A.D. 1776-85.
Vigour of Mirza Najaf Zabita rebels Emperor takes the Field,
and the Rebellion is suppressed Sumroo's Jaigir Abdul Ahid
takes the Field Unsuccessful Campaign against the Sikhs Dehli
threatened, but relieved by Najaf Mirza's arrangements Popham
takes Gwalior Begum Sumroo Death of Mirza Najaf Consequent
Transactions Afrasyab Khan becomes Premier Mirza Shaffi
returns to Dehli Is it Peace? Murder of Shaffi Action of
Mr. Hastings Flight of Shahzada Madhoji Sindhia goes to Agra
Afrasyab's Death Tribute claimed from British Death of
Zabita Khan Sindhia supreme Chalisa famine State of Country
General distress.
1776. THE splendid exertions of Mirza Najaf, though not yet at
an end, might have been expected to give the Empire a
breathing-time wherein to recover its strength. If we except the
British in Bengal, it was now the most formidable military power
on this side of India. No more than three fortified places
remained to the Jats of all their once vast possessions. The
Mahrattas had been occupied in the Deccan by the events that
followed upon the death of their Peshwa, Madho Rao; and the whole
of their forces were temporarily withdrawn during the course of
the year, by order of his successor. Najaf held viceregal state
at Agra, surrounded not only by his faithful Moghuls and
Persians, but by two brigades of foot and artillery, under the
command, respectively, of Sumroo and of Medoc. The Mirza's chief
Asiatic subordinates were Najaf Kuli Khan his adopted son, the
converted Hindu, otherwise Saif-ud-daulah; and Mohammad Beg of
Hamadan: two officers of whom frequent mention will be found in
the progress of this narrative. Mirza Shaffi, the minister's
nephew, also held a high command. Shah Alam lived the life of
ease which had become a second nature to him, at Dehli,
surrounded by able servants of the Mirza's selection. One of
these, indeed, soon obtained an apparent ascendancy over the
indolent monarch, which was destined to afford another instance
of the wisdom of that maxim invented of old in the East, "Put not
your trust in Princes." The only enemy who could disturb the
repose of what may be termed the Home Districts was Zabita Khan,
who still exhibited all the faithlessness so common with his
race, and a turbulent disposition peculiar to himself. Finding
all present hope of aid from the Jats and Mahrattas at an end
(and instigated, it was suspected, by his late unsuccessful
opponent, the Financial Minister, Abdul Ahlid Khan), Zabita, as
stated at the close of the preceding chapter, turned to the
Sikhs: a people who, in the decay of the Empire, had established
themselves in the Sirhind territory, notably in Pattiala, and in
Jhind. These pushing warriors of whose prowess, both against
and for the British, modern history tells so much gladly
accepted the invitation of the Pathan insurgent, and, crossing
the Jamna in considerable numbers, joined his force at Ghausgarh,
the fort between Saharanpur and Muzafarnagar, of which mention
has been already made. It is even stated by Francklin (though, as
usual, without specification of authority) that the Pathan on
this occasion embraced the religion of the Sikhs, a sort of
eclectic Monotheism tinctured with Hindu doctrine.
1777. This conduct was justly regarded by the Mirza as a gross
instance, not merely of disloyalty, but what in his eyes was
even worse of impiety. In the opinion of a stern soldier of
Islam, such as the Persian Prince had always shown himself to be,
the act of joining with unbelievers was unpardonable. He
therefore despatched a strong force against the combined rebels,
under the command of an officer named Abdul Kasim Khan. Nothing
daunted, the Confederates drew out their troops in front of the
fort of Ghausgarh, and at once engaged the Imperial troops, whom
they at the same time outflanked with a large body of horse, who
got into the rear of the Imperialists without being perceived.
Placed between two attacks, and deprived of their leader by a
stray shot, the latter soon gave way, and Zabita, having pursued
them for some distance, returned to his stronghold triumphant. On
this Mirza Najaf Khan resolved to take the field with all his
power, and ere long presented himself before Ghausgarh,
accompanied by the Emperor in person. The Mirza was aided in this
campaign by the force of 5,000 men, with artillery, contributed
by the new Viceroy of Audh, as part of the peshkash, or fine for
the investiture, and for the succession to the office of Vazir of
the Empire, which had been held by his father, and which he
desired to retain against the counter-claims of the Nizam and of
other competitors. (Vide last chapter, p. 115.) The Pathan had,
however, evacuated the fort on receiving notice of their
approach, and retreated with his allies to their country beyond
the Jamna, closely followed by the Imperial forces. An attempt at
negotiation having been contemptuously rejected by the
Captain-General, Mirza Najaf Khan, the two armies engaged on the
famous field of Panipat, and the action which ensued is described
(with manifest exaggeration) as having been only less terrible
than the last that was fought on the same historic ground,
between the Mahrattas and the Musalmans, in 1761. Beyond this the
native historians give no particulars of the battle, which raged
till night, and with not unequal fortunes, if we may judge from
the result for on the following morning Zabita Khan's renewed
applications to treat were favourably received; on which occasion
his estates were restored, and a double matrimonial alliance
concluded. The Mirza himself condescended to take the Pathan's
sister as his wife, while his godson (so to speak), Najaf Kuli,
was promised the hand of Zabita's daughter. The pardon of this
restless rebel was attributed to the intercession of Latafat, the
General of the Audh Vazir, who is said to have had a large bribe
on the occasion. (Francklin, chap. Y.)
