INTERNAL-EXTERNAL HURDLES

Since Babuji Naik had collected some tribute in Sambhaji II’s realms, Sambhaji II had come to Satara and sat there for five to six months in order to complain against Naik. Meanwhile, when the Peshwa stood guarantor, Sambhaji II left. Accordingly, after Sambhaji II left, Babuji Naik came to Satara for meeting Maharaj. Shahu protested against him, “Due to this, he began fasting sitting on the Swami’s doorway. Because of that, Maharaj became very angry. The mediators keep falling at the Swami’s feet daily. Don’t know what result God has appointed.”

Babuji’s plight brought a letter from the Peshwa’s grandmother Radhabai asking him to do whatever was necessary to save the lives of the Naik brothers. Babuji himself would not come before Maharaj. Eventually, the Peshwa compensated Sambhaji II. Over time, Babuji was given some compensation and he withdrew his fast.

In the month of May 1747, Raghuji came to Satara. In the initial two to three months of the same year, Shahu had become upset with the Peshwa and he had been removed from the office for a short while. One can speculate from this, that Shahu suggested taking away the Peshwa office, and that Raghuji manage the complete administration. But Raghuji and the Peshwa discussed this proposal, and Raghuji did not accept the burden of the administration. At this time, Kanhoji Bhosale’s son Rayaji and Raghuji were struggling with each other. A report says on 1 May 1747, “Raghujibaba was presented protocol clothes by the younger queen. But he is still here. His attention is drawn towards Rayaji Bhosale’s benefices. Once that is resolved, Raghuji will leave.”

This bickering between Sambhaji II and Babuji Naik lasted until Shahu’s end. On 7 June 1747, Bajirao’s sister Bhiubai (Anubai), Aabaji Naik’s wife died, due to which, the relation between the Peshwas and the Naiks came to an end.

After leaving Tiruchirappalli, Murarrao Ghorpade had been staying at Gutti. Sambhaji II and Jijabai invited him to Kolhapur in the month of December 1747 with an intention to break the back of the numerous disputes that prevailed in their realms. Arjoji Jadhav had been sitting pretty with stations like Wadgaon etc. under his control. Murarrao taught him a sound lesson, and settled down Jijabai’s control everywhere. He had three-and-a-half-thousand cavalrymen and three cannons. One of the erstwhile scribe reports, “Previously, at the time of Bajirao Peshwa, the Nizam had supported Panhala’s Maharaj and raised the heat. Similar plan seems to be afoot again. Murarrao’s sweet-talk has influenced Sambhaji II and Jijabai. Baisaheb is extremely scheming. She does not have a quiet mind.”

In 1747, the news about Mahadaji Ambaji Purandare’s betrayal reached Shahu. Kohlapur was rife with such big or small conspiracies. Without engaging in them much, Murarrao went back to the Carnatic in the month of March 1748.

The Nizam summoned Anwaruddin Khan from Arcot, and in a battle against the combined armies of the Nizam and the Nawab’s of the Carnatic, Babuji faced a defeat at Basavapattan. In the process, Babuji had lost the bulk of his wealth in defending the territory between the Krishna and Tungabhadra that Shahu had given him to administer.

The Nizam began his activities to collect tributes from Bednoor, Savnoor etc. Naik, Peshwa etc. people were trying to accomplish their objectives through the Nizam’s approval, without opposing the Nizam or giving him battle. The Nizam dispatched his son Naseer Jung to the Carnatic, but he could not achieve much. The Nizam was getting old and Maratha presence in the south had reduced over the last few years. Since around this time, the Nizam’s health went on deteriorating day-by-day, and he died later. Due to this, the Peshwa began succeeding in the Carnatic.

Babuji Naik’s last attempt to fight for the Carnatic was in June 1748. The situation had changed by then as Chanda Saheb had been released by the Marathas for a ransom and a fresh Maratha army under Fatehsingh and Raghuji had gathered at Akkalkot, ready to march towards the Carnatic. A message from Satara that reached Ananda Ranga Pillai at Pondicherry describes Babuji’s anguish, “The messenger from Satara tells me that Fatehsingh and Raghuji Bhosale have assembled their troops at a place called Akkalkot, 180 miles this side of Satara, and are marching this way. When Babuji Naik, who has lost fifty lakh rupees, heard that Fatehsingh and Raghuji Bhosale had been sent to the Carnatic instead of himself, he set fire to his tents and goods, and has been lying at Shahu Raja’s gate for the last 20 days in the garb of an ascetic, with his wife and another person, threatening to poison himself. Chanda Saheb has taken leave, saying that he will return when he has recovered Tiruchirappalli.”

To obtain some compensation, Babuji Naik had, on one occasion, actually consumed poison to put the blame of ‘Brahma-Hatya’ (death of a Brahmin) on Maharaj. It was an extreme form of Dharna to press Shahu for retiring his debts. Shahu’s biographer says, “When Maharaj learnt of this he said, ‘Babuji did this after I said I will take care of his debts. Give him milk.’ The king then gave him milk and the effect of the Somal (poison) was overcome.”

There is another reference from the month of June 1748, “Babuji Naik (and probably the family members) had consumed poison. Out of all, Aabaji and his senior wife recovered. But Babuji Naik is not recovering. Situation seems difficult.”

