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THE FALL
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THE MOGHUL EMPIRE OF HINDUSTAN.
THE FALL
MOGHUL EMPIRE
OF HINDUSTAN.
OF THE
A NEW EDITION,
IT
WITH CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS.
HⓇ.
ury
George
AUTHOR OF
BY
KEENE, C.I.E., 1825
THE HISTORY OF HINDUSTAN," ETC., ETC.
LONDON:
W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE,
PALL MALL, S.W.
1887.
PRINTED
LONDON:
BY WOOD FALL AND KINDER,
MILFORD LANE, STRAND, W.C
PREFACE.
Two editions of this book having been absorbed, it
has been thought that the time was come for its repro-
duction 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 neigh-
bouring 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 ;
* One or two English writers, however, have dealt with
portions of this history; and reference to their works will be
found hereafter; most of them are of old date, and scarce.
362917
vi
PREFACE.
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 im-
portance. That short but desperate struggle is in-
teresting as the last episode of medieval war, when
battles could be decided by the action of mounted
men in armour. It is also the sine quâ non of British
Empire in India. Had the Mahrattas not been con-
quered 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 con-
cluded 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 con-
ciseness, 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 pre-
ceded 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 Revo-
lution under consideration.
*
C
* India on the Eve of the British Conquest, 2nd Ed. (W. H.
Allen, 1887.)
PREFACE.
vii
❤
OXFORD, 1887.
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 pre-
sented. 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.
* Edited by Sir E. Colebrooke. (Murray, 1887)
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Preliminary Observations on Hindustan and the
City of Dehli .
PART I.
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
Muhamad Shah
Ahmad Shah
Alamgir II.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
Afghan invasion
·
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
Overthrow of Mahrattas at Pánipat
PAGE
1
15
17
18
20
20
22
23
27
34
39
44
X
CONTENTS.
PART II.
CHAPTER I.
A.D. 1760-67.
1760. Movements of Shahzada Ali Gohar, after escaping
from Dehli
Shojaa-ud-Daulah
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
1765. 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 Játs
attacked by Najib
""
Death of Suraj Mal
1765. Játs attack Jaipur
Return of Malirattas
1766.
•
·
•
·
·
·
1767. Ahmad Abdáli defeats Sikhs
1768. Mahrattas attack Bhartpur
1770.
Rohillas yield to them
Death of Najib-ud-Daula
State of Rohilkand
Zábitá Khan .
1771. Mahrattas invite Emperor to return to Dehli .
•
•
PAGE
63
64
64
65
68
69
70
71
72
74
75
77
77
-79
79
80
83
84
84
87
87
87
88
88
89
91
92
,
xi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
A.D. 1771-76.
Agency of Restoration
Madhoji Sindhia
Emperor's return to Dehli
1772. Zábitá Khan attacked by Imperial force under
Mirza Najaf Khan .
Flight of Zábitá
Treaty with Rohillas
Zábitá 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 Shojáa-ud-Daula
Zábitá Khan rejoins Játs
Najaf Kuli Khan
Successes of Imperial army
1776. Zábitá and the Sikhs
Death of Mir Kásim
CHAPTER IV.
A.D. 1776-85.
Vigour of Empire under M. Najaf
Zábitá 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
•
·
•
•
•
•
•
PAGE
93
95
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
105
109
109
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
119
120
121
122
122
123
124
125
xii.
CONTENTS.
Dehli threatened, but relieved
1780. Mirza Najaf's arrangements
Popham takes Gwalior
Death of Sumroo
1781. Begam becomes a Christian
1782. Death of Mirza
1783. Murder of Shaffi
•
Consequent transactions
Afrasyab Khan becomes Premier
Mirza Shaffi at Dehli
•
•
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 Zábitá
Sindhia supreme
Chalisa Famine
State of Country
CHAPTER V.
A.D. 1786-88.
1786. Gholam Kadir succeeds his father Zábitá
Siege of Raghogarh
1787. British policy
Measures of Sindhia
Rajput confederacy
Battle of Lalsot
Mohammad Beg's death
Defection of his nephew Ismail Beg
Greatness of Sindhia
Gholám Kadir enters Dehli
1788. Battle of Chaksána
Najaf Kuli rebels
Death of Sháhzáda
•
But checked by Begam Sumroo and Najaf Kuli
Gholám Kadir joins Ismail Beg
Emperor proceeds towards Rajputana
Shahzáda writes to George III.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
PAGE
126
126
127
128
123
130
133
134
135
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
149
150
151
151
152
153
154
155
156
158
159
161
162
164
164
165
166
CONTENTS.
xiii
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.
Emperor deposed
Palace plundered
Gholam Kádir in the palace
Emperor blinded
Approach of Mahrattas .
Apprehensions of the spoiler
Moharram at Dehli
•
•
Defection of Moghuls and retreat of Hindu Guards 174
Confederates obtain possession of palace
175
177
178
179
180
182
183
184
185
186
186
188
190
191
192n
Explosion in palace
Gholám Kádir 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
•
•
•
•
PAGE
167
167
168
170
. 172
172n
·
•
207, 208
209
210, 211
xiv
CONTENTS.
1790. Ismail Beg joins the Rajput rising
Battle of Pátan
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
1796.
1797.
1794. His death and character
•
CHAPTER II.
A.D. 1794-1800.
1795. Revolution at Sardhana.
Daulat Rao Sindhia
Thomas adopted by Appa Khandi Rao
1
Begum delivered by Thomas
Becomes a wiser woman
Movements of Afghans
Battle of Kurdla
De Boigne retires
General Perron
Musalman intrigues
Afghans checked
Succession in Audh
•
•
•
•
•
ì
1798. War of the Bais
1799. Afghans and British, and treaty with the Nizam
Rising of Shimbunath
Thomas independent
Revolt of Lakwa Dáda
1801. Holkar defeated at Indor
Power of Perron
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
PAGE
199
221
222
223 ff.
. 226
227
229
230
230
231
233
233
234
235
236
237
237
238
239
240
•
200
202
204
205
205
207
208
209
210
211
211
213
214
215
216
217
218
CONTENTS.
XV
1
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
•
•
.
•
•
PAGE
241
242
243
244
245
247
247
248
250
251
252
253
254
254
255
257
259
260
261
262
263
264
266
267
268
270
270
271
272
273
276
278
xvi
CONTENTS.
A..
B..
C..
D. .
E..
F..
INDEX
•
*
APPENDIX.
•
•
•
•
PAGE
281
283
284
285
287
291
293
THE FALL OF THE MOGHUL EMPIRE
OF HINDUSTAN.
PART I.
CHAPTER I.
Preliminary Observations on Hindustan and the City of Delli.
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 Moun-
tains and the river Ghágra. In the times of the
emperors, it comprised the provinces of Sirhind (or
Lahore), Rajputána, Gujrát, Málwa, Audh (including
Rohilkand, strictly Rohelkhand, the country of the
Rohelas, or "Rohillas" of the Histories), Agra,
Allahábád, 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, Panjáb (Punjab), and Kábul, which also
formed parts of the Empire in its widest extension at
* A subah often contained two or more Provinces, the one
being of historical origin, the other an administrative arrange-
ment.
B
2
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Cey-
lon. 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
* Vide Part II. chap. i.
+ But see "Geological Report," by Messrs. Blanford and
Medlicott, Calcutta, 1879.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
3
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 verti-
cal 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, cucurbitaceous 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 ter-
rible season some relief is afforded to the river supply
by the melting of the snow upon the higher Hima-
layas, which sends down some water into the almost
exhausted stream-beds. But even so, the occasional
A
P
B 2
4
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 redun-
dancy of a non-emigrating population with simple
wants. Hence the construction of drainage and irri-
gation-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 pre-
vail, increased from a ratio of 280 to the square mile
till it reached a ratio of 350. In the subsequent six-
teen 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.
* The former for N.W.P.; the latter for Audh.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
5
10
These, with a number of artisans and handicrafts-
men, 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 com-
mon to the whole country, that it everywhere consists
of a mixture of the same elements, though in vary-
ing proportions; and follows the same grammatical
rules, though with different accents and idioms. The
constituent parts are the Arabised Persian, and
the Prákrit (in combination with a ruder basis, pos-
sibly of local origin), known as Hindi.* Speaking
loosely, the Persian speech has contributed nouns
substantive of civilization, and adjectives of compli-
ment 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-muáli (High or Supreme Camp)
came to be a synonym for new Dehli after Shahjahán
had made it his permanent capital, so Urdu-ki-zabán
meant the lingua franca spoken at Dehli. It was
the common method of communication between
* Kindred tongues are still spoken by some of the Sudras of
the Deccan; and it is the common element of the various rustic
dialects of the Northern Districts of Hindustan.
6
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 inter-
course in private life. The Chaghtai dialect re-
sembled the Turkish still spoken in Kashgar.
Out of such elements was the rich and still growing
language of Hindustan formed, and it is yearly be-
coming 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 Tedes-
chi of India; Persia is to her as France, Piedmont is
represented by Kábul, and Lombardy by the Panjáb.
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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
7
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 Per-
sians, 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 reac-
tion, which, under the anspices of Gautama, obtained
general currency, until in its turn displaced by the
gross mythology of the Puránas, which has since been
the popular creed of the Hindus.
This people in modern times has divided into three
main denominations: the Saráwagis 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 Ramzán, were alike misplaced in a country
where, from the movable nature of their dates, they
8
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
sometimes fell in seasons when the rigour of the
climate was such as could never have been contem-
plated 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 con-
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
9
vert. 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 educa-
tion; not even among those who have been trained
within their own schools. Educated natives, as a
general rule, will stand apart from the truth; main-
taining, 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 preferable-piece 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 at
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
Minár, built by a Hindu rajah, about 57 B.C. accord-
ing to General Cunningham. This was the original
-
10
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
(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 Panáh of Humáyun, 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 Dehli-the present city-was founded
by Shahjahán, the great-grandson of Humáyun, 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 Mewát 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
situation as will be seen by the map-is 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 Shahjahán founded, in 1645 A.D., a
splendid fortified palace, which continued to be occupied
by his descendants down to the Great Revolt of 1857.
* Vide "Handbook to Dehli." By the Author.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
11
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 shop-
keepers. 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-Khás* or courtyard, much fallen from its state,
when the rare animals and the splendid military page-
ants of the earlier Emperors used to throng its area.
Fronting you was the Diwán-i-Ám (since converted
into a canteen), and at the back (towards the east or
river) the Diwán-i-Khás, 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 struc-
ture, 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 resi-
* Quasi, “Intermediate area.”
+ This building is assigned to Salim, son of Sher Sháh, the
Afghan interrex of Humáyun, A.D. 1546. Others suppose it to
be of the time of Jahangir. In any case it is much older than
the rest of the modern City and Palace.
12
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
dence 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 de-
scriptions 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 vary-
ing 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 armlets. 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 repro-
duced before our modern eyes; now the "flight into
Egypt," now St. John and his lamb. In hundreds
18
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
13
and in thousands, the orderly crowds stream on. Not
a bough is broken off a way-side tree, not a rude re-
mark 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 as-
sumed that, as India is the Italy, so are the Indian
races the Italians of Asia. All Asiatics are unscru-
pulous 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 misgovern-
ment, 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 step-
ping out of them. But this is not the whole explana-
tion. 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 rela-
tions 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 esta-
blished a system of order and discipline under which
Government has been administered, trade has pros-
pered, the poor have been maintained, and some
domestic virtues have flourished."
-
14
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
Macaulay has not overstated Indian weaknesses in
his Essay on Warren Hastings, where he has occasion
to describe the character of Nand Komár, 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 circum-
stances that surround them. The subject will be
found more fully treated in the concluding chapter.
15
CHAPTER II.
A.D. 1707-19.
Greatness of Timur's Descendants-Causes of the Empire's
Decline-Character of Aurangzeb-Progress of Disruption
under his Successors-Muhamadan and Hindu enemies→
The 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 Bábar,
the wandering Humáyun, the glorious Akbar, the easy
but uncertain-tempered Jahángir, the magnificent
Shahjahán, all these rulers combined some of the
best elements of Turkish character-and their ad-
ministration 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 descrip-
tions. 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 ÁLAMGIR,
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,
16
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
-
his political sagacity and statecraft were equally un-
paralleled 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, ad-
ministered justice publicly in person, and never con-
doned the slightest malversation of a provincial gover-
nor, 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.
谶
​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 Jahángir, who succeeded his father?
under the title of Shah Jahán, had a Hindu mother,
and two Hindu grandmothers. All his sons, how-
ever, were by a Persian consort-the lady of the Táj.
Secondly, the invariable fratricidal war which fol-
lowed 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
However humanity may
possession of the prize.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
17
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 them-
selves 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 cach 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 fore-
fathers had accumulated with such a vast expenditure.
of human happiness and human virtue. For, even
from those who had received their title deeds 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 acces-
с
18
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
sion, A.D. 1658, the most powerful of all the Emperors
of Hindustan, and, at the same time, the ablest ad-
ministrator that the Empire had ever known. In his
reign the house of Timur attained its zenith. The
wild Patháns of Kábul were temporarily tamed; the
Shah of Persia sought his friendship; the ancient
Musalman powers of Golconda and Bijapur were sub-
verted, 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 hand 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 ever-
needed 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-
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
19
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 conse-
quence 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 exclu-
sively 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 de-
feated intrigue of this sort which probably first brought
c 2
20
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 influenccs
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, esti-
mated 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 SHÁH. 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 appear-
ance of all those powers and dynasties which after-
wards 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 Rájputs, all aimed at independence;
while the indigenous Mohamadans, instead of joining
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
21
the Turks in showing a common front to the common
enemy, weakened the defence irrecoverably by opposi-
tion and rivalry.
In the attempt to put down the Sikhs, Bahádur 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 JAHÁNDÁR 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 Bihár and Alláhábád, Saiyids of the
tribe of Bárha, 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 Rájputs; and to
extort from their chief, the Mahárájah 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
22
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
of Bahádur 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 Jahán.
The events mentioned in the preceding brief sum-
mary, though they do not comprehend the whole dis-
integration 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 pro-
vinces 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.
23
CHAPTER III.
A.D. 1719-48.
Muhammad Shah-Chin Kulich Khán, his retirement from
Dehli-Movements of the Mahrattas-Invasion of Nádir
Shah-Ahmad Khán 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 ex-
cluded. The Saiyids were soon overthrown, their ruin
being equally desired by Chin Kulich, the head of the
Turkish party, and Saádat Ali, the newly-arrived
adventurer from Persia. These noblemen now formed
the rival parties of Turán and Irán; and became dis-
tinguished, the one as founder of the principality of
Audh, abolished in 1856, the other as that of the
dynasty of Haidarábád, 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
24
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
Mahrattas wrung from him the cession of Málwa, and
a promise of tribute to be paid by the Imperial Govern-
ment to these rebellious brigands.
This was a galling situation for an ancient noble-
man, trained in the traditions of the mighty Aurang-
zeb. The old man was now between two fires. If
he went on to his own capital, Haidarábád, 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 interminabie prospect of contempt and
defeat at the hands of the Captain-General Khán
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 Nizám, for by that title Chin
Kulich was now beginning to be known, took counsel
with Saádat, the Persian, who was still at Dehli.
Nádir Sháh, the then ruler of Persia, had been for
some time urging on the Court of Dehli remonstrances
arising out of boundary quarrels and similar griev-
ances.* 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 His-
tory 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 Saádat 'Ali, in attempting to save whom the
Khán Daurán lost his life, while the Nizám attempted
vain negotiations. The Persians, as is well-known,
* So the Si¿ar-ul-Mutűkharin and Áli Házin.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
25
advanced on Dehli, massacred some 100,000 of the
inhabitants, held the survivors to ransom, and ulti-
mately retired to their own country, with plunder that
has been estimated at eighty millions sterling, and
included the famous Peacock Throne.
The Nizám was undoubtedly the gainer by these
tragic events. In addition to being Viceroy of the
Deccan, he found himself all-powerful at Dehli, for
Saádat ’Ali had died soon after the Khán Daurán.
Death continuing to favour him, his only remaining
rival, the Mahratta Peshwa, Báji Rao, passed away in
1740, on the eve of a projected invasion of Hindustan.
In 1745 the Province of Rohelkhand became inde-
pendent, as did the Eastern Subáhs of Bengal,
Bihár, and Orissa. Leaving his son to represent him
at Dehli, the Nizám settled at Haidarábád as an
independent ruler, although he still professed subor-
dination to the Empire, of which he called himself
Vakil-i-Mutlak, or Regent.
Shortly after, a fresh invader from the north ap-
peared in the person of Ahmad Khán Abdáli, leader
of the Dauráni Afgháns, who had obtained possession
of the frontier provinces during the confusion in Per-
sian politics that succeeded the assassination of Nádir.
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 Gházi-ud-din, and the nephew of the deceased
Governor of Audh, Abul-Mansur Khán, 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
26
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Khán), 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.
i

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14. Khandes
15. Berár
Dera Ghazi
Khau
R.Indus
1. Bengal
2. Bihár
3. Orissa
4. Oudh
5. Delhi
6. Agra
7. Allahábád
8. Lahor
9. Kábul
10. Ajmir
11. Multan
70
ľ
Leia or Lyah
е
13
MULTAN Sutlej R..
Lanu R.
Jodhpur
Bunnas R
Bikanir
Deesa
8
Ravi R.
SAHMADABAD
Gulf of Cambay
Sambar Satt
AJMIR
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Cambay
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Udaipur
LAHOR
BARODA
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10
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Godver
GOA
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Vind hy a Hills
Satpura Hills
Bhima
16. Gondwana
17. Aurungábád NOT COMPLETELY
18. Bijapur
ANNEXED TILL THE
19. Haidarábad
REIGN OF AURANGZEB.
20. Bidar
Satara
Kolaput
Hills
Belgaum
Ꭱ.
75
Armitsar
Ahmadnagar
17
Futteabad
Sirbirid
Thind
Hansi
oDharwar
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Kord
Tjain
MANDU Bhopal
•Indor
Narbada R.
14
BURHANPUR Tapti .
JAIPUR
O
Amber) Fathipur 4
AURANGABAI
BIJAPUR
18
Parbutter
12
Photak
"Sholapur
Rewari
Ketwari
Muttra Farukhabad
Bhartpur
Paan Ganga
Manyara R
Chitting R
Saharampur
Panipat Ghausgaïì
15
BIDAR
Meer Muradabad
DELHI
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Anapshah
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10/
Gwalior
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Ellichpur NAGPUR
20
из
Ganges
6
Sangy
Warda R.
Kistna R
19
Goikonda
HAIDARABAD
Win Ganga R
810
Koral
7
Pannah
Jamna R
Jabalpur
16
4
3
AUDH
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ALLAHABAD
a
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Pt Palmyras
R.Mahanadi
CALCUTT
DECCA
R
MAP
of
HINDUSTAN,
(& the Deccan.)
90
Silhet
Baruk R
Cluttagong or
Islamabag
1
CARON for
30
25
20
15
10:
27
CHAPTER IV.
A.D. 1748-54.
Ahmad Shah-The Rohillas-Gházi-ud-din the younger-Per-
plexities 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 Nizám Chin Kulich, Viceroy of
the Deccan, which took place immediately after that
of the late Emperor.
The eldest son of the old Nizám contended with the
nephew of the deceased Saádat 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 Násir Jang held the Lieutenancy of the
Deccan. The command in Rajpután, 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.
