in +the following December. At the same time he issued to General +Lake, the Commander-in-Chief, instructions for a substantial +reduction of the forces. He added however the following +remarkable words: "It is indispensable to our safety in India +that we should be prepared to meet any future crisis of war with +unembarrassed resources;" words whereby he showed that even +reduction was undertaken with an eye to future exertions. In a +similar spirit he rebuked the naval Commander Admiral Rainier, +for refusing to employ against the Mauritius the forces that had +been set free by the evacuation of Egypt; laying down in terms as +decided as courtesy permitted the principle that, as responsible +agent, he had a right to be implicitly obeyed by all His +Majesty's servants. + +And that bold assertion received the approbation of King George +III., in a despatch of the 5th May; the further principle being +communicated by the writer, Lord Hobart, in His Majesty's name, +"that it should be explicitly understood that in the distant +possessions of the British empire during the existence of war, +the want of the regular authority should not preclude an attack +upon the enemy in any case that may appear calculated to promote +the public interest." + +Thus fortified, the Governor-General was persuaded to reconsider +his intention of at once quitting India, the more so since the +terms in which the Court of Directors recorded their desire that +he should do so, displayed an almost equal confidence, and +amounted, if not to any apology for past obstruction, at least to +a promise of support for the future. In his despatch of 24th +December, 1802, Lord Wellesley plainly alluded to the opening for +extending the British power in India which he considered to be +offered by the then pending treaty of Bassein, though at the same +time he records, apparently without apprehension, the intention +of Sindhia to proceed from Ujan towards Punah to counteract the +machinations of Holkar. On the 11th February, 1803, Lord +Wellesley signified his willingness to remain at his post another +year, though without referring to any military or political +prospects. + +But the direction in which his eye was constantly cast is soon +betrayed by a despatch of the 27th March, to General Lake, +conveying instructions for negotiating with General Perron, who, +from motives we shall briefly notice lower down, was anxious to +retire from the service of Sindhia. In this letter Lord Wellesley +plainly says, "I am strongly disposed to accelerate Hr. Perron's +departure, conceiving it to be an event which promises much +advantage to our power in India." + +It appears, nevertheless, from the Marquis's address to the +Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of 19th April, 1803, +that, up to that time, he still entertained hopes that Sindhia +would remain inactive, and would see his advantage in giving his +adhesion to the treaty of Bassein, if not from friendship for +England, from hostility to Holkar, against whom that settlement +was primarily and ostensibly directed. Meanwhile, advices +continued to arrive from Europe, showing the extremely precarious +nature of the Peace of Amiens, and the imminent probability of a +renewal of hostilities with France, thus keeping awake the +Governor-General's jealousy of Sindhia's French officers, and +delaying the restoration of French possessions in India, which +had been promised by the treaty. + +In May the Marquis proceeded explicitly to forbid the crossing of +the Narbadda by Sindhia, and to warn the Bhonsla Raja of Berar or +Nagpur against joining in the schemes of the former chief, to +whom a long and forcible despatch was sent, through the Resident, +Colonel Collins, in the early part of the following month (vide +W. Desp. p. 120). In this letter Colonel Collins while vested +with much discretionary power was distinctly instructed to +"apprise Scindiah (Sindhia) that his proceeding to Poonah, under +any pretext whatever, will infallibly involve him in hostilities +with the British power." The Resident was also to require from +him "an explanation with regard to the object of any confederacy" +with the Bhonsla chiefs of Berar and Nagpur, or with Holkar. +Sindhia met all these approaches with the Oriental resources of +equivocation and delay; apparently unable either to arrange with +due rapidity any definite understanding with the other Mahratta +leaders, or to make up his mind, or persuade his chief advisers +to give a confident and unconditional reception to the friendship +offered him by the British ruler. Whether the latter course would +have saved him is a question that now can only be decided by each +person's interpretation of the despatches above analysed. + +Those who desire to study the subject further may refer to the +first volume of Malcolm's Political History, to Mill's History, +and to Grant Duff's concluding volume, but will hardly obtain +much result from their labour. On the one hand, it may be +presumed that, had the British Government really been ambitious +of extending their North-Western frontier, they would have +assisted Thomas in 1801; on the other hand, it is certain that +they supplanted Sindhia at Punah soon afterwards, and that they +had for some years been exceedingly jealous of French influence +in India. In this connection should also be mentioned the +invasion planned by the Czar Paul, in concert with the First +Consul, in 1800, of which the details were first made public in +English by Mr. Michell (Rawlinson's England and Russia in the +East, p. 187). The general fact of Paul's submission to the +ascendancy of Napoleon was, of course, well known to British +statesmen at the time. There was also the fear of an Afghan +invasion, which led to the mission of Malcolm to Persia, and +which was, perhaps, not the mere bugbear which it now appears. A +masterly statement of Lord Wellesley's political complications +will be found in his brother's Memorandum, given as an +Introduction to Professor Owen's Selection, published in 1880. It +is quite clear, again, that Sindhia, for his part, was not +unwilling to see the British espouse the Peshwa's cause as +against Holkar; while it is highly probable that his mind was +worked upon by Perron when the latter found himself under +combined motives of self-interest and of national animosity. + +The French General had been losing favour on account of his +increasing unpopularity among the native chiefs of the army; and +had been so contumeliously treated by Daulat Rao Sindhia at +Ujain, in the beginning of the year 1803, that he had resigned +the service. But hardly was the treaty of Bassein communicated to +Sindhia, when Perron consented to remain at his post, and even, +it is believed, drew up a plan for hostilities against the +British, although the latter had shown as yet no intention of +declaring war, but, on the contrary, still maintained a minister +in Sindhia's camp. These facts, together with the statistics that +follow, are chiefly derived from the memoirs of an Anglo-Indian +officer of Perron's, the late Colonel James Skinner, which have +been edited by Mr. Baillie Fraser. "Sindhia and Raghoji together" +(Raghoji was the name of the Bhonsla of Nagpur) "had about +100,000 men, of whom 50,000 were Mahratta horse, generally good, +30,000 regular infantry and artillery, commanded by Europeans; +the rest half-disciplined troops. Sindhia is understood to have +had more than 300 pieces of cannon. The army of Hindustan, under +Perron, consisted of 16,000 to 17,000 regular infantry, and from +15,000 to 20,000 horse, with not less than twenty pieces of +artillery." It may be added, on the authority of Major Thorn, +that his army was commanded by about three hundred European +officers, of whom all but forty were French. In this estimate +must be included the forces of the Begam Sumroo. + +The French plans, as far as they can now be learned, were as +follows: The blind and aged Shah Alam was to be continued upon +the Imperial throne, under the protection of the French Republic. +"This great question being decided," proceeds the memorial from +which I am extracting, "it remains to consider whether it is not +possible that the branches of that unfortunate family may find +protectors who shall assert their sacred rights and break their +ignominious chains. It will then follow that mutual alliance and +a judicious union of powers will secure the permanent sovereignty +of the Emperor, to render his subjects happy in the enjoyment of +personal security and of that wealth which springs from peace, +agriculture, and free trade. The English Company, by its +ignominious treatment of the great Moghul, has forfeited its +rights as Deewan of the Empire." ("Memoir of Lieutenant Lefebre," +6th August, 1803.) + +Lord Wellesley himself records this document, which was found in +Pondicherry, it does not appear exactly how or when; he may have +had an inkling of the policy previously, but the date is +sufficient to show that he had not seen it before going to war +with Sindhia. Lord Wellesley refers, about the same time, to the +magnitude of the establishment sent out to take possession of the +settlements which the French were to recover in India by the +Peace of Amiens, an establishment obviously too large for the +mere management of Pondicherry and