presented to the 
 
 LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO 
 
 by 
 FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY 
 
 _ 
 
 donor
 
 INDIA 
 
 AND THE FRONTIER STATES OF 
 
 AFGHANISTAN, NIPAL AND BURMA 
 
 BY 
 
 J. TALBOYS WHEELER 
 
 LATE ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA, FOREIGN DEPART- 
 MENT, AND LATE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH BURMA 
 
 WITH A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER OF RECENT EVENTS 
 By EDGAR SALTUS 
 
 WITH MAPS AND TABLES 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 MCM
 
 PREFACE 
 
 IT is a common complaint that while the annals of In- 
 dia are of paramount importance to the people of England, 
 there is no history which they seem less inclined to study. 
 Greece and Rome, Egypt and Palestine, Assyria and Baby- 
 lon countries which have long ceased to play a part in the 
 drama of humanity are the subjects of text-books in our 
 schools and universities; while India, which is literally a 
 modern reflex of the ancient world, and has moreover be- 
 come a part and parcel of the British empire, is to this day 
 a sealed book to the masses. The essays of Lord Macaulay 
 on Robert Olive and Warren Hastings are perhaps known 
 to every English household; but they refer to mere episodes 
 in the history, and are wanting in that familiarity with na- 
 tive character and forms of thought which is essential to 
 a right appreciation of the great collision between Europe 
 and Asia that has been going on in India for the last two 
 centuries. 
 
 The truth is that the preparation of a history of India, 
 political and religious, is a far more difficult and laborious 
 task than is generally imagined. Twenty-two years ago 
 the author began such a work at Madras under every pos- 
 sible advantage. There were libraries at Madras contain- 
 ing almost unique collections of books appertaining to India. 
 
 (3)
 
 4 PKEFACH 
 
 To these were added the government records at Madras, 
 which were freely opened to the author by Sir Charles 
 Trevelyan, who was at that time Governor. The author 
 completed a History of Madras, compiled from the govern- 
 ment records, and he taught Indian history in the Madras 
 Presidency College; but he was unable to complete a real 
 history of India from a consciousness of want of knowledge. 
 After four years he proceeded to Calcutta as Assistant Sec- 
 retary to the Government of India in the Foreign or Polit- 
 ical Department, and was soon astounded at his own igno- 
 rance. He had learned something of Clive and Hastings, 
 of the Moghuls, Mahrattas, and the Marquis of "Wellesley ; 
 but of the history of India and its civilization, and espe- 
 cially of the conflicts between opposite lines of policy laid 
 down by different Anglo-Indian statesmen during the eigh- 
 teenth and nineteenth centuries, he found that he knew lit- 
 erally nothing. 
 
 The writer has no desire to carry the reader into his 
 workshop, or to dwell on the extent of his labors. It will 
 suffice to say that having sounded the depths of his igno- 
 rance, he has since then lost no opportunity, official or lit- 
 erary, to perfect his knowledge of Indian history. Some 
 samples have already appeared in his large "History of 
 India from the Earliest Ages," which deals with the Hindu 
 and Muhammadan periods, and of which four volumes have 
 already been published. His history of British India is now 
 given for the first time in the present volumes. It has been 
 an entirely independent work, drawn direct from the foun- 
 tain head, after a study of the records of the Government 
 of India, official reports and parliamentary blue books, and 
 of such current annals, memoirs, travels, or correspondence, 
 as have been found to yield historical materials. Thus it
 
 PREFACE 5 
 
 is only after the unremitting application of many years, 
 during which official duties have often helped him as much 
 as literary studies, that the author has been able to com- 
 plete the history of India, from the earliest dawning of le- 
 gend to the breaking out of the present Afghan war: and to 
 reduce the whole to a compact form which, it is hoped, will 
 render it both interesting and useful to general readers, as 
 well as to students in the religion and politics of our Indian 
 empire. 
 
 WITHAM, ESSEX, 
 
 Jan. 22, 1880.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 HINDU INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 MAHA BHARATA PUNJAB AND NORTHWEST. (AB. B.C. 1500-1400) . 11 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 RAMAYANA OUDE. (ABOUT B.C. 1000) 48 
 
 CHAPTER in 
 
 MEDLEVAL RAJAS. (B.C. 500 TO A.D. 1000) ... 61 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 RELIGION AND LITERATURE 77 
 
 PART II 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 TURKS AND AFGHANS. (A.D. 1000 TO 1525) . .... 94 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 DEKHAN AND PENINSULA. (A.D. 1350 TO 1565) ..... 112 
 
 (7)
 
 8 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER m 
 
 PORTUGUESE EMPIRE MALABAR. (A.D. 1498 TO 1026) .124 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE BABER, HUMAYUN, AKBAR. (A.D. 1525 TO 1605) . 149 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE JEHANGm AND SHAH JEHAN. (A.D. 1605 TO 1658) . 173 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE AURANGZEB. (A.D. 1658 TO 1707) . . .196 
 
 CHAPTER VH 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE CIVILIZATION. (A.D. 1600 TO 1790) . . 819 
 
 CHAPTER VHI 
 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE DECLINE AND FALL. (A.D. 1707 TO 1748) . 840 
 
 PART III 
 BRITISH INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ENGLISH AT MADRAS. (A.D. 1700 TO 1756) . .... i 271 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 ENGLISH IN BENGAL. (A.D. 1700 TO 1761) ... 807 
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 REVOLUTIONARY THEOES. (A.D. 1761 TO 1765) . . . . . 340
 
 CONTENTS 9 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 DOUBI^E GOVERNMENT OLIVE, ETC. (A.D. 1765 TO 1771) ... 869 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 BOMBAY MAHRATTA EMPIRE. (A.D. 1748 TO 1772) . ... 382 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 ENGLISH RULE WARREN HASTINGS. (A.D. 1772 TO 1785) . . . 404
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 INDIA 
 
 Frontispiece COURT SCENE AT SHAH JEHAN'S .... 
 
 TAJ MAHAL 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS 
 
 THE NAWAB'S ARTILLERY ON ITS MOVABLE PLATFORM AT PLASSY 
 
 LIST OF MAPS 
 
 nuu 
 
 INDIA, TO ILLUSTRATE THE MAHA BHARATA 13 
 
 INDIA, TO ILLUSTRATE THE RAMAYANA 45 
 
 INDIA, TO ILLUSTRATE THE MEDLEVAL RAJAS .... 63 
 
 INDIA, TO ILLUSTRATE THE " TURKS AND AFGHANS " . . .99 
 
 INDIA, TO ILLUSTRATE THE DEKHAN AND PENINSULA . . . .'15 
 
 INDIA, TO ILLUSTRATE THE MOGHUL EMPIRE 1^8 
 
 INDIA, TO ILLUSTRATE EARLY ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS BEFORE 
 
 1750 273 
 
 INDIA IN THE TIME OF CLIVE 291 
 
 INDIA IN THI TIME OF WARREN HASTINGS ... e c 407 
 
 10
 
 A SHORT HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 PART I HINDU INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 MAHA BHARATA PUNJAB AND NORTHWEST 
 
 ABOUT B.C. 1500-1400 
 
 INDIA in ancient times was parcelled out, like Palestine 
 and Greece, into a number of small kingdoms, each 
 under the government of its own Raja. Every Raja 
 had a council of elders, including chiefs and kinsmen, who 
 were collectively known as the Durbar. Sometimes there 
 was a minister or ministry. Sometimes a Raja might be 
 under the influence of a queen or Rani, or of a queen mother 
 or dowager Rani. Sometimes a Raja conquered other Rajas, 
 and became known as a Maharaja, or "great Raja." At a 
 remote period the life at Hindu courts was modified by the 
 rise of priests or Brahmans. The working of these various 
 elements finds full expression in Hindu legends, and consti- 
 tutes what may be called Hindu history. 
 
 The earliest traditions of India are recorded in the Maha 
 Bharata, an ancient Hindu epic, written in the Sanskrit lan- 
 guage. It tells of a great war between Kauravas and Pan- 
 da vas, just as Homer's Iliad tells of a war between Greece 
 and Troy. The scene is laid partly in the Punjab, and partly 
 in the northwest of Hindustan. The Kauravas and Pandavas 
 were rival kinsmen of the royal house of Hastinapur. The 
 city of Hastinapur was situated about sixty-five miles to the 
 northeast of Delhi, and is still represented by a group of 
 
 (ID
 
 12 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 shapeless mounds on the upper course of the Ganges. The 
 extent of the Raj is unknown ; but it included a certain area 
 round Hastinapur on the river Ganges. It probably con- 
 sisted of arable and pasture lands, occupied by Rajputs, and 
 bordering on uncleared jungle and forest, which were in- 
 habited by aboriginal populations ; but in the Sanskrit epic 
 the Raja is always known as a Maharaja, or "great 
 Raja." 1 
 
 Hastinapur was to all appearance an Aryan colony, hav- 
 ing other Aryan or Rajput colonies in its neighborhood, each 
 forming a kingdom under its own Raja. But all these colo- 
 nies were struggling more or less against aboriginal or non- 
 Aryan populations. The Aryans were immigrants from High 
 Asia; they had established kingdoms in Central Asia, the 
 Punjab, and the northwest quarter of Hindustan, as far as 
 Kanouj on the Ganges, and probably in Ayodhya or Oude 
 to the northward of the Ganges. They regarded the abo- 
 rigines as demons and cannibals, and called them Rakshasas 
 and Asuras. Some aboriginal tribes were treated rather as 
 subject races ; such as the Bhils or Bheels, who occupied the 
 hills and jungles to the south, and the Nagas, or snake wor- 
 shippers, who appear to have migrated from Kashmir toward 
 the banks of the Ganges. 
 
 The Maharaja of Hastinapur was named Santanu. He 
 claimed descent from the hero Bharata, who was said to have 
 conquered all India. The name of Bharata was famous in 
 the days of yore. All India was called the land of Bharata. 
 Even the war of the descendants of Santanu, which forms 
 the main tradition of the epic, has always been known as 
 the Maha Bharata, or "great war of Bharata." 
 
 Maharaja Santanu was an old man with a grown-up 
 son. He wanted to marry a young damsel; but her par- 
 ents would not consent to the marriage unless he disinherited 
 his present son, and reserved the Raj for any other son he 
 
 1 General Cunningham, on the strength of certain astronomical data, flxea 
 the date of the war of the Maha Bharata in 1426 B.C.
 
 HINDU INDIA 
 
 13 
 
 ' S/ ^ . XHE JLAHABHABAT/ 
 
 V / *J \ Statuie Miles 
 
 X-X J \ HfO P MO 9 
 

 
 14 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 might have by their daughter. Moreover, to prevent any 
 future disputes, the parents insisted that the son already 
 living should pledge himself never to marry. The Maharaja 
 was thus at the mercy of his son. But the son was a model 
 of filial obedience ; he resigned all claim to the Raj ; and he 
 vowed never to marry, and never to become a father. The 
 parents then gave their daughter in marriage to the Ma- 
 haraja; but the son became known by the name of Bhishma, 
 or "dreadful," because of his dreadful vow. 
 
 The old Maharaja became the father of a second son, and 
 then died. Bhishma kept his vow, and proved a faithful 
 guardian of the widow and her infant son. He placed the 
 son upon the throne, instructed him in the use of arms, and 
 conducted the affairs of the Raj for him as minister or man- 
 ager. "When the prince was grown, Bhishma provided him 
 with two wives; he fought and conquered the Raja of Be- 
 nares, and carried off his two daughters to become the brides 
 of his young half-brother. 1 This capture of daughters was 
 in accordance with the old customs of the Kshatriyas or 
 Rajas; but the captor was always obliged to fight and con- 
 quer the father before he could carry off a daughter, either 
 to marry her or to give her in marriage. 8 The man who 
 stole away a daughter without fighting the father was a 
 coward and a Rakshasa. 3 
 
 After a while the young Maharaja sickened and died, 
 leaving two infants to inherit the Raj Dhritarashtra the 
 "blind," and Pandu the "pale-complexioned." 4 Again 
 Bhishma proved a faithful minister and instructor; he 
 managed the Raj, educated the two boys, and in due time 
 procured wives for both. Dhritarashtra the blind was mar- 
 
 1 Attock, on the river Indus, was anciently known as Benares. It is a ques- 
 tion whether the princesses belonged to Benares on the Indus, or to Benares on 
 the Ganges. 
 
 9 Manu, iii. 26, 32, 41. For further explanation, see History of India, voL i. 
 Maha Bharata. 
 
 3 Rakshasa was a name of reproach applied to the aborigines of India. 
 
 4 The legend has been slightly modified to suit modern tastes. The details 
 are given in the larger History of India, voL i.
 
 HINDU INDIA 15 
 
 ried to a daughter of the Raja of the Gandhara country. J 
 The bride was named Gandhari ; and when she knew that 
 her husband was blind, she tied a handkerchief over her 
 eyes, so that she might have no advantage over him. .Pan- 
 du the pale-complexioned was married to two wives, Kunti 
 and Madri. a 
 
 The council of elders at Hastinapur would not accept a 
 blind prince as their Maharaja. Dhritarashtra was set aside 
 notwithstanding he was the elder of the two; and Pandu the 
 pale-complexioned was installed on the throne of Hastirfapur. 
 
 The reign of Pandu is obscure, and of no moment. After 
 a while he abdicated the throne, and went into the jungle, 
 and spent his time in hunting. Subsequently he died in the 
 jungle, leaving three sons by Kunti and two sons by Madri. 
 There was a contest between his two widows as to who should 
 burn herself with his remains. Madri pleaded that she was 
 the youngest and most beloved, and therefore the most likely 
 to comfort the dead Maharaja in the world of shades. s Ac- 
 cordingly Madri perished on the funeral pile, and Kunti re- 
 turned with the five sons of Pandu to the palace of Hastina- 
 pur. The three sons of Kunti were named Yudhishthira, 
 Bhima, and Arjuna. The two sons of Madri were named 
 Nakula and Sahadava. 
 
 Meanwhile Dhritarashtra the blind became Maharaja of 
 Hastinapur. Indeed after the abdication of Pandu there was 
 no alternative ; for there was no one left but the blind prince. 
 Bhishma, however, was still minister or manager of the Raj. 
 Dhritarashtra had several sons, but only two of any note, 
 namely, Duryodhana the eldest, and his brother Duhsasana. 
 The sons of Dhritarashtra were called the Kauravas, after 
 
 1 The name of Gandhara still lingers in that of Kandahar in Central Asia. 
 The country, however, is said to be identical with the lower Cabul valley, includ- 
 ing Peshawur. The Gandarians fought in the army of Xerxes, armed, like the 
 Baktrians, with bows of cane and short spears. (Herodotus, vii. 64, 66.) Eaw- 
 linaon locates them on the lower Indus, and makes them migrate to Kandahar. 
 
 2 The birth of Kunti is obscured by a religious myth. Madri is said to have 
 been bought with money. 
 
 3 This story was current among the Greeks. It is retold in the history of 
 Didorus Siculus.
 
 16 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 a remote ancestor called Kuru. They were thus distin- 
 guished from their cousins, the five sons of Pandu, who were 
 known as the Pandavas. 
 
 The Kauravas and Pandavas were brought up in the old 
 palace at Hastinapur. Bhishma, the patriarch of the fam- 
 ily, was by this time too old to teach the rising generation. A 
 tutor or preceptor was engaged named Drona. He was an 
 exiled prince from Panchala, who had taken refuge at the 
 court of Hastinapur. Panchala lay to the southeast ; it was 
 a Raj* situated on the lower Doab between the Ganges and 
 the Jumna. l The Raja of the Panchala was named Drupada. 
 Drona had a feud with Drupada, and became an exile. He 
 married a daughter of the house of Hastinapur, and had a 
 son named Aswatthama. He became preceptor of the young 
 princes of Hastinapur, on the condition that when they were 
 fully versed in the use of arms they should help him to be 
 revenged on Raja Drupada. 
 
 There was soon a jealousy between the Kauravas and the 
 Pandavas. It was a question who should succeed to the 
 Raj ; Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, or Yudhish- 
 thira, the eldest of the Pandavas. Yudhishthira was not 
 given to fighting, and never proved himself a warrior. But 
 Duryodhana was jealous of the strength of Bhima, the sec- 
 ond Pandava, who was the giant of the family. He mixed 
 drugs in Bhima's food; and when the giant was in a deep 
 sleep, he threw him into the Ganges. Bhima was rescued 
 by some of the Naga people, and returned to Hastinapur; 
 but the strife between Duryodhana and the Pandavas still 
 remained. 
 
 Drona took great pains in teaching all the young men, 
 but he had a special leaning toward the Pandavas. He 
 taught Yudhishthira the use of the spear, but nothing would 
 
 1 The frontiers of a Hindu Raj, in ancient times, are often obscure. Ac- 
 cording to the Maha Bharata the kingdom of Panchala extended from the Hima- 
 layas to the Chambal river. Manu again identifies Panchala with Kanouj. The 
 city of Kanouj, on the Ganges, was about two hundred miles to the south of 
 Hastinapur.
 
 HINDU INDIA 17 
 
 make that young man a warrior. Bhima, Aowever, learned 
 to use his club ; while Arjuna became the most famous archer 
 of his time. Nakula learned to tame horses, and Sahadava 
 to calculate the stars. The Kauravas were taught the use of 
 arms, like their cousins the Pandavas, and so was Aswatt- 
 hama, the son of Drona; but there was no one to equal 
 Arjuna; and Duryodhana began to hate Arjuna as much 
 as he hated Bhima. 
 
 The fame of Drona as a teacher of archery was soon 
 noised abroad. Sons of Rajas flocked to Hastinapur to learn 
 the use of the bow. Among others came a son of a Bhil 
 Raja from the southern hills ; but Drona refused to instruct 
 him. Drona declared that the Bhils were a race of high- 
 waymen and cattle lif ters, and that it would be a sin to teach 
 them the use of the bow. The Bhil prince was much abashed 
 by this refusal, and went away very sorrowful to his own 
 country. 
 
 The Bhils in those days were as superstitious as they are 
 now. The Bhil prince adored Drona as a god. He made a 
 clay image of Drona, worshipped it, and practiced with his 
 bow and arrows before it; and he became so skilful an 
 archer that his fame reached to Hastinapur. Drona was 
 angry with the Bhil prince; he was alarmed lest the Bhils 
 should become dangerous archers. He went to the Bhil 
 country, accompanied by all the young men at Hastinapur, 
 and resolved to spoil the archery of his worshipper. He called 
 the Bhil prince before him, and commanded him to cut off 
 the forefinger of his right hand. The prince fell down and 
 worshipped him and prepared to do his bidding. But Drona's 
 heart was touched. He ordered the Bhil to stay his hand, 
 but made him swear that he would never shoot the bow with 
 his forefinger, but with his middle fingers only. 1 
 
 After the return from the Bhil country a day was ap- 
 pointed for an exhibition of arms at Hastinapur. An area 
 
 1 The legend is remembered in Malwa to this day, but the modern Bhils have 
 forgotten the oath, and use their forefingers in shooting, as they say their fathers 
 had done before them.
 
 18 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 was set apart without the city, and marked round with bar- 
 riers. Galleries were built round about for the accommoda- 
 tion of chieftains and ladies, and were adorned with flags 
 and garlands. When the day began to dawn, the people 
 gathered round the barriers, and between the galleries, to 
 witness the exercises of the Kauravas and Pandavas. The 
 blind Maharaja was led to the galleries, and took his seat 
 among his chieftains, with Bhishma sitting on his right 
 hand. All the ladies of the court also took their seats in 
 the galleries; and the chief among them were Gandhari, 
 the mother of the Kauravas, and Kunti, the mother of the 
 Pandavas. 
 
 Drona and his son Aswatthama then entered the arena 
 in white garments, and chanted the praises of Indra and 
 the gods. The princes followed with their weapons in their 
 hands, and kissed the feet of their preceptor. They began 
 by shooting arrows at a butt, first on foot, and afterward 
 from horses, elephants, and chariots. Next followed mock 
 fights with swords and bucklers, and afterward they fought 
 with clubs, to prove their strength as well as their skill. 
 
 During the club fighting, the old jealousy broke out. 
 Duryodhana and Bhima engaged in combat at the other 
 end of the arena, and soon fought in downright earnest. 
 They rushed upon one another like wild elephants, while 
 the multitude ran to and fro, and shouted some for Bhima 
 and others for Duryodhana. The air was filled with noise 
 and dust, and the whole plain was in an uproar. Drona 
 sent his son Aswatthama to stop the combat, but no one 
 heeded him. At last Drona went himself in all haste, 
 parted the young men by sheer force, and thus put an end 
 to the turmoil. 
 
 When quiet was restored, Drona ordered Arjuna to show 
 his skill at archery. The young prince entered the arena 
 clothed in golden mail, with his bow inlaid with many col- 
 ors. The multitude hailed him as another Indra; and the 
 heart of Kunti thrilled with pride and exultation as she 
 beheld her youngest son. Arjuna set up an iron boar and
 
 HINDU INDIA 19 
 
 shot five arrows into its mouth. He tied a cow's horn to 
 the top of a pole, and shot twenty-one arrows into the hol- 
 low of the horn. He mounted his chariot, and was driven 
 swiftly along, while shooting arrows right and left with the 
 utmost skill and dexterity. Next he played with the sword, 
 and the blade flashed like lightning. He whirled his sharp- 
 edged quoit or chakra wherever he would, and never missed 
 his mark. Lastly, he armed himself with a noose, and 
 threw it at horses and deer, and drew every one to the 
 ground. "When he had finished, he kissed the feet of his 
 preceptor, and was embraced by Drona before all the as- 
 sembly. 
 
 At this moment a young warrior entered the arena and 
 challenged Arjuna. His name was Kama. He was a close 
 friend of Duryodhana, for he was as skilled an archer as 
 Arjuna ; but his birth was low, for his father was a chari- 
 oteer. Arjuna would have fought Kama, but a kinsman 
 prevented the combat. Duryodhana made him a Raja on 
 the spot, but the Pandavas treated him as an upstart. 
 Bhima asked him what he had to do with bows and arrows, 
 and told him to take a whip and drive a bullock-cart after 
 his father. Kama was very angry, but said nothing; and 
 night coming on soon dispersed the assembly. 
 
 After this Drona claimed the reward of his instructions. 
 His pupils were skilled in arms, and he was longing to be 
 revenged on the Raja of Panchala. Neither the Maharaja 
 nor his council objected to the war against Drupada. Drona 
 marched against Drupada, accompanied by the Kauravas 
 and Pandavas, and defeated the Panchala Raja, and car- 
 ried him off prisoner to Hastinapur. Drona now obliged 
 Drupada to give him half the Raj of Panchala; and Dru- 
 pada returned to his reduced dominion, and swore to be 
 revenged on Drona. 
 
 Meanwhile the time arrived for appointing a Yuva-raja, 
 or "little Raja." The Yuva-raja was to help the Maha- 
 raja, or "great Raja," in his old age, and to inherit the Raj 
 after his death. A Yuva-raja was appointed while the
 
 20 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Maharaja was alive, in order to secure the succession, and 
 to accustom the young prince to the duties of government. ' 
 
 In the first instance, Maharaja Dhritarashtra appointed 
 Yudhishthira to be Yuva-raja. Duryodhana and the Kau- 
 ravas raised a great outcry. They asked the Maharaja why 
 he promoted his nephews at the expense of his sons. The 
 blind old sovereign became sorely troubled. The sons of 
 Pandu had a rightful claim, but his own sons had a natural 
 claim. The Maharaja was afraid that war and bloodshed 
 would break out in Hastinapur. After much hesitation he 
 ordered Yudhishthira and his brethren to go to the city of 
 Varanavata, the modern Allahabad, there to abide until he 
 should recall them to Hastinapur. The Pandavas obeyed 
 the words of the Maharaja and went with their mother 
 Kunti to the city of Varanavata. "When they had departed 
 out of Hastinapur, the Maharaja appointed Duryodhana to 
 be Yuva-raja. 
 
 The exile of the Pandavas carried them to the frontier 
 of the Aryan pale. The city of Varanavata, the ancient 
 Prayag and modern Allahabad, was situated at the junction 
 of the Ganges and Jumna. On the north was the famous 
 Raj of Ayodhya, or Oude. To the south and east was the 
 country of Rakshasas and Asuras, demons and cannibals. 8 
 
 The Kauravas had already sent a trusty retainer to 
 Varanavata to compass the destruction of the Pandavas. 
 On reaching the city, the Pandavas were met by this re- 
 tainer, who led them to a college of holy men, and then 
 conducted them to a house which he had prepared for their 
 reception. At night time the Pandavas discovered that this 
 house was built of combustibles, and that it was locked and 
 barred on the outside. They escaped through a subter- 
 ranean passage, which is shown to this day in the fortress 
 
 1 The custom of appointing a Yuva-raja, or Joobraj, still prevails in Hindu 
 courts. A similar custom prevailed among the later kings of Judah and Israel. 
 
 8 Further particulars respecting the region outside the Aryan pale will be 
 furnished in dealing with the Ramayana. The region to the eastward of Allaha- 
 bad, which is said to have been occupied by Rakshasas and Asuras, corresponds 
 with Magadha, the modern Behar, the cradle ol Buddhism.
 
 HINDU INDIA 21 
 
 of Allahabad. The house was burned down with all that 
 it contained, including a Bhil woman and five of her sons, 
 who had got drunk after the manner of their race, and 
 fallen asleep inside the building. The discovery of their 
 blackened remains led all men to believe that Kunti and her 
 five sons had perished in the conflagration. 
 
 The Pandavas next disguised themselves as Brahman 
 mendicants, and journeyed eastward through the land of 
 Rakshasas and Asuras. The sacred garb insured them 
 respect, while they collected enough alms for their daily 
 needs. In this manner they journeyed to the city of Eka- 
 chakra, the modern Arrah. On the way Bhima is said 
 to have conquered and slain a cannibal Asura, named 
 Hidimba, and then to have married his sister Hidimbi. 
 
 At Ekachakra, the Pandavas and their mother lodged 
 in the house of a Brahman. There Bhima had an adven- 
 ture with another cannibal Asura, named Vaka. Accord- 
 ing to the story, Vaka lived in the outskirts of the city, and 
 required the inhabitants to supply him with a stock of pro- 
 visions and a human victim every day. The household of 
 the Brahman where the Pandavas lodged were in great 
 grief, for it was the Brahman's turn to supply a human 
 victim. The infant son of the Brahman broke off a pointed 
 blade of grass, and wanted to go and kill the Asura. Kunti 
 and her sons were moved to tears. Bhima went out to meet 
 the Asura. He tore up a tree by the roots to serve as a 
 club; and then fought the cannibal and slew him, and 
 dragged his body to the gate of the city. 1 
 
 1 The stories of Hidimbi and Vaka are apparently allegorical fictions, coined 
 by the Brahmanical compilers of the Maha Bharata, as an expression of their 
 hatred against the Buddhists. The country, as already seen, was the hot-bed 
 of Buddhism ; consequently it is peopled by Rakshasas and Asuras. In Burma 
 and other Buddhist countries, the ladies, though perfectly modest, are more free 
 and unreserved than in a Brahmanical country like India. This fact is exagger- 
 ated in the story of Hidimbi, who is represented as asking Bhima to take her as 
 his wife. Vaka is nothing more than an allegorical personification of a Buddhist 
 monastery, situated in the outskirts of a city, and receiving a daily supply of 
 provisions from the inhabitants. The Buddhist monks had no objection to flesh 
 meat, which was opposed to Brahmanical laws ; accordingly they figure as can- 
 nibals. Bhima, the hero of the Pandavas, is described as destroying the monster 
 or monastery.
 
 22 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 At t.hia crisis heralds were proclaiming in all lands that 
 Raja Drupada of Panchala was about to celebrate the 
 Swayamvara of his daughter Draupadi at his city of Kam- 
 pilya. 1 The Swayamvara was a marriage festival. Young 
 men of the noble race of Kshatriyas contended in feats of 
 strength and skill for the hand of a daughter of a Raja. 
 It was called a Swayamvara, or "self -choice," because the 
 damsel was supposed to have some choice in the matter.* 
 Accordingly the Pandavas laid aside their old hostility 
 against Drupada, and went to the Swayamvara of his 
 daughter, who was said to be the fairest maiden in all the 
 world. 
 
 The Swayamvara of Draupadi is a Rajput romance. 
 All the Rajas of India are said to have been present, in- 
 cluding Duryodhana and the other Kauravas, as well as 
 Kama, their low-born ally. A large plain was set apart 
 with barriers and galleries, like the area of the exhibition 
 of arms at Hastinapur. At one end of the plain a golden 
 fish was set up on the top of a pole. Beneath, or before, 
 the fish, a chakra or quoit was hung, and kept constantly 
 whirling round. Near the same spot was a heavy bow of 
 enormous size. The man who strung the bow, and shot 
 an arrow through the chakra, which should strike the eye 
 of the fish, was to be the winner of the daughter of the 
 Raja. 
 
 When the Pandavas reached the city of Kampilya they 
 found a number of Rajas encamped round about. There 
 were soldiers and elephants, merchants and showmen, and 
 multitudes of spectators. After many days of sports and 
 feasting, the morning of the Swayamvara began to dawn. 
 The city was awakened with drums and trumpets, and the 
 plain was hung with flags and garlands. The multitude 
 crowded round the barriers; the Rajas filled the galleries; 
 
 1 General Cunningham identifies Kampilya with the modern Kampil, between 
 Budaon and Farukhabad. 
 
 * At later Swayamvaras there were no preliminary games, but a princess 
 simply chose her own bridegroom.
 
 HINDU INDIA 23 
 
 the Brahmans chanted the Vedic hymns in praise of Indra 
 and the gods. The princess Draupadi appeared with a gar- 
 land in her hand, and her brother Dhrishta-dyumna stood 
 at her side. The prince stepped forward and proclaimed 
 that his sister would be the bride of the man who shot an 
 arrow through the chakra and struck the eye of the golden 
 fish. He then turned to his sister and said, "If a Kshatriya 1 
 performs this feat, you must throw your garland round his 
 neck, and accept him for your lord and bridegroom." 
 
 Then the Rajas arose from their seats and entered the 
 area. They gathered round the golden fish and looked wist- 
 fully at the bow ; but every man was afraid to lift it lest he 
 should fail to bend it, and excite laughter and scorn. Pres- 
 ently one tried to bend the bow and failed. Then many 
 tried and shared his fate. At last Kama entered the lists; 
 he bent the bow and fitted an arrow to the string. At this 
 moment Draupadi stepped forth. She cried aloud, "I wed 
 not with the base-born!" So Kama was abashed and 
 walked away; but his heart was burning with rage and 
 mortification. 
 
 Other Rajas came up, but not one could bend the bow. 
 The Pandavas looked on, still disguised as Brahmans. Sud- 
 denly Arjuna stepped forth and strung the bow, and fitted 
 an arrow to the string. The Brahmans looked on with wild 
 surprise to see a Brahman contend at a Swayamvara. The 
 Brahmans in the crowd were sore afraid lest the Rajas 
 should be offended and withhold their alms; they implored 
 Arjuna to withdraw. But Arjuna, nothing daunted, drew 
 his bow with all his might; he shot the arrow through the 
 centre of the whirling chakra into the eye of the golden fish. 
 A roar of acclamations rose like the crash and roll of thun- 
 der. The Brahmans forgot their fears and waved their 
 scarfs with delight. The beautiful Draupadi came forth, 
 as her brother had commanded her, and threw the garland 
 
 1 The Aryans included at least two caates, the Kshatriyas, or military caste, 
 and the Brahmans, or priests and sagea The Rajputs claim to be Kshatriyas.
 
 24 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 round the neck of Arjuna, and allowed him to lead her 
 away as her lord and bridegroom. 
 
 The sight drove the Rajas into a fury. They cried out, 
 "Could not a Kshatriya win the damsel?" "Are we to be 
 humbled by a Brahman?'* "The life of a Brahman is sa- 
 cred, but down with the guilty race of Drupada!" They 
 gathered round Raja Drupada with angry faces and naked 
 swords; they threatened to burn his daughter on a pile 
 unless she chose a Kshatriya for her husband. At this 
 moment the Pandavas threw off their disguise. Arjuna 
 stood forth and proclaimed his birth and lineage. The chil- 
 dren of Bharata were the noblest Kshatriyas in the land, 
 and none could doubt the right of Arjuna to contend at a 
 Swayamvara. So the Rajas sheathed their swords in sullen 
 anger, and went away to their own homes; while Arjuna 
 led away his bride, and placed her in the charge of his 
 mother Kunti, until the marriage rites could be performed, 
 according to the law. 1 
 
 The marriage of Draupadi broke up the league between 
 the Pandavas and Drona against Drupada. The Kauravas 
 remained on the side of Drona. The Pandavas went over 
 to Drupada and formed a close alliance with him. Both 
 Drupada and the Pandavas prepared to make war upon 
 Drona and the Kauravas. Drupada was anxious to recover 
 the lost half of his Raj of Panchala; while the Pandavas 
 were anxious to secure the Raj they had inherited from their 
 father Pandu. 
 
 This alliance caused much alarm at Hastinapur. The 
 younger men were clamorous for war, but the blind Maha- 
 raja was averse to bloodshed. At last Bhishma proposed 
 that the Raj of Hastinapur should be divided between the 
 Kauravas and Pandavas. After many debates the Maha- 
 
 1 The marriage of Draupadi has a dark side, which is best left in obscurity. 
 According to a barbarous law, which prevailed in times when female infanticide 
 was a general rule, a woman was married to the eldest brother, but became the 
 wife of all the brothers of a family. Thus Draupadi was married to Yudhish- 
 thira, but became the wife of all five Pandavas. The subject is sufficiently dis- 
 cussed in the larger history. See vol. i. Maha Bharata.
 
 HINDU INDIA 25 
 
 raja followed the counsel of Bhishma. The Raj was di- 
 vided, but it was not a fair division. The uncleared jungle 
 of Khandava-prastha was made-over to the Pandavas; while 
 the Maharaja and the Kauravas remained in possession of 
 Hastinapur. 1 
 
 The jungle of Khandava-prastha was occupied by a 
 Scythic tribe, known as Nagas, or serpent-worshippers. 
 They were driven out by the simple process of burning 
 the forest. The Pandavas built a fortress, and called it 
 Indra-prastha." 
 
 The tradition of the new Raj tells something of the social 
 status of the ancient Kshatriyas. They were at once a sol- 
 dier and a ruling caste. They were all Rajputs, or the sons 
 of Rajas; and so long as they protected their people, so long 
 they exercised the rights of sovereignty. They did not trade 
 like the Vaisyas, nor cultivate the lands like the Sudras/ 
 Their duty was to fight with the bow and arrows, the sword 
 and spear.' 
 
 The Pandavas ruled their Raj like true Kshatriyas. For 
 a while they supported themselves by hunting in the jun- 
 gles. But cultivators soon flocked to the cleared lands, and 
 sowed the seed, and gave the Raja's share of the harvests 
 to Yudhishthira. In return the Pandavas protected them 
 from every enemy, and drove out all robbers and cattle- 
 lifters. 
 
 After a while there was a misunderstanding among the 
 Pandavas. Arjuna left the Raj, and went into exile for 
 twelve years. His adventures during this period are so 
 
 1 The old jungle or forest of Khandava-prastha covered the site of modern 
 Delhi and the surrounding country. 
 
 2 There are said to have been five districts corresponding to the five Pan- 
 davas. The point is of small moment, except to archaeologists. Every traveller 
 to Delhi who has visited the Kutab tower will remember the desolate heaps, the 
 debris of thousands of years, that are scattered along the road. To this day 
 there is a broken mound, called the "Old Fort," which tradition would identify 
 with the fortress built by the Pandavas. 
 
 3 The Hindus are divided into four great castes, namely Brahmans or priests, 
 Kshatriyas or soldiers, Vaisyas or merchants, and Sudras or cultivators. These 
 again are distributed into a number of subdivisions, which are also called families, 
 tribes, or castes. 
 
 H OF 12
 
 2$ HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 marvellous that they may be treated as romance rather than 
 as history. He married Ulupi, a daughter of the Raja of 
 the Nagas ; but she is described as a serpent rather than as 
 a mortal woman. He is said to have received weapons from 
 the gods. He went to Manipura in eastern Bengal, and 
 married the daughter of a Raja, and had a son. He went 
 to Dwaraka in Guzerat, and married Subhadra, the sister of 
 Krishna. At the end of twelve years he returned to Hasti* 
 napur, accompanied by Subhadra. 
 
 By this time the Pandavas were established in their Raj. 
 Accordingly they celebrated a great feast or sacrifice, known 
 as the Rajasuya, or royal sacrifice. It was a royal banquet 
 given to all the neighboring Rajas as an assertion of their 
 independent sovereignty over their new Raj. All the Rajas 
 were there, and among them was Duryodhana and his 
 brethren. The Rajasuya was extolled by all the guests, 
 but it made the Kauravas more jealous than ever, and they 
 began to plot among themselves for the destruction of- the 
 Pandavas. 
 
 The ancient Kshatriyas were all given to gambling. 
 Sakuni, a brother of Gandhari, the mother of the Kaura- 
 vas, was a noted gambler, and had an evil reputation for 
 using loaded dice. He was dwelling at Hastinapur, and 
 the Kauravas asked him how they could ruin the Pandavas. 
 Sakuni counselled his nephews to invite the Pandavas to a 
 gambling match at Hastinapur. Duryodhana was to chal- 
 lenge Yudhishthira to play, but Sakuni was to throw the 
 dice ; and Yudhishthira was to be egged on until he had lost 
 the Raj, and the whole of his possessions. 
 
 The invitation was sent and accepted. The Pandavas 
 Went to Hastinapur, accompanied by Draupadi. The gam- 
 bling match was held in a pavilion set up near the palace. 
 Duryodhana challenged Yudhishthira to a game. The play 
 began, and Sakuni threw the dice for his nephew. Yud- 
 hishthira protested against the game. He complained that 
 Sakuni ought not to throw the dice ; but still he continued 
 to play. He laid stake after stake, wildly, madly, and with-
 
 HINDU INDIA 27 
 
 out regard to consequences. He was the elder brother; the 
 other Pandavas reverenced him as their father, and would 
 not venture to interfere. 
 
 It is needless to lengthen out the story. Yudhishthira 
 lost all the wealth and cattle of himself and his brethren. 
 Then he gambled away the Raj of Khandava-prastha. iText 
 he staked his brethren, one after the other, beginning with 
 the youngest, and lost every one. Then he staked himself 
 and lost. Finally he staked Draupadi, and lost her with 
 all the rest to the wicked Duryodhana. 1 
 
 The scene which followed is perhaps the most sensational 
 in Hindu history. The Pandavas and Draupadi had become 
 the slaves of Duryodhana. The assembly was in a state of 
 consternation; the chieftains looked from one to the other, 
 but no man spoke a word. Duryodhana sent a messenger 
 to bring Draupadi from the palace. The princess was filled 
 with wrath when she was told that she had been gambled 
 away as a slave-girl to Duryodhana. She asked whether 
 Yudhishthira had not gambled away himself before he had 
 staked his wife; for if he had become a slave he could not 
 stake a free woman. She refused to go to the gambling 
 pavilion until she received an answer. But reason and argu- 
 ments were thrown away. Duhsasana went to the palace, 
 seized Draupadi by her long black hair, and dragged her 
 into the pavilion. He told her to take a broom and sweep 
 the rooms. She appealed to all the chieftains in the pavil- 
 ion; she called upon them, as husbands and fathers, to pro- 
 tect her from Duryodhana ; but not a man would stir hand 
 or foot in her defence. Yudhishthira was paralyzed with 
 fear ; he refused to interfere, and he ordered his brethren to 
 be silent. Duryodhana then dragged Draupadi to his knee. 
 Bhima could hold out no longer : he gnashed his teeth, and 
 swore that the day should come when he would smash the 
 knee of Duryodhana, and drink the blood of Duhsasana. 
 
 1 Similar cases of such reckless gambling are to be found to this day in 
 Burma and NipaL
 
 28 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 At this moment the blind Maharaja was led into the 
 pavilion. He had been told all that had occurred, and was 
 anxious to stop bloodshed. He decided that the Pandavas 
 had lost their Raj ; but he would not permit the Pandavas 
 and Draupadi to become the slaves of Duryodhana. He 
 ordered them to go into the jungles as exiles for a period of 
 twelve years. At the end of that time they were to secrete 
 themselves in any city they pleased for one more year. If 
 the Kauravas failed to find them, they were to recover their 
 Raj. If the Kauravas discovered them before the year was 
 up, they were to lose their Raj forever. 1 
 
 The Pandavas went forth, followed by Draupadi. Bhima 
 repeated his oath that a day would come, when he would 
 smash the knee of Duryodhana, and drink the blood of 
 Duhsasana. Draupadi untied her long black hair, and 
 swore that it should never be tied again until Bhima had 
 fulfilled his vow. 
 
 The adventures of the Pandavas, during the twelve 
 years' exile in the jungle, are either trivial or supernatu- 
 ral. There is nothing that illustrates real life. The main 
 interest centres in the thirteenth year, during which the 
 Pandavas were to conceal themselves in some city without 
 being discovered by the Kauravas. Even this story is so 
 artificially constructed that it might be rejected as a pal- 
 pable fiction; an episode of a game of "hide and seek," 
 between Kauravas and Pandavas, to fill up the interval 
 between the expulsion of the Pandavas and the beginning 
 of the great war. 
 
 But the story of the thirteenth year, artificial as it is, 
 presents a picture of Hindu courts in primitive simplicity. 
 Moreover, it is a satire on the belief in ghosts or demons, as 
 lovers of fair women. This belief in "spirit lovers" was 
 common enough in the ancient world, and finds full expres- 
 
 1 The story of this exile is probably a myth, which had no place in the origi- 
 nal tradition, but was inserted at a later period in the Sanskrit poem of the Maha 
 Bharata.
 
 sion in the book of Tobit. Sara, the daughter of Raguel, 
 married seven husbands in succession, but each one was 
 murdered in turn by a demon lover named Asmodeus. ' The 
 same belief still lingers in all parts of India. The Hindu 
 story of the thirteenth year is contrived to ridicule such a 
 belief; it is a relic of an age of Hindu civilization which 
 has died out of the world. 
 
 According to the Sanskrit epic the Pandavas proceeded 
 to a city named Virata, just before the beginning of the 
 thirteenth year. 3 They were disguised hi various ways, in 
 the hope of entering the service of the Raja, who was also 
 named "Virata. They found the Raja sitting at the entrance- 
 hall to his palace, surrounded by his council of chiefs or 
 elders, after ancient Hindu fashion. After a long prelimi- 
 nary conversation all the five Pandavas were taken into the 
 service of the Raja. Yudhishthira was engaged to teach 
 the Raja how to gamble. Bhima, the giant, was appointed 
 head cook, as his strength would enable him to prevent the 
 under cooks from wasting or stealing the victuals. Arjuna 
 was disguised as a eunuch, and engaged to teach music and 
 dancing to the daughter of the Raja. The two younger 
 brothers were employed, one as master of the horse, and 
 the other as master of the cattle. 
 
 There was some difficulty about Draupadi. She had 
 vowed not to tie up her hair; this was evaded by twisting 
 it into a string like the tail of a serpent. Her beauty ex- 
 cited the jealousy of the Rani; this was overcome by her 
 telling the Rani that she was beloved by five ghosts, called 
 Gandharvas, who would murder any mortal man who paid 
 her the slightest attention. Accordingly she was engaged 
 as lady's-maid to the Rani. 
 
 Bhima soon gained the favor of Raja Virata. A foreign 
 wrestler, named Jimuta, had put all the warriors of the Raja 
 
 1 Tobit, Chaps, in. to VIII. 
 
 8 General Cunningham identifies this city with the modern Bairat, about 105 
 miles to the south of Delhi.
 
 30 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 to shame, so that none dared to encounter him. Bhima came 
 forward, and vanquished Jimuta, and put him to death amid 
 the acclamations of the multitude. The Raja leaped from 
 his seat with joy, and bestowed many gifts on Bhima. 
 From that tune he took a great liking to Bhima, and made 
 him fight with lions, tigers, or bears, in the presence of his 
 ladies. 
 
 In those days a prince, named Kichaka, was dwelling at 
 Virata. He was brother of the Rani, and commander-in- 
 chief of the army of the Raj. He did what he pleased at 
 Virata, according to the old saying, "The brother of the 
 Rani is always to be feared by the Raja." 
 
 Kichaka became enamored of Draupadi, and asked her 
 to become his wife. She replied that she could not marry 
 him because of her five Gandharva lovers. Kichaka would 
 not be refused ; he told her she must marry him, and treated 
 her with rudeness. She complained to the Raja, but he 
 would do nothing; he was too much afraid of the Rani's 
 brother. She next complained to Bhima, and he promised 
 that she should be revenged. One night Kichaka went to 
 the palace to see Draupadi, but met Bhima in her stead. A 
 desperate battle was fought in the music-room. At last 
 Bhima killed Kichaka and left him dead on the floor. He 
 then went off to sleep in the kitchen, without saying a word 
 to any one. 
 
 Next morning the dead body of Kichaka was found in 
 the music-room. Every bone was broken; those who saw 
 the body said that Kichaka had not been murdered by men, 
 but by demons. The story was soon told in the streets and 
 bazars, that the commander-in-chief had been killed by 
 Gandharvas, because of his love for the Rani's waiting-maid. 
 The whole city was in an uproar. The brothers of Kichaka 
 came to the palace to bring away the dead body to the place 
 of burning. They saw Draupadi and carried her off like- 
 wise to burn with Kichaka, and compel her to join him in 
 the world of shades. Bhima heard her screams. He drew 
 his hair over his face, so that no man should know him. He
 
 HINDU INDIA 31 
 
 tore up a tree by its roots to serve as a club. He fell upon 
 the brothers of Kichaka and slew every one, and returned to 
 the palace by a secret way. 
 
 The general consternation was now greater than ever. 
 The city was seized with a panic. The Raja and the coun- 
 cil of chieftains were in mortal fear of Draupadi and her 
 Gandharvas. The Raja was afraid to speak to her. The 
 Rani told her to leave the city; but the thirteenth year of 
 concealment was nearly over, and Draupadi remained in the 
 palace in spite of them all. 
 
 Meanwhile the death of Kichaka had been noised abroad. 
 The Rajas round about said, "Kichaka is dead; let us in- 
 vade the Raj of Virata and carry off the cattle. " One Raja 
 invaded the northern quarter, and carried off cows and buf- 
 faloes; and the herdsmen ran to the city to tell Raja Virata. 
 The troops were called out, and Raja Virata mounted his 
 chariot, and drove off to recover the cattle. 
 
 While Virata was gone to the northern quarter of the Raj, 
 Duryodhana and the other Kauravas invaded the southern 
 quarter, and carried off more cattle. The herdsmen came to 
 the city complaining and lamenting, but there was no Raja 
 to protect them. Arjuna called for a chariot, put on his 
 armor, and appeared before the court, with his weapons in 
 his hands. The princess and her damsels laughed merrily 
 to see the dancing-master in armor ; they all cried to him to 
 bring back a rich spoil of silks and jewels. In this manner 
 Arjuna drove off to recover the cattle from the Kauravas. 
 
 At this point the story loses its interest. Arjuna was 
 discovered by the Kauravas, and it was a question whether 
 the discovery was made before or after the completion of the 
 thirteenth year. The question was never settled. Negotia- 
 tions were opened which might have been begun immedi- 
 ately after the expulsion of the Pandavas ; although, accord- 
 ing to the Maha Bharata, they were not begun until after 
 the completion of the thirteenth year of exile. 
 
 Raja Drupada, the father-in-law of the Pandavas, sent 
 a Brahman, as envoy from the Pandavas to the Maharaja
 
 32 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 of Hastinapur. The Maharaja called the council together to 
 receive the envoy. The Brahman spoke thus to the council : 
 "An envoy is the tongue of the party by whom he is sent: 
 If he fails to discharge his trust, and does not faithfully re- 
 peat his master's words, he is guilty of treachery : Have I 
 therefore your permission to repeat the message sent by the 
 Pandavas?" The whole council exclaimed, "Speak the words 
 of the Pandavas without extenuation and without exaggera- 
 tion." Then the Brahman spoke as foDows: "The Pan- 
 davas send their salutations and speak these words: 'Dhrita- 
 rashtra and Pandu were brothers, as all men know; why 
 then should the sons of Dhritarashtra inherit the whole Raj, 
 while the sons of Pandu are shut out? It is true that the 
 Pandavas have lost their Raj of Khandava-prastha in a 
 game of dice; but it was by loaded dice and false play; and 
 unless you restore their inheritance they must declare war, 
 and the blood of the slain will be upon your heads.' " 
 
 The speech of the Brahman threw the council into a tur- 
 moil. The Kauravas wrangled like angry kinsmen. The 
 points of the debate were very simple. Was there, or was 
 there not, foul play at the gambling match? Were the Pan- 
 davas discovered by the Kauravas before or after the close 
 of the thirteenth year? Bhishma praised Arjuna to the dis- 
 gust of Kama. The debate was ended by the Maharaja, 
 who sent his charioteer, Sanjaya, with a reply to the 
 Pandavas. 1 
 
 The real object of the mission of Sanjaya was to induce 
 the Pandavas to return to Hastinapur, without giving them 
 any pledge that their Raj would be restored. Maharaja 
 Dhritarashtra sent a message which was duly repeated to 
 the Pandavas and their allies. He poured out praises upon 
 
 1 Sanjaya 5s said to have been the minister and charioteer of Maharaja Dhrit- 
 arashtra. He thus held an important post in the court of Hastinapur. Kama 
 is accounted low-born, because he was the son of a charioteer. The origin of 
 this discrepancy is discussed in the larger history. The Brahmanical compilers 
 of the Maha Bharata were jealous of the important part played by charioteers in 
 the original version of the tradition, and therefore represented them in the poem 
 as a low-born race of carters and wagoners.
 
 HINDU INDIA 33 
 
 the Pandavas ; he said that enemies and friends were equally 
 loud in extolling them; some of the Kauravas might have 
 used harsh language, but he would make peace between all 
 parties, if the Pandavas would only return to Hastinapur. 
 
 The Pandavas, however, were not to be entrapped. Yud- 
 hishthira replied that neither he nor his brethren would re- 
 turn to Hastinapur, unless a pledge was given that their half 
 of the Raj would be restored. Accordingly both parties pre- 
 pared for war. 
 
 There is little in the war of the Maha Bharata to render 
 it memorable in after generations, beyond the horrible tale 
 of slaughter. In its original form it was not associated with 
 any sentiment of patriotism or religion, such as animated the 
 children of Israel during the conquest of the promised land. 
 Neither was it a war in which men fought to wipe out dis- 
 honor, as the Greeks fought the Trojans during the siege of 
 Troy. Nor was it a war between men of different blood like 
 that between Greece and Persia. It was nothing but a bat- 
 tle between kinsmen for the possession of land. 
 
 The Kauravas and Pandavas assembled their respective 
 allies on a famous plain round a lake or tank, known as 
 Kuru-kshetra. It was situated about fifty or sixty miles 
 from modern Delhi. The warriors were arrayed against 
 each other, and stirred up every angry passion by abusing 
 and railing at each other. At last when they had lashed 
 each other into fury by taunts and gibes, they rushed against 
 each other like ferocious beasts or madmen. Some threw 
 stones; others fought with their fists, teeth, and nails, or 
 kicked and wrestled till one or other was killed. Others 
 fought with clubs, knives, swords, spears, javelins, chakras, 
 or bows and arrows. "Whenever a conqueror had overthrown 
 his adversary he severed his head from the body and carried 
 it off as a trophy. 
 
 The story of revenge and slaughter was one which fathers 
 might tell their sons from generation to generation, as a 
 ghastly moral against feuds and wars. It is not so much 
 a description of a general battle, as of a series of single com-
 
 34 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 bats between distinguished warriors, which would be sung in 
 ballads for ages afterward. Bhishma, the patriarch of the 
 royal house of Hastinapur, was slain by Arjuna. Drona 
 engaged in mortal combat with Drupada to settle the old 
 feud which had driven him into exile. Drupada was slain 
 by Drona; but his son Dhrishta-dyumna revenged his death 
 by fighting against Drona until he slew him. Bhima en- 
 gaged in mortal combat with Duhsasana, the man who 
 dragged Draupadi by her hair into the gambling pavilion. 
 Bhima overthrew his enemy, cut off his head, and drank his 
 blood in accordance with his vow, and then tied up the dis- 
 hevelled hair of Draupadi while his fingers were dripping 
 with the blood of the evil-doer. Lastly, there was the 
 crowning contest between Arjuna and Kama. They fought 
 in war-chariots with their bows and arrows in their hands. 
 Arjuna was almost overcome by the arrows of Karna, when 
 the wheel of Kama's chariot sank into the earth, and would 
 not move. Kama called out to his adversary to hold his 
 hand until he recovered the wheel; but Arjuna saw his 
 opportunity, and shot Karna dead with an arrow. 
 
 The details of the battle are interminable, and occupy 
 volumes. One dreadful night the warriors fought through 
 the darkness with a weapon in one hand and a torch in the 
 other. The battle was really over on the seventeenth day, 
 when Bhima slew Duhsasana, and Arjuna slew Kama. On 
 the eighteenth day Duryodhana rallied his forces for a gen- 
 eral engagement, but all the Kauravas excepting himself 
 were slain upon the field, and he fled away to the lake hi 
 the centre of the plain. Bhima ran after Duryodhana, and 
 mocked and reviled him until the ghastly warrior came out 
 and engaged in a final combat. The two men fought with 
 clubs, until Bhima struck a foul blow, which smashed the 
 knee of Duryodhana, and then left him to die where he lay. 1 
 
 The Pandavas had got the mastery, but the bloodshed 
 
 1 The foul blow of Bhima consisted in his striking Duryodhana below the 
 waist. The blow was given in accordance with the vow which Bhima had made 
 in the gambling pavilion.
 
 HINDU INDIA 35 
 
 was not over. There was yet to be a slaughter of sleeping 
 men in the camp of the Pandavas; it is known as "the re- 
 venge of Aswatthama. " Drona, the father of Aswatthama, 
 had slain Drupada, and had then been killed by Drupada's 
 son Dhrishta-dyumna. Aswatthama lived to carry on the 
 feud, and swore to be revenged on Dhrishta-dyumna and 
 the Pandavas. 
 
 At evening time Aswatthama and two surviving warriors 
 stood by the side of the wounded Duryodhana. They cheered 
 his dying agonies by pledging themselves to avenge his death. 
 They left him on the field, and sat under a tree to consider 
 what to do. Suddenly Aswatthama learned a lesson from 
 an omen. Crows were roosting in the tree; an owl ap- 
 proached them warily ; he killed them one at a time with- 
 out awakening them. "Thus," cried Aswatthama, "we 
 will revenge ourselves on the sleeping Pandavas; we will 
 kill them one at a time, as the owl has killed the crows." 
 
 The camp of the Pandavas was on one side of the lake, 
 and the camp of the Kauravas on the other. The Pandavas 
 had left Draupadi and her sons in charge of allies and ser- 
 vants, and had gone to the camp of the Kauravas to take 
 possession of the spoil, and pass the night there. 
 
 At midnight Aswatthama and his two comrades ap- 
 proached the camp of the Pandavas. It was surrounded 
 by a deep trench, and had but one entrance. Aswatthama 
 posted his two comrades at the entrance, and stole off to the 
 quarters of Dhrishta-dyumna. The son of Drupada was 
 sleeping on the ground. Aswatthama awoke him by kick- 
 ing his head. The doomed warrior saw his enemy standing 
 over him with a drawn sword. He cried out "Treachery!" 
 Aswatthama broke his skull with the back of the sword, and 
 silenced him forever. He then rushed out of the tent to be 
 revenged on the Pandavas. 
 
 The Pandavas were away at the camp of the Kauravas, 
 but Draupadi and her sons were sleeping at their quarters. 
 The young men were awakened by the turmoil in the quar- 
 ters of Dhrishta-dyumna. They ran out one after the other,
 
 36 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 and were cut down and killed by Aswatthama. By this 
 time the whole camp was in disorder. Friends and kinsmen 
 were shouting and fighting against each other. The women 
 filled the air with shrieks and screams. Numbers were killed 
 and wounded on all sides. Some tried to escape from the 
 camp, but were cut down by the two men at the entrance. 
 Aswatthama lost his way in the darkness, but set alight to 
 a great pile of firewood. The camp was filled with a sudden 
 glare of fire and flame. Aswatthama escaped amid the up- 
 roar, gamed the entrance, and disappeared with his comrades 
 into the outer world. 
 
 The day was just dawning as the three men walked across 
 the plain of Kuru-kshetra. Wolves and jackals had begun 
 to attack the corpses, but were scared away by the light 
 of morning. The three warriors took a last farewell of the 
 dying Duryodhana; they gladdened his last moments with 
 the story of their revenge; and then, as he gave up the ghost, 
 they fled away into the jungle and were heard of no more. 
 
 The final scene in the great war is told with much pathos. 
 The agony of Draupadi and the woe of the Panda vas may 
 be passed over in silence. The sympathies of the reader are 
 not with the victors, but with the mourners for the dead. 
 As the day began to dawn, the widows, daughters, and 
 mothers of the slain came on the field of Kuru-kshetra weep- 
 ing and wailing, to perform the last rites of their dead kins- 
 men. The funeral piles were burning, but no widow threw 
 herself into the flames. The imagination rests upon the weep- 
 ing women, without the additional horror of female sacrifices, 
 which characterized a later period of Hindu history. 1 
 
 Next followed another painful scene. The blind old Ma- 
 haraja Dhritarashtra, and his wretched wife Gandhari, were 
 borne down with grief for the loss of their sons; yet both 
 
 1 It is difficult to reconcile the fact that no widow performed a Sati after the 
 war of the Maha Bharata with the statement that Madri, the younger wife of 
 Pandu, perished on his funeral pile. There was evidently some conflict of author- 
 ity as regards the rite of Sati ; possibly the story of Madri is an interpolation, 
 and the rite of Sati originated in a later age.
 
 HINDU INDIA 37 
 
 came out of Hastinapur, with the touching submission of 
 Hindus, to bend to the decrees of fate, and pay their hom- 
 age to the victors. This done, they went off to the jungle 
 to take up their abode on the bank of the Ganges, and spend 
 their last years in devotion and prayer. 
 
 Amid these scenes of mourning the conquerors were ex- 
 ulting in their victory. Drums were beaten, trumpets were 
 sounded, flags were flying, while Yudhishthira and his 
 brethren went in joyful procession to take possession of 
 the Raj of Hastinapur. But the songs of triumph must 
 have jarred upon ears that were filled with the cries of the 
 mourners for the dead and dying. 
 
 The end of the story may be told in a few words. Yud- 
 hishthira and his brethren became great conquerors; they 
 are said to have subdued every Raja throughout the length 
 and breadth of India. When they had brought their con- 
 quests to a close, they celebrated a horse feast or sacrifice, 
 known as an Aswamedha; it was an assertion of their sov- 
 ereignty over the empire of India. All the Rajas whom 
 they conquered were summoned to Indra-prastha to pay 
 their homage to the conquerors, and to feast on horse-flesh 
 after the manner of the ancient Kshatriyas. But before 
 describing the Aswamedha, it will be as well to review the 
 scope and subject matter of the whole poem of the Maha 
 Bharata. 
 
 The foregoing narrative is a bare outline of the original 
 tradition of the Maha Bharata. It records events which are 
 referred to the fifteenth century before the Christian era; 
 when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, and con- 
 ducted by Moses to the promised land. After an apparent 
 interval of unrecorded centuries, the story of the great war 
 was retold in the Sanskrit poem as a religious parable, re- 
 plete with spiritual meanings and pious teachings. The 
 poem of the Maha Bharata is of such inordinate length that 
 it may have been composed by a variety of bards; but the 
 work is referred to one particular Brahman sage, who is 
 known by the name of Vyasa, or "the arranger."
 
 38 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Vyasa is represented as playing an important part in the 
 events recorded in the Maha Bharata ; but everything which 
 is told about him is improbable or supernatural. He is said 
 to have been an illegitimate son of the damsel who after- 
 ward married Maharaja Santanu; to have been the real 
 father of Dhritarashtra and Pandu ; to have caused Gand- 
 hari to have a hundred sons at a birth. Sometimes he 
 appears in an abrupt and supernatural manner to impart 
 religious instruction to the Pandavas. He directed Arjuna 
 to perform penance on the Himalayas, and ordered Yudhish- 
 thira to celebrate the Aswamedha as an atonement for sin. 
 Sometimes he appears to explain away something that is 
 opposed to Brahmanical ideas, such as the marriage of 
 Draupadi to Yudhishthira and his brethren. 
 
 The religious teaching of the Maha Bharata is evidently 
 the product of a later age than that in which the great war 
 was fought. The Kauravas and Pandavas sacrificed to 
 Indra, the king of gods, and appear to have worshipped 
 the gods of fire, water, wind, and other Vedic deities. 
 But the compilers of the Maha Bharata resolved all these 
 gods into one Supreme Spirit, under the name of Vishnu, 
 and taught the worship of Krishna as an incarnation of 
 Vishnu. 
 
 Thus Krishna appears in the Maha Bharata as a mortal 
 hero, and as the Supreme Being. Like Vyasa he plays an 
 important part in the history of the great war, but generally 
 in an improbable and supernatural manner. He is a medi- 
 ator in times of feud, and a consoler in times of affliction. 
 He was present at the Swayamvara of Draupadi to mediate 
 between the Pandavas and the angry Rajas. He suddenly 
 appeared in the gambling pavilion to prevent Duryodhana 
 from insulting Draupadi. He was mixed up in the negotia- 
 tions which preceded the great war, flying vast distances 
 through the air in a moment of time. The Kauravas plotted 
 to seize him at Hastinapur, but he became manifest as the 
 Supreme Being ; all the gods issued from his body, flames of 
 fire fell from his eyes, and his form was as radiant with
 
 HINDU INDIA 39 
 
 golden beams as the sun at noonday. He appeared to Ar- 
 juna on the morning of the first day of the war. Arjuna 
 was shrinking from the slaughter of friends and kinsmen ; 
 he would rather die, he said, than fight against such good 
 men as Bhishma and Drona. Krishna consoled him with 
 the doctrine that death was but the transmigration of the 
 soul from one body to another. He stirred Arjuna into 
 action by assuring him that fighting was the duty of all 
 Kshatriyas; and that if he proved himself a coward, and 
 failed to fight, he could never hope to enter the heaven of 
 Indra. 
 
 The story of the great war has been reduced in the fore- 
 going pages to a simple narrative of life and manners. But 
 it is told in the Maha Bharata with all the exuberance and 
 exaggeration of Oriental imaginations revelling in an ideal 
 world. Every Raja in India is said to have been present at 
 the Swayamvara of Draupadi and the Raja-suya of Yud- 
 hishthira. Every Raja is said to have fought in the great 
 war of the Maha Bharata, on the side of the Kauravas, or 
 on that of the Pandavas. The armies at Kuru-kshetra were 
 thus reckoned by millions of millions; elephants and chariots 
 by tens of millions. The battle is described with a grandeur 
 greater than that of the war of Zeus against the Titans. 
 Drums were beaten, trumpets and war-shells were sounded, 
 and gorgeous banners were waving in the air. Gigantic 
 Rajas, arrayed in golden mail, and armed with supernatural 
 weapons, appeared in chariots radiant with strings of jewels 
 and bracelets of gold and pearls. Vast masses of elephants 
 and chariots, horse and foot, were swayed to and fro like the 
 waves of the sea. The air was darkened by darts and ar- 
 rows, or illuminated with the flashing of swords and spears. 
 Rivers of blood issued from mountains of slain. Lastly, 
 frantic widows, with dishevelled hair, shrieked over the 
 slaughtered bodies of husbands and sons, not by tens or 
 hundreds, but by millions. 
 
 The Aswamedha, or horse sacrifice of Yudhishthira, is 
 described on an equally grand scale. The primitive idea
 
 40 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 of an Aswamedha was to let a horse loose for a year as a 
 challenge to all the neighboring Rajas. Whenever the horse 
 wandered into the territory of another Raja, there was a 
 battle for the supremacy. It was a rude sport adapted to 
 a warlike race like the ancient Kshatriyas. If a warrior 
 gained a succession of victories, he slaughtered the horse, 
 and served it up at a great feast to all the conquered Rajas. 
 In this manner Arjuna is said to have followed the horse 
 of Yudhishthira, and conquered all the Rajas in India. He 
 then summoned all the Rajas to attend the Aswamedha, 
 to pay their homage to Yudhishthira, and to feast on the 
 horse which was roasted for the occasion. "Whether Arjuna 
 did or did not conquer all the Rajas in India is a question 
 which the reader must decide for himself. If he did, the 
 horse must have travelled immense distances. How the 
 horse-feast became converted in after times into an atone- 
 ment for sin is a religious question which may be left to 
 conjecture. 1 
 
 The story of the great war concludes with a grand crea- 
 tion of Hindu imagination. It has already been seen that 
 the blind Maharaja of Hastinapur went away with his wife 
 Gandhari to dwell in retirement on the bank of the Ganges. 
 Fifteen years after the great war, the widows and mothers 
 of those who had been slain went to the same spot to mourn 
 for the loss of their husbands and sons. Vyasa, the Brah- 
 man sage, appeared among the women to console them. 
 He stood on the bank of the Ganges and invoked the dead 
 warriors by their various names. Presently the river began 
 to foam and boil, and a great noise rose out of the waters. 
 The ghosts of the departed heroes appeared above the sur- 
 face in all the glory and magnificence which they displayed 
 on the plain of Kuru-kshetra. Bhishma and Drona, seated 
 in their chariots in full armor, ascended out of the waters 
 with all their armies, arrayed as they were on the first day 
 
 1 Some information on this point will be found in Chapter IV. on the "Re- 
 ligion and Literature" of the Hindus.
 
 HINDU INDIA 41 
 
 of the Malia Bharata. Next came Kama and Duryodhana, 
 together with Sakuni and Duhsasana, and many other war- 
 riors and Rajas. There too were the sons of Draupadi, and 
 her brother Dhrishta-dyumna, and all the men who had been 
 slain in the revenge of Aswatthama. All appeared in great 
 beauty and splendor, with horses, chariots, banners, and 
 arms. But all enmity had departed from them, and they 
 were all in perfect friendship with one another. Then the 
 widows and other women were overjoyed; not a trace of 
 grief remained among them. "Widows went to their hus- 
 bands, daughters to their fathers, and mothers to their sons; 
 and all the fifteen years of sorrow were forgotten in the 
 ecstasy of meeting. The night passed away in the fulness 
 of joy; but when the morning dawned all the dead mounted 
 their horses and chariots, and disappeared in the waters. 
 Then Vyasa gave the widows leave to follow their husbands; 
 and having paid their devotions they plunged into the Ganges 
 and joined their husbands in the heaven of Indra. 1 
 
 1 All Kshatriyas who perished on the field of battle were supposed to go to 
 Swarga, the heaven of Indra; but when their merits were sufficiently rewarded 
 they returned to the world, and entered upon a new chain of existences in suc- 
 cessive transmigrations. (See Chap. IV.)
 
 42 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 RAMAYANA OUDE 
 
 ABOUT B.C. 1000 
 
 THE Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic like the Maha Bha- 
 rata, but the main tradition reveals a higher stage 
 of civilization. 1 The principal scenes are laid in 
 Ayodhya, or Oude, a large territory on the northern bank 
 of the Ganges; and north of the land of Rakshasas and 
 Asuras, described in the Maha Bharata. The Raj of Ayo- 
 dhya thus occupied the centre of Hindustan." Its capital 
 was also named Ayodhya, and was situated on the river 
 Sarayu ;" it was hundreds of miles to the southeast of Has- 
 tinapur and Delhi. The Maharaja of Ayodhya was married 
 to three wives or Ranis. He had eight chosen ministers; 
 two Brahman priests as his advisers; and a great council 
 of state for the exercise of certain constitutional powers. 
 
 Dasaratha, Maharaja of Ayodhya, had four sons by his 
 three Ranis; namely, Rama, Lakshmana, Satrughna, and 
 Bharata. Rama was the son of Kausalya, the first and 
 
 1 An approximate date of the reign of Rama is fixed by the following data. 
 General Cunningham has fixed the war of the Maha Bharata in the fifteenth cent- 
 ury before the Christian era. Mention is made in the Maha Bharata of a certain 
 Rituparna as Raja of Ayodhya. Rituparna reigned in the fifteenth generation 
 before Rama, as shown in the genealogical lists. (See Tod's Rajasthan, vol. i.) 
 Reckoning a generation at thirty years, there would be an interval of 450 years 
 between the war of the Maha Bharata and the reign of Rama. The date of the 
 composition of the Ramayana is a very different matter; perhaps the poem was 
 composed more than a thousand years after the actual exile of Rama. 
 
 8 The Raj is known in the Ramayana as the Raj of Kosala ; and the name 
 of Ayodhya, or Oude, is only applied to the city. The name of Kosala is impor- 
 tant in dealing with Buddhist legends. 
 
 3 The river Sarayu is now known as the Gogra. The site of the ancient 
 city of Ayodhya is still to be traced among the mounds in the neighborhood 
 of Fyzabad.
 
 HINDU INDIA 43 
 
 chief wife. Lakshmana and Satrughna were the sons of the 
 middle wife. Bharata was the son of the last wife, the reign- 
 ing favorite, the young and beautiful Kaikeyi. The plot of 
 the Ramayana turns upon the jealousy between Kausalya 
 and Kaikeyi, and the rival claims of Rama and Bharata. 
 
 Rama, the eldest son by Kausalya, had been fortunate 
 and happy. The Raja of Mithila, to the eastward of Oude, 1 
 proclaimed the Swayamvara of his daughter Sita. There 
 was a huge bow, and Sita was to be given in marriage to 
 the Raja who could bend the bow. The Swayamvara was 
 held, but not a Raja could lift the bow from the ground. 
 At last Rama took up the bow, and bent it until it broke 
 in twain ; and in due course he became the husband of the 
 beautiful Sita. 
 
 At last the time arrived for the appointment of a Yuva- 
 raja or "little Raja." According to the story, Rama was 
 the universal favorite. Ministers, chieftains, and the people 
 were all loud in their praises of Rama. The Maharaja re- 
 solved on appointing Rama to the post of Yuva-raja. He 
 got rid of Bharata by sending him with his half-brother 
 Satrughna on a visit to Kaikeyi's father, the Raja of Giri- 
 vraja, seven days' journey from Ayodhya. 8 The Maharaja 
 summoned Rama to the palace and told him that on the 
 morrow he would be installed as Yuva-raja. Meanwhile 
 Rama was to keep a careful watch throughout the night, 
 lest Bharata should suspect what was going on, and return 
 to Ayodhya and upset the arrangement. 3 
 
 According to the Ramayana, the whole city of Ayodhya 
 was in a blaze of joy and exultation at the approaching 
 
 1 The Raj of Mithila corresponded to the modern Tirhut. 
 
 9 Giri-vraja was the old name of Rajagriha, the modem Rajgir, in Behar. In 
 ancient times it was a centre of Buddhism, and suggests the idea of a religious 
 element in the antagonism between Rama and Bharata. Rama was certainly a 
 champion o.f the Brahmans. Bharata may have been a representative of a Bud- 
 dhist faction. 
 
 3 The jealousy between the first wife and the youngest is as old as polygamy. 
 Did not Jacob prefer Rachel to Leah, and Joseph or Benjamin to his eldest son 
 Reuben? The reader must judge for himself whether the Maharaja did not in 
 his heart prefer Bharata to Rama, although he made a show of favoring Rama.
 
 44 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 installation of Rama. The houses were illuminated through- 
 out the night with endless clusters of lamps. At early dawn 
 the people watered the streets, strewed the roads with flow- 
 ers, and set up gay banners in all directions. The news of 
 the installation spread far and wide. Crowds of country 
 people flocked into Ayodhya. Singers, musicians, and danc- 
 ing-girls delighted the hearts of young and old. Even the 
 little children, who were playing in the courtyards and 
 under the porticoes, kept on saying to one another, "This 
 day Rama is to be anointed Yuva-raja." 
 
 All this while a very different scene was being enacted 
 in the palace. On the previous day Kaikeyi, the youngest 
 wife, was unaware that Rama was to be installed. The 
 Maharaja had promised to see her in the evening, and pur- 
 posed coaxing her to agree to the appointment of Rama. 
 But his intentions were thwarted. A slave-girl belonging 
 to Kaikeyi, named Manthara, had gone to the roof of the 
 palace and discovered that the whole city was illuminated 
 for the coming installation of Rama. She ran to the apart- 
 ments of her mistress, and told her that Bharata was ex- 
 cluded from the throne ; that the Maharaja had sent Bharata 
 to his grandfather, in order to install Rama as Yuva-raja. 
 
 Kaikeyi saw through the whole intrigue. She threw off 
 her jewels and scattered them over the floor of her room. 
 She untied her hair, and dishevelled it over her shoulders. 
 She threw herself upon the ground and covered her face 
 with the darkness of anger. 
 
 At this crisis the Maharaja entered the apartments of 
 Kaikeyi. It is needless to dwell upon what followed. The 
 .doting old Maharaja was in sore distress; for a long time 
 Kaikeyi would not speak to him; then she stormed at him; 
 finally she befooled him. She insisted that Bharata should 
 be installed as Yuva-raja, and that Rama should be sent 
 into exile for fourteen years. The Maharaja was a helpless 
 slave in the hands of Kaikeyi ; he could not resist her, and 
 at last was compelled to yield to her imperious will. 
 
 At early morning, while the city was preparing for the
 
 HINDU INDIA 
 
 45 
 
 INDIA 
 
 to illustrate 
 THERAMAVANA
 
 46 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 installation, Rama was summoned to the palace, and ush- 
 ered into the presence of his father. The Maharaja was 
 speechless from grief. 1 Kaikeyi was exulting in her triumph 
 over the first wife. She told Rama his fate in words of steel. 
 Rama received the news like a model prince who had been 
 trained by Brahmans. He showed neither anger nor sor- 
 row; his face was an unruffled calm. He prepared to obey 
 the commands of his father without a murmur. He was 
 bent on going into exile with as much tranquillity as if he 
 had been ordered to ascend the throne. 
 
 Rama left the presence of the Maharaja and Kaikeyi to 
 carry the news to his mother Kausalya. The princess had 
 been spending the night in offering sacrifices to Vishnu in 
 behalf of her beloved son. She had gloried in the thought 
 that the machinations of Kaikeyi had been defeated, and 
 that Rama was to be appointed Yuva-raja. In one moment 
 the cup of happiness was dashed to the ground. Instead of 
 reigning as Maharaja in the city of Ayodhya, her son was 
 to go as an exile into the jungle. His place upon the throne 
 was to be filled by the son of her detested rival. She her- 
 self, deprived of the protection of Rama, was to be exposed 
 to the caprices and domination of Kaikeyi, as the mother of 
 the future Maharaja. In agony of soul, Kausalya implored 
 Rama to resist the commands of his father; to assume the 
 government of the Raj ; and, if opposed, to slay the royal 
 dotard who had become the slave to Kaikeyi. She was his 
 mother, and her commands, she said, were as binding upon 
 him as those of his father Dasaratha. 
 
 Rama was not to be moved from his high resolve. He 
 was deaf to all suggestions of disobedience, rebellion, or 
 parricide. He told his mother that the Maharaja was her 
 husband and her god, and that she was bound to obey him 
 whatever might be his commands. 
 
 Kausalya next entreated Rama to take her with him into 
 the jungle. She could not live in the palace to endure the 
 
 1 The exaggerated accounts of the Maharaja's sorrowing over the exile ol 
 Rama give rise to the suspicion that his grief was all a sham.
 
 HINDU INDIA 47 
 
 insults of Kaikeyi and the contempt of the slave-girls. But 
 Rama was inexorable. By taking his mother into the jungle 
 he would make her a widow while her husband was alive. 
 She would violate her duty as a wife, and he would violate 
 his duty as a son. 
 
 Rama left his mother, to return to his own palace, and 
 break the news to his wife Sita. The young wife was not 
 cast down by her husband's doom; but she was angry when 
 he proposed going alone into exile, and leaving her behind 
 at Ayodhya. She declared that a wife must share the fort- 
 unes of her husband, and that she must accompany him into 
 the jungle. Rama dwelt upon the dangers and privations 
 of jungle life ; but his words were thrown away. She prayed 
 and wept until he allowed her to share his exile. He also 
 permitted his half-brother Lakshmana to accompany them 
 into the jungle. 
 
 The story of the exile of Rama is suggestive. The first 
 and second exiles of the Pandavas, as told in the Maha 
 Bharata, are somewhat mythical; they might be omitted 
 altogether without interfering with the current of the tradi- 
 tion of the great war. The exile of Rama is historical ; it 
 forms an essential portion of the main tradition. The infer- 
 ence follows that the horrible slaughter of kinsmen in the 
 war of the Maha Bharata left a lasting impression upon his- 
 tory. It taught a wholesome lesson to the ancient world 
 that fratricidal wars were the ruin of empires. After the 
 war of the Maha Bharata, a sentence of exile became the 
 rule in cases of domestic feuds, as the only safeguard against 
 fratricidal war. 
 
 The story of the exile of Rama is however contradictory. 
 In modern times the sentence of exile among the princes of 
 Rajputana has been carried out with funereal pomp. The 
 offender was clothed in black, invested with a black sword 
 and buckler, mounted on a black horse, and solemnly com- 
 manded to depart out of the limits of the Raj. 1 Henceforth 
 
 1 See the larger History of India, voL ii. chap. 8.
 
 48 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the exiled prince either entered into foreign service, like 
 Drona, or led the life of a bandit and outlaw. 1 
 
 According to the Ramayana, Rama and Lakshmana led 
 the life of religious devotees. They were supposed to live 
 on roots and vegetables, and to pass then* time hi religious 
 austerities, abstracted from the outer world. But traces of 
 the funereal ceremonial are still to be found in the poem. 
 Rama, accompanied by his wife Sita, and his brother Laksh- 
 mana, walked on bare feet through the streets of Ayodhya 
 to the palace of the Maharaja, amid the tears and lamenta- 
 tions of the people. They took their leave of the Maharaja 
 and Kaikeyi like doomed exiles. They were clothed in 
 dresses made of the bark of trees, and despatched to the 
 frontier in the Maharaja's own chariot. The Ramayana also 
 tells how the exiles shot deer hi the jungle, and lived on flesh 
 meat, like other Kshatriyas. Moreover, they were soon 
 engaged in wars against Rakshasas and demons. Such a 
 mode of life was certainly more fitted for Rajputs than for 
 Brahmans, for political exiles than for religious devotees. 
 
 The journey in the royal chariot from the capital at 
 Ayodhya to the frontier town of Sringavera occupied some 
 days.* At night the chariot halted beneath trees, and the 
 royal exiles slept on beds of leaves. At Sringavera the char- 
 ioteer left the exiles, and returned to the city of Ayodhya, 
 carrying loving mesages from Rama to his father Dasa- 
 ratha. 
 
 The town of Sringavera, the modern Sungroor, was sit- 
 uated on the northern bank of the Ganges, about twenty 
 miles from Allahabad. It was the frontier town of Ayodhya 
 against the Bhils. It thus forms a landmark between the 
 
 1 The exile of Drona differed altogether from that of Rama. It only lasted 
 until he had procured the means of revenge. Rama was bound over not to re- 
 turn to Ayodhya for a period of fourteen years. 
 
 8 There were at least two rivers to be crossed betweeen the city of Ayodhya 
 on the river Sarayu, the modern Gogra, and the town of Sringavera, on the 
 northern bank of the Ganges. The reader may conjecture that the chariot wag 
 carried across in some primitive fashion ; or he may adopt the interpretation of 
 learned Pundits that the chariot flew through the air.
 
 HINDU INDIA 49 
 
 Aryan dominion of Oude and the non- Aryan aborigines. 
 The Raja of the Bhils, named Guha, was most respectful 
 and attentive to the royal strangers. He entertained them 
 with much hospitality and provided them with a boat for 
 crossing the Ganges. 
 
 During this voyage across the Ganges, Sita offered up 
 her prayers to the goddess of the river, and vowed to present 
 her with an offering of wine and flesh whenever Rama should 
 return and take possession of his kingdom. 
 
 The exiles next proceeded to the city of Prayaga, the 
 modern Allahabad, at the junction of the Ganges and 
 Jumna. 1 The site is of much importance in Hindu history. 
 The union of the river deities rendered it a holy spot in the 
 eyes of Vedic worshippers. At Prayaga, Bharadwaja the 
 Brahman had already established a hermitage. Further 
 south, in the jungle of Dandaka, were other Brahman 
 hermitages, which will be presently brought under review." 
 
 At Prayaga the exiles were hospitably entertained by 
 Bharadwaja. They crossed the Jumna on a raft, and Sita 
 offered up the same prayers to the goddess of the Jumna as 
 she had previously offered up to the goddess of the Ganges. 
 After they had landed on the opposite bank, Sita paid her 
 adorations to a sacred fig-tree, walking humbly round the 
 tree, and propitiating the god with joined hands. 
 
 The exiles next proceeded toward the hermitage of Val- 
 miki the sage, on the hill Chitra-kuta in the country of 
 Bundelkund. The spot was surrounded by the hermitages 
 of other Brahmans. Valmiki was celebrated in after years 
 as the author of the Ramayana, just as Vyasa was cele- 
 brated as the author of the Maha Bharata. The exiles built 
 a hut of wood and leaves near this hermitage, and sojourned 
 there many days, subsisting on honey and game. 
 
 Meanwhile the charioteer returned to the city of Ayodhya, 
 
 1 This locality has already been noticed in connection with the first exile of 
 the Pandavaa, under the name of Varanavata. 
 
 2 The area of the forest of Dandaka is somewhat confused. The whole 
 country seems to have been a jungle or wilderness from the Ganges at Sringa- 
 vera to the remote south, 
 
 H OF 13
 
 60 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 and delivered to the Maharaja the filial messages which had 
 been sent by Rama. That same night the Maharaja died in 
 the chamber of Kausalya ; but no one knew of it outside the 
 chamber, for the Rani had fallen into a deep swoon. 
 
 Next morning at early dawn the palace life began as 
 though the Maharaja was still sleeping. The bards and 
 eulogists were chanting his praises, in order that he might 
 waken to pleasant words. The Brahmans sang their Vedic 
 hymns. The servants began their daily business ; the men 
 brought in jars of water, and the handmaidens were ready 
 with food and flowers. The sun began to rise in the heav- 
 ens, yet nothing was seen of the Maharaja. 
 
 Suddenly the screams of women rang through the morn- 
 ing air. The Ranis had gone to the royal chamber; they 
 found that the Maharaja was a corpse, and that Kausalya 
 had fallen into a swoon. Then the cry went forth that the 
 Maharaja was dead. 
 
 The Ministers hastened to the chamber of death. They 
 called together a great council of Brahmans and chieftains. 
 The Maharaja was dead, and all his sons were absent from 
 Ayodhya. There was no son present at Ayodhya to con- 
 duct the funeral ceremony. Rama and Lakshmana were 
 in exile; Bharata and Satrughna were gone to Giri-vraja. 
 So the body of the Maharaja was placed in a bath of oil; 
 and swift messengers were sent to Giri-vraja to bring back 
 Bharata to the city of Ayodhya. 
 
 "When the messengers arrived at Giri-vraja, they would 
 not tell Bharata that his father was dead. They said that all 
 was well, but that he must return with all speed to the city 
 of Ayodhya. So Bharata took leave of his grandfather, and 
 returned with the messengers, accompanied by his brother 
 Satrughna. "When he heard at Ayodhya that his father was 
 dead he was in sore distress ; and when he heard that Rama 
 had been sent into exile, he declared that he would not reign 
 in the room of his elder brother Rama. He said that when 
 the days of mourning were over, he would go into the jungle 
 and bring back his brother Rama.
 
 HINDU INDIA 51 
 
 Meanwhile all preparations had been made for the burn- 
 ing. Bharata and his brother Satrughna placed the royal 
 body on a litter, and covered it with garlands, and strewed 
 it round about with incense. All this while they cried about 
 with mournful voices, "O Maharaja, whither art thou gone?" 
 
 The sad procession then moved from the royal palace to 
 the place of burning without the city. The bards and eulo- 
 gists marched in front, chanting the praises of the dead 
 Maharaja, while musicians filled the air with doleful strains. 
 Next the widows appeared on foot, screaming and wailing, 
 with their long black hair dishevelled on their shoulders. 
 Then came the litter borne up by the royal servants; Bha- 
 rata and Satrughna holding on to the back of the litter. 
 All round the ensigns of royalty were carried as though the 
 Maharaja were still alive. The white umbrella was held 
 over the body ; the jewelled fans of white hair were moved 
 to and fro to sweep away the flies ; the sacred fire was car- 
 ried constantly burning. Other royal servants followed in 
 chariots, and scattered alms among the multitude as funeral 
 gifts of the Maharaja. 1 
 
 In this way the procession reached the banks of the river 
 Sarayu. The funeral pile of fragrant woods was already 
 prepared. The body of the Maharaja was placed upon the 
 pile. Animals were sacrificed and placed round about the 
 dead body together with heaps of boiled rice. Oil and clari- 
 fied butter were poured upon the wood together with incense 
 and perfumes of various kinds. Then Bharata brought a 
 lighted torch and set the pile on fire. The flames blazed up 
 on high, and consumed the dead body and all the sacrifices. 
 The widows shrieked louder than ever ; and the multitude 
 lamented aloud, "O Maharaja, O sovereign protector, why 
 hast thou departed and left us helpless here?" 
 
 "When the mourners had performed the rite of fire, they 
 began to perform the rite of water. Bharata and Satrughna 
 
 1 It is worthy of note that none of the widows of the Maharaja were burned 
 alive on the funeral pile.
 
 62 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 bathed in the river with all their friends ; they poured water 
 out of the palms of their hands to refresh the soul of the 
 Maharaja. This done, the mourners returned to the city 
 of Ayodhya. 
 
 For ten days Bharata mourned for his father, lying upon 
 a mat of kusa grass, according to the custom which still 
 prevails among the Hindus. On the tenth day he purified 
 himself. On the twelfth day he performed the Sraddha, or 
 feast of the dead, by offering funeral cakes to the soul of his 
 deceased father. 1 On the thirteenth day, Bharata proceeded 
 to the river Sarayu, and collected the relics of the funeral 
 pile, and threw them into the sacred stream. 
 
 On the fourteenth day of the mourning a great council 
 of state was held at Ayodhya. The Raj was tendered to 
 Bharata, according to the will of the dead Maharaja. But 
 Bharata refused to supplant his elder brother; he declared 
 that he would journey through the jungle to the hill Chitra- 
 kuta, and offer the Raj to Rama. 
 
 The march of Bharata from Ayodhya to Chitra-kuta is 
 described at length in the Ramayana; but it can scarcely be 
 regarded as historical.* He was accompanied by an army; 
 and it was therefore necessary to repair the road from Ayo- 
 dhya to the frontier. The hills were levelled, and chasms 
 were filled with earth. ' Pavilions were set up at the several 
 
 1 The Sraddha is one of the most important ceremonies among the Hindus. 
 It is performed by the mourner within a certain period after the death, or on 
 hearing of the death, of a near kinsman. A Sraddha is also celebrated every 
 month in propitiation of paternal ancestors. Special Sraddhas are likewise per- 
 formed on great occasions, and notably at the celebration of any marriage cere- 
 mony. The funeral cakes are eaten by cows or Brahmans, or cast into water 
 or fire. The ceremony is accompanied by a feast to the Brahmans, which is 
 sometimes conducted on the most extensive and costly scale. See the larger 
 History of India, vol. ii., Brahmanic period, chap. ix. 
 
 * Great stress is laid in the Ramayana on the reluctance of Bharata to accept 
 the throne of Ayodhya at the expense of his elder brother Rama. The reluc- 
 tance is improbable; it is contrary to human nature; it may, however, have 
 been feigned to strengthen his claim to the throne hi the absence of Rama. 
 But whether real or feigned, it has little to do with the progress of the history. 
 
 3 The preparation of a road through the jungle for the passage of an army 
 is not infrequent in Oriental life. It finds full expression in the prophecies of 
 Isaiah: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway
 
 HINDU INDIA 53 
 
 halting-places; and Bharata and his army moved along the 
 route which had already been traversed by Kama and his 
 fellow-exiles. 
 
 The first station of any note was the frontier town of 
 Sringavera. There Guha, Raja of the Bhils, appeared as 
 before in the character of a respectful neighbor. At first 
 Guha was under the impression that Bharata was about to 
 make war on Rama ; and he made preparations for resisting 
 the advance of the army. When, however, he heard that 
 Bharata was about to offer the Raj to Rama, he carried 
 large presents of fish, honey, and flesh to the camp, and en- 
 tertained the whole army. He also provided five hundred 
 boats to carry the women and leading personages over the 
 river Ganges. 
 
 The passage of the army of Bharata over the Ganges is 
 exactly in accordance with the ways of Hindu soldiers and 
 their endless followers. The men set their booths on fire on 
 leaving the encampment. They made a great uproar dur- 
 ing embarkation. The boats, adorned with gay streamers, 
 crossed the river with ease amid the sing-song of the rowers; 
 some were filled with women, some carried horses, and oth- 
 ers were filled with carriages, cattle, and treasure. The 
 elephants swam through the waters like winged mountains. 
 The multitude went over on rafts or empty jars, or breasted 
 the stream with their hands and arms. 
 
 Next followed the march to the hermitage of Bharad- 
 waja. The holy Brahman gave a great feast to the whole 
 army. By virtue of his many austerities, he prevailed on 
 the gods to supply all that was necessary from the heaven 
 of Indra. Viswakarma, the architect of the gods, levelled 
 the ground, covered it with green turf, and built up mag- 
 nificent pavilions. Tanks were filled with sacred food 
 milk, rice, and sugar. Metal dishes, loaded with cooked 
 meats, were supplied in abundance. Rivers flowed with 
 
 for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall 
 be made low ; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places 
 plain."
 
 54 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 wine and sweet liquors ; the banks were covered with sweet- 
 meats and delicacies ; the trees dropped honey. The beau- 
 tiful Apsaras, nymphs from Swarga, danced on the grass; 
 the Kinnaras filled the air with their songs ; the Gandharvas 
 played sweet music. Thousands of beautiful damsels, with 
 garlands round their necks, served up viands and drinks to 
 the exhilarated warriors. 1 
 
 The army of Bharata next crossed the river Jumna in 
 the same way that it had crossed the Ganges ; and in due 
 course it marched through the jungle of Dandaka to the hill 
 Chitra-kuta. In the first instance Bharata told Rama that 
 his father Dasaratha was dead. Rama gave way to grief 
 and performed the funeral rites. He bathed in the neigh- 
 boring river, and filled his two joined palms with water. 
 He then turned his face toward the south quarter, sacred to 
 Yama, the judge of the dead, and said, "O Maharaja, may 
 this water always quench your thirst in the region of spir- 
 its!" He afterward prepared funeral cakes, and offered 
 them to the spirit of his departed father. 
 
 The meeting between Bharata and Rama is told at great 
 length in the Ramayana. They discussed the question of 
 the succession to the Raj; Bharata offering it to his elder 
 brother, and Rama refusing to take it until he had com- 
 pleted his exile. In the end it was resolved that Bharata 
 
 1 The miracle of Bharadwaja will serve as a specimen of the mode in which 
 the original traditions of the Maha Bharata and Ramayana have been embellished 
 when retold in the form of Sanskrit epics. The deities of fire, water, the winds, 
 the sun and moon, the gods of wealth and war, and a host of other deities, were 
 supposed to dwell on high hi the heaven of Indra ; and Indra reigned as sover- 
 eign of the gods, just as Zeus reigned as sovereign over the gods on Mount 
 Olympus. But Brahman sages, by the force of austerities and other religioua 
 merits, could force the gods to work their will. 
 
 The dancers, singers, and musicians call for some explanation. The Apsaraa 
 were dancing-girls in the service of Indra. The Kinnaras were a people fabled 
 to have horses' heads ; and Herodotus describes a people, whom he calls East- 
 ern Ethiopians, who fought in the army of Xerxes, and wore the scalps of horses 
 on their heads, with the ears and mane attached. (Herodotus, vii. 70.) They 
 were equipped like the Indians. How they came to serve as singers in the heaven 
 of Indra is a mystery. The Gandharvas were a hill tribe dwelling on the Hima- 
 layas, and famous for the beauty of their women. They appear in the story of 
 the adventures of the Pandavas at Virata, as ghostly lovers of women. In the 
 Ramayana they appear as musicians in the heaven of Indra.
 
 HINDU INDIA 55 
 
 should return to Ayodhya, and rule over the Raj in the 
 name of Rama; and that when the fourteen years of exile 
 were accomplished, Rama should leave the jungle and take 
 possession of the throne. 
 
 After the departure of Rama, the Brahman hermitages 
 at Chitra-kuta were sorely troubled by the Rakshasas. These 
 people are described as demons, monsters, and cannibals, like 
 those encountered by Bhima in the Magadha country. They 
 were especially hostile to the Brahmans and their sacrifices, 
 and enemies to the worship of the gods. Accordingly the 
 Brahmans abandoned their hermitages at Chitra-kuta, and 
 went away to another country. 
 
 When Chitra-kuta was deserted by the Brahmans, Rama 
 went away further south, accompanied by Sita and Laksh- 
 mana. The royal exiles wandered over the jungle of Dan- 
 daka toward the sources of the river Godavari in the Vin- 
 dhya mountains. They visited the hermitages of many holy 
 Brahmans, and Rama carried on war against many Rak- 
 shasas. In this manner thirteen years of the exile passed 
 away. l 
 
 The Rakshasas of the Ramayana are creations of Hindu 
 imagination. They are not gigantic men like those who 
 were slain by Bhima, but huge misshapen monsters. One 
 cannibal, named Viradha, was tall as a mountain, with a 
 deep voice, hollow eyes, a monstrous mouth, and a tun belly ; 
 he was smeared with fat and blood ; before him, on a huge 
 iron spit ready cooked for a meal, were three lions, four 
 tigers, two wolves, ten deer, and the head of an elephant. 
 Another demon, named Kabandha, was a mountain of flesh, 
 without head or neck ; his face was in his belly ; he had one 
 eye and huge teeth ; he had two arms of interminable length, 
 
 1 One famous locality visited by Rama was Nasik, near the sources of the 
 Godavari, about ninety miles to the northeast of Bombay. The name may be 
 familiar to English readers, as some years back a distinguished Indian official 
 recommended the transfer of the capital of British India from Calcutta to Nasik. 
 In the present day Nasik is a holy place, a centre of Brahmanism. But a num- 
 ber of Buddhist ruins are in the neighborhood, and prove that Buddhism once 
 flourished there.
 
 56 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 with which he swept up his prey. Of course both Viradha 
 and Kabandha, as well as other demons, were all slain by 
 Rama. Indeed Rama is always the victor, whether encoun- 
 tering a single monster, or assailed by a whole army of 
 Rakshasas. 
 
 The remainder of the Ramayana may be described as a 
 romance converted into a religious parable. Rama is rep- 
 resented as an incarnation of Vishnu, born upon earth for 
 the destruction of the Rakshasas, who are the enemies of 
 gods and Brahmans. 
 
 Ravana, the Raja of the Rakshasas, was reigning in the 
 island of Lanka, the modern Ceylon. His empire extended 
 over the greater part of southern India; his power was felt 
 on the river Godavari and hill Chitra-kuta. He was said to 
 have made the gods his slaves. He had delivered his sub~ 
 jects from the fear of Yama, judge of the dead, and had 
 compelled Yama to cut grass for his steeds. The sun was 
 obliged to smile gently at Lanka, and the moon to be always 
 at the full. Agni, the god of fire, burned not in his pres- 
 ence. Vayu, the god of wind, blew gently at Lanka. No 
 one dared to perform sacrifice out of fear of Ravana. l 
 
 Ravana had heard of the beauty of Sita, the wife of 
 Rama. He disguised himself as a Hindu devotee, and paid 
 a visit to Sita while Rama and Lakshmana were absent in 
 the jungle. He was smitten with her charms, and forcibly 
 carried her off in a chariot, which flew through the air like 
 chariots in fairy tales. Rama was much distressed when 
 he returned to the hut and found that Sita had vanished. 
 At last he discovered that Sita had been carried off by Ra- 
 vana, the mighty Raja of Lanka. Accordingly he formed 
 alliances for waging war against so potent an enemy. He 
 is said to have secured the services of armies of monkeys 
 and bears, who had been born on earth as incarnations of 
 the gods, in order to help in the holy war against Ravana. 
 
 According to the Ramayana there was a great Raja of 
 
 1 See larger History of India, vol. ii. : Ramayana.
 
 HINDU INDIA 57 
 
 monkeys reigning in the western mountains. 1 His name 
 was Bali. He had a younger brother, named Sugriva, 
 whom he had driven out of the Raj, and was still anxious 
 to capture and murder. Rama visited Sugriva in his secret 
 retreat in a hill fortress, and made a league with him. 
 Rama fought against Bali, slew him, and placed Sugriva 
 on the throne. In return, Sugriva joined Rama with an 
 army of monkeys to carry on the war against Ravana. 8 
 
 A famous monkey, named Hanuman, was commander- 
 in-chief of the army of monkeys. The exploits of Hanuman 
 have been the delight of the people of India for unrecorded 
 centuries. 3 He could swell himself to the size of a moun- 
 tain, or dwarf himself to the size of a man's thumb. He 
 was bent on discovering the retreat of Sita. He marched 
 to the sea-shore, where a strait, sixty miles across, separates 
 India from Ceylon. He took a gigantic spring and leaped 
 across the strait. He climbed the vast fortifications which 
 surrounded the city of Lanka, and entered the palace of 
 Ravana. He found Sita in the palace garden secluded in 
 a grove, and gave her a ring he had received from Rama. 
 He saw that Ravana was anxious to make Sita his chief 
 Rani, but that nothing would induce her to break her mar- 
 riage vows. Sita was glad to see Hanuman and gave him 
 a jewel as a token for Rama. 
 
 When Hanuman left Sita, he was so enraged against 
 Ravana that he began to tear up all the trees and flowers 
 in the palace garden. The Rakshasas fell upon him with 
 overwhelming forces, but he withstood them all. At last 
 
 1 The region corresponded generally to the Mysore country, but may have 
 extended over a larger area, including the Mahratta country. The wife of the 
 monkey Raja was named Tara, a name which is frequently given to Mahratta 
 women. 
 
 2 This strange legend illustrates the feuds which prevailed in ancient India. 
 The confusion between monkeys and men is inexplicable. The bears played a 
 less important part in the war, and may be ignored. 
 
 3 Hanuman is worshipped as a god in all parts of India. His image is carved 
 in numerous pagodas. Delia Valle, who travelled in India in the seventeenth 
 century, describes a festival hi which the image of Hanuman was carried in pro- 
 cession from a temple in the western Ghats to the eastern coast of Coromandel, 
 the scene of llama's later exploits.
 
 58 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 he was entrapped by a noose which had belonged to the 
 god Brahma. He was dragged into the palace hall, where 
 Havana was sitting surrounded by his council. His tail 
 was dipped in butter and set on fire; but he whisked the 
 tail over the city of Lanka, and set all the houses in flames. 1 
 He then went off to the sea-shore, and leaped over the strait 
 as before ; and told Kama that he had seen Sita and gave 
 him the token. 
 
 The rest of the Eamayana is a string of marvels. The 
 army of monkeys brought rocks from the Himalaya moun- 
 tains, and built a bridge over the sea between India and 
 Lanka. a The war was carried on with supernatural weap- 
 ons and mystic sacrifices. It was diversified by single com- 
 bats, like the war of the Maha Bharata ; but they are devoid 
 of all human interest. They are the combats of gods and 
 demons armed with weapons that worked impossible mar- 
 vels. At last Havana was slain by Rama, and Sita was 
 restored to her husband's arms. 
 
 Here the story might have been brought to a close; but 
 Sita had been captured by an enemy, and was yet to pass 
 through a terrible ordeal. A pile of wood was built up and 
 set on fire. Sita invoked Agni, the god of fire, to testify to 
 
 1 The burning of Hanuman's tail is a favorite scene in dramatic representa- 
 tions, and is always hailed by a Hindu audience with a storm of delight. The 
 false tail of the representative of Hanuman is of course stuffed with combusti- 
 bles, and flares away with a display of fireworks, until the flimsy properties 
 which indicate the streets and houses of Lanka are destroyed by the devouring 
 flames. See larger History of India, voL ii. chap. xx. : Ramayana. 
 
 * The origin of the conception of Rama's bridge forms a curious subject of 
 inquiry. The famous bridge of boats by which the army of Xerxes passed over 
 the Hellespont is commonplace in comparison with a bridge of stone, sixty miles 
 long, extending over a deep sea. Strangely enough, a rocky causeway runs out 
 from the Indian side of the channel, and terminates at the island of Ramisseram; 
 and although it is at present covered by the sea, it is said to have formerly been 
 above the waves. A similar causeway runs out from the opposite shore of Cey- 
 lon, and terminates in the island of Manaar; while a sandy ridge, known as 
 Adam's Bridge, connects Manaar with Ramisseram. There can, therefore, be 
 "Jttle doubt that the Hindu bard formed the idea of a bridge from a contempla- 
 tion of the physical geography of the locality ; and the conception once formed 
 was readily believed and widely disseminated. To this day the huge blocks or 
 boulders which are to be found in various pans of India are said to have been 
 dropped by the monkeys in attempts to carry them southward for the purpose 
 of building the bridge.
 
 HINDU INDIA 59 
 
 her purity. She threw herself into the midst of the flames, 
 relying upon the god to protect her. For a while she dis- 
 appeared from mortal eyes. Presently the earth opened, 
 and Agni rcse up, and revealed himself in human form. 
 He carried Sita on his knee as a father carries a child, and 
 delivered her to Rama as pure as the undriven snow. 
 
 The fourteenth year of exile was now accomplished. 
 Rama and Sita returned to Ayodhya, and reigned in great 
 happiness and splendor. Rama became a mighty conqueror; 
 his empire is said to have covered all India. Like Yudhish- 
 thira he performed the Aswamedha, or horse-sacrifice ; and 
 every Raja in India, if not in all the world, attended the 
 sacrifice and paid homage to Rama. 
 
 The conclusion of the Ramayana is a painful episode. 
 There was a famine in the land; it was said that the gods 
 were angry with Rama for having taken back Sita. Rama 
 was in sore distress, for Sita was about to become a mother; 
 nevertheless he ordered his brother Lakshmana to conduct 
 her to the wilderness of Dandaka and leave her alone in the 
 jungle. 
 
 Lakshmana was obliged to obey the cruel commands of 
 the Maharaja. He drove Sita to the hill Chitra-kuta; told 
 her that Valmiki the sage had returned to the hermitage 
 accompanied by his wife; and counselled her to seek for 
 refuge at the hermitage. It is needless to dwell on the 
 agony of Sita at finding herself abandoned by her husband. 
 It will suffice to say that she found her way to the hermitage, 
 and was kindly entertained by Valmiki and his wife, and 
 became the mother of twin sons, Lava and Kusa. 
 
 Sixteen years passed away. Valmiki composed the poem 
 of the Ramayana, from the birth of Rama to the triumphant 
 return of Rama and Sita to the Raj of Ayodhya. He taught 
 the poem to the two sons of Rama. 
 
 At this time it came to pass that Rama made an excur- 
 sion into the jungle of Dandaka. He heard Lava and Kusa 
 chanting the Ramayana at the hermitage. His heart yearned 
 toward his two sons and their mother Sita. He entered the
 
 60 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 hermitage, and was reconciled by Valmiki to his wife Sita. 
 Rama and Sita then returned to the city of Ayodhya with 
 their two sons, and lived in happiness until death. 1 
 
 The poem of the Ramayana was composed for a religious 
 purpose similar to that which pervades the Maha Bharata. 
 Ancient legends are retold in the form of religious parables 
 to represent Rama as an incarnation of the Supreme Spirit 
 Vishnu, in the same way that the Maha Bharata represents 
 Krishna as an incarnation of the same deity. In the original 
 poem the character of Rama is wildly distorted, and his 
 moral actions are exaggerated, in order to exalt him into a 
 Brahmanical hero of a supernatural type. 8 It should also 
 be remarked that in the Ramayana two separate legends 
 appear to have been linked into one. The exile of Rama 
 from Ayodhya is apparently the original tradition which has 
 been referred to B.C. 1000; it is the backbone of the epic, 
 and complete in itself, irrespective of the wars in the Dekhan. 
 On the other hand, the conquest of the Dekhan and capture 
 of Lanka are additions of a mythical character, belonging 
 to a later period of perhaps many centuries. They are relics, 
 fantastic and grotesque, of the religious wars and antago- 
 nisms which prevailed for centuries in southern India be- 
 tween the Brahmans, or worshippers of the gods, and the 
 Buddhists and Jains, who denied the existence of the gods, 
 and were denounced as atheists and Rakshasas. 8 
 
 - The story of the reconciliation of Rama and Sita has been slightly modified 
 to escape details which are of no moment, and which would only involve lengthy 
 explanations. The correct version will be found in the larger History of India, 
 vol. ii. 
 
