The outbreak of the Anglo-French war in Europe also coincided with the appointment of Joseph François Dupleix as the Governor of Pondicherry from his former post at Chandernagore in Bengal. Dupleix, with his wife, landed at Pondicherry on 13 January 1742. After the initial welcome when “with all ceremony and amidst music and dancing, he assumed the reins of Government,” he was appalled at the state of the country, the trade as well as the poor defences of Pondicherry.
Most of all, he was worried about the Marathas, “Fear of the Marathas’ return grows daily, and rumours run wild. Those living in the country, being uncertain where they will strike next, are ready to flee at the first sign of their approach. The merchants have already scattered, and the weavers have gone not to return. The lack of rain has ruined the little seed that was scattered on the ground. We ourselves foresee shortly a great rise in prices. These are too many scourges coming at the same time on a country which has in itself so few resources.”
Dupleix also found the Nawab extorting money from the people there. The double levy, he found, was ruining the province, “The Moorish government is completing the ruin of this province which is forced to pay two tributes: one to the Marathas and the other to the Mughal. They spare nothing to extort money.”
In the years to come, Dupleix’s tenure as the Governor of Pondicherry was to usher in a very European rivalry that would bring momentous changes in Indian politics. That however, would not be all. Dupleix would also usher in the age of European military power in India.
Nanasaheb and Raghuji returned to Satara from their campaigns in the north and the south respectively by mid-1741. Shahu was pleased at their success. Raghuji was honoured for his bravery and his achievements in the Carnatic. Shahu’s faith in appointing Nanasaheb as the Peshwa seemed the right decision. Nanasaheb stayed at Satara for three months and discussed his future course of action to strengthen the Maratha presence in the north.
The Marathas did not lose heart due to Bajirao’s death, instead their prowess kept shining like before. The above affair caused to gain fame everywhere and the overall Maratha awe increased. Expressed in equal measure was the fact that they had treated a Muslim enemy too with due respect, and taken good care of him. The thought leaders of the time also realised that the oppressive nature of the Muslim rulers did not find their way into the Maratha administration. Raghuji and Fatehsingh were felicitated everywhere. “The campaign also yielded much money. They returned to Satara and met the king. They related the whole report of the campaign there. The rulers at Chandawar (Tanjore) had become homeless. They were restored back at their seat. (Maharaj) was very happy due to this, and he felicitated Senasaheb by presenting him with protocol robes. He also granted him the notification for the Sardeshmukhi and Mokasa (revenue) of the regions from Berar, Gondwana, up to Cuttack.”
Since Murarrao was entrusted with the security of Tiruchirappalli, the Maratha officials there became fearless. Tanjore’s Pratapsingh achieved some stability and his life resumed as normal. Raghuji’s prestige increased much at Shahu’s court and even outside everywhere. However, the new Peshwa Nanasaheb became a little worried. But, one person who had not been able to bear the advance of the Marathas was Nizam-ul-Mulk. The affairs like the battle of Bhopal and Nadir Shah’s invasion had diminished much of his initial aggression. By the time he recovered from those, his son Naseer Jung raised a standard of revolt against him, and raised a huge obstacle. In 1741, when Raghuji was roughing up Chanda Saheb, the Nizam was busy breaking the back of Naseer Jung’s revolt. In the month of July 1741, Naseer Jung was defeated and imprisoned. Only after that the Nizam got some time to pay attention to other affairs. Since 1742, the competition that arose between the Peshwa and Raghuji in the north, that became conducive to the Nizam, and he acquired some strength to uproot the Maratha power in the Carnatic. He was not much worried about Chanda Saheb. Instead, since he had become a captive at Satara, one of the Nizam’s competitors had been taken out of action. But the king of Tanjore had been reinstalled at his seat, and Murarrao Ghorpade had become his big supporter. Due to these two events, the Nizam’s rule over the Carnatic seemed like at its end. The Nizam was striving hard to retain his ownership of all the regions that Aurangzeb had captured in the Carnatic, thinking he was the owner of the erstwhile Badshah’s legacy. He never missed a step in engineering a dispute between Raghuji and the Peshwa. At the beginning of 1743, the two clashed with each other in Bengal. This dispute was advantageous for him, and taking the benefit of this opportunity he began his project of the Carnatic.
Raghuji did not wait for long in Satara. He hurried back to Nagpur where an impatient visitor awaited his arrival. Mir Habib, the deputy Subedar of Odisha had come calling, and had met Bhaskarram. Habib had brought an invitation to lead Maratha armies to the richest provinces of India. It would be Raghuji Bhosale’s biggest campaign yet. And the prize would be Bengal.
To be continued…
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