28
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
The office of Plenipotentiary was for the time in abey-
ance. The Vazirship, which had been held by the
deceased Kamr-ul-din was about the same time con-
ferred upon Safdar Jang, who also succeeded his uncle
as Viceroy or Nawáb of Audh. Hence the title, after-
wards so famous, of Nawáb-Vazir.
Having made these dispositions, the Emperor fol-
lowed 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 oppor-
tunities invited him. The business of state fell very
much into the hands of a eunuch named Jáwid Khán,
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 depen-
dencies of the Empire, Rohilkand* and the Panjáb,
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
Játs 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
* Called above, more correctly, "Rohelkhand." The present
name will be used as more familiar to English readers.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
29
mountains, where famine and fever would soon have
completed their subjugation, but for the sudden re-
appearance in the north-west of their Afghan kindred
under Ahmad Khán the Abdáli.
The Mahrattas were allowed to indemnify them-
selves for these services by seizing on part of the
Rohilla country, and drawing chauth from the rest;
in consideration of which they promised their assist-
ance to cope with the invading Afgháns; but on
arriving at Dehli they learned that the Emperor, in the
Vazir's absence, had surrendered to Ahmad the provinces
of Lahor and Multán, and thus terminated the war.
An expedition was about this time sent to Ajmir,
under the command of Saádat Khán, the Amir-ul- Umra,
the noble of the Shiah or "Iranian party already
mentioned as commanding in Rájpután, and who was
also the Imperialist Viceroy of Agra. He wasted his
time and strength, however, in an attack upon the Játs,
through whose country the way went. When at last he
neared Ájmir he allowed himself to be entangled in
the local intrigues which it was the object of his expe-
dition to suppress. He returned after about fifteen
months of fruitless campaigning, and was dismissed
from his office by the all-powerful Jáwid, Gházi-ud-din
succeeded as Amir-ul-Umra.
""
Almost every section of the History of Ahmad Sháh
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 Jáwid were the real
rulers. The Emperor considered it to be most suitable
to him to spend his time in pleasure; and he made
his Zanána extend a mile. For weeks he would
remain without seeing the face of a male creature.
30
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
There was probably no sincere friend to raise a warn-
ing; 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 Saádat returning from Ájmir, 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 Áudh; 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
Gházi-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
Gházi-ud-din, who agreed to draw off the dangerous.
auxiliaries to aid him in wresting the lieutenancy of
the Deccan from his third brother Salábat Jang who
had possessed himself of the administration on the
death of Násir Jang, the second son and first successor
of Chin Kulich, the old Nizám. He was to be repre-
sented 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 Gházi-ud-din (2nd), but whose
name was Shahábuddin, and who is known in native
histories by his official title of Aamád-ul-Mulk, was
son of Firoz Jang, the old Nizám'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 Aurangábád was brought to Dehli. Safdar
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
31
Jang, returning from Lucknow, removed the Emperor's
chief favourite, Jáwid, by assassination (28th August,
1752) and doubtless thought himself at length arrived
at the goal of his ambition. But the young Gházi,
secretly instigated by the weak and anxious monarch,
renewed against the Persian the same war of Turán
and Irán, of Sunni and Shia, which in the last reign had
been waged between the uncle of the one and the grand-
father 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 Játs from Bhurtpore came up under Suraj Mal,
their celebrated leader, and plundered the environs
right and left. The Vazir's people, the Persian party,
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 Gházi'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
Gházi assumed the command of the army. The Vazir-
ship was conferred on Intizám-ud-daulah the Khán
Khánán (a son of the deceased Kamr-ul-din,† and
young Gházi's cousin), while Safdar Jang falling into
open rebellion, called the Játs 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-reli-
gionists the Játs, and his former patron the Viceroy of
* Vide sup p. 9, 10.
+ Vide sup. p. 26.
•
32
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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
Gházi fell heavily upon the unfortunate Játs.
The Khán Khánán 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 Ját 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 Panjáb, engaged on the arduous duty of
keeping the Afghans in check. But his brother-in-
law, the Khán Khánán, was ready with alternative
projects, of which each was courageous and sensible.
To call back Safdar Jung, and openly acknowledge the
cause of the Játs, would probably cost only one cam-
paign, well conceived and vigorously executed. On the
other hand, to support the Captain-General Gházi
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 sup-
porting 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 Játs making a sally from the fortress in which they
were besieged.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
33
Safdar Jang not being applied to, remained sullenly
aloof: the Emperor's letter to the Játs fell into the
hands of Gházi-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 Sikun-
drábád, near Bolandshahr. The ladies of the Em-
peror'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 Játs. 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 Gházi-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 Darbár,
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
D
•
34
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Jáhándár Sháh, the com-
petitor 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. Gházi-ud-din was at the
same time acknowledged as Vazir in the room of the
Khán Khánán. 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 Khán was an Afghán soldier of fortune,
who had attained the hand of the daughter of Dundi
Khán, 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 Gházi-
ud-din. When the Vazir first conceived the project of
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
35
attacking the government, he sent Najib in the com-
mand of a Moghul detachment to occupy the country
about Saharanpur, then known as the Báwani mahal,
which had formed the jagir of the Ex-Vazir Khán
Khánán. This territory thus became in its turn
separated from the Empire, and continued for two
generations in the family of Najib. Though possess-
ing the unscrupulous nature of his class, he was not
without the virtues that are found in its best speci-
mens. 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 peace-
ful 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 occupa-
tion of the Government besides part of the upper Doáb,
and a few districts south of the Satlaj. Gujarát was
overrun by the Mahrattas; Bengal, Bihár, and Orissa
were occupied by the successor of Aliverdi Khán, Audh
and Allahabad by Safdar Jang, the central Doáb by the
Afghan tribe of Bangash, the province now called Rohil-
kand by the Rohillas. The Panjáb 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 Nizám. Small encroachments
continued to be made by the English traders.
M
G
;;
D 2
36
CHAPTER V.
A.D. 1754-60.
Progress of Gházi ud-din-Ahmad Khán enters Dehli-Escape
of the Prince Ali Gauhar-Murder of the Emperor-Ahmad
the Abdáli advances on Dehli-End of Gházi'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 Khán Khánán, whose office he had usurpeḍ, as
above stated. The opportune death of Safdar Jang
(17th October, 1754) removed another danger, while
the intrepidity and merciless severity with which (as-
sisted by Najib Khán) 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 soli-
tude which is probably the starting-point of the greatest
crimes.
As soon as he judged that he could prudently leave
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
37
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 Multán,
when ceded to the Afghans in the late reign, had been
ultimately left in his charge by the new rulers.
Ahmad the Abdáli 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 Abdáli 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 Afghán chief soon lent a
ready ear to the representations of the Emperor's party,
38
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
and swiftly presented himself at the head of an army
within twenty miles of Dehli. Accompanied by Najib
Khán, (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 com-
pletely ingratiated himself with that simple soldier as
to be in higher power than even before the invasion.
Ahmad Khán now took upon himself the functions of
government, and deputed the Minister to collect tribute
in the Doáb, while Sardár Jahán Khán, one of his
principal lieutenants, proceeded to levy contributions
from the Játs, and Ahmad himself undertook the spoli-
ation of the capital.
From the first expedition Gházi returned with con-
siderable booty. The attack upon the Játs was not so
successful; throwing themselves into the numerous
strongholds with which their country was dotted, they
defied the Afghán 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.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
39
As for the citizens of Dehli, their sufferings were
grievous, even compared with those inflicted twenty
years before by the Persians of Nádir Shah, in pro-
portion as the conquerors were less civilized, and the
means of satisfying them less plentiful. All conceiv-
able forms of misery prevailed during the two months
which followed the entry of the Abdáli, 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 en-
deavoured to engage his influence to bring about a
marriage which he desired to contract with a daughter
of the penultimate Emperor, Muhammad Sháh: but
the Abdáli, on his attention being drawn to the young
lady, resolved upon espousing her himself. He at the
same time married his son Timur Sháh to the
daughter of the heir apparent, and, having left that
son in charge of the Panjáb, retired with the bulk of
his army to Kandahár.
Relieved for the present from his anxieties, the Minis-
ter 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
40
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
the immediate subjects of the Empire. He easily ex-
pelled Najib (who, since his elevation must be distin-
guished by his honorific name of Najib ud daula, "Hero
of the State"): he destroyed or kept in close confine-
ment 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 Mardán Khán, 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, Rájah Ramnáth and
a Musalman gentleman, Saiyid Ali, who with four
private troopers agreed to join in the hazardous enter-
prise 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 with-
out 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
41
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 protec-
tion of that alien power.
Ahmad the Abdáli 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 Sháh,
from Láhor; while with another force they had ex-
pelled Najib from his new territory, and forced him to
seek safety in his forts in the Báwani Mahál. The
new Viceroy of Audh raised the Rohillas and his own
immediate followers in the Abdáli's name; the Mah-
rattas were driven out of Rohilkand; and the Afgháns,
crossing the Jamna in Najib's territory to the north of
Dehli, arrived once more at Anupshahar about Sep-
tember, 1759, whence they were enabled to hold un-
interrupted communication with Audh.
The ruthless Gházi 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 pecu-
liar sanctity had recently taken up his abode in the
ruined fort of Firozábád, some two miles south of the
42
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Sháh, he
was relieved of his arms by the Kashmirian, who ad-
mitted him, and closed the entrance. A cry for aid
being presently heard was gallantly responded to by
Mirza Bábar, 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 Bálá-
básh, 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 Kám
Bakhsh (the unfortunate son of Aurangzeb) was then
taken out of the Salim Garh and proclaimed Emperor
by the sonorous title of "Sháh Jahán II.” But he is
not recognised on the list of emperors, and his reign-
such as it was lasted but a moment. Gházi- (or
Shaháb) 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
Bihár (v. inf.), and Ahmad the Abdáli moved against
Gházi, as we shall see in the next chapter. Discre-
tion was the only part of valour left, and the young
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
43
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 Shah 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 malcon-
tent. Returning thence he visited Kábul, where he
joined one of the Dehli princes in an attempted in-
vasion of India. The prince went mad at Multán, and
Gházi, 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 Pákpatan in the Panjáb (v. Journal
of the As. Soc. of Bengal, No. CCXXVI. 1879,
pp. 129, ff.).
The vengeance of the Abdáli, 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 Abdáli then quitted the
almost depopulated city, and fell back on his old quar-
ters 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.
44
CHAPTER VI.
The Campaign of Pánipat.
THE Mahratta confederacy was in 1759 irresistible.
from the borders of Berár to the banks of the Ganges.
On one side they were checked by the Nizám and
Haidar, on the other by Shujäá-ud-daula, the young
ruler of Audh. Between these limits they were prac-
tically paramount. To the westward a third Mohamadan
power, the newly-formed Dauráni empire, was no
doubt a standing menace; but it is very possible that,
with Ahmad Sháh, 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 Sadásheo Rao, the cousin and minister
of the Mahratta leader, the Peshwa, into whose hands.
bad fallen the sway of Mahratta power. For their
titular head, the descendant of Siváji 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 con-
temporary 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 Hin-
dustan after the invasion of Nádir Sháh; nor have the
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
45
people become more virtuous since, and consequently
are neither happy nor more independent."
Ahmad Khán (known as "the Abdáli "), whom we
are now to recognise as Ahmad Sháh, the Dauráni
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 exe-
crable Shahabuddin (or Gházi-ud-din the younger) fled
at his approach, taking refuge with the Játs. Mah-
ratta 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 Sháh 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 Játs, moved up from
the South. They possessed themselves of the capital
in December 1759.
The main force of the Mahrattas that left the Dec-
can consisted of 20,000 chosen horse, under the imme-
diate command of the minister, Sadásheo, 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 Ibráhim Khán.
This general had learned French discipline as com-
mandant de la garde 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 Gaikwár, Gobind Pant, and
others. Many of the Rájput States contributed, and
Suraj Mal brought a contingent of 20,000 hardy Játs.
Hinduism was uniting for a grand effort; Islám was
46
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
rallied into cohesion by the necessity of resistance.
Each party was earnestly longing for the alliance of the
Shias under Shujäá, 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 re-
spect. His camp, enriched with the plunder of Hin-
dustan, 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 Mah-
rattas 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 com-
plete 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
47
:
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 Mádhoji 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 disci-
plined 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 empe-
rors. It was tenanted by a weak Musalman force,
which had been hastily thrown in under the command
of a nephew of Sháh Wali Khán, the Dauráni 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 diwán khas, which was thrown into the
melting-pot and furnished seventeen lakhs of rupees.
(£170,000).
48
1
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
Ahmad, in the meantime, was cantoned at Anup-
shahr, on the frontier of the Rohilla country, where
he was compelled to remain while his negotiations
with Shujäá 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 prepa-
ration. Najib, the head of the Rohillas, was very
urgent with the Sháh that Shujäá should be persuaded
to take part against the Mahrattas. He pointed out
that, such as the Moghul empire might be, Shujäá 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 imper-
sonal channel of epistolary correspondence."
(6
The Sháh 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 en-
voy proceeded towards Audh, and found the Vazir en-
camped upon the Ganges at Mahdi Ghát. 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
<
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
49
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 care-
fully, 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
Shujäá's, was the substance of the advice given him
by the Rohilla chieftain.
The nature of these negotiations is not left to con-
jecture. The narrative of what occurred is supplied
by Kási Ráj 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.*
Shujäá-ud-daulah, after anxious deliberation, re-
solved to adopt the advice of his Rohilla visitor. And,
having so resolved, he adhered honestly to his resolu-
tion. He sent his family to Lucknow, and accom-
panied Najib to Anupshahr, where he was warmly
received by the Dauráni Sháh, and his minister Sháh
Wali Khán.
،،
IE
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
* There is another account by an eye-witness (Mohamad
Jáfar Khán Shámlu (Dowson, viii.), but it is almost inconceiv-
ably inaccurate.
E
50
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Shujäá, whom he tempted with large offers to desert
the Sunni cause. Shujäá 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 Nawáb Vazir throughout. The Shah's
minister, also, was aware of the transaction, and appa-
rently disposed to grant terms to the Hindus. Ad-
vantage was taken of the opportunity, and of the old
alliance between Shujäá and the Játs, to shake the
confidence of Suraj Mal, and persuade him to abandon
the league, which he very willingly did when his ad-
vice 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 sin-
cerely 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 meadow-
lands lying between the Western Jamna Canal and the
river (from whose right bank it is about two miles dis-
tant), stands the small town of Kunjpura. In the in-
vasion of Nádir Sháh, it had been occupied by a force
GAD
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
51
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
Afghán garrison prisoners after an obstinate defence,
and giving up the place to plunder, while the main
Afghán army sat idle on the other side.
At length arrived the Dasahra, the anniversary of
the attack of Lanka by the demigod Rám, a pro-
verbial and almost sacred day of omen for the com-
mencement 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 Hindu-
stáni 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 Afghán host and
its allies broke up from Shahdara; and between the
23rd and 25th effected a crossing at Bághpat, a small
town about twenty-four miles up the river. The posi-
tion 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
E 2
52
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 ad-
vanced guard reached Sambalka, about half-way between
Sonpat and Pánipat, where they encountered the van-
guard of the Mahrattas. A sharp conflict ensued, in
which the Afgháns 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
Pánipat. 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
Sháh took up ground four miles to the south, protect-
ing 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 observa-
tions.
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 Atái Khán at the
head of a similar party of Afgháns. The terror caused
by this affair paralysed the Bhao's commissariat, while
it greatly facilitated the foraging of the Sháh. Shortly
after, a party of 2,000 Mahratta horsemen, each carry-
ing a bag of specie from Dehli, fell upon the Afghán
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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
53
silver was lost to the Bhao. Ibráhim and his disci-
plined 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 Sháh to put an
end to their suspense by bringing on a decisive action.
But the Sháh, 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 pro-
visions, 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 Nawáb Vazir,
Shujäá-ud-daulah, to offer to accept any conditions
that might still be obtainable. All the other chiefs
54
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
were willing, and the Sháh 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 Nawáb and show my respect for his Excel-
lency. 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 re-
peated 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 Sháh.
“You are right, Najib," said Ahmad, "and the Nawáb
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 re-
source by the plunder of the town of Pánipat, 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
55
food for two days, and were ready to die fighting, but
not to die of hunger. Pán* 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 bear-
ing 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 Shujäá 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. Shujäá at
once hastened to the Sháh'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 Nawáb 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 Sháh,
handing his pipe to an orderly, said calmly to the
Nawáb, "Your follower's news was very true I see."
Then summoning his prime minister, Sháh Wali, and
Shah Pasand the chief of his staff, he made his dis-
* The pán, or pepper leaf, wrapped round an aromatic pre-
paration of betel nut and shell-lime, is a favourite condiment,
and is bestowed by a great man on the breaking-up of an assem-
blage. In the present case it had also a sacramental character.
56
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
positions 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 pre-
pared 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 gárdis under Ibrahim
Khán; 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, Shujäá-ud-
daulah and Sháh Wali. The right centre consisted of
Rohillas, under the well-known Háfiz Rahmat and
other chiefs of the Indian Patháns. Day broke, but
the Afghán 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 Khán covered the left wing with a choice
body of mailed Afghan horsemen, and in this order
the army moved forward, leaving the Sháh 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 gárdis and their
vigilant leader, who advanced in silence and without
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
57
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 gárdis
remained in unchallenged possession of that part of
the field. Shujäá-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 Dauráni 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 Shujäá
of what was going on, found Sháh 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 imme-
diately 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
58
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
continuous discharges of rockets. But so far the for-
tune 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 neces-
sarily 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 import-
ance-if we except Gholám 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 Sháh 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 Alláh! Alláh! Din! Din! from his own
side. The battle wavered to and fro like that of
Flodden as described by Scott. The Sháh saw the
critical moment in the very act of passing. He there-
fore sent 500 of his own body-guard with orders to
drive all able-bodied men out of camp, and send them
to the front at any cost. 1,500 more he sent to en-
counter 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
59
ranks of the Rohilla Pathans on the right. The re-
mainder of the reserve, 10,000 strong, were sent to the
aid of Sháh Wali, still labouring unequally against the
Bhao in the centre of the field. The Sháh'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 fight-
ing 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 Gaikwár left the
It is a curious coincidence, and one which well illustrates
the similar character of war in West and East, that the critical
movement of the Shah's victory at Pánipat should so closely re-
semble that by which the Duke of Marlborough had won the
battle of Blenheim, more than half a century before, viz., break-
ing the hostile line of battle by a violent assault of a large body
of reserve cavalry at the end of a long engagement.
The fact is, no doubt, to be accounted for by the character of
Ahmad, who was a man combining qualities not often found in
the same person. Being a self-made man, and brought up in a
good school, he had learned to be cautious and prudent without
sacrifice of his native originality and of the initiative spirit,
which, in common circumstances, often goes no further than
eccentricity. It is extremely unlikely that he had ever heard of
the very name of the English general whose tactics he uncon-
sciously reproduced. An episode in history, like this campaign
of Pánipat, possesses therefore an interest, as a study of human
nature, in addition to what is due to its importance in the move-
ment of events.
60
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
field. In that instant resistance ceased, and the Mah-
rattas 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 Sháh
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 Shujäá's
tents, where his wounds received surgical attention.
Shujäá also endeavoured to extend protection to the
head of the house of Sindhia. A subordinate member
of the clan, the afterwards celebrated Mádhoji-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.
