THIRD BATTLE OF PANIPAT

QUESTION:-

Explain the reasons for the defeat of the Marathas in the Third War of Panipat and highlight its consequences.   Or  describe the third war of Panipat and give its results.   Or  "Thewar with Ahmad Shah Abdali was fatal to the Marathas. Explain this statement.

ANSWER

North - At the time when the Marathas were expanding their empire in SouthIndia,  the condition of India became very deplorable.  Ahmad Shah Abdali  had started invading India. The  Marathas were also storming the Chambal river.   1752  AD There was a treaty between the Mughals and the Marathas. According to this treaty, the Mughals hadpromisedto give ₹ 50  lakhs to the Marathas. In return, the Marathas  protected them

The responsibility was taken upon itself. But the Mughals did not follow this treaty. Raghunathrao invaded northern India in 1754-56  ADand defeated Najibudula and forced him to enter into atreaty. 

Raghunath Rao returned after making his son  Imad-ul-Mulk a wazir in Delhi. He then invaded Punjab with Malharrao Holkar. Ahmad Shah Abdali considered Punjab as his suba,  where his son Taimur Shah ruled. In March 1758, the Marathas  occupied  Sarhind and in April1758,   lahore. He killed Taimur Shah  from Punjab and replaced him with his friend Adinabeg  as the Governor of Punjab. In return, Adinabeg approved an annual tax of ₹.75 lakh to the Marathas.

1759 AD Adinabeg died in . After his death,  Peshwa  sent Dattaji Scindia to Punjab. Ahmad Shah Abdali was also not going to sit quietly. Heinvaded Punjab in November1759  and conquered Punjab again and defeated Dattaji Scindia at Bararighat near Delhi. In 1760  AD he entered Delhi and defeated Malharrao Holkar. Now he camped in Aligarh to make a final decision with the Marathas. When the news of the Marathas ' retreat reached peshwa, he soon had a large army headed by his cousin Sadashivrao Bhai, which had nearly two lakh soldiers.

Sent Abdali to be driven out of Delhi. To help him. Abrahamgardi Khan was also sent with a artillery. Malharrao Holkar and Janakoji bhai also joined the army near Agra. Jat Surajmal's forces from Bharatpur also joined them after assurance that chauth would not be sought from him.   But the brother failed to merge the other Rajput kings.  Surajmal returned to Bharatpur with his army due to differences with his brother. This deeply hurt the power of the Marathas. 

Sadashivrao Bhai snatched Delhi from afghans in 1760  AD. They then reached Panipat. By then Abdali had joined the Nawab of Oudh, Shujauddaula, and thus increased his power and went to the panipat plain. There were occasional encounters,  but there was no significant result.

Third Battle of Panipat

Till December, both the armies were waiting for an opportunity. Meanwhile, the marathas ran out of logistics. At this time, the Marathas decided to fight. On January 14, 1761, the Marathas invaded the Afghan army. Abdali's army and the Marathas' army fought fiercely. Ibrahimgardi Khan, along with his artillery, invaded the army of the Ruhels, and sadashivrao bhai, along with his chosen horsemen, broke down on the middle of the enemy army and shattered it. There was a fierce war in the afternoon.

The Marathas were tired without grainandwater, but still faced the enemy with great patience and courage. Unfortunately, Biswasrao, the eldest son of Peshwa, was killed fighting. On hearing the news of his death, the brothers entered the enemy's army in a state of dissensionand foughtand  fought. On receiving the news of the death of the two generals, there was a stampede in the Maratha army and due to lack of proper leadership, maratha soldiers started fleeing from the battlefield. Abdali's army chased the fleeing Maratha army and looted their camp. Thus, in the third war of Panipat, the Marathas suffered a terrible defeat and Abdali won. Regarding the destruction of the Maratha army, a historian has written that

The battle of Panipat broke the spine of the Marathas. There was no house left in Maharashtra whose members had not been used in this war. In fact, a generation of Marathas came to an end in this war.

