Jaiwant E Paul - Baji Rao: The Warrior Peshwa

BAJI RAO

THE WARRIOR PESHWA

OTHER TITLES BY E. JAIWANT PAUL

Annals & Antiquities of Rajasthan

By My Sword and Shield: Traditional Weapons of the Indian Warrior

Har Dayal: The Great Revolutionary

The Greased Cartridge: The Heroes and Villains of 1857-58

The Story of Tea

OTHER LOTUS TITLES

BAJI RAO

THE WARRIOR PESHWA

E. JAIWANT PAUL

ROLI BOOKS

This digital edition published in 2016

First published in 2016 by

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Prologue

T his is the story of Peshwa Baji Rao, the great Maratha general and statesman, who in the mid-eighteenth century changed the map of India. He transformed the Maratha nation state into an empire. His military genius and policy of extending the Maratha power towards north India had far-reaching and spectacular results and enabled the Marathas, within the next 25 years, to plant their bhagwa or swallow-tailed, deep orange coloured flag on the Indus.

Brave as a tiger and handsome as a god, Baji Rao was also a fascinating character. A man like him is difficult to explain in terms of heritage, training or upbringing. He was perhaps endowed with unusual yearnings of the life-force or with an unquenchable ambition and fervour that spurred him to struggle with destiny. In medieval times, conquests and victories in battles were the most charismatic of accomplishments. Born with a sword in his hand, Baji Rao became a legend while still a young man and tragically died while still in his prime.

Baji Rao had a galaxy of contemporaries, both friends and adversaries, who have left their mark on history. This is, therefore, necessarily also the story of the other great personages like Nizam ul Mulk, the distinguished founder of Hyderabad state; Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur, general, statesman, astronomer and town planner; Kanhoji Angre, the daredevil naval commander who made life a misery for the English and the Portuguese; Raja Chattarsal, the heroic king who carved out an independent kingdom in Bundelkhand; and this is also the story of Mastani, Chattarsals daughter and Baji Raos great love. The paths of all these remarkable and dramatic people crossed, but each one of them was overshadowed by Baji Raos achievements and they owe their place in history mainly in relation to him. Other players in the drama are Ranoji Scindia, Malharrao Holkar, Udaiji Pawar and Pilaji Gaikwad, distinguished generals and founders of the great states of Gwalior, Indore, Dhar and Baroda.

In this account the markers of history are not ignored; sometimes, however, the stories of these great men, whose lives intertwined, come to the fore and dominate. But then history walks into these stories and steals the scene without the thunder of a cannon or beat of a kettledrum. Occasionally, the chronological order of events has been ignored to make the storytelling better.

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the fortunes of the Marathas, particularly Baji Rao, became closely linked with those of Delhi. The later Mughals, who were nearing the end of their journey, therefore, provide the historical backdrop for this pageant. Here was one of the greatest empires on earth declining slowly into hopelessness and tragedy. The reigns of the six Mughal Emperors after Aurangzeb extended to a mere 41 years. Some were imbeciles, others degenerates, and they only hastened the demise of the dynasty. The country was at the crossroads of history and at that critical juncture, Peshwa Baji Rao marched on to the stage. Over the next two decades he dominated the scene conquering Gujarat, Malwa and Bundelkhand and even leading his army to imperial Delhi, while the Mughal Empire sank into decay and decline. Though Baji Rao had sworn to plant his flag on the Indus, death robbed him of this honour. His sons, however, after driving the Afghans out of the Punjab, fulfilled their fathers pledge.