Bundelkhand

"बाजी जात बुन्देल की बाजी राखो लाज"

Chatrasal as the ruler in Bundelkhand was invincible. Although he was getting old, the warrior in him was was strong and resilient.
On the other hand Muhammed Bangash was young and strong of mind and body and was given a part of Bundelkhand by the then Badshah in Delhi.
Naturally the two were constantly at loggerheads with each other.

Each one wanted to be the sole ruler in Bundelkhand and neither was willing to concede. In 1727, however Bangash defeated Chatrasal and usurped the huge Fort of Jaitpur, imprisoning Chatrasal and his family.

Even though Bangash was victorious, he was in a quandary, as none of his missives found any replies from the Delhi Badshah. He could not end the lives of Chatrasal and his family as the whole of Bundelkhand would rise against him.

Chatrasal was waiting for an opportunity and he sent a letter to Baji RaoI, asking for his help.

"जो गत ग्रह गजेंद्रकी सो गत भाई है आज

बाजी जात बुन्देल की बाजी राखो लाज"

Under the pretext of Holi celebrations Chatrasal requested Bangash to release him from prison and waited for Baji Rao to arrive. Baji Rao reached Bundelkhand on the 5th of March 1729 and on the 10th led his army into battle with Bangash.

The battle was fierce but Bangash was virtually held captive in his own Fort at Jaitpur with all avenues of escape closed. His sons too were defeated by Baji Rao when they came for his aid. Bangash was left in the fort with only a 1000 man army. Even his well wishers abandoned him.

Conceding his defeat Bangash agreed to a truce without any expectations. Baji Rao did not see any further reason to stay on. His mission finished he prepared to leave. Chatrasal gifted him 1/3 territorial Rights to Bundelkhand and also 1/3 rights to the Panna Diamond mines.

He also presented his young daughter Mastani to him, and thence began the next episode in Baji Rao's life.

Field Marshall Extraordinaire

The more I research this Great Persona, the more I want to share his immense achievements.
35 battles in 20 years is no small achievement and winning all 35 of them is sheer brilliance. His prowess as a Great Warrior is well tabulated but he was also the Master Of Strategic Warfare.

"In a Concise History of Warfare", Field Marshall Montgomery writes..."They (The Marathas), were at their best in the 18th Century and the Palkhed campaign of 1727 - 1728 in which Baji Rao out generalled Nizam-Ul-Mulk is a Master Piece of Strategic Mobility.
Baji Rao's army was purely a mounted force, armed only with sabre, lance and bow. There was a spare horse for every two men. The Marathas moved unencumbered by artillery, baggage or even handguns and defensive armour".

I would like to showcase some of his battles in a series of posts to highlight his achievements.

The Battle Of Palkhed

Nizam-Ul-Mulk was the sworn enemy of the Marathas. He tried every strategy to defeat Baji Rao.

The Nizam moved his troops towards the Pune district so that the Marathas leave Aurangabad alone but Baji Rao laid a counter plan whereby he rode his army through Burhanpur-Khandesh- Surat, avoiding the Nizams troops and looting and conquering the Mughal states. The Nizam then moved via Nagpur-Pabal-Baramati and came close to Pune. This was when he got the disturbing news that Baji Rao and his army had neared Aurangabad. He left in great haste leaving his cannons and armoury behind.
Exactly what Baji Rao wanted. The Marathas confronted the Nizam in Palkhed and lay a siege on the forts of Devgiri and Vaijapur where the Nizam and his army were ensconced. With all avenues for food and water closed they could not last and the Nizam was forced to accept defeat and call a truce.

The Battle of Palkhed was not a great battle but it brought out Baji Rao's Strategic Warfare to the fore. This was just one of the incidents in his life which brought him fame in India and beyond.

Birth Of A Legend

"Bravest of the Brave, Fairest of the Fair. Baji Rao died like the most Fascinating Figure in A Romance of Love" Denis Kincaid has written in the "History of the Maratha People".
Such was the fame of Sreemant Baji Rao Peshwa that Valiant, Valorous, Gallant are just some of the adjectives by which we can think of him.

