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First Battle of Katwa Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Katwa

Maratha Invasions of Bengal
Part of Decline of the Mughal Empire

A Maratha Ditch, constricted around forts and factories as protection against Maratha raids
DateApril 1742 – March 1751
Location
Bengal Subah (Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Orissa)
Result See Aftermath
Territorial
changes		 Incorporation of Orissa into the Nagpur State[1]
Belligerents
 Bengal Subah
Commanders and leaders
Raghoji I
Bhaskar Pandit X
Janoji Bhonsle
Sabaji Bhonsle
Mir Habib (Defector)		 Alivardi Khan
Mir Jafar
Chitrasen Rai [2]
Rai Durlabh
Ghulam Mustafa Khan
Ataullah Khan
Zainuddin Ahmed X
Abdus Salam
Sheikh Masum †
Syed Ahmed Khan
Strength
40,000 (in 1742)
12,000 (in 1748)		 15,000 cavalry
8,000 musketeers (in 1748)
Casualties and losses
Dutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that 400,000 civilians in Western Bengal and Bihar died in the overall conflict.[3][4]

The Maratha invasions of Bengal (1742–1751), were the a series of raids by the Maratha forces in the Bengal Subah (Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Orissa), after the successful campaign in the Carnatic region at the Battle of Trichinopoly. The campaigns were carried out under Raghoji Bhonsle of Nagpur.[5] Between April 1742 to March 1751, the Marathas invaded Bengal many times,[6] causing widespread economic losses in the Bengal Subah.

Background

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The resurgent Maratha Confederacy emerging from Maharashtra quickly repulsed the Mughals and subjugated them to the confines of Delhi. It was during this period they were at the doorsteps of the independent Bengal Subah, particularly Orissa. They conducted raids within Bengal and plundered cities and villages and caused widespread devastation.[3][4]

However, due to their relentless attacks and raids the Nawab would be more partial towards signing the treaty eventually agreeing to cede Orissa to the Maratha Confederacy to ensure peace for both states.[7]

Invasions of Bengal

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First invasion (1742)

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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 of Murshidabad and Hooghly suffering from plundering.[8][9]

Second invasion (1742)

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Raghoji lead the Marathas and attacked and captured Katwa and Hooghly in Bengal. Alivardi Khan conscripted tribal and peasant levies from Birbhum. He responded to the Maratha attack by attacking the Maratha camp at Katwa in the First 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]

Third invasion (1745)

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The Marathas tried again in 1745 where they succeeded in occupying Orissa to take Katwa. The force of 20,000 horsemen ravaged Murshidabad and moved onwards to Katwa. The force was led by Raghuji Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur where he and his force were defeated by Alivardi Khan at the Second 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]

Fourth invasion (1747)

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The Battle of Burdwan oversaw Alivardi Khan heavily repulsing and defeating the Janoji Bhonsle led Marathas. An army was amassed to defend against the invading Maratha forces at Orissa after the dismissal of Mir Jafar by Alivardi Khan.[12]

Fifth invasion (1748)

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Janoji Bhonsle and Mir Habib enlisted in the army of Afghans at Rani Sarai to fight against Alivardi Khan at the Battle 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]

Atrocities during Maratha invasions

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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 of Bengalis and Biharis. As reported in Burdwan Estate and European sources, the Bargis are said to have plundered villages.[14] Jan Kersseboom, chief of the 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] Contemporary accounts of the invasions report mass gang rape and Wartime sexual violence against women and children,[15][16][17][18] and mutilation of victims by the Marathas which included cutting off their hands and noses and forced 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]

Historians generally view Maharashta Purana particularly as a "contemporary mirror" of the Maratha plunders.[22] Dalrymple states that the Maharashta Purana presents a clear and vivid depiction of the invasions.[23]

Historian William Dalrymple quotes Gangaram's Maharashtra Purana, a contemporary account describing the atrocities committed by the Marathas in Bengal:[23]

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.

The Bargi atrocities were corroborated by contemporary Dutch and British accounts.[24][3] The atrocities devastated Bengal's economy, as many of the people killed in the Bargi raids included merchants, textile weavers,[3] silk winders, and mulberry cultivators.[4] The Cossimbazar 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 two Maratha armies invaded - one belonged to Raghuji Bhosle, the other to Balaji Rao again. Alivardi Khan was obliged to pay a subsidy and promise to pay him chauth (tax) in the future.[25]

Baneswar Vidyalankar's text Chitrachampu attributed the victories of the Marathas to "the wonderfully fast horses they ride." Bharatchandra's Annadamangal attributed the attacks to a particular communal factor which was the destruction of temples at Bhubaneswar by Alivardi's soldiers.[26]

The further attacks took place in 1748 in Bihar, on Murshidabad in 1750, and in 1751 in Western Bengal.[27]

The internal fights within the Alivardi Khan's military also contributed to their losses. For example, in 1748 Pathan soldiers rebelled and seized Patna which they controlled for some time. Another example is the faujdar of Purnea who departed from Alivardi and created a small autonomous state.[28] 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.[29]

End of hostilities and aftermath

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In 1751, the Marathas signed a peace treaty with the Nawab of Bengal and agreed to never cross the Subarnarekha River.[7] The territories beyond the Subarnarekha 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 of Orissa under nominal control of the Nawab of Bengal.[30][31] Thus de facto Maratha control over Orissa was established by 1751, while de jure it remained a part of Bengal Subah till 1752.[30] After the assassination of Mir Habib, the governor of Orissa in 1752, the Marathas formally incorporated Orissa in their dominion,[31] as part of Nagpur kingdom.

