Near Patna, Janoji and Mir Habib joined the Afghan chief Shamsher Khan. The Afghan tried to detain Mir Habib and extract the price of their help. Eventually, Mir Habib paid them a sum of two lakh rupees. The Marathas and Afghans fought Aliwardi after this, but did not meet with success and the Afghan rebellion was eventually crushed by the Nawab. Once again, the Marathas headed towards Murshidabad with the Nawab following close behind. The cat and mouse game between the Nawab and the Marathas continued.
Here, Raghuji too did not achieve satisfaction. In 1747, Shahu invited him for a meeting. He was already under pressure from the Nizam-ul-Mulk and the Peshwa. Janoji was on the Bengal campaign, and had to return to Nagpur because of his mother’s death. That time, Raghuji sent his third son Sabaji to Bengal. Sabaji and Mir Habib worked together in unison and struggled with the Nawab. Two to three years went past.
Aliwardi Khan’s final effort to defeat the Marathas came in 1749 when he attacked Odisha. However, scarcely had his back turned, Sabaji and Mir Habib, who had been biding their time in the forest, returned and recaptured Cuttack. The Nawab no longer had the strength to return for a fresh battle in Odisha. Mir Habib with his Afghan supporters once again moved to Medinipur. As Aliwardi came towards Medinipur, they followed the time-tested tactic of attacking Raajmahal before moving towards Murshidabad.
The running battle of nearly a decade began to take its toll on the Nawab, who was now in his seventies. The assassination of Bhaskarram had availed him nothing. His refusal to pay the Chauth had led to annual invasions of Bengal by the ruler of Nagpur. Mir Habib staying put in Odisha had ensured a continuous state of war. Raghuji had always been keen only on a steady annual tribute from Bengal. Aliwardi Khan’s Begum kept forcing him to negotiate peace terms with the Marathas. Upon this, the Nawab ordered Mir Jafar to meet Mir Habib and Janoji Bhosale and negotiate a treaty. Accordingly, meetings and discussions took place, and a treaty was confirmed in the month of March 1751. It was approved by Raghuji in the next June at Nagpur. The clauses of this treaty were:
- Mir Habib should administer Odisha as the Nayab (assistant) of the Nawab and the income generated should be paid to the Bhosales.
- The Nawab should send twelve lakh rupees annually for the Chauth of two provinces, Bengal and Bihar, to Bhosales without fail.
- The Marathas should not attack Bengal province again.
- The Cuttack province, i.e. region up to the Suvarnarekha river should be considered belonging to the Marathas.
The Nawab paid his previous dues of thirty-two lakh rupees to the Marathas. Janoji was instrumental in bringing about this treaty, and finally the Maratha armies returned home. Janoji appointed Shivbhat Sathe on the administration of Cuttack province. He carried out his responsibilities diligently. This treaty helped Aliwardi Khan get some peace and his harassment reduced somewhat. Later, he died on 10 April 1756. However, Mir Habib did not last long to enjoy the fruits of his success achieved through such tenacious struggle.
What remains is to narrate the story of Mir Habib, the Persian adventurer who helped Raghuji wage a long war against Aliwardi Khan. A year into his governorship of Odisha, Raghuji’s Maratha soldiers and administrators began to plan his removal. When Janoji had gone to visit the Cuttack province in 1752, many complaints were made about his ways. There was a dispute between him and the Maratha security guards on the subject of some prior dues, and he was killed on 24 August 1752. There is also another version that says that a letter from Aliwardi, implying that Mir Habib was helping him to regain Odisha was allowed to fall into the hands of Maratha officials. The result was that Mir Habib’s loyalty came under a cloud and led to fatal consequences.
Janoji invited Mir Habib to his tent with some of his adherents and asked him to submit the accounts immediately. The meeting continued until late at night. Janoji left the place in the evening but Mir Habib’s inquiry continued. By midnight, he sought to return to his camp but was prevented from leaving. The Siyar says, “A dispute ensued, and both parties proceeding to blows, Mir Habib was slain as he was pushing forward with ardour.” In this manner, the story of this adventurer ended; tragically and suddenly.
Overall, it took ten years for the Marathas to establish their control over Bengal. They did not get any compensation for manslaughter. Since Aliwardi Khan had nursed enmity against an experienced and capable man like Mir Habib, he was destroyed and the Marathas were able to establish their control. Overall, the perseverance showed by Raghuji in the face of huge calamities, must be appreciated.
Even as the Maratha invasions in Bengal ended in 1751 with an agreement, matters in the rest of India had gone through a sea change. Since 1743, Maratha presence in the Carnatic had suffered with Murarrao Ghorpade ploughing a lone furrow. Nanasaheb’s campaign to Bundelkhand and Bengal in 1743 and Raghuji’s presence in the east, had given the Nizam-ul-Mulk an open field in the south. Even as Raghuji’s battles with Aliwardi Khan continued through the 1740s, the Carnatic region entered into a phase of turmoil and instability. The Peshwa too had his hands full, with internal dissensions, the Nizam’s return to the Deccan and concerns about Shahu’s health. And the time was nigh for the entry of European military rivalry into India.
To be continued…
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