The Marathas Part 14 Peshwa Balaji Rao Section IV The Battle of Panipat

Canberra, 28 February 2022 The Inexorable March to the Debacle The army that was put together to avenge Maratha honour consisted at the core of the Peshwa’s personal soldiers who were surrounded and supported by soldiers owing allegiance to other Maratha sardars, chiefs. The total fighting strength was around 25,000. When Sadashiv Rao Bhau left […]

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The Marathas Part 14 Peshwa Balaji Rao Section III North India Beckons

Canberra, 21 February 2022 Punjab was in political turmoil throughout the 1740s, destabilised by different claimants to its governorship, inevitably in conflict with each other. Further, the Sikhs were in open rebellion. In the broader Indian political scene, between 1748–49, three influential ‘chiefs’ died: chiefs who were men of old values and traditions; chiefs who […]

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Indian History Part 80 Humayun Section III: An Empire is Lost

Canberra, 27 April 2020 After having defeated and forced Humayun back to Agra, Sher Shah returned to Bengal and evicted the Mughal governor, Jahangir Kuli, installed by Humayun. Sher Shah knew for certain that he would have to fight Humayun again and therefore wanted to consolidate his territories as soon as possible. More importantly, he […]

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Indian History Part 74 The Saluva Dynasty Section II: An Inglorious Demise

Canberra, 6 July 2019 Saluva Narasimha left behind two young sons—Timmabhupa and Immadi Narasimha—and on his deathbed commended them to the care of his loyal general Narasa Nayaka. Narasa, who belonged to the Tuluva family and was the son of the famed Iswara Nayaka, was immediately declared the ‘protector’ of the young princes. He placed […]

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Indian History Part 73 The Sangama Dynasty Section VI: A Whimpering End

Canberra, 23 June 2019 The period immediately following Deva Raya II’s demise is shrouded in conflicting narratives and there is only limited verifiable information available that could help in producing an accurate sequence of events. This period, leading to the end of the Sangama dynasty, has to be classified as one of confusion, an assertion […]

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Indian History Part 73 The Sangama Dynasty, Section IV: Altering the Balance of Power

Canberra, 18 May 2019  Harihara Raya II had five grown up sons, at least three of whom were powerful governors and also ambitious. On his death, the succession was violently disputed by these three princes. This was a scenario that Harihara II had wanted to avoid, but the succession struggle continued for nearly two years […]

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Indian History Part 58 The Sayyid Dynasty Section II Sultan Mubarak Shah

Canberra, 29 September 2017 Khizr Khan nominated his son Mubarak Khan as his successor on his death bed. Mubarak assumed the throne as Muiz u-Din Fateh Mubarak Shah, with the consent of all the nobles of the court. The details of his reign are available to the historian from a chronicle called Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi written […]

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