Chandarnagar. + +Perhaps the memoir in question (which was drawn up by an officer +of the staff sent out on that occasion) may have expressed +correctly the intentions which the First Consul held at the time; +for nobody appears to have been very sincere or much in earnest +on either side at the Peace of Amiens. And it is not impossible +that the paper expresses intentions which might have been more +thoroughly carried out had not the terrible explosion in St. +Domingo subsequently diverted the attention of the French +Government to another hemisphere. At all events it is a +thinly-veiled pretext of aggression; and the accusations against +the English are scandalously false, as will be clear to those who +may have perused the preceding pages. Considering that it was +Perron's own employer who kept the Imperial House in penury and +durance, it was the extreme of impudence for one of Perron's +compatriots to retort the charge upon the English, to whom Shah +Alam was indebted for such brief gleams of good fortune as he had +ever enjoyed, and whose only offence against him had been a +fruitless attempt to withhold him from that premature return to +Dehli, which had been the beginning of his worst misfortunes. It +was, moreover, a gross exaggeration to call the British the +Diwans of the empire now, whatever may have once been their +titular position in Bengal. On the 6th of July Lord Wellesley +received from the ministry in England a hint that war with France +would be likely to be soon renewed; and on the 8th of the same +month he addressed to his commander-in-chief a short private +letter, of which the following extract shows the purport: "I +wish you to understand, my dear Sir, that I consider the +reduction of Sindhia's power on the north-west frontier of +Hindustan to be an important object in proportion to the +probability of a war with France. M. de Boigne (Sindhia's late +general) is now the chief confident of Bonaparte; he is +constantly at St. Cloud. I leave you to judge why and wherefore." + (Desp. III. 182.) + +The Governor-General here shows his own views, although his +sagacity probably overleaped itself in the imputation against de +Boigne, for which I have found no other authority. Ten days later +he sends Lake more detailed instructions, closing his covering +letter with a sentence especially worthy of the reader's +attention: "I consider an active effort against Scindhia and +Berar to be the best possible preparation for the renewal of the +war with France." There is little doubt of this being the +key-note of the policy that led the British to the conquest of +Hindustan. Vide App. E. + +On the 31st July, General Wellesley wrote to the Resident at the +court of Sindhia (Colonel Collins) stating that the reasons +assigned by the confederates for not withdrawing their troops +were illusory, and ordering Collins to leave their camp at once. +On the 15th August Lord Wellesley received a packet, which the +collector of Moradabad had transmitted nearly a month before, +containing translation of a letter from the Nawab of Najibabad, +Bhanbu Khan, brother of the late Gholam Kadir, covering copy of a +circular letter in which Sindhia was attempting to stir him and +the other chiefs against the English as "that unprincipled race"; +and begging them to co-operate with General Perron. War, however, +had already been declared, and a letter addressed by the +Governor-General to Shah Alam. + +The force with which General Lake was to meet the 35,000 +Franco-Mahrattas in Hindustan, consisted of eight regiments of +cavalry, of which three were European, one corps of European +infantry, and eleven battalions of Sepoys, beside a proper +complement of guns, with two hundred British artillerymen, making +a total of 10,500, exclusive of the brigade at Anupshahar. + +The assembling of this force on the immediate frontier of the +dominion occupied by Sindhia and the French, had been facilitated +by the treaty of the 10th November, 1801, by which Saadat Ali +Khan, whom the British had lately raised to the Viceroyship of +Audh, had ceded to them the frontier provinces above named. This +cession was made in commutation for the subsidy which the Nawab +had been required to pay for the maintenance of the force by +which he was supported against his own subjects. The Peshwa had +previously ceded a portion of Bundelkand by the treaty of +Bassein, and the red colour was thus surely, if slowly, creeping +over the map of India. Perron resisted the cession of the new +frontier under the treaty of Lucknow. The "Old Resident" makes +the following note on the subject: "When the British came to +Sasnee, which was ceded by the Nawab Wuzier of Lucknow by a +treaty in 1802 to Government, the Pergunnahs of Sasnee, +Akberabad, Jellalee, and Secundra came under British rule, but +not without much bloodshed in the sieges of Sasnee, Bijey Gurh +and Kuchoura fortresses; in all these places we buried the +remains of British officers who first shed their blood for their +King and country. At Sasnee the masonry graves in a decayed +condition are still to be seen. At Bijey Gurh they are in the low +'Duhur' lands apart from the Fort, and at the Kuchoura in Locus +Kanugla, lies the tomb of Major Naivve, Commanding the 2nd +Cavalry, who was shot whilst leading his men to the assault. A +surviving relation of the above officer had a monument built in +1853 at Bhudwas, on the Trunk Road, with the original tablet +which was torn off from the tomb by the villagers, and by chance +discovered by a European overseer of the roads after a lapse of +fifty years." + +In Sindhia's armies there were, as we have seen, a number of +officers who were not Frenchmen. These were mostly half-castes, +or (to use a term subsequently invented) Eurasians, +Europeo-Asiatics, or persons of mixed blood; in other words, the +offspring of connections which British officers in those days +often formed with native females. Nearly all these officers, +whether British or half-British, were upon this occasion +discharged from the service by Perron, who had probably very good +reason to believe that they would not join in fighting against +the army of their own sovereign. Carnegie, Stewart, Ferguson, +Lucan, two Skinners, Scott, Birch, and Woodville, are the only +names recorded, but there may have been others also who were +dismissed from the army at Perron's disposal. The prospects of +those who were absent on duty in the Deccan, and elsewhere, soon +became far more serious. Though not at present dismissed, they +were mostly reserved for a still harder fate. Holkar beheaded +Colonel Vickers and seven others; Captain Mackenzie and several +more were confined, and subsequently massacred, by orders of +Sindhia; others perished "in wild Mahratta battle," fighting for +money in causes not their own, nor of the smallest importance to +the world. General Wellesley complained, after the battle of +Assai, of "Sindhia's English officers." He says that his wounded +men heard them give orders for their massacre as they lay upon +the field, and promises to send up a list of their names after +full inquiry (Owen, 311). No such list has ever been heard of; +and it appears, from Lewis F. Smith's memoir, that the European +officers there present were all French, or Italian, or German. It +is barely possible that they used English in conversing, +certainly not probable; but the story was very likely prompted by +the imagination of the wounded men who saw white faces among the +enemy and concluded that they must be their own countrymen. The +only European officers known to have been engaged on the Mahratta +side are Pohlmann and Dupont (both named by Wellesley) and Saleur +of the Begam's service who commanded the baggage-guard; with +perhaps, J. B. da Fontaine. + +Although the French officers were now without any Christian +rivals, it does not appear that their position was a satisfactory +one. The reader may refer to Law's remarks on this subject, +during the Emperor's unsuccessful attempts to the eastward. The +isolation and impossibility of trusting native colleagues, of +which that gallant adventurer complained, were still, and always +must be, fatal to the free exercise of civilized minds serving an +Asiatic ruler. All the accounts that we have of those times +combine to show that, whoever was the native master, the +condition of the European servant was precarious, and his +influence for good weak. On the 24th of June, 1802, Colonel +Collins, the British Resident at the Court of Sindhia, had +written thus to his Government in regard to Perron whom he had +lately visited at Aligarh: "General Perron has been +peremptorily directed by Sindhia to give up all the Mahals +(estates) in his possession not appertaining to his own jaidad +(fief); and I understand that the General is highly displeased +with the conduct of Sindhia's ministers on this occasion, +insomuch that he entertains serious intentions of relinquishing +his present command." + +This intention, as we have already seen, was at one time on the +point of being carried out, and Perron was evidently at the time +sincere in his complaints. + +It is not however possible to use, as Mill does, these +discontents alleged by Perron in conversation with a British +political officer as a complete proof of his not having had, +towards the British, hostile views of his