To be continued…

PORTUGUESE ANGLE

The news of the fall of Madras to the French reached Nanasaheb, who had to be in attendance to Shahu at Satara. He wrote to Pilaji Jadhavrao on 9 December 1746, that the French were likely to attack the British on the west coast at Mumbai and then, even the Maratha posts of Vasai or Versova, “In the Carnatic the Firangis (French) attacked and took the place of the British. Anwaruddin Khan sent an army, but this was also given a thrashing. They took a few more places. This means they might attack Mumbai or even Vasai and Vesave (Versova). Hence, I am sending you there. In Vasai, you can put wet wood with a little mud around the fort, do not send the horsemen to fight. You are aware of the powerful artillery of the Firangis. Versova is vulnerable to fire from ships, so strengthen it with brave soldiers. Our guns should fire at the ships, they may not be able to stand it. Once Sardars like you are there, the enemy will not be able to approach. I am sending (Sadashivrao) Bhau on a campaign to the Carnatic to distract the Firangis. I had written in the past that you should accompany Bhau. However, you are required at Vasai at this time… in the past the Firangi British had attacked Khanderi, but they were beaten back as the fort was manned by the brave.”

The moment Shahu dispatched Sadashivrao to the Carnatic, Naik got angry and began venting out his frustrations in front of Shahu. On 7 February 1747 a report read, “Babuji Naik is at Satara. He did not complete the ritual feast. The thinking is, present Rajashree with the feast, complete the ritual, and only then embark on the campaign. In Bhau’s campaign, there are twenty-thousand men. The moment Rajashree asked, where Naik would leave for after seeking farewell, Yamajipant informed, he would go towards the provinces of Shire, Chitradurga, Rajadurga, Harpanhalli. Upon hearing this, Rajashree said, ‘Let us see what happens.’”

We get information from Portuguese correspondence of the time about what was at stake. A letter from Goa to the Secretary of State in Portugal in February 1747, discusses a possible Maratha attack on their post at Daman. The Viceroy also asked for troops to attack Vasai but found that Nanasaheb had already sent additional troops to defend the place, “Nana has been detained in the court of Satara for more than a year now. It is learnt that Shahu was scared of him in his Pune court and wanted, therefore, to keep him away from the said court and near to that of Satara to watch him more closely, on account of the jealousy and caution that originated from his power. The junior and senior queens, wives of Shahu, had great animosity with Nana because of the dispute of some lands that the queens wished to gift to one of their persons. Nana was unyieldingly opposed to that gift. Nana began to corrupt the ministers of the Satara court by payment of money. He bribed all the maids of the queens with large sums of money and finally corrupted Shahu himself with very rich presents. He succeeded and planned everything according to his desire.”

Nanasaheb’s own letter of 22 February 1747 gives us his impressions of the matter. The Peshwa wrote to Ramchandrababa that he wished to restore the forts captured from Bhosales of Sawantwadi. However, at this time, it was not possible and the Firangis were not willing to do so. “The Firangi is untrustworthy, he must be taught a lesson, but it is not possible at the present time. We are, therefore, heading towards Bednoor.” This did not, however, prevent the Peshwa from providing the Bhosales with monetary support.

Nanasaheb was, for the Portuguese, the prime mover in the Maratha state. Many of their letters are written with an embedded animosity for the Peshwa. The letter further discusses the other ministers of the court, “Shripatrao (Pratinidhi), Minister of Shahu and enemy of Nana died. Naro Ram, another minister, has reached the decrepit age of eighty. The lone minister, young and intrepid, is Nana now. He has huge forces and a large amount of money. He can soon be master of the entire dominion of Shahu as well as that of Sambhaji II, which, put together will constitute a formidable potency.”

The Peshwa had been at Satara for over a year and a half. In Shahu’s court, Mahadoba Purandare was a partisan, however, Govindrao Chitnis, who had the king’s ear, was considered capable of an independent opinion. Govindrao played a vital role during this time to sound Maharaj about the real state of affairs.

To be continued…

BABUJI NAIK DEFEATED

Babuji Naik, with an intention of capturing Tiruchirappalli, had embarked on a campaign towards the end of 1744. A report arrived from the Nizam’s court on 20 January 1745 as follows, “Babuji Naik arrived near Bijapur. He has around four-thousand-strong force. Anwaruddin Khan etc. warriors are on their way to attack the Naik from the Carnatic. To threaten Naik, the Nizam is sending Muzaffar Jung with a huge force.”

Later, Babuji Naik and the Mughals clashed near Basavapattan. Anwaruddin and his son Mohammed Ali gathered the forces of all the local Zamindars from Cudappah, Kurnool, Savnoor, Shire, Bednoor, Adoni, Mysore etc. They had gathered around 69,000 men. For one whole week a tempestuous battle raged. Babuji Naik was defeated and ran towards Pune. The Nizam congratulated everybody including Anwaruddin etc. men. The exact date of this battle is not available. A letter dated 15 February 1745 mentions that both the armies were forming up in front of each other for a grand showdown. The letter goes on to say, that the Nizam was ready to give a huge ransom to the Marathas, but they said, that they would not return unless they capture Tiruchirappalli. Upon that, it seems, the above battle must have followed very soon. The following reference is found in Shahu’s Bakhar, “Babuji Naik went to the Carnatic province. The disputes with the various principals there escalated and things came to battle. The soldiery had to be retained. They were defeated in the ensuing battle, and were completely denuded. The expenses of the soldiery had to be borne by himself. He was beside himself with fear. He left the place and came back to Satara.”

Due to this, and after this, a terrible competition arose at Shahu’s court with respect to the affairs of the Carnatic. That has been expressed in good measure in many of the erstwhile documents. Naik faced such a huge ignominy, that he had to survive by protesting in front of Shahu, or even seeking help from the Nizam at times. This by-chance gave the opportunity of acting in the Carnatic to the Peshwa.