Jánkoji, the then head of the family, was killed next
day, a victim to the enmity of Najib, whose policy in-
cluded relentlessness. Ibráhim Gárdi was taken from
Shujäá 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 Shujäá. Several pretenders to
the name of this Oriental Sebastian afterwards ap-
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
61
peared 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 Dauráni troops became mutinous and quarrelsome;
and they parted on ill terms. Shujäá marched back
to Mahdi Ghát, whence he had come six months
before, with the titular appointment of Vazir of the
Empire. The Sháh, 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 Khán 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 Abdáli returned to his
own country, and only once again interposed* actively
in the affairs of the Indian peninsula.
Such was the famous Campaign of Pánipat, 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 Sháhzáda had ap-
plied 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 Gházi-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), recom-
mending the issue of orders sanctioning his demanding
the Viceroyship of the Eastern Subahs on behalf of
the King of England; an application which he guaran-
teed the Emperor's granting on being assured of the
* Vide inf. p. 87.
62
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 pro-
ceedings, they are here noted as the presage of future
events.
* Gleig's "Life of Clive," p. 123.
PART II.
CHAPTER I.
A.D. 1760-65.
The English-Shujäá-ud-daulah-Sháhzáda enters Bihar; his
character-Ramnarayan defeated-M. Law-Battle of Gaya
-March towards Hindustan-Massacre of Patna-Flight of
Kásim and Sumroo-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 Bihár 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 com-
mon 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 Kábul to the plains where he had so lately
64
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1759.
1
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 un-
able 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 Abdáli leader might afford him an op-
portunity of turning upon the Mohamadan and Hindu.
rebels.
The present viceroy of Audh was Shujäá-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.
Shujäá'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
* Vide Sup. p. 35.
1760.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
65
sovereign's fugitive heir. Foiled in his application to
the Viceroy of Audh, the Sháhzáda (Prince) then
turned to a member of the same family who held the
Fort and District of Allahabad, and was named Mo-
hammad Kuli Khán. 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 Khán. The Prince proposed to Mo-
hammad 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, Shujäá highly approved of the
arrangement); and a powerful official, named Kámgár
Khán, promised assistance in Bihár. Thus supported,
the Prince crossed the frontier stream (Karamnassa)
in November, 1759, just at the time that his unfortu-
nate 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 Bihár. 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 firmáns of his patent-office still forth-
coming in confirmation of the record. He was at once
recognised as emperor by all parties; and, for his part,
F
66
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1760.
he wisely confirmed Shujäá-ud-daulah as Vazir; while
he intrusted the command of the army in Hindustan, in
the room of the assassin Gházi, to Najib-ud-daulah,
the Abdáli's nominee.
Having made these arrangements he proceeded to
collect revenue and establish himself in Bihár. 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 mer-
ciful; 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 for-
tune, 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 Jáfar Khán, known in English
histories as Meer Jaffier, and the Deputy in Bihár
was a Hindu man of business, named Rája Rámna-
rayan. This official, having sent to Murshidábád and
Calcutta for assistance, attempted to resist the pro-
1760.]
67
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
ceedings 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 Nawáb 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, Murshidábád, and possess himself of
that town in the absence of its defenders. But before
he could reach Murshidábád, 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 re-
solved to remain in Bihár 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 capi-
tulation 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
* The misadventures of this brave but unlucky soldier have
been related by Col. Malleson.
F 2
68
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1760.
hopes his self-confidence had fostered. To the his-
torian Gholám Hossain Khán 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 Shujäá-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 reinforce-
ment 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 Murshi-
dábád and Patna in the space of thirteen days, and
fell upon the Imperial army, whom he utterly routed
and drove southward upon Gáya. The Imperial army
was now commanded by Kámgar Khán; for Mohammad
Kuli had returned to Allahabad, and been murdered
by his unscrupulous cousin Shujäá, 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 Shatáb 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
* Siar-ul-Mutákharin.
1762.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
69
///
the Bengal Nawáb. The son of the latter, however,
being killed in a thunderstorm in July, the allied
armies retired to cantonments at Patna, and the perti-
nacious Imperialists once more posted themselves
between that place and the capital, at their old station
of Gáya.
1761.—Early next year, therefore, the Anglo-Bengali
troops once more took the field, and encountering
the Imperialists at Suán, near the city of Bihár, 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 Pánipat, and of the plans formed by the Abdáli for
the restoration of the empire; and there is reason to
believe that, but for the jealousy of Mir Kásim, whom
a late revolution (brought about by the English) had
placed in the room of Mir Jáfar, the Emperor would
have been at once reinstated at Dehli under British
protection. Before he went he created Mir Kásim
Subahdár; 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 im-
pended upon the Emperor before he was to meet them
* Mir Sádik Ali Khán, known to the English as "Meerun."
?
+
70
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1763.
in the palace of his fathers. On his way to the north-
west he fell into the hands of the ambitious Nawáb
Vazir of Audh, who had received the Abdáli'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, sur-
rounded 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 instru-
ment Mir Kásim, 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 Kásim 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 here-
after, it is as well here to take note.
-
This European executioner of Asiatic barbarity is
generally believed to have been a native of Trèves, in
1764.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
71
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 Khán, Mir Kásim's Armenian
General.
Broome, however, adopts a somewhat different
version. According to this usually careful and accu-
rate 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, Kásim 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 Shojäá-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
72
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1764.
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 Bihár, and made a
furious, though ultimately unsuccessful attack upon
the British lines under the walls of Patna on the 3rd
of May. Shujäá-ud-daulah, the Nawáb of Audh,
temporarily retiring, the Emperor resumed negotia-
tions 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 (Baksár), near the confluence of the Karamnassa
with the Ganges, where the two Nawabs (for Kásim
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 Gházipur sarkárs as fiefs of the Empire.
The remainder of the Subah of Allahabad was
secured to the Emperor with a pecuniary stipendt
For a full account of these transactions see Mill; "Lord
Clive's Life," by Rev. R. Gleig; Broome's "History of the
Bengal Army;" and Macaulay's Essays, Art. "Clive." Also
Elphinstone's posthumous work, "The Rise of British Power in
the East." Murray. 1887.
"Yearly offering" is the translation of the Persian words
employed.
•
1765.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
73
which raised his income to the nominal amount of a
million a year of our money.
But the execution of these measures required con-
siderable delay, and some further exercise of that
pertinacious vigour which peculiarly distinguished the
British in the eighteenth century.
Shujäá-ud-daulah fled first to Faizábád in his own.
territories; but, hearing that Allahabad had fallen,
and that the English were marching on Lucknow, he
had recourse to the Patháns of Rohilkand, whose
hospitality he afterwards repaid with characteristic in-
gratitude. Not only did the chiefs of the Rohillas
harbour the Nawáb 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, Shujäá returned to the conflict.
1765.—It may be easily imagined that what he failed
to do with the aid of Mir Kásim and his own territory,
he did not effect with his present friends as an exile; and
Kásim having fled, and Sumroo having entered the
service of the Játs 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 Nawáb 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 Doáb,
made over to the Nawáb Vazir Shujäá-ud-daulah, who,
74
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1765.
1
being thus reinstated as a feudatory of the British
Diwáns, returned to his own country, leaving Sháh
'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 attach-
ment 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
Diwání 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 exemp-
tion 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
Nawáb), and regularly remit the same.
"Given on the 8th Safar, in the sixth year of our
reign.
"'*
The Nawab was to continue Subahdár, the Company
was to be his colleague for purposes of civil and fiscal
administration, they were to support the Nawab's
(Nizámat) expenses, and to pay the tribute (Nazarána)
in his name.
The Emperor's establishment during the next few
* My purpose being to give the narrative from the native
point of view, I have not thought it needful to reproduce the
British counterpart of this covenant. The date is August 12th,
1765, and the text will be found in Aitchison's "Treaties and
Sunnuds." It will be observed that the Persian instrument is in
the form and style of a grant from a Sovereign.
1765.]
75
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 pos-
session 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 pay-
ment from the revenues of Bengal, is all Sháh Álum
possesses to support the dignity of the Imperial house
of Timor." [Dow. ii. 356, A.d. 1767.]
The following further particulars respecting Sháh
'Alam's Court at this period are furnished by Gholám
Hossain, and should be noted here as relating to
personages of some of whom we shall hear more anon.
Mirza Najaf Khán, the Imperial General, was a
Persian noble of high, even of royal, extraction, and
destined to play a conspicuous part in the events related
* This is, perhaps, as much as the same tracts pay at the pre-
sent time, with the vast extent of cultivation, and the enormous
fall that must have taken place since those days in the value of
money. Thirty lakhs in those days would, perhaps, be less
easily paid than a hundred now: but a close comparison cannot
be instituted, because neither have we the means of exactly
knowing what were the limits of the assigned districts, nor what
were the prices current at the time. I believe, however, that
money in Hindustan during the last century was worth at least
ten times what it is now worth in England.
+ Vide Appendix A, p. 281.
76
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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.
Rája Rám Náth, 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 Hissám-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 Shujäá
to his son Säádat 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 re-
mained content with the humble but guaranteed posi-
tion 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
77
the very best native work upon the subject-the Siar-
ul-mutákharin—which was written by Ghulám Hossain
Khán, 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 Gáya 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 circum-
stances which led to the Emperor Shah Alam becoming,
for the first time, a pensioner on British bounty, or a
dependant on British policy.
Those who require a complete account of the mili-
tary 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
* Vide Appendix A.
78
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Nawáb, 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, 438ff)
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.
79
CHAPTER II.
A.D. 1765-71.
Najib-ud-danlah and Jawan Bakht-The Játs-Bhartpur State
—Suraj Mal-Najib attacks Játs—Negotiations—Death of
Suraj Mal-Játs attack Jaipur-Return of the Mahrattas—
They attack Bhartpur-Rohillas yield-Death of Najib-
State of Rohilkand—Zábitá Khán–Mahrattas invite Em-
peror to return to Debli.
AT the conclusion of Part I. we saw that the Abdáli
ruler of Kábul had returned to his own land, soon
after the battle of Pánipat, 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
Affghan). 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 Khán
Rohilla, and the Nawab of Audh, Shujäá-ud-daulah,
and maintaining a constant understanding with Malhár
Rao Holkar, whom we have seen deserting the cause of
his countrymen, and thus exempted from their general
ruin at Pánipat, Najib-ud-daulah swayed the affairs of
* So I translate the title Amir-ul-Omra.
80
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
L
←
the dwindled empire with deserved credit and success.
The Mahratta collectors were expelled from the dis-
tricts of the Doáb, while Agra admitted a Ját 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 Malhár
Rao, acting on his own account in the disastrous cam-
paign 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 Játs, 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 Rájputs. They affect Ráj-
puł ways, although the Rájputs would disdain their
kinship; and they give to their chiefs the Rájput title
of "Thákur," 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 Rájputs. It is stated, by
an excellent authority, that even now the Játs
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
* Vide last Chapter.
can
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
81
(Elliot's
acknowledge the unity of the Godhead."
Glossary, in voce "Jat.")
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 Játs of Bhartpur fought
Lord Lake with success, and Lord Combermere with
credit; and their "Sikh" brethren in the Pánjab
shook the whole fabric of British India on the Satlaj,
in 1845, and three years later on the field of Chillián-
wála. The Sikh kingdom has been broken up, but
the Ját 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
Ját 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
Getæ, 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 Pánjab.
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
G
82
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
territory swayed by the chiefs of the Játs 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 Rájá of the Bhartpur Játs, 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 Hindu-
stan far otherwise than what it has since been. But
the haughty leader of the Hindus, Sheodásheo 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 Pánipat-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 Mewát country.
The sagacious speculator, about the same time, dropped
the falling cause of Gházi-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 Náwab of Audh, at the head of a battalion
of Sepoys, a detail of artillery, and some three hundred
European ruffians of all countries.
* Vide Sup. p. 46.
+ Vide Sup. p. 43.
1765.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
83
Thus supported, the bucolic sagacity of the Ját
Rája 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 pru-
dence. 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 Saharánpur on the eastern, and Hánsi 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 Faujdárship
(military prefecture) of the small district of Farokh-
nagar. Unwilling to break abruptly with the Ját
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
Ját chief would for the present converse, the Moghul
proposed to take his leave, trusting that he might
G 2
84
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1765.
reintroduce the subject of the negotiations at a more
favourable moment. "Do nothing rashly, Thákur
Sáhib," 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 Thákur'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 recon-
noitring in this reckless fashion, he was suddenly
recognised by a flying squadron of Moghul horse, who
surprised the Játs, 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 Ját camp identified the body by
means of his own piece of chintz, which formed its
raiment. Meanwhile the Ját 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*
* Some accounts say the hand and arm.
1765.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
85
of Suraj Mal borne on a horseman's lance as their
standard.* In the panic which ensued upon this
ghastly spectacle, the Játs 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 Ráo 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 Thákur's thirst of conquest was by
no means appeased, and he proceeded in 1765 to attack
Mádhu Sing, the Rájput ruler of Jaipur, son of the
Kachwaha Rájá 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 liorthern Doáb. (Vide Elliot, in voc.)
* It is curious that a similar effect was produced upon a party
of Ját insurgents by a British officer in 1857.-Vide descriptions
of Sáh Mal's rising in the Meerut District, by Mr. Dunlop, C.B.,
Services of the Khakee Resala," &c. London: R. Bentley.
""
+ Jai Singh was an eminent astronomer, and constructed the
celebrated Jantar-Mantar " Observatory for the Emperor
Mohammad Shah about A.n. 1730.- Vide Keene's Handbook
for Dehli."
"C
86
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1766.
In this attempt Jowáhir 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. Jowáhir re-
treated 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 Rájá. A period of
very great confusion ensued in the Ját 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 Ját 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 un-
easiness 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
* Vide Skinner's "Memoirs," i. 283.
+ Dow, vol. ii. Dow wrote in 1767, and described the then
state of Hindustan.
1767–9.]
87
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
an Emperor living in ease and security. Scarcely
had the premier been freed from the menace of the
Eastern Játs by his own prowess and by their subse-
quent troubles, than their kindred of the Pánjab
began to threaten Dehli from the west. Fortunately
for the minister, his old patron, the Abdáli, 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 Pánipat, 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
Shujäá-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 Mádhoji Sindhia-" Patel" +
* Dow, writing at this time, thought he meant to assume the
empire.
+ Patel is described by Captain Grant-Duff to mean the head
man of a Mahratta village. There is nothing like this office in
England, but perhaps the old Saxon "Headborough," or the
88
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1770.
-the other was Takuji Holkar. The first of these
was the natural son of Ránoji 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 Malhár Ráo 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 differ-
ence 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 Játs 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 Doáb, 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, Zábita Khán. 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
mediæval "Beadle," gives the nearest notion of this humble
corregidor. In Sindhia's case the affectation of the rural dignity
was a stroke of policy, though not a very deep one.
1770.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
89
Zábita, 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 reccrd 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 graudeur
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 Sháh, 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.
90
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Khán, the early patron of Najib, and Rahmat
Khán, known in India by the title of Háfiz, or "Pro-
tector." 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, Shujäá, along with many other un-
scrupulous 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 Pánipat; and during the next seven
years the Rohilla power had passed the frontier of
the Ganges, and overflowed the Central Doáb; while
the Najibábád family (who had a less close connection
with local politics, but were powerful kinsmen and
allies) had possession of the Upper Doáb, up to the
Siwálik Hills, above Saháranpur. 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 Doáb from
* Vide Part I. chap. ii.
K
1771.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
91
passing under the Mahratta sway, and he died soon
after its occupation occurred. Dundi Khán 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.
Zábita Khán, the son and successor of the late
minister, and himself an Afghan or Pathan by race,
did nevertheless for a time contribute to the re-
sources 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 them-
selves over the whole Upper and Central Doáb, and
occupied all Rohilkand-excepting the small terri-
tory of Farakhábád, to the south of the latter and
north of the former-Zábita Khán, instead of en-
deavouring 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 Doáb, and
occupied the metropolis; only respecting the palace,
where the Prince Regent and the Imperial family con-
tinued to reside. Zábita, having organized no plan,
could offer no resistance, and escaped towards his
northward possessions.
By the connivance of his hereditary ally, Takuji
92
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1771.
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 contempora-
neous memoirs, although not always quite impartial. Captain
Grant Duff's research aud fairness are beyond all praise, wherever
transactions of the Mahrattas are concerned. The sketch of Ját
politics is derived from the Siar-ul-Mutákharin and the Tarikh-
i-Mozafari; but it is as well to state, once for all, that the
native chroniclers seldom present anything like complete mate-
rials 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.
93
CHAPTER III.
A.D. 1771-76.
Agency of Restoration-Mádhoji Sindhia -Zábita attacked-
Mirza Najaf Khán-Flight of Zábita-Treaty with Rohillas
-Zábita regains office-Mahrattas attack Dehli-Despera-
tion of Mirza Najaf—Mahrattas attack Rohilkand—Opposed
by British-Advance of Audh Troops-Re-employment of
Mirza-Abdul Ahid Khán-Suspicious conduct of Háfiz
Rahmat and Rohillas-Tribute withheld by Háfiz Rahmat—
Battle of Kattra-Death of Shujäá-ud-daulah-Campaign
against Játs—Najaf Kuli Khán-Successes of the Imperial
Army-Zábita and Sikhs-Death of Mir Kásim.
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 Shahjahán. 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 per-
son of indifferent character who, like the Brounker
and Chiffinch of the English restoration of 1660, had
been usually employed in less dignified agencies. Un-
acquainted with this man's name, we must be content
to take note of him by his title of Hissám, or
Háshim Ud Daula. The Mahrattas were, amongst
other rewards, to receive a present fee of ten lakhs of
* Vide Sup. p. 76.
*
-
94
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1771.
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 here-
after.
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 Shujäá-ud-daulah, 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
Médoc, an illiterate man, but a good soldier. The
command-in-chief was held by Mirza Najaf Khán. 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 un-
heedingly 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 re-
appeared in the provinces that he had so inconside-
rately left.
* Somewhere about Cawnpore.
-
1771.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
95
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 Abdáli; and the Mahrattas, anxious
to revenge and repair the losses of Pánipat. 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 Farrukhábád, 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 Mádhoji
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
* For an exhaustive account of this family, see Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. 222-6 (contributed by Mr. W.
Irvine, B.C.S.).
+ Vide sup. p. 85n.
96
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1772.
and crossed the shrunk and sandy Jamna, Sháh Álam,
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 north-
ward at the head of 90,000 men, the greater number
of whom were Mahratta horsemen. It has already
been shown that Zábita Khán had escaped to his
own estates a year before. The Báwani Mahál (com-
prising fifty-two pergunnahs, now included in the
districts of Saharanpur and Muzaffarnaggar) contained
three strongholds: Pathargarh on the left, Sukhartál
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 Zábita Khán 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 Zábita
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
1772.]
97
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
policy, yet the small Moghul nucleus bore a certain
part, being ably commanded by the Persian, Mirza
Najaf Khán, who has been already mentioned as
Governor of Korah, and of whom we shall hear fre-
quently 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
Khán, 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 Shujäá, Najaf Khán 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 Zábita 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 Shujaá; and the Mahratta
and Moghul armies having crossed the Ganges by a
mixture of boldness and stratagem, Zábita Khán fled
to the Ját 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 Zábita was his eldest son, a beautiful
youth, named Gholam Kadir Khán, whom the Emperor
is said, by tradition, to have transmuted into a haram
* Vide sup. p. 66 and 92.
H
98
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1772.
¿
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, dis-
satisfied 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 appro-
priated all the profits of the campaign. They at the
same time restored to Zábita Khán-whom they hoped
hereafter to make into a serviceable tool-the members
of his family taken at Pathargarh; receiving in ex-
change a ransom of a lakh and a half of rupees, which
was advanced to them on Zábita's account, by the
Viceroy Shujäá-ud-daulah.
