मराठाओं के विरुद्ध बंगाल मैं दुष्प्रचार व् सच्चाई

The Question is: What exactly did the (sic) Bargis of (sic) Maratha do in Bengal?

It is times like this when one is struck by the sheer hollowness of this so-called ‘intellectual’ Site and the vast gap left behind when champions of Indian history like Aashrai Arun, Rohit Patnaik, and Jagmohan Swain were humiliated and kicked out in favour of politically correct goodthink.

Such a predicament is put into sharp relief by the fact that none of the answers here have, as yet, give the impression that the primary sources themselves were consulted. Contrast this with some of the posts written by the names I have mentioned.

Readers must first note here that given the population of Bengal in the early 18th Century would have been barely 10 million, it is extremely unlikely that any Maratha invasion- let alone random raids by an irregular force like the bargirs- could have had led to the ‘murder of millions of Hindus’. As a matter of fact, Bengal remained the most prosperous province in all India for another century and half- finally succumbing to the usurious taxation and unrestrained rapacity of the British Colonists only in the late Nineteenth Century. The Maratha raids- as brutal as they may have been- do not give the impression of having led to the large-scale devastation seen in 1857 or even 1943- or whatever liberal ‘reforms’ are going on even now in Bengal. Even the death of half a million would have devastated Bengal, and led to widespread famine and starvation.

So where-from does the idea of a rapacious Maratha army devastating Bengal for decades on the end arise?

The clue lies in the south, where the Gajapati dynasty was struggling for the independence of Orissa in the face of Maratha, Mughal, and European encroachments. There- one of the leading figures in early 18th Century India- Mirza Muhammad Ali- learn the tricks of trade of administration- by wantonly butchering and slaughtering Oriya zamindars and nobles- a noble task for which we was awarded the title, ‘Alivardi’. (Readers must note that at least two of the banned Quorans I have mentioned are Oriyas- who tend to lose their patience while reading such accounts. I must here also remind Readers that I am, myself, an Oriya).

The growth of Alivardi’s power led to his close association with the Court of Murshidabad where he, not only married his kin into the reigning nobility, but encouraged widespread land ‘reforms’ and adopted the young Siraj-ud-Daulah- effectively usurping the throne of Bengal in all but name.

Needless to say- such actions led to considerable heartburn among the less talented- or as we bhakts call it ‘less psychotic’- members of the Court such as Mir Habib who made common cause with the Marathas, and the zamindars of Bihar who were suffering owing to the massive influx of Afghan colonists. Readers might protest here that Alivardi himself would go on to crush these Afghans- but only after nearly a decade, by which time these malcontents would have sacked Patna and massacred most of the population.

Thus- on the eve of the invasions under Raghuji Bhonsle and Balaji Rao- vast sections of both Oriya and Bihari zamindari was, effectively, partisan to the Marathas, and influential sections of the Bengali zamindari- even Muslims- were itself was willing to join forces with the Hindu Pad Padshahi of Pune if it got Alivardi Khan off their backs.

A close analysis of the Maratha invasions and the latter raids throw up some interesting observations.

1- The Maratha military proper never seems to have undertaken offensive actions itself. Only the irregular troops- known as ‘bargirs’- did and were often hired from local chieftains themselves. It is likely several of them were Oriyas and Biharis who had suffered because of Alivardi Khan’s policies- or even Bengali themselves.

Readers should note that these incidents took place in parallel with the sage of the Third Battle of Panipat where Afghans played a major role in the Maratha defeat. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu men were slaughtered all over North India over the course of nearly two decades of raids and warfare and a similar number of Hindu women and children carried away as slaves- until the Marathas put a stop to the incidents by, despite their ultimate defeat, wiping out the cream of the Afghan forces and destroying the strongholds of Afghan colonists across the North. It is unlikely that the feats of Suraj Mal Jat and Ranjit Singh would’ve had much resonance if the Marathas hadn’t already wiped out one of the primary villains in the Saga. (Yes- the Afghans were the villain here; I will not reply to any accusations of bigotry in the comments because my time is too valuable to be wasted here).

2- The raids were disproportionately focused on Dutch and Marwari interests- with the Marathas often directing vital military assets to crush their outposts, even during times of dire need. This can be explained by the simple fact that the Marwari faction of Bengal, led by Jagat Seth, was arguably the single financial power in the World at the time and utterly without any ethics or loyalty.

In the course of forty years, Jagat Seth would betray one faction after another- shifting his loyalty from Shuja-ud-Din to Alivardi Khan to Mir Jafar to Robert Clive- until Mir Kasim did every living Indian a favour by beheading him. Why shouldn’t the Marathas focus on destroying the lands and property of this least of traitors and his fellow European lackeys? Without Bhonsle and his bargirs, it is likely that European conquests in India would’ve begun as early as the 1720s instead of the 1750s. (Readers will note that it is this scoundrel of the highest order who has been sympathised with in this case).

3- Nearly all sources mentioned in the texts are by commentators with a vested interest in the promotion of either Islamic rule or British sovereignty. (Readers will also note here that such references are, interestingly enough, the same as an article that was released on the topic on the site Scroll.in– which is infamous for calling Bhakts such as myself ‘Nazis’. I doubt people like Aashrai or Rohit would require such aids).