 2 Such stories please Oriental imaginations, but are repulsive to practical 
 morality as understood by Europeans. Similar supernatural myths are told of 
 Gotama Buddha, such as giving his own flesh to a hungry tiger. Fables of this 
 extreme character are more calculated to excite ridicule than to enforce moral 
 rules. 
 
 3 This question is treated at length in the larger History of India, vol. ii 
 Further evidence is furnished in the second part of vol. iv. chap. viii.
 
 HINDU INDIA 61 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 MEDIAEVAL RAJAS 
 
 B.C. 500 TO A.D. 1000 
 
 r I ^HE belief that there is but one God, and that the soul 
 is immortal, has done much toward elevating the 
 barbarian into a civilized and responsible being. But 
 there is another belief that has extended widely over the 
 eastern world : it is known as the dogma of the metempsy- 
 chosis, or belief in the transmigrations of the soul. 
 
 Sakya Muni, 1 afterward known as Gotama Buddha, was 
 the son of a Raja of Kapila, a country seated on the southern 
 slopes of the Himalayas. 9 Sakya Muni was brought up in 
 every luxury, married a loving wife, and was the father 
 of a son. But he was wearied or surfeited with pleasure, 
 and felt a loathing for life. According to the legend, he 
 saw an old man, a diseased man, and a dead man ; and his 
 eyes were opened to the woes of humanity. In the agony 
 of his soul he is said to have exclaimed, "Youth, health, and 
 life itself are but transitory dreams; they lead to age and 
 disease; they end in death and corruption." This feeling 
 was intensified, and magnified, by the belief in the transmi- 
 grations of the soul. He saw the evils, not only of an indi- 
 vidual life, but of an endless chain of successive existences, 
 beginning in an unknown past and running on to eternity. 
 Sakya Muni next saw one of those religious mendicants 
 who have abounded in India from the remotest antiquity. 
 
 1 The era of Sakya Muni is still uncertain ; opinions are divided as to whether 
 he flourished in the fifth or sixth century before the Christian era. Perhaps B.C. 
 500 is good as an approximate date. 
 
 3 The locality is somewhere on the frontier between Nipal and Sikhim, and 
 has sometimes been a bone of contention between the two powers.
 
 62 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The man had no cares or sorrows, no wife or family, no 
 earthly ties of affection or kinship. He lived on the daily 
 alms of food which are given to such mendicants by the 
 masses. Sakya Muni resolved to become a religious men- 
 dicant in like manner; to abandon his father's palace, his 
 wife and son, and his expectation of a throne, and to lead 
 a life cut off from all the ties that bind men to the world. 
 
 Sakya Muni carried out his resolve. He went from his 
 father's palace at Kapila to the country of Magadha on the 
 southern bank of the Ganges. He carried his alms-bowl 
 round the city of Rajagriha. 1 He next led a life of solitude 
 and meditation in the jungle of Gaya, where he became a 
 Buddha, or apostle, to deliver humanity from the miseries 
 and evils of existence. Finally, he proceeded to the deer 
 forest near Benares, and began to preach what he termed 
 the law. 
 
 The essence of Sakya Muni's teaching was that every one 
 should strive to be good in thought, word, and deed; that 
 by so doing he would be born to a better and happier life in 
 the next birth. But he taught that those who were truly 
 wise would also seek to attain a higher object, namely, the 
 deliverance of the soul from the chain of transmigrations. 
 This he maintained could only be effected by leading the life 
 of a religious mendicant; by rooting out every affection, 
 passion, or desire; by severing every tie that bound the soul 
 to the universe of being. When that end was accomplished, 
 the soul would be detached from all life and being; it would 
 be delivered or emancipated from the endless chain of trans- 
 migrations, and would finally sink into an eternal sleep or 
 annihilation known as Nirvana. 
 
 Sakya Muni appeared in a world of Rajas and Brahmans, 
 not unlike that which is depicted in the Sanskrit epics. The 
 reigning Maharaja of Magdaha was at war with the Maha- 
 raja of Kosala. Peace was made and cemented by inter- 
 
 1 Rajagriha is the same as Giri-vraja, the capital of Magadha, the city of the 
 father of Kaikeyi. See ante, page 43.
 
 HINDU INDIA
 
 64 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 marriages. The Maharaja of Magadha was subsequently 
 put to death by his own son, who succeeded to the throne 
 and conquered Kosala. Sakya Muni was thus preaching in 
 troubled times. His success is proved by the after history. 
 To this day the whole region of Magadha, on the southern 
 bank of the lower Ganges, is known by the name of Bihar 
 or Vihara, the land of Viharas or monasteries. 
 
 In B.C. 327, a century or more after the preaching of 
 Sakya Muni in Magadha, Alexander the Great crossed the 
 river Indus for the invasion of the Punjab, or "land of the 
 five rivers." The Punjab was distributed among kings or 
 Rajas who were more or less at war with each other. After 
 crossing the Indus there were three kingdoms to be con- 
 quered : that of Taxiles, between the Indus and the Jhelum ; 
 that of Porus the elder, between the Jhelum and the Chenab; 
 and that of Porus the younger, between the Chenab and the 
 Ravi. There were also other Rajas to the north and south. 
 Porus the elder, however, seems to have been the ruling 
 suzerain, while the others were his refractory vassals. 
 
 Alexander called upon all the Rajas to tender their sub- 
 mission. Many flocked to his camp and paid their homage. 
 Possibly they were anxious to secure his help against Porus 
 the elder. Among others came Taxiles, who placed his 
 kingdom at the disposal of Alexander. This opened the 
 way for the advance of the Macedonian army to the banks 
 of the Jhelum, the frontier of the kingdom of Porus the 
 elder. 
 
 The passage of the Jhelum or Hydaspes is famous in his- 
 tory. Porus was encamped on the opposite bank with a large 
 force of horse and foot, as well as of chariots and elephants. 
 Alexander had to cross the river, not only in the face of the 
 enemy, but exposed to the wind and rain of the southwest 
 monsoon. One dark and stormy night he reached a small 
 island in the river ; he and his troops then waded through 
 the remainder of the stream breast high. The Hindu scouts 
 saw him coming, and ran off to tell Porus. A force of horse 
 and chariots was sent to repel the invaders. The Hindu
 
 HINDU INDIA 65 
 
 chariots stuck in the wet clay, and were nearly all captured 
 by the Macedonians. Alexander lost his horse Bucephalus, 
 but the son of Porus was among the slain. 
 
 Porus moved the greater part of his army to retrieve the 
 disaster, and took up a position on firm ground. His front 
 was formed by a line of elephants, supported from behind 
 by masses of infantry. His two flanks were formed of char- 
 iots and horsemen. Alexander was strong in cavalry. He 
 did not attack the elephants, but charged the two flanks, and 
 drove the Indian horse upon the elephants. Porus tried in 
 vain to bring his elephants into action; the unwieldy ani- 
 mals could not keep pace with the Macedonian horse. At 
 last the elephants turned tail, and trampled down the masses 
 of Indian infantry. Porus was wounded and compelled to 
 fly; but afterward tendered his submission, and Alexander 
 treated him as a friend. 
 
 The victory on the Jhelum was the salvation of the Mace- 
 donian army. Had Alexander been defeated, he must have 
 retreated toward Kabul, and his army might have been cut 
 to pieces in the Khaibar pass. As it was he resolved on 
 marching to the Ganges, but he provided for a retreat by 
 building a flotilla on the Jhelum. It was better to float 
 down the Jhelum and Indus, and dare the danger of the 
 Indian Ocean, than to cut a way to Persia through the hardy 
 mountaineers of Kabul. 
 
 Alexander crossed the Chenab, and entered the territory 
 of Porus the younger. This prince had wanted Alexander 
 to help him against his uncle Porus the elder. "When he 
 heard that his uncle and Alexander were friends, he was 
 seized with a panic, and fled into exile. Accordingly Alex- 
 ander made over the kingdom to Porus the elder, and noth- 
 ing more was heard of Porus the younger. 
 
 Alexander next crossed the Ravi, but a tribe, known as 
 the Kathsei, revolted in his rear. He turned back and re- 
 duced the Kathcei to obedience by the capture of their capital. 
 By this time the Macedonians had grown weary of their 
 Punjab campaign. Their spirits were broken by the storms
 
 66 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 of the southwest monsoon. They refused to advance to the 
 Ganges, and clamored to be led back to Greece. Alex- 
 ander tried to reassure them, but his efforts were in vain. 
 He returned to the Jhelum, and embarked on board the fleet 
 with a portion of his troops, while the remainder marched 
 along the banks on either side. 
 
 During the retreat down the Jhelum and the Indus, the 
 Macedonian army was harassed by tribes who were encour- 
 aged by the Brahmans. Alexander wreaked his vengeance 
 by slaughtering every Brahman that came in his way. At 
 last he reached the ocean, and beheld, for the first time, the 
 phenomena of the tides. He landed his army near Karachi, 
 and marched through Beluchistan to Susa, while Nearchos 
 conducted the fleet to the Persian Gulf. 
 
 The Greeks, who accompanied Alexander, described the 
 Punjab as a flourishing country. There were numerous 
 towns and villages, abundant harvests, a variety of fruits 
 and vegetables, cotton growing on shrubs, sugar canes, 
 banyan trees, alligators, elephants, monkeys, serpents, scor- 
 pions, lizards, and ants. 
 
 The marriage customs were various. In some tribes 
 damsels were offered as marriage prizes in boxing, wrest- 
 ling, running, and archery. In other tribes a wife might 
 be bought with a pair of kine. At Taxila the poor people 
 sold their daughters in the bazar. 
 
 The Brahmans were called wise men and philosophers. 
 Some attended the Raja as counsellors. Others practiced 
 religious austerities by standing in one position for days, or 
 exposing themselves to the burning sun. Others imparted 
 instruction to their disciples. Others prognosticated respect- 
 ing rain, drought, and diseases. But all were held in honor, 
 and went where they pleased, and took what they pleased 
 from the shops. They wore no clothing, and affected to be 
 indifferent to pleasure or pain. They were known to the 
 Greeks as Gymnoscphists, or "naked philosophers." 
 
 The Kathsei chose the handsomest man to be their king. 
 They reared no children that were not handsome. Every
 
 HINDU INDIA 67 
 
 child was publicly examined when it was two months old. 
 and the magistrate decided whether it was to live or die. 
 Marriages were made by the mutual choice of the bride and 
 bridegroom. The widows burned themselves alive with their 
 dead husbands. 
 
 When Alexander left the Punjab, he appointed, a lieu- 
 tenant at Taxila, named Philip, with a garrison of Hindu 
 mercenaries and a bodyguard of Macedonians. Philip was 
 murdered by the mercenaries, who in their turn were nearly 
 all murdered by the Macedonian bodyguard. Alexander 
 heard of the murder in Beluchistan, and appointed Eudemos 
 in the room of Philip, to carry on the government in con- 
 junction with Taxiles. Three years afterward news reached 
 India that Alexander was dead. Eudemos murdered Porus, 
 possibly in the hope of founding an empire in the Punjab ; 
 but he was subsequently driven out of the country by a 
 prince, who was known to the Greeks as Sandrokottos and 
 to the Hindus as Chandra-gupta. 
 
 Sandrokottos was a type of the Hindu princes of ancient 
 times. He was at Taxila when Alexander was there. He 
 was at that time an exile; an offshoot of the royal house 
 of Magadha. He wanted Alexander to conquer Magadha, 
 which he said was eleven days' journey from the Punjab; 
 but he offended the Macedonian by some impertinence, and 
 was obliged to fly for his life. Subsequently he procured 
 the help of banditti, and captured the city of Pali-bothra, 
 the modern Patna. He then ascended the throne of Ma- 
 gadha, and drove the Greeks out of India. He thus 
 established an empire which extended over the Punjab 
 and Hindustan. 
 
 Sandrokottos is an important personage in ancient Hindu 
 history. He formed an alliance with Seleukos, the Greek 
 sovereign of Persia and Baktria. He married a daughter of 
 Seleukos, and received a Greek ambassador at his court 
 named Megasthenes. The marriage of a Hindu Maharaja 
 with a Greek princess is one of the most remarkable events 
 of the time. The description which Megasthenes wrote of
 
 68 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Patna and its people comprises nearly all that is known 
 of ancient Hindustan. 1 
 
 Megasthenes says that the ancient city of Pali-bothra 
 extended ten miles along the bank of the river, and two 
 miles inland." It was surrounded by wooden walls, pierced 
 with holes through which the archers shot their arrows. 
 Megasthenes describes the streets and bazars ; the elephants, 
 chariots, and horsemen, followed by large retinues; the sol- 
 diers armed with bows and arrows, swords, bucklers, and 
 javelins. Sometimes there were festival processions of ele- 
 phants and chariots. Men in rich apparel carried vases and 
 drinking-bowls of gold and silver; while others led strange 
 animals in the procession, such as humpbacked oxen, pan- 
 thers, lions, and various kinds of birds. 
 
 The people of India were divided into castes, and heredi- 
 tary trades and professions. The cultivators were servants 
 of the Maharaja. The produce was stored up every year in 
 the royal granaries ; some was sold to the traders and arti- 
 sans, while the remainder was devoted to the maintenance 
 of the soldiers and officials. The cultivators were a most 
 mild and gentle people. They never resorted to the cities 
 or joined in tumults ; and they were all exempted from mili- 
 tary service. Thus when an army was fighting an enemy, 
 the husbandmen were plowing and sowing close by in the 
 utmost security. 
 
 The magistrates in the city of Pali-bothra exercised a 
 strict supervision. Some overlooked the working of arts 
 and manufactures, to prevent negligence ; others overlooked 
 all sales and exchanges, to prevent cheating. Some col- 
 lected a tax for the Maharaja of one-tenth on the price of 
 everything sold. Others registered all births and deaths 
 
 1 See Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian, translated into 
 English by Professor McCrindle, Principal of the Government College at Patna. 
 London: Triibner & Co. 
 
 9 The Sanskrit name is Patali-putra. Some excavations made at Patna dur- 
 ing the cold season of 1876 revealed a low brick wall of remote antiquity, support- 
 ing a stoat wooden palisading.
 
 HINDU INDIA 69 
 
 in order to tax the people. Others were appointed to enter- 
 tain all strangers and foreigners, and reported all they said 
 and did to the Maharaja. 
 
 The palace of Sandrokottos was stately and secluded. 
 No one dwelt within the walls but the Maharaja and his 
 queens ; even the bodyguard was posted at the gate. Some- 
 times the Maharaja left the palace to take command of his 
 army, which numbered four hundred thousand men. Some- 
 times he took his seat in the court of justice, or offered sacri- 
 fices to the gods. Sometimes he went into the jungle on a 
 hunting expedition, accompanied by his queens; the ladies 
 rode in chariots, or on horses and elephants, surrounded by 
 spearmen to keep off intruders. 
 
 Some years after the mission of Megasthenes, another 
 Maharaja was reigning over Magadha, named Asoka. 1 The 
 adventures of Asoka were very like those of Sandrokottos. 
 He quarrelled with his father, and went away to Rajputana 
 and the Punjab. He returned to the capital at the moment 
 of his father's death, and massacred all his brethren, and 
 obtained the throne. He then became a great conqueror, 
 and established an empire over Hindustan, the Punjab, and 
 Afghanistan. 
 
 Asoka was a man of blood. Apart from his wars and 
 massacres, he sacrificed thousands of animals and birds to 
 the gods of the Brahmans. Afterward he changed his relig- 
 ion and became a follower of Buddha. He promulgated a 
 religion of moral duty; and his edicts, sculptured on rocks 
 and pillars, remain to this day in all parts of his empire. 
 
 The edicts of Asoka taught the merits of goodness, virtue, 
 loving-kindness, and religion, as summed up in the one word, 
 Dharma. They taught that all people should render dutiful 
 service to father and mother ; kindness and help to kinsfolk, 
 neighbors, and acquaintance; filial veneration to spiritual 
 pastors; reverence and almsgiving to Brahman priests and 
 Buddhist monks ; respect and obedience to masters ; frugality 
 
 1 The capital of Asoka was also at Pali-bothra, Patali-putra, or Patna.
 
 70 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 and temperance; abstinence from evil-speaking and slander- 
 ing ; kindness toward servants and dependents ; and kindness 
 toward all living creatures. 
 
 Asoka abolished the slaughter of animals throughout his 
 dominions, whether for food or sacrifice. He established 
 public hospitals for sick people, and also for sick animals. 
 He appointed public teachers to instruct the people in moral 
 conduct. The memory of Asoka has died out of India, but 
 his teachings bear fruit to this day ; for the Hindus are more 
 tender to living creatures than any other nation, and are 
 ever kind to kinsfolk and neighbors. 
 
 About the time when Asoka was reigning in India, the 
 independent Graeko-Baktrian kingdom in Central Asia be- 
 came an empire. Subsequently, under successive kings, the 
 Grseko-Baktrians extended their supremacy over the Punjab 
 and the upper course of the Ganges. About a hundred years 
 before Christ, they were driven out of Central Asia by the 
 Indo-Scythians; but they left their mark in art and religion 
 which remains to this day. Greek sculptures are found 
 amid the ruins of Buddhist temples. Greek gods and Greek 
 inscriptions are stamped on the coins of old Hindu Rajas. 
 
 The history of the Indo-Scythian kings is unknown. They 
 were doubtless of the class which ancient writers placed under 
 the Greek name of Scythian. They came from the eastward 
 to the banks of the Oxus. Later on they were pressed to- 
 ward the east and south by other hordes of the same charac- 
 ter. They swept in successive waves through Afghanistan 
 and the Punjab. One branch appears to have gone south- 
 ward down the valley of the Indus ; another went eastward 
 down the valley of the Ganges. From this time they are no 
 longer spectres floating in an age of darkness, but appear 
 upon the stage of history in substantive forms. Their feat- 
 ures are revealed upon then* coins. Their faces show that 
 they were men of bright intelligence and high resolve. Their 
 annals have yet to be discovered, but the process has begun. 
 Their names and dates are either deciphered, or being de- 
 ciphered. Already it is possible to tell something of the part
 
 HINDU INDIA 71 
 
 played by the Indo-Scythian kings in the bygone history of 
 India. 
 
 The latest dynasty of the Indo-Scythian kings stands out 
 more prominently than all the others. It seems to have been 
 founded by a sovereign whose name was Kanishka ; but this 
 name appears on his coins in the Greek form of Kanerke. 
 He probably ascended the throne of the Indo-Scythians 
 about B.C. 56 or 57; or about the time that Julius Csesar 
 first landed on the shores of Albion. 
 
 From the banks of the Oxus, Kanishka brought the Per- 
 sian worship of Mithra or the sun, which his tribe had added 
 to their ancestral worship of fire, water, and the firmament. 
 Even Syrian and Egyptian gods are found in the Pantheon 
 of the Indo-Scythians. Their latest conquests brought them 
 into contact with the mythology of Greece and India; also 
 with the religion of Gotama Buddha. Kanishka seems to 
 have been a liberal patron of the Buddhists. His dynasty 
 lasted about a century, and the latest king bore a Hindu 
 name. 
 
 Meanwhile, a mysterious people, known as the Guptas, 
 were making a name and home in India. The Hindus called 
 them Mlechhas, or barbarians. According to tradition they 
 were strangers in the land. Possibly, they were children of 
 the Greeks; immigrants from the old Grseko-Baktrian em- 
 pire, who had half -forgotten their Hellenic instincts and be- 
 come Hinduized. They succeeded to the dynasty of Kanishka. 
 From what follows, they appear to have made common cause 
 with Hindu Rajas against the Indo-Scythian invaders. 
 
 It has been said that one branch of the Indo-Scythians 
 moved down the valley of the Indus; thence they passed 
 through the desert of Scinde, Guzerat, and Marwar, toward 
 Ujain or Oojein. The kingdom of Ujain was seated on the 
 tableland of Malwa in southern Rajputana. In ancient 
 times the city of Ujain was a centre of Rajput sovereignty 
 and Brahmanical literature ; and to this day it is haunted by 
 memories of Rajput bards and Sanskrit dramatists. 
 
 History sheds but faint gleams of light on this distracted
 
 72 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 period. The western Indo-Scythians from the Indus seem 
 to have been men of nerve and resolution, who pushed on 
 toward Central India to restore the failing fortunes of their 
 race. They were met by a general league of Hindu princes. 
 The Guptas shared in the league ; possibly they led it. A 
 great battle was fought at Kahror, near the eastern confines 
 of the great desert of Marwar. It was one of the decisive 
 battles of the world; a mortal struggle between Indo-Scy- 
 thian invaders and long-established Rajput sovereignties. 
 The Rajputs and Guptas gained the victory. The Indo- 
 Scythians were utterly defeated; they lost their place in 
 history. Future discoveries may bring to light some further 
 details respecting the children of the Indo-Scythian kings, 
 but at present nothing further of them is known. 
 
 The battle of Kahror was fought probably about A.D. 78. 
 It is said that the year 78 has become known as the Saka or 
 Salivahana era in consequence of this battle. 1 
 
 The further history of the Guptas is nearly as obscure. 
 They were supplanted by the Vallabhi Rajas about A.D. 319. 
 The supposed children of the Greek invaders passed away, 
 after exercising dominion, in some shape or other, in Baktria 
 or in India, for nearly six hundred years. 
 
 The historians and geographers of Greece and Rome 
 tell but little of ancient India. From the overthrow of 
 the Grseko-Baktrian kingdom by the Indo-Scythians to the 
 downfall of the Gupta dynasty, India was nearly cut off 
 from the outer world. Greek and Roman writers discoursed 
 about India; they likened it to Egypt, and sometimes even 
 confounded it with Egypt, mixing up the alligators in the 
 Indus with the crocodiles in the Nile. Roman merchants 
 brought back stories of the Malabar pirates on the western 
 coast, but they had nothing to say about Bengal or Coro- 
 
 1 There is an earlier era known as that of Vikramaditya. It corresponds to 
 B.C. 55 or 56. The legends of Vikramaditya and Salivahana are so mixed up 
 with fable as to be unreliable and unmeaning. It is said that Vikramaditya 
 reigned over the whole world for a thousand years a statement which sets his- 
 tory and chronology at defiance.
 
 HINDU INDIA 73 
 
 mandel. Indeed, there was little in the current of events 
 in India to interest men accustomed to the political life of 
 Greece and Italy. India was still divided into a number 
 of little kingdoms, as it had been in the war of the Maha 
 Bharata. Sometimes congeries of kingdoms were formed 
 into empires under sovereigns like the kings of Magadha 
 and Kosala, of Andhra and Pandya. 1 The story of their 
 wars told of battles between armies with lines of elephants, 
 but it taught nothing about the people. The religious con- 
 troversies between Brahmans and Buddhists were unheeded 
 or unknown to the philosophers of Greece and Rome. 
 
 History never stands still. Ideas spread and seethe be- 
 neath the surface of humanity, and their outbreak takes the 
 world by surprise. In the third century before the Chris- 
 tian era, Asoka had sent forth Buddhist missionaries to 
 preach the law of Sakya Muni in Upper Asia. Orders of 
 Buddhist monks were established in China. Six or seven 
 centuries passed away, and then Chinese monks began to 
 appear in India. They made pilgrimages to the sacred spots 
 that were associated with the lif e of the Buddhist apostle : 
 Kapila, his birthplace; Rajagriha, where he first carried his 
 alms-bowl; the jungle of Gaya, where he became Buddha; 
 and the deer forest near Benares, where he first preached 
 the law. 
 
 About A.D. 400 a Chinese monk, named Fah Hian, trav- 
 elled through the Punjab into Hindustan. He was pious 
 and humble, but zealous for the law. He saw many Brah- 
 mans and idol temples, but rejoiced also to see that Bud- 
 dhism was flourishing. Buddhist monks were maintained 
 at the public expense, and foreign monks were hospitably 
 entertained in the monasteries. 
 
 Fah Hian visited all the sacred spots, but the main object 
 
 1 The empire of Andhra had a long existence ; it is supposed to correspond 
 with the Telinga, or Telugu country. The Andhras are mentioned by name in 
 the edicts of Asoka. Pandya has been identified with Madura, or the Tamil 
 country in the remote south. The king of Pandya, or Pandion, sent an embassy 
 to Augustus Caesar. 
 H OF 14
 
 74 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 of his pilgrimage was to carry back revised copies of the 
 Buddhist scriptures for the benefit of his brethren in China. 
 Accordingly, he dwelt for three years at Patali-putra, the 
 centre of Buddhism ; he learned the Pali language in which 
 the Buddhist scriptures are written; and he secured copies 
 of all the sacred books. He describes a few features of 
 Buddhist life ; the ruins of the once famous palace of Asoka ; 
 the religious processions of images of Sakya Muni and other 
 Buddhist saints; and the public hospitals where the destitute, 
 the crippled, and the diseased were attended by physicians, 
 and supplied with food and medicines until they were suffi- 
 ciently relieved. 
 
 Two centuries afterward, about A.D. 629-645, another 
 Chinese monk travelled in India, named Hiouen-Thsang. 
 He was a zealous Buddhist like Fah Hian, but he was more 
 observant and more highly cultured. He describes the peo- 
 ple of India as easy and gentle, volatile in their manners, 
 honest in their dealings, and restrained by fear of punish- 
 ment after death. The administration in Buddhist India 
 was very mild. There were no capital punishments. Most 
 offences were punished by fines; but injustice, lying, or 
 disobedience to parents were punished by mutilation or 
 exile. 
 
 Hiouen-Thsang did not go to the city of Indra-prastha, 
 but he knew something of the Maha Bharata. He was told 
 that the bones of the warriors that fell in the great war were 
 still lying on the field of Kuru-kshetra, and that they were 
 as big as the bones of giants. He went to the city of Kanouj 
 on the river Ganges, which at this tune was the metropolis 
 of an empire that covered Hindustan and the Punjab. 
 
 The empire of Kanouj included a number of tributary 
 Rajas stretching from Kashmir to Assam, and from the 
 Himalayas to the Nerbudda river. The reigning emperor 
 or Maharaja was named Siladitya, and was known as a 
 Maharaja Adhiraj, or "lord paramount." He tried to con- 
 quer the Dekhan, but failed. He was a patron of Buddhism, 
 but he also favored the Brahmans, and was tolerant of all
 
 HINDU INDIA 75 
 
 religions. Probably he sought to keep the religious orders 
 in peace by showing a friendly countenance to all. 
 
 Siladitya held a great festival at Prayaga, the modern 
 Allahabad, which reveals the connection between the Maha- 
 raja and the religious orders. This locality had been re- 
 garded as sacred from a very remote period, because of the 
 union of the Ganges and Jumna. Under the vast systems 
 of almsgiving advocated by Brahmanism and Buddhism, 
 Prayaga had continued to be regarded as holy ground. It 
 was called "the field of happiness"; and the merit of alms- 
 giving was enhanced a thousand-fold by the alms being be- 
 stowed at Prayaga. 
 
 Every five years Maharaja Siladitya distributed all the 
 treasures of his empire as alms. Hiouen-Thsang was pres- 
 ent at one of these extraordinary gatherings, and describes it 
 at length. All the Rajas of the empire were there, together 
 with half a million of people, and all were feasted by the 
 Maharaja for seventy-five days. Meanwhile the alms were 
 distributed without distinction of person or religion. The 
 whole of the accumulated treasures of the empire were given 
 away to Buddhist monks, Brahman priests, heretical teach- 
 ers, and mendicants of every grade and degree. The poor, 
 the lame, and the orphan, received alms in like manner. 
 The Maharaja was supposed to expiate all his sins by this 
 unlimited almsgiving. At the close of the festival Siladitya 
 stripped himself of all the robes and jewels he had worn 
 during the seventy-five days, and distributed them among 
 the multitude. He appeared in tattered garments like a 
 beggar. "All my wealth," he cried, "has been spent in the 
 field of happiness, and I have gained an everlasting reward : 
 I trust that in all future existences I may continue to amass 
 riches and bestow them in alms, until I have attained every 
 divine faculty that a creature can desire." * 
 
 1 By profuse almsgiving the Maharaja hoped to acquire genius and wisdom ; 
 but he could not expect to obtain final deliverance or emancipation of his soul 
 from the endless chain of transmigrations ; that could only be acquired by lead- 
 ing a life of abstraction from all affections and desires. See the next chapter.
 
 76 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Hiouen-Thsang dwelt for a long time in a huge monas- 
 tery at Nalanda, near Rajagriha, where the ruins are still 
 to be seen. The monastery was a vast university, where 
 ten thousand Buddhist monks and novices were lodged and 
 supplied with every necessary. Towers, domes, and pavil- 
 ions stood amid a paradise of trees, gardens, and fountains. 
 There were six large ranges of buildings, four stories high, 
 as well as a hundred lecture-rooms. All the inmates were 
 lodged, boarded, taught, and supplied with vestments with- 
 out charge. They were thus enabled to devote their whole 
 lives to the acquisition of learning. They studied the sacred 
 books of all religions. In like manner they studied all the 
 sciences, especially arithmetic and medicine. 
 
 India before the Muhammadan conquest must thus have 
 resembled Europe during the Dark Ages. The Hindu peo- 
 ple were in the background ; ignorant and superstitious, but 
 wanting no poor-laws, and maintaining their sick and aged 
 as part of their religious duties. Rajas and chieftains were 
 at frequent war. Principalities and powers sprung into 
 ephemeral existence and then perished. Poms and Alex- 
 ander, Asoka and Siladitya, and all the armies of Baktrians, 
 Scythians, and Guptas, have passed away like the ghosts of 
 the warriors of the Maha Bharata beneath the waters of the 
 Ganges, without leaving a ripple on the surface of humanity. 
 
 All this while a religious life was illuminating colleges, 
 monasteries, and pagodas. Brahmans were rehabilitating 
 ancient superstitions in metaphysical forms. Buddhists were 
 ignoring the existence of the gods, and denying the efficacy 
 of priests, sacrifices, and prayers. Religious books were 
 composed in secluded universities and revolutionized the 
 Indian world. Cities and courts were drawn into theolog- 
 ical controversies. Hence arose quarrels between the old 
 religion and the new; between Brahmans and Buddhists; 
 between the men who worshipped the gods of the Hindu 
 Pantheon, and the men who worshipped no gods whatever, 
 beyond the goodness incarnate in Gotama Buddha and his 
 disciples.
 
 HINDU INDIA 77 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 RELIGION AND LITERATURE 
 
 THE Hindu people of historical times are divided into 
 four great castes: namely, Brahmans or priests; 
 Kshatriyas or soldiers; Vaisyas or merchants; 1 and 
 Sudras or cultivators. But there is a remarkable distinc- 
 tion between the three first castes and the Sudras, which is 
 recognized throughout the whole of India. The Brahmans, 
 Kshatriyas and Vaisyas are known as the "twice-born," 
 because they are invested at an early age with a mysterious 
 thread, which marks their entrance into civil life. The Su- 
 dras have no such thread, and consequently are separated 
 from the "twice-born" as an inferior race. It may there- 
 fore be inferred that the three first castes, or "wearers of 
 the thread," are descendants of the Aryan invaders of India, 
 who conquered the Punjab and Hindustan in a remote an- 
 tiquity. The Sudras, on the other hand, who are not "wear- 
 ers of the thread," maybe descendants of the non- Aryan, 
 or so-called Turanian race, who were the dominant people 
 in India at the time of the Aryan invasion, and were sub- 
 sequently treated as a conquered and servile population. 
 
 Besides the four castes, there is a large population known 
 as Pariahs or outcasts. They are altogether inferior to the 
 Sudras, and were probably the Helots of India when the 
 Sudras were masters. They include menial servants of 
 various grades and artisans of all descriptions; and are 
 
 1 The Vaisyas correspond to the Banians, so often mentioned by old English 
 travellers in "Western India. The Bunniahs of Bengal are of the same caste, 
 but from some unknown cause they have ceased to wear the thread of the 
 "twice-born."
 
 78 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 divided in their turn into numerous other so-called castes, 
 according to their hereditary trades or occupations. These 
 Pariahs call themselves Hindus, and make up the lower 
 strata of the Hindu social system. 
 
 In all parts of India, however, there are certain barbar- 
 ous tribes, who are altogether outside the pale of Hindu 
 civilization. They are primitive communities, the so-called 
 aborigines of India, who were driven by the conquerors out 
 of the culturable plains into the hills and jungles, and have 
 never as yet been Brahmanized into castes or otherwise 
 absorbed into the Hindu social system. The Bhils and 
 Nagas mentioned in the Maha Bharata are existing types 
 of the so-called aboriginal races. To these may be added 
 the Mhairs and Minas of Rajputana; the Kols, Ghonds, and 
 Khonds of the Dekhan; the Kalars of the Peninsula, and a 
 host of other tribes under a variety of names. 
 
 The bulk of these hill and jungle tribes are probably 
 Turanians, without any political organization, excepting of 
 the patriarchal type. Others, however, are distinctly Aryan, 
 with a rude town-hall in the centre of a village, and crude 
 remains of a feudal system. These last are probably relics 
 of the Aryan invaders, who had either penetrated into remote 
 regions beyond the van of Aryan civilization ; or had lagged 
 behind in the hills and jungles as worn-out invalids or crip- 
 ples who had dropped off from the rear of the conquering 
 army. 
 
 The religious ideas of Turanians and Aryans have been 
 so closely interwoven in the course of ages that it is perhaps 
 impossible to treat them as race distinctions. It may, how- 
 ever, be broadly stated that the religion and literature of the 
 Turanians were derived from the mysteries of death and 
 birth, of which Siva or Mahadeva, and his wife Kali or 
 Durga, were originally personifications. The Turanians of 
 India also worshipped certain wrathful or avenging deities, 
 such as the goddesses of cholera and smallpox, and the angry 
 ghosts of men or women who had died violent deaths. The 
 religious ceremonial was made up of bloody sacrifices, orgi-
 
 HINDU INDIA 79 
 
 astic dances, and deafening music. Other strange rites were 
 enjoined in a mystic literature known as the Tantras; but 
 these have died out together with human sacrifices, self- 
 immolation, and other abominations. A few revolting forms 
 of worship and propitiation may still linger in secluded local- 
 ities; but the sacrifice of goats to the goddess Kali is, per- 
 haps, one of the last relics of the old Turanian religion which 
 is still practiced by the civilized caste people of India. 
 
 The religion and literature of the Aryans were associated 
 with the worship of genii or spirits, which were supposed to 
 dwell in all material forms as well as in the outward mani- 
 festations of nature. The Aryan people worshipped the 
 genii of swords and plowshares; of trees, hills, fountains, 
 and rivers ; of the sun, the firmament, the rain and the winds. 
 They also worshipped the manes of departed heroes and an- 
 cestors ; and the titular deity or guardian spirit of a town- 
 ship, village, tribe, family, or household. These spiritual 
 existences were often personified as gods and goddesses, 
 and shapened into idols. Civilized Hindus propitiate these 
 deities with offerings of boiled rice, milk, sugar, and butter; 
 and sometimes with meat and wine. Hill tribes offer up 
 delicacies of then* own, such as fowls and pigs, and a strong 
 fermented liquor resembling beer. In return both classes 
 of worshippers hope to be rewarded with brimming harvests, 
 prolific cattle, health, wealth, long life, and other temporal 
 blessings. 
 
 The earliest religious utterances which have been pre- 
 served in Aryan literature are known as the Vaidik hymns. 
 They are songs or invocations addressed to different Aryan 
 deities in the language of praise and prayer. These hymns 
 are not the outcome of a single generation, but the growth 
 of centuries. The earlier hymns were the ejaculations of a 
 childlike people. The worshippers praised each god in turn 
 as if he had been a great sovereign ; and then implored him 
 for material blessings, in the simple language in which chil- 
 dren might be expected to entreat a patriarch or father. 
 The later hymns were of higher and more thoughtful im-
 
 80 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 port. The ideas of children or savages were expressed in the 
 language of sages and divines. The original invocations 
 were interlarded with poetical feelings and imagery which 
 belonged to a more advanced civilization, and with spiritual 
 and moral sentiments which were the outcome of later Brah- 
 manical teaching. 
 
 Fire was personified as Agni, the god who cooked the 
 food, warmed the dwelling, and frightened away beasts of 
 prey. Agni thus became the divinity of the homestead, 
 whose presence was as dear as that of a wife or mother. 
 Agni was also the sacrificial flame, the divine messenger, 
 who licked up the sacrifice and carried it to the gods. Water 
 was personified as Varuna, the god of the sea; and Varuna 
 was gradually invested with divine attributes as a deity 
 powerful to destroy, but mighty to save; who engulfed the 
 wicked man in the drowning depths, or mercifully bore 
 the repentant sinner over the surging billows in safety to the 
 shore. The wind and breezes were personified as Vayu and 
 the Maruts. Vayu roared among the trees; while the Ma- 
 ruts blew up the clouds for showers. The firmament was 
 personified as Indra, and the Maruts were his followers. 
 He was king of the Vaidik gods ; he struck the sky with 
 his thunderbolt, pierced the black clouds with his spear and 
 brought down the earth-refreshing showers. He went forth 
 to battle riding on his elephant, attended by the Maruts 
 bearing their lances on their shoulders in the forms of youth- 
 ful warriors. He was the national deity of the Aryan in- 
 vaders; who slew his enemies by thousands and destroyed 
 their cities by hundreds; who brought back the spoil and 
 recovered the cows that were carried away. He was the 
 sovereign of the gods, enthroned in his heaven of Swarga 
 on the Himalayas, like Zeus among the deities of Olympus. 1 
 
 Surya, or the sun god, the Persian Mithra, was originally 
 the deity who journeyed through the sky and measured the 
 
 1 Professor Max Miiller's editions of the text to the Rik Vaidha, and his elo- 
 quent translations of the Vaidik hymns into English, have opened up new fields 
 of religious thought and philosophical research to English readers.
 
 HINDU INDIA 81 
 
 days and nights, but he was eventually invested with attri- 
 butes still more divine than those of Indra. Indeed the wor- 
 ship of the supreme all-seeing orb of day was always more 
 spiritual than that of Indra, and at a later period superseded 
 it. He was personified as the ideal of manly beauty; the 
 deity of light, the Hindu Apollo. He was also represented 
 in myth and legend, as the remote ancestor of the solar race 
 of Rajputs, who to this day are known as the children of the 
 sun. In later Vaidik literature he was elevated to the god- 
 head as the creator of the universe, and the divine soul that 
 illuminated the universe. Eventually the worship of the 
 sun developed into that of Vishnu, the Supreme Spirit, 
 whose incarnations as Krishna and Rama were glorified in 
 the Maha Bharata and Ramayana. 
 
 The Vaidik hymns contain no distinct reference to a 
 future state of rewards and punishments; but there are 
 numerous allusions to a judge of the dead, who is personi- 
 fied as the god Yama, and who consequently may be re- 
 garded as presiding over the entrance to a world of departed 
 souls. 
 
 The Vaidik Aryan was thus constantly surrounded by 
 the unseen gods of a visible universe ; and his daily life and 
 conduct were more or less influenced by the presence of such 
 deities. In one Sanskrit drama a wicked prince endeavors 
 to persuade a parasite to commit murder, by assuring him 
 that there was no one to witness the act. The parasite 
 replies in indignant language: 
 
 "All nature would behold the crime, 
 The genii of the grove, the sun, the moon, 
 The winds, the vault of heaven, the firm-set earth, 
 Yama, the mighty judge of all who die, 
 Aye, and the inner conscience of the soul." l 
 
 In addition to the Vaidik gods above mentioned, there 
 are a host of minor personifications in the Vaidik Pantheon, 
 
 1 The Toy-cart, by Raja Sudraka, translated by H. H. Wilson in the Theatre 
 of the Hindus. The passage has been slightly modified, and is remarkable &a 
 showing how the law of merits and demerits blended with the old nature-worship 
 of the Vaidik hymns.
 
 82 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 such as earth, day, night, the four seasons, the gods of the 
 air, the gods of the brooks and streams, and many others, 
 all of whom are clothed in forms at once human and divine. 
 Thus Ushas, the dawn, the Eos of the Greeks, is imaged as 
 a white-robed maiden, awakening a sleeping world as a 
 mother awakens her children, to kindle the morning sacri- 
 fice, and invoke the gods with praise and prayer. 
 
 In Vaidik literature all the more prominent gods are ex- 
 tolled in turn as the Supreme Being; but in the modern belief 
 of the Hindus three different deities stand out as representa- 
 tives of the One God, under the names of Brahma, Vishnu, 
 and Siva. Each of these gods is worshipped in different 
 localities as the creator and ruler of the universe, the Divine 
 Spirit who is above all and in all. One important sect of 
 Hindus worships Brahma as the creator, Vishnu as the pre- 
 server, and Siva as the destroyer of the universe; but more 
 frequently all these attributes of creation, preservation, and 
 dissolution are assigned to one Supreme Being, who perme- 
 ates the universe and is the universe; and all the endless 
 emblems, incarnations, and idols are reverenced as so many 
 vehicles through which the Supreme Spirit receives the 
 adorations and offerings of his worshippers. 
 
 There are other and popular deities among the Hindus, 
 which cannot be referred distinctly to an Aryan or a Tura- 
 nian origin. Their worship has been rooted in the hearts 
 of the people of India from a remote antiquity; and has 
 become associated with that of Aryan and Turanian gods 
 by numberless supernatural myths and fables. Foremost 
 among these is Ganesh, the god of good luck ; Lakshmi, the 
 goddess of prosperity; Saraswati, the goddess of learning; 
 Kuvera, the god of wealth; Kama, the god of love; and 
 Kartakeia, the god of war. 
 
 The propitiation of the more important of these deities 
 is so much a matter of everyday life with the Hindus as to 
 appear like a national instinct. No Hindu will undertake 
 a journey, nor engage in any business or transaction, with- 
 out a visit to the temple of Ganesh. No Hindu will begin a
 
 HINDU INDIA 83 
 
 literary composition without an invocation to Ganesh. The 
 idol meets the eye all over India, with the head of an ele- 
 phant and the prominent stomach of a Chinese deity; but 
 while he is represented in Brahmanical myths as a son of 
 Siva and Durga, the real origin of his worship continues to 
 be a mystery. Lakshmi, the goddess of pro ^perity, is pro- 
 pitiated in like manner on every possible occasion. She is 
 represented in Brahmanical myths as the goddess of beauty, 
 who rose out of the foam of the ocean, like a Hindu Aphro- 
 dite, to become the bride of Vishnu. Saraswati, the goddess 
 of learning, was originally the divinity or spirit of the river 
 Indus; 1 but was converted into the mythical wife of Brahma, 
 and as such appears as the goddess of literature and science 
 of every kind. Kuvera, Kama, and Kartakeia, are appar- 
 ently the outcome of astrological ideas, and may possibly 
 be the personification and deification of supposed planetary 
 influences. 
 
 Besides the foregoing, the serpent, the bull, and the cow 
 are worshipped all over India. They are apparently the in- 
 carnations of mysterious deities associated with ideas of sex. 
 The serpent is propitiated with bread and milk as the guar- 
 dian of the household. The bull is a masculine deity asso- 
 ciated with the worship of Siva or Mahadeva. The cow 
 is a feminine divinity, and is worshipped and reverenced by 
 all Hindus, as the universal mother, the personification of 
 earth, the incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi. 
 
 The rise of the Brahmans is as obscure as that of the 
 Druids. They appeared among the people of India Aryans 
 and Turanians, barbarous and civilized as priests, divines, 
 and holy men. They ingratiated themselves with Rajas and 
 warriors by worshipping the old gods, but after new and mys- 
 tic forms ; interpreting the present and the future by the 
 bubbling of the boiling milk and rice in the daily sacrifices, 
 the marks on sacrificial victims, or the manifestations of the 
 sacrificial smoke and flame. They pronounced the lower 
 
 1 The river Indus is often invoked as the goddess Saraswati in the Vaidik 
 hymns.
 
 84 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 gods of the aboriginal races to be incarnations or avatars 
 of the great gods of the conquerors ; and they associated the 
 higher gods of the aboriginal races with new and more spirit- 
 ual teachings, and raised them to the highest rank of deity. 
 Thus even Siva or Mahadeva, the god of death, was resolved 
 into a Supreme Being; and Kali, the black goddess, who 
 revelled in intoxication and slaughter, was worshipped as a 
 divine mother, under the names of Parvati and Durga. 
 
 The growth of the Brahmans in power and influence is 
 one of the most important elements in Indian history. Every 
 Raja or great man had his own Brahman priest, preceptor, 
 or purohita. So had every family, or group of families, or 
 village community. But priests and laymen were subject 
 to inquisitorial forms of Brahmanical government, of which 
 traces are still to be found in all directions. Religious teach- 
 ers of a superior order, known as Gurus, undertook regular 
 ecclesiastical tours, confirming neophytes, and excommuni- 
 cating heretics and caste offenders. Above all there were 
 Brahmans of still higher sanctity, who were worshipped as 
 gods under the name of Naths and Swamis, and exercised 
 a vast spiritual authority over courts and Rajas, while ex- 
 tending secret ramifications to remote quarters of India. 
 Meanwhile religious centres were established at convenient 
 spots in the shape of temples, colleges, and places of pilgrim- 
 age; and Brahmanical hermitages were set up in the coun- 
 tries inhabited by aboriginal races outside the Aryan pale. 
 Thus in the course of ages, the Brahmans have spread abroad 
 a religious faith and worship, which, notwithstanding the 
 number and variety of divinities, are essentially the same 
 throughout the length and breadth of India. 
 
 A further development of the religious teaching of the 
 Hindus is to be found in the Brahmanical code, known as 
 the laws of Manu. The life of Manu is unknown ; he has 
 no personality whatever; he is a mythical being, a reputed 
 son of Brahma, and lord of all living creatures. But the 
 sacred character of the code of Manu is acknowledged and 
 reverenced throughout India.
 
 HINDU INDIA 85 
 
 Manu taught the belief in the endless transmigrations of 
 the soul ; that the soul of every individual being, whether 
 of man or of animal, passed at every successive death into 
 a newly born body; rising or falling in the scale of being at 
 every successive birth according to the sum of its merits or 
 demerits in all past lives. Thus the belief in a future state 
 of rewards and punishments was associated by Manu with 
 a chain of existences without beginning or ending ; running 
 up and down the scale of animal being from the meanest 
 vermin to the highest order of intellectual man. 1 
 
 The code of Manu itself was the source of all merits and 
 demerits. It demanded the observance of caste laws, the 
 worship of the gods, and the offerings of cakes and water 
 to departed ancestors. Obedience to its enactments consti- 
 tuted the only merits which were rewarded in future lives ; 
 and disobedience constituted the only demerits which were 
 punished by future pains and miseries. Rajasuyas and As- 
 wamedhas were treated as arch merits, and converted into 
 sacrifices for the atonement of sin. 
 
 The religion of the Brahmans also recognized the exist- 
 ence of different heavens and hells. Thus the souls of war- 
 riors who died in battle went to the heaven of Indra; while 
 the spirits of departed ancestors went to a world of shades 
 where they could only be consoled by the cakes and water 
 offered in the Sraddhas. But this spirit life in heaven or 
 hell only lasted for a limited period, until merits had been 
 sufficiently rewarded and demerits sufficiently punished. At 
 the expiration of the appointed term the soul returned to 
 earth and re-entered on a fresh course of successive exist- 
 ences in the endless chain of transmigrations. 
 
 "While the code of Manu enforced the worship of the gods, 
 it further developed those conceptions of the Supreme Spirit 
 which find expression in the Vaidik hymns. "All gods," 
 says Manu, "are in the divine spirit, all worlds are in the 
 divine spirit; and the divine spirit produces the connected 
 
 1 It is a question whether vegetable life was not also included in the trans- 
 migrations of the soul.
 
 86 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 series of acts which are performed by embodied souls. Him 
 some adore as present in the element of fire ; others as pres- 
 ent in Manu lord of creatures; some as present in Indra; 
 others as present in pure ether ; and others as present in the 
 most high Eternal Spirit. It is He who, pervading all be- 
 ings in five elementary forms, causes them by the gradations 
 of birth, growth, and dissolution to revolve in this world like 
 the wheels of a car." 
 
 But Manu pointed out that there was a way of deliver- 
 ance or emancipation of the soul from the endless chain of 
 transmigrations, whether on earth or in heaven or hell. He 
 taught that a term of austerities would quench the fires of 
 affection, passion, and desire, and break every tie which 
 bound the soul to the universe of being. The soul would 
 then enter upon a term of pure contemplation, during which 
 it would behold the Supreme Soul present in all things, and 
 would finally be absorbed in the Divine Spirit. 1 
 
 Manu thus fashioned out a universe of being, driven by 
 an artificial law of merits and demerits along a chain of end- 
 less transmigrations. He also showed how the individual 
 soul might be delivered or emancipated from this chain of 
 existences, and become absorbed in the Divine Essence. He 
 next mapped out the life of man into the four terms of stu- 
 dent, householder, hermit, and devotee, with the view of 
 enabling each individual to work out his own deliverance 
 or emancipation. As a student each individual of the twice- 
 born castes would learn the divine law; as a householder 
 he would marry a wife and collect merits as a husband and 
 a father ; as a hermit he would perform religious austerities ; 
 and as a devotee he would contemplate the Supreme Soul 
 until his own soul was absorbed in the Divine Spirit. The 
 duties which each individual must fulfil within the four 
 terms are duly set forth in the code of Manu, and still make 
 up the ideal of the Hindu. 
 
 1 "The man who perceives in his own soul the Supreme Soul present in all 
 creatures, and regards them all with equal benevolence, will be absorbed at last 
 in the highest Essence, even of that of the Almighty Himself." Manu, xii. 126.
 
 HINDU INDIA 87 
 
 Buddhism was practically a revolt against the Brahman- 
 ical system of Manu. It ignored the existence of deity ; de- 
 nied the efficacy of prayers and sacrifices; broke up the 
 bondage of caste; and declared that goodness and loving- 
 kindness were the only merits by which the soul could rise 
 in successive transmigrations. It laid down five great com- 
 mandments against the five deadly sins of murder, theft, 
 adultery, drunkenness, and falsehood; and it taught that 
 the slightest infringement of any one of these command- 
 ments, in thought, word, or deed, constituted a demerit 
 which would detract from the happiness of the soul in a 
 future state of being. 
 
 But as regards the deliverance or emancipation of the 
 soul, the teaching of Gotama Buddha coincided, with one 
 important exception, to that of Manu. Gotama Buddha 
 taught that a life of goodness and divine contemplation 
 would quench the fires of affection, passion, and desire, 
 which bound the soul to the universe of being. But he de- 
 nied the existence of a Divine Spirit, and was thus driven 
 to accept the dogma of annihilation. Consequently he 
 taught that when the soul was delivered from the chain of 
 existences, it sank into the eternal sleep or annihilation 
 known as Nirvana. 
 
 Modern Brahmanism, as expounded in the Maha Bharata 
 and Ramayana, introduced a new element in religious teach- 
 ing, a shorter way of effecting the emancipation of the soul. 
 "Without ignoring the efficacy of good works, it taught that 
 by faith alone, in Krishna or in Rama, as an incarnation of 
 Vishnu, the soul might be delivered from the vortex of suc- 
 cessive existences, and would either be raised to an everlast- 
 ing heaven of the highest beatitude or be absorbed in the 
 Supreme Spirit Vishnu. 
 
 HINDU LITERATURE comprises numerous works on meta- 
 physics, logic, rhetoric, poetry, arithmetic, musical science, 
 and other like compositions, which were all more or less 
 treated in connection with religion. But nothing has been
 
 88 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 discovered that merits the name of history, or warrants the 
 hope that authentic annals exist in any of the Indian lan- 
 guages. 1 Relics of traditions are, however, to be found in po- 
 etry and the drama, which may serve to illustrate Hindu life 
 and manners before Muhammadans or Europeans appeared 
 upon the scene. But Hindu poets devoted so much time to 
 the arbitrary conceits of composition, fanciful descriptions 
 of scenery and the four seasons, and endless myths and mar- 
 vels, that vast accumulations of poetical overgrowth have 
 to be cleared away before it is possible to arrive at the kernel 
 of matter-of-fact history. 4 
 
 The drama of "Sakuntala" was written by a poet named 
 Kalidasa, and was probably composed at a late period in the 
 history of the mediaeval Rajas; but the plot refers to the old- 
 est period in Hindu legend, namely, the birth of Bharata, 
 the conqueror of India. It opens with a Brahmanical her- 
 mitage; one of those secluded groves where Brahmans dwelt 
 with their wives and families, and were supposed to spend 
 their lives in sacred studies, religious worship, and divine 
 contemplations. 
 
 A Raja named Dushyanta was hunting in the jungle, 
 and chased an antelope which took refuge in the hermitage. 
 
 1 Grant Duff, in his History of the Mahrattas, speaks with favor of native 
 annals ; but later researches have proved that such annals are nearly worthless 
 for purposes of history. The author wasted much time and labor before he was 
 driven to this conclusion, which has since been confirmed by Professor Buhler 
 of Bombay. See larger History of India, vol. iv. chap. ii. and Appendix. Also 
 Buhler's Introduction to the Vikramankakavya, Bombay, 1875. 
 
 8 The court life of Hindu authors was unfavorable to historical accuracy. 
 They depended for their existence on the bounty of reigning Rajas, and the first 
 object of their compositions was to please their royal patrons. Every principal- 
 ity, small and great, had its own hereditary bards and Pundits, who were sup- 
 ported by allowances from the palace. Young students, fresh from their precep- 
 tors, betook themselves to a wandering life, and visited one court after another, 
 holding disputations, showing off their learning, and composing poetry for the 
 delectation of princes, who cared only to be amused. Such wandering bards 
 and Pundits are still to be encountered all over India ; but the greater number 
 appear to be travelling from the Punjab and Oude through Rajputana toward 
 Baroda and Bombay. The tour often lasts five or six years, and includes places 
 of pilgrimage as well as courts of princes. Professor Buhler, in the Introduc- 
 tion already quoted, dwells on the jealousies displayed by the hereditary barda 
 and Pundits toward these foreign wanderers.
 
 HINDU INDIA 89 
 
 He was drawing his bow to shoot the animal, when the 
 Brahmans rushed out and implored him not to pollute their 
 sanctuary by shedding blood. The Raja piously refrained, 
 but at this moment he saw the daughter of a Brahman, the 
 beautiful Sakuntala, walking in the garden of the hermitage 
 with other girl companions. The Raja soon fell in love with 
 her, and induced her to marry him by one of -those irregular 
 ceremonies which were discountenanced by Manu. Subse- 
 quently Sakuntala gave birth to the infant Bharata, but the 
 Raja refused to recognize his marriage, and even denied all 
 knowledge of Sakuntala, until by some supernatural incident 
 his eyes were opened, and he accepted her as his wife and 
 Bharata as his son. Bharata grew up to be the conqueror 
 of India, and was the ancestor of the Pandavas and Kau- 
 ravas who fought in the great war. 
 
 The drama of "Sakuntala" is based upon incidents which 
 are foreign to European works of imagination. The Raja 
 had given a ring to Sakuntala as the pledge of his troth; 
 and she had lost the ring while bathing in a pool ; and so 
 long as the ring was missing the Raja could not recognize 
 his wife. Subsequently the ring was found in the body of 
 a fish and recovered by the Raja. From that day he re- 
 membered his lost Sakuntala ; and going out into the jungle 
 he saw a young lad playing with lions, who proved to be his 
 own son Bharata. 
 
 The beauty of the play of "Sakuntala" lies not in the 
 strong individuality of the leading characters, but in the 
 general appreciation of external nature, the love of flowers, 
 the girl-like talk of the damsels, and the variety of emotions 
 which stir the heart of Sakuntala. Indeed the language is 
 so sweet and touching that to this day no Sanskrit drama 
 is more admired by the people of India than "Sakuntala; 
 or, the lost ring." ' 
 
 The poem of "Nala and Damayanti" is more romantic. 
 Nala, Raja of Malwa, was a famous archer, but especially 
 
 1 The drama of "Sakuntala" is best known to European readers through the 
 elegant translation of Professor Monier Williams.
 
 90 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 renowned as a charioteer. The tramp of his horses was 
 heard from afar, like the roll of distant thunder; and the 
 noise of his chariot wheels was like the rushing of many 
 waters. 
 
 Damayanti was a princess of Vidarbha. 1 She was the 
 pearl of maidens as Nala was the tiger among Rajas. She 
 had given her heart to Nala, and vowed that no one but 
 Nala should be her lord and husband. 
 
 The poem opens with the Swayamvara of Damayanti. 
 The fame of her beauty had reached the skies; and Indra 
 and the other gods came down from the heaven of Swarga 
 to be candidates for her hand. .They appeared in the assem- 
 bly hall in the forms of Rajas, but Damayanti knew that 
 they were gods, for there was no winking of their eyes, no 
 perspiration on their brows, no dust on their garments, and 
 no faded leaf in their wreaths of flowers. But she was reck- 
 less in her love ; she cared not for the anger of the gods ; she 
 threw the garland round the neck of Nala, and chose him 
 for her husband in the presence of them all. 4 
 
 Nala and Damayanti were married at Vidarbha, and the 
 Raja returned with his loving wife to his city in Malwa.* 
 Beautiful children were born to them, and they were rich 
 in every blessing. 
 
 But Nala was a gambler, and the dice-box was his ruin. 
 In an evil hour he sat down to play, and lost stake after 
 stake, like Yudhishthira in the gambling booth at Hastina- 
 pur. The chieftains of the Raj assembled at the palace and 
 implored him to stay his hand ; but he was deaf to all their 
 prayers, and hotly continued the game. At last he lost all 
 his treasures, his kingdom, and his home; and then went 
 out in the jungle to live on fruits and roots. 
 
 Meanwhile Damayanti never deserted her husband. She 
 
 1 The old city of Vidarbha in the Dekhan corresponds to the city of Bider. 
 The magnificent remains of the fortress and palace are still to be seen at Bider. 
 
 9 The appearance of the Vaidik gods at the Swayamvara of Damayanti is a 
 poetical episode. It had nothing to do with the after story. 
 
 8 The region known as Malwa lies in Hindustan, between the Nerbuddha 
 and Chandal rivers. It is impossible to identify the site of Nala's capital.
 
 HINDU INDIA 91 
 
 sent her children to the palace of her father at Vidarbha, 
 and went with Nala into the jungle. But Nala was driven 
 wild by the sufferings of his wife, and fell into a melancholy 
 madness. At last he left her sleeping in the jungle, and 
 fled to the city of Ayodhya, and entered the service of the 
 Raja of Kosala as his charioteer. 
 
 The poem next dwells on the anguish of Damayanti at 
 discovering that her husband has deserted her. She wan- 
 dered on in a distracted state, calling in vain for Nala. She 
 was threatened with death in a variety of ways ; by a jungle 
 fire, a stampede of elephants, and the coils of a deadly ser- 
 pent. At length she found refuge in the city of Chedipur, 
 and eventually returned to the palace of her father. But 
 her heart still yearned after her husband Nala, and she sent 
 Brahmans in all directions to find out whither he had gone. 
 
 At this crisis the Raja of Kosala had occasion to go to 
 the city of Vidarbha, and was driven by Nala as his char- 
 ioteer. Damayanti was aroused from her despair by the 
 well-remembered sounds of her husband's driving. The 
 peacocks in the palace gardens clamored at the tramp of 
 the horses and rolling of the chariot wheels, while the royal 
 elephants roared tumultuously. The wife was thus restored 
 to her husband, and Nala recovered possession of his children 
 and his Raj. 
 
 The story of "Nala and Damayanti," like the drama of 
 "Sakuntala," owes its chief charm to the play upon the 
 emotions and affections. It does not carry the reader back 
 to the wild tumults of a barbarous age, like Shakespeare's 
 tragedies of "Macbeth" and "King Lear"; but it points to 
 an age of Arcadian simplicity, when the chieftains of a Raj 
 endeavor to induce the Raja to put a stop to his gambling 
 match. In other respects the story was calculated to excite 
 warm sympathies in a palace or zenana, but tells nothing of 
 the old world of the Hindus which has passed away. 
 
 A Sanskrit drama, known as the "Toy-cart," deals with 
 a wider range of characters. The scene is laid in Ujain or 
 Oojein, one of the oldest cities in Rajputana. A vicious
 
 92 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 prince, the brother of the Raja of Ujain, falls in love with a 
 lady of the city ; she resists his advances, and he leaves her 
 for dead in a public garden. He tries to throw the guilt of 
 the murder on an innocent Brahman. The case is investi- 
 gated by a Hindu court of justice; and the judges, while 
 anxious to shield the Brahman, are compelled by the force 
 of the circumstantial evidence to find him guilty. The 
 sentence is referred to the Raja of Ujain, who orders the 
 Brahman to be executed. 
 
 The unfortunate man is led away to the scaffold. At 
 this crisis, the lady who is supposed to have been murdered 
 suddenly makes her appearance. The multitude exult in the 
 escape of the Brahman, and rush off to tell the Raja of his 
 innocence; but at that moment a revolution breaks out in 
 another quarter of the city, the Raja is deposed and slain, 
 his wicked brother escapes into exile, and a cow-keeper 
 sprung from the dregs of the people is raised to the throne 
 of Ujain. 
 
 Out of this simple plot the Sanskrit bard has constructed 
 a drama which may have been drawn from actual lif e, but 
 the incidents are artificial, the sentiments are devoid of all 
 romance, and the characters are exaggerated in themselves 
 and move about like automata. 
 
 The innocent Brahman, the hero of the story, is named 
 Charudatta, and is said to have spent his patrimony in giv- 
 ing entertainments to his friends, acquaintances, and de- 
 pendents; and in building temples and monasteries, laying 
 out gardens and digging fountains of water. He continues, 
 however, to reside in the ruined mansion, and maintains his 
 family by the sale of his wife's jewels, and by such gifts as 
 the people of India are accustomed to give to Brahmans out 
 of respect for their sacred character. The heroine of the 
 drama is not the wife of Charudatta, but a courtesan, who 
 is in love with him ; and this is the lady who is supposed to 
 have been murdered by the brother of the Raja. 
 
 The foregoing incidents will suffice to show that the story 
 is out of the pale of European sympathies, which would
 
 HINDU INDIA 93 
 
 have been given to the wife alone. But the Sanskrit dram- 
 atist goes further and introduces an incident which is an 
 outrage on all morality and good manners. He winds up the 
 plot by giving the courtesan as a second wife to Charudatta, 
 and by representing the first wife as slavishly submitting to 
 the arrangement, and addressing her rival as her sister. 
 Such an ending could only have been constructed for the 
 amusement of Hindu Rajas; it could never have satisfied 
 the moral sense of the Hindu people, or have been regarded 
 as a contribution to the national drama. 
 
 It is difficult out of the disjointed and inconsistent mate- 
 rials collected in the foregoing chapters to realize the actual 
 condition of India under the ancient Hindu Rajas. It is, 
 however, evident that the whole Indian continent was a 
 chaos of conflicting elements, evolving large ideas of God 
 and the universe, but utterly wanting in political life and 
 cohesion. The after history will show the results of Mu- 
 hammadan and British rule, and how much remains to be 
 effected before the people of India can expect to take their 
 place among the independent empires of the world.
 
 PART II MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 M 1 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 TURKS AND AFGHANS 
 
 A.D. 1000 TO 1685 
 
 UHAMMAD, the prophet of Arabia,, commonly called 
 Mahomet, was born, A.D. 570, and died in 632. He 
 was still living when Hiouen-Thsang began his 
 pilgrimage to India. He taught that there was but one 
 God, and that he himself was the prophet of God. All who 
 believed in God and his prophet were to be rewarded with 
 eternal bliss in heaven ; all who refused to believe were to 
 be punished with eternal torment in hell. Moreover, all be- 
 lievers were regarded as equals in the eyes of God, without 
 distinction of caste or tribe ; they were all bound together in 
 the brotherhood of Islam. Every man who accepted Islam 
 was also allowed to marry more than one wife ; he might be 
 content with one, but if he chose he might marry others, not 
 exceeding four. 
 
 After the death of Muhammad, four Khalifs reigned in 
 succession at Medina from A.D. 633 to 660; their names 
 were Abubakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali. 1 They were fol- 
 lowed by a line of Khalifs who reigned at Damascus from 
 A.D. 660 to 750; and these again by a line of Khalifs who 
 reigned at Bagdad from A.D. 750 to 1258. These Khalifs 
 were not prophets or founders of a new religion like Mu- 
 
 1 The importance of these names will be seen in the sequel. 
 (94)
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 95 
 
 hammad, but sovereign pontiffs who were supposed to be 
 supreme in all spiritual and temporal affairs. 
 
 The death of Muhammad was followed by the Arab con- 
 quest of all Asia as far as the Indus and Oxus; but there 
 the tide of invasion began to turn. Persians, Turks, and 
 Afghans accepted the religion of the Koran, but rebelled 
 against the domination of the Arabs. The Turks especially 
 founded independent kingdoms in Central Asia. They ac- 
 knowledged the reigning Khalif as their spiritual head, but 
 refused to obey him as a temporal sovereign. 
 
 The Arabs began to invade India when the Khalifs were 
 reigning at Damascus. They ravaged Sinde on the lower 
 course of the Indus, destroying temples, slaughtering Brah- 
 mans, and carrying off the people into slavery. But the 
 Hindus would not become Muhammadans. At last they 
 agreed to pay tribute, and were permitted to rebuild their 
 temples and worship their gods after their own fashion. 
 
 The first conqueror of India of any renown was a Turk 
 named Mahmud. In 997 Mahmud succeeded to the throne 
 of Ghazni, a small territory in Kabul. Before he died he 
 conquered all Persia on one side, and a great part of India 
 on the other ; but he never removed his court from Ghazni, 
 and consequently he is only known to history as Mahmud of 
 Ghazni. 
 
 In 1001 Mahmud marched an army of Turkish horsemen 
 from Ghazni to Peshawar. Jaipal, Raja of the Punjab, 
 came out to meet him with a host of elephants and foot sol- 
 diers, but was beaten by the Turkish horsemen, and taken 
 prisoner. Jaipal promised to pay tribute, and was set at 
 liberty, but he would not survive his disgrace. He returned 
 to Lahore, gave his kingdom to his son Anandpal, and burned 
 himself alive on a funeral pile. 
 
 For some years Raja Anandpal paid the tribute regu- 
 larly. He then began to grow refractory, and prevailed on 
 the Rajas of Western Hindustan to come to his help. Vast 
 armies of elephants and Hindu foot soldiers moved up from 
 Delhi and Kanouj, Ajmir, and Ujain, and marched through
 
 96 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the Punjab to Peshawar. The Hindu women joined in the 
 enthusiasm against the Turks, and sold their jewels, or spun 
 cotton, to keep the armies in the field. 
 
 Mahmud marched an army of horsemen and archers to 
 the plain of Peshawar. He placed his archers in front and 
 his horsemen behind. The archers began the battle; but 
 some wild hill tribes, known as the Gakkars, crept through 
 the archers, and began to cut down the horsemen with sharp 
 knives. Meanwhile the elephants of the Hindus were blinded 
 by arrows and maddened by fire-balls, and turned round and 
 trampled down the Hindu infantry. At that moment the 
 Turkish horsemen raised their swords and maces, and gal- 
 loped furiously upon the Hindus with loud cries of "Allah 
 Akbar!" The army of the Rajput league wavered and 
 fled. The Turkish horsemen pursued the fugitives for two 
 days, and plundered temples and destroyed idols. At last 
 Anandpal sued for peace, and sent tribute and war ele- 
 phants. The peace lasted till the death of Anandpal, when 
 Mahmud annexed the Punjab, and made it a province of his 
 empire of Ghazni. 
 
 Subsequently Mahmud began to invade Hindustan. He 
 is said to have made twelve expeditions into that country, 
 plundering temples, breaking down idols, and carrying off 
 vast treasures to Ghazni, as well as multitudes of slaves, 
 male and female. 
 
 When Mahmud was growing old he resolved on destroy- 
 ing the great temple of Somnath hi Guzerat. Somnath was 
 a thousand miles from Ghazni, but was reputed to contain 
 immense treasures. There was an idol pillar in the temple, 
 the symbol of the Supreme Spirit, known as Siva, or Maha- 
 deva. A thousand Brahmans dwelt at Somnath to offer the 
 daily sacrifices, and five hundred damsels were engaged in 
 the temple to dance before the idol. 
 
 The route to Somnath lay through the desert of Sinde. 
 Mahmud marched thirty thousand horsemen through west- 
 ern Rajputana to escape the burning sands. The Rajputs 
 made no attempt to oppose him, but abandoned their cities
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 97 
 
 at his approach. "When, however, Mahmud reached Som- 
 nath the Rajputs were assembled in great strength to defend 
 their god. The temple was built on a peninsula out at sea; 
 it was approached by a narrow isthmus, which was strongly 
 fortified with walls and battlements, manned with Rajputs. 
 For two days there was desperate fighting and great slaugh- 
 ter. The Turkish archers sought to drive the Rajputs from 
 the battlements, while the Turkish swordsmen planted their 
 ladders and climbed the walls. At last the Rajputs saw 
 that all was lost, and fled to their boats, and put out to sea. 
 
 When the battle was over Mahmud entered the temple. 
 It was a large gloomy building supported by fifty-six col- 
 umns. The idol pillar was in an inner chamber. The Brah- 
 mans implored Mahmud to spare the idol pillar, and offered 
 to pay an enormous ransom. But Mahmud said, "I come to 
 destroy idols, not to sell them." He struck the pillar with 
 his mace and broke it to pieces, while piles of diamonds and 
 rubies, which had been hidden in the pillar, fell scattered 
 upon the floor. 
 
 Mahmud returned from Guzerat to Ghazni, but lost 
 nearly all his army on the way. The Rajputs of Ajmir 
 came out in such force that he was compelled to march 
 through the desert. His guides led him astray through 
 sandy wastes in order to avenge the destruction of Som- 
 nath. Many of his soldiers died of thirst, while others went 
 mad from the burning sun. Water was found at last; the 
 guides were put to death; but only a remnant of the army 
 reached Ghazni. 
 
 Mahmud died in 1030, aged sixty-three. The annals of 
 the century and a half which followed tell of wars and 
 revolutions in Central Asia, but say nothing of India. The 
 Afghans supplanted the Turks. They became masters of a 
 mountain fortress named Ghor, between Ghazni and Herat; 
 they next drove the dynasty of Mahmud out of Ghazni, and 
 became lords of Kabul and the Punjab. The next conqueror 
 after Mahmud, who made a name in India, was Muhammad 
 Ghori, the Afghan. 
 HOP I 5
 
 98 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Muhammad Ghori resolved on the conquest of Hindu- 
 stan. In 1191 he marched an army against the Raja of 
 Delhi. He tried to throw the Rajas into confusion by re- 
 peated charges with cavalry, but found himself surrounded 
 by the enemy, and had a narrow escape with his life. But 
 the Rajput dominion was weakened by feuds. There was a 
 feud between Delhi and Kanouj, which soon opened a way 
 for the Afghans into Hindustan. 
 
 The Maharaja of Kanouj on the Ganges claimed to be a 
 lord paramount among the Rajputs. He gave a great feast 
 and summoned all the Rajas of Hindustan to appear as his 
 vassals, and play their parts as servants in his household. 
 At the same time he celebrated the Swayamvara of his 
 daughter. 
 
 The Raja of Delhi loved the daughter of the Maharaja of 
 Kanouj, but he scorned to serve as doorkeeper at the feast, 
 and he refused to come. The Maharaja was wroth at the 
 affront, and ordered an image to be made of the Delhi Raja 
 and placed it at the door of the hall. The feast was held 
 and the Swayamvara began. The princess entered the hall 
 with the marriage garland in her hand. She threw one look 
 on the assembly, and then turned to the door and cast the 
 garland round the neck of the image. The whole assembly 
 was in commotion. Before a man could speak, the Raja of 
 Delhi appeared in the hall and led away the princess. In 
 another moment the bridegroom galloped off with his bride 
 along the road to Delhi. 
 
 The Maharaja of Kanouj brought the Afghans down 
 upon his son-in-law. He invited Muhammad Ghori to 
 march another army to Delhi, and the Afghan horsemen 
 were soon on their way to the famous city. The Raja of 
 Delhi heard that his enemy had again taken the field; he 
 took no heed, for he cared only for his bride. At last the 
 Muhammadans were thundering at the gates of Delhi. 
 The Raja put on his mail and went out against the invad- 
 ers; but it was too late. He perished sword in hand, and 
 his widow burned herself upon his funeral pile.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 99 
 
 "TURKS & AFGHANS.
 
 100 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The Maharaja of Kanouj soon had bitter cause to rue his 
 treachery; he shared the fate of his son-in-law. In 1094 he 
 was defeated by Muhammad Ghori, and he and his army 
 were driven into the Ganges. His remains were known by 
 his false teeth, which were fastened by golden wire ; the relic 
 of an age of Rajput civilization which has passed away. 
 
 The defeat and death of the Maharaja of Kanouj ad- 
 vanced the dominion of the Muhammadans from Delhi to 
 Benares. Temples were plundered and idols were destroyed 
 along the valleys of the Jumna and Ganges. Meanwhile 
 the Rajput princes left their ancestral homes to carve out 
 new empires with their swords in the jungles and hills of 
 the south ; and they preserved their old laws and usages in 
 the region which to this day is called Rajputana or Raj- 
 asthan, "the land of the Rajputs or Rajas." * 
 
 Muhammad Ghori conquered a larger territory in India 
 than Mahmud ; but he too kept his court at Ghazni. When 
 absent from India he appointed a favorite named Kutub-ud- 
 din to be his Viceroy over the Punjab and Hindustan. In 
 1206, while returning from India to Ghazni, he was assassi- 
 nated by some men of the Gakkar tribes the same race who 
 had slaughtered Mahmud's horsemen at Peshawar. They 
 had vowed revenge for the slaughter of some kinsmen, and 
 they stabbed Muhammad Ghori to death as he lay sleeping 
 in his tent on the banks of the Indus. 
 
 The death of Muhammad Ghori was followed by the dis- 
 memberment of the Afghan empire. Kutub-ud-din ceased 
 to be a Viceroy, and was proclaimed Sultan of Delhi. He 
 was originally a slave, who rose to power under Muhammad 
 Ghori as Joseph had risen in the court of the Pharaohs. He 
 was the first of a dynasty which is known in history as that 
 of the slave kings. His reign was a career of conquest. 
 His tower of triumph still stands among the ruins of old 
 Delhi, and is one of the tallest in the world. It is known 
 
 1 The region extends on the south and west of the Jumna, between the river 
 Indus and the river ChambaL
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 101 
 
 as the Kutub Minar. It proclaims the victory of Islam over 
 the idol-worshippers of Hindustan. 
 
 Under Kutub-ud-din the dominion of the Muhammadans 
 was extended to the Brahma-putra river. The intervening 
 country of Bihar and Bengal was conquered with the utmost 
 ease. A Muhammadan adventurer named Bakhtiyar was 
 famous for the length of his arms. He was a man of valor 
 and audacity, but so ill-favored that he could not obtain 
 military service at Delhi, and went away to the eastern fron- 
 tier near Benares. Here he became the leader of a band of 
 horsemen, and began to make plundering raids into Bihar, 
 the holy land of Magadha. He captured the city of Bihar 
 and plundered it. He destroyed a college of Brahmans with 
 shaven heads, and put them all to the sword. He advanced 
 eastward to Nuddea, the old capital of Bengal, 1 and entered 
 the city with only eighteen troopers disguised as horse-deal- 
 ers. Nobody stopped him, and he and his men reached the 
 palace, cutting down and murdering all who stood in their 
 way. 
 
 The Raja of Nuddea was eating his dinner, when he heard 
 an outbreak in the courtyard; Bakhtiyar and his horsemen 
 had broken into the palace. The Raja was so frightened 
 that he ran out at the back of the palace, reached the bank 
 of a rivor, and took a boat and sailed away to Jagganath, 
 leaving his family and treasures at the mercy of the Muham- 
 madans. He never returned to Nuddea, but passed the re- 
 mainder of his days at Jagganath as a religious devotee. 
 
 Bihar and Bengal were then formed into a province of 
 the Delhi empire, and Bakhtiyar was the first Viceroy. The 
 capital was fixed at Gour, at the elbow of the Ganges, where 
 the river turns toward the south. It thus commanded the 
 whole water communication of the country. Since then the 
 river has changed its course, and Gour has become a heap 
 of ruins. 
 
 Kutub-ud-din died in 1210. The history of his immediate 
 
 1 Nuddea ia about sixty miles due north of the modem city of Calcutta.
 
 102 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 successors is of no interest or moment. The Sultans of Delhi 
 had nothing to fear from Hindus. Their chief enemies were 
 Tartar hordes known as Moghuls the men who overran Asia 
 and part of Europe under Chenghiz Khan in the thirteenth 
 century. They entered the Punjab and Hindustan under 
 different leaders, and were a terror wherever they went. 
 They are described as ugly nomads with yellow complex- 
 ions, high cheek-bones, flat noses, small eyes, and large 
 mouths. They were covered with vermin, and their smell 
 was detestable. They plundered towns and villages, and 
 carried off women and children to serve as slaves. 
 
 In 1290 the last Sultan of the Afghan slave dynasty was 
 assassinated, and a Sultan ascended the throne at Delhi un- 
 der the name of Jelal-ud-din. He was an old man of seventy, 
 and made no mark hi history; but he had a nephew, named 
 Ala-ud-din, who became a man of renown. 
 
 Ala-ud-din was appointed governor of the fortress of 
 Karra, near Allahabad. His first exploit was the plunder 
 of the Buddhist temples at Bhilsa. This involved an expe- 
 dition more than three hundred miles to the south through 
 the jungles of Bundelkund; for Bhilsa is seated on the slopes 
 of the Vindhya range of mountains, which separate Hindu- 
 stan from the Dekhan. The Sultan was so pleased with this 
 adventure, and especially with the treasure brought away 
 from Bhilsa, that he appointed Ala-ud-din to be Viceroy of 
 Oude. 
 
 Ala-ud-din next planned another expedition, still more 
 venturesome. At Bhilsa he had heard of a Mahratta king- 
 dom extending southward of the Nerbudda river over the 
 Western Dekhan. The capital was Deoghur, but it was as 
 far from Bhilsa as Bhilsa was from Karra. Indeed, the 
 distance from Karra to Deoghur was not less than seven 
 hundred miles. 
 
 Ala-ud-din kept his scheme a profound secret from his 
 uncle the Sultan. He levied a force of eight thousand horse- 
 men, and disappeared quietly from Karra. His way led 
 through much of the scene of Rama's wanderings ; through
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 103 
 
 the jungles of Bundelkund, the tableland of Malwa, and 
 over the Vindhya mountains and river Nerbudda. He gave 
 out that he had quarrelled with his uncle the Sultan and was 
 going to enter the service of some Hindu Raja. No one 
 doubted the truth of the story; indeed, as already seen, 
 princes in India had been going into exile from the remot- 
 est antiquity, as the natural result of some feud or quarrel 
 that could not be promptly avenged. 
 
 Ala-ud-din and his horsemen at last approached the walls 
 of Deoghur. The Mahratta Raja was taken by surprise; he 
 could not believe his eyes when the Muhammadan horsemen 
 galloped into the city. He fled to a hill fortress, and found 
 to his discomfiture that it was provisioned with salt instead of 
 grain. He hoped, however, that the strangers would force 
 the city to pay a ransom, and speedily go away, after the 
 manner of predatory brigands. 
 
 Meanwhile Ala-ud-din plundered the city, and tortured 
 the merchants and bankers to deliver up their hidden hoards. 
 He attacked the fortress where the Raja had taken refuge, 
 and found it to be very strong. He gave out that he only 
 came as the commander of an advanced guard of the army 
 of the Sultan of Delhi; and that the Sultan was coming up 
 with the main army, and would soon starve out the Raja. 
 This threat and the want of grain soon brought the Raja to 
 terms. He paid over a large hoard of money and jewels, 
 and pledged himself to send a yearly tribute to Delhi. 
 
 Ala-ud-din carried the plunder in safety to Karra, but 
 there he had another game to play. His uncle the Sultan 
 would certainly march an army to Karra, and demand the 
 surrender of the plunder; and Ala-ud-din was resolved to 
 keep the spoil. He tried to cajole the Sultan; expressed 
 himself afraid of the Sultan; declared that if the Sultan 
 came alone he would make over the plunder, but that if 
 the Sultan came with an army he would escape with the 
 plunder into Bengal. The Sultan was deceived ; he believed 
 that his nephew was really afraid of him. He went to Karra 
 with an army, but halted the troops on the western bank of
 
 j.04: HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the Ganges, while he crossed the river in a small boat to 
 meet his nephew on the opposite side. Ala-ud-din greeted 
 his uncle affectionately, when the Sultan was struck by an 
 assassin. The old uncle cried out "treachery," and ran 
 back to the boat; but he was thrown down and beheaded 
 on the spot, and Ala-ud-din was proclaimed Sultan of Delhi. 
 
 Ala-ud-din made no attempt to excuse the murder. He 
 silenced the army by distributing money, and silenced the 
 people by the same means. He went to Delhi, scattering 
 money the whole way. At Delhi booths were set up, and 
 victuals and liquors were given to all comers. The two sons 
 of the murdered Sultan were thrown into prison, deprived of 
 their eyesight, and then murdered. Meanwhile the multi- 
 tude were amused with money and feasting. Such liberal- 
 ity proclaimed the accession of a new sovereign. At the 
 same time almsgiving and feeding the poor are regarded 
 throughout the east as atonements for sin. Thus, even 
 those who knew that the new Sultan had murdered his 
 uncle were inclined to believe that his charities expiated 
 the crime. 
 
 When Ala-ud-din was established on the throne at Delhi, 
 he sent an army to conquer Guzerat. The Raja was a Raj- 
 put ; he was defeated by the Muhammadans, and fled away 
 south into the Mahratta country. His queen was carried off 
 to Delhi, and became the wife of Ala-ud-din. The Rajput 
 princess, in the palace of her Muhammadan conqueror, was 
 sad and lonely ; she pined for the company of a little daugh- 
 ter, whom she had left in Guzerat, named Dewal Devi ; and 
 the Sultan sent messengers to bring the girl to Delhi. 
 
 This girl had a strange fate. She was only eight years 
 old. Her father had taken her with him to the Mahratta 
 country, and the Mahratta Raja wanted to marry her to his 
 son; but the Rajput Raja, even in exile, was too proud to 
 give his daughter in marriage to a Mahratta. Presently 
 messengers came from Ala-ud-din to bring away the girl to 
 her mother at Delhi. Such a fate was considered to be worse 
 than a Mahratta marriage; so the Raja of Guzerat changed
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 105 
 
 his mind and agreed to marry his daughter to the Mahratta. 
 But while the bride was going in the marriage procession, a 
 body of Muhammadans fell upon the party, and carried her 
 off to Delhi. In the end she was married to a son of Ala- 
 ud-din. 
 
 The Sultan next planned the conquest of Rajputana. A 
 century had passed away since the Muhammadan conquest 
 of Hindustan. A Rajput prince of Kanouj had founded a 
 kingdom in Marwar, or Jodhpore. Another Rajput prince 
 of Ayodhya, a descendant of the famous Rama, had founded 
 a kingdom at Chitor. The sovereign of Chitor was renowned 
 far and wide under the name of the Rana. The suzerainty 
 of the Rana of Chitor, the descendant of Rama, the repre- 
 sentative of the children of the Sun, was acknowledged by 
 every prince in Rajputana. 1 In the present day the suze- 
 rainty is represented by the Rana of Udaipur or Oodeypore. 
 
 Chitor was the heart of Rajputana. Ala-ud-din had in- 
 vaded the country round about, apparently to strike at the 
 heart. Already he had marched through Bundelkund on 
 the east ; conquered the Mahrattas on the south ; and sub- 
 dued Guzerat on the west. He now lay siege to Chitor. 
 The siege is remarkable on account of the self-devotion of 
 the Rajputs; they preferred to die rather than surrender 
 themselves or their wives to the Muhammadans. Accord- 
 ingly, when all was lost, they performed the terrible rite 
 known as the Johur. Huge piles of timber were built up 
 and set on fire. The women threw themselves into the 
 flames. The men then rushed out of the city and perished, 
 sword in hand. A few cut their way through the Muham- 
 madan army, and found a refuge in the Aravulli hills. 
 
 The siege of Chitor lasted several months. Meanwhile 
 there was more than one rebellion among the Muhamma- 
 
 1 The Rajputs are divided into two families, the children of the Sun and the 
 children of the Moon; the former have a blazing sun as their ensign, the latter 
 have a crescent. The children of the Sun were sovereigns of Ayodhya and 
 Kanouj. The children of the Moon were sovereigns of Delhi and Patali-putra, 
 or Patna.
 
 106 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 dans. The nephew of the Sultan tried to assassinate him, 
 just as Ala-ud-din had tried to assassinate his own uncle; 
 but on this occasion the uncle escaped, and the nephew was 
 beheaded. Afterward there was an outbreak at Delhi, where 
 a rebel seized the throne and held it for seven days, when the 
 city was retaken by a party of horse. The rebel Sultan had 
 opened the public treasury and scattered the money among 
 the people. When the ringleaders were slain, and the head 
 of the rebel Sultan was paraded on a spear, the people were 
 so frightened that they carried back to the treasury all the 
 money they had picked up. 
 
 After the capture of Chitor, the Muhammadan army re- 
 turned to Delhi, and Ala-ud-din took strong measures for 
 keeping the city under subjection. He kept a host of spies 
 to report all that was said and done in the streets and bazars. 
 He prohibited all wine-drinking and entertainments. All 
 who imported wine, sold it, or drank it, were flogged and 
 sent to prison. The prisons were soon overflowing, and 
 great pits were dug outside Delhi for the reception of offend- 
 ers. The Sultan found, however, that it was impossible to 
 prevent drinking; he therefore proclaimed that when liquor 
 was distilled privately, and drunk in private houses without 
 any drinking parties, the informers were not to interfere. 
 
 Meanwhile the Moghuls were very troublesome. In the 
 previous reign the uncle of Ala-ud-din had enlisted three 
 thousand, and settled them near Delhi; but they were tur- 
 bulent, refractory, and mixed up with every rebellion. Ala- 
 ud-din ordered them to be disbanded, and then they tried to 
 murder him. Ala-ud-din then ordered a general massacre. 
 Thousands are said to have been put to death, and their 
 wives and children were sold into slavery. 
 
 Ala-ud-din was the first Muhammadan sovereign who 
 conquered Hindu Rajas in the Dekhan and Peninsula. Here 
 it may be explained that India is divided into three great 
 belts or zones: namely, Hindustan in the north, with the 
 Punjab at one end and Bengal at the other; the Dekhan in 
 the centre ; and the Peninsula in the south. The line of the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 107 
 
 Nerbudda river separates the Dekhan from Hindustan. The 
 line of the Kistna or Krishna river separates the Dekhan 
 from the Peninsula. 
 
 Ala-ud-din had already conquered the Mahratta country 
 in the "Western Dekhan. The Eastern Dekhan was covered 
 with the jungles of Gondwana, but toward the south was 
 the Telinga country, l where the Telugu language is spoken. 
 The Peninsula, generally speaking, is divided between the 
 Kanarese-speaking people in the west, and the Tamil-speak- 
 ing people in the east.* 
 
 Ala-ud-din sent his general Malik Kafur to invade these 
 southern countries, ransack temples, and carry off treasure 
 and tribute. The story is a dreary narrative of raid and 
 rapine. The Hindus were powerless against the Muhamma- 
 dans. Occasionally they shut the gates of a city against the 
 invaders, and tried to defend their walls, but were soon over- 
 powered or starved out. Temples were stripped of gold and 
 jewels, idols were thrown down and spoiled of all precious 
 stones, and scenes of bloodshed and outrage were enacted 
 by Muhammadan troopers. The Hindus could make little 
 resistance: they apparently yielded to their fate in abject 
 despair. 
 
 It is certain that Malik Kafur plundered the temples of 
 Madura to the south of Madras, and those of Mysore in the 
 western Peninsula; a distance of fifteen hundred miles from 
 Delhi. Yet Muhammadan historians say that the army of 
 Malik Kafur was always connected with Delhi by a chain 
 of posts, with relays of horsemen and runners. Every day 
 news reached Delhi of the progress of the army, while news 
 reached the army of the health of the Sultan. This constant 
 flow of intelligence between the camp and the capital was 
 
 1 The Telinga or Telugu country was the seat of an ancient empire, known 
 as that of the Andhras. See ante, p. 73. 
 
 2 There are other languages, such as Malayalim ; but further details will ap- 
 pear hereafter. Telugu is spoken between Hyderabad and the coast of Coro- 
 mandel. The Tamil language is spoken hi the Madras Presidency from Puticai 
 to Comorin. Kanarese is spoken in Mysore.
 
 108 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 necessary to prevent rebellion. A false rumor that the army 
 was cut off might have caused an outbreak at Delhi ; while 
 reports that the Sultan was sick or dying might have driven 
 the army to mutiny or rebellion. 
 
 Ala-ud-din died in 1316. His death was followed by a 
 Hindu revolt; indeed Hindu influences must have been at 
 work at Delhi for many years previously. Ala-ud-din had 
 married a Hindu queen ; his son had married her daughter. 
 Malik Kafur was a Hindu converted to Islam. The leader 
 of the revolt at Delhi in 1316 was another Hindu convert to 
 Islam. The proceedings of the latter rebel, however, were 
 of a mixed character. He was proclaimed Sultan under a 
 Muhammadan name, and slaughtered every male of the 
 royal house. Meanwhile his Hindu followers set up idols in 
 the mosques, and seated themselves on Korans. The rebels 
 held possession of Delhi for five months. At the end of that 
 time the city was captured by the Turkish governor of the 
 Punjab, named Tughlak. The conqueror then ascended 
 the throne of Delhi, and founded the dynasty of Tughlak 
 Sultans. 1 
 
 The Tughlak Sultans would not live at Delhi; they prob- 
 ably regarded it as a Hindu volcano. They held their court 
 at Tughlakabad, a strong fortress about an hour's drive from 
 old Delhi. The transfer of the capital from Delhi to Tugh- 
 lakabad is a standpoint in history. It shows that a time 
 had come when the Turk began to fear the Hindu. 
 
 The conqueror of Delhi died in 1325. He was succeeded 
 by a son who has left his mark in history. Muhammad 
 Tughlak was a Sultan of grand ideas, but blind to all expe- 
 riences, and deaf to all counsels. He sent his armies into 
 the south to restore the Muhammadan supremacy which had 
 been shaken by the Hindu revolt. Meanwhile the Moghuls 
 invaded the Punjab, and Muhammad Tughlak bribed them 
 to go away with gold and jewels. Thus the imperial treas- 
 
 1 There is a curious likeness between the quasi -religious revolt in the four- 
 teenth century, and the Sepoy mutiny in the nineteenth. The facts are set forth 
 at greater length in the larger History of India, vol. iv.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 109 
 
 ury was emptied of all the wealth which had been accumu- 
 lated by Ala-ud-din. 
 
 The new Sultan tried to improve his finances, but only 
 ruined the country by his exactions. The rich people were 
 driven into rebellion, while the poor people were driven to 
 beggary. To make matters worse, there was a failure of the 
 rains, and consequently a dreadful famine. The whole of 
 the Punjab and a great part of Hindustan are said to have 
 become a desolation. Villages were broken up, and thou- 
 sands of families were starving. 
 
 The Sultan was so horrified at the famine that he tried 
 to escape it. He ordered the whole population of Delhi to 
 remove to Deoghur in the Dekhan. Thousands died on this 
 cruel journey. It was a march of more than seven hundred 
 miles through jungles, over mountains, and across rivers like 
 the Nerbudda. "When the survivors reached Deoghur, they 
 were reduced to such misery, and died away so rapidly, that 
 the Sultan ordered them to go back to Delhi. 
 
 The Sultan next committed another act of madness. He 
 had heard that the Chinese used paper money, bearing the 
 stamp of the emperor, and payable at the imperial treasury. 
 Accordingly he struck a number of copper counters, and 
 ordered his subjects to receive them as gold money. At first 
 this measure was successful. People could buy all they 
 wanted with copper counters. Merchants bought the prod- 
 ucts of India with copper counters, and sold them in foreign 
 countries for gold money. Muhammad Tughlak, by means 
 of his copper counters, raised a large army for the conquest 
 of China, and sent it over the Himalayas, where it perished 
 miserably. He raised another large army for the conquest 
 of Persia. By this time the state was bankrupt; no one 
 would take copper money, and gold rose to four times its 
 value. The army intended for Persia was disbanded for 
 want of pay; and the reign of anarchy began. 
 
 Copper counters were brought to Tughlakabad in vast 
 heaps, but there was no gold or silver in the treasury to give 
 in exchange. The Hindus had coined copper money for
 
 110 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 their own use ; they had turned their houses into mints, and 
 flooded the country with copper counters. They paid their 
 tribute in copper. Trade flourished when merchants bought 
 Indian goods for copper and sold them for foreign gold; but 
 no merchants would bring their goods to India and sell them 
 for copper. Consequently trade was stopped, and the coun- 
 try was ruined. 
 
 Then followed rebellions and revolutions. Bengal re- 
 volted, and became a separate kingdom under an independ- 
 ent Sultan. The Rajas of the Dekhan and Peninsula with- 
 held their tribute. The Muhammadan army of the Dekhan 
 broke out into mutiny, and set up a Sultan of their own. 
 Muhammad Tughlak saw that all men turned against him. 
 He died in 1350, after a reign of twenty-five years. 
 
 The history of Delhi fades away after the death of Mu- 
 hammad Tughlak. A Sultan reigned from 1350 to 1388, 
 named Firuz Shah. He is said to have submitted to the 
 dismemberment of the empire, and done his best to promote 
 the welfare of the subjects left to him ; but it is also said 
 that he destroyed temples and idols, and burned a Brahman 
 alive for perverting Muhammadan women. 
 
 In 1398-99, ten years after the death of Firuz Shah, 
 Timur Shah invaded the Punjab and Hindustan. The hor- 
 rors of the Tartar invasion are indescribable; they teach 
 nothing to the world, and the tale of atrocities may well be 
 dropped into oblivion. It will suffice to say that Timur 
 came and plundered, and then went away. He left officers 
 to rule in his name, or to collect tribute in his name. In 
 1450 they were put aside by Afghans: turbulent Muham- 
 madan fanatics whose presence must have been hateful to 
 Hindus. At last, in 1525, a descendant of Timur, named 
 the Baber, invaded India, and conquered the Punjab and 
 Hindustan. 
 
 The history of Muhammadan rule in India may be 
 summed up in a few words. About 1000, Mahmud of 
 Ghazni conquered the Punjab and "Western Hindustan; but 
 before 1200 his empire had died out, and the Afghans of
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 111 
 
 Ghor had become the dominant power from the Punjab 
 to Bengal. India was next exposed to inroads of Moghuls; 
 the same men who overthrew the Khalifs of Bagdad in 1258. 
 About 1300 the Muhammadan Sultans of Delhi extended 
 their conquests into the Dekhan and Peninsula; but then 
 followed the reaction. A Hindu revolt broke out at Delhi, 
 which had ramifications extending into the remote south. 
 The Muhammadan empire in India was dismembered into 
 petty kingdoms, but the Hindus could not throw off the 
 Muhammadan yoke. Different Muhammadan dynasties 
 were founded in Hindustan and Bengal, but their history 
 is meagre and confused. For two centuries, from 1350 to 
 1550, the Dekhan and Peninsula were the theatre of wars 
 between Muhammadans and Hindus; while the Portuguese 
 established a Christian power at Goa, on the coast of Mala- 
 bar. Meanwhile the once famous Moghul empire was 
 founded in Hindustan, and for a period of two centuries 
 was respected as the paramount power in India. 1 
 
 1 The history of the Muhammadan empire in the Dekhan will be told in the 
 next chapter. The history of the Portuguese power in India is told in Chapter 
 HI. The history of the Moghul empire begins in Chapter IV., and i* gontinued 
 in the following chapters.
 
 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 DEKHAN AND PENINSULA 
 
 A.D. 1350 TO 1565 
 
 WHEN Ala-ud-din sent his army into the Dekhan and 
 Peninsula, he opened up new territories. The 
 whole of the region to the south of the Nerbudda 
 river was distributed into a number of kingdoms, each hav- 
 ing its own Raja, like the Punjab and Hindustan. Marco 
 Polo was coasting round the country between 1260 and 1295, 
 and describes some of these Rajas. Those of the Tamil 
 country on the coast of Coromandel were black barbarians, 
 wearing nothing but a cloth about their loins, but adorned 
 with massive gold bracelets, and strings of rare and precious 
 stones. They worshipped the bull and cow, and had tem- 
 ples, idols, priests, and dancing girls. The Rajas of the 
 Malabar country were much of the same stamp, but were 
 also famous for their piracies, as they had been in the days 
 of the Greeks and Romans. 1 
 
 Hindu traditions tell of different Hindu empires which 
 were founded at intervals, and were associated with differ- 
 ences of religion. There were Brahman kingdoms and Jain 
 kingdoms; there were sages expounding rival faiths; Jain 
 Rajas were converted to the religion of the Brahmans, and 
 Brahmanical Rajas were brought over to the religion of the 
 Jains. These controversies were often accompanied by cruel 
 persecutions and religious wars, but the traditions are dying 
 out of the memory of the people of the land. 
 
 1 Marco Polo seems to have visited the coast before the expeditions of Malik 
 Kafur, as he says nothing whatever about them.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 113 
 
 The religion of the Jains is the outcome of the same forms 
 of thought as Buddhism. It expresses the same distaste for 
 life, the same yearning for the deliverance of the soul from 
 the vortex of endless transmigrations. But the Jains reject 
 the doctrine of annihilation or Nirvana. They believe that 
 when the soul has been liberated from the trammels of suc- 
 cessive existences it begins a spiritual life in some indefinable 
 mansion of the blessed. The Jains worship the saints who 
 have attained this spiritual life, and they hold twenty-four 
 particular saints in the profoundest veneration. The Jains 
 are divided, like the Buddhists, into monks and laymen. 
 Originally some of the sects abandoned all clothing, like the 
 Gymnosophists of old ; but the Jain monks, in general, are 
 not only clothed, but distinguished as the "white-robed." 
 
 The lower orders of the people of India are slaves to idol- 
 atry and superstition, but modern Brahmanism, as under- 
 stood by the more enlightened classes, is of a more intellec- 
 tual character. It teaches the transmigrations of the soul 
 after death, but it also teaches the deliverance of the soul 
 from the chain of transmigrations by good works or by faith. 
 Deliverance by good works is generally associated with the 
 worship of Siva. Deliverance by faith is associated with 
 the worship of Vishnu. It is said that by faith in Rama 
 or Krishna, as incarnations of Vishnu, the soul may be deliv- 
 ered from the vortex of transmigrations. These differences 
 of belief have originated numerous sects and controversies; 
 yet all seem to be agreed that the deliverance of the soul 
 from transmigrations is the beginning of a new spiritual life, 
 and that the emancipated soul is either absorbed in the God- 
 head, or received in the heaven of the Supreme Spirit. 
 
 Hindu traditions tell of an empire named Vijayanagar, 
 which was associated with the worship of Vishnu. It ex- 
 tended over the whole of the Peninsula from the river Kistna 
 to Cape Comorin, and from the coast of Coromandel to that 
 of Malabar. Some traditions say that it also included the 
 Dekhan and Hindustan. European travellers speak of the 
 same empire under the name of Narsinga; they describe it
 
 114 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 as spreading over the Peninsula, while the Dekhan was held 
 by the Muhammadans. 
 
 The metropolis of this empire was founded about the 
 fourteenth century, or some earlier date, on the banks of 
 the Tumbadra river, an affluent of the river Kistna. It 
 was known as the city of Vijayanagar. It was built of 
 stone and granite, and the temples, palaces, and fortifica- 
 tions are to be seen to this day. 
 
 The Muhammadan army of the Dekhan revolted, as 
 already stated, in the year 1350, and raised up a line of 
 Sultans of their own, who are known as Bahmani Sultans. 
 These Sultans reigned at Kulbarga, 1 and soon came in con- 
 flict with the Hindu empire of Vijayanagar. The wars 
 which ensued between Muhammadans and Hindus are the 
 most horrible on record, and were often waged to gratify 
 the paltry passions of jealousy or revenge. 
 
 Krishna Rai, Maharaja of Narsinga, was proud and 
 overbearirg, corresponding closely to Southey's conception 
 of Kehama. He was said to have been the great conqueror 
 who subdued all peninsular India, from Malabar to Coro- 
 mandel. One day he received an insulting document from 
 the Sultan of the Dekhan. The Sultan had been drinking 
 wine in his palace, and listening to flattering songs in praise 
 of kings. In the pride of his heart he gave the musicians 
 an order for the payment of money on the Hindu treasury 
 at Vijayanagar. 
 
 In due course the order reached the Maharaja. It 
 amounted to a demand that the Maharaja should pay the 
 musicians out of his own treasury in obedience to the orders 
 of the Sultan. Krishna Rai was enraged at the insult. He 
 ordered the messenger to be led through the streets of Vi- 
 jayanagar with every mark of contempt. He resolved to 
 wipe out the insult with blood and slaughter. He crossed 
 the river Tumbadra with his army, captured one of the fron- 
 
 1 The city is situated in the Nizam's territories, about 150 miles west of 
 Hyderabad. It is now a railway station.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 THE DEKHAN & PENINSULA
 
 116 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 tier fortresses belonging to the Sultan, and slaughtered the 
 garrison almost to a man. 
 
 The Sultan was enraged in his turn. He entered the 
 mosque in his city of Kulbarga, and swore upon the Koran 
 that he would not sheathe his sword until he had slain a 
 hundred thousand idolaters. He crossed the river Tum- 
 badra with his army, and began a horrible massacre of men, 
 women, and children, until, it is said, he had completed the 
 tale of slaughter. At last the Brahmans declared that 
 Krishna Rai had offended the gods, and they compelled 
 him to sue for terms. The Sultan demanded that the Ma- 
 haraja should pay the musicians, and Krishna Rai was bound 
 to obey. This simple concession brought the war to a close. 
 But the Sultan and the Maharaja were alike horror-stricken 
 at the bloodshed, and it was agreed that for the future none 
 should be slain in war except the soldiers that were fighting 
 in the field. 
 
 In 1400 there was a Maharaja named Deva Rai ; he in- 
 vaded the Sultan's territories and encamped his army on the 
 bank of the Kistna. The Sultan was afraid to cross the river 
 in the face of the Hindu host. At this crisis eight men offered 
 to go and assassinate either Deva Rai or his eldest son. The 
 Sultan gave his consent to the proposed assassination. The 
 men crossed the river and made friends with some dancing- 
 girls who were going that night to perform before the eldest 
 son of Deva Rai. 
 
 The dances in Southern India often represent battles. The 
 performers appear with sticks or weapons in their hands, and 
 sing and dance, strike their sticks or brandish their weapons, 
 while leaping, fencing, and indulging in other mad gestures. 
 Delia Valle describes a performance in which the master of 
 the troop appeared among the girls with a naked poniard, 
 and pretended to slaughter them. 
 
 The son of Deva Rai entertained his officers in a large 
 pavilion. There was feasting and drinking, while the 
 dancers began to perform in their usual fashion. After 
 a while the men from the Sultan's camp appeared among
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 117 
 
 the girls in the guise of dancers, with naked daggers in 
 their hands. The revelry was at its height ; the prince and 
 his guests were drunk with wine, when suddenly the prince 
 was stabbed to the heart, with many of his chief men. The 
 lights were put out, and the assassins escaped in the uproar. 
 