The rainy season of 1772 was spent by the Emperor
at Dehli; by the Mahrattas at Agra and in the neigh-
bourhood. 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 Shujäá-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, Háfiz Rahmat Khán, bound
himself to join Shujäá in any steps he might take for
the assistance of Zábita Khán, and pay him forty lakhs
of rupees, in four annual instalments upon condition of
1772.]
99
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
This
the Mahrattas being expelled from Rohilkand.
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. Zábita Khán, meanwhile, being
secretly urged by the faithless Shujäá, had made terms
for himself with the Mahrattas, who engaged to pro-
cure 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 re-
storing Zábita Khán'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 protégé Zábita. They accordingly instigated
Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Bhartpur Játs, to
prefer a claim to the fief of Balamgarh, held by a petty
chieftain of his own nation. This chief solicited aid
*It is curious that Professor H. H. Wilson, the continuer,
and ordinarily the corrector of Mill, should cite a Persian life of
Rahmat Khán to show that this arrangement has been misunder-
stood, that its real purport was that the forty lakhs were to be
given to the Mahrattas to buy them off, but that Shujäá was only
the surety. If the Viceroy's character and subsequent conduct
did not refute this, yet the text of the treaty would do so.-Vide
Note at end of Chapter.
H 2
100
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1772.
:
from the Emperor against his powerful rival; and in
the end of the year 1772 Mirza Najaf Khán, who
henceforth figures in the native histories by his newly-
acquired title of Zulfikár-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 Játs, forced the
Imperialists to retreat towards the capital; but the
Patel, disapproving of the Rohilla element contributed
to this confederacy by the presence of Zábita Khán,
retired towards Jaipur, where he occupied himself in
plundering the Rájputs. 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 Zábita, advanced towards Dehli,
but were met at a place called Baddarpur, ten miles
south of the city, by a force under the minister him-
self. In the action which ensued, the Moghul force.
which, though well disciplined and well led by Mirza
Najaf, seconded by M. Médoc 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 Hissám-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
1773.]
101
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Zábita Khán, and the
cession of those provinces in the Lower Doáb 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 Khán,
about a payment which he was alleged to have guaran-
teed them during the Sukhartál 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 Zábita Khán in office, and the
pandar Hisám in high favour, the heroic ex-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, Afrasyáb Khán, who had some squadrons
with him for the protection of that district, threw
himself into a fortified house outside the Kábul Gate
of the city. The forces of the new Minister sur-
rounded 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
* Vide sup. p. 75.
+ The armour of a Moghul noble consisted of a skull-cap and
panoply of chain-mail, so exquisitely wrought of pure steel
rings that the whole scarcely weighed ten pounds; over this he
wore a morion, and four plates of steel, called Char ayna.
102
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1773.
for the grave-clothes of a descendant of the Prophet,
Najaf Khán 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 Khán'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, Zábita Khán,
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 Rámghát, below Anup-
shahar, where the Ganges is fordable during the
winter months; and at the same time parties of their
troops devastated the Doáb.
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
1773.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
103
Emperor when he proceeded to Dehli, contrary to the
remonstrance of the Bengal Council, and though his
own lieutenant had reported, and with perfect accu-
racy, 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 Shujäá,
accordingly marched to meet the invaders. Háfiz
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.t In this scheme, the sudden
* “Critical and Historical Essays,” Art. “Warren Hastings.”
Hamilton's "History of the Rohilla Afghans." It was never
quite conclusively determined whether the Viceroy was to receive
this money as payment for the service of expelling the Mahrattas,
or whether he was security for the payment of that amount, to be
made to them as inducement to retire. But see the extract inf.p.117
104
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE. [1773.
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 Etáwa, and thence to
their own country in May, 1773.
It has been already seen that Mirza Najaf Khán
was a family connection of Shujäá-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, ac-
companied 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 Abdáli,
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 Sukhartál, by which the Najibábád
Rohillas passed from one part of their dominions to
another; to the south was the ford of Ramghát, leading
from Aligarh to Bareilly. It remained a British
cantonment from this time* until some time sub-
sequent 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 entrepôt 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.
* With one or two short interruptions, such as during the
brief ascendancy of Francis's opposition in the Calcutta Council.
1773.]
105
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
At this station Najaf Khán took leave of his patrons,
having received from Shujäá-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 him-
self, of his new Deputy's kinsman and former patron
Mohammad Kuli Khán, the former Governor of
Allahabad; and it was not an impolitic, though pro-
bably 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, Zábita Khán, took refuge with
the Játs; but Hisám-ud-daulah, who had been for
some time in charge of the local revenue (Diwán-i-
Khálsa) 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 Khán (who bears henceforth the title of
/
*
-
* Probably as much as two years' land-tax on the same dis-
trict now, although the value of money is, of course, very much
fallen since those days. Perhaps it would not be an exaggerated
estimate if the sum in the text were taken to represent, in pur-
chasing power, about half a million of our present money (sterling).
106
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1773.
Majad-ud-daulah), while Manzur Ali Khán, 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 pro-
verbial 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 Khán 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 Mo-
hammad, and latterly by his son's guardian, the Pro-
tector Rahmat Khán. 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 occa-
sion for which Shujäá-ud-daulah was waiting. Much
eloquent indignation has been vented by Macaulay and
Mill on the subject of the accession to this campaign
* Vide inf., p. 120, and Chap. vi. passim.
1773.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
107
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 autho-
rity usurped by Rahmat Khán 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 conclu-
sion that to condemn Hastings would be to condemn
their own existence in India. Such a conclusion would
108
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1773.
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 Mac-
aulay, who objects to the decision of the Peers acquit-
ting 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 im-
peachment began.
G
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 Mo-
hammad, with the solitary exception of the campaign
of 1761, when they joined their Abdáli kinsman at
Pánipat. 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
1773.]
109
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
to give them a fair inducement to sanction the enter-
prise 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.
G
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 Khán, 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 Zábita and some
minor Rohilla chiefs, while others, among whom were
the sons of the late Dundi Khán, held aloof altogether,
* Vide Chap. i. p. 73.
110
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1774.
.
' ។
and Faizula Khán, 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 Zábita had been detached from the confederacy,
was an assignment of the district in the neighbourhood
of Meerut, which had cleared itself of Mahratta occu-
pation under the late Vazir's rule.
1774.-In October, 1773, the fort of Etáwa fell,
and the last Mahratta forces were driven from the
Doáb. 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 levée 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 Shujäá-ud-daulah in his Doáb conquests, as
also in the grant already made by the British of Korah
* This is the date given by Captain Hamilton, who adds the
following singular account of the condition of the Rohillas at the
time, from a native Rohilla source:-" A surprising degree of
animosity and discord had long since arisen in Rohilkand, and
each person was earnestly bent upon the eradication of his
neighbour: and, in order to effect that object, ready to enter into
league with foreigners and invaders." Meanwhile, we have it
from the same authority that the original (non-Rohilla) popula-
tion of the country was rack-rented, while life and property were
without protection.
1774.]
111
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Khán,
the Deputy Vazir, had not arrived in time to partici-
pate 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 Játs of Bhartpur.
Zábita Khán 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
* Hamilton.-This writer, who professes to follow Rohilla
historians, as far as possible, states that there are no records of
the people being ill-used, further than that seventeen or eighteen
thousand of the soldiery were deported and settled in the neigh-
bouring territories of Zábita Khán. "The Hindoo inhabitants,
about 700,000, were in no way effected." So much for the
alleged depopulation of Rohilkand.
-
112
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1774.
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.
Shujäá-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 circu-
lated 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 Khán
having fallen into his hands, Shujäá-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-Mutákharin, 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,
1774.]
113
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Sháh
defeated the Abdáli, in 1743. Had the career of
Shujäá-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 Khán's loyal and upright character, would
have effectually strengthened the Empire against the
Mahrattas, and altered the whole subsequent course of
Indian history.
But Shujäá's son and successor was a weak volup-
tuary, 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 per-
manent consolidation to the tottering fabric.
It has been seen that he was meditating a campaign
against the Játs, whom Zábita'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 Játs,
advanced upon the capital, and occupied Sikandrábád
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 after-
wards, 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
I
114
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1774.
Hariána, named after himself Najaf Kuli Khán, 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 Rajputána
Proper to the south, and to the north on Hariána 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 Diwán, 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, more-
over, he had found a special disappointment. Indeed,
Shah Alam, between these two ministers, was like the
hero of mediæval 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 conjec-
tured, for a fresh revolt of Zábita's summoned the
Diwán to the northward, whilst his rival was success-
fully engaged with the Játs. In this expedition.
Majad-ud-daulah displayed a great want of spirit and
of skill, so that Zábita became once more extremely
1775.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
115
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
This
Shujäá’s favourite general, Latáfat Khán.*
timely reinforcement saved the metropolis, and allowed
of a settlement being made with the incorrigible
Zábita, which preserved, to some extent at least, the
dignity of the Government (ride next chapter).
Meanwhile the Imperialists had found the Játs,
under their chieftain, intrenched near Hodal, a town
sixty miles from Dehli, on the Mathra road. Dis-
lodged 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 fort-
night, 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 Dirájgarh-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.t Observing that the
sallies of the Játs had ceased, the Mirza left their
camp at Dig in his rear, and marched to Barsána,
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
*Francklin's "Sháh Alum," pp. 68, 69.
+ Here, on the 13th November, 1804, the army of Holkar was
defeated by General Fraser; and the Játs having fired on the
victors, the fort was stormed in the following month.
I 2
116
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE. [1776.
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 Ját skirmishers, and sup-
ported 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 Játs
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 Játs 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 neigh-
bouring 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
1776.]
117
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
received intelligence from Court that Zábita Khán,
emboldened by his easy triumph over the Diwán,
Majad-ud-daulah (Abdul Ahid Khán), 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 Kásim,* 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 June,
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.
* The Nawab of Bengal (it will be remembered) who caused,
with Sumroo's aid, the Patna massacre of 1763.
Vide sup.
Chap. i.
".
NOTE.—The 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 expul-
sion 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
118
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1776.
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.
.
119
CHAPTER IV.
A.D. 1776-85.
Vigour of Mirza Najaf-Zábita 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-Afrasyáb
Khán becomes Premier-Mirza Shaffi returns to Dehli-Is
it Peace?-Murder of Shaffi-Action of Mr. Hastings-
Flight of Shahzáda - Mádhoji Sindhia goes to Agra-
Afrasyáb's Death-Tribute claimed from British-Death
of Zábita Khán—Sindhia supreme—Chálisa 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
Játs 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, Mádho Rao;
and the whole of their forces were temporarily with-
drawn during the course of the year, by order of his
successor. Najaf held viceregal state at Agra, sur-
rounded not only by his faithful Moghuls and Persians,
120
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1776.
but by two brigades of foot and artillery, under the
command, respectively, of Sumroo and of Médoc. The
Mirza's chief Asiatic subordinates were Najaf Kuli
Khán his adopted son, the converted Hindu,* other-
wise Saif-ud-daulah; and Mohammad Beg of Hamadán :
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. Sháh
Álam 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 ascendency 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 Zábita Khán, 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 Játs and
Mahrattas at an end (and instigated, it was suspected,
by his late unsuccessful opponent, the Financial
Minister, Abdul Ahid Khán), Zábita, 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 Pattiála,
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 Pathán insurgent, and, crossing the Jamna in con-
siderable numbers, joined his force at Ghausgarh, the
* Vide last Chapter, p. 114.
+ V. sup. p. 106 for a notice of this man, Manzur Ali, the
Nazir, or Comptroller.
1777.]
121
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Pathán 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 Kásim Khán.
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 per-
ceived. Placed between two attacks, and deprived of
their leader by a stray shot, the latter soon gave way,
and Zábita, having pursued them for some distance,
returned to his stronghold triumphant. On this Mirza
Najaf Khán 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 investi-
ture, 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
Nizám and of other competitors. (Vide last chapter,
p. 115.) The Pathán had, however, evacuated the fort on
122
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1777.
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 negotia-
tion having been contemptuously rejected by the
Captain-General, Mirza Najaf Khán, the two armies.
engaged on the famous field of Pánipat, 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 Zábita Khán'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 Pathán's sister as his wife, while his godson
(so to speak), Najaf Kuli, was promised the hand of
Zábita's daughter. The pardon of this restless rebel
was attributed to the intercession of Latáfat, the
General of the Audh Vazir, who is said to have had a
large bribe on the occasion. (Francklin, chap. v.)
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 negotia-
tion failed because he would not surrender Sumroo.
Asaf-ud-daulah, Viceroy of Audh, was recognized as
titular Vazir; a trustworthy chief, Maulah Ahmad Dád,
was appointed to the charge of Sirhind; Najaf Kuli
Khán held the vast tract extending from that frontier
to the borders of Rajputána; and Sumroo was placed
in charge of the country adjoining Zábita Khán's lands,
1778.]
123
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
I
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 lakhs 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 re-
warded 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 cam-
paign, 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 Khán 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 Dád, the Faujdár
* His comrades called him "Sombre," a sobriquet which, after
adhering to him through life, became the family name of his
descendants. Colonel Skinner is my authority for the tenure of
his estates.
124
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1778.
of Sirhind, whom they defeated and slew. On the
receipt of this intelligence the Emperor had deputed
Abdul Ahid Khán-known to us by his title of Nawáb
Majad-ud-daulah-with an army nominally under the
command of one of the Imperial Princes, to inflict
signal chastisement upon obstinate offenders. If the
surmise of the native historians be correct-that Abdul
Ahid Khán had been privy to the late combination
between the Sikhs and Zábita Khán 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 confi-
dence 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 in-
habitants 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 protec-
tion 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 Karnál; 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
-
1779.]
125
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
forces to his own, the Majad-ud-daulah next proceeded
northwards, but was brought to a check at Pattiála by
Amar Singh, the Ját 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 Khán, on condition
of being supported by them in his endeavours to be
made Prime Minister in the room of that statesman.
Whether the Ját 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 Karnál
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 Panjáb 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 Panjábis poured
into the Upper Doáb, which they forthwith began to
plunder.
1779.—Meanwhile, Mirza Najaf Khán remained in
contemptuous repose at Agra, only interrupted by a
126
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1780.
short and successful dash at some Rájput malcontents,
who had been stirred up, it is thought, at the instiga-
tion 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 Mádhoji 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 Nizám 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 Ját land-
holder who had in the decay of the Empire followed the
example of Suraj Mal (of Bhurtpore) and assumed
independence. In 1771, when Sháh Álam was return-
ing 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 Maháráj
1780.]
127
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
Rána. Henceforth he figures in history as the "Rána
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 Rána
and stir up a confederation of Ját and Rájput 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 men-
tioned; the manner of its capture, however, cannot
be too often referred to as an instance of what resolu-
tion 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
* The capture by two young Bombay subalterns in June, 1858,
may also be remembered. (Malleson, 227.)
128
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1780.
}
sepoys, a scuffle ensued which lasted till Popham
arrived with the Europeans and made good the en-
trance. 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 Rána, but he did not
long retain it, Sindhia having recaptured it. He
soon afterwards took Gohad also (1784), and the
descendants of the Ját chief are now known as Ránas
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 con-
fusion, 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.†
* The present Rána, a young man who has been carefully
trained by Col. Dennehy, was honoured by a vis t from the
Prince of Wales in 1876.
+ Francklin says unhesitatingly that it was Farkhanda who
accompanied the expedition. This prince died the following
year. (Shah Alum, Chap. vi.)
1779.]
129
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
Najaf Khán 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 capital, 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, con-
fiscated, 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 un-
worthy 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 Khán—
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 Imperial-
ists, 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.
K
130
[1780.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 distin-
guished himself in any age and country. Profiting
by experience, the successful Minister did not repeat
the former blunder of retiring to Agra, where, more-
over, his presence was no longer required; but con-
tinued 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 Hamadán, was Governor of the
Fort and District of Agra. Najaf Khán himself
was appointed Amir-ul-Umra (Premier Noble); his
title, as it had long been, was Zulfikár-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 Portu-
guese inscription upon his tombstone there.* He
appears to have been a man without one redeeming
quality—“ stern and bloody-minded, in no degree re-
markable 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
* Vide Appendix B.
1781.]
131
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Kotána, 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 "Aloy-
sius," 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 influ-
ence 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
* Sleeman's "Rambles and Recollections," vol. i. p. 384.
The writer gives the Begum's age, at the time of her baptism, as
forty. This is merely conjecture. By Francklin's computation,
she was born about 1750.
K 2
132
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1782.
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 de-
grees 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 Khán,
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 Nádir Sháh.
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.
We
* Mill says "late in the year; "the date in the text is that
given by W. Hastings, who was Governor-General at the time.
1782.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
331
He held the direct civil administration, with receipt of
the surplus revenues, agreeably to Eastern usages, of the
province of Agra and the Ját territories, together with
the district of Alwar to the south-west and those por-
tions of the Upper Doáb 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 frag-
ments 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 Sháhzáda 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 Jahándar Sháh. After referring to
the fact that Majad-ud-daulah (the title, it may be re-
membered, of Abdul Ahid Khán) had been and still
was in custody, but that an equerry of the Emperor's
procured the issue of patents confirming existing ap-
pointments, 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 de-
parted 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 per-
formed, sent it to the place of interment, under the
care of Afrásyáb Khán, who was the cherished-in-the
134
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1782.
son" of the noble deceased; whose
""
bosom" (adopted)
sister also regarded him as her adopted son.
، ،
Afrásyáb Khán 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 dis-
agreeable to the far-extending sight of the royal Wis-
dom, as Mirza Shaffi Khán, 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 Sháh Álam'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 Afrásyáb
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 Afrásyáb, 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
""
-
1782.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
135
莆
​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. Afrá-
syáb's first measure was to release the Kashmirian Ex-
Minister Majad-ud-daulah(Abdul Ahid Khán) from
arrest, and by his recommendation this foolish and
notorious traitor was once more received into the Im-
perial 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 pro-
mising to marry her daughter, his first cousin. A
period of confusion ensued, which ended for the time
in the resignation of Afrásyáb, 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
Rájput 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 endeavour-
ing to compass. But Afrásyáb Khán, his absent com-
petitor, 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 Latáfat Khán,
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 pre-
*Otherwise Saif-ud-daulah. Fide sup. p. 114.
C
.
136
[1783.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
mises had been evacuated the Sháh marched in triumph
-not quite after the magnificent fashion of his ances-
tors 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,
Mádhoji 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 re-
peated blows at the confederacy. Peace, too, was con-
cluded 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 re-
presentative 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
* The Musulman Cathedral of Dehli.
A
1783.]
137
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
had visited the city of the Moghul since the memor-
able deputation from the infant Factory to the throne
of Farokhsiar.*
But before these officials could arrive, further com-
plications had occurred. Mirza Shaffi returning to
Dehli, in company with Mohamad Beg, requested
that his new opponents, Paoli and Latáfat, might be
sent to them with authority to treat, and the applica-
tion 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 sub-
jects, he would advise that only one should go at a
time. "But," he continues, "as the designs of Pro-
vidence 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 Esdraëlon 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
* Vide sup. Part I. chap. i. p. 78.
138
[1783.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
arranged for the time through the instrumentality
of the prince and by the return of Afrásyáb, 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 Septem-
ber, 1783, Mirza Shaffi, who had been to Agra, was
shut out from the palace on his return, probably owing
to Afrásyáb Khán'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 Hamadáni. 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, in-
deed, by some that the actual crime was perpetrated
by the attendant who occupied the back seat of the
howdah; possibly Ismail Beg Khán, nephew of the
Hamadáni.