For example- the Annada Mangal is primarily an allegorical tale meant of aggrandisement of the zamindar Krishnachandra Ray, whose family was one of Jagat Seth’s principal allies and who is infamous in Indian history for being one of the Eat India Company’s principal supporters in their struggle against the doomed Mir Kasim- the closest thing Bengal appears to have to a ‘hero’ in the tale. I haven’t read the Maharashtra Purana- and I confess this is the first time I am hearing of such a text- but from the few references I have obtained- primarily from Orme, the text appears to at least part fantasy in my opinion.

So why would a tale of Maratha rapacity arise in the first place? The explanation is simple.

1- The tale of the 18th and 19th Centuries is that of British aggression against the Maratha Confederacy and its allies- whether Islamic or Hindu. Multiple writers elsewhere have already commented on the sophistication and subtlety of British propaganda- the prime example of which is the nonsensical Aryan Invasion theory. Again and again, we find champions of Nationalism- whether it be for India as a whole or the Hindu peoples or even for Bengal- are humiliated and denounced.

The Bengali Nawab, Siraj ud Daulah, is reduced from the reformist administrator he was to a vacillating young fool.. The Marathas are described as ‘raiding’ temples under the ‘care’ of the murderous Tipu Sultan- an egregious lie that I will debunk some other time. The British who excelled in destroying Indian monuments- as evidenced by the writings of the father of modern Indian history, Sir Alexander Cunningham himself, who out a stop to it- are painted as preservers of Indian heritage.

And our young educated Indians are all too willing to lap such patent nonsense up! How wonderful!

2- The idea of valiant East India Company officials aiding a noble Alivardi Khan serves to push forward the myth of a savage Hindu ‘other’. This is absurd in itself- given that for every sin the Marathas were guilty of, the British and Alivardi surpassed them hundred-fold, but also because the Marathas had no lack of Muslim and Bengali allies. Orissa was freed from Alivardi Khan’s depredations- and the Oriya Kings, though no fans of the Marathas, put up with it. Mir Habib’s faction was strengthened and obtained the subedari of Cuttack. Jagat Seth’s manipulations were set back by decades.

Further it must be noted that for over a century, the primary allies of the British invaders against the Marathas were, invariably, Muslims. And several of us must be already aware of texts like Eminent Historians where the fraudulency and corruption of India’s leftist hordes is dissected and exposed for all the World to see. Here, Readers might contest that even this were the case, the British could have hardly created anti-Maratha lullabies for mothers to frighten their children to sleep. To such doubters, I recommend a reading of the Arthashastra. A dedicated propagandist- if backed with control of the Police and Education- can easily ‘create’ memories as easily within a person as within a Society.

Even now, it is clear that the Ancients- despite their lack of degrees from IITs and IIMs- leave the present youth of India into the dust where intelligence is concerned. This is not unexpected; as Swami Vivekananda once said- there is no hope for the one who thinks his father a fool and his grandfather a madman.

3- The idea of Maratha raids massacring millions of Bengalis is, in itself, a very recent phenomenon- dating back to the 60s, if not the 70s. Eighteenth Century Indian literature, as a whole, primarily is concerned with the rapacity of Afghan and Turk colonists, and the widespread disasters arising from what was, essentially, a century long Civil war.

The primary cause for this shift in thinking is courtesy of ‘noted’ British historian P. J. Marshall, famed for his opinion that the noble British invaders did their best for the ungrateful Indian wretches and that the tribulations faced by Indians- the famines, the massacres, the destruction of industries and the back-breaking taxes, the enslavement of entire tribes and the destruction of whole cities- was not the fault of the noble British, but because Indians were, inherently, an inferior race.

Only a brainwashed slave- or an Indian- can swallow such an explanation and be happy with it.

Did the Marathas raid Bengal? Of course, they did. However:-

1- The raids seems to be limited in extent and directed largely at Alivardi Khan’s, Jagat Seth’s, Dutch, and Afghan territories. Secessionist Oriya, Bihari, and Bengali loyalists remained unharmed and even supported the Marathas in their actions. That innocent peasants died is unquestionable- but it is extremely unlikely that the Marathas were raiding for kicks and extremely likely that the numbers were grossly exaggerated later.

On the other hand, it is interesting- and darkly hilarious- to see the very same commenters who praise Alivardi Khan and the Mughals to the skies demonizing the Marathas.

2- It is extremely rich to accuse the Marathas of massacres- since Alivardi Khan, despite the puerile tolerance nonsense penned for him by our eminent historians- appears to have been a capital terror in his own right. And Readers are requested not to consider thsi the ravings of an Oriya for ancient crimes done against his race, even the noble British who civilized this Continent remarked, via the pen of Robert Orme: ‘Alivardi Khan (was becoming) so rapacious that (the English) must think of swinging the old dog.’

3- It is even more interesting that Indian Quorans- who venture to speak not a word against the horrors committed by Islamic generals and kings, even the much-feted Mughals, have been so keen to tar the Marathas as evil. As such, it is the ones who fought for an independent India- the Marathas, Mir Kasim, Mir Habib, and Siraj ud Daulah- who are painted as the villains here while paeans are being sung for outright traitors such as Alivardi Khan, the Rajas of Birbhum and Burdhwan, and Jagat Seth.

Readers would note here- why is it that raiders-many led by local Bengali Muslims- fighting for political reasons and for a Hindu Pad Padshahi- are being raked over the coals while openly fanatical Islamists who massacred and enslaved Hindus and their dhimmi lickspittles are being treated as kid gloves?

To repeat the words of the Swami Vivekananda- there is no hope for those who consider their fathers fools and their grandfathers madmen.