Friday 4 December 2015

4th DEC 1796 SHRIMANT BAJIRAO PESHWA II (LAST REIGN)

Baji Rao II

  (Redirected from Bajirao II)
Baji Rao II
Peshwa of Maratha empire
Baji Rao II.jpg
Baji Rao II
Reign1796 - 1798
Coronation6 December 1796
Born10 January 1775
Dhar
Died28 January 1851
Bithur near Kanpur
SpouseSaraswati Bai
IssueNana Sahib (adopted)
DynastyPeshwa dynasty
FatherRaghunath Rao
MotherAnandi Bai
ReligionHinduism
Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851), also Rao Pandit Pandham, was Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, and governed from 1796 to 1818. His reign was marked by confrontations with the British.

Biography[edit]


Bajirao II
Baji Rao was the son of Peshwa Raghunathrao and Anandibai. Raghunathrao defected to the English and caused the First Anglo Maratha war that the English lost. Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao committed suicide in 1796, and died without an heir, and with the assistance of Daulatrao Scindia and Nana Phadnavis, Baji Rao became Peshwa. Writes Manohar Malgonkar, the versatile English novelist of India in his book The Devil's Wind:
"Only someone perversely gifted could have succeeded in squandering so vast an inheritance in so short time or disgraced a noble name so thoroughly. He was mean, cruel, vindictive, avaricious but surprisingly well-read and shrewd in financial dealings. He was above all a moral and physical coward, the only Peshwa held in contempt by his subjects" A popular song about him ran as follows:
We emptied the wellAnd drained the land dry,To grow a tree of thorns,'Running' Baji Rao
Continues Malgonkar:
"As a Peshwa he made a deplorable overlord, a man delighted in humiliating his feudatories, seizing their estates on flimsiest of pretexts and what worse, someone imagined that their womenfolk too belonged to him".
Dr.Suman Vaidya,has written a well researched book "Akhercha Peshwa" which totally contradicts what Manohar Malgaonkar has written.
He was born in 1775 when both his parents were kept in imprisonment by the then Peshwa's cabinet. Till the age of 19, he along with his brothers were kept in confinement denying even basic rights of education. He lost both his parents early and had to carry the unfortunate legacy of his parents who, despite from same Brahmin family, were suspected to be involved in the murder of young fifth Peshwa Narayanrao in 1774 AD. As such, being son of suspected murderers, he was looked down upon by his ministers, nobility and even by his subjects. His every action was viewed with prejudice and it is said that though regarded as a good administrator and builder of modern day Pune, he was often labeled as incapable and a coward Peshwa. Being a thorough Brahmin, he was averse to risks and bloodshed and tried to achieve his goals through crafty diplomacy rather than direct head-on confrontations.
After the death of Phadnavis in 1800, the Maratha leaders Yashwantrao Holkar of Indore and Daulat Rao Sindhia of Gwalior contested for control of the empire; their rivalry made its way to Pune, seat of the Peshwa. Holkar ultimately triumphed, and Baji Rao II fled west to Bombay in September 1802 to seek the willing hands of the British who were waiting for this opportunity with great patience. They were profuse with offers of assistance- after all, the fountain head of Maratha confederacy, the biggest power in land then, had come to them seeking aid! There, he concluded the Treaty of Bassein in December 1802, in which the British agreed to reinstate Baji Rao II as Peshwa, in return for allowing in Maratha territory- a force of 6000 infantry troops complete with guns and officered by British, paying for its maintenance and accepting the stationing of a permanent British political agent (Resident) at Pune. Holkar and Sindhia resisted the British intrusion in Maratha affairs, which resulted in the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803-1805.[1]
The British triumphed, and the Marathas lost and were forced to accept losses of territories due to internal rivalries between Holkars and Scindias and treachery at all the battles done by Scindia's French and other European officers, who mostly handled the imported guns in Maratha army- the Marathas failing to train their own men in sufficient number to handle imported guns.
The raids of the Pindaris, irregular horsemen who resided in the Maratha territories, into British territory ultimately led to the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1817-1818 which ended in the defeat of the Bhosles, Holkars and other maratha feudatories. On Nov 5, 1817, the British Resident at Pune was attacked by Baji Rao II's army led by his Attorney Mor Dixit. Bajirao II could have won this battle had he not halted progress of his forces by succumbing to the request of British Resident Elphinstone for a ceasefire. Baji Rao watched the battle that ensued between his troops and the British from a hill now called Parvati . This battle is referred to as Battle of Khadki. Later his troops moved to Garpir on outskirts towards present day Solapur road to block the British troops coming from Jalna but treachery of one of his chief, Sardar Ghorpade Sondurkar, led to his force withdrawing . Later he captured Chakan Fort from British troops and repulsed the attack of Ghodnadi's Company Regiment at Korgaon, where lots of company officers as well as soldiers were killed including loss of guns at the hands of his feudatory Tryambakji Dengle. Five British columns set out after Baji Rao II in full cry, slavering at the thought of the 'Prize money' that lay at the end of the chase. After running for five months from one fort to another, awaiting the promised help from Scindias, Holkars and Bhosles that did not come, Baji Rao II surrendered to Sir John Malcolm. Much to the chagrin of the Company's Governor-General Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings (no relation to Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India), Malcolm was prepared to keep him a lifelong prince, allow him to retain his personal fortune and pay him an annual pension of £80,000 (£100,000 according to some sources) every year. In return, Baji Rao II would have to live in a place assigned by the British along with his retainers on the condition that he would never return to his homeland at Pune. He would also have to forsake all his claims to his heritage and could not style himself as Peshwa but there was no objection to call himself as 'Maharaja'. The only reason why Francis Rawdon-Hastings ratified the treaty made by Malcolm was his conviction that Baji Rao II would not live long as he was already above 40 and many of his ancestors did not live much beyond that age.
To keep Baji Rao II under watchful eyes, the British selected a small village on the right bank of Ganges at a place called Bithur near Kanpur, where they had a large military establishment then. The place selected was exactly six square miles in area and in it, together with his relatives and others who moved from Pune along with him in 1818, there were about 15,000 inhabitants. He had once ruled 50 million. There Baji Rao added 5 more wives and led an empty life, spending the day time in religion and night time in orgies[citation needed]. Contrary to the Company's wishes, he lived for another 33 years and died in 1851 at Bithur.
There were many stories making the rounds in the Court of Gwalior about Baji Rao II, where Malgoankar’s grandfather P. Baburao was a minister. One such story was about the ghost of a slain Peshwa, Narayan Rao, haunting Baji Rao throughout his life that was widely known to many people due to Baji Rao II’s unceasing efforts to exorcise the ghost. Narayan Rao was the fifth Peshwa who was allegedly murdered with the connivance of Baji Rao’s parents as was mentioned earlier. In order to get rid of the ghost, Baji Rao employed the priests of Pandharpur, a temple town of Maharashtra on the banks of a local river. Initially the priests succeeded in driving away the ghost and in gratitude, Baji Rao II ordered the building of a riverside embankment in Pandharpur, which still bears his name. However when Baji Rao II was exiled to Bithur the ghost re-appeared and started haunting again. Since he was forbidden to visit his homeland, he performed religious penances prescribed by the priests of Benares (Varanasi) and was extravagant in distributing alms to Brahmins. He built temples, bathing ghats, performed endless poojas (religious prayers), underwent countless stringent fasts, fell at the feet of sadhus and soothsayers, etc., but the ghost wouldn’t leave him. It stayed with him till end warning him that his line will end with his successor, his house will burn to ashes and his clan will perish. Incidentally after the flare-up of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, company troops in July that year, after their successful re-capture of Kanpur, under Major-General Henry Havelock initially and later under the then Brigadier James Hope Grant sacked and burnt down Bithur, including the residence of Baji Rao II (wada) where many members of his extended family except his adopted son, Nana Sahib, resided.