After coming back, Naik related his difficulties to Maharaj. “Maharaj had felicitated Naik by giving him the Mokasa (revenue rights) of the Carnatic. On 26 May 1745, Rajashree Swami conferred upon him the protocol garments, and bade him farewell. Maharaj’s sons with concubines, Yesaji and Kusaji Bhosale were given the authority over the Suba of Shirol, while Babuji Naik was given the authority over the whole Carnatic. In that, Tiruchirappalli and Shrirangapatnam were retained under the control of Maharaj. Apart from them, all the Carnatic Mahals like Adoni etc. were distributed half-and-half among Babuji Naik and Yesaji-Kusaji. The other half was to be utilised for soldiery and remaining was to be utilised for supplies to the central government. To establish the Swarajya’s control everywhere, and the income from revenues, around seven lakh rupees was to be deposited to the central government. This way, the agreement was finalised to direct the stewards of Bhosales and Naik to work together, and they were dispatched on the campaign.”

Meanwhile, the Peshwa got his own influence firmed up at the Nizam’s court through the Nizam’s chief steward Sayyed Lashkar Khan, and Kaigaonkar Dikshit. He began to cause troubles for Naik through the Nawab of Savnoor and Murarrao. At the Nizam’s court, and even outside, common people thought, “Only if the Pantapradhan takes over this province, his fortune will grace him. If he gets the Swami to give him authority over the whole of the Carnatic province beyond the Tungabhadra, only then he will be able to establish his respect all over.”

The Peshwa also informed Babuji Naik that he should hand over the revenue rights of the Carnatic to Sadashivrao Bhau, and relinquish his rights, so that the Peshwa would ensure appropriate security and help him survive too. But Naik did not agree with this arrangement. On 5 December 1746, the Peshwa dispatched Sadashivrao Bhau to the Carnatic. He was given Mahadoba Purandare and Sakharam Bapu for assistance.

Meanwhile in Satara, a different storm was brewing which Nanasaheb had to face before he or Sadashivrao Bhau could attempt to establish their authority over the Carnatic.

To be continued…

BRITISH ATTACK PONDICHERRY

The easy collapse of Madras was on account of the little attention the British had given to their defence. For three years, before Madras was captured by the French, the British at Fort St George had no officers commanding their military. It was in December 1746, after the fall of Madras, that the Directors at London decided to appoint the fifty-year-old veteran Captain Stringer Lawrence – who had seen some action in Europe and had been recommended to them – to India. It was another year before Lawrence could reach India. Officials at Fort St David were already training troops to defend the fort. One of these was the twenty-one-year old Robert Clive, who was promoted to ‘Ensign’ in March 1747. The minute of his appointment said, “Mr Robert Clive, Writer in the service, being of Martial Disposition, and having acted as a volunteer in our late engagement, we have granted him an Ensign’s Commissions upon his application for the same.”

Meanwhile, in March 1747 the factors at Fort St David wrote to the Nizam-ul-Mulk seeking his help and accusing the French and the Nawab of Arcot for abetting the invasion against them. The Nizam gave a directive to Anwaruddin Khan – which reads remarkably similar to a letter written by Shahu to Chimaji Appa and Bajirao in the aftermath of the capture of Vasai. It supports the general impression prevalent about the British nation at that time, and tells us why they were generally supported not just by the Peshwa but also the Nizam. The Nizam’s order read, “The British nation, from ancient times, are very obedient and serviceable, besides which, they have always proved to be a set of true people and it is very hard that they meet with these troubles, misfortunes, and destruction. I, therefore, write you to protect, aid, and assist them in all respects and use your best endeavours in such a manner that the French may be severely chastised and rooted off, that His Majesty’s sea-port town may be restored to their right, establish themselves in their former place, as before, and carry on their trade and commerce for the nourishment of the place.”

Naseer Jung went a step further and wrote to Anwaruddin that he was sending an army to punish the French, recover Madras and give Pondicherry to the British. The letter heralds the alliance of Naseer Jung with the British in the not too distant future. To secure Naseer Jung’s help, a sum of one hundred thousand rupees was paid by the British to obtain “one thousand of your horsemen to assist and defend the British.”

In the same month that the Nizam sent his letter to Anwaruddin Khan, and just when Dupleix’s expedition against Fort St David was at the gates of the fort, a British squadron under Commodore Griffin approached the Coromandel coast – arriving from Aceh, a port on the north-western tip of the island of Sumatra. The French had to rush back to protect Pondicherry, which had been denuded of all its troops. The capture of Fort St David once again failed, and it became a springboard for future exploits by the British on the Coromandel coast. Also, it was Anwaruddin’s youngest son Mohammed Ali who helped the British to survive on the eastern coast, and this was to develop into a strong alliance in the years to come. More important for the British was the arrival of the portly middle-aged (now) Major Stringer Lawrence to take command of the garrison at Fort St David.

The mission to wipe out the British on the east coast failed as Dupleix had no support at sea. After he lost the support of Anwaruddin, Dupleix planned to enter the politics of the Carnatic on his own account. He began to scout for a rival to Anwaruddin for appointment as the Nawab of the Carnatic. With Chanda Saheb’s family in Pondicherry, he decided to seek the release of Chanda Saheb from the Marathas. Dupleix wrote to Shahu, Nanasaheb Peshwa, Raghuji Bhosale, Fatehsingh and Shripatrao Pratinidhi and agreed to ‘endeavour to collect’ the amount for which Chanda Saheb would be ransomed by the Marathas and ‘ensure the money reaches you’. The letters written in early December 1746, began diplomatic moves in the Maratha courts that were destined to bring the absentee aspirant to the Carnatic, to fight and become the Nawab of Arcot.

