Expedition to disaster--marathas at panipat

[ashdoc]

Marathas who lost the war never ever went back to Maharastra to show their defeated face and settled in the plains of Punjab/haryana and hills of Uttarakhand. My mother was from one such Maratha brahmin Dikshit Gotra.

about descendants of marathas from panipat expedition in haryana---

Rods in Haryana trace their lineage to Maratha soldiers : SOCIETY & THE ARTS - India Today

 

[Decklander]

about descendants of marathas from panipat expedition in haryana---

Rods in Haryana trace their lineage to Maratha soldiers : SOCIETY & THE ARTS - India Today

Instead of spending so much of money on this study they shud have just asked us. we wud have told them the truth. My maternal uncles do not speak marathi but they are from that stock. very strong and have typical Marathi features.

 

[Rational]

The Maratha disaster at Panipat was bound to happen because their practice of chauth and sardeshmukhi ensured they made enemies wherever they went. If they had conquered the lands and ruled it firmly, they would have finished of their enemies. But their yearning for revenue without responsibility was militarily as well as financially disastrous. They still used the revenue techniques of the 27 year old war when the context was completely changed. They had too many factions and no ideological/doctrinal or operational coherence.

Another thing to note is that Ibrahim Khan Gardi was not a Pashtun but belonged to the Pardhi community. Gardis continued to be bodyguards of Peshwas for a long time.

 

[Surya12r]

My question to the author of this write up. Malhar Rao Holkar was given the responsibility of moving the Marathi women to safety & we also know that Raja Surajmal gave shelter to them. Please help to understand when you say Holkar had escaped. I also read Holkars property was later confiscated by Pune. Can you share some more insight on the right points.

 

[Surya12r]

My family had opposed Aurangzeb in Delhi for asking the Janeo of Brahmins which he used to weave into Topies or convert Brahmins under sword to islam. We had to run away from Delhi to Chambal and than we organised a revolution against Auranagjeb in Bharatpur by Jaata and Gurjers. we attacked and took over Agra, than we marched to Delhi. Auranagjeb had to use his best forces to defeat us. He than captured 150K brahmins, took them to Haridwar and asked them to convert to Islam. They all refused. he Butchered them all and created a tower of their skulls which cud be seen from 10 miles.
Before the third battle of Panipat, Raja Surakmal, whose Senapati was one of my ancestors, met Bajirao in Delhi. He told him to withdraw from Delhi and Lure Abdali and Rohilla Pathans to Chambal ghati. Marathas and Jaat forces were outstanding in Guerilla warfare. Our Raja Surajmal told Bajirao that we can finish off muslim rule from India once and for all by drawing these forces into ravines of Chambal and kill them using the expertise of Marathas and Jaats.
Bajirao belittled our King and we came back from his camp with our forces. We did not support him in the battle as such but provided logistics.
Marathas had nearly won the battle but for the stupidity of Holkars who left the Yamuna river flank open and moved to center of the formation after hearing about the breakthru made by Bajirao in the cemter of Abdali forces. Abdali exploited that gap and dashed to the rear of Marathas whre their family members were. That caused a breakdown in Maratha forces which resulted in their rout in Panipat.
You will find many other accounts of this war on Wiki or other internet forums. What I have posted here is the real account of that war as my Family subsequently fought Abdali and threw him out of delhi to what is now called Pakistani Punjab in 1763/64.
Marathas who lost the war never ever went back to Maharastra to show their defeated face and settled in the plains of Punjab/haryana and hills of Uttarakhand. My mother was from one such Maratha brahmin Dikshit Gotra.

Thanknyou for sharing this. Can you tell me something more on the Massacare of 150k bramhins in haridwar. Which year & sequence of events.

 

[ashdoc]

My question to the author of this write up. Malhar Rao Holkar was given the responsibility of moving the Marathi women to safety & we also know that Raja Surajmal gave shelter to them. Please help to understand when you say Holkar had escaped. I also read Holkars property was later confiscated by Pune. Can you share some more insight on the right points.

When holkar tried to reason with sadashivraobhau who was commander of maratha forces that women and camp followers should not be taken into the field of battle as responsibility of protecting them would prove an impediment to actual fighting he was rebuffed by bhau . The number of women and camp followers was roughly 2 lakhs and the actual fighting men were less than 1 lakh so the noncombatants were a big pressure on the army . Holkar's advice was correct and as he saw this being rebuffed he also saw the impending defeat of the maratha army . He decided to save himself and opened channels of communication with najib khan rohilla who then allowed him safe passage during the battle . About 1500 men and women made to safety with Holkar . He was accused of deserting the army by the peshwa later and his property was temporarily confiscated .

My presumption is that Holkar realized that fighting a lethal enemy like abdali with large number of women and servants was hopeless and bhau was bound to lose . So he saved his own skin by claiming that he had been assigned the task of taking women to safety by bhau . However large number of women did fall prey to the marauding afghan hordes . So his reasoning does not really seem correct . Rather he could foresee the result of the battle and made arrangements accordingly . Since he was in the north for long period he already had a good relation with najib . So he made use of that .