| Second Maratha invasion of Bengal | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofMaratha invasions of Bengal | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||||
 Bengal Subah | ||||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
| Alivardi Khan Mir Jafar Mustafa Khan Shamshir Khan Umar Khan Haidar Ali Khan Fakhrullah Beg Khan Raham Khan | Balaji Baji Rao Pilaji Jadav Malhar Holkar | Raghoji I Bhonsle Bhaskar Ram Kolhatkar | ||||||||
| Strength | ||||||||||
| 70,000cavalry 100,000musketeers[2] | 50,000 cavalry or 75,000[a] | Large | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
TheSecond Maratha invasion of Bengal[5] was a military campaign from March to May 1743,[6] during whichRaghuji Bhonsle, instigated byBhaskar, led a large army intoBengal Subah in February 1743 to enforce thechauth for Bengal,Bihar, andOdisha.
Concurrently, PeshwaBalaji Baji Rao, atMuhammad Shah's request, enteredBihar with another Maratha army to counter Raghuji. The Peshwa and NawabAlivardi Khan met atPlassey, where Alivardi agreed to payShahu the chauth for Bengal and 22 lakh rupees to the Peshwa, who promised to prevent future invasions by Raghuji. The combined forces of the Nawab and the Peshwa defeated and expelled Raghuji, and both Maratha armies withdrew from Bengal by the end of May 1743.[7]
After Alivardi returned fromOdisha,Raghuji Bhonsle theRaja of Nagpur, prompted byBhaskar Pandit, decided to invadeBengal Subah to collect thechauth of the three provinces ofBengal,Bihar, andOdisha,[8] whichMughal EmperorMuhammad Shah (r. 1719–1748) had promised to Maratha rulerShahu I (r. 1708–1749), who then assigned it to Raghuji. The Mughal Emperor, unable to oppose Raghuji himself, sought outside help toBalaji Rao, Peshwa of Maratha confederacy in December of 1742. He persuaded the Peshwa and Raghuji’s rival, to come to Bengal to defeat him. In exchange, the Emperor promised Balaji the governorship ofMalwa,Bundelkhand,Allahabad and a portion of the overdue chauth fromPatna. In February 1743, Raghuji along with Bhaskar marched into Bengal with a large army by the way ofRamgarh and reached toKatwa in March.[9]
In early February Balaji Rao led a massive army of approximately 50,000[3] or 75,000[4]cavalry intoBihar from the south, causing widespread panic across the province.[10] As he advanced, he extorted money from residents and subjected them to various forms of harassment. According toGhulam Hussain Khan, those who paid Balaji with cash or valuable gifts were spared, while those who resisted were killed, and their homes were looted. Ahmad Khan Qureshi ofDaudnagar in theGaya district, attempted to defend the nearby Ghauspur fort. His resistance provoked a severe response from Balaji’s forces, who besieged the fort and forced Ahmad to pay 50,000 rupees to save his life. Daudnagar was subsequently sacked and plundered. Fearing for their safety, honor, and property, manyPatna residents sent their families toHajipur, across the northern bank of theGanges. FromVaranasi Balaji bypassing Patna, marched throughSasaram,Daudnagar,Tikari,Gaya,Manpur,Bihar, andMonghyr, reachingBhagalpur. His troops terrorized and tortured the local population along the way, prompting many Bhagalpur residents to flee across the Ganges.[11]
Balaji Rao, informed of Nawab Alivardi’s defenses at theTeliagarhi pass, was advised by some to take thePachet (in ModernRaniganj inBurdwan) road into Bengal but declined. Instead, with the help of an oldRajput fromColgong named Sitaram Ray, Balaji led his army westward, then south through theColgong andTeliagarhi hills, and finally southeast through theRajmahal mountains. After six days on 13 March, 1743, Balaji’s army emerged unscathed onto the plains west of Rajmahal at Benian Gang.[12]
Balaji Rao then marched throughBirbhum’s plains and the road toMurshidabad, encamping near Mankarah, ten miles south of the city, while Raghuji set up camp atKatwa. Their arrival spread fear acrosswestern Bengal, leaving Nawab Alivardi anxious about being caught between the two Maratha forces. To counter Raghuji, Alivardi sought the Peshwa’s aid.[13] Upon hearing that Balaji's presence near Murshidabad, Nawab Alivardi dispatched his envoy Ghulam Mustafa, along with the Peshwa’s representatives, Gangadhar Rao and Amrit Rao, to meet Pilaji Jadav, the commander of the Maratha vanguard. Pilaji visited the Nawab, where they exchanged oaths of loyalty and assurances of friendship before returning to Balaji.[14]
Alivardi left his camp at Amaniganj with generals Mustafa Khan, Shamshir Khan, Umar Khan, Haidar Ali Khan, Fakhrullah Beg Khan, Raham Khan,Mir Jafar Khan and others. Alivardi raised an army of 70,000 cavalry and 100,000musketeers.[2] Pavilions were erected midway between the two camps for their meeting. On March 31, Balaji Rao arrived at the meeting place accompanied by Pilaji Jadav, Malhar Holkar, and other Maratha generals. The meeting lasted for a week. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Peshwa was presented with four elephants, two buffaloes, five horses and jewels as gifts. It was agreed that Alivardi would payShahu the chauth for Bengal and 22 lakh rupees to Balaji to cover his army’s expenses, while the Peshwa would ensure a final agreement with Raghuji to prevent future invasions of Bengal. Initially, Alivardi struggled to provide such a large sum immediately, but the Peshwa’s threat to withdraw and leave Bengal vulnerable to Raghuji forced the Nawab to make the payment.[15]
Then the combined Bengal and Peshwa forces advanced. Raghuji abandoned his camps at Katwa and Burdwan, fleeing to Birbhum. The Nawab and Peshwa crossed theBhagirathi River and pursued him. Recognizing the Bengal army’s slower pace, the Peshwa suggested he chase Raghuji with his swiftMaratha cavalry, to which Alivardi agreed. The next day on 10 April, the Peshwa overtook Raghuji, defeated him in a battle and drove him in flight into the western hills with heavy loss of men and of much of his baggage and camp which were abandoned to plunder. Many officers of the Nagpur army also joined to the Peshwa. Following the defeat Raghuji passing throughManbhum and took the road toSambalpur fled Bengal.[16]
Bhaskar, stationed nearMidnapore with troops, also retreated through Odisha. Alivardi returned back to Murshidabad while the Peshwa satisfied, returned toPune through Pachet toGaya. By late May 1743, both Maratha armies had left Bengal.[17] from June 1743 to February 1744 Bengal Subah remained peaceful beforeThird Maratha invasion of Bengal.[18]