Peace being thus restored to Hindustan, the Minister revisited
Agra, where he proceeded to provide for the administration of the
country.
The English sought his alliance; but the negotiation failed
because he would not surrender Sumroo. Asaf-ud-daulah, Viceroy of
Audh, was recognized as titular Vazir; a trustworthy chief,
Maulah Ahmad Dad, was appointed to the charge of Sirhind; Najaf
Kuli Khan held the vast tract extending from that frontier to the
borders of Rajputana; and Sumroo was placed in charge of the
country adjoining Zabita Khan's lands, in the centre of which he
fixed his capital at Sardhana, long destined to remain in the
possession of his family, and where a country house and park,
familiar to the English residents at Meerut, still belong to the
widow of his last descendant. This territory, nominally assigned
for the maintenance of the troops under the adventurer's command,
was valued in those days at six laths of rupees annually; so that
the blood-stained miscreant, whose saturnine manners had given
him a bad name, even among the rough Europeans of the Company's
battalion, found his career of crime rewarded by an income
corresponding to that of many such petty sovereigns as those of
his native country.
1778. The beginning of this year was marked by a bloodless
campaign, to which Majad-ud-daulah led the Emperor. The Rajputs
were the object of the attack, and they were rigorously mulcted.
The Mirza's personal share in this matter was confined to that of
a peacemaker. He probably disapproved of the campaign, which had
been undertaken in a spirit of rivalry to himself; and by
obtaining terms for the Rajputs he made new ties while displaying
his own power. He accompanied the return of the expedition to
Dehli, where his daughter was married to Najaf Kuli in the
presence of the Emperor.
Mirza Najaf Khan then departed once more to Agra, the seat of his
administration and his favourite abode. But his repose was not of
long continuance, and he was soon called upon for fresh
exertions; the Sikhs having risen against Maulah Ahmad Dad, the
Faujdar of Sirhind, whom they defeated and slew. On the receipt
of this intelligence the Emperor had deputed Abdul Ahid Khan
known to us by his title of Nawab Majad-ud-daulah with an army
nominally under the command of one of the Imperial Princes, to
indict signal chastisement upon obstinate offenders. If the
surmise of the native historians be correct that Abdul Ahid
Khan had been privy to the late combination between the Sikhs and
Zabita Khan against Mirza Najaf the fact of his being sent
against them, without any objection from so wise and loyal a
minister as the Mirza, can only be accounted for by citing it as
a proof of the peculiar danger to which great men are exposed,
under an Eastern despotism, of reposing their confidence in
secret enemies. That Abdul Ahid was even then plotting against
his patron will be seen to be likely from his subsequent conduct,
and certainly derives no confutation from the circumstance of his
being a native of Kashmir, a country the faithlessness of whose
inhabitants is proverbial, even in Indian story.
The Prince, whose standard was the rallying point of the army, is
variously named as Jawan Bakht, Farkhanda Bakht, and Akbar; the
former being the name of the Prince whom we saw acting as Regent
during the Emperor's residence under English protection at
Allahabad, the later that of the future successor to the titular
Empire. Whoever it may have been, the outset of the expedition
promised him success, if not distinction. The Imperial host,
20,000 strong and with an efficient park of artillery. came in
contact with the enemy at Karnal; but Majad-ud-daulah preferred
negotiation to fighting, and induced the Sikhs to pay down a sum
of three lakhs, and pledge themselves to the payment of an annual
tribute. Joining the Sikh forces to his own, the Majad-ud-daulah
next proceeded northwards, but was brought to a check at Pattiala
by Amar Singh, the Jat chief of that state. Here fresh
negotiations ensued, in which the perfidious Kashmirian is said
to have offered to allay himself with the Sikhs for the
destruction of Mirza Najaf Khan, on condition of being supported
by them in his endeavours to be made Prime Minister in the room
of that statesman. Whether the Jat leader had profited by the
lesson lately read to his brethren of Bhartpur, or whether he was
merely actuated by a desire to try conclusions with the
Kashmirian, having penetrated the cowardice of his character, is
matter for conjecture. Whatever the intrigue may have been, it
was soon frustrated. A large Sikh reinforcement profited by the
time gained in the negotiation to advance from Lahor; the Karnal
force deserted the Imperial camp, and a general onset was made
upon it the following morning. Led by a half-hearted commander
and an inexperienced Prince, the Imperialists offered but a faint
resistance; but their retreat was covered by the artillery, and
they contrived to escape without suffering much in the pursuit,
and indeed without being very closely followed up. It is
interesting to observe, among the names of the Sikh Sirdars, who
played this game of "diamond cut diamond" with the Kashmirian,
that of Ranjit Singh, afterwards the wily Egbert of the Panjab
Heptarchy, and the firm friend of Britain for nearly forty years.
This disastrous campaign occurred in the cold weather of 1778-79,
and the victorious Panjabis poured into the Upper Doab, which
they forthwith began to plunder.