The Anglo-French war continued in the Coromandel. The second French attack on Cuddalore was defeated by an ambush planned by Stringer Lawrence, and in 1748 a coordinated land-and-sea attack was launched against Pondicherry under the command of the British Admiral Boscaven. An attack on the outlying fort of Arriankuppam led to the “loss of a hundred British white soldiers” – during its defence led by Jacques Law and La Touche. The small fort was captured by the British. However, firing on the British fleet from the Pondicherry fort led to its retreat.

As British troops approached Pondicherry, Dupleix wanted to demolish some places of worship to strengthen its defences. Ananda Ranga Pillai, a devout Hindu and Dupleix’s interpreter, was shocked to find Dupleix order the destruction of the Hindu temple of Ishwaram, for reasons of military strategy. Pillai noted that Dupleix could not do the same to a nearby mosque, as he was warned that not only would he find himself without sepoys, but they would fall upon the workers and all perish together. Ananda “sadly reflected that it was unfortunate for the Tamils that they had not acted with the same vigour and courage.”

A little later, Dupleix sent out sorties to repel the British and during one such affair, Paradis, the Swiss officer who had defended Madras against Mahfuz Khan, was mortally wounded. The first recorded act of ‘valour’ by Robert Clive occurred during this skirmish before Pondicherry. When the French grenadiers attacked the British, they had three platoons, of which one was under Clive. The other two platoons abandoned post and the French crept forwards. Clive – although he went back for more ammunition at one stage – stood his ground, with two bullets passing through his hat and coat. This was to be the last British attempt in that decade to take Pondicherry, as the two nations shortly signed the treat of Aix-la-Chapelle declaring peace in Europe.

As long as the Anglo-French war of Europe spilled over on the Coromandel coast, young men who had come from England always had the chance to double up with a military career in addition to their poorly paid job as writers. While Dupleix continued his attempts to remove the British from the east coast, Robert Clive acquitted himself well against French attacks. Moreover, Clive now had the guiding hand of the veteran Stringer Lawrence to guide his future career.

To be continued…

BATTLE OF THE ADYAR

While Dupleix and Bourdonnais were still quarrelling over the fate of Madras, Nawab Anwaruddin was unhappy at the turn of events. Dupleix had written to him that Madras would be captured from the British and given to him. The Nawab began to suspect that he had been cheated. He, therefore, sent an army with his son Mahfuz Khan to evict the French from Madras. It was given the large size of the Nawab’s army, considered a simple campaign that would teach the French a lesson.

The river Adyar south of Fort St George, separated the two armies and Dupleix, probably egged on by the former Nevayat nobility sheltering in Pondicherry, decided to take a stand against Mahfuz Khan. On 31 October 1746, a five-hundred-strong army with three hundred Frenchmen and two hundred trained sepoys from the Coromandel left Pondicherry for the defence of Madras. Paradis, a Swiss officer with Dupleix, led the French force. Simultaneously, letters were dispatched to the Nawab at Arcot and Mahfuz Khan – including one from Madame Dupleix – seeking a peaceful resolution to the problem. Nevertheless, the stage was set for an army or a European trading nation to challenge the Nawab of the Carnatic.

Mahfuz Khan approached Madras from Shriperumbudur, asking the local Nayaks to join his army. He first reached the walls of Madras with his 3000-strong army and cut off the food and water supply of the town. The French guards, who were ordered to remain within the fort, fired at them from the walls. As the shortage of food and water began to affect the defenders, the French commander at Madras decided to oppose the Nawab and sent out 400 men with two field guns. The intention was to remove the enemy from the water tank. Seeing the small French army, the Nawab’s cavalry recklessly charged at them. Undaunted by the sight the French moved forward slowly. Once the cavalry was in range of their guns, the French fired with their field pieces.

Until then, guns had not been of much use in a battle against an Indian cavalry force. The usual loading time of a musket being about fifteen minutes, ordinarily an Indian cavalry could reach the musketeers and begin their fearsome slaughter with swords and spears. However, the Nawab’s cavalry was caught in a second volley that came in a far quicker time from the French gunners. The rapid loading and firing time of the French guns stopped the advancing Mughal cavalry. A third and a fourth volley followed in rapid succession. This time, the Nawab’s cavalry, which was sustaining considerable damage among its ranks, turned around and fled headlong across the Adyar river, losing seventy men and all their baggage. As for Mahfuz Khan, on hearing the gunfire, he mounted his elephant and fled from the scene.

This did not quite end the battle. Early next morning, Dupleix’s four hundred and fifty Europeans under the command of Paradis reached Madras. Not seeing their own men south of the Adyar, they crossed over early next morning, and came face to face with ten thousand of the Nawab’s men. Undeterred, Paradis kept advancing in what then seemed an unequal battle. He then let loose a volley and followed it with an infantry charge. The effect was stunning. The ten-thousand strong army turned and fled.

This rout of a Mughal army by a much smaller French contingent at the Adyar was to dictate battles in the years to come. The Nawab’s army was unaccustomed to a battle fought with European field pieces and muskets. The French sustained no losses in men. Dupleix was ecstatic. To Ananda Ranga Pillai, he exclaimed, “… even if there were 400 men, 50 of our soldiers could easily defeat them. You know very well the disposition, character and quality of the people of this country.”

