English
The Bon- gal army, which was ignorant of the tactics of Mahratta free¬ booters, but which had heard tales about their barbarity and rava¬ ges, stood motionless from fear like an army of statues, and were hemmed in and attacked by the freebooters. Their baggages were looted, and their food-supplies were cutoff. Horses, elephants, and camels of the Bengal army were captured, and carried off by the freebooters. The army of Mahabat Jang, being tired out by the devastating onslaughts and sieges of the freebooters, broke in disorder. The Mahrattas at once hemming in attacked the Mahratta freebooters, in order to place the Moslem Satrapy in Benga under Mahratta heels. The story is an object-lesson, and illustrates the mtellectaa and moral desolation that had seized Mnsalmans in Bengal at the time. f 1 It is related in the Seiru-UMutakherin (Pers. text, p. 507), whoso authors father, Syed Hedait Ali Khnn, was at the time employed as Fanjdar of Mag a in Behar, and was on an expedition to the hill-passes of Ramgar , a Mahratta cavalry numbering 40,000 led by Bhaskar Pft ;'p J hit hoii Bhoslah, swooped down through the above passes, out through and Morbhanj, and appeared near the outskirts of Medn.pur. Baghoj. ^hoalah “ed in J Pera. printed fat of the B ,> , Eughoj,™ nephew of Rajah Soho and Ma'd'r (probably Gorornor or Cb efJ of ? „bab of Berar, aud bis capital wai at Nagpur ... the Central Provmce . 339 elephant Wirt on which Mahal,at Jang’s Begam ' waa "want¬ ed, and captaring the elephant dragged it towards theirown camp. Mn?ahib Khan Mohmand, son of U‘mar Khan the General, having bis Hindustani courage aroused in him, attacked the freebooters, and advancing his feet of valour and gallantry, by means of valorous onslaughts and Rustam-liko onsets, rescued the elephant together with its fair rider from the clutches of the free- hooters. In consequence, however, of numerous mortal and ghastly wounds that they received, Mugahib Khan and a large number of his comrades and kinsmen drew the red paint of martyrdom on the face, and on that very spot of slaughter were buried. And when the freebooters from impudence and insolence made onslaughts from all sides, Mahabat Jang, of necessity, opened leathern bags of coins, and scattered them on the field. 8 1 It is interesting to note that wo saw Ali Vardi Khan’s Begam moving beside her husband on an elephant at tho battle of Balasore, and wo find hor again by the side of her husband at this battle with the Mahrattas, near Bardwan. She must have been a lady not only of nerve, bat of wisdom, to have been retained by his side as a companion by Ali ^ ardi at such critical junctures. We saw also that that iron-man Ali Vardi in his usurpation of the Bengal Nizamat, bended himself before Nafiaah Khanam and sued for pardon from her. From auoh incidents, the inference is not without warrant that Uu8almau ladies in Bengal even towards the middle of the eighteenth century occupied a different position from what they occupy now, took an aotive part in the wider concerns of their husbands, and exeroised a powerful and beneficent influence both in the domains of politics and Society. * His name would indicate he was an Afghan bolonging to the Mobmand tribe. * The Bet* u-LMtUafsberin (Pera. text, pp. 607-513) gives a very graphic description of this first Mahratta invasion of Bengal (1155 A.H.), and of the causes which rendered It possible. The first cause was the instigation of Aeif Jah (of Mir I^abib, according to tho Riya* whioh seems more probable; for Asif Jah was too high-minded to set loose Mahratta freebooters on a Masai* man satrapy); the second oauae was the discontent of All Vardi Khan’s Afghan troops and officers, notably of Mustafa Khin, as All Vardi Hian had disbanded many Afghan levies after the Katak expedition to resoue §aulat Jang; the third cause was the treacherous assassination by Ali Vardi of the Rsjab of Morbhanj, whose cause was espoused by Mn$taf& Khan. The Seir further states that when Bhaskar Pag<Jit reached near Bardwan vid Paohit with 26,000 cavalry (given out as 40,000 cavalry), All Vardi Khan was on his way back from Orissa at Midnapur, with only 4 or 5,000 oavalry and 4 or 5,000 infantry, the latter having ordered back all his other troops to Murshidabsd with §aulat Jang. Ali Vardi reached Bardwan with this small army. Bh&s* 340 Tlius diverting the freebooters with the work of picking up coins, Mahabat Jang seized this respite, and with the 'celerity of lightuing and wind riding out at full gallop arrived at Bard- wau. The hungpy troops, who for three days and nights had not seen the face of food-stuffs, quenched the fire of their hunger with the stores of Bardwan. The army of Mahratta freebooters followed up in pursuit. Sacking villages and towns of the sur¬ rounding tracts, and engaging in slaughters and captures, they set fire to granaries, and spared