 The Hindu camp was thrown into a panic, which lasted 
 all night; every man was afraid of his neighbor. Amid the 
 darkness the Sultan crossed the river and fell upon the ter- 
 ror-stricken army. The massacre which followed may be 
 left to the imagination. Deva Rai was paralyzed. At last 
 he made over large treasures to the Sultan, and pledged 
 himself to send a yearly tribute to Kulbarga. 
 
 Years passed away, and the same Sultan and same Ma- 
 haraja engaged in another war; but this time it was brought 
 to a close by a marriage. The Sultan married the daughter 
 of Deva Rai. The marriage feast continued forty days, and 
 was the great event of the time. The Muhammadan army 
 was encamped four miles from the city of Vijayanagar. The 
 road between the city and the camp was converted into a 
 street, and lined on either side with shops and booths. All 
 comers took what they pleased as a free gift. Provisions 
 and sweetmeats, flowers and perfumes, fruits and choice 
 drinks, were open to all. Meanwhile conjurers, play- 
 actors, snake-charmers, dancing-girls and performers, per- 
 formed before the multitude from day to day. 
 
 When the marriage rites were over, the street was cov- 
 ered with carpets, and the princess was carried with great 
 pomp from the palace of the Maharaja to the pavilion of the 
 Sultan. After some days the bridegroom and bride paid a 
 visit to the Maharaja. All the chief officers of the Sultan 
 went in procession in gorgeous array; music was playing, 
 banners were flying, and beautiful children were scattering 
 flowers of gold and silver. The Sultan was feasted for three 
 days by the Maharaja, and then took his leave. 
 
 The parting was unpropitious between the Sultan and his 
 father-in-law. The Maharaja accompanied his son-in-law 
 half-way to the camp, but then returned to the city. The
 
 118 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Sultan was offended because the Maharaja had not gone the 
 whole way to the camp; and he nursed up the secret in his 
 heart. Ten years afterward he renewed the war to avenge 
 the affront. In this war he was utterly defeated by the 
 Maharaja, and died of grief and mortification. 
 
 About 1500 the Bahmani empire was dismembered, and 
 formed into five separate kingdoms, under different Sultans. 
 The Dekhan at this period might be described as a square, 
 having a little kingdom in the centre, and a large kingdom 
 at each of the four angles. Bidur was the centre. North- 
 ward of Bidur was Ahmadnagar and Berar; southward of 
 Bidur was Bijapur and Golkonda. 
 
 The division of the Bahmani empire weakened the Mu- 
 hammadan dominion in the Dekhan. Ahmadnagar, Berar, 
 and Bidur were far away to the north, and had little to fear 
 from the Hindu power of Vijayanagar. But Bijapur and 
 Golkonda were on the border, and not strong enough of 
 themselves to withstand the collected force of the Hindu 
 empire. To make matters worse, the Sultans of the Dek- 
 han quarrelled among themselves, and were at war with 
 each other, when they ought to have united their forces 
 against their southern neighbor. 
 
 But for some years there was nothing to fear from Vija- 
 yanagar. The Hindu court was distracted by a series of 
 treacheries, assassinations, and butcheries, equally revolting 
 and bewildering. It would be tedious to unravel the story. 
 A plain narrative of the progress of events will suffice to 
 show why the Hindus of the Peninsula were forced to keep 
 the peace toward the Muhammadans of the Dekhan. 
 
 The atrocities at the court of Vijayanagar began with an 
 intrigue, which has always been common in Oriental courts. 
 It was an intrigue for the transfer of the sovereignty of the 
 Raj from the family of the Maharaja to the family of the 
 minister. It has been generally carried out by the removal 
 of the males of the reigning family, and the marriage of the 
 minister's son to one or more of the princesses, in order to 
 give to the son of the minister a show of right to the throne.
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 119 
 
 Deva Rai, Maharaja of Narsinga, died, leaving an infant 
 son. The infant was placed upon the throne, while the min- 
 ister conducted the government in the capacity of regent or 
 guardian. "When the infant reached his majority, he was 
 murdered, and another infant was placed upon the throne. 
 Three infants reigned in succession, and were murdered in 
 like manner. 
 
 Meanwhile the minister, Timma, brought about a mar- 
 riage between his son Ram Rai and a granddaughter of 
 Deva Rai. When the third infant was murdered, Ram Rai 
 was proclaimed Maharaja, and all the males of the royal 
 family were put to death, with two exceptions. One was 
 a half-witted man named Termal Rai; the other was an 
 infant belonging to the female branch of the family. 
 
 Ram Rai was accepted as Maharaja without opposition; 
 but his pride and arrogance soon created enemies. The old 
 nobles of the empire refused to submit to the insolence of a 
 usurper, and proceeded to the provinces and raised a rebel- 
 lion. Ram Rai took the field against the rebels, leaving his 
 treasures in the charge of a trusted slave. The slave was 
 a favorite who had risen to high offices, but his head was 
 turned by the treasures. The sight of the gold is said to 
 have driven him mad, and stirred him up to desperate ac- 
 tions. He plotted a conspiracy with the half-witted Termal 
 Rai. He placed the infant of the female line on the throne 
 of Vijayanagar, and assumed the post of minister. The 
 rebel nobles rallied round the infant representative of the 
 royal house. They marched on to the capital. Ram Rai 
 saw that his cause was lost, and retired to his own estates 
 for security. 
 
 But Termal Rai was infected with the same madness as 
 the slave. He murdered the infant and the slave, and seized 
 the throne as Maharaja. He was akin to the old dynasty, 
 and so far was preferred to the usurper, Ram Rai. Not- 
 withstanding his fits of madness he was acknowledged sov 
 ereign by all the nobles at Vijayanagar. 
 
 The madness of Termal Rai soon began to show itself in
 
 120 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 intolerable ways. He exasperated the nobles by his inso- 
 lence; and they appealed to Ram Rai for deliverance, and 
 joined him with their retainers. An overwhelming army 
 was soon marching to the capital with Ram Rai at its head. 
 Termal Rai was seized with terror. In sheer desperation he 
 called in the help of the Muhammadans. He sent messen- 
 gers to Bijapur, promising to become the vassal of the Sul- 
 tan, if the Sultan would only protect him against his revolted 
 subjects. The Sultan, nothing loth, marched an army to 
 Vijayanagar; he was admitted into the city, conducted to 
 the palace, and placed upon the throne. To crown all, Ter- 
 mal Rai did homage before the Sultan, and acknowledged 
 him as his suzerain and protector. 
 
 This sudden revolution sent a thrill through the Penin- 
 sula. The Hindus were horror-stricken. They saw to their 
 dismay that a mad Maharaja had made over his throne and 
 empire to the Muhammadans ; that their metropolis was oc- 
 cupied by an army of Turks and other foreigners, who had 
 desolated their country in days gone by, destroyed temples, 
 broken down their idols, and filled the land with bloodshed 
 and terror. 
 
 Meanwhile Ram Rai and the nobles had recourse to guile. 
 They promised to become reconciled to Termal Rai if he 
 would only send away the Muhammadans. They swore to 
 become his faithful subjects for life, if he would only get 
 rid of the intruders. They declared that the presence of the 
 Muhammadans polluted the temples and angered the gods; 
 and that prayers and worship were of no avail so long as 
 the enemies of the gods remained in the land. 
 
 By this time Termal Rai had grown weary of his new 
 allies; he was, in fact, heartily sick of the sight of the Mu- 
 hammadans. He tried to persuade the Sultan to leave Vija- 
 yanagar and return to Bijapur. At last he succeeded, but 
 not until he had bribed the Sultan with money and jewels to 
 the value of two millions sterling. 
 
 No sooner had the Muhammadans crossed the Kistna 
 river than Termal Rai found that he was betrayed. Ram
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 121 
 
 Rai and the nobles were on the march for Vijayanagar to 
 deprive him of his throne and take possession of his empire. 
 Tennal Rai played out the remainder of his part like a des- 
 perate lunatic. He put out the eyes of the horses and ele- 
 phants in the royal stables and cut off their tails. He began 
 to destroy the precious stones in the treasury by crushing 
 them with heavy millstones. At last he heard his enemies 
 breaking into the palace, and fell on his sword and perished 
 on the spot. 
 
 Ram Rai was once again Maharaja of Narsinga. He 
 found the Sultans of the Dekhan at war against each other, 
 and soon began to interfere in their dissensions. The Sul- 
 tans of Bijapur and Golkonda entreated him to help them 
 hi a war against the Sultan of Ahmadnagar, and Ram Rai 
 was only too ready to interfere. Thus an alliance was 
 formed by two Sultans with a Hindu Maharaja for the 
 overthrow of another Sultan; and Ram Rai took the field 
 in Muhammadan territory in concert with Muhammadan 
 allies. 
 
 The Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda soon repented of 
 their unholy league. The Muhammadans of India were 
 horrified at hearing that Muhammadan Sultans were helped 
 by an idolatrous Maharaja in a war against a brother Mu- 
 hammadan. Moreover, the Hindu soldiery had committed 
 enormous sacrilege in Muhammadan territory; they stabled 
 their horses in mosques, and offered sacrifices to their idol 
 gods in the shrines of holy men, while the recreant Sultans 
 made no attempt to prevent them. 
 
 "When the war was over, the Sultans found that the alli- 
 ance with the Hindu Maharaja was not to be endured. Ram 
 Rai was puffed up with pride and vainglory ; he treated the 
 Sultans as his vassals, and put their envoys to shame. At 
 last, four of the Sultans banded together to throw off the 
 yoke of the infidel Maharaja. They laid aside all quarrels; 
 they leagued together as brother Muhammadans, to be 
 avenged once and for all on the Maharaja of Vijayanagar. 
 
 The decisive battle was fought in 1565 ; it is known as 
 X 6 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 122 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the battle of Talikota, and is famous alike in Muhammadan 
 history and Hindu legend. The four Sultans assembled their 
 armies on the banks of the Kistna. Ram Rai was filled with 
 wrath, and collected together all his horse, foot, and ele- 
 phants to overwhelm the Muhammadans. Both armies had 
 cannon, but the Muhammadans had the better. The con- 
 federate Sultans guarded their front with a line of cannon 
 fastened together with ropes and chains. The Hindus 
 guarded their front with war elephants as well as cannon ; 
 and through these elephants they lost the day. 
 
 The Hindus advanced bravely to battle, with songs and 
 dances after the old Telinga fashion. They began the battle 
 with shot and rockets, and drove back the Muhammadan 
 wings. But the Muhammadan centre was unbroken, and 
 began to open fire. The Muhammadan gunners had loaded 
 their cannon with bags of copper money. The Hindus were 
 slaughtered in heaps by the fiery storm. At this moment a 
 war elephant ran madly about, and overturned the litter of 
 Ram Rai. The Muhammadan gunners seized the Maharaja 
 as their prisoner, and beheaded him on the spot ; and then 
 fixed the bleeding head upon a spear, and paraded it before 
 the contending armies. 
 
 The death of the Maharaja brought the battle to a close. 
 The Hindus fled like sheep when they beheld his head upon 
 a spear. The Muhammadans pursued them to the gates of 
 Vijayanagar; they took possession of the city, and found 
 none to oppose them. The metropolis of the last of the great 
 Hindu empires was at their mercy ; and six months are said 
 to have been spent in the work of plunder. 
 
 Two years afterward a European traveller, named Csesar 
 Frederic, visited the city of Vijayanagar ; he found the houses 
 standing, but the inhabitants had vanished from the spot. 
 The whole country round about was infested with thieves. 
 He stayed six months at Vijayanagar out of fear of the 
 thieves; and when at last he set out for Goa he was every 
 day attacked by robbers, and nearly every day compelled to 
 pay a ransom.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 123 
 
 The empire of Vijayanagar was broken up by the battle 
 of Talikota, but it was not conquered by the Sultans. The 
 court removed to Pennakonda, eight days' journey to the 
 south ; but the successor of Ram Rai was little better than 
 an exile, and his sovereignty soon dwindled away. The 
 provinces became kingdoms. The Naiks, or deputies of the 
 Maharaja, who had ruled as Viceroys, soon began to reign 
 as Rajas; they ceased to pay tribute to the exiled Maharaja, 
 and in the course of two or three generations the descendants 
 of Ram Rai possessed nothing but an empty name. 
 
 The Hindu empire of Vijayanagar was of the same type 
 as that of Magadha, but in both there was a religious antag- 
 onism in the background. Under Asoka the Brahmanical 
 worship of the gods faded away from Hindustan, and Bud- 
 dhism became a state religion. Under Krishna Rai, Deva 
 Rai, and Ram Rai, the teachings of Buddhist and Jain were 
 denied or ignored, and the Brahmanical worship of the gods 
 was restored from the Kistna river to Cape Comorin. The 
 story of these religious revolutions has yet to be deciphered 
 from withering palm-leaves and mouldering inscriptions; 
 but enough has been revealed to show that amid the jars 
 and conflicts of rival creeds sparks of divine truth have not 
 been altogether wanting ; and the day may yet dawn when 
 Brahmans will confess that without goodness and purity of 
 the heart the worship of the gods is of no avail, while Jains 
 may learn that the true spirit of holiness to which they 
 aspire is the outcome of Deity alone.
 
 124 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 PORTUGUESE EMPIRE MALABAR 
 
 A.D. 1498 TO 1625 
 
 IN 1498, sixty-seven years before the battle of Talikota, 
 ships from Portugal made their first appearance in the 
 Indian seas, and anchored off the coast of Malabar. 
 The whole Indian continent was in a state of unrest. Afghan 
 chiefs were invading the Punjab, and devastating Hindustan 
 from the banks of the Indus to the mouths of the Ganges. 
 The Bahmani empire of the Dekhan was divided against it- 
 self, and splitting into five kingdoms under five independent 
 Sultans. The empire of Vijayanagar, in the Peninsula, was 
 distracted with revolts, treacheries, and assassinations, which 
 accompanied the transfer of the sovereignty from the family 
 of the Maharaja to the family of the minister. But the 
 Portuguese knew nothing of these revolutions. They saw 
 only the coast of Malabar and the purple heights of the 
 Western Ghats. As far as they were concerned, the region 
 beyond the mountains was an unknown world. 
 
 The western coast, commonly called the coast of Malabar, 
 must always have been the first land in India which met the 
 eyes of European discoverers. PHny tells of the voyages of 
 Roman merchants from Egypt to Malabar, which occupied 
 seventy days. The Roman ships were manned with archers 
 to keep off the Malabar pirates. In the fifteenth century 
 the pirates were equally troublesome, although few probably 
 would have dared to encounter the cannon of the Portuguese. l 
 
 1 Pliny does not call the western coast by the name of Malabar ; but there 
 is no question about its identity. He speaks of Barace, the modern Baroche, as 
 the most convenient port; and a glance at a map of India will show that the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 125 
 
 While the western coast of India has been open to the 
 Indian Ocean, it has been more or less shut out from the 
 empires of the Dekhan and Peninsula. A mountain chain 
 runs southward from the Vindhya mountains to Cape Co- 
 morin, enclosing a long and narrow strip of territory toward 
 the sea, and walling it off from the eastern plains. This 
 chain is known in India as the "Western Ghats; it might 
 be better described to European readers as the Indian 
 Apennines. 
 
 The term Malabar is properly restricted to the southern 
 portion of this coast territory. The region between the sea 
 and the Ghats, from the Nerbudda river to Cape Comorin, 
 is properly divided into three sections ; namely, Konkan on 
 the north, Kanara in the centre, and Malabar on the south. 
 It will be seen hereafter that each of these sections has a 
 history of its own. 
 
 Malabar proper extended from Cape Comorin northward 
 to the port of Cannanore. * It was the first Indian country 
 reached by the Portuguese. It was distributed among a 
 number of petty Rajas, known in tradition as the twelve 
 kings of Malabar. 8 They were black barbarians more or 
 less under the influence of Brahmans, and ready to share 
 the profits of freebooters, pirates, or traders. They and 
 their dependents formed a military class, devoted to arms, 
 and living among an agricultural people of an inferior race. 
 They were in fact a hereditary caste known as Nairs ; and 
 may be described as Rajputs in the rough. They wore cloths 
 hanging from their girdles, and carried swords and bucklers; 
 
 port of Baroche, at the mouth of the Nerbudda river, would be the most con- 
 venient shelter for ships coming from Egypt. Again, the pepper of Cochin, to- 
 ward the southern extremity of the coast, has been famous for ages; and Pliny 
 tells us that the pepper of Cothinara was brought to Barace in canoes. 
 
 Two important marts on the western coast are mentioned by Ptolemy, namely, 
 Plithana and Tagara. Plithana has been identified with Paitan, the capital of 
 Salivahana on the river Godavari. The name of Tagara still lingers in that 
 of Deoghur, whither Muhammad Tughlak sought to remove his capital. 
 
 1 Sometimes it was advanced as far north as Mangalore ; but the matter la 
 of no moment. 
 
 s There were thirteen in all, including the Zamorin of Calicut.
 
 126 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 but the Rajas decorated themselves with gold and jewels. 
 The twelve Rajas of Malabar owed allegiance to an emperor 
 who reigned at Calicut, and was known as the Zamorin. At 
 times they may have paid tribute to the Maharaja of Vija- 
 yanagar; 1 but otherwise they maintained a political inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Malabar has always been famous for pepper and spices. 
 The different Rajas held a monopoly of these commodities. 
 They either supplied cargoes, or levied duties on all sales. 
 The trade was in the hands of Arab Muhammadans who 
 were called Moors, and had carried it on for centuries. 
 They shipped Indian commodities and Indian pilgrims to 
 the Red Sea. The pilgrims were landed at Jedda, and pro- 
 ceeded through the desert to the holy places at Mecca and 
 Medina. The goods were landed at Suez, and carried on the 
 backs of camels through Egypt to Alexandria, where they 
 were again shipped by the merchants of Venice and Genoa, 
 and conveyed to the different ports of the Mediterranean. 
 
 The first Portuguese fleet that reached India consisted of 
 three ships under the command of Vasco de Gama. The 
 voyagers left Lisbon on the 8th of July, 1497, like an army 
 of martyrs. Every man went to confession and received 
 absolution. The monks of Our Lady of Bethlehem walked 
 to the ships in solemn procession, and offered up prayers for 
 the success of the voyage. 
 
 It is needless to dwell on the perils and privations of the 
 expedition. The voyagers rounded the Cape of Good Hope, 
 and steered boldly across the Indian Ocean toward the coast 
 of Malabar. On the 28th of May, 1498, the fleet anchored 
 off Calicut, the residence of the Zamorin; 8 and Vasco de 
 Gama sent a message on shore, announcing his arrival as 
 
 1 In this little empire of Malabar there are traces of a constitution. Each 
 state is said to have sent a representative to the court of the Zamorin at Calicut ; 
 and their representatives formed a council, and caused much turmoil by their 
 jealousies and rivalries. 
 
 s Calicut is about 250 miles to the northward of Cape Comoriu, and about 100 
 miles to the north of Cochin.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 127 
 
 an ambassador from the King of Portugal, with a letter and 
 presents for the Zamorin. 
 
 The Portuguese ambassador was soon invited to an audi- 
 ence. Vasco de Gama landed at Calicut with twelve of his 
 officers. In the first instance the party were carried in palan- 
 quins to a pagoda, to be purified and perfumed. They were 
 received by four Malabar Brahmans, naked to the waist, 
 who sprinkled them with scented water, and presented them 
 with a sweet-smelling paste made of sandal-wood. The 
 temple was dedicated to the goddess Mariamma. The Port- 
 uguese saw the statue of a woman, and asked the name of 
 the goddess; the Malabars cried out "Mari, Mari." The 
 Portuguese confounded the name with that of the Virgin 
 Mary; and prostrated themselves at the feet of the goddess 
 before they discovered their folly. 
 
 Vasco de Gama and his retinue were next conducted to 
 the palace of the Zamorin. It was built of mud, but was 
 pleasantly situated amid trees and gardens. The chief 
 Brahman led the ambassador into the audience-hall. The 
 Zamorin was seated on a couch of silk, while a grave official 
 stood by his side holding a golden plate filled with betel. 
 The Zamorin was arrayed in white cotton, flowered with 
 gold. 1 He wore jewels in his ears, bracelets on his arms, 
 bangles on his legs, and was crowned with a diadem of 
 pearls. He assumed the grave, stolid demeanor which east- 
 ern princes display under like circumstances; but the letter 
 and presents were received, and the ambassador was prom- 
 ised a speedy answer. 
 
 The Muhammadan traders at Calicut soon learned al} 
 that was going on. They knew that the Portuguese were 
 their enemies in religion, and likely to be their rivals in 
 trade. They bribed the officials of the Zamorin. They 
 whispered that the Portuguese were not ambassadors; that 
 
 1 This simple fact has a significance. It shows that the audience was re- 
 garded as a great State ceremony. On such occasions the Zamorin wore a white 
 vestment, but never otherwise. None of hia Nairs were allowed to wear a vest- 
 ment at any time.
 
 128 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the presents were not such as a king would send, or the 
 Zamorin could receive ; that the so-called ambassadors were 
 dangerous pirates and kidnappers, who had already com- 
 mitted outrages on the coast of Africa. 
 
 Vasco de Gama soon saw that the Moors were bent on 
 mischief. He had landed his goods, and the Zamorin gave 
 him a house ; but the factor placed in the house could neither 
 sell nor buy, and was soon treated as a prisoner. 
 
 Vasco de Gama seized some fishermen by way of repri- 
 sals. The Zamorin was alarmed, and the factor was re- 
 leased. The ambassador then released most of the fisher- 
 men, but kept back a few in order to carry them to Portugal. 
 This last proceeding awakened the suspicions of the natives. 
 They believed the story of the Moors that the Portuguese 
 were pirates and slave-dealers. The alarm spread along the 
 coast, and ships began to assemble at the neighboring ports 
 for the destruction of the strangers. Vasco de Gama found 
 that the country was against him. He left Calicut with his 
 ships, steered out in the Indian Ocean, and returned to 
 Portugal by the way he came. 
 
 The King of Portugal next sent a fleet of thirteen ships 
 with the fishermen on board, under the command of Alvarez 
 Cabral. More than half the ships foundered during the voy- 
 age, and only six anchored off Calicut. The fishermen were 
 put on shore, and left to tell their own story. The Zamorin 
 became better disposed toward the Portuguese. He again 
 made over a house at Calicut; and a factor was placed in 
 the house with goods and money under the protection of 
 sixty chosen Portuguese. 
 
 But the Moors were soon at their old tricks. The Portu- 
 guese could not obtain a cargo ; and the few goods they were 
 permitted to buy were purchased at very advanced rates. 
 All this while they saw that the Moors were procuring car- 
 goes with the utmost ease, and loading their own ships very 
 rapidly. The Portuguese admiral was so exasperated that 
 he boarded a Moorish vessel, and transferred the cargo to 
 his own ship.
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 129 
 
 This violent proceeding stirred up the Nairs. The cry 
 went forth that the Portuguese were pirates. All the Nairs 
 in Calicut gathered round the factory, and assailed the in- 
 mates with darts and javelins. The Portuguese fought for 
 their lives, but were overwhelmed by numbers. At last a 
 portion of the wall was broken down, and the Nairs rushed 
 in. Forty Portuguese were slaughtered on the spot; the 
 survivors escaped to the shore and swam to the ships. The 
 factory was plundered by the Nairs, and Cabral was told 
 that the Zamorin shared the plunder. The admiral was so 
 angry that he burned fifteen native ships that were lying 
 in the harbor, and cannonaded the city of Calicut for two 
 days. 
 
 The cannon worked a great change : it inspired the Rajas 
 round about with respect for the Portuguese, and hopes of 
 revenge against the Zamorin. The Raja of Cochin, further 
 south, had a special feud against the Zamorin, and was 
 anxious for the friendship of the powerful strangers. The 
 Raja concluded a treaty with the Portuguese, supplied them 
 with cargoes, and permitted them to build a fort within his 
 territory. 
 
 But nothing could allay the bitter opposition of the Moors. 
 Hostilities broke out between Christians and Muhammadans 
 which might be described as war to the knife. Cruelties 
 were perpetrated which are too horrible to contemplate. 
 One atrocity may serve as a type of the whole. A Muham- 
 madan ship was captured by the Portuguese, while carrying 
 two hundred and sixty Mecca pilgrims to the Red Sea. 
 Twenty children were saved and baptized; the remainder, 
 to the number of two hundred and forty souls, were thrust 
 into the hold without mercy, and the ship was scuttled and 
 set on fire. 1 
 
 After some years the Sultan of Egypt raised a turmoil. 
 The Portuguese had absorbed the Indian trade, and diverted 
 
 1 This story, and many other tales of horror, are told by the Portuguese his- 
 torian, Faria y Sousa, who was Secretary fo India to the King of Spain and 
 Portugal.
 
 130 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 it from Egypt round the Cape of Good Hope. The Sultan 
 was angry at the loss of transit duties in Egypt, and he was 
 driven to fury by the atrocities of the Portuguese, the cap- 
 ture of Muhammadan ships and drowning of Mecca pilgrims. 
 He sent letters to the Pope threatening to destroy all the holy 
 places in Palestine unless the Portuguese abandoned the 
 eastern seas. After great preparations he sent a fleet down 
 the Red Sea; but it was defeated by the Portuguese off 
 Guzerat, and the shipping was plundered and destroyed. 
 
 The real founder of the Portuguese empire in the east 
 was Alfonso de Albuquerque, the Viceroy of the Portuguese 
 possessions in India from 1509 to 1515. He selected the 
 island of Goa, nearly half way down the western coast of 
 India, between Konkan and Kanara, to be the metropolis 
 of the Portuguese empire, and the emporium of eastern 
 trade. This island had been originally a nest of pirates, 
 but had been captured and cleared by a Muhammadan Sul- 
 tan of the Dekhan. Albuquerque seized and conquered the 
 island, and founded the city of Goa, which was destined to 
 become the Venice of the east. In like manner he founded 
 the city of Malacca on the Malay peninsula opposite the 
 island of Sumatra. Albuquerque died at the bar of Goa in 
 December, 1519, at the age of sixty-three, just as he was 
 about to return to his native land. 
 
 Meanwhile the policy pursued by the Portuguese at 
 Cochin was repeated by the Viceroy of Goa. Permission 
 was obtained to build forts at various points along the coast ; 
 and when a fort was defended by cannon, and manned by 
 Europeans, it was impregnable to Asiatics. A Raja or a 
 Sultan might repent of his alliance with the strangers, and 
 try to turn them out of the fort, but the task was beyond his 
 power. In this manner the Portuguese built one fort at Diu 
 in an island off the southern coast of Guzerat; another at 
 Bassein in Konkan to the north of Bombay ;' others at Chaul 
 
 1 The Portuguese ultimately built a fort at Bombay, but it was a weak affair ; 
 and Bombay played no part in history until it was ceded by Spain to the English 
 in 1661, as the dowry of the Infanta who married Charles the Second.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 131 
 
 and Dabul in Konkan to the south of Bombay; others at 
 Onore and Mangalore in Kanara; while another, as already 
 seen, was built at Cochin, in Malabar. Churches and houses 
 were built within these forts; priests were appointed, and 
 monasteries were often endowed ; and Roman Catholic Chris- 
 tianity began to make a stir in Western India. 
 
 In 1538 the Viceroy of Goa proposed to open up a trade 
 with Bengal, and sent a Portuguese mission to Chittagong. 
 At that time the Sultan of Bengal was an Arab in mortal 
 fear of his life; and he ordered the strangers to be sent as 
 prisoners to Gour. The orders were obeyed, and the Portu- 
 guese would probably have been murdered; but the Sultan 
 was slain by an Afghan, and the prisoners were released and 
 permitted to return to Goa. 
 
 According to the Portuguese historian, the government 
 at Bengal was at this period of the worst possible kind. A 
 series of low-born adventurers, favorites or slaves, arose in 
 turn, murdered the reigning Sultan, and obtained the king- 
 dom. Sultan after Sultan cut his way to the throne by 
 treachery and assassination, and, after a brief reign of self- 
 indulgence and terror, was slaughtered in his turn. The 
 new-comer might be an Arab, or an Afghan, or even a black 
 Abyssinian slave; but the people of Bengal were too timid 
 and effeminate to throw off the yoke, or even to interfere. 
 If the intruder held the throne for three days, the population 
 accepted him as their sovereign. 
 
 About this time the Sultan of Turkey once again played 
 a part in the affairs of India. The Sultan of Guzerat sent 
 messengers to implore the Porte to help him to drive the 
 Portuguese out of Diu. The Porte sent an armanent from 
 Egypt, ' to capture Diu, but the expedition proved a failure. 
 No Muhammadan prince would join the Turks except the 
 Sultan of Guzerat, and he was soon tired of his new allies. 
 The Portuguese garrison at Diu fought with the utmost 
 bravery and repelled every assault. At last the Muham- 
 
 1 The Sultan of Turkey conquered Egypt in 1517.
 
 132 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 madan forces united in a general charge, and were re- 
 pulsed with great slaughter. But the Portuguese were 
 nearly starved out, and suffered the most horrible pri- 
 vations. They were on the point of surrendering, when 
 the Turkish fleet sailed away and was never seen again 
 in the eastern seas. The Sultan of Guzerat had got 
 rid of his Turkish allies, by telling them that a great 
 fleet was coming out from Portugal and would destroy 
 them all. 
 
 The news of the repulse of the Great Turk was hailed by 
 the Portuguese nation with enthusiastic joy. The com- 
 mandant of Diu returned to Lisbon, and was received with 
 acclamation. All the nobles thronged to the Tagus to wel- 
 come him. All the foreign ambassadors strove to do him 
 honor. The French ambassador ordered a painting to be 
 made of the brave man who had defeated the Great Turk 
 in the Indian seas. 
 
 In 1545 there was another war about Diu. The Portu- 
 guese Viceroy relieved the fort in person, and on his return 
 to Goa was received with the honors of a Roman triumph. 
 His head was crowned with laurel, and he was accompanied 
 through the streets of Goa by a procession of prisoners and 
 captured guns and arms. Salutes were fired, bands of music 
 were playing, the houses were adorned with silks, and fair 
 women threw flowers and perfumes from the verandas. 
 When the Queen of Portugal heard the story she declared 
 that the Viceroy had conquered like a Christian and tri- 
 umphed like a pagan. 
 
 A picture of Goa during the latter half of the sixteenth 
 century is furnished by a Dutch traveller named Linschoten. 
 Goa was situated on the northern side of the island, facing 
 an arm of the sea. The shore was covered with country- 
 houses and gardens, and adorned with forts and churches. 
 The Viceroy's palace was built over the city gate. It was 
 a splendid building, and portraits of every Viceroy of India 
 were hung in the Council-hall. Passing through the gate- 
 way, the visitor entered a fine broad street, half a mile long,
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 133 
 
 leading from the palace to a church. In front of this church 
 was the Exchange. 
 
 Every morning, except Sundays and Saints' days, the 
 Exchange at Goa was the great centre of attraction. It 
 began at sunrise, and was generally over by nine o'clock. 
 It resembled the old Fairs of Europe, except that gentlemen 
 of noble birth bought and speculated like common dealers. 
 It was a kind of auction at which goods were sold at public 
 outcry by men specially appointed. Some criers ran about, 
 hung with costly chains, jewels, pearls, rings, and precious 
 stones, which were thus offered for sale. Others disposed 
 of bales of damasks, velvets, silks, satins, spices, drugs, 
 pepper, and porcelain. Others sold the goods of deceased 
 persons; for according to the law of Goa, whenever a man 
 died, from the Viceroy downward, his goods were sold at 
 tho Exchange for the benefit of his heirs. Slaves were also 
 sold, male and female. Men were bought to serve as menial 
 servants ; others to be hired out to different masters. Women 
 slaves were taught to make sweetmeats and confections, or 
 to embroider pocket-handkerchiefs; and the youngest and 
 fairest were sent into the streets to offer such commodities 
 for sale. 
 
 The social life at Goa was not healthy. The city was 
 often overrun by Portuguese adventurers, who came out to 
 India under the name of soldiers, and affected to be nobles 
 and gentlemen. These men were often required to garrison 
 forts, or to serve as soldiers on board the ships in different 
 expeditions; but when not on service their presence was an 
 intolerable evil. They were often reduced to poverty, living 
 ten or twelve in one house, with perhaps only one or two 
 suits of silk clothes among them, which they wore in turns. 
 At the same time they were so touchy as regards etiquette, 
 the return of salutations, and other points of honor, that they 
 often filled the city with brawls and bloodshed. Their disso- 
 lute lives led to other disorders. Portuguese householders 
 shut up their wives and daughters in Oriental seclusion ; but 
 this only aggravated the evil. The ladies became demoral-
 
 134 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 ized by their female slaves, and often intrigued with the 
 soldiers, causing more jealousies and bloodshed, as well as 
 poisonings, assassinations, and other secret crimes. 
 
 Meanwhile there was no lack of wealth at Goa. Trade 
 was the main business of the city ; and the arrival and de- 
 parture of ships in the river added to the excitement of the 
 daily exchange. Ventures on board ships were exposed to 
 the risks of capture or wreck, but the profits of a successful 
 voyage were often three or four hundred per cent. Again, 
 profits from thirty to forty per cent were often to be made 
 by money - changing alone, without any risk whatever. 
 Every September, Portuguese ships arrived at Goa, and 
 sought to exchange their reals for Persian money for the 
 purchase of pepper and spices at Cochin. Every April the 
 ships went to China, and were glad to give Persian money 
 for reals, which were required for the purchase of silks and 
 porcelain. 
 
 During the sixteenth century the Portuguese monopolized 
 the whole trade between Europe and the east ; and a large 
 share of the accumulated wealth was spent in Goa. The 
 Viceroy returned to Portugal every three years with a 
 splendid fortune; leaving a successor to amass riches in 
 like manner. The commandants of forts, and a few disap- 
 pointed soldiers, may in like manner have returned to their 
 native country after a term of years. But gentlemen traders 
 married and settled in Goa, and adopted it as their home. 
 They built country-houses with secluded gardens. They 
 made splendid shows of gold and silver plate. They adorned 
 their wives and daughters with rings, chains, bracelets, and 
 jewels of every description. They endowed churches, mon- 
 asteries, colleges, and schools. Missionaries from Goa, 
 chiefly Jesuits, were sent out to convert, not only the na- 
 tives of the surrounding country, but the people of remote 
 regions, such as those of China and Japan. 
 
 The Viceroy and Council were at the supreme head of 
 affairs. There were also Secretariats, a Court of Chancery, 
 and other public officers. A large ecclesiastical authority
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 135 
 
 was exercised by the Archbishop and his Secretaries. There 
 was an Inquisition with authority superior to that of the 
 Archbishop; and religious offenders were arrested, impris- 
 oned, condemned, tortured or executed, by this tribunal, 
 without any control whatever, beyond what might be in- 
 volved in its correspondence with Rome. No Hindu rite 
 was permitted within the island of Goa. No Muhammadan 
 was allowed to perform his devotions in public, or to call 
 believers to prayers. But otherwise the Inquisition rarely 
 interfered with Hindu or Muhammadan, and generally con- 
 fined its attention to Portuguese and native converts. If 
 once a native, Hindu or Muhammadan, embraced Chris- 
 tianity, he was a slave to the Inquisition, and was punished 
 for acts of apostasy as if he had committed the gravest 
 crimes. 
 
 Between the years 1623 and 1625, a Roman Catholic gen- 
 tleman named Pietro della Valle visited Goa. He has left 
 graphic descriptions of the country, when the fortunes of 
 Goa were on the turn. The surroundings were still as im- 
 posing as ever. As Della Valle entered the arm of the sea, 
 known as the river of Goa, he saw a beautiful city stretched 
 out on his right hand. The churches were the finest build- 
 ings in Goa. Many belonged to religious orders, such as the 
 Augustines, Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Jes- 
 uits. Already, however, there were too many priests in 
 Goa, and half the number would have sufficed for a much 
 larger city. 
 
 The native inhabitants formed the bulk of the population. 
 They were a black generation, mostly slaves. The Portu- 
 guese were few in number, and had lost their wealth through 
 the invasions of the Dutch and English. But they were very 
 proud, and made what show they could, for all wished to be 
 accounted gentlemen and soldiers. 
 
 The religious processions at Goa were very remarkable. 
 Della Valle saw a procession of the Holy Sacrament made 
 by the whole clergy, with a greater show of green boughs 
 than clothes. Mysteries were represented by persons in dis-
 
 136 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 guise, accompanied by fictitious animals, dances, and mas- 
 querades. Delia Valle remarked that in Italy such scenes 
 would be confined to villages, and would not have been wit- 
 nessed in great cities. 
 
 Subsequently the order of Carmelites celebrated the canon- 
 ization of St. Teresa. Two boys, clad as couriers, announced 
 the canonization to the Viceroy of Goa in appropriate verses, 
 and then proclaimed it with the sound of a trumpet through 
 the streets of Goa. At night there were displays of fire- 
 works throughout the city; and all the Portuguese gentle- 
 men of note paraded the city in various disguises, after the 
 manner of a masquerade. 
 
 At the feast of John the Baptist, the Viceroy and other 
 Portuguese gentlemen rode through the streets in masquerad- 
 ing habits, but without masks. They next attended Mass, 
 and then went to the large street of St. Paul. Many com- 
 panies of Kanarese Christian soldiers went through their 
 exercises in this street, marching past with ensigns, drums, 
 and arms, and then leaping and playing along the street 
 with drawn swords. 
 
 Shortly afterward the canonization of Ignatius and 
 Xavier was celebrated by the Jesuits of the college of St. 
 Paul. All the collegians came forth in a great cavalcade, 
 divided into three squadrons, under three banners. One 
 squadron represented Europe, the second Asia, and the 
 third Africa. The men of each squadron were dressed in 
 the costumes of the nations of their respective continents. 
 Before the cavalcade went a chariot of clouds, with Fame 
 on the top, who sounded her trumpet to the accompaniment 
 of other music, and proclaimed the canonization of the two 
 saints. Two other chariots followed ; one represented Faith, 
 or the Church ; the other was a Mount Parnassus, carrying 
 Apollo and the Muses as representatives of the sciences 
 taught in the college. Five great pyramids, covered with 
 pictures, were also drawn along the streets on wheels by 
 men on foot. The first was painted with all the martyrs 
 of the order of the Jesuits. The second was painted with
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 137 
 
 doctors and authors belonging to the same order. The third 
 was painted with figures of every nation to whom the Jesuits 
 had sent missions, and thus represented the various languages 
 in which the Jesuits preached and taught. The fourth pyra- 
 mid was painted with devices showing the provinces of the 
 said religion. The fifth displayed all the miracles which had 
 been performed by the two saints, Ignatius and Xavier. 
 These pyramids were drawn through the principal streets, 
 and then placed as monuments in different parts of the 
 city. 
 
 There was no city in the world where there were so many 
 religious processions as in Goa. Delia Valle remarked that 
 such shows were right and proper when kept within bounds, 
 but in Goa they were much too frequent. The crowds of 
 monks and ecclesiastics were burdensome to the state and 
 prejudicial to the military. Goa was a city bordering on 
 enemies ; the metropolis of a kingdom lying in the midst of 
 barbarians. Under such circumstances the utmost attention 
 should have been given to fleets and armies. 
 
 Delia Valle accompanied a Portuguese ambassador on a 
 mission to the so-called king of Kanara, named Venk-tapa 
 Naik. Sixty years had passed away since the battle of Tali- 
 kota was fought in 1565. The predecessors of Venk-tapa 
 had been Naiks or governors of the province of Kanara un- 
 der the old Maharajas of Vijayanagar; and Venk-tapa still 
 retained the name of Naik, although he ruled Kanara as an 
 independent Raja, and added to his dominions by the con- 
 quest of less powerful neighbors. 
 
 There had been some difficulty between the Viceroy of 
 Goa and Venk-tapa Naik, which the embassy was intended 
 to clear up. The Naik had been drawn into hostilities with 
 the Portuguese, but was anxious for peace. His country 
 produced much pepper, and the Portuguese were accustomed 
 to buy it, but they had not come for the pepper of the cur- 
 rent year, and they had not paid for the pepper of the pre- 
 vious year. The Portuguese were equally anxious to keep 
 on good terms with the Naik, for their cash was low, and
 
 138 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 they were afraid lest the Naik should sell his pepper to the 
 English or Dutch. 
 
 The capital of Venk-tapa Naik was at Ikkeri, a city in 
 the interior, about fifty miles from Onore. The journey 
 might have been made by land, but the Sultan of Bijapur 
 was in possession of the intervening territory, and his officers 
 were not always courteous toward the Portuguese. Accord- 
 ingly it was determined to go by sea to the Portuguese port 
 at Onore, 1 and then to proceed by land to the city of Ikkeri. 
 
 Onore was a type of a Portuguese settlement. A few of 
 the Portuguese dwelt outside the fort, where there was a 
 native bazar. But the commandant and all the married 
 Portuguese dwelt inside the fort, which was laid out in 
 streets of houses with wells and gardens. There was also 
 a piazza within the fort, which would contain all the inhabi- 
 tants in the event of a siege. 
 
 The kingdom of Kanara was in like manner a type of a 
 Hindu Raj in Southern India. In the journey to Ikkeri 
 Delia Valle climbed the Ghat. 8 The mountain in that place 
 was not so high as the Apennines, and the ascent was easier, 
 but the woods were more dense. On the top of the moun- 
 tain was a fortress belonging to Venk-tapa Naik, and a 
 temple to the god Hanuman, the famous monkey who 
 helped Rama. 
 
 The city of Ikkeri was surrounded by three lines of de- 
 fences. The two outer ones were mere fences of bamboo, 
 intended to keep out horse and foot. The third enclosure 
 was a wall, but weak and inconsiderable. The houses were 
 scattered and ill-built, especially outside the wall, where they 
 were diversified with groves of trees and ponds of water. 
 
 After a day or two's delay, the Portuguese ambassador 
 obtained an audience with Venk-tapa Naik. The party rode 
 to the palace in procession, accompanied with drums and 
 
 1 Onore appears in modern maps under the name of Honahwar. 
 
 2 The ruins of Ikkeri are still to be seen in "Western Mysore, about eighteen 
 miles to the north of Bednore. The Raj of Kanara appears to have occupied a 
 considerable area in Western Mysore.
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 139 
 
 music. The palace stood in a large fortress, environed with 
 a ditch and some badly built bastions. Venk-tapa Naik re- 
 ceived the Portuguese ambassador and party in a small court. 
 He was seated on a raised pavement at the upper end of the 
 court, under a wooden canopy covered with gilding. Several 
 courtiers stood at his right hand, and one of them fanned him 
 to drive away the flies. He chewed betel leaves throughout 
 the audience. He asked the ambassador why the Portuguese 
 ships were so late this year. The ambassador replied in a 
 long rodomontade. A Portuguese fleet was coming to In- 
 dia with a great army. The King of Spain and Portugal had 
 formed an alliance with England. Prince Charles of Eng- 
 land was on a visit to the court of Madrid. To this he added 
 other bits of news which could have but little interest for 
 the Hindu prince, and were only intended to glorify the 
 Portuguese. 
 
 Delia Valle saw other sights at Ikkeri which are common 
 to Hindu cities in the south. There were companies of young 
 girls in figured silks and linen jackets, with diadems of white 
 and yellow flowers, who danced in circles with painted sticks 
 in their hands, and sang songs in honor of then* goddess. 
 There were wooden beams set up with ropes and hooks on 
 which devotees were accustomed to swing themselves at 
 certain festivals. There were large chariots in which, on 
 certain days, the gods were carried in grand processions. 
 There were Indian friars smeared with ashes, known as 
 Jangamas, who led the lives of mendicants, and were wor- 
 shipped as holy men. 
 
 One night Delia Valle met a procession which is no longer 
 to be seen in India. A woman had lost her husband and 
 was bent on burning herself. She rode on horseback with 
 open face, holding a looking-glass in one hand and a lemon 
 in the other. She went along singing and chanting her 
 farewell to the world with such passionate language as 
 moved all who heard her. She was followed by many men 
 and women, and some carried an umbrella or canopy over 
 her to do her honor. Drums were sounded before her, and
 
 140 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 she never ceased to accompany the noise with her sad songs. 
 Delia Valle was told that she would ride in procession through 
 the streets for a certain number of days, and then go out of 
 the city and be burned with great solemnities. 
 
 At Ikkeri Delia Valle was a close observer of Hindu 
 worship. There were several temples in the city, but the 
 greatest of all was dedicated to the god Aghoresvara. 1 The 
 idol was in the form of a man with one head and sixteen 
 arms. 
 
 One evening tapers were lighted in all the temples in 
 Ikkeri. A great noise was made with drums and pipes, 
 while priests began to dance before the gates of the temples. 
 Delia Valle went off to the temple of Aghoresvara. The 
 people were called together by the sound of trumpets. The 
 priests formed a procession, carrying two idols in a palan- 
 quin decked with flowers and ornaments. The procession 
 was accompanied by music, torches, lances, streamers, and 
 umbrellas. There was a long train of dancing-girls two by 
 two, decked in gold and jewels. There were other women, 
 marching on either side of the palanquin, carrying little 
 staves with long white horse-tails with which they fanned 
 away the flies from the idols. Many priests accompanied 
 the idols. In this manner the procession entered the piazza 
 of the temple, and made a large ring or circle, and the danc- 
 ing began. 
 
 Two women, from either side of the circle, advanced three 
 steps forward and then fell three steps backward, but always 
 with their faces toward the idols ; and this they did several 
 times by way of saluting the idols. Two others then joined 
 them, and after that two others. 
 
 After the salutations were over, the dancing began with 
 leaping, fencing, and many mad gestures. When the danc- 
 ing was over, the procession moved outside the temple round 
 the outer enclosure, halting at intervals to repeat the salu- 
 
 1 The ruins of this temple are still to be seen. The god was a form of Esvara 
 or Siva; also known as Mahadeva, or the "great god." The idol was a repre- 
 sentative of the Supreme Being. See ante, 82, 84.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 141 
 
 tations and dancing. At last the procession re-entered the 
 temple and the ceremonies were brought to a close. 
 
 The next night was the new moon. All the temples in 
 Ikkeri were illuminated with candles and torches ; so were 
 all the streets, houses, and shops. Every temple had its 
 idol, and in some temples the idol was a serpent. The outer 
 porches were illuminated with lights, and adorned with trans- 
 parencies of painted horsemen, elephants, people fighting, and 
 other odd figures. A great concourse of men and women 
 went about the city visiting all the temples in Ikkeri. Late 
 at night Venk-tapa came to the temple of Aghoresvara with 
 his two nephews, 1 attended by a large train of soldiers and 
 servants. He stayed in the temple for about an hour, dur- 
 ing which he was entertained with music and dancing, and 
 then returned to his palace. 
 
 Delia Valle remarked that the Hindu worship of the gods 
 chiefly consisted in music, songs, and dances ; and in serving 
 the idols as though they were living beings. Thus the priests 
 presented the idols with things to eat, washed them, perfumed 
 them, gave them betel leaves, dyed them with sandal, and 
 carried them abroad in processions. Delia Valle was un- 
 doubtedly correct. To this day the temple services in the 
 worship of Krishna, Jagganath, and other similar idols, is 
 of the same materialistic character. 
 
 Delia Valle left Ikkeri and proceeded to the Portuguese 
 port of Mangalore. He was anxious to see the Queen of 
 Olaza, a little kingdom bordering on Mangalore. He found 
 that travelling in Hindu countries was difficult on the score 
 of diet. The Hindus would not furnish him with fish or 
 flesh ; they would only supply him with rice, butter, milk, 
 
 1 Throughout the countries of Kanara and Malabar, nephews of Nairs, when 
 born of sisters, were treated as sons, and inherited the property to the exclusion 
 of sons. The causes of this extraordinary usage are fully treated in the larger 
 History of India. It will suffice to state here that Rajas, and other members 
 of the military class of Nairs, were not regularly married, but lived such irregu- 
 lar lives that no one knew who was the father of a child. There was, however, 
 a certainty about a blood relationship between a man and the son of a sister; 
 and accordingly the son of the sister inherited the property or throne as the 
 nearest of the blood lineage.
 
 142 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 and other inanimate things ; this they would only do as a 
 great favor. The people lived by cultivating rice, which 
 was done by overflowing the soil with water ; but they com- 
 plained of the large tribute they were obliged to pay to 
 Venk-tapa, which reduced them to great poverty notwith- 
 standing their hard labor. 
 
 Delia Valle heard that the Queen of Olaza was staying 
 at a neighboring town named Manel. He went to Mane.1, 
 accompanied by a Brahman interpreter. On going to the 
 bazar to procure a lodging in some house, he saw the Queen 
 coming on foot the same way. She was not attended by 
 women, but only by soldiers. Six soldiers walked before 
 her with swords and bucklers, but without any covering 
 save a cloth about their loins, and a kind of scarf over the 
 shoulder. Other soldiers walked behind her in the same 
 fashion, and one of them carried an umbrella of palm-leaves 
 to shade her from the sun. 
 
 The Queen of Olaza was as black as an Ethiopian. She 
 was corpulent and gross, but not heavy, for she walked 
 nimbly enough. She was about forty years of age. She 
 wore a plain piece of cotton cloth from her waist downward, 
 but nothing at all from her waist upward, except a cloth 
 about her head, which hung down a little upon her breast 
 and shoulders. She went barefooted, but that was the cus- 
 tom of all Hindu women, high and low, at home and abroad. 
 Most of the men went unshod in like manner. A few of the 
 graver sort wore sandals, but very few wore shoes. The 
 Queen was more like a kitchen-maid or a washerwoman 
 than a noble princess ; but her voice was graceful, and she 
 spoke like a woman of judgment. 
 
 The Queen spoke a few words to Delia Valle through his 
 Brahman interpreter, asking what had brought him to those 
 woods of hers. She was going into the fields about a mile 
 off, to see some trenches which were being dug for convey- 
 ing water to certain lands; and when she returned from the 
 fields, she was busied in administering justice among her 
 people. She said, however, that she would send for Delia
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 143 
 
 Valle in the evening. Delia Valle procured a house in 
 Manel, belonging to a Moor; and was thus enabled to pro- 
 cure animal food. He waited however in vain for a mes- 
 sage from the Queen. She was heard praising the liberality 
 of Delia Valle hi paying for poultry and other necessaries. 
 She said, "Do we in India toil and moil for a fanam, 1 while 
 this stranger spends money in this fashion?" But for some 
 unknown reason she never invited Delia Valle to come and 
 see her. 
 
 The early life of the Queen of Olaza reveals something 
 of social life in Kanara. The Raja of Olaza had died leav- 
 ing neither son nor nephew. Accordingly his wife succeeded 
 to the Raj. The wife died, and was succeeded by her sister, 
 the present Queen. The new female sovereign married the 
 Raja of a neighboring territory, called Banghel; but the 
 husband and wife only met at intervals. The Raja had 
 other wives, and the Queen was said to have other lovers. 
 After a while they quarrelled, and the Queen returned all 
 the jewels the Raja had given her. The Raja was so 
 offended that he made war upon her, and called in the aid 
 of the Portuguese. The Queen appealed to Venk-tapa Naik 
 to help her. In the end Venk-tapa annexed the Raj of 
 Banghel, defeated the Portuguese, and compelled the Queen 
 of Olaza to cede a considerable territory. The Portuguese 
 embassy was sent to Venk-tapa Naik at Ikkeri to protest 
 against the annexation of Banghel, on the ground that the 
 Raja was an ally of the King of Portugal. 
 
 Before leaving Mangalore, Delia Valle paid a visit to a 
 holy man dwelling in a neighboring hermitage. He was 
 known as the King of the Yogis ; a sect of wandering men- 
 dicants, who were supposed to abstract themselves from all 
 the cares of the world. 8 The so-called King was lord of a 
 
 1 A fanam was a very small silver coin, worth about twopence-halfpenny. 
 
 2 The Yogis are dying out of India. They were common enough in ancient 
 times, but are disappearing before the advancing tide of European civilization. 
 They were supposed to abstract themselves from the world, and to lead a life of 
 religious contemplation, in order to secure the deliverance of the soul from the 
 otherwise endless chain of transmigrations. See ante, p. 85.
 
 144 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 little circle of land, comprising a hermitage, a temple, and 
 certain habitations for Yogis, together with a few country- 
 houses and villages. The territory had been given to the 
 Yogis by a former Raja of Banghel ; and as the Yogis had 
 no wives, the dominion of the hermitage and adjacent lands 
 went by elective succession. The Yogis were not subject to 
 their King in the way of obedience, but only paid him rever- 
 ence and honor. They went where they listed, and were 
 dispersed among different temples; but at certain solemn 
 times they assembled at the hermitage in great numbers, 
 and were supplied with victuals by their King. Many ser- 
 vants and laborers of the King lived at the hermitage, and 
 cultivated the land for his maintenance. It yielded a yearly 
 revenue of about five or six thousand pagodas, or nearly 
 three thousand pounds sterling. Most of the money was 
 spent on feasts; the remainder was devoted to the service 
 of the temple and idols. 
 
 Delia Valle found the King of the Yogis employed in 
 business of a mean sort, like a peasant or villager. He was 
 an old man with a long white beard, but strong and lusty. 
 He had a golden bead hanging from his ear as big as a 
 musket-bullet; and had a little red cap like those worn by 
 Italian galley-slaves. He seemed a man of judgment, but 
 was without learning. He told Delia Valle that formerly 
 he had horses, elephants, and a great equipage; but Venk- 
 tapa Naik had taken all away, so that he had very little left. ' 
 
 About this time the Portuguese were sending a fleet from 
 Mangalore to the Eamorin of Calicut. There was a question 
 of peace between the Portuguese and the Zamorin. The 
 Zamorin had sued for peace; but the Viceroy would not 
 come to terms unless the Raja of Cochin was included in 
 the treaty. Accordingly a fleet was sent to Calicut with the 
 Viceroy's ultimatum. 
 
 The better sort of the people of Malabar were Hindus, 
 
 1 A representative of the King of the Yogis is living in Mysore to this day, 
 and is still complaining of his loss of wealth and power.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 145 
 
 especially those inland. They mostly belonged to the caste 
 of Nairs, or hereditary soldiers. The sea-coasts were inhab- 
 ited by Malabar Muhammadans, who lived among the Hin- 
 dus, and spoke their language, although they differed in 
 religion. The Malabar Muhammadans were corsairs, who 
 had infested the coast, and had been the terror of merchant 
 vessels since the days of Pliny, and probably for ages before. l 
 
 Delia Valle went on board the Portuguese fleet with the 
 view of seeing Calicut. During the voyage the Portuguese 
 had two encounters with Malabar corsairs. On each occa- 
 sion the light vessels of the corsairs escaped to the creeks 
 and mouths of rivers which were scattered along that coast. 
 The Portuguese would not attack them by land, as it belonged 
 to the Zamorin ; and they were anxious to respect his terri- 
 tories while the peace was in agitation. 
 
 On arriving at Calicut, messengers were sent to the Za- 
 morin at early morning with the ultimatum of the Viceroy. 
 If he wanted to make peace with the Portuguese, he must 
 immediately send an ambassador on board the fleet, pledged 
 to conclude a treaty with the Viceroy at Goa, in which the 
 Cochin Raja would be a party. 
 
 The proposal was a bitter pill for the Zamorin. His feud 
 with the Raja of Cochin had been handed down for many 
 generations ; and he could not bring himself to come to terms 
 with his hereditary enemy. But he was forced to take some 
 action. He had ships with rich cargoes coming from the 
 Red Sea; and unless he made peace with the Viceroy, the 
 Portuguese would capture the ships. Accordingly he sent 
 messengers to the admiral of the fleet. He proposed to 
 make a treaty with the Viceroy first, and then to make a 
 treaty with the Raja of Cochin. Under any circumstances 
 he requested that the fleet would stop at Calicut until he 
 had sufficient time to deliberate with his ministers respect- 
 
 1 Of course the pirates could not have been Muhammadans in the days of 
 Pliny, as their prophet was not born until A.D. 570. Probably during the six- 
 teenth century the pirates had been recruited by the Moors, who had lost their 
 trade with the Ked Sea and Persian Gulf after the arrival of the Portuguese. 
 X 7 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 146 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 ing the proposed treaty. In reply he was told that the fleet 
 would return to Goa at nightfall, whether the ambassador 
 came on board or no. 
 
 Meanwhile Delia Valle, with the captain of the ship he 
 was in, and some others, went ashore to see the town of 
 Calicut. The streets were long and narrow. The houses 
 were mere cottages built of mud and palm-leaves. The 
 bazar was filled with provisions and other necessaries, but 
 there was not much cloth. Indeed there could have been 
 little demand for clothes ; for men and women wore nothing 
 but a piece of cotton or silk, hanging from their girdles to 
 their knees. Delia Valle and his party also saw much of the 
 plunder of the Malabar pirates in the bazar ; such as Portu- 
 guese swords, arms, books, and clothes, which had been 
 taken from Portuguese vessels. No Christian could buy 
 such articles under pain of excommunication. 
 
 "When Delia Valle and his companions were tired of wan- 
 dering about the bazar, they walked toward the palace. To 
 their great surprise some persons of quality came up and in- 
 vited them to enter and see the Zamorin. They accepted the 
 invitation, and entered a large court where they found a 
 number of courtiers. 
 
 After a while Delia Valle and his party were conducted 
 into a smaller court, and told to sit down on a raised pave- 
 ment. Suddenly two girls, about twelve years of age, en- 
 tered the court. They wore no covering of any kind except 
 a blue cloth about their loins; but their arms, ears, and 
 necks were covered with ornaments of gold and precious 
 stones. Their complexion was swarthy but clear enough; 
 their shape was well proportioned and comely; and their 
 aspect was handsome and well favored. They were both 
 daughters of the Queen ; that is, not of the Zamorin, but of 
 his sister, who was styled the Queen, and was so in effect. 
 These two girls were in fact Infantas of the kingdom of 
 Calieut. Upon their entrance all the courtiers paid them 
 great reverence; and Delia Valle and his companions rose 
 from their seats, and saluted them, and then stood before
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 147 
 
 them bareheaded. The girls talked together respecting the 
 strangers; and one of them approached Delia Valle, and 
 touched the sleeve of his coat with her hand, and expressed 
 wonder at his attire. Indeed they were as surprised at the 
 dress of the strangers, as the strangers were at the strange 
 appearance of the girls. 
 
 Presently the Zamorin came in accompanied by more 
 courtiers. He was a young man of thirty years of age, of 
 large bulk of body, and a handsome presence. He had a 
 long beard, and wore nothing except the cloth hanging from 
 his girdle. 1 He had bracelets on his arms, pendants at his 
 ears, and other ornaments with jewels and rubies of value. 
 In his hand he carried a stick like a shepherd's staff. He 
 received the salutations of the strangers with smiles and 
 courtesy, standing all the while and leaning on the staff. 
 Many courtiers came in and saluted the Zamorin with joined 
 hands. There were higher cloisters round the court filled 
 with women, who had come to behold the strangers. The 
 Queen sister stood apart in the most prominent place, with 
 no more clothing than her daughters, but abundantly adorned 
 with jewels. 
 
 The secret now transpired ; the Zamorin wanted to sound 
 the party as to the intentions of the admiral of the fleet. 
 The captain declared that he was only a private soldier, and 
 knew nothing of the admiral or his business; while all the 
 others were absolutely ignorant of the state of affairs. Fi- 
 nally, after a long interview, the Zamorin requested the cap- 
 tain to persuade the admiral to stop at Calicut until the 
 deliberations were over; and then he dismissed the party. 
 The fleet remained at Calicut all night, and sailed away 
 next morning without any ambassador. 
 
 In Malabar the persons of Rajas were sacred in battle. 
 The Nairs fought on either side, but no one fought a Raja, 
 
 1 This was not a state occasion like that on which a Zamorin had received 
 Vasco de G-ama more than a hundred and twenty years previously. The ab- 
 sence of the vestment shows that it was only an ordinary reception. See ante, 
 p. 127, note.
 
 148 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 or even struck the royal umbrella. To shed the blood of a 
 Raja was regarded as a heinous sin, and would be followed 
 by a terrible revenge. The Zamorin was of a lower caste 
 than the Raja of Cochin. 1 If the Zamorin was killed, his 
 subjects devoted three days to revenge; they ran "amok," 
 as it was called, killing all they met until they were killed 
 themselves. If the Raja of Cochin was killed, his subjects 
 ran "amok" for the rest of their lives. 2 
 
 1 The question of caste between the Zamorin of Calicut and the Raja of Cochin 
 was the cause of the feud. According to a religious myth the land of Malabar 
 had been given to the Brahmans by the god Parasu Rama. The Brahmans 
 called in the Nairs for their protection. The Rajas then ruled Malabar as depu- 
 ties of the Brahmans. The Zamorin affected a superiority over the Brahmans, 
 and ruled as a deputy of the gods. In revenge the Brahmans affected to regard 
 the Zamorin as a Sudra, inferior in caste to the Raja of Cochin. Such a quarrel 
 could not possibly be settled by a treaty with the Portuguese. For more than 
 a century there must have been constant deliberations between the Zamorin and 
 his ministers upon this difficult and delicate question. 
 
 9 This was the origin of the English phrase "running amuck." It prevails 
 among Rajputs, Malays, and other cognate racea.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 149 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE BABER, HUMAYUN, AKBAR 
 
 A.D. 1525 TO 1605 
 
 DURING the sixteenth century, while the Portuguese 
 were establishing their maritime empire in the east- 
 ern seas, two races were contending for the empire 
 of Hindustan, namely, the Afghans and the Moghuls. Both 
 races were associated with a remote past ; both have played 
 important parts in the modern history of India. 
 
 To all appearance the Afghans are of Jewish origin ; not 
 Jews of the orthodox type, the outcome of Jerusalem and 
 the temple worship; but Jews of the old turbulent stiff- 
 necked type, who revolted at Shechem against Rehoboam, 
 and set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan. The Afghans 
 claim to be descendants of Saul the son of Kish. ' They are 
 divided into tribes, clans, and families. They distribute con- 
 quered lands by lot ; perform the ceremony of the scapegoat, 
 and build shrines on high places. Their features are unmis- 
 takably Jewish ; but their language is not Hebrew, nor any- 
 thing akin to Hebrew. It is conjectured that they are the 
 descendants of the Ten Tribes, whom the King of Assyria 
 carried away to the city of the Medes ; but the loss of all 
 traces of the Hebrew language militates against the theory, 
 and it is impossible to verify the identity.* In modern times 
 
 1 This tradition helps to identify the Afghans with the children of the men 
 who fought against the house of David. 
 
 * The Jewish features of the Afghans outweighs, to the author's mind, the 
 evidence of language. The face of Shere Ali Khan, the late Amir of Afghanis- 
 tan, revealed not only the Jewish features, but the melancholy mania that be 
 longs to the character of Saul.
 
 150 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 they are Muhammadans of the Sunni religion, and tradi- 
 tional foes of the Persians or Shiahs. 
 
 The early conquests of the Afghans in India are obscure. 
 In the thirteenth century a dynasty of Afghan Sultans was 
 reigning at Delhi under the name of Patans ; and this name 
 is said to have been derived from an earlier Afghan domin- 
 ion at Patna. * Toward the end of the century the Afghan 
 dynasty was ousted by a Turkish dynasty ; and for a century 
 and a half the Afghans fade away from history. 
 
 In 1398-99 Hindustan was invaded by Timur the Tartar. 
 After his departure the affairs of Hindustan are veiled in 
 darkness. He left officers at Delhi to rule in his name, or 
 rather to collect tribute in his name ; and accordingly four 
 princes reigned in succession at Delhi in his name, but noth- 
 ing is known of them of any moment. The last was swept 
 away by the tide of Afghan invasion. 
 
 In 1450 the Afghans were overrunning the Punjab and 
 Hindustan. They established a dynasty at Delhi, known as 
 the Lodi dynasty. They were bitter persecutors of the Hin- 
 dus and their religion. They broke down temples and built 
 mosques in their room, as in the days of Mahmud of Ghazni. 
 A Brahman was put to death by a Sultan of this dynasty for 
 maintaining that the religions of Hindus and Muhammadans 
 were equally acceptable in the eyes of God. 
 
 Afghan dominion is always divided and unsettled, except- 
 ing at rare intervals, when a man of energy and genius is at 
 the head of affairs. The Afghan Sultans of Delhi had no 
 firm hold on their empire. Lawless Afghans had spread 
 over Hindustan, and some of their leaders had established 
 themselves as independent princes. They occupied fort- 
 resses, exercised local dominion, and levied tribute and 
 blackmail, especially in the outlying provinces of Bihar 
 and Bengal. They were often in revolt against the Sul- 
 tans of Delhi, and often at war among themselves. They 
 
 1 The old capital of Bengal at Gour seems to have been named after the 
 ancient Afghan stronghold of Ghor between Ghazni and Herat.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 151 
 
 bore a strong family likeness to their reputed forefathers, 
 who rebelled against the house of David ; and they bore an 
 equally strong likeness to their descendants, who have so 
 often rebelled and fought in Herat and Kandahar. 
 
 The Afghans have left a bad name in India. Their pas- 
 sion for revenge has become a proverb. No man is said to 
 be safe from the revenge of an elephant, a cobra, or an 
 Afghan. 
 
 The Moghuls are men of a different stamp. In history 
 they are associated with the great Tartar invasions under 
 Chenghiz Khan and Timur. Their so-called annals are be- 
 wildering stories of evanescent dynasties. Sometimes they 
 founded a dominion as vast as the empires of Darius and 
 Ahasuerus ; and then, after a few generations, it crumbled 
 into fragments, and provinces were transmuted into inde- 
 pendent kingdoms. 
 
 Father Rubruquis, who travelled through the greater 
 part of Asia shortly after the death of Chenghiz Khan, 
 says that the Moghuls were the ruling tribe among the Tar- 
 tars. This statement is a clew to their history. The Tartars 
 are barbarous nomads, who have wandered over the vast 
 steppes of Asia, from pasture to pasture, from an unknown 
 antiquity. They have no settled habitations, and dwell in 
 huts which they carry about on carts. They probably rep- 
 resent the ancient Scythians; and if so, the Moghuls may 
 represent the Royal Scythians. 1 
 
 The Moghuls were proud and arrogant ; but they were 
 inquisitive and tolerant, especially in matters of religion. 
 Indeed it was one of the laws of Chenghiz Khan that every 
 priest was to be reverenced who taught the belief in one 
 God. Many became Muhammadans, but they were very 
 lax observers of the Koran, and had none of the bigotry 
 
 1 The Royal Scythians are an interesting but obscure tribe described by He- 
 rodotus. Their religion, like that of the Scythians generally, was undoubtedly 
 Vaidik, and Sir Henry Rawlinson has proved that their language was Aryan. 
 Philologists may deny that there is any identity between the terms ^niOai and 
 Kshatriya, but there are other similarities which may help to solve the problem 
 as regards the origin of the Vaidik Aryans.
 
 152 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 which characterized the Afghans. Marco Polo, the Vene- 
 tian, who was entertained at the court of the great Khan, is 
 loud in praising the Moghuls. Father Rubruquis, who ex- 
 cited their suspicions, complains bitterly of their deceitful 
 ways and coarse mode of life. 
 
 In the sixteenth century the Moghuls had lost many of 
 their Tartar features and much of their Tartar manners. 
 The yellow complexions, high cheek-bones and ugly mouths 
 had disappeared; and the Moghuls who conquered Hindu- 
 stan bore a general resemblance to Persians. These changes 
 have led to confusion. The people of India often include 
 Persians under the general name of Moghuls; but they al- 
 ways mark the distinction between Moghul and Afghan. 
 
 The founder of the Moghul empire in India was a chief- 
 tain named Baber. The career of Baber is a romance. He 
 was born in 1482; and claims descent from Timur and 
 Chenghiz Khan. At the age of twelve he inherited the 
 kingdom of Khokand on the Jaxartes. While still a youth 
 he conquered the whole of Bokhara from the Jaxartes to the 
 Oxus. Subsequently, after years of fighting, he was driven 
 out of Bokhara by the Uzbegs, and founded a kingdom in 
 Afghanistan. 
 
 The character of Baber is revealed in his memoirs, which 
 are said to have been written by himself. Sometimes he 
 was storming a city or defending a stronghold; at other 
 times he was an exile in the desert broken down by wounds 
 and privations; but on all occasions he had an easy temper, 
 and an affectionate regard for the playmates of his boyhood, 
 his mother and female relatives, and for all old friends. He 
 was fond of a drinking bout with gay companions. He freely 
 describes the temptations which led to these excesses the 
 shady wood, the hill with a fine prospect, or the idleness of 
 a boat floating down a river. He also tells the amusements 
 which accompanied them extempore verses, recitations in 
 Turki and Persian, sometimes a song, and often a contest 
 of repartee. 1 
 
 1 JSrskine' s translation of Baber s Memoirs.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 153
 
 154 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 For years Baber had contemplated the conquest of Hin- 
 dustan. In 1525 he was encouraged to make the attempt. 
 The reigning Sultan of Delhi was weak and fickle. The 
 whole Afghan empire was disaffected. The Afghan gov- 
 ernor of the Punjab invited Baber to invade the country. 
 At the same time the suzerain of the Rajput princes, the 
 Rana of Chitor, sent messengers to Baber promising to at- 
 tack Agra if the Moghuls would attack Delhi. Baber obeyed 
 the call. In the winter of 1525-26 he crossed the Indus at 
 the head of ten thousand men. The Afghan Sultan marched 
 against him with an immense army, but was defeated and 
 slain. 
 
 Baber occupied Delhi and then marched to Agra. As 
 he advanced the Hindus fled from the villages, and he fell 
 short of supplies. To crown all, he found the whole army 
 of the Rajput league arrayed against him, not as a friend 
 and ally, but as an enemy resolved to drive him out of 
 Hindustan. 
 
 The proceedings of the Rana of Chitor were treacherous 
 but intelligible. He expected Baber to invade Hindustan as 
 Timur had done; that is, to sack Delhi and then go away, 
 leaving him, the Rana, to re-establish the ancient empire of 
 the Rajputs over Hindustan and the Punjab. "When Baber 
 defeated the Afghan Sultan, the Rana made no advance to 
 Agra, but waited for events. "When Baber captured Delhi 
 and marched to Agra, the Rana felt aggrieved and went out 
 to fight the invaders. 
 
 The battle between the Moghuls and the Rajputs was 
 desperate but decisive. Baber aroused the enthusiasm of 
 his Muhammadan troops against the idolaters. He broke 
 up his drinking vessels on the field, and swore that hence- 
 forth he would never taste wine. The battle was fought at 
 Sikri, a few miles from Agra. Baber gained the victory, 
 and the Rajputs fled back to their hills. From that day to 
 this the Rajputs have never attempted to reconquer Hindu- 
 stan. 
 
 Baber reigned four years afterward, but was chiefly oo-
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 15 
 
 cupied in rooting the Afghans out of their strongholds. He 
 died in 1530, and was succeeded by his son Humayun. 
 
 Baber was a bad Muhammadan, inasmuch as he drank 
 wine and allied with the idolatrous Rana of Chitor against 
 Afghan believers. His son Humayun was a worse Muham- 
 madan, for he relapsed into the old nature worship of the 
 Moghuls. He divided his household affairs according to 
 the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth. He built 
 a pavilion with seven apartments of different colors to rep- 
 resent the sun, moon, and planets ; and he sat each day in 
 a different apartment, and transacted business or took his 
 pleasure according to the reigning luminary. 
 
 Humayun was engaged like his father in rooting Afghans 
 out of their strongholds; but he lacked his father's energy 
 and decision. An Afghan named Sher Khan was in pos- 
 session of Chunar, an important fortress on the south bank 
 of the Ganges, which commanded the line of communication 
 between Hindustan and Bengal. Humayun demanded the 
 surrender of the fortress, and might easily have dislodged 
 the Afghan ; but Sher Khan affected entire submission, sent 
 his son with a troop of horse to fight in the army of the 
 Moghul, and begged to be allowed to hold the fortress in 
 the name of Humayun. In a word, Humayun was cajoled 
 into leaving Sher Khan in possession of Chunar. 
 
 About this time Humayun interfered in Rajput affairs. 
 A Sultan of Guzerat, the very man who invited the Sultan 
 of Turkey to drive out the Portuguese, had invaded the ter- 
 ritory of the Rana of Chitor. The city was invested by the 
 Muhammadans, as it had been in the reign of Ala ud-din. 
 The women performed another Johur ; among them was the 
 widow of the Rana who fought against Baber. Before the 
 princess joined the sacrifice, she provided for the escape of 
 her infant son, and sent her bracelet to Humayun. 
 
 The gift of the bracelet is a relic of the days of Rajput 
 chivalry. Whenever a Rajput lady is in peril, be she wife 
 or maiden, she may select a protector by sending him her 
 bracelet. She thus adopts him as her brother. He may
 
 156 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 never see her, but he is flattered by the mystery and honor. 
 Humayun accepted the bracelet and obeyed the summons. 
 Muhammadan historians say that Humayun was a follower 
 of the Prophet ; but his conduct is at variance with the state- 
 ment. He went to war against a brother Muhammadan on 
 account of a Rajput princess, and drove the Sultan of Gu- 
 zerat out of Chitor. 
 
 When Humayun returned to Agra, he found that Sher 
 Khan the Afghan had taken possession of Bengal. He now 
 had reason to curse his folly in leaving the fortress of Chunar 
 in the hands of Sher Khan. He was obliged to capture the 
 fortress before he could enter Bengal ; and six months were 
 wasted before the walls before it was starved into surrender- 
 ing. Next he was blocked up by the Afghans in the narrow 
 defile between the Ganges and the Rajmahal Hills, which is 
 the only opening into Bengal. Finally he entered Bengal 
 at the beginning of the rains, and lost a large portion of his 
 army by fever and dysentery. When the rains were over 
 he tried to return to Agra, but was attacked and routed by 
 Sher Khan. His affairs were so desperate that he had no 
 alternative but to fly to Persia; and there he remained in 
 exile for a period of fifteen years. 
 
 The Afghan rule of Sher Khan and his successors is a 
 break in the history. It is a strange fact that the Afghans, 
 the bigoted enemies of the Hindus and their religion, should 
 have maintained an empire over the Punjab and Hindustan 
 for fifteen years. Stranger still, the last Sultan of this 
 Afghan dynasty favored the Hindus and lost his throne in 
 consequence. He appointed a Hindu named Hemu to be 
 his minister, and advanced Hindus to rank and power. Ac- 
 cordingly his own nobles rebelled against him, and thus 
 opened a way for the return of Humayun. 
 
 The adventures of Humayun during this interval have 
 little bearing on the history. During his flight to Persia, 
 his favorite wife gave birth to the celebrated Akbar. Dur- 
 ing his residence in Persia he is said to have cast aside the 
 Sunni religion and become a Shiah out of deference to the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 151 
 
 Shah. In 1555 he raised a force and returned to Hindustan 
 and recovered possession of Delhi and Agra. 
 
 A final struggle was pending between Moghul and 
 Afghan, when Humayun was killed by an accident. He 
 was ascending the stone steps outside the palace in order to 
 say his evening prayers on the roof, when his foot slipped 
 and he fell lifeless on the pavement below. 
 
 The Afghan conquest of Hindustan between 1540 and 
 1555 has never been forgotten by the Afghan people. In 
 their eyes it gives them a traditional claim to the possession 
 of Hindustan. Baber claimed Hindustan by virtue of the 
 conquest of Timur ; and in after years the Afghans affected 
 to claim Hindustan by virtue of the conquest of Sher Khan. 
 Such assumptions are mere phantoms of Oriental imagina- 
 tions, but nevertheless they often have a bearing upon the 
 current of Oriental history. 
 
 Akbar, the son and successor of Humayun, was the real 
 founder of the Moghul empire in India. By wise policy and 
 consummate craft he put an end to the conflict between 
 Afghan and Moghul, and brought about a reconciliation 
 between Muhammadan and Hindu. The annals of his reign 
 open up a new era in the history of India. 
 
 Akbar, the contemporary of Queen Elizabeth, succeeded 
 his father in 1556. He was only a boy of fourteen; and 
 when Humayun was dying at Delhi, the young prince was 
 away in the Punjab fighting the Afghans. His guardian 
 was an experienced general named Bairam Khan, and when 
 the boy became Padishah the guardian became regent. ' 
 
 The Moghul empire was in sore peril. A host of Afghans 
 had advanced up the valley of the Jumna under the leader- 
 ship of Hemu, and recovered the cities of Agra and Delhi, 
 and was now marching on to the Punjab." The Moghul 
 
 1 The term Padishah was the Moghul equivalent for Emperor. The lat 
 syllable is the well-known Persian "Shah," signifying origin or lord. "Pad" 
 signified stability and possession. See Abul Fazl's preface to the Ain-i-Akbari, 
 translated by Mr. Blochmann. 
 
 3 The history of this crisis is a mystery. Possibly the facts have been mis-
 
 158 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 officers were in such a panic of fear that they counselled r 
 retreat to Kabul. 
 
 Akbar and his guardian resolved on battle. A bloody ac- 
 tion was fought, and the Moghuls gained the victory. Hemu 
 was wounded in the eye and taken prisoner. Bairam Khan 
 exhorted Akbar to kill the Hindu and win the title of Ghazi- 
 ud-din, or "champion of the faith. " Akbar refused to slaugh- 
 ter a helpless warrior, and Bairam Khan beheaded the Hindu 
 with his own sword. 
 
 During the four years that followed there were constant 
 wars between Moghuls and Afghans. Meanwhile Akbar 
 reached his eighteenth year, and resolved to throw off the 
 control of his guardian. He left the camp under the plea 
 of a visit to his mother. He next proclaimed that he had 
 assumed the sovereign authority of Padishah, and that no 
 orders were to be obeyed but his own. Bairam Khan saw 
 that he had lost his power. He tried to cajole Akbar into 
 appointing him minister, but the young Padishah was re- 
 solved to be his own master. Akbar offered his old guar- 
 dian any post he pleased excepting that of minister. But 
 Bairam Khan would be minister or nothing, and prepared 
 to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He was about to depart 
 when he was assassinated by an Afghan. It was the old 
 story of Afghan revenge. Bairam Khan had killed the 
 father of the assassin in some battle, and was stabbed to 
 death by the son. 
 
 The wars of Akbar are of small interest. He had to re- 
 store order in Hindustan after two centuries of anarchy and 
 misrule. To effect this object it was necessary to capture 
 fortresses in the hands of Afghans, and to stamp out dis- 
 affection and revolt among his own turbulent chieftains. It 
 was also necessary to subdue and dethrone dynasties of in- 
 dependent Sultans who had built up kingdoms in Guzerat, 
 Malwa, and Bengal, out of the ruins of the old Delhi empire 
 
 represented by Muhammadan historians ; but in the absence of other contempo- 
 rary authorities it is impossible to test their statements. The march of an Afghan 
 army under a Hindu general is opposed to all Asiatic experiences.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 159 
 
 of the Tughlaks. In all these wars he displayed the energy 
 and skill of a practiced commander, and the bodily strength 
 of a warrior familiar from his boyhood with the toils of war 
 and the sports of the field. 
 
 But though the wars are of small interest, some traditions 
 have been preserved which serve to bring out the character 
 of Akbar, and illustrate the lawlessness against which he 
 had to contend. An officer named Adham Khan was sent to 
 reduce a Sultan of Malwa. The Sultan fled at his approach 
 and left his treasures behind. Adham Khan took possession 
 of Malwa, but kept back the Padishah's share of the spoil, 
 and only sent a few elephants to Agra. Suddenly he learned 
 that Akbar was at hand with a strong force and hastened to 
 make submission and reparation. Akbar feigned to be satis- 
 fied and returned to Agra. Adham Khan was soon recalled 
 to Agra and another governor sent in his room. Adham 
 Khan found that no command was given to him, and thought 
 that the minister was his enemy ; he went to the palace and 
 stabbed the minister to death in the hall of audience. Akbar 
 heard the uproar and rushed to the place. The murderer 
 begged for mercy, but was thrown over the parapet by 
 Akbar's orders, and perished on the spot. 
 
 Another officer in Bihar kept back the Padishah's share 
 in like manner, and soon found that Akbar was upon him. 
 He, too, made submission and reparation, but then fled from 
 Bihar and joined some rebels in Oude. At that moment 
 Akbar was called away to the Punjab by an invasion of 
 Afghans. Meanwhile the whole region to the north of the 
 Ganges broke out in open revolt. Akbar disposed of the 
 Afghans and then marched back to Allahabad in the middle 
 of the rainy season. He reached the Ganges with his body- 
 guard while the rebel army was encamped in perfect security 
 on the opposite shore. At night he swam the river with his 
 bodyguard, and fell upon the enemy at daybreak. The 
 thunder of the imperial kettle-drums sufficed to scare away 
 the rebels. The flight was a stampede. Some of the ring- 
 leaders were slain in the pursuit ; the greater number were
 
 160 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 taken prisoners and trampled to death by elephants, after 
 the barbarous custom of Moghul times. 
 
 The rebellion was crushed out in Oude, but it was soon 
 followed by others. The truth seems to be that the Mu- 
 hammadan religion had lost its force. The brotherhood of 
 Islam could not bind Moghul, Turk, and Afghan into one 
 united mass as it had united the Arab tribes in the old wars 
 of the Khalifat. The dismemberment of the Muhammadan 
 empire in India had begun two centuries before, at the fall 
 of the Tughlak dynasty and revolt of the Dekhan. Under 
 such circumstances Akbar called in the aid of a new power 
 to restore peace in Hindustan and consolidate a new empire; 
 and the policy which he pursued forms the most important 
 and interesting event in the history of his reign. 
 
 Akbar was not a man of culture like the Muhammadan 
 Sultans of olden time. If he had gone with his father to 
 Persia he might have received a schooling; but he stayed 
 with an uncle in Kabul and learned nothing but war. He 
 could not read or write, 1 but he had listened to histories, and 
 seems to have formed ideas. He was not a zealous Muham- 
 madan, and he certainly did not share in the Muhammadan 
 hatred of idolaters. On the contrary, he was imbued with 
 the religious toleration of Chenghiz Khan, and inclined to 
 regard all religions as equal. He resolved to amalgamate 
 Hindus and Muhammadans into an imperial system, hi which 
 the one should be a check on the other. In a word, he fore- 
 shadowed that policy of equality of race and religion which 
 maintained the integrity of the Moghul empire for more 
 than a century, and since then has been the mainstay of 
 the British empire in India. 
 
 The first step in the work of amalgamation was the con- 
 quest and pacification of the princes of Rajputana. The 
 Rajput league, under the suzerainty of the Rana of Chitor, 
 was bound together by a system of intermarriages. Hindus 
 
 1 Akbar made up for some of his deficiencies in after years. His Spelling- 
 book was preserved as a curiosity down to modern times.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 161 
 
 "narry but one wife, but polygamy has always been the 
 practice of Rajas. The Rana of Chitor was supposed to 
 be the descendant of Rama and the old Rajas of Ayodhya, 
 the noblest of the children of the sun. 1 Every Raja consid- 
 ered it a high honor to receive a daughter of the Rana in 
 marriage. In like manner every Raja deemed it an honor 
 to give a daughter in marriage to the Rana. 
 
 By this time the old ceremony of the Swayamvara had 
 died out of India. A Rajput princess no longer appeared in 
 her father's hall, to signify her choice of a husband by the 
 gift of a garland. But the fiction of "self -choice" had been 
 preserved, and continues to this day. A gilded cocoanut is 
 still formally sent to a Raja in the name of a princess as 
 symbolical of choice. It is but an empty compliment, for 
 the girl has no voice in the matter ; but the cocoanut is a 
 relic of a civilization which has passed away. 
 
 The policy of Akbar was to put the Padishah in the room 
 of the Rana ; to become himself the suzerain of the Rajput 
 league, and the commander of all the Rajput armies. To 
 carry out this object it was necessary that he should take 
 the daughters of the Rajas to be his wives, and give them 
 daughters in return. The idea was repulsive alike to Rajput 
 and Muhammadan; it was contrary to caste laws; it was 
 contrary to the religion of the Koran unless the bride be- 
 came a convert to Islam. In a word, the policy could only 
 be carried out by a barbarian and a despot ; and such a man 
 was Akbar. 
 
 The wars of Akbar in Rajputana may be forgotten. 8 It 
 will suffice to say that after bitter struggles Jaipur and 
 Jodhpur yielded to their fate, and each gave a daughter in 
 marriage to Akbar, and paid him homage as their suzerain. 
 
 1 Of course there are rival families, but the superior claims of the Rana are 
 pretty generally acknowledged. 
 
 2 It is important to bear in mind the relative positions of Rajputana and 
 Malwa, between the Jumna and the Nerbudda Rivers. Rajputana lies to the 
 west of the river Chambal, and extends to the neighborhood of the Indus. 
 Malwa lies to the east of the Chambal, and extends in a southerly direction to 
 the Nerbudda river.
 
 102 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 In return he added to their territories, raised them to high 
 rank in his court, loaded them with honors, and took their 
 armies into his pay. Other Rajas followed the example and 
 were rewarded in like manner. Akbar thus brought a new 
 political element into existence; and the support which he 
 derived from the princes of Rajputana enabled him to estab- 
 lish and consolidate an empire. 
 
 The Rana of Chitor, however, held out against all threats 
 and temptations. He preferred death to dishonor. In 1567 
 the city of Chitor was environed by the army of Akbar. 
 The Rajputs saw that there was no hope of deliverance, 
 and performed the awful rite of Johur. The women threw 
 themselves on burning piles, while the men put on saffron 
 garments and perished sword hi hand. Chitor was reduced 
 to a ruin. Sir Thomas Roe saw it fifty years afterward. It 
 contained a hundred temples and innumerable houses, but 
 not a human inhabitant was there. 
 
 The very name of Chitor was blotted out of the after his- 
 tory of Rajputana. The Rana was named Udai Singh. He 
 sought a refuge in the Aravulli hills, where he founded the 
 city of Udaipur. Henceforth he was known as the Rana 
 of Udaipur, or Oodeypore. But Chitor was never for- 
 gotten. So long as Chitor was a widowed city, the Rana 
 bound himself and his successors never to twist their beards, 
 or eat from gold or silver, or sleep upon anything but straw. 
 To this day the memory of the interdict is preserved in the 
 palace at Udaipur. The Rana never twists his beard. He 
 eats from gold and silver, but there are leaves beneath the 
 dishes. He sleeps upon a bed, but there is a scattering of 
 straw below. 
 
 Meanwhile the Rajput princes, who had been hated as 
 idolaters since the days of Mahmud, were treated by Akbar 
 as honored and valued friends. The marriages of the Padi- 
 shah with their daughters converted them into kinsmen of 
 the Moghul. Akbar especially employed the Rajputs to 
 maintain his ascendency over the Afghans, the bigoted 
 and inveterate foes of the Hindus. The history is obscure;
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 163 
 
 and to all appearance has been purposely obscured. But it 
 is certain that one Rajput kinsman was appointed Viceroy of 
 the Punjab; another commanded the Rajput army against 
 the Afghans of Kabul; while one Rajput Raja of renown 
 was appointed Viceroy of Bihar and Bengal, which had been 
 at the mercy of Afghan chieftains from a remote antiquity. 
 The historian of Akbar tells us that these Rajas proved able 
 rulers; but in truth nothing is known of the working of 
 Akbar's policy, beyond the bare fact that he employed the 
 Rajputs to overawe the Afghans. 
 
 Henceforth there were two aristocracies in the Moghul 
 empire, and two armies. Each was distinct from the other, 
 and acted as a balance against the other. The one was Mo- 
 ghul and Muhammadan ; the other was Rajput and Hindu. 
 
 The Moghul aristocracy was one of white-complexioned 
 foreigners, chiefly Persians, who went by the common name 
 of Moghuls. The Moghuls had no hereditary nobility out- 
 side the royal family. The Padishah was the sole fountain 
 of honor, and the fountain of all honor. He gave rank at 
 will, and all rank was military rank. He gave titles at will, 
 and every title was associated with the idea of loyalty. The 
 emoluments took the form of military pay. Every grandee 
 was appointed to command a certain number of horse; but 
 he rarely maintained more than a third of the number, and 
 received payment for the whole. Rank and title might be 
 given in a moment, and in a moment they might be swept 
 away. 
 
 Every Moghul noble and officer was entirely dependent 
 on the Padishah. Their lives and property were at his dis- 
 posal. He was the heir to the wealth of every one of his 
 grandees, and wives and families of men of the highest rank 
 were sometimes reduced to beggary. Hereditary nobility 
 was thus unknown to the Moghuls. In one generation an 
 Amir, or grandee of the first order, might hold a high com- 
 mand, and enjoy a princely income. His grandsons might 
 be brown-complexioned men serving in the ranks as common 
 soldiers.
 
 164 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The Amirs were the highest class of nobles, the grandees 
 of the empire. 1 They might be made governors, viceroys, 
 or ministers. A second class was known as Mansubdars, 
 and a third class as Ahadis; but these were military 
 officers. One and all were little better than slaves of the 
 Padishah. 
 
 The Rajputs formed a hereditary aristocracy on a feudal 
 basis. They held their lands in return for military service, 
 and all commands were hereditary. The vassal served his 
 lord, the lord his Raja, and the Raja his suzerain. When 
 Akbar became suzerain in the room of the Rana, he raised 
 the Rajas to the rank of Amirs, and sometimes conferred 
 the title of Raja on his grandees. 4 
 
 The religious antagonism between Muhammadan and 
 Hindu was a positive gain to Akbar. Muhammadans could 
 not always be trusted in a war against Muhammadan rebels ; 
 and any scruples about fighting fellow-Muhammadans were 
 a hindrance to Akbar in the suppression of a revolt. But no 
 such scruples existed between Muhammadans and Hindus. 
 Muhammadans were always ready to fight idolatrous Rajas. 
 The Rajputs, on the other hand, were always ready to fight 
 Muhammadan rebels ; and they gloried especially in fighting 
 their hereditary enemies, the bigoted Afghans, who had 
 driven their forefathers from their ancient thrones on the 
 Ganges and Jumna. 
 
 Abkar has often been described by contemporaries. He 
 was proud and arrogant like all Moghuls, but clement and 
 affable. He was tall and handsome, broad in the chest and 
 long in the arms. His complexion was ruddy and nut- 
 brown. He had a good appetite and digestion, but was 
 sparing as regards wine and flesh meat. He was remark- 
 able for strength and courage. He would spring on the backs 
 of elephants who had killed their keepers, and compel them 
 
 1 In old books of travel the Amirs are called Urarahs and Omrahs. 
 9 It is not quite certain that the title of Raja was conferred by Akbar ; it 
 was certainly conferred by his successors.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 165 
 
 to do his bidding. He delighted in every kind of sport ; in 
 fights between buffaloes, cocks, harts, rams and elephants; 
 in the performances of wrestlers, fencers, dancers, and actors 
 of comedies, as well as in those of trained elephants. He 
 often despatched serious business in the midst of these spec- 
 tacles. He was very fond of hunting. He had no hunting 
 dogs, but ^ept tame antelopes with nets fastened to their 
 horns to entangle wild ones; also tame panthers to take 
 other wild beasts. He surrounded a whole wood with hunt- 
 ers, and then sent beaters into the jungle to drive out the 
 game. 
 
 All this while Akbar was outwardly a Muhammadan. 
 Thus he made a vow that on the birth of a son he would 
 walk on foot to the shrine of a Muhammadan saint at Ajmir. 
 In 1570 a son was born, who was named Selim, but after- 
 ward succeeded to the throne under the title of Jehangir. 
 Akbar accordingly walked on pilgrimage to the shrine, and 
 paid his devotions to the saint, and built a mosque at Ajmir. 
 Even his Rajput brides were required to say the formula of 
 Islam as they entered the zenana "There is no God but 
 Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah." But hav- 
 ing thus made a show of being converted, the Hindu prin- 
 cesses did as they pleased. They introduced idols and Brah- 
 mans into the zenana, and offered sacrifices to their idols; 
 and at last Akbar joined in the idol worship of his wives, 
 like Solomon of old. 
 
 In process of time Akbar came in collision with orthodox 
 Muhammadan doctors. In Muhammadan states, the laws 
 are supposed to be based on the Koran. Thus law and 
 religion are blended together, and eminent lawyers are often 
 eminent divines. This class is always numerous at the 
 capital; for judges, magistrates, and law officers in general 
 are chosen from among these learned doctors. The whole 
 body is known by the collective name of Ulama ; and occa- 
 sionally they assemble and discuss points of law. The opin- 
 ions of the Ulama have great weight in a Muhammadan 
 court, and will often influence the decisions of the Sultan.
 
 166 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 About 1675 an ambitious young scholar, named Abul 
 Fazl, was introduced to Akbar, and soon found favor in 
 the eyes of the Padishah. He was a born courtier, and 
 by steadily administering to the vanity of Akbar he became 
 his minister and confidant. He was anxious to master all 
 religions. To use his own language, he longed to study the 
 great religions of the world at their fountain-heads; to sit 
 at the feet of the Christian padres of Goa, the Buddhist 
 monks of Thibet, and the Parsi priests who were learned hi 
 the Zendavesta. He imbued the mind of Akbar with a like 
 curiosity. At the same time he had good reasons for hating 
 the Ulama; they had persecuted his father and driven him 
 into exile; they would have persecuted himself in like man- 
 ner, had they not been afraid of Akbar. They were igno- 
 rant, bigoted, and puffed up with pride and orthodoxy. 
 
 Akbar, like other Oriental sovereigns, was fond of listen- 
 ing to religious controversies. He held assemblies on Thurs- 
 day evenings especially to hear different members of the 
 Ulama dispute in his presence. At first the proceedings 
 were conducted with the utmost decorum. After a while 
 the disputants became accustomed to the Padishah, and 
 spoke with more freedom and greater warmth. At last 
 one evening there was an uproar, and learned men reviled 
 one another in the very presence of their sovereign. 
 
 Abul Fazl was at the bottom of all the mischief. He 
 was anxious to degrade the Ulama in the eyes of Akbar; 
 and no mode was so effective as that of involving them in 
 religious controversy. He introduced subjects which he 
 knew could only end in wrangling. He introduced others, 
 like Akbar's marriages, which placed the learned doctors on 
 the horns of a dilemma. If they sought to please the Padi- 
 shah they sinned against the Koran; and if they stuck to 
 the Koran they offended the Padishah. One orthodox magis- 
 trate spoke out conscientiously against the marriages, and 
 was removed from his post. In this way the Ulama were 
 ruined in the eyes of Akbar; they drifted into disgrace and 
 ruin ; they had cursed one another in their speech, and prob-
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 167 
 
 ably in their hearts they were all agreed in cursing Abul 
 Fazl. 
 
 Meanwhile Akbar was led by Abul Fazl to believe that 
 he was a far better judge in religious matters, and especially 
 in religious controversies, than the bigoted body of doctors 
 that made up the Ulama. Akbar eagerly caught at the 
 idea. He was anxious to throw off the influence of the 
 Ulama, who would have persuaded him to persecute her- 
 etics and Hindus. He was resolved, like Henry the Eighth, 
 to become himself the supreme authority in all religious 
 matters. 
 
 The result of all these experiences was that Akbar be- 
 came hostile to the Muhammadan religion. He broke up 
 the power of the Ulama, and banished all refractory profes- 
 sors to the remote regions of Central Asia. He conversed 
 with teachers of other religions Brahmans, Buddhists, and 
 Parsis. He sent a letter to the Portuguese viceroy at Goa, 
 requesting that Christian fathers might be sent to Agra to 
 teach him the tenets of Christianity. The religious world 
 at Goa was thrown into a ferment at the idea of converting 
 the Great Moghul. Three fathers duly arrived at Agra, and 
 were permitted to build a church and perform Christian 
 rites without molestation ; privileges which would have been 
 accorded, perhaps, in no other Muhammadan city. Both 
 Akbar and his minister Abul Fazl professed the utmost 
 respect for Christianity; Akbar even entered the church 
 and prostrated before the image of the Saviour; but neither 
 the Padishah nor his minister were sufficiently impressed 
 with the truths of Christianity to become baptized. 
 
 Akbar indulged in religious experiences until he believed 
 himself to be a representative of deity. The sixteenth cent- 
 ury was a period of great excitement throughout the Mu- 
 hammadan world. It was currently believed that at the 
 end of a thousand years from the Hijra, or flight of Muham- 
 mad, a new prophet would appear to convert the world and 
 usher in a new millennium. The "Lord of the period," as 
 he was called, was expected to appear in 1591-92; and many
 
 168 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 pious Muhammadans prepared for his coming by fasting and 
 prayer. 1 
 
 In the first instance Akbar was induced by Abul Fazl to 
 believe that he himself was the "Lord of the period." Sub- 
 sequently, when his faith in Islam had died out, the idea 
 took another form. He founded a new religion known as the 
 Divine Faith. He permitted himself to be worshipped as a 
 type of royalty emanating from God; or, to use the symbol- 
 ical language of Abul Fazl, to be adored as a ray of the 
 divine sun, the supreme soul, that animated the universe. 
 Every morning he worshipped the sun in public. At the 
 same time he was himself worshipped by the ignorant mul- 
 titude, who were induced to believe that he could work 
 miracles and cure diseases. 
 
 All this while, however, Akbar sought to better his sub- 
 jects by measures of toleration as well as by improved social 
 laws. He permitted the use of wine, but punished intoxica- 
 tion. He gratified his Hindu subjects by prohibiting the 
 slaughter of cows. He forbade the marriage of boys before 
 they were sixteen, and of girls before they were fourteen. 
 He permitted the marriage of Hindu widows, and did his 
 best to put a stop to widow burning. In after life he tried 
 to check the practice of polygamy among the Muhammadans. 
 
 But the character of Akbar had a dark side. He was 
 sometimes harsh and cruel. He was jealous of his author- 
 ity ; suspicious of plots and rebellions; and resorted to strong 
 measures which are revolting to civilization. His persecu- 
 tion of Muhammadan doctors was unpardonable. He is, 
 moreover, charged with keeping a poisoner and getting rid 
 of his enemies in this manner without remorse. Such prac- 
 tices are known to have been common to his successors ; and 
 there are strong grounds for believing that they were equally 
 common during the reign of Akbar. 
 
 The daily life of Akbar and his court may be gathered 
 
 1 For a further account of this remarkable movement, the reader is referred 
 to the larger History of India, vol. iv. chap. iv.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 169 
 
 from three institutions of Moghul origin. They were known 
 as the Jharokha, the Durbar, and the Ghusal-khana ; in 
 English parlance they would be known as the window, the 
 audience hall, and the dressing-room. 1 Details of these in- 
 stitutions will appear in the after history; for the present it 
 will suffice to describe their general character. 
 
 The Jharokha was a window at the back of the palace, 
 which overlooked a plain below. Every morning Akbar 
 appeared at this window and worshipped the sun, while the 
 multitude thronged the plain below and worshipped Akbar. 
 Later in the morning, generally about noon, Akbar appeared 
 at the window, and was entertained with the combats of 
 animals in the plain below. 8 Sometimes he inspected troops, 
 horses, elephants, and camels, from this window. 
 
 The Durbar was the hall of audience, situated in a large 
 court at the entrance to the palace. Every afternoon Akbar 
 sat upon his throne at the back of the Durbar hall, and gave 
 audience to all comers. Here he disposed of petitions, ad- 
 ministered justice, and received Rajas, Amirs, and ambassa- 
 dors. All the grandees at court were bound to attend the 
 Padishah at the Jharokha and Durbar. 
 
 The Ghusal-khana was a private assembly held in the 
 evening in a pavilion behind the Durbar court. None were 
 admitted excepting the ministers and such grandees as re- 
 ceived special invitations. Sometimes the gathering resem- 
 bled a privy council ; at other times it was an assembly of 
 grandees and learned men. The assembly of the Ulama on 
 Thursday evenings would, probably, have been held in this 
 pavilion, but it was not large enough. Consequently another 
 pavilion was prepared expressly for their reception. 
 
 Akbar is famous for having introduced a land settlement 
 into his dominions. It should be explained that under Mo- 
 
 1 The G-husal-khana was literally the bathroom, and contained a large bath 
 decorated with jewels. The idea of entertaining visitors in a bathroom is appar- 
 ently peculiar to Moghuls. 
 
 * It is the custom in India among the wealthier classes to perform their de- 
 votions at early morning, and then to take a breakfast and a siesta. This will 
 account for the late hours kept at the evening assemblies. 
 
 X 8 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 170 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 ghul rule all lands were treated as the property of the Pa- 
 dishah. They were divided into two classes, Khalisa and 
 Jaghir. The Khalisa lands were those held by the Padishah 
 as his own demesnes, and paid a yearly rent to him. The 
 Jaghirs were estates given in lieu of salaries. In this way 
 Jaghirs were given to governors, ministers and grandees; 
 they were also given to queens and princesses in the im- 
 perial harem. Every Jaghir paid a fixed yearly rent to the 
 Padishah ; and all that could be collected above this amount 
 belonged to the Jaghirdar, or holder of the Jaghir. 1 
 
 Akbar employed a Hindu named Todar Mai to make a 
 revenue settlement ; in other words, to fix the yearly pay- 
 ments to be made by holders of the land. All lands were 
 measured, whether cultivated or uncultivated. Every piece 
 of land yielding a yearly income of twenty-five thousand 
 rupees was placed under the charge of an officer known as 
 a Krori ; the object being to bring uncultivated lands into 
 cultivation. The Krories are charged with every kind of 
 rapacity and oppression ; but the settlement of Todar Mai 
 is lauded to this day. It was the one thing to which land- 
 holders and cultivators could appeal against the rapacity of 
 revenue collectors. 
 
 Toward the end of his reign Akbar conquered Kabul and 
 Kashmir. Kabul, however, was a dangerous acquisition, 
 from the lawlessness of the people; and on one occasion 
 Akbar lost an army there, but the details are imperfectly 
 known. Kashmir proved a more acceptable conquest ; and 
 Akbar and his successors occasionally resorted to a retreat 
 among the mountains of Kashmir, as a pleasant change from 
 the heats of Hindustan. 
 
 - Land tenures in the Moghul empire involve contradictions not easily ex- 
 plained. The husbandman often possessed a few fields, and had the power of 
 selling and bequeathing them, at the same tune that the district in which those 
 fields were included was annually let out by the government to a renter, who 
 paid a certain sum of money to the lord of the country, and received from the 
 cultivator a certain part of his harvests. To seize such lands was regarded as 
 the height of injustice. The Moghul was only anxious to keep down the Amirs, 
 not to deprive the smaller landowners of their hereditary rights.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 171 
 
 Akbar was always auxious to establish his sovereignty 
 over the Muhammadan Sultans of the Dekhan. The battle 
 of Talikota, in which the Sultans defeated the Maharaja of 
 Vijayanagar, was fought in 1565, being the ninth year of 
 the reign of Akbar. Some years afterward the Padishah 
 sent ambassadors to the Sultans of the Dekhan, inviting 
 them to accept him as their suzerain, and promising to up- 
 hold them on their thrones and prevent all internecine wars. 
 One and all, however, refused to pay allegiance to the 
 Moghul. 
 
 During the latter part of his reign Akbar conquered the 
 northern half of the Dekhan, including Ahmadnagar and 
 Berar, and would probably have conquered the remaining 
 kingdoms of Bijapur and Golkonda, when he was called 
 away by the rebellion of his eldest son. 
 
 The rebellion of Prince Selim, better known in after years 
 by the name of Jehangir, was apparently a Muhammadan 
 insurrection against the apostasy of Akbar. It was marked 
 by the assassination of Abul Fazl. The rebellion was sup- 
 pressed, and Akbar became outwardly reconciled to his son; 
 but he was apparently a changed man. He abandoned scep- 
 ticism and heresy, and returned to the Muhammadan faith. 
 He died in October, 1605, aged sixty-four; but there are 
 strong grounds for believing that he was poisoned at the 
 instigation of Jehangir. 1 
 
 3 For proof of this poisoning, see the larger History of India, vol. iv. chap. iv.
 
 172 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE JEHANGIR AND SHAH 
 JEHAN x 
 
 A.D. 1605 TO 1658 
 
 JEHANGIR succeeded Akbar at the age of thirty-five. 
 He inherited his father's vices, but had none of his 
 virtues. He was not only harsh and cruel, but took 
 pleasure in the sufferings of his victims. He drank wine 
 like a Scythian, and was especially fond of drinking bouts 
 at his evening assemblies. Above all, he was the slave of 
 a crafty intriguing woman named Nur Mahal. 
 
