Jijau was still young. While she was in Sindakhed, her whole world was inside the threshold of her house. But now she had to live at Daulatabad, the royal capital, and then she came to witness numerous exploits of the Sultans. She started hearing new terrible incidents every day. Her innocent heart started getting frightened. Stories of plunder, demolition of temples and idols to dust, floods of arson, massacres etc. were especially quite usual during the campaigns of Mughal and other Sultans. Marathas were not only dying on the battlefield, but even were being killed in villages, cities, even their own houses! What was their crime? Just that they had taken birth! Jijabai used to feel terrible looking at all this. But why did all this happen and until when would this go on, was something she couldn’t understand. She started getting disgusted of the Sultanate rule.
Word on the street was that, Malik Ambar was a very good Vazir in Nizamshahi. But he also had his talons. He had a different set of rules for some people. He had imposed a tax similar to Jizya in Konkan. This tax was called ‘Zakat-e-Hinduwani’.
Around the time of Malojiraje’s death, the Mughal Emperor Akbar died at Delhi (Dt 15 October 1605). His son Salim alias Jehangir assumed the imperial throne. He was as hungry as his father to win over Deccan. He started sending huge influx of armies towards the Deccan, and the Maratha country was overwhelmed with warfare.
Year after year the Mughal campaigns were continuously on in Deccan (from 1608 to 1615 AD). Jijau started to understand the motives behind, and the outcomes of, all these wars. She started understanding all this without someone explaining. Royal campaigns meant massacres, loot, arson, agriculture and even households done to dust, and overall destruction. It was clear to her that, if seventy-two diseases came together as compared to the Sultanate campaign, people would bear them happily, but they wouldn’t like the Sultanate campaign! Because the Sultanate armies hungrily attacked the one thing that was never attacked by any of the diseases. And that was one’s self-respect! Peoples’ self-respect was also being plundered along with their everything. Who was their saviour? Nobody! Jijau started getting restless.
And soon a vast Mughal army entered Marathwada. Varhad (Berar) was routed. The screams of the victims would make even stones shed tears. The pots and pans of poor households started breaking under the horses’ hooves. Malik Ambar, with Adilshahi support, put together an army to stop the Mughals around Jalna (December 1615 AD). Finally, Nizamshahi’s Malik Ambar, Babaji Kate, Shahaji Raje and all his brothers, and the Adilshahi forces met in a very big battle with Delhi’s Mughal Sardars like Asaf Khan, Shahnavaz Khan, Raja Mansingh etc. (Dt 4 February 1616), and Malik Ambar was defeated. Mughals attacked Khadki (Aurangabad). They completely routed Khadki and the region around it. Mughals, with heaps of loot, went on towards the Balapur fort via Rohinkhed.
At this time Daulatabad was the capital of Nizamshahi. Because Ahmednagar itself had been won by the Mughals.
Emperors at Delhi were thirsty for Deccan since many years. Immediately after this battle, Mughal prince Khurram alias Shahjahan started his campaigns taking large armies from Delhi. The same saga of destruction continued. He again destroyed the Khadki town (Dt 5 May 1621).
In all these battles, utmost damage was borne by the Marathas. Maratha youth were dying. But for whom? Some or the other Sultan. Finally, Marathas would turn to dust! Why? Why? Why? These questions kept burning like crackers in front of Jijabai’s eyes. All these brave Marathas were fighting and dying for some or the other Sultan; some on the Nizam’s side, some on Adilshah’s side, while some others with the Mughals. But nobody was ready to fight for their own families! Jijau’s heart was growing plaintive due to this.
People used to start running helter-skelter the moment they heard the sound of horses’ hooves on the village border. Whole families used to be torn asunder. Elders who couldn’t run used to die. Once the raid was finished, people used to witness houses burnt, people killed and many young women gone missing! Whom to call for help? Weren’t the Maratha Sardars looking at all this? Maybe, but if one decides to close eyes and ears, then what else would be left? Selfishness and shameless helplessness!
To be continued…
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