The Nawab of Bengal agreed to pay Rs. 1.2 million annually as the chauth of Bengal and Bihar, and the Marathas agreed not to invade Bengal again.[5][32] The Nawab of Bengal also paid Rs. 3.2 million to the Marathas, towards the arrears of chauth for the preceding years.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (2010). An Advanced History of Modern India. Macmillan India. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-230-32885-3. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2021. In 1751,...promising cession of the province of Orissa...Orissa came under the Bhonsle's control.
  2. ^ McLane, John R. (1993). Land and local kinship in eighteenth-century Bengal. Cambridge University Press. pp. 155–156. ISBN 0521410746.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kirti N. Chaudhuri (2006). The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company: 1660-1760. Cambridge University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780521031592.
  4. ^ a b c d e P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780521028226.
  5. ^ a b Government of Maharashtra (1974). Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Wardha District (2nd ed.). Bombay: Director of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. p. 63. OCLC 77864804.
  6. ^ a b Jaswant Lal Mehta (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813. Sterling Publishers Pvt. ISBN 9781932705546. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b Nitish K. Sengupta (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. pp. 158–163. ISBN 9780143416784. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2020. 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.
  8. ^ Gupta, Brijen Kishore (1966). Sirajuddaullah and the East India Company, 1756-1757: Background to the Foundation of British Power in India. Brill Archive. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  9. ^ P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780521028226.
  10. ^ a b Tony, Jacques (30 November 2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 516. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
  11. ^ a b Sarkar, Jadunath (1964). Fall Of The Mughal Empire Vol. 1. Orient Longman, Calcutta. pp. 61–75.
  12. ^ Tony, Jacques (30 November 2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
  13. ^ Chandra, Anil (1978). A Comprehensive History of India: 1712-1772. p. 187.
  14. ^ a b C. C. Davies (1957). "Chapter XXIII: Rivalries in India". In J. O. Lindsay (ed.). The New Cambridge Modern History. Vol. VII: The Old Regime 1713–63. Cambridge University Press. p. 555. ISBN 978-0-521-04545-2. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2019. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  15. ^ Gupta, Brijen Kishore (1962). Sirajuddaullah and the East India Company, 1756-1757: Background to the Foundation of British Power in India. Brill Archive. p. 23. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2021. horrors perpetrated by the Marathas on women and children which included gang rape.
  16. ^ a b Edwardes, Allen (1966). The Rape of India: A Biography of Robert Clive and a Sexual History of the Conquest of Hindustan. Julian Press. p. 131. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2021. '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
  17. ^ Seminar. R. Thapar. 1989. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2021. 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
  18. ^ The New Cambridge Modern History. CUP Archive. 1970. p. 555. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2021. they indulged in the unspeakable practice of gang-rape
  19. ^ McDermott, Rachel Fell (28 June 2001). Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams: Kali and Uma in the Devotional Poetry of Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-803071-3. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2021. 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.
  20. ^ Aklam Hussain (1997). History of Bangladesh, 1704-1971. Vol. 2. University of Michigan, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. p. 80. ISBN 9789845123372. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  21. ^ McLane, John R. (25 July 2002). Land and Local Kingship in Eighteenth-Century Bengal. Cambridge University Press. pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-0-521-52654-8.
  22. ^ Chatterjee, Kumkum (5 March 2009), Chatterjee, Kumkum (ed.), "Performance Narratives and the Mughal Factor", The Cultures of History in Early Modern India: Persianization and Mughal Culture in Bengal, Oxford University Press, p. 104, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195698800.003.0004, ISBN 978-0-19-569880-0, retrieved 20 June 2025
  23. ^ a b Dalrymple 2020, p. 73.
  24. ^ P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 9780521028226.
  25. ^ Marshall, P. J. (1987). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. The New Cambridge History of India. Vol. II.2. Cambridge University Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-521-02822-6.
  26. ^ McLane 2002, pp. 166–167.
  27. ^ Habib, I.; Panikkar, K.N.; Byres, T.J.; Patnaik, U. (2002). The Making of History: Essays Presented to Irfan Habib. Anthem South Asian studies. Anthem Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-84331-038-9. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  28. ^ Markovits, C. (2004). A History of Modern India, 1480-1950. Anthem South Asian Studies. Anthem Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-84331-152-2. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  29. ^ Mahajan, VD (2020). Modern Indian History. S. Chand Limited. p. 42. ISBN 978-93-5283-619-2. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022. 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.
  30. ^ a b Sengupta, N. (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books Limited. p. 156. ISBN 978-81-8475-530-5. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  31. ^ a b ড. মুহম্মদ আব্দুর রহিম. "মারাঠা আক্রমণ". বাংলাদেশের ইতিহাস. ২৯৩–২৯৯.
  32. ^ Chatterjee, Gouripada (1987). History of Bagree-Rajya (Garhbeta): With Special Reference to Its Anti-British Role, from Late 18th Century Till the Present Times. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-7099-014-7. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.

Bibliography

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