 Jehangir had not been the favorite of his father. He 
 seems to have joined the Muhammadan party against his 
 father. Akbar's favorite was his grandson Khuzru, the 
 eldest son of Jehangir, and he had intended that Khuzru 
 should succeed him on the throne. Khuzru was a young 
 prince of Akbar's way of thinking, inclined to Christianity, 
 and a great friend of the Rajputs. Jehangir had always 
 been jealous of Khuzru; and it was this jealousy of Khuzru 
 that led him to rebel during the lifetime of Akbar. 
 
 From the day that Jehangir ascended the throne, Khuzru 
 was in mortal fear. He expected to be strangled, or poisoned, 
 or, at any rate, to be deprived of sight, so as to be cut off 
 from all hopes of the throne. At last he fled in a panic from 
 the palace at Agra, and hurried to Lahore. On the way 
 he was joined by large numbers of Rajputs, but was hotly 
 pursued by Jehangir. He tried to escape into Persia, as 
 Humayun had done ; but he was cruelly betrayed and sent 
 in fetters to his father. 
 
 The revenge of Jehangir upon the rebels was horrible
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 173 
 
 and sickening. It resembled those cruel scenes of slaughter 
 which are to be seen on Assyrian monuments. Hundreds 
 were flayed alive after Moghul fashion. Hundreds were 
 impaled on sharp stakes, and left to die in lingering torture. 
 The wretched Khuzru was conducted through the lines of 
 victims, and forced to hear the shrieks of his followers, and 
 witness their dying agonies. His life was spared, but he 
 was doomed to years of captivity and suffering. 
 
 Meanwhile Jehangir became the slave of Nur Mahal. 
 Various stories are told of the early adventures of this cele- 
 brated princess. According to general rumor, she was a 
 Persian girl of low birth, and Jehangir fell in love with her 
 during the lifetime of his father. Akbar objected to such 
 connections ; and the girl was given in marriage to a Per- 
 sian, and went with her husband into Bengal. When Je- 
 hangir came to the throne he sent for the girl; but her hus- 
 band raised some natural objections, and was murdered in 
 a fray. The widow was conducted to Agra, and for a long 
 time refused to listen to Jehangir. At last she consented to 
 become his queen ; and her brother Asof Khan was appointed 
 minister. She herself is best known by the title of Nur 
 Mahal, or the "light of the harem." 
 
 During the early years of the reign of Jehangir, the En- 
 glish began to appear in the Indian seas. The East India 
 Company had been formed in 1599, in the lifetime of Akbar. 
 It obtained its first charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600, 
 under which the Company were to monopolize all the En- 
 glish trade in the Indian seas. English ships sailed round 
 the Cape as the Portuguese had done; but they could do 
 nothing in Malabar, for the ports were in the hands of the 
 Portuguese. They sailed northward to Surat within the 
 Moghul's territory. Surat was situated near the mouth of 
 the river Tapti, about a hundred and eighty miles to the 
 north of Bombay. 
 
 The English, however, could do but little business at 
 Surat. The Portuguese thwarted them in every way ; bribed 
 the Moghul governor of Surat to prevent the English from
 
 174 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 buying cargoes; jeered at James I. as a king of fishermen, 
 and scoffed at Great Britain as a contemptible island. In 
 fact, the Portuguese treated the English at Surat much in 
 the same way as they themselves had been treated a cent- 
 ury before by the Moors of Malabar. The result was that 
 for years the English and Portuguese were natural enemies, 
 and fought one another to the death whenever their ships 
 met on the high seas. 
 
 A sea captain named Hawkins managed to make his way 
 from Surat to Agra on a sort of mission to the Padishah. 
 Jehangir took a fancy to the Englishman ; promoted him to 
 the rank of commander of four hundred horse; and drank 
 wine with him every night in the Ghusal-khana, and asked 
 him a thousand questions about Europe and its princes. In 
 the first instance the head of Hawkins was turned by the 
 favor shown to him by the Great Moghul; but his very suc- 
 cess created numerous enemies. The Portuguese had friends 
 in the Moghul court, and managed to excite the suspicions 
 of Jehangir against the Englishman. The Moghul governor 
 of Surat raised an outcry against Hawkins; he had bought 
 many things of Hawkins and had refused to pay for them. 
 One Amir portentously declared in the Durbar hall that if 
 once the English got a footing in India they would soon be- 
 come masters. Hawkins found that he could get no redress 
 and no favors, and soon made his escape from Agra. 
 
 The English were anxious to buy goods, and willing to 
 pay for them; but the Moghul merchants were afraid to sell 
 lest the Portuguese should seize their ships on the high seas; 
 and for a long time they refused to deal with the English 
 traders. At last the English were provoked to take the law 
 into their own hands. They did not plunder Muhammadan 
 ships and scuttle them, as the Portuguese had done a cent- 
 ury before ; but they attacked Moghul ships in the Red Sea, 
 seized the cargoes, and paid for them at the market rates 
 which prevailed at Surat. In fact, there was lawless fighting 
 on all sides ; and to make matters worse, other English ships 
 appeared in the eastern seas in defiance of the Company's
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 175 
 
 charter; and these interlopers committed acts of piracy on 
 Moghul ships, which gave the English a bad name in the 
 court of Jehangir. 
 
 Two or three years afterward an English ambassador 
 named Sir Thomas Roe was sent to the Great Moghul by 
 James the First. Roe was a far greater man than Haw- 
 kins ; he was a lord ambassador, and had a secretary, a chap- 
 lain, and a retinue. He landed at Surat in 1615, attended by 
 a guard of honor made up of captains, merchants, and sail- 
 ors. The English ships in the river were decked with flags 
 and streamers, and welcomed the lord ambassador with a 
 salute of forty-eight guns. Sir Thomas Roe was to make 
 a treaty with Jehangir, to explain the difference between 
 the ships of the East India Company and those of interlop- 
 ers, and to establish the Company's trade on a sound footing. 
 
 Sir Thomas Roe experienced some rudeness at landing 
 from the Moghul officials at the Custom-house. They had 
 little respect for his character as ambassador, and persisted 
 in searching all his servants and opening all his boxes, in- 
 cluding those which contained the presents for Jehangir. 
 At length, after a month's delay at Surat, Roe procured 
 carriage and escort as far as Burhanpur, about two hundred 
 and twenty miles due east of Surat. Burhanpur was the 
 headquarters of the Moghul army of the Dekhan; and here 
 Roe expected to secure fresh carriage and escort to enable 
 him to go as far as the imperial camp, which had been re- 
 cently removed from Agra to Ajmir. 
 
 Roe was disgusted with what he saw during his journey 
 from Surat to Burhanpur. The country was desolate ; the 
 towns and villages were built of mud ; and there was not a 
 house fit to lodge in. At one place he was guarded with 
 thirty horsemen and twenty musketeers because of highway- 
 men. In fact, he was travelling through Kandeish, a prov- 
 ince partly in Hindustan and partly in the Dekhan, which 
 has been infested by Bhils and brigands down to modern 
 times. 
 
 At this period the Great Moghul was carrying on a war
 
 176 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 in the Dekhan. A black Abyssinian named Malik Amber 
 had risen to power in Ahmadnagar. Abyssinians, in spite 
 of their color, were respected on account of their strength 
 and bravery, and often played important parts in political 
 revolutions in India. Malik Amber set up a prince of the 
 fallen house of Ahmadnagar, secured help from Bijapur and 
 Golkonda, and compelled the Moghul army to retreat north- 
 ward to Burhanpur. 
 
 The Moghul army of the Dekhan was under the command 
 of Parwiz, the second son of Jehangir. Parwiz was a drunken 
 prince, and left the army in the hands of an officer known as 
 the Khan Khanan, or Khan of Khans. Meanwhile the Khan 
 Khanan took bribes from the different Sultans of the Dekhan, 
 and did nothing. At times he tried to deceive Jehangir by 
 feigning to attack Ahmadnagar ; but his treachery was al- 
 ready suspected by the Padishah. 
 
 At Burhanpur Sir Thomas Roe was received with some 
 show by the head of the police, known as the Kotwal. He 
 paid a visit of ceremony to Parwiz, who was haughty and 
 arrogant as regards ceremony, but otherwise good-natured. 
 Roe found him sitting in a gallery under a canopy, with a 
 platform below him, railed in for his grandees. 
 
 Roe ascended the platform and saw the grandees stand- 
 ing below the prince with joined hands, like so many slaves 
 or suppliants. He made a bow, and Parwiz bowed in re- 
 turn. He would have ascended the gallery to speak to the 
 prince, but was stopped by a secretary. Parwiz, however, 
 was ready to grant every request as fast as Roe could make 
 it. He allowed the English to establish a factory at Bur- 
 hanpur, and promised to supply carriage and escort to enable 
 Roe to get on to Agra. He received Roe's presents very 
 graciously, especially a case of strong liquors. He left the 
 gallery, and said he would send for Roe presently, and speak 
 to him in a private chamber. Roe waited for a while, and 
 was then told that he might leave the palace. He learned 
 afterward that Parwiz had opened the liquor bottles, and 
 had rapidly become too drunk to speak to anybody.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 177 
 
 The road from Burhanpur to Ajmir runs through the 
 heart of Rajputana; yet Roe had few adventures on the 
 way beyond a sharp attack of fever. He paid a visit to 
 the ruins of Chitor; and he met a crack-brained English- 
 man named Tom Coryat, who had undertaken a walking 
 tour through Asia. Coryat was one of the most wonderful 
 travellers of his time. He had gone on foot from Jerusalem, 
 through Asiatic Turkey, Persia, and Afghanistan, to the 
 cities of Delhi and Agra, at a cost of about a penny a day ; 
 and being regarded as a madman, no one interfered with 
 him. When he met Roe he was going to Surat, where he 
 subsequently died from drinking too much sack, and was 
 buried in the outskirts of the city. 
 
 In January, 1616, Sir Thomas Roe had his first audience 
 with Jehangir. He describes the Durbar hall as resembling 
 a London theatre. The Padishah was sitting on his throne 
 at one end. The grandees were standing on a platform be- 
 fore him like actors on a stage ; they were railed off in three 
 rows according to their respective grades. The common 
 people formed the audience or groundlings, who looked on 
 from behind the third rail. 
 
 There was at first a question of prostration, but Roe re- 
 fused to do anything of the kind, and the point was waived. 
 He passed the three rails, making a profound bow at each; 
 and was admitted among the grandees of the first grade. 
 Jehangir received the English ambassador with princely 
 condescension. He accepted the presents, consisting of vir- 
 ginals, knives, an embroidered scarf, a rich sword and an 
 English coach. He wanted some one to play the virginals, 
 and one of Roe's retinue complied with his wish. The 
 coach was too large to be brought into the Durbar hall, 
 but Jehangir sent persons to look at it. The Padishah then 
 spoke very graciously to the ambassador, hoped he had got 
 rid of his fever, and offered to send him his own physicians. 
 Altogether Roe went away charmed with his reception. 
 
 "When the Durbar was over Jehangir showed himself to 
 be an inquisitive Moghul. He went out and examined the
 
 178 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 coach, and even got into it and ordered his servants to draw 
 it. He made Roe's English servant array him in the scarf 
 and sword, English fashion; and then strutted about and 
 drew his sword and brandished it. But he complained to 
 the bystanders that the presents were very poor, and said 
 that the King of England ought to have sent him jewels. 
 
 Roe's negotiations proved a failure throughout. He 
 wanted too much from the Padishah. Jehangir was will- 
 ing to issue firmans or orders to all local officers to grant 
 certain privileges to the English; and a few bribes to the 
 local officers would have insured attention to these privi- 
 leges, until by long custom they had hardened into rights. 
 But Roe was smitten with an Englishman's passion for 
 treaties. He wanted a treaty signed and sealed, which 
 would bind the Padishah and his successors forever, while 
 he had nothing to give in return but a few paltry presents. 
 As it was he wasted two years in negotiations, and never 
 got anything beyond firmans. 
 
 The history of the Moghul rule at this period is very sug- 
 gestive. Jehangir was growing more and more suspicious 
 of the Khan Khanan. Twice he tried to poison him, but 
 failed. He recalled Parwiz from the Dekhan, and sent him 
 to command in Bengal. He then appointed his third son, 
 Prince Shah Jehan, to command the army of the Dekhan. 
 He hesitated to recall the Khan Khanan, lest the latter 
 should break out into rebellion with the army of the 
 Dekhan at his heels. 
 
 A kinswoman of the Khan Khanan was in the imperial 
 zenana, and Jehangir consulted her on the subject. He pro- 
 posed sending a dress of honor to the Khan Khanan as a 
 token of forgiveness. She replied that Khan Khanan would 
 suspect the dress to have been poisoned; that the Khan 
 Khanan was already aware that Jehangir had on two sev- 
 eral occasions tried to poison him. Jehangir made no at- 
 tempt to deny the charge; he only suggested that he should 
 wear the dress for an hour, and that the kinswoman should 
 inform the Khan Khanan accordingly. She replied that the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 179 
 
 Khan Khanan would trust neither of them. Accordingly 
 Jehangir determined to go in person to the Dekhan. 1 
 
 Sir Thomas Roe saw much of the Moghul court during 
 his stay at Ajmir. He was present at the Nau-roz, or feast 
 of the new year, when the Padishah sat upon his throne in 
 the Durbar, and received presents of great value from all his 
 grandees. He was present at the cerebration of Jehangir's 
 birthday on the 3d of September, 1616. In the morning the 
 Padishah was weighed six times against gold and silver, 
 silks and stuffs, grain and butter; and all the things that 
 were weighed against him were given to the poor. In the 
 afternoon there was a grand procession of elephants before 
 the Durbar. 
 
 On the evening of the birthday there was a drinking 
 bout in the Ghusal-khana. Roe was sent for at ten o'clock 
 at night after he had gone to bed. He found Jehangir sit- 
 ting cross-legged on a little throne, arrayed in his jewels. 
 There was a large company of grandees, and numerous gold 
 and silver flagons, and all present were ordered to drink. 
 Every one got drunk excepting Prince Shah Jehan, the min- 
 ister Asof Khan, and the English ambassador. Jehangir 
 scattered rupees to the multitude below. He threw about 
 gold and silver almonds for which the nobles scrambled like 
 schoolboys. At last he dropped off to sleep, on which all 
 the lights were put out, and the company were left to 
 grope their way out of the Ghusal-khana in the best way 
 they could. 
 
 On one occasion a hundred thieves were brought before 
 Jehangir in the Durbar hall, and condemned to death with- 
 out further trial. They were butchered and exposed in the 
 different streets of Ajmir; the head thief being torn to pieces 
 by dogs in front of Roe's house. 
 
 At another time there was a terrible scene in the Durbar 
 
 1 All that Roe tells about the court of Jehangir may be accepted as truth, 
 as nearly everything that goes on in the zenana of a Moghul sovereign is soon 
 known outside. Nothing is concealed but thoughts or emotions, and even they 
 are often betrayed.
 
 180 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 court. Whenever the Padishah commanded his nobles to 
 drink wine, they were bound to obey; and such had been the 
 case on the evening of the birthday. If, however, Jehangir 
 heard that a grandee had been drinking on any other occa- 
 sion without his order, the offender was scourged in his 
 presence. One night Jehangir gave a feast to the Persian 
 ambassador, and ordered all present to drink wine. Ac- 
 cordingly, every man drank to the health of the Padishah, 
 and his name was entered in a register according to custom. 
 But Jehangir was so drunk that he forgot all that had 
 passed. Next day there was an allusion to the drinking, 
 and Jehangir asked who had given the order. He was 
 told that the paymaster had given it; an answer that was 
 always returned when the Padishah thought proper to for- 
 get his own orders. Jehangir at once called for the register, 
 and began to punish the offenders. They were flogged so 
 unmercifully that some were left for dead; and there was 
 not a man at court, not even a father or a son, that dared to 
 speak a word in behalf of the sufferers. 
 
 About this time Roe reported to London that Shah Jehan 
 was plotting the death of his elder brother Khuzru. He 
 mentioned the fact as a warning to the East India Company 
 not to push their trade too far into the interior. The strug- 
 gle between the two princes might throw all Hindustan into 
 a ferment. If Khuzru prevailed the English would be gain- 
 ers, because he loved and honored Christianity. If Shah 
 Jehan prevailed the English would be losers, because he 
 hated Christianity, and was proud, subtle, false, and tyran- 
 nical. 
 
 In November, 1616, Jehangir left Ajmir and began the 
 journey toward the south. The departure was a grand pro- 
 cession of elephants and palanquins, radiant with jewels and 
 cloths of gold and silver. At setting out there was a nota- 
 ble incident. Jehangir stopped at the door where his eldest 
 son was imprisoned, and called for him to come out. Khuzru 
 appeared and made his reverence. He had a sword and 
 buckler in his hand, and his beard hung down to his waist
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 181 
 
 as a mark of disfavor. He accompanied the imperial camp 
 during its progress through Rajputana, and hopes were ex- 
 pressed that he might yet succeed to the throne of his father. 
 
 The camp of the Great Moghul was like a moving city. 
 The imperial pavilions formed a vast palace of scarlet can- 
 vas, surrounded by scarlet screens or walls of arras. The 
 pavilions of the grandees were canvas mansions of white, 
 green, and mixed colors ; all were encompassed by screens, 
 and were as orderly as houses. There were also long streets 
 of shops, like the bazar of a metropolis. There was no con- 
 fusion of any kind, for all the tents and pavilions were laid 
 out and set up in the same order day by day. This regu 
 larity, however, disappeared as the camp moved through 
 Rajputana; for the country was only half conquered, and 
 was infested by robbers, while the road sometimes lay 
 through forests and over mountains. 
 
 As the imperial camp advanced further south some alarm 
 was expressed. It had been expected that the Sultans of the 
 Dekhan would have sent in their submission directly they 
 heard that Jehangir was approaching the frontier. But the 
 Sultans did nothing of the kind, and Nur Mahal proposed 
 that the Padishah should return to Agra under pretence of 
 hunting. But Jehangir declared that his honor was at stake. 
 He continued to advance, but sent on reinforcements to Shah 
 Jehan, who had gone before to take command of the Moghul 
 army of the Dekhan. Suddenly the news arrived of a great 
 triumph of policy. The Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda 
 had been detached from the cause of Malik Amber; the 
 Abyssinian had been defeated, and Ahmadnagar was re- 
 stored to the Moghul. 
 
 Sir Thomas Roe left India in 1618. Jehangir went to 
 Guzerat; subsequently he visited Agra and Delhi. In his 
 memoirs, written by himself, Jehangir offers certain obser- 
 vations on the country and people, which may be summed 
 up in a few words, and serve as a reflex of his character. 
 
 "Guzerat," says Jehangir, "is infested with thieves and 
 vagabonds. I have occasionally executed two or three hun-
 
 182 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 dred in one day, but I could not suppress the brigandage. 
 From Guzerat I went to Agra, where I became reconciled 
 to my eldest son Khuzru. I next went to Delhi, where I 
 heard of a rebellion in Kanouj, and sent a force to put it 
 down. Thirty thousand rebels were slain; ten thousand 
 heads were sent to Delhi ; ten thousand bodies were hung 
 on trees with their heads downward along the several high- 
 ways. Notwithstanding repeated massacres there are fre- 
 quent rebellions in Hindustan. Thore is not a province in 
 the empire in which half a million of people have not been 
 slaughtered during my own reign and that of my father. 
 Ever and anon some accursed miscreant springs up to unfurl 
 the standard of rebellion. In Hindustan there has never 
 existed a period of complete repose." 
 
 Subsequently Jehangir proceeded to the Punjab. He 
 made Lahore his capital, but spent the hot months of every 
 year among the cool mountains of Kashmir. Meanwhile 
 Nur Mahal engaged in various intrigues respecting the suc- 
 cession to the throne, which led to tragical consequences. 
 
 Jehangir had four sons Khuzru, Parwiz, Shah Jehan, 
 and Shahryar. Shah Jehan, the victor in the Dekhan, stood 
 the fairest chance of the throne. For a long time he en- 
 joyed the favor of Nur Mahal; and he had married her 
 niece, a daughter of her brother Asof Khan. Subsequently 
 he excited her wrath by another marriage, and she resolved 
 to work his destruction. 
 
 Nur Mahal had a daughter by her previous husband, and 
 she was ambitious for this daughter. She resolved to give 
 her in marriage to Khuzru. This prince was already recon- 
 ciled to his father Jehaiigir, and she purposed securing his 
 succession to the throne. But Khuzru was not a Muham- 
 madan, and was averse to polygamy. He was already mar- 
 ried to one wife, and he refused to marry a second. Nur 
 Mahal was bitterly angry with Khuzru, and betrothed her 
 daughter to his youngest brother Shahryar. Henceforth she 
 labored hard to secure the succession for Shahryar. 
 
 About this time fresh disturbances broke out in the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 183 
 
 Dekhan. Shah Jehan was again ordered to take the com- 
 mand of the army of the Dekhan; but he was fearful that 
 Jehangir might die in his absence, and that Khuzru might 
 obtain the throne. He refused to go to the Dekhan unless 
 Khuzru was placed in his charge. Nur Mahal raised no 
 objection ; Khuzru would probably be murdered by his un- 
 scrupulous brother, but such a catastrophe would forward 
 her own schemes as regards Shahryar. Jehangir was get- 
 ting old and stupid, and was induced to make over his eldest 
 son to the charge of Shah Jehan. 
 
 Months passed away. Shah Jehan was again at Bur- 
 hanpur in charge of his brother Khuzru. Suddenly news 
 arrived at Burhanpur that Jehangir was dying. One night 
 Khuzru was strangled to death hi his chamber. No one 
 doubted that the murder was instigated by Shah Jehan. 
 Shortly afterward Jehangir recovered his health. He was 
 so angry at the murder of Khuzru, that he sent for his 
 grandson Bulaki, the son of Khuzru, and raised him to the 
 rank of ten thousand horse, the highest rank in the empire. 
 He then declared Bulaki to be his successor to the throne of 
 Hindustan. 
 
 Shah Jehan was driven to desperation by this turn of 
 affairs. The murder of Khuzru, which was to have placed 
 him on the throne, had elevated his nephew Bulaki. To 
 crown all, he was deprived of the bulk of his army. An 
 army was despatched from Lahore against Persia under 
 the command of Shahryar; and Shah Jehan was ordered 
 to send a large force to join it; while his officers received 
 direct orders from the Padishah to quit the Dekhan and join 
 the army of Shahryar. 
 
 At this crisis a secret plot was hatched between Shah 
 Jehan and his father-in-law, Asof Khan. The idea was to 
 seize the imperial treasures at Agra. The court had re- 
 moved from Agra to Lahore, and Asof Khan persuaded 
 Jehangir to remove the treasure in like manner. Asof 
 Khan proceeded to Agra to conduct the removal; and 
 Shah Jehan was to march hip forces with the utmost
 
 184 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 secrecy from the Dekhan and surround the convoy. The 
 plan had nearly succeeded. The treasurer at Agra, much 
 against his will, had loaded the camels with the precious 
 store, when he heard that Shah Jehan was coming up from 
 the Dekhan by forced marches. He saw through the plot in 
 a moment. He unloaded the camels, and lodged the treas- 
 ure once again in the fortress, and reported the coming of 
 Shah Jehan to the Padishah. 
 
 Shah Jehan arrived at Agra, but the treasure was be- 
 yond his reach. During three weeks he made repeated 
 attacks on the fortress, but failed to capture it. He 
 wreaked his vengeance on the city, plundering and tort- 
 uring the citizens, and committing cruel outrages on their 
 wives and daughters. Meanwhile Jehangir was marching 
 from Lahore with a large army. Shah Jehan left Agra to 
 encounter his father. A battle was fought at Delhi between 
 father and son; and Shah Jehan was defeated, and com- 
 pelled to fly to the mountains. 
 
 The further movements of Shah Jehan are startling from 
 their audacity. His marches resemble the flying raids of 
 Ala-ud-din and Malik Kafur. He resolved to plunder Ben- 
 gal ; and he took the city of Dacca by surprise, and ravaged 
 the country, until the robberies and outrages of his followers 
 were a terror to the Bengalis. At last he was again attacked 
 and defeated by the imperial army. He now fled to the 
 Dekhan, and found an asylum in the courts of Bijapur and 
 Golkonda, like an exiled prince of the olden time. 
 
 All this while there were antagonisms between the Raj- 
 put and Muhammadan armies in the service of the Moghul. 
 Nur Mahal was bitter against the Rajputs, especially against 
 a Rajput general who had been converted t;> Islam, and was 
 known by the name of Mahabat Khan. This general had 
 commanded a Rajput army in the Dekhan, but was recalled 
 at the instance of Nur Mahal. Subsequently through her 
 instrumentality Mahabat Khan was insulted and degraded; 
 and at last in a fit of desperation he carried off Jehangir and 
 kept him as a state prisoner under his immediate charge.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 185 
 
 For a brief interval Nur Mahal was baffled ; her power 
 was gone, for Jehangir, in spite of his detention, was still 
 permitted to exercise the authority of Padishah. Mahabat 
 Khan treated his sovereign with every mark of respect; and 
 for some time Jehangir expressed thankf ulness for his deliv- 
 erance from the toils of Nur Mahal ; but after a while he fled 
 back to his beloved Nur Mahal. Mahabat Khan and his Raj- 
 puts were now in extreme peril. Mahabat Khan would have 
 joined Parwiz with his Rajput army, but Parwiz was dead. 
 At last he fled to the Dekhan and espoused the cause of Shah 
 Jehan. 
 
 Jehangir died suddenly, in October, 1627. Before he died 
 he again nominated his grandson Bulaki, the son of Khuzru, 
 to succeed him as Padishah. 
 
 Asof Khan, the minister, installed Bulaki on the throne 
 at Delhi. His object was to checkmate his sister Nur Mahal, 
 and to gain time for furthering the designs of his son-in-law, 
 Shah Jehan. Shahryar was taken prisoner and deprived of 
 sight. The only remaining claimants to the throne were 
 Shah Jehan, the third son of Jehangir, and his nephew 
 Bulaki, son of Khuzru. 
 
 The critical state of affairs was brought to a close by one 
 of those strange farces which are peculiar to Oriental history. 
 It was given out that Shah Jehan was dangerously ill, and 
 then that he was dead. Permission was readily obtained 
 from Bulaki for burying the remains of his uncle and rival 
 in the tomb of Akbar. Mahabat Khan and his Rajputs con- 
 ducted an empty bier in sad procession to Agra. Bulaki was 
 persuaded to go out with a small escort to conduct his uncle's 
 remains to the tomb of Akbar. He saw a vast procession of 
 Rajputs, and then suspected a plot and stole away to Lahore. 
 At that moment the trumpets were sounded, and Shah Jehan 
 was proclaimed Padishah, and. entered the fortress of Agra 
 amid universal acclamations. 
 
 What followed is one of the mysteries of Moghul history. 
 There certainly was a massacre of princes at Lahore ; and 
 their bodies were buried in a garden, while their heads were
 
 186 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 sent to Shah Jehan. But the fate of Bulaki is uncertain. 
 It was said that he was strangled ; but the Duke of Hoi- 
 stein's ambassadors saw the prince in Persia ten years after- 
 ward. "Whether he was an impostor will never be known. 
 Shah Jehan sent ambassadors to Persia to demand the sur- 
 render of the pseudo-Padishah, but the Shah of Persia re- 
 fused to deliver up the exile ; and henceforth the latter per- 
 sonage lived on a pension which he received from the court 
 of Persia. 
 
 The reign of Shah Jehan is obscure. While alive his 
 inordinate love of flattery led to fulsome praises of his ad- 
 ministration, which find expression in history; while the 
 misfortunes of his later years excited the sympathy of Eu- 
 ropean residents in India, and blinded them to the scandals 
 which stain his life and reign. 1 
 
 Shortly after the accession of Shah Jehan he manifested 
 his hatred against the Portuguese. Goa was beyond his 
 reach, but the Portuguese had been permitted by Akbar to 
 establish a settlement at Hughli, in Bengal, about twenty 
 miles from the present site of Calcutta. Shah Jehan had a 
 special spite against the Portuguese of Hughli. They had 
 refused to help him in the rebellion against his father Je- 
 hangir; and they had joined the imperial army with men 
 and guns, and taken a part in the battle against the 
 rebel son. 
 
 The fate of the Portuguese of Hughli is one of the sad- 
 dest stories in the history of India; it has been likened to 
 the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. The settlement was 
 captured hi 1632. The Portuguese were carried away cap- 
 tive to Agra and threatened and tortured to become Muham- 
 madans. Many held out and suffered martyrdom. The 
 flower of the women and children were sent to the impe- 
 rial zenana; the remainder were distributed among the 
 Amirs of the Moghul court ; and the veil of oblivion may 
 well be thrown over the unhappy doom of all. 
 
 1 For details, see larger History of India, vol. iv. chap. vi.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 187 
 
 The antagonisms between Rajputs and Muhammadans 
 had risen to a dangerous height during the reign of Je- 
 hangir, but during the reign of Shah Jehan they became 
 still more alarming. The race hostility between Moghul 
 and Afghan was disappearing, and they were making com- 
 mon cause against the Hindu. A Rajput army under a 
 Rajput general had been found necessary in acting against 
 the Muhammadan Sultans of the Dekhan. When, however, 
 Mahabat Khan was recalled from the Dekhan, an Afghan 
 army was sent under an Afghan general named Khan 
 Jehan. The Afghans were Sunnis; so was Malik Amber 
 the Abyssinian. Intrigues naturally followed between the 
 Afghan and the Abyssinian; and Khan Jehan discovered 
 in time that his life was in danger from Shah Jehan, and 
 broke out into rebellion. Then it was found that the Mu- 
 hammadan army in the service of the Padishah would not 
 fight against the rebel Khan Jehan and his Afghans. The 
 Rajput army was brought into play, and soon defeated and 
 slew the rebel, and carried off his head to Shah Jehan. 
 
 But while the Rajputs fought bravely against the Af- 
 ghans, they were disaffected toward the Padishah. They 
 had helped Shah Jehan to obtain the throne, out of hatred 
 to Nur Mahal ; but they had no respect for the new sover- 
 eign ; and an incident occurred at this time which reveals 
 some of the dangers which were beginning to threaten the 
 imperial throne. 
 
 A prince of Marwar (Jodhpur) named Umra Singh had 
 entered the Moghul' s service with all his retainers. It was 
 the custom for the Rajput generals to mount guard in turns 
 before the palace, while the Muhammadan Amirs mounted 
 guard inside the palace. Umra Singh had a strong aver- 
 sion to the guard duty. On one occasion he was away for 
 a fortnight without leave, and when he returned he excused 
 himself by saying that he had been hunting. He was fined, 
 but refused to pay the fine. He was summoned to the Dur- 
 bar hall, and made his appearance while Shah Jehan was 
 sitting on his throne. He pressed toward the front as if to
 
 188 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 speak to the Padishah, and then suddenly drew a dagger 
 from his sleeve and stabbed the minister to the heart. Hav- 
 ing thus committed himself to the work of murder, he struck 
 out at those around him; in a word, he ran "amok" until he 
 was overpowered and slain. 
 
 The turmoil filled the Durbar hall with consternation. 
 Shah Jehan was in such a fright that he left the throne and 
 ran into the zenana. The retainers of Umra Singh heard 
 that their master was dead, and ran "amok" in the old Raj- 
 put fashion. They put on saffron clothes and rushed to the 
 palace, killing all they met. They threatened to plunder 
 Agra unless the dead body of their prince was given to them. 
 Shah Jehan was forced to comply. The dead body was 
 made over to the Rajputs; the funeral pile was prepared, 
 and thirteen women perished in the flames. 
 
 The Rajput princes outside the Moghul's service were 
 still more refractory. They were called tributary Rajas, 
 but rarely paid tribute unless they were forced. They were 
 protected by forests and mountains. They often desolated 
 the dominions of the Moghul, harassed his subjects, hindered 
 trade, and plundered caravans. Fortunately they were at 
 constant feud with each other; whereas, could they have 
 united in one national uprising, they might possibly have 
 contended successfully against a sovereign like Shah Jehan. 
 
 Shah Jehan carried out two great works which have 
 served to perpetuate his name. He built the famous Taj 
 Mahal at Agra. He also founded the present city of Delhi, 
 which to this day is known to Muhammadans by the name 
 of Shah Jehanabad, or "the city of Shah Jehan." 
 
 The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum of white marble ; a lofty 
 dome supported by four arches. Seen from the outside, the 
 structure is of plain but dazzling whiteness. Inside the walls 
 are inlaid with precious stones of various colors, representing 
 birds and flowers. The marble gates are exquisitely perfo- 
 rated so as to resemble lace. The structure is built in the 
 midst of gardens and terraces, while round about are lofty 
 pavilions with galleries and arched ways. The whole must
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 189 
 
 have cost millions sterling. Twenty thousand men are said 
 to have labored at it for twenty years. 
 
 This mausoleum was built in honor of Shah Jehan's first 
 and favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal, the daughter of Asof 
 Khan, and niece of Nur Mahal. The spirit of tho place is 
 feminine. There is nothing stately or masculine in the 
 buildings; nothing to recall the architecture of Greece or 
 Rome. It is lovely beyond description, but the loveliness 
 is feminine. It is not the tomb of a wife, but the shrine of 
 a mistress. It awakens ideas of fair-complexioned beauty; 
 the soul is dead, but the form, the charm, the grace of beauty 
 are lingering there. The walls are like muslin dresses, radi- 
 ant with flowers and jewels. The perforated marble gates 
 are like the lace veils of a bride. 
 
 Shah Jehan never lived at Delhi ; he made Agra his capi- 
 tal, but sometimes spent the hot months in the cool climate 
 of Kashmir. The new city and palace of Delhi are therefore 
 chiefly associated with the reigns of his successors. But he 
 constructed a peacock of gold and jewels over the imperial 
 throne at Delhi that has been accounted one of the wonders 
 of the world. Some have attempted to estimate its value. 
 But the historical importance of the peacock lies in the fact 
 that it proves Shah Jehan to have been at heart a Moghul 
 and an idolater, and anything but a Muhammadan. The 
 peacock was an emblem of the sun ; and Chenghiz Khan 
 and the Rana of Udaipur claimed alike to be the children 
 of the sun. The image of a peacock was opposed to the di- 
 rect injunctions of the Koran ; but the peacock was the en- 
 sign of the old Maharajas of Vijayanagar, and to this day 
 it is the ensign of the Moghul kings of Burma. 
 
 Shah Jehan carried on several wars on the frontier, but 
 they are of small importance. On the northwest, Kabul 
 was a bone of contention with the Uzbegs. Further south, 
 Kandahar was a bone of contention with Persia. 
 
 The history of the reign of Shah Jehan is little better than 
 a narrative of zenana influences and intrigues. Every gov- 
 ernor of a province was expected to send not only a fixed
 
 190 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 yearly sum as the Padishah's share of the revenue, but 
 costly presents to Shah Jehan and the favorite queens. No 
 governor could expect to keep his province except by pres- 
 ents, which were nothing but bribes; and such bribes, if 
 liberally bestowed, would often cover or excuse tyranny and 
 oppression, and secure promotion and titles of honor for the 
 lavish donor. 
 
 The crowning event of the reign was the fratricidal war 
 between the four sons of Shah Jehan for the succession to 
 the throne. Each of these four sons had a distinctive char- 
 acter ; their names were Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb, and Murad. 
 Dara, the eldest, resided with the court at Agra; Shuja was 
 Viceroy of Bengal, Aurangzeb was Viceroy of the Moghul 
 Dekhan, and Murad was Viceroy of Guzerat. Dara was 
 attached to Europeans, and inclined to Christianity, but he 
 treated the Rajput princes with arrogance and scorn. Shuja 
 was a Shiah, and friendly toward the Rajput princes. Au- 
 rangzeb was a strict Sunni, and Murad professed to be a 
 Sunni like Aurangzeb. 
 
 The old antagonism between Sunni and Shiah was about 
 to break out in India. The original quarrel between the two 
 hostile camps lies in a nutshell. The Sunnis say that the 
 four Khalifs, who reigned in succession after the death of 
 Muhammad, are the rightful successors of the prophet by 
 virtue of their being elected by the congregation at Medina. 
 The Shiahs declare that the three first Khalifs Abubakr, 
 Omar, and Othman are usurpers; that Ali, the fourth 
 Khalif, is the only rightful successor of Muhammad by 
 virtue of his kinship with the prophet ; Ali being the hus- 
 band of Fatima, the prophet's daughter, and the father of 
 Hasan and Husain, the prophet's grandsons. To this day 
 the disputants are cursing and reviling each other, and often 
 resort to fisticuffs, cudgels, and swords, in the vague hope of 
 settling the controversy by force of arms. 
 
 But there is something more in the controversy than 
 meets the eye. The Sunni is a puritan of a democratic 
 type, who hates idolaters and unbelievers of every kind,
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 191 
 
 and allows but little speculation in matters of religion. The 
 Shiah, on the other hand, believes in a kind of apostolic suc- 
 cession, and speculates as to how far Muhammad and his 
 son-in-law Ah', and his grandsons Hasan and Husain, are 
 emanations of the godhead; and he is certainly neither as 
 puritanical nor as intolerant as the strict Sunni. 
 
 The early Padishahs were lusty men, sensual and jovial. 
 Aurangzeb was a lean spare fanatic, abstaining from wine 
 and flesh meat, and living only on fruit and vegetables. His 
 face was pale and livid; his eyes were bright and piercing, 
 but sunk in his head. At one time he is said to have lived 
 as a fakir in the company of fakirs. He always carried a 
 Koran under his arm, prayed often in public, and expressed 
 a great zeal for Muhammad and the law. 
 
 Aurangzeb, as already said, was Viceroy of the Moghul 
 Dekhan. He had resided many years in the province, and 
 founded the city of Aurangabad, which was called after his 
 name. He hated the Shiah Sultans of Bijapur and Gol- 
 konda, and was anxious to annex their kingdoms to the em- 
 pire of the Moghul. He formed a close alliance with Amir 
 Jumla, a rebel minister of Golkonda, and projected the con- 
 quest of the two kingdoms ; but his projects were thwarted 
 by Dara, and were suddenly brought to a close by reports 
 that Shah Jehan was dying, followed up by rumors that he 
 was dead. 
 
 The whole empire was in a ferment. It was known on 
 all sides that the four brothers would engage in a bloody 
 contest for the throne; and every Amir and Raja was 
 weighing the character and prospects of each of the four. 
 Dara was the eldest son, and was on the spot to assert his 
 rights ; but he had alienated the Rajputs by his insolence ; 
 he was disliked by the Muhammadans as a heretic ; and he 
 was especially hated by the Sunnis as an infidel and unbe- 
 liever. Shuja, as a Shiah, could rely on the support of the 
 Rajputs, and on the help of all those nominal Muhamma- 
 dans who were followers of the Koran from family asso- 
 ciations, but detested the puritanism and fanaticism of the
 
 192 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Sunnis. Aurangzeb, on the other hand, was a strict Sunni, 
 and relied on the support of all sincere Muhammadans, who 
 mourned over the decay of religion and morals, and yearned 
 after a thorough reformation. His main difficulty was to 
 reconcile his ambitious schemes with his religious views. 
 But craft and fanaticism removed every difficulty, and en- 
 abled him to perpetrate the most atrocious crimes out of 
 professed zeal for the prophet and his law. 
 
 Shuja, Viceroy of Bengal, was the first to take the field 
 and march an army toward Agra. An imperial force was 
 sent against him, consisting of a Muhammadan army under 
 Sulaiman, the eldest son of Dara, and a Rajput army under 
 the command of Jai Singh, Raja of Jaipur. 1 Jai Singh had 
 no desire to act against Shuja. He hated Dara, who had 
 grievously insulted him by calling him a musician. 8 He 
 assured Shuja that Shah Jehan was still alive, and tried to 
 persuade him to return to Bengal. But Shuja was self- 
 willed, and a battle was the result; but though Shuja was 
 defeated, Jai Singh hung back from a pursuit. Shuja re- 
 tired with the wreck of his army into Bengal ; and 'the im- 
 perial forces saved appearances by following slowly behind. 
 
 Meanwhile Aurangzeb was playing an artful game. He 
 knew that his younger brother Murad had begun to march 
 an army from Guzerat toward Agra. He wrote to Murad 
 proposing that they should make common cause against 
 Dara. All that he wanted, he said, was to prevent an in- 
 fidel like Dara, or a heretic like Shuja, from succeeding to 
 the throne of Hindustan. He was satisfied that Murad was 
 an orthodox Sunni, and he would gladly help Murad to win 
 the throne ; and then he himself would retire from the cares 
 and business of the world, and devote his remaining years to 
 penitence and prayer at the prophet's tomb. 
 
 Murad was overjoyed at the proposal. The two armies 
 
 1 Jai Singh, Raja of Jaipur (Jeypore), is famous in the after history. So also 
 is Jaswant Singh, Raja of Marwa ( Jodhpur). 
 
 2 To call a man a musician is a grave offence in Oriental ears. To call a 
 woman a dancing-girl is an equally opprobrious epithet.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 193 
 
 were soon united, and marching through Rajputana toward 
 Agra. Aurangzeb continued to observe a studied subservi- 
 ence to his younger brother. He treated Murad as the Pa- 
 dishah, took his orders as regards the movements of the 
 army, and even prostrated himself before him. Murad 
 was completely gulled. He was anything but a fervent 
 Muhammadan, and certainly had none of the fanaticism of 
 Aurangzeb. He professed himself a Sunni for political pur- 
 poses ; and he rejoiced at the blind zeal which had driven 
 Aurangzeb to help him to the throne. 
 
 Dara was a doomed man from the beginning of the war. 
 He sent an imperial force against the two brothers. The 
 Rajput army was commanded by Jaswant Singh of Marwar; 
 and this Raja was stanch to the imperial cause, for he had 
 married a daughter of Shah Jehan by a Rajput wife. The 
 Muhammadan army was commanded by a general who had 
 been insulted by Dara and was burning for revenge. A bat- 
 tle was fought near Ujain (Oojein), but the Muhammadans 
 would not fire a gun, partly through the treachery of their 
 general, and possibly out of respect for the vaunted piety of 
 Aurangzeb. The whole brunt of the battle fell upon the 
 Rajputs, and they were cut to pieces. The Raja of Marwar 
 fled with a handful of followers to the city of Jodhpur, only 
 to encounter the fury of his Rani. The princess, though a 
 daughter of Shah Jehan, had Rajput blood in her veins. 
 She cried out, with the spirit of a Spartan, that the Raja 
 ought to have conquered Aurangzeb or perished on the field 
 of battle. She threatened to burn herself on the funeral 
 pile, since her husband was dead to shame; and she only 
 relented on his making a solemn vow to be revenged on 
 Aurangzeb. 
 
 Dara was frantic at the defeat. He sent expresses calling 
 up Sulaiman from Bengal, but Jai Singh persuaded Sulaiman 
 to remain where he was. He raised an immense army of raw 
 levies; and refusing to wait any longer, he led it against his 
 two brothers. The Rajputs in Dara's army were stanch, 
 but the commander of the Muhammadans was burning to be 
 X 9 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 194 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 revenged on Shah Jehan ; for like other grandees, his wife 
 had been dishonored by the Padishah. A battle was fought 
 on the banks of the Chambal river. The Rajput leader was 
 slain, and his men fled in a panic. The Muhammadan troops 
 were persuaded by the wrathful husband that Dara was also 
 slain, and they fled in like manner. Dara saw that all was 
 lost, and galloped off to Agra with a handful of followers; 
 but he dared not remain there, and made his way to the 
 Punjab. He hoped to escape to Persia, as Humayun had 
 done more than a century before. 
 
 The victorious army of Aurangzeb and Murad marched 
 on to Agra, and shut up Shah Jehan in his own palace. 
 There was not an Amir or a Raja to strike a blow in de- 
 fence of the old Padishah, or interfere in his behalf. All 
 were thunderstruck at the revolution, and paralyzed with 
 fear. Shah Jehan tried to inveigle Aurangzeb into a pri- 
 vate interview ; but the latter was warned that he would be 
 murdered by the Tartar women who formed the bodyguard 
 to the Padishah, and was thus able to avoid the snare. l 
 
 Aurangzeb next feigned to prepare for the coronation of 
 Murad. Suddenly it was noised abroad that Murad had 
 been found by his brother in a state of intoxication, had been 
 declared unfit to reign, and had been sent as a state prisoner 
 for life to the fortress of Gwalior. Meanwhile Aurangzeb 
 was proclaimed Padishah amid the acclamations of his sol- 
 diers. The whole affair is a Moghul mystery. It is said 
 that Murad was tempted to excess by Aurangzeb himself, 
 and the circumstances confirm the suspicion. Murad was 
 not likely to have indulged in wine, much less to have fallen 
 into a state of intoxication, in the company of his strict 
 brother, without some peculiar temptation. Again, though 
 a zealous Muhammadan might maintain that a drunkard 
 was unfit TO reign, yet the fact that Aurangzeb made his 
 
 1 An imperial bodyguard of Tartar women is an ancient institution in India. 
 Megasthenes tells us that Sandrokottos had such a bodyguard ; and Raja Dash- 
 Janta appears with the same kind of bodyguard in the drama of Sakuntala.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 195 
 
 brother's drunkenness a plea for seizing the throne will 
 excite suspicions until the end of time. 
 
 The conclusion of the fratricidal war may be briefly told. 
 The fortunes of the contending brothers really depended 
 upon the two Rajput Rajas, Jai Singh and Jaswant Singh; 
 and both were won over for the time by the cajoleries of 
 Aurangzeb, who forgot his religious scruples while seeking 
 the support of Hindu idolaters. In the end Shuja was de- 
 feated by Amir Jumla, the stanch ally of Aurangzeb; and 
 was forced to fly with his family and treasures to Arakan, 
 where he is supposed to have perished miserably. Dara was 
 encouraged by Jaswant Singh to hazard another battle, but 
 was abandoned by the Raja, and ruined by the disaffection 
 of his own officers, who were all in collusion with Aurangzeb. 
 Again he fled toward Persia, but was betrayed by an Afghan, 
 and sent in fetters to Delhi; and there he was murdered by 
 hired assassins in the pay of Aurangzeb. His son Sulaiman 
 escaped to Kashmir, but was betrayed by the Raja of Kash- 
 mir, and spent the remainder of his days as a state prisoner 
 in the fortress of Gwalior. Shah Jehan was imprisoned for 
 life in his own palace at Agra. Aurangzeb, who had made 
 religion a stepping-stone to the throne, had overcome his 
 brethren mainly by the support of two heathen Rajas. He 
 was installed as Padishah in the city of Delhi, and was ac- 
 cepted as sovereign by the people of Hindustan.
 
 196 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE AURANGZEB 
 
 A.D. 1658 TO 1707 
 
 AURANGZEB had gained the empire of Hindustan, 
 but he was oppressed by fears and worn by anxieties. 
 He may have felt but little remorse at the fate of his 
 brethren; but he was in constant alarm lest his father Shah 
 Jehan should escape from Agra, or his brother Shuja should 
 turn up in Hindustan. The Sherif of Mecca refused to re- 
 ceive his envoys, although they brought him money pres- 
 ents; he told the pilgrims at Mecca that he knew of no 
 sovereign of Hindustan excepting Shah Jehan. 
 
 Meanwhile Aurangzeb was obliged to dissemble his re- 
 ligious views ; to trim between Muhammadans and Hindus. 
 He tried to conciliate strict Muhammadans by enforcing the 
 law against wine, by prohibiting music and singing, and by 
 banishing dancing-girls. He is said to have conciliated the 
 Rajas by magnificent feasts, at which he offered up prayers 
 in the presence of a burning brazier, 1 as if he were perform- 
 ing sacrifices. But he could not, or would not, conciliate 
 Shiahs. He issued an edict compelling them to cut the long 
 mustaches which they wore in memory of the prophet Ali ; 
 and he deprived many Persian Shiahs of the lands which 
 had been specially granted to their families by the tolerant 
 Akbar. 
 
 Aurangzeb was not an amiable man. On the contrary, 
 
 1 Hindus say their prayers, and read the sacred books, in the presence of a 
 lamp or fire as a representative of deity. Sir William Jones was much censured 
 in bygone days because he yielded to the prejudice of his Brahman pundits, and 
 burned a lamp while studying the laws of Manu.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 197 
 
 he was sour, reserved, and resentful, and seemed to delight 
 in wounding the feelings of others. Although he was more 
 than forty years of age, he cherished a grudge against his 
 old tutor, and was mean enough to resent it by stopping his 
 pension. The tutor thought there must be some mistake, 
 and went to Delhi and secured a public audience with the 
 Padishah in the Durbar hall. He expected to be treated 
 with some show of warmth; but to his utter surprise Au- 
 rangzeb delivered a long tirade on the poorness of his edu- 
 cation. "This tutor," said the Padishah, "taught me the 
 Koran, and wearied me with the rules of Arabic grammar; 
 but he told me nothing at all of foreign countries. I learned 
 nothing of the Ottoman empire in Africa, nor of the Tartar 
 empire in China. I was made to believe that Holland was 
 a great empire, and that England was larger than France. 
 Meanwhile I was taught nothing of the arts of government 
 and war, and but very little of the towns and provinces of 
 Hindustan." 
 
 The set speech of Aurangzeb was promulgated through- 
 out the empire and lauded to the skies by all the parasites 
 and courtiers; but wiser men saw the malignity which dic- 
 tated it. The tutor had probably taught Aurangzeb all he 
 knew, and certainly could not have been expected to teach 
 him the arts of government and war. What became of the 
 tutor is unknown. 
 
 For some years Aurangzeb made Delhi his capital. This 
 city stood about a hundred miles to the north of Agra, where 
 Shah Jehan was kept prisoner. It presented an imposing 
 appearance in those days, but in reality was little better than 
 a camp. When the court was at Delhi the city was crowded 
 with people; but when the court removed to Kashmir or 
 elsewhere, the city was nearly empty. Only a few houses 
 in all Delhi were built of stone or brick ; many were built of 
 clay and whitened with lime ; but the greater number were 
 mere hovels of mud and straw; and when the court and 
 army went into camp these huts were left to crumble to 
 pieces beneath the sun and rain.
 
 198 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The city, properly so called, consisted of one broad street, 
 lined with shops and arcades, which was known as the 
 Chandni Chouk. There was also another broad street, 
 without shops, where the grandees dwelt in their several 
 mansions. These streets were intersected by long narrow 
 lanes, peopled with the miscellaneous multitude of soldiers, 
 servants, followers, artisans, bazar dealers, coolies, and all 
 the strange varieties of human beings that make up an 
 Indian capital. 
 
 The city of Delhi was separated from the palace by a 
 great square; and when the Padishah was at Delhi this 
 square was a vast bazar, the centre of city life, its gossip, 
 and its news. Here the Rajputs mounted guard before the 
 entrance gate of the palace. Here horses and elephants of 
 the Padishah were paraded and mustered. Here the unfort- 
 unate Dara was conducted with every mark of contumely 
 before he was doomed to death, in order that the people of 
 Delhi might know that he was captured, and might not be 
 seduced afterward by any impostor who assumed his name. 
 Here wares of every kind were exposed for sale; mounte- 
 banks and jugglers performed before idle multitudes ; and 
 astrologers calculated fortunate and unfortunate days and 
 hours. 
 
 Astrologers were an institution at Delhi, as indeed they 
 are in most Oriental cities. Every grandee kept an astrolo- 
 ger, and treated him with the respect due to an eminent doc- 
 tor. But there was always a number of poor impostors sit- 
 ting in the bazar ready to tell the fortune of any man or 
 woman for a penny. They sat cross-legged on pieces of car- 
 pet, and handled mathematical instruments, turned over the 
 leaves of a large book which showed the signs of the zodiac, 
 and then feigned to calculate a fortunate time for beginning 
 any business or journey. Women, especially, covered them- 
 selves from head to foot in white calico, and flocked to the 
 astrologers, whispering the secrets of their lives with the 
 frankness of penitents at confession. Bernier describes one 
 ridiculous pretender, a Portuguese half-caste, whose only
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 199 
 
 instrument was a mariner's compass, and whose astrolog- 
 ical lore consisted of two old Catholic prayer-books, with 
 pictures of the Apostles, which he passed off for European 
 zodiacal signs. 
 
 The palace at Delhi was on the same plan as all the 
 Moghul palaces. In front, within the entrance gate, were 
 streets of shops and public offices. There also were quar- 
 ters for the Amirs, who mounted guard in turns within the 
 palace; 1 the arsenals for arms and accoutrements; and the 
 workshops for all the artisans employed by the ladies of the 
 zenana embroiderers, goldsmiths, painters, tailors, shoe- 
 makers, and dressmakers. 
 
 At the inner end of the palace streets was the Durbar 
 court, which was surrounded by arcades, and enclosed the 
 hall of audience, and other pavilions. Beyond the Durbar 
 court was the zenana and gardens. At the extremity of the 
 gardens was the Jharokha window, looking out on an open 
 plain which stretched to the river Jumna. This was the 
 plain where the multitude assembled every morning to salam 
 the Padishah ; while later in the day animal fights and other 
 performances were carried on beneath the window for the 
 amusement of the Padishah and his ladies. 
 
 Shortly after the accession of Aurangzeb, his attention 
 was drawn to the state of affairs in the Dekhan. The north- 
 ern Dekhan was Moghul territory ; further south were the 
 two Muhammadan kingdoms of Bijapur and Golkonda. The 
 western region near the sea, known as the mountains of the 
 Konkan, had never been conquered by the Muhammadans, 
 and was still held by the Hindus in a state of rude independ- 
 ence. The consequence was that the territories of the Moghul 
 and those of the Sultan of Bijapur were alike harassed by a 
 lawless chief of the Konkan, known as Sivaji the Mahratta. 
 This man appeared in the twofold character of a rebel against 
 
 1 Muhammadan Amirs mounted guard within the palace gates ; Rajput Rajas 
 mounted guard in the public square outside. The reason for this was that the 
 Rajput Rajas were always suspicious of treachery, and would not enter gates or 
 walls unless accompanied by the whole of their retainers.
 
 200 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the Sultan of Bijapur, and a freebooting Esau whose hand 
 was against every man. 
 
 The mountains of the Konkan, the cradle of Sivaji, form 
 the northern section of the Western Ghats. 1 They stretch 
 southward from Surat, past Bombay toward the neighbor- 
 hood of Goa. The political geography of the Konkan thus 
 bore a close resemblance to that of Wales ; and the chiefs 
 or Rajas of the Konkan maintained a rude independence in 
 these mountains, like that which was maintained by the 
 Welsh princes against the early English kings. 
 
 The father of Sivaji was a vassal of the Sultan of Bija- 
 pur ; as such he held the two fortresses of Joonere and Poona, 
 about seventy miles to the eastward of Bombay. The region 
 encloses fertile valleys, but otherwise might be described as 
 a land of precipices and jungles. For an unknown period it 
 had been the home of chieftains who were sometimes vassals 
 of the Sultan of Bijapur and sometimes rebels against his 
 suzerainty. 
 
 Sivaji was born at Joonere in 1627, and bred in the moun- 
 tains between Joonere and Poona. While yet a child, his 
 father had gone away south into the Mysore country ; nomi- 
 nally to conquer territory for the Sultan, but practically to 
 carve out a Raj for himself among the dismembered prov- 
 inces of the Vijayanagar empire. Meanwhile Sivaji grew 
 up to be a rebel and a freebooter. He was a short tawny 
 mountaineer, with long arms, quick eyes, and a lithe and 
 active frame. He was a rude uncultivated Hindu, cunning 
 and crafty beyond his fellows, and fertile in artful devices 
 and disguises. He boasted of a Rajput origin ; was a con- 
 stant worshipper of Siva and Bhowani ; s and was especially 
 imbued with a superstitious reverence for Brahmans. But 
 in one way the tinge of Rajput blood showed itself. Sivaji 
 always treated women with respect, and never insulted the 
 religion of his Muhammadan enemies. 
 
 1 The western coast of India, as already stated, was divided into three sec- 
 tions Konkan, Kanara, and Malabar. 
 
 2 Bhowani was a form of the goddess Durga, also known as Parvati and Kali, 
 who was supposed to be the wife of Siva.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 201 
 
 Sivaji was born with a genius for sovereignty. He was 
 endowed with that mysterious instinct which enables some 
 ignorant barbarian to convert shepherds or cultivators into 
 soldiers, and drill them into submission and obedience. He 
 succeeded in forming the mountaineers of the Konkan into 
 loose but organized armies of horsemen; levying plunder 
 and blackmail on a regular system ; devastating the plains 
 during the dry season, but returning at the beginning of the 
 rains to their natural fortresses in the hills. 
 
 Long before Aurangzeb obtained the throne, and when 
 he was simply Viceroy of the Moghul Dekhan, he heard of 
 the exploits of Sivaji. Indeed the Mahratta performed a 
 feat at this period, a deed of treachery and audacity, which 
 rendered him notorious far and wide. The Sultan of Bijapur 
 sent a general against Sivaji at the head of a large army. 
 Sivaji feigned to be in great trepidation, and tendered the 
 most humble offers of service. He inveigled the Muham- 
 mad an general into a private meeting, without followers on 
 either side, at which he was to do homage as a faithful feu- 
 datory of Bijapur and take the commands of the Sultan. 1 
 Sivaji went to the appointed spot with a secret weapon con- 
 cealed in his hand ; a treacherous and murderous contrivance 
 which reveals the savage instincts of the Mahratta. It con- 
 sisted of steel blades curled at the points to resemble claws; 
 and the whole was fastened to the fingers with rings, and 
 known as tiger's claws. 
 
 The Muhammadan general approached the Hindu with 
 dignified satisfaction. Before he left Bijapur he had boasted 
 that he would bring the Mahratta rebel from his lair, and 
 cast him in chains at the foot of the throne. Sivaji fell at 
 his feet like an abject suppliant. The Muhammadan told 
 him to rise, and he obeyed with every show of humiliation 
 and submission. At this moment, when the Muhammadan 
 was off his guard, the Mahratta rushed at him like a tiger, 
 
 1 According to some stories, both Sivaji and the Muhammadan general were 
 each accompanied by a few followers.
 
 202 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 tore him down with the horrible claws, and killed him on 
 the spot. 
 
 It is difficult to describe the turmoil which followed. The 
 surrounding jungle seems to have been alive with Mahrattas. 
 The Bijapur army discovered that their general was dead, 
 and fled in all directions, while the Mahrattas plundered the 
 camp and slaughtered the flying soldiery. 
 
 This exploit seems to have been after Aurangzeb's own 
 heart. It reached his ears at a time when he was planning 
 the conquest of Bijapur, and brooding over the approaching 
 struggle with his brothers for the throne of Hindustan. He 
 saw that Sivaji might prove a useful ally in the coming wars, 
 and that in the event of defeat or disaster the mountains of 
 the Konkan might offer a secure asylum. Accordingly, 
 he is said to have forgiven all the aggressions of Sivaji 
 on Moghul territory; to have ceded him a certain border 
 territory ; and to have come to some sort of treaty or under- 
 standing with him. But the Mahratta alliance come to noth- 
 ing. The fratricidal wars were brought to a close without 
 any appeal to Sivaji. Aurangzeb ascended the throne of 
 Hindustan, and for some years Sivaji was forgotten. 
 
 Meanwhile Sivaji was engaged in aggressions on Bijapur. 
 The government of Bijapur was weakened by domestic 
 troubles, and anxious to make peace with the refractory 
 Mahratta. At last there appears to have been some kind 
 of understanding or compromise. Sivaji was to abstain 
 from all further depredations on Bijapur, and in return was 
 to be left in possession of certain territories and fortresses. 
 
 But it was impossible for a restless spirit like Sivaji to 
 settle down to a quiet life. Having come to terms with 
 Bijapur he began to harass the territories of the Moghul. 
 He worked so much mischief as to attract the attention of 
 Aurangzeb, and at last the Padishah took effectual measures 
 for stopping all further depredations. 
 
 Aurangzeb appointed his uncle, Shaista Khan, to be Vice- 
 roy of the Moghul Dekhan. He sent his uncle with a large 
 force to capture the fortresses of Sivaji and break up the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 203 
 
 power of the Mahratta. Shaista Khan was accompanied by 
 a Rajput army under Jaswant Singh, of Marwar. Aurang- 
 zeb had reason to be very suspicious of the Raja of Marwar. 
 Jaswant Singh had married a daughter of Shah Jehan, and 
 might form some plan for the liberation of his captive father- 
 in-law. At any rate, it was considered more politic to em- 
 ploy Jaswant Singh in the Dekhan than to permit him to 
 remain in Hindustan, where he might carry on secret plots 
 and intrigues for the restoration of Shah Jehan to the throne. 
 
 In 1662 Shaista Khan captured the town and fortress of 
 Poona, and made it his headquarters during the rains. One 
 night Sivaji penetrated the Moghul camp and suddenly at- 
 tacked the quarters of the Moghul general. Shaista Khan 
 escaped with the loss of a finger ; his eldest son was slaugh- 
 tered on the spot. A Mahratta army suddenly fell upon the 
 Moghul camp, and all was uproar and confusion. In the 
 end Sivaji stole away with considerable booty. 
 
 Shaista Khan strongly suspected Jaswant Singh of being 
 concerned in this disaster; and there is every reason to be- 
 lieve that there was a secret alliance between the Rajput 
 and the Mahratta. If so, it was the first sign of that Hindu 
 movement against Aurangzeb which forms a distinguished 
 feature of the reign. 
 
 Sivaji was soon revenged on the Moghul for the invasion 
 of Shaista Khan. The Moghul port of Surat was separated 
 from Sivaji's territories in the Konkan by a tract of hill and 
 jungle inhabited by Bhils, and other wild tribes, under the 
 rule of some obscure Raja. Sivaji made an alliance with 
 this Raja and marched a Mahratta army through the Bhil 
 country. The town of Surat was taken by surprise. Most 
 of the inhabitants fled into the country out of sheer terror 
 of the Mahrattas. The Moghul governor of Surat made no 
 resistance, but threw himself into the fortress, and sent out 
 messengers for succor. 
 
 Meanwhile the Mahrattas plundered and burned the 
 houses of Surat at their leisure. They attacked the En- 
 glish and Dutch factories, but both were fortified with can-
 
 204 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 non ; and the European merchants in both houses succeeded 
 in beating off the brigands. The Mahrattas arrested all the 
 inhabitants they could find in the streets or houses, and car- 
 ried them off as prisoners to Sivaji, who remained in his tent 
 outside the town. One Englishman named Smith was also 
 taken prisoner. He saw Sivaji in his tent ordering heads 
 and hands to be chopped off, whenever he suspected that 
 the trembling wretches had hidden away their money or 
 jewels in some secret hoard. 
 
 For years afterward the name of Sivaji was a terror to 
 Surat. He often threatened to repeat the pillage, and forced 
 large contributions from the inhabitants as the price of his 
 forbearance. He called Surat his treasury. He annexed 
 the intervening Bhil country on the plea that he could not 
 trust the Bhil Raja with the key of his treasury. 
 
 About 1665, Shah Jehan died in the palace at Agra, not 
 * t without suspicions of foul play. ' Aurangzeb had been suf- 
 fering from serious sickness, but after his father's death he 
 was sufficiently recovered to proceed to Kashmir, where 
 he recruited his health in the cool air of the mountains. 
 At Kashmir he attempted to form a fleet which should rival 
 the navies of European countries. Two ships were built by 
 the help of an Italian, and were launched on the lake of 
 Kashmir; but Aurangzeb found that it would be difficult 
 to man them efficiently. No amount of teaching would im- 
 part the necessary quickness, nerve, and energy to his own 
 subjects ; and if he engaged the services of Europeans, they 
 might sail away with his ships, and he might never see 
 * them again. 
 
 About the same time, Aurangzeb was threatened by the 
 Shah of Persia. Shah Abbas the Second was a warlike 
 prince, and was suspicious of Aurangzeb's journey to Kash- 
 mir. He thought it portended some design upon Kandahar, 
 which at this time was Persian territory. Aurangzeb sent 
 
 1 The question of whether Aurangzeb was implicated in the death of hia 
 father Shah Jehan is treated in the larger History of India, vol. iv. chap. vii.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 205 
 
 an ambassador to the Shah, but the envoy was badly re- 
 ceived, and publicly insulted. The Shah hated Aurangzeb 
 for being a Sunni, and severely condemned him for his 
 treatment of his father and brethren. He scoffed at the 
 title which Aurangzeb had assumed of "Conqueror of the 
 World"; and he threatened to march an army to Delhi. 
 Aurangzeb was in the utmost alarm, when the news sud- 
 denly arrived that Shah Abbas had died of a quinsy brought 
 on by excessive drinking. 
 
 Meantime Aurangzeb returned to Delhi. In 1666 he re- 
 solved to be avenged on Sivaji for the plunder of Surat, and 
 he planned a scheme for entrapping the "mountain rat." 
 He professed to be an admirer of Sivaji, and publicly praised 
 his exploits. He declared that if the Mahratta would enter 
 his service, he should be appointed Viceroy of the Moghul 
 Dekhan. Jai Singh of Jaipur was induced to believe that 
 Aurangzeb was sincere, and was empowered to make the 
 offer to Sivaji ; but he was required to leave his son at Delhi 
 as a hostage for his good faith in dealing with the Mahratta. 
 
 Vanity is a weakness with Orientals. The pride of Sivaji 
 was flattered with the offer of the Great Moghul. In the 
 reign of Akbar, Rajput princes had been appointed Viceroys 
 in Kabul and Bengal ; and Sivaji may have asked himself 
 Why should not a Mahratta prince be appointed Viceroy of 
 the Moghul Dekhan? It never crossed the mind of Sivaji 
 that possibly he had been deceived ; and he undertook the 
 journey to Delhi in the utmost confidence that he would be 
 appointed Viceroy of the Dekhan. But the suspicions of Jai 
 Singh were awakened; he began to fear that Aurangzeb 
 meditated some treachery ; and, as he had pledged his faith 
 to Sivaji, he wrote to his son at Delhi to look after the safety 
 of the Mahratta. 
 
 When Sivaji reached Delhi, he soon discovered that he 
 had been deluded. Instead of being praised and petted, he 
 found himself neglected; and a long time elapsed before 
 he was admitted to an audience. At last a day was fixed, 
 and every one about the palace saw that unusual prepara-
 
 JJ06 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 tions were being made to astonish and overawe the Mahratta. 
 Aurangzeb usually appeared in Durbar in white attire, deco- 
 rated with a single jewel ; and on such occasions he took his 
 seat upon an ordinary throne. ' But on the day that Sivaji 
 was to be introduced to his notice, the Padishah entered the 
 hall in a blaze of jewels, and took his seat on the peacock 
 throne of Shah Jehan. 
 
 The Amirs and Rajas were railed off as usual in three 
 compartments on three platforms, according to grades. The 
 highest was of gold, the second of silver, and the third of 
 marble." Sivaji was admitted within the golden rail, but 
 directed to take the lowest place on the platform. He saw 
 that he was refused the rank of a Viceroy of the Dekhan, 
 and could not contain his wrath and indignation. In spite 
 of the pomp and ceremonial of the Durbar hall, and the bar- 
 baric pearls and gold of the Great Moghul, he loudly charged 
 the Padishah with breach of faith, called the grandees above 
 him cowards and women, and then left the platform and 
 stalked out of the palace. 
 
 Every looker-on was expecting that Sivaji would be 
 arrested and beheaded on the spot; but Aurangzeb listened 
 to his tirade with perfect tranquillity ; and nothing was to 
 be seen upon his countenance except a malignant smile that 
 played upon his lips when the Mahratta charged the gran- 
 dees with cowardice. He sent one of his ministers to tell 
 the wrathful prince that new-comers were never placed in 
 the front row; that he had not as yet been invested with the 
 insignia of Viceroy of the Dekhan ; and that the investiture 
 would follow in due course, after which he would take the 
 rank of his appointment. 
 
 Sivaji feigned to be satisfied, but his eyes were opened 
 to a new peril : he found himself a prisoner ; a guard was 
 
 1 It is reasonable to suppose that Aurangzeb had religious scruples as to sit- 
 ting on the peacock throne, seeing that such a figure savored of idolatry, and 
 was a violation of the injunctions of the Koran. 
 
 8 It is doubtful whether the platforms were of gold, silver, and marble, or 
 only the rails. In Jehangir's time the distinction turned on the color of the 
 rails, the highest grade in the empire being enclosed by a red rail
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 207 
 
 placed over his tent under pretence of protecting him against 
 the offended grandees. At this very time it happened that 
 the son of Jai Singh was mounting guard before the palace, 
 and he discovered enough to warn the Mahratta that there 
 was a plot to murder him. Sivaji had ample grounds for 
 believing that it would be dangerous to remain longer at 
 Delhi. What followed is involved in some mystery. Ac- 
 cording to the current story, Sivaji was carried outside the 
 city walls in an empty fruit basket, and then made his way 
 to Benares, disguised as a religious mendicant. All that is 
 known for certain is, that after many months he reached the 
 Konkan in safety. In September, 1666, the English mer- 
 chants in India wrote home to the Directors of the East 
 India Company, that if Sivaji had really escaped, Aurangzeb 
 would soon know it to his sorrow. 
 
 It has always been a matter of surprise why Aurangzeb 
 did not put Sivaji to death, without all this plotting and 
 scheming. In plain truth he was afraid of an insurrection 
 of the Rajas. Other Hindu princes, besides Jai Singh, had 
 become sureties for the performance of Aurangzeb' s prom- 
 ises. It was on this account that Aurangzeb assumed an 
 unruffled demeanor in the Durbar hall, and plotted in secret 
 for the assassination of Sivaji without exciting the suspicions 
 of the Rajas. Fortunately his designs were discovered by 
 the son of Jai Singh, and Sivaji escaped the trap which had 
 been prepared at Delhi. 
 
 Aurangzeb afterward sent an imperial force of Muham- 
 madans and Rajputs against Sivaji. The Muhammadan 
 army was under the command of his eldest son, Shah Alam. 
 This prince was destined to play a part in history. His 
 mother was a Rajput princess, whom Aurangzeb had mar- 
 ried when very young. The Rajput army was commanded 
 by Jai Singh of Jaipur. 
 
 Aurangzeb gave his son Shah Alam secret instructions to 
 feign a rebellion. The object was to discover what officers 
 in the imperial army were disaffected toward the Padishah, 
 and to induce Sivaji to join the pretended rebels, when he
 
 208 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 would be captured and beheaded. Tbe result showed that 
 all the officers, excepting one, were disaffected toward Au- 
 rangzeb, and ready to support the rebellion of Shah Alam. 
 Jai Singh and the Rajputs were especially enthusiastic in 
 favor of Shah Alam, for they all hated Aurangzeb as a big- 
 oted Sunni, and were anxious to place the son of a Rajput 
 mother on the throne of Hindustan. 
 
 Sivaji, however, was not to be ensnared a second time. 
 His adventures at Delhi had taught him to be preternatu 
 rally suspicious of Aurangzeb. He professed to throw him- 
 self heart and soul into the cause of Shah Alam, but nothing 
 would induce him to join the rebels. He told Shah Alam to 
 go on and win the throne of Hindustan ; he himself would 
 remain behind and maintain the prince's cause in the Dek- 
 han ; and in the event of a failure he would keep an asylum 
 open in the Konkan to the prince and his followers. 
 
 "When Shah Alam saw that nothing would move the 
 Mahratta from his purpose, he brought the sham rebellion 
 to a close. Another imperial army appeared upon the scene 
 to protect Shah Alam against the wrath of the officers whom 
 he had deceived. The rebels saw that they had been deluded 
 by Shah Alam ; they saw moreover that they had been sepa- 
 rated from each other, and that there was no way of escape. 
 All the disaffected soldiers were drafted off to different prov- 
 inces to serve under other generals. All the rebel generals 
 were put to death or sent into exile. For some years the 
 Rajas of Jaipur and Marwar disappear from history; but 
 the Rana of Udaipur still maintained his independence in 
 his secluded territories as in days of old. 
 
 But Aurangzeb had effected another object, which re- 
 veals the political craft of the Moghul. From the reign of 
 Akbar downward, the empire had been exposed to rebellion 
 on the part of the eldest son of the Padishah. But the cun- 
 ning of Aurangzeb had rendered such a rebellion impossible 
 for the future. Henceforth Shah Alam found it impossi- 
 ble to revolt; neither Muhammadan nor Rajput would trust 
 him after his consummate treachery. Indeed, such was the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 209 
 
 general fear and universal distrust, that the chances of a 
 successful rebellion were less during the remainder of the 
 reign of Aurangzeb than at any former period in the history 
 of Moghul India. 
 
 In 1668 an edict was issued forbidding any one to write 
 the history of the reign of Aurangzeb. The reason for this 
 extraordinary prohibition has never been explained. Almost 
 every Moghul sovereign has been anxious that his memoirs 
 should be written and preserved to posterity; and Timur, 
 Baber, and Jehangir have left memoirs of their lives, osten- 
 sibly written by themselves. Possibly Aurangzeb was afraid 
 lest current suspicions of his being implicated in the death of 
 his father would be recorded in the popular histories of his 
 reign. The consequence has been that the reign of Aurangzeb 
 has hitherto been little known to history. The present nar- 
 rative is based on the contemporary memoirs of Manouchi 
 the Venetian, and a history written from memory many 
 years afterward by a Muhammadan named Khafi Khan. 1 
 
 For some years the attention of Aurangzeb was drawn 
 away from the Dekhan by the troubled state of the north- 
 west frontier. The outlying province of Kabul was included 
 hi the Moghul empire, but was only nominally under Moghul 
 rule. The Viceroy lived at Peshawar, and rarely, if ever, 
 attempted to go further. About 1666 a Moghul army was 
 collected on the frontier to oppose the Persian invasion ; and 
 when all danger was removed by the death of Shah Abbas, 
 the Viceroy of Kabul led the army through the Khaibar Pass 
 and entered the Kabul plain. No enemy was encountered, 
 and want of supplies soon compelled the Moghul governor to 
 retire toward Peshawar by the way he came. On re-enter- 
 ing the Khaibar Pass, the whole force was surrounded by 
 Afghans, and literally cut to pieces. The Moghul governor 
 escaped to Peshawar in the guise of an Afghan, but with 
 the loss of all his troops and treasure. 
 
 1 For particulars respecting these authorities, see the larger History of India, 
 vol. iv. part ii.
 
 210 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 In 1672 there was a mysterious outbreak in Kabul. 
 Shuja, the second brother of Aurangzeb, was supposed to 
 have perished in Arakan some twelve years before. This 
 year, however, a man appeared in Kabul, and declared 
 himself to be the missing Shuja; and the Afghans accepted 
 him as their Padishah. To this day it is impossible to say 
 whether the man was, or was not, Shuja. It is certain, 
 however, that the Viceroy at Peshawar believed him to be 
 the real Shuja, and refused to interfere between Aurangzeb 
 and his brother. 
 
 The revolt in Kabul created the utmost alarm at Delhi. 
 Aurangzeb took the field in person, and for the space of two 
 years carried on operations against the Afghans, but effected 
 nothing decisive. The Moghul army was still harassed by 
 the Afghans, and Shuja was still secure in the recesses of 
 the mountains. 
 
 At last treachery was tried. Aurangzeb returned to 
 Delhi, and a new Viceroy was sent to Peshawar. A policy 
 of conciliation was adopted. The new Viceroy began to in- 
 gratiate himself with the Afghan chiefs, treated them as his 
 friends, abolished imposts, and attended Afghan feasts with- 
 out armed followers. At last he gave a grand entertainment 
 at Peshawar to celebrate the circumcision of his eldest son. 
 All the Afghan chiefs were invited, and a large number at- 
 tended without fear or suspicion. There were horse-races, 
 animal combats, wrestlings, and exhibitions of all kinds. 
 The whole wound up with a banquet in a tented pavilion 
 set up in the public square. In the midst of the banquet 
 the Viceroy left the pavilion under pretence of having cut 
 his hand. Immediately afterward volleys of musketry were 
 poured into the pavilion from the surrounding houses. The 
 air was filled with cries of treachery and murder. There 
 was no way of escape for the frightened guests, for all the 
 avenues were guarded with armed men. How many were 
 slaughtered, how many escaped, can never be told. The 
 massacre spread weeping and wailing throughout Kabul. 
 The Afghan nation was paralyzed with terror and sorrow.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 The man calling himself Shuja fled away from the scene 
 and was heard of no more. 
 
 Meanwhile Sivaji the Mahratta was renewing his depreda- 
 tions in the Dekhan. All treaties or agreements were violated 
 or ignored. He ravaged alike the territories of the Sultan 
 of Bijapur and those of the Moghul. He organized a regular 
 system of blackmail, known for more than a century after- 
 ward as the Mahratta chout. It amounted to a fourth part 
 of the revenue of the land. So long as the chout was paid, 
 the Mahrattas abstained from all robberies and devastations ; 
 but if the chout was withheld, the Mahrattas pillaged the 
 country as before. 
 
 The career of Sivaji at this period reveals the continued 
 decay of the Muhammadan powers in India. The Sultan of 
 Bijapur was compelled to recognize Sivaji as the independent 
 sovereign of the Konkan ; and in 1674 Sivaji was installed 
 as Maharaja with great pomp and ceremony, which have 
 been duly described by English ambassadors from Bombay 
 who were present on the occasion. 
 
 In 1677 Sivaji conducted an army of Mahratta horse in a 
 southeasterly direction through the kingdom of Golkonda, 
 and invaded the eastern Peninsula. On this occasion he 
 passed the neighborhood of Madras, and was duly propitiated 
 with cordials and medicines by the English merchants of Fort 
 St. George. Ultimately he conquered a kingdom of an un- 
 known extent in the country known as the Lower Carnatic, 
 in the eastern Peninsula. This Mahratta empire in the Car- 
 natic was represented down to modern times by the Raj of 
 Tan j ore. 1 
 
 Sivaji died about 1680, having maintained his independence 
 
 1 The old empire of Karnata corresponded more or less to the Mysore coun- 
 try, the territory occupied by the Kanarese-speaking people. The area of the 
 empire has often changed, while that of the language has remained the same. 
 In the seventeenth century the empire had dwindled into a petty Raj, and then 
 disappeared from history. The name, however, has been preserved to our own 
 times. The whole of the Peninsula, or India south of the Kistna, has been 
 divided between what is known in modern orthography as the Upper and Lower 
 Carnatics ; the Upper Carnatic comprising the western tableland, while the Lower 
 Carnatic comprises the eastern plain.
 
 212 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 till his death. During the last two or three years of his life, 
 the Moghul army of the Dekhan operated against him under 
 the command of Shah Alam, but nothing was done worthy 
 of note. Sivaji occasionally made extensive raids with his 
 Mahratta horse, and carried off convoys of treasures and 
 supplies, and escaped back safely to his hill fortresses. The 
 Moghul generals did not care to climb the "Western Ghats, 
 nor to penetrate the dangerous defiles; nor indeed did they 
 want to bring the wars of the Dekhan to a close. So long 
 as the wars lasted the Moghul commanders made large 
 emoluments by keeping small forces in the field while draw- 
 ing the pay for large numbers. At the same time they found 
 no difficulty in squeezing presents and supplies out of the 
 Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda, who were especially anx- 
 ious to save their kingdoms from invasion by propitiating 
 the officers of the Great Moghul. 
 
 About this period, and probably ever since the massacre 
 of the Afghans at Peshawar, Aurangzeb had been bent upon 
 realizing the great dream of his life the destruction of idol- 
 atry throughout India, and the establishment of the religion 
 of the Koran from the Indus to the Ganges, and from the 
 Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal. 
 
 The policy of Aurangzeb was directly opposed to that of 
 Akbar. Instead of raising the Rajput princes to rank and 
 influence, he sought to degrade them. Instead of permitting 
 the followers of other religions to worship God their own 
 way, he sought to force them into becoming Muhamma- 
 dans. 
 
 In the first instance Aurangzeb confined his operations 
 to his own dominions. He began by destroying idols and 
 pagodas within his own territories, and building up mosques 
 in their room. He burned down a great pagoda near Delhi. 
 He converted a magnificent temple at Mathura into a 
 mosque. He drove religious mendicants of every idola- 
 trous sect out of Hindustan. He ordered the Viceroys of 
 provinces to carry on the same work throughout the empire, 
 in Bengal and the Dekhan as well as in Hindustan. At the
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 same time he prohibited the celebration of Hindu festivals. 
 He required all Hindu servants of the Moghul government 
 to become Muhammadans under pain of losing their appoint- 
 ments. He imposed the Jezya, or poll-tax on infidels, on all 
 of his subjects who refused to become Muhammadans. Even 
 English and Dutch residents in India were subjected to the 
 same obnoxious impost ; but they seem to have escaped pay- 
 ment by tendering presents to the Viceroy of the province in 
 which they had established their respective factories. 
 
 It is difficult to ascertain the nature and extent of the 
 resistance which the Hindus offered to these innovations. 
 It is certain that bands of fanatics more than once rose in 
 rebellion. On one occasion there was a dangerous rising 
 near Delhi, which threatened the destruction of Aurangzeb 
 as the enemy of gods and Brahmans. But Hindu fanatics, 
 however numerous, could not withstand the Moghuls. Mobs 
 of Hindus crowded the streets of Delhi between the palace 
 and the mosque, and clamored to Aurangzeb to abolish the 
 Jezya; but they were trampled down and scattered by the 
 elephants of the Padishah, and fled in terror and dismay. 
 At last the Hindus seem to have submitted to their fate in 
 sullen resignation. If the gods themselves could not prevent 
 the destruction of idols and pagodas, why should their wor- 
 shippers sacrifice their wives and families by refusing to pay 
 Jezya? 
 
 Aurangzeb next attempted to introduce the same perse- 
 cuting measures into Rajputana ; and for a while he seemed 
 to carry his point. Jai Singh of Jaipur was dead ; he is said 
 to have been poisoned after the sham rebellion of Shah 
 Alam. There was no one to succeed him, for his eldest son 
 was still kept as a hostage at Delhi. Accordingly Jaipur 
 was compelled to submit, and the officers of the Moghul 
 collected Jezya in Jaipur territory. 
 
 Marwar (Jodhpore) was at first prepared for resistance. 
 Jaswant Singh was dead, but his widow, a daughter of Shah 
 Jehan, refused to permit the collection of Jezya. The Mo- 
 ghuls threatened to invade Marwar, and the heart of the
 
 214 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 princess failed her; and she compounded with Aurangzeb 
 by ceding a frontier district in lieu of Jezya. 
 
 The Rana of Udaipur had been left alone for a number 
 of years, and seems to have recovered strength. The de- 
 mands of Aurangzeb fell upon him like a thunderbolt; indeed 
 they were so arrogant that it was impossible he could com- 
 ply. He was to allow cows to be slaughtered in his terri- 
 tories ; pagodas to be demolished ; justice to be administered 
 according to the Koran; and the collection of Jezya from 
 all his subjects who refused to become Muhammadans. Pos- 
 sibly the first three demands were only made in order to 
 bully the Rana into permitting the collection of Jezya; as 
 it was, all four were refused. 
 
 The military operations which followed are very sugges- 
 tive. It was the old story of Moghuls against Greeks; the 
 hordes of High Asia against the Hellas of India. The Rana 
 and his subjects abandoned the plains and took refuge in the 
 Aravulli mountains. Three armies of the Moghul encamped 
 at three different points under the command of three sons of 
 Aurangzeb Shah Alam, Azam Shah, and Akbar. Not one, 
 however, would venture to enter the dangerous defiles. 
 Aurangzeb stayed at Ajmir with a small force awaiting 
 the surrender of the Rana. In this manner the Moghul 
 armies wasted their strength, energies, and resources be- 
 fore these natural fastnesses ; and months and years passed 
 away, while the submission of the Rana was as far off 
 as ever. 
 
 At this juncture Aurangzeb was aroused by the tidings 
 that his third son Akbar had broken out in rebellion, and 
 was already on the march to Ajmir. The dowager Rani of 
 Marwar was at the bottom of the mischief ; she had repented 
 of her compromise with the Moghul, and sent fifty thousand 
 Rajputs to enable Akbar to rebel against his father. At first 
 Aurangzeb could not believe the story ; but the same news 
 reached him from other quarters, and he was at his wits' 
 end. At last he sent a forged letter addressed to Akbar; 
 but the messenger was to allow himself to be taken prisoner,
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 215 
 
 and the letter was to fall into the hands of the general of the 
 Rajputs in the rebel army. 
 
 The artifice was successful. The forged letter was cap- 
 tured and read by the Rajput general. It told him that 
 Aurangzeb and Akbar were in collusion, and that their only 
 object was to destroy the fifty thousand Rajputs. The Raj- 
 put general remembered the sham rebellion of Shah Alam, 
 and naturally thought that Akbar was playing the same 
 game. At night he deserted Akbar with the whole of the 
 Rajput army, and hurried back with all haste to the city of 
 Jodhpore. In the morning Akbar saw that all was lost, and 
 fled for his life. After a variety of adventures he found a 
 refuge in the Mahratta country. 1 
 
 Aurangzeb was thus compelled to Abandon his religious 
 wars in Rajputana, and to pursue Akbar into the Mahratta 
 country, until, by force or craft, he could secure the person 
 of his rebel son and place him in safe custody. The humilia- 
 tion of Aurangzeb must have been extreme, but there was 
 no remedy. The shame of the retreat from Rajputana was 
 partly veiled by a report that the Rana had sued for terms; 
 but there was no disguising the fact that the Rana had suc- 
 cessfully held out against the Moghul ; and that Aurangzeb 
 was compelled to leave the Rajputs to worship their gods in 
 peace, and to engage in other wars against the Mahrattas 
 of the Konkan. 
 
 Aurangzeb concealed his disgrace from the public eye by 
 a show of pomp and magnificence, which was remembered 
 for generations afterward. The progress of the Moghul 
 army from Hindustan to the Dekhan resembled that of the 
 Persian army under Xerxes. The cavalcade moved in three 
 divisions, and the order of march may be gathered from the 
 following outline. 
 
 A body of pioneers walked in front with spades and hods 
 to clear the way. Then followed a vanguard of cannon, 
 
 1 The details of the Rajput war and Akbar's rebellion and flight are told at 
 length in the larger History of India, vol. iv. part ii.
 
 216 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 elephants loaded with treasures, carts laden with records 
 and account books, camels carrying drinking water from the 
 Ganges, provisions in abundance, cooks by hundreds, ward- 
 robes of dresses and decorations, and large masses of horse- 
 men. 
 
 The approach of the Padishah was heralded by the ap- 
 pearance of smoking caldrons of incense, which were car- 
 ried on the backs of camels. Aurangzeb was next seen on 
 an elephant, or on horseback, or in a rich palanquin. On 
 either side were the imperial guards on horseback. After 
 him came the ladies of the zenana on elephants with veiled 
 howdahs. They were followed by flocks of other women 
 and eunuchs on horseback, and numerous cannon drawn on 
 wooden rafts. 
 
 The division in the rear comprised a motley host of in- 
 fantry, camp-followers, sutlers, and servants, with spare 
 horses, tents and baggage. 
 
 Aurangzeb continued in camp for the remainder of his 
 reign. From the day of his retreat from Rajputana, about 
 1682, until the day of his death in 1707, a period of twenty- 
 five years, he never returned to Delhi. He was warned by 
 the fate of Shah Jehan never to leave his army and live in a 
 city. He was warned by the rebellion of his son Akbar 
 never to trust any of his sons with a force superior to his 
 own. Henceforth he spent his days in camp, wandering 
 to and fro like his Tartar ancestors in the steppes of Asia. 
 
 The details of the protracted wars of Aurangzeb would 
 be distasteful to general readers. They furnish studies of 
 character, but tell little of history, and still less of policy. 
 Aurangzeb had a genius for treachery and intrigue; at the 
 same time he had been zealous to root out all idolatry and 
 establish the Koran as the religion of India. It is hard to 
 reconcile such contradictions. Meanwhile none who knew 
 him would trust his word. He tried to cajole Akbar by 
 vows and promises; but the son refused to believe his fath- 
 er's oaths. The prince knew that if he surrendered himself 
 to Aurangzeb he would be a prisoner for life, and perhaps
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 might be blinded or poisoned. 1 In the end he escaped to 
 Persia, where he died and was forgotten. 
 
 Aurangzeb made no head against the Mahrattas. He 
 was baffled by an enemy whose light horse scoured the open 
 country for plunder, and then escaped to defiles and fast- 
 nesses where no one dared to follow them. Sivaji had been 
 succeeded on the throne of the Konkan by a son named 
 Sambhaji. After some years Sambhaji was betrayed to 
 Aurangzeb, and put to a barbarous death. But peace was 
 as far off as ever. The Moghuls could not conquer the 
 Mahrattas, and would not comply with their demands for 
 chout; and thus the Moghul army continued to carry on 
 desultory wars throughout the remainder of the reign. 
 
 Between 1686 and 1689 Aurangzeb conquered the Sultans 
 of Bijapur and Golkonda, and thereby converted their king- 
 doms into a Muhammadan province. The early Viceroys 
 were called Nawabs and Subahdars, but later on were known 
 as the Nizarns of the Dekhan, having their capital at Hyder- 
 abad. The conquest is memorable, because it brought the 
 Moghuls into the Peninsula, and into close relations with 
 the English at Madras. Otherwise the acquisition effected 
 no change in the Moghul empire. 11 
 
 Aurangzeb was a very old man when he died in 1707, 
 but there is some doubt as to his actual age. His life closed 
 in weakness and disaster. His intolerance in matters of 
 religion had brought the Moghul empire to the verge of ruin. 
 Had he followed the policy of his ancestor Akbar, he might 
 have extended his sovereignty over all the Hindu kingdoms 
 of the Peninsula. But he had evoked a national spirit of 
 resistance which he could not subdue ; and when his years 
 were ended, the Moghul suzerainty had lost its hold on 
 Rajput and Mahratta. 
 
 1 -This had been the unhappy fate of an elder brother, who had been induced 
 to go over to Shah Shuja at the beginning of the reign, and then had surrendered 
 to Aurangzeb. He perished miserably in the fortress of Gwalior. 
 
 4 Notices of the local history, so far as it affected the English at Madras, will 
 be found set forth in the next chapter. 
 X 10 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 218 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 From a Muhammadan and Sunni point of view, Aurang- 
 zeb was a great and good sovereign. He was zealous for 
 the religion of the prophet, and a devoted follower of the 
 Koran. He had no political sympathies for the Hindus ; on 
 the contrary, he was violently hostile toward them; and 
 after he was firmly established on the throne he was consist- 
 ent in the pursuit of this policy. There is reason to believe 
 that, before he engaged in the unhappy war in Rajputana, 
 his administration was far superior to that of any of his prede- 
 cessors, excepting possibly Akbar. He reserved to himself the 
 sole right of passing capital sentences, and he took care that 
 his orders were implicitly obeyed. Every day he received 
 and studied the reports which he received from the "Wakiah- 
 nawis, or court writers, as to what was going on in different 
 parts of his dominions; and by these means he often ac- 
 quired information which enabled him to check the corrup- 
 tion or oppression of the Viceroys of provinces. 
 
 One instance will suffice. Among other abuses a strange 
 practice had grown up in preceding reigns of permitting 
 Hindus to acquire religious merit by ransoming condemned 
 criminals. On one occasion some Banians had offered large 
 sums to the Nawab of Surat for the release of certain pro- 
 fessed stranglers, known as Thugs. But the arrest of the 
 Thugs had reached the ears of Aurangzeb, and his orders 
 were paramount. The Thugs were condemned to be hanged 
 in the jungle. The Banians accompanied them to the place 
 of execution, and gave them tobacco and sweetmeats on the 
 way. The hardened wretches knew their fate, but walked 
 along as gayly as if going to a wedding. They were hung 
 up by the left hand, their legs were cut off, and they were 
 left to bleed to death in lingering agony.
 
 WARREN HASTINGS 
 
 India, vol. one.

 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 219 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE CIVILIZATION 
 
 A.D. 1600 TO 1720 
 
 THE history of the reigns of Moghul sovereigns throws 
 but little light upon the condition of the people. It 
 brings out the individuality of successive monarchs; 
 it familiarizes the reader with court life in cities and camps; 
 and it tells the story of intrigues, plots and treacheries. But 
 it reveals little or nothing of the state of civilization which 
 prevailed in India during the palmy days of Moghul rule. 
 This lack of information is calculated to convey false 
 ideas as regards the happiness or otherwise of the people. 
 The character of the administration is confounded with that 
 of the reigning sovereign ; and if the Padishah is self-willed, 
 self-indulgent, and vicious, like Jehangir or Shah Jehan, the 
 conclusion is drawn that the administration is equally selfish 
 and tyrannical, and regardless of the welfare of the masses. 
 But this inference would be fallacious. The Padishah was 
 certainly a despot ; his will was law ; and his influence was 
 great for good or evil. The local Viceroys, especially during 
 the reigns of Jehangir and Shah Jehan, may have been cor- 
 rupt and grasping to the last degree. But the Moghul ad- 
 ministration was not the handiwork of individuals or gen- 
 erations ; it was the growth of centuries, kneaded into shape 
 by the experience of ages, hedged around by checks which 
 are not always visible to the historian, and controlled by the 
 latent force of custom, habit, and public opinion, to which 
 the most despotic princes and governors are occasionally 
 compelled to bow. 
 
 The first element of civilization is free and easy commu-
 
 220 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 nication; and during the greater part of the seventeenth 
 century this was by no means wanting in India. The roads 
 and postal arrangements which prevailed throughout the 
 Moghul empire, during the reigns of Shah Jehan and Au- 
 rangzeb, were quite as advanced, if not more so, than those 
 of France during the reign of Lewis the Fourteenth, or 
 those of England under Oliver Cromwell and Charles the 
 Second. Whether they were Moghul institutions of Tartar 
 origin, or whether they were inherited from the great Hindu 
 sovereigns of antiquity, such as Asoka or Siladitya, may be 
 open to question ; but the fact of the superiority of the means 
 of communication throughout the Moghul empire in the sev- 
 enteenth century remains the same. 
 
 The most famous road in India was that running from 
 Lahore through Delhi to Agra, thus uniting the three great 
 capitals of the Moghul empire. It was shaded with trees on 
 either side, which are said to have been planted by every 
 famous sovereign in turn Moghul, Afghan, and Hindu. 
 It was a continuation of the land route from Ispahan to 
 Lahore, via Kandahar, Kabul, and Atok, which was open 
 to merchants of all countries in the middle of the seventeenth 
 century. Since then it has been closed against travellers 
 generally, or at any rate against European travellers. 
 
 Agra was thus the centre of the road system in India. On 
 the northwest it was connected with Delhi, Lahore, Kabul, 
 and Ispahan. On the southeast it ran through Allahabad, 
 Benares, Patna, and Dacca, and thus brought Agra into 
 easy communication with Bihar and Bengal. On the south 
 it was connected with the Dekhan by a road which ran to 
 Golkonda, near the modern Hyderabad, via Burhanpur and 
 Deoghur. 
 
 Surat, the Moghul port at the mouth of Tapti, was an 
 emporium of trade, and another centre of the road system. 
 It was connected with Agra by two lines of road; one run- 
 ning near the coast, via Baroche, Baroda, and western 
 Rajputana; the other running more into the interior, via 
 Burhanpur, Sir on j, and Gwalior.
 
 t MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 These lines of route were not metalled roads like those 
 of modern times. They were little better than rough path- 
 ways, often running through jungles, or over rivers and 
 . mountains. They were often so uneven that wagons were 
 only kept from overturning by two ropes thrown across each 
 wagon, and held tight by two men walking on either side. 
 
 Natives generally travelled in a light coach with two 
 seats, which was drawn by two oxen. Tavernier travelled 
 in this way through the greater part of India. He carried 
 his cloak, bag, mattress, and quilt on the spare seat; and a 
 short supply of provisions and small vessel of wine in a box 
 under the coach. Some travellers rode on oxen ; but in that 
 case it was necessary to see that their horns were not more 
 than a foot long ; for if the beast was stung by flies, he was 
 apt to toss his horns back and gore the stomach of the rider. 
 
 But if the roads of Moghul India were as good as those 
 of France and England, hotel accommodation was infinitely 
 inferior. The excellence of English inns in the seventeenth 
 century is duly extolled by Lord Macaulay. But in Moghul 
 India there were no hotels properly so called ; nothing but 
 caravanserais and serais. Caravanserais were large com- 
 modious buildings constructed out of charity or ostentation, 
 or for the protection of caravans against refractory Rajas. 
 Here travellers found accommodation and shelter, but were 
 obliged to procure all necessaries from the neighboring bazar. 
 Serais were mere enclosures, in which some fifty or sixty 
 huts of mud and straw were surrounded by a fence or wall. 
 There were men and women at these places, who sold flour, 
 rice, butter, and herbs ; and they also made it their business 
 to bake bread, and boil rice. If there happened to be a 
 Muhammadan at a serai, he would go to a neighboring town 
 and buy a piece of mutton or a fowl for a European travel- 
 ler ; but no flesh meat of any kind was procurable from the 
 Hindus. The people who sold bread and boiled rice always 
 cleansed a hut for the traveller to sleep in ; and put in a little 
 bedstead or charpoy, on which the traveller laid his mattress 
 and quilt.
 
 222 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 But travelling always had its inconveniences and dan- 
 gers. In the hot weather the caravanserais were like ovens ; 
 in the winter nights they were often bitterly cold ; while the 
 smell of beasts and their drivers and the biting of ants and 
 mosquitoes were often intolerable. Sometimes the traveller 
 met a caravan of several thousands of oxen, carrying grain 
 or salt; and if the way was narrow he might be detained 
 two or three days until the whole caravan had passed. Some- 
 times there was scarcity of water or provisions. Sometimes 
 it was necessary to travel during the night, and rest in the 
 day time, on account of the heat. If the traveller halted in 
 a fortified town, he had to be careful to leave it before sun- 
 set, or he might find the gates shut for the night, and be 
 detained another day. The best way was to leave the city 
 in the afternoon with the requisite supply of provisions, and 
 rest under a tree, or some other shady spot, until it was cool 
 enough to begin the journey. Again, there was always 
 danger from wild beasts, such as tigers and panthers ; and 
 there was danger, especially in travelling through Rajputana 
 or Central India, of being attacked by brigands and high- 
 waymen of various degrees. 
 
 Every European traveller found it necessary to hire from 
 twenty to thirty horsemen, who carried bows and arrows, 
 or else swords and bucklers. But robberies in general were 
 compounded for by the payment of blackmail or transit 
 duty, at so much a head, or at so much a wagon. Some- 
 times there was a wrangle ending in bloodshed; but if the 
 traveller kept his temper the difficulty could generally be ar- 
 ranged. The brigands were not as a rule professed thieves, 
 but Rajput outlaws or rebels, so-called Rajas, who were 
 content to mulct a traveller or a caravan, and then would es- 
 cort the party in safety through then* respective territories. 
 Sometimes Aurangzeb attacked one or other of these petty 
 Rajas, and slaughtered him and his subjects. At one 
 place was to be seen a tower full of windows, and a bleed- 
 ing head in every window, as trophies of one of these 
 massacres.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 223 
 
 There were, however, professional thieves, afterward 
 known as Thugs, who infested Guzerat, and especially 
 haunted the imperial highroad between Agra and Delhi. 
 They went about disguised as peaceful travellers, and made 
 acquaintance with those they found on the way, and be- 
 guiled the time with pleasant conversation, until they all 
 rested under a shady tree. Suddenly, at a signal from the 
 chief, every Thug threw his noose round the neck of his 
 allotted victim, and strangled him, rifled him and buried 
 him, with a rapidity which defied detection. Sometimes a 
 handsome damsel, with dishevelled hair, appeared sitting at 
 the wayside, weeping and moaning over her misfortunes. 
 Compassion and admiration might tempt a traveller to speak 
 to her, but if so he was doomed. She soon had the noose 
 round his throat, and either strangled him on the spot, or 
 stunned him until her comrades came up and finished the 
 work of murder. 
 
 Native grandees travelled in rich palanquins, lined with 
 silk or velvet, and covered with scarlet or cloth-of-gold. 
 Sometimes they were accompanied by their wives and fam- 
 ilies, and attended by a large retinue of soldiers and ser- 
 vants, with led horses, elephants, and banners. Sometimes 
 a Muhammadan dervish travelled in great state in like man- 
 ner, surrounded by a crowd of disciples and followers. 
 
 Further south, outside the Moghul frontiers, a traveller 
 might meet a famous Hindu saint or Guru, mounted on an 
 elephant, or carried in a palanquin, surrounded by a host of 
 religious mendicants. Sometimes a traveller met a pair of 
 idols, male and female, going in grand procession on a pil- 
 grimage to Ramisseram, or some other holy place, accom- 
 panied by Brahmans and dancing-girls, music, and banners, 
 and a nondescript gathering of worshippers of both sexes and 
 all ages. 
 
 Travelling among the Hindu kingdoms of the Peninsula 
 was more difficult than in Moghul India. In the Penin- 
 sula there were no roads at all, and all travelling was per- 
 formed in palanquins, not only in the seventeenth century,
 
 324 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 but throughout the eighteenth, and during many years of 
 the nineteenth. The palanquin-bearers of the Peninsula 
 were generally strong men from the Telinga country, and 
 they went at a faster rate than in any other part of 
 India. 
 
 The carrying trade of India was monopolized by a hered- 
 itary caste of oxen-drivers, known as Manaris and Brinjar- 
 ries. Their caravans are described by Tavernier as consist- 
 ing sometimes of oxen, and sometimes of wagons. They 
 were to be found in all parts of India, from Comorin to 
 Surat and Agra. They were a nomad race, dwelling in 
 tents with their wives and families, and going about with 
 their oxen and cattle, whom they loved like their own 
 children. 
 
 The Manaris were divided into four tribes, each compris- 
 ing about a hundred thousand souls, and each distinguished 
 from the other three by a particular caste mark on their 
 foreheads. Each tribe was devoted to the carriage of one 
 or other of the four chief commodities of India; namely, 
 corn, rice, millet, and salt: it carried its own particular 
 commodity to the place where it was most wanted, but 
 never dealt with the other three articles, nor followed any 
 other avocation whatever. A caravan of oxen consisted of 
 several thousand of those animals loaded on the back with 
 the same commodity. A caravan of wagons consisted of 
 one or two hundred large carts, each drawn by ten or 
 twelve oxen, and attended by four soldiers, as already 
 stated, to prevent it from being overturned. 
 
 Every caravan had its own chief, who affected as much 
 state as a Raja, and wore a necklace of pearls. If the cara- 
 van of corn met the caravan of salt, there were fierce quar- 
 rels as to who should give way, which often ended in tumult 
 and bloodshed. Aurangzeb is said to have attempted a 
 reconciliation between the two, but it does not appear 
 whether it was successful. 
 
 The women of the Manaris wore calico petticoats folded 
 several times from their waists downward; and they tat-
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 tooed the upper parts of their bodies with flowers. They 
 painted these punctures in various colors made from the 
 juice of grapes, so that their skin appeared to be made of 
 flowers. 
 
 Every caravan had its priests and idol. Every morning, 
 while the men were loading their oxen, and the women were 
 folding the tents, the priests set up a serpent in wreaths on 
 a perch six or seven feet high in the most convenient part 
 of the camp. Then all the people proceeded in files to wor- 
 ship this serpent, and the women .walked three times round 
 it. After the ceremony the priests took charge of the idol, 
 and placed it on an ox which was set apart for the purpose; 
 and the caravan set out on its daily journey to some new 
 camping-ground. 
 
 The foot-post in India was another peculiar institution. 
 Old travellers in India, from Roe downward, make frequent 
 mention of this foot-post. The several news-writers, or 
 Wakiahnawis, sent their reports to the Padishah from the 
 several cities of the empire by these runners. On every 
 road, at an interval of six miles there was a kind of hut or 
 post-office. Every runner that came up threw his letters 
 on the floor of this hut, as it was a bad omen to give them 
 into a man's hand. The runner appointed to go to the next 
 stage picked up the letters, and set off at full speed. At 
 night he was guided by the trees on either side of the road ; 
 and where there were no trees, heaps of stones were set up 
 at every five hundred paces, and kept whitewashed by the 
 inhabitants of the nearest village. The result was that the 
 foot-post was swifter than a horseman ; for at night the horse- 
 man was obliged to go slowly with a man carrying a torch 
 on either side, while the foot-post ran on undeterred by 
 darkness or storm. 
 