He was born in 1700 on the 18th of August in the small town of Dubere near Nashik in Maharashtra.
Born to the first Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, Shreemant Balaji Vishwanath, it was no wonder that at the tender age of 12 he was accompanying his father to the battlefields,thereby learning the art of Strategic Warfare.
BajiRao became a Peshwa in 1720 and in a short span of 20 years changed the course of Maratha history.

"He had both the Head to Plan and the Hand to Execute" writes Grant Duff in the History of the Marathas. He was feared and respected the world over.
A small piece of history comes to mind. During the battle with Nizam-Ul-Mulk and the Marathas. The defeat of the Iranian invader was so complete that Field Marshall Montegomery has written "Masterpiece of Strategic Mobility".

His statue stands proud and victorious in front of the Shaniwar Wada in Pune. He is pointing to the North towards Delhi. Such was his insight that he had set his eyes to the North to rid the country of the invaders who had come from Iran and Afghanistan.

Today his memorial lies near a small hamlet, Raverkhedi, near the banks of the Narmada river.
Raverkhedi was the check post for the Marathas and also a camp for the Maratha army, where they gathered to cross the Narmada river to reach Delhi. It was here that Baji Rao breathed his last while following Nadir Shah after defeating the Nizams son Nasir Jung.

His memorial today lies in a precarious position between Two dam sites of Omkareshwar and Maheshwar. His remains might get submerged in the waters of the Dam.
The Government is building a retaining wall around the memorial but it is uncertain whether it will be of any help.

This day today all of us here in Pune had gathered around Baji Rao's statue to garland him and remember and also to imbibe and try to relive the time when he was the unconquered hero and we came to a conclusion that he still is...

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY

I was on a road trip with family to Manali when we passed a sign board reading Panipat.
Three Bloody Wars were fought in this area. I was greeted with a rudimentary town,dirt and mud everywhere. Curiosity and a genuine inquisitiveness made me go on. As I stood rooted to the spot the entire episode of the last war engulfed me.

The year was 1761. Panipat then was a stark, barren land with a few shrubs growing as though defying nature, on one side and the once mighty Jamuna, in full spate on the other.
It was here that the third and last battle was fought between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali's troops. Sadashiv Rao Peshwa, and the very young Vishwas Rao Peshwa, he was only 18yrs old at the time, led the mighty Maratha Army. It took the Cavaliers and the foot soldiers almost six months to reach.

The Marathas fought the war valiantly but Trickery, Treachery, Deceit and Miscommunication
proved to be their downfall.

A line from a poem came to my mind, "Into the Valley of death rode the 600". It was a complete massacre. Braving the cold, hunger and no compensation, the soldiers fought to the bitter end. Each one died a Martyr and the ones who were spared were scarred for life.
Such was the intensity of the battle that the earth was soaked in blood.

My aim was to go and pay due respects to the Martyrs and also to see for myself the war zone!.
I was in for a complete surprise, the area which was barren had transformed itself into a beautiful landscaped Oasis,serene and calm. There were two outstanding Murals depicting the wars and my Blog image is one of them. This transformation of the land has been due to the painstaking work carried out by the Archaeological Survey of Harayana.

I sat there gazing at the beauty of the place and thought that finally... peace and serenity had come back to this unsettled land which had been a witness to only bloodshed and misery in the past.

Introduction

I begin with paying my deepest Respects and Salute the 2 Icons of the Maratha Era, Chatrapati Shri Shivaji Maharaj and BajiRao Peshwa I, without whom the history of the Maratha Empire would have no meaning.
Shivaji realised his dream of Self Rule and BajiRao carried it forward beyond Maharashtra. These great men infused the idea amongst people and were rewarded with an army ready to lay down their lives for Freedom.
Common people took up training in arms and became soldiers to fight for what was their right and the Generals who they had implicit faith in.
They too were fearless warriors but there is a dearth of knowledge about them.
Through a series of blog posts I would like to take you on a journey meeting these Unsung Heroes and Heroines who stared adversity in the face and still came out winners. Our footfalls will also echo through the Socio-Economic status and the general Environment of the Maratha Era.