Emboldened by his success, Dupleix now decided to send an army against Fort St David, a few miles south of Pondicherry. The old Nawab Anwaruddin sent his youngest son Mohammed Ali with 2500 horse and some British troops to chastise Dupleix. Although Paradis had proved himself to be a good commander, he had to hand over the command to Major General Bury, who outranked him. However, before they reached the town of Cuddalore, Bury was driven back by the British. This forced Dupleix to seek peace with the Nawab and send him a gift of mangoes – to which Anwaruddin replied he would have preferred Madras.

To be continued…

MADRAS FALLS

In September 1746, the Anglo-French war began off the Coromandel coast. Commodore Barnett was dead by then and was succeeded by Captain Peyton. When the French fleet that was sent to attack Madras came face to face with Peyton, he panicked at seeing their new row of guns and fled the battle, heading for Bengal. When the British fleet did not reappear, the French fleet under Bourdonnais approached Madras and opened fire. The three hundred men in the fort were hardly fighters. A stray French shot opened the locks of an arrack godown and the British troops proceeded to get themselves drunk.

The Nawab once again asked Dupleix not to attack the British. To this diktat, Dupleix airily replied that he was planning to capture and then hand over Madras to the Nawab. Five hundred French troops, alighting from their ships led the force and called for the surrender of Madras. The British Governor Morse, not the most active of men, asked the Nawab for help. Meanwhile, the French attacked. The firing from land forces and from the sea unnerved the British and Morse decided to negotiate with the French.

A daughter of Madame Dupleix who was married to an Englishman lived in Madras, and she wrote to La Bourdonnais that Morse was ready to talk of surrender. The French occupied the city of Madras on 21 September 1746. La Bourdonnais seemed to be willing to settle for a ransom from the British for the city, and began negotiating the amount with a private gift for himself. La Bourdonnais, interested in loot rather than establishing a long-term political state, had thoroughly looted the village of St Thome along with his brother.

Even the capture of Madras did not really spur the French into making any plans to build an Indian Empire. The entire focus then was to secure an advantage in trade over the British. Bourdonnais was seriously contemplating selling Madras back to the British. His relations with Governor Dupleix, however, were far from cordial. Dupleix refused to acknowledge the Naval chief as his equal. When his victorious ships reached Pondicherry, Dupleix – by firing only fifteen guns in welcome – signalled his own superior rank to Bourdonnais. This led to acrimony between the Governor and the chief of the Navy, at a time when the French needed unity of command. An incisive observation by Ananda Ranga Pillai in his diary says, “The Governor and he entertain a mutual dislike for one another. The former is aggrieved because M de la Bourdonnais does not regard himself as his subordinate, maintains a guard of honour of troopers, keeps at his residence a party of soldiers and troopers, and conducts everything independently, and without consultation with him, whilst M de la Bourdonnais holds that he is on a par with the Governor, and is consequently entitled to all the honours accorded to that functionary.”

The dispute between the Governor and Bourdonnais was eventually settled with an early onset of the northeast monsoon that wrecked the French ships and drowned 1200 men, effectively ending Bourdonnais’ power-base. Leaving Madras in the hands of Dupleix’s troops, La Bourdonnais sailed back to the Isle of France, ending his involvement in Indian affairs. On his way home, Bourdonnais was even taken prisoner by the British. Later, he was paroled and sent to France, where he was charged with maladministration and imprisoned for three long years in the Bastille. He died shortly after his release in 1753.

The capture of Madras had raised French hopes. Dupleix himself wished the destruction of British trade in India. However, he had disobeyed Anwaruddin Khan and feared an attack. And on the departure of the French fleet, Dupleix feared a British reprisal. He considered a complete removal of British interests on the east coast, therefore, as the best way forward.

Dupleix cancelled La Bourdonnais’ treaty for the handover of Madras and transferred all the British to Pondicherry. Among the British prisoners was young Robert Clive. When La Bourdonnais’ agreement about Madras was cancelled, Clive broke his parole and escaped from Pondicherry to reach Fort St David, a small British fort near Cuddalore just a few miles from Pondicherry. Ironically, this place had once been offered for sale to the French by the Maratha ruler Rajaram in 1690. They did not have the money to pay for it and the British merchants quickly moved in to buy from the Marathas. It was here that Clive joined other Englishmen in preparations to defend themselves from another assault by French troops. To kill British trade, Dupleix also tried to remove all the traders at Madras to Pondicherry with their goods. Although this did not meet with success, French officials enriched themselves with the plunder of Madras.

To be continued…

BACK STORY – ROBERT CLIVE

The era of Benoit Dumas saw off the threat to Pondicherry from the Marathas in 1741 without any recourse to arms. Governor Dumas retired to France ushering in the Governorship of François Dupleix. Dupleix was no stranger to India, having stayed in Pondicherry and later successfully managed the French affairs at Chandernagore. He arrived at Pondicherry at a turbulent time. When Anglo-French rivalry had spread across the world, from the Americas to Asia.

It was just two months after Anwaruddin Khan was appointed as Nawab of Arcot – and Bhaskarram was assassinated in Bengal – that the British East India Company ship Winchester reached Madras. It was the end of a long journey that began on the Thames on 10 March 1743. The ship left along with a sister ship named Princess Louisa, which was wrecked six hundred kilometres off the West African city of Dakar with all lives lost. The Winchester, however, survived the winds and storms, but was swept towards Brazil, where it ran aground and needed extensive repairs. From May 1743 to February 1744, the ship was in Brazil. It could then head for the Cape of Good Hope, where after a brief halt of eleven days, it endured the rough crossing of the Indian Ocean and reached Madras on 31 May 1744. It was a warm evening when the ship dropped anchor, and next morning, a boy-man not yet nineteen years old, landed on Indian soil with the designation of ‘writer’. His name was Robert Clive.