own. The whole tenor of +Colonel Skinner's Memoir, already frequently cited (the work, be +it remembered, of a person in the service at the time), is to +show an intense feeling of hostility on Perron's part towards the +British, both as a community of individuals and as a power in +India. It is more than probable that but for the Treaty of +Bassein, which gave the British in India the command of the +Indian Ocean and the Western Coast, and but for the +contemporaneous successes of Abercromby and Hutchinson in Egypt, +Perron, supported by the troops of the French Republic, might +have proved to the British a most formidable assailant. Skinner +gives a graphic account of his vainly attempting to get +reinstated by Perron, who said: "Go away, Monsieur Skinner! I no +trust." He would not trust officers with British blood and +sympathies. + +But such was the fortune, and such were the deserts of those by +whom England was at that time served, that they were able, +without much expense of either time or labour, to conquer the +half-hearted resistance of the French, and the divided councils +of the Mahrattas. Holkar not only did not join Sindhia, but +assisted the British cause by his known rivalry. Arthur Wellesley +gave earnest of his future glory by the hard-fought battle of +Assai, in which the Begam Sumroo's little contingent, under its +French officers, gave Sindhia what support they could; and +General Lake overthrew the resistance of M. Perron's army at +Aligarh, and soon reduced the Fort, in spite of the gallant +defence offered by the garrison. Mention has been made of this +Fort in the account of the overthrow of Najaf Khan's successors +by Sindhia (sup. p. 145). Since those days it had been much +improved. The following is the account of the Dehli Gazette's +"old Resident." "The Fort of Allyqurh was made by the Jauts +while the place was under the Delhi Kings. Nawab Nujjuff Khan, +the Governor, improved the fortification, and de Boigne brought +it into a regular defensive state according to the French system. +Perron and Pedron subsequently added their skill in strengthening +the fortress, which commanded a wide open plain, the most part +being under water during the heavy rains on account of the lands +being low." The gate was blown in and the place rapidly stormed +by the 76th, piloted by a Mr. Lucan, who was made a captain in +the British service for his treachery. He was afterwards taken +prisoner during Monson's retreat and put to death by Holkar's +orders. The enemy were commanded by natives, having withdrawn +their confidence from Perron's French Lieutenant, Colonel Pedron, +who was on that occasion made prisoner by the troops. Perron +himself, having first retreated upon Agra, and thence on Mathra, +came over to the English with two subordinates, and was at once +allowed a free passage to Chandarnagar with his family and his +property. Bourquien, who commanded the army in Dehli, attempted +to intrigue for the chief command, but was put under arrest by +his native officers; and the Mahratta army, like sheep without a +shepherd, came out to meet the advancing British on the Hindan, a +few miles to the east of the capital, on the old road from the +town of Sikandrabad, so often mentioned in this narrative. After +they had killed six officers and about 160 men by a furious +cannonade, their obstinacy was broken down by the undeniable and +well-disciplined pertinacity of the 27th Dragoons and the 76th +Foot; and they suffered a loss of 3,000 men and sixty-eight +pieces of artillery, mounted in the best French style. This +decisive victory was gained on the 11th September, 1803; when on +the 14th the army crossed the Jamna, and General Bourquien, with +four other French officers, threw themselves upon British +protection. Their example was soon after followed by the +Chevalier du Drenec and two other officers from the army of the +Deccan; and shortly after by Hessing and other European officers +in command of the garrison at Agra, which had at first confined +them, but afterwards capitulated through their mediation. + +No sooner did the ill-starred Emperor hear of the sudden +overthrow of his custodians, than he opened formal negotiations +with the British General, with whom he had been already treating +secretly. The result was that on the 16th, the Heir Apparent, +Mirza Akbar, was despatched to wait upon General Lake in camp, +and conduct him to the presence of the blind old man, who was the +legitimate and undoubted fountain of all honour and power in +Hindustan. The prince vindicated his dignity in a manner peculiar +to Asiatics, by keeping the conqueror waiting for three hours. +The cavalcade was at last formed, and, after a slow progress of +five miles, reached the palace as the sun was setting. Rapid +motion was rendered impossible by the dense collection of nearly +100,000 persons in the narrow ways; and even the courts of the +Palace were on this occasion thronged with spectators, free at +last. A tattered awning had been raised over the entrance to the +famous Diwan-i-Khas, and underneath, on a mockery of a throne, +was seated the descendant of Akbar and of Aurangzeb. It would be +interesting to know what was the exact manner of General Lake's +reception, and what were the speeches on either side; but the +inflated enthusiasm of the "Court-Newsman," and the sonorous +generalities of Major Thorn and the Marquess Wellesley, are all +the evidence which survives. According to the latter, the people +of Dehli were filled with admiring joy, and the Emperor with +dignified thankfulness; according to the former, so great was the +virtue of the joyful tears shed on this occasion by the Monarch, +that they restored his eyesight the eyesight destroyed fifteen +years before by Gholam Kadir's dagger. Such is the nature of the +stones offered by these writers to the seeker for historical +nourishment. + +What is certain is, that the British General received the title +of Khan Dauran, which was considered the second in the Empire, +and which implied perhaps a recognition of the claims of the Audh +Nawab to be hereditary Vazir; while the British Government +"waived all question of the Imperial prerogative and authority" +in other words virtually reserved them to itself. The Emperor was +only sovereign in the city and small surrounding district; and +even that sovereignty was to be exercised under the control of a +British Resident, who was to pay his Majesty the net proceeds, +besides a monthly stipend of 90,000 rupees. + +These conditions received the sanction of Government, and are +recorded in despatches. No treaty is forthcoming; although native +tradition asserts that one was executed, but afterwards +suppressed; the copy recorded in the palace archives having been +purloined at the instigation of the British. This suspicion is +entirely unfounded; no treaty was ever concluded with Shah Alam, +though his Majesty formed the subject of a clause in the treaty +with Sindhia. This is of importance, as serving to show the +position to which the Court of Directors was supposed to have +succeeded; namely to that of Vakil-mutlak or Plenipotentiary +Vicegerent of the Empire, in the room of the Mahratta Peshwa and +his once all-powerful Deputy. They were subjects of George III., +no doubt, but servants of Shah Alam; money continued to be struck +in the Emperor's name, and the laws then prevailing in Hindustan +remained in force. The very disclaimer of all intention to usurp +the royal prerogative or assert "on the part of His Majesty (Shah +Alam) any of the claims which, as Emperor of Hindustan he might +be considered to possess upon the provinces composing the Moghul +Empire," is full of significance. + +On the 1st November Lake overthrew the brigade of du Drenec in +the bloody battle of Laswari; and Arthur Wellesley having been +equally victorious a second time in the Deccan, Sindhia consented +to the Treaty of Sarji-Arjangaon. By that instrument Daulat. Rao +Sindhia ceded, besides other territories, all his conquests in +the Doab. + +Thus passed into the hands of British delegates the +administration of the sceptre of Hindustan: a sceptre which had +been swayed with success as long as it protected life, order, and +property, leaving free scope to conduct, to commerce, and to +conscience; nor failed in discharging the former class of +obligations until after it had ceased to recognize the latter. