| Maratha Invasions of Bengal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofDecline of the Mughal Empire | |||||||||
 AMaratha Ditch, constricted around forts and factories as protection against Maratha raids | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Bengal Subah | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Raghoji IBhaskar Pandit XJanoji Bhonsle Sabaji BhonsleMir Habib (Defected Alivardi Khan) | Alivardi KhanMir Jafar Chitrasen Rai[2] Rai Durlabh Ghulam Mustafa Khan Ataullah KhanZainuddin Ahmed X Abdus Salam Sheikh Masum † Syed Ahmed Khan | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 40,000 (in 1742) 12,000 (in 1748) | 15,000 Cavalry and 8,000 Musketeers (in 1748) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Dutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that perhaps 400,000 civilians in Western Bengal and Bihar died in the overall conflict.[3][4] | |||||||||
TheMaratha invasions of Bengal (1742–1751), also known as theMaratha expeditions in Bengal, were the frequent invasions by theMaratha forces in theBengal Subah (Bengal,Bihar, parts of modernOrissa), after their successful campaign in theCarnatic region at theBattle of Trichinopoly. The leader of the expeditions wasRaghoji Bhonsle ofNagpur.[5] The Marathas invaded Bengal many times from April 1742 to March 1751,[6] which caused widespread economic losses in the Bengal Subah.
The resurgentMaratha Confederacy emerging fromMaharashtra quickly repulsed theMughals and subjugated them to the confines ofDelhi. It was during this period they were at the doorsteps of the independentBengal Subah, particularly Orissa. They conducted raids within Bengal and plundered cities and villages and caused widespread devastation.[3][4] The Marathas initially succeeded against the Bengali forces at theBattle of Jaipur however, throughout all of their attempts the Marathas were never able to succeed in occupying parts of Bengal as they were temporarily repulsed by NawabAlivardi Khan after their conquests in the region.
However, due to their relentless attacks and raids the Nawab would be more partial towards signing the treaty eventually agreeing to cedeOrissa to theMaratha Confederacy to ensure peace for both states.[7]
In 1742, Bengal experienced its initial encounter with the Maratha invasion. However,Nawab Alivardi Khan successfully repelled the invasion, although not without the unfortunate consequence ofMurshidabad andHooghly suffering from plundering.[8][9]
Raghoji lead the Marathas and attacked and capturedKatwa andHooghly inBengal.Alivardi Khan conscripted tribal and peasant levies fromBirbhum. He responded to the Maratha attack by attacking the Maratha camp at Katwa in theFirst Battle of Katwa from the rear, at nightfall leading to a Subah victory. The Marathas believing a much larger force had been mobilized, evacuated out of Bengal on 17 September 1742.Bhaskar Pant the Maratha commander, was killed in action.[10] In 1743, Raghoji occupied Burdwan with his camp at Katwa.[11]
The Marathas tried again in 1745 where they succeeded in occupyingOrissa to take Katwa. The force of 20,000 horsemen ravagedMurshidabad and moved onwards toKatwa. The force was led byRaghuji Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler ofNagpur where he and his force were defeated byAlivardi Khan at theSecond Battle of Katwa.[10] By way of the jungles of north Birbhum and the Khargpur hills (south of Mungir), Raghoji arrived near Fatua which he pillaged heavily, and then turned south-west, plundering Shaikhpura and many villages in the Tikari zamindari, till he struck the Son river.[11]
TheBattle of Burdwan oversawAlivardi Khan heavily repulsing and defeating theJanoji Bhonsle led Marathas. An army was amassed to defend against the invading Maratha forces at Orissa after the dismissal ofMir Jafar byAlivardi Khan.[12]
Janoji Bhonsle andMir Habib enlisted in the army of Afghans at Rani Sarai to fight against Alivardi Khan at theBattle of Rani Sarai.Alivardi Khan was able to break the Afghan lines and make them retreat through the use of war elephants by his eager generals and eventually he won the battle.[13]
There were a total of five invasions between 1742 and 1751.[14] The continuous conflict took a heavy toll on the population of Bengal.[4] During that period of invasion by the Marathas, warriors called as "Bargis", perpetrated atrocities against the local population ofBengalis andBiharis. As reported inBurdwan Estate and European sources, the Bargis are said to have plundered villages.[14] Jan Kersseboom, chief of theDutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that perhaps 400,000 civilians in Western Bengal and Bihar died in the overall conflict.[3][4] Contemporary accounts of the invasions report massgang rape andWartime sexual violence against women andchildren,[15][16][17][18] and mutilation of victims by the Marathas which included cutting off their hands and noses andforced castration of men and even children.[16][19] Many of the Bengalis in western Bengal also fled to take shelter in Eastern Bengal, fearing for their lives in the wake of the Maratha attacks.[20]Zamindars outside the affected districts and also from the districts that involved this conflict were affected by the Maratha raids.[21]
They constantly shouted, 'Give us rupees, give us rupees, give us rupees. When they got no rupees, they filled their victims' nostrils with water, or drowned them in tanks. When they demanded money and it was not given to them, they would put a man to death... Bungalows, thatched-roofed houses, Vishnu-mandapas, they burned them all, large and small Every Brahman or Vaishnava or sannyasi whom they saw they killed, and they slaughtered cows and women by the hundreds.