Afrásyáb, 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
1783.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
139
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 Mádhoji
Sindhia, the Patel. That Mr. Hastings, when over-
ruled 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 advan-
tage" 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 Khán, and his son, the equally
famous Tippu Sáhib. 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
* Mill, Book VI. chap. i.
•
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
140
[1784.
opposition offered to them by the courtiers. All these
things called for prompt action.
S
1784. 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 in-
terpose. 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 des-
cended 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 sus-
picions, for he instantly went to the nearest guard and
* A tribe claiming to be descended from Rájput fathers, and
long famous in Hindustan for their martial and predatory
character. They are regarded by Elliot as Scythian immigrants.
1784.]
141
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Mádhoji 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 Mohamad Beg, who had returned
to his old residence at Agra, continued to trouble the
repose of the new minister Afrásyáb, so that he also
turned to the redoubted Patel, and this successful
soldier who had barely escaped four-and-twenty years.
before from the slaughter of Pánipat, now found him-
self 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 Hindus-
tan, 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
..
•
* Appendix to Mr. Hastings's "Narrative."
+ S. Karr's "Selections," vol. i. p. 13.
142
[1784.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 con-
duct of Afrásyáb 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 Khán
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 Afrás-
yáb Khán, at which it was agreed to concert a com-
bined 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 mur-
der; 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 Khán, 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 pro-
fessions of service.
* Francklin's "Shah Alum," p. 118.
These Gosains were a sect of fighting friars, much valued at
this period. Vide inf. Note to p. 168.
1785.]
143
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Nizám,* he professed
to administer as the Peshwa's deputy. He assumed
with the command of the army, the direct manage-
ment 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 Patel 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 con-
tribution 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 Ma-
dagee Sindia an official and solemn disavowal, under
their respective seals, of demands which were trans-
mitted 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
* Vide sup. p. 25. The Persian word is Vakil-i-Mutlak.
† Major Brown was the head of the Dehli Mission already
mentioned.
1
144
[1785.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
from the Court of Sháh Álam, but without any com-
munication of the subject to Mr. Anderson.*
"Mr. Anderson was immediately instructed to in-
form 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 Sháh
Álam was to be informed that the justice of the English
to his illustrous house could never admit the inter-
ference or recommendation of other powers, and could
alone flow from their voluntary liberality.
"A disavowal of claims advanced unjustly and dis-
respectfully was insisted upon; and we are authorized
to declare that Mr. Anderson's conduct in obtaining
that disavowal was open and decided, highly honour-
able to him as a public minister. He acted in con-
formity 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 Govern-
ment, 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."
S
1
The revolution begun by the Patel was soon completed.
Zábita Khán 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,
* Mr. Anderson was the British Resident in Sindhia's camp.
Charles Malet, on his mission to Sindia to arrange for his embassy at
a, arrived at Agra on May 9, 1785, y was quartered in the Toy. On May 20 he
3 introduced to Sindia near Muttra, on June 5 to Shah alam, on June 10


145
1785.1
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
sited Delhi, and left Ages on July 21, vreached Calcutta 65 oct. 18.
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, Afrásyáb Khán, 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 Khán had wrested
from the Játs, 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 Afrásyáb 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 cor-
responding to a million of money, but really repre-
senting much more of our present currency—was seized
by Sindhia.
The latter was now supreme in Hindustan; the dis-
united Moghul chiefs, one and all, acknowledged his
authority; and a Mahratta garrison, occupying the Red
Castle of Shah Jahán, 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
L
•
[
ま
​146
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1783–85.
large, is a great cause of regret and disappointment
to me. A few particulars will be found in the conclud-
ing chapter.
-
In 1783, when Afrásyáb Khán 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 al-
most as unknown as in England: but the arid plains
of Hindustan, basking at the feet of the vastest moun-
tain-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,
""
* Vide Preliminary Observations, p. 4.
† Vide Calcutta Gazette, for Thursday, 13th May, 1784.—
"The 12th.-Wheat is now selling at Battalah, 9 seers; at
Lahore, 4 seers; and Jumoo, 3 seers per rupee."-Seton Karr's
Selections," I. 14.
C
↑
1783-85.] FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
147
however, combined with the absence of the tax-gatherer,
must have given this state of things some sort of com-
pensation 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 Sháhzádah 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 Irádat Khán 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 condi-
tion 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 gooiur, and thus became
an easy prey to the wild beasts who in numbers roved round the
C
L 2
148
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1783-85.
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 pro-
fusely, 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 in-
stead 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."
149
CHAPTER V.
A.D. 1786-88.
Gholám Kádir-Pillars of the State-Siege of Rághogarh—
British policy-Measures of Sindhia-Rájput Confederacy
-Battle of Lálsaut-Muhammad Beg's death-Defection of
Ismail Beg-Greatness of Sindhia Gholám Kádir enters
Dehli-Is checked by Begam Sumroo and Najaf Kuli Khán
-Gholám Kádir pardoned; joins Ismail Beg-Battle of
Chaksána-Rajput Embassy-Emperor takes the field—
Shahzáda writes to George III. Najaf Kuli rebels-
Death of Sháhzáda-Emperor's return-Battle of Firozábád
-Confederates at Dehli-Their difficulties-Sindhia in-
active—Benoit de Boigne.
―
66
1786. The eldest son of the deceased chief of the
Báwani Mahal was that Gholám Kádir, whom we have
seen already in the character of a captive and a page.*
It does not appear under what circumstances he had re-
covered his liberty; but, on the death of Zábita Khán,
he at once succeeded to his estates, under the title of
Najib-ud-daulah Hoshyár Jang." As in the lower
empire of Byzantium, so in the present case, in pro-
portion as the State crumbled, the titles of its un-
serviceable supporters became more sonorous, until at
last there was not a pillar of the ruinous fabric, how-
ever weak and however disengaged from the rest of the
body, but bore some inscription equally "imposing'
* Vide sup. Chap. iii.
""
150
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1786.
in both senses of the word. Daulah or Daulat means
"The State," and the Musalman nobles were called
Arkán-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 " Gholám
Kádir Khán, was now the most prominent representa-
tive of the Hindustáni Afgháns. Among the Moghuls
the leading spirit was Mohamad Beg of Hamadán,
for whom the Patel provided employment by sending
him with an army into Málwa, where he was for some
time occupied by the siege of Rághogarh. This was a
very strong fort, held by a colony of Kachwáha Rájputs
since the times of Najaf Khán, and commanding one
of the main roads between Hindustan and the Mah-
ratta country. It had resisted the Mahrattas when
they first invaded Málwa, 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 Doáb 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 Resi-
dent 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 re-
mained under their joint protection, the Mahratta
usurpation must be incomplete; should he fall into
the power of the Patel, a permanent Mahratta occu-
1787.]
151
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
pation 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 Doáb;
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 insignifi-
cance, we have nothing to apprehend from the Hindus.
Many have urged the necessity of upholding the in-
fluence 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 repug-
nant 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
* Letter from Lucknow, dated 1st April, 1785. Ap. Mill.
No.
152
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1787.
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 Khándi 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 endea-
vouring to organize a standing army. With this view
he at the same time recalled Mohamad Beg from the
siege of Rághogarh and attempted, vainly, to induce
that Chief to disband his levies.
Amongst other unpopular measures must also be
enumerated the removal of Rájá Narayan Dáss, who
had for some time been in charge of the Home
Revenues, and who was replaced by Shah Nizám-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 junc-
ture, to set about military reforms, for the Rájputs,
emboldened perhaps by the resistance of Rághogarh,
now began to organize a combination, which not only
implied a considerable loss of power and of revenue,
•
* The "Jaghire" of old writers. The spelling of the text is
the correct one, "Jai" place, and "gir" holding.
1787.]
153
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
J
1
but likewise threatened to cut off the Patel's communi-
cations with Punah. Rájá Partáb Singh (head of the
Kachwahas, and Dhiráj of Jaipur), called for the aid
of the head of the Ráthor clan, Maharájá 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 Rájput
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 Lálsot, a town
forty-three miles east from Jaipur, and there awaited
the attack of the Imperial forces, with the more con-
fidence 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 Ambáji Inglia, Appa Khándi, 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 Hamadán, the two attach-
ing 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 Rájput horse made way before
him, but the Mahrattas not following up, and nearly
half his men being slain, he was forced to retreat to
154
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1787.
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 Rájput 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, ex-
claimed, "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 Rájá, offering to join him on receipt
of two lakhs of rupees. The Rájá readily accepting
these terms, the battalions joined his camp and re-
ceived 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,
*
* Probably about twelve times the average price current of
those days.
1787.]
155
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
and there was every prospect of the scarcity increasing ;
while the countless camp-followers of the Rájputs 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 Ránjit Singh,
the leader of the Játs, and pushed on all his forces to
the pursuit, at the same time throwing a strong rein-
forcement into the fort of Agra, the garrison of which
was placed under the command of Lakwa Dáda, one of
his best officers.*
The following version of the affair appears in the
Calcutta Gazette :
66
Reports are various respecting the particulars of
an engagement between Scindia and the Rajahs of Joy-
naghurt 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,
*This, it must be remembered, is a Musalman account of the
campaign; and though it bears general marks of veracity, and
is from the Tarikh-i-Mozafari, usually an accurate authority, yet
one sees that it slurs over the details of Ismail Beg's defection.
Grant Duff, writing from Mahratta sources, says that he and his
uncle deserted before the battle of Lalsaut, which is the opposite
extreme. Perhaps, we shall not be far wrong in supposing that
Ismail Beg went off after his uncle's death, on the third day,
when the mutinous corps deserted as stated in the text.
+ q. d.
d. "Jodhpur," which was sometimes called Jainagar.
Lalsaut was near Jaipur (v. sup.). See also Jawan Bakht's letter
(inf. 164), where the word is apparently used for Jaipur.
156
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1787.
with much gallantry, they were ultimately in a great
measure victorious, as Scindia lost a part of his artil-
lery 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 Joy-
naghur 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 intelli-
gence 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 Partáb Singh who conferred the com-
mand of the Moghuls upon Ismail Beg. But Partáb
Singh would have no voice in such a matter, and
Francklin inconsistently adds that the trained battalions.
of the late Afrásyáb'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 Rájputs 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 Játs, appealing to the Thâkur's rustic
vanity by costly presents, while he propitiated the feel-
-
1787.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
157
ing of the Bhartpur army, and the patriotism of the
country at large, by restoring to the Játs the fortress of
Dig, which had been held for the Emperor ever since
its conquest by Najaf Khán. 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 Rájputs, 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 compara-
tively glorious days of Mirza Najaf Khán 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 Gholám Kádir,* who hastened from Ghaus-
garh to join in the resuscitation of Mohamadan in-
terests, and to share in the gains. The Emperor,
moreover, was known to be in private correspondence
with the Rájput chiefs, who shortly after this inflicted
another defeat on the Mahrattas under Ambáji.
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,
Gholám Kádir approached Dehli, and encamped on
the Shahdarat 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-
* Vide sup. p. 149.
+ Shahdara was the scene of Suraj Mal's defeat and death.-
Vide sup., Chap. ii.
St
158
[1787.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
Umra or Premier Noble. He is always understood to
have been acting under the direction of Manzur Ali
Khán, Controller of the Imperial Household, who
thought to secure a valuable support for the cause of
Islam by introducing the young Pathán chief into the
administration. The Mahratta garrison was com-
manded by a son-in-law of the Patel, known in Musal-
man History as the Desmukh-which is interpreted
"Collector of Land Revenue," and by a member of
the Imperial Household, on whom, from some unex-
plained reason, had been bestowed the title of the great
Aulia Saint Shah Nizám-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 resistence. Gholám
Kádir crossed the river, and the Imperial officers fled
to the Ját Fort of Balamgarh, leaving their camp and
private effects to the mercy of the victor.
.
P
It need hardly be observed that the firing on the
palace was an act of gross disrespect, and, unless ex-
plained, of rebellion. Nor was the young chief blind
to the importance of basing his proceedings on an ap-
pearance 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 Khán).† By the agency of this official, Gholám
Kádir was introduced to the Diwán Khas, where he
presented a Nazar of five gold mohurs, and was
* Vide inf., p. 176, Note.
Vide sup. p. 106.
-
-
1787.]
159
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 con-
dition for two or three days, when Gholám Kádir, im-
patient perhaps at the non-occurrence of any circum-
stance 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 Pánipat 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 Gholám Kádir's
return to his camp; but it is more probable that, as
stated above, this renewal did not occur until the ar-
rival of Najaf Kuli Khán. The Emperor showed on
this occasion some sparks of the temper of old time,
before misfortune and sensual indulgence had demor-
alized his nature. He sent Moghul chiefs to keep an
eye on the Páthan, 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 Ráthor, Najaf
Kuli Khán, who was on his estate at Rewari, urging his
immediate attendance in Dehli.
Rewári is in what is now the district of Gurgaon,
160
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1787.
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 Játs,* Najaf Kuli had been employed
in endeavours to subjugate the indigenous population
of Mewátis, a race professing Islam like himself, but
mixing it with many degrading superstitions, and re-
sembling their neighbours the Minas of Rajputána and
the Bhattis of Hariána in habits of vagrancy and law-
lessness, which above half a century of British ad-
ministration has even now failed to eradicate.
-
Najaf Kuli Khán 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 ap-
pointed the Prince's deputy (although he was by descent
nothing but a modi or "chandler"); and a cannonade
was opened on the camp of Gholám Kádir, who replied
by sending round shot into the palace itself, some of
which fell on the Diwán Khas.
W
Sindhia's conduct at this juncture has never beer ex-
plained. He was himself at Gwalior, and his army
under Lakwa Dáda, 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-Mozafari assures us that Ambaji Inglia
* Vide Chapi in fin.
1787.]
161
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
—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 Gholám Kádir, who was then
introduced to the presence, and invested with the
dignity of Premier Noble (Sháh Alam himself binding
upon his head the jewelled fillet called Dastar-u-Gosh-
wára). It is probable that a compromise was effected,
in which Gholám Kádir, 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 Gholám Kádir owed this sudden improve-
ment 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 con-
stant annoyance from the Játs, and from the troops of
Sindhia, who finally crossed the Chambal at the end of
the cold season of 1787, having received large rein-
forcements from the Deccan. Ismail Beg and Gholám
M
162
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
*
Kádir immediately raised the siege of Agra, turned
upon the advancing army, and an obstinate battle took
place at Chaksána, 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 Chambéri after the General's
retirement to his native country. The Mahratta army
was commanded by Rána Khán, a man who, having in
the capacity of a water-carrier been the means of
assisting Sindhia to escape from the carnage of Pánipat
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, Gholám Kádir threw himself upon the in-
fantry 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 re-
ceived with sang froid and resolution. The Mahratta
horse supported the infantry fairly, but were over-
matched 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
+ Vol. iii. p. 19. Bombay Edition.
J
*Tarikh-i-Mozafari.
1788.]
FALL .OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
163
and joined the enemy, while the Ját cavalry failed to
sustain the efforts of the remaining sepoys. The army of
Rána Khán, under these circumstances, withdrew under
cover of night to Bhartpur; and Ismail Beg renewed the
siege of Agra, while Gholám Kádir 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
Rájputs, an embassy from Jodhpur had presented itself
at the Court of Sháh Alám, 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 Ráthor 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; add-
ing that Partáb Sing, the Kachwáha Dhiráj 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
M 2
164
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
(1788.
Hindu aid, will always have a fascination for the sons
of Islam; and the weak Sháh Alám adopted the pro-
posal 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 es-
tablished himself in continued and unvaried opposition;
until he, having by his oppressions exasperated the
Rájas and Princes of the Empire, particularly the most
illustrious prince of Jainagar, Rája Partáb Singh, as
likewise the ruler of Jodhpur, both of whom are allied
by blood to our family, these chiefs united to chastise the
1788.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
165
oppressor, gave him battle, and defeated him; but the
machinations of the rebellious increased. On one side,
Gholám Kádir Khán (son of the detested Afghan
Zábita Khán) 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 as-
sistance 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
Khán, whom we have lately seen combined with the
Begam in the protection of the Emperor against the
insults of Gholám Kádir, 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 Murád 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
Rewári.
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
166
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
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 Gholám Kádir, he ultimately retired to the pro-
tection 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, experi-
enced 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 ad-
mitted that Sindhia was just then showing an inaction
which was calculated to arouse Jawan Bakht's sus-
picions, 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 Hindu-
stan and the British power there. United with Sindhia
he would in all probability have drawn off Gholám
Kádir and changed the whole fortunes of the country.
Dís aliter visum.
-
The prince, who was known to the English as
Jahándar 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 Franck-
""
1788.]
167
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
lin, whose account (taken as usual from Raza Khán)
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 sub-
mission 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
Gholám Kádir, 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 con-
siderable 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 Sháh
Alám 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 commo-
tion, 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
* The Emperor was also accompanied by Hira Singh, the
Ját chief of Ballamgarh, and by a small detachment from Ismail
Beg's army under the command of Himmat Bahádur.
168
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
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
Bahádur, 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 nego-
tiations 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."
ܕ
The expedition, however, exhausted itself in this
small triumph. Whether from mistrust of the
Rájputs, 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, ac-
companied by Himmat Bahádur. The Begam retired
to Sirdhana, and Gholám Kádir and Ismail Beg
parted, as we have already seen, after the indecisive
action of Chaksána, a few days later. Though dis-
appointed in their hopes of aid from Dehli, the Rájput
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 Partáb Singh, the Kachwáha prince, of Jaipur, who
* Strictly, Gosain is the denomination of the lay-brother or
apprentice, who is allowed to hold property, and to mingle in the
world. That is not the case with the three higher orders of
Hindu devotees.
1788.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
169
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 render-
ing aid to his master by the persistence of the Ráthors
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 Rána Khán 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 Lakwá Dádá, 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 Gholám
Kádir, 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 Firozábád. Francklin (who very seldom gives a
date) says that this final battle took place on the
22nd August. He also states that Gholám Kádir 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
* Vide inf. p. 176 ff.
170
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
given above. Francklin carelessly adds:" Agra
surrendered," the fact being that the gallant governor
Lakwá Dádá was a brother officer of Rána Khán'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 Gholám Kádir-
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 Gházi-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 ac-
cordingly 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 Gholám Kádir also departed, and proceeding
to Dehli renewed his hypocritical professions of loyalty
through the instrumentality of Manzur Ali Khán.
He asserted that Ismail Beg, who had arrived before
him, and who now joined forces with him, was like
1788.1
171
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
-
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 con-
duct 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, ex-
hausted as were the agriculturists by years of suffering
and uncertainty, was running low, whilst the lawless
character of the young Pathán and his Rohillas was
not such as to encourage the presence of many grain-
dealers in their camp. Desertions began to take place,
and Gholám Kádir prepared for the worst by sending
off his heavy baggage to Ghausgarh. He and his com-
panions 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." Sháh Alám was sustained in
this firm line of conduct by the presence of the Mah-
ratta troops under Himmat Bahadur, and by the osten-
sible support of Gul Mohammad, Bádal Beg Khán,
Sulaimán 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
172
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
?
of his Mahratta minister, who was now at Mathra,
only a week's hard marching from the capital. It was
Mádhoji 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 Sháh Alám'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 engage-
ment 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 Ráyáji, a relation of Sindhia's. The Ballamgarh
Játs likewise contributed a small contingent.