See also[edit]


It's a love story that has been visited repeatedly in the creative world — in television serials, books, plays and now with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much-talked about big screen offering, Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. Why is the world so fascinated with Peshwa Bajirao I and Mastani Begum? We asked members of the royal couple's seventh and eight generations, who incidentally have filed a legal petition to see Bhansali's script, and their answer is decisive — because the lineage illustrates the respect and love that Hindus and Muslims can have for each other. And because Mastani Begum diversified Maratha history by starting the lineage that became the Nawabs of Banda.

GENESIS OF THE LINE
Chitapavan brahmin Bajirao I married Mastani and they had a son named Shamsher Ali Bahadur (born Krushnarao). His descendants became the Nawabs of Banda district (in Uttar Pradesh), but lost their estate in another incident of Hindu-Muslim alliance when Nawab Ali Bahadur II, a descendent of Shamser, responded to a rakhi sent by Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and fought against the British alongside her in 1858.

The Ali Bahadur clan of Bhopal, Indore and Sehore trace their ancestors to Nawab Ali Bahadur I, son of Shamsher. In a strategic move to dilute his popularity in the Peshwa court, he was given the provinces that came in Mastani's dowry to govern. Raised in Shaniwarwada and closely associated with the Warkari sect, this marriage of cultures and religions has become the identity of the clan. Aziz Ali Bahadur, great grandson of Ali Bahadur II, a quiet professorial man who speaks in chaste Hindi, has a fondness for temples. "Have you been to the Purandar temple near Pune?" asks the 67-year-old.