1779. Meanwhile, Mirza Najaf Khan remained in contemptuous
repose at Agra, only interrupted by a short and successful dash
at some Rajput malcontents, who had been stirred up, it is
thought, at the instigation of his rival Majad-ud-daulah. That
inefficient but unscrupulous intriguer is also shown by Captain
Grant Duff to have been at the same time engaged in a
correspondence with Madhoji Sindhia, in view to joining, when
once he should have gained possession of the power of the Empire,
in an attack on the British Provinces. Duff gives this story on
the authority of Sindhia's own letters, which that chief's
grandson had placed in his hands; but he does not say whether the
fickle Emperor was or was not a party to this iniquitous
conspiracy for the ruin of his faithful servant and his
long-established friends.
Certain it is that Sindhia was at that time very far from the
statesmanlike views and reasonable aims which he ultimately
adopted. Towards the close of the year, indeed, he took the
ill-judged step of joining with Haidar Ali and the Nizam with the
object of expelling the British from every part of the Indian
Continent. But Mr. Hastings soon disturbed the plans of the
confederates and ere long rendered them hopeless. Some were
conquered by force of arms, others were conciliated; and Sindhia
in particular, received a lesson which made upon his sagacious
mind a permanent impression.
1780. There was, in the country now known as Dholpur, between
Agra and Gwalior, a local Jat landholder who had in the decay of
the Empire followed the example of Suraj Mal (of Bhurtpore) and
assumed independence. In 1771, when Shah Alam was returning to
the throne of his ancestors, Chatr Singh, the then Zemindar,
advanced money to the Treasury, and was soon after created a peer
by the title of Maharaj Rana. Henceforth he figures in history as
the "Rana of Gohad." Having a hereditary feud against the
Mahrattas and a hereditary claim, such as it was, to the fortress
of Gwalior, then in Sindhia's hands, he seemed to Hastings a
useful instrument for causing a diversion. Major Popham, one of
the best of the local officers, was accordingly sent to assist
the Rana and stir up a confederation of Jat and Rajput powers to
aid against the Musalman-Mahratta alliance by which British
interests were threatened. The situation of the fort of Gwalior
on a scarped and isolated rock over 200 feet high, need not here
be more than mentioned; the manner of its capture, however,
cannot be too often referred to as an instance of what resolution
and conduct can effect in Asiatic warfare. Having prepared
scaling ladders in such secrecy that even his European officers
were ignorant of what was being done or planned, Popham sent a
storming party of sepoys, backed by twenty Europeans, to a place
at the foot of the rock pointed out to him by some thieves. It
was the night of the 3rd August, 1780, and the party, under the
command of Captain Bruce, were shod with cotton to render their
approach inaudible. The enemies' rounds were passing as they came
near the spot; so the assaulting column lay down and waited until
the lights and voices had ceased; then the ladders were placed
against the cliff, and one of the robber guides mounting returned
with intelligence that the guard had gone to sleep. The next
moment the first ladder was mounted by Lieutenant Cameron, the
engineer officer, and the others followed in silence, Captain
Bruce having reached the rampart with twenty sepoys, a scuffle
ensued which lasted till Popham arrived with the Europeans and
made good the entrance. Thus was this strong place captured, and
without the loss of one single life on the British side. The fort
was made over to the Rana, but he did not long retain it, Sindhia
having recaptured it. He soon afterwards took Gohad also (1784),
and the descendants of the Jat chief are now known as Ranas of
Dholpur.
We have seen how marked a feature of the Emperor's character was
his inability to resist the pertinacious counsels of an adviser
with whom he was in constant intercourse; and it is certain that
he gave Majad-ud-daulah all the support which his broken power
and enfeebled will enabled him to afford.
But the danger was now too close and too vast to allow of further
weakness. The Emperor's eyes seem to have been first opened by
his army's evident confusion, as it returned to Dehli, and by the
prevaricating reports and explanations which he received from its
commander. If Mirza Jawan Bakht was the prince who had
accompanied the ill-stared expedition, we know enough of his
prudence and loyalty to be sure that he would have done all in
his power to make his father see the matter in its true light;
and what was wanting to his firm but dutiful remonstrances, would
be supplied by the cries of fugitive villagers and the smoke of
plundered towns.
Najaf Khan was urgently summoned from Agra, and obeyed the call
with an alacrity inspired by his loyal heart, and perhaps also by
a dignified desire for redress. As he approached the capita], he
was met by the Prince and the baffled Kashmirian. To the former
he was respectful, but the latter he instantly placed under
arrest, and sent back under a strong guard. The fallen Minister
was confined, but in his own house; and the Mirza, on reaching
Dehli, confiscated, on behalf of the Imperial treasury, his
wealth, stated to have amounted to the large sum (for those days)
of twenty lakhs, reserving nothing for himself but some books and
a medicine chest. This was the second time he had triumphed over
an unworthy rival, and signalized his own noble temper by so
blending mercy with justice as has seldom been done by persons
situated as he was. Abdul Ahid Khan or Majad-ud-daulah was a
fop, very delicate in his habits, and a curiosity-seeker in the
way of food and physic. It is said by the natives that he always
had his table-rice from Kashmir, and knew by the taste whether it
was from the right field or not.
Fully restored to the Imperial favour, the Mirza lost no time in
obeying the pressing behests of his Sovereign, and sending an
adequate force under his nephew, Mirza Shafi, to check the
invaders. Their army, which had been collected to meet the
Imperialists, drew up and gave battle near Meerut, within forty
miles of the metropolis; but their unskilled energy proved no
match for the resolution of the Moghul veterans, and for the
disciplined valour of the Europeanized battalions. The Sikhs were
defeated with the loss of their leader and 5,000 men, and at once
evacuated the country.
