Bajirao started off towards the north to meet the Badshah in the Diwali festival of 1736. Hearing this news, the Nizam started getting increasingly restless. He began worrying greatly, if Badshah provides his approval and support to Bajirao, then he would take away his own Subedar position of the Deccan as well tomorrow, and then he would have nowhere to go. The Nizam began trying very hard to ensure anyhow that the two never met each other, and to somehow crush Bajirao himself in between the two huge armies of the north and the south. He quickly sent urgent orders to his own Sardars, and got his army prepared. He also began to sensitise Delhi about this through his assistants. When the Peshwa got this news, he and Shahu dispatched urgent orders to their Sardars stationed back in the Deccan, to ensure that the Nizam was blocked here itself, and planned to begin troubling his realms. Since both these sides had begun such efforts, from the month of January 1737, up to two-and-a-half years after it, i.e. until the campaign of Nadir Shah was wrapped up, flames of war had engulfed the whole country in smaller or greater degree. Actually, this overall occurrence should be termed the ‘Two-and-a-half Year War’ between Mughals and Marathas.
Just two specific events in this huge war, Bajirao’s raid on Delhi, and the Nizam being cornered at Bhopal, only these are available in general awareness. But the available documents show many other big and small battles that were fought all over the country. Aavji Kavde, Raghuji Bhosale, Udaji Chavhan, Chandrasen Jadhav and his son, Dabhade company, Fatehsingh Bhosale, Ramchandra Hari, Vyankatrao Ghorpade, Sultanji and Janrao Nimbalkar, Sarlashkar Somvanshi, Pratinidhi, etc. many big and small Sardars have wrought an absolute havoc in the Deccan in these two to three years. If their activities are perceived in an appropriate scheme of events, one can discern that they all were participants of the above primary war in their own ways, and they had been activated by Shahu and the Peshwa to do so. The southern political moves would be decided by Chimaji Appa, and under his training, even Nanasaheb too learned his shrewdness. Shahu himself campaigned towards Miraj. Vyankatrao attacked Goa. Aavji Kavde wrought huge destruction in Khandesh-Berar. Fatehsingh and Raghuji Bhosale pounced upon the Carnatic with all their might. All these events were links in a huge chain of events. The moment the Nizam went to the north, the Carnatic was exposed. To capture it, Shahu dispatched Raghuji there. We would review this war a little more minutely. The Badshah had decided to use his last gambit. The two-year-long Mughal war was not over yet. Meanwhile, Chimaji Appa was in the middle of a campaign to oust the two-hundred-year-old Portuguese power from the Konkan. It was to be a fight to the finish.
After the Dussehra of 1736, Bajirao went to the north. Following behind him, the Nizam left Aurangabad and camped at Burhanpur. He stayed there until 7 April. The Nizam was camped at Burhanpur when Mohammedshah got tired of his querulous nobles and failed generals and finally remembered the Nizam. In February 1737, the Badshah’s emissaries bearing Firman to invite the Nizam to the north met him there. The Nizam then arranged his affairs in the Deccan, wrote a letter to Shahu saying he is going to Delhi to seek the Badshah’s forgiveness.
When Bajirao began his return journey through Jaisingh’s territory and onward to Malwa, he crossed the Nizam. Bajirao was camped at Dhamoni in Bundelkhand. On 7 April 1737, the Nizam left Burhanpur. On 10 May 1737, the Nizam crossed the Narmada and arrived at Sironj. However, suspicions were running rampant on both sides. To allay those, Bajirao sent Baburao Malhar and Pilaji Jadhavrao to meet the Nizam. He met Pilaji Jadhavrao at Sironj on 20 May 1737, stayed there up to 29 May, and passing Gwalior, and Agra, reached Hodal about one hundred kilometres from Delhi. Actually, Bajirao sent Pilaji Jadhavrao to meet him to gauge his intentions. Pilaji wrote to Bajirao, “Yesterday on 20 May we met the Nawab. He felicitated us profusely and was very happy. Whatever protocol garments you gave, we presented to him. He is sending headgear for you. The Nizam gave me a turban ornament and some horses today morning. They will march off the day after tomorrow on further journey. Apart from this, many other reports I will relay when we meet. Do stay where you are until we reach for your service. My son Appa accompanied the Nawab one stage to the north until the halt of Duraiserai. He requested that the Rohilla Nawab (of Bhopal) should not be disturbed. For now, do not provide any trouble to the regions of Bhopal’s Yaar Mohammed Khan.”
To ensure that Bajirao did not trouble the Nizam on his journey, Pilaji was asked by the Nizam to send his own son to accompany them until the next halt. Nizam continued his journey to Delhi. Bajirao came back to Pune.
In this peaceful manner, the two crossed each other barely fifty Kos from each other. Both preserved the peace agreed at Rohe-Rameshwar five years earlier. By the middle of July, Bajirao was back in Pune. Shahu welcomed the Peshwa’s triumph.
To be continued…
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