— William Dalrymple, The Anarchy,The Relentless Rise of the East India Company (2020)[22]
The Bargi atrocities were corroborated by contemporary Dutch and British accounts.[23][3] The atrocities devastated Bengal's economy, as many of the people killed in the Bargi raids included merchants,textile weavers,[3]silk winders, andmulberry cultivators.[4] TheCossimbazar factory reported in 1742, for example, that the Bargis burnt down many of the houses where silk piece goods were made, along with weavers'looms.[3] In 1743 twoMaratha armies invaded - one belonged to Raghuji Bhosle, the other toBalaji Rao again. Alivardi Khan was obliged to pay a subsidy and promise to pay himchauth (tax) in the future.[24]
Baneswar Vidyalankar's textChitrachampu attributed the victories of the Marathas to "the wonderfully fast horses they ride." Bharatchandra'sAnnadamangal attributed the attacks to a particular communal factor which was the destruction of temples atBhubaneswar by Alivardi's soldiers.[25]
The further attacks took place in 1748 in Bihar, on Murshidabad in 1750, and in 1751 in Western Bengal.[26]
The internal fights within the Alivardi Khan's military also contributed to their losses. For example, in 1748Pathan soldiers rebelled and seizedPatna which they controlled for some time. Another example is thefaujdar ofPurnea who departed from Alivardi and created a small autonomous state.[27] Apart from territorial losses, the Nawab of Bengal also suffered severe economic losses. Industries such as agriculture and trade were dislocated and a large number of people migrated from Western Bengal to the Northern and Eastern districts.[28]
In 1751, the Marathas signed a peace treaty with theNawab of Bengal and agreed to never cross theSubarnarekha River.[7] The territories beyond theSubarnarekha River were now ceded to the Marathas, according to which, Mir Habib (a former courtier of Alivardi Khan, who had defected to the Marathas) was made provincial governor ofOrissa under nominal control of the Nawab of Bengal.[29][30] Thusde facto Maratha control over Orissa was established by 1751, whilede jure it remained a part ofBengal Subah till 1752.[29] After the assassination of Mir Habib, the governor of Orissa in 1752, the Marathas formally incorporated Orissa in their dominion,[30] as part ofNagpur kingdom.
TheNawab of Bengal agreed to pay Rs. 1.2 million annually as thechauth of Bengal and Bihar, and the Marathas agreed not to invadeBengal again.[5][31] The Nawab of Bengal also paid Rs. 3.2 million to the Marathas, towards the arrears ofchauth for the preceding years.[6]
In 1751,...promising cession of the province of Orissa...Orissa came under the Bhonsle's control.
Alivardi showed exemplary courage and military skill in every frontal battle that took place between his forces and the Marathas, in each of which, almost without exception, he had the upper hand.
horrors perpetrated by the Marathas on women and children which included gang rape.
'Tis reported that no fewer than 10 or a Dozen of 'em will rape a beautiful Woman, that they cut off the Cullions [testicles] of Men & embugger Children of both sexes thereafter selling them into slavery
Repeated Maratha invasion of Bengal from the 1740s causing mass migration of people, ... in the beginning the Marathas raped and violated women, but later, the villagers took to guerrilla tactics to resist them
they indulged in the unspeakable practice of gang-rape
The Marathas plundered, stole, set fire to villages and crops, tortured the inhabitants, cutting off their victim's hands and noses, raping them, and drowning them.
However, the Marathas were the greatest menace to Ali Vardi Khan. There were as many as five Maratha invasions in 1742, 1743, 1744, 1745 and 1748.
