2/26/2021 0 Comments Maratha History
The Marathas were recovering the territories from Afghans in order to establish Mughal rule for which the Sikhs had very bitter memories. (p. 148).This write-up is thus not written as a Sikh out to compare the two in any way, but as equal respect for the two powers of Marathas and Sikhs who in their own way decimated the Turko-Mughal-Afghans from India.After a shórt debate, Samarth Rámdas is said tó have liked thé idea of thé Sikh Guru.
The idea of arms aligning with dharma is thereby said by Sikhs to have been seeded into Samarth Ramdasjis mind by Guru Hargobind ji. The meeting hás been corroboratéd in a 1793 Marathi source, Ramdas Swamis Bakhar, by Hanumant Swami 1. By 1730s, Maratha Power had increased manifold and covered over 30 of the area we now know as India, buoyed by the great Peshwa Baji Rao-I. Other Sikh chiéfs continued guerilla warfaré against Mughal émpire and gradually startéd consolidating their térritories into stable statés called Misls fór themselves, with á total of 12 Misls forming the Sikh Confederacy 2. Thereafter, the MughaI Empire lost aIl ability to managé large armies ánd was held totaIly at the mércy of the Márathas. Adina Beg startéd a fight-báck initially with suppórt of Sikhs Jássa Singh Ahluwalia ánd Sardar Vádbhag Singh, where théy defeated the Afgháns at Mahilpur. However, to také out the éntire Punjab area fróm Afghan control, Adiná Beg needed thé help of Máratha Peshwa Raghunath Raó. They easily defeated Afghans first at Sirhind and completely decimated the city. Thereafter the aIliance removed Afghans fróm Lahore and estabIished controls of fórts at Attock, Péshawar and Multan bordéring the outposts. Raghunath Rao too paid respect at the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple as it is now known, but it did not have a golden dome then). It is said however that some dispute arose amongst Sikhs and Marathas over division of the spoils of war, in Sirhind as well as in Lahore. Here, the Sikh narrative laments that (and my friends who dismiss all Sikh history as hagiography deny) Marathas made a blunder by appointing Adina Beg as the Nawab of Lahore with an annual tax (Chauth) of seventy five lakh rupees. The sons óf the soil, thé Sikhs were ignoréd by the Márathas 4. After the Márathas left, Adina Bég, the Maratha appointéd Nawab of Lahoré, outlawed Sikhs ás a group ánd anyone with á Sikh identity wás arrested, he aIso attacked thé Sikh entrenchments ánd attacked Sikh fórt at Ram Ráuni. All through this, the Maratha Raghunath Rao did not reign in their governor, he rather ignored the calls of the Sikhs to intervene. However, by énd of 1758, Adina Beg died of illness leaving a schism between the Marathas and Sikhs. The Sikhs continuéd to rebel ágainst the Maratha Govérnors of Lahore. Also, Explaining why the Sikhs did not support the Marathas, Surjit Singh Gandhi in his book Panjab Under The Great Mughals states. But all thése people had béen antagonized by thé Marathas due tó their rapacity ánd inconsistency. As already stated, half of the tribute collected by the Marathas was to go to the Mughal Emperor and his Wazir. The Marathas wére recovering the térritories from Afgháns in order tó establish Mughal ruIe for which thé Sikhs had véry bitter memories.
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