 The administration of justice was much the same through- 
 out the Moghul empire. It had been rather loose during the 
 reigns of Jehangir and Shah Jehan, but had been kept under 
 strict supervision by Aurangzeb. Every town had a Nawab 
 or governor, who administered all civil justice, but left crim-
 
 226 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 inal cases to the Kotwal. 1 The Nawab was assisted by a 
 Kazi, who was supposed to be learned in Muhammadan law ; 
 and there was always a Mullah or Mufti, who superintended 
 all matters pertaining to the Muhammadan religion. 
 
 The Nawab generally rendered speedy justice. If a man 
 sued another for a debt, he had either to show an obligation, 
 or produce two witnesses, or take an oath. If he was a 
 Christian he swore on the Gospels; if a Muhammadan he 
 swore on the Koran ; and if a Hindu he swore on the Cow. 
 Many Hindus, however, preferred to lose their cause rather 
 than swear, as they had a strong aversion to such a cere- 
 mony. 
 
 The Nawab left all criminal affairs to the Kotwal. This 
 was the most important official next to the Nawab. The 
 Kotwal discharged the functions of magistrate and judge, 
 and was also head of the police and superintendent of the 
 prison. He ordered criminals to be whipped or cudgelled in 
 his presence, either in his own house or at the place where 
 the crime had been committed. He went abroad on horse- 
 back, attended by several officers on foot; some carrying 
 batons and great whips; others carrying lances, swords, 
 targets, and iron maces; but every man had a dagger at his 
 side. At night he paraded the streets, and set guards at 
 different places; and any man found abroad in the streets 
 was committed to prison, and rarely released without being 
 whipped or bastinadoed. 
 
 While the Kotwal maintained peace and order in the 
 town, an officer known as the Foujdar carried out the same 
 duties in the surrounding country. The Foujdar exercised 
 the same authority in the district that the Kotwal exercised 
 in the town. 
 
 Dr. Fryer, a surgeon in the service of the East India 
 Company, travelled in India between 1673 and 1681, and 
 
 1 There is some confusion in the use of Moghul titles. The Viceroy of a 
 province was commonly known as a Subahdar. The Governor of a town or dis- 
 trict was properly a Nawab ; and such a Nawab was in general subordinate to 
 the Subahdar of the province. Sometimes the Foujdar assumed the title of 
 Nawab, and the Nawab assumed the title of Subahdar.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 227 
 
 has left some graphic descriptions of India at a time when 
 Sivaji was harassing the Dekhan, and Aurangzeb was pre- 
 paring for his persecuting wars in Rajputana. 
 
 Dr. Fryer went in the first instance to Masulipatam, a 
 port on the coast of Coromandel, near the mouth of the river 
 Kistna. It was an emporium of trade on the coast of Coro- 
 mandel, just as Surat was an emporium on the coast of 
 Malabar. But Surat belonged to the Great Moghul, while 
 Masulipatam belonged to the Sultan of Golkonda, who had 
 not as yet been conquered by Aurangzeb. 
 
 Masulipatam was a favorable type of a Muhammadan 
 city in India. The principal streets were broad, and the 
 buildings good. The better sort of houses were built of 
 wood and plaster, having balconies with latticed windows, 
 and a stately gateway below leading into a square court 
 with a tank in the middle and a terrace walk all round it. 
 The poorer sort of houses were mere huts, like thatched 
 beehives, walled round with mud. 
 
 The Muhammadans at Masulipatam kept a strict hold 
 on the Hindus, intrusting them with no place of importance, 
 but treating them as mechanics and serving-men. The 
 richer sort lived in great splendor, priding themselves upon 
 having a numerous retinue and handsome followers. They 
 were grave and haughty, taking great delight in sitting 
 cross-legged on chairs at their doors, and smoking their 
 hookahs with much pomp and circumstance. They clois- 
 tered up then- women from the eyes of all men. Sometimes 
 a woman went abroad in a palanquin, but she was always 
 closely veiled, and it would have been death for any man to 
 attempt to see her face. 
 
 The Hindus had no such strictness. The Hindu women 
 went abroad in the open air, adorned with chains and ear- 
 rings, jewels in their noses, and golden rings on their toes. 
 
 The people celebrated their festivals, and especially their 
 weddings, with much show and splendor. They were com- 
 monly performed at night with the noise of drums, trumpets, 
 and fifes. The poorest Hindu, except among artificers and
 
 228 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 low-caste men, had a week's jollity at his marriage; going 
 about in a palanquin, attended by guards carrying swords, 
 targets, and javelins, while others bore ensigns denoting the 
 honor of their caste. But if any low-caste man attempted 
 the like, he was dragged back to his quarters by the hair of 
 his head. 
 
 The administration of justice at Masulipatam was bar- 
 barous in comparison with that in the Moghul's territories. 
 Capital sentences were carried out immediately after convic- 
 tion, and the offender was either dismembered or impaled. 
 In cases of murder the nearest kinsman of the murdered 
 person was required to prosecute the offender and to execute 
 him. He began to cut the murderer to pieces, and then the 
 rabble rushed in and finished him. 
 
 Dr. Fryer sailed from Masulipatam to Madras, about 
 three hundred miles to the south. In 1639 the English had 
 bought a strip of coast territory from one of the Hindu Rajas 
 of the Peninsula. It was only six miles long and one mile 
 inland, but it is famous as being the first territorial posses- 
 sion which the English acquired in India. Here they built 
 a factory, and raised a wall round it mounted with cannon, 
 and gave it the name of Fort St. George. In a few years 
 two towns had grown up in the neighborhood outside the 
 wall. The one was occupied by Armenians and other for- 
 eign merchants, who were glad to live under the protection 
 of the English. The other was a larger village or town of 
 weavers and other artisans who were mostly in the employ 
 of the English merchants. None but Europeans lived in the 
 fort, which was known as "White town ; while the Armenian 
 and native quarters went by the general name of Black 
 town. The whole settlement was known as Madras, but 
 'the origin of this name is unknown. 
 
 Some years afterward the Sultan of Golkonda pushed his 
 conquests southward into the Peninsula. The Hindu Raja, 
 who sold the land to the English, fled away to the westward 
 and disappears from history. The generals of the Sultan 
 tried to capture Madras, but were baffled by the guns of
 
 MQHAMMADAN INDIA 229 
 
 Fort St. George. The English, however, agreed to pay the 
 Sultan the same rent which they had previously paid the 
 Raja, namely, twelve hundred pagodas per annum, or about 
 five hundred pounds sterling. 
 
 The generals of the Sultan captured the neighboring 
 Portuguese settlement at St. Thome, and carried off the 
 guns from the fortifications. The Portuguese fled to Fort 
 St. George, and were welcomed by the English, as adding 
 to the strength and security of their settlement. About this 
 time a French fleet appeared off the coast and took posses- 
 sion of St. Thome. These little wars are forgotten now, but 
 created no little excitement when Fryer visited the place. 
 
 Fryer was paddled over the surf at Madras by one of the 
 same kind of native boats that are still in use. It was not 
 fastened by nails, which would have been wrenched out by 
 the surf ; but the timbers were sewn or tied together with 
 strings. These strings yielded to the surf, and passengers 
 were carried in safety, but the boats were apt to take in a 
 good deal of water. 
 
 Fryer landed in wet clothes, but the beach was so scorch- 
 ing hot that he hurried on to the town. Fort St. George 
 presented an imposing front to the sea. It was oblong, 
 about four hundred yards in length from north to south, and 
 one hundred yards in depth from east to west. At each 
 corner of the walls was a bastion mounted with guns, and 
 the banner of St. George waved bravely over the whole. 
 The streets inside were neat and clean. There were about 
 fifty houses, not very lofty, because it was a garrison town ; 
 but every house had an Italian portico, battlements on the 
 roof, and a terrace walk, and there was a row of trees before 
 the doors. There were no public structures, except the Gov- 
 ernor's house in the centre, and a small chapel where the 
 Portuguese celebrated mass. 
 
 Sir William Langhorn was Governor of Madras, and 
 superintended all the English factories on the coast of Coro- 
 mandel, as well as those on the Hughli and Ganges as far 
 as Patna.
 
 230 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The English population of "White town scarcely num- 
 bered three hundred souls. The Portuguese numbered three 
 thousand. The native population of Black town and adjoin- 
 ing villages included thirty thousand Hindus in the service 
 of the Company; but there were hardly forty Muhammadans 
 in the whole settlement. The country round about was 
 sandy, but provisions were plentiful. 
 
 Fryer next sailed from Madras to Bombay. He passed 
 by the coast of Malabar, and noted that the Dutch were 
 already ousting the Portuguese from their ports at Cochin 
 and elsewhere; and that Sivaji, a rebel against the Sultan 
 of Bijapur, had conquered the country round about Goa. 
 At last he entered the harbor of Bombay. It was a mag- 
 nificent bay, capable of holding a thousand of the finest ships 
 of European build. 
 
 Bombay had been made over to the English some ten or 
 twelve years before, as part of the dowry of Catherine of 
 Portugal, on her marriage with Charles the Second. The 
 English found a government house, having a pleasant gar- 
 den with terrace walks and bowers ; but the place was so 
 poorly fortified that the Malabar pirates often plundered 
 the native villages and carried off the inhabitants as slaves. 
 The English soon altered this state of things. They loaded 
 the terraces with cannon and built ramparts over the bowers. 
 When Fryer landed, Bombay castle was mounted with a 
 hundred and twenty pieces of ordnance, while sixty field- 
 pieces were kept in readiness. Only a few months before 
 his arrival, the Dutch had tried to capture Bombay, but 
 were forced to retire. The place, however, was very un- 
 healthy. The site was unwholesome and the air was bad; 
 and these evils were aggravated by the intemperance of the 
 English settlers. 
 
 From Bombay, Fryer went to Surat. The place was 
 much changed since Delia Valle's visit. It swarmed with 
 fakirs, and there were marks on all sides of the intolerant 
 rule of Aurangzeb. No Christian could appear in the streets 
 of Surat in good clothes, or mounted on a proper horse,
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 231 
 
 without being assailed by Muhammadan beggars. The 
 Muhammadans lived in good houses as at Masulipatam. 
 The Banians, or Hindu brokers, lived in wretched sheds, 
 with three or four families crowded into one hovel, together 
 with goats, cows, and calves. But they had good reason 
 for what they did, for if any one was suspected of being rich 
 he was squeezed by the Nawab of all his effects, unless he 
 had secured the protection of some powerful grandee. 
 
 The poorer inhabitants were entirely at the mercy of the 
 Nawab and his soldiers. They were often taken from their 
 occupations and forced to work for the Nawab. Sometimes 
 these seizures led to broils, and artisans were driven to 
 desperation, and murdered their families and then ran 
 "amok." 
 
 Aurangzeb had already begun to collect the Jezya at 
 Surat. The Hindus were pressed to become Muhammadans. 
 The neighboring Rajas were in rebellion. Many Hindus fled 
 from Surat to Bombay, or to one of the Portuguese settle- 
 ments. This was all the more remarkable to Fryer, because, 
 as he writes, if the Hindus united against the Muhamma- 
 dans, they would be as a thousand to one. 
 
 In 1675 Fryer left Surat and returned to Bombay. About 
 this time the Nawab of the town of Joonere required a Eu- 
 ropean doctor to attend on one of his wives. The Moghuls 
 had captured the fort and town of Joonere from the Mahrat- 
 tas, and the place was a bone of contention between the two. 
 Fryer readily undertook the journey to the town of Joonere, 
 although it was one of some danger. The country was des- 
 olate; the people were wretched to the last degree, being 
 plundered alike by Moghuls and Mahrattas, and reduced to 
 utter poverty and starvation. Even the coolies from Bom- 
 bay that carried Fryer's luggage pitied the misery of the in- 
 habitants, and contrasted it with their own prosperous lives 
 under British rule. 
 
 Fryer met with some adventures at Joonere. He was 
 not allowed to see the sick lady until the astrologers had 
 fixed on a fortunate day for his visit. At last he was shown
 
 232 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 into a room "where there was a bed surrounded with a cur- 
 tain, and the hand of the patient was placed outside the 
 curtain to enable him to feel her pulse. To his great sur- 
 prise, the pulse was that of a perfectly healthy woman ; and 
 he did not fail to say so. No one, however, was discon- 
 certed; in fact, a healthy maidservant had been placed in 
 the bed to test the skill of the English doctor. After due 
 explanation, Fryer was permitted to feel the pulse of the 
 sick lady, and he subsequently effected a cure by bleeding. 
 The consequence was, that other ladies demanded to be bled 
 likewise, but it was doubtful whether they had any other 
 object in view beyond satisfying their curiosity as regards 
 the English doctor. 
 
 Meanwhile Fryer had many discourses with the Nawab 
 of the town of Joonere. He discovered that the Moghul 
 generals had no desire to conquer Sivaji, or to put an end to 
 the wars in the Dekhan. So long as the war lasted, they 
 made much money by keeping small bodies of troops in the 
 field while drawing the pay of large numbers. 
 
 The Nawab of the fortress of Joonere also desired to see 
 the English doctor. In all Moghul cities the Nawab of the 
 fortress had a separate command from the Nawab of the 
 town. The visit was of little moment beyond revealing 
 the inside of a Moghul fortress. The place was of some 
 historical importance, as Sivaji had been born within the 
 walls, and was anxious to recover possession of the strong- 
 hold. There were enough provisions stored within the fort- 
 ress to support a thousand families during a seven years' 
 siege, but there was no ammunition except stones, and two 
 misshapen brass pieces of Hindu mold. 
 
 The Nawab was a Brahman who had been converted to 
 the Muhammadan religion. He secretly agreed to surren- 
 der the fortress to Sivaji, and received an enormous bribe as 
 a reward; but when the day arrived and seven thousand 
 Mahrattas ascended the hill, they found themselves cut off 
 by an ambuscade, and were all slaughtered. Such treach- 
 eries were by no means uncommon in olden times.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 233 
 
 Fryer next visited the town of Karwar, to the south </ 
 Goa, where the English had a factory. The town had been 
 recently conquered by Sivaji; but the factory was safe, for 
 the English kept off all assailants by means of the guns 
 which they had planted on their factory walls. 
 
 Sivaji's government at Karwar resembled that of the 
 Moghuls. He appointed one governor to the town, and 
 another to the fortress ; while a general with a flying army 
 superintended the whole. Sivaji appointed none but Brah- 
 mans to places of trust or authority. These men professed 
 to be mightily jealous for their master's dues; but they al- 
 ways managed in a corner to get more for themselves than 
 for their master. Trade was impossible in Sivaji's country 
 unless goods could be carried a long way round as at Kar- 
 war. The people bitterly complained of exactions and tor- 
 ture; but that was the same all over India; and even 
 Brahmans were subjected to the same pains and indignities 
 whenever it was supposed that they had buried their wealth 
 or concealed it in some other secret fashion. 
 
 Fryer left India in 1681. Nine years afterward, in 
 1689-90, Aurangzeb conquered Bijapur and Golkonda, and 
 sent his armies into the Peninsula. The English of Madras 
 at once offered to pay the Moghul the same yearly rent of 
 twelve hundred pagodas, which they had paid the Sultan of 
 Golkonda; but the Moghuls threatened to dismantle Fort 
 St. George of all its cannon. The whole country was in a 
 troubled ptate, and the English at Madras were often dis- 
 turbed by alarming rumors. At last it appeared that the 
 Nawab of the conquered territories would be satisfied with a 
 money bribe; and a present of ten thousand pagodas, equiv- 
 alent to about four thousand pounds sterling, was sent to the 
 Nawab Zulfikar Khan. The present was graciously received, 
 and the Nawab was further mollified by timely supplies of 
 provisions and ammunition. 
 
 All this while desultory wars were being carried on in the 
 Lower Carnatic between the Moghuls under Nawab Zulfikar 
 Khan and the Mahrattas under Ram Raja, a younger son of
 
 234 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Sivaji. 1 The once celebrated hill fortress of Jinji, about 
 eighty miles to the southwest of Madras, was the bone of 
 contention between Zulfikar Khan and Ram Raja. But 
 the story of the struggle is tedious and bewildering. There 
 were intrigues and treacheries on both sides, and also secret 
 understandings between the two, which excited the suspicion 
 and rage of Aurangzeb, when he was too old and helpless to 
 interfere. 
 
 In 1701-2 another Nawab, named Daud Khan, succeeded 
 Zulfikar Khan. He, too, demanded a present of ten thou- 
 sand pagodas from the English merchants at Madras. Mr. 
 Thomas Pitt, grandfather of the great Earl of Chatham, 
 was Governor of Madras, and he resolutely refused to pay 
 the money. Daud Khan surrounded Fort St. George with 
 a large force, cut off all supplies of provisions, and stopped 
 all trade. Mr. Pitt held out for three months, and then 
 deemed it expedient to pay up the amount. He consoled 
 himself with the idea that the Nawab had expended a great 
 deal more than ten thousand pagodas during the siege of the 
 place, and was never likely to repeat the demand. 
 
 After this remarkable siege matters quieted down at 
 Madras. The yearly rent was regularly paid to the Nawab, 
 and presents were occasionally sent to the Nawab and his 
 grandees. The result was that, for a period of thirty years 
 after the death of Aurangzeb, the English at Madras bought 
 and sold, and pursued the even tenor of their way, without 
 interference or hindrance from Mahratta or Moghul. 
 
 Meanwhile the English settlements in Bengal, after a 
 hard struggle with the Moghul's officers, had become the 
 most important and profitable in India. As far back as 1640 
 in the reign of Shah Jehan, the English had been allowed 
 to establish a factory at Hughli, about a hundred miles from 
 the mouth of the Ganges, where they hoped to succeed to 
 the trade which had been ere while carried on by the Portu- 
 
 1 Ram Raja had taken possession of the Mahratta dominion in the Peninsula, 
 when his eldest brother Sambhaji had succeeded to the kingdom of the Konkan.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 235 
 
 guese. They founded branch factories at Patna, Dacca, and 
 other half-forgotten localities. From Patna they procured 
 saltpetre, opium, raw silk, and cotton piece-goods. From 
 Dacca they obtained those fine muslins which were long the 
 wonder and admiration of the civilized world. The result 
 was that the English settlements in Bengal were withdrawn 
 from the control of the Governor of Madras, and placed 
 under a separate governor, a Mr. Job Charnock, who soon 
 became one of the most distinguished Englishmen in India. 
 
 But the English traders in Bengal were unable to protect 
 themselves with fortifications and guns as they had done at 
 Madras and Bombay. In Madras they had built Fort St. 
 George and mounted their cannon before the Muhammadans 
 had entered the Peninsula ; and consequently they were en- 
 abled to set the Moghul generals at defiance. Again, their 
 cannon on Bombay castle sufficed to keep off the Mahrattas. 
 But Bengal had been in the possession of the Moghuls ever 
 since the reign of Akbar, and they had suffered too much 
 from the fortifications and cannon of the Portuguese at 
 Hughli to permit of any such formidable settlements for 
 the future. The English, Dutch, and French all had fac- 
 tories in the neighborhood of Hughli ; but neither were al- 
 lowed to build any walls or semblance of fortifications of 
 any sort or kind. Neither were they allowed to carry on 
 any hostilities against each other within the territories of the 
 Moghul; and thus while wars might be raging between 
 English and Dutch, or English and French, in other parts 
 of the world, the conflicting nationalities were compelled to 
 keep the peace in Bengal. 
 
 During the bigoted reign of Aurangzeb, the English in 
 Bengal were subjected to oppressions and exactions, which 
 had been unknown in the tolerant days of Jehangir and 
 Shah Jehan. An attempt was made to collect Jezya from 
 the English, but that was warded off by timely presents to 
 the Nawab. In other ways the English were exposed to in- 
 sults which were beyond all endurance; and at last, as a 
 crowning indignity, Mr. Job Charnock, the Governor of all
 
 236 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the English settlements in Bengal, was arrested and scourged 
 by order of the Nawab. 
 
 Under these circumstances the English declared war 
 against the Moghul. In 1685 two squadrons were sent out 
 by James the Second ; the one to cut off all Moghul ships 
 trading with Surat, and the other to operate against the 
 Nawab of Bengal. The factory at Surat was removed out 
 of Moghul territory to the new settlement at Bombay. The 
 English in Bengal collected all their goods from their sev- 
 eral factories, and prepared to carry them to Chittagong, 
 the frontier port toward Arakan. 
 
 The operations of the squadron off Surat were most suc- 
 cessful. Cargoes belonging to the subjects of the Moghul 
 were captured to the value of a million sterling. The mer- 
 chants of Surat would no longer venture on voyages at sea; 
 while native manufactures were at a standstill, and mechan- 
 ics were thrown out of employment and complaining loudly 
 of famine. Aurangzeb sent officers to listen to the griev- 
 ances of the English, and mitigate the oppressions to which 
 they had been exposed. A treaty was concluded in 1687, 
 under which the English were permitted to return to their 
 factories, and guaranteed certain rights and privileges which 
 they had hitherto been denied. 
 
 The operations in Bengal had been ill-judged and not 
 altogether successful, but still they had sufficed to alarm the 
 Nawab. The war was brought to a close for a while, but 
 Charnock had no faith in the treaty and hesitated to return 
 to Hughli. Meanwhile the commander of the English squad- 
 ron, a hot-headed captain named Heath, was provoked by 
 the delays and evasions of the Nawab. He opened up a 
 communication with the King of Arakan, and sailed to 
 Chittagong with the view of capturing the port for the 
 king. Finding the fortifications stronger than he expected, 
 he returned to Bengal, and offered to undertake an expedi- 
 tion against Arakan in behalf of the Nawab. Suddenly, 
 however, he took disgust at the proceedings of the Nawab, 
 and sailed away to Madras with all the Company's mer-
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 237 
 
 chants and goods, declaring that he had been told nothing 
 but lies on all sides. 
 
 This conduct, crazy and irregular as it was, brought the 
 Moghul government to reason. It was imagined that the 
 contempt displayed by Heath arose from the determination 
 of the English to abandon the trade of Bengal. A new 
 Nawab was appointed to Bengal, and he sent pressing 
 overtures to Madras for the return of the English to 
 Hughli. 
 
 The result was that Charnock and the English went back 
 to Bengal, but they did not return to their factory at Hughli. 
 Ultimately they were allowed to rent three villages about 
 twenty miles nearer the mouth of the river ; and all duties 
 and customs of every kind were commuted by the yearly 
 payment of three thousand rupees to the treasury at Hughli. 
 The newly- acquired territory was scarcely half the size of 
 the English territory at Madras. It only extended three 
 miles along the eastern bank of the river Hughli, and one 
 mile inland, and paid a yearly rent of 1,195 rupees. But 
 the three villages have become historical. Their names were 
 Chutanutti, Govindpore, and Kalighat. They were the nu- 
 cleus of the city of Calcutta, which after the lapse of two 
 centuries is now the capital of the British Empire in India 
 and the greatest European city in the eastern world. 
 
 Mr. Job Charnock is still regarded as the patriarch of 
 Bengal. His name still survives in the station of Barrack- 
 pore, which is called "Chanuk" by the natives to this day. 
 Many stories have been told of his eccentricities, which were 
 household words in a bygone generation. He saved a young 
 Hindu widow from burning herself with her deceased hus- 
 band, and subsequently married her; but instead of convert- 
 ing her to Christianity, he relapsed into a kind of paganism. 
 She died before him, and ever afterward he celebrated the 
 anniversary of her death by sacrificing a cock to the goddess 
 Durga over her tomb. 
 
 Toward the end of the seventeenth century the persecu- 
 tions of Aurangzeb, the destruction of pagodas, and subver-
 
 238 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 sion of Hindu worship, drove many of the people of Bengal 
 into rebellion. The Europeans complained to the Nawab of 
 the unprotected state of their factories. He told them to 
 defend themselves, and they took him at his word. They 
 ran up walls and bastions round their respective factories, 
 and planted them with cannon; and this was the origin of 
 the three European forts or towns, namely, the English 
 at Calcutta, the French at Chandernagore, and the Dutch at 
 Chinsura. Both Chandernagore and Chinsura were in the 
 neighborhood of Hughli, and consequently about twenty 
 miles from Calcutta. 
 
 A few years after the death of Aurangzeb, a Captain 
 Hamilton visited Calcutta, and has left a description of the 
 houses and English inhabitants. He says that the town 
 was built without order, every one selecting a spot best fitted 
 for a garden; consequently most houses had a garden in 
 front. The English built their houses near the river side; 
 but the natives dwelt more inland. Most gentlemen and 
 ladies in Bengal lived splendidly and pleasantly. They dedi- 
 cated the forenoon to business; they then took their dinners 
 and retired to rest during the afternoon. In the evening 
 they found recreation in chaises and palanquins in the fields 
 or gardens; or went upon the river in budgerows, and di- 
 verted themselves with fishing or fowling. Before night 
 they made friendly visits to one another, when pride and 
 contention did not spoil society; but the Captain adds that 
 much social rivalry often existed among the ladies, just as 
 discord and faction prevailed among the men. 
 
 The garrison at Fort William generally consisted of two 
 or three hundred soldiers, but they were not so much em- 
 ployed for the defence of the settlement as to guard the fleet 
 coming from Patna with the Company's saltpetre, piece- 
 goods, raw silk, and opium. Captain Hamilton remarks, 
 that the English Company held their colony direct from the 
 Moghul, and consequently had no reason to be afraid of any 
 enemies coming to dispossess them. At the same time he 
 predicted that if they again declared war against the Mo-
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 239 
 
 ghul, the Padishah would soon end the quarrel by prohibit- 
 ing his subjects from trading with them. 
 
 But Bengal was only half conquered by the Moghul. 
 There were, says Hamilton, some impertinent and trouble- 
 some Rajas on the banks of the Ganges, between the Na- 
 wab's capital at Murshedabad and the city of Patna, who 
 pretended to tax all goods passing through their territories, 
 and often raised forces to compel payment. But a detach- 
 ment of European troops from Fort "William generally cleared 
 the passage up the river, although some of the English sol- 
 diers were occasionally killed in the skirmishes. 
 
 From the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, to the year 1756, 
 Calcutta was occasionally threatened by the Mahrattas or 
 mulcted by the Nawab; but otherwise it enjoyed a profound 
 peace, and was, to all appearance, as secure against foreign 
 aggression as any seaport town in the United Kingdom. 
 The English settlement was like an oasis of European civil- 
 ization in a desert of Hinduism and Islam. The English 
 factory, with its depots, workshops, offices, and outlying 
 "garden-houses," covered about a hundred acres on the 
 bank of the Hughli. The outward life of the English at 
 Calcutta was altogether of a business type. They bought, 
 sold, kept accounts, wrote letters, and regulated establish- 
 ments and expenditure. Large ships from Europe brought 
 woollen goods, cutlery, iron, copper, and quicksilver. The 
 same ships carried away cotton piece-goods, fine muslins, 
 silks, indigo, saltpetre, spices, and Indian rarities. A rise 
 or fall in the price of saltpetre in Europe was of more inter- 
 est to the English merchants at Calcutta than the war be- 
 tween the Moghul and the Mahrattas ; and a failure of the 
 silk crop in the up-country stations in Bengal and Behar was 
 of more moment to the Court of Directors in London than 
 the death of a Padishah, or the bloody struggles between his 
 sons for the succession to the Moghul throne.
 
 240 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 MOGHUL EMPIRE DECLINE AND FALL 
 
 A.D. 1707 TO 1748 
 
 THE death of Aurangzeb awakened the Moghul empire 
 from its torpor ; it sent a thrill through the provinces 
 which might be likened to galvanic life. For years 
 all hopes and aspirations of princes and grandees had been 
 in abeyance under the declining but monotonous rule of the 
 aged Padishah. His sons were waiting for his last breath 
 to begin that fratricidal struggle for the throne which had 
 broken out at the death, or before the death, of every Mo- 
 ghul sovereign of Hindustan from Akbar downward. The 
 Moghul generals were apparently eager to throw off the 
 religious strictness and bigotry, which had so long oppressed 
 the empire; and were looking forward to the death of the 
 old Padishah as a necessary preliminary to the beginning 
 of a new regime. 
 
 The last years of Aurangzeb were saddened by fears of 
 the catastrophe which would accompany or follow his death. 
 Indeed throughout the latter half of his reign he had been 
 subject to constant alarms lest he should share the fate of 
 his father, Shah Jehan; lest his sons should consign him 
 to hopeless captivity and begin to fight for the throne before 
 death had carried him from the scene. He is said to have 
 formed a plan for averting a fratricidal war by dismember- 
 ing the empire and dividing it among his three sons. But 
 if so the attempt at pacification must have proved a failure. 
 Scarcely was it known that the old sovereign had expired, 
 than all the armies of the empire were on the move, and hig
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 241 
 
 three sons were each, in turn, prepared to seize the throne 
 by force of arms, or perish upon the fatal field. 
 
 A war between brethren may excite the passions of con- 
 temporaries, but cannot enlist the sympathies of posterity. 
 The struggle between the sons of Shah Jehan had been more 
 or less associated with religion, but the struggle between the 
 sons of Aurangzeb was only a quarrel for an inheritance. 
 The main struggle was between Shah Alam, the eldest son 
 of Aurangzeb, and Azam Shah, the second son; and the 
 war itself is said to have turned on the ill-timed insolenee 
 of Azam Shah, and the consequent disaffection or treachery 
 of his affronted generals. A desperate battle was fought 
 near the river Chambal. It closed in a horrible carnage, 
 in which Azam and his two sons were slain. Shah Alam 
 ascended the throne under the title of Bahadur Shah. 
 There was a third son, the rebel Akbar, who had fled to 
 Persia; but he was dead, or at any rate out of the fray. 
 There was a fourth son named Kam Bakhsh, whose fortunes 
 demand separate consideration. 
 
 Kam Bakhsh, whom the Greeks would have called Cam- 
 byses, had been nominated by Aurangzeb to rule as an inde- 
 pendent Sultan over the newly-conquered kingdoms of Bija- 
 pur and Golkonda. Bahadur Shah was an old man, and 
 would probably have consented to the arrangement; but his 
 sons were ambitious to preserve the integrity of the empire. 
 The mother of Kam Bakhsh was a Christian ; her son was 
 supposed to be a Christian likewise. The Mullahs were 
 stirred up to protest against the rule of a Christian Sultan; 
 and Bahadur Shah was driven to work the destruction of 
 his youngest brother. 
 
 The course of events had a remote bearing upon the fort- 
 unes of the English at Madras. Bahadur Shah ordered let- 
 ters to be written to Mr. Thomas Pitt, the Governor of 
 Madras, to prevent the young prince from escaping by sea 
 into Persia. At the same time Bahadur Shah confirmed 
 all the rights and privileges which had been granted to the 
 English by his father Aurangzeb. But these precautions 
 X 11 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 242 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 proved unnecessary, for Kam Bakhsh was defeated and 
 slain on the field of battle by Nawab Zulfikar Khan. 
 
 Bahadur Shah reigned from 1707 to 1712, but has left no 
 mark in history. He had, in the first instance, to face a 
 rebellion of the Rajputs in Jaipur and Marwar. The perse- 
 cuted Hindus had taken advantage of the death of Aurang- 
 zeb to drive out all the Muhammadan officers who had been 
 appointed to collect Jezya, and convert the people to the 
 religion of the Koran. The movement was a revolt of Hin- 
 duism against the proselytizing policy of Aurangzeb, and 
 Bahadur Shah was anxious to suppress it ; but at this mo- 
 ment alarming news arrived from the northwest. The Sikhs 
 had broken out in revolt in the Punjab, and committed a 
 series of murderous excesses ; and Bahadur Shah was com- 
 pelled to "forgive" the Rajputs, and march with all haste to 
 Lahore. 
 
 The Sikhs originally were not a nationality. They were 
 a mixed community of Rajputs, Jats, and other races, who 
 had been formed into a religious brotherhood about the end 
 of the fifteenth century by a famous prophet named Nanuk 
 Guru. Their religious faith was a combination of the tenets 
 of advanced Shiahs with those of advanced Hindus ; it turned 
 upon the worship of the Supreme Spirit, as the deity alike 
 of Muhammadans and Hindus. At the same time the Sikhs 
 reverenced Krishna and Rama as incarnations of Vishnu; 
 they recognized the sacred character of Brahmans ; and they 
 strictly prohibited the slaughter of cows. Above all, they 
 implicitly obeyed their Guru and his successors, as the rep- 
 resentatives of God upon earth; and they regarded the 
 teachings of each in turn as the inspirations of the Supreme 
 Being. 
 
 Such a religion was naturally regarded as a detestable 
 heresy by a strict Sunni like Aurangzeb. The Sikhs were 
 persecuted until they betook themselves to the northern 
 mountains, and formed military clans distinguished by a 
 blue dress and peculiar manners. The fires of persecution 
 raged more fiercely than ever. Guru Govind, the tenth in
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 243 
 
 descent from Nanuk, J saw his strongholds taken, his mother 
 and children massacred, and his followers slain, mutilated, 
 or driven into painful exile. At last Guru Govind was taken 
 prisoner by the Moghuls, and executed at Gwalior by the 
 command of Aurangzeb. 2 
 
 Such severities exalted the fanaticism of the Sikhs to the 
 highest pitch of desperation. A new spiritual leader, known 
 as Bandu Guru, inspired them with a spirit of vengeance 
 against their persecutors. They broke out in revolt, de- 
 stroyed mosques, butchered Mullahs, and massacred the 
 population of whole towns without regard to sex or age. 
 In a word, they fought to the death for God and their Guru; 
 but they also made their religion a cloak for plunder and 
 outrage of every kind. 
 
 Bahadur Shah found it necessary to make Lahore his 
 capital, and to carry on a series of desultory wars against 
 the Sikhs. The details are of no moment ; it was impossible 
 to dragoon the Sikhs into submission, and they continued to 
 give trouble down to the death of Bahadur Shah in 1712, 
 and indeed for many years afterward. 
 
 Meanwhile the greater part of the Moghul empire had 
 been left in the hands of the Viceroys of provinces. Little 
 or nothing is known of the history, beyond the fact that 
 some kind of understanding seems to have been concluded 
 by the Viceroys of Guzerat and the Dekhan with the Mah- 
 rattas of the Konkan. "When Sambhaji, son and successor 
 of Sivaji, was arrested and put to death by Aurangzeb^, his 
 little son Sahu, or Shao, was carried away prisoner by the 
 conqueror, and brought up hi the zenana of the Moghul. 
 After the death of Aurangzeb, this boy was placed on the 
 throne of the Konkan, in the city of Satara, and was sup- 
 posed to reign over the Mahratta kingdom as a vassal of the 
 Great Moghul. 
 
 1 The secular name of this Guru Govind was Tugh Bahadur. Further par- 
 ticulars of the Sikhs will be furnished hereafter in dealing with the British ware 
 against the Sikhs and final conquest of the Punjab. 
 
 2 Another story says that Guru Govind was assassinated by an Afghan.
 
 244 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 But this arrangement could not possibly satisfy the Mah- 
 ratta claims to chout or blackmail, which extended indefi- 
 nitely over a great part of the Dekhan, as well as over a large 
 extent of Guzerat and Malwa to the northward. These 
 claims were of a most vexatious character, and were pressed 
 with a pertinacity which was deaf to all arguments. To 
 admit them involved the loss of one-fourth of the land rev- 
 enue, while it abandoned large cultivated tracts to the rude 
 collections of Mahratta soldiery. To resist them was as 
 hopeless as an attempt to resist the depredations of locusts. 
 The loose bands of Mahratta horse were here, there, and 
 everywhere. If driven off by the advance of regular troops, 
 they might disappear like a flock of crows ; but they soon 
 reappeared elsewhere, ravaging the country with fire and 
 sword to enforce the Mahratta claims to chout over the whole 
 extent of territory. 
 
 The constitution of the Mahratta government was such 
 that Maharaja Sahu had little or no voice in the matter. It 
 had been the policy of Sivaji to keep all offices of state, and 
 all collections of revenue, exclusively in the hands of Brah- 
 mans ; and as all these posts became hereditary according to 
 Hindu custom, Maharaja Sahu found himself surrounded 
 by a Brahmanical hierarchy, ostentatious in its professions 
 of submission and obedience to the grandson of the great 
 Sivaji, while practically retaining all the power of the state 
 in jts own hands. 
 
 Moreover, the personal character of Maharaja Sahu was 
 favorable to the Brahman ascendency. He had neither ca- 
 pacity nor energy for breaking through so powerful an aris- 
 tocracy. His grandfather Sivaji was bred like a mountain 
 eagle amid the rude independence of hills and jungles. But 
 Maharaja Sahu was a tame bird, brought up in the gilded 
 cage of the imperial zenana. He was given to pleasure, with 
 some taste for field sports ; somewhat touchy as regards his 
 personal dignity; proud of his vassalage to the Great Mo- 
 ghul, although occasionally indulging his fancy with schemes 
 of conquest and empire. The Brahman ministers and offi-
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 
 
 cials well knew how to deal with these weaknesses. They 
 invariably treated him with every possible respect, and took 
 care that every measure of state should appear to emanate 
 from himself, and be carried out solely in his name as the 
 supreme sovereign of the Mahrattas ; but at the same time 
 they molded him to suit their own purposes, and thus pre- 
 pared the way for that revolution at his death which trans- 
 ferred the Mahratta sovereignty from the grandson of Sivaji 
 to the family of the Brahman minister. 
 
 The chief Brahman minister was known as the Peishwa; 
 and during the reign of Maharaja Sahu, the Peishwa for the 
 time being was to all intents and purposes the ruling power. 
 It was the Peishwa who issued commissions to the different 
 Mahratta leaders to collect chout in Guzerat, Malwa, and 
 the Dekhan, in the name of Maharaja Sahu, It was the 
 Peishwa who concluded secret arrangements with the Moghul 
 Viceroys, under which certain yearly payments were made to 
 the Mahrattas on the condition that they made no attempt 
 to collect chout for themselves, and duly kept within a cer- 
 tain line of frontier. The precise terms of this agreement 
 were necessarily kept in the dark; for at this period the 
 Moghul court would have refused to sanction any arrange- 
 ment which implied the payment of tribute to the Mahrattas. 
 
 The death of Bahadur Shah in 1712 was followed by an- 
 other fratricidal war ; but the Moghul princes were men with- 
 out force of character, and indeed were little better than pup- 
 pets in the hands of ambitious generals. After the usual 
 round of treachery and carnage, a debauched young prince, 
 named Jehandar Shah, was placed upon the throne at Delhi ; 
 but all real power was exercised by Zulfikar Khan, the Moghul 
 general, who had been Viceroy of the Dekhan in the reign 
 of Aurangzeb, and who had defeated and slain the youngest 
 son of Aurangzeb at the accession of Bahadur Shah. 
 
 Jehandar Shah was a drunkard, who chose his favorites 
 from the dregs of society. Zulfikar Khan was a respectable 
 grandee, who sought to wield the destinies of the empire 
 under the name of prime minister. There naturally fol-
 
 246 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 lowed a struggle for power between the besotted Padishah 
 and the ambitious minister. But the reign was too scan- 
 dalous to last. The vices of Jehandar Shah were not con- 
 fined to the recesses of the zenana, but were paraded before 
 the lower orders, and became the common talk of the bazars. 
 Suddenly his headlong career was arrested by the news of 
 a dangerous rebellion in Bengal. 
 
 A young prince named Farrukh Siyar, a grandson of 
 Bahadur Shah, had been left in Bengal during the fratri- 
 cidal war which followed the death of Aurangzeb. By 
 strange good fortune Farrukh Siyar had escaped the mas- 
 sacre of princes which accompanied the rise of Jehandar 
 Shah; but still he was in constant peril of his life, and was 
 thus prepared for any desperate measure. When the reign 
 of Jehandar Shah became a scandal to the empire, the minds 
 of men began to turn toward Farrukh Siyar. Two Moghul 
 brothers, known as the two Saiyids, or descendants of the 
 prophet, resolved to head a righteous rebellion in the name 
 of Farrukh Siyar; to depose the debauched sovereign who 
 disgraced the empire, and to place Farrukh Siyar on the 
 throne of Delhi, and govern the empire in his name. 
 
 The two Saiyids were men of some standing. One was 
 the governor of Patna, and the other was governor of Alla- 
 habad. By their help, a force was collected, and the two 
 Saiyids began to march to Delhi accompanied by Farrukh 
 Siyar. Numbers joined them on the way. Zulfikar Khan 
 took the field and advanced toward Agra, accompanied by 
 Jehandar Shah; but the young Padishah was an arrant 
 coward, and fled back to Delhi, leaving the imperial forces 
 to be defeated in the neighborhood of Agra. The cause of 
 Farrukh Siyar triumphed; and the two Saiyids conducted 
 him to Delhi amid the acclamations of the multitude. 
 
 Zulfikar Khan tendered his submission to the two Saiyids, 
 and was received with every mark of favor, but was treach- 
 erously assassinated on leaving the tent. Jehandar Shah 
 was put to death, as well as many others who were likely 
 to interfere with the accession of Farrukh Siyar. The new
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 247 
 
 Padishah then ascended the throne of Delhi amid the firing 
 of cannon and thunder of kettle-drums, and was at once ac- 
 cepted by all parties as sovereign of the Moghul empire. 
 
 Farrukh Siyar reigned from 1713 to 1719. From the first 
 he engaged in a series of intrigues for throwing off the yoke 
 of the two Saiyids, and ruling the empire as irresponsible 
 sovereign without check or hindrance. The elder Saiyid, 
 Abdulla Khan, filled the post of minister at Delhi. The 
 younger Saiyid, Husain Ali Khan, was sent to restore the 
 Moghul supremacy in Rajputana, which had been in a dis- 
 affected state ever since the death of Aurangzeb. At the 
 same time it was hoped that by separating the two brothers, 
 by keeping the one at Delhi and sending the other to Raj- 
 putana, it might be possible to effect their destruction. 
 
 The Moghul court had always been pre-eminent for craft 
 and treachery; but during the struggles between Farrukh 
 Siyar and the two Saiyids, there was an utter absence of 
 scruple or shame. Rajputana had been virtually independ- 
 ent ever since the death of Aurangzeb. Even the border 
 territory of Jaipur, which intervened between the Moghul' s 
 territories and the more remote kingdoms of Udaipur and 
 Marwar, had thrown off the Muhammadan yoke, and repu- 
 diated all connection with the Moghul court at Delhi. A 
 Rajput prince, a kinsman of the old royal house, ascended 
 the throne as Raja of Jaipur, and was prepared to set the 
 Moghul suzerainty at defiance so long as the Moghul armies 
 refrained from invading his territories. 
 
 In the first instance Husain Ali Khan was sent to reduce 
 the Raja of Jaipur to obedience. Meanwhile secret letters 
 were sent by the Padishah to the Raja, encouraging him to 
 hold out against the Moghul troops, and instigating him to 
 do his utmost to effect the destruction of Husain Ali Khan. 
 The Jaipur Raja was bewildered by these contradictory pro- 
 ceedings, but was at last reduced to submission, and induced 
 to give his daughter in marriage to Farrukh Siyar. 
 
 Husain Ali Khan discovered the treachery which had 
 been practiced upon him as regards the Jaipur Raja, but
 
 248 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 deemed it expedient to become reconciled to Farrukh Siyar. 
 It is said that this reconciliation was brought about by the 
 mother of Farrukh Siyar; but it would be sheer waste of 
 time to inquire too closely into the intrigues which were at 
 work in the Moghul court. Soon afterward Husain Ali Khan 
 encountered still more flagrant treachery. In order to keep 
 him at a distance from his elder brother, he was appointed 
 Viceroy of the Dekhan, and ordered to proceed to his new 
 government. At this time Daud Khan, the same man who 
 besieged Governor Pitt at Madras, was Viceroy of Guzerat. 
 Daud Khan was openly instructed, by letters from the min- 
 ister Abdulla Khan, to meet Husain Ali Khan on his way 
 to the Dekhan, and pay implicit obedience to his orders. At 
 the same time Daud Khan was secretly told, by private let- 
 ters from Farrukh Siyar, that if he could effect the destruc- 
 tion of Husain Ali Khan, he would receive the viceroyalty 
 of the Dekhan as his reward. The result was that Daud 
 Khan strengthened his army by enlisting a force of Mahrat- 
 tas. "When Husain Ali Khan came up, instead of a friendly 
 greeting there was an obstinate battle. The Mahrattas did 
 nothing, but scoured about the plain on horseback, and kept 
 aloof from the fighting until the action was over. Mean- 
 while Daud Khan would have gained the victory, but in the 
 moment of triumph he was shot dead by a musket-ball. His 
 Mahrattas at once went over to the army of Husain Ali Khan, 
 tendered then* submission, and then began to plunder the 
 camp of Daud Khan. 
 
 A few glimpses of Delhi at this period are to be derived 
 from the correspondence of an English mission which was 
 sent from Calcutta to Delhi in 1715, and remained more than 
 two years at the Moghul capital. The mission was under- 
 taken to secure certain trading privileges from the Great 
 Moghul, and is chiefly remarkable for the delays and eva- 
 sions of ministers and courtiers. The presents sent by the 
 English merchants at Calcutta were received with great 
 favor by the Padishah and the leading grandees ; and the 
 English ambassadors received so many promises of goodwill
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 249 
 
 and patronage that they wrote cheerful letters to Calcutta, 
 saying that they were sanguine of obtaining ah 1 they wanted. 
 When, however, they began to ask for firmans setting forth 
 the privileges to be granted, so many difficulties were raised 
 on all sides that they began to despair of obtaining any 
 firmans at all. 
 
 Meanwhile, an English surgeon named Hamilton, who 
 accompanied the mission to Delhi, had been fortunate enough 
 to heal Farrukh Siyar of a troublesome disease ; and the Pa- 
 dishah was willing to show his gratitude by granting a firman 
 of privileges. But Farrukh Siyar refused to part with the 
 doctor; and the doctor was thrown into a painful fright; for 
 he had a wife and family in England, and was horrified at 
 the idea of spending the rest of his days in gilded exile at 
 Delhi. 
 
 Suddenly, after a delay of two years, all difficulties were 
 removed. The English had found it convenient to remove 
 their old factory at Surat to their more important settlement 
 at Bombay. This trifling event spread a terror through the 
 Moghul court. The older grandees remembered that the fac- 
 tory at Surat had been removed to Bombay just before the 
 disastrous war of 1686 ; and they were in mortal fear lest 
 the repetition of the measure should be followed by the re- 
 appearance of English men-of-war in the eastern seas. The 
 requests of the English ambassadors were granted with sur- 
 prising promptitude ; even the English doctor was permitted 
 to depart after pledging himself to return with a supply of 
 medicines at an early date; 1 and the mission returned to 
 Calcutta with firmans of new rights and privileges duly 
 signed and sealed. 
 
 The English mission were impressed with the pomp and 
 power of the Great Moghul, but they saw many signs of dis- 
 turbance at Delhi. The marriage of Farrukh Siyar with 
 the Jaipur princess was celebrated with illuminations and 
 
 1 Dr. Hamilton died shortly after his return to Calcutta. His tombstone is 
 still to be seen inscribed with a record of his services.
 
 250 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 fireworks; but the plots for securing the destruction of 
 Husain Ali Khan were widely known. About the same 
 time a Tartar army broke out in mutiny, and the troops 
 were clamoring for their arrears of pay in the streets of 
 Delhi. 
 
 Meanwhile the Sikhs were signally defeated in the Pun- 
 jab, and Bandu Guru was taken prisoner and conducted to 
 Delhi amid a horrible procession of eight hundred Sikh 
 prisoners doomed to death, and two thousand bleeding 
 heads borne on poles. The executions that followed were 
 ghastly and sickening. The Sikh prisoners were beheaded 
 at the rate of a hundred a day. The captive Guru was 
 clothed in mock robes of state and exhibited with an infant 
 son in an iron cage. The child was butchered before his 
 eyes, and he himself was tortured to death with hot pincers. 
 But Bandu Guru perished in the glory of martyrdom, exult- 
 ing in the dream that he had been raised up by God to scourge 
 the sins and oppressions of the age. 
 
 In 1719, about a year after the English mission left Delhi, 
 the reign of Farrukh Siyar was brought to a tragical close. 
 Abdulla Khan, the minister, found that his life was in dan- 
 ger, and summoned his brother from the Dekhan. Husain 
 Ali Khan marched to Delhi with an army of Mahrattas, and 
 excited a universal terror. Then followed a night of horror. 
 The army of Abdulla Khan surrounded the palace, while the 
 Mahrattas were supposed to keep order in the city. The most 
 alarming reports spread through Delhi. It was said that Ab- 
 dulla Khan had been murdered in the palace by the Raja of 
 Jaipur. Next it was rumored that the Mahrattas were plun- 
 dering the city ; and the mob of Delhi rose against the Mah- 
 rattas, and slaughtered large numbers, and found so much 
 gold in their saddle-bags as to increase the general alarm. 
 
 Next morning the uproar was over. The trembling Pa- 
 dishah had been dragged from the zenana amid the screams 
 of women, and thrown into a dungeon and deprived of eye- 
 sight; and it was soon known that he had been strangled to 
 death by the bowstring. Meanwhile, an infant prince was
 
 MUHAMMAD AN INDIA 251 
 
 taken out of the state prison of Selimghur, which adjoined 
 the palace, and placed upon the throne of the Moghuls. The 
 firing of cannon and thundering of the imperial kettle-drums 
 at the gate of the palace announced that Farrukh Siyar had 
 ceased to reign, and that another Padishah was sovereign of 
 the Moghul empire. 
 
 It soon transpired that the two Saiyids had assumed the 
 supreme direction of affairs in the name of an infant sover- 
 eign. Three months afterward the infant died, and another 
 young boy was taken out of the state prison and set upon the 
 throne. But the reign of the new puppet was shorter than 
 that of his ill-starred predecessor. In a few weeks he too 
 was hurried to the grave by some insidious disease. 
 
 A healthier youth was now taken out of the prison, and 
 enthroned under the name of Muhammad Shah. He .was 
 destined to reign for a period of nearly thirty years ; to wit- 
 ness the mortal blow from Persia which shook the Moghul 
 empire to its foundations; and to leave his successors to be 
 the alternate prey of Afghans and Mahrattas. 
 
 Muhammad Shah ascended the throne as the puppet of 
 the two Saiyids ; but by this time a strong party had been 
 formed against the brothers. The succession of three pag- 
 eant Padishahs within a few brief months had opened the 
 eyes of the leading grandees to the dangerous ambition of 
 the Saiyids, and raised up a host of enemies who were re- 
 solved on their downfall. 
 
 The two brothers were aware of the secret combinations 
 formed against them, and labored hard to defeat their de- 
 signs. Abdulla Khan remained at Delhi to carry on the 
 duties of prime minister. Husain Ali Khan returned to his 
 viceroyalty in the Dekhan, and carried the young Padishah 
 with him as a precautionary measure. But there was treach- 
 ery in the camp, and a savage Kalmuk agreed to strike the 
 fatal blow. He presented a petition to Husain Ali Khan, 
 and while the latter was reading it the Kalmuk stabbed the 
 Viceroy to the heart. The dead body rolled out of the oppo- 
 site side of the palanquin. The Kalmuk was cut to pieces
 
 252 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 by the Viceroy's guards. But Muhammad Shah placed him- 
 self at the head of his friends, and his appearance put an 
 end to the confusion and restored order. The army returned 
 to Agra, and thence began the march to Delhi. Abdulla 
 Khan marched out an army to revenge the death of his 
 brother, but found it useless to contend against the revolu- 
 tion. His forces were utterly defeated ; his life was spared ; 
 but the power of the Saiyids was gone forever. 
 
 Muhammad Shah entered Delhi with all the triumph of 
 a conqueror. He was received by his mother and ladies 
 of the zenana with all the pomp and ceremonial that accom- 
 panied the installation of Moghul sovereigns. He took his 
 seat upon the great throne; the imperial insignia were dis- 
 played on either side; basins of gold coins and jewels were 
 waved around him ; and to all outward appearance he began 
 to reign with all the magnificence of a Jehangir or Shah 
 Jehan. But the energies of the imperial rule were already 
 in rapid decay; the life-blood of the empire was ebbing away; 
 and the blaze of splendor which heralded the elevation of 
 Muhammad Shah to the sovereignty was but an empty show 
 to veil the decline of the empire. 
 
 The signs of dissolution must have been already evident 
 to those who could see beneath the surface of things. The 
 Moghul court was torn by factions which could no longer be 
 suppressed by the frown of the Padishah, and which not 
 infrequently broke out in open broils. The removal of 
 Viceroys from one province to another, which had been 
 so frequent under the despotic rule of Jehangir, Shah Jehan, 
 and Aurangzeb, had become of rare occurrence ; for an order 
 for removal, under a weak sovereign like Farrukh Siyar or 
 Muhammad Shah, might have been met by a formidable 
 rebellion which would have engulfed the empire. 
 
 One sign of weakness was more significant than all the 
 others. The imperial camp was no longer to be seen mov- 
 ing from Hindustan to the Punjab, or from Hindustan to 
 the Dekhan, keeping Sikhs and Rajputs in awe, and carry- 
 ing the prestige of the Great Moghul to every part of his
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA. #53 
 
 dominions. During the reigns of Farrukh Siyar and Mu- 
 hammad Shah, the Padishah was little better than a pageant 
 confined to the palace ; and his progresses in camp were little 
 more than hunting expeditions in the immediate neighbor- 
 hood of Delhi. 
 
 Yet still the administration moved on in the well-worn 
 grooves of long-established routine, although much of the 
 vitality of power had passed away. No Viceroy or Subahdar 
 of a province was legally in possession of his post until he 
 had received letters and insignia of investiture from the Mo- 
 ghul court at Delhi ; and this simple procedure preserved the 
 prestige of Moghul suzerainty for generations after the au- 
 thority of the Padishah had dwindled into an empty name. 
 
 During the reign of Muhammad Shah a Subahdar might 
 die, and his son might succeed to the post by an assumption 
 of hereditary right, which would have been ruthlessly denied 
 by Aurangzeb or his predecessors ; but even during the last 
 years of the empire the succession had no validity or weight 
 in the eyes of the masses until the letters and insignia had 
 been received from Delhi. The same might be said of the 
 subordinate Nawabs of outlying territories. A Nawab might 
 be appointed by a Subahdar, and be succeeded on death by 
 his eldest son ; and it will be seen hereafter that this was the 
 case with the Nawab of the Carnatic, under the Nizam or 
 Subahdar of the Dekhan ; but neither the original appoint- 
 ment, nor the succession of the son, could be considered legal 
 and secure until letters and insignia had arrived from Delhi 
 with the seals of the empire. The consequence was that a 
 Viceroy never failed to send presents and promises to the 
 Padishah and grandees, to secure the recognized succession 
 of a son or near kinsman ; and whenever a Viceroy died 
 every candidate for the government was equally profuse in 
 presents and promises in the hope of securing his own recog- 
 nition to the exclusion of all others. 
 
 All this while the Padishah was still the sole fountain of 
 all honor, rank, and titles throughout the empire. These 
 rewards were so largely coveted that grandees were often
 
 254 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 ready to sacrifice the greater part of their wealth in order 
 to obtain them. They were never hereditary, but they ele- 
 vated the grandee for the time being above his fellows in the 
 eyes of the whole court, and were thus always received with 
 the utmost pride and gladness of heart. Many a Subahdar 
 or Nawab, driven to the verge of rebellion by insult or neg- 
 lect, has been brought once again within the pale of loyalty 
 and devotion by the receipt of an empty title and a dress of 
 honor from the Great Moghul. 
 
 A curious anomaly of the Moghul constitution was the 
 appointment of a Dewan, or financial accountant-general, 
 to every province of the empire. It was the duty of this 
 officer to receive all collections of revenue, to pay all salaries, 
 including that of the Subahdar or Nawab, and to devote his 
 whole attention to the remission of the largest possible yearly 
 balance to the imperial treasury at Delhi. In the reign of 
 Aurangzeb the Dewan had been regarded as the most im- 
 portant officer in the province. The duties of the Subahdar 
 or Nawab had been confined to the maintenance of the public 
 peace and the administration of justice; and all revenue ques- 
 tions had been left to the Dewan. At the same time the 
 Dewan received his appointment direct from the Padishah, 
 and was altogether independent of the Subahdar or Nawab ; 
 and by his zeal in the collection of revenue, and remission of 
 the largest possible amount as the Padishah's share, he might 
 hope for promotion or reward. 
 
 During the decline of the Moghul empire, the greediness 
 for rank and titles led to a general corruption in the court 
 and provinces. The grandees grew rich while the imperial 
 revenues dwindled year by year. Presents to the ministers, 
 courtiers, and chief ladies of the zenana became of more im- 
 portance than the remittance of the yearly revenue to the 
 imperial treasury. There were collusions between the Su- 
 bahdar and the Dewan, and by dint of bribes and presents 
 the two appointments were sometimes given to two different 
 members of the same family, and sometimes were doubled 
 up in the same officer. The result was a growing independ-
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 255 
 
 ence among the Subahdars and Nawabs of provinces; a 
 growing tendency on the part of those officers to retain 
 their several governments as the hereditary right of their 
 respective families; a growing disregard to the orders re- 
 ceived from the court at Delhi, and a determination to gov- 
 ern their respective provinces according to their own irre- 
 sponsible will. 
 
 Strange to say, while there was a general loosening of 
 the tie which bound the Viceroys of provinces to the Mo-r 
 ghul court, the tie itself was on all occasions ostentatiously 
 displayed before the multitude. Every Viceroy of a prov- 
 ince acted as though he believed that his authority derived 
 its sole lustre and security from its subordination to that of 
 the Great Moghul. Whenever the imperial firmans, orders, 
 or letters of any description arrived from Delhi, the Subahdar 
 or Nawab went out with all his officers in grand array to 
 receive the documents with every demonstration of respect 
 and honor; to place the imperial commands upon his fore- 
 head in token of his profound submission to the will of the 
 Padishah ; and to announce the coming of the imperial mes- 
 sengers with a salute of artillery, and every mark of devotion 
 and loyalty. 
 
 The richest province of the empire, or that which sent 
 the largest yearly revenue to the Padishah, was the one 
 which included the outlying territories of Bengal, Behar, 
 and Orissa. But the Nawabs of the Bengal provinces 
 played no part hi the history of the empire. They lived 
 to the eastward of the river Carumnasa, and had little or 
 no concern with the Moghul court, beyond remitting the 
 yearly revenue to Delhi. 
 
 The two most important officers in the empire were 
 Saadut Ali Khan, who was Subahdar of Oude; and Chin 
 Kulich Khan, better known by his title of Nizam-ul-mulk, 
 who was Subahdar or Nizam of the Dekhan. 1 The history 
 
 1 Chin Kulich Khan subsequently received the honorary title of Asof Jah, 
 which, according to Muhammadan tradition, was the name of the minister of 
 Solomon. But though he is often called Asof Jah he is best known by the title
 
 256 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 of these two men is typical of the condition of the Moghul 
 empire during the reign of Muhammad Shah, and thus de- 
 mands separate consideration. 
 
 The province of Oude in those times included not only 
 modern Oude, but the vast area of fertile territory extending 
 from Benares to Agra, which is comprised in the present day 
 under the general term of Northwest Provinces. Saadut Ali 
 Khan was a Persian and a Shiah. He was of low extrac- 
 tion, having been originally a cotton merchant of Khorasan ; 
 but by a strange destiny he had become Viceroy and prac- 
 tically sovereign over the greater part' of Hindustan, and 
 was the ancestor of the later kings of Oude, who like him 
 professed the religion of the Shiahs. 
 
 Nizam-ul-mulk was a rival in race and religion, a Turk 
 and a Sunni. He belonged to what was called a Turanian 
 family, as distinguished from the Iranian, or Persian stock. 
 His early history is obscure, but he and his father before 
 him are said to have held important commands in the reign 
 of Aurangzeb. 
 
 During the scandalous reign of Jehandar Shah, the proud 
 spirit of Nizam-ul-mulk had nearly worked his own down- 
 fall. While proceeding through the streets of Delhi, his way 
 was impeded by one of the worthless parasites of the hour; 
 a woman who had formerly sold fruit and garden stuff in 
 the vegetable market, but had become the sworn friend of a 
 dancing-girl who was the ruling favorite of Jehandar Shah. 
 This woman was proceeding to the palace on an elephant, 
 accompanied by a numerous retinue ; and as she passed she 
 poured out a torrent of abuse on Nizam-ul-mulk. It is said 
 that the proud Turk gave a signal to his retainers; but 
 whether he did or no, the men dragged the woman from 
 her elephant and maltreated her in the presence of the mob. 
 The woman threw ashes on her head, and hurried off to the 
 palace to demand vengeance from the favorite dancing-girl. 
 
 of Nizam-ul-mulk, or "regulator of the state," given to him on the accession of 
 Farrukh Siyar ; and as his successors, the Nizams of Hyderabad, are named after 
 this title, it will be preserved throughout the present volumes.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 257 
 
 Meanwhile Nizam- ul-mulk went to the house of the prime 
 minister Zulfikar Khan, and told him the whole story. The 
 two men were not friends, but Zulfikar Khan saw the neces- 
 sity for supporting his fellow-grandee against the insolence 
 of the favorite. Accordingly he wrote on a slip of paper, "I 
 throw in my lot with that of Nizam-ul-mulk" ; and sent the 
 writing to Jehandar Shah. The paper proved to be a suffi- 
 cient warning for the young Padishah; he saw that revenge 
 was out of the question, and nothing more was heard of the 
 matter. 
 
 At the accession of Farrukh Siyar, the two Saiyids made 
 much of Nizam-ul-mulk, gave him the title and appointed 
 him Subahdar of the Dekhan. Subsequently they grew 
 jealous of him and transferred him to the government of 
 Malwa between the Chambal and Nerbudda, while Husain 
 Ali Khan was appointed Subahdar of the Dekhan between 
 the Nerbudda and Kistna. 
 
 After the assassination of Husain Ali Khan, Nizam-ul- 
 mulk crossed the Nerbudda with an army, and took posses- 
 sion of the government of the Dekhan, defeating every com- 
 mander who was secretly sent to overthrow him, while still 
 retaining a paramount influence in Malwa and Guzerat. 
 
 All this while the Mahrattas were the pest of the empire, 
 the horror of the Moghul court, the terror of the Moghul 
 Viceroys of provinces, and the especial enemies of Nizam- 
 ul-mulk. The first Peishwa, Balaji Visvanath, died in 1720, 
 and was succeeded in the post of minister by his son Baji 
 Rao, who is always described as the ablest Mahratta Brah- 
 man of the time. ' The policy of both father and son was to 
 secure the continued recognition of Maharaja Sahu as the 
 vassal of the Great Moghul ; to enforce the Mahratta claims 
 to chout throughout the Dekhan, Malwa, and Guzerat; and 
 to keep the loose bands of Mahratta horsemen, which might 
 prove dangerous to the Brahman government at Satara, 
 continually employed at a distance from the capital. These 
 
 1 Compare ante, p. 244.
 
 258 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 ends both Peishwas in turn had sought to attain by issuing 
 commissions to different Mahratta leaders to collect chout in 
 all directions in the name of Maharaja Sahu. 
 
 The policy of the Peishwas throws much light upon the 
 political genius of the Mahratta Brahmans. They did not 
 care to create a Mahratta empire with well-defined frontiers. 
 They preferred exercising the right of interference over a 
 large and undefined part of the Moghul empire, and collect- 
 ing chout under the plea of affording protection and security 
 in return. 
 
 The Peishwa parcelled out the right of collecting chout 
 among different military leaders in every district, in such a 
 way that, while each leader had an interest in increasing 
 the contributions to the general stock, no one had a compact 
 property to render him independent of the Brahman court at 
 Satara. Moreover, by dividing the revenue into innumer- 
 able fractions, it threw the military leaders into the hands 
 of Brahman accountants; and thus strengthened the power 
 of the Peishwa by increasing the influence of the caste of 
 Mahratta Brahmans to which he belonged. 
 
 Mahratta history has thus an importance which has never 
 been recognized by historians. It illustrates the struggle for 
 political power between the caste of priests and that of sol- 
 diers which is the life and soul of ancient history. Glimpses 
 of this struggle are furnished by the annals of Hebrews and 
 Egyptians, but they are obscure and blurred. Mahratta 
 history reveals every secret working in the battle between 
 intellect and brute force, which ended in the triumph of the 
 Brahman. In like manner the after history will tell of the 
 revolt of the military leaders against the Brahman ascen- 
 dency, until the power of the Peishwas was reduced to a 
 pageant by Lord Wellesley. 
 
 It was during this early period of the Brahman ascen- 
 dency that the Mahratta commanders, mostly men of low 
 caste, began to rise to the rank of predatory powers. The 
 family of the Gaekwar of Baroda came to the front in 
 Guzerat; the families of Sindia and Holkar established a
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 259 
 
 hold in Malwa; and the Bhonsla family, the same clan to 
 which Sivaji belonged, established a dominion in Berar in 
 the Dekhan to the northward of the dominions of the Nizam. 
 
 But during the supremacy of the Brahman Peishwas 
 these leaders were little more than military puppets in the 
 hands of the central power at Satara; they were in fact 
 officers of the Peishwa, commanding divisions of his troops, 
 and acting under his commission. It was not until many^ 
 years afterward, when the power of the Peishwa was on the 
 wane, that these military leaders ventured to exercise politi- 
 cal influence and authority as semi-independent princes of 
 the Mahratta empire. 
 
 The dealings of an astute Mahratta Brahman, like Baji 
 Rao, with Nizam-ul-mulk, and Muhammad Shah, are too 
 obscure and complicated to be dealt with except in the most 
 general terms. Baji Rao was ever ready to take advantage 
 of the jealousies and rivalries in the Moghul empire to further 
 his own political schemes for power and aggrandizement. 
 He saw the jealous antagonism between the Padishah and 
 Nizam-ul-mulk, and labored hard to profit by it. He helped 
 the imperial forces to drive the power and influence of 
 Nizam-ul-mulk out of Guzerat and Malwa; and in return 
 he obtained from the Moghul court a grant of chout for the 
 whole of the Dekhan. He carried on a series of desultory 
 wars against Nizam-ul-mulk, until he forced him into a kind 
 of recognition of the Mahratta claims. At the same time 
 there was some sort of compromise between the two. Nizam- 
 ul-mulk obtained better terms from Baji Rao by engaging 
 not to interfere in the Mahratta collections in Guzerat and 
 Malwa. All this while Baji Rao was seeking to obtain from 
 the Moghul court a formal grant of the chout for Guzerat 
 and Malwa. 
 
 The Moghul court vainly attempted to resist these de- 
 mands. Their unwieldy masses of regular troops could 
 make no impression on loose hands of Mahratta horsemen, 
 whose home was in the saddle, and who disappeared from 
 the scene one day only to reappear in an unexpected quarter
 
 200 
 
 on the morrow. Muhammad Shah made certain concessions 
 to the Peishwa, but only with the view of embroiling him 
 with other powers. He ceded to the Peishwa the right of 
 collecting chout from the Rajputs; a measure which cer- 
 tainly led to endless predatory wars between Rajputs and 
 Mahrattas when both ought to have been united in a strong 
 national confederacy of Hindus against the Moghuls. Mu- 
 hammad Shah also made some additions to the Mahratta 
 claims on the territories of Nizam-ul-mulk. This last meas- 
 ure recalled the Nizam to a sense of his dependence on the 
 Padishah. Henceforth he seems to have resolved on sup- 
 porting the Padishah against the Mahrattas. At the same 
 time Baji Rao resolved on marching a Mahratta army to- 
 ward Delhi, and driving Muhammad Shah into making a 
 formal grant of chout for Guzerat and Malwa. 
 
 Such was the general progress of affairs from the begin- 
 ning of the reign of Muhammad Shah in 1719 down to the 
 year 1736. In the latter year Baji Rao advanced a Mahratta 
 army toward Agra; while his light troops, under the com- 
 mand of Mulhar Rao Holkar, began to ravage the surround- 
 ing country beyond the Jumna. Suddenly Holkar was at- 
 tacked and driven back by a force under Saadut AH Khan, 
 Subahdar of Oude. This check was magnified into a great 
 victory; but Baji Rao retrieved his disgrace by appearing 
 with a Mahratta army at the very gates of Delhi. 
 
 This movement of Baji Rao took place in the beginning 
 of 1737, and threw the Moghul capital into the utmost con- 
 sternation. But the object of Baji Rao was not to provoke, 
 but to intimidate the Padishah. He made no attempt to 
 enter Delhi, and he tried to prevent his troops from devas- 
 tating the suburbs. Meanwhile Saadut Ali Khan joined his 
 forces to the imperial army ; and Baji Rao deemed it expe- 
 dient to return to the Dekhan. During this retreat of the 
 Mahrattas, Nizam-ul-mulk marched an army to Delhi, and 
 was received at the capital with every mark of favor. 
 
 These movements of rival armies become intelligible by 
 bearing in mind the secret relations between the Moghul
 
 .MUHAMMADAN INDIA 261 
 
 court and the Peishwa. The Moghul court was playing off 
 the Mahrattas as a check upon the growing and dangerous 
 power of Saadut Ali Khan and Nizam-ul-mulk. At the same 
 time the Moghul court was in mortal fear of the Mahrattas. 
 It shrunk from the ignominy of making a formal grant of 
 the chout for Malwa and Guzerat ; but according to current 
 reports it secretly paid chout for all its own territories round 
 about Delhi, with the view of keeping the Mahrattas at a 
 distance from the Moghul capital. Thus Baji Rao advanced 
 to Agra and Delhi with the view of securing the forma] grant 
 of chout for Malwa and Guzerat; but he kept his Mahratta 
 army from plundering the surrounding country lest he should 
 thereby forfeit his claim to chout from the Delhi territories. 
 
 In 1738 the Nizam was returning from Delhi to the Dek- 
 han, when he came into collision with Baji Rao on the banks 
 of the Nerbudda. There was no actual battle, but the Mah- 
 rattas surrounded the Nizam, cut off his supplies, and re- 
 duced him to sore distress. In this extremity Nizam-ul-mulk 
 engaged to procure from the Padishah a cession of the chout 
 for Malwa and Guzerat to the Peishwa. The Nizam then 
 returned to Delhi, and Baji Rao took possession of Malwa. 
 At this crisis political affairs were brought to a standstill by 
 a sudden and unexpected blow from the side of Persia, which 
 shook the Moghul empire to its foundations. 
 
 The modern history of Persia begins with the year 1500, 
 when it was formed into an independent kingdom by a dy- 
 nasty of Shiah fanatics, known as the Sufi Shahs. The rise 
 of the Sufi empire preceded that of the Moghul empire of 
 Hindustan by a quarter of a century, and its downfall pre- 
 ceded that of the Moghul empire about the same period. 
 
 The rule of the Shahs of Persia differed little from that 
 of the Moghul sovereigns of Hindustan. There were no 
 fratricidal wars at the death of a Shah, but the princes were 
 treated with greater cruelty during the lifetime of their 
 father, often kept in state prisons, and blinded or strangled 
 to prevent rebellion. On the death of a Shah a son or a 
 grandson was taken out of a prison and placed upon the
 
 262 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 throne; and all his brothers, and all other possible rivals, 
 were butchered wholesale. Each Shah in succession seemed 
 to be more weak, more cruel, and more depraved than his 
 predecessor ; and it is difficult to understand how the empire 
 could have been kept together, threatened as it was by the 
 Turks on the west, the Russians on the north, and Afghans 
 and Uzbegs to the eastward. 
 
 The dynasty was at last overthrown by an invasion of 
 Afghans. About 1710 the Afghans of Kandahar and Herat 
 threw off the Persian yoke, and established their independ- 
 ence under a chieftain of their own race. In 1722 the Af- 
 ghans marched to Ispahan, and besieged the city until it 
 was starved into unconditional surrender. Shah Husain, 
 the last of the Sufi dynasty, abdicated his throne in favor 
 of Mahmud, the Afghan conqueror; and for a period of 
 eight years, from 1722 to 1730, the people of Persia were 
 subjected to the indescribable atrocities and outrages of 
 Afghan rule. 
 
 Meanwhile Shah Tahmasp, a son of Shah Husain, made 
 feeble efforts to recover his father's kingdom. In 1727 he 
 was joined by a freebooting chieftain named Nadir Kuli, 
 or Nadir the slave. This man was a born general, endowed 
 with an instinct for creating armies and founding empires. 
 He waged such successful wars against the Afghans that, 
 by the year 1730, he had driven them out of Persia and 
 placed Shah Tahmasp on the throne of Ispahan. 
 
 But Nadir Kuli Khan, as he was now called, was only 
 making a stepping-stone of Shah Tahmasp. He went off to 
 Khorasan to complete the subjugation of the Afghans. 
 Meanwhile Shah Tahmasp engaged in war against the 
 Turks, met with some disasters, and concluded a peace by 
 yielding up his right to Armenia, Erivan, and Georgia, 
 which had long been in the possession of Persia. Nadir 
 Kuli Khan affected the utmost indignation at this ignomini- 
 ous peace. He returned to Ispahan, threw Shah Tahmasp 
 into confinement, and placed the Shah's infant son upon the 
 throne. He then carried on a war with Turkey until she
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 263 
 
 was compelled to restore the disputed provinces; and Russia 
 was also induced to restore certain territories bordering on 
 the Caspian which had been seized by Peter the Great. 
 Nadir Kuli Khan was thus all-powerful in Persia. In 1736 
 the infant sovereign died, and Nadir the slave assumed the 
 full sovereignty under the title of Nadir Shah, or Nadir 
 the king. 
 
 In 1737 Nadir Shah was engaged in besieging Kandahar, 
 when he sent two successive embassies to the Great Moghul 
 at Delhi. The Moghul court took no notice of these embas- 
 sies , it did not even dismiss them and permit them to return 
 to their master. Probably the haughty Moghul was pre- 
 pared to dispute the title of Nadir Shah to the throne of 
 Persia, and to treat him as an upstart and usurper. The 
 result was that Nadir Shah captured Kandahar and Kabul, 
 and then prepared to march an army to Delhi vid Peshawar 
 and Lahore. 
 
 .The Moghul court at this crisis was feeble to the last 
 degree. It had been recently threatened by the Mahrattas, 
 and it was torn to pieces by the dissensions and jealousies 
 of the leading grandees. There was hot rivalry between 
 Saadut Ali Khan and Nizam-ul-mulk, and one or both were 
 at daggers drawn with Khan-dauran, the minister. Indeed 
 it was currently reported that both Saadut Ali Khan and 
 Nizam-ul-mulk had been for some time in secret correspond- 
 ence with Nadir Shah, and had invited him to invade Hin- 
 dustan. 
 
 Nadir Shah was certainly familiar with the progress of 
 affairs in India. He charged Muhammad Shah with having 
 failed to collect the Jezya from the unbelieving Hindus, and 
 with having paid a fourth of his revenue to the idolatrous 
 Mahrattas. 
 
 Nadir Shah reached Peshawar without difficulty. The 
 Moghul court had been accustomed to pay a yearly subsidy 
 to the hill tribes for the defence of the frontier passes ; but 
 for some years previously the money had been appropriated 
 by the corrupt and unscrupulous minister. Consequently
 
 264 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the garrisons had been withdrawn, and the disbanded troops 
 not only left the passes open to Nadu* Shah, but eagerly joined 
 his army in the hope of sharing in the spoils of Hindustan. 
 The Persian invader met with little or no resistance on his 
 way through the Punjab. The Moghul Viceroy of the prov- 
 ince was in communication with Nizam-ul-mulk ; and he 
 deemed it more to his interest to permit Nadir Shah to con- 
 tinue his march than to sacrifice his troops and himself in 
 vain efforts to repel the invasion. 
 
 At last the Moghul court was awakened from its lethargy. 
 A large army marched from Delhi to Kurnal, about sixty- 
 five miles to the northward, under the joint command of 
 Nizam-ul-mulk and Khan-dauran, and accompanied by Mu- 
 hammad Shah. Shortly afterward the army of Nadir Shah 
 approached Kurnal, and encamped in the neighborhood. 
 
 At this crisis Saadut Ali Khan arrived at Delhi with 
 reinforcements, and proposed giving the enemy battle. But 
 the old rivalries were still at work. Saadut Ali Khan and 
 Khan-dauran went out to engage the enemy, but Nizam-ul- 
 mulk stood aloof and refused to join in the fighting. The 
 Moghul army was utterly defeated; Saadut Ali Khan was 
 taken prisoner, and Khan-dauran received a mortal wound. 
 
 Muhammad Shah was now at the mercy of Nadir Shah. 
 Nizam-ul-mulk was sent to offer terms to the conqueror; he 
 is said to have agreed to pay two crores of rupees, or two 
 millions sterling, provided Nadir Shah returned to Persia 
 without advancing on Delhi. The terms were accepted, and 
 Nizam-ul-mulk returned to the camp of the Padishah with 
 the joyful news, and was rewarded with the coveted rank 
 of Amir of Amirs, or chief of all the Amirs. 
 
 Saadut Ali Khan was stung with jealousy at the honor 
 conferred on his rival. He told Nadir Shah that two crores 
 were only a flea-bite hi comparison with the treasures of 
 Delhi; and he persuaded the invader to pursue his march 
 to the Moghul capital, by promising to collect a subsidy of 
 twenty crores. The offer was accepted, and Saadut Ali 
 Khan hastened back to Delhi.
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 265 
 
 I 
 
 Nadir Shah set out on his march to Delhi with the ex- 
 pectation of receiving a subsidy of twenty millions sterling. 
 He ordered Muhammad Shah to go on before him and pre- 
 pare the city and palace for his reception. He received a 
 visit from Saadut Ali Khan in the suburbs, but treated him 
 with harshness, and asked why he had not begun to collect 
 the subsidy. Saadut saw that his ruin was at hand. He 
 left the presence of Nadir Shah in abject terror, swallowed 
 a dose of poison, and passed away from the scene. 
 
 Next day Nadir Shah entered the city of Delhi with 
 twenty thousand men. All houses and shops were closed; 
 not a soul appeared in the streets. Amid this portentous 
 gloom, Nadir Shah posted his troops in various quarters of 
 the city, and proceeded to the palace, where he was duly 
 entertained by Muhammad Shah. 
 
 The soldiers of Nadir Shah were known as the Persian 
 army, but they chiefly consisted of Tartars, Afghans, and 
 Uzbegs; and were naturally regarded with disgust and 
 hatred by the proud Moghuls. Nadir Shah promulgated 
 stringent orders that none of the inhabitants of Delhi should 
 be injured ; indeed all that he wanted was to collect the sub- 
 sidy as thoroughly and rapidly as possible, and this could be 
 best achieved by abstaining from all alarms. But the people 
 of Delhi were driven by terror and shame into acts of mad- 
 ness. On the day after the entry of Nadir Shah, being the 
 10th of March, 1739, a turmoil arose in the city. Many of 
 the strangers were cut down and slaughtered. A rumor 
 spread through the streets and bazars that Nadir Shah had 
 been slain within the palace. The mob arose in overwhelm- 
 ing force and began to massacre the foreign soldiery in the 
 same way that they had massacred the Mahrattas some 
 twenty years before. The approach of night increased the 
 uproar. The troops of Nadir Shah retreated to their quar- 
 ters in the caravanserais and houses of the grandees, and 
 stood under arms throughout the night, while all stragglers 
 were butchered by the infuriated multitude. 
 
 At early morning Nadir Shah left the palace with a strong 
 X 12 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 266 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 force, and began riding through the streets of Delhi. The 
 sight of the dead bodies of his troops aroused his terrible 
 wrath. At the same moment he was assailed with stones, 
 arrows, and firearms, from the houses, and one of his chiefs 
 was slain by his side. He determined on a deed of ven- 
 geance, which has no parallel in modern history. He or- 
 dered an indiscriminate massacre of the inhabitants without 
 regard to age or sex. No city taken by storm could have 
 presented greater horrors. The Persian army, maddened 
 by the sight of their bleeding comrades, spread over the city 
 like demons, breaking open shops, houses, and palaces, 
 slaughtering, plundering, burning, destroying, and com- 
 mitting every kind of outrage with an unbridled fury which 
 knew not how to pity nor how to spare. 
 
 The sack and carnage of Delhi lasted from eight o'clock 
 in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon. The 
 streets were filled with the shouts of the brutal soldiery and 
 the shrieks of their helpless victims. The atmosphere was 
 reeking with the blood and butchery of thousands of human 
 beings. Houses were set on fire, and numbers perished in 
 the flames. Husbands killed their wives and then murdered 
 themselves. "Women threw themselves into wells. Children 
 were slaughtered without mercy, and infants were cut to 
 pieces at their mothers' breasts. 
 
 All this while Nadir Shah sat in a little mosque hi the 
 principal street, which is still pointed out to modern travel- 
 lers. His presence in his milder moods was sufficient to 
 strike beholders with awe. Six feet high, with swarthy 
 countenance, large eyes, and a voice of thunder, his com- 
 manding aspect compelled all men to bend before him. But 
 now as he sat in the mosque, his features were lighted up by 
 a stern ferocity, as if he exulted in the greatness of his re- 
 venge. Nizam-ul-mulk, stung by remorse, threw himself 
 at the feet of the conqueror, and prayed for mercy toward 
 the innocent inhabitants; but he was received with torrents 
 of abuse that must have added to his terrors. Muhammad 
 Shah followed his example, and begged that his subjects
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 207 
 
 might be spared from further slaughter. At last the blood- 
 thirsty warrior began to relent; he sent out orders that the 
 butchery should end, and he was promptly and implicitly 
 obeyed. But the sun set upon a scene of horror and devasta- 
 tion which has rarely been equalled in the annals of Tartar 
 revenge. 
 
 Next morning the survivors were ordered under terrible 
 penalties to dispose of the dead. The corpses of Hindus and 
 Muhammadans were thrown promiscuously together. Many 
 were buried in vast pits ; many were cast on piles of timber 
 taken from the falling houses, and burned in huge holo- 
 causts. The number of slain can never be known. Ac- 
 cording to one wild estimate, more than a hundred thousand 
 souls perished in the massacre; but if the number is reduced 
 to one-fifth or one-tenth, it is sufficient to strike men with 
 terror until the end of time. 
 
 "When the slaughter was over and the murdered heaps 
 had been cleared away, the work of plunder and exaction 
 was carried out with relentless barbarity. The peacock 
 throne and all the jewels of the imperial palace became the 
 spoil of the conqueror ; so did the best of the cannon and 
 warlike stores, and the choicest of the elephants, horses, 
 and camels. Contributions were levied from every grandee, 
 and from every dwelling-house in the capital ; and any show 
 of reluctance or attempt at concealment was met by threats 
 and tortures. Many who were unable to meet the demand 
 committed suicide rather than fall into the hands of their 
 tormentors. A body of Persian horse was sent to Oude, 
 and confiscated the treasures of Saadut Ali Khan to the 
 value of one or two millions sterling. A like sum was 
 demanded of Nizam-ul-mulk, and a large amount seems 
 to have been obtained ; but the treasury of the Dekhan was 
 out of the reach of Nadir Shah; and any force despatched 
 in that direction might ha^e been cut off in the passes of the 
 Vindhya mountains, or exposed to the assaults of the Mah- 
 rattas. An attempt was made to secure a subsidy from 
 Bengal; but the treasury of Murshedabad was too remote
 
 268 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 from Delhi ; and not even the avarice of Nadir Shah would 
 induce him to send an army into the defiles of Bihar. 
 
 The total value of the gold, silver, jewels, weapons, stuffs, 
 stores, and money carried off by Nadir Shah has been vari- 
 ously estimated at from eight to eighty millions ; but all such 
 conjectures are the sport of the imagination. Nothing is 
 known beyond the fact that the invader carried off vast and 
 untold treasures; that he gave three months' pay to every 
 soldier in his army, and remitted a year's taxation through- 
 out the whole Persian empire. 
 
 Nadu* Shah demanded the niece of Muhammad Shah in 
 marriage for his second son. He also demanded the cession 
 to Persia of all territories to the westward of the Indus 
 which had previously belonged to the Moghul. Indeed he 
 might have made any demand he thought proper, for Mu- 
 hammad Shah was far too prostrate to attempt any refusal. 
 The marriage of his son to the Moghul princess was solem- 
 nized with some show of rejoicing; and the cession of terri- 
 tory was embodied in a formal grant, which was couched 
 in terms of abject submission to the will of the conqueror. 
 
 Nadir Shah reinstated the fallen Moghul in the possession 
 of his throne and empire. He exhorted every vassal and 
 feudatory to be loyal in their devotion to Muhammad Shah ; 
 and he threatened to wreak his vengeance on any that should 
 attempt to rebel. He then returned to Persia after a stay of 
 two months in Hindustan. 
 
 Nadir Shah never reappeared in India. He lived nine 
 years longer, during which he was engaged in wars with 
 the Turks, or in putting down rebellions in his own terri- 
 tories. Unfortunately for him, he interfered with the na- 
 tional religion of Persia. He sought to put an end to the 
 antagonism between Shiahs and Sunnis by declaring the 
 Sunni faith to be the one state religion of the empire. He 
 thus raised a storm of fanaticism against his rule, which no 
 force could allay. In 1747, at the age of sixty, he was cut 
 off by assassins, after a troubled reign of eleven years. 
 
 The invasion of Nadir Shah inflicted a mortal blow on
 
 MUHAMMADAN INDIA 269 
 
 the Moghul empire. Muhammad Shah was reseated on the 
 throne of his fathers, but his sovereignty was little better 
 than a name. The Viceroys of the provinces had become 
 independent princes. The death of a Subahdar or Nawab 
 was followed by fratricidal wars like those which attended 
 the demise of a Padishah ; and not inf requently by the ele- 
 vation of a usurper with no other authority than that derived 
 from the sword. The Mahrattas were no longer to be quieted 
 by payments from the imperial treasury, for the treasury had 
 been emptied by Nadir Shah; and the Mahratta leaders led 
 their hoets of horsemen to the remotest quarters of India, 
 plundering and devastating the two Carnatics in the south- 
 ern Peninsula, and at the same time spreading like destroying 
 locusts over the fertile plains of Bengal. 
 
 Baji Rao died in 1740, and was succeeded in the post of 
 Peishwa by his son Balaji Rao. Maharaja Sahu died in 
 1748, the year after the assassination of Nadir Shah, and 
 was succeeded on the throne of Satara by a nominal sover- 
 eign named Raja Ram. At the same time a noiseless revo- 
 lution was carried out, under which the real sovereignty was 
 transferred from the Maharaja to the Peishwa. Raja Ram 
 reigned as a state pageant in the fortress or prison at Satara; 
 while Balaji Rao removed the Mahratta court to Poona, and 
 reigned at the old capital of Sivaji as the independent sover- 
 eign of the Mahratta empire, but under the old name of 
 Peishwa or minister. 
 
 Muhammad Shah died in 1748, the same year that saw 
 the death of Maharaja Sahu. At this moment a new enemy 
 appeared in Hindustan to contest with the Mahrattas for su- 
 premacy. The assassination of Nadir Shah in the previous 
 year had delivered the Afghans from the Persian yoke. An- 
 other Asiatic conqueror rose to the front under the name of 
 Ahmad Shah Abdali. He extended the independent empire 
 of the Afghans over the greater part of Central Asia, includ- 
 ing the Punjab and Kashmir. He invaded Hindustan for 
 the purpose of re-establishing the old Afghan supremacy in 
 India. The consequence was that the successors of Mu-
 
 270 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 hammad Shah were mere pageants in the hands of rival 
 ministers, who in their turn were alternately under the in- 
 fluence of Mahrattas and Afghans. 
 
 At this turning-point in the downward career of the once 
 Great Moghul, the history of India underwent an entire 
 revolution. The Moghul empire was broken up never to 
 be restored. The foundations of a new empire were laid by 
 English settlers, which was destined to extend its paramount 
 influence over the whole of India from sea to sea. The cen- 
 tre of political interest is thus transferred from the old Moghul 
 capital of Delhi to the English settlements of Madras and Cal- 
 cutta. The Hindu nationalities of India, after centuries of 
 repression, were to be educated by British administrators in 
 a knowledge of that civilization which has regenerated the 
 western world and established the reign of order and of law. 
 In this manner the people of India are being trained and 
 disciplined by British rule for a new career of national life, 
 which can only be revealed in the unknown world of the 
 future.
 
 PART III BRITISH INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 ENGLISH AT MADRAS 
 
 A.D. 1700 TO 1756 
 
 DURING the early half of the eighteenth century, the 
 English town of Madras grew into an important set- 
 tlement. It was enlarged by the addition of out 
 villages, which still give their names to different quarters 
 of the modern city. 1 It carried on a profitable trade with 
 Burma and Siam, Sumatra and China. It employed more 
 weavers and manufactured more cotton piece goods than 
 at any previous period; and no settlement in the eastern 
 seas was regarded by the English Company with more pride 
 and complacency than Madras and Fort St. George. 
 
 The government of Madras was the natural outcome of 
 a trading agency. The establishment of every English fac- 
 tory in India originally consisted of a certain number of Eu- 
 ropean servants, graded as writers, factors and merchants, 
 who were paid small salaries, but were lodged and boarded 
 at the Company's expense. In the seventeenth century a 
 writer only drew ten pounds per annum, a factor only twenty 
 pounds, and a merchant only forty pounds ; while the yearly 
 salary of the president or governor was only three or four 
 hundred pounds. In the eighteenth century salaries were 
 
 1 In the seventeenth century, Nunkumbaukum, Vepery, Egmore, Roya- 
 poorum, and other localities familiar to modern residents in Madras, were 
 native villages outside the Company's grounds. 
 
 (271)
 
 272 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 considerably raised, but were still absurdly small to modern 
 eyes. Every servant of the Company, however, was allowed 
 the privilege of engaging in private trade, so long as he con- 
 fined it to the ports in the eastern seas, and did not meddle 
 in the Company's monopoly of trade with Europe. 
 
 The governor of Madras exercised supreme control over 
 the "White town, but was helped by a council of selected mer- 
 chants; and so indeed were the governors of Bombay and 
 Calcutta. Such was the simple origin of the governors in 
 council for Madras and Bombay, and the Viceroy in council 
 for the whole of India. The governor and council at Madras, 
 during the seventeenth and nearly half of the eighteenth cent- 
 uries, were chiefly engaged in superintending the Company's 
 trade; in selling English manufactures and commodities in 
 Indian markets, and providing Indian products and manu- 
 factures for the home markets. They also regulated all 
 matters connected with revenue and expenditure; and in- 
 vestigated and punished all offences committed by Euro- 
 peans. Besides the governor and council, a court, consist- 
 ing of a mayor and aldermen, was established by royal 
 charter for the trial of all civil cases in which Europeans 
 were concerned; but there always seems to have been an 
 appeal to the governor and council. 
 
 The administration of justice among the natives in Black 
 town was more simple and Oriental. English justices of the 
 peace sat in certain courts or choultries, and promptly dis- 
 posed of all cases, civil and criminal, by fine, imprisonment, 
 or whipping; and appeals to the governor and council were 
 very rare, except in capital cases, or where there was some 
 doubt about jurisdiction. The duties of the police were car- 
 ried out by a Hindu official, known as the Pedda Naik, who 
 was bound to make good all stolen property. He was re- 
 munerated, Hindu fashion, by a grant of hereditary lands, 
 and small octroi duties levied on certain classes of commod- 
 ities admitted into the town. 
 
 The English at Madras had always been jealous of the 
 Dutch, but only as rivals in the Indian trade The Dutch
 
 BRITISH INDIA 
 
 273 
 
 INDIA 
 
 to illustrate 
 
 EARLY ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS 
 BEFORE 1750 . 
 Statute Miles** 
 too oo o 100 IOD aoo
 
 274 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 had a fort and town at Pulicat, about twenty-four miles to 
 the northward of Madras; and occasionally civilities and 
 hospitalities were exchanged between the authorities of 
 Pulicat and those of Fort St. George. The Dutch also 
 had a fort and town at Sadras, about forty miles to the 
 southward of Madras ; and the ruins of well-ordered towers 
 and ramparts, prim gardens, neat water channels, and se- 
 cluded bowers will still meet the eye of the pilgrim who 
 seeks to recall the old days of Dutch rule in India. 
 
 But the English of the eighteenth century hated the 
 French as their natural enemies; and this hatred was in- 
 tensified in India by the fact that the natural enemies were 
 commercial rivals. The French had built a town and fort 
 at Pondicherry, about a hundred miles to the south of Ma- 
 dras; and whenever a difference arose between the two 
 governments, it was accompanied by a warm correspond- 
 ence which plainly revealed the hostile feeling which was 
 burning on either side. 
 
 Besides Madras, the English had founded a settlement 
 at Fort St. David, near the mouth of the southern Pennar 
 river. It was only twelve miles to the south of Pondi- 
 cherry; and seems to have been a rival establishment to 
 Pondicherry. Fort St. David plays an important part in 
 the after history; for the English at that settlement hated 
 the French with as much warmth as their brethren at Fort 
 St. George. 
 
 The English at Madras and Fort St. David were also 
 troubled by so-called interlopers ; a name applied to all En- 
 glish adventurers who were not in the service of the Com- 
 pany, and who were not licensed to dwell as free merchants 
 within the Company's bounds. These interlopers were gen- 
 erally roving captains, who persisted in carrying on an 
 illicit trade in the eastern seas, in defiance of the monopoly 
 granted to the Company by the charter; and who often 
 combined the pursuits of trade with those of slave-dealing 
 and piracy. 
 
 The political outlook at Madras was confined to the Car-
 
 BRITISH INDIA 275 
 
 natic. ' Since the death of Aurangzeb this province had been 
 an appanage of the Nizam of the Dekhan; in other words, 
 it was governed by a Nawab, who was appointed by the 
 Nizam subject to confirmation and investiture by the Great 
 Moghul. 
 
 The Moghul province of the Carnatic was supposed to 
 extend north and south from the neighborhood of the river 
 Kistna to Cape Cormorin, and east and west from the coast 
 of Coromandel to the Eastern Ghats, which cut it off from 
 Mysore and Malabar. 8 Politically, however, it was divided 
 into a northern and a southern region by the river Koleroon ; 
 and this distinction is the key to the after history. 
 
 The region to the north of the Koleroon might be termed 
 the Moghul Carnatic. It had been conquered by the Mo- 
 ghuls, and brought under Moghul rule; and all the towns, 
 districts and more important fortresses were under the com- 
 mand of Moghul officers. 
 
 The region to the south of the Koleroon might be termed 
 the Hindu Carnatic. It was for the most part under the 
 dominion of the Hindu Rajas of Trichinopoly and Tanjore. 
 Both these Rajas had been conquered by the Moghul, so far 
 as to pay a subsidy or tribute ; but nevertheless they main- 
 tained an independent rule in their respective kingdoms; 
 and no Nawab had ever annexed their territories to his own 
 province. These Rajas had been Naiks, or governors of 
 provinces, under the old Hindu empire of Vijayanagar; and 
 they might be described as the relics of the empire, half con- 
 quered by the Moghul, but rarely paying tribute unless 
 compelled by force of arms. 
 
 1 Properly speaking, this Carnatic should be termed "Lower Carnatic," or 
 Carnatic below the Eastern Ghats, to distinguish it from Mysore and other Hindu 
 countries to the westward, which are sometimes included under the name of 
 "Upper Carnatic," or Carnatic above the Ghats. The term Caruatic is so often 
 applied to the Lower Carnatic only that it may be used for the future in its latter 
 application. 
 
 2 The real boundary of the Carnatic province on the north was the little river 
 Gundlacama, half-way between the Kistna and the northern Pennar. The tract 
 between the Gundlacama and the Kistna was at one time of some importance in 
 quarrel about the Northern Circars.
 
 276 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Besides the two Rajas there was a class of minor chiefs, 
 known as Poligars. They were to be found both north and 
 south of the Koleroon. They had been feudal barons under 
 the old Hindu rule of Vijayanagar, holding their lands by 
 military tenure ; but, like the old chiefs of Highland clans, 
 they refused to accept the Moghul regime, and indeed were 
 often disaffected toward the Hindu Rajas. Sometimes they 
 were forced to pay tribute or allegiance ; but often they main- 
 tained a rude independence in some remote stronghold. 
 
 The Moghul conquest was hurtful to the people of the 
 northern region. The revenue was mostly derived from the 
 land, and the Moghul Nawabs were harder task-masters than 
 Hindu Rajas. The Hindu kingdoms descended from father 
 to son, and were regarded as family property ; and self-inter- 
 est led successive Rajas to encourage cultivators, and keep 
 tanks and irrigation works in repair. ' But the earlier Na- 
 wabs were removed at will by the Nizam or the Great Mo- 
 ghul. They cared only to make money, and paid no heed 
 to the future. They doubled the land assessments, and let 
 the tanks and irrigation works go to rack and ruin ; and for 
 some years many lands fell out of cultivation, and grain rose 
 to famine prices. 
 
 Meanwhile the inland trade of the English had fallen off. 
 The ravages of the Mahrattas in the Upper Carnatic pre- 
 vented the Canarese merchants of Mysore and elsewhere 
 from bringing their cotton-yarn to Madras. The removal 
 of the imperial camp from the Dekhan to Delhi, after the 
 death of Aurangzeb, had ruined the trade in scarlet and 
 green broadcloths. The outbreaks of Poligars and free- 
 booters, as well as threatened invasions of Mahrattas, created 
 general alarm ; and wealthy natives hoarded their treasures 
 in strongholds, or sent them to Madras or Pondicherry for 
 security. 
 
 But the prosperity of Madras was increasing. The de- 
 
 1 The comparative merits of Hindu and Moghul rule are open to question. 
 The Catholic missionaries in Southern India during the seventeenth century are 
 loud in their denunciations of the cruelties aiid oppressions of the Hindu Rajas.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 277 
 
 mand from Europe for cotton piece goods was greater than 
 ever. The English founded two new towns for the exclusive 
 accommodation of spinners, weavers, dyers, washers, and 
 other Hindus engaged in the manufacture. They also 
 planted trees for the accommodation of this class of peo- 
 ple, who were accustomed to work in the open air. Hindus 
 of other castes were not allowed to dwell in these towns, 
 always excepting betel sellers, dancing-girls, and Brahmans. ' 
 
 The English at Madras and Fort St. David were mere 
 traders, and cared but little about the country powers. They 
 were industrious and respectable, but curious only as regards 
 products and manufactures. The Moghuls on their part had 
 grown jealous of Europeans, and were anxious to keep them 
 ignorant of all that was going on. The Nawab kept his 
 court at Arcot, which was only seventy miles from Madras ; 
 but the English knew as little of Arcot as they did of Delhi. 
 They paid their yearly rent to the Nawab, and sent him 
 complimentary letters and presents, and that was all.* 
 
 In 1732 a Nawab died at Arcot. He had been appointed 
 by a Nizam of the Dekhan as far back as 1712, but on his 
 death, in 1732, he was succeeded by an adopted son, named 
 Dost Ali, without any reference to the Nizam. This assump- 
 tion of hereditary right by the Nawab of the Carnatic was 
 very gruvelling to Nizam-ul-mulk. To make matters worse, 
 Dost Ali withheld the revenge or tribute which previous 
 Nawabs had paid to the Nizam. 3 But Nizam-ul-mulk was 
 obliged to pocket the affront. He was too much harassed by 
 the Mahrattas, and worried by Delhi intrigues, to interfere 
 
 1 These two towns are well known to residents in Madras. Collet's petta 
 was founded in 1720; Chindadree petta in 1734. Betel sellers, dancing-girls, 
 and Brahmans are necessities of Hindu life, and no Hindu village is complete 
 without them. 
 
 J This ignorance of the surrounding country was peculiar to the English at 
 Madras. It will be seen hereafter that the English at Calcutta were far better 
 acquainted with Bengal. 
 
 3 By this time the office of Dewan, or accountant-general in behalf of the 
 Great Moghul, had become a farce. Dost Ali appointed one Chunder Sahib to 
 be Dewan, and gave him a daughter in marriage. Subsequently this Chunder 
 Sahib became an important personage.
 
 #78 mSTORY OF INDIA 
 
 with Arcot affairs. Accordingly he nursed his wrath and 
 bided his time. 
 
 In 1736 there was a revolution in the Hindu Carnatic. 
 The two kingdoms of Trichinopoly and Tanjore were situ- 
 ated, as already described, immediately to the south of the 
 Koleroon; and they stretched over an unknown tract of 
 country toward Comorin. Trichinopoly was an inland terri- 
 tory, and included the three important towns of Trichinopoly, 
 Dindigul, and Madura. Tanjore lay to the eastward, and 
 stretched to the coast of Coromandel. It was the more fer- 
 tile territory of the two, for it included the rich delta of the 
 Koleroon and Kaveri; and to this day Tanjore is regarded 
 as the granary of southern India. But Tanjore was at the 
 mercy of Trichinopoly. The rivers Koleroon and Kaveri 
 were only kept asunder by an embankment ; and by break- 
 ing down that embankment the Kaveri rushed into the 
 Koleroon and Tanjore was robbed of her water supply. 
 
 In 1736 the Raja of Trichinopoly died, leaving no chil- 
 dren. Consequently there was a war for the succession 
 between the brothers of the Raja and the brothers of the 
 Rani; while the Rani herself claimed to be regent until 
 the son of her eldest brother should attain his majority. 
 
 The possession of Trichinopoly had long been coveted by 
 the Nawabs of the Carnatic; it was in fact the key to the 
 Peninsula. Accordingly the Nawab Dost Ah interfered in 
 the affairs of Trichinopoly as the pretended friend of the 
 Rani. He sent an army to Trichinopoly under his son 
 Subder Ali and his son-in-law Chunder Sahib. 1 
 
 The son-in-law was a much sharper man than the son. 
 Chunder Sahib gulled the Rani; pretended to be in love 
 with her; swore on the Koran to be faithful to her cause; 
 and finally deluded her into admitting him and his troops 
 into the walls of Trichinopoly. The Rani soon found that 
 she was betrayed ; she was thrown into prison, and is said 
 to have taken poison. 
 
 1 Chunder Sahib was the man who married a daughter o*. the Nawab, and 
 was appointed Dewan.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 279 
 
 Chunder Sahib soon took possession of the city and the 
 Raj. He sent one of his kinsmen to command at Dindigul, 
 and another to command at Madura. The people of Trichi- 
 nopoly bent as usual to their fate : it was the will of the gods. 
 Subder AH was enraged at finding that Chunder Sahib was 
 holding Trichinopoly and could not be ousted. Accordingly 
 he nursed his vengeance and returned to Arcot. In like, 
 manner the Rajas of Tanjore and Mysore were bitterly 
 incensed against Chunder Sahib -for putting an end to the 
 Hindu dynasty of Trichinopoly, and bringing the country 
 under Muhammadan rule. But, like Subder Ah", they did 
 nothing and patiently abided their time. 
 
 In 1740 the Mahrattas invaded the Carnatic, plundering 
 and destroying according to their wont. Some said that the 
 Nizam had invited them in order to punish the Nawab. 
 Others said that the Rajas of Tanjore and Mysore had in- 
 vited them to punish Chunder Sahib. Others, again, said 
 that the Great Moghul was unable to pay the chout after the 
 invasion of Nadir Shah, and therefore told them to collect 
 it in the Carnatic and Bengal. Such conflicting rumors are 
 always noised abroad in India on like occasions, and it is 
 often impossible to say whether any of them are false or 
 true. 
 
 Nawab Dost Ali had tried to keep out the Mahrattas by 
 marching an army to the Eastern Ghats, and blocking up 
 the passes which led from Mysore into the Carnatic, until 
 he could assemble the whole of his forces from different 
 parts of the province. But there was treachery in his camp. 
 One of his own officers admitted the Mahrattas by a secret 
 pass. The Mahrattas took him by surprise, and assailed 
 his army with the utmost fury. He was slain in the midst 
 of the action; and his troops, seeing that their Nawab was 
 dead, fled in confusion after the manner of Oriental armies. 
 
 The Mahratta invasion spread universal terror. Subder 
 Ali, the son of the deceased Nawab, fled to the strong fort 
 of Vellore, about twelve miles from Arcot. Chunder Sahib 
 sent his wife and treasures to Pondi cherry, and collected
 
 380 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 vast stores of grain within the city of Trichinopoly in order 
 to stand a lengthy siege. The English at Madras began 
 to look after their defences, and shared hi the general 
 alarm. 
 