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +CONCLUSION. + + + + + +Effects of climate Early immigrants French and English +Mohammedan power not overthrown by British Perron's +administration Changes since then The Talukdars - Lake's +friendly intentions Talukdars' misconduct Their power curbed + No protection for life, property, or traffic Such things +still dependent on foreign aid Conclusion. + + + +AFTER many blunderings and much labour, the judgment of history +appears to have formed the final conclusion that the physical +conditions of a given country will always be the chief +determining agents in forming the national character of those who +inhabit it; and that the people of one country, transplanted into +another, where the soil and the sun act in a manner to which they +have not been accustomed, will, in the course of a few +generations, exhibit habits of mind and body very different to +what characterized them in their original seats. + +It is therefore without legitimate cause for surprise that we +hear from scholars that the feeble folk of Hindustan are the +direct and often unmixed representatives of the dominant races of +the world. To begin with the Hindus: the Brahmans and some of the +other classes are believed to be descended from the brave and +civilized peoples of ancient Asia, of whom sacred and profane +writers make such frequent mention, of some of the founders of +Nineveh and Babylon, and of the later empire of the Medes and +Persians, which was on the eve of subjugating Europe when stopped +by the Greeks at Marathon and Salamis. Nay, more, the ancient +Greeks and Romans themselves, together with the modern +inhabitants of Europe, are alike descended from the same grand +stock. + +The Mohamadans, again, are mainly of three noble tribes. The +earlier Mohamadan invaders of India belonged to the victorious +Arabian warriors of the Crescent, or to their early allies, the +bold mountaineers of Ghazni and of Ghor; and their descendants +are still to be found in India, chiefly under the names +respectively of Shaikh and Pathan. A few Saiyids will also be +found of this stock. + +In later days came hordes of Turks and Mongols (Tartars as they +are generically though inaccurately called by Europeans), the +people of Janghiz and of Timur, terrible us the locusts of +prophecy the land before them like the garden of Eden, and +behind them a desolate wilderness. + +To these, again, succeeded many Persians, chiefly Saiyids, or +so-called descendants of the Prophet; a later race of Afghans, +also called Pathans, and a fresh inroad of Tartars (converted to +Islam) who finally founded the Moghul Empire. Under the regime +thus established the civilization of India assumed a Persian +type; and the term "Moghul" in the present day, in India +signifies rather a Persian than a Turkman or Tartar. They add the +word "Beg" to their names, and are usually of the Shiah +denomination; as also are the descendants of the Persian Saiyids. +The Saiyids of Arab origin take the title of "Mir;" the Pathans +are commonly known by the affix "Khan." All but the offspring of +converted Hindus represent foreign invasions by races more +warlike than the people of India. + +All these mighty conquerors, one after another, succumbed to the +enervating nature of the climate of Hindustan, with its fertile +soil and scanty motives to an exertion which, in that heat, must +always be peculiarly unwelcome. + +It is not, however, the heat alone which causes this degeneracy. +Arabia is one of the hottest countries in the world, but the +Arabs have at one time or another overthrown both the Roman +Empire of Byzantium and the Gothic monarchy of Spain. On the +other hand, the lovely climate of Kashmir produces men more +effeminate than the Hindustanis, some of whom indeed, notably the +peasantry of the Upper Doab, are often powerful men, innured to +considerable outdoor labour; their country is far hotter. But the +curse of Hindustan, as of Kashmir, and more or less of all +countries where life is easy, lies in the absence of motives to +sustained exertion; owing to which emulation languishes into +envy, and the competitive instincts, missing their true vent, +exhibit themselves chiefly in backbiting and malice. Whatever +advantage may be derived by Kashmiris from their climate is shown +in the superiority of their intellects. + +Hence, after the battle of Panipat, 1761, which exhausted the +victors almost as much as it exhausted the vanquished, and left +Hindustan so completely plundered as to afford no further +incitements to invasion, little other immigration took place; and +the effete and worn-out inhabitants were left to wrangle, in +their own degenerate way, over the ruined greatness of their +fathers. The anarchy and misery to the mass of the population +that marked these times have been partly shown to the reader of +these pages. + +But there was fresh blood at hand from a most unexpected quarter. +Bred in a climate which gives hardness to the frame (while it +increases the number of human wants as much as it does the +difficulty of satisfying them), the younger sons of the poorer +gentry of England and France, then (at least) the two most active +nations of Europe, began to seek in both hemispheres those means +of sharing in the gifts of fortune which were denied to them by +the laws and institutions of their own countries. Their struggles +convulsed India and America at once. Still the empire of +Hindustan did not fall by their contests there; nor were the +valour and ambition of the new comers the only causes of its fall +when at last the catastrophe arrived. But when, to predisposing +causes, there was now added the grossest incompetence on the part +of nearly all natives concerned in the administration, it became +inevitable that one or other of the competing European nations +should grasp the prize. Any one who wishes to study this subject +in its romantic details should refer to Colonel Malleson's two +works on the French in India. Living under a better Home +Government, and more regularly supported and supplied, the +English prevailed. + +In sketching a part of the process of substituting foreign rule +for anarchy, it has been my task to exhibit the main events which +caused, or accompanied the preparation of the tabula rasa, upon +which was to be traced the British Empire of India. It has been +shown that the occupation of the seaboard, and a few of the +provinces thereto contiguous, long constituted the whole of the +position; and that it was only in self-protection, and after long +abstinence, that the "Company of Merchants" finally assumed the +central power. Upper India, in the meanwhile, stood to their +Calcutta Government in a very similar relation to that occupied, +successively, by the Panjab and by Afghanistan in later times +towards its successors. This, though absolutely true, has been +popularly ignored, owing to the accident of Calcutta continuing +to be the chief seat of the Supreme Government after the empire +had become British; but the events of 1857 are sufficient to show +that, for the native imagination, Hindustan is the centre, and +Dehli still the metropolis of the Empire. The idea, however, that +the British have wrested the Empire from the Mohamadans is a +mistake. The Mohamadans were beaten down almost everywhere +except in Bengal before the British appeared upon the scene; +Bengal they would not have been able to hold, and the name of the +"Mahratta Ditch" of Calcutta shows how near even the British +there were to extirpation by India's new masters. Had the British +not won the battles of Plassey and Buxar, the whole Empire would +ere now have become the fighting ground of Sikhs, Rajputs, and +Mahrattas. Except the Nizam of the Deccan there was not a +vigorous Musalman ruler in India after the firman of Farokhsiar +in 1716; the Nizam owed his power to the British after the battle +of Kurdla (sup. p. 229), and it was chiefly British support that +maintained the feeble shadow of the Moghul Empire, from the death +of Alamgir II. to the retirement of Mr. Hastings. Not only +Haidarabad but all the other existing Musalman principalities of +modern India owe their existence, directly, or indirectly, to the +British intervention. + +It only now remains to notice, as well as the available materials +will permit, what was the social condition of these capital +territories of the empire when they passed into the hands of the +ultimate conquerors. + +Perhaps the best picture is that presented in a work published by +order of the local Government, more than half a century later, +upon the condition of that portion of the country which was under +the personal management of the French general. + +This record informs us that, having obtained this territory for +the maintenance of the army, Perron reigned over it in the +plenitude of sovereignty. "He maintained all the state and +dignity of an oriental despot, contracting alliances with the +more potent Rajahs and overawing by his military superiority, the +petty chiefs. At Dehli, and within the circuit of the imperial +dominions, his authority was paramount to that of the Emperor. +His attention was chiefly directed to the prompt realization of +revenue. Pargannahs were generally farmed; a few were allotted as +jaidad to chiefs on condition of military service; [of the lands +in the neighbourhood of Aligarh] the revenue was collected by the +large bodies of troops always concentrated at head-quarters. A +brigade was stationed at Sikandrabad for the express purpose of +realizing collections. In the event of any resistance on the part +of a land-holder, who might be in balance, a severe and immediate +example was made by the plunder and destruction of his village; +and life was not unfrequently shed in the harsh and hasty +measures which were resorted to. The arrangements for the +administration of justice were very defective; there was no fixed +form of procedure, and neither Hindu nor Mohamadan law was +regularly administered. The suppression of crime was regarded as +a matter of secondary importance. There was an officer styled the +Bakshi Adalat, whose business was to receive reports from the +Amils [officials] in the interior, and communicate General +Perron's orders respecting