1780. It cannot have escaped notice we have been here reviewing
the career of one whose talents and virtues merited a nobler
arena than that on which they were displayed, and who would have
indeed distinguished himself in any age and country. Profiting by
experience, the successful Minister did not repeat the former
blunder of retiring to Agra, where, moreover, his presence was no
longer required; but continued for the brief remainder of his
life to reside in the metropolis, and enjoy the fruit of his
laborious career in the administration of the Empire, to which he
had restored something of its old importance. Mirza Shafi
commanded the army in the field; while Mohammad Beg, of Hamadan,
was Governor of the Fort and District of Agra. Najaf Khan himself
was appointed Amir-ul-Umra (Premier Noble); his title, as it had
long been, was Zulfikar-ud-daulah "Sword of State."
I have not thought it necessary to interrupt the narrative of the
Mirza's successes by stopping to notice the death of Sumroo. This
event occurred at Agra on the 4th of May, 1778, as appears from
the Portuguese inscription upon his tombstone there. He appears
to have been a man without one redeeming quality "stern and
bloody-minded, in no degree remarkable for fidelity or devotion
to his employers" the one essential virtue of a free lance.
This character is cited from the memoirs of Skinner, where it is
also added that he cannot have been devoid of those qualities
which attach the soldiery to their officer. But even this becomes
doubtful, when we find the late Sir W. Sleeman (who was in the
habit of moving about among the natives, and is an excellent
authority on matters of tradition), asserting that he was
constantly under arrest, threatened, tortured, and in danger at
the hands of his men.
The force was maintained by his widow, and she was accordingly
put in charge of the lands which he had held for the same
purpose.
This remarkable woman was the daughter (by a concubine) of a
Mohamadan of Arab descent, settled in the town of Kotana, a small
place about thirty miles north-west of Meerut, and born about
1753. On the death of her father, she and her mother became
subject to ill-treatment from her half-brother the legitimate
heir; and they consequently removed to Dehli about 1760. It is
not certain when she first entered the family of Sumroo, but she
did not become his wife till some time afterwards. It has even
been doubted if any formal marriage-ceremony ever took place, for
Sumroo had a wife living, though insane; and the fact was
probably sufficiently notorious to prevent any Catholic clergyman
in that part of the country from celebrating a bigamous alliance
with the rites of the Church.
1781 . At his death he left a son, baptized as "Aloysius," who
was still in his minority; and the Minister, observing the
Begum's abilities, saw fit to place her in charge, as has been
already said. The ultimate result amply justified his choice. In
1781 under what influence is not recorded she embraced
Christianity, and was baptized, according to the ritual of the
Latin Church, by the name of Johanna. Her army is stated to have
consisted, at this time, of five battalions of Sepoys, about 300
Europeans, officers and gunners, with 40 pieces of cannon, and a
body of Moghul horse. She founded a Christian Mission, which grew
by degrees into a convent, a cathedral, and a college; and to
this day there are some 1,500 native and Anglo-Indian Christians
resident at Sardhana.
1782. - On the 26th April died Mirza Najaf Khan, after a
residence in India of about forty-two years, so that he must have
been aged at least sixty. He appears to have been an even greater
and better man than his predecessor, Najib-ud-daulah, over whom
he had the advantage in point of blood, being at once a
descendant of the Arabian prophet, and a member of the Saffavi
house, which had been removed from the throne of Persia by the
usurpation of Nadir Shah. Captain Scott who was a good scholar
and well acquainted with Native politics, as Persian Secretary to
the Governor-General of British India records of the Mirza that
no one left his presence dissatisfied. If he could grant a
request he would, and that with a grace as if it pleased him; if
he could not, he could always convince the petitioner of his
sorrow at being obliged to refuse. The faulty side of him appears
to have been a love of money, and (towards the last part of his
life, at least,) of pleasure. It will be seen in the sequel how
soon his gains were dissipated, and his house overthrown. At his
death he wielded all the power of the Empire which his energies
and virtues had restored. He was Deputy Vazir of the absentee
Viceroy of Audh, and Commander-in-Chief of the army. He held the
direct civil administration, with receipt of the surplus
revenues, agreeably to Eastern usages, of the province of Agra
and the Jat territories, together with the district of Alwar to
the south-west and those portions of the Upper Doab which he had
not alienated in Jaidad. But he died without issue, and the
division of his offices and his estates became the subject of
speedy contests, which finally overthrew the last fragments of
Moghul dominion or independence. The following notice of these
transactions is chiefly founded on a Memorial, drawn up and
submitted to the British Governor at Lucknow in 1784, by the
Shahzada Jawan Bakht, of whom mention has been already made more
than once, and who had, for the ten years preceding the Emperor's
return to Dehli, in '71, held the Regency under the title of
Jahandar Shah. After referring to the fact that Majad-ud-daulah
(the title, it may be remembered, of Abdul Ahid Khan) had been
and still was in custody, but that an equerry of the Emperor's
procured the issue of patents confirming existing appointments,
the Prince proceeds, "The morning after the Mirza's death, I
saw the attendants on His Majesty were consulting to send some
persons to the house of the deceased, in order to calm
disturbances; and at last the Wisdom enlightening the world
resolved on deputing me to effect that object. [I] having
departed with all speed, and given assurances to the afflicted,
the friends of the departed had leisure to wash and dress the
body, and the clamour began to cease. After necessary
preparation, I attended the corpse to the Masjid, and the rites
of Islam having been performed, sent it to the place of
interment, under the care of Afrasyab Khan, who was the
cherished-in-the- bosom" (adopted) "son" of the noble deceased;
whose sister also regarded him as her adopted son.