 The Mahrattas were disappointed of the spoil. All the 
 gold and jewels in the country had been hoarded up in 
 strongholds. The Mahrattas had no guns or battering train 
 of any kind ; and it was impossible for loose bands of horse- 
 men to capture fortresses, except by bribery, stratagem, or 
 starvation. Accordingly they accepted an offer of rupees 
 to the value of a million sterling from Subder Ali, to be paid 
 by instalments ; they then left the Carnatic, giving out that 
 they were going to plunder some other part of India. 
 
 The departure of the Mahrattas was a ruse. Subder Ali 
 had secretly engaged to let them take possession of Trichi- 
 nopoly, provided they carried off his ambitious brother-in- 
 law, Chunder Sahib, and kept him prisoner at Satara. Their 
 object in leaving the Carnatic was to blind Chunder Sahib, 
 and in this they fully succeeded. Chunder Sahib thought 
 that the Mahrattas would never return, and foolishly sold 
 off all the grain he had stored in Trichinopoly. Suddenly, 
 to his surprise and mortification, the Mahrattas returned to 
 Trichinopoly, and closely besieged the city. Chunder Sahib 
 was helpless ; and was soon compelled by sheer starvation to 
 surrender the city. He was then carried off to Satara, and 
 languished in a Mahratta prison for more than six years. 
 Meanwhile the Mahrattas held possession of Trichinopoly. 
 The bulk of the Mahratta army returned to the Konkan; 
 but a general, named Morari Rao, remained in command 
 of Trichinopoly and kept a watchful eye on the progress of 
 affairs in the Carnatic. 
 
 For a brief interval Subder Ali was at ease. He had 
 purchased the imprisonment of his dangerous brother-in-law, 
 Chunder Sahib, by permitting the Mahrattas to occupy 
 Trichinopoly. He was still pledged to pay the Mahrattas 
 a subsidy of a million sterling; and this was a matter that 
 required prompt attention. Meanwhile he proceeded to
 
 BRITISH INDIA 281 
 
 Arcot, and was proclaimed Nawab of the Carnatic in suc- 
 cession to his father, who had been slain in the passes. 
 
 At this juncture Subder Ali was threatened by a new 
 danger from Hyderabad. Nizam-ul-mulk had been for a 
 long time exasperated at the unauthorized succession of Dost 
 Ali to the Nawabship of the Carnatic and the non-payment 
 of tribute. Since then the occupation of Trichinopoly by 
 Chunder Sahib had added fuel to his anger; for in spite 
 of domestic dissensions, the acquisition of Trichinopoly had 
 added to the material resources of the Nawab's family, and 
 would doubtless encourage the Nawab himself to persist in 
 disregarding the superior authority of the Nizam. The 
 invasion of Nadir Shah had compelled Nizam-ul-mulk to 
 bottle up his wrath; but the progress of affairs during the 
 interval had not improved his temper. The Mahrattas had 
 secured a dangerous footing in the Carnatic by the occupa- 
 tion of Trichinopoly. Worse than all, Subder Ali had fol- 
 lowed the contumacious example set by his deceased father, 
 by assuming the Nawabship of the Carnatic without any 
 reference to Hyderabad or Delhi. 
 
 Under these circumstances Nizam-ul-mulk demanded the 
 immediate payment of all arrears of tribute from the new 
 Nawab. Subder Ali was at his wits' end. He was firmly 
 resolved not to pay the demand. Meanwhile he sent his 
 family and treasures to Madras. He shut himself up in the 
 strong fortress of Vellore, which was commanded by another 
 brother-in-law, named Mortiz Ali. ' He vowed that the Mah- 
 rattas had emptied his treasury of his last rupee. He feigned 
 a pious intention of abdicating his throne, and going on pil- 
 grimage to Mecca. He even made one or two journeys to 
 Madras to induce the Nizam to believe that he was going 
 to embark there for Mecca. 
 
 All this while Subder Ali knew that he must pay the 
 Mahrattas. The Nizam might be deceived for a while by 
 
 1 Chunder Sahib and Mortiz Ali had each married daughters of Dost Ali, and 
 were consequently brothers-in-law of the reigning Nawab. Both men played 
 important parts in the after history.
 
 282 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 protestations of poverty, or threats of going to Mecca; but 
 the Mahrattas were the most pertinacious people in all India, 
 and were deaf to all vows and prayers that were not backed 
 up by rupees. Any attempt on the part of Subder Ali to 
 delay payment would be followed by another Mahratta in- 
 vasion of the Carnatic, and the probable release of Chunder 
 Sahib. Accordingly Subder Ali levied contributions from 
 all commanders of towns and forts throughout the province, 
 in order to pay the subsidy promised to the Mahrattas. 
 Mortiz Ali refused payment of his quota. The Nawab was 
 excessively angry, for Mortiz Ali was the richest man in 
 the province, and unless he was made to pay, other com- 
 manders would refuse to pay in like manner. 
 
 Accordingly the Nawab peremptorily demanded the 
 money. The story of what followed was told with horror 
 at Madras for generations afterward. The Nawab was 
 quartered in the fortress of Vellore, where his brother-in-law 
 Mortiz Ali was commandant; but there was no suspicion of 
 danger; for although the money quarrel was bitter, there 
 was no lack of outward courtesy and politeness on either 
 side. 
 
 The great festival of the Muharram approached, when 
 all Sunni Muhammadans devote themselves to feasting and 
 rejoicing, while the Shiahs lament and beat their breasts 
 over the martyrdom of Ali and his two sons, Hasan and 
 Husain. The Nawab permitted his officers to leave the 
 fortress in order to keep the festival with their wives and 
 families. At midnight an Afghan broke into his chamber, 
 followed by black Abyssinian slaves. The unfortunate 
 Nawab raised a cry of alarm, and rushed to the window; 
 but was soon cut down and stabbed to death by the poniards 
 of the assassins. 
 
 Next morning the Nawab's army, which was encamped 
 outside the fortress, raised a tumult. They cried out that 
 the Nawab had been assassinated by Mortiz Ali; and they 
 prepared to storm the fortress sword in hand, and avenge 
 the murder. But the soldiery were quieted after Oriental
 
 BRITISH INDIA 283 
 
 fashion. Large arrears of pay were due from the dead 
 Nawab; and the men were promised early payment of the 
 whole by instalments, if they would only accept Mortiz All 
 as his successor. Accordingly, Mortiz Ali was proclaimed 
 Nawab, and then marched in triumph from Vellore to Arcot, 
 and took up his quarters at the palace. 
 
 But the leading men in the Carnatic detested the crime 
 of Mortiz Ali. They applied to Morari Rao at Trichinopoly, 
 who foresaw a new complication, and openly declared against 
 Mortiz Ali. They sent messengers to the English at Madras, 
 begging that the governor would protect the family and 
 treasures of the murdered Nawab. Lastly, they stirred up 
 the army against Mortiz Ali; and the question of the suc- 
 cession seemed to turn upon a matter of pay. The soldiery 
 demanded the immediate payment of all the arrears in full, 
 which they had previously agreed to receive by instalments. 
 Had Mortiz Ali produced the money at once, he might pos- 
 sibly have secured himself hi the post of Nawab ; but he was 
 seized with a panic, and would not stand the storm. He put 
 on a woman's dress, and entered a covered palanquin, and 
 fled at night time from Arcot to Vellore, accompanied by 
 several female attendants. The result was that the young 
 son of Subder AH, who had been under the protection of the 
 English at Madras, was proclaimed Nawab of the Carnatic 
 in the room of his father. 
 
 By this time Nizam-ul-mulk resolved to march to Arcot, 
 and settle the affairs of the Carnatic. He had arranged 
 matters at Delhi, where his eldest son had been appointed 
 minister; and he had made his peace with the Mahrattas. 
 Accordingly he left Hyderabad in the beginning of 1743, 
 and in March the same year he encamped at Arcot with an 
 overwhelming army. 
 
 At Arcot the Nizam found the Carnatic at his feet. 
 Every grandee was anxious to pay submission and homage 
 to the great Nizam-ul-mulk, the pillar of the Moghul em- 
 pire. But he himself was struck with the anarchy which 
 prevailed throughout the Carnatic. Every petty comman-
 
 284 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 dant of a fort or district assumed the title of Nawab; and 
 no less than eighteen of these little Nawabs were introduced 
 to the Nizam in one day. The old grandee of the court of 
 Aurangzeb lost his temper at this enormity. He declared 
 that there was but one Nawab of the Carnatic; and he 
 threatened to scourge the first person who should venture 
 for the future to usurp such a title. He appointed a new 
 Nawab of the Carnatic, named Anwar-ud-din ; but he gave 
 out that Anwar-ud-din would be the guardian of the son of 
 Subder Ali; and that when the boy prince became of age, 
 he would be made Nawab of the Carnatic. 
 
 The Nizam next proceeded to Trichinopoly, and recov- 
 ered the city from the Mahrattas. The governor of Madras 
 sent a deputation to Trichinopoly to wait on the great man 
 with a letter and presents. The Nizam received the English 
 gentlemen with much state, but with singular courtesy. He 
 praised the presents sent to him, and promised to forward 
 some to the Great Moghul at Delhi, and to say that they 
 came from the English governor of Madras. He said he 
 wanted guns, powder, mortars, and shells, and, above all, 
 the services of an experienced gunner; but he added that he 
 would take nothing unless he was permitted to pay for it. 
 
 In March, 1744, the Nizam left the Carnatic and returned 
 to Hyderabad. In June the same year the boy Nawab was 
 murdered at a wedding-feast. The details were most tragi- 
 cal. On the morning of the ceremony some Afghans had 
 clamored for arrears of pay, but apologized for their inso- 
 lence and retired. Their captain especially appeared to be 
 very repentant. At night while the guests were sitting in 
 the hall, the coming of Anwar-ud-din was announced, and 
 the boy Nawab went out to the vestibule at the head of the 
 stairs to receive his guardian. The Afghan captain ascended 
 the steps with a respectful air as if to repeat his regrets, 
 when he suddenly drew his dagger and stabbed the prince 
 to the heart. In a moment he was cut to pieces, and his 
 Afghans below met with the same fate. 
 
 The assassination of the young prince sent a thrill through
 
 BRITISH INDIA 385 
 
 the Carnatic. He was representative of a family who had 
 ruled the Carnatic for thirty years. No member of the fam- 
 ily was eligible to succeed except Chunder Sahib and Mortiz 
 Ali. But Chunder Sahib was in a Mahratta prison, while 
 Mortiz Ali was more hated than ever. Meanwhile it was 
 everywhere believed that the murder was instigated by 
 Anwar-ud-din and Mortiz Ali. But the general opinion had 
 no effect upon Nizam-ul-mulk, and he confirmed Anwar-ud- 
 din in his post of Nawab of the Carnatic. 
 
 The English at Madras were horrified at the assassina- 
 tions of two Nawabs in succession; but their attention was 
 soon distracted by more important affairs. War was de- 
 clared between Great Britain and France. In 1745 an En- 
 glish squadron appeared off the coast of Coromandel, for the 
 purpose of destroying the French settlements in the eastern 
 seas. 
 
 M. Dupleix, the governor of Pondicherry, was in great 
 alarm. He sent large presents to the new Nawab, and 
 begged for protection. Anwar-ud-din replied by prohibiting 
 the English from engaging in hostilities within any part of 
 his dominions ; but at the same time he assured the English 
 that if the French appeared hi superior force, he would pro- 
 hibit them in like manner. 
 
 In 1746 the English fleet left the Coromandel coast, and 
 a French squadron, under the command of Labourdonnais, 
 entered the Bay of Bengal, and threatened Madras. The 
 defences of Fort St. George were sufficient to strike the na- 
 tives with awe and wonder, but they were ill fitted to stand 
 a bombardment from European ships. The governor and 
 council of Madras requested the Nawab to fulfil his prom- 
 ise of restraining the French ; but they neglected to send a 
 present. Accordingly the Nawab seems to have done noth- 
 ing. Madras was compelled to surrender to Labourdonnais, 
 under a pledge that it should be restored on payment of ran- 
 som. Dupleix, however, refused to recognize the pledge; he 
 rejected all offers of ransom. He was a fervid Frenchman, 
 bent on the ruin of the English in India as the enemies of
 
 286 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the French nation. He ordered that all the Company's 
 effects, and all private property except clothes and jewels, 
 should be confiscated as prize. Madras thus became a 
 French settlement, and its inhabitants were sent to Pon- 
 dicherry as prisoners of war. 1 
 
 The Nawab was very wroth at seeing the French in pos- 
 session of Madras. Dupleix tried to quiet him by promising 
 to give him the town; but the Nawab soon saw that the 
 Frenchman was deceiving him with false promises in order 
 to divert him from protecting the English. Accordingly he 
 resolved to deprive the French of their new conquest, and 
 sent an army of ten thousand men and numerous cannon to 
 capture Madras. 
 
 To the utter surprise and mortification of the Nawab, the 
 Moghul army was routed by a French force of four hundred 
 men and two guns, and compelled to fly back to Arcot. The 
 disaster was most humiliating to the Moghul grandees. Up 
 to this time they had proudly imagined that it was their 
 own superior military prowess which induced Europeans to 
 treat them with so much respect and deference. The spell 
 was broken by the French at Madras, who defeated a Moghul 
 army with half a battalion. 
 
 The war between the English and French in the Carnatic 
 lasted from 1746 to 1748. It has lost much of its interest 
 since the two nations have become friends, but it was an 
 oft-told story in the last century. The English removed 
 their seat of government from Madras to Fort St. David, 
 near the mouth of the southern Pennar; it was only twelve 
 miles to the south of Pondicherry, and consequently there 
 was much smart fighting between the two settlements; and 
 the Nawab alternately helped the English and the French, 
 according as either appeared to be getting the upper hand. 
 
 In 1748 Major Stringer Lawrence arrived from England, 
 
 1 Labourdonnais afterward returned to France, and was thrown into the Bas- 
 tile. He had rendered great service to France, but was charged by his enemies 
 with collusion with the English at Madras. After three years he was liberated, 
 but died shortly afterward.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 287 
 
 and took the command of all the Company's forces in India. 
 Another fleet arrived from England under the command of 
 Admiral Boscawen. A grand attack was made on Pon- 
 dicherry by land and sea; but after a siege of two months, 
 and the loss of more than a thousand Europeans, the En- 
 glish were compelled to retire. A few weeks afterward 
 peace was proclaimed between Great Britain and France, 
 and Madras was ultimately restored to the English East 
 India Company by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
 
 The year 1748 is an epoch in Indian history Muham- 
 madan, Hindu, and English. The Afghans, delivered by 
 the death of Nadir Shah from the Persian yoke, were begin- 
 ning to invade the Punjab and Hindustan. Muhammad 
 Shah, the last of the Moghuls of any note, died at Delhi. 
 The aged Nizam-ul-mulk died at Hyderabad, and left his 
 sons to fight for the possession of his throne. Maharaja 
 Sahu died at Satara, and the sovereignty of the Peishwas 
 began at Poona. Robert Clive gained his first laurels in 
 the defence of the advanced trench before the walls of Pon- 
 dicherry. Finally, the war between Great Britain and France 
 was brought to a close by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
 
 The name of Robert Clive first appeared in the story of 
 the unsuccessful siege of Pondicherry; but in the course of 
 a few years more it was a household word throughout the 
 British Empire. Robert Clive was born in 1725. He grew 
 up a bold and wayward boy, impatient of control, neglecting 
 his studies, but firm and dauntless in all his ways, and espe- 
 cially cool and self-possessed in the face of danger. In 1744, 
 at the age of nineteen, he landed at Madras as a writer in 
 the mercantile service of the Company. When the war 
 broke out with France, he entered the military service of 
 the Company, and obtained a commission as ensign. Sub- 
 sequently he received the praises of the Court of Directors 
 for his gallantry at Pondicherry. 
 
 In the beginning of 1749 the English interfered in the 
 affairs of Taujore, in the delta of the Koleroon and Kaveri. 
 They had long wanted to establish a settlement at Devicotta,
 
 288 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 about twenty miles to the south of Fort St. David, near the 
 mouth of the Koleroon. At last an opportunity presented 
 itself. An exiled member of the reigning family of Tanjore 
 applied to the English for help. He persuaded the governor 
 and council at Fort St. David that he was the rightful Raja, 
 and that the people of Tanjore would join him the moment 
 he appeared at the head of a small force. He also promised 
 to cede Devicotta, and pay all the expenses of the war. 
 
 The English sent an expedition against Tanjore, but it was 
 a blunder from the beginning. They had no possible excuse 
 for interfering in the Tanjore succession; and would not have 
 made the attempt, had they not wanted Devicotta, and had 
 not the unexpected peace with France placed a small mili- 
 tary force at their disposal. To make matters worse, the 
 people of Tanjore would not receive back the pretender, and 
 boldly resisted the English. All at once the Raja agreed to 
 cede Devicotta; to give a pension to the pretender, and to 
 pay all the cost of the English expedition. It turned out 
 that the Raja was anxious for an alliance with the English. 
 Chunder Sahib, the enemy of Hindu Rajas, had been lib- 
 erated from his Mahratta prison, and proclaimed Nawab at 
 Arcot; and the Raja of Tanjore saw that no one but the 
 English could protect him in the coming struggle. 
 
 Dupleix, the French governor of Pondicherry, was at the 
 bottom of this revolution. While the English were at war 
 for a trading settlement, Dupleix was scheming for an em- 
 pire. The Frenchman had grown disgusted with trade ; the 
 profits of the Indian trade had so diminished as to be, in his 
 opinion, unworthy of the French nation. He turned his at- 
 tention to the politics of India. He saw that the grandees of 
 the Carnatic were hostile to the Nawab appointed by Nizam- 
 ul-mulk, and hankering after the old hereditary family. He 
 procured the liberation of Chunder Sahib by guaranteeing 
 the payment of a large ransom to the Mahrattas. He was 
 alive to the vast superiority of Europeans over the Moghuls, 
 and he sent a French force to help Chunder Sahib to attack 
 Anwar-ud-din. He hoped to make Chunder Sahib Nawab of
 
 BRITISH INDIA 289 
 
 the Carnatic ; to establish the French nation as the dominant 
 power in the Peninsula; and to drive the English out of 
 India in the name of the new Nawab. 
 
 All this machinery had been set in motion by the death 
 of Nizam-ul-mulk in 1748. Anwar-ud-din, the Nawab of 
 the Carnatic, had thereby lost his patron and supporter; 
 and was left to contend " as he best could against the dis- 
 affected officers of the Carnatic who were yearning for the 
 restoration of the old dynasty of Nawabs. At the same time 
 Chunder Sahib was no longer in fear of the interference of 
 the Nizam, and had everything to hope from the enemies 
 of Anwar-ud-din. 
 
 Meanwhile the death of Nizam-ul-mulk was opening out 
 new fields of ambition to Dupleix. The struggle between 
 two rival Nawabs for the throne of the Carnatic was soon 
 overshadowed by a far grander struggle between two rival 
 Nizams for the throne of the Dekhan; and the attention of 
 Dupleix, which had originally centred at Arcot, began to 
 alternate like a pendulum between Arcot and Hyderabad, 
 until the greater part of India to the south of the Nerbudda 
 river was brought within the sphere of his ambitious designs. 
 
 The death of Nizam-ul-mulk had been followed by dis- 
 tractions in his family. His eldest son was at Delhi, but 
 his second son, Nasir Jung, seized the treasures, and paci- 
 fied the army by a timely distribution of money. This prince 
 had rebelled during the lifetime of his father. The crafty 
 Nizam feigned to be in mortal sickness ; he wished, he said, 
 to forgive and embrace his son before he died. Nasir Jung 
 was thus lured to his father's camp, and was then put into 
 chains. After the Nizam's death Nasir Jung proved as un- 
 scrupulous as his father. He threw his three younger broth- 
 ers into confinement, and carried them with him wherever 
 he moved his army. 
 
 Oriental princes love their sons while they are children, 
 but grow jealous of them as they approach manhood. Sub- 
 sequently they often have an affection for grandsons. Nizam- 
 ul-mulk had a favorite grandson known as Muzaffir Jung. 
 X 13 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 290 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 After his death this young prince produced a will by which 
 the Nizam bequeathed his treasures and dominions to his 
 favorite grandson. The will was probably a forgery ; at any 
 rate, Nizam ul-mulk could not bequeath territories which 
 nominally belonged to the Great Moghul. To add to the 
 absurdity, both the son and grandson affected to receive 
 delegates from the Great Moghul, with insignia and letters 
 of investiture for the government of the Dekhan. Both could 
 not have been real ; probably in both cases the delegates were 
 hired and the letters were forged. Such mock ceremonials 
 were soon common in India, and imposed on no one but the 
 credulous mob. 
 
 At this crisis the grandson, Muzaffir Jung, received a 
 proposal from Chunder Sahib that they should unite their 
 forces, conquer the Carnatic, and then conquer the Dekhan. 
 The scheme recommended itself to all parties, to Dupleix as 
 well as to Muzaffir Jung. The would-be Nizam joined his 
 forces to those of the would-be Nawab, and the two allies 
 began a career of brilliant successes which took the Carnatic 
 by surprise. They marched through the passes of the East- 
 ern Ghats, defeated Anwar-ud-din at Amboor, and left him 
 dead upon the field. They next proceeded to Arcot and pro- 
 claimed Chunder Sahib as Nawab of the Carnatic. Finally 
 they went to Pondicherry, and were received with open arms 
 by Dupleix. 
 
 Meanwhile a son of the slain Nawab, named Muhammad 
 Ali, had fled to Trichinopoly. It was the last stronghold re- 
 maining to the family of Anwar-ud-din, and Muhammad Ali 
 was the last representative of the family. It was obvious to 
 Dupleix that the capture of Trichinopoly, and surrender of 
 Muhammad Ali, would bring the war in the Carnatic to a 
 triumphant close, and enable the allies to bring all their 
 forces to bear against Nasir Jung. Accordingly he urged 
 Chunder Sahib and Muzaffir Jung to march with all speed 
 to Trichinopoly, and waste no time in the reduction of the 
 place; as it would not only establish Chunder Sahib on the 
 throne of the Carnatic without a rival, but prepare the way
 
 BRITISH INDIA 
 
 291 
 
 INDIA 
 
 in the time of 
 
 CLIVE
 
 292 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 for ousting Nasir Jung from Hyderabad, and enthroning 
 Muzaffir Jung as Nizam of the Dekhan in the room of his 
 uncle. 
 
 But Dupleix had to deal with Asiatic princes, on whom 
 it is dangerous to rely. Both Chunder Sahib and Muzaffir 
 Jung were in pressing want of money, but both were too 
 proud to mention their poverty to Dupleix, lest it should 
 lower them in the eyes of their French ally. They left 
 Pondicherry with music and banners, but without funds; 
 and they halted at Tanjore to demand a subsidy from the 
 Raja, as arrears of tribute due to the Nawab of the Carnatic. 
 
 The Tanjore Raja had been in mortal fear of Chunder 
 Sahib ever since the treacherous capture of Trichinopoly in 
 1736. He had rejoiced when his Mahratta brethren carried 
 off Chunder Sahib as a prisoner to Satara ; and he had hast- 
 ened to form an alliance with the English the moment he 
 heard of the escape and successes of Chunder Sahib. He 
 knew that he was powerless to contend against a demand 
 for a subsidy which was backed up by the French. He shut 
 himself up in his capital and prepared to stand a siege; but 
 then lost heart and offered to pay a ransom. His sole object 
 was to gain time ; and he resorted to all those evasions, pro- 
 crastinations, hesitations, and vexatious alternations of resist- 
 ance and submission, by which native potentates often prolong 
 a settlement long after they are convinced of the hopelessness 
 of war. Days and weeks were then frittered away in fixing 
 the gross amount of the subsidy, and the instalments by 
 which it was to be paid. All this while Chunder Sahib and 
 Muzaffir Jung were most anxious to advance to Trichinopoly, 
 but could not move without money; while letters from Du- 
 pleix were constantly reaching the camp, urging the allies 
 to raise the siege of Tanjore and hasten to the reduction of 
 Trichinopoly. 
 
 At last the amount of subsidy was fixed ; also the amount 
 of the first instalment, which was to be paid down on the 
 spot. Then the Tanjore Raja had recourse to other artifices. 
 He feigned the utmost anxiety to pay the money, but he had
 
 BRITISH INDIA 293 
 
 no rupees. One day he sent a package of gold and silver 
 plate; and his officers wrangled like pedlers over the valu- 
 ation. Another day he sent a lot of old and obsolete coins, 
 which entailed more wrangling. Lastily, he sent jewels and 
 precious stones of dubious or fluctuating value, which led to 
 endless altercations. 
 
 Suddenly the uproar ceased and the Raja was relieved. 
 During the quarrels about the subsidy, Nasir Jung had left 
 Hyderabad with an overwhelming army, and begun to in- 
 vade the Carnatic. The allies were thrown into a panic. 
 Muzaffir Jung was induced to surrender himself to his uncle 
 by promises of pardon and promotion, and was then chained 
 and imprisoned, as his uncle had been before him. Chunder 
 Sahib fled to Pondicherry. Nasir Jung entered A root, and 
 found, like Nizam-ul-mulk, that the Carnatic was at his feet. 
 He appointed Muhammad Ali to be Nawab of the Carnatic, 
 and thus seemed to have brought the ambitious schemes of 
 Dupleix to a final ending. 
 
 Dupleix, however, was not a man to be cast down by re- 
 verses. He was not a soldier like Clive. "Battles," he said, 
 "confused his genius. ' ' But he knew how to plan campaigns, 
 and he was anxious to intimidate the English and frighten 
 Nasir Jung. One detachment of the French army surprised 
 the fort of Masulipatam at the mouth of the Kistna. An- 
 other French army routed the army of Muhammad Ali at 
 Trivadi, only sixteen miles from Fort St. David. But the 
 crowning exploit was carried out by M. Bussy, a French- 
 man destined to win a name in India. Bussy captured the 
 fortress of Jinji, the strongest in the Carnatic. It was only 
 thirty-five miles from Pondicherry, and was supposed to com- 
 mand the whole country. In the previous century it had 
 been the great bone of contention between the Moghul and 
 the Mahratta. 1 
 
 1 The fortress of Jinji, formerly spelled Qingee, was a natural stronghold 
 improved by art; it had been famous for centuries as the citadel of the Carnatic. 
 It consisted of three precipitous rocks or mountains, from four hundred to six 
 hundred feet in height, forming very nearly an equilateral triangle. They were 
 covered with redoubts, one above each other, and were connected by lines of
 
 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 All this while Nasir Jung was wasting his time in a round 
 of pleasures at Arcot. He was unmoved by the capture of 
 Masulipatam, or the defeat of his Nawab, Muhammad Ali ; 
 but the capture of Jinji opened his eyes to the dangerous 
 prowess of the French. He offered to treat with the French, 
 but the demands of Dupleix were preposterous. Muzaffir 
 Jung was to be liberated ; Chunder Sahib was to be Nawab 
 of the Carnatic ; Masulipatam was to be formally ceded to 
 the French East India Company ; and Jinji was to be left 
 in the hands of the French. Nasir Jung was so enraged at 
 these demands that he marched his army toward Jinji, with 
 the view of overwhelming the French, and recovering the 
 ancient citadel of the Carnatic which had slipped out of his 
 hands. 
 
 Dupleix was playing a deep game, which requires some 
 explanation. He was naturally a man of energy and re- 
 sources, but he now displayed a mixture of audacity and 
 craft which was more Oriental than European. These 
 Asiatic proclivities were due to the influence of his wife; 
 a lady of mixed parentage, who was born and bred in India, 
 and whom he had married in Bengal. Madame Dupleix was 
 familiar with the native languages, and well versed in native 
 ways. She carried on a large correspondence with person- 
 ages at different courts ; and was widely known in India as 
 Jan Begum. 1 
 
 works. They thus enclosed a plain in which the town was situated. The night 
 attack of Bussy and his Frenchmen was one of the most brilliant operations in 
 the war. They blew up a gate with a petard, and climbed up all three moun- 
 tains at once, carrying each redoubt sword in hand, and storming the fortifica- 
 tions on the summits, which were the strongest of all. The modern traveller, 
 who gazes on this rock fortress, may well wonder at the success of the French; 
 but probably no one was more astonished than the French themselves. 
 
 1 Jeanne was the Christian name of Madame Dupleix, but she signed herself 
 Jan Begum. As a specimen of her intrigues it may suffice to mention that Jan 
 Begum carried on a secret correspondence with the native interpreter of the 
 Madras governor ; and that this interpreter not only reported to her all that oc- 
 curred at Fort St. David, but induced the native commanders of the Sepoys in 
 the British service to pledge themselves to desert to the French in the next gen- 
 eral action. The plot was discovered in time ; the native interpreter was hanged, 
 the native commanders were banished for life to St. Helena, but Jan Begum con- 
 tinued to be as busy as ever at Pondicherry.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 296 
 
 There was disaffection and treachery in the army of Nasir 
 Jung ; and Dupleix and his half native wife were correspond- 
 ing with the rebel commanders. A small ^French force was 
 sent out from Pondicherry, nominally to fight the overwhelm- 
 ing army of Nasir, but really to co-operate with the traitors. 
 Some of the disaffected officers of the Nizam's army were 
 ordered to charge the French, but refused to stir. Nasir 
 Jung rode up to the rebels, and called them a set of cowards, 
 who were afraid to withstand a mad attempt of a few drunken 
 Europeans. At that moment he was shot dead by a carbine. 
 His death was followed by a complete revolution of affairs. 
 Muzaffir Jung was taken out of his prison, and hailed by 
 the whole army as Nizam of the Dekhan in the room of his 
 dead uncle. 
 
 The news was received at Pondicherry with the wildest 
 joy. Chunder Sahib and Dupleix embraced each other like 
 friends escaped from shipwreck. Salutes were fired, and a 
 "Te Deum" was sung in the cathedral. Muzaffir Jung pro- 
 ceeded from Jin ji to Pondicherry, and was solemnly installed 
 in the French settlement as ruler of the Dekhan. Dupleix 
 appeared at the ceremony in the dress of a Muhammadan 
 grandee, and was the first to pay homage to Muzaffir Jung. 
 
 Meanwhile the gratitude of Muzaffir Jung was unbounded. 
 He appointed Dupleix to be governor for the Great Moghul 
 of all the countries to the south of the Kistna. He appointed 
 Chunder Sahib to be Nawab of the Carnatic, but under the 
 authority of Dupleix. He ceded enough territories to the 
 French East India Company to yield a yearly revenue to 
 the value of nearly forty thousand pounds sterling. He dis- 
 tributed money to the value of fifty thousand pounds among 
 the French officers and troops, and presented Dupleix with 
 a sum equal to two hundred thousand pounds. 
 
 Another revolution was impending. The new Nizam re- 
 turned to the Dekhan with a French force under Bussy. The 
 rebel commanders were dissatisfied with the rewards they 
 had received for the part they had played in the conspiracy 
 against Nasir Jung. Again they broke out in tumult. It
 
 296 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 was suppressed by the fire of the French artillery, bat Mu- 
 zaffir Jung pursued the fugitives, and received a mortal 
 stroke from a javelin. 
 
 The sudden death of the new Nizam threw the whole 
 camp into horrible confusion. The army was greatly in 
 arrears of pay. The grandees were afraid that the troops 
 would break out in mutiny and plunder. The French would 
 have fared worse than all, for the jealousy of their influence 
 was universal. But the coolness of Bussy averted the crisis. 
 The three younger brothers of Nasir Jung were still in con- 
 finement. Bussy released the eldest and proclaimed him 
 ruler of the Dekhan under the name of Salabut Jung, amid 
 the general acclamations of the whole army. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs in the early part of 1751. 
 Dupleix had realized his wildest dreams of French suprem- 
 acy in India. The Nizam and the Nawab owed their thrones 
 to Dupleix and his Frenchmen. Not a single rival remained 
 to the French candidates except Muhammad Ali, who had 
 been appointed Nawab of the Carnatic by Nasir Jung ; and 
 Muhammad Ali was closely besieged by Chunder Sahib 
 and the French at Trichinopoly, and was already offering 
 terms. 
 
 Meanwhile the English at Madras and Fort St. David 
 had been utterly bewildered by revolutions which were con- 
 trary to the precedents and institutions of the Moghul em- 
 pire. Muhammad Ali had been appointed Nawab of the 
 Carnatic by the Nizam; and the English had recognized 
 and supported him as the legitimate Nawab, and sent small 
 detachments from time to time to Trichinopoly. But they 
 were afraid of being drawn into hostilities with the French, 
 in violation of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. They had even 
 allowed Admiral Boscawen and Major Lawrence to return 
 to England on the ground that the war with France was 
 over. In a word, they seemed resigned to a fate which they 
 could not avert, and anxiously awaited fresh instructions 
 from the Directors in England. 
 
 The news that Muhammad Ali was capitulating with
 
 BRITISH INDIA 5897 
 
 Dupleix aroused the English from their torpor. The in- 
 stinct of self-preservation drove them to action. If Mu- 
 hammad Ali submitted to the French, the ruin of Madras 
 and Fort St. David was assured; for Dupleix could issue 
 his own orders for their destruction through his creature, 
 Chunder Sahib. Accordingly, the English sent larger de- 
 tachments to Trichinopoly, and appointed Captain Cope, 
 and afterward Captain De Gingen, to take the command. 
 
 The military operations at Trichinopoly are forgotten 
 now. Fighting the French is no longer a master passion 
 with the English nation ; and the exploits of Cope, De Gin- 
 gen, and Dalton, with absurdly small parties of English 
 soldiers, have died out of the national memory. But Clive, 
 who was now a captain, performed a feat which thrilled 
 through the British empire. He had gone to Trichinopoly, 
 and studied the whole situation. The succession of the 
 Nizams of the Dekhan was practically settled in favor of 
 the French. Nasir Jung and Muzaffir Jung had both been 
 slain; and Salabut Jung had been placed by Bussy on the 
 throne at Hyderabad. The question as regards the succes- 
 sion of a Nawab of the Carnatic turned upon the fate of 
 Trichinopoly. If Chunder Sahib, the French Nawab, cap- 
 tured Trichinopoly, the English would be driven out of the 
 Carnatic. If Muhammad Ali, the English Nawab, held out 
 at Trichinopoly, he might yet be restored to the throne of 
 his father. Anwar-ud-din, and the English settlements would 
 be saved from destruction. 
 
 The English were terribly outnumbered at Trichinopoly. 
 The Hindu Rajas, especially Mysore and Tanjore, were 
 holding aloof from the contest ; they hated Chunder Sahib, 
 but they would not commit themselves by sending forces to 
 help Muhammad Ali. In a word, they were trembling 
 in the balance between the English and French; waiting 
 to see who would get the upper hand in order that they 
 might join the winning side. 
 
 The relief of Trichinopoly was of the first importance 
 to the English ; it was almost a question of life or death.
 
 298 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The problem was solved by Captain Olive. In July, 1751, 
 Captain Clive returned from Trichinopoly to Madras. The 
 road runs due north to Arcot, a distance of some hundred 
 and eighty miles from Trichinopoly; it then runs eastward 
 from Arcot to Madras, a distance of scarcely seventy miles. 
 During the march, Captain Clive saw that the garrisons in 
 the Carnatic, and especially the force at Arcot, had been 
 drawn away to the siege of Trichionopoly ; that Arcot was 
 consequently open to attack; and that the capture of Arcot 
 might prove the salvation of Trichinopoly. On reaching- 
 Madras he proposed sending an expedition against Arcot. 
 He urged that the capture of the capital of the Carnatic in 
 the name of Muhammad AH would revive the spirits of the 
 Hindu Rajas, and induce them to rally round his standard 
 at Trichinopoly. At the same time it would weaken the 
 besieging force at Trichinopoly, by compelling Chunder 
 Sahib and the French to send a large detachment far away 
 to the northward for the recovery of Arcot. 
 
 The proposition was approved, and the expedition from 
 Madras to Arcot proved to be the turning-point in the war. 
 The detachment consisted of only two hundred Europeans 
 and three hundred sepoys. Captain Clive took the com- 
 mand, and had eight European officers under him; but of 
 these only two had been in action, while four of the re- 
 mainder were commercial clerks who had been fired by his 
 example to draw the sword. 
 
 With this handful of men, and three field-pieces for artil- 
 lery, Clive marched from Madras. On the way he heard 
 that the fort of Arcot was garrisoned by eleven hundred 
 men, or more than double his force; and he wrote back to 
 Madras for two eighteen-pounders. Spies from Arcot soon 
 announced his approach to the garrison. They reported that 
 the English had marched through a storm of thunder, light- 
 ning, and rain without the slightest concern. The garrison 
 at Arcot was so frightened at this astounding audacity that 
 they fled from the fort and encamped at a distance, leaving 
 fort and town open to the invaders.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 299 
 
 The English force entered the city, and took possession 
 of the fort, while a hundred thousand spectators looked 
 helplessly on. Olive found lead, gunpowder, and eight 
 pieces of cannon. He stored the fort with provisions suf- 
 ficient to stand a siege. Meanwhile the fugitive garri- 
 son from Arcot was reinforced by large numbers, and 
 threatened to storm the fort; but were dispersed by the 
 sallies of Olive. 
 
 The forecast of Olive was fulfilled to the letter. Chunder 
 Sahib and the French were taken aback by the English occu- 
 pation of Arcot ; and were compelled to divide their besieg- 
 ing force at Trichinopoly by sending an overwhelming native 
 army, accompanied by a hundred and fifty Europeans, for 
 the recovery of Arcot. For the space of fifty days Olive not 
 only repulsed all attacks, but filled the enemy with constant 
 alarm. Bribes were offered him in vain. His exploits 
 created such an impression on the Hindus that a body of 
 Mahrattas joined him from Mysore. Other reinforcements 
 were approaching from Madras, when the enemy threw all 
 its force into one final attack. The assault was made at 
 early morning on the festival of the Muharram. The Mu- 
 hammadan army was drunk with enthusiasm and bhang, 
 and rushed on to the trenches with their ladders in their 
 hands. But Olive had been prepared for the attack and 
 repulsed it at all points, until the energy of the storming 
 parties was exhausted and the fire of musketry and cannon 
 died away. At night the enemy raised the siege and fled in 
 confusion. 
 
 Captain Olive then took the field, and not only routed 
 and dispersed the retreating enemy, but captured several 
 strongholds in the Carnatic in behalf of Muhammad Ali. 
 In January, 1752, the enemy tried to create a diversion by 
 invading the Company's territory of Poonamallee, and plun- 
 dering the country-houses of the English in the neighborhood 
 of Madras. Clive again attacked and defeated them, but 
 was suddenly recalled to Fort St. David. His career of 
 individual conquest had been brought to a close. In March,
 
 300 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 1752, Major Lawrence returned from England and resumed 
 the command of all the Company's forces. 
 
 All this while Muhammad Ali and the English still held 
 out at Trichinopoly against Chunder Sahib and the French. 
 Accordingly Major Lawrence marched to Trichinopoly with 
 reinforcements for the besieged, while Clive served under 
 him as the second in command. The tide of fortune had 
 turned in favor of Muhammad Ali, and there was conse- 
 quently no lack of native allies. One force had already 
 come from Tan j ore to assist in the defence of Trichinopoly. 
 A still larger army was brought by the regent of Mysore, 
 who had also hired a body of Mahrattas under Morari Rao. 1 
 Other bands of barbarians were brought up from the southern 
 jungles by a chief known as Tondiman Poligar. But Major 
 Lawrence was worried by his native allies. Splendid oppor- 
 tunities were lost because the stars were not favorable; and 
 he often found that he must either act alone, or be tied down 
 by feasts or fasts, or by lucky or unlucky days. 
 
 Still the operations of the English under Lawrence and 
 Clive were crowned with success. In May, 1752, Chunder 
 Sahib surrendered himself a prisoner to the Tanjore general, 
 by whom he was barbarously murdered. At the same time 
 the French force at Trichinopoly capitulated. The officers 
 gave their parole not to serve against Muhammad Ali or his 
 allies ; while the private soldiers, to the number of four hun- 
 dred, were sent to Fort St. David as prisoners. 
 
 The year 1752 thus saw the English triumphant at Trich- 
 inopoly. French interests seemed to be ruined. Major Law- 
 rence prepared to leave Trichinopoly with his native allies; 
 to recover the fortresses in the Carnatic which had not been 
 surrendered ; and to conduct Muhammad Ali to Arcot, and 
 install him as Nawab. 
 
 At this crisis a dangerous quarrel, which must have been 
 
 1 The Raja of Mysore was at this time an infant, and the country was gov- 
 erned by his uncle Nunjiraj as regent during his minority. It was at this period 
 that Hyder Naik, the founder of the Muhammadan kingdom of Mysore, was 
 rising to power as an officer in the service of Nunjiraj.
 
 BRITISH INDLti 301 
 
 secretly brewing for weeks, suddenly broke out between the 
 native allies. Major Lawrence discovered, to his utter sur- 
 prise and discomfiture, that Muhammad Ali had bought the 
 help of Mysore by promising to make over Trichinopoly to 
 the regent; and the Mysore regent refused to stir from 
 Trichinopoly, or to take any part in the restoration of Mu- 
 hammad Ali to the throne of the Carnatic, until the city 
 of Trichinopoly was placed in his possession. 
 
 The dispute about Trichinopoly has long been obsolete, 
 but in 1752 it involved serious consequences. It was the 
 key to the Hindu Carnatic, and as such had long been cov- 
 eted by successive Nawabs; and its occupation by Mysore, 
 or the Mahrattas, or by any other Hindu power, would have 
 been justly regarded as a perpetual menace to the Nawab. 
 
 Major Lawrence tried to effect a compromise, but soon 
 found that it was impossible. Muhammad Ali was full of 
 excuses and evasions. He confessed that he had pledged 
 himself to make over Trichinopoly; but he urged that the 
 promise had been extorted from him by his extreme distress, 
 and that the Mysore regent was fully aware that he could 
 not fulfil it. Trichinopoly, he said, belonged to the Great 
 Moghul; and if it was given to a Hindu Raja, the Great 
 Moghul would make war, not only upon him, but upon his 
 English allies. He privately proposed to Major Lawrence 
 to amuse the regent by promising to deliver up Trichinopoly 
 at the end of two months. Meanwhile, he added, he hoped 
 to collect enough arrears of revenue to defray the expenses 
 of the regent, and prevent the necessity of parting with 
 Trichinopoly. 
 
 Major Lawrence thus found himself involved in a web 
 of deceit and intrigue which rendered action impracticable. 
 The Mysore regent professed himself willing to accept pay- 
 ment of his expenses in lieu of Trichinopoly, if the money 
 was paid at once ; but he demanded such an enormous sum 
 that money was out of the question. It was thought -that 
 Morari Rao could mediate between the two parties, but he 
 made matters worse. Publicly he decided that the Nawab
 
 302 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 was to make over Trichinopoly at the end of two months. 
 Privately he counselled the Nawab not to surrender Trichi- 
 nopoly at all. Privately also he counselled the Mysore regent 
 to insist on the immediate surrender of the city under pain 
 of making war on the Nawab, or deserting to the French. 
 By so doing the wily Mahratta secretly made friends with 
 both sides, and obtained large presents from both the Nawab 
 and the regent, who were each anxious for his support. At 
 the same time Morari Rao fomented the rupture between the 
 two, and tried to cajole the Nawab into allowing the Mah- 
 ratta troops to hold Trichinopoly during the interval, on the 
 treacherous understanding that at the end of the two months 
 he was not to make it over to the Mysore regent, but to give 
 it back to Muhammad Ali. Had Morari Rao succeeded in 
 getting inside Trichinopoly he would undoubtedly have kept 
 possession of the place, just as Chunder Sahib had done some 
 fifteen years before. 
 
 This wretched quarrel robbed the English of all the 
 pleasure of their triumph. Moreover, it was followed by 
 plots and intrigues for the seizure of Trichiuopoly, which 
 volumes would fail to describe. Meanwhile the fortunes of 
 the French were becoming brilliant in the Dekhan. Dupleix 
 and his wife took advantage of these successes to send letters 
 and presents to all parties at Trichinopoly, representing that 
 the English were a plodding mercantile people, unacquainted 
 with war, and unable to oppose the French, and who owed 
 all their victories to the valor and activity of the Mahratta 
 cavalry. The consequence was that the Mysore regent went 
 over to the French together with the Mahrattas; while the 
 contingents of the Tan j ore Raja and Tondiman Poligar 
 returned to their own homes, incensed alike against the 
 Nawab and the Mysore regent, and resolved to do nothing 
 more until they could find whether the English or French 
 were likely to win the day. 
 
 All this while Dupleix had never despaired. The death 
 of Chunder Sahib, and surrender of the French force at 
 Trichinopoly, had excited consternation at Pondicherry.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 303 
 
 But Bussy's successes in the Dekhan more than counter- 
 balanced the disasters in the Carnatic. Salabut Jung owed 
 his throne to the French ; and would have been deprived of 
 it at any moment by one rival or another, but for the sup- 
 port of Bussy and the French army. Accordingly he ceded 
 a large and valuable territory on the Coromandel coast for 
 the permanent maintenance of the French forces. The 
 French thus acquired a larger territory in India than had 
 ever before been possessed by any European power, not ex- 
 cepting the Portuguese. It stretched along six hundred 
 miles of seaboard, from the Carnatic frontier at the river 
 Gundlacama, northward to the pagoda of Jagganath. It 
 yielded a yearly revenue of more than half a million sterling ; 
 and possessed commercial advantages which were vastly im- 
 proved by the possession of the port of Masulipatam. This 
 territory was afterward known as the Northern Circars. 
 
 At the same tune Dupleix professed to have been con- 
 firmed by Salabut Jung in the post of ruler of all India to 
 the south of the Kistna. He even feigned to have received 
 insignia and letters of investiture from the Great Moghul. 
 By virtue of this authority he arrogated to himself all the 
 powers of a Nawab. 
 
 In 1753 the English were anxious for . a peace. They 
 were worn out by the expense of a war which was in reality 
 a national affair, and ought not to have fallen on the East 
 India Company. Captain Clive had returned to England 
 on the score of ill-health; and the operations of Lawrence 
 were indecisive. The English were willing to leave the 
 French in possession of the Northern Circars, and to ac- 
 knowledge Salabut Jung as Nizam of the Dekhan ; but they 
 required the French to acknowledge Muhammad Ali as 
 Nawab of the Carnatic. But Dupleix was impracticable, 
 and rejected the offer with disdain. He claimed to be 
 Nawab of the Carnatic, and unless his authority as Nawab 
 was recognized by the English he would make no terms 
 whatever. 
 
 In this dilemma the Court of Directors in London called
 
 304 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 on the British ministry to put an end to the war in the Car- 
 natic, or to carry it on at the charge of the British nation. 
 The question had become of vital importance. Great Brit- 
 ain and France were at peace in Europe, and had been at 
 peace ever since the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. The 
 war between the two nations in the Carnatic was thus not 
 only an anomaly, but a complication which few in Europe 
 could comprehend. London and Paris were confused by 
 dynastic stories of rival Nawabs and rival Nizams setting the 
 Great Moghul at defiance, and fighting for the mastery with 
 the English Company on one side and the French Company 
 on the other. Meanwhile the Directors of both Companies 
 found themselves drawn into hopeless contests, which ex- 
 hausted their treasuries and obstructed their trade. 
 
 Under such circumstances all parties began to throw the 
 blame upon Dupleix. The English charged him with begin- 
 ning the war by the liberation of Chunder Sahib from his 
 Mahratta prison at Satara. The French denounced his am- 
 bitious schemes for his own aggrandizement, which devoured 
 the profits of the French East India Company without adding 
 to the glory of the French nation. Dupleix was sacrificed to 
 the necessities of both nations, to prevent a war between 
 Great Britain and France, and to enable the English and 
 French Companies to escape from political responsibilities 
 which were destructive to the interests of trade. 
 
 The finale is soon told. A French commissary was sent 
 to Pondicherry with full powers to conclude a peace with the 
 English authorities at Madras. Both sides pledged them- 
 selves for the future to renounce all native government and 
 dignity, and to abandon all interference with native powers. 
 The French also agreed to relinquish all territories they had 
 acquired in excess of those acquired by the English. But 
 these conditions were never carried out. Dupleix, however, 
 was removed from the government of Pondicherry, and re- 
 turned to France a ruined and broken-hearted man. 1 
 
 1 Dupleix lived for nine years longer. He died at Paris in the utmost pov- 
 erty, on the 10th of November, 1764.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 305 
 
 The treaty was signed at Pondicherry in January, 1755. 
 It was only provisional, and awaited the confirmation of the 
 English and French governments in Europe ; and within eigh- 
 teen months it was cast to the winds. The English excited 
 the jealousy of the French by helping Muhammad Ali to 
 establish his authority in the Carnatic over rebellious Poli- 
 gars. At the same time the French occupation of the North- 
 ern Circars, and the continued presence of Bussy and his 
 forces in the Dekhan, excited the bitterest animosity of the 
 English. 
 
 Meanwhile Clive, who had embarked for England in 
 1753 on the score of ill-health, had returned to Bombay 
 with the commission of a lieutenant-colonel in the service 
 of the Crown. He was to have led a European force from 
 Bombay toward Hyderabad, with the view of co-operating 
 with the Peishwa of the Mahrattas against the Nizam, and 
 compelling Salabut Jung to dismiss Bussy and his French- 
 men. But the expedition was stopped by the treaty of Pon- 
 dicherry. Accordingly he joined the fleet of Admiral Wat- 
 son in an expedition against a noted pirate named Angria. 
 
 About the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the 
 Moghul power was beginning to decline, a rebel of the name 
 of Angria founded a piratical empire on the Malabar coast 
 between Bombay and Goa. During the fifty years which 
 followed, the name of Angria had been as great a terror on 
 the sea as that of Sivaji had been on land. A succession of 
 Angrias had pushed their aggressions along the Mahratta 
 coast, until they possessed a seaboard of a hundred and 
 twenty miles in length, with a fort at every creek. Their 
 fleets consisted of fast-sailing vessels of small burden, and 
 rowing-boats of forty or fifty oars, armed with guns and 
 crowded with men. No vessel could pass this coast with- 
 out paying chout for a pass from Angria, or running the 
 chance of capture. The East India Company alone ex- 
 pended fifty thousand pounds yearly on the maintenance 
 of an armed convoy for the protection of their merchant 
 ships against these dangerous corsairs.
 
 306 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The capital of Angria was at Gheria, which was sup- 
 posed to be another Gibraltar, but Olive and Watson made 
 short work of capturing it. The place was bombarded and 
 stormed in February, 1756, and its fortifications and ship- 
 ping were destroyed. Angria's people were so alarmed that 
 they surrendered all their other forts to the Mahrattas with- 
 out resistance, and abandoned most of their territory. 
 
 Olive and Watson next proceeded to Madras. Meanwhile 
 there had been a rupture between Salabut Jung and Bussy, 
 brought about by a powerful Muhammadan party at the 
 court of Hyderabad. In July, 1756, Bussy marched his 
 force to Hyderabad, and took up a strong position; while 
 Salabut Jung sent urgent messages to Madras imploring 
 the help of the English against the French. 
 
 Nothing could have been more acceptable to the English 
 authorities. All mention of the Dekhan and the Nizam had 
 been intentionally excluded from the treaty of Pondicherry. 
 At the same time Europe was on the eve of the "Seven 
 Years' War," and a declaration of hostilities between Great 
 Britain and France was expected to arrive in India by every 
 ship. Accordingly, an English force was prepared to take 
 the field for the support of Salabut Jung against the French ; 
 but suddenly the march was countermanded. In August 
 terrible news arrived from Bengal. Calcutta had been cap- 
 tured by the Nawab of Bengal, Behar, ' and Orissa, and a 
 hundred and twenty-three English prisoners had been stifled 
 to death in the Black Hole. 
 
 1 Tn the previous chapters Behar has been spelled "Bihar" in conformity 
 with the spelling ordered by the British government. But in dealing with the 
 history of British India, it is not worth while to change the spelling of a geo- 
 graphical term which has been in general use for more than a century.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 307 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 ENGLISH IN BENGAL 
 
 A.D. 1700 TO 1761 
 
 THE position of the English in Calcutta during the 
 early half of the eighteenth century bore a general 
 resemblance to that of the English at Madras. They 
 had a governor and council, and a mayor's court. They had 
 an English officer, who collected revenue and administered 
 justice among their native subjects under the name of 
 Zemindar. They had a head policeman, who kept the 
 peace by day and night, under the name of Kotwal. They 
 had Dutch and French neighbors, whose factories were situ- 
 ated some twenty miles off at Chinsura and Chandernagore. 
 They paid rent and customs to the Moghul officer, who com- 
 manded the surrounding district under the name of Foujdar, 
 and made Hughli his headquarters. 1 
 
 The Nawab of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, was a grandee 
 of the first water, who kept his court at Murshedabad, about 
 a hundred and twenty miles to the north of Calcutta. The 
 English had few transactions with the great man ; they gen- 
 erally carried on all their political negotiations through the 
 Moghul commander at Hughli. 
 
 The English at Calcutta knew more of the interior than 
 the English at Madras. There was no waterway at Madras 
 to open up the country ; and no great roads in the Peninsula 
 like those which traversed Hindustan and the Dekhan. Be- 
 fore the war, Arcot was as remote at Delhi, while Madura 
 
 1 The Dutch factory at Chinsura, the French factory at Chandernagore, and 
 the Moghul town of Hughli, are some three or four miles distant from each other.
 
 308 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 was a mystery like Pekin or Timbuctoo. But the position 
 of the English at Calcutta was altogether different, for they 
 had established factories at a considerable distance inland. 
 On the north they had a factory at Cossimbazar, the trading 
 suburb of Murshedabad. On the east they had a factory at 
 Dacca, near the Brahmaputra river, whence they procured 
 Dacca muslins. On the west they had the great waterway 
 of the Ganges, and had established a factory at Patna, four 
 hundred miles from Calcutta, for the purchase of saltpetre, 
 raw silk, and opium. 
 
 The old Nawabs of Bengal were thus better known to the 
 English than the Nawabs of the Carnatic. The founder of 
 the first hereditary dynasty was Murshed Kuli Khan, a man 
 who flourished between 1700 and 1725, and was a type of 
 the rulers formed in the school of Aurangzeb. He rose 
 from some minor post to be Nawab of the three provinces 
 of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa; a territory extending north 
 and south from the mountains of Nipal to the jungles of 
 Gondwana, and east and west from the river Brahmaputra 
 and Bay of Bengal to the little river Carumnassa. 1 He 
 moved his capital from Dacca to Murshedabad, which was 
 so called after his own name. 9 
 
 The secret of the rise of Murshed Kuli Khan lay in his 
 sending a large yearly tribute to the imperial treasury at 
 Delhi, together with large presents for ministers, favorites, 
 and influential grandees. In return he was allowed to fill 
 the two posts of Nawab and Dewan; in other words, to 
 command the three provinces while acting as accountant- 
 general for the Great Moghul. He was thus necessarily a 
 strict financier, and many stories are told by native writers 
 of his cruelty and oppression. He imprisoned the leading 
 
 1 The Carumnassa is an insignificant stream, flowing into the Jumna near 
 Buxar, which is not always shown in the map. Its importance as a frontier 
 between Behar and the territory of Benares continued until the administration 
 of Warren Hastings, when Benares was annexed to British territory. 
 
 2 Murshed Kuli Khan is known in some histories by the name of Jafir Khan, 
 and must be distinguished from the Nawab Mir Jafir, who appears in the later 
 history.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 309 
 
 landholders, known as Zemindars and Rajas, and appointed 
 Bengali Hindus of his own selection to collect the rents from 
 the farmers. He placed other Zemindars on subsistence al- 
 lowances, while his Bengali officers, known as Aumils, col- 
 lected the rents in like manner. He remeasured estates, and 
 brought fallow and waste lands under cultivation by making 
 advances to the lower class of husbandmen. In a word, he 
 dispossessed most of the Zemindars from their holdings, ex- 
 cept a few whom he ventured to trust, and a few powerful 
 Rajas, such as Birbhum and Kishenghur, who were able to 
 resent or defy any interference with their hereditary estates 
 or territories. 
 
 Murshed Kuli Khan, like all the Moghul officers of the 
 school of Aurangzeb, was very harsh toward Hindus. He 
 allowed no Hindus, not even Zemindars or Rajas, to sit or 
 speak to each other in his presence. He prohibited even the 
 wealthiest Hindus from riding in a palanquin, and required 
 them to use inferior conveyances. He preferred Bengali 
 Hindus to collect the revenue because they were more amen- 
 able to threats and punishments, and were too timid to rebel 
 or plot against him. It was a common saying that the Mu- 
 hammadans squandered their ill-gotten gains on pomp and 
 pleasure, and left no wealth to be confiscated; while the 
 Hindus hoarded their gains, and then, like sponges, could 
 be squeezed of all their riches. If a district collector was 
 in arrears the Hindu defaulter was tormented, bastinadoed, 
 hung up by the feet, placed in the hot sun, or subjected to 
 some other exquisite torture. But if there was any fraud, 
 or any failure to make good a deficiency, the Hindu culprit 
 was compelled to turn Muhammadan, together with his wife 
 and family. 1 
 
 Murshed Kuli Khan had no son. He had given a daugh- 
 ter in marriage to an officer named Shuja Khan, who was 
 deputy-governor of Orissa. But Shuja Kban was so utterly 
 
 1 The original authorities for these statements will be found translated in 
 Stewart's History of Bengal.
 
 310 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 bad and profligate that his wife left him in Orissa and went 
 back to her father at Murshedabad, accompanied by a son 
 named Sarfaraz Khan. 
 
 The old Nawab hated his son-in-law but took a great 
 liking to his grandson. He set aside Shuja Khan and used 
 all his influence at Delhi to secure the appointment of his 
 grandson, Sarfaraz, as his heir and successor to the Nawab- 
 ship of the three provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. 
 But he died in 1725, before his intentions were carried into 
 effect, and thus left the throne at Murshedabad to be a bone 
 of contention between a father and a son. 
 
 Meantime Shuja Khan, by means of lavish presents at 
 Delhi, had procured the insignia and letters of investiture 
 from Delhi for his own appointment as Nawab of the three 
 provinces; and shortly after the death of his father-in-law 
 he suddenly produced them at the city of Murshedabad, and 
 was at once proclaimed successor to the throne. His son, 
 Sarfaraz Khan, was totally ignorant of his father's design. 
 He was sitting at a country house near the city, hourly ex- 
 pecting the arrival of his own credentials from Delhi, when 
 he suddenly heard the fire of salutes and roll of kettle-drums 
 at the palace. He had been outwitted by his father, but 
 there was no redress. He submitted to his fate, and set off 
 to offer the customary present and congratulations to the 
 new Nawab. 
 
 Shuja Khan was a good-natured man who cared for noth- 
 ing but pleasure. He released all the imprisoned Zemindars 
 and Rajas, and thereby made himself popular. But he had 
 two favorites, named Haji Ahmad and Alivardi Khan. The 
 former, by secret services of a questionable character, ob- 
 tained the post of minister and remained at Murshedabad. 
 His brother, Alivardi Khan, a man of bravery and audacity, 
 was appointed deputy-governor of Behar, and left Murshed- 
 abad and took up his quarters at Patna. 
 
 In Behar, Alivardi Khan devoted himself to the reduc- 
 tion of all the Hindu Rajas under his government. This he 
 accomplished by the most consummate treachery and craft;
 
 BRITISH INDIA 311 
 
 ensnaring them by vows and promises, and then putting 
 them to death. These Rajas were often little better than 
 freebooters, and their suppression was indispensable to the 
 tranquillity of the province; but the wholesale destruction 
 carried out by Alivardi Khan was characterized by barbari- 
 ties which were most revolting. 
 
 The English had some experience of the atrocities com- 
 mitted by Alivardi Khan. In those days the English boats 
 carried goods and treasure between Calcutta and Patna un- 
 der the guard of European soldiers. In 1735 a convoy went 
 as usual in charge of an English civilian named Holwell and 
 a Captain Holcombe. Near Monghyr the two gentlemen saw 
 a boat going by with baskets, which they took to contain 
 fish. They hailed the boat and on its coming alongside 
 they opened the baskets, and found thirty heads of men 
 who had just been murdered. 
 
 The story was not a pleasant one. There was an old 
 Hindu Raja near Monghyr who had sturdily held out against 
 the Moghul. Captain Holcombe knew him well; for the 
 Raja, like others of his stamp, claimed a right to levy duties 
 on all goods coming up or down the Ganges ; a point which 
 was generally settled by the sword. This aged warrior died 
 in 1730, and was succeeded by a son, who submitted to Ali- 
 vardi Khan, and agreed to pay a yearly tribute. To prevent 
 treachery, the young Raja brought his tribute every year to 
 a certain spot accompanied by only thirty followers. In like 
 manner Alivardi Khan was pledged to send an officer with 
 only thirty followers to receive the money. This year the 
 payment had been made the very morning that Holwell and 
 Holcombe hailed the boat. Alivardi Khan had ordered an 
 ambush and a massacre; and the three baskets contained the 
 heads of the Raja and his followers. One man escaped and 
 told the tidings to the young Raja's wife, who thereupon set 
 the palace on fire, and perished in the flames with an infant 
 son and all her female attendants. That same night the 
 Raja's city was attacked, plundered, and burned by the 
 forces of Alivardi Khan; and the two Englishmen saw
 
 312 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the fire and smoke from the place where they lay at 
 anchor. 
 
 Nawab Shuja Khan died in 1739, the same year that 
 Nadir Shah attacked Delhi. His son Sarfaraz Khan suc- 
 ceeded to the throne, and turned out a worse profligate than 
 his father. 1 He was insolent and tyrannical, and at last 
 gave mortal offence to a Hindu family of great wealth, who 
 had long exercised a commanding influence at Murshedabad. 
 
 Jagat Seth, the patriarch of the family, was the wealth- 
 iest banker in the Moghul empire, the Rothschild of Hindu- 
 stan. The wildest stories are told of the riches of his house. 
 The Mahrattas carried off two millions sterling from his 
 family, and the loss was no more felt than that of two 
 trusses of straw. He knew all that was going on under 
 every court in India; was security for most of the renters 
 in the Bengal provinces; and always had vast sums at his 
 command. His grandson, a mere boy, was married to a 
 girl of tender years. Out of mere caprice the Nawab in- 
 sisted on seeing the girl without a veil. This matter, so 
 trifling in European eyes, was regarded by Bengalis as an 
 insult and disgrace which abrogated the marriage tie, and 
 for which nothing but death could atone. 
 
 The result was that a plot was formed by Hindus and 
 Moghuls for the destruction of Sarfaraz Khan. The con- 
 spirators invited Alivardi Khan to undertake the task, and 
 engaged to make him Nawab of the three provinces in the 
 room of the doomed prince. It would be tedious to rake up 
 the story of deceit, treachery, and bribery. Sarfaraz Khan 
 was lulled in security, while Alivardi Khan was hurrying 
 an army through the narrow pass which leads from Behar 
 into Bengal. At last Sarfaraz Khan was suddenly aroused 
 by the news that a rebel force was at his gates. He marched 
 out with a large army and a train of artillery ; but his officers 
 were disaffected, and the guns were loaded with powder only, 
 
 1 The old Nawabs of Bengal were so abominably wicked that there is not 
 much to choose between them. Their vices were indescribable.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 313 
 
 without ball. The battle was a sham; but Sarfaraz Khan 
 was slain, and Alivardi Khan was proclaimed Nawab in 
 his room. 
 
 Alivardi Khan has been styled a usurper. He subse- 
 quently displayed the insignia and letters of investiture ; but 
 whether they were forged, or were bought from the Delhi 
 Vizier, is a question of no moment. The day was fast ap- 
 proaching when no rights existed in India save those of the 
 sword. 
 
 Scarcely had Alivardi Khan secured himself as Nawab, 
 when the three provinces were invaded by Mahrattas. It 
 was said that the Great Moghul was so disgusted at receiv- 
 ing little or no tribute from the Nawab that he told the Mah- 
 rattas to collect chout in Bengal. For eight years in succes- 
 sion, from 1742 to 1750, these merciless hordes of miscreants 
 devastated the country to the southward of the Ganges, from 
 October till June, and never retired until the approach of the 
 rainy season. All this was done under pretence of collecting 
 chout ; for by this time the Mahrattas began to consider that 
 they possessed an inherent right to collect chout from the 
 whole of India. 
 
 In the first instance, Alivardi Khan tried to get rid of 
 the Mahrattas by treachery and massacre. The command- 
 ers on either side were to meet in a tent and arrange the 
 terms of chout. The bait was swallowed. A tent was pre- 
 pared, and the Nawab posted an ambush between a double 
 lining. The meeting took place; the signal was given; the 
 men in ambush rushed out with drawn swords, and the Mah- 
 ratta general and most of his chief officers were slaughtered 
 on the spot. 
 
 The Mahratta army was paralyzed for a moment at this 
 horrible murder of their leaders, and then wreaked their 
 vengeance upon the unoffending inhabitants. They rav- 
 aged the country with fire and sword, cutting off ears, 
 noses, and hands, and committing countless barbarities in 
 the search of spoil. The wretched Bengalis fled in shoals 
 across the Ganges, to take refuge, or perchance to perish, 
 X 14 INT>TA. VOT, T
 
 314 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 in the hills and jungles to the northward of the river. It 
 was at this juncture that the native inhabitants of Calcutta 
 began to dig the once famous Mahratta ditch, to keep the 
 enemy's horsemen out of the Company's bounds. * 
 
 Alivardi Khan found himself powerless to act against 
 the loose bands of Mahrattas. They evaded a general ac- 
 tion, and if dispersed from one place, they soon reappeared 
 elsewhere. At the same time there was treachery in his own 
 camp. He relied much on a force of Afghan mercenaries 
 commanded by an officer named Mustafa Khan; but his 
 brother, Haji Ahmad, grew jealous of Mustafa Khan, and 
 charged the Afghan with being in secret communication 
 with the Mahrattas. Mustafa Khan suddenly fled with his 
 Afghans toward Patna, but was pursued and slain; and 
 Haji Ahmad cut off his head, and carried it in derision 
 three times through the streets of Patna. 
 
 The atrocity was soon avenged. Haji Ahmad fell into 
 the hands of the Afghans, and was put to a cruel death. 
 He was scourged, insulted, and exposed to the derision of 
 the mob, and then tied to the leg of an elephant, and dragged 
 through the streets until death put an end to his agonies. 
 
 Such details are revolting to all; but it is necessary at 
 times to lift the curtain from a few of the horrors of anarchy 
 and misrule. It will suffice to add that in 1750 Alivardi 
 Khan came to terms with the Mahrattas. The whole prov- 
 ince of Orissa was ceded to the Bhonsla Raja of Berar or 
 Nagpore; and the Nawab agreed to pay a yearly sum of 
 twelve lakhs of rupees, or a hundred and twenty thousand 
 pounds sterling, as chout for Bengal and Behar. 
 
 Alivardi Khan was now an old man, but the remainder 
 of his days were spent in comparative peace. There were 
 horrible scandals in his household at Murshedabad, as well 
 as revolts and plots on the part of members of his family; 
 but with all his crimes, he himself was free from vices. It 
 
 1 Every vestige of this once famous ditch has disappeared from Calcutta. It 
 is supposed to have run along the site at present known as the Circular Road.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 315 
 
 is said that he was never a drunkard nor a profligate; and 
 that in this respect his private lif e differed from that of most 
 Muhammadan princes in India. A few details of his daily 
 occupations have been preserved by a native writer who en- 
 joyed his patronage. 1 The picture may be somewhat over- 
 drawn, but it serves to illustrate the domestic life of an aged 
 and respectable Muhammadan grandee : 
 
 "The Nawab Alivardi Khan always rose two hours be- 
 fore daylight, said his prayers at daybreak, and then drank 
 coffee with his chosen friends. From seven o'clock till nine 
 he sat in the hall of audience, where he listened to the rep- 
 resentations of those of his officers and grandees who had 
 anything to say. At nine o'clock he retired and amused 
 himself with the company of particular friends, in listening 
 to verses of poetry or pleasant stories, or in superintending 
 the preparation of different dishes, which were cooked in his 
 presence and under his directions. At ten o'clock he par- 
 took of the chief meal of the day, but always in company; 
 and when it was over his guests washed their hands and 
 withdrew, and he retired to his couch and was lulled to sleep 
 by the story-tellers. At one o'clock he awoke and drank a 
 cup of water cooled with ice or saltpetre, and performed his 
 midday prayers. He next read a chapter of the Koran with 
 a loud voice, according to the rule, and performed his after- 
 noon prayers. Pious and learned men were then introduced, 
 and regaled with coffee and hookahs ; and the Nawab drank 
 coffee with them but never smoked. 2 A Koran was set up, 
 and conferences, readings and explanations would occupy 
 two hours. Next the chiefs of offices were in attendance, 
 and among others the wealthy Jagat Seth made his appear- 
 ance; and these men read or told him the news from all 
 
 - Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin, by Gholam Husain Ali, Calcutta, 1786. Large use 
 has been made of tliis valuable work in dealing with the rise of the British em- 
 pire in India ; but the author was a bigoted Shiah, and has strong likings and 
 bitter dislikings, which must always be taken into consideration. 
 
 9 It is a curious fact that Alivardi Khan never smoked. Originally he is said 
 to have been "hookah bearer" to Shuja Khan. His brother Haji Ahmad is said 
 to have been originally a khitmutgar, or table -servant.
 
 316 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 parts of India. Wits and buffoons followed, with whom he 
 cracked jokes for another two hours. By this time it would 
 be dusk, and the Nawab said his evening prayers. Then the 
 audience hall was cleared of men, and the ladies of the fam- 
 ily came to see him. A supper was served of fresh and dried 
 fruits and sweetmeats, and the Nawab generally distributed 
 them among the ladies with his own hands. After supper 
 the ladies retired to rest, and the hall was opened to officers 
 of the guard, bed-watchers, and story-tellers; and the Nawab 
 again retired to his couch, and was lulled to sleep by stories. 
 He generally awoke three or four times in the course of the 
 night, but was always awake about two hours before dawn. 
 "The Nawab was troubled by the progress of affairs in 
 the Dekhan ; by the assassination of Nasir Jung during his 
 march against the French at Pondicherry, and by the acces- 
 sion of Muzaffir Jung, who was supported by the French. 
 He was troubled still more when Muzaffir Jung was slain, 
 and Salabut Jung was made Nizam of the Dekhan, and 
 supported on the throne by the French foreigners. At the 
 same time he received a pompous letter from Bussy, recom- 
 mending the French at Chandernagore to his care and pro- 
 tection. He sent no reply to the letter, but he was amazed 
 and perplexed. 'Those hat-men,' he exclaimed, 'will soon 
 possess all the seaboard of India. ' ' 
 
 Alivardi Khan had nominated a grandson to succeed him, 
 named Suraj-ud-daula. This young man was insolent and 
 vindictive, as well as cruel and profligate. He was very 
 bitter against the English at Calcutta and complained to his 
 grandfather of their hostile designs ; but the old Nawab was 
 on his dying bed, and was deaf to all such representations. 
 Meanwhile news arrived at Murshedabad that the English 
 had captured the great fortress of Gheria, the stronghold of 
 Angria. About the same time, it was reported that the En- 
 glish at Calcutta were strengthening their fortifications in 
 order to fight the French at Chandernagore. 
 
 The eld Nawab died in April, 1756. Suraj-ud-daula sue-
 
 BRITISH INDIA 317 
 
 ceeded to the throne at Murshedabad, in spite of hostile in- 
 trigues and plots in favor of other claimants. 1 He was told 
 that one of his enemies had found refuge in Calcutta, and 
 demanded his immediate surrender ; but his messenger was 
 regarded with suspicion at Calcutta, and no reply was sent. 
 Next he ordered Mr. Drake, the governor of Calcutta, to 
 demolish his new fortifications. Mr. Drake replied that no 
 new fortifications had been constructed; that nothing had 
 been done beyond repairing a line of guns to prevent the 
 French from capturing Calcutta in the same way that they 
 had captured Madras ten years before. The young Nawab 
 was furious at the idea of the English fighting the French 
 within his dominions. He sent a body of horsemen to sur- 
 round the factory of Cossimbazar, in the suburbs of his cap- 
 ital, and to bring away the English there as his prisoners. 
 He then assembled an army of fifty thousand men, and a 
 train of artillery, and marched to Calcutta with such haste 
 in the month of June that many of his troops died of fatigue 
 and sunstroke on the way. 
 
 The English at Calcutta were bewildered by these tid- 
 ings. They expected some demand for money, but were 
 taken aback by the capture of Cossimbazar. The Mahrattas 
 had caused an occasional scare at Calcutta, but many years 
 had passed away since the English had the slightest grounds 
 for expecting an attack from the Nawab. The defences had 
 been neglected; warehouses had been built adjoining the 
 fort ; while the fort itself was overlooked by numerous build- 
 ings. The English at Calcutta were a mere handful. There 
 were not five hundred men in all Calcutta, including En- 
 glishmen and mixed races. There were only a hundred and 
 seventy European soldiers, and of these scarcely ten had seen 
 any service beyond parade. Still, had Clive been there, he 
 would have defied the Nawab and all his rabble host. All 
 tall houses would have been demolished; all inconvenient 
 
 1 One of these claimants had actually secured letters of investiture from Delhi 
 for the three provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, by promising to send a 
 yearly tribute to the Moghul treasury of one million sterling.
 
 318 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 walls would have been thrown down; and any enemy en- 
 camped in the neighborhood would have been kept in con- 
 stant alarm, by shells during the day, and by sallies at 
 night, until the besiegers thought proper to disappear from 
 the scene. 
 
 But instead of standing a siege in Fort William, as Olive 
 had done in the citadel at Arcot, the English madly at- 
 tempted to defend the town of Calcutta by isolated outposts 
 at a distance from the fort. The fighting began on Wednes- 
 day, the 16th of June. During Thursday and Friday the 
 outposts were driven in by sheer force of numbers; and 
 after much desperate fighting in the streets and avenues 
 the English fell back on the fort. On Saturday, the 19th 
 of June, the enemy opened a cannonade. The women were 
 carried to the ships, and Mr. Drake and some others escaped 
 with them ; and then, to the utter disgust of those left in the 
 fort, the ships moved down the river. 
 
 Next morning was Sunday the 20th of June. The enemy 
 tried to escalade the walls, but the rabble soldiery were 
 easily driven back, and there was a lull in the fighting. By 
 this time, heat and fatigue had told on the English garrison. 
 The European soldiers broke into the arrack stores and got 
 drunk. There was a flag of truce and a parley. Meanwhile 
 the native soldiers climbed over the walls, and broke in at 
 different openings, and there was a general surrender. 
 
 The Nawab entered Fort William in great pomp, but 
 found only fifty thousand rupees in the treasury. He sent 
 for Mr. Hoi well, who represented the governor in the ab- 
 sence of Mr. Drake. He swore that no harm should befall 
 the prisoners, but he was very angry at the small amount in 
 the treasury. Mr. Holwell was soon dismissed, and returned 
 to his fellow- prisoners, who were assembled under a strong 
 guard in a low veranda in front of a line of barracks. For 
 some time the Nawab's officers could find no place fitted for 
 the confinement of the prisoners. At last, at the end of the 
 chambers, they found the strong-room of the garrison, known 
 as the Black Hole. It was not twenty feet square. There
 
 BRITISH INDIA 313 
 
 was no air except what came through the veranda and two 
 little gratings hi the door. Into this close dungeon, on one 
 of the hottest nights in a Calcutta June, a hundred and 
 forty-six prisoners were thrust by swords and clubs. The 
 door was then shut, and the shrieking captives were left to 
 die. Next morning, twenty-three fainting wretches were 
 dragged out alive ; the remaining hundred and twenty- three 
 were corpses. 
 
 The question of who was to blame for this catastrophe has 
 often been argued, but has long ceased to be of any moment. 
 Suraj-ud-daula may have been free of blame. He left the 
 custody of the prisoners to his officers, and then retired to 
 rest, and no one dared to wake him. But next morning he 
 was utterly callous to all that had happened, and only anx- 
 ious to know where the English had secreted their vast 
 treasures. The native inhabitants of Bengal were equally 
 callous. The tale of horror thrilled through the British em- 
 pire; and would have excited the same indignation had it 
 occurred in the remotest village in England or Ireland. But 
 in India it excited no horror at all; it fell on the listless ears 
 of Asiatics and was forgotten, if indeed it was ever known. 
 Muhammadan historians tell the story of the capture of Cal- 
 cutta, but they say nothing of the Black Hole. 1 
 
 The terrible tidings of the capture of Calcutta and catas- 
 trophe of the Black Hole reached Madras in August. It 
 created a stir in the settlement which is perhaps without a 
 parallel in Madras history. Bussy and the French were for- 
 gotten ; and it was speedily resolved that the force intended 
 for the Dekhan should be despatched with all speed to Bengal. 
 
 The fleet left Madras in October, 1756, under the com- 
 mand of Admiral Watson ; the land forces were commanded 
 
 1 This utter want of political ties among the masses of natives of India is the 
 cause of their depression. Individually they are the kindest and most compas- 
 sionate people in the world, but outside their own little circle of family or caste 
 they are utterly heedless of what is going on. Within the last few years there 
 has been a change for the better; the famines have enlarged their sympathies, 
 and the political future of the Hindu people is more hopeful now than at any for- 
 mer period of their history.
 
 320 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 by Colonel Olive. The expedition reached Calcutta on the 
 1st of January, 1757. There was very little fighting. The 
 Moghul commander at Hughli had been appointed governor 
 of Calcutta, and he fled in a panic on the arrival of the En- 
 glish. On the 2d of January the English flag was hoisted 
 on Fort William. On the 10th the English advanced to the 
 native town of Hughli, and speedily took possession of the 
 place. 1 
 
 All this while the Nawab had been puffed up by the cap- 
 ture of the European fortress at Calcutta. He threatened 
 to punish the French and Dutch in like manner; but they 
 professed implicit obedience, and sent him large sums of 
 money. He released his English prisoners, and thought 
 
 1 Some of the details of the fighting are valuable as illustrations of Asiatic 
 warfare. The approach to Calcutta was guarded by the fort of Budge-budge, 
 now spelled Baj-baj. Colonel Clive, over-confident and contemptuous of the 
 natives, expected to capture the place wituout much resistance ; and laid an 
 ambuscade to cut off the retreat of the Muhammadan garrison. The enemy, 
 however, attacked the ambuscade by surprise ; and nothing but the cool intrepid- 
 ity of Clive saved it from destruction. Meanwhile the artillery hi the fort played 
 upon the English squadron, and was only silenced by a heavy fire from the 
 shipping. 
 
 Under these circumstances Clive prepared to storm the place on the following 
 morning. At night, while the storming party was resting on the ground, and all 
 on board the shipping were retiring to rest, a roar of acclamation was heard from 
 the shore, and news was brought to Admiral "Watson that Baj-baj had been cap- 
 tured. It appeared that a drunken sailor named Strahan, having a cutlass in 
 one hand and a pistol in the other, had scaled a breach single-handed, fired his 
 pistol, and rushed 011 the Muhammadan sentinels with wild huzzas. Two or 
 three other sailors heard the uproar, and followed their comrade with shouts and 
 yells. The garrison fled in a panic. The storming party of soldiers burst in 
 pell-mell, without order or discipline, and found themselves in possession of the 
 fort, with eighteen cannon and forty barrels of powder. 
 
 Admiral Watson thought it necessary for the sake of discipline to be very 
 angry with Strahan; but the fellow said that he meant no harm, and promised 
 never to take a fort again without orders. Subsequently the admiral would have 
 made the man a boatswain, but his habits were against him. It was afterward 
 discovered that Strahan's ambition was to be appointed cook on board one of the 
 ships, but whether his ambition was gratified is unknown to history. 
 
 Another absurd occurrence took place after the capture of Hughli. Three 
 English sailors were missing, and were supposed to have been killed or seriously 
 wounded. At night the officers on board the ships saw that several villages were 
 in flames. Next morning the three sailors appeared floating on a raft. They 
 had found themselves deserted by their companions, and had set the villages on 
 fire to make the inhabitants believe that the English forces were still on shore. 
 Subsequently they had found the raft, and escaped in safety before the natives 
 had recovered from their panic.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 321 
 
 that hostilities were at an end. It never crossed his mind 
 that the English would return in force and demand com- 
 pensation and revenge. But the recovery of Calcutta and 
 capture of Hughli filled him with alarm. He marched a 
 large army toward Calcutta, but professed a desire for peace 
 and friendship, and promised to compensate the English for 
 all their losses. 
 
 At the same time Clive himself was anxious for peace. 
 All his thoughts were occupied by the coming war with 
 France. He would have abandoned all ideas of punishment 
 or revenge, provided that the Nawab compensated the En- 
 glish for their losses, and permitted him to capture the French 
 settlement at Chandernagore. 
 
 The Nawab agreed to everything that Clive proposed, but 
 he was resolved in his own heart to do nothing. A treaty 
 was concluded without the slightest difficulty; but Clive 
 soon found that the Nawab had only made peace in order 
 to gain time and procure help from the French. The Nawab 
 promised to compensate the English for their losses at the 
 capture of Calcutta, but he evaded every demand for a set- 
 tlement. He sent letters and presents to Bussy, requesting 
 him to march up from the Dekhan and drive the English out 
 of Bengal. He forbade the English to attack the French; 
 but news arrived that the Afghans had captured Delhi, and 
 intended conquering Bengal. In his terror he implored Clive 
 to help him against the Afghans. Under the influence of 
 this terror he permitted the English to attack Chanderna- 
 gore, but then withdrew his permission. Both Clive and 
 "Watson considered the withdrawal as an indignity, and 
 sailed against Chandernagore and captured it. The Nawab 
 then sent letters of congratulation to Clive and Watson; and 
 actually offered to make over the territory of Chandernagore 
 to the English on the same terms that it had been held by 
 the French. 
 
 Meanwhile the dissimulation of the Nawab reached a 
 climax. He harbored the French refugees from Chander 
 nagore ; and then supplied them with funds, and sent them
 
 322 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 up country. He posted a force at Plassy, on the way to 
 Calcutta, under the command of an officer named Mir Jafir; 
 and when Clive remonstrated with him on this hostile dem- 
 onstration, he joined Mir Jafir at Plassy with the whole of 
 his army. 
 
 At this juncture there was a widely spread disaffection 
 against the Nawab. Mir Jafir at Plassy and Jagat Seth, 
 the Hindu banker at Murshedabad, were deeply implicated, 
 and they invited Clive to join in the general conspiracy. It 
 was agreed that Clive should march an army to Plassy, and 
 that Mir Jafir should desert the Nawab and join the English 
 army with all his forces; and a treaty was concluded under 
 which Suraj-ud-daula was to be dethroned, and Mir Jafir 
 was to be proclaimed Nawab in his room. 
 
 Unfortunately the communication between the head con- 
 spirators and Clive was carried on through a Hindu named 
 Omichund. This man threatened to divulge the whole plot 
 to Suraj-ud-daula unless an article was inserted in the treaty 
 pledging Mir Jafir to pay him three hundred thousand pounds 
 sterling as the price of his silence. There is no doubt that 
 Omichund was a consummate rascal without honor or shame ; 
 but the mode adopted for keeping him quiet was a slur upon 
 the English character. Omichund was duped with a sham 
 treaty containing the desired clause, which was omitted from 
 the real treaty. Clive and others signed the sham treaty, but 
 Watson refused to sign any treaty but the real one. Clive 
 added the name of Watson to the sham treaty with the full 
 knowledge of the admiral; and he invariably urged to the 
 day of his death that he was fully justified in all he had 
 done. 1 
 
 Clive advanced from Calcutta to Plassy with a small force 
 
 1 This sham treaty is the one blot on dive's public character. He did not per- 
 sonally derive any advantage from it; he thought himeelf justified in taking such 
 a step for defeating the perfidy of a villain like Omichund. He would not have 
 been condemned by the public opinion of Orientals, who regard all such fabrica- 
 tions as justifiable against an enemy. But it lias been universally condemned 
 by the public opinion of Europe, and will stain the memory of Olive until the 
 end of time.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 323 
 
 of three thousand men and nine pieces of artillery. The army 
 of the Nawab consisted of fifty thousand foot, eighteen thou- 
 sand horse, and fifty pieces of artillery. * The famous battle 
 was fought on the 23d of June, 1757. It was little better 
 than a cannonade. Mir Jafir did nothing, and the whole 
 brunt of the fighting fell upon the English. At last the En- 
 glish advanced to storm the camp of the Nawab, and Suraj- 
 ud-daula was seized with a panic and fled from the field. 
 
 Olive next went to Murshedabad and placed Mir Jafir on 
 the throne. The new Nawab was profuse with his presents 
 and promises, but his resources are supposed to have been 
 greatly exaggerated. The treasures of Suraj-ud-daula had 
 been estimated at forty millions sterling, but only a million 
 and a half was realized. Mir Jafir engaged to pay a million 
 to the East India Company ; three-quarters of a million to 
 the inhabitants of Calcutta, natives as well as Europeans; 
 and vast presents to Clive and other members of govern- 
 ment. As a first instalment, a hundred boatloads of silver, 
 to the value of eight hundred thousand pounds, were sent 
 down the river to Calcutta, and the whole population of the 
 English settlement was wild with joy. 
 
 Besides money the new Nawab ceded a large tract on the 
 river Hughli, which had long been coveted by the East India 
 Company. It was given as a jaghir according to Moghul 
 fashion ; the Company collected the yearly revenue, valued 
 at a hundred thousand pounds sterling, but was required to 
 pay a quit-rent of thirty thousand pounds, nominally to the 
 Great Moghul. 
 
 Clive was a great stickler for Moghul forms. It will be 
 seen hereafter that the recognition of the effete sovereignty 
 of the Great Moghul was the keystone of his policy. Mir 
 Jafir was virtually created a Nawab by Clive ; for all prac- 
 tical purposes he was an independent sovereign; yet he 
 
 1 No reliance whatever can be placed upon the estimated numbers of any 
 native army. It is mere guess work. Clive himself reckoned the army of the 
 Nawab to consist of thirty-five thousand foot, fifteen thousand horse, and forty 
 pieces of cannon.
 
 324 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 deemed it necessary to procure letters of investiture from 
 the Moghul court for the three provinces of Bengal, Behar, 
 and Orissa. At the same time Clive was created an Amir 
 of the Moghul empire, with the honorary rank or command 
 of six thousand foot and five thousand horse. Of course the 
 force only existed on paper, but Clive asked for the jaghir 
 supposed to be given for its maintenance. Mir Jafir was per- 
 plexed at the demand, but finally made over the quit-rent of 
 the jaghir previously granted to the Company. Thus Clive 
 came into possession of thirty thousand a year payable by 
 the East India Company, who were supposed to be his hon- 
 orable masters. 
 
 The revolution effected by the battle of Plassy involved 
 the English in endless difficulties which no one had foreseen. 
 The process of dethroning Suraj-ud-daula and setting up Mir 
 Jafir in his room was a simple affair; but Mir Jafir had no 
 hold upon the grandees, and was soon regarded with jealousy 
 and hatred, especially when they saw the boats loaded with 
 silver going down to Calcutta. It was soon evident that as 
 the English alone had placed Mir Jafir on the throne of Ben- 
 gal and Behar, so the English alone would be able to keep 
 him there. 
 
 To make matters worse, it was discovered that Mir Jafir 
 was unfit for the dignity. He had served with credit as a 
 commander in the field, but he had no administrative ability, 
 civil or military. He idled away most of his time under the 
 influence of bhang, or in the company of singing and danc- 
 ing girls. He complained of an empty treasury, and his 
 army was mutinous for want of pay ; but he always appeared 
 loaded with costly jewels, with five or six bracelets of differ- 
 ent gems on his arms, and three or four chaplets of pearls 
 hanging from his neck. 1 His son Miran rendered himself 
 
 1 There is reason to believe that the English were duped as regards the treas- 
 ures of Murshedabad, and that enormous wealth to the value of many millions 
 sterling was concealed in the recesses of the Nawab's palace, and shared by Mir 
 Jafir and some others. The author of the Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin says that the 
 English only knew of the outer treasury. "Those renowned English," says 
 Grholam Husain Khan, "who looked down with contempt on the intellects and
 
 BRITISH INDIA 325 
 
 detestable by murders and assassinations. Ten days after 
 the battle of Plassy, Suraj-ud-daula was taken prisoner and 
 cruelly murdered in the palace at Murshedabad. Other 
 members or partisans of the family, male and female, were 
 put to death in like manner. Mir Jafir threw all the blame 
 upon his son Miran. 
 
 The English were anxious to maintain the dignity of the 
 new Nawab by showing him every kind of deference ; but his 
 dependence on the "hat wallahs," and his morbid terror of 
 Clive, rendered him the laughing-stock of his courtiers. 
 Within a few months of his accession he was nicknamed 
 "Colonel Olive's Jackass," and he retained the title till his 
 death. The storj 7 is told of a fray between the followers of 
 a Moghul grandee and the servants of Clive. The Nawab 
 warned the grandee against any rupture. The grandee re- 
 plied with a sneer: "My lord Nawab, I am not likely to 
 quarrel with the Colonel. I never rise in the morning with- 
 out making three salams to his Jackass, and am the last 
 man to fall out with the rider." Such stories tell more of 
 the current feeling at Murshedabad than pages of description. 1 
 
 In truth the change of Nawabs had revolutionized the 
 political ideas of all the great men at court. Before the cap- 
 ture of Calcutta, the English had only appeared at Mursheda- 
 bad as supplicants for trading privileges. After the battle 
 of Plassy they were lords and masters, to be propitiated as 
 the representatives of a new and paramount power. Under 
 such circumstances it was only natural that they should be 
 
 abilities of the Bengalis, and yet are perpetually baffled and duped by them, did 
 not know anything of the inner treasury, said to contain money and jewels to 
 the value of eight millions sterling, and which, pursuant to a custom well known 
 in India, was kept in the Zenana, or women's apartments. This inner treasury 
 was shared by Mir Jafir and three natives." The author adds that two of the 
 natives were writers in the service of Clive, whose respective salaries were only 
 sixty rupees a month, or about four shillings per diem ; yet ten years afterward 
 one of these men died worth a million and a quarter sterling, wliile the other 
 spent ninety thousand pounds on his mother's funeral alone. Siyar-ul-Mutaq- 
 herin, vol. i., p. 773. 
 
 1 Mill tells the story in his History of India, and Macaulay copies it in hia 
 Essay on Clive ; but both missed the point from ignorance of Mir Jafir's nick- 
 name. See Stewart's History of Bengal Also Scott's Dekhan, vol. ii., p. 376.
 
 326 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 feared and hated ; and those Moghuls who were loudest in 
 their praises of the English would gladly have seen them 
 at the bottom of the sea. 
 
 Another circumstance was calculated to exasperate Mir 
 Jafir and the Moghuls against the English. Alivardi Khan 
 had filled all the higher offices and commands with Hindus, 
 who were raised to the rank of Rajas, and thus served as 
 checks upon the Zemindars, who were mostly Muhamma- 
 dans. His prime minister was a Hindu, and a so-called 
 Raja; so were the governors of most of the towns and 
 districts. Such nominal Rajas were more amenable to 
 orders, and less likely to rebel, than turbulent Muhamma- 
 dans. Mir Jafir wanted to remove them from their posts, 
 and replace them by his own kinsmen and dependents. The 
 result was that plots and intrigues were seething in all di- 
 rections. Some of the Hindu Rajas were in fear of their 
 lives, and implored the protection of the English. Olive 
 guaranteed the lives of some of these Hindus, but he could 
 not keep them in their posts; and thus disaffection was 
 spreading over the province, while the English were more 
 feared and hated than ever. 
 
 But this fear and hate were only felt by the grandees. 
 The general complaint of the natives was that the English 
 did not interfere to protect the people. A native contempo- 
 rary observes that the presence of mind, firmness of temper, 
 and undaunted bravery of the English were beyond all ques- 
 tion ; but they took no heed of the husbandmen, and were 
 apathetic and indifferent to the suffering masses. 
 
 Suddenly Mir Jafir was threatened with new dangers. 
 The Mahrattas demanded arrears of chout for Bengal and 
 Behar, and it was difficult to evade the claim. ' They had 
 compelled Alivardi Khan to pay chout; and they conse- 
 quently claimed it as their right from his successors. They 
 did not enforce the payment by the actual invasion of Ben- 
 
 1 The chout for Behar and Bengal was claimed by the Bhonsla Raja of Berar 
 or Nagpore. At this time Janoji Bhonsla was the reigning Raja. The history 
 of the Mahratta empire and its feudatories will be given hereafter in Chapter Y.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 327 
 
 gal ; but it is evident that they were only restrained by a 
 wholesome fear of Olive. 
 
 In 1758 the eldest son of the Great Moghul, known as 
 the Shahzada, appeared in force near the Behar frontier at 
 the river Carumnassa, proclaiming that he had been ap- 
 pointed to the government of Bengal, Behar and Orissa by 
 the Great Moghul. His cause was supported by Shuja-ud- 
 daula, the Nawab of Oude ; and also by a body of French- 
 men under M. Law, the ex-governor of Chandernagore. At 
 the same time the Hindu deputy-governor of Behar, who had 
 been threatened by Mir Jafir, was naturally intriguing with 
 the Shahzada, and inclined to open the way to the invaders. 
 
 The appearance of the Shahzada brings the Great Moghul 
 upon the stage, and necessitates a glance at the progress of 
 affairs at Delhi. Ever since the death of Muhammad Shah 
 in 1748, the Mogbul capital had been torn by distractions. 
 Muhammad Shah had been succeeded by his son Ahmad 
 Shah. The new Padishah found himself threatened by the 
 Afghans on one side, and the Mahrattas on the other. At 
 the same time the post of Vizier was a bone of contention 
 between the Sunnis and the Shiahs : the Sunnis as represented 
 by a grandson of Nizam-ul-mulk, named Ghazi-ud-din ; and 
 the Shiahs as represented by the Nawab of Oude. 1 In the 
 end the Sunnis triumphed, and Ghazi-ud-din became Vizier. 
 
 Ghazi-ud-din aspired to exercise the sovereign power under 
 the name of Vizier, just as the Saiyids had done in a previous 
 generation. He found Ahmad Shah restive and dangerous, 
 and consequently dethroned him, blinded him, and consigned 
 him to the state prison of Salimghur. He next placed an 
 imbecile old prince on the throne of Delhi, under the name 
 
 1 The Nawab of Oude at this time was Sufdar Jung. He had married a 
 daughter of Saadut Ali Khan, and succeeded to the government of Oude on the 
 death of his father in 1739. (See ante, p. 265.) He obtained the post of Vizier 
 during the reign of Ahmad Shah, son of Muhammad Shah ; but was subsequently 
 forced to leave Delhi through the intrigues of Ghazi-ud-din. In 1753 Sufdar 
 Jung collected a large force, and besieged Delhi ; and ultimately compelled the 
 Moghul court to give him a formal grant of the provinces of Oude and Allahabad 
 for himself and his heirs. He died shortly afterward, and was succeeded by his 
 son, the celebrated Shuja-ud-daula. His touib is one of the sights at Delhi.
 
 828 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 of Alamghir. He then treated the Padishah as a pageant, 
 and usurped the sovereign authority, selling titles and letters 
 of investiture to Nawabs in remote provinces, and raising 
 money in every possible way. 
 
 In 1757, the year of the battle of Plassy, matters were 
 brought to a terrible standstill. Ahmad Shah Abdali, the 
 founder of the Afghan empire, appeared at Delhi with a 
 large army, and levied contributions from the inhabitants, 
 with all the merciless ferocity of an old officer of Nadir Shah. 
 He next marched down the valley of the Jumna to the 
 sacred city of Mathura, plundering and destroying after 
 the manner of Mahmud of Ghazni. He seems however to 
 have had some respect for the sovereignty of the Great Mo- 
 ghul. He allied himself with the family of the Moghul 
 by marrying a daughter of the deceased Muhammad Shah. 
 He appointed an Afghan, named Najib-ud-daula to be Amir 
 of Amirs, and to act as guardian for Alamghir in the room 
 of Ghazi-ud-din, the Vizier, who had fled into exile. Hav- 
 ing thus arranged matters to his satisfaction, Ahmad Shah 
 Abdali left Delhi and returned with the bulk of his army 
 to Kandahar. 
 
 The Afghans at this period were threatening to become 
 a formidable power in India. They already occupied the 
 Punjab, and neither Sikhs, Moghuls, nor Mahrattas could 
 drive them out. They had long founded a powerful princi- 
 pality in Hindustan to the northeast of Delhi, in a region 
 known as the Rohilla country; it has disappeared from 
 modern maps, but the principality is represented to this day 
 by the little state of Rampore. Najib-ud-daula, the new 
 guardian of the Moghul sovereign, was an Afghan of the 
 Rohilla country. In a word the Afghans were in a fair way 
 of supplanting the Moghuls, and once again becoming the 
 dominant power in Hindustan. 
 
 No sooner, however, had Ahmad Shah Abdali gone off 
 to Kandahar, than Ghazi-ud-din, the ex- Vizier, subverted 
 the Afghan power at Delhi. He raised a vast body of Mah- 
 ratta mercenaries; drove out Najib-ud-daula; murdered or
 
 BRITISH INDIA 829 
 
 imprisoned all the grandees who had opposed him ; reduced 
 Alamghir to the condition of a puppet, and sought to murder 
 the Shahzada, or eldest son and heir of Alamghir. 
 
 Thus it was that the Shahzada fled from Delhi in terror 
 of his life. For a year the imperial exile fished in troubled 
 waters, seeking in turns the protection of the Rohilla Af- 
 ghans and the Mahrattas. At last he took refuge with 
 Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oude, the hereditary Shiah and 
 mortal enemy of Ghazi-ud-din. 1 But the Nawab of Oude 
 was in no hurry to commit himself. He cared nothing for 
 the Shahzada, but was very anxious to get the Bengal prov- 
 inces into his own hands. He sent a force to accompany 
 the Shahzada to the Behar frontier, and then waited for 
 events. 
 
 Meanwhile Clive and Mir Jafir were drawn into an ex- 
 traordinary correspondence with the Shahzada, and also 
 with the Moghul court at Delhi. Clive received friendly 
 letters from the Shahzada, who was anxious to win the sup- 
 port of the ever- victorious English general. Mir Jafir, how- 
 ever, received orders from the Vizier, and also from the 
 Great Moghul, to arrest the Shahzada, and send him pris- 
 oner to Delhi. So Clive wrote back to the Shahzada that 
 he had been created an Amir of the empire, and was conse- 
 quently bound to support Mir Jafir, who had been invested 
 by the Great Moghul with the government of Bengal, Behar, 
 and Orissa. 
 
 The military operations that followed are of no interest. 
 Mir Jafir was in a helpless state of terror, and wanted to 
 bribe the Shahzada to go away. Clive vehemently remon- 
 strated against this ruinous proceeding, and marched an 
 English force to Patna, and soon disposed of the Shahzada. 
 The helpless prince fled into obscurity, but was reduced to 
 such distress that Clive sent him a present of five hundred 
 
 1 Ghazi-ud-din was, as already said, the grandson of Nizam-ul-mulk, and 
 consequently the hereditary Turk and Sunni. The race difference between 
 Moghul and Turk, and the religious antagonism between Shiah and Sunni, will 
 clear up much of the confusion that has prevailed in the history of Muhamma- 
 dan India.
 
 330 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 gold mohurs, or about eight hundred pounds sterling, which 
 was gladly accepted. 
 
 M. Law and his Frenchmen, who had accompanied the 
 Shahzada through all his troubles, were again thrown upon 
 their own resources. Law remarked to an intelligent native 
 that he had travelled over the whole country from Bengal 
 to Delhi, and witnessed nothing but oppression. The gran- 
 dees of Hindustan thought only of their own aggrandize- 
 ment, and let the world go to ruin. He had proposed to 
 both the Vizier at Delhi and the Nawab of Oude to restore 
 order to the Moghul empire, as the re-establishment of the 
 authority of the Moghul throughout Hindustan would render 
 it easy to drive the English out of Bengal ; but no one paid 
 the slightest heed to his representations. Law failed to per- 
 ceive that the order which he proposed to restore would have 
 been destructive alike to the Delhi Vizier and the Nawab of 
 Oude. 
 
 Meanwhile the successes of the French in the Dekhan and 
 Peninsula were forced upon the attention of Olive. In 1756 
 the collision between the English and French in the Dekhan 
 had been averted for a while by the disaster at Calcutta, 
 which called away the English force from Madras on the eve 
 of its march to Hyderabad. In 1757 Bussy made his peace 
 with Salabut Jung, and returned to the Northern Circars, 
 where he came into collision with Hindu Poligars of the old 
 Rajput type. Amid all the vicissitudes of Moghul rule these 
 Poligars had maintained a secure independence in hills and 
 jungles ; they were nominally pledged to pay tribute to the 
 Nizam, but they withheld payment whenever they had an 
 opportunity. Had they been united they might have resisted 
 the demands of the French ; but they were at deadly feud 
 with each other; and one of them, known as the Raja of 
 Vizianagram, managed to turn the wrath of Bussy against 
 his neighbor of Bobili, who for generations had been his 
 mortal enemy. The Raja of Bobili claimed to be a Rajput 
 of high descent, whose ancestors had fought under the 
 ancient Maharajas of Jagganath in the old mythical wars
 
 BEITISH INDIA 331 
 
 against the south. He affected to scorn his Vizianagram 
 neighbor as a low-born chieftain of a new creation; and his 
 retainers wreaked their spite, by turning off the rivulets 
 which ran into Vizianagram territory. Bussy was induced 
 to take a part in the rivalry ; and ultimately to revenge some 
 unexplained outrage by driving the Bobili Raja out of his 
 hereditary territories. 
 
 The catastrophe that followed is a terrible story of Raj- 
 put desperation and revenge. The Bobili Raja retired to a 
 remote stronghold in a deep jungle. Bussy broke down the 
 battlements with his cannon, but for a long time failed to 
 capture the place. The Rajput garrison was exposed to a 
 withering fire, but resisted the escalading parties with the 
 ferocity of wild beasts defending their dens and families. 
 At last resistance was in vain. The garrison gathered all 
 the women and children into the habitations in the centre 
 of the fort, and set the whole on fire, stabbing or cutting 
 down any one who attempted to escape. They then returned, 
 like frantic demons, to die upon the walls. Quarter was 
 refused, and the Raja perished with all his retainers, sword 
 in hand. The French entered the fort in triumph, but there 
 was no joy in the victory, and the sight of the horrible 
 slaughter moved them to tears. Presently an old man 
 appeared with a little boy ; he had saved the son of the Raja 
 contrary to the will of the father. 
 
 The death of the Bobili Raja was followed by speedy 
 retribution. Four retainers had seen him fall, and had es- 
 caped to the jungle and sworn to be revenged. One night 
 two of them crept to the quarters of the Raja of Viziana- 
 gram and stabbed him to death ; they were cut to pieces by 
 the guards, but died exulting in their crime. Had they 
 failed, the other two remaining in the jungle were bound 
 by the same oath to avenge the death of their Raja or 
 perish in the attempt. 1 
 
 1 Rajput revenge is the same in all ages. The revenge of the men of Bobili 
 is paralleled by the revenge of Aswatthama and his comrades on the sons of the 
 Pandavas, after the war of the Maha Bharata.
 
 332 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The other Poligars in the Northern Circars were so terri- 
 fied by the fate of Bobili that they hastened to settle all 
 arrears of tribute. The Poligar of Gumsur alone held out, 
 but was compelled in the end to submit in like manner. 
 
 During this expedition Bussy received letters from Suraj- 
 ud-daula, inviting him to Bengal; and he would have 
 marched to the relief of the Nawab, but was stopped by 
 the news of the fall of Chandernagore. In revenge for that 
 capture he drove the English out of Vizagapatam, and took 
 possession of three other factories which they had established 
 further south on the coast of the delta of the Godavari. 
 