NOTE. The following account of de Boigne's early career is
from Captain Duff, who knew him at Chambéri, about the year
1825-
After describing his adventures as a youthful soldier of for-
tune, 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
173
Embassy to Dehli (in 1784, vide sup.), when he took the oppor-
tunity 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 com-
manded 1,000 sepoys and a train of artillery in the service of
the Gohad Rána. 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 Rája of Jaipur, and was
commissioned by him to raise two battalions; but Mr. Hastings
having meanwhile recalled him to Calcutta, the Rája was in-
duced to alter his intentions. De Boigne finally entered the
service of his original enemy, Mádhoji 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 gradu-
ally got European officers of all nations into his corps. Mr.
Sangster, from the service of the Rána 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 adminis-
tration in Hindustan was ultimately founded is due to his
industry, skill, and valour.
174
CHAPTER VI.
A.D. 1788.
Defection of Moghuls--Confederates obtain possession of Palace
-Emperor deposed-Palace plundered-Gholám Kádir in
the Palace-Emperor blinded-Approach of Mahrattas-
Apprehensions of Spoiler-The Moharram-Explosion in
Palace-Flight to Meerut-Probable Intentions-Capture
of Gholám Kádir-His Punishment-Excuse for his Deeds-
Sindhia's Measures-Future nature of Narrative-Poetical
Lament-Col. Francklin.
ALARMED by these various portents, Gholám Kádir lost
no time in summoning all his adherents from Ghaus-
garh, stimulating their zeal with the promise of
plunder. At the same time he deputed Ismail Beg
across the river to practise 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 Bahádur.
This mercenary, not perhaps having his heart in the
cause, terrified by the threats of the Páthan, 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,
1788.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
175
after a consultation with his attendants, resolved on
deputing Manzur Ali to seek a personal explanation
with Gholám Kádir and Ismail Beg. It has always
been customary to tax this official with the respon-
sibility 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 Gholám Kádir'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 Con-
troller; and his acquiescence seems to have been un-
avoidable. "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 Khús 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; Gholám
Kádir 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 re-
moved his quarters permanently to the house formerly
occupied by Mohammad Shah's Vazir, Kammar-ud-
din Khán; and his men were quartered a couple of
miles south of the city, in and about the celebrated
monumental tomb of the ancient Saint, Sháh Nizam-
/
176
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
ud-din.* Gholám Kádir'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 Gházi-ud-din and Mirza Najaf, outside of
the Cabul Gate. The ostensible state of Dehli politics
was now this; Gholám Kádir was Premier (an office
he swore upon the Korán faithfully to discharge), vice
Mádhoji Sindhia, dismissed; and the combined armies
were the troops of the Empire, commanded by Ismail
Beg.
Under these circumstances Gholám Kádir 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 Diwán Khás.
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. Lálla Sital Dás, 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
* Shah Nizám-ud-din Aulia was an influential adventurer in
the reign of Alá-ud-din Khilji, circ. 1300 H.D. He is supposed
by some to have been a sorcerer, by others an assassin of the
Secret Society of Khorásán. His tomb is to this day main-
tained in perfect preservation, and with all possible respect.
1788.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
177
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.
Gholám Kádir replied by an assumed fit of un-
governed anger, and producing an intercepted letter
from Skáh Alám, 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 Sháh, 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, Sháh Alám was still upon the
throne, and, when ordered to descend, began to make
some show of resistance. Gholám Kádir was drawing
his sword to cut him down, when the Controller inter-
posed; 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 Gholám Kádir 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 Gholám Kádir that he
and his men had received nothing of what it had been
agreed to pay them. But the faithless Páthan re-
pudiated every kind of agreement, and proceeded to
* Francklin's "Shah Alum," p. 176.
N
178
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
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 bis own lieutenants to
exert themselves to the very utmost should the Páthans
attempt to plunder. For the present, Gholám Kádir'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 Sháh Alám, 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
Sháh Alám'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 Sháh, who once
more denied all knowledge of it, employing the
1788.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
179
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 pro-
mises, 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 neces-
sary 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
protégé, and was made to disburse seven lakhs. On
the 3rd August, Gholám Kádir gave proof of the
degraded barbarity of which Hindustani Páthans* can
be guilty, by lounging on the throne on the Diwán
Khás, 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 be-
setting chimera-the hidden treasure. During this
interval, however, he appears to have been at times un-
decided; for, on the 7th he visited the Emperor in his
confinement, and offered to put on the throne Mirza
* " Pathan," as has been already observed, is the usual de-
signation of the Rohillas and other Hindustanis of Afghan
descent.
N 2
180
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
Akbar, the Emperor's favourite son-who did in fact
ultimately succeed. The only answer to these over-
tures was a request by Sháh Alám 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 dis-
turbed 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, Yákub Ali, and by four or five
of his own most reckless Páthans, Gholám Kádir
entered the Diwán Khás, and ordered Sháh Alám 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 re-
plied 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." Gholám Kádir
at once leaped from the throne, felled the old man to
the ground, threw himself upon the prostrate monarch's
66
،،
* Kalám Ullah, the name by which Musalmans designate
the Korán.
-
1788.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
181
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, Yákub 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 remon-
strance of the Treasurer, Lálla Sital Dás. The
Emperor was, however, completely blinded by the
Páthans, 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 Khán, 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 enter-
prise. There were probably not less than half-a-dozen
points in Shah Alám'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 Ibratnáma.
Gholám Kádir asking the blind Emperor in mockery
"If he saw anything?" was answered, "Nothing
but the Korán 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
182
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
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 Gholám Kádir, and who (let us hope for the credit
of human nature) felt nothing but disgust at his com-
panion's later excesses, now opened negotiations with
Rána Khán. On the 17th a convoy of provisions from
Ghausgarh was cut off, and a number of the Páthans
who escorted it put to the sword or drowned in attempt-
ing 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 re-
monstrated 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
<
1788.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
183
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 Gholám Kádir 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 Gholám Kádir 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.
Gholám Kádir 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, Gholám Kádir
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 Rewári. 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
184
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
considered the obstinacy of Sháh Alám 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.
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 mur-
derers. The principal features of this celebration
are processions of armed men, simulating the battle of
Karbala; and the public funeral of the saints, repre-
sented, 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 Rána Khán, and that the
latter was receiving reinforcements from the Deccan.
Lestonneaux, with the formidable "Telinga" batta-
lions of de Boigne, had already arrived; all was
movement and din in the Páthan camp at Shahdara.
Finally, as the short chill evening of the autumn day
closed in, the high walls of the Red Castle blabbed part
* Ali was the son-in-law of the Prophet of Islam, and his
sons were slain by rival claimants.- Vide Gibbon, &c.
1788.]
185
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 crenel-
lated 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. Gholám Kádir
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, Gholám Kádir tried to set fire to
the palace, that his long crime might be consummated by
the destruction of Sháh Alám 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 Gholám Kádir 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. Sháh Alám and the remaining ladies of his
186
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1788.
family were set at liberty, provided with some present.
comforts, and consoled as to the future. Rána Khán
then awaited further reinforcements from Sindhia, while
the Páthans 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 con-
dition that both that chief and the Peshwa should
participate in the fruits of the campaign. The arrival
of these forces was welcomed alike by Rána Khán 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 Rána Khán, Appa Khándi Rao,
and others, started in pursuit of Gholám Kádir, 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 Khán of Rámpur,
or from the Bangash of Farrukhábád.
Be this as it may, the fort of Meerut sheltered him
for the time, but in that fort he was ere long sur-
rounded. The investing army was large, and, as the
chances of escape diminished, the Páthan'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 Gholám Kádir and
1788.]
187
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
his men defended themselves with resolution through-
out the short day. But his men in general were now
weary, if not of his crimes at all events of his mis-
fortunes, 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 re-
cognized as having but lately refused him redress when
plundered by the Páthan soldiery. Salam, Nawab
Sáhib!" 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 Nawáb?" he asked.
"I am a poor
soldier, wounded, and seeking my home.
،،
I have lost.
* His name is said to have been Bhikka; the village is not
far from the Begam Sumroo's home at Kotana, and is called
Jáni; where, I believe, Bhikka's descendants still enjoy a piece
of freehold land that was bestowed upon him by Sháh Alám for
this service.
188
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1789.
1
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 Rána Khán's
camp. Hence the prisoner was despatched to Sindhia,
at Mathra, while the Páthans, 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 con-
nivance, 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 con-
siderable shop and beg a cowree, in the name of the
Nawab of the Báwani. The wretched man becoming
abusive under the contemptuous treatment, his tongue
was torn out of his mouth. Gradually he was muti-
lated 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
* S. Karr's Selections from the Calcutta Gazette, Vol. ii.
p. 202.
1789.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
189
most ghastly Nazar that ever was presented in the
Diwán Khás.
Perhaps, if we could hear Gholám Kádir'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 Sháh
Alámt may be a myth, founded upon a popular con-
ception 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 Gházi-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 de-
bauches in the palace (v. p. 183), Gholám Kádir
attempted to justify his conduct by representing him-
self as acting under supernatural inspiration. "As I
was sleeping," he averred, "in a garden at Sikandra,
g
* I made an attempt to ascertain what this might be some
years ago; and Gholám Kádir's nephew, Nawáb Mahmud Ali
Khán, of Najibábád, promised to send me papers. But the
troubles of 1857 arising before he had fulfilled his promise, the
Nawab did according to all that his fathers had done: he re-
belled under circumstances of peculiar selfishness and treachery;
and being captured by the British column in the following year,
died shortly after, a prisoner in the Central Jail at Meerut. In
all likelihood, the family papers perished in these transactions.
+ Vide Chap. ii. sup.
190
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1789.
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 punish-
ment 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 lakhs 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 Nizám-ud-din, who had been re-
stored 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 indi-
gence. Sayid Raza Khán, on whose authority this
shocking statement rests, was the resident representa-
tive of the British Minister at Lucknow, and was the
* Sup. p. 96.
W
1789.]
191
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Sháh
Alám 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 Diwán Khás, but the Sháh
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
Pánipat, 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 in-
vestiture; as long as Shujäá-ud-daulah could need
its sanction to his occupation of Kattáhir, or Najaf
Khán led its armies to the conquest of the Játs. We
192
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1789.
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 Gholám
Kádir'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 aban-
doned 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
"Aftáb ") solaced his temporary captivity by writing verses,
which are still celebrated in Hindustan, and of which the follow-
ing is a correct translation. The resemblence to the Psalms of
David is noticeable:-
S
-
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
193
"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 Em-
pire: 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 Hamadán, and Gul Mohammad, full
of wickedness; Allah Yár also, and Solaimán and Bádal
Begs 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 Sháh my kinsman may come to my
aid; and Mádhoji Sindhia, who is even as a son unto me
he also will surely avenge my cause.
* Aftáb, "Sun" was Shah Alam's nom de plume.
† Yazid is the name of him whose troops slew Imam Hossain
son of Ali.-Vide Not. sup. p. 184.
Manzur Ali Khán, whom Sháh Alám had much reason to
execrate, even though his conduct was only due to a mistaken
policy.
§ Courtiers on whom he had relied. (Sup. p. 171.)
|| Gholám Kádir, Rohilla, Pathan, Indian Afghan.
T The son of Ahmad Abdáli, king of Kábul, who had married
Shah Alam's daughter.
0
194
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Aftáb! verily thou hast been this day overthrown by Des-
tiny; 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 opportuni-
ties, 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 unfortu-
nately never cites any in the margin but Sáyid 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
Rájput rising-Battle of Pátan-Sindhia at Mathra-Siege
of Ajmir-Jodhpur Rajah Battle of Mirta - Rivals
alarmed-French Officers-Progress to Puna-Holkar ad-
vances-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 Mádhoji 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 con-
tracted 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
0 2
196
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1789-90.
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 Bábar.
To use de Boigne's words, written in 1790:-" le
respect
envers la maison de Timour regnait à
tel point que, quoique toute la péninsule se fût
sucessivement soustraite à son autorité, aucun prince
de l'Inde ne s'était arrogé le titre de souve-
rain. Sindhia partageait le respect, et Shah Alam
était toujours assis sur le Trône Mogol, et tout se
faisait en son nom."
It has been already shown how "Mahárájá Patel,"
as Mádhoji 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 Nizám.
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 théâtre, 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 appel-
lations of Madár-ul-Mahám, Ali Jáh, Bahádur (“ Ex-
alted 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
-
1790.]
197
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
were broken, Muhammad Beg was dead, the strength
of the brave but indolent Rájputs was much paralyzed,
and Najaf Kuli Khán-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,
Gholám Kádir, had proceeded to such criminal
excesses in the palace. As a further means of attach-
ing 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 Mewát country
south of Dehli. By this he not only pleased the
Moghul noble, but trusted to furnish him with occupa-
tion 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 Mádhoji'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
* He was in his sixtieth year when he died. His death took
place at Kanaun, vide inf. p. 210.
198
[1790.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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
Mádhoji, 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 Leston-
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 ex-
pressed 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 enter-
tainment 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;
* Vide Foot Note at the end of last Chapter.
1790.]
199
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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,t 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.
1
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 Rájput chiefs. These
high-spirited men, longing for an opportunity to strike
another blow for national independence, fancied, and
* Mémoire sur la Carrière militaire et politique de M. le
Général Cte. de Boigne. 2nd Edition. Chambéry, 1830.
+ The pay of this force, and pay is always the chief difficulty
in insuring the fidelity of Asiatic troops, was provided punctually
from lands assigned to the General for that purpose, and man-
aged by him.
He thus guarded against the recurrence of those
frequent mutinies for arrears by which others in his situation
had been so often thwarted. In addition to his regulars, he
maintained some light troops, known in the histories of those
days by the barbarous designation of "Ally gools." These
particulars are taken from Baillie Fraser's Life of Skinner, and
Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattas, and the Memoir of M.
de Boigne.
200
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1790.
not without reason, that they could reckon upon the
aid of the restless Ismail with whom they had already
combined during the Lálsaut campaign in 1787.*
*
The corps of de Boigne formed part of the army
sent under the command of Sindhia's Mahratta generals,
Lakwa Dáda and Gopál Rao Bhao, to prevent if
possible the junction of Ismail Beg with his Rájput
allies. But the Moghul soldier of fortune was deter-
mined not to yield without a struggle. No sooner did
he raise his standard than thousands of disbanded
Afghan and Persian horsemen flocked to his head-
quarters. 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 Pátan, in the
rocky country between Ajmir and Gwalior, not many
miles from the scene of the former battle at Lálsaut.
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 Kachwáhas of
Jaipur on some trifling provocation, had contrived to
secure their inaction before the battle began. Not-
withstanding 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
* Vide sup. Chapter V.
1790.]
201
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
↓
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, how-
ever, 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
* S. Karr, ut sup.
202
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1790.
M
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 Rájput infantry, deficient in discipline
and zeal, and wanting the prestige and coolness in-
spired 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. Pátan, a
fortress which has been compared to Gibraltar, was
taken by storm after three days of open trenches, and
Ismail Beg fled to the Pánjab.
C
The Patel himself was not present with the army
during this campaign, but remained at Mathra, which
* Referring to the regular infantry of his brigade alone.
+ Vide also Tod, vol. i. pp. 760, 861.
1790.7
203
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Gujrát; 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
Abdáli massacred the inhabitants, with a zeal par-
taking of the fanatic and the robber in equal propor-
tions, in 1757.* Since then the place, standing at the
head of the Bhartpur basin, and midway between
Dehli and the Rájput country, had recovered its im-
portance, and now formed Mádhoji's chief cantonment.
Here it was that he received the news of the battle of
Pátan, 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 Rájputana, and punish Bijai Singh,
the Ráthor leader of Jodhpur, for abetting the resist-
* Vide sup. Part I. Chap. iv.
204
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1790.
ance 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 Táragarh (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 Rájput fashion, was ready to
try negotiation, and thought that he might succeed in
practising 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 Rájah. Burn-
ing to retrieve the disgrace of Pátan, Bijai Singh was
marching up from Jodhpur to the relief of Táragarh,
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 Sep-
tember the armies approached, and Gopál 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.
1790.1
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
205
The forces on either side were not unequal. The
Rájputs 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 Rájputs
were partially covered in rear by the walls of the town.
But the spot was of evil omen. Bijai Singh had sus-
tained a severe defeat on this very ground near forty
years before. Nevertheless, years had not taught the
Ráthors 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 Rájah and his com-
panions 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 bat-
talions. Rallying a strong body of horse—and the
Rájput 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 im-
petuous advance of the dust-cloud sparkling with
the flashes of quivering steel. But when the cloud
* An intoxicating trance produced by drugs which the Hindus
consider very divine. Krishna is called Madhu Rao, and Sindhia
appears to have been named after him.
206
[1790.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
cleared off, there were still the hollow squares of in-
fantry, 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 sup-
port of their own artillery, made a general attack upon
the Rájput 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 Táragarh,
the lofty and almost impregnable-looking citadel that
frowns above Ajmir, followed soon after. The echo of
this blow resounded throughout native India. The
* We learn from General de Boigne's own description of the
battle that his battalions were only enabled to resist the furious
charge of the Ráthor horse by forming themselves into hollow
squares the formation to be rendered so famous in after years
at Quatre Bras and Mont St. Jean. More than a century be-
fore, in the most splendid period of Aurangzeb's career,
Bernier had said that 25,000 of Turenne's troops would scatter
the whole of the hosts of Hindustan.
1790-1.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
207
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 Rájas 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 Sháh 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 Doáb,
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
208
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1790-1.
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 Sheodásheo 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 back-
ward in availing themselves of this new species of war-
dog. 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
C
1792.1
209
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 de-
struction. 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 sub-
dued 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 Nána in the cabinet and
Holkar with an Europeanized army in the field, was
a serious menace to his power; and with enterprising
versatillity 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 de-
parted 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 circum-
stances of great magnificence; the successful deputy
-
* I find it written in the following ways:-Dudrenec, Doder-
neque, Dudernaig. The last is impossible. The spelling I have
adopted is reconci'able with a Breton origin. But see App. F.
P
.1
210
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1792.
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
Rajputána.
In the northern part of the Rewári country is a
place called Kanaund; about equidistant from Dehli
and Hansi, to the south of both cities. Here Najaf
Kuli Khán 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
Gholám Kádir *-continued to reside. A call to sur-
render 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
* Vide sup., Part II. Chap. iv.
1792.]
211
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 re-
mained till his death a few years
*Francklin,
writing about 1794, says that he had no chance of de-
liverance so long as Mahratta sway endured at Dehli ;
but that he might, otherwise, still live to play a con-
spicuous 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 Dán Sáh Ját's
house, still standing.
later.*
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 Sep-
tember, 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
* I have been indebted for some information regarding Ismail
Beg to Nawab Mustafa Khan, of Jahangirabad, his grandson by
the mother's side.
P 2
212
[1792.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 ad-
vance had been unexpectedly impeded-came into action
he hoped to silence those of the enemy. But his artil-
lery 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 con-
fusion, 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 con-
fused 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 pre-
mature, confidence of Ibrahim Gárdi at Pánipat more
than thirty years before. Holkar, with the remnant of
his army, crossed the Chambal, and fell back on Málwa,
where he revenged himself by sacking Ujain, one of
Sindhia's chief cities.*
* The description of these two campaigns is a combination of
the Mahratta account, as given by Duff; and the Rajput ac-
1792.1
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
213
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 pro-
tectors, 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 remem-
bered, 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 Corwallis, the then Governor-General,
gave orders that information should be conveyed to
Mádhoji Sindhia to the effect that in the present con-
dition 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 em-
phatically asserted, but it was added significantly, that
if any should be rash enough to insult them by an un-
count given in Skinner's "Memoirs," chiefly from Tod; con-
nected by reference to the Memoirs of de Boigne quoted above.