the disposal of any offenders +apprehended by them. No trial was held; the proof rested on the +Amil's report, and the punishment was left to General Perron's +judgment. + +"Such was the weakness of the administration that the Zamindars +tyrannized over the people with impunity, levying imposts at +their pleasure, and applying the revenues solely to their own +use." The "Old Resident" thus compares the past and present of +Aligarh: "Under the native rule no one attempted to build a +showy masonry house for fear of being noticed as one possessing +property, and thus become subject to heavy taxations. Even in de +Boigne and Perron's time it was the same as before, people lived +in a very low state both as regards their food and clothes, their +marriages were not costly, and none of their females dared to put +jewels on. In such a state of things, the well-to-do accumulated +money and could not enjoy it, they buried it under ground, and +often from death and other causes the wealth got into other hands +by the sudden discovery of the place. What a mighty change in the +space of seventy years the city of Coel bears now to what it did +before? elegant houses now stand in the city everywhere, and the +market is well stocked with articles of trade and consumption. +Bankers and money changers have their shops open, free from any +apprehension of danger, and the females go about with their +trinkets and jewels, all enjoying the wholesome protection of +law. The bazar street of the city of Coel was very narrow in +Perron's time, and neither he nor de Boigne ever paid any +attention to the improvement or welfare of the people. Their time +was principally occupied in military tactics and preserving order +in the country. They knew and were told by their own officers +that their rule was only for the time being, and that a war with +Scindhia would change the state of affairs, and with it +eventually these provinces." + +From a report written so near the time as 1808 confirmation of +these statements is readily obtained. The Collector of Aligarh, +in addressing the Board formed for constructing a system of +administration in the conquered provinces, recommended cautious +measures in regard to the assessment of the land tax or +Government rental. He stated that, in consequence of former +misrule, and owing to the ravages of famine in 1785, and other +past seasons, or to the habits induced by years of petty but +chronic warfare, the land was fallen, in a great measure, into a +state of nature. He anticipated an increase in cultivation and +revenue of thirty-two per cent., if six years of peace should +follow. + +The great landholders, whether originally officials, or farmers +who had succeeded in making good a position before the conquest, +were numerous in this neighbourhood. The principal persons of +importance were, to the westward, Jats, from Bhartpur; the +eastward, Musalmans descended from converted Bargujar Rajputs. +The long dissensions of the past had swept away the Moghul +nobility, few or none of whom now held land on any large scale. + +These Jats and these Musalmans were among the ancestors of the +famous Talukdars of the North-West Provinces; and as the +limitation of their power has been the subject of much +controversy, justice to the earlier British administrators +requires that we should carefully note the position which they +had held under the Franco-Mahratta rule, and the conditions under +which they become members of British India. + +We have already seen that the Talukdars (to use by anticipation a +term now generally understood, though not applied to the large +landholders at the time) were in the habit of making unauthorized +collections, which they applied to their own use. Every +considerable village had its Sayar Chabutra (customs-platform), +where goods in transit paid such dues as seemed good to the rural +potentates. Besides this, they derived a considerable income from +shares in the booty acquired by highwaymen and banditti, of whom +the number was constantly maintained by desertions from the army, +and was still further swollen at the conquest by the general +disbandment which ensued. + +Both of these sources of emolument were summarily condemned by +General Lake; though he issued a proclamation guaranteeing the +landholders in the full possession of their legitimate rights. +But the rights of fighting one another, and of plundering +traders, were as dear to the Barons of Hindustan as ever they had +been to their precursors in mediΎval Europe; and, in the fancied +security of their strong earthen ramparts, they very generally +maintained these unsocial privileges. + +So far back as the beginning of 1803, before war had been +declared upon Sindhia, the whole force of the British in Upper +India, headed by the Commander-in-Chief himself, had been +employed in the reduction of some of the forts in that portion of +the Doab which had been ceded by the Nawab of Audh during the +preceding year. The same course was pursued, after long +forbearance, towards the Musalman chiefs of the conquered +provinces. In December, 1804, they had rebelled in the +neighbourhood of Aligarh, and occupied nearly the whole of the +surrounding district. Captain Woods, commanding the fort of +Aligarh, could only occasionally spare troops for the collector's +support; and the rebellion was not finally suppressed until the +following July, by a strong detachment sent from headquarters. +They again broke out in October, 1806, after having in the +interim amassed large supplies by the plunder of their tenantry; +the whole of the northern part of the Aligarh district, and the +southern part of the adjoining district of Bolandshahar were +overrun; the forts of Kamona and Ganora were armed and placed in +a state of defence; and the former defended against the British +army under Major-General Dickens, on the 19th November, 1807, +with such effect that the loss of the assailants, in officers and +men, exceeded that sustained in many pitched battles. The +subjugation of the tribe shortly followed. + +The Jat Talukdars of the Aligarh district were not finally +reduced to submission for nearly ten years more; and there is +reason to believe that during this long interval they had +continued to form the usual incubus upon the development of +society, by impeding commerce and disturbing agriculture. At +length the destruction of the fort of Hatras and the expulsion of +Daya Ram the contumacious Raja, put the finishing stroke to this +state of things in March, 1817. + +It may be fairly assumed that the protection of life and +property, and that amount of security under which merchants will +distribute the productions of other countries, and husbandmen +raise the means of subsistence from the soil, are among the +primary duties of Government. But in the dark days of which our +narrative has had to take note, such obligations had not been +recognized. + +"It is a matter of fact," say the authors of the "Statistics" +before me, "that in those days the highways were unoccupied, and +the travellers walked through by-ways. The facility of escape +into the Begam Sumroo's territories, the protection afforded by +the heavy jungles and numerous forts which then studded the +country, and the ready sale for plundered property, combined to +foster robbery." + +A special force was raised by the British conquerors, and placed +under the command of Colonel Gardner, distinguished Mahratta +officer. His exertions were completely successful, as far as the +actual gangs then in operation were concerned; but unfortunately +they were soon encouraged to renewed attempts by the countenance +which they received from Hira Sing, another Jat Talukdar. This +system also was finally concluded by the destruction of the Raja +of Hatras; nor will fourteen years appear a long time for the +reorganization of order, which had been in abeyance for more than +forty. + +The following extract from Vol. I. of Forbes's Oriental Memoirs, +is the result of observations made in a more southern part of the +country between 1763 and 1783, and published, not with a purpose, +or in controversy, but in the calm evening of retirement, and at +least thirty years later. "Marre was the nearest Mahratta town of +consequence to the hot wells; by crossing the river it was within +a pleasant walk, and we made frequent excursions to an excavated +mountain in its vicinity. Marre is fortified, large, and +populous; the governor resided at Poona, inattentive to the +misery of the people, whom his duan, or deputy, oppressed in a +cruel manner; indeed the system of the Mahratta government is so +uniformly oppressive that it appears extraordinary to hear of a +mild and equitable administration; venality and corruption guide +the helm of State and pervade the departments; if the sovereign +requires money the men in office and governors of provinces must +supply it; the arbitrary monarch seldom inquires by what means it +is procured; this affords them an opportunity of exacting a +larger sum from their duans, who fleece the manufacturers and +farmers to a still greater amount than they had furnished; thus +the country is subjected to a general system of tyranny. From the +chieftains and nobles of the realm to the humblest peasant in a +village, neither the property nor the life of a subject can be +called his