Robert Clive was born in 1725 to Richard and Rebecca at Styche, but his childhood was spent with his aunt at Manchester. At the age of nine, when his aunt died, he moved to London to live with his parents. ‘High-spirited’ is a word used by chroniclers of Clive, who mention some of his exploits in school that involved ‘climbing up a church wall to place a stone on a spout projecting from a gargoyle.’ Employment in the British East India Company – founded in 1600 but enlarged when it was reconstituted in 1709 – was an attractive career for a young man in England at the time. Its trade was nearly a fifth of all of Britain’s imports, it was close to the Government and a job in the Company was considered lucrative. The Company paid poorly but expected its employees to make their profits by private trade. Richard Clive could get Robert a job as a ‘writer’ in the company and his first appointment was at Madras. On his way to India, besides being grounded off Brazil and losing the sister ship in a storm, he also managed to fall overboard and lose his ‘silver-buckled shoes, hat and wig’. On his first day in India, therefore, one finds Clive buying a hat, a wig, and a pair of silver buckles, among other sundries.

At Pondicherry, the French did not have the defences the city needed against any British attack. The situation in Europe was fluid, but in 1744, war finally broke out with England and France opposed to each other in the war of Austrian succession. In reality, this was a battle to win the lucrative slave trade to the Americas and win territory in the new continent. The norm so far had been to insulate the Indian colonies from the wars. However, French trade in India was rising rapidly and could soon prove a threat to the British interests, and this would soon bring a European war to India.

In 1744, it was England that broke the convention and had a fleet sail to India under Captain Peyton. Dupleix – as indeed the British Governor Morse of Fort St George in Madras – depended on these fleets from Europe to tilt the balance of power in India. Bernard La Bourdonnais, the French naval commander had begun from France with a fleet to India some time earlier, however, when he reached the French-controlled Isle of France (now Mauritius), he was ordered to send his ships back by his rivals at the French court. Annoyed but helpless, La Bourdonnais sent the ships back, but commenced to build a new fleet at the Isle. This was the fleet that Dupleix requisitioned later, in his hour of need.

Anwaruddin Khan was already an old man when he became the Nawab of Arcot. Although the Nizam had been disappointed with the murder of the young Nawab Sadatullah II, he found no better choice than Anwaruddin to take his place. In the process, however, he ended the dynastic aspirations of the Nevayats and created a divide in the Carnatic. Of the Nevayats, Chanda Saheb was still in Maratha custody and striving to get his freedom, while Murtuza Ali remained at Vellore.

Anwaruddin was not oblivious to the rivalry between the French and the British. In 1745, he visited Pondicherry as well as the British port of Fort St David nearby, and wrote to Madras forbidding any hostilities between the two European powers. Governor Morse of Madras replied saying he would “not be the first” to disobey the Nawab. However, in the next year, matters got out of hand. The defences of Madras were, of course, quite ‘deplorable’. Commodore Barnett who had just been appointed to command the British ships in India in 1745 felt, “Such is the naked defenceless condition of the settlement on this the Coromandel coast, that a small reinforcement of the garrison of Pondicherry would put the enemy in condition to take this and St David in a few hours if there was no ship of war to protect them.”

To be continued…

ANGLO-FRENCH RIVALRY

Although the East India Company began operations at Surat on the west coast of India in the early seventeenth century, on the eastern side they began their trade at Machhlipatnam, sharing space with the more successful Dutch Company. Dutch and Portuguese rivalry, along with their inability to secure the local rulers’ support, soon forced the British to scout for a new place. Francis Day, one of their constituents, chose Madraspatnam further south. Madras was not a good harbour. However, the local Nayak rulers offered a good deal with favourable trade and customs’ duties, and permission to start a mint; all for a rent of two thousand Pagodas per annum. Francis Day had another reason to choose Madras. His mistress lived nearby at St Thome.

Soon, the British built Fort St George, which became the chief place of settlement for the Company in the south. The Dutch and the Portuguese were already there and the competition for trade sometimes became too intense. It was as late as in 1665 that the French formed their trading Company and the first French ships arrived in India.

In those years of European rivalry, Louis XIV of France ‘lured’ King Charles II of England to a treaty against the Dutch by sending him an ‘artful beauty’ named Louise Keroualle, and she succeeded in getting the English king to ‘sell’ himself to the French sovereign. Louise from all accounts was a formidable lady. She worked her way to become the English king’s chief mistress and also acted as a French spy, besides genuinely caring for Charles II. The Anglo-French alliance against the Dutch, a fellow Protestant state, was resented by the English people at the time.

In 1672, French ships reached Indian shores and they captured the town of St Thome near Madras from the Qutubshah of Golconda, where they began their trade. The Dutch were still at war with the French, and after two years, succeeded in evicting them from the place. Not long after, the French under François Martin outbid the Dutch and established their colony at Pondicherry in 1675. It was in 1677 that Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj came to the Carnatic, and the Marathas occupied the region for the next two decades, until the fort of Jinji was surrendered to Mughal forces in 1698.

François Martin built Pondicherry, and although it was lost to the Dutch for a brief period, it became the principal French settlement in India. In 1688, Chandernagore was established on the river Hooghly in Bengal by obtaining a Firman from Aurangzeb. From 1713 onwards, the French and the British lived in peace in India, both earning handsome sums from their business activities. The key was to obtain cotton cloth to export to Europe and sell European broadcloth and woollens to India. The demand for woollens in a place like Madras can be easily imagined. Dedicated weavers who would supply goods to the traders were the key to massive profits. If the traders abandoned the place due to war, the colony also suffered.

