Balaji Baji Rao
Balaji Bajirao | |
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Maratha Confederacy | |
In office August 1740 – 23 June 1761 | |
Monarchs |
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Preceded by | Bajirao I |
Succeeded by | Madhavrao I |
Personal details | |
Born | Balajirao Bhat 8 December 1720 Sate Mawal, Pune, ) |
Spouse |
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Signature | |
Balaji Baji Rao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy.[2] He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, the Peshwa Bajirao I.
During his tenure, the
Balaji Bajirao was an astute strategist, a shrewd diplomat and an accomplished statesman.[neutrality is disputed] He, along with his cousin Sadashivrao Bhau, introduced new legislative and financial systems in the state. Under his leadership, the borders of the Maratha Empire expanded to Peshawar in present-day Pakistan, Srirangapatna in the South, and Medinipur in present-day West Bengal. Nanasaheb built canals, bridges, temples and lodges for travellers in the capital city of Pune and in other parts of the Maratha Empire. In his twenty-year reign as the Peshwa, Nanasaheb subdued three major powers under his tenure, viz. Mughals in the North, the Nizam in the South and the Bengal Sultanate. Along with that he also weakened the Afghan control over Punjab, stopped their repeated invasions on the imperial capital of Delhi, subdued the Rajputs and Rohillas and neutralized the state of Oudh. He greatly improved the condition of peasants and brought remarkable changes in the state of agriculture. Many successful economic changes took place during his tenure.[citation needed]
Early years and family
This this section is too short is missing information about more information about the peshwa's reign need to be provided..(December 2022) |
Balaji Rao was born in the
The couple had three sons, Vishwasrao who died in the battle of Panipat in 1761, Madhavrao who succeeded Nanasaheb as Peshwa and Narayanrao who succeeded Madhavrao in his late teens. Nanasaheb had an able brother called Raghunathrao whose ambitions to be the Peshwa became disastrous for the Maratha empire.[citation needed]
Rivalry with Raghoji Bhonsle
In early years of Balaji Rao's tenure,
In 1743, Raghoji Bhonsle attacked
Rebellion by Tarabai and Umabai
Umabai Dabhade was the matriarch of the Dabhade family, whose members held the title of Senapati (commander-in-chief) and controlled several territories in Gujarat. Her husband had been killed by the Mughals, and her eldest son had been killed by Balaji Rao's father for a rebellion against Chhatrapati Shahu. However, Shahu had forgiven the Dabhades and allowed them to retain their jagirs and titles on the condition that they would remit half of the revenues collected from Gujarat to his treasury. Umabai's minor son Yashwant Rao was made the titular Senapati, while she held the actual executive power in Maratha territories of Gujarat. The Dabhades never actually shared any revenues, but Shahu did not want to take any action against a grieving mother. However, after Shahu's death Peshwa Balaji Rao faced an empty treasury and pressurized the Dabhades to share Gujarat revenues as per the agreement. Umabai personally met him in 1750 and argued that the agreement was void because the Dabhades had signed it under force. The Peshwa refused to entertain this argument.[3]
Umabai dispatched 15,000 troops led by her lieutenant
Meanwhile, on hearing about the rebellion, Balaji Rao left the Mughal frontier, and quickly advanced towards Satara, covering 400 miles in 13 days. He reached Satara on 24 April, and stormed the Yavateshwar garrison, defeating Tarabai's forces. He then joined Trimbakrao, who had been keeping a watch on Gaekwad's army. Gaekwad was compelled to declare ceasefire and meet Balaji Rao to discuss the terms of a peace treaty. Balaji Rao demanded from him half of Gujarat's territories in addition to a
Later, a section of Tarabai's troops in the Satara garrison rebelled against her. Although she crushed the mutiny, she realized that it would be difficult to continue the fight against Balaji Rao. She, therefore, agreed to a peace treaty. She met Balaji Rao in Pune, and accepted the superiority of the Peshwa's office. She agreed to dismiss her lieutenant Baburao Jadhav, whom the Peshwa disliked. In return, the Peshwa forgave her. On 14 September 1752, the two took oaths at Khandoba temple in Jejuri, promising mutual peace. At this oath ceremony, Tarabai swore that Rajaram II was not her grandson, but an impostor from the Gondhali caste.[7] Nevertheless, the Peshwa retained Rajaram II as the titular Chhatrapati and a powerless figurehead.[6]
In May 1751, Balaji Rao had arrested Damaji Gaekwad and his relatives, and sent them to Pune. Sometime later, the Dabhades were also arrested, and deprived of their
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24 Feb 1731. Bajirao writes to his uncle Chimaji Appa referring Chhatrapati Shahu I's pilgrimage to Jejuri.
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Signatures of the Marathas line 4 is the handwriting of Balaji Bajirao.