own. When Providence has blessed the land with the +former and the latter rain, and the seed sown produces an +hundredfold, the Indian ryot, conscious that the harvest may be +reaped by other hands, cannot like an English farmer behold his +ripening crop with joyful eyes; his cattle are in the same +predicament; liable to be seized, without a compensation, for +warlike service or any other despotic mandate; money he must not +be known to possess; if by superior talent or persevering +industry he should have accumulated a little more than his +neighbours, he makes no improvements, lives no better than +before, and through fear and distrust buries it in the earth, +without informing his children of the concealment." And again at +Vol. II. p. 339 "Of all Oriental despots the arbitrary power of +the Mahrattas falls perhaps with the most oppressive weight; they +extort money by every kind of vexatious cruelty, without +supporting commerce, agriculture, and the usual sources of wealth +and prosperity in well-governed States." We have further pictures +of native rule, drawn in 1807, by the collectors of the +newly-acquired districts of Etawah and Koel, and to be found at +pages 314 and 337 of the North-West Provinces Selections from +Revenue Records, published in 1873. Says the Collector of Etawah; + "The warlike tribes of this country, from disposition and +habit, prefer plunder to peace, and court the exchange of the +ploughshare for the sword. Foreign invasion and intestine tumults +had materially checked population; whilst the poverty of the +country, and the rapacity of its governors had almost annihilated +commerce or had confined it, for the most part, to a few wealthy +residents from the Lower Provinces" (to the Babu "Zemindar"). But +he of Koel is even more bold: "The consequences of the various +revolutions which have taken place are sufficiently evident in an +impoverished country and a declining population; the form of +government which has existed has not operated to relieve the +necessities of the subjects, or to improve the resources of this +extensive empire, by the encouragement of husbandry and commerce; +and military life has been embraced by a large body of the +people. Habits of peace and industry have been neglected for the +profession of arms, which was more suited to the disposition of +the people and to the character of the times, and which has also +tended to affect the revenue and to thin the population. The +system of rent-oppression and extortion likewise, which has +prevailed, has operated with the most injurious influence upon +the country. The exertions of the landholders have been +discouraged, and means of cultivation denied them by depriving +them of the fair profits of their industry. They have found every +attempt at improvement, instead of being beneficial to +themselves, to have been subservient only to the rapacity of the +Government, or of farmers; and without any inducement to +stimulate their labours, agriculture as a natural consequence has +languished and declined." + +Aligarh (Koel) details are the more noticeable because they +relate to the part of the country which had been first occupied +by the conquering British, and still more because, having been +under the immediate management of General Perron, that part may +be supposed to have been a somewhat more favourable specimen than +districts whose management had not had the advantage of European +supervision. In districts administered exclusively by Asiatics, +or which were more exposed to Sikh incursions, or where the +natural advantages of soil, situation and climate were inferior, +much greater misery, no doubt, prevailed; but what has been shown +was perhaps bad enough. An administration without law, an +aristocracy without conscience, roads without traffic, and fields +overgrown by forest such is the least discreditable picture +that we have been able to exhibit of the results of +self-government by the natives of Hindustan, immediately +preceding British rule. + +On the whole record of the past there emerge clearly a few +indisputable truths. Setting apart the community of colour, and +to a less degree of language, the British are no more foreigners +to the people of India than the people of one part of India may +be, and often are, to the people of another. Demoralized by the +hereditary and traditional influence of many generations of +misgovernment and of anarchy, none of these populations have as +yet shown fitness for supreme rule over the entire peninsula, +vast and thickly inhabited as it is. For example, the Brahmans +and their system fell before the fury of the early Muslims, as +these, again, were subdued by the Moghuls. When the Pathans and +Moghuls in their turn became domesticated in Hindustan they +formed nothing more than two new castes of Indians, having lost +the pride and vigour of their hardy mountain ancestry. The +alliance of a refugee, like M. Law, or of a runaway seaman, like +George Thomas, became an object of as much importance as that of +a Muslim noble with a horde of followers. + +Nor is it to be overlooked that, in the best days of Muslim rule +in Hindustan, however much the governing class had the chief +attributes of sovereignty, the details of administration were, +more or less, in the hands of the patient, painstaking natives of +the land. And the immediate decay of the Muslim Empire was +preceded by an attempt to centralize the administration in the +Imperial Durbar, and to cashier and alienate the Hindu element. +But the Hindus remained, as indeed we still see them, +indispensable to the conduct of administrative details. + +None the less is it certain that the real, if overbearing, +superiority of the Muslim conquerors had emasculated the Hindu +mind and paved the way for anarchy, which was reached as soon as +immigration ceased and degeneration set in. Holding now the +position once abused and lost by the Muslims, the British in +India are bound alike by honour and by interest to mark the +warning. Called and chosen by fortune and their own enterprise to +rule so many tribes and nations in a stage of evolution so unlike +their own, they have to be wary, gentle, and firm. Their office +is to advance the natives and fit them for a true and noble +political life. + +It does not follow that the result will be to tempt the natives +to demand Home Rule. Difficulty there will no doubt always be, +and the end is hidden from our eyes. Moreover, that difficult +will be increased by the unavoidably secular character of +State-education. When races lacking in material resources are +also in a very submissive and very ignorant condition they may be +kept on a dead level of immobility; and that has perhaps been the +ideal of many not incompetent rulers. But it is not one which +will satisfy the spirit of the day in England. Modern Englishmen +have recognized that it is their bounder duty to impart knowledge +in India. On the other hand, their relations towards the people +forbid them to attempt religious instruction. Thus the students +in British-Indian schools and colleges are in a fair way to lose +their own spiritual traditions without gaining anything instead. +It is likely enough that such a system may lead to discontent. + +Men who lose their hopes of compensation in another state of +being, will be the more anxious about securing the good things of +that state in which they find themselves placed. + +Nevertheless, of discontent there are, plainly, two sorts; and +one sort tends to exclude the other. The multitude may hanker +after the flesh-pots of Egypt, or they may long for the milk and +honey of a Promised Land. In the one case they will be inclined +to obey their leaders, in the other to murmur against them. It +cannot be necessary to dwell upon the application. Let the rulers +of India persuade the people that they are being conducted to +light and to liberty. Let us hold up before those laborious and +gentle millions the picture of a redeemed India moving in an +orderly path among the members of a great Imperial system. That +ideal may never be completely realized in the days of any of the +existing generation. But it is one that may still be profitably +maintained for the contemplation of all who aspire and work for +the strength and welfare of Greater Britain. + + + +NOTE. The following list of Perron's possessions is taken from +the schedule annexed to the treaty of Sarji Anjangaum (dated 30th +December, 1803): + + + +Resumed Jaigirs, seven, yielding an annual income of ... ... ... +... 3,75,248 + +Talukas in the Doab, four ... ... ... 84,047 + +To the west of the Jamna, three districts ... 65,000 + +Subah of Saharanpur, eighteen ... ... 4,78,089 + +Formerly held by General de Boigne in the Doab, twenty-seven .. +20,83,287 + +To the west of the Jamna, nine ... ... 