Canberra, 11th September 2022 The Gaekwads were hereditary Patels of Davdi, a village near Talegaon in Pune district. From the time of the Maratha conquest of Gujarat, they were in the direct service of the Senapati, Khande Rao Dabhade. The Senapati was also a hereditary position and equal in status to the Peshwa, being the […]
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Tag Archives: Nana Phadnavis
The Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section IV: The Holkars of Indore
September 6, 2022 
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Canberra, 06 September 2022 Originally the Holkars were a sturdy pastoral tribe, used to living outdoors and constantly moving residence; said to have been Dhangars, they easily adapted to the life of Maratha warriors. The main Holkar family initially lived in Wafgaon in the Khed district near Pune, then moved to Hol Marum near Jejuri […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section III: The Scindias of Gwalior
August 29, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 29 August 2022 The earliest mention of Scindia (also spelt Sindia, Sindhia, supposed to have been anglicised from ‘Shinde’) is found during the Bahmani rule in Deccan when a few Scindia families are reported to have risen to eminence in the service of the Sultan. The name is traced back to ‘Sendrak’ an ancient […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section II: The Rajas of Nagpur
August 20, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 20 August 2022 The Rajas of Nagpur come from a branch known as the Hingnikar Bhonsles who were closely related to the main branch of the Bhonsles in Satara. The founder of the dynasty Mudhoji is better known as the father of Parsoji Bhonsle who was instrumental in making the dynasty, and the kingdom […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section I: The Rajas of Kolhapur
August 13, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 13 August 2022 On Chhatrapati Shivaji’s son and successor Sambhaji being killed by the Mughals, his younger half-brother Rajaram ascended the throne in 1689. He ruled for 11 years and died in 1700, whereupon his widow Tarabai declared her young son Shivaji II the king and started to rule the kingdom as the Regent. […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 18 The March to Destruction Section VI: Acceleration of Decay and Dissolution
July 21, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra 21 July 2022 Richard Wellesley (1st Marquees Wellesley, 2nd Earl of Mornington) was a member of the English East India Company’s Supreme Council in Calcutta from 1793 and was appointed the Governor–General in 1797, holding the post till 1805. When he took over, Nana Phadnavis in the last years of his life and in […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 18 The March to Destruction: 50 Years of Chaos Section V: Every Man for Himself
July 15, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 15 July 2022 Although Raghunath Rao had died in December 1783, his legacy of creating disunity, chaos and turmoil lived on through the actions of his wife and three sons. There is no doubt that he had brought enormous misfortune on his country by his single-minded pursuit of his personal ambition, pushed to the […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 18 The March to Destruction Section IV: Debilitating Disunity
July 10, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 10 July 2022 The Treaty of Salbai, although favourable to the Marathas overall, it also provided increasing power to the major leaders within the Maratha polity. Of these, the Scindia clan benefitted the most and they became a semi-autonomous royal house in their own right. Scindia in North India From the time of the […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 18 The March to Destruction: 50 Years of Chaos Section III Dealing with Tipu: Turmoil and Wars
July 5, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 5 July 2022 [Note: The narrative in this chapter only deals with Tipu’s interaction with the Maratha Empire and to some extent with the repercussions of some of his actions elsewhere on the Maratha polity. A detailed analysis of the father-son team of Haidar Ali–Tipu on their takeover of the Kingdom of Mysore and […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 18 The March to Destruction: 50 Years of Chaos Section II Renewed English Wars
July 2, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 2 July 2022 In Calcutta, leading the Supreme Council, Warren Hastings had been newly titled as the ‘Governor-General’. He was single-mindedly determined to wipe out what he termed as the ‘disgrace of Wadegaon’. He placed Colonel Goddard as the supreme commander of all forces in Bombay, giving him explicit instructions to restore the credibility […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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