 A native contemporary writer contrasts the personal ap- 
 pearance of Bussy with that of Olive, and treats each in turn 
 as a type of the French and English nations. Bussy wore 
 embroidered clothes or brocade. He and his officers rode on 
 elephants, preceded by "chopdars," or mace-bearers with 
 silver sticks, while musicians and eulogists were singing his 
 praises. He received state visits while sitting on a throne 
 embroidered with the arms of the King of France. His 
 table was served with plate, and with three or four services. 
 Olive always wore his regimentals in the field, and never 
 wore silk except in town. He always rode on horseback. 
 He kept a plentiful table, but in no way delicate, and never 
 with more than two services. ' 
 
 In 1758 the fortunes of the French in India underwent 
 an entire change. In April a French fleet arrived at Pondi- 
 cherry. It brought a large force under the command of 
 Count de Lally, who had been appointed Governor-General 
 of the French possessions in India. Lally was imbued with 
 a bitter hatred against the English, and a profound distrust 
 in the honesty or patriotism of his own countrymen in India. 
 No sooner had he landed at Pondicherry than he organized 
 an expedition against Fort St. David; but he found that no 
 
 1 Gholam Busain Ali in the Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin. He adds that "Warren 
 Hastings, who plays a part in the after history, always wore a plain coat of En- 
 glish broadcloth, and never anything like lace or embroidery. His throne was a 
 plain chair of mahogany. He was sparing in his diet, and Ms table was some- 
 times neglected. His address showed little of pride and still less of familiarity.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 333 
 
 preparations had been made by the French authorities. 
 There was a want alike of coolies, draught cattle, provis- 
 ions, and ready money. But the energy of Lally overcame 
 all obstacles. Tile French authorities at Pondicherry accused 
 him of pressing natives and cattle; but Lally retorted by 
 declaring that the oppressions and rapacity of the French 
 government, and the extortions of its native servants, had 
 alone prevented his obtaining all that he required. 
 
 In June, 1758, Lally captured Fort St. David. He then 
 prepared to capture Madras as a preliminary to an advance 
 on Bengal. He recalled Bussy from the Dekhan to help 
 him with his Indian experiences; and he sent the Marquis 
 de Conflans to succeed Bussy in the command of the North- 
 ern Circars. 
 
 Bussy left the Dekhan with the utmost reluctance. He 
 had secured a paramount influence in the Northern Circars, 
 and was anxious to remain and protect Salabut Jung against 
 the designs of his younger brother Nizam Ali. Lally, how- 
 ever, was deaf to all remonstrances. He believed that Bussy 
 was either deluded by others or desirous of deceiving him ; 
 and he was confirmed in this belief when he found that 
 Bussy, notwithstanding his alleged conquests and command- 
 ing position, had no funds at his disposal, and was unable to 
 raise any money for the prosecution of the war against the 
 English. 
 
 The departure of Bussy from the Northern Circars was 
 disastrous to the French. The Raja of Vizianagram revolted 
 against the French and sent to Calcutta for help. Clive 
 despatched an English force to the Northern Circars, under 
 the command of Colonel Forde; and in December, 1758, 
 Colonel Forde defeated the French under Conflans, and 
 prepared to recover all the English factories on the coast 
 which had been captured by Bussy. 
 
 Meanwhile Count de Lally was actively engaged at Pondi- 
 cherry in preparations for the siege of Madras. He hoped to 
 capture Madras, and complete the destruction of the English 
 in the Carnatic ; and then to march northward, capture Cal-
 
 334 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 cutta, and expel the English from Bengal. But he was with- 
 out resources; there was no money to be had in Pondicherry. 
 At last he raised a small sum, chiefly out of his own funds, 
 and began the march to Madras ; his officers preferring to 
 risk death before the walls of Madras to certain starvation 
 within the walls of Pondicherry. 
 
 Lally reached Madras on the 12th of December, 1758, and 
 at once took possession of Black town. He then began the 
 siege of Fort St. George with a vigor and activity which com- 
 manded the respect of his enemies. His difficulties were enor- 
 mous. For six weeks his officers and soldiers were on half 
 pay ; for another six weeks they received no pay at all. Dur- 
 ing the last fifteen days they had no provisions except rice 
 and butter. Even the gunpowder was nearly exhausted. 
 At last on the 16th of February, 1759, an English fleet ar- 
 rived at Madras under Admiral Pocock, and Lally was com- 
 pelled to raise the siege. Such was the state of party feeling 
 among the French in India that the retreat of Lally from 
 Madras was received at Pondicherry with every demonstra- 
 tion of joy. 
 
 The career of Lally in India lasted for two years longer, 
 namely from February, 1759, to February, 1761 ; it is a series 
 of hopeless struggles and wearying misfortunes. In the Dek- 
 han, Salabut Jung had been thrown into the utmost alarm 
 by the departure of Bussy and defeat of Conflans. He . was 
 exposed to the intrigues and plots of his younger brother 
 Nizam Ali, and he despaired of obtaining further help from 
 the French. Accordingly he opened up negotiations with 
 Colonel Forde and the English. Forde on his part recovered 
 all the captured factories, and drove the French out of the 
 Northern Circars. He could not, however, interfere in the 
 domestic affairs of the Dekhan, by helping Salabut Jung 
 against Nizam Ali. In 1761 Salabut Jung was dethroned 
 and placed in confinement; and Nizam Ali ascended the 
 throne at Hyderabad as ruler of the Dekhan. 1 
 
 1 Two years afterward Salabut Jung was murdered. By the treaty of Paris, 
 concluded between Great Britain and France in 1763, both nations agreed to rec-
 
 BRITISH INDIA 335 
 
 In the Carnatic the French were in despair. In January, 
 1760, Lally was defeated by Colonel Coote at "Wandiwash, 
 between Madras and Pondicherry. Lally opened up nego- 
 tiations with Hyder Ali, who was rising to power in Mysore ; 
 but Hyder Ali as yet could do little or nothing. 
 
 At the end of 1760 Colonel Coote began the siege of Pondi- 
 cherry. Lally still held out at Pondicherry, but he was ill 
 in health, and worn out with vexation and fatigue. The 
 settlement was torn by dissensions. In January, 1761, the 
 garrison was starved into a capitulation, and the town and 
 fortifications were levelled with the ground. A few weeks 
 afterward the French were compelled to surrender the strong 
 hill-fortress of Jinji, and their military power in the Carnatic 
 was brought to a close. 
 
 The fate of Lally is more to be pitied than that of Dupleix. 
 He had not sought his own aggrandizement, but the honor 
 and glory of the French nation ; and he had been thwarted 
 by the apathy of selfish traders who cared only for them- 
 selves. On his return to France he was sacrificed to save 
 the reputation of the French ministers. France was furious 
 at the loss of her possessions in India, and the enemies of 
 Lally combined to make him the victim. The unfortunate 
 Count, after an honorable service of forty-five years, was 
 thrown into the Bastile; and a number of vague or frivo- 
 lous charges were trumped up against him. He was tried 
 by the parliament of Paris, but backbiting and detraction 
 had poisoned the mind of the nation against him, and Lally 
 was a ruined man. In May, 1766, he was condemned not 
 only to death, but to immediate execution. The suddenness 
 of the doom drove him frantic. He took a pair of compasses 
 with which he had been sketching a map of the coast of Coro- 
 mandel and tried to drive them to his heart. His hand was 
 
 ognize Salabut Jung as the rightful ruler of Hyderabad territory, although at 
 that moment Salabut Jung was confined in a fortress, and Nizam Ali occupied 
 the throne of Hyderabad. Nizam Ali, however, removed all diplomatic difficul- 
 ties by putting his brother to death. Nizam Ali lived on till 1803. Next to his 
 father, Nizam-ul-mulk, Nizam Ali is the best known ruler of the dynasty.
 
 336 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 stayed, his mouth was gagged, and he was dragged with 
 ignominy to execution. Thus fell the last of the three mar- 
 tyrs of the French East India Company Labourdonnais, 
 Dupleix, and Lally. 
 
 Meanwhile there had been great changes in Bengal. In 
 June, 1758, Clive had been appointed Governor of all the 
 Company's settlements in Bengal. In 1759 Lally had been 
 compelled to raise the siege of Madras, and Forde had pur- 
 sued his career of victory in the Northern Circars. There 
 was nothing further to fear from the French in India ; and 
 in February, 1760, Clive resigned his post in Bengal and re- 
 turned to England. He was succeeded for a few months by 
 Mr. Holwell, and afterward by Mr. Vansittart ; but the times 
 were out of joint. No one but Clive seemed to comprehend 
 the revolutionary character of the crisis ; and the Company's 
 government in Bengal drifted on, it knew not where, like 
 a ship laboring through a troubled sea. 
 
 Before Clive left India he was convinced that so long as 
 Mir Jafir was allowed to reign as Nawab, the Company's 
 settlements in Bengal would be exposed to sore peril. Hin- 
 dustan was swarming with adventurers at the head of war- 
 like bands, Mahratta and Afghan; and Mir Jafir and his 
 rabble army would have been powerless of themselves to 
 contend against such hardy warriors. A permanent force 
 of two thousand European soldiers, and a corresponding 
 army of drilled sepoys, could maintain Bengal and Behar 
 against all comers ; but who was to pay the cost? The en- 
 tire revenue of the provinces was swallowed up by the Na- 
 wab ; and it was out of the question that the Company should 
 maintain such a force out of the profits of their trade, even 
 supposing that they could bear the strain. 
 
 Under these circumstances Clive made a proposal to Mr.* 
 William Pitt, the great war minister of England ; and coming, 
 as it did, from a servant of the Company, it must have some- 
 what staggered that illustrious statesman. He proposed that 
 the British nation, and not the Company, should take pos- 
 session of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa in full sovereigntyc
 
 BRITISH INDIA 337 
 
 He explained that the Great Moghul would readily grant 
 the three provinces to any one who would guarantee the 
 regular yearly payment of some half million sterling to the 
 imperial treasury. He further explained that the Vizier had 
 already offered him the post of Dewan, or collector of the 
 revenue for the three provinces, on these conditions. He 
 summed up the advantages to the British nation as follows. 
 The total revenue was certainly two if not three millions. 
 Thus after deducting half a million as tribute to the Great 
 Moghul, and another half a million for the maintenance of a 
 military force, there would remain a handsome surplus for 
 the payment of the national debt, or any other national un- 
 dertaking. ' 
 
 Pitt was not inclined to accept Olive's proposal. He feared 
 that the acquisition of Bengal would render the British Crown 
 
 1 Clive'a letter to Pitt was dated 7th of January, 1759. (See Malcolm's Life 
 of Olive, vol. ii.) Strange to say, a similar proposal had been drawn up by a 
 Colonel James Mill as far back as 1746. Colonel Mill planned the conquest of 
 Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, under the flag of Germany, and in behalf of the 
 Great Moghul. The original paper may be found in the Appendix to Bolt's 
 Affairs in Bengal. The following remarks throw a curious light on the con- 
 temporary condition of the Moghul empire : 
 
 "The Moghul empire," says Colonel Mill, "is overflowing with gold and 
 silver. She has always been feeble and defenceless. It is a miracle that no 
 European prince with a maritime power has ever attempted the conquest of Ben- 
 gal. By a single stroke infinite wealth might be acquired, which would counter- 
 balance the mines of Brazil and Peru. 
 
 "The policy of the Moghuls is bad; their army is worse; they are without 
 a navy. The empire is exposed to perpetual revolts. Their ports and rivers are 
 open to foreigners. The country might be conquered, or laid under contribution, 
 as easily as the Spaniards overwhelmed the naked Indians of America. 
 
 "A rebel subject named Alivardi Khan has torn away the three provinces of 
 Bengal, Behar, and Orissa from the Moghul empire. He has treasure to the 
 value of thirty millions sterling. His yearly revenue must be at least two mil- 
 lions. The provinces are open to the sea. Three ships with fifteen hundred or 
 two thousand regulars would suffice for the conquest of the three provinces, 
 which might be carried out in the name of the Great Moghul, for the destruction 
 of a rebel against his lawful suzerainty." 
 
 The proposals of Colonel Mill have been overlooked by Indian historians; but 
 they are valuable as the outcome of his twenty years' experience of India during 
 the second quarter of the eighteenth century. The so-called Moghul empire had 
 reached a crisis and its conquest was inevitable ; and as no Asiatic power was 
 able to effect it, and no European power would accept the responsibility, the con- 
 quest was forced on a company of English traders, a contingency which alone 
 saved the people of India from becoming alternately the prey of Mahrattas and 
 Afghans. 
 X 15 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 338 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 too powerful, and might endanger the liberties of the English 
 people. Thus the grand scheme for acquiring possession of 
 Bengal for the British nation, rather than for the East India 
 Company, was allowed to drop into oblivion. 
 
 About this time there was another revolution at Delhi. 
 The Vizier discovered that his imperial master, Alamghir, 
 was corresponding with Ahmad Shah Abdali, and inviting 
 the Afghan ruler to return to Delhi. Accordingly he treach- 
 erously assassinated the aged Padishah, and tried to set up 
 another puppet to represent the Great Moghul. But his 
 career of ambition and atrocity was drawing to a close. 
 The avenging army of Afghans once more advanced to 
 Delhi under their dreaded ruler; and the Vizier fled away 
 from Delhi to begin a new set of intrigues : to stir up the 
 Mahrattas against the Afghans, and to oppose the return of 
 the Shahzada to Delhi. 
 
 The Mahrattas soon began to dispute with the Afghans 
 for the possession of the Moghul empire. The war lasted 
 some months, but was brought to a close in January, 1761, 
 by the terrible battle of Paniput in the neighborhood of 
 Delhi. 1 This battle was one of the bloodiest in the annals 
 of the world. On the 7th of January the Mahrattas were 
 defeated with horrible slaughter. A mob of fugitives escaped 
 to the village of Paniput, with a multitude of women and 
 children. The Afghans surrounded the village throughout 
 the night to cut off all chance of escape. Next morning the 
 male prisoners were brought out in files and beheaded in cold 
 blood. The women and children were carried away into 
 hopeless slavery. Generations passed away before the bloody 
 field of Paniput was forgotten by the Mahrattas. It was said 
 that two hundred thousand Mahrattas had fallen in that mur- 
 derous campaign. 
 
 Ahmad Shah Abdali was once more the arbiter of the fate 
 of the Moghul empire. He would have placed the Shahzada 
 
 1 The details of Mahratta history, before and after the battle of Paniput, will 
 be told hereafter in Chapter V.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 339 
 
 on the throne at Delhi, but the heir of the murdered Alamghir 
 was a fugitive and an exile. Accordingly he placed a son of 
 the Shahzada, named Jewan Bakht, upon the throne, to reign 
 as the deputy of his father. He also appointed Najib-ud- 
 daula, the Rohilla Afghan, to act as guardian of the young 
 prince under the title of Amir of Amirs, in the same way 
 that he had previously appointed him to be guardian of the 
 murdered Alamghir.
 
 340 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 REVOLUTIONARY THROES 
 
 A.D. 1761 TO 1766 
 
 THE year 1761, like 1748, is an epoch in Indian history. 
 It saw the fall of Pondicherry, the overthrow of the 
 Mahrattas, and the ascendency of the Afghans. The 
 revolution at Delhi brought the Shahzada once more to the 
 front, and the Moghul prince began to play a part in the his- 
 tory. He was proclaimed Padishah under the title of Shah 
 Alam ; and he assumed the dignity of Great Moghul by tak- 
 ing his seat upon a throne surmounted with the umbrella of 
 sovereignty. Finally he appointed Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab 
 of Oude, to the honorary but nominal post of Vizier of the 
 Moghul empire. 
 
 Shuja-ud-daula gladly accepted the empty title and hoped 
 to obtain solid advantages. The Mahrattas were prostrate; 
 the Afghan conqueror was favorable to Shah Alam; and 
 Clive had gone to England. Accordingly the Nawab Vizier 
 contemplated wresting Behar and Bengal from the feeble 
 hands of Mir Jafir in the name and under the authority of 
 the Great Moghul. 
 
 Shah Alam and the Nawab Vizier once more appeared 
 with a large army on the Behar frontier and threatened 
 Patna. The incapacity of Mir Jafir at this crisis was in- 
 sufferable. He was worse than useless, while his army was 
 a rabble in a chronic state of mutiny for want of pay. Mr. 
 Vansittart was Governor at Calcutta, and thought to meet 
 the difficulty by appointing a grandee of capacity to act as
 
 BRITISH INDIA 34] 
 
 a deputy Nawab, who would do all the work, while Mir 
 Jafir retained the name and dignity. 
 
 Mir Jafir had a son-in-law, named Mir Kasim, or Cossim, 
 who seemed a likely man for the post. Accordingly Gov- 
 ernor Vansittart proceeded to Murshedabad, and proposed 
 the measure to the Nawab and his son-in-law, but found 
 them both to be impracticable. Indeed both men were dis- 
 gusted with the proposal. Mir Kasim had been scheming to 
 become Nawab, and was angry at being offered the post of 
 deputy. Mir Jafir saw that he was to be shelved, and was 
 furious at the threatened loss of power. Accordingly, after 
 some vacillation Governor Vansittart determined to dethrone 
 Mir Jafir and set up Mir Kasim. 
 
 Of course there was a preliminary treaty with Mir Kasim, 
 and the Nawab expectant naturally yielded to every demand. 
 He pledged himself to respect every privilege that had been 
 granted to the English by Mir Jafir. He also agreed to pay 
 up all arrears due to the English from Mir Jafir ; to contrib- 
 ute fifty thousand pounds sterling toward the expenses of 
 the war against the French in the Carnatic; and to cede 
 the three districts of Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong, 
 which yielded a yearly revenue of half a million sterling. 
 By this last measure Mir Kasim hoped to guard against the 
 money disputes which had embittered the relations between 
 the English and Mir Jafir; as it provided for the military 
 defence of the provinces on the scale recommended by Olive, 
 without the necessity of paying hard cash out of the Nawab's 
 treasury. 
 
 In Oriental countries little can be done without presents. 
 Mir Jafir had been profuse in his presents to Olive and other 
 English officers and members of council ; and Mir Kasim was 
 prepared in like manner to purchase the favor and goodwill 
 of the English gentlemen at Calcutta. Accordingly Mir 
 Kasim offered twenty lakhs of rupees, or two hundred thou- 
 sand pounds sterling, to Governor Vansittart to be shared 
 by himself and members of the council. Vansittart, how- 
 ever, refused to take the money. Mr. Mill, thf historian of
 
 342 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 India, declares on the evidence of a native that the money 
 was accepted ;' but recent researches in the government rec- 
 ords at Calcutta prove beyond all question that the money 
 was refused, and that Mr. Vansittart was an upright and 
 honorable man. 
 
 The change of Nawabs was carried into effect without 
 any opposition. The people of Bengal were indifferent to 
 the revolution. Mir Jafir yielded to his fate, and gave up 
 the title as well as the dignity. But he was conscious that 
 his life was no longer safe at Murshedabad; and that he 
 would be murdered without scruple by the new Nawab to 
 prevent further complications. Accordingly, in spite of his 
 anger at the English for dethroning him, he hastened to 
 Calcutta and placed his family and treasures under their 
 protection. 
 
 The new Nawab soon paid off the arrears due to the En- 
 glish government at Calcutta, and also satisfied the claims 
 of his own army. He then took the field against Shah 
 Alam, accompanied by an English force under Major Car- 
 nac. The army of Shah Alam was utterly routed, and the 
 Nawab Vizier fled back to Oude. 
 
 But there was a political difficulty as regards Shah Alam. 
 He was generally recognized as the rightful Padishah and 
 Great Moghul; and though the assumed sovereignty was 
 but the shadow of a name, it was thought necessary to come 
 to terms with him. Accordingly Major Carnac paid a com- 
 plimentary visit to Shah Alam, and conducted the pageant 
 Padishah to Patna, the capital of Mir Kasim's province of 
 Behar. 
 
 At Patna the English factory was converted into a palace 
 for the installation of the Great Moghul. The centre room 
 was hung with stuffs and formed a hall of audience. The 
 dining-tables were covered with carpets and turned into an 
 
 1 For many years this groundless charge, originating with Mr. Mill, has clung 
 to the memory of Governor Vansittart. The evidence contradicting it may be 
 found in Chapter IX. of Early Records of British India, published by the author 
 of the present volume.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 343 
 
 imperial throne. Shah Alam was carried in grand proces- 
 sion to the factory and enthroned on the dining-tables. Mir 
 Kasim entered the hall and paid his homage to the Padishah, 
 and presented an honorary gift of a thousand and one gold 
 mohurs. 
 
 The English were dazzled with the ancient glory of the 
 Great Moghul; and Shah Alam profited accordingly. Let- 
 ters of investiture were procured from the Padishah confer- 
 ring the Nawabship of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, on Mir 
 Kasim ; but in return Mir Kasim was obliged to pledge him- 
 self to pay a yearly tribute of a quarter of a million sterling 
 to Shah Alam. Mir Kasim could have made better terms, 
 since he had Shah Alam in his power, and might have com- 
 pelled him by threats or torture to do his bidding ; but the 
 English interfered to protect the Great Moghul, and Mir 
 Kasim was foiled. But the English were foiled in their 
 turn. They asked Shah Alam to grant them letters of in- 
 vestiture for the three districts of Burdwan, Midnapore, and 
 Chittagong, which had been ceded by Mir Kasim. Also, as 
 a legal safeguard against any future contingency, they asked 
 for letters of investiture in behalf of Muhammad AH, the 
 Nawab they had set up in the Carnatic. The English seemed 
 to expect that these letters would be granted for nothing as 
 a matter of course ; or at any rate as a mark of gratitude on 
 the part of Shah Alam toward his foreign protectors. But 
 Shah Alam refused to give any letters of investiture unless 
 a corresponding yearly tribute was paid into the imperial 
 treasury. Accordingly Governor Vansittart was told that 
 if the English would pay tribute for the three districts, and 
 if the Nawab would also pay tribute for the Carnatic, let- 
 ters of investiture would be granted, but not otherwise. 
 
 At this time, however, Shah Alam would have granted 
 almost any request, provided only that the English would 
 conduct him to Delhi. Strange to say, the English were 
 prepared to carry out this extravagant scheme, and were 
 only prevented by sheer force of circumstances. Mir Kasim 
 refused to join in a madcap expedition to Delhi. Then again
 
 344 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the services of European soldiers were absolutely necessary; 
 and at this juncture a European regiment was detained in 
 the Carnatic to carry on the war against the French. Ac- 
 cordingly Vansittart was induced to negative a proposal 
 which would have withdrawn a British force to a distance 
 of a thousand miles from Calcutta, and left it to struggle as 
 it best could against the successive attacks of Mahrattas and 
 Afghans. 
 
 Shah Alam made Governor Vansittart the same offer of 
 the post of Dewan of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, which had 
 been made to Olive. But Vansittart was afraid to embroil 
 himself with Mir Kasim, and declined the offer. Accord- 
 ingly, Shah Alam returned to Oude, still harping upon going 
 to Delhi, and hoping that the Nawab Vizier would conduct 
 him there. 
 
 Mir Kasim had some inkling of these negotiations be- 
 tween Shah Alam and the English; especially of the offer 
 made to Vansittart of the post of Dewan for the three Ben- 
 gal provinces; and he must have been perfectly aware that 
 they foreboded no good to the permanence of his own au- 
 thority. Indeed, from this tune Mir Kasim appears to have 
 made preparations for coming to a collision with the English. 
 He reduced his expenditure; forced the Zemindars to pay up 
 arrears ; and squeezed Hindu officials and grandees of their 
 hoarded wealth. He discharged a large portion of his rab- 
 ble soldiery and formed an army of picked men. He cut off 
 all close relations with the English by removing his capital 
 from Murshedabad, which was little more than a hundred 
 miles from Calcutta, to Monghyr, which was more than 
 three hundred miles. At Monghyr he drilled his army hi 
 English fashion, cast guns, manufactured muskets, and pre- 
 pared for war. 
 
 In 1762 disputes arose between the English and Mir 
 Kasim about the payment of transit duties. Bengal was 
 traversed by waterways, and at every important turning a 
 toll-house was set up for collecting duties on all goods going 
 and coming. In former times the English had obtained
 
 BRITISH INDIA 345 
 
 firmans from the Moghul court at Delhi, granting them the 
 privilege of carrying goods, duty free, to any part of the 
 three provinces. Every boat claiming the privilege was 
 obliged to carry the English flag, and the Company's "per- 
 mit" or dustuck, bearing the Company's seal. In return 
 for this privilege the Company paid yearly a block sum of 
 three thousand rupees into the Nawab's treasury at Hughli. 
 
 Before the battle of Plassy this right of dustuck was re- 
 stricted by the Nawab to goods imported or exported by sea. 
 Moreover, it was confined to the goods belonging to the Com- 
 pany, and was never extended to private goods belonging to 
 the Company's servants. Indeed, before the battle of Plassy 
 none of the Company's servants had attempted to trade with 
 the people of Bengal on their private account. But after the 
 battle of Plassy there was an entire change. The English 
 were masters, and Mir Jafir pledged himself to permit all 
 goods of every kind and sort to be carried, duty free, under 
 the Company's dustuck, without any reservation as to whom 
 they belonged. 
 
 The consequence was that the Company's servants, whose 
 incomes depended infinitely more upon their private trade 
 than upon their official salaries, began to trade in the prod- 
 ucts of the country, such as salt, tobacco, betel, dried fish, oil, 
 ghee, rice, straw, ginger, sugar, and opium. Freedom from 
 duties enabled them to undersell all native dealers, and they 
 began to absorb the whole commerce of the country, to the 
 detriment of the Nawab's revenue, and the ruin of native 
 dealers. To crown all, every servant of the Company claimed 
 the privilege of using the Company's seal and selling dus- 
 tucks; and young writers, whose official salaries were only 
 fifteen or twenty pounds a year, were to be seen at Calcutta 
 spending fifteen hundred or two thousand. 
 
 The conduct of the native agents of the English gentle- 
 men was still more outrageous. Bengalis of no character or 
 position, who had been seen in Calcutta walking in rags, 
 were sent up country as agents or gomastas of the English. 
 They assumed the dress of English sepoys, displayed the
 
 846 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 English flag and Company's dustuck, set the Nawab's ser- 
 vants at defiance, and gave themselves all the airs of men 
 in office and authority. They compelled the natives to sell 
 their goods at half their market value, and to pay double 
 for all they required. They thus bullied sellers and buyers, 
 insulted the Nawab's officers, and probably cheated their 
 English masters. Mir Kasim bitterly complained that the 
 English gentlemen were crippling his revenues by withhold- 
 ing payment of duties, while their gomastas were bringing 
 his government into contempt in the eyes of the people of 
 the country. 
 
 Governor Vansittart was fully alive to these evils. So 
 was Mr. Warren Hastings, who at this time was a rising 
 man of thirty, and the youngest member of the Calcutta 
 council. Both Vansittart and Hastings contended that trade 
 in the country commodities ought not to be carried on by 
 the Company's servants to the prejudice of the Nawab's gov- 
 ernment. But they spoke to men whose daily gains were at 
 stake, and who were blind to all other considerations. More- 
 over, at this very time complaints arrived at Calcutta that the 
 Nawab's officers had stopped the boats belonging to the Com- 
 pany's servants and demanded payment of duties. The pas- 
 sions of the council were aroused. The majority demanded 
 the fulfilment of the privilege granted by Mir Jafir and con- 
 firmed by Mir Kasim; and no amount of pleading from 
 Vansittart or Hastings could lull the storm. 
 
 Governor Vansittart tried to bring about a compromise 
 by paying a visit to the Nawab at Monghyr ; but he lacked 
 judgment and firmness of temper, and vacillated between 
 the Nawab and his own council. In fact no one but a 
 strong-minded man like Clive could have arbitrated be- 
 tween a Nawab, indignant at the loss of revenue, and a 
 body of Englishmen, infuriated at the threatened loss of 
 income. The question of right or wrong was cast to the 
 winds. The Nawab considered himself to be an independ- 
 ent prince, confirmed in his sovereignty by the letters of the 
 Great Moghul. The majority of the English considered
 
 BRITISH INDIA 347 
 
 that the Nawab was a creature of their own, whom they 
 had raised to the throne, and might dethrone at will. 
 
 To make matters worse, the council at Calcutta was torn 
 by faction. Hitherto the Company's servants had been gen- 
 erally promoted by seniority; but Mr. Vansittart had been 
 brought up from Madras, and appointed Governor of the En- 
 glish settlements in Bengal, through the personal influence 
 of Clive. Vansittart had thus superseded a Bengal civilian 
 named Amyatt; and Amyatt opposed every measure pro- 
 posed by Vansittart, and was warmly supported by a ma- 
 jority of the Calcutta council. 
 
 In 1763 Mir Kasim brought matters to a crisis. He abol- 
 ished the payment of all duties ; and thus granted the same 
 privileges to his own subjects which had been monopolized 
 by the English gentlemen. This measure put the question 
 on a totally new footing. It stopped the sale of dustucks. 
 It silenced all wrangling as to the right of the servants of 
 the Company to deal in country commodities. It narrowed 
 down all controversy to the single point of whether the 
 Nawab had or had not a right to grant a remission of 
 duties to his own subjects. 
 
 The majority of the council at Calcutta decided that the 
 Nawab had no such right. The decision was unjust and 
 absurd ; but still the majority had a show of reason on their 
 side. They contended that the spirit and intention of the 
 treaty arrangements with Mir Jafir and Mir Kasim were to 
 grant exclusive privileges to the English servants of the 
 Company ; and they argued that the general exemption of 
 all his subjects from the payment of duties destroyed the 
 value of those exclusive privileges, and was thus a violation 
 of the spirit and intention of the treaties. They failed to see 
 that the monopoly had been broken by the force of circum- 
 stances, and could not be restored without a violation of 
 public law. Warren Hastings saw the point clearly. "The 
 Nawab," he said, "has granted a boon to his subjects; and 
 there are no grounds for demanding that a sovereign prince 
 should withdraw such a boon, or for threatening him with
 
 348 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 war in the event of refusal." In reply Hastings was told 
 that such language became an agent of the Nawab rather 
 than a member of the Calcutta council. Then followed a 
 retort, a blow, and a duel: and though Warren Hastings 
 obtained an apolgy from the offender, the resolution of the 
 council remained the same. 
 
 Meanwhile the isolated Englishmen at remote factories 
 were as violent as the council at Calcutta. If the Nawab's 
 officers stopped English boats, they were liable to be beaten 
 by English sepoys; and in some instances the Nawab's peo- 
 ple were sent down to Calcutta for trial by the English for 
 having obeyed the orders of their master. Mr. Ellis, the 
 chief of the factory at Patna, rendered himself particularly 
 obnoxious to the Nawab; yet his position was one of real 
 peril, for he was posted with a mere handful of European 
 troops more than four hundred miles from Calcutta; and 
 was moreover cut off from Calcutta by the Nawab's capital 
 and army at Monghyr. 
 
 In April, 1763, the Calcutta council sent two of their 
 number, Messrs. Amyatt and Hay, to present an ultimatum 
 to the Nawab. Before the deputies left Calcutta the Nawab 
 had refused to receive them; "he had abolished all duties," 
 he said, "and consequently there was nothing to settle." 
 On reaching Monghyr, however, they met with a hospitable 
 reception; for the Nawab performed all the duties of an 
 Oriental host toward his European visitors. He feted them, 
 gave them presents, and entertained them with music and 
 dancing-girls. But all this while he kept them under strict 
 surveillance. He remembered the secret plots that led to 
 the destruction of Suraj-ud-daula, and he was constantly 
 suspecting his grandees of a design to betray him to the 
 English. He ordered the two grandsons of Jagat Seth to be 
 arrested at Murshedabad and sent to Monghyr. He sent 
 to Shah Alam and the Nawab Vizier of Oude for help 
 against the English. He was forever lying in wait for 
 signs of some understanding between his grandees and the 
 English.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 349 
 
 In May a boat arrived at Monghyr laden with goods for 
 the factory at Patna, and laden also with five hundred fire- 
 locks for the English garrison. The sight of the arms filled 
 the Nawab with fresh suspicions and alarms. He stopped 
 the boat and refused to allow the firelocks to go on to 
 Patna. He permitted Amyatt to return to Calcutta, but 
 kept Hay as a hostage at Monghyr for the safety of certain 
 officers of his own who had been arrested by the English. 
 
 The story that follows is a mournful page in Indian his- 
 tory. Mr. Ellis, at Patna, was in correspondence with 
 Amyatt, and he foresaw that the moment Amyatt reached 
 Calcutta the council would declare war against the Nawab. 
 The factory in the suburbs of Patna would then be in ex- 
 treme peril. It was untenable, and might be easily sur- 
 rounded and captured by the Nawab's troops. Accordingly 
 Mr. Ellis resolved to attack and occupy the town and fort of 
 Patna as a better place of defence in the event of a war. 
 
 At early morning on the 25th of June, 1763, the English 
 took the town of Patna by surprise; the native commandant 
 fled in a panic with most of his troops. The English next 
 attacked the fort but were repulsed. They then began to 
 disperse over the streets and bazars. The sepoys were plun- 
 dering shops and houses, and European soldiers were getting 
 drunk and incapable. There was no idea of danger, and 
 consequently no measures were taken for the defence of the 
 town against any return of the fugitive garrison. 
 
 Suddenly, at hot noon, the flying garrison recovered heart 
 and re-entered the town of Patna. They had been joined 
 by a reinforcement coming from Monghyr, and had, more- 
 over, been told that the fort at Patna was still holding out 
 against the English. They met with little resistance and 
 were soon in possession of the town. The English were 
 bewildered and overpowered, but they managed to spike 
 their guns and retreat to the factory. 
 
 The English in the factory were utterly cast down by the 
 disaster. They saw that they were being surrounded by 
 the Nawab's troops; and they hurried off to their boats with
 
 850 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the vain hope of escaping up the river Ganges into the terri- 
 tory of the Nawab Vizier of Oude. But they found every 
 outlet closed against them, and instead of cutting their way 
 through the Nawab's troops they committed the fatal error 
 of surrendering to Asiatics. They were all sent as prisoners 
 to Monghyr, and found that they were not alone in their 
 misfortunes. The factory of Cossimbazar, in the suburb 
 of Murshedabad, had been captured and plundered by the 
 Nawab's troops; and all the English at Cossimbazar had 
 been sent to Monghyr as prisoners of war. 
 
 All this while Mir Kasim had been waiting at Monghyr 
 in an agony of suspense. News arrived of the loss of Patna, 
 and filled him with despair. At dead of night other tidings 
 arrived ; the town had been recovered, and the English were 
 at his mercy. The Nawab was intoxicated with joy and 
 exultation. He ordered the kettle-drums to announce the 
 glorious victory to the sleeping city. Next morning every 
 grandee in Monghyr hurried to the palace with presents 
 and congratulations; and Mir Kasim sent out circulars 
 ordering his officers throughout Behar and Bengal to attack 
 the English wherever they were to be found, and to slaugh- 
 ter them on the spot or bring them away as prisoners to 
 Monghyr. 
 
 The capture of the English factory at Cossimbazar was 
 the first result of this cruel order, but Mr. Amyatt was the 
 first victim. The unfortunate gentleman was proceeding 
 down the river toward Calcutta, when his boat was hailed 
 by a detachment of the Nawab 's troops, and he was invited 
 by the native commander to an entertainment on shore. 
 The dancing-girls were there, but Amyatt had his misgiv- 
 ings, and sent his excuses. Next he was peremptorily 
 ordered to come on shore, but refused to go. Shots were 
 fired; the Nawab's troops boarded the boat. Amyatt went 
 ashore and mounted the bank with a pistol in each hand ; 
 but he was overwhelmed by numbers, and hacked to pieces, 
 and his head was carried off in triumph to the Nawab at 
 Monghyr.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 351 
 
 The news of the barbarous murder of Mr. Amyatt filled 
 the Calcutta council with horror ; and the majority clamored 
 for prompt vengeance on the Nawab. Vansittart begged 
 them to remember that Mr. Ellis, and a multitude of En- 
 glishmen from Patna and Cossimbazar, were at the mercy 
 of Mir Kasim ; and that it would be better to make terms, 
 and secure the lives of fheir fellow-countrymen, before they 
 talked of war and revenge. But his warning was unheeded; 
 scarcely a soul in the council would listen to his words. 
 They loudly declared and they wrote out their declaration 
 on paper and affixed their signatures that they would not 
 come to terms with Mir Kasim, nor defer their revenge, 
 although every prisoner in his hands was slaughtered to a 
 man. 
 
 The council then left the chamber, and proceeded to the 
 house of Mir Jafir within the precincts of Calcutta, and 
 proclaimed him Nawab of Bengal, Behar and Orissa. The 
 ex- Nawab was overjoyed at his unexpected restoration to a 
 throne, and readily agreed to everything that the council 
 wanted. He pledged himself to compensate the Company 
 and its servants for all losses; to pay the expenses of the 
 war against Mir Kasim ; and to reverse the measures of Mir 
 Kasim, by collecting the duties from his own subjects, and 
 permitting the English servants of the Company to trade in 
 the commodities of the country duty free. 
 
 In July the avenging army of the English was on its way 
 to Plassy and Patna accompanied by Mir Jafir. The En- 
 glish captured Murshedabad and defeated the flower of the 
 Nawab's army; but they found the enemy stronger than 
 they had anticipated. The Nawab 's troops had been drilled 
 and disciplined in English fashion, and fought better than 
 any native army had ever fought before under a native com- 
 mander. But the steadiness of the European forces over- 
 came every obstacle; and after a series of victories, they 
 began to advance toward Monghyr. 
 
 Meanwhile Mir Kasim was inflamed by his reverses to 
 commit fresh acts of cruelty. He ordered several Hindu
 
 352 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 prisoners to execution, including the two grandsons of Jagat 
 Seth. He collected his scattered forces at Monghyr, and 
 finally proceeded to Patna, carrying with him all his English 
 prisoners, to the number of a hundred and fifty souls. 
 
 Terrible news followed him to Patna. The English had 
 captured his new capital at Monghyr. Then followed one 
 of the most awful massacres of Europeans which is recorded 
 in the history of British India. In a paroxysm of rage at 
 the loss of Monghyr, Mir Kasim ordered the English pris- 
 oners to be put to death in cold blood. The native com- 
 manders shrank from the slaughter of unarmed men ; but a 
 European deserter of the worst character agreed to perform 
 the hateful service, which has handed down his name to 
 everlasting infamy. 
 
 A morose Franco-German, named "Walter Reinhardt, had 
 deserted more than once from the English to the French and 
 back again. He had re-enlisted in an English regiment 
 under the name of Somers; but his comrades nicknamed 
 him Sombre on account of his evil expression. Finally he 
 had deserted to the service of Mir Kasim, and obtained the 
 command of a brigade under the Hinduized name of Sumru. 
 
 The English prisoners were lodged in a house or palace 
 which had belonged to Haji Ahmad, the ill-fated brother of 
 Alivardi Khan. It was a large range of buildings with a 
 square court in the centre, like a college quadrangle. On 
 the 4th of October, 1763, the prisoners were deprived of 
 their knives and forks by Sumru's orders, under pretence 
 of a feast on the morrow. The morrow came. The house 
 was surrounded with sepoys. Messrs. Ellis, Hay, and Lush- 
 ington were called upon to come out, and were slaughtered 
 outside. The sepoys climbed to the roof of the buildings, 
 and fired upon the prisoners in the square, but were attacked 
 with brickbats, bottles, and articles of furniture. They were 
 struck with admiration at the courage of the English. They 
 cried out that they would not fire upon men without arms. 
 "They were sepoys," they said, "and not executioners!" 
 But Sumru was furious at the hesitation. He struck down
 
 BRITISH INDIA 353 
 
 the foremost with his own hands, and compelled them to fire 
 until every prisoner was slain. 
 
 The massacre at Patna sent a thrill of horror through the 
 British empire. The errors of the victims were forgotten in 
 their sufferings, and the cry for vengeance was universal. 
 The Nawab was still hoping that the English would come 
 to terms ; possibly he thought that they would be frightened 
 into an accommodation ; but he soon found that the bloody 
 deed had sealed his doom. In November Patna was taken 
 by storm, and Mir Kasim fled away into Oude with his 
 family and treasures, accompanied by the infamous Sumru. 
 
 The Nawab Vizier had bound himself by an oath on the 
 Koran to support Mir Kasim against the English ; but his 
 only object was to secure the Bengal provinces for himself. 
 The moment was most favorable for an advance of the 
 Nawab Vizier against the English. The victorious army, 
 which had fought its way from Plassy to Patna, was in a 
 state of mutiny. Soldiers and sepoys had expected extraor- 
 dinary rewards for their extraordinary successes, but had 
 received nothing beyond their pay and were starving for 
 want of provisions; and they had talked themselves into 
 such a state of disaffection that many were prepared to 
 desert their colors and go over to the enemy. 
 
 Weeks and months passed away. In April, 1764, the 
 Nawab Vizier, accompanied by Shah Alam, invaded Behar 
 with what appeared to be an overwhelming army. The 
 English force was encamped on the frontier, but was dis- 
 heartened at the numbers of the enemy, and retreated slowly 
 toward Patna. But the invading army is described by a 
 native eye-witness as a mob of highwaymen. 1 The lawless 
 soldiery of the Nawab Vizier fought, murdered and plun- 
 dered each other in the middle of the camp; or went out 
 killing and marauding in the surrounding country. A battle 
 was fought in the neighborhood of Patna, and the Nawab 
 "Vizier was repulsed. He then threw over Mb* Kasim, and 
 tried to make separate terms with Mir Jafir ; but he insisted 
 
 1 Gholam Husain All, in the Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin.
 
 354 HISTORY OF INDjtA 
 
 on the cession of Behar. At the same time the English in- 
 sisted on the surrender of Mir Kasim and Sumru; and the 
 Nawab Vizier, unscrupulous as he was, shrunk from the in- 
 famy of surrendering fugitives. Accordingly nothing was 
 done, and as the rainy season was approaching, the Nawab 
 Vizier returned to Oude. 
 
 Subsequently Major Hector Munro arrived at Patna with 
 reinforcements. He found the English troops threatening to 
 desert to the enemy and carry off their officers. Shortly after 
 his arrival, an entire battalion of sepoys went off to join the 
 Nawab Vizier with their arms and accoutrements. Munro 
 pursued them in the night, found them asleep, and brought 
 them back as his prisoners. He ordered the native officers 
 to select twenty-four ringleaders, and to try them by court- 
 martial. The whole were found guilty of mutiny and deser- 
 tion ; and Munro ordered eight to be blown from guns on the 
 spot, and sent the rest to other cantonments to be executed 
 in like manner. He then told the remainder that if they 
 were not satisfied with their present pay, they might lay 
 down their arms and be dismissed the service, for they would 
 get no better terms. The delinquents expressed their peni- 
 tence, and promised to serve the Company very faithfully 
 for the future. ' 
 
 In September the rainy season was over, and Major Munro 
 took the field. On the 23d of October he defeated the Nawab 
 Vizier in the decisive battle of Buxar ; and the English army 
 then advanced to Lucknow. The Nawab Vizier fled away 
 to the Rohilla country; while Shah Alam joined the English, 
 complaining that he had been set up as the Great Moghul, 
 and then kept as a state prisoner by his own Vizier. 
 
 Next to Plassy, the battle of Buxar is the most famous in 
 the history of British conquest in India. It broke up the 
 strength and prestige of Shuja-ud-daula, the last and great- 
 
 1 Mr. Mill tells the story somewhat differently, but here as elsewhere the 
 original authorities have been consulted. The narrative in the text is based on 
 Major Munro's own account of the transaction in a letter to Governor Yansittar* 
 dated 16th September, 1769.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 355 
 
 est of the Moghul Viceroys of provinces, excepting perhaps 
 the Nizam. It threw the whole of the territories of Oude 
 into the hands of the English ; placed the Moghul Padishah 
 under British protection ; and established the British nation 
 as the foremost power in India. 
 
 The Nawab Vizier was seeking the help of the Rohilla 
 Afghans and the Mahrattas, while his minister was trying 
 in the name of his master to make peace with the English. 
 The demand for the surrender of Mir Kasim and the infa- 
 mous Sumru was the main difficulty. But Mir Kasim had 
 been despoiled by the Nawab Vizier of the bulk of his treas- 
 ures, and fled away to the northwest, where he subsequently 
 perished in obscurity. As regards Sumru it was proposed 
 on the part of the Nawab Vizier to invite the miscreant to 
 an entertainment, and put him to death in the presence of 
 any English gentleman who might be deputed to witness 
 the assassination. 1 
 
 About this time a Hindu grandee named Raja Shitab Rai 
 came to the front. He was a shrewd, keen-witted native, 
 who had started in life as a small office clerk at Delhi, and 
 risen to posts of power and wealth in Bengal and Behar. He 
 was a fair type of the Hindus of capacity, who made them- 
 selves useful, and were ultimately rewarded with the title of 
 Raja. He was demonstrative in his friendship for the En- 
 glish, and busied himself in all that was going on. He was 
 an agent for the English in the negotiations with the Nawab 
 Vizier. He brought over the Raja of Benares, Bulwunt 
 Singh, from the cause of the Nawab Vizier to that of the 
 
 1 The after career of Sumru or Sombre is a strange episode in Indian history. 
 He deserted the Nawab Vizier with a battalion of sepoys and a body of Euro- 
 pean outcasts, the skum of different nations. He entered the service of the Raja 
 of the Jats, the ancestor of the present Raja of Bhurtpore. Lastly he entered 
 the service of the so-called imperial army of Moghuls under Najib-ud-daula the 
 Rohilla. Subsequently he married a dancing-girl, who afterward became known 
 as the Begum Sombre. 
 
 The villain who murdered the English at Patna afterward became a prince, 
 and acquired great wealth, after the manner of Hindu and Muhammadan advent- 
 urers of the eighteenth century. The territory of Sirdhana was granted him in 
 jaghir by the Moghul court for the maintenance of his sepoys and Europeans. 
 He died, in 1778, leaving his wealth and principality to the Begum Sombre.
 
 356 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 English. He had been mixed up in some secret intrigues 
 for inducing the commanders of fortresses in Oude territory 
 to surrender to the English. In a word, he lost no opportu- 
 nity of ingratiating himself with the English in the hope of 
 profiting by their ascendency. 
 
 Meanwhile the English refused to listen to the proposals 
 for the assassination of Sumru. They took possession of 
 the territories of the Nawab Vizier; appointed officers to the 
 command of the several districts; and intrusted the settle- 
 ment of the revenue and judicial administration to Shitab 
 Rai and Bulwunt Singh. 
 
 The Nawab Vizier was still reluctant to come to terms. 
 He sought the help of Rohilla Afghans and Mahrattas. The 
 Bohilla chiefs engaged to join him, but did nothing. The 
 Mahrattas under Mulhar Rao Holkar were eager for the 
 plunder of Oude, and readily marched to his support. But 
 Holkar was not accustomed to English artillery. He and 
 his Mahratta horsemen advanced against the English army, 
 but were received with such a terrible fire that they galloped 
 off in consternation. 
 
 The Nawab Vizier saw that his cause was ruined. He 
 complained bitterly of the Rohilla chiefs, but they plied him 
 with excuses. He had no alternative but to proceed to the 
 English camp and throw himself upon the mercy of the con- 
 querors. Raja Shitab Rai was again busy as a negotiator; 
 and the Nawab Vizier was led to believe that the payment 
 of fifty lakhs, or half a million sterling, would enable him to 
 recover his lost territories. 
 
 About this time there was a change of Governors at Cal- 
 cutta. Vansittart returned to England, and was succeeded 
 by a Mr. Spencer ; while a scheme was brewing for making 
 over Oude to Najib-ud-daula, the Delhi minister, and con- 
 ducting Shah Alam to Delhi. The scheme came to nothing, 
 but it probably accounts for the reluctance of the Rohilla 
 chiefs to join the Nawab Vizier. 1 
 
 1 The scheme of Governor Spencer was more extravagant than that of Gov- 
 ernor Yansittart. The proposal to conduct Shah Alam to Delhi was wild but
 
 BRITISH INDIA 357 
 
 Mir Jafir died in January, 1765 ; and the appointment of 
 a successor to the Nawabship of Bengal and Behar was a 
 question of grave importance. Spencer was only a tempo- 
 rary Governor. He knew that Olive, now an Irish Peer, 
 was coming to Bengal with the powers of a dictator; and he 
 would have acted wisely if he had awaited the arrival of 
 Lord Olive ; but he resolved to forestall Lord Olive in the 
 disposal of the vacant throne at Murshedabad. There were 
 two claimants to the succession, namely, an illegitimate son 
 of Mir Jafir, aged twenty, and a legitimate grandson, aged 
 six, a son of the deceased Miran ; and the question was, which 
 of the two was likely to prove the most subservient to the in- 
 terests of the Company. No doubt the boy would have been 
 most amenable to the will of the English ; but Spencer chose 
 the elder claimant, in spite of his illegitimacy, as the most 
 amenable to the pecuniary rapacity of himself and his col- 
 leagues. 
 
 Four members of the Calcutta council proceeded as a 
 deputation to Murshedabad, and made a hurried bargain 
 with a clever Mussulman grandee named Muhammad Reza 
 Khan. It was agreed that the illegitimate son, aged twenty, 
 should be proclaimed Nawab ; that Muhammad Reza Khan 
 should exercise all real power, under the name of Naib, or 
 deputy Nawab ; and that twenty lakhs of rupees, or about 
 two hundred thousand pounds sterling, should be distributed 
 to the Governor and certain select members of the council 
 at Calcutta. 
 
 The bargaining at Murshedabad, and virtual sale of Ben- 
 gal and Behar to Muhammad Reza Khan, was the last public 
 
 possible ; and had an English officer, endowed with the genius of an Alexander 
 or a Napoleon, been appointed to the command, he might have established a 
 British empire over Hindustan. But the proposed cession of all the territories 
 of the Nawab Vizier of Oude to his rival, the Afghan guardian at Delhi, would 
 have been ruinous to the English. There was only one way by which Najib- 
 ud-daula could have occupied Oude, namely, by parcelling out the whole country 
 as military jaghirs, or fiefs, among the Rohilla chiefs. This occupation would 
 have amounted to the re-establishment of an Afghan empire down the valleys 
 of the Jumna and Ganges as far as the Carumnassa, which would have proved 
 a perpetual menace to Behar and Bengal.
 
 358 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 act of the counting-house administrators of Calcutta. The 
 Company's servants at this period were no better and no 
 worse than the Pretorian Guards, who sold the throne of the 
 Caesars to the highest bidder ; but they were followed by men 
 of the stamp of Robert Clive and Warren Hastings, who 
 knew something of courts and armies, and were anxious to 
 maintain a character in the eyes of their countrymen. The 
 transaction, however, was strictly mercantile; and had it 
 been concluded in the name of the East India Company, 
 and not as an underhand stroke of private trade, it might 
 have been regarded by the merchants of Leadenhall Street 
 as a financial success. Indeed commercial statesmen might 
 still be found who would sell India back to native princes as 
 the readiest means of getting rid of the supposed incubus of 
 an Indian empire. But crimes against history are avenged 
 by history. The men who sold Bengal and Behar to fill 
 their own pockets are remembered only to be despised. But 
 the soldiers and administrators that came after them, who 
 delivered the native populations from the bondage of Orien- 
 tal despotism, and labored to raise them to the level of En- 
 glishmen, have left a mark upon the people of India which 
 will remain for all time.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 369 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 DOUBLE GOVERNMENT OLIVE, ETC. 
 
 A.D. 1765 TO 1771 
 
 LORD OLIVE, who at this time was on his way to 
 India, was forty years of age. He had been named 
 by nearly all parties in England as the only man who 
 could save the Company's affairs in India. He reached Ma- 
 dras in April, 1765, and was greeted with startling tidings. 
 Nizam AH, who had murdered his brother Salabut Jung in 
 1763, had invaded the Carnatic with unusual ferocity; but 
 had been compelled to retire to Hyderabad before the united 
 forces of the English and Muhammad Ali. This matter was 
 allowed to stand over ; Lord Olive had already made up his 
 mind how to deal with the Nizam. But another event struck 
 him nearer home. He was told that Mir Jafir had died in 
 the previous January. 
 
 Lord Olive was delighted at the news, for it enabled him 
 to carry out a part of the grand scheme that he had unfolded 
 to Pitt more than seven years before ; namely, to take over 
 the sovereignty of Bengal and Behar in the name of the East 
 India Company, but to veil this sovereignty from the public 
 eye by the forms of Moghul imperialism. He wanted a Na- 
 wab who should be only a cipher ; and the legitimate grand- 
 son of Mir Jafir, aged six, was ready to his hand. Lord 
 Olive proposed to leave the native administration under the 
 puppet Nawab and native ministers, who should be wholly 
 dependent on the English ; but to take over the entire revenue 
 of the provinces. He calculated that after paying for the
 
 360 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 defence of the country, and the maintenance of the state 
 pageant, there would remain a yearly surplus of one or two 
 millions sterling for the use of the Company. 
 
 Lord Olive reached Calcutta in May, and soon discovered 
 the corrupt transactions of Governor Spencer. Of course he 
 was furious with rage. Governor Spencer and his council 
 had forestalled him only to fill their own pockets. They had 
 placed a grown-up Nawab on the throne only to facilitate 
 their corrupt bargaining with Muhammad Reza Khan. Clive 
 declared in his wrath that the whites had united with the 
 blacks to empty the public treasury. In vain he was told 
 that the Governor and council had only followed the exam- 
 ple which he had himself set at Murshedabad after the battle 
 of Plassy. He retorted that he had rendered great public 
 services by his victory at Plassy, while Spencer and the oth- 
 ers had rendered no services whatever; that after Plassy 
 presents had been permitted, but that at the death of Mir 
 Jafir they had been strictly forbidden by the Court of 
 Directors. But Lord Clive was powerless to compel the 
 offenders to refund, or to punish them in any way what- 
 ever; and most of them resigned the service and returned 
 to England to fight the question with the Directors in the 
 courts of law. 
 
 Lord Clive made the best arrangement he could under 
 the circumstances. He accepted the Nawab who had been 
 set up by Governor Spencer. He left Muhammad Reza Khan 
 to act as deputy Nawab at Murshedabad, and he appointed 
 Raja Shitab Rai to act hi the same capacity at Patna. Both 
 men wielded enormous powers. They were at the head of 
 law and justice; they superintended the collections of rev- 
 enue; and they were supposed to make over the whole of 
 the proceeds to the English. But the story of their doings 
 or misdoings will be told hereafter. 
 
 Lord Clive felt that while the English exercised sovereign 
 powers in Bengal and Behar, it was necessary to conceal that 
 sovereignty from the eyes of the world; as it would only 
 excite the murmurs of the English parliament, and provoke
 
 BRITISH INDIA 361 
 
 the jealousies of French and D utch rivals. * Accordingly Lord 
 Clive planned that the English were to act solely in the name 
 of the cipher Nawab, and under the affectation of being the 
 officers of the Great Moghul. In other words, the English 
 were to accept from Shah Alam the post of Dewan, or mana- 
 ger of the revenues of the Bengal provinces ; to pay the sala- 
 ries of the Nawab and his officials; to set aside a fixed yearly 
 sum as tribute to the Great Moghul as represented by Shah 
 Alam ; to provide for the defence of the provinces against all 
 external and internal enemies;" and to transfer the surplus 
 revenue to the coffers of the Company. 
 
 Lord Olive's idea was to resuscitate the Moghul empire 
 under Moghul forms, while keeping Shah Alam as a puppet 
 or pageant in his own hands. He utterly scouted Spencer's 
 scheme of policy. To have ceded Oude to the Rohilla Af- 
 ghans would have drawn the Afghans to the frontier of 
 Behar. To have conducted Shah Alam to Delhi would have 
 carried the English army hundreds of miles from the frontier, 
 and have embroiled the British authorities with Afghans or 
 Mahrattas. Lord Clive was anxious to keep Shah Alam in 
 the Bengal provinces at Patna, if not at Calcutta; and to 
 set him up as a symbol of the Great Moghul. In other 
 words, Shah Alam was to have been an imperial idol ; and 
 the English were to have issued their orders and commands 
 as the oracles of the idol. 
 
 At the same time Lord Clive determined to restore Oude 
 to the Nawab Vizier. It was too remote from Calcutta for 
 the English to hold it as a conquered territory. Its defence 
 would have drawn the European troops far away to the 
 northwest, and left Behar and Bengal exposed to the de- 
 mands or assaults of Mahrattas or Afghans. Its adminis- 
 
 1 The Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France was brought to 
 a close by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, under which Chandernagore and Pondi- 
 cherry were restored to the French. 
 
 8 The military defence of a province under Moghul rule was not the duty of 
 the Dewan, but of the Nawab Nazim. The exigencies of the time compelled 
 Lord Clive to overlook the niceties of Moghul forms as regards the relative func- 
 tions of Dewan and Nawab Nazim. 
 X 16 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 362 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 tration would have been out of the reach of all control from 
 Calcutta. But the restoration of Oude to the Nawab Vizier 
 would relieve the Company of all further expense and re- 
 sponsibility, and convert the government of Oude into a 
 natural barrier for Behar and Bengal against the Afghans 
 and Mahrattas of Hindustan. 
 
 Full of these grand schemes, Lord Clive left Calcutta, 
 and hastened up the Ganges to meet Shah Alam and the 
 N"awab Vizier at Allahabad. There, to use the language 
 of a native contemporary, he disposed of provinces with as 
 much ease as if he had been selling cattle. 1 Without any 
 of the endless negotiations, cavillings, and delays, which 
 are the pride and glory of native diplomatists, he settled all 
 questions by his own authority as the supreme arbiter of the 
 destinies of Hindustan. The Nawab Vizier eagerly agreed 
 to receive back his lost territories; to pay a sum of half a 
 million sterling toward the expenses of the late war; and to 
 cede by way of tribute to Shah Alam the revenues of Korah 
 and Allahabad. On the other hand, Shah Alam was equally 
 ready to accept the provinces of Allahabad and Korah in 
 lieu of a tribute which for many years had never been paid. 
 But Shah Alam refused to remove to Patna, or to any other 
 place in Behar or Bengal. He was much chagrined at the 
 refusal of Lord Clive to conduct him to Delhi; and he was 
 still bent on going there at the first opportunity. Accord- 
 ingly he decided on living at Allahabad in the empty state 
 of a Great Moghul without a kingdom, but in the immediate 
 neighborhood of Shuja-ud-daula as his Vizier. A British 
 force was posted at Allahabad for his protection ; and it may 
 be remarked that at this period, and for years afterward, the 
 forces of the Company were formed into three brigades, one 
 of which was posted at Monghyr, a second at Patna, and a 
 third at Allahabad. 
 
 The affairs of the Bengal provinces were settled with the 
 same ease as those of Oude. Shah Alam gave letters patent 
 
 1 Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin, by Grholam Husain AIL Calcutta translation.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 363 
 
 to Lord Olive investing the English Company with the office 
 of Dewan; and in return Lord Olive agreed that the English 
 should pay him as Padishah a yearly tribute of something 
 like a quarter of a million sterling, or about the same amount 
 that Mir Kasim had agreed to give Shah Alam under the 
 settlement of 1761. 
 
 It has already been explained that under the constitution 
 of the later Moghul empire every province was administered 
 by two officers, a Nawab and a Dewan. The Nawab, or 
 Nawab Nazim, held the military command, and in that 
 capacity superintended the administration of law, justice, 
 and police. The Dewan was the accountant-general or 
 finance minister, and looked solely after the revenue and 
 expenditure. 
 
 Under Lord Olive's scheme the Company became nomi- 
 nally Dewan, and practically Nawab Nazim ; for the English 
 compelled the young Nawab Nazim to disband his rabble 
 army, and took upon themselves the military defence of the 
 country, as well as the disposal of the revenue. The duties 
 of the Nawab Nazim were thus limited to the nominal super- 
 intendence of law, justice, and police; and it will be seen 
 hereafter that the English were soon forced by the general 
 anarchy to take these branches of the administration into 
 their own hands. Thus within a few years the Nawab 
 Nazim dwindled into a pageant, having no duties to perform 
 beyond the superintendence of his own household. 1 
 
 The political result of this arrangement was that the 
 English remained in military charge of Bengal and Behar, 
 with a claim on Orissa whenever they could procure it from 
 
 1 The yearly allowances of the Nawab Nazim were fixed in the first instance 
 by Lord Olive at fifty -three lakhs of rupees, or more than half a million sterling. 
 The first puppet Nawab died within a year of his accession from sheer self- 
 indulgence; his successors were equally useless and equally worthless, and, 
 within seven years, the yearly allowance was reduced to 1 60, OOOZ. Strange 
 to say, this latter rate has been maintained down to our own time ; and thus, 
 for more than a century, a yearly expenditure, which would have supported a 
 university, has been wasted on a useless pageant without duties and without 
 claims.
 
 864 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 the Mahrattas. Shuja-ud-daula was converted into a friendly 
 ally ; and it was hoped that he would succeed in guarding 
 the English frontier at the Carumnassa river from Mah- 
 rattas and Afghans. 
 
 The financial results were still more satisfactory. The 
 yearly revenue of Bengal and Behar was roughly estimated 
 at three or four millions sterling, but hopes were expressed 
 that it might reach five millions. Out of this gross sum the 
 English were to pay half a million to the Nawab, and a 
 quarter of a million to Shah Alam ; and were then at liberty 
 to appropriate the remainder. 
 
 The political system of Lord Olive must have appeared 
 on paper to be the perfection of wisdom. So far as the 
 Company believed in his golden dreams of the future, it held 
 out most brilliant prospects. The civil administration in all 
 matters of law, justice, and police was left in the hands of 
 the natives, so that there were no responsibilities on that 
 score. At the same time it was fondly expected that the 
 surplus revenues of Bengal would meet all charges against 
 the Company in India; including all the expenses of the 
 Company's settlements, all the civil and military salaries, 
 and even all investments in India and China goods. Could 
 these visions have been realized, the East India Company 
 would have enjoyed the grandest monopoly the world ever 
 saw. The Company already carried on a trade with India 
 and China, from which all other Englishmen were excluded ; 
 and the further convenience of making the people of Bengal 
 and Behar pay for all they bought in the east would have 
 enabled them to pocket the gross receipts of all they sold in 
 England. Meanwhile, and for many years, so much secrecy 
 was observed, and so much confusion was created by the use 
 of Oriental terms, that few outside the Company's service 
 could possibly understand or realize the actual state of 
 affairs. 
 
 The external policy of Lord Clive was more clear and 
 intelligible to men of business. In theory it was a strict 
 adherence to the principles of non-intervention, amounting
 
 BRITISH INDIA 365 
 
 to political isolation. The English in Bengal were to leave 
 all the native states outside the frontier to their own devices. 
 They had formed an alliance with Shah Alam and his Nawab 
 Vizier, but they were to abstain from making any other 
 alliances whatever. Afghans and Mahrattas might fight 
 each other, and kill each other like Kilkenny cats; the En- 
 glish were not to interfere, especially as the territories of 
 the Nawab Vizier were supposed to form a political barrier 
 against both the antagonistic races. 
 
 Lord Olive had some misgivings about the Mahrattas of 
 JBerar. The Bhonsla Raja of Berar, or Nagpore, was press- 
 ing for the payment of chout for Bengal and Behar with 
 arrears; and Olive was inclined to keep him quiet by paying 
 the chout, on the condition that the Raja ceded the province 
 of Orissa, which he had held ever since the agreement with 
 Alivardi Khan in 1750. Again the Mahrattas were recover- 
 ing from their defeat at Paniput, and beginning to reassert 
 their ascendency in the Dekhan and Hindustan. Accord- 
 ingly, Lord Olive threw out some hints of an alliance with 
 the Nizam of the Dekhan which should maintain the balance 
 of power against the Mahrattas. 
 
 The Directors in London took the alarm. They saw no 
 necessity for paying chout; they did not want Orissa; and 
 they protested vigorously against any alliance with the 
 Nizam, or any other native power. "The Carumnassa," 
 they repeated, "is your boundary; go not beyond the Car- 
 umuassa! Leave the Mahrattas to fight the Afghans, and 
 the Nizam to fight the Mahrattas, and devote all your atten- 
 tion to revenue and trade!" 
 
 But Lord Olive had already dealt with Nizam All accord- 
 ing to his peculiar scheme of imperial policy. On arriving 
 in India in 1765 he had been told that Nizam Ali had been 
 ravaging the Carnatic; and he saw that strong measures 
 must be taken to repress such a troublesome and refractory 
 neighbor. The quarrel was about the Northern Circars; 
 namely, the five maritime districts on the coast of Coro- 
 mandel, extending northward from the frontier of the Car-
 
 366 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 natic to the pagoda of Jagganath. 1 Salabut Jung had ceded 
 this territory to Bussy and the French, and afterward to 
 Colonel Forde and the English; but his younger brother, 
 Nizam Ali, who usurped the throne at Hyderabad hi 1761, 
 and murdered Salabut Jung in 1763, refused to submit to 
 the loss of territory. 
 
 Lord Clive tried to settle the question by putting forward 
 Shah Alam as the rightful sovereign of India. Shah Alam, 
 as the Great Moghul, was encouraged to maintain a little 
 court at Allahabad ; but he was otherwise treated as the tool 
 and creature of the English ; and a story is told that the 
 English officer in command at Allahabad refused to allow 
 the pageant prince to sound the imperial kettle-drums, be- 
 cause they made too much noise. However, Lord Clive 
 obtained a firman from Shah Alam, granting the Northern 
 Circars to the English in full sovereignty, in defiance of the 
 hereditary claims of Nizam Ah". 
 
 The assumption was enormous. It amounted to an asser- 
 tion, on the part of Shah Alam, of a sovereign right to dis- 
 pose at will of all the territories of the old Moghul empire, 
 although the provinces had been practically converted into 
 hereditary kingdoms ever since the invasion of Nadir Shah. 
 If Shah Alam possessed the right to cede a portion of a 
 province, like the Northern Circars, it would have been 
 impossible to deny his right to cede whole provinces like 
 Oude, Hyderabad, or the Carnatic. 
 
 Had Lord Clive been an Asiatic conqueror, remaining 
 for the rest of his life in India, he might possibly have ruled 
 over the whole empire of Aurangzeb in the name of the 
 Great Moghul. Shah Alam would have been the half-deified 
 symbol of sovereignty. Lord Clive would have been prune 
 minister or Peishwa; and as such might have compelled all 
 rebellious Viceroys and refractory Rajas to do his bidding. 
 He was already the virtual sovereign of Behar and Bengal. 
 He had disposed of Oude at will ; and had he remained in 
 
 1 See ante, pp. 301, 333, and 334.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 367 
 
 India he would have held the Northern Circars under the 
 authority of the firman. His genius was cast in the iron 
 mold of military despotism; and the prestige of his name 
 was sufficient to render the decrees of Shah Alam as irresist- 
 ible as those' of Aurangzeb. 
 
 But Lord Olive was thwarted by the Madras authorities. 
 In 1766 he sent an expedition under General Calliaud to take 
 possession of the Northern Circars. But the English at 
 Madras were alarmed at reports that Nizam AH was making 
 prodigious preparations for the invasion of the Carnatic ; and 
 they ordered General Calliaud to proceed to Hyderabad, 
 and conclude a peace on almost any terms with Nizam AH. 
 
 At the end of 1766 General Calliaud negotiated a treaty 
 with Nizam AH. The firman of Shah Alam was ignored. 
 The EngHsh agreed to pay Nizam AH a yearly tribute of 
 seventy thousand pounds for the Northern Circars. 1 At the 
 same time the EngHsh and Nizam AH agreed to assist each 
 other against any enemy; and in the first instance resolved 
 on a joint expedition against Hyder AH of Mysore, who had 
 already threatened the dominions of Nizam AH, and aroused 
 the jealousy of the English by his leanings toward the French. 
 
 In January, 1767, Lord dive left India never to return.* 
 He was succeeded by Mr. Verelst as Governor of Bengal. 
 Meanwhile the joint expedition of Nizam AH and the EngHsh 
 against Hyder AH of Mysore was opening out a new phase 
 in Indian history. 
 
 The rise of Hyder AH is a sign of the times. This ad- 
 venturer was a Muhammadan of obscure origin. He is said 
 to have served as a soldier in the French army. 3 Subse- 
 
 1 There was some special arrangement as regards the Guntoor Circar, between 
 the Gundlacama and Kistna rivers, which had been assigned as a jaghir to Basalut 
 Jung, the eldest brother of Nizam Ali. The Circar of Guntoor was not to be 
 made over to the East India Company until after the death of Basalut Jung. 
 
 2 Lord Clive was only forty -two when his career in India was brought to a 
 close. He died in England in 1774, at the age of forty -nine. 
 
 3 The author of the Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin states that Hyder Ali was originally 
 a French sepoy. The story is extremely probable, although it would be sup- 
 pressed or denied by the court annalists at Mysore or Seringapatam. It would 
 explain Hyder Ali's subsequent leanings toward the French, which are otherwise 
 inexplicable.
 
 SS8 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 quently he left the French army and raised a body of troops 
 on the. basis of plunder, giving his men the half of all they 
 stole, and taking care that nothing was stolen without his 
 knowledge. Hyder's men seized every description of prop- 
 erty, great and small ; they would carry off sheep, cattle, or 
 grain, or they would strip the villagers of their clothes and 
 earrings. 
 
 Hyder Ali next appeared as a commander in the service 
 of the Hindu Raja of Mysore during the operations against 
 Trichinopoly. He received a money allowance for every 
 man under his command, and a donation for every one who 
 was wounded; and he naturally cheated the Hindu govern- 
 ment by false musters, and by bandaging men without a 
 scratch, in order to pass them off as wounded. Meanwhile 
 the Mysore government was distracted by a rivalry between 
 a young Raja, who was a minor, and an uncle, named Nun- 
 jeraj, who acted as regent, and Hyder AH did not fail to 
 take advantage of the occasion. Gradually, by tricks and 
 treacheries as bewildering as the feats of a conjurer, Hyder 
 Ali destroyed the influence of the regent and used the Raja 
 as a pageant, until at last he assumed the sovereign power 
 in his own name. 
 
 Hyder Ali was not a mere freebooter. He subjugated 
 several small states to the north and west of Mysore, includ- 
 ing Kanara and Malabar. In this fashion he converted the 
 Hindu Raj of Mysore into the seat of a new Muhammadan 
 empire. He formed no political alliances. He committed 
 raids on the territories of all his neighbors ; on the Mahrattas 
 of Poona, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Nawab of the 
 Carnatic. At the same time he excited the jealous alarm 
 of the English by secret dealings with the French of Pondi- 
 cherry. 
 
 The English were soon disgusted with their alliance with 
 Nizam Ali. The united armies invaded Mysore and cap- 
 tured Bangalore. Meantime Nizam Ali was secretly in- 
 triguing with the Mysore court. He tried to win over the 
 regent Nunjeraj; but Hyder Ali discovered the plot, and
 
 BRITISH INDIA 369 
 
 nothing more was heard of Nunjeraj. Nizam Ali next tried 
 to win over Hyder Ali. This plot succeeded. Nizam Ali 
 deserted the English, and joined his forces with those of 
 Hyder Ali ; and the new confederates began to attack the 
 English and invade the Carnatic. 
 
 The English army was taken aback at this sudden treach- 
 ery, and retired toward Madras; but reinforcements came 
 up, and they succeeded in inflicting two decisive defeats on 
 the Muhammadan confederates. Nizam Ali was much 
 alarmed at these disasters. He had expected to crush the 
 English and recover the Carnatic from Muhammad Ali ; but 
 he began to fear that his own dominions were in danger. 
 Accordingly he repented of his treachery, deserted Hyder 
 Ali, fled toward Hyderabad, and sued the English for 
 peace. In 1768 another treaty was concluded between the 
 English and Nizam Ali, and relations were restored to their 
 former footing. 
 
 Nizam Ali had grounds for his alarm. While he was 
 uniting his forces with Hyder Ali against the English, the 
 puppet Padishah at Allahabad was once more brought into 
 play. Mr. Verelst, the successor of Lord Clive, thought to 
 checkmate Nizam Ali, and put an effectual stop to his in- 
 trigues with Hyder Ali, by procuring a blank firman, with 
 the seals of the Great Moghul, granting the whole of the 
 Nizam's dominions to any one whom the English might 
 choose. The firman was actually sent to Madras, leaving 
 the English there to fill in the name of any candidate that 
 pleased them. The Directors loudly condemned this trans- 
 action and ordered it to be cancelled. 1 
 
 Strange to say, Hyder Ali was relieved by the defection 
 
 1 The cool attempt of Mr. Verelst to deprive Nizam Ali of his dominions by 
 a simple firman from Shah Alam excited great wrath and astonishment at the 
 time. Nevertheless Verelst continued to regret that the design was not carried 
 out. At a subsequent period, when Shah Alam had fled from Allahabad to 
 Delhi, it was discovered that Hyder Ali of Mysore had been equally clever. 
 Hyder Ali had actually purchased letters of investiture from the pageant Padi- 
 shah at Delhi, under which he himself was appointed to the government of all 
 the dominions of the Nizam.
 
 870 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 of Nizam All. He retired to Mysore; but after collecting 
 his resources, he fought the English with varying success, 
 and then engaged in a series of rapid marches, which resem- 
 bled the movements and surprises of Sivaji. He exacted a 
 contribution from the Raja of Tanjore ; reopened communi- 
 cations with the reviving French settlement at Pondicherry; 
 and threatened to join the Mahrattas of Poona against the 
 English, unless the English joined him against the Mahrat- 
 tas. Finally he appeared at St. Thome, near Madras, with 
 an army of six thousand chosen horsemen. 
 
 The English at Madras were filled with consternation. 
 Their resources were exhausted ; they were alarmed for the 
 safety of their garden houses in the suburbs of Madras ; and 
 they hastened to make peace, because, as they said, they 
 had no money to carry on the war. In April, 1769, they 
 concluded an offensive and defensive treaty with Hyder Ali. 
 Each party agreed to restore all conquests, and to help the 
 other in the event of an invasion from the Mahrattas or any 
 other power. 
 
 All this while the affairs of the Company in Bengal were 
 drifting into financial anarchy. There was no war, nor ru- 
 mors of war, beyond an occasional demand from the Bhonsla 
 Raja of Berar for the payment of chout; but there was an 
 alarming decline in the public revenue; money was disap- 
 pearing from Bengal, and many of the native population 
 were sinking into helpless penury. In 1770 Mr. Verelst 
 returned to England, and was succeeded by Mr. Cartier as 
 Governor of Bengal. But there was no prospect of improve- 
 ment. In 1770-71 a terrible famine in Bengal added to the 
 general desolation. At last in 1771 Lord Olive's political 
 sham of a Moghul empire suddenly collapsed. Shah Alam 
 threw himself into the hands of the Mahrattas, and went off 
 to Delhi ; and the destinies of the native powers of India en- 
 tered upon a new phase, which is closely associated with the 
 Mahratta empire, and will demand separate consideration in 
 the following chapter. 
 
 The system of government introduced by Lord Clive had
 
 BRITISH INDIA 371 
 
 turned out a total failure. This was obvious before Lord 
 Clive left Calcutta; but for three or four years the system 
 was lauded to the skies as the grand discovery of the age. 
 At last the rapid diminution of the revenues of Bengal and 
 Behar opened the eyes of the Directors, and induced them to 
 break up the political sham, and to intrust the collection of 
 the land rents and the administration of justice to their Eu- 
 ropean servants. 
 
 The system introduced by Lord Clive was a double gov- 
 ernment, under which the English took over the revenue 
 and garrisoned the country, and left the administration in 
 the hands of native officials without prestige or authority. 
 This double government must not be confounded with party 
 government. There never has been a party government in 
 India with the natives on one side and the English on the 
 other. In the double government of Lord Clive the English 
 cared for nothing but the money, and left the native officials 
 to prey upon the people and ruin the country without check 
 or hindrance, so long as they collected the land rents and 
 paid over a satisfactory block sum into the English treasury. 
 
 This anomaly was not the fault of Lord Clive. It was 
 forced upon him, partly, as already seen, from motives of 
 policy as regards the French and Dutch, and partly also by 
 the force of public opinion in England. Strong indignation 
 had been felt in England at the interference of the servants 
 of the Company in the administration of Mir Kasim; and 
 strong opinions had been expressed that native officials should 
 be left alone. Accordingly Lord Clive had been induced to 
 recognize Muhammad Reza Khan as deputy Nawab at Mur- 
 shedabad, and to appoint Raja Shitab Rai as deputy Nawab 
 at Patna, in order that these two officials might conduct the 
 native administration. He also appointed a British Resident 
 at both places for the twofold purpose of taking over the rev- 
 enue from the deputy Nawabs, and of protecting the native 
 administration from any encroachments of the English. He 
 overlooked the fact that the power which .takes over the 
 revenue is responsible for the well-being of the people. The
 
 872 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 result was that all the vices of Oriental rule were left to 
 fester in the native administration; while the restrictions 
 imposed upon the British Residents prevented the possibility 
 of any reform. 
 
 In Bengal and Behar the bulk of the revenue was derived 
 from the land, which was assumed to be the property of the 
 state. The Ryots cultivated the land, paying rent to the 
 Zemindar of the district. The Zemindar collected the rents 
 of his district in the mixed character of landholder and rev- 
 enue-collector, and made monthly payments into the treas- 
 ury at Murshedabad or Patna. The income of the Zemindar 
 was thus derived, not from his rental, but from profit. It 
 comprised the difference between the gross rents he received 
 from the Ryots and the net proceeds which he paid into the 
 treasury at headquarters. 
 
 The Ryots were mostly Hindus servile, timid, and help- 
 less. The Zemindars were mostly Muhammadans from Per- 
 sia, bred amid the tyranny and corruption which prevailed 
 in Persia, and devoid of all sympathy for the Hindu popula- 
 tion. 1 They collected not only rents but irregular cesses; 
 and whenever there was a marriage in the house of a Zemin- 
 dar, or a son was born, or a fine was levied on the Zemindar 
 on account of some delay or defalcation, the Ryots were 
 compelled to contribute according to then* means. There 
 was no way of escape, except by bribing the servants of the 
 Zemindar, reaping the crops at night and hiding the grain, 
 or throwing up the holding and flying the country. 
 
 All this while the Zemindar was magistrate of the dis- 
 trict. He could fine, imprison, torture, and even execute 
 heinous offenders, and there was no one to control him. 
 There were Muhammadan Kazis and Brahman Pundits to 
 decide civil cases, and there were higher courts of appeal ; 
 but no one could obtain redress without a large expenditure 
 in presents or bribes, or the interference of some powerful 
 grandee. 
 
 1 See Verelst'a Beugal. Also Early Records of British India.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 373 
 
 In addition to the Zemindars, there always had been gov- 
 ernors or deputy Nawabs of the same type as Muhammad 
 Keza Khan and Raja Shitab Rai. They governed large 
 towns or circles; received the collections from the Zemin- 
 dars; and kept the peace throughout their respective juris- 
 dictions. Originally their posts had been filled by Muham- 
 madan officers; but later Nawabs preferred promoting Hindu 
 officials, and giving them the honorary title of "Raja." ' 
 
 The only check on Zemindars and deputy Nawabs was 
 the right of petition to the Nawab ; and this check in olden 
 time had exercised a restraining influence on oppression. 
 Former Nawabs would often sit in state, and spend a great 
 part of their days in hearing petitions and passing judgments 
 with the assistance of law officers. Sometimes the iniquitous 
 oppressions and exactions of a Zemindar were forced on the 
 attention of a Nawab, and were punished by the confiscation 
 of his goods and removal from his Zemindary. Sometimes, 
 justly or unjustly, a Hindu Raja was recalled from his post, 
 deprived of all his goods and chattels, and put to an igno- 
 minious death as a punishment for his misdeeds, or in order 
 to replenish the coffers of a grasping Nawab. 
 
 But under the double government created by Lord Clive, 
 embezzlement, corruption, and oppression flourished as in a 
 hotbed. Not only was there no check, but there was every 
 temptation to guilty collusion. No Zemindars could have 
 been anxious to swell the collections of revenue for the ben- 
 efit of the East India Company ; nor were the deputy Nawabs 
 eager to detect defalcations and abuses, when they might be 
 bribed to silence by a share in the spoil. The new puppet 
 Nawab Nazim had no inducement to hear petitions, and no 
 
 1 Muhammadan governors were often turbulent and refractory ; and they 
 squandered all their ill-gotten gains on pomp and pleasure. Hindus were more 
 amenable to authoritj^, and delighted in hoarding up gold and jewels ; so that 
 as occasion served they could be squeezed of all the riches they had absorbed. 
 Mir Jafir removed some of the Hindu Rajas, and appointed Muhammadan kins- 
 men of his own to the vacant posts. Muhammad Reza Khan was a fair sample 
 of a Muhammadan grandee ; while Shitab Rai was a favorable specimen of a 
 Hindu Raja.
 
 374 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 power to enforce judgment. The deputy Nawabs, Muham- 
 mad Reza Khan at Murshedabad and Raja Shitab Rai at 
 Patna, were supposed to hear petitions; but they had a 
 thousand interests to consult, of Englishmen as well as 
 Zemindars, and it is impossible to know whether they per- 
 formed their duties well or ill. Meanwhile the English ser- 
 vants of the East India Company were merchants, educated 
 for the counting-house, skilled in bargaining and commerce, 
 and impressed with the conviction that the one aim and ob- 
 ject of life in India was to make a fortune and return to 
 England at the earliest possible opportunity. 
 
 The outward working of the Nizamut may be gathered 
 from a solemn farce which was played every year at Mur- 
 shedabad. The annual revenue settlements were arranged 
 at a yearly festival known as the Poona. The Zemindars 
 assembled at the capital to make their agreements as regards 
 the monthly payments of revenue for the ensuing year. The 
 Nawab Nazim took his seat on the throne in empty dignity ; 
 while the English Governor of Bengal and Behar stood on 
 his right hand as representing the Honorable Company in 
 the quality of Dewan. 
 
 One result of the new system of government was the 
 rapid disappearance of rupees. Silver was no longer im- 
 ported from Europe for the purchase of commodities or pay- 
 ment of salaries; while large quantities were exported to 
 Madras and China, or carried to Europe by the Company's 
 servants, who retired with large fortunes. The old Nawabs 
 of Murshedabad had squandered enormous sums on pomps 
 and pleasures, which, however useless in themselves, had kept 
 the money in the country. Under the English regime these 
 expenses had been largely curtailed ; the army was disbanded, 
 the vast menageries of animals and birds were broken up, 
 and there were large reductions in the household and zenana. 
 But the money thus saved was sent out of Bengal ; and a 
 host of native soldiery and parasites were reduced to beg- 
 gary. A native contemporary remarked, in the language of 
 Oriental hyperbole, that grain had become exceedingly cheap
 
 BRITISH INDIA 375 
 
 because there was no money to buy it ; that a native horse- 
 man was becoming as rare as a phoenix; and that but for 
 the money spent by the English in the purchase of raw silk, 
 opium, and white piece goods, a silver rupee, or a gold 
 mohur, would have been as rare as a philosopher's stone. 1 
 
 The stoppage of the exports of silver from Bengal to 
 China, and increased public expenditure in Bengal, lessened 
 the evils arising from the outflow of silver; but nothing 
 would check the rapid decline of the revenue. Mr. Verelst, 
 who succeeded Lord Olive as Governor of Bengal, Laems to 
 have understood the causes of the decrease. For years he 
 had overlooked the revenue administration in Burdwan, 
 Midnapore and Chittagong, and had seen the roguery which 
 pervaded all classes of native officials, and the unblushing 
 rascality of their servants and dependents. But Verelst was 
 hampered by Olive's political system of non-interference, 
 and was compelled to use the utmost caution in introduc- 
 ing European supervision. 
 
 In the first instance Verelst appointed English super- 
 visors into the different districts, with instructions to report 
 all that was going on, but not to interfere in the native ad- 
 ministration. Subsequently the English Residents at Mur- 
 shedabad and Patna were encouraged to inquire into the 
 donduct of affairs; and ultimately committees of English- 
 men were appointed in association with Muhammad Reza 
 Khan and Shitab Rai. 
 
 At this crisis the natives were taken aback by a social 
 revolution. Hitherto the English had kept aloof from na- 
 tive gentlemen, and taken no pleasure in their society ; but 
 now they began to form intimacies with Muhammadan and 
 Hindu grandees, and to converse with them on political 
 affairs. It was remarked by the native writer already 
 quoted, that the English eagerly inquired into the laws, 
 usages, and modes of transacting public business, and wrote 
 down all they heard in books for the information of other 
 
 1 Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin, by Gholam Husain All.
 
 376 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Englishmen. Meanwhile the native grandees were envious 
 and jealous of each other; and every one was ready to re- 
 port the misdoings of the others, in order to win the favor 
 of the English gentlemen, or to conceal his own backslid- 
 ings and shortcomings. 
 
 The English gentlemen, it was said, also attended courts 
 of justice, and sometimes expressed surprise at what they 
 saw or heard. When an offender was convicted and fined, 
 his accuser also was required to pay a fine by way of thanks- 
 giving. The English could not understand this, and asked 
 why a man should be fined who had committed no offence? 
 They were told it was the custom of the country. Again, 
 when a Zemindar or Kazi tried a civil case, he took a fourth 
 part of the amount in dispute as his fee. This again the 
 English could not understand, as they had no such custom 
 in their country. 
 
 Under such circumstances the native grandees would 
 be most polite and obliging, while an Englishman would be 
 sometimes gulled. A Mr. George Vansittart 1 was sent to 
 Patna, where Raja Shitab Rai was acting as deputy Nawab; 
 and Gholam Husain Ali describes the circumstances of their 
 meeting, and the ultimate results, with much apparent truth- 
 fulness and simplicity: 
 
 "When it was known that Mr. Vansittart was coming to 
 Patna, all the enemies of Shitab Rai conceived mighty hopes 
 from the change. The capacity and politeness of the Raja 
 were such that few could have found fault with his adminis- 
 tration; but many were envious of his greatness, and pre- 
 pared to light up a mighty flame, so that he himself was 
 fearful of the consequences. The hem of his robe was pretty 
 free from dirt, and the blemishes in it were few in compari- 
 son with his many services ; yet he was so alive to the incon- 
 veniences that might arise from the difference of nation and 
 language, and his ignorance of Mr. Vansittart's character 
 and genius, that he was very doubtful of his fate. 
 
 1 This was a brother of Governor Vansittart, who perished at sea during a 
 return voyage to India.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 377 
 
 "When Mr. Vansittart approached Patna, the Raja went 
 out to meet him, took him on his elephant, and brought him- 
 into the city. This was very mortifying to the enemies of 
 the Raja, who were hastening to wait on Mr. Vansittart in 
 order to set up a shop of chicanery and malice. They were 
 all struck dumb by his artful behavior. As a great states- 
 man and accountant, he had ready every kind of paper that 
 could be called for. He was firm and steady in his behavior 
 and answers ; never boggled or prevaricated ; never hesitated 
 to furnish any information that was required ; and answered 
 with so much propriety as to leave no opening for an impu- 
 tation on his character. Accordingly Mr. Vansittart was so 
 convinced of his fidelity, wisdom, and knowledge, that he 
 opened the gates of friendship and union. Nor was the 
 Raja wanting to himself in such an overture. By respect- 
 ful behavior, and a number of curious presents, he gained so 
 much on the mind of Mr. Vansittart, that the latter gentle- 
 man was thoroughly satisfied. 
 
 "Raja Shitab Rai behaved to men of virtue and distinc- 
 tion with a modesty and humility that disarmed envy. He 
 was quick at understanding the intent of every man's peti- 
 tion. If he granted a request it was with the utmost con- 
 descension; if he refused a petition it was with handsome 
 excuses and in condoling language. He was engaged in 
 business, and in conferences with different people, from day- 
 break till noon, and from evening till three o'clock in the 
 morning. He never seemed fatigued with the number of 
 applicants, or impatient at the extravagance of their de- 
 mands; and he never used a harsh word, or the language 
 of abuse or reprimand. He was generous and hospitable, 
 after the manner of a middle class Moghul Amir of Hindu- 
 stan. "Whenever a person of distinction came to Patna the 
 Raja always sent him a number of trays of sweetmeats, 
 delicacies, and dressed victuals according to his rank and 
 station. 
 
 "But Rajah Shitab Rai was not wholly free from blame. 
 He was too fond of obliging and gratifying his friends and
 
 878 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 acquaintances. He religiously abstained from appropriating 
 the public money, but his salary and private means fell very 
 short of his expenses, and he was obliged moreover to be- 
 stow sums of money on Europeans. In order, therefore, to 
 adjust his means to his expenses, he adopted two methods, 
 which were both iniquitous. When a man was indebted to 
 the public treasury it was customary to send one or two con- 
 stables to compel payment, and to charge their diet money 
 to the debtor. But Shitab Rai sent dozens of constables, 
 and entered but a very small part of the diet money in the 
 book of receipts, and kept the remainder to expend on his 
 liberalities. Again, Shitab Rai called upon all jaghirdars 
 and other landholders to produce their title-deeds on the 
 pretence that some English gentlemen wanted to examine 
 them ; and he refused to return the documents until the in- 
 cumbent had contributed a sum of money in proportion to 
 his means. All these contributions he bestowed on English- 
 men that had been recommended to him ; and seemed to be 
 wholly occupied in keeping the gentlemen of that nation in 
 good humor. ' ' 
 
 The observations and admissions of Gholam Husain Ali 
 sufficiently reveal the early results of the collision between 
 the European and Hindu mind during the rise of British 
 power in Bengal. Raja Shitab Rai was a type of the na- 
 tive grandees and officials of the eighteenth century, and a 
 prototype of a considerable number of the nineteenth. By 
 readiness and business habits, and a constant study of the 
 temper of his employers, he had gradually risen from one 
 post to another, until he had gained the favor of Lord Olive, 
 and was appointed deputy Nawab at Patna. Of course the 
 Raja was most attentive and profoundly respectful to the 
 English gentlemen; for it was currently believed by every 
 native of standing and experience that all Englishmen, espe- 
 cially officials, were gratified with the language of flattery 
 and adulation. The Raja was also ever ready with his ex- 
 
 1 Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin, Calcutta translation.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 379 
 
 planations, having probably learned them by heart before 
 Mr. Vansittart's arrival; being well aware that nothing ex- 
 asperates an Englishman so much as boggling or prevarica- 
 tion, and that almost any lie may be swallowed so long as it 
 is prompt and plausible. Meanwhile, the number and value 
 of the Raja's presents could scarcely fail to make a gratify- 
 ing impression on Mr. Vansittart, and have thoroughly sat- 
 isfied that gentleman of his faithfulness and capacity. The 
 public conduct of the Raja toward petitioners was modelled 
 after that of the most polished Oriental statesmen, as being 
 the best calculated for confirming friends and disarming 
 enemies. Unfortunately Shitab Rai found that he must 
 keep on good terms with English gentlemen at any price; 
 and consequently he was driven to commit those acts of em- 
 bezzlement and oppression which his best friends must have 
 deplored, and for which the Englishmen of those days were 
 more or less responsible. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Directors in England threw all the blame 
 of the declining revenues on the crafty practices of the native 
 officials, and the corrupt collusion between their own English 
 servants and the deputy Nawabs at Mushedabad and Patua 
 Muhammad Reza Khan and Raja Shitab Rai. How far 
 they were justified in these conclusions may be gathered 
 from the admissions of Gholam Husain Ali, who evidently 
 entertained a high opinion of Shitab Rai. Gholam Husain 
 Ali was infinitely more bitter against Muhammad Reza 
 Khan, charging him with pride and insolence, corruption 
 and crime; but as the writer was notoriously an enemy to 
 Muhammad Reza Khan, it would be invidious to repeat 
 the accusations. 
 
 The Directors in England were exasperated beyond meas- 
 ure by their losses in trade. The Indian commodities and 
 manufactures had risen in price and deteriorated hi value, 
 chiefly, it was believed, through the culpable heedlessness, 
 or still more guilty connivance, of their servants in the dif- 
 ferent factories. At the same time, the public expenditure 
 in Bengal had risen to such a pitch that the Company was
 
 380 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 brought to the verge of ruin. Yet year after year the Com- 
 pany's servants returned to England loaded with wealth, 
 which they were supposed to have wrung out of native 
 princes, or acquired by oppressing the native population. 
 
 It is needless to dwell on obsolete scandals. No doubt, 
 presents were received from native contractors, and "dus- 
 toori," or commission, from native dealers and manufac- 
 turers. No one was better acquainted with the Company's 
 trade at the factories up country than "Warren Hastings; 
 and he bitterly complained that the Directors were rigid 
 about salaries, while they were indifferent about perqui- 
 sites, though the former were but pittances, while the lat- 
 ter amounted to lakhs. 1 Corruption was equally rampant 
 at Calcutta. Contracts were given to Europeans for every 
 kind of public expenditure, while the work was intrusted to 
 natives; and whoever obtained a contract seemed to make a 
 fortune. The Directors saw that large sums were entered 
 in the public accounts, which they were unable to audit, and 
 which only confirmed their worst suspicions. 
 
 All this while the people of the country were bitterly com- 
 plaining of being abandoned to the oppression and extortion 
 of native officials. The author of the Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin 
 testifies to the superiority of the English, but denounces 
 their selfish neglect of the masses. "When," he says, "the 
 Shahzada invaded Behar, the people prayed that he might 
 be victorious and prosperous, for they remembered the good 
 government and favors they had enjoyed under his ances- 
 tors. But when they found themselves harassed and plun- 
 dered by his disorderly soldiery, and saw that the English 
 never touched a blade of grass, nor injured the weakest in- 
 dividual, they changed their minds; and when the Shahzada 
 was proclaimed Padishah, and invaded Behar under the 
 name of Shah Alam, they loaded him with reproaches and 
 prayed for victory and prosperity for the English army. 
 But they soon ceased to pray for the English; for the new 
 
 1 Gleig's Memoirs of Warren Hastings, vol. i. chap. viii.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 381 
 
 rulers paid no attention to the concerns of the people of Hin- 
 dustan, and suffered them to be mercilessly plundered, op- 
 pressed, and tormented, by officers of their own appointing." 
 
 In 1771 matters were brought to a climax by a horrible 
 famine in Bengal. It is needless to dwell upon the details 
 of death and desolation. Indian famines have been familiar- 
 ized to readers of the present generation, but were intensified 
 in the eighteenth century by the inadequacy of the measures 
 taken to meet the evil. Many English gentlemen, as well 
 as Shitab Rai, and perhaps other grandees, labored hard to 
 alleviate the general suffering by feeding thousands at their 
 own expense, and bringing down stores of grain from cheaper 
 markets. But alarming news had reached England that cer- 
 tain Englishmen had confederated with Muhammad Reza 
 Khan to profit by the national disaster by hoarding up large 
 stocks of grain and selling it out at famine prices. 
 
 The result of all these complicated suspicions and charges 
 was that the Directors determined on a radical reform ; and 
 to intrust this important work to Mr. Warren Hastings by 
 appointing him to be Governor of Bengal. Hastings was a 
 man of large Indian experience and clear-headed capacity; 
 and up to this period was regarded as a man of probity. 
 Accordingly the Directors expected Hastings to bring back 
 their European servants to a sense of duty, moderation, and 
 loyalty to the Company ; and to remodel the administration 
 by transferring the collection of the revenue from natives to 
 Europeans. 
 
 The advent of Warren Hastings is the beginning of a 
 new era. He introduced British administration into Bengal 
 and Behar ; and he was drawn by the Bombay government 
 into hostilities on a large scale against the Mahrattas. Ac- 
 cordingly, before entering on the history of his government, 
 it will be as well to review the progress of affairs in Bombay 
 and the neighboring empire of the Mahrattas.
 
 382 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 BOMBAY MAHRATTA EMPIRE 
 
 A.D. 1748 TO 1772 
 
 DURING the eighteenth century Madras, Calcutta, 
 and Bombay had each a political life of its own. 
 This individuality is disappearing in an age of rail- 
 ways and telegraphs; but it has left lasting marks on the 
 traditions of the past; and before proceeding further with 
 the history, it may be as well to sum up the distinctive char- 
 acteristics in the annals of each of the three Presidencies. 
 
 Madras is seated in an open roadstead on the sandy and 
 surf -bound coast of Coromandel. On the sea side it looks 
 over the large expanse of the Bay of Bengal toward Burma, 
 Siam, Sumatra, the Eastern Archipelago, and the more re- 
 mote territories of China and Japan. On the land side it 
 was associated with the establishment of the Nawabs of the 
 Carnatic and Nizams of Hyderabad as independent princes; 
 with old wars between England and France ; with the cap- 
 ture of Madras by Labourdonnais, the ambitious dreams of 
 Dupleix, the siege of Trichinopoly by .Chunder Sahib and the 
 French, the defence of Arcot by Clive, the victory of Eyre 
 Coote at Wandiwash, and the temporary destruction of 
 Pondicherry in 1761; and, finally, with the rise of Hyder 
 Ali in the western tableland of Mysore. 
 
 Calcutta is situated a hundred miles up the river Hughli, 
 amid green rice-fields and overgrown jungles. It is remote 
 from the sea and busied with shipping in the river. Before 
 the age of railways a water communication united Calcutta 
 with Patna and Benares, and opened up the heart of Hin- 
 dustan. The English settlement was associated with mem-
 
 BRITISH INDIA 383 
 
 ones of the Black Hole, the recovery of Calcutta from the 
 Nawab, the expulsion of the French from Chandernagore, 
 the triumph at Plassy, the setting up of Nawabs at Murshed- 
 abad, the acquisition of Bengal and Behar in 1765, the sub- 
 sequent introduction of British administration into Bengal 
 and Behar by Warren Hastings, and the rise of a British 
 empire which was to overshadow Hindustan and establish 
 a dominion from the Brahmaputra to the Indus. 
 
 Bombay is a small island on the Malabar coast, com- 
 manding the finest harbor on the eastern seas, and looking 
 over the Indian Ocean toward Muscat and Madagascar, the 
 Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. It was the dowry of Cath- 
 erine, the Portuguese wife of Charles the Second. On the 
 land side it was hemmed round with Mahrattas, who exer- 
 cised dominion, or collected chout, from Bombay to Bengal, 
 from Guzerat to Orissa, and from Malwa to Mysore. 
 
 The other neighbors of the English settlement at Bombay 
 were maritime powers. On the north and south were the 
 Abyssinians of Surat and Jinjeera, whose hereditary chiefs, 
 known as the Seedees, or Sidis, 1 were the nominal lord high 
 admirals of the Moghul; the protectors of Moghul traders 
 and Mecca pilgrims against the pirates of Malabar. Further 
 to the south were the Mahratta pirates of Malabar ; the hered- 
 itary Angrias of Gheria ; the representatives of the Malabar 
 corsairs, who had been the terror of the Indian Ocean since 
 the days of Pliny and the Caesars. 
 
 The frontiers of the great Mahratta empire were ever 
 changing like those of the Parthians. In fact, the Mah- 
 rattas were the Parthians of India, and their dominion 
 extended as far as the Mahratta horsemen could harry 
 and destroy. But a distinction must be drawn between 
 Maharashtra proper, the homes of the Mahratta-speaking 
 people, and the outlying military dominion of Mahratta 
 feudatories. Maharashtra proper was the hereditary king- 
 
 1 The term Seedee, when assumed by the Africans, is a term of dignity corre- 
 sponding to the Arabic term Saiyid, or lord. In India, however, it was some- 
 times used as a term of reproach rather than of distinction. Grant Duff.
 
 384 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 dom of the Maharajas of the house of Sivaji. The military 
 lieutenants outside the Mahratta pale were freebooting 
 chiefs, who originally held commissions from the reign- 
 ing Maharaja, but who gradually grew into vassal princes; 
 while the outlying territories which they plundered hard- 
 ened into semi-independent provinces of a loose Mahratta 
 empire. 
 
 The seats of the home government of the Mahratta coun- 
 try are indicated by three important fortresses, running from 
 north to south, and known as Poona, Satara, and Kolhapore. 
 Poona was situated about seventy miles to the southeast of 
 Bombay; it was originally the stronghold of Sivaji, the 
 founder of the Mahratta empire, but was subsequently sur- 
 rendered to the generals of Aurangzeb. Satara was the 
 capital of Sahu, the grandson of Sivaji, and last of the 
 Bhonsla dynasty. Kolhapore was the capital of an inde- 
 pendent principality founded by a rival branch of the same 
 Bhonsla family. * 
 
 The four leading Mahratta feudatories have already been 
 mentioned: namely, the Gaekwar in Guzerat; Holkar and 
 Sindia in Malwa, between the Nerbudda and the Chambal 
 rivers; and the Raja of Berar and Nagpore to the north of 
 the Nizam of Hyderabad. 11 The three former were of low 
 caste; but the Berar Raja belonged to the tribe of Bhonslas, 
 of which Sivaji was a member. The Bhonsla Raja of Berar 
 was also the most powerful of the four; for he had con- 
 quered large territories from the Nizam of the Dekhan, 
 and occupied the Orissa country to the south of Behar and 
 Bengal. 
 
 The early history of the Mahratta feudatories is a con- 
 fused narrative of family quarrels, assassinations, and pred- 
 atory exploits, varied by frequent disputes with the Maha- 
 
 1 The Raj of Kolhapore was held by a younger brother of Sahu, known as 
 Sambhaji the Second, to distinguish him from his father, the first Sambhaji, who 
 was executed by Aurangzeb. See ante, p. 217. Further south, near Goa, was 
 the Bhonsla chief of Sawant Waree, but he has played little or no part in history. 
 
 2 See ante, pp. 258, 259.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 385 
 
 raja's government as to the amount of revenue or chout to 
 be paid into the Maharaja's treasury. About the middle 
 of the eighteenth century the four great feudatories were 
 beginning to found dynasties, namely, Damaji Qaekwar, 
 Mulhar Rao Holkar, Ranuji Sindia, and Rughuji Bhonsla. 
 
 Maharaja Sahu, grandson of Sivaji, died at Satara in 
 1748. For some years before his death he had been nearly 
 imbecile. A favorite dog had saved his life while hunting 
 a tiger. He conferred a jaghir on the dog, and provided 
 it with a palanquin and bearers. He dressed the dog in 
 brocade and jewels, placed his own turban on its head, and 
 in this fashion received Mahratta chiefs in full durbar. He 
 was conscious of his dependence on his Brahman prime min- 
 ister, or Peishwa, and boasted that he had conquered India 
 from the Muhammadans and given it to the Brahmans. 
 
 Sahu died childless; consequently before his death there 
 had been plots in the zenana as regards the succession. An 
 old princess of the family, named Tara Bai, produced a boy, 
 named Raja Ram, whom she declared was her own grand- 
 son. Nothing was known of the boy, but she persuaded the 
 dying Sahu that he was the legitimate descendant of Sivaji, 
 and consequently the rightful heir to the throne at Satara. 
 Her object was to secure the throne for the boy, and then 
 to rule the Mahratta empire as regent during the minority 
 of her reputed grandson. 1 
 
 Sukwar Bai, the chief wife of Sahu, was hotly opposed 
 to the scheme of Tara Bai. She had no notion of seeing 
 Tara Bai occupy the post of regent. She declared that Raja 
 Ram was an impostor. She intrigued in behalf of a claim- 
 ant of the house of Kolhapore, who was also a descendant 
 of Sivaji. She secretly won over several partisans, but 
 
 1 Tara Bai was a widow of Raja Ram, the youngest son of Sivaji. When 
 Sambhaji the First, the elder son of Sivaji, was executed by Aurangzeb in 1689, 
 Raja Ram succeeded to the sovereignty of the Mahrattas. Raja Ram died in 
 1700, and Tara Bai became regent during the minority of a son who was an 
 idiot. In 1708 Tara Bai was deposed and imprisoned. Forty years afterward, 
 she was, as stated in the text, once more intriguing for the regency. Pertinacity 
 is a national characteristic of the Mahrattas, male and female. 
 X 17 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 886 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 sought to conceal her plans by publicly declaring that on 
 the death of Sahu she would burn herself alive on his funeral 
 pile. 
 
 All this while Balaji Rao, the third Peishwa, was bent 
 on usurping the sovereignty of the Mahratta empire. * Like 
 his predecessors, he was a type of those secular Brahmans 
 who ignore the religious duties of their caste in order to 
 pursue their ambitious designs. He kept a watchful eye 
 on the two princesses, who were plotting for the sovereign 
 power, which he was resolved to secure for himself and his 
 son after him. For a long time he was anxious and hesitat- 
 ing as to whose cause he should espouse. At last he pro- 
 fessed to believe in the legitimacy of Raja Ram; intending 
 in the end to set aside the regency of Tara Bai, and treat the 
 boy Maharaja as a puppet of his own. 
 
 On the death of Sahu, Balaji Rao occupied Satara with 
 troops, and threw the partisans of Sukwar Bai into prison. 
 He then got rid of Sukwar Bai by insidiously begging her 
 not to burn herself, while persuading her kinsfolk that the 
 family would be dishonored by the violation of her vow. 
 Maddened with wrath against the Peishwa, the distracted 
 widow was forced to perish in the flames which consumed 
 the body of her deceased husband. 
 