"It's in the Purandar fort. It's so quiet there, and the breeze moving through the pillars has a soothing hum." The former principal is the keeper of files of official invites, circulars for court protocol, calling cards and correspondence that his father and grandfather had with other heads of state. "After my father passed away, I saw these rusting tin suitcases with faded papers. It took me two years to segregate and file," he says. Aziz has just finished writing Bajirao Aur Unke Vanshaj, which traces the bloodline right down to his recently born grandson.

THE MOVE TO BHOPAL
The current line of descendants come directly from Nawab Saif Ali Bahadur, grandson of Ali Bahadur II and his 13 sons and seven daughters from three wives. He was the last recipient of the political pension awarded by the British to Ali Bahadur II when he was exiled to Indore after 1858. "Until independence, we would need the viceroy's permission to travel out of Indore principality," says Aziz. In 1947, Saif moved his large family to Sehore for financial prudence.

The family home there is called Nawab Banda compound. "We could have moved to Pakistan," says Afaque Ali Bahadur, another son of Saif, "But why should we? This is our land. We fought for it." A small faction of the family, first cousins of the Bhopal line, live in Indore. Aziz's son Saud is less interested in the family history, but proud of it nonetheless. "We did not have a typical Muslim upbringing," says the 35-year-old real estate professional.

"We have been to the inner sanctums of temples where most Hindus haven't, lived in government quarters with cosmopolitan neighbours and only one or two of my friends are Muslims. This comfort with other religions and patriotism is our inheritance." Afaque Ali Bahadur's son, Umar Ali Bahadur, a 29-year-old sales professional in Bhopal, studied Sanskrit in school and can rattle off mantras with speed and enunciation to rival the most saffron of men. As a devotional exercise as a child, he once filled up a book with repetitions of the Gayatri mantra in writing. He is the most enthusiastic of the young brigade about preserving family history.

THE PUNE CHAPTER
Umar studied in Pune and spearheaded the restoration of what is believed to be Mastani's grave at Pabal. "When I was going to study in Pune University," says Umar, "my uncle Jamshed told me to pay respects at our ancestor's grave. I found that it had been vandalised." Another discordant note was the wide-spread belief that Mastani was a courtesan and mistress of the Peshwa, who brought on the downfall of the Peshwai. Kusum Choppra, Mastani's biographer, traces this defamation to the Peshwa Raghunathrao, second son of Kashibai, who was Bajirao I's first wife. "Ali Bahadur I was a spitting image of Bajirao I and had his temperament," says the Ahmedabad-based author, who wrote Mastani in 2012. "Raghunathrao's son (Bajirao II) was an 'aiyash' and there was fear that the Peshwai would go to Ali Bahadur I instead.

He was sent to Banda and Bajirao II systematically erased 10-year-long official records in Shaniwarwada of Mastani's household expenses, dealings and revenue. He started the rumour that she was a mistress and courtesan." To regain their position in Maratha history, Umar hopes to include his family's lineage in the inscription at Mastani Darwaza in Shaniwarwada. It currently ends with Shamsher Ali Bahadur and Ali Bahadur I. While in Pune, Umar met Vinayakrao Peshwa, who lives at Prabhat Road, and whose line descends from Amrutrao Peshwa, the adopted son of Raghunath Rao.

"I was invited to eat with the Brahmins. I recited the shloka for blessing food, ate off a banana leaf with a coin and was the first one to garland Bajirao I's statue in 2010," says Umar. "I learnt all the rituals because I wanted to represent myself well," he adds. The fact that the adopted lineage of the Peshwas is more feted and recognised than the blood lineage of the Ali Bahadurs is a bone of contention. "Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not contact us for the movie; the Peshwas were invited on set and gifted shawls and saris," says Umar.

His uncle, Tamkeen Ali Bahadur, who looks after the family agricultural land in Sehore and describes himself as a social worker, represents the family in the petition filed in the Jabalpur High Court requesting Sanjay Leela Bhansali to show his script to the family. "We fear that Mastani begum will be portrayed wrongly," says the 61-yearold. Tamkeen's life's work is digging up records of family burial plots and government records of the family's belongings and jewellery confiscated by the British. "History did not give Mastani the respect she deserves," says Afaque Ali Bahadur, who lives in Sehore with his younger wife Ishrat and sons Fareed and Mohammed Abuzar; his elder wife Saira lives in Bhopal with her sons Umar and Usman; and daughter Sarah. Afaque has just retired as CEO of the Zilla Parishad. "She was a philosopher, poet and war strategist, who accompanied Bajirao I on many campaigns," he says, adding: "Even back in the days, they respected each other's religion. In 1986, there were communal riots in Sehore. About 150 Hindus came into our homes for refuge because they knew no one would harm them here. This is our legacy."