10,31,852 + +Grand Total, Rs. 41,12,523 + + + +APPENDIX A. + + + +IN the foregoing pages I have endeavoured to steer a middle path +between obliterating all trace of my materials and encumbering +the margin with references that appeared superfluous. Wherever I +have decided a disputed point, I have endeavoured to indicate the +chief sources of information at least throughout the portions +which form the actual history and to give my reasons for +following one authority rather than another. + +Besides the authorities English and Persian which have been +thus cited, the following works have been occasionally +consulted: + +1. Amad us-Saudat. A history of the Viceroys of Lucknow from +the death of Farokhsiar to the accession of Saadat Ali II., in +1797. + +2. Jam-i-Jum. Genealogical tables of the House of Timur. + +3. Tasallat-i-Sahiban Anqriz. An account of the rise of British +power in Hindustan and Bengal. By Munshi Dhonkal Singh; +originally written for the information of Ranjit Singh, Thakur of +Bhartpur, about the end of the last century. + +4. Hal-i-Begam Sahiba. A little Persian memoir of Begam Sumroo, +full of vagueness and error, written four years after her death, +and from traditional sources. + +Much information as to the views of the British chiefs of those +days lies at present inaccessible at the Calcutta Foreign Office; +and it is to be hoped that the Record Commission will ultimately +make public many useful and interesting papers. + +Other information perhaps exists, very difficult to be got at, in +the private archives of old native families at Dehli. But the +events of 1857 broke up many of these collections. A continuation +of the Tarikh-i-Mozafari, down to the taking of Dehli by Sir A. +Wilson, would be a most valuable work, if there be any native +author possessed of the three requisites of leisure, knowledge, +and a fearless love of truth. + +Some account of the Siar-ul-Mutakharin has been already given +(vide Note to Part II. Chap. i.). The author was a Saiyid of the +noble stock of Taba-Taba, whose father had been employed by +Safdar Jang, in Rohilkand, during that minister's temporary +predominance. The family afterwards migrated to Patna. This +celebrated history which has been twice translated into +English, and of which an edition in the original Persian has been +likewise printed is a work of suprising industry, and contains +many just reflections on the position of the English and the +feelings of the people towards them, which are almost as true now +as they were when written. The translation of the S. u. M.. which +has been mentioned in the text, was made by a French creole, +styling himself Mustafa, but whose true name, it is relieved, was +Raymond. The notes are often interesting. + +But my chief guide, where no other authority is cited, has been +the Tarikh-i-Mozafari, the work of an Ansari of good family, some +of whose descendants are still living at Panipat. He was the +grandson of Latfula Sadik, a nobleman who had held high office +under the Emperor Mohammad Shah. The historian himself was in +civil employ in Bihar, under the Nawab Mohammad Raza Khan, so +famous in the history of Bengal during the last century. To him +the work was dedicated, and its name is derived from his title of +"Mozafar Jang." The work is laborious, free from party bias, and +much thought of by the educated natives of Hindustan. For access +to Persian MSS. I was indebted to the late Colonel Hamilton, +formerly Commissioner of Dehli, and of his friendly assistance +and encouragement I take this opportunity to make thankful +acknowledgment. + + + +APPENDIX B. + + + +REFERENCE has been made in the text, p. 130, to the tomb of +Sumroo, in Padretola, or Padresanto, at Agra. This is one of the +most ancient Christian cemeteries in Eastern Asia, consisting of +a piece of land situated to the north of the Courts of Justice, +and forming part of the original area attached to the +neighbouring township of Lashkarpur. The estate was conferred +upon the Roman Catholic Mission by the Emperor Akbar, or early in +the reign of his son and successor. It contains many tombs, with +Armenian and Portuguese inscriptions, more than two hundred years +old, and promises, with ordinary care, long to continue in good +preservation, owing to the great dryness of the air and soil. The +mausoleum of the Sumroo family is a handsome octagon building, +surmounted by a low dome rising out of a cornice, with a deep +drip-stone, something in the style of a Constantinople fountain. +The inscription is in Portuguese a proof, most likely, that +there were no French or English in Agra at the time of its being +made. The following is its text: AQVI IAZO WALTER REINHARD, +MORREO AOS 4 DE MAYO, NO ANNO DE 1778. ("Here lies Walter +Reinhard, died on the 4th May, in the year 1778.") There is also +a Persian chronogram. + +The tomb of John Hessing, hard by, is a still more splendid +edifice, being a copy, in red sandstone, of the famous Taj Mahal, +and on a pretty extensive scale too, though far smaller than the +original. The tomb, which was completed in or about the year of +the British conquest, bears an inscription in good English, +setting forth that the deceased colonel was a Dutchman, who died +Commandant of Agra, in his 63rd year, 21st of July, 1803, just +before Lake's successful siege of the place. + +APPENDIX C. + + + +THE following additional particulars regarding M. de Boigne are +the last that the writer has been able to obtain from an +eyewitness; they are from the enthusiastic pages of Colonel Tod, +who knew the general at Chamberi, in 1826. + +"Distinguished by his prince, beloved by a numerous and amiable +family, and honoured by his native citizens, the years of the +veteran now numbering more than four score, glide in agreeable +tranquillity in his native city, which, with oriental +magnificence, he is beautifying by an entire new street, and a +handsome dwelling for himself." + +His occupation consisted chiefly in dictating the memoirs of his +eventful life to his son, the Comte Charles de Boigne, by whom +they were published in 1829. This statement is also made on the +authority of Tod; but the memoir in my possession - though a +second edition lays claim to no such authority, but is a modest +compilation, derived in great measure from Grant Duff, and +originally, as appears from the "Advertissement sur cette +edition," produced during the General's lifetime. The Royal +Academic Society of Savoy of which the veteran was honorary and +perpetual President gives the most extraordinary account of his +munificence to his native city, which comprised the complete +endowment of a college, a fund of over £4,000 sterling towards +the relief of the poor, a hospital for contagious diseases, an +entire new street leading from the Chateau to the Boulevard, and +the restoration of the Hotel de Ville, besides minor projects +full of wise benevolence. He died on the 21st June, 1830, and his +remains received a magnificent military funeral. + + + + + +APPENDIX D. + + + +LOVERS of detail may like the following view of Begam Sumroo's +fief, as it appeared when it lapsed on her death. The facts and +figures are from the report furnished to the Revenue Board in +1840, by the officer deputed to make the necessary fiscal +settlement. This gentleman begins by saying that the assessments +on the land were annual, but their average rates about one-third +higher than those which prevailed on the neighbouring British +district. In those days, the British took two-thirds of the net +rental, so we see what was left to the Begam's tenants. The +settlement officer at once reduced the total demand of land +revenue from nearly seven lakhs (6,91,388) to little more than +five. But, he did more than that, for he swept away the customs +duties, which he thus describes: "They were levied on all kinds +of property, and equally on exports and imports; animals, wearing +apparel, and clothes of every description; hides, cotton, +sugar-cane, spices, and all other produce; all were subjected to +a transit duty, in and out. Transfers of lands and houses, and +sugar works, also paid duty; the latter very high." + +The good side of this system has been already glanced at (Part +III. Chap. ii.). It was strictly patriarchal. The staple crop +(sugar) was grown on advances from the Begam: and, if a man's +bullocks died, or he required the usual implements of husbandry, +he received a loan from the Treasury, which he was strictly +compelled to apply to its legitimate purpose. The revenue +officers made an annual tour through their respective tracts in +the ploughing season; sometimes encouraging, and oftener +compelling the inhabitants to cultivate. A writer in the Meerut +Universal Magazine stated about the same time, that the actual +presence in the fields of soldiers with fixed bayonets was +sometimes required for this purpose. + +The settlement officer adds that the advances to agriculturists +were always recovered at the close of the year, together with +interest at 24 per cent. The cultivators were, in fact, +rack-rented up to the minimum of subsistence. but this much was +insured to them; in other words, they were predial serfs. "To +maintain such system," he proceeds, "required much tact; and, +with the energy of the Begam's administration, this was not +wanting: but when her increasing age and infirmities devolved the +uncontrolled management on her heir, the factitious nature of her +system was clearly demonstrated." The result of these last few +years was, that one-third of the estate of which the fief +consisted fell under "direct management;" the plain meaning of +which is that they were, more or less, abandoned by their owners, +and by the better class of the peasantry, and tilled by a sort of +serfs. + +"Nothing, in fact," concludes this portion of the Report "could +more satisfactorily