Campaign against the Nizam
In 1751, Balaji Rao had invaded the territories of Nizam of Hyderabad Salabat Jung, who was supported by the French Governor-General of Pondicherry Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau. Due to Tarabai's rebellion and the French-trained enemy troops, the Marathas had to retreat. In 1752, Balaji Rao launched a fresh attack against the Nizam. He also sought support of the English to counter the French, but the English refused to get involved in the conflict. The Marathas wanted Salabat Jung's brother Ghazi ud-Din Khan to be appointed as the Nizam; as he had promised them a payment of ₹ 6,000,000 among other favours.[citation needed] However, Khan was poisoned to death by his step-mother. Ultimately, Balaji Rao and Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau concluded a peace treaty. Raghoji Bhonsle also agreed to peace on the condition that Nizam would grant him some jagirs in Berar.[8]
Relations with Rajputs
Balaji's father Baji Rao aimed to establish a Hindu Padshahi (Hindu kingship) in India, and maintained good relations with the Hindu
When
After Ishawari Singh's death,
In 1749,
Relations with the Jats
The Marathas-
Relations with the Mughals
During Baji Rao's tenure, the
In 1748, Javed Khan, a rival of the Mughal wazir
Starting in 1748, the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali) launched several invasions of India, forcing the Mughals to seek Maratha help. In 1752, the Rohillas of the Doab region rebelled against the Mughal emperor. They defeated Safdarjung in a battle, and invited Durrani to invade India. Once again, Safdarjung sought assistance from the Marathas, who helped him crush the rebellion. The Marathas and the Mughals signed an agreement in 1752. The Marathas agreed to help the Mughals defeat external aggressions as well as internal rebellions. The Mughals agreed to appoint Peshwa Balaji Rao as the Governor of Ajmer and Agra. The Marathas were also granted the right to collect chauth from Lahore, Multan, Sindh, and some districts of Hissar and Moradabad. However, the Mughal emperor had also ceded Lahore and Multan to Ahmad Shah Durrani in order to pacify him. In addition, he did not ratify the transfer of Rajput-ruled territories like Ajmer to the Marathas. This brought the Marathas in conflict with Durranis as well as Rajputs.[3]
Maratha Expansion into Bengal
From 1741 to 1751, the Marathas under
During this period, warriors called as "
In 1751, the Marathas signed a peace treaty with the
Conflict with the Durrani Empire
After his initial invasions of India,
Under these circumstances, Ahmad Shah Durrani launched a fresh invasion of India, reaching
Between 1759 and 1761, the Durranis and the Marathas fought each other in several skirmishes and small battles, with varying results. Due to the extended duration of the siege of the Maratha garrison at Panipat which Balaji's reinforcements were supposed to break but never reached beyond the
Death
The defeat at Panipat resulted in heavy losses for the Marathas, and was a huge setback for Peshwa Balaji Rao. He received the news of the defeat of Panipat on 24 January 1761 at
Gallery
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A 19th-century portrait of Balaji Bajirao
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19th-century depiction of Balaji Bajirao
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artist impression of Balaji Bajirao
In popular culture
- In 1994 Hindi TV series The Great Maratha, Peshwa Balji Bajirao's character was portrayed by Bal Dhuri.
- In the 2014 Indian Marathi-language film, Rama Madhav, he is portrayed by Ravindra Mankani.
- In the 2015 Bollywood film Bajirao Mastani, Ayush Tandonessays the role of a young Balaji Bajirao.
- In the 2019 Bollywood film, Panipat, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao was portrayed by Mohnish Bahl.
- "The Extraordinary Epoch of Nanasaheb Peshwa" (published in 2020) a book written by Uday S. Kulkarni about the life and tenure of Nanasaheb Peshwa.[25]
- "Dhurandhar Peshwa Nanasaheb", a Marathi novel written by Kaustubh S. Kasture on the life of Nanasaheb Peshwa.[26]
See also
- Koli rebellions
- List of Koli people
- List of Koli states and clans
Further reading
- Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb) Peshwa by Prof. S. S. Puranik
- Solstice at Panipat by Uday S. Kulkarni, Mula Mutha Publishers, 2nd edition, 2012.
- Panipat by Vishwas Patil, Rajhamns publishers.
References
- ^ "Nana Sahab Peshwa and the Fight for Freedom". 18 December 1961.
- ^ ISBN 9781932705546.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-89093-06-8.
- ^ a b Wolseley Haig (1928). The Cambridge History of India, Volume 3. Cambridge University Press. pp. 407–418.
- ^ Misra, Anand Swarup (1961). Nana Sahab Peshwa And The Fight For Freedom.
- ^ ISBN 9788171546589.
- ^ a b c d e Charles Augustus Kincaid & Dattatray Balwant Parasnis (1918). A History of the Maratha People Volume 3. Oxford University Press. pp. 2–10.
- ISBN 9781136912856.
- ISBN 978-0-521-02822-6.
- ^ a b ড. মুহম্মদ আব্দুর রহিম. "মারাঠা আক্রমণ". বাংলাদেশের ইতিহাস. ২৯৩–২৯৯.
- ^ ISBN 9780521028226.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-04545-2.
- ISBN 9780521031592.
- ^ Shoaib Daniyal (21 December 2015). "Forgotten Indian history: The brutal Maratha invasions of Bengal". Scroll.in.
- ^ OUM. pp. 16, 17
- ISBN 9781932705546.
- ISBN 9788125011491. [1]
- ISBN 978-8178241098.
- ^ Elphinstone, Mountstuart (1841). History of India. John Murray, Albemarle Street. pp. 276.
- ^ Syed Shabbir Hussain; Abdul Hamid Alvi; Absar Hussain Rizvi (1980). Afghanistan Under Soviet Occupation. World Affairs Publications. p. 56.
- ISBN 978-8120823266.
- ^ Robinson, Howard; James Thomson Shotwell (1922). "Mogul Empire". The Development of the British Empire. Houghton Mifflin. p. 91.
- ISBN 9788178241098.
- ISBN 9788183240468. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ The Extraordinary Epoch of Nanasaheb Peshwa https://amzn.eu/d/f86lIP1
- ^ Dhurandhar Peshwa Nanasaheb (धुरंधर पेशवा नानासाहेब) https://amzn.eu/d/1neE9Xg