THE BITTER PILL
Ironically, the act of patriotism is also a bone of contention. The eldest living brother and son of Saif Ali Bahadur, Nawab Israr Ali Bahadur, who is now considered the head of the family, believes they deserve a pension or compensation from the government. He adheres to a cinematic representation of crumbling royalty. "We lost our lands, our personal belongings, our gems and jewellery because we didn't align with the British, like the Scindias or the Pataudis," says the 82-year-old. "Mastani's jagir in Pune was 300 acres of land.

The revenue from Shikrapur, Nanded and Rajgurunagar town was allotted for her the upkeep of her palace by Bajirao. We haven't been compensated for that either." Israr Ali Bahadur lives in a two-room apartment in Bhopal and is custodian of a few heirlooms — a Quran handwritten from memory in gold water by his grandfather Nawab Zulfikar Ali Bahadur; silver chunna boxes gifted by the Nizam of Hyderabad and his father's rifle, a gift from the Nawab of Rampur. He was invited to Banda for a 'mushaira' some 30 years ago. "The people welcomed me with tears in their eyes," he says.

"There was a It's a love story that has been visited repeatedly in the creative world — in television serials, books, plays and now with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much-talked about big screen offering, Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. Why is the world so fascinated with Peshwa Bajirao I and Mastani Begum? We asked members of the royal couple's seventh and eight generations, who incidentally have filed a legal petition to see Bhansali's script, and their answer is decisive — because the lineage illustrates the respect and love that Hindus and Muslims can have for each other. And because Mastani Begum diversified Maratha history by starting the lineage that became the Nawabs of Banda.

GENESIS OF THE LINE
Chitapavan brahmin Bajirao I married Mastani and they had a son named Shamsher Ali Bahadur (born Krushnarao). His descendants became the Nawabs of Banda district (in Uttar Pradesh), but lost their estate in another incident of Hindu-Muslim alliance when Nawab Ali Bahadur II, a descendent of Shamser, responded to a rakhi sent by Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and fought against the British alongside her in 1858.

The Ali Bahadur clan of Bhopal, Indore and Sehore trace their ancestors to Nawab Ali Bahadur I, son of Shamsher. In a strategic move to dilute his popularity in the Peshwa court, he was given the provinces that came in Mastani's dowry to govern. Raised in Shaniwarwada and closely associated with the Warkari sect, this marriage of cultures and religions has become the identity of the clan. Aziz Ali Bahadur, great grandson of Ali Bahadur II, a quiet professorial man who speaks in chaste Hindi, has a fondness for temples.

"Have you been to the Purandar temple near Pune?" asks the 67-year-old. "It's in the Purandar fort. It's so quiet there, and the breeze moving through the pillars has a soothing hum." The former principal is the keeper of files of official invites, circulars for court protocol, calling cards and correspondence that his father and grandfather had with other heads of state. "After my father passed away, I saw these rusting tin suitcases with faded papers. It took me two years to segregate and file," he says. Aziz has just finished writing Bajirao Aur Unke Vanshaj, which traces the bloodline right down to his recently born grandson.

THE MOVE TO BHOPAL
The current line of descendants come directly from Nawab Saif Ali Bahadur, grandson of Ali Bahadur II and his 13 sons and seven daughters from three wives. He was the last recipient of the political pension awarded by the British to Ali Bahadur II when he was exiled to Indore after 1858. "Until independence, we would need the viceroy's permission to travel out of Indore principality," says Aziz. In 1947, Saif moved

DIRECTOR'S CUT
Shobha Sant, CEO of Bhansali Productions, said neither the Peshwa nor the Nawab family was approached for research since the movie is based on the 1976-book, Rauu, written by N S Inamdar. "We acquired the rights of the book and the script writer, Prakash Kapadia, worked closely with historian Ninad Bedekar." About the petition in Jabalpur court, she says, "The legal department will respond shortly and it will be a comforting answer. We understand that the family is afraid of their ancestors being misrepresented."

WHO WAS MASTANI?
According to her biographer Kusum Choppra, Mastani was the daughter of King Chattrasal Bundela and his Persian wife. "She was a minor wife, one of his 29, but Mastani caught the king's eye for her intelligence, logical thinking and independence at a young age. She was educated in warfare, diplomacy and politics. I suspect her father was grooming her as a regent and saw the alliance with Bajirao I as a way to have an insider in the Maratha court." Mastani was a Krishna bhakt and would become 'mast' and start dancing while singing bhajans. "Her father used to admonish her saying, 'You will be called Mastani if someone sees you' and the nickname stuck," says Chopppra. Her end is mysterious. Mastani was under house arrest in Shaniwarwada when she received news of Bajirao's demise in Raverkhedi near Indore. "I am not convinced of suicide by swallowing a diamond, using her dagger, poison or sati," says Choppra. "She was a doer and after the death of her husband, her thoughts would have been for the safety of her son, who was six at the time."



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