This disturbance of trade and profit was the key to the conflicts with Indian powers as well as among the Europeans, and to the trading companies progressively building their own local militia with a few imported guns. Soon the French Navy and the Royal Navy began to participate in Indian wars. The companies were not on their own; while the British Company was supported by Parliament for the profit they brought Britain, the French Company was under the control of the King and his ministers. In a way, therefore, the British Company had greater latitude and independence before they were ‘controlled’ by Parliament.

The distance and time for a message to be replied from home countries took several months, and in the meanwhile, the situation in India often changed. The local Governor, therefore, had to take decisions on the spot. It was this autonomy that made the European Governors such powerful decision makers. Even then, without the support of the nation’s Navy, they could not achieve much.

During this time, the Nawabs of the Carnatic also depended on the French Governor Benoit Dumas for the security of their families and treasures. The friendly relations that existed between Arcot’s Nevayat Nawabs and the French colony, however, did not last. On the departure of Dumas, Dupleix took over as the Governor of Pondicherry in 1742, and as we shall see, Nawab Anwaruddin began to move away from the French.

To be continued…

PESHWA FOR CARNATIC

The Carnatic had seen a succession of rulers since the battle of Damalcheri in 1740. The rapid changes had led to the rise of ambitious chieftains who sensed an opportunity to profit from the instability and grab power for themselves. The rivalry between Chanda Saheb and Safdar Ali was followed by the rivalry between the latter and Murtuza Ali, and now after the murder of Safdar Ali and his son, a new entrant in the form of Anwaruddin Khan was on the scene.

Murarrao Ghorpade had been alert. But since it was not possible for him to survive in front of the Nizam, he had vacated Tiruchirappalli. Due to this Shahu became very sad. At this time, he had near him only two incapable men, Fatehsingh Bhosale and Babuji Naik. But they too could do nothing to take care of the Nizam. Babuji Naik was experienced a little in the Carnatic affairs, having run with Raghuji earlier. At this time, he convinced Shahu to write the Carnatic affairs in his name. But now, he did not have Raghuji’s support, the Peshwa was in opposition, and he did not have the capability within him to check the Nizam. Due to this, he was facing ignominy everywhere. Still, he somehow prepared on his own to attack the Nizam. In the month of September 1744, whatever events occurred at Satara in relation to the Carnatic, Purandare described it in detail to the Peshwa as follows, “Fatehsinghbaba’s style of work and prowess is already famous. All his preparations should be completed by the Peshwa, and then he would step out on the campaign. He does not find happiness at home, and becomes frustrated upon stepping out! However, since he is reined in, becomes useful at many times. There is no discussion whether to grant the Carnatic work to Raghujibaba. But Maharaj seems to be thinking that Abaji Naik should be made the leader and then Raghuji should be sent after. So, we must try and add Fatehsinghbaba to the mix. It is not correct to allow the Carnatic to be handed to that family. It is necessary that we foil this plan. Naik has some debt over the senior mansion (elder queen) for which he is following up. He (Fatehsingh) says, he gave the loan to the Naik, so the Carnatic affair belongs to him. Raghuji is in the junior queen’s party. He has also fallen over his mouth.” This shows the way various parties were competing against each other in this matter.

There were two primary parties in the Carnatic affairs, the Nizam and the Marathas. All the Nawabs there were not aligned with the Nizam. Many of them were behind their own selfish interests considering the gravity of the situation that befell them. This region was in the original scope of Kolhapur’s Sambhaji II. But Sambhaji II did not have the strength to fight with the Nizam and save the region. Shahu desired to make arrangements of many of his personal relatives in the Carnatic like the Pratinidhi, Babuji Naik, Fatehsingh and Yesaji Bhosale. But all these intentions would not succeed without inherent prowess. So, this game then passed into the Peshwa’s hands. Actually, the way Raghuji was in Bengal, Murarrao Ghorpade was capable to keep the Carnatic secure. The Peshwa should have given the administration of that province to him. But the Peshwa was not convinced, that Murarrao too would behave as per his policies. Besides, Shahu had not awarded the office of the Senapati to Murarrao. Therefore, he had become upset, and had begun his efforts to acquire the position of the Senapati of Sambhaji II. He went to Kolhapur in 1747 to try and secure this position through Queen Jijabai. Sambhaji II had some level of support from the Nizam. But Murarrao could not settle down at Kolhapur and the Peshwa through great tact took the Carnatic affairs in his own hands.

Raghuji Bhosale went on getting drawn deeper in the Bengal affair. On 31 March 1744, his Commander-in-Chief Bhaskarram and his twenty colleagues were murdered in a terrible fashion at Khatwa. Due to this, Raghuji had to dump the activities in other regions to save his prestige for years on end. Only Shahu’s younger queen would always have a soft corner for Raghuji. On the other hand, the elder queen Sakwarbai supported Babuji Naik. Babuji Naik owed her some debt, and she did not see any way to enable him to pay it back. Recognising these internecine dissensions, the Peshwa acted cautiously and tactfully established his control over the Carnatic. He did not allow Babuji to settle down there. He kept one eye on the Nizam’s activities and did not antagonise him too. He also allowed the conspiracies of Murarrao and Sambhaji II as well to take form. At the end of 1746, he decided to dispatch Sadashivrao Bhau to the Carnatic.