"Afrasyab Khan soon became ambitious of the dignities and
possessions of the deceased, and the Begam (deceased's sister)
petitioned his Majesty in his favour, with earnest entreaty; but
this proved disagreeable to the far-extending sight of the royal
Wisdom, as Mirza Shaffi Khan, who had a great army and
considerable resources, looked to the succession, and would never
agree to be superseded in this manner, so that contentions would
necessarily ensue." There can be no doubt of the correctness of
Shah Alam's views. Mirza Shaffi was the nearest relative of the
deceased, and in actual possession of the command of the army. He
was thus not merely the most eligible claimant, but the best able
to support his claims. But the Emperor never, as we have seen,
a man of much determination was now enfeebled by years and by a
habit of giving way to importunity.
"Instigated," proceeds Jawan Bakht, "by female obstinacy, the
Begam would not withdraw her request, and her petition was at
length, though reluctantly, honoured with compliance. The khillat
of Amir-ul-Omra and acting Minister was conferred upon Afrasyab
by his Majesty, who directed this menial (though he [the writer]
was sensible of the ill-promise of the measure) to write to Mirza
Shaffi to hasten to the presence."
It is not quite clear whether the measure, to which this
parenthesis represents the prince as objecting, was the
appointment of Afrasyab, or the summons to the Mirza. He was
evidently opposed to the former, who was a weak young man, devoid
of resources either mental or material. On the other hand, his
own matured good sense should have shown him that no good
consequences could follow the temporizing policy which brought
the rivals face to face at Court. Afrasyab's first measure was to
release the Kashmirian Ex-Minister Majad-ud-daulah (Abdul Ahid
Khan) from arrest, and by his recommendation this foolish and
notorious traitor was once more received into the Imperial
favour. In the meanwhile, Mirza Shaffi arrived at Dehli, and took
up his quarters in the house of his deceased uncle, whose widow
he conciliated by promising to marry her daughter, his first
cousin. A period of confusion ensued, which ended for the time in
the resignation of Afrasyab, who retired to his estate at Ajhir,
leaving his interests at Court to be attended to by
Majad-ud-daulah and by the converted Rajput Najaf Kuli. Shortly!
after his departure, Mirza Shaffi surrounded the houses of these
agents, and arrested Majad-ud-daulah on the 11th September, 1782,
and the Rajput on the following day, confining them in his aunt's
house under his own eye. The Prince upon this received orders to
negotiate with the Mizra, who was appointed to the office he had
been so long endeavouring to compass. But Afrasyab Khan, his
absent competitor, had still allies at Court, and they succeeded
in bringing over to his cause M. Paoli, the commander of Begam
Sumroo's Brigade, together with Latafat Khan, commandant of the
battalions that had been detached to the Imperial service by the
Viceroy of Audh. This took place a few days only after the arrest
of the agents, and was almost immediately followed by the
desertion from Mirza Shaffi of the bulk of the army. The Emperor
put himself at the head of the troops, and proceeded to the
Minister's house. Finding the premises had been evacuated the
Shah marched in triumph not quite after the magnificent fashion
of his ancestors to the Jamma Masjid, and Mirza Shaffi fled to
Kosi, in the vicinity of Mathra, acting by the advice of the
prince, as the latter informs us. The army did not pursue the
fugitive, and the latter enlarged Majad-ud-daulah, who promised
to intercede for him with the Emperor, and also made a friend in
Mohamad Beg of Hamadan, whom we have already met with as Governor
of Agra.
1783. While the Moghuls were disturbing and weakening the
empire by these imbecile contentions, Madhoji Sindhia, the Patel,
was hovering afar off, like an eagle on the day of battle. His
position had just been greatly improved by the treaty of Salbai,
an arrangement which was probably the result of the spirited
policy pursued by Hastings, of which the storming of Gwalior was
a specimen. Coote and Stuart too, in Madras, and Goddard in the
Deccan, struck repeated blows at the confederacy. Peace, too, was
concluded between the French and English in India as in Europe.
Sindhia was one of the first to submit, and in 1782 acceded to
that famous instrument, in which the British authorities had
recognized him as the representative chief of the Mahrattas, the
Peshwa being still a minor, and the ostensible head of the
Regency, Nana Farnavis, being a mere civilian, though otherwise
an able man. The British Governor-General also, naturally alarmed
at what was going on, and foreseeing danger from the
interposition of the Mahrattas, with whom his Government had,
till lately, been engaged in a deadly conflict, soon after sent
two officers to the Imperial Court, being the first English
Embassy that had visited the city of the Moghul since the
memorable deputation from the infant Factory to the throne of
Farokhsiar.