Results of the Third War of Panipat-

The Third War of Panipat was an important event in Indian history. There is a considerable difference of opinion among historians about the outcome of this war. All Maratha historians acknowledge that 45,000   Maratha soldiers were killedin thiswar,  but their target was not harmed much. Sardesai, an expert in Maratha history, wrote,"Maratha manpower musthave been destroyed in thiswar, but this destruction was not the ultimate decisive of his power. In fact, this war, after a long time, brightened up nana fadnavis and mahadji,the famous men of the great race, who had escaped death in a surprising way on the devastating day, and revived the former glory of the Marathas. The destruction in this battle of Panipat was like a divine outbreak. It destroyed the vitality of the Marathas,

But it did not end his political life. To assume that the destruction of Panipathad destroyed the marathas' dream of universality forever is not to understand the situation properly, as is known from the articles of the day. Expressing its views against the said view, the Yadunath government has written that "a biased study of history shows that this strong claim of the Marathas is unfounded. There is no doubt that the Maratha army re-enthroned the exiled Mughal emperor in 1772  AD,  but he became neitherthe architect of the kingdom at that time nor the actual ruler of the MughalEmpire,  but his position was similar to that of nominal ministers and generals. Such a glorious post was achieved only in 1780 AD by Mahadji Scindia and in 1803  AD by the British. "

The study of both the above opinions shows that the opinion of the Yadunath Government is more appropriate and true. Nevertheless, the Defeat in the Third War of Panipat caused a terrible loss to the Marathas. Inshort,  this war had the following consequences:

(1) Destruction of immense manpower-

In this war, the immense manpower of the Marathas  was destroyed. About    45,000 soldiers were used in this war. Out of one lakhpeople, only a few thousand people used to save their lives and reachMaharashtra, whose job wasto recover the tax. There was also a Kotwal in the major cities whose job was to maintain peace and order in the city.

(2) End of influence of Peshwa-

The defeat of the Marathas in this war put an end to the influence of the Peshwa and the unity of the Maratha Sangh began to be destroyed. In the Marathas, their power was deeply hurt by mutual conflict and discord. The Peshwa could not control these Marathas and gradually his power diminished.

(3)  Loss of influence of Marathas in Northern India:

The defeat of Panipat completely destroyed the influence of the Marathas in northern India. Doab and Punjab. The territories got out of their hands. --

(4) Upliftment of the British  -

The defeat of the Marathas made a special contribution to the upliftment oftheBritish,  because there was no more powerful caste in Indiathat could fight the British.  Therefore, the rise of English power began at a rapid pace.

(5)  Fall of mughals

The Battle of Panipat also pushed the Mughals into the pit of collapse. They were no longer strong enough to succeed in confronting the British.

(6) Moral Influence -

The defeat of Panipat tarnished the prestige and prestige of the Marathas. Their invincible power was of no value and other states began to hesitate to achieve their friendship.

Defeat of Marathas in Third Battle of Panipat

The following were the reasons for the defeat of the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat

(1) Many of the top Maratha generals were dissatisfied with the behaviour of Maratha general Sadashivrao.  He was arbitrary in everything and did not consider it necessary to consult anyone.

(2) Maratha General Sadashivrao lacked funds from the very beginning. He didn't have enough food material for a huge army.

(3) Ahmad Shah Abdali's  army was more than the Marathas and was led by Ahmad Shah Abdali  himself, a very brave and courageous warrior.

(4) Abdali had joined the Nawab of Rohilkhand and the Nawab of Oudh, Shujauddaula. This provided him all kinds of economic and military assistance. He did not have to face as much difficulty as the Marathas. With the help of his army, he blocked all the passages for the marathas to arrive.

(5) There was a lack of discipline in the Army of the Marathas. Maharaj  Malharrao Holkar of Indore and Maharaj Scindia of Gwalior had not had good relations with Bhai Sahib. Malharrao Holkar showed lethargy in the Panipat plain and fled with his army when the Marathas were defeated. On the contrary, Ahmad Shah Abdali's army had strict discipline.

(6) The Afghan artillery was superior to the Marathas. The Afghan system of rannwas also much better than the Marathas.

 

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