Haji Ahmed preceded Aliwardi into Murshidabad and pacified the panic-stricken residents. Jagat Seth had stayed at Murshidabad and he welcomed Haji Ahmed. Then, the Pathan followers of Aliwardi entered, and were given a day to loot the town. Following this, Aliwardi, appearing penitent, reached the capital. The residents looked on him as a traitor to Murshid Quli Khan’s dynasty. Aliwardi’s first halt was at the door of Zebunnisa, who had once bestowed the robes of office of Governor of Bihar on him. Standing at her gate respectfully and bowing, he sought her forgiveness in flowery words, “Whatever is predetermined in the books of Fate, has come to take place, and the ingratitude of this worthless servant of yours is now registered in the unfading records of history. But I swear, that so long as life shall exist in this blackened face of mine, I shall never swerve from the path of respect, and the duties of the most complete submission. I hope that the vileness and misdeed of this poor humbled and afflicted slave of yours, shall in time be effaced from the mirror of your forgiving mind.”
The late Nawab’s mother did not deign to send a reply.
Aliwardi then ascended the Musnad of Bengal. The huge wealth of Bengal amounting to seventy lakh rupees fell into his hands. And the fifteen hundred female slaves and concubines of Sarfaraz Khan were appropriated by Haji Ahmed and his acolytes.
The usurpation of Bengal was complete.
The Badshah at Delhi was disturbed on hearing of this revolution in one of his richest provinces. He wept, “Owing to Nadir Shah, the whole of my Empire is convulsed and shattered.”
Aliwardi Khan immediately promised to send forty lakh rupees to the barren Mughal capital, along with many jewels, his own gifts and bribes for the Vazir at Delhi. The Badshah was a pauper. It was too good an offer to refuse and Mohammedshah seemingly accepted the fait accompli.
Although Aliwardi had complete control of Bengal and Bihar, in Odisha, Shuja-ud-Din’s son-in-law Rustam Jung, refused to submit. The new Nawab was thus forced to proceed on an expedition to Odisha. Aliwardi’s brother-in-law Mir Jafar led the army, with his grandson Siraj-ud-Daulah accompanying him. The two armies came face to face at Balasore where Rustam Jung entrenched himself. However, Rustam Jung’s son-in-law Baqir hastily attacked Aliwardi’s army and was beaten back. Rustam Jung was forced to flee to Machhlipatnam while his wife with some of his treasure took refuge with the Nizam-ul-Mulk. The triumphant Bengal army captured Cuttack and Aliwardi appointed Haji Ahmed’s son Saulat Jung as the deputy Governor there.
Of Rustam Jung’s remaining adherents in Odisha was his long-time ally Mir Habib. Escaping from the capital city of Cuttack in March 1741, Mir Habib made his way to Nagpur, the capital of Raghuji Bhosale. Here, he met Raghuji’s Dewan Bhaskarram Kolhatkar and briefed him of Aliwardi Khan’s usurpation of the province. He then slipped back and rejoined Aliwardi Khan’s army. By June 1741, Raghuji reached Nagpur and assessed the situation in Bengal.
Immediately after the monsoon months of 1741, Raghuji launched the first Maratha invasion of Bengal. It was to be a war that would occupy him for over a decade.
The Maratha interest in annexing province after province of the Mughals to their own Empire was not new. In his lifetime, Bajirao had brought Gujarat, Malwa and Bundelkhand under Maratha control. After the defeat of the Nizam in 1738 and his son Naseer Jung the following year, and Raghuji’s victory in the Carnatic the year after, the Deccan was practically overrun. After Bajirao’s death in 1740, Raghuji spread his wings, and favourable circumstances in the east as well as Delhi, created an opportunity to invade Bengal.
When the Peshwa and Raghuji both began focussing on Bengal, the Badshah became frightened. The Peshwa and Raghuji both made their own separate plans, acquired Shahu’s permission, and accepted the responsibility of the campaign. On the Dussehra of 1741, both of them embarked on the campaign.
Shahu had distributed various regions amongst his Sardars for campaigning. In this arrangement, the region around Devgad, Chanda, and eastern regions beyond them fell into the scope of the Bhosales. But, since the Peshwa had the responsibility to make the Sardars act through a unified command and control structure, there used to be many conflicts between him and the Sardars. The root cause of the discord that occurred between the Peshwa and the Sardar families like the Dabhades, Angres, and that of Raghuji Bhosale was in the weak position of the Chhatrapati. Unless there is a single authority, none of the activities can be successful. In the present campaign, the opposition between the Peshwa and Raghuji went on becoming inevitable.
To be continued…
NDHistories 