But before these officials could arrive, further complications
had occurred; Mirza Shaffi returning to Dehli, in company with
Mohamad Beg, requested that his new opponents, Paoli and Latafat,
might be sent to them with authority to treat, and the
application was granted, much against the advice of the prince,
who tells us that he proposed either that an immediate attack
should be made upon the rebels before they had time to
consolidate their power, or else that they should be summoned to
the presence, and made to state their wishes there. To the envoys
elect, he observed that, even were the concession made of sending
a deputation to treat with refractory subjects, he would advise
that only one should go at a time. "But," he continues, "as the
designs of Providence had weakened the ears of their
understandings, an interview appeared to them most advisable; - a
mutual suspicion rendering each unwilling that one should go and
the other remain in camp, lest he who went should make his own
terms without the other." What a glimpse this gives of the
dissolution of all that we are accustomed to call society! The
two envoys set out, but never returned: like the emissaries sent
to the Jewish captain, as he drove furiously along the plain of
Esdraelon to ask, Is it peace? The European was slain at once,
the Audh general being imprisoned and deprived of sight. Mirza
Shaffi and Mohamad Beg next began to quarrel with each other. The
Emperor was now much perplexed, but matters were arranged for the
time through the instrumentality of the prince and by the return
of Afrasyab, who became reconciled to his late competitor. The
three nobles were presented with khillats (dresses of honour) and
Mirza Shaffi became Premier, under the title of Amir-ul-Umra,
while Majad-ud-daulah reverted to his ancient post of Intendant
of the Home Revenues. We pursue the prince's narrative.
"It was at this period that much anxiety and melancholy intruding
on the sacred mind of his Majesty, the Asylum of the World, and
also on the breast of this loyal servant," their attention was
turned towards the English alliance, which had been in abeyance
for some years. On the 23rd of September, 1783, Mirza Shaffi, who
had been to Agra, was shut out from the palace on his return,
probably owing to Afrasyab Khan's renewed desire to obtain the
chief place in the State. On this the Mirza retired to Agra
again, and naturally adopted a hostile attitude, an emissary was
sent forth to treat with him, in the person of Mohamad Beg
Hamadani. The meeting took place in the open air in front of the
main gate of the old Fort of Agra; and when the elephants, upon
which the two noblemen were seated, drew near to each other, the
Mirza held out his hand in greeting, when Mohamed Beg at once
seized the opportunity, and pistolled him under the arm. It is
asserted, indeed, by some that the actual crime was perpetrated
by the attendant who occupied the back seat of the howdah;
possibly Ismail Beg Khan, nephew of the Hamadani.
Afrasyab, who had instigated this murder, profited by it, and
succeeded to the post of his ambition, while the mind of the
prince became still more anxious, and still more bent upon
opening his case, if possible, in a personal interview with the
English Governor.
Meanwhile, the envoys of the latter were not less urgent on their
employer to support the Emperor with an army. "The business of
assisting the Shah" thus they wrote in December, 1783 "must
go on if we wish to be secure in India, or regarded as a nation
of faith and honour." Mr. Hastings was not deaf to these
considerations, and subsequent events proved their entire
soundness. He desired to sustain the authority of the Empire,
because he foresaw nothing from its dissolution but an
alternative between Chaos and the Mahrattas; and, but for the
opposition of his council in Calcutta, he would have interposed,
and interposed after his fashion, with effect. Yet his not doing
so was afterwards made the ground of one of the charges (No. 18)
against him, and he was accused of having intrigued in the
interest of Madhoji Sindhia, the Patel. That Mr. Hastings, when
overruled in his desire of anticipating Sindhia in Court
influence at Dehli, preferred seeing the latter succeed, rather
than the Empire should fall a prey to complete anarchy; that he
"turned the circumstance to advantage" to use Grant Duff's
phrase was neither contrary to sound statesmanship, nor to the
particular views of the British Government, which was then
occupied in completing the treaty of Salbai. Under this compact
Central India was pacified, and the Carnatic protected from the
encroachments of the notorious Haidar Ali Khan, and his son, the
equally famous Tippu Sahib. It is important here to observe that
the Calcutta Gazettes of the day contain several notices of the
progress of the Sikhs, and the feeble opposition offered to them
by the courtiers. All these things called for prompt action.
1781. On the 27th March, the British Governor arrived at
Lucknow, and Jawan Bakht resolved to escape from the palace, and
lay before him an account of Dehli politics, such as should
induce him to interpose. The design being communicated to his
maternal uncle, a body of Gujars, from the prince's estate, was
posted on the opposite bank of the river, and everything fixed
for the 14th of April. About 8 P.M., having given out that he was
indisposed, and on no account to be disturbed, the prince
disguised himself, and, secretly departing from his chamber in
the palace, passed from the roof of one building to the roof of
another, until he reached the aqueduct which crossed the garden
of the palace. The night was stormy, and the prince was suffering
from fever, but he found a breach where the canal issued, by
which he got to the rampart of the Salimgarh. Here he descended
by means of a rope, and joined his friends on the river sands;
and, with a considerable mixture of audacity and address, found
means to elude the sentries and get across the river. One trait
is worth preserving, as illustrative of the characteristic
clemency of the house of Timur. "I believe," said the prince, in
talking of this night's adventure to Mr. Hastings, "I ought to
have killed the guide who showed me where to ford the river; but
my conscience disapproved, and I let him go, preferring to trust
myself to the care of Providence. In effect, the man justified my
suspicions, for he instantly went to the nearest guard and gave
him information of my route, as I learned soon after; but I made
such speed that my pursuers could not overtake me."
His Highness reached Lucknow, where he impressed all who met him
with a highly favourable opinion of his humanity, his
intelligence, and his knowledge of affairs; but the only
consolation he received, either from the Viceroy or from Mr.
