Baji Rao II
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Baji Rao II was the last Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. He governed from 1796 to 1818. His reign was marked by confrontations with the British.
Baji Rao was the son of Peshwa Raghunath Rao, who had served as regent for his nephew, Peshwa Madhavrao Naryayan. Madhavrao committed suicide in 1796, and died without an heir, and with the assistance of Nana Phadnavis, Baji Rao became Peshwa. Writes Manohar Malgoankar, 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 well
And drained the land dry,
To grow a tree of thorns,
"Running" Baji Rao.
Continues Manohar Malgoankar "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". After the death of Phadnavis in 1800, the Maratha leaders Yaswant Rao 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 fled west to Bombay in September 1802 to seek the willing hands of the British who were waiting for this opportunity with great patience. There, he concluded the Treaty of Bassein in December 1802, in which the British agreed to reinstate Baji Rao in return for the Marathas allowing British troops in Maratha territory and paying for their maintenance, and acceptance of a British political agent (Resident) at Pune. Holkar and Sindhia resisted the British intrusion on Maratha affairs, which resulted in the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803-1805. The British triumphed, and the Marathas were forced to accept losses of territory. 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 Scindhias and other maratha feudatories. On Nov 5, 1817 on the day of Diwali or Festival of Lights, the British Resident at Pune maintained and paid by Baji Rao for his 'protection' attacked Baji Rao's personal guard. Baji Rao, true to his character ran away and watched the battle that ensued between his forces and the British from a hill now called Parvati.This battle is referred to as 'Battle of Kirkee'. He fled from there too when the sound of the gunfire came too close. Five British columns set out after him 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, Baji Rao surrendered to Sir John Malcom. Much to the chagrin of the Company's Governor-General Lord Hastings, Malcom was prepared to keep him a life-long prince, retain his personal fortune and pay him a pension of a hundred thousand pounds every year. In return Baji Rao 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 foresake all his claims to his heritage and can not style himself as Peshwa but there was no objection to call himself as 'Maharaja'. The only reason why Lord Hastings ratified the treaty made by Malcom was his conviction that Baji Rao would not live long given his sexual excesses. He was already above 40 and many of his ancestors did not live much beyond that age. To keep Baji Rao under watchful eyes, the British selected a small village on the right bank of Ganges near at a place called Bhittor near Kanpur where they had one of their biggest military establishments. 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 15000 inhabitants. He had once ruled 50 millions!!. There Baji Rao added 5 more wifes and led an empty life, spending the day time in religion and the nights in sexual orgies. Contrary to the Company's wishes, he lived for another 33 years . He died in 1851 at Bhittor.