To be continued…

BACK STORY – ANWARUDDIN KHAN

At this time the Peshwa and Raghuji were struggling with each other in Bengal. Due to this, Satara forces could not arrive to help Murarrao Ghorpade. In March 1743, the Nizam took control of Arcot, and dispatched a challenge to Murarrao asking him to hand over Tiruchirappalli. His huge army laid siege to the fort. However, well-stocked with provisions that could withstand a long siege, he refused to hand over the city and the fort. The siege dragged on for six months without any impact on the fort. The Nizam realised that the fort could not be taken by force. He, therefore, began negotiations with the embattled Murarrao. The Nizam offered Murarrao two lakh rupees and the fort of Penukonda, not far from his base at the fort of Gutti, if he handed over Tiruchirappalli. With no succour on the way, Murarrao accepted the offer, evacuated the fort on 29 August 1743, and handed it over to the Nizam. The transaction was described by Ananda Ranga Pillai, “By these means Asafjah, who is an astute man, gained his object, but at the same time Murarrao gathered renown.”

This way, the Nizam removed Murarrao and took control of Tiruchirappalli on 29 August 1743. He unfurled the Badshah’s standard there. Meanwhile, the Maratha army went ahead to block him, but there was no battle. At first, the Nizam appointed a trusted aide named Khwaja Abdullah as the Regent to the boy Nawab at Arcot. However, the very next morning Khwaja Abdullah collapsed and died. The Nizam, therefore, summoned an old hand in his service named Anwaruddin Khan to take over the guardianship of the young Nawab. Anwaruddin had joined the Mughal army in the reign of Aurangzeb, and over the years had shown ample evidence of courage and loyalty to the Nizam. As a security for his good behaviour, however, Anwaruddin’s third son Mohammed Ali remained as a hostage at Hyderabad.

Anwaruddin Khan’s ability had been tested more than once in the preceding years. Babuji Naik was keen to obtain a Jagir in the Carnatic and had come with a large army towards Hyderabad, where in the Nizam’s absence, just a small army remained. Babuji sent a letter to Anwaruddin Khan asking him to pay the usual tribute and close the matter. Anwaruddin refused and preferred a war to paying any tribute and with a small army confronted Babuji Naik and defeated him at Andole, some ninety kilometres from Hyderabad.

After Bajirao’s campaign near Shrirangapatnam in 1726, Shahu had not entrusted the Peshwa with an invasion of the south. With Babuji Naik’s defeat, the Peshwa’s involvement in the Carnatic was to begin.

A Persian source, which perhaps belongs to the early days of Nanasaheb’s appointment as the Peshwa, states that Nanasaheb Peshwa began from Pune with a large army and intercepted the Nizam’s army. The records of this campaign are scant in Marathi letters, and it is only Anwaruddin’s biographer Burhan who gives some details of this campaign. The Peshwa’s army completely surrounded the Nizam and forced a siege. Seeing his demoralised army, the Nizam advised a payment of tribute. However, Anwaruddin remained silent. Noticing his silence, Shahanawaz Khan, a minister with the Nizam said to him, “The silence of the Saheb, what does it mean? Pandit Pradhan is no Babuji Naik. The one is not to be compared to the other, the other was a drop, this is the sea.”

The chronicle by Burhan that eulogises Anwaruddin then goes on to describe how he decided to stand forth boldly before the large army. Nanasaheb, dropping the plan of war, came and met the Nizam, who greeted him with “a Khilat, Itr and Paan”, and all the “formalities of conversation and conventions of friendship,” were adhered to. The later rise of Anwaruddin Khan is attributed to this stoic resistance on his part.

Returning from Tiruchirappalli, the Nizam took rest for some months at Arcot. While he was here, the British and the French sent him some gifts to keep him happy. His huge army established their terror everywhere. The disorder that had prevailed in the region, had caused the western trade to stop completely. He appointed his grandson Muzaffar Jung on the administration of the Balaghat ranges in the Carnatic by giving him Jagir at Adoni. By March 1744, the Nizam felt assured enough to leave the Carnatic and returned to Golconda.

The Carnatic would have settled down but for an assassination soon after. The Nizam’s arrangement at Arcot did not last for long. Among the old soldiery were some disgruntled Afghan mercenaries. The occasion chosen for their revolt was the wedding of one of the Nawab’s relatives. As the boy Nawab along with his many relatives arrived at the venue and took their appointed seats, the Pathans with their leader Abdul Khan made a boisterous entry and demanded an immediate payment of their arrears. Anwaruddin Khan had not yet reached the venue. Hirasat Khan, one of the nobles, tried to reason with the Pathans, but they refused to let the young Nawab leave the place.

As tempers rose, a rough soldier grabbed the young Nawab’s robe, which prompted an altercation between the Afghans and the Nawab’s party. Just then, Anwaruddin’s procession was also seen arriving. A young nephew of Hirasat Khan said to Abdul Khan, “You wretch! Is it for you to draw the Nawab’s robe and force him to sit down? Here comes the procession of the Nawab. He will have you beaten like dogs.”

The retort was sufficient for a sudden flaring of tempers. Swords and daggers were drawn. Hirasat Khan along with Abdul Khan and several others were killed. The boy Nawab was stabbed to death. Sixteen of the Pathans were killed in the ensuing melee. Anwaruddin Khan came on the scene and ordered an immediate retribution against the Pathans. He then sorrowfully reported his failure to protect the Nawab to the Nizam. The common people of the city whispered that Anwaruddin and Murtuza Ali had a role in the entire episode. Although the Nizam was highly displeased, he found no person other than Anwaruddin worthy of being appointed as the next Nawab. The Walajahi dynasty of Arcot thus began with Anwaruddin Khan.

To be continued…