no vestige of fertility. And when the stores and granaries of Bardwan were exhausted, and the supply of imported grains was also completely cut off, to avert death by starvation, human beings ate plantain-roots, whilst animals were fed on the leaves of trees. Even these gradually ceased to be available. For breakfasts and suppers, nothing except the discs of the sun and the moon feasted their eyes. And for nights and days together, being constantly mounted on their high saddles, they did not even dream of sleep. The Afghan and Bhaliah troops becoming desperate, determined to diehard. Mahabat Jang, seeing signs of defeat, owing to the exhausted condition of his soldiery, held a Council of War. It was at last decided to place the artil¬ lery round the army, and to put baggages in the centre, and in this form to march out expeditiously from Bardwan to Katwah, where food and fodder would bo either procurable, or could be im¬ ported by waterways or highways from the environs of Murgbida- bad, to relieve the distressed soldiery. In short, in pursuance of kar Pai?<Jit having heard of Ali Vardi’s bravery, proposed to the latter to give him ten luks of rupees by way of his entertainment expense, in whioh case he would return to his own country. All Yardi received this suggestion with disdain. For some time he Was hard-pressed by the Mahrattua, especially owing to the defection of bis Afghan officers and troops. Ali Yard! then with Siraju-d-daulah waited on his Afghan Gener?.l-in-Chief, Mn?tafa K^an, to him to kill him with his grand-son, or else to give him his support, in order to oppose this Mahratta invasion. Mn?tafa together with other Afdii" officers now fonght bravely against heavy odds with the MabrattM, ami All Vardi succeeded in retiring to Katwih, where prov. men. irith ™. info,cement name np nnder Saulat Jang from Mnn*,db.d. At Mustafa as- looted a sever, defeat on Bh.skar Patnht, who new Mr. onely thought of returning to bi. own country vidBirbhum; bat his clue adviser, Mir Habib, dissuaded him and brought him book from Birbbnm to Katwiih, holding cut prospects of loot, and makiog himself responsible the Mahratta conquest of Bengal. 341 this plan, setting ont at night from Bardwan, Mahabat Jangs army marched towards Katwah, and in a short interval by forced marches reached Katwah. The light Mahratta cavalry, however, covered forty karoh a day, and thus before Mahabat Jang’s arrival at Katwah, they had already burnt down its fields, farms, and granaries, and reduced them to ashes. The army of Mahabat Jang now being in a state of utter despair, sent up to the skies wails, similar to the following:— We never get relief from distress; To whatever country we roam, We seo the sky alone. However, Haji Ahmad collecting the bakers of Murghidabad got breads prepared, and sent these together with other eatables and food-stuffs on boats to Katwah. Other provisions and food- grains were also similarly conveyed gradually and in large quanti¬ ties. At last, Mahabat Jang’s army were saved from starvation, and their cattle also received a grateful supply of fodder and grass. Mahabat Jang’s soldiers, whose houses were in Murshida- bad, felt home-sick, and gradually drifted away towards their homes. As Mir Sharif, brother of Mir Habib, together with the family treasures, dependants and children, was at Mnrshidabad, Mir Habib with seven hundred Mabratta cavalry swooped down on Murghidabad, in order to relieve his brother. Marching expe¬ ditiously, night and day, early at day-break, Mir Habib readied Dihparah and Ganj Muhammad Khan, 1 to which he set fire. And opposite to the Citadel, crossing the river Bhagirati, Mir Habib reached his residence, and taking out Mir Sharif, together with his treasures, effects, followers, and dependants, he kept them in his company. Sweopiug clean the houses of numerous residents of the City with the broom of plunder, and looting ns much gold nnd silver coins as he could from the houses of Jagat Set, and captnr- ing Murad Ali Khan, 8 a son-in-law of Sarfaraz Khan, and Rajah Dulabh Ram 8 and Mir Shnjau-d-din, Superintendent of the 1 These would seem to hare been suburbs of Murshidiibnd. 8 Ho was a son of Nafisah Begam, t-istor of Sarfaraz Khan, and subsequently became the latter’s son-in-law, and in Sorfnrtiz Khan’s time held the office of Depnty Goternor of Jaluuigiruagar. See n. ante. > Dqlab B^m was n spn of Rajuh Jauokiram Peshkar, and was appointed by 342 Bajuiarah Sair daties, he encamped at Tiratkonah, which wa3 to the west of the City, at a distance of one farsaJch. Haji Ahmad, Nawazish A^mad Khan and Husain Quli Khan, who were in the City, at the very sight of the Mahratta cavalry, firing their guns once or twice, and closing the avenues to the City as well as the gates of the Citadel, entrenched themselves, but found it impos¬ sible to fight and disperse the enemy, or to defend the City.