-
214
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1792.
just demand or in any shape whatever, they felt
themselves both able and resolved to exact ample
satisfaction.
This spirited language, whether altogether in ac-
cordance 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
The
Boigne, as the commandant of a battalion.

،،
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
1792.]
215
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 discuss-
ing 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
* The translator of the Siar-ul-Mutákharin gives the follow-
ing amusing contrast between two famous European chiefs of a
somewhat earlier date as an illustration of "the different geniuses
of the French and English nations." "M. de Bussy always
wore embroidered clothes or brocade. He was seen in an
immense tent, about thirty feet high, at one end of which he sate
in an armchair embroidered with his King's arms, on an eleva-
tion covered with a crimson cloth of embroidered velvet; over
against him his French guard on horseback, and behind those
his Turkish guard; his table was covered with three, and some-
times four services of plate.
Governor Hastings always
wore a plain coat of English broadcloth, and never anything like
lace or embroidery: his throne a plain chair of mahogany, with
plenty of such thrones in the hall; his table sometimes neglected;
his diet sparing, and always abstemious; his address and de-
portment very d stant from pride and still more from fami-
liarity."—Vol. iii. p. 150.
His name is spelt Levaissoult upon the tombstone at
Sardhana.
216
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1793.
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 dis-
tinguished himself, as we have seen, in the rescue of
Sháh Alám 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 Gokalgarh; his administrative
talents, one would suppose, must have given some in-
dication 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
* Sumroo had taught his men to enter the field from the
safest part, to deliver one volley and then to form square.
Thomas introduced a very different system of tactics.-Vide sup.
p. 168.
It was from here that the brothers Daniell, the well-known
1798.]
217
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
welcome, and from this temporary asylum commenced
a correspondence with Appa Khándi 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 Mewát. In the
Mewát 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 bride-
groom'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 Mádhu Rao Peshwa was in the vigour
of life, and had a confidential adviser in the Nána
Farnavis, who was almost a match for the Patel in
ability, and had an undoubted superiority in the much
landscape painters, accompanied by a few British officers, made
their way about this time into the gorge of the Ganges in the
Himalayas, above Hurdwar-the first Europeans who had ever
seen or been seen in those regions.-S. Karr, vol. ii.
* On her baptism, 1781, the Begam had received the Christian
name of Joanna. To this, on her marriage, she added that of
Nobilis, which she ever after bore.
218
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1794.
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 Tárikh-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 Mádhoji 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 Bihár 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 Mádhoji 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 Nána, 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 un-
usual 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
219
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, in-
stead 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 great-
ness 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 descrip-
tions 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
220
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
site is the same where it now stands. There are still some old
jamun trees of the said garden in the school compound. Cheva-
lier 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.
221
CHAPTER II.
A.D. 1794-1800.
Daulat Rao Sindhia-Thomas adopted by Appa Khándi Rao—
Revolution at Sardhana-Begam Sumroo attacked but de-
livered-Begam Sumroo becomes a wiser Woman—Move-
ments of Afghans-De Boigne retires-General Perron-
Musalman intrigues-Afghans checked-Succession in
Audh-War of "The Bais "-Afghans and British-Rising
of Shimbunáth-Thomas independent-Revolt of Lakwa
Dáda-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.
222
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1794.
The news of Mádhoji's death, and the short suspense
that followed on the subject of the succession, caused
some little confusion at Dehli, and led Appa Khándi
Rao to visit the metropolis, on which occasion Thomas.
attended him. Here they received investiture to their
several fiefs from Sindhia's local representative, Gopál
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
Khándi'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 conti-
guous 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 it-
self to his mind-was certainly not hopeful. To the
degenerate Europeans of the present day, whose pro-
gramme involves constant holidays in a mountain
climate, occasional furloughs to England, and, when
1791.]
223
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
resident in India, a residence made endurable by im-
ported 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 cur-
tains 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 Dáda 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 prepara-
* Thomas being on a subsequent occasion, applied to by Lord
Wellesley for an account of the state of the country (which was
then to the Government of British India something like what
Kábul has been in more recent times), replied that he would be
happy to oblige his lordship, but had forgotten English to such
an extent that he hoped he might be allowed to write his memoir
in Persian.
224
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1794.
tions to meet the invasion, when it was suddenly rolled
away in a manner which presents one of the character-
istic 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 Liégeois, probably derived from his
native place. With this man it is supposed that
Thomas now opened a correspondence by means of
which he practised 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 negotia-
tions with Aloysius the son of the deceased Sumroo, who
resided at Dehli with the title of Nawab Zafaryáb Khán,
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 Anup-
shahar; and finding that officer scrupulous at particip-
ating at the desertion of an Imperial functionary, Le
Vaissoult, in April, 1794, addressed the Governor-
€
1795.]
General direct. The result was that Sindhia's permis-
sion 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.*
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
225
Towards the end of 1795, Zafaryáb, 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 preci-
pitated 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 will-
ing 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 Vais-
soult 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
* England was then at war with the French Republic.
Readers remember Lord Howe's victory-" glorious 1st of
June," 1794.
Q
226
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1795.
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 inten-
tionally 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 him-
self on reciving 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 dis-
posed 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 pos-
1795.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
227
sible 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 per-
sonal escort of horse, which formed part of the retinue
of every leader of those days. The troops, partly cor-
rupted, partly intimidated, tired of being their own
masters, and disappointed in Zafaryáb, made a pri-
soner of their new chief. He was plundered to the
şkin, 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 un-
molested 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
Q 2
228
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1795.
conquer the impulse that sometimes leads a female
sovereign to make one courtier her master, at the ex-
pense of making all the rest her enemies. The man-
agement 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 gradu-
ally 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 com-
plete 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. 0.
Dyce-Sombre, whose melancholy story is fresh in the
memory of the present generation. Zafaryáb Khán
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 suc-
cessful. The intrigues of his Mahratta enemy Gopál
Rao ended in that officer being superseded, and
* Vide Appendix D.
1795.]
229
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
.
Thomas's friend Lakwá Dádá became Lieutenant-
General in Hindustan. Appa Khándi, 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 in-
tellect; but Thomas remained in the field, everywhere
putting down opposition, and suppressing all maraud-
ing, unless when his necessities tempted him to prac-
tise 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 Hin-
dustan an influence so important, yet so different from
what the invaders themselves could have anticipated.
Timur Sháh, the kinsman to whom Sháh Alám 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 Zamán Sháh.
The Calcutta Gazette of 28th May, 1795, thus notices
the new ruler :—
"Letters from Dehli mention that Zamán Sháh,
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 Zamán Sháh 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 ob-
jects, the British expedition to Kábul in 1839 took place.
To this period also belongs the unsuccessful at-
tempt to revive Musalman power in the South of
India, in which the Nizám of the Deccan engaged with
the aid of his French General, the famous Raymond.
230
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1796.
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 Nizám's side, besides a vast
force of horse and foot of the ordinary Asiatic kind,
there were no less than 17,000 infantry under Ray-
mond, 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 ac-
count 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
1796.]
231
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
into the British Governor's body-guard. In the pro-
fession 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 simultane-
ous 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 Gholám Kádir on
his flight from Meerut Perron succeeded to the
command of a battalion, from which, after the suc-
cesses 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 enter-
taining a high opinion of Perron's professional ability,
232
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1796.
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 ex-Sergeant became very influential in Hindustan,
where (jealousies with his Mahratta colleagues ex-
cepted) 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 Mewát 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, Váman Rao, was showing signs of an inten-
tion to imitate the conduct of the deceased in its un-
truthful and unreliable character. With the exception
of a brief campaign in the Upper Doáb, in which the
fortified towns of Shámli and Lakhnaoti had rebelled,
Thomas does not appear to have had any active em-
ployment until he finally broke with Váman Rao.
The rebellion of the Governor of Shámli (which
* For a few more particulars regarding Count de Boigne, see
Appendix C.
1797.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
233
Thomas suppressed with vigour) seems to have been
connected with the movements of the restless Rohillas
of the Najibábád clan, whose chief was now Bhanbu
Khán, brother of the late Gholám Kádir, 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 Abdáli 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 Zamán's
army in the most reckless manner.
The aggregate
losses were estimated at 35,000 men. The Sháh re-
treated upon Lahor;† and the disordered state of the
Doáb began to be reflected in the only half-subdued
conquests of the Viceroy of Audh in Rohilkand.
BE
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
+
* Vide Part II. Chap. iv.
+Calcutta Gazette, 9th February, 1797.
‡ Thus referred to in the Calcutta Gazette :-
"Meerza
Vuzeer Alee, the newly-appointed Vuzeer" (such was still the
form), "is a youth of about eighteen years of age, of very pro-
mising disposition. A salute was fired at Fort William in his
honour."-S. Karr, ut sup. p. 486. For his subsequent conduct
and fate, v. next page.
234
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1797.
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 Zamán
Sháh, 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, Saádat 'Ali the Second; and Vazir 'Ali's subse-
quent 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 Khán, the result of which was an
invasion of Western Afghanistan and the consequent
retirement of the Sháh from the Panjáb. The events
referred to only so far belong to the History of Hindu-
stan, 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.
1798.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
235
About this time died Tákaji Holkar, who had lately
ceased to play any part in the politics, either of Hindu-
stan 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 re-
markable 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 Mádhoji's old commander,
Lakwá Dádá, 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 Ambáji
*This was the lady known in later times as the "Baiza Bai"
(v. Up the Country, by the Hon. Emily Eden). Her brother,
Raja Hindu Rao, will be remembered by Anglo-Indians who
knew Dehli before the Mutiny; and his house upon the ridge
played a well-known part in the siege of that time.
236
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE. [1798-9.
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 pro-
tection 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 Sultán, 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 dis-
covered to have abandoned their attempts on Hindus-
tan 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 Nizám (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 here-
1799]
237
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
ditary rival of his house, about this time escaped from
the captivity of Nágpur, to which Sindhia's influence
had consigned him. Thus pressed on all sides, the
Minister restored Lakwá Dádá to favour, and by his
aid quelled a fresh outbreak in the Upper Doáb, where
Shimbunáth, the officer in charge of the Báwani Mahal,
had called in the Sikhs in aid of his attempts at in-
dependence. Shimbunáth was met and repulsed by a
Moghul officer, named Ashraf Beg; and, hearing that
Perron had sent reinforcements under Captain Smith,
retired to the Panjáb.*
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 conver-
sion 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 administra-
tion, it was a ruin among the fragments of the estates
which had belonged to the deceased Najaf Kuli Khán.
His first care was to rebuild the fortifications and in-
vite settlers; and such was his reputation, that the
people of the adjacent country, long plundered by the
wild tribes of Bhatiána, and by the Játs of the Panjáb,
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
* Skinner, i. 166.
238
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1799.
army and country.
.cast my own artillery, com-
menced 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 Panjáb,
and aspired to the honour of placing the British stan-
dard 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 Váman Rao, the son of his former patron, in a
foray upon the Rája of Jaipur; and in this was
nearly slain, only escaping with the loss of his lieu-
tenant, John Morris, and some hundreds of his best.
men. He then renewed his alliance with Ambáji,
Sindhia's favourite general, who was about to renew the
war against Lakwá Dádá in the Udaipur country.
This new campaign was the consequence of Lakwá
having connived at the escape of the Bais, a trait of
conduct creditable to his regard for the memory of
Mádhoji Sindhia, his old master, but ruinous to his
own interests. For the moment, however, the Dádá
was completely successful, routing all the detachments.
sent against him, and taking possession of a consider-
able portion of Rajputána.
Thomas did not join this campaign without under-
* Francklin's "George Thomas."
1800.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
239
going 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-Rájá led his men once
more against their neighbours to the north and north-
west of his territories, and gathered fresh laurels. He
was now occupied in no less a scheme than the conquest
of the entire Panjáb, 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 Rájá of Hánsi. For the
present, Perron marched into the country of the Dattia
Rájá, in Bundelkhand, and entirely defeated Lakwá
Dádá, who soon after died of his wounds. His success
was at first balanced by Holkar, who routed a detach-
ment 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
:
240
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1801.
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 Doáb, 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 Hin-
dustani costume, made of the most costly materials. She spoke
Persian and Urdu fluently, and attended personally to business,
giving audience to her native employés 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.
241
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 de-
clared--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 Panjáb. 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 Satára, and Sindhia affected to rule in Hindustan
as the Peshwa's Deputy. But the new Peshwa, Báji
Rao-having dislodged the usurping minister Nána
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
R
242
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1801.
powerful and the most arrogant was the promoted
Quarter-Master Sergeant, now General Perron.
As long as the last-named officer was in a subor-
dinate 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 profes-
sional 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,
* Skinner, i. 190.
1801.]
243
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 Hánsi 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
* Francklin's "Life of George Thomas." Skinner ut sup.
Oral tradition.
R 2
244
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1802.
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 sup-
ported 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
1802.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
245
State, but alarmed on the score of his position in
Hindustan, Sindhia began to intrigue with the hitherto
inactive Mahratta chief, Rághoji, the Bhonsla Rájá of
Nágpur.
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 Doáb
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
246
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1802.
actively in a campaign by which the French were
expelled from that country. A twelvemonth later
the Marquis received official intimation of the virtuak
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 Doáb, 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 in-
tention 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
* Second Despatch of 8th February, para. 8.-"Wellesley
Despatches," vol. ii. p. 625.
1803.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
247
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 apprehen-
sion, 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
Mr. Perron's departure, conceiving it to be an event
.
248
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1803.
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 enter-
tained 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 hostili-
ties 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 Rájá 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 what-
ever, 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
* "Wellesley Despatches," iii. p. 63.
1803.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
249
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
250
[1803.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
clear, again, that Sindhia, for his part, was not unwill-
ing 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 contu-
meliously 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 statis-
tics 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 Rághoji together" (Rághoji
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
KO
* Skinner attests this; but see Colonel Collins's letter lower
down, and also the Governor-General's despatch of 17th March,
quoted above.
1803.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
251
twenty pieces of artillery." It may be added, on the
authority of Major Thorn,† that his army was com-
manded 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 Sháh
Alám 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 Lefèbre,"
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
* This seems a misprint. One hundred and twenty is perhaps
meant, which nearly corresponds to Thorn's statement.—" War
in India," p. 78. Thorn's estimate of infantry is exactly the
same as Skinner's.
+
† “War in India," p. 32.
"Wellesley Despatches," vol. iv. App.
252
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1808.
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 manage-
ment 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 hemi-
sphere.* 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 Im-
perial 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 Sháh Álám 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 begin-
ning of his worst misfortunes. It was, moreover, a
gross exaggeration to call the British the Diwáns of
the empire now, whatever may have once been their
was
* The Marquis elsewhere says of this memoir that it "
presented to the First Consul, and is stated to have been consi-
dered at Pondicherry as a secret paper."
1803.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
253
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 ad-
dressed 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 pro-
portion to the probability of a war with France. M. de
Boigne (Sindhia's late general) is now the chief confi-
dent 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 atten-
tion: -"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.
* The Address to the Municipality of Chambéry, 1st March,
1822, given in the Memoir of de Boigne, takes a very unfavour-
able view of the conduct and character of Napoleon. The
language used by the General on that occasion does not look as
if he could ever have been that statesman's intimate counsellor :
"During the reign of usurpation, the abuse of power being the
system pursued, I was forced to wait until heaven, weary of so
much injustice and iniquity, recalled to the thrones of Europe
their lawful sovereigns."
254
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1803.
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 Morádábád had transmitted nearly a month before,
containing translation of a letter from the Nawáb of
Najibábád, Bhanbu Khán, brother of the late Gholám
Kádir, 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, how-
ever, had already been declared, and a letter addressed
by the Governor-General to Sháh Alám.
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 Saádat Ali Khán, 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 Nawáb had been required to pay
for the maintenance of the force by which he was sup-
ported 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
1803.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
255
"
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 Nawáb 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, Com-
manding 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 Bhud-
was, 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 con-
nections which British officers in those days often
formed with native females. Nearly all these officers,
whether British or half-British, were upon this occa-
sion discharged from the service by Perron,* who
* The Governor-General, on 20th August, 1803, issued a
proclamation warning them not to fight against the British.
Most, if not all. of them were provided for after the Conquest.
256
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1803.
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 imagina-
tion 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.
1803.]
257
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 unsuc-
cessful 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 pos-
session 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
* Vide p. 68,
S
02
258
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1803.
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, sup-
ported by the troops of the French Republic, might have
proved to the British a most formidable assailant. Skin-
ner gives a graphic account of his vainly attempting to
get reinstated by Perron, who said: "Go away, Mon-
sieur 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 Khán'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 Allygurh was made by the
Jauts while the place was under the Delhi Kings.
1803.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
259
Nawab Nujjuff Khán, the Governor, improved the
fortification, and de Boigne brought it into a regular
defensive state according to the French system.
Perron and Pédron 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 com-
manded by natives, having withdrawn their confidence
from Perron's French Lieutenant, Colonel Pédron,
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, at-
tempted 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
* These events are detailed at full length in Mill and the
standard histories of British India.
s 2
260
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1803.
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 capi-
tulated 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 Diwán-i-Khás,
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.
1803.]
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
261
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 Gholám Kádir'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 Khán Daurán, which was considered the
second in the Empire, and which implied perhaps a
recognition of the claims of the Audh Nawáb 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 Govern-
ment, 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
* General Lake, however, says, "He (Sháh 'Alám) would have
conferred the first (title) had it not been previously bestowed on
Scindhia."-To Duke of York, Oct. 20th, 1803.
262
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
[1803.
entirely unfounded; no treaty was ever concluded with
Sháh Álám, though his Majesty formed the subject of
a clause in the treaty with Sindhia.* This is of im-
portance, 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 Vice-
gerent 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 Sháh
Álám; 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 inten-
tion to usurp the royal prerogative or assert "on the
part of His Majesty (Sháh Alám) any of the claims.
which, as Emperor of Hindustan he might be con-
sidered 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 Laswári; 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 Doáb.
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 pro-
tected 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.
-
* Vide Lord Wellesley to Secret Committee, 13th July, 1804.
-Appendix E.
263
CHAPTER IV.
XX
Effects of climate-Early immigrants-French and English-
Mohammedan power not overthrown by British-Perron's
administration - Changes since then-The Tálukdars --
Lake's friendly intentions-Tálukdars' misconduct—Their
power curbed-No protection for life, property, or traffic-
Such things still dependent on foreign aid-Conclusion.
CONCLUSION.
AFTER many blunderings and much labour, the judg-·
ment of history appears to have formed the final con-
clusion 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 an-
other, 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 Hin-
dustan 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
*
* It will be remembered how well Montesquieu has illustrated
this view-which he was the first to develope-in his "Esprit
des Lois."-See especially his Book xiv.
264
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
L
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 de-
scended 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 re-
spectively of Shaikh and Pathán. 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.
66
To these, again, succeeded many Persians, chiefly
Saiyids, or so-called descendants of the Prophet; a
later race of Afghans, also called Patháns, and a fresh.
inroad of Tartars (converted to Islám) 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
*
* This subject will be found expandedly treated in the author's
History of Hindustan."
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
265
Tartar. They add the word "Beg
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
Patháns are commonly known by the affix "Khán.”