Hastings, hampered as the latter was by the opposition of his
council, was the advice to turn to Madhoji Sindhia. Captain
Jonathan Scott (who was on Hastings' staff) says that the prince
received an allowance of £40,000 a year from the British
Government (Scott's Ferishta, vol. ii. 242.)
In the meanwhile Mohamed Beg, who had returned to his old
residence at Agra, continued to trouble the repose of the new
minister Afrasyab, so that he also turned to the redoubled Patel,
and this successful soldier who had barely escaped
four-and-twenty years before from the slaughter of Panipat, now
found himself master of the situation. The movements of the
Mahratta chief began, indeed, to be all-important. They were thus
noticed in the Calcutta Gazette for 18th April: "We learn that
Sindhia is going on a hunting party. ... . We also learn that he
will march towards Bundelkund." He marched in the direction, as
it proved, of Agra.
He sent an envoy to Lucknow to treat with the Governor-General,
and proceeded in person to Hindustan, proposing to meet the
Emperor, who was on his way to dislodge Mohamad Beg from the fort
of Agra.
The Calcutta Gazette for May 10th says, "His Majesty has
signified by letters to the Governor-General and Sindhia that he
will march towards Agra."
The Emperor's desire to put himself into the hands of Sindhia was
very much increased by the violent conduct of Afrasyab towards
one who, whatever his faults, had endeared himself, by long
years' association, to the facile monarch. Majad-ud-daulah, the
Finance Minister, having attempted to dissuade his Majesty from
going to Agra, the haughty Moghul sent Najaf Kuli Khan with a
sufficient force to Majad's house, and seizing him, with the
whole of his property, kept him in close arrest, in which he
continued for the most part till his death, in 1788.
On his arrival, Sindhia had an interview with Afrasyab Khan, at
which it was agreed to concert a combined attack upon Mohamad Beg
forthwith. Three days after, the minister was assassinated, viz.,
2nd November, 1784. The actual hand that struck this blow was
that of Zain-ul-Abidin, brother of Mirza Shaffi, who, no doubt,
was not unwilling to have an opportunity of punishing the
supposed author of his uncle's murder; but there were not wanting
those who, on the well-known maxim, cui bono, attributed the
instigation to Sindhia. Francklin records, on the authority of
one Said Raza Khan, that Zain-ul-Abidin found shelter with
Sindhia immediately after the murder, which was effected in the
very tent of the victim. Rajah Himmat Bahadur (the Gosain leader)
at once proceeded to Sindhia's tent, accompanied by the chief
Moghul nobles, where all joined in congratulations and
professions of service.
1785 The latter, at all events, immediately stepped into the
dead man's shoes, leaving the title of Vazir to the Audh Viceroy;
and contenting himself with the substance of authority. Calling
the Peshwa of Puna the head of the Mahrattas by the revived
title of Plenipotentiary of the Empire, formerly borne (it may be
remembered) by the first Nizam, he professed to administer as the
Peshwa's deputy. He assumed with the command of the army, the
direct management of the provinces of Dehli and Agra, and
allotted a monthly payment of sixty-five thousand rupees for the
personal expenses of Shah Alam. In order to meet these expenses,
and at the same time to satisfy himself and reward his followers,
the Pate] had to cast about him for every available pecuniary
resource. Warren Hastings having now left India, the time may
have been thought favourable for claiming some contribution from
the foreign possessors of the Eastern Subahs. Accordingly we find
in the Calcutta Gazette the following notice, under the date
Thursday, 12th May, 1785:
"We have authority to inform the public that on the 7th of this
month the Governor-General received from the Emperor Shah Alam
and Maha Rajah Madagee Sindia an official and solemn disavowal,
under their respective seals, of demands which were transmitted
by them, on Mr. Macpherson's accession to the Government, for the
former tribute from Bengal.
"The demands of the tribute were transmitted through Major Brown,
and made immediately upon his recall from the Court of Shah Alam,
but without any communication of the subject to Mr. Anderson.
"Mr. Anderson was immediately instructed to inform Sindhia that
his interference in such demands would be considered in the light
of direct hostility, and a breach of our treaty with the
Mahrattas; and Shah Alam was to be informed that the justice of
the English to his illustrous house could never admit the
interference or recommendation of other powers, and could alone
flow from their voluntary liberality.
"A disavowal of claims advanced unjustly and disrespectfully was
insisted upon; and we are authorized to declare that Mr.
Anderson's conduct in obtaining that disavowal was open and
decided, highly honourable to him as a public minister. He acted
in conformity to the orders of Government even before he received
them. He founded his remonstrances on a short letter which he had
received from the Governor-General, and upon circumstances which
passed in the presence of Sindhia, at Shah Alam's Darbar, as
Major Brown was taking his leave.
"The effects which Mr. Anderson's remonstrance produced are very
satisfactory and creditable to Government, and such explanations
have followed upon the part of Sindhia, as must eventually
strengthen our alliance with the Mahrattas, expose the designs of
secret enemies, and secure the general tranquillity of India."