have shown the estimation in which the +British rule is held by those who do not enjoy its blessings than +the rapid return of the population to their homes, which followed +immediately on the lapse." (Trevor Plowden, Esq., to Board of +Revenue, Reports of Revenue Settlement, N. W.P., vol. i.) + +This, be it remembered, is the picture of a fief in the heart of +our own provinces, as swayed in quite recent times, by a ruler of +Christian creed desirous of British friendship. + + + + + +APPENDIX E. + + + +No. CXV. + + + +The GOVERNOR-GENERAL IN COUNCIL to the SECRET COMMITTEE OF THE +HONOURABLE THE COURT OF DIRECTORS. (Extract.) + + + +FORT WILLIAM. June 2nd, 1805. + +HONOURABLE SIRS, The Governor-General in Council now submits to +your honourable Committee the arrangement which has been adopted +by this Government for the purpose of providing for the future +maintenance of his Majesty Shah Allum, and the royal family, and +for the general settlement of his Majesty's affairs, and the +principles upon which that arrangement is formed. + +It has never been in the contemplation of this Government to +derive from the charge of supporting and protecting his Majesty, +the privilege of employing the royal prerogative, as an +instrument of establishing any control or ascendancy over the +states and chieftains of India, or of asserting on the part of +his Majesty any of the claims which, in his capacity of Emperor +of Hindustan, his Majesty may be considered to possess upon the +provinces originally composing the Moghul Empire. The benefits +which the Governor-General in Council expected to derive from +placing the King of Dehli and the royal family under the +protection of the British Government are to be traced in the +statements contained in our despatch to your honourable Committee +of the 18th of July, 1804, relative to the evils and +embarrassments to which the British power might have been exposed +by the prosecution of claims and pretensions on the part of the +Mahrattas, or of the French, in the name and under the authority +of his Majesty Shah Allum, if the person and family of that +unhappy monarch had continued under the custody and control of +those powers, and Especially of the French. With reference to +this subject, the Governor-General in Council has the honour to +refer your honourable Committee to the contents of the inclosure +of our despatch of the 13th of July, 1804, marked A, and to the +seventy-third paragraph of that despatch, in proof of the actual +existence of a project for the subversion of the British Empire +in India, founded principally upon the restoration of the +authority of the Emperor Shall Allum under the control and +direction of the agents of France. The difficulty of every +project of that nature has been considerably increased by the +events which have placed the throne of Dehli under the protection +of the Honourable Company. The Governor-General in Council +further contemplated the advantages of the reputation which the +British Government might be expected to derive from the +substitution of a system of lenient protection, accompanied by a +liberal provision for the ease, dignity, and comfort of the aged +monarch and his distressed family, in the room of that oppressive +control and the degraded condition of poverty, distress, and +insult, under which the unhappy representative of the house of +Timur and his numerous family had so long laboured. + +Regulated by these principles and views, the attention of the +British Government has been directed exclusively to the object of +forming such an arrangement for the future support of the King +and the royal family, as might secure to them the enjoyment of +every reasonable comfort and convenience, and every practicable +degree of external state and dignity compatible with the extent +of our resources, and with the condition of dependence in which +his Majesty and the Royal Family must necessarily be placed with +relation to the British power. In extending to the Royal Family +the benefits of the British protection, no obligation was imposed +upon us to consider the rights and claims of his Majesty Shah +Allum as Emperor of Hindustan, and the Governor-General has +deemed it equally unnecessary and inexpedient to combine with the +intended provision for his Majesty, and his household, the +consideration of any question connected with the future exercise +of the Imperial prerogative and authority. + +The Governor-General in Council has determined to adopt an +arrangement upon the basis of the following provisions: + +That a specified portion of the territories in the vicinity of +Dehli situated on the right bank of the Jamna should be assigned +in part of the provision for the maintenance of the Royal Family. +That those lands should remain under charge of the Resident at +Dehli, and that the revenue should be collected, and justice +should be administered in the name of his Majesty Shah Allum, +under regulations to be fixed by the British Government. That his +Majesty should be permitted to appoint a Deewan, and other +inferior officers to attend at the office of collector, for the +purpose of ascertaining and reporting to his Majesty the amount +of the revenues which should be received, and the charges of +collection, and of satisfying his Majesty's mind that no part of +the produce of the assigned territory was misappropriated. That +two courts of justice should be established for the +administration of civil and criminal justice, according to the +Mahomedan law, to the inhabitants of the city of Dehli, and of +the assigned territory. That no sentences of the criminal courts +extending to death should be carried into execution without the +express sanction of his Majesty, to whom the proceedings in all +trials of this description should be reported, and that sentences +of mutilation should be commuted. + +That to provide for the immediate wants of his Majesty and the +Royal household, the following sums should be paid monthly, in +money from the treasury of the Resident at Dehli, to his Majesty +for his private expenses, Sa. Rs. 60,000; to the heir-apparent, +exclusive of certain Jagheers, Sa. Rs. 10,000; to a favourite son +of his Majesty named Mirza Izzut Buksh, Sa. Rs. 5,000; to two +other sons of his Majesty, Sa. Rs. 1,500; to his Majesty's fifty +younger sons and daughters, Sa. Rs. 10,000; to Shah Newanze Khan, +his Majesty's treasurer, 2,50O; to Syud Razzee Khan, British +agent at his Majesty's Court, and related to his Majesty by +marriage, Sa. Rs. 1,000; total per mensem, Sa. Rs. 90,000. + +That if the produce of the revenue of the assigned territory +should hereafter admit of it, the monthly sum to be advanced to +his Majesty for his private expenses might be increased to one +lakh of rupees. + +That in addition to the sums specified, the sum of Sa. Rs. 10,000 +should be annually be paid to his Majesty on certain festivals +agreeably to ancient usage. + +The Governor-General in Council deemed the arrangement proposed +by the Resident at Dehli for the establishment of a military +force for the protection of the assigned territory and of the +North-Western frontier of our possessions in Hindustan, to be +judicious, and accordingly resolved to confirm those arrange +meets, with certain modifications calculated to afford a +provision for part of the irregular force in the service of the +British Government, from the expense of which it was an object of +the British Government to be relieved, and also for a proportion +of the European officers heretofore in the service of Dowlut Rao +Scindiah, who quitted that service under the proclamation of the +Governor-General in Council of the 29th August, 1803. + +On the basis of this plan of arrangement detailed instructions +were issued to the Resident at Dehli, under the date the 23rd +May, with orders to carry it into effect with the least +practicable delay. + +The Governor-General in Council entertains a confident +expectation that the proposed arrangement and provision will be +satisfactory to his Majesty, and will be considered throughout +all the states of India to be consistent with the acknowledged +justice, liberality, and benevolence of the British Government. + +The Governor-General in Council also confidently trusts that the +proposed arrangement will be sanctioned by the approbation of +your honourable Committee, and of the honourable the Court of +Directors. + + + +We have the honour to be, + +HONOURABLE SIRS, + +Your most faithful, humble servants, + +(Signed) + +WELLESLEY, + +G. H. BARLOW, + +G. UDNY. + + + +["Wellesley Despatches," vol. iv. p. 553.] + + + +APPENDIX F. + + + +Note to page 209. + + + +SINCE printing the following indication has been found of the +possible original of name printed "Du Drenec." In the "Familles +Francaises" of Count Regis de l'Estourbeillon (Names, 1886) is a +list of extinct Breton families. One of these is given as "Du +Drenec-Keroulas, fondue dans Keroulas." This was, most likely, +the true orthography of the Indian adventurer's name. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan + diff --git a/1470.zip b/1470.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a0a19a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/1470.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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