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 effemi-
nate than the Hindustanis, some of whom indeed,
notably the peasantry of the Upper Doáb, 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 Kash-
miris from their climate is shown in the superiority of
their intellects.
Hence, after the battle of Pánipat, 1761, which
exhausted the victors almost as much as it exhausted
the vanquished, and left Hindustan so completely
266
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
plundered as to afford no further incitements to in-
vasion, 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 hemi-
spheres 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 Hin-
dustan 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 in-
evitable 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
*See also Elphinstone's posthumous work quoted above; and
Orme's "Indostan."
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
267
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 Pánjab 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 Cal-
cutta 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, Rájputs, and Mahrattas. Except the Nizám
of the Deccan there was not a vigorous Musalman
ruler in India after the firman of Farokhsiar in 1716
the Nizám owed his power to the British after the
* Sup. p. 78.
*
،،
""
268
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
1
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 avail-
able materials will permit, what was the social con-
dition 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 manage-
ment of the French general.*
This record informs us that, having obtained this ter-
ritory 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
allances 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
* 66 Aleegurh Statistics, with a report on the general adminis-
tration of that district, from A.D. 1803 to the present time." By
J. R. Hutchinson and J. W. Sherer. Roorkee, 1856.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
269
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 mea-
sures 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 adminis-
tered. The suppression of crime was regarded as a
matter of secondary importance. There was an officer
styled the Bakshi Adalat, whose business was to re-
ceive 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 re-
port, 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 im-
punity, 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
* 66
* For a list of Perron's possessions, vide Note at end of this
Chapter.
270
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 wast
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 con-
firmation of these statements is readily obtained. The
Collector of Aligarh, in addressing the Board formed
for constructing a system of administration in the con-
quered provinces, recommended cautious measures in
regard to the assessment of the land tax or Government
rental. He stated that, in consequence of former mis-
rule, 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
* Vide sup. p. 146-7.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
271
farmers who had succeeded in making good a position
before the conquest, were numerous in this neighbour-
hood. The principal persons of importance were, to
the westward, Játs, from Bhartpur; the eastward,
Musalmans descended from converted Bargujar Ráj-
puts. 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 Játs and these Musalmans were among the
ancestors of the famous Tálukdars 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 con-
ditions under which they become members of British
India.
We have already seen that the Tálukdars (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 Sáyar 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
A
272
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 medieval Europe;
and, in the fancied security of their strong earthen ram-
parts, 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 Doáb which had
been ceded by the Nawab of Audh during the preceding
year. The same course was pursued, after long for-
bearance, towards the Musalman chiefs of the con-
quered provinces. In December, 1804, they had re-
belled 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 head-
quarters. 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 fol-
lowed.
E
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
273
The Ját 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 Hátras and the expulsion of
Dáya Rám the contumacious Rájá, 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 sub-
sistence 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 high-
ways 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, a
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,
* Vide Appendix D for an account of the Begam's territories
after the British conquest.
T
274
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
another Ját Talukdar. This system also was finally
concluded by the destruction of the Rájá of Hátras;
nor will fourteen years appear a long time for the re-
organization 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 con-
sequence to the hot wells; by crossing the river it was
within a pleasant walk, and we made frequent excur-
sions 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 ex-
acting 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 sub-
jected 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,
* Diwáns = financial officers.
J
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
275
("
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 ripen-
ing crop with joyful eyes; his cattle are in the same
predicament; liable to be seized, without a compensa-
tion, 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 accumu-
lated 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 inform-
ing his children of the concealment." And again at
Vol. II. p. 339-"Of all Oriental despots the arbi-
trary 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 pros-
perity 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, pub-
lished in 1873. Says the Collector of Etawah ;—
“The warlike tribes of this country, from disposition
and habit, prefer plunder to peace, and court the ex-
change of the ploughshare for the sword. Foreign in-
vasion and intestine tumults had materially checked
population; whilst the poverty of the country, and the
rapacity of its governors had almost annihilated com-
merce 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
-
T 2
276
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 encou-
ragement 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-oppres-
sion 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 cutivation 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 subser-
vient 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 be-
cause 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 sup-
posed to have been a somewhat more favourable speci-
men 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
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
277
has been shown was perhaps bad enough. An admi-
nistration 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 com-
munity 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 popu-
lations 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 sub-
dued by the Moghuls. When the Páthans 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 moun-
tain 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
278
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
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 administra-
tive 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 dege-
neration 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 difficulty will be increased by the un-
avoidably 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 per-
haps 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 bounden 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 col-
leges are in a fair way to lose their own spiritual tra-
ditions without gaining anything instead. It is likely
enough that such a system may lead to discontent.
FALL OF MOGHUL EMPIRE.
279
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 them-
selves 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
Talukas in the Doab, four
To the west of the Jamna, three districts
Subah of Saharanpur, eighteen
Formerly held by General de Boigne in the
Doab, twenty-seven
To the west of the Jamna, nine
...
...
...
...
3,75,248
84,047
65,000
4,78,089
20,83,287
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 encum-
bering 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. Amád us-Saádat.—A history of the Viceroys of Lucknow
from the death of Farokhsiar to the accession of Saadat Ali II.,
in 1797.
2. Jám-i-Jum.-Genealogical tables of the House of Timur.
3. Tasallat-i-Sahibán Angriz.-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. Húl-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 ulti-
mately 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 continua-
tion 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, know-
ledge, and a fearless love of truth.
Some account of the Siar-ul-Mutákharin has been already
282
APPENDIX.
given (vide Note to Part II. Chap. i.). The author was a Saiyid
of the noble stock of Tabá-Tábá, whose father had been em-
ployed by Safdar Jang, in Rohilkand, during that minister's
temporary predominance. The family afterwards migrated to
Patna. This celebrated history-which has been twice trans-
lated into English, and of which an edition in the original
Persian has been likewise printed-is a work of suprising in-
dustry, 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 believed, was Raymond. The notes are often inte-
resting.
But my chief guide, where no other authority is cited, has
been the Tarikh-i-Mozafari, the work of an Ansári of good
family, some of whose descendants are still living at Panipat.
He was the grandson of Latfula Sádik, a nobleman who had
held high office under the Emperor Mohammad Sháh. The
historian himself was in civil employ in Bihár, under the Nawab
Mohammad Razá Khán, 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 Commis-
sioner of Dehli, and of his friendly assistance and encouragement
I take this opportunity to make thankful acknowledgment.
283
•
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, set-
ing 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.
281
APPENDIX C.
THE following additional particulars regarding M. de Boigne
are the last that the writer has been able to obtain from an eye-
witness; they are from the enthusiastic pages of Colonel Tod,
who knew the general at Chamberi, in 1826.
(C
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 Château to the
Boulevard, and the restoration of the Hôtel de Ville; besides
minor projects full of wise benevolence. He died on the 21st
June, 1830, and his remains received a magnificent military
funeral.
* Tod's "Rajasthan," vol. i. p. 765.
M
285
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 settle-
ment. 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 re-
venue 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 some-
times required for this purpose.
The settlement officer adds that the advances to agriculturists
were always recovered at the close of the year, together with in-
286
APPENDIX.
terest 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 main-
tain 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 uncon-
trolled 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.
287
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 pro-
viding 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 arrange-
ment 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 instru-
ment 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 pro-
tection of the British Government are to be traced in the
statements contained in our despatch to your honourable Com-
mittee of the 13th of July, 1804, relative to the evils and
embarrassments to which the British power might have been
exposed by the prosecution of claims and pretentions 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
288
APPENDIX.
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 restora-
tion of the authority of the Emperor Shah 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 pro-
tection 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 substition 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 oppres-
sive 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 enjoy-
ment 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 obliga-
tion 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
APPENDIX.
289
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 Govern-
ment. 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 estab-
lished 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, 2,500; 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-
U
290
APPENDIX.
ments, 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 arrangemen 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 ex-
pectation 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.
(Signed)
We have the honour to be,
HONOURABLE SIRS,
Your most faithful, humble servants,
WELLESLEY,
G. H. BARLOW,
G. UDNY.
["Wellesley Despatches," vol. iv. p. 553.]
APPENDIX.
291
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 Françaises" of Count Régis de l'Estourbeillon
(Nantes, 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.
U 2
INDEX.
Abdul 'Ahid Khán (Majad-ud-daula, q.v.) .
Afgháns. Dehli taken by (1757)
Overthrow Mahrattas at Pánipat
Defeat Sikhs (1767)
Invade Punjáb under Zamán Sháh.
Finally retire
Afrasyáb Khán, adopted by Mirza Najaf
Becomes Minister.
Murdered at Agra
Agra. A province of the Empire
A capital city of Hindustan
Jowáhir Singh Jat there
Surrenders to Sindhia
Capitulates to Lake
·
Ahmad Shah. Emperor of Hindustán
Ajmir (Ajmere). High plateau of
Attacked by de Boigne.
•
Khán (Abdáli) takes Dehli (1759).
Returns to Dehli (id.) .
Makes campaign of Pánipat (1760-1)
·
•
'Alamgir I. (v. Aurangzeb).
'Alamgir II. Emperor of Hindustán
Murdered by Gházi's orders.
Ali Gohar. Crown-prince, escapes from Dehli .
Becomes Emperor (v. Sháh 'Alam).
Aligarh (Koel). Head-quarters of Sindhia
Stormed by Lake.
Alláhábád. Governor of, receives Ali Gohar
Shah 'Alam's establishment there (1767)
'Ambáji Inglia. Commands Sindhia's army.
Alliance with Thomas
•
·
·
•
PAGE
105
39
44ff
87
233
236
131
134
142
1
9
86
142
260
27£*
39
42
44
2
204
34
42
40
65
208, 219n.
259
65
77
235
238
294
INDEX.
Appa Khándi Rao. Engages Thomas
Adopts Thomas and takes him to Dehli
Commits suicide
Asaf-ud-daula.
Death.
Audh. A province of Hindustán
Disputed successors
Nawáb of Audh
Aurangzeb. Character
•
Barsána. Defeat of Játs at
Bassein. Treaty of
Succession of, their weakness
Bahadur Sháh. Succeeds Aurangzeb and dies on campaign against
revolted Sikhs
Begam Sumroo. Early history of
Protects Emperor against Gh. Kádir
Services before Gokalgarh
Marries Col. Le Vaissoult
Attempts to retire from Sardhana
Loses her husband and her power
Becomes a wiser woman
Management of her estates
Bhanbu Khán (br. of Gh. Kádir)
Bhartpur. Country described.
Plundered by Mahrattas
Campaign in
Chin Kulich Khán.
Bhousla (v. Raghoji).
Bihár. Once a part of Province
Invaded by Shahzádą (v. Sháh 'Alam).
British. Treaty, or grant, of Sháh 'Alam
Relations with Empire
Clive.
De Boigne
Dehli.
(First Nizám)
His share in Nádir's invasion
His view of Dehli politics (1760)
•
•
Described
Taken by Afgháns (1757)
Occupied by Mahrattas (1760)
Interregnum, or Regency, at .
Their Treaty of Bassein alarms Sindhia
Declare war against Sindhia.
v. also Kásim (Mir), Hastings, Najaf Khán, Patna, Sindhia.
Calcutta.
Founded.
Battle of
Chaksána.
4
20
115
244-7
129
159
167
217
224
225-6
227
.228 and 285
238, 254
81
87
114ff
•
PAG
•
217
222
232
113
233
1
234
18
20
2
75
139, 143, 151, 209, 249
258
268
78
162
23
24
61
172n. 210, 243, 253
9
39
47
79
INDEX.
295
Delhi. Sháh 'Alam returns to .
v. also Gholám Kádir, Najaf Khán, Sháh 'Alam, and Lake.
Du Drenec
English (v. British).
Farokh Siyar.
Emperor
Legal position of British under
Fatihpur-Sikri. Battle near
French officers in Sindhia's service
Gáya. Operations near (1761-2)
Ghausgarh. Zábita's stronghold at
Destroyed
Gházi-ud-din (son of 1st Nizám)
Gholám Kádir Khán.
•
II.
Causes murder of 'Alamgir II.
His end
Holkar (Malhár Rao)
•
Tradition of boyhood
Succeeds Zábita in Báwani Mahal.
Enters Dehli
Made Amir-ul-Umra
Barbarous conduct in Palace
Flight and punishment .
Gokalgarh. Siege of (1788)
Gwalior. Taken by Popham
•
Háfz Rahmat Khán. Protector of Rohilkand
Defies the Nawáb of Audh
Defeat and death
Hánsi. Thomas becomes independent at
Taken by Perron's army
•
Raises disciplined force.
Defeated at Lakhairi
Hastings (Warren). Connection with Rohilla war
Action of, at death of Najaf Khán.
Himmat Bahadur (Mahratta officer).
Hindustán. Observations on (v. also Sindhia)
Hisám-ud-daula
21
78
169
208
68-9
96
190
25, 29, 30
30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39
42
(Takuji). First appearance of
Aids in restoring Emperor
Admitted into Palace by Hisám-ud-daula
Driven out of Rohilkand
•
•
Sacks Ujain.
Dies
(Jaswant Rao) succeeds Takuji
PAGE
95
209, 211, 214, 262
•
43
97
149
158
161
175ff
185ff
167
127
90
109
111
236
243
107
139
142, 168
1
76, 93, 100, 105
28, 33, 45, 53, 59
88
91
100
104
209
211
212
235
235
1
296
INDEX.
Holkar, His opposition to Sindhia
Beheads eight European officers
Holds aloof from combination of (1803).
Made Minister
Intizám-ud-daula.
Murdered
Ismail Beg Khán.
Deserts Sindhia
Joins Gholám Kádir
Beats Rána Khán at Chaksána
Defeated near Firozábád
Accompanies Gholám Kádir to Dehli
Joins Rájput rising
Defeated by de Boigne at Pátan
Taken prisoner at Kanaund
Jahándár Sháh (Jawan Bakht), Regent
Escapes from Dehli
Jaipur. Attacked by Játs (1765)
Jaswant Rao (v. Holkar).
Játs.
Their origin and country
Attempts to relieve Emperor Shah 'Alam
Death and character
•
•
v. also Jowáhir Singh, Najib, Sumroo, Suraj Mal.
Jawan Bakht v. Jahándár
Jodhpur. Defeated by de Boigne at Mirta
Jowáhir Singh, Ját ruler.
Murdered at Agra
Kanaund. Najaf Kuli's stronghold.
Kásim (Mir). Nawab of Bengal, &c.
British quarrel with
Flies from Patna
His miserable end
•
Rebels again
Defeated and dies.
Battle of
Lalsot.
Latafat Khán. Auch General.
Blinded by Mirza Shafi .
Lakhairi. Battle of
Lakwa Dáda. Lieut.-Gen. in Hindustán
Revolts against Sindhia
Restored to favour
.
•
Kattra.
Defeat of Háfiz Rahmat there
Lake (General). Lord Wellesley's instructions to
Campaign against Perron's army
Received with honour at Dehli
•
•
•
•
·
•
•
·
•
·
•
·
PAGE
236, 239-41
·
256
258
31
42
155
161
162
168
170
199
200
211
79
140
164
166-7
85
80ff
205
85
86
210
69
70
71
117
111
246ff
258-9
260
211
229
235
237
238
239
155
135
137
INDEX.
297
Madhoji Sindhia (v. Sindhia).
Mahrattas (v. Holkar, Pánipat, Sindhia).
Majad-ud-daula (Abdul Ahid Khán)
Manu (Mir). Defends Punjab against Afgbáns
Death.
Meerut Mirath.
Mirta. Bloody battle at .
Mohamad Beg Assassinates Mirza Shafi
Killed at Lalsot
Gholám Kádir besieged at
•
Muhamad Shah. Emperor
Sudden death of
Muhamadans of Hindustán.
Nádir Sháh.
Najaf Khán (Mirza)
•
Their origin
Their power not overthrown by British
Muttra (Mathra). Massacre by Afgháns at (1757)
Sindhia's Cantonment at
Invades Hindustan and sacks Debli
His vigour and success
Alliance sought by British
Death and character
•
Najaf Kuli Khán (Mirza’s chela)
Dies at Kanaund .
Najib-ud-daula (Najib Khán)
Death and character
Pánipat. Campaign of (1760-1)
Pátan. Battle of, v. Ismail.
Patna. Massacre of British at (1763)
Perron (Gen.).
Succeeds de Boigne
Disgraced by Sindhia
Surrenders and retires to France
•
+
•
·
Rághgarh besieged
Rághoji, Bhousla. Confederates with Sindhia
Sindhia's first General.
Ranjit Singh, of Lahor
Rána Khán.
Saádat Ali Khán. Nawáb of Audh
Death of
Saádat Khán. Minister at Delhi
Sadásheo Rao Bhao. Moves against Afgháns
His defeat and disappearance
Safdar Jang. Successor of S. Ali
Ousted by Gbázi-ud-Din
Death of
•
▸
•
105-6-14-17-20-3-4
•
•
PAGE
24
75, 94, 101, 105
101, 105
119ff
122
129162
•
114-5, 122
197
34-6-8-9, 40-8, 79, 83, 84
88-9
44ff
•
81
82
186
205
138
154
22
26
264
267
38
202
70
210
231
257
259
150
250
169-184
125
23, 24
25
27, 29, 30
44
59, 60
25
31
36
298
INDEX.
•
Sháh 'Alam. Emperor, in exile
Establishment at Alláhábád
Returns to Debli.
Last campaign
Shafi (Mirza)
Shámli.
Oppressed and blinded
Metrical lament
Receives Lake
Sháhzáda (v. Jahándár, Ali Gohar).
•
•
Revolt at
Shimbunáth. Outbreak of
Sikhs. Bahádur Sbáh attacks.
•
Defeated by Ahmad Khán Abdáli
Abdul Ahid sent against
Plunder of Upper Doáb by
They repulse Afghán invasion
Sindhia (Jánoji)
(Mádhoji).
Sumroo (Walter Reinhardt)
Deserts the Játs
His Jaigir
His death
·
•
•
Early doings
Aids restoration of Sháh 'Alam
Intrigues with Moghul Chiefs
Greatness in adversity .
Begins to be prominent in Hindustán
Inactive during Gh. Kádir's proceedings
Measures afterwards
Death and character
(Daulat Rao). Succeeds Mádhoji
Alarmed at Treaty of Bassein
Warned by Wellesley
His European officers
•
Concludes Treaty of Sarji-Arjangaon
O
•
•
•
Mausoleum.
Suraj Mal. Ját leader
His death
Sutherland (Col.). Beats Holkar at Indor.
Thomas (George).
Origin and rise
Attends Appa to Dehli .
Rescues Begam Sumroo.
Becomes independent in Hariána
Attacked by Perron
·
•
•
•
133ff
232
237
21
87
123
125
233
45, 56
47, 60, 88
95
126
156
1
PAGE
65
77
93
•
166-7
175
191
260
172
190, 195-8, 209, 213
218-9
•
221
244
248
208, 255
262
70
117
123
130
(App. B.), 287
45-6, 82
84
239
215
222
225-6
237
242
INDEX.
299
Thomas (George). Fall and death
Ujain. Sacked by Holkar
Hessing defeated there.
Váman Rao. Succeeds Appa Khándi
Zabita Khán
Zafanjáb Khán (Al. Reinhardt).
Zamán Sháh. Ruler of Afgháns
Invades Punjab
Zulfikar-ud-daula (v. Mirza Najaf).
•
PAGE
243
212
239
232
91-2, 96–7, 113, 116, 120, 144
225, 227, 228
229
233
233
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