The revolution begun by the Patel was soon completed. Zabita Khan
died about this time; and Mohamad Beg, being deserted by his
troops, had no resource but to throw himself upon the mercy of
the Mahratta chief. The fort of Agra surrendered on the 27th of
March, 1785; and all that remained of the power of the Moghul
party was the fort of Aligarh, where the widow and brother of the
late minister, Afrasyab Khan, still held out, in the hope of
preserving the property of the deceased, the bulk of which was
stored there. This stronghold, which the late Najaf Khan had
wrested from the Jats, had been fortified with great care, and it
had a strong garrison, but, having held out from July to
November, the Governor was at last prevailed upon, by the
entreaties of the ladies, to avert from them the horrors of a
storm, and make terms with the besiegers. The result of the
capitulation was that the eldest son of the deceased Afrasyab
received an estate, yielding a yearly revenue of a lakh and a
half of rupees. The rest of the property valued at a crore, a
sum then corresponding to a million of money, but really
representing much more of our present currency was seized by
Sindhia.
The latter was now supreme in Hindustan; the disunited Moghul
chiefs, one and all, acknowledged his authority; and a Mahratta
garrison, occupying the Red Castle of Shah Jahan, rendered the
Emperor little more than an honourable pageant. He joined,
however, personally in all the operations of 1785, and did not
return to Dehli until the middle of the following year. Sindhia
did not at the time accompany him, but retired to his favourite
cantonment of Mathra.
It has been already mentioned that there is little or nothing
recorded of the condition of the country or of the people by
native historians. It must not, however, be thought that I am
satisfied with recording merely the dates of battles, or the
biographies of prominent men. On the contrary, the absence of
information upon the subject of the condition of the nation at
large, is a great cause of regret and disappointment to me. A few
particulars will be found in the concluding chapter.
In 1783, when Afrasyab Khan was distracting the country by his
ambitious attempts, occurred a failure of the periodical rains,
followed by one of those tremendous famines which form such a
fearful feature of Indian life. In Bengal, where the monsoon is
regular, and the alluvial soil moist, these things are almost as
unknown as in England: but the arid plains of Hindustan, basking
at the feet of the vastest mountain-chain in the world, become a
perfect desert, at least once in every quarter of a century. The
famine of 1783-4 has made a peculiarly deep impression upon the
popular mind, under the name of the "Chalisa," in reference to
the Sambat date 1840, of the era of Vikram Adit. An old Gosain,
who had served under Himmat Bahadur, near Agra, once told the
author that flour sold near Agra that year 8 seers for the rupee;
which, allowing for the subsequent fall in the value of money, is
perhaps equivalent to a rate of three seers for our present rupee
a state of things partly conceivable by English readers, if
they will imagine the quartern loaf at four shillings, and
butcher's meat in proportion.
These famines were greatly intensified by the want of hands for
field-labour, that must have been caused by the constant drafting
of men to the armies, and by the massacre and rapine that
accompanied the chronic warfare of those times. The drain on the
population, however, combined with the absence of the
tax-gatherer, must have given this state of things some sort of
compensation in the long run. Some few further particulars
regarding the state of the country will be found in the
concluding chapter.
NOTE.Besides the Mozafari, the principal authorities for this
chapter have been Francklin's "Shah Alum" (v. inf. p. 194) the
narrative of the Shahzadah published by Warren Hastings and the
continuation of Ferishta by Captain Jonathan Scott. This
gentleman has already been mentioned (V. sup. p. 132), he was
assisted in compiling his narrative by Maj. Polier, who was at
Dehli at the time. All these authorities are strictly original
and contemporaneous; and in general agree with each other. The
Memoirs of Iradat Khan have also been consulted a Dehli noble
of the period. A traditional account of the Famine by an "Old
Resident" of Aligarh may not be without interest. It is taken
from the Dehli Gazette of 6th June, 1874. "As told by many
persons who witnessed it, the disastrous circumstance which
occurred during Sindiah's rule and prior to Du Boigne's
administration known by the people as the 'Chaleesa Kaut,' the
severe famine of A.D. 1783 in a considerable degree desolated the
country, and the many ruinous high mounds still visible in the
district owe their origin to this calamity. The inhabitants
either fell victims, or fled to other parts where they met a
similar fate, for the famine was a general one. It was described
to me by those who lived then, that for the two previous years
the rains were very unfavourable, and the produce very scanty,
the third year, A.D. 1783, the people entertained strong hopes
that the season would be a propitious one: but sad was their
condition when they found the rainy months, 'Assaur and Sawun,
passing off with a scorching sun. In 'Bhadoon' they had clouds
but no rain, and when the calamity came, all hopes were gone the
price of grain was enormous and with difficulty it could be
procured, thousands died of sheer starvation within their walls
and streets, and the native governments rendered no assistance to
ameliorate or relieve the wants of their unfortunate subjects.
Children were left to go astray and find their sustenance in the
wild berries of the peepul, burrh, and goolur, and thus became an
easy prey to the wild beasts who in numbers roved round the
country in open day, living on carcases. About the middle of
September or 'Kooar,' the rains fell, and so regularly that the
grain which was thrown in the fields in the two previous years
and did not generate for want of moisture, now came up profusely,
and abundant was the produce. The state of things gradually
changed for the better in October and November. An old Brahmin of
Secundra Rao narrated that some years before 1810 the harvest was
so plentiful that on the occasion he built a house which was on a
very high plinth: he filled the plinth instead of with mud with
an inferior course of small grain called 'kodun,' selling at that
time uncommonly cheap, much lower than the cost of mud would be;
when the famine came he dug up the coarse grain, which was found
good, and sold it, and with the money he made his house a pucka
one, besides gaining a large sum in coin."