 Balaji Rao behaved very differently to Tara Bai. For a 
 while he treated her with the utmost respect and deference. 
 Indeed her influence was necessary to secure the allegiance 
 of the great feudatories of the Mahratta empire ; the Gaekwar 
 in Guzerat, Sindia and Holkar in Malwa, and the Bhonsla 
 Raja of Berar. The Bhonsla Raja of Berar was especially 
 dreaded by the Peishwa; for he not only belonged to the 
 same tribe as Sivaji, but he had always nursed a secret 
 design on the throne of Satara by virtue of his kinship to 
 
 1 There were three Peishwas who successively exercised supreme power at 
 Satara as the hereditary prime ministers of Maharaja Sahu. Balaji Vishvanath, 
 the grandfather, died in 1720. Baji Rao, the son, died in 1740. Balaji Rao, the 
 grandson, and third Peishwa, succeeded to the post in 1740, and usurped the 
 sovereignty in 1748. See ante, pp. 257-264, 269.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 387 
 
 Sivaji. The Bhonsla on his part was very jealous of the 
 ascendency of the Brahmans; very suspicious of Balaji Rao; 
 and very sceptical as regards the legitimacy of Raja Ram. 
 Tara Bai, however, clinched the matter by eating with Raja 
 Ram in the presence of the Bhonsla tribe, and swearing on 
 the food that he was her legitimate grandson. The Bhonsla 
 of Berar was thus compelled to acquiesce in the succession 
 of Raja Ram; and none of the other feudatories were pre- 
 pared to resist the authority of the hereditary Peishwa. 
 
 Balaji Rao next proceeded to Poona, the old stronghold 
 of Sivaji, leaving Tara Bai and Raja Ram at Satara. He 
 produced a deed, purporting to be under the hand of the 
 deceased Sahu, granting to himself, as Peishwa, the guar- 
 dianship of the Mahratta empire, so long as he maintained 
 a descendant of the famous Sivaji on the throne of Satara. 
 He removed all the officials and records to Poona; and 
 henceforth Poona, and not Satara, was regarded as the 
 capital of the Mahratta empire. 
 
 At Poona Balaji Rao retained the forms of the old Mah- 
 ratta constitution. Sivaji had appointed eight Purdhans 
 or ministers, beginning with the Peishwa or premier, and 
 including a treasurer, public record keeper, private record 
 keeper, war minister, foreign minister, chief justice, and 
 head Shastri. 1 Balaji Rao retained these ministers in nom- 
 inal employ ; but he kept all real power in his own hands. 
 
 Balaji Rao was soon prepared to take advantage of the 
 troubled politics of the times. The year 1748, as already 
 stated, was an epoch in India. 9 The war between the En- 
 glish and French in Southern India had been brought to a 
 close by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ; but rival Nizams 
 were fighting for the throne of Hyderabad, and rival Na- 
 wabs were fighting in the Carnatic for the throne of Arcot; 
 
 1 The head Shastri was an important member of the Mahratta government. 
 He was the expounder of Hindu law and scriptures, and general referee in all 
 matters of religion, criminal law and judicial astrology. At a later period the 
 office was held by a celebrated Brahman, named Bam Shastri, who played an 
 important part in the history. 
 
 9 See ante, p. 287.
 
 388 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 and in spite of the peace between Great Britain and France, 
 the English and French were soon fighting against each 
 other under pretence of taking opposite sides in the native 
 wars for the succession. Under such circumstances, Balaji 
 Rao, like a true Mahratta, was soon invading both the 
 Dekhan and Carnatic; not to take any part in the dissen- 
 sions, unless he was paid for it, but chiefly to collect chout 
 and annex districts, while the regular forces, which might 
 have checked his inroads, were fighting elsewhere. 
 
 Suddenly Balaji Rao was recalled to Satara. Tara Bai 
 had resolved to throw off his yoke. She tried to stir up the 
 boy Raja Ram to assert his sovereignty ; and she called on 
 Damaji Gaekwar to deliver the lad from the thraldom of the 
 Brahman. Raja Ram was too stupid or feeble for her pur- 
 pose; but Damaji Gaekwar obeyed her summons. Mean- 
 while she struck at the root of the Peishwa's authority by 
 confessing that Raja Ram was no descendant of Sivaji, but 
 a low-caste boy who had been changed for her grandson. 
 Accordingly she threw Raja Ram into a dungeon, and 
 vowed to atone for her perjury by rites and sacrifices on 
 the bank of the holy Kistna. 
 
 Balaji Rao was equal to the emergency. He feigned to 
 make terms with the Gaekwar, and then treacherously sur- 
 rounded him and carried him off prisoner to Poona. But 
 Tara Bai set the Peishwa at defiance; refused to surrender 
 Raja Ram; and prepared to stand a siege at Satara. Balaji 
 Rao left her alone for a while; he saw that the Mahratta 
 people still regarded her as their rightful regent ; and mean- 
 while she was ruining her claim to the regency by shutting 
 up the boy Maharaja in the fortress, and declaring him to be 
 an impostor. 
 
 For some years Balaji Rao carried on a variety of opera- 
 tions in the Dekhan and Carnatic. Villages were ruthlessly 
 plundered, and village officials were put to the torture ; and 
 if a fortress ventured to hold out, and was reduced by force 
 of arms, the whole garrison was put to the sword. 
 
 All this while Balaji Rao was carrying on some obscure
 
 BRITISH INDIA 389 
 
 intrigues with Delhi. Muhammad Shah, the last of the 
 Moghul Padishahs worthy of the name, had died in 1748, 
 the same year as Sahu. Since then the Moghul court at 
 Delhi had presented a troubled scene of anarchy and blood- 
 shed. The successors of Muhammad Shah were mere pag- 
 eants, who were set up, deposed, or murdered by the Vizier; 
 while the grandees plotted against each other, or intrigued 
 with Afghans or Mahrattas, in order to obtain the post of 
 Vizier, or that of Amir of Amirs. Ghazi-ud-din, the grand- 
 son of Nizam-ul-mulk, carried on a secret correspondence 
 with the Mahrattas, and ultimately obtained the post of 
 Vizier. Nothing, however, is known of these intrigues be- 
 yond the characteristic fact that Balaji Rao found it con- 
 venient to procure from the Vizier imperial firmans for all 
 the territories jwhich he had acquired on the side of Hyder- 
 abad during the wars for the succession. In return Balaji 
 Rao gave help or countenance to Ghazi-ud-din. 
 
 Damaji Gaekwar was still a prisoner at Poona, while 
 Tara Bai was fretting and fuming at Satara. Balaji Rao 
 did his best to conciliate the old lady ; but she insisted that 
 he should come to Satara and acknowledge her authority as 
 regent. He sent a force to invest Satara; and her com- 
 mandant, thinking that her cause was hopeless, formed a 
 plan for carrying Raja Ram out of the fort, and making him 
 over to the besiegers. But Tara Bai discovered the plot, and 
 ordered the traitor to be beheaded; and the garrison was 
 persuaded to put their own commandant to death, together 
 with other officers who had been implicated in the conspiracy. 
 
 The protracted imprisonment of Damaji Gaekwar was 
 inconvenient to the Peishwa. So long as the Gaekwar was 
 shut up in Poona, no revenue or tribute was forthcoming 
 from Guzerat. Accordingly the Peishwa and Gaekwar were 
 forced to come to terms ; and the latter was released and 
 returned to Guzerat. At the same time Tara Bai was per- 
 suaded to come to Poona. She still hated Balaji Rao and 
 the Brahmans, but submitted to her destiny. Balaji Rao 
 was still anxious that Raja Ram should remain shut up in
 
 390 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Satara; and he effected his object by entreating the old lady 
 to release the boy. Tara Bai was deaf to the feigned en- 
 treaties of the Peishwa, and persisted in keeping Raja Ram 
 a close prisoner until her death. 
 
 The English at Bombay were on friendly terms with 
 Balaji Rao. They would have joined him in an expedition 
 to drive the French out of the Dekhan, but for the treaty of 
 Pondicherry in 1755, which put an end to the war. 
 
 Subsequently the English and Mahrattas concerted a 
 joint attack on the piratical forts of Angria. Colonel Olive 
 and Admiral Watson stormed the strongholds at Gheria, 
 but the Mahratta generals held off, and carried on some 
 treacherous negotiations with Angria. Ultimately the forts 
 and territory were made over to the Peishwa according to 
 a previous arrangement; but Balaji Rao was very angry 
 because the English kept the treasure and stores as prize for 
 the forces engaged.' He wrote wrathful letters to the Gov- 
 ernor of Madras and King George the Second on the subject. 
 Subsequently he heard that the N"awab of Bengal had cap- 
 tured Calcutta, and that Great Britain was at war with 
 France, and he began to bluster. The victory at Plassy, 
 however, brought him to his senses, and nothing more was 
 heard of the Gheria prize-money. 
 
 Balaji Rao himself was neither a soldier nor an adminis- 
 trator. He was an intriguing Brahman restless, tortuous, 
 and crafty, but otherwise indolent and sensual. He gave 
 the command of his army in Hindustan to his brother, 
 Rughonath Rao, who was associated with Mulhar Rao 
 Holkar and Jyapa Sindia. " He intrusted the civil adminis- 
 tration at Poona to his cousin, Sivadas Rao Bhao ; 8 but often 
 
 1 The treasure in the forts at Gheria fell very far short of what was ex- 
 pected. But Angria escaped from the place before the engagement began, and 
 there is no doubt that he bribed the Mahratta generals. 
 
 * Jyapa, eldest son of Ranuji Sindia, succeeded to the command or principal- 
 ity of his father about 1754. Jyapa Sindia was assassinated at Jodhpur in 1759, 
 and was succeeded by a younger brother, named Mahadaji Sindia, who played 
 an important part in the later history. 
 
 3 This Mahratta officer is known to readers of Grant Duff's Mahratta history 
 by the name of Sewdasheo Bhow.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 391 
 
 employed him to command his expeditions in the Dekhan 
 and Carnatic. 
 
 Mahratta affairs at this period resembled a stormy sea. 
 The tides of war and plunder were ever and anon bursting 
 on remote quarters on Mysore and the Carnatic in the 
 Peninsula; on Hyderabad and Orissa in the eastern Dek- 
 han; on Guzerat, Malwa, and Bundelkund in Hindustan; 
 and as far northward as Lahore and the Rohilla country. 
 To trace these impetuous currents of bloodshed and deso- 
 lation would be tedious and bewildering. It will suffice to 
 say that wherever there was weakness or "war, black swarms 
 of Mahratta horsemen flew like vultures to the prey; while 
 their presence excited as great a panic at Delhi and Lahore 
 as at Arcot or Seringapatam. 
 
 Meanwhile the reign of terror in Delhi was followed by 
 a revolution. In 1754 the Vizier, Ghazi-ud-din, deposed and 
 blinded Ahmad Shah, the son and successor of Muhammad 
 Shah. He next set up an old Moghul prince, named Alam- 
 ghir, as a pageant. In these violent proceedings he was 
 supported by the Mahratta army under Rughonath Rao, the 
 brother of the Peishwa, who was encamped in the neighbor- 
 hood of Delhi. From Delhi, Rughonath Rao advanced to 
 Lahore, and for a brief period the Mahrattas were masters 
 of the Punjab in the room of the Afghans. 
 
 All this time the new Padishah, Alamghir, was in fear 
 of his life, and began to open up secret negotiations with 
 Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Afghan. His eldest son, known 
 as the Shahzada, shared his terrors, and fled from Delhi 
 toward Bengal, where he fell into the hands of Olive. In 
 1759 the Vizier put. Alamghir to death on suspicion of in- 
 triguing with the Afghans; and he then placed another 
 puppet on the throne at Delhi ; while the Shahzada, as the 
 eldest son of the murdered Moghul, was proclaimed Padi- 
 shah in Oude and Behar, under the name of Shah Alam. 
 
 At this crisis the avenging Nemesis appeared upon the 
 scene in the person of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Afghan 
 conqueror, who had been building up an Afghan empire
 
 392 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 ever since the death of Nadir Shah. Ahmad Shah Abdali 
 was furious at the audacity of the Mahrattas in entering his 
 province of the Punjab. He drove out Rughonath Rao and 
 advanced to Delhi, and became for a while the arbiter of the 
 destinies of the Moghul throne. Ghazi-ud-din fled from his 
 wrath into perpetual exile. Jewan Bakht, a son of Shah 
 Alam, was placed upon the throne of Delhi as the deputy 
 of his father; and Najib-ud-daula, the Rohilla Afghan, was 
 appointed regent, or guardian of the Moghul throne, under 
 the title of Amir of Amirs. 
 
 The tide of Mahratta conquest was thrown back by the 
 Afghan invasion. Rughonath Rao returned to Poona, and 
 was reproached for the heavy losses he had incurred in the 
 Punjab. He had left Holkar and Sindia to maintain their 
 hold on upper Hindustan ; but news soon reached the Dek- 
 han that both had been routed by the Afghans and were 
 flying from the Jumna to the Chambal. 
 
 The pride of Balaji Rao was deeply wounded by these 
 repulses. He had been puffed up by his conquests, and was 
 burning to wipe away the disgrace which had fallen upon 
 his armies. At the same tune a national spirit seemed to 
 kindle the Hindu people against the Afghan invaders. The 
 Mahratta army of the Dekhan was pushed to the northward 
 over the Nerbudda to the Chambal under the command of 
 Sivadas Rao Bhao. Beyond the Chambal the Mahratta 
 army was joined by Holkar, Sindia, and the Gaekwar. 
 Many Rajput princes also hastened to support the national 
 cause; while Jats, Pindharies, and other irregular forces, 
 flocked to the increasing host, to reap a harvest of plunder, 
 if not to share in the glory of driving the Afghans out of 
 Hindustan. 
 
 In January, 1761, the Mahrattas received a crushing de- 
 feat at Paniput. The details of that horrible slaughter have 
 been told in a previous chapter. 1 The tidings of the massacre 
 spread weeping and wailing throughout the Mahratta em- 
 
 1 See ante, p. 338.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 393 
 
 pire. Balaji Rao died broken-hearted at the disaster. His 
 death was followed by that of Tara Bai at the advanced age 
 of eighty-six, exalting in the thought that she had lived to 
 see the end of her hated and successful rival. 1 
 
 Balaji Rao was succeeded on the throne at Poona by his 
 young son, Mahdu Rao. The boy Peishwa, the fourth of 
 the name and second of the dynasty, was a minor of seven- 
 teen ; and his uncle Rughonath Rao, who planted the Mah- 
 ratta flag at Lahore and then retreated to Poona, became 
 regent during the minority. 
 
 The reign of Mahdu Rao began with the solemn farce 
 which is the main feature of Mahratta history. The young 
 Peishwa, accompanied by his uncle, the regent, proceeded 
 from Poona to Satara to receive his investiture as Peishwa, 
 or minister, from the puppet descendant of Sivaji, who was 
 reigning in a state prison at Satara as Maharaja of the Mah- 
 ratta empire. Mahdu Rao, however, was an amiable youth, 
 and his sympathies were enlisted in behalf of his imprisoned 
 sovereign. Accordingly, Ram Raja was released from the 
 fortress, and permitted to live henceforth as a prisoner at 
 large in the town of Satara. 
 
 At this juncture, the war for the succession to the throne 
 of Hyderabad was brought to a close. Salabut Jung was a 
 prisoner while his younger brother Nizam Ali reigned in his 
 room. Nizam Ali took advantage of the disaster of the Mah- 
 rattas at Paniput to advance an army toward Poona, in the 
 hope of recovering the territories which Balaji Rao had 
 wrested from the Hyderabad dominion. The threatened 
 invasion was stopped by a compromise, and Nizam Ali was 
 pacified with the cession of a part of the debatable territory. 
 
 At this period Mahdu Rao was hemmed round with ene- 
 mies. He was anxious to take a part in the government, 
 but was thwarted by his uncle the regent. The Mahratta 
 feudatories were growing disaffected, especially the Bhonsla 
 
 1 The life of Tara Bai would make a Mahratta romance. She was born in 
 1675, when Sivaji was reigning at Poona and Charles the Second was reigning 
 at Whitehall. She died in 1761, the first year of the reign of George the Third.
 
 394 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Raja of Berar. Rughuji Bhonsla died in 1754; but his son 
 and successor, Janoji Bhonsla, had inherited the family jeal- 
 ousy of the Brahmans, and the latent desire to seize the Mah- 
 ratta suzerainty. All this while Nizam Ali of Hyderabad 
 was watching the progress of affairs at Poona; ready to take 
 advantage of the quarrels between Mahdu Rao and his uncle, 
 or of the secret designs of Janoji Bhonsla, or of any other 
 turn in affairs, which might enable him to recover terri- 
 tory and revenue from the Peishwa, or cripple the Mahratta 
 power. 
 
 The disputes between Mahdu Rao and his uncle ended in 
 the flight of Rughonath Rao from Poona; but the fugitive 
 regent bought the support of Nizam Ali by promising to cede 
 more territory. At the same time Janoji Bhonsla of Berar 
 advanced an army toward Poona, without any avowed pur- 
 pose, but, like Nizam Ali, with the intention of profiting by 
 any change that turned up. These complications were 
 brought to a close by the young Peishwa, who suddenly 
 submitted himself to his uncle, Rughonath Rao, and was 
 promptly imprisoned. Nizam Ali then demanded the ces- 
 sion of territory which had been promised him ; but as the 
 regent had got the better of his nephew, and was strong 
 enough to defy the Nizam, he refused to fulfil his promise. 
 Nizam Ali saw that fortune was in favor of the regent, and 
 feigned great pleasure at the submission of the nephew to 
 the uncle, and withdrew for a while from the scene. 
 
 Rughonath Rao, finding himself uncontrolled regent at 
 Poona, proceeded, after Oriental fashion, to revenge himself 
 on his domestic enemies by removing them from office and 
 confiscating their property. This led to plots against him; 
 and the leaders made overtures to the Brahman minister of 
 Nizam Ali. 1 The Brahman suggested to his Muhammadan 
 
 1 Both Nizam Ali of Hyderabad and Hyder Ali of Mysore were Muhammadan 
 princes, and as such were natural enemies of Hindu idolaters like the Mahrattas ; 
 but both entertained Brahman ministers, and consequently, in spite of any open 
 wars that were being carried on, there were constant undercurrents of intrigue 
 between the Brahman rulers of Poona and the Brahman ministers at Hyderabad 
 and Mysore.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 395 
 
 master that the best way of overturning the regency of 
 Rughonath Rao was to declare that the Bhonsla Raja of 
 Berar was the rightful regent of the Mahratta empire. 1 
 
 Accordingly, Nizam Ali authorized his minister to com- 
 plete the negotiations with the Berar Raja, and Janoji 
 Bhonsla entered very warmly into the scheme for his own 
 aggrandizement. Meanwhile Nizam Ali, with his char- 
 acteristic duplicity, opened up a secret correspondence with 
 another member of the Bhonsla clan, known as the Raja of 
 Kolhapore, in order to have a competitor in reserve in the 
 event of Janoji Bhonsla proving troublesome. 
 
 Rughonath Rao soon had an inkling of the coming dan- 
 ger. His nephew, Mahdu Rao, although still kept in con- 
 finement, supported him with influence and counsel. More- 
 over, he was joined by Damaji Gaekwar of Baroda and 
 Mulhar Rao Holkar; and the three Mahratta armies formed 
 a junction in order to give battle to Nizam Ali and the rec- 
 reant Bhonsla of Berar. Suddenly, however, the three 
 armies avoided an action, and rushed off in Mahratta fash- 
 ion to plunder Berar territory by way of punishing the per- 
 fidious disloyalty of Janoji Bhonsla. 
 
 Nizam Ah* and the Bhonsla tried to overtake the enemy, 
 but found it impossible, and accordingly followed their ex- 
 ample, and marched with all haste to the plunder of Poona. 
 The inhabitants of Poona were thrown into a panic at the 
 report of their approach, and most of them fled for refuge 
 to the neighboring mountains. The united armies ransacked 
 the city, and burned and destroyed every house that the in- 
 mates were unable to ransom. 
 
 Meanwhile Rughonath Rao had gone on to Hyderabad, 
 and raised a contribution from the Nizam's capital. He also 
 opened up a secret correspondence with Janoji Bhonsla, who 
 began to think that he had been deceived by the Brahman 
 
 1 This incident is remarkable, as showing the absence of caste sympathy 
 between the Brahman minister at Hyderabad and the Brahman regent at Poona. 
 The former was proposing to set up a Bhonsla as regent in the room of a Brahman.
 
 896 HISTOEY OF INDIA 
 
 minister of Nizam Ali ; and the Bhonsla was bought over, 
 by a promised cession of territory, to desert Nizam Ali at a 
 fitting opportunity, and join his forces to those of Rughonath 
 Rao. 
 
 The hour soon arrived for carrying out the scheme. 
 Rughonath Rao became reconciled to his nephew, the 
 young Peishwa, and moved toward the camp of Nizam 
 Ali on the bank of the river Godavari. One half of the 
 Nizam's army crossed the river, leaving the remaining 
 troops under the command of his Brahman minister to 
 guard the spot until the baggage and stores had been sent 
 over. Janoji Bhonsla lay encamped with the Brahman, 
 but feigned to be offended at the non-payment of some 
 money, and retreated to a distance. The movement was 
 a signal to Rughonath Rao, who fell upon the forces of the 
 Brahman minister and inflicted a crushing defeat. The 
 battle raged for two days; the losses of the Mahrattas 
 are unknown; but ten thousand of the enemy were re- 
 ported to have fallen on the field, and the Brahman min- 
 ister was among the slain. 
 
 During the battle Nizam Ali tried to open a cannonade 
 from the opposite bank, but without effect ; and he was com- 
 pelled to witness the slaughter of his soldiery, and then to 
 beat a retreat into his own territories. Rughonath Rao 
 followed with his Mahratta army, but a reconciliation was 
 effected. The matter is inexplicable. It is only known 
 that Nizam Ali visited Rughonath Rao, expressed contri- 
 tion, laid the blame of all that occurred on the dead Brah- 
 man minister, and so worked on the weakness or good- 
 nature of the Mahratta regent that the latter forgave all 
 that had happened, and actually presented Nizam Ali with 
 territory yielding a yearly revenue of about a hundred thou- 
 sand pounds sterling. 
 
 Rughonath Rao paid the Berar Raja the price of his 
 treachery; but the young Peishwa publicly reproached 
 Janoji Bhonsla for his duplicity toward both parties, and 
 especially for having joined the Muhammadan, Nizam Ali,
 
 BRITISH INDIA 397 
 
 in trying to subvert the house of the Peishwas, to whom 
 the Mahratta princes owed all their power. 
 
 About 1764, the rise of Hyder Ali in Mysore excited the 
 alarm of the Mahrattas. Rughonath Rao had become rec- 
 onciled to his nephew, and Mahdu Rao marched a large 
 army to the south for the subjugation of Hyder AH. The 
 campaign was successful, and Mahdu Rao tried to keep on 
 good terms with his uncle, by inviting Rughonath Rao to 
 join the Mahratta camp, bring the war to a close, and con- 
 clude a treaty of peace. 
 
 Subsequently fresh quarrels broke out between Mahdu 
 Rao and his uncle, and were inflamed by two Mahratta 
 princesses, namely, the mother of the Peishwa and the wife 
 of Rughonath Rao. Mahdu Rao was urged by his mother 
 to imprison his uncle, but he put off doing so. He was 
 afraid that his uncle would gain the support of Nizam Ali, 
 or of Janoji Bhonsla, or of both combined. Mahdu Rao 
 next joined Nizam Ali in an invasion of Berar; and Janoji 
 Bhonsla was compelled to cede back nearly all the territories 
 he had acquired by his double treachery. 
 
 Subsequently Rughonath Rao engaged in some secret in- 
 trigue with Mulhar Rao Holkar, for the purpose of dividing 
 the Mahratta suzerainty; but Holkar died in 1767 and the 
 design was abandoned. Rughonath Rao next proposed to 
 retire from the world, and devote the remainder of his life 
 to religious contemplation at Benares. In 1768 he broke out 
 in open rebellion, and was ultimately overpowered and im- 
 prisoned in a fortress, where he remained until the close of 
 the reign. 
 
 The death of Mulhar Rao Holkar in 1767 is an important 
 event hi the history of the Holkar dynasty. Mulhar Rao 
 had obtained commissions for collecting chout in Malwa as 
 far back as the reign of Maharaja Sahu. He left no heir. 
 His son was dead, but his son's widow carried on the civil 
 administration, and appointed an officer named Tukaji 
 Holkar to be commander-m-chief. This daughter-in-law 
 of Mulhar Rao Holkar is celebrated in Mahratta history
 
 398 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 under the name of Allah Bai. She was very superstitious 
 and extremely lavish to the Brahmans. Accordingly she 
 is much praised in Brahmanical traditions as the incarna- 
 tion of every virtue, masculine and feminine. Otherwise 
 there is no reason to believe that she was anything more 
 than a clever Mahratta queen of the ordinary type, who 
 conciliated the Brahmans by her largesses, and appointed a 
 favorite to be commander-in-chief . 
 
 A characteristic anecdote is told of Mahdu Rao. At one 
 time he sought to fulfil his religious obligations as a Brah- 
 man by engaging in divine contemplations for the deliver- 
 ance of his soul from the vortex of transmigrations. At 
 this period the head Shastri in the Poona cabinet was an 
 eminent Brahman, named Ram Shastri. One day Ram 
 Shastri visited the Peishwa on business, and found Mahdu 
 Rao absorbed in pious abstraction from the world, with 
 every faculty of mind and body engaged in meditations on 
 the Supreme Spirit. Ram Shastri hastily left the room, but 
 next day begged permission to retire from court and go to 
 Benares. Mahdu Rao saw he had given offence, and apolo- 
 gized for his apparent neglect on the previous day, but de- 
 fended it on the score of piety. Ram Shastri, however, 
 rebuked him, saying that if he wished to fulfil his duties as 
 a Brahman he should abdicate the throne and devote the 
 remainder of his days to contemplating the Supreme Spirit 
 at Benares; but that if he chose to reign as Peishwa he 
 should give all his time and energies to the welfare of his 
 people, as the only way by which the Brahman Peishwas 
 could justify their assumption of sovereignty. Mahdu Rao 
 received the rebuke in a becoming spirit, and abstained ever 
 afterward from all religious practices which interfered with 
 his duties as a sovereign. 
 
 Ram Shastri is celebrated in Mahratta annals as a pure 
 and upright judge. He was born at a village near Satara, 
 but left his home at an early age to study at Benares. Later 
 on he was selected, without any solicitation on his part, for 
 the post of head Shastri at Poona; and when Mahdu Rao
 
 BRITISH INDIA 399 
 
 began to take a part in the government, it was Ram Shastri 
 who instructed him in the conduct of the administration. 
 The greatest evil-doers at Poona are said to have stood in 
 awe of Ram Shastri; and although persons of rank and 
 riches occasionally tried to corrupt him, yet no one dared to 
 repeat the experiment, or to impeach his integrity. 
 
 Throughout the whole reign of Mahdu Eao, the English 
 in Bengal were struggling through a sea of difficulties. 
 Janoji Bhonsla, Raja of Berar, was incessantly demand- 
 ing chout for Bengal and Behar, first from Mir Jafir, then 
 from Mir Kasim, and finally from Lord Olive; and Clive 
 was prepared to pay the chout provided the Mahrattas ceded 
 Orissa, but the Directors in England utterly scouted the 
 idea. Fortunately, as already seen, the Bhonsla was too 
 busy with the intrigues at Hyderabad and Poona, and too 
 much alarmed at the artillery and battalions of the English 
 company, to attempt to collect the chout by force of arms. 
 
 All this while the English at Bombay were making 
 friendly advances to Mahdu Rao, the Peishwa. They were 
 anxious to possess the island of Salsette and peninsula of 
 Bassein, in the immediate neighborhood of Bombay, for the 
 protection of then* harbor; but the Mahrattas had conquered 
 those places from the Portuguese, and were so proud of their 
 success against Europeans that they would not part with 
 either on any terms. In 1767, and again in 1772, an English 
 Resident was sent to the court of Poona. He was instructed 
 to cultivate friendly relations with the Peishwa and his min- 
 isters, and to leave no stone unturned that would induce the 
 Poona government to part with Salsette and Bassein by sale, 
 or by any other way. 
 
 These relations between Bombay and the Peishwa led to 
 an awkward diplomatic difficulty in the relations between 
 Madras and Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1769 a defensive 
 treaty had been concluded with Hyder Ali. Subsequently 
 Hyder Ali engaged in a fresh war with the Peishwa, and 
 called upon the English at Madras to help him in accordance 
 with this treaty. The English at Madras were thus placed
 
 400 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 in a dilemma. It would have been the height of folly for 
 Madras to have helped in a war against the Peishwa, while 
 Bombay was trying to coax the Peishwa into parting with 
 Salsette and Bassein. Again the English at Madras could 
 not possibly secure the Carnatic from invasion. If they 
 helped Hyder Ali the Mahrattas would invade the Carnatic, 
 and if they did not help him the Mysore army would invade 
 the Carnatic. Under such circumstances the Madras gov- 
 ernment could do nothing but lament the unfortunate treaty 
 which had drawn them into such a muddle. 
 
 Meantime the court at Delhi was attracting the attention 
 of the Mahrattas. Najib-ud-daula, the guardian of the Mo- 
 ghul throne, must have been a man of capacity. He had 
 risen from the command of a small body of horse to the su- 
 preme authority at Delhi ; and from the battle of Paniput in 
 1761, until his death in 1770, he retained the sovereign power 
 in his own hands, in spite of the enemies that threatened him 
 on every side. 
 
 In 1763 Delhi was threatened by the Jats. This mysteri- 
 ous race are supposed to have been akin to the ancient Getse. 
 They may be described as Hinduized Scythians, who had 
 entered the Punjab at some remote period and established 
 outposts in Hindustan. Many of the Jats who settled in the 
 Punjab became Sikhs. Those in Hindustan founded a prin- 
 cipality between Ulwar and Agra on the basis of f reebooting 
 and plunder; and this predatory power has since been con- 
 verted into a peaceful state, and is represented in the present 
 day by the Raj of Bhurtpore. 
 
 The hero of the Jats in the eighteenth century was a 
 rude warrior named Suraj Mai. The exploits of this semi- 
 barbarous chieftain resemble those of Sivaji. Like Sivaji 
 his strength lay in his fortresses. He built, or perhaps only 
 repaired, four vast fortresses of mud baked in the sun, of 
 which Bhurtpore and Deeg are existing types. They were 
 impervious to cannon, and were regarded as impregnable 
 down to comparatively modern times. 
 
 In 1764 Suraj Mai was joined by the infamous Sumru,
 
 BRITISH INDIA 401 
 
 the Patna miscreant who had fled from the Nawab Vizier of 
 Oude, and was glad to enter the service of the Jat Raja. 
 Suraj Mai was puffed up by this addition to his forces, and 
 began to threaten Delhi ; and Najib-ud-daula sent an envoy 
 with a present of flowered chintz to conciliate him. Suraj 
 Mai was delighted with the chintz, and ordered it to be made 
 into a suit of clothes ; but he refused to talk of anything else, 
 and the envoy retired in disgust. Suraj Mai advanced with 
 an army to Delhi, but instead of besieging the city he went 
 out to hunt, by way of bravado, in the imperial park of the 
 Great Moghul. He and his retinue were surrounded by a 
 flying squadron of Moghul horse, and were slaughtered to 
 a man. The dead body of the Raja was found arrayed in 
 the chintz. The head was cut off, and carried on a lance; 
 and the Jats were so terrified at the sight that they fled back 
 to their own country. 
 
 The Jat principality then became a scene of horrible tur- 
 moil. The sons of Suraj Mai were all fighting or murdering 
 one another. At last a surviving son named Ranjit Singh 
 secured the chiefship. His territory bristled with forts, and 
 was reckoned to yield a yearly revenue of two millions ster- 
 ling, and to maintain an army of sixty thousand men. 1 
 Ranjit Singh was one of the predatory powers of Hindustan 
 who had learned to trim between Afghans and Mahrattas. 
 
 In 1764-65 Najib-ud-daula was intriguing with the En- 
 glish at Calcutta. He was expecting Governor Spencer to 
 cede the territory of Oude, and to send Shah Alam to Delhi. 
 Had these measures been carried out, Najib-ud-daula would 
 have been exalted to the real sovereignty of Hindustan; 
 while the ascendency of the Rohilla Afghans would have 
 been extended from the upper Jumna to the Carumnassa. 
 But Lord Olive, as already seen, broke up the whole scheme; 
 and Oude, instead of being a menace to Behar and Bengal, 
 
 1 A native army in the last century was a mere mob of followers, without 
 discipline or organization. The reports as regards the number of troops in such 
 an army are altogether unreliable, and there is no possible means of checking 
 the native estimate.
 
 402 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 was converted into a barrier against Afghans and Mah- 
 rattas. 
 
 In 1767, the same year that Lord Olive left India forever, 
 Ahmad Shah Abdali advanced an Afghan army for the last 
 time against Delhi, in the hope of once more enriching his 
 coffers with the plunder of Hindustan. Najib-ud-daula 
 feigned to join the invaders, but created delays and thwarted 
 operations, until Ahmad Shah was at his wits' end. The 
 Afghan troops were harassed by the Sikhs, oppressed by the 
 hot weather, and threatened with the approach of the rainy 
 season. At the same time they were breaking out in mu- 
 tiny from want of pay or plunder. At last Ahmad Shah 
 was obliged to rest content with a small supply of money 
 from Najib-ud-daula, and to return baffled and disheartened 
 to Kabul and Kandahar. 
 
 By this time the Mahrattas had recovered their losses at 
 Paniput. In 1769 the army of the Peishwa crossed the 
 Chambal to the number of fifty thousand horse. They 
 levied arrears of tribute from the Rajput princes to the 
 value of a hundred thousand pounds sterling. They next 
 entered the territory of the Jats, under pretence of helping 
 one of the sons of Suraj Mai, and exacted a contribution of 
 more than six hundred thousand pounds. Najib-ud-daula 
 was thrown into alarm, and made overtures to the Mahrat- 
 tas for an accommodation; but he died in 1770, and was 
 succeeded in the post of Amir of Amirs by his son, Zabita 
 Khan. 
 
 Meanwhile Mahadaji Sindia appeared upon the scene. 1 
 This ambitious warrior, like the other feudatories of the 
 Mahratta empire, was of low origin. In a previous gen- 
 eration, his father, Ranuji Sindia, had been trusted with the 
 menial duty of carrying the Peishwa's slippers, but had sub- 
 sequently risen to high military commands, and secured a 
 territorial estate for his family. Mahadaji Sindia was an 
 illegitimate son ; but he was a man of undoubted capacity, 
 
 1 See ante, p. 390, note.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 403 
 
 and had won his laurels in the Dekhan wars of 1751. Sub- 
 sequently the question of succession to the territorial estate 
 was referred to the Peishwa as suzerain; and Rughonath 
 Rao opposed the claims of Mahadaji, while Mahdu Rao sup- 
 ported them. 
 
 In 1771 Mahadaji Sindia was the hero of an achievement 
 which startled all Hindustan. He drew the Padishah, Shah 
 Alam, out of his protected retreat at Allahabad, and con- 
 veyed him to the Moghul capital. Shah Alam was restored 
 to the throne of his fathers ; Zabita Khan fled to the Rohilla 
 country; and the Mahrattas recovered their supremacy at 
 Hindustan. 
 
 In 1772 Mahdu Rao Peishwa died of consumption, and 
 was succeeded by his younger brother, Narain Rao. Mah- 
 ratta history entered on a new phase. The plots and in- 
 trigues at Poona drew the Bombay settlement into a vortex 
 which culminated in the first Mahratta war. The story of 
 this war belongs to the administration of Warren Hastings, 
 and will be told in the following chapter. 
 
 Mahratta history, as told in the foregoing pages, *vill ap- 
 pear bewildering to European readers ; but it is nevertheless 
 of value as a reflex of Hindu politics and ruling ideas. It 
 brings out the characteristics of Hindu princes and priests in 
 the eighteenth century ; and it also furnishes a key to Hindu 
 history from a remote antiquity. Indeed the Mahratta em- 
 pire may be accepted as a type of all Hindu empires. It was 
 founded by warriors who were little better than freebooters, 
 and governed by Brahman ministers, who often, as in the 
 case of the Peishwas, succeeded in usurping the sovereign 
 power.
 
 404 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 ENGLISH RULE-WARREN HASTINGS 
 
 A.D. 1772 TO 1785 
 
 THE government of Warren Hastings is perhaps the 
 most important in the history of British India. It 
 was, however, so blackened by his enemies and be- 
 lauded by his friends, that few of his contemporaries under- 
 stood its real character ; and the records of the period are a 
 mass of controversy and confusion. 
 
 The previous career of Hastings is creditable as far as it 
 is known. In 1750, at the age of eighteen, he landed at Cal- 
 cutta for the first time. For seven years longer the Com- 
 pany was a mere firm of merchants. Hastings was employed 
 to sort silks and muslins, and to invoice opium and saltpetre; 
 but he managed to learn Hindustani and pick up some knowl- 
 edge of Persian. After the victory at Plassy he entered into 
 political life as Resident at Murshedabad. Next he played 
 an important part in the council of Governor Vansittart at 
 Calcutta. In 1764 he returned to England and became poor. 
 In 1769 he came back to India as member of council at Ma- 
 dras. Three years afterward he was selected for the most 
 important post in the Company's service, namely, that of 
 Governor of Bengal. 
 
 Governor Hastings was forty years of age, and had evi- 
 dently read much and thought much. Within a few months 
 after his arrival in Calcutta he placed the whole of the ad- 
 ministration, revenue and judicial, on a reformed footing. 
 He turned the European supervisors into collectors of rev- 
 enue ; abolished the more obnoxious cesses ; and reduced the 
 number of inland custom houses. He went on a tour through
 
 BRITISH INDIA 405 
 
 the districts, accompanied by four members of council, and 
 leased out the lands for five years at fixed rates. Whenever 
 a Zemindar came to terms he was retained in the possession 
 of his district. Whenever a Zemindar held out he was 
 granted a subsistence allowance and the land was leased to 
 the highest bidder. So far Hastings acted much after the 
 fashion of Nawab Murshed Kuli Khan, in the old days of 
 Moghul rule. 
 
 Governor Hastings transferred all judicial powers from 
 the Zemindars to the European collectors. He established 
 a civil and a criminal court in each district, in which the 
 European collector sat as President, and was assisted by 
 Muhammadan and Hindu officials. He abolished the judge's 
 fee of one quarter of the amount in dispute, which under 
 native rule had always been levied in civil cases. He drew 
 up a simple code of regulations for the new courts, which 
 abolished all the glaring evils which had existed under the 
 native system. The details are of no interest in the pres- 
 ent day, excepting so far as they redound to the credit of 
 Warren Hastings, who was unquestionably the ablest and 
 most successful administrator that ever governed Bengal. 
 
 Meanwhile Muhammad Reza Khan and Raja Shitab Rai 
 were brought down to Calcutta; and the conduct of their 
 respective administrations was brought under judicial in- 
 vestigation. Nothing, however, could be judicially proved. 
 No charges were substantiated, except by accusers acting 
 from interested motives, or by men of a notoriously bad 
 character. No native of standing and respectability, who 
 had learned to know and fear the deputy Nawabs, was 
 likely to bring charges against men who might be eventually 
 restored to authority and power. Moreover there must have 
 been many Englishmen anxious to screen the accused. In 
 the end both were acquitted. Raja Shitab Rai was restored 
 to his post and died shortly afterward ; but Hastings utterly 
 refused to restore Muhammad Reza Khan. 1 
 
 1 Judicial inquiries are always unsatisfactory in India. The law will often 
 acquit a known criminal from the contradictory character of the evidence. Mr.
 
 406 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 But native administration had received its death-blow; 
 the authority of the deputy Nawab Nazims was gone forever. 
 The central offices of revenue were removed to Calcutta, and 
 placed under the supervision of English officials, under the 
 name of a Board of Revenue. Two new courts of appeal 
 were established at Calcutta, in which the Governor or a 
 member of council sat as President, assisted by learned 
 Munshis and Pundits. Henceforth Calcutta was the capi- 
 tal of Bengal and Behar; and Murshedabad dwindled into 
 insignificance as the residence of a Nawab Nazim without 
 authority or power. 
 
 Meanwhile the flight of Shah Alam from Allahabad to 
 Delhi in 1771 had broken the political ties which bound the 
 English to the Great Moghul. Henceforth the English held 
 possession of Bengal and Behar, not by a sham association 
 with a puppet Nawab Nazim, nor by the affectation of act- 
 ing as Dewan to a puppet Padishah, but by the right of the 
 sword, and the sword alone. 
 
 Shah Alam had deserted the English for the Mahrattas, 
 in the wild hope of reigning over Hindustan, like another 
 Aurangzeb or Akbar. The Mahrattas, under Mahadaji 
 Sindia drove out the Rohilla guardian of the Moghul em- 
 pire, and restored Shah Alam to the throne at Delhi. 1 But 
 the new Padishah suffered very considerably by the change. 
 He had been a mere pageant under the protection of the 
 English; and he was still a mere pageant in the hands of 
 Mahadaji Sindia; but he had thrown away the tribute from 
 
 James Mill had emphatically a judicial mind, and it has led him into grave his- 
 torical errors. He convicted Governor Vansittart of receiving a bribe on native 
 evidence alone ; and that evidence has been proved by government records to be 
 absolutely false. Again, Mr. Mill accepted the acquittal of both Muhammad 
 Reza Khan and Raja Shitab Rai, when it was impossible that they should have 
 been innocent. Nevertheless the treatment of both men was harsh and op- 
 pressive. It was what might have beeu expected from Oriental potentates, but 
 was unworthy of the British government. 
 
 1 Najib-ud-daula, the guardian of the Moghul empire, died at Delhi in 1770, 
 and was succeeded in the post by his son, Zabita Khan. On the approach of 
 Shah Alam and the Mahrattas to the city of Delhi, Zabita Khan fled to the 
 Rohilla country. Thus for a brief period the ascendency of the Rohill* Afghans 
 at Delhi was superseded by that of the Mahrattas.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 
 
 407 
 
 INDIA 
 
 in Oie time of
 
 408 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Bengal and Oude, which had been given to him under Lord 
 Olive's settlement of 1765, and which not only relieved him 
 from his previous penury, but sufficed for the maintenance 
 of his sham suzerainty at Allahabad. 1 
 
 These losses were a painful surprise to Mahadaji Sindia 
 as well as to Shah Alam. Mahadaji Sindia had restored 
 Shah Alam to his throne for the sole purpose of ruling over 
 Hindustan in the name of the Great Moghul; and he had 
 fondly expected to receive the yearly tribute of a quarter of 
 a million sterling for the Bengal provinces, as well as the 
 revenues of Allahabad and Korah, which had been assigned 
 to Shah Alam in lieu of tribute from Oude. Accordingly 
 Mahadaji Sindia demanded the payments in the name of 
 Shah Alam, very shortly after his arrival at Delhi, but met 
 with an unqualified refusal. 
 
 The English in Bengal decided that as Shah Alam had 
 broken off his relations with the East India Company by his 
 flight to Delhi, he had in like manner forfeited his claim to 
 the imperial tribute which he had drawn under their guar- 
 antee. At the same time the English knew that the money, 
 if granted, would only go into the pockets of the Mahrattas 
 the predatory power which had been the terror of India 
 for more than a century. 
 
 The equity of this refusal of the English company to con- 
 tinue the payment of the imperial tribute was much debated 
 at the time, but to no practical purpose. The Moghul em- 
 pire was politically dead when Lord Olive tried to rehabili- 
 tate Shah Alam as a spectre of the past; and the flight of 
 Shah Alam t^ack to Delhi was like the return of the spectre 
 to its cemetery. So long as the Padishah remained under 
 the protection of the English, they had been willing to mam- 
 tain him as a pageant to be fluttered in the eyes of the 
 French and Dutch as a show of Moghul sovereignty. But 
 when he threw himself on the protection of the Mahrattas, 
 there was nothing to be gained by paying the tribute ; and 
 
 1 See ante, pp. 36^ 366
 
 BRITISH INDIA 400 
 
 the refusal to pay was equivalent to a declaration of war 
 
 and assertion of independent sovereignty, which Moghul or 
 Mahratta could only set aside by force of arms. 
 
 But although the Mahrattas were not prepared to wage 
 war against the English, they were pertinacious in urging 
 their claims. Accordingly they began to threaten the Nawab 
 Vizier of Oude; and they invaded and plundered the Rohilla 
 country on his northwestern frontier. But they were willing 
 to forego further plunder in the Rohilla country, provided 
 that Hafiz Khan, the Rohilla ruler, would permit them to 
 march unmolested through his territory for the invasion and 
 plunder of Oude. 
 
 The Nawab Vizier had fenced off the evil day by making 
 a treaty with Hafiz Khan. He engaged to drive the Mah- 
 rattas out of the Rohilla country ; but in return for this ser- 
 vice he had exacted a pledge from Hafiz Khan to pay him 
 forty lakhs of rupees, or four hundred thousand pounds ster- 
 ling. Subsequently the Mahrattas were drawn away from 
 Hindustan by domestic troubles. Madhu Rao Peishwa had 
 died at Poona, and disputes had arisen as regards the succes- 
 sion; and Mahadaji Sindia and Tukaji Holkar deemed it 
 expedient to return to the Dekhan. Consequently the Mah- 
 ratta scare passed away from the Rohilla country ; while the 
 Nawab Vizier of Oude was relieved from all danger of Mah- 
 ratta invasions. Under such circumstances the Nawab Vizier 
 recovered sufficient heart to form plans for his own aggran- 
 dizement. He turned a covetous eye on the Rohilla country, 
 and began to show his teeth by demanding payment of the 
 forty lakhs from Hafiz Khan. The claim was disavowed by 
 Hafiz Khan, and possibly on good grounds; but at this dis- 
 tance of time it would be -useless to inquire into the rights of 
 a money dispute between the Nawab Vizier and the Rohilla 
 ruler. 
 
 The Nawab Vizier, doubtless, had his own quarrel with 
 
 the Rohilla Afghans. He was a Shiah and they were Sun- 
 
 nis ; and as he could not rely on their friendship, he was 
 
 anxious to extirpate their power and take possession of their 
 
 X 18 INDIA. VOL. L
 
 410 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 country. But he wanted the services of one of the Com- 
 pany's brigades; and he offered to pay Governor Hastings 
 the expenses of the brigade so long as it remained in his 
 country, and to make over the forty lakhs into the bargain. 
 Accordingly hi 1773 Governor Hastings agreed to meet the 
 Nawab Vizier at Benares. 
 
 The Rohillas were doubtless a troublesome people; and, 
 like Afghans in general, they were often at war among 
 themselves. They had established a dominion over the 
 Hindu population between the eastern bank of the Ganges 
 and the northwestern frontier of Oude. They were a thorn 
 in the side of the Nawab Vizier. They might possibly have 
 proved a barrier to Oude against the Mahrattas; but pos- 
 sibly they might come to terms with the Mahrattas, and not 
 only permit the Mahratta marauders to march through their 
 country, but take a part in the invasion and plunder of 
 Oude. 
 
 "Warren Hastings had also to consider the Rohilla ques- 
 tion from an English point of view. The Rohilla Afghans 
 were a long way off ; not only beyond the British frontier, 
 but beyond the Oude frontier ; and the Directors had repeat- 
 edly ordered its servants in Bengal to keep within the river 
 Carumnassa. Moreover, the English had no quarrel with 
 the Rohillas ; and they knew nothing of the rights or wrongs 
 of the rupture between the Nawab Vizier and the Rohillas 
 beyond what the Nawab Vizier might choose to tell them. 
 
 But the Bengal treasury was empty, and the Directors 
 were pressing Governor Hastings for funds ; moreover the 
 promised supply would not only fill the treasury, but relieve 
 the Company of nearly one-third of its military expenditure 
 in Bengal. Accordingly, Governor Hastings came to terms 
 with the Nawab Vizier at Benares ; and moreover made over 
 Allahabad and Korah to the Nawab Vizier for another sum 
 of fifty lakhs, or half a million sterling. 
 
 The only question was whether the Nawab Vizier did not 
 remove the scruples of Governor Hastings by a private pres- 
 ent of a few lakhs for himself. The character of Hastings
 
 BRITISH INDIA 411 
 
 up to this date would contradict such a suspicion; but in 
 England he had felt the pressure of want; he had seen his 
 fellows coming home with large fortunes; and the tempta- 
 tion must have been strong to a man schooled in dealings 
 with natives. Innocent or guilty, he laid himself open to 
 suspicion. He conducted the negotiations at Benares with 
 the utmost privacy; and the English commander-in-chief 
 of the Bengal army was especially angry at being shut out 
 from all share hi the dealings with the Nawab Vizier. Hast- 
 ings could have had no object in maintaining so much secrecy 
 in his money dealings with the Nawab Vizier, otherwise than 
 that of securing a money present for himself ; and the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the Bengal army could have had no ground 
 for exasperation at being shut out from the interview, had 
 he not in like manner reckoned on receiving a handsome 
 douceur. However, the bargain was concluded, and nothing 
 further could be said ; but it is easy to believe that the ene- 
 mies of Hastings had formed their own opinion of what at 
 best was a dubious transaction. 1 
 
 In January, 1774, the English brigade was marched 
 through Oude into the Rohilla country, accompanied by the 
 Nawab Vizier and a large army. The Rohillas were de- 
 feated by the English, and by the English alone. The 
 Rohillas fled in all directions, leaving Hafiz Khan among 
 the slain. The Nawab Vizier was equally cowardly and 
 cruel. He kept his troops at a distance during the battle, 
 but when it was over he let them loose on the unhappy coun- 
 try to murder, plunder, and commit every atrocity of which 
 Asiatics are capable. The English commander of the brig- 
 ade was utterly disgusted with the cowardice and cruelty 
 displayed on all sides. "The English," he declared, "have 
 
 1 It is a current article of faith among Orientals that wherever there is secrecy 
 there is either treachery or corruption. Accordingly a native envoy will often 
 refuse an interview unless his leading followers are present, or unless he actually 
 contemplates treachery or corruption. The enemies of Hastings not only com- 
 plained of his mysterious secrecy, but whispered that he was in pressing need 
 of money to provide for Imhoff, the portrait painter, and to defray the expenses 
 of the divorce of Mrs. Imhoff, who afterward became his wife.
 
 412 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 had all the fighting, while these bandits have had all the 
 plunder." 
 
 It was unfortunate for the honor of the nation that the 
 English should have appeared to sanction such barbarities; 
 but this was the curse of native alliances in the eighteenth 
 century, and it is difficult to blame Hastings for the atroci- 
 ties committed by the Nawab Vizier. In other respects the 
 war was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The Nawab 
 Vizier concluded a treaty with a surviving son of Hafiz 
 Khan, named Faiz-ullah Khan, under which Faiz-ullah 
 Khan became his vassal. Henceforth Faiz-ullah Khan and 
 his descendants were known as the Nawabs of Rampore. 
 
 Meanwhile Governor Hastings had appointed an English 
 servant of the Company, named Middleton, to reside at 
 Lucknow as the medium of all his correspondence with the 
 Nawab Vizier. The amounts due to the Company were 
 being paid by instalments, and matters seem to have been 
 progressing smoothly. Suddenly there was a revolution in 
 the English government at Calcutta, which nearly drove 
 Warren Hastings from his post and threatened to under- 
 mine the Company's power in India. 
 
 The disordered state of the Company's affairs had induced 
 the British ministry to reorganize the Bengal government. 
 In 1774 Warren Hastings was appointed Governor- General 
 of all the British settlements in India, as well as Governor 
 of Bengal. The council at Calcutta had hitherto consisted 
 of ten or twelve members who were servants of the Com- 
 pany. This was abolished, and a council of five was nomi- 
 nated in its room. Mr. Hastings took his seat as president 
 by virtue of his office, with a single vote as member of coun- 
 cil, and a casting vote when parties were equally divided. 
 Mr. Barwell, a servant of the Company in India, was also 
 appointed a member of the council. The three additional 
 members were sent out from England; namely, General 
 Clavering, Colonel Monson, and Mr. Philip Francis. 
 
 At the same time a Supreme Court of judicature was 
 created at Calcutta, consisting of a chief justice and three
 
 BRITISH INDIA 413 
 
 puisne judges, who were sent out from England by the 
 direct appointment of the Crown. 1 
 
 The three new members of council from England were 
 strongly prejudiced against the Company's government. 
 They soon formed a united opposition to Hastings; but the 
 life and soul of the opposition was Philip Francis. 
 
 This extraordinary man was born in 1740, and was con- 
 sequently only thirty-four years of age on his arrival in In- 
 dia; but he had spent some years in the War Office in 
 London, and was known to the initiated as a man of large 
 capacity. Of late years it has been discovered that Francis 
 was the author of the "Letters of Junius. " The Letters had 
 created a great sensation in London by their lofty assump- 
 tion of patriotism, and their bitter invectives against men in 
 power; and it is shrewdly suspected that the secret of the 
 authorship was known to the British ministers, and that 
 Philip Francis was sent to India on a salary of ten thou- 
 sand a year to get him out of the way. Macaulay describes 
 Francis as capable of patriotism and magnanimity, and free 
 from vices of a sordid kind ; but otherwise vindictive, arro- 
 gant, and insolent; confounding his antipathies with his 
 duties, and mistaking his malevolence for public virtue.* 
 
 The new triumvirate landed at Calcutta in October, 1774; 
 their first action was to condemn the Rohilla war and to call 
 for the correspondence between Hastings and Middleton. 
 Had Hastings produced those papers he would have silenced 
 all suspicion ; but he refused, on the ground that much of 
 the correspondence referred to private matters, and he would 
 only agree to produce extracts. From that hour Philip 
 Francis seems to have believed that Hastings had been 
 bribed by the Nawab Vizier. 
 
 1 A distinction must be drawn between the Supreme Court at Calcutta, with 
 judges appointed by the Crown, and the two Courts of Appeal established by 
 Warren Hastings, which were known down to 1861 as the Sudder or Company's 
 Courts. (See ante, p. 351.) Subsequently similar courts were created at Madras 
 and Bombay. In 1861 the Sudder and Supreme Courts were amalgamated at 
 each of the three Presidencies into what is at present known as the High Court. 
 
 * This opinion is worth bearing in mind, as it is confirmed by Mr. Herman 
 Merivale, editor of the Correspondence and Journals of Francis.
 
 414 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Philip Francis next moved that Middleton should be re- 
 called to Calcutta, and that a Mr. Bristow should be sent as 
 Resident to Lucknow. This measure was carried out in the 
 teeth of Hastings and Barwell by a majority of three votes 
 against two. Hastings saw that his authority was set aside ; 
 and for many months Philip Francis was supreme in the Cal- 
 cutta council, being supported by the votes of General Clav- 
 ering and Colonel Monson. 
 
 The ability of Philip Francis is beyond all question. He 
 had scarcely been four months in the country when he sent 
 to England 'a scheme for the government of Bengal, which 
 corresponded very much to what has been since carried out 
 in India. The King of Great Britain was to be the only 
 sovereign in Bengal. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court 
 was to extend over all the natives in the Bengal provinces. 
 The English language was to be used hi all affairs of govern- 
 ment. The lands were to be granted to the Zemindars, and 
 in many cases to the Ryots, in perpetuity or for life, with 
 fixed rents, and fixed fines on the renewal of leases. 
 
 But Philip Francis had a fixed purpose which destroyed 
 all his usefulness ; namely, to ruin Hastings and succeed him 
 as Governor-General. Right or wrong, he opposed Hastings 
 hi everything. 
 
 In 1775 the Nawab Vizier died the once famous Shuja- 
 ud-daula. He was succeeded on the throne of Oude by his 
 son, Asof-ud-daula. This event opened up new troubles for 
 Hastings. He proposed that the treaty relations which had 
 been formed with the father should continue to be binding 
 on the son. Francis opposed this view, and was anxious to 
 make better terms. He insisted that the new Nawab Vizier 
 should cede the suzerainty of Benares to the Company, and 
 pay a larger monthly allowance for the services of the Com- 
 pany's brigade, which had been maintained by the Nawab 
 Vizier within his own dominions ever since the Rohilla war. 
 
 The cession of the suzerainty of Benares is of some im- 
 portance. It was the only territory acquired by the Bengal 
 government during the administration of Warren Hastings;
 
 BRITISH INDIA 415 
 
 and the acquisition was not the act of Warren Hastings, but 
 of Philip Francis. Lord Clive had laid down the Carum- 
 nassa as the boundary of British territory, and that boun- 
 dary would have been maintained down to the time of Lord 
 Wellesley but for the interference of Philip Francis. 
 
 The next dispute related to the treasures of the deceased 
 Nawab Vizier. Under Oriental rule there is often no dis- 
 tinction between the revenues of the state and the private 
 property of the ruler. Shuja-ud-daula had left accumulated 
 hoards of surplus revenue amounting to two or three millions 
 sterling. His son and successor, Asof-ud-daula, declared that 
 the money was state property. But the mother and grand- 
 mother of the new Nawab Vizier, who were popularly known 
 as the two Begums, claimed the whole of this large sum on 
 the ground that it had been made over to them as his private 
 property. 
 
 The claim of the Begums was preposterous. The de- 
 ceased Nawab Vizier could never have been justified in 
 making over two millions sterling of state revenue to a 
 couple of old ladies shut up in a zenana, while leaving his 
 son and successor with an empty treasury, to defray the 
 large debts due to the East India Company. 
 
 The money question, however, between the new Nawab 
 Vizier and the two Begums was one in which the English 
 government ought not to have interfered. Such was the 
 opinion of Warren Hastings, but such was not the opinion 
 of Philip Francis. Mr. Bristow, the new Resident who had 
 been sent to Lucknow at the instance of Philip Francis, in- 
 terfered in behalf of the two Begums; and the two ladies 
 paid some quarter of a million sterling to the Resident, on 
 account of the debt due by the Oude government to the East 
 India Company, and were then confirmed in the possession 
 of the remainder. Hastings condemned the interference of 
 the Resident, but Francis and his colleagues sanctioned all 
 that had been done. 
 
 By this time it was widely known among the natives that 
 Hastings had lost his authority ; that Francis was the rising
 
 416 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 man; and that he and his two colleagues, Clavering and 
 Monson, were giving ready ear to all charges brought against 
 the Governor-General. A host of informers soon appeared 
 with accusations of bribery and corruption, which were greed- 
 ily swallowed by the triumvirate. It is impossible to say 
 that the whole were either true or untrue. But two distinct 
 charges were brought against Hastings by a man named 
 Nund-komar which deserve consideration. Hastings had 
 appointed a widow of Mir Jafir, named Muni Begum, to 
 manage the household of the Nawab Nazim. He had also 
 appointed a son of this very Nund-komar to act conjointly 
 with Muni Begum. Hastings was accused by Nund-komar 
 of receiving a bribe of thirty-five thousand pounds sterling 
 in return for these appointments. He was also accused by 
 the same man of having received a hundred thousand pounds 
 to connive at the embezzlements of Muhammad Reza Khan. 
 
 The character of Nund-komar was utterly bad. He was 
 a high-caste Brahman, but he was known to have forged 
 seals and signatures, and to have carried on a treasonous 
 correspondence with Shah Alam and the French governor 
 of Pondicherry. But the two charges of bribery involved 
 an aggregate of a hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds 
 sterling, and might have been disproved by the production of 
 accounts. Hastings, however, preferred to stand on his dig- 
 nity. He refused to answer charges brought by such a 
 miscreant, or to be tried like a criminal by his own council. 
 Francis persisted in giving his full belief to Nund-komar, 
 and he voted that the charges were proved. 
 
 Hastings, in self-defence, brought an action against Nund- 
 komar, in the Supreme Court of judicature at Calcutta, for 
 conspiracy. The judges admitted the charge, but suffered 
 Nund-komar to go out on bail. Six weeks afterward Nund- 
 komar was arrested for forgery, tried by the new chief jus- 
 tice, Sir Elijah Impey, convicted by a jury of Englishmen, 
 condemned to be hanged, and finally executed at Calcutta in 
 the presence of a large multitude. 
 
 There is no doubt that Nund-komar committed forgery;
 
 BRITISH INDIA 417 
 
 but it is questionable whether he would have been arrested 
 on the charge if he had not brought accusations against 
 Hastings. Again, there is no doubt that Nund-komar had 
 committed offences worthy of death ; but it is questionable 
 whether he ought to have been hanged for forgery. Such 
 a punishment for such an offence was unknown to the peo- 
 ple of Bengal. The execution of Nund-komar has therefore 
 been regarded by many as a judicial murder, and the guilt 
 has been equally distributed between W-arren Hastings and 
 Elijah Impey. 
 
 The execution of Nund-komar filled Calcutta with terror. 
 From that time forth not a single native dared to whisper 
 a charge against Hastings. Even Francis was paralyzed. 
 Possibly he discovered, when it was too late, that he had 
 been more or less the dupe of Nund-komar. Subsequently, 
 when a petition in the name of the dead man passed through 
 the council, it was Francis who moved that it should be 
 burned by the common hangman. 
 
 Meanwhile the relations between the English settlement 
 at Bombay and the Peishwa of the Mahrattas at Poona were 
 beginning to alarm the Governor-General and council at Cal- 
 cutta. In order, however, to take in clearly the current of 
 events it will be necessary to review the progress of Mah- 
 ratta affairs. 
 
 Mahdu Rao, fourth Peishwa, died in November, 1772, 
 aged twenty-eight. He left no son, and his widow perished 
 on his funeral pile. His younger brother, Narain Rao, suc- 
 ceeded to the throne at Poona as fifth Peishwa; and went 
 to Satara to receive the dress of investiture from the puppet 
 Maharaja. The uncle, Rughonath Rao, was released from 
 prison, and reappointed guardian. 
 
 All the jarring elements which had been at work during 
 the reign of Mahdu Rao broke out afresh under his successor. 
 The natural jealousy between the uncle and the nephew was 
 inflamed to fever heat by the wife of the one and the mother 
 of the other. The discord was aggravated by a secret rivalry 
 between two Brahman ministers. The elder, Sakaram Bapu,
 
 418 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 supported the pretensions of the uncle guardian, Rughonath 
 Rao ; while the younger Brahman, destined to become famous 
 under the name of Nana Farnavese, was plotting his own 
 advancement by courting the favor of the young Peishwa. 
 
 In April, 1773, the uncle guardian was arrested and im- 
 prisoned in the palace of Poona, where the young Peishwa 
 was residing. In the following August Narain Rao was 
 murdered. To this day the story is a mystery. During the 
 morning of the 30th of August, the Peishwa's troops were 
 clamoring at the palace for arrears of pay. The young 
 Peishwa ordered the palace to be secured, and retired to 
 his afternoon siesta. His orders were neglected ; the clamor 
 increased ; the troops, led on by two conspirators, broke into 
 the palace. The young Peishwa started from his slumbers, 
 and ran to his uncle's apartments and prayed for protection. 
 Rughonath Rao interfered, but the conspirators declared they 
 had gone too far, and slaughtered Narain Rao on the spot. 
 By this time the palace was surrounded by troops; armed 
 men thronged the streets; the shops were shut throughout 
 the city; and the inhabitants of Poona ran to and fro in 
 consternation. At last the news transpired that Narain Rao 
 was murdered, but nothing was known of the murderers. 1 
 
 Rughonath Rao was unquestionably implicated. Ram 
 Shastri investigated the case, and charged him with hav- 
 ing set on two conspirators to assassinate his nephew. Ru- 
 ghonath Rao admitted having authorized the arrest of his 
 nephew, but denied having ordered the murder. Ram Sha- 
 stri recovered the original document, and discovered that 
 the word signifying "to seize" had been changed into the 
 word signifying "to kill." Henceforth it was the general 
 belief that the alteration was made by Ananda Bai, the 
 unscrupulous wife of Rughonath Rao. The result was that 
 Rughonath Rao ascended the throne of Poona as the sue* 
 cessor to his murdered nephew, and began to reign as sixth 
 
 1 Here, as elsewhere in dealing with the Mahrattas, the details are given on 
 the authority of Grant Duff's Mahratta history.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 419 
 
 Peishwa; but Ram Shastri retired from Poona, refusing all 
 employment under the new regime. 1 
 
 The distractions at Poona encouraged Nizam Ali to take 
 the field from Hyderabad. But the Bhonsla of Berar came 
 to the help of the new Peishwa; 2 and Nizam Ali was de- 
 feated, and compelled to cede territory yielding a yearly 
 revenue of about two hundred thousand pounds. But Nizam 
 Ali once again worked on the weakness of Rughonath Rao ; 
 paid him a visit, praised his wisdom, and made over his seal 
 of state, telling him to take as much territory as he wanted. 
 Rughonath Rao was cajoled and befooled. Not to be out- 
 done in generosity, he actually gave back the ceded territory 
 to Nizam Ali; a senseless act of generosity which proved 
 fatal to his authority; for had he distributed the territory 
 judiciously among the Mahratta chiefs he would have bound 
 them closely to his cause. 
 
 Rughonath Rao was indeed born to be outwitted. He 
 marched an army toward the south to attack Hyder Ali; 
 and was suddenly astonished by the news of a revolution 
 at Poona. During his absence from the capital the widow 
 of Narain Rao gave birth to a son. The infant was placed 
 upon the throne, and a council of regency was formed at 
 Poona; and Rughonath Rao was shut out from the capital. 
 Accordingly the baffled Peishwa proceeded northward into 
 Malwa and Guzerat to raise forces for the destruction of the 
 council of regency, and the recovery of the throne of Poona, 
 by force of arms. 3 
 
 1 Rughonath Rao, sixth Peishwa, plays an important part in the after rela- 
 tions of the English with the Mahrattas. He is frequently mentioned in the 
 records of the eighteenth century under the name of Ragoba, but Rughonath 
 Rao is his correct name. He was the father of Baji Rao, the eighth Peishwa and 
 last of the dynasty, who was dethroned in 1818, and died in 1851, leaving the 
 infamous Nana Sahib as his adopted son. 
 
 2 Janoji Bhonsla died in 1773, leaving no natural kin. He had a brother 
 named Mudaji Bhonsla ; and he left the Raj of Berar to the son of Mudaji Bhonsla, 
 named Rughuji Bhonsla. The nephew, however, was placed urder the guar- 
 dianship of his own father. The result was that Mudaji Bhonsla, the father, 
 became the real ruler of Berar. Mudaji Bhonsla helped Rughonath Rao in order 
 to obtain the confirmation of the Peishwa to his authority. 
 
 z It would be tedious and needless to trace the movements of the greater 
 Mahratta feudatories during the struggle between Rughonath Rao and the coun-
 
 420 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 At this crisis Rughonath Rao applied to Bombay for 
 succor. He engaged to cede Salsette and Bassein to the 
 English government, and to assign the territory and revenue 
 of Baroche toward the expenses of the war. At this time 
 there was no evidence that Rughonath Rao was a murderer; 
 indeed it was generally believed that the infant son of the 
 deceased Narain Rao was a supposititious child. 
 
 Accordingly, in 1775, the Bombay government concluded 
 a treaty with Rughonath Rao at Surat, and then took pos- 
 session of Salsette and Bassein, and began operations for 
 restoring Rughonath Rao to the throne at Poona. The 
 army of the Mahratta regency was utterly defeated by the 
 new allies, and there was every prospect of brilliant success, 
 when the war was suddenly brought to a close by orders 
 from Calcutta. 
 
 It will be remembered that Warren Hastings had been 
 appointed Governor-General, and that his government had 
 been invested with authority over Madras and Bombay. 
 Both he and his council condemned the. Mahratta war as 
 impolitic, dangerous, unauthorized, and unjust. As, how- 
 ever, war had begun, Hastings wished to push it to a speedy 
 conclusion ; but Francis and his supporters would not listen 
 to any such compromise. The Bombay government was 
 ordered to withdraw its forces and cease from all further 
 hostilities; and Colonel Upton was sent from Calcutta to 
 Poona as an agent of the supreme government of Bengal 
 to conclude a treaty with the Mahratta council of regency, 
 but to insist on the cession of Salsette and Bassein and the 
 territory of Baroche to the Company. 
 
 The Mahratta council of regency at Poona had been 
 much cast down by the loss of Salsette and Bassein ; and 
 they had been still more disheartened by the successes of 
 the Bombay army. Accordingly they were delighted at the 
 
 oil of regency. Each feudatory was guided solely by considerations of his own 
 individual interest, and wavered between the two, or deserted the one for the 
 other, without scruple or shame. Indeed the policy of Mahratta chiefs in gen- 
 eral has been to trim between conflicting parties until the struggle is drawing to 
 a close, and then to declare for the winning side.
 
 BRITISH JNDIA 
 
 clashing between Bengal and Bombay. They extolled the 
 great governor of Calcutta, who had ordered Bombay to 
 put an end to the war; but they refused to cede either Sal- 
 sette and Bassein, or the territory of Baroche. They urged, 
 and with a show of reason, that as the Bengal government 
 had justly condemned the war, the English could not intend 
 to profit by its aggression. At last they took alarm at some 
 preparations for a renewal of the war, and agreed to cede 
 Salsette, but 110 more. In 1776 a treaty was concluded at 
 Purundhur on this basis, to the mortification of Warren 
 Hastings and the Bombay government. 
 
 Subsequently despatches were received from the Directors 
 approving the treaty of Surat, but condemning the treaty of 
 Purundhur. By this time Hastings was no longer in a mi- 
 nority. Colonel Monson died soon after the treaty of Pu- 
 rundhur, and Hastings was enabled to carry his measures 
 by a casting vote. 
 
 Peace with the Mahrattas was impossible. England and 
 France were on the eve of a war on account of the help fur- 
 nished by the French to the American colonies. A French 
 adventurer, named St. Lubin, arrived at Poona with presents 
 from the King of France, and asserted that a French force 
 was following him to drive the English out of India. The 
 leading member of the council of regency, named Nana 
 Farnavese, showed great attention to St. Lubin, granted 
 him the port of Chaul, near Bombay, and was evidently 
 disposed to hostilities with the English. 
 
 Meanwhile there were more plottings and intrigues in the 
 council of regency. Sakaram Bapu, the elder Brahman, 
 Was anxious for the return of Rughonath Rao, and jealous 
 of Nana Farnavese. Sindia and Holkar were beginning 
 that baleful interference in the affairs of Poona which ulti- 
 mately brought about the destruction of the Peishwa. 1 
 
 1 Sindia and Holkar divided between them the greater part of Malwa between 
 the Nerbudda and Chambal rivers; but their territories were so intermixed and 
 confused that it was impossible in former times to draw a line of boundary be- 
 tween the two. They are best distinguished by their later capitals, namely, 
 Gwalior the capital of Sindia, and Indore the capital of Holkar.
 
 422 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Mahadaji Sindia was absent from Poona, pursuing his am- 
 bitious designs in Hindustan. He owed a grudge against 
 Rughonath Rao, on account of the opposition to his succes- 
 sion to the family Jaghir ; but he sought to trim between the 
 contending factions until he could appear in person at Poona. 
 Tukaji Holkar joined the party of Sakaram Bapu, and plotted 
 against Mahadaji Sindia. Nana Farnavese was obliged to 
 succumb to his rivals. A party was formed at Poona for 
 the restoration of Rughonath Rao ; and letters were sent to 
 Bombay, signed by Sakaram Bapu, Tukaji Holkar, and 
 others of the party, inviting the English to conduct Rugho- 
 nath Rao to Poona, and place him once more on the throne 
 of the Peishwa. 1 
 
 "Warren Hastings resolved on war, nominally for the 
 restoration of Rughonath Rao, but in reality for the pur- 
 pose of defeating the designs of the French. A force under 
 Colonel Goddard was sent from Bengal overland through 
 Bundelkund and Malwa to the Mahratta country. At the 
 same time a force was sent from Bombay to Poona to con- 
 duct Rughonath Rao to the Mahratta capital. 
 
 The Bombay expedition marched toward Poona in 1778, 
 but none of the Mahratta chiefs came out to join Rughonath 
 Rao. There had been another revolution in the Mahratta 
 court. Mahadaji Sindia had arrived at Poona, and violently 
 interfered in behalf of Nana Farnavese. Sakaram Bapu 
 fell into the clutches of his rival, and ultimately perished 
 miserably. Tukaji Holkar fled from Poona to Indore. All 
 the other men who had invited Rughonath Rao were thrown 
 into prison. The movement at Poona in behalf of Rugho- 
 nath Rao died out with the fall of his supporters; and the 
 ruling party were prepared to resist any attempt which might 
 
 1 Nana Farnavese was the paramour of the widow of Narain Rao Peishwa, 
 who was murdered by Rughonath Rao. He was thus personally interested in 
 maintaining the infant Mahdu Narain Rao on the throne of Poona, under the 
 regency of the Rani mother. Subsequently the Rani mother died, and Nana 
 Farnavese lost his influence, while his rivals in the regency intrigued for the 
 restoration of Rughonath Rao to the throne at Poona.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 423 
 
 be made to restore Rughonath Rao to the throne of the 
 
 Peishwa. 
 
 The Bombay forces advanced within eighteen miles of 
 Poona, and then were so alarmed at the rumors which 
 reached them on all sides, that they turned back toward 
 Bombay. They were attacked in their retreat by a large 
 Mahratta army under Mahadaji Sindia. The enemy was 
 repulsed by Captain Hartley, a gallant officer who was 
 famous in his day ; but the troops lost heart, and Hartley's 
 superior officer was bewildered and wanted to come to terms 
 with the Mahrattas. Captain Hartley warmly opposed the 
 measure, and pointed out a safe way of retreat, but was 
 overruled. Terms were offered; Nana Farnavese was in 
 the Mahratta camp, and insisted on the surrender of Rugho- 
 nath Rao. Mahadaji Sindia was more amenable to reason. 
 The result was that Rughonath Rao threw himself on the 
 protection of Sindia, while the English agreed to restore 
 Salsette and to countermand the march of Colonel Goddard. 
 This unhappy business is known in history as the convention 
 of Wurgaum. 
 
 Colonel Goddard had reached Burhanpur on the Ner- 
 budda river, when he was stopped by the convention of 
 Wurgaum, and marched northward to Surat. By this tune, 
 however, the governments of Bengal and Bombay had re- 
 pudiated the convention; and as war annihilates treaties, 
 preparations were being made for war. Indeed, war against 
 France had already been declared, and war against the 
 Mahrattas was found to be inevitable. 
 
 The hostilities which followed are known as the first 
 Mahratta war; they lasted from 1779 to 1782. From first 
 to last the operations were directed by Warren Hastings, 
 who might have been called the Chatham of India, if like 
 Chatham he had been free from suspicions of corruption. 
 The march of Goddard from Bengal to Burhanpur was con- 
 demned at the time as a frantic exploit; but the marches of 
 Ala-ud-din and Sivaji were equally frantic, and so was the 
 defence of Arcot and battle of Plassy.
 
 424 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 The operations of the first Mahratta war were extended 
 from Bombay into Guzerat, and from Bengal into the heart 
 of Hindustan. Colonel Goddard entered Guzerat, and took 
 possession of a large territory belonging to the Peishwa. 
 Subsequently he was more or less surrounded by dense clouds 
 of Mahratta horse, under Mahadaji Sindia and Tukaji 
 Holkar; and he could neither leave Guzerat nor bring the 
 enemy to a decisive action. At this crisis Warren Hastings 
 made a splendid diversion from the side of Bengal. He sent 
 Captain Popham at the head of two thousand four hundred 
 sepoys, and a small detachment of artillery, to make his 
 way through Hindustan toward Malwa. With this little 
 army Captain Popham scattered a Mahratta force that was 
 levying contributions, and, after some other successes, elec- 
 trified half India by the capture of Gwalior, one of the 
 strongest fortresses in Hindustan. 
 
 The loss of Gwalior compelled Mahadaji Sindia to return 
 to Malwa for the defence of his own territories. He still, 
 however, avoided a general action, and after some delay 
 made overtures of peace, which ended in his engaging to 
 remain neutral on condition that certain conquered districts 
 on the Jumna were restored to him. It will be seen here- 
 after that this neutrality on the part of Mahadaji Sindia 
 added greatly to his influence during the later negotiations 
 for a general peace with all the Mahratta powers. 
 
 While the Mahratta war was raging, the territory ac- 
 quired in Guzerat was placed under the charge of Mr. 
 Forbes, a civilian of Bombay. The inhabitants, who had 
 been hitherto accustomed to the exactions of the Moghuls, 
 and still more grinding cruelty and rapacity of the Mahrat- 
 tas, hailed the change in the administration as the greatest 
 of earthly blessings. Forbes was a mild and amiable man, 
 to whom cruelty was impossible and corruption as revolting 
 as crime. His jurisdiction extended over five large towns 
 and a hundred and fifty villages. He gratified Brahmans 
 and other Hindus by prohibiting his European soldiers from 
 molesting monkeys, pelicans, cranes, and water-fowl; and
 
 BRITISH INDIA 425 
 
 above all by forbidding the slaughter of -cows, except in a 
 private manner. He administered justice with the help of 
 four Brahmans and four Muhammadans, besides native 
 merchants and heads of castes. Each case was tried by a 
 punchayet, or jury of five natives ; two being chosen by the 
 plaintiff, two by the defendant, and one by himself as judge. 
 In some cases, but with great reluctance, he allowed of trials 
 by ordeal. Such a man seems to have approached the Hindu 
 ideal of a perfect ruler. 
 
 Meanwhile, events of importance were transpiring at 
 Calcutta. Hastings had expressed through a friend in Eng- 
 land some intention of resigning the government; and the 
 Directors had taken him at his word and appointed General 
 Clavering to succeed him as Governor-General. When or- 
 ders reached Calcutta, Hastings had regained his ascendency 
 in council, and withdrew his resignation. A quarrel ensued 
 which caused the utmost excitement. Clavering took his 
 seat as Governor-General in one room with Francis,. while 
 Hastings took his seat in another room with Barwell. Clav- 
 ering sent for the keys of Fort William, but Hastings had 
 already brought the military authorities to obey no orders 
 but his own. In this extremity the dispute was referred to 
 the Supreme Court of judicature at Calcutta, and decided 
 in favor of Hastings. Clavering died shortly afterward, 
 and a Mr. Wheler came out to India as member of council 
 and supported Francis. But Hastings was still supported 
 by Barwell, and secured a majority by means of his casting 
 vote. 
 
 About this time it was discovered that the five years' 
 leases of lands in Bengal and Behar had proved a failure. 
 Many Zemindars and others had taken lands beyond their 
 value, and were unable to pay the rent. Francis urged his 
 plan of a permanent settlement, and it was sent to England 
 for the consideration of the Court of Directors. Pending the 
 receipt of orders from England, the lands were let on yearly 
 
 ses. 
 
 In 1780 the quarrel between Hastings and Francis reached
 
 426 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 a climax. Mr. Barwell, the supporter of Hastings, was 
 anxious to proceed to England, but would not leave Hast- 
 ings to contend alone against Francis and Wheler. Over- 
 tures were made to Francis, and a compromise was effected ; 
 Hastings making some concessions to Francis, and Francis 
 engaging not to oppose Hastings in the conduct of the Mah- 
 ratta war. Barwell embarked for Europe ; and then Francis 
 opposed the war as bitterly as ever. Hastings declared that 
 he had been betrayed. Francis explained that he was only 
 pledged to support the war so long as it was confined to the 
 Malabar coast; but that when Hastings extended it to the 
 heart of Hindustan, the obligation ceased. The result was 
 a duel in which Francis was wounded ; and the discomfited 
 statesman left India forever, burning with disappointed 
 ambition, and breathing the direst vengeance against 
 Hastings. 
 
 While Hastings was carrying on the Mahratta war from 
 Bengal, the settlement of Madras was in sore danger. Mu- 
 hammad Ali, Nawab of the Carnatic, had proved as useless 
 an ally to the English at Madras as old Mir Jafir had been 
 to the English in Bengal. Muhammad Ali had ceded a 
 territory to the English, which was known as the Com- 
 pany's Jaghir; but the revenues of the Jaghir were insuffi- 
 cient to pay for the defence of the Carnatic, threatened as 
 it was from time to time by one or other of the three great 
 powers of India Nizam Ali, Hyder Ali, and the Mahrattas. 
 
 All this while Muhammad Ali was hopelessly in debt. 
 He had ostensibly borrowed large sums from English ser- 
 vants of the Company, most of which were presents under 
 the name of loans, and yet were charged with high interest. 
 Englishmen in the service of the Madras government, whose 
 means were notoriously small, and who could never have 
 sent a rupee to Arcot, were nevertheless put down as credi- 
 tors to the Nawab, and were thus bribed with both principal 
 and interest. In a word, the Nawab had been lavish of 
 money, or of acknowledgments of the receipt of money, in 
 the hope of securing friends and supporters in both India
 
 BRITISH INDIA 427 
 
 and England ; while his revenues, which ought to have been 
 available for the defence of the Carnatic against all invaders, 
 were pawned away to the servants of the Company, in return 
 for loans which were mostly nominal. 
 
 In this extremity the Nawab had often turned a wistful 
 eye to the Hindu territory of the Raja of Tanjore, which 
 included the delta of the Kavari and Koleroon, and was 
 regarded as the granary of Southern India. He invaded 
 and ravaged the territory of Tanjore, and called upon the 
 English to help him to crush the Raja. The Madras au- 
 thorities were blind to all considerations excepting their own 
 immediate gains; and were consequently eager to put the 
 Nawab in possession of territories which would enable him 
 to liquidate their supposititious claims. In 1773 they deposed 
 the Raja and made over his kingdom to the Nawab. 
 
 The Court of Directors was furious at this proceeding. 
 Mr. Wynch, the Governor of Madras, was turned out of the 
 service. Lord Pigot was sent out as Governor in his room, 
 with orders to restore the Raja to his kingdom. The Nawab 
 is said to have offered a large bribe to Lord Pigot to delay 
 taking action; but the money was refused. In 1776 Lord 
 Pigot proceeded to Tanjore and restored the Raja to his 
 throne and territories. 
 
 A Mr. Paul Benfield then appeared upon the scene. 
 This man had been a servant of the Company on a salary 
 of three hundred rupees a month, but had subsequently 
 entered the service of the Nawab. Benfield put forward 
 claims on the Nawab for nearly a quarter of a million ster- 
 ling, for which the Nawab had given him an assignment on 
 the revenues and standing crops of Tanjore. Benfield pro- 
 duced no vouchers, but urged that the Nawab would ac- 
 knowledge the debt. It was obvious that the whole affair 
 was a sham, got up with the connivance of the Nawab for 
 diverting the revenues of the Tanjore Raja to the payment 
 of the Nawab's creditors. 
 
 The members of Lord Pigot's council were swayed by 
 conflicting motives. The demand of Benfield was so pre-
 
 428 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 posterous that in the first instance they could not avoid 
 rejecting it. But they subsequently discovered that by re- 
 jecting his claims they were imperilling their own. Accord- 
 ingly they rescinded their vote, and declared that the assign- 
 ments to Benfield of the revenue and crops of Tanjore were 
 valid. 
 
 Lord Pigot in his wrath suspended two members of council 
 on his own authority, and arrested the commander-in-chief 
 of the Madras army. In return he was himself suddenly 
 arrested by the opposition members of the Madras council, 
 and placed in confinement. He died in May, 1777, eight 
 months after his arrest, and one month before the orders for 
 his release were received from the Court of Directors. 
 
 In 1778, the same year that wars were beginning against 
 France and the Mahrattas, a Bengal civilian, named Sir 
 Thomas Rumbold, was appointed Governor of -Madras. He 
 was a shrewd man of business, and possibly an able admin- 
 istrator; but either he knew nothing of the dangers which 
 threatened Madras, or else he wilfully shut his eyes to the 
 actual state of affairs. 
 
 By this time Hyder Ali had become the most formidable 
 power in the Peninsula. He had strengthened his army by 
 absorbing all the floating European elements which were 
 abroad in Southern India: deserters from the Company's 
 army; runaways from the Company's ships; scamps and 
 tramps from the desk or warehouse who preferred Oriental 
 license to duty and routine; discharged Frenchmen and 
 others from the service of the Nawab or the Nizam; bodies 
 of native infantry or cavalry, which had been raised, trained 
 and disciplined by English officers to meet sudden emergen- 
 cies, and then had been broken up, or had broken themselves 
 up, from sheer want of pay. "With these nondescript forces 
 Hyder Ali had conquered all the Rajas and Poligars of 
 Mysore and Malabar, and compelled them all to pay tribute, 
 excepting the remote Rajas of Coorg and Travancore. He 
 was still sore at the failure of the English at Madras to help 
 him in his wars against the Mahrattas; but he saw with
 
 BRITISH INDIA 429 
 
 satisfaction that Bengal and Bombay were engaged in hos- 
 tilities against the Peishwa at Poona; and he was prepared 
 to take advantage of the distractions in the Mahratta empire, 
 while planning secret designs against his brother Muham- 
 madan at Hyderabad. On the whole he was willing to be 
 at peace with the English at Madras, provided that the 
 English would leave him alone. 
 
 In 1778 the English at Madras began the war against 
 France by the capture of Pondicherry. They next threat- 
 ened to capture the French settlement at Mahe on the coast 
 of Malabar, within the dominions of Hyder Ah". Mahe was 
 very serviceable to Hyder Ali; he obtained European re- 
 cruits and stores through Mahe. He declared that if the 
 English attacked Mahe, he would desolate the Carnatic. 
 But the English at Madras were bent on rooting the French 
 out of the Peninsula. An expedition was sent from Madras 
 against Mahe, partly by sea round Ceylon, and partly by 
 land through Mysore. At this crisis news reached Madras 
 that the Bombay army had been driven back from Poona; 
 but neither the disaster at Wurgaum, nor the expected wrath 
 of Hyder Ali, could induce Rumbold to recall the expedition, 
 and eventually Mahe surrendered to the English without a 
 blow. 
 
 Meanwhile Governor Rumbold hoped to pacify Hyder 
 Ali by sending Swartz, the German missionary, with mes- 
 sages of peace to Seringapatam. Swartz was well fitted for 
 the work. He could speak Hindustani, which was a rare 
 accomplishment in those days; and he had already won 
 golden opinions among the natives of Southern India by his 
 unassuming life and self-sacrificing toil. He was unwilling 
 to be mixed up with political affairs, but undertook the mis- 
 sion in the hope of averting a war. He was received by 
 Hyder Ali with the respect due to his sacred calling; but 
 unhappily, during his stay at Seringapatam, reports arrived 
 that English sepoys were marching through Mysore for the 
 capture of Mahe. Hyder Ali was filled with wrath at this 
 violation of his territories. He dismissed the missionary
 
 430 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 with kindness and consideration ; but Swartz returned from 
 his bootless errand with sad forebodings of coming disaster. 
 
 About the same time Governor Rumbold managed to 
 exasperate Nizam Ali. There had long been a soreness 
 about the English occupation of the Northern Circars; but, 
 as already stated, the English had settled the quarrel by 
 agreeing to pay Nizam Ali a yearly rent of seventy thousand 
 pounds for the territory in question. The Circar or province 
 of Guntoor had, however, been assigned for life to Basalut 
 Jung, the eldest brother of Nizam Ali; and the cession of 
 Guntoor was accordingly postponed until the death of Ba- 
 salut Jung. l But the war with France brought on further 
 complications. Basalut Jung had entertained a French 
 force for his protection against Hyder Ali ; and the English 
 compelled him to disband it. He then made over Guntoor 
 to the English in return for a yearly rent ; and the English 
 in their turn transferred Guntoor to Muhammad Ali, the 
 Nawab of the Carnatic, on similar terms. 
 
 The wrath of Nizam Ali was kindled at the separate 
 negotiations with Basalut Jung, and especially at the trans- 
 fer of Guntoor to Muhammad Ali. He suspected that the 
 English were plotting with the Nawab to work his destruc- 
 tion, and set up Basalut Jung on the throne at Hyderabad. 
 In reality Guntoor was transferred at the instance of the 
 Nawab's creditors, who wanted the revenue for the payment 
 of their claims. Nizam Ali manifested his hostility by tak- 
 ing into his service the French troops who had been dismissed 
 by Basalut Jung. To make matters worse, Governor Rum- 
 bold chose this particular moment for asking Nizam Ali 
 to remit the rent due for the Northern Circars, on the 
 ground that the war against France had emptied the Madras 
 treasury. 
 
 These proceedings were most irritating to the govern- 
 ment of Warren Hastings. The war against France was 
 already hampered by the war with the Mahrattas ; and now 
 
 1 See ante, p. 367, note.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 431 
 
 Madras had provoked this ill-timed quarrel with Hyder All 
 and Nizam Ali. Accordingly the Bengal government, as 
 the supreme authority, ordered the immediate restoration 
 of Guntoor to the Nizam. Rumbold, however, resented the 
 interference of the Governor- General; refused to restore 
 Guntoor; and embarked for England in April, 1780, igno- 
 rant or regardless of the coming storm. 
 
 Rumbold was succeeded as Governor by a Madras civilian 
 named Whitehill ; but there was no improvement in the con- 
 duct of affairs. The air of Madras was reeking with scandals 
 and intrigues, growing out of money transactions between 
 servants of the Company and the Nawab of the Carnatic. 
 Whitehill was as obstinate as his predecessor in refusing to 
 restore Guntoor to Nizam Ali and in neglecting to provide 
 the means of defence against Hyder Ali. Meanwhile corrupt 
 Europeans were appropriating the revenues of the Carnatic 
 to the payment of their fabricated claims, and amusing the 
 Nawab Muhammad Ali with hopes of being relieved from 
 all obligations to the East India Company by the direct inter- 
 ference of the English parliament and Court of St. James's. 
 
 In July, 1780, the storm burst upon the Carnatic. Hyder 
 Ali, at the head of a hundred thousand men, poured through 
 the passes which separate the tableland of Mysore from the 
 Carnatic plain. The whole country was overrun by the in- 
 vaders eastward to the coast of Coromandel, northward 
 to the river Kistna, and southward to the Kaveri and Kol- 
 eroon. 1 Villages were set on fire, crops were destroyed, 
 cattle were driven off; wives and daughters were shame- 
 
 1 The army of Hyder Ali included 20,000 infantry formed into regular bat- 
 talions, and mostly commanded by Europeans. His cavalry numbered 30,000, 
 including 2,000 Abyssinian horse who formed a bodyguard, and 10,000 Carnatic 
 horse well disciplined. Half of the Carnatic horse had belonged to Nawab Mu- 
 hammad Ali, and after being trained by English officers, had either deserted or 
 been disbanded from want of pay. Hyder Ali also had one hundred pieces of 
 cannon managed either by Europeans, or by natives who had been trained by 
 the English for the service of the Nawab. Above all, Hyder Ali had a corpa 
 of Frenchmen or other Europeans to the number of four hundred men, under the 
 command of a Monsieur Lally, who had left the service of the Nizam for that of 
 the Mysore ruler.
 
 432 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 lessly carried away, and Brahmans were wantonly cut down 
 and slaughtered without scruple or remorse. Fifty years 
 afterward the atrocities committed were still remembered 
 in remote villages; and persons who are still living have 
 spoken to ancient crones who shuddered as they told of the 
 avenging army of Hyder Ali. 
 
 Shortly before the invasion of Hyder Ali, Hastings re- 
 ceived a mysterious communication from the Bhonsla 1 Raja 
 of Berar. The Raja informed Hastings that the three great 
 powers of India Hyder Ali, Nizam Ali, and the Mahrattas 
 were about to make simultaneous attacks on the three 
 English settlements in Bengal, Bombay, and Madras; and 
 that Nizam Ali was at the bottom of the confederacy. The 
 Berar Raja added that he had received orders from the 
 Peishwa's government at Poona to send a large army for 
 the conquest of Bengal and Behar; that he had been obliged 
 to obey the orders, but had instructed his Mahratta com- 
 manders to abstain from hostile operations. In return for 
 this act of friendship he requested payment of arrears of 
 chout from Bengal and Behar, aggregating some three mil- 
 lions sterling. 
 
 The fact of a confederacy was partly proved by news 
 from Madras. Hyder Ali had entered the Carnatic and 
 drawn a circle of flaming villages round Madras and Fort 
 St. George. The English army under Sir Hector Munro, 
 the hero of Buxar, had marched against Hyder Ali ; but by 
 some bad generalship had permitted an English detachment 
 to be surrounded by overwhelming numbers. After des- 
 perate heroism, the English were induced to surrender on 
 promises of quarter ; but no sooner had they laid down their 
 arms than the savages rushed on them with unbridled fury, 
 and would have butchered every man upon the spot but for 
 the timely interference of the French officers. As it was, 
 two hundred Europeans were carried off prisoners to Mysore, 
 and subjected to cruelties and indignities which were never 
 forgotten by the survivors. 
 
 1 Mudaji Bhonsla. See ante, p. 419, note.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 433 
 
 Never did the genius of Warren Hastings burn more 
 brightly than at this epoch in the Mahratta war. He dis- 
 covered that Hyder Ali had procured a grant of the whole 
 of the Nizam's territories from Shah Alam at Delhi ; and he 
 detached Nizam Ali from the confederacy by informing him 
 of the treacherous transaction. He secured the neutrality 
 of the Berar Raja by negotiations and a small present of 
 money. He sent an English force under Colonel Pearse 
 to march overland through the Berar Raja's territories 
 toward Madras. He deposed "Whitehill, the Governor of 
 Madras, on his own authority; and further mollified Nizam 
 Ali by the restoration of Guntoor. At the same time Sir 
 Eyre Coote left Bengal and proceeded to Madras by sea, to 
 take the command of the Madras army with full and inde- 
 pendent powers. 
 
 Eyre Coote is one of the half -forgotten heroes of the eigh- 
 teenth century. He defeated Hyder Ali at Porto Novo, 1 and 
 followed up his success by a series of brilliant victories which 
 have won him a lasting name in the annals of British India, 
 although the details have long since died out of the memory 
 of the British nation. 
 
 All this while the Bengal government was sorely pressed 
 for money, and Hastings sought to replenish the public treas- 
 ury by demanding a subsidy from the Raja of Benares, and 
 calling on the Nawab Vizier of Oude to pay up all arrears 
 due to the Company. The details are interesting from the 
 fact that they formed the basis of the more important charges 
 in the subsequent impeachment of "Warren Hastings. 
 
 Cheit Singh, Raja of Benares, was a feudatory of the 
 British government. His father, Balwunt Singh, had joined 
 the English after the battle of Buxar, and died in 1770; and 
 the Nawab Vizier of Oude would have confiscated the terri- 
 tory of Benares but for the interference of the English, who 
 upheld the rights of Cheit Singh. On the accession of a new 
 
 1 Porto Novo is situated near the mouth of the Koleroon, immediately to the 
 south of Fort St. David. 
 
 X 10 INDIA. VOL. I.
 
 434 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Nawab Vizier in 1775 the sovereignty of Benares was ceded 
 to the British government, while the territory still remained 
 in the possession of Cheit Singh. 
 
 Cheit Singh paid a tribute to the British government of 
 about two hundred thousand pounds per annum; but by the 
 laws and customs of India, Moghul or Mahratta, he was also 
 subject to the extraordinary demands of his suzerain for 
 money or military service. Hastings demanded an extra 
 fifty thousand pounds per annum and the service of two 
 thousand horse. The Raja complied for a while, and then 
 evaded the demand on the plea of poverty. Hastings, know- 
 ing that the Raja had large treasures, imposed a fine of half 
 a million sterling. 1 
 
 About this time Hastings was proceeding to the city of 
 Benares to negotiate a peace with the Mahrattas. As he 
 entered Benares territory he was met by Cheit Singh, who 
 offered to pay something less than half the fine ; but Hast- 
 ings persisted in demanding the half million. Subsequently, 
 after reaching the city, Hastings sent four companies of 
 sepoys to arrest the Raja. The mob of Benares, always the 
 most turbulent in India, rose against the sepoys, who had no 
 ammunition, and were slaughtered on the spot. 
 
 Cheit Singh fled in terror from Benares. Hastings was 
 in personal danger, but escaped to the fortress of Chunar. 
 Cheit Singh prayed for a reconciliation, but Hastings re- 
 fused to overlook such open rebellion against the British 
 supremacy. Cheit Singh tried to raise the native princes 
 against the dominant power, but was defeated and deposed, 
 and ultimately found an asylum in Sindia's territories. The 
 nephew of Cheit Singh was then placed upon the feudatory 
 throne of Benares, and the yearly tribute was nearly doubled. 
 
 The proceedings of Hastings as regards the Nawab Vizier 
 
 1 Had the Raja of Benares resisted the demands of a Moghul or Mahratta 
 sovereign he would have been imprisoned and squeezed, until nothing was left 
 of his treasures. In modern times the rights of feudatory princes of India have 
 been denned and respected, if not absolutely created, by the British government, 
 and they are only expected to contribute to imperial necessities In the form 
 of loans.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 43S 
 
 of Oude were more dubious. Asof-ud-daula could not or 
 would not pay up the arrears due to the Company, unless 
 he was put into possession of the state treasures which had 
 passed into the hands of the two Begums. Hastings was told 
 that the Begums were implicated in the rebellion of Cheit 
 Singh. Moreover, he acknowledged having received a pres- 
 ent of a hundred thousand pounds from the Nawab Vizier, 
 which may possibly have warped his judgment, and which 
 will call for some special remarks hereafter. The result was 
 that he withdrew the guarantee which Bristow had given to 
 the two Begums, and which had been approved and sanc- 
 tioned by the Bengal government during the supremacy of 
 Philip Francis and his two colleagues in the triumvirate. 
 Above all, he connived at the imprisonment of the servants 
 of the Begums by the Nawab Vizier until the treasures were 
 surrendered. 
 
 There can be no doubt that Asof-ud-daula ordered the 
 servants of the Begums to be subjected to indignities, pri- 
 vations, and sufferings, common enough in the households 
 of Oriental despots, but revolting to civilization. His father, 
 Shuja-ud-daula, is said to have subjected the ladies of Mir 
 Kasim to like cruelties in order to compel the ex-Nawab to 
 surrender his secret hoards. But there is no extenuation for 
 Hastings, and he must share the blame of the whole trans- 
 action. Subsequently he reported the receipt of the hundred 
 thousand pounds to the Court of Directors, and requested 
 permission to keep the money. The Directors refused the 
 request, which ought never to have been proffered. Indeed, 
 it would have been better for the reputation of Hastings if 
 he had never accepted the money, or had promptly placed 
 the whole matter on public record. As it stands, the money 
 bears all the stamp of a bribe, intended to remove the scru- 
 ples of Hastings as regards the abandonment of the Begums 
 and their servants to the tender mercies of the Nawab Vizier. 
 
 In 1781-82 the first Mahratta war was brought to a close. 
 Nana Farnavese was at this time too much afraid of Hyder 
 Ali to ratify a treaty of alliance with the English. But
 
 436 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 Maliadaji Sindia exercised a predominating influence in tbe 
 councils of the Peishwa, and was more inclined to the alli- 
 ance. Negotiations were thus concluded with Mahadaji 
 Sindia but evaded by Nana Farnavese. 
 
 At the end of 1782 it was known that Hyder AM was 
 dead; and Nana Farnavese ratified the treaty which had 
 been concluded with Mahadaji Sindia, and was known as 
 the treaty of Salbai. The terms of this treaty are simple 
 and intelligible. The English and the Mahrattas were ma* 
 tually pledged to withhold all help from the enemies of the 
 other. Bughonath Rao was set aside and pensioned. The 
 infant Peishwa, Mahdu Rao the Second, was recognized aa 
 the legitimate head of the Mahratta empire. The council of 
 regency was also recognized as represented by Nana Farna- 
 vese. Salsette and some small islands were retained by Bom- 
 bay, but all other conquests were restored to the Mahrattas. 
 The important districts acquired in Guzerat were made over 
 to Mahadaji Sindia as an acknowledgment of his moderation 
 at Wurgaum; but the grief of the inhabitants at being re- 
 stored to the grasping oppression of their Mahratta rulers 
 was profound and sincere, and caused many pangs of regret 
 to the amiable Forbes. 
 
 The death of Hyder AH in 1782 is a landmark in the his- 
 tory. He was cruel and often brutally so; he was also self- 
 indulgent to an extreme after the manner of eastern poten- 
 tates. Like Akbar he could neither read nor write, yet he 
 was shrewd, sagacious, indifferent in matters of religion, 
 and tolerant toward Hindus. 
 
 Swartz the missionary has left a striking description of 
 the government of Hyder All. The palace at Seringapatam 
 had an open space in front, with ranges of civil and military 
 offices on either side, so that Hyder Ah" could overlook the 
 whole from his balcony. Two hundred men with whips 
 were constantly in attendance to scourge all offenders- 
 gentlemen, horsekeepers, tax-gatherers, and even his own 
 sons. Not a day passed without a number of officials being 
 flogged. The offenders were not dismissed from his service,
 
 BRITISH INDIA 437 
 
 but sent back to their offices, with the marks of the stripes 
 on their backs as public warnings. 
 
 One evening Swartz went to the palace, and saw a num- 
 ber of men of rank sitting round in great tribulation. He 
 was told that they were revenue collectors of districts, but 
 they looked more like criminals expecting death. One 
 wretched defaulter was scourged in the most horrible man- 
 ner, while his shrieks rent the air. Yet there was a great 
 struggle for these posts, especially among the Brahmans. 
 They outbid one another hi order to be appointed collectors, 
 and then practiced similar cruelties toward the people in 
 order to add to their gains. 
 
 At this period Lord Macartney was Governor of Madras. 
 He had landed in India in 1781, and distinguished himself 
 by pushing on the war against Hyder Ali; but his adminis- 
 tration was chiefly marked by differences with the Bengal 
 government which have long since been forgotten. He was 
 distinguished by a spotless purity in money matters which 
 has handed down his name to posterity as the first Governor 
 of a new regime. 1 
 
 In 1784 Lord Macartney sent envoys to Tippu, the son 
 and successor of Hyder Ali, to negotiate a peace. A treaty 
 was concluded at Mangalore by which both the English and 
 Tippu were mutually bound to withhold all help from the 
 enemies of the other; and a large number of European pris- 
 oners, who had passed years of suffering, privation, and 
 torture in Mysore, were at last restored to lif e and freedom. 
 
 During the war against Hyder Ali, Lord Macartney as- 
 sumed the management of the revenues of the Carnatic. 
 The Nawab agreed to the measure, reserving a sixth part 
 for the maintenance of his family and dignity. Indeed he 
 was unable to offer any opposition. The Carnatic was vir- 
 
 1 In 1781 the English were at war with the Dutch, and Lord Macartney cap- 
 tured the two Dutch seaports of Pulicat and Sadras, in the neighborhood of 
 Madras, to prevent their falling into the hands of Hyder Ali or the French. The 
 dismantled fortifications are still to be seen within easy communication from 
 Madras, and will well repay a visit, as they form the most interesting relics at 
 Dutch dominion which are to be found in all India.
 
 438 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 tually occupied by the armies of Hyder Ali; and for a 
 period of eighteen months the Nawab had not contributed 
 a single rupee toward the expenses of the war; while the 
 native renters had often endangered the very existence of 
 the forces in the field by keeping back supplies, either for 
 their own profit, or out of treacherous collusion with the 
 enemy. Indeed, on one occasion Eyre Coote had placed a 
 native renter in irons for having endeavored to betray the 
 fortress of Vellore to Hyder Ali. The new arrangement 
 insured the regularity of supplies; protected the Nawab 
 from the rapacity of his creditors; while delivering the peo- 
 ple from the merciless exactions of the native renters. In a 
 word, Lord Macartney was driven by the instinct of self- 
 preservation to take the revenues of the Carnatic under 
 direct control, as the only possible way of saving the coun- 
 try, the people, the Nawab himself, and the Company's 
 possessions, from utter destruction. 
 
 When the war was over Lord Macartney resolved on per- 
 petuating an arrangement which had enabled him to provide 
 for the expenses of the war as well as for the maintenance of 
 the Nawab. Accordingly he refused to restore the revenues 
 to the control of Muhammad Ali and his native renters. 
 Large bribes were offered to him, but he was immovable. 
 For thirty years it had been obvious to all parties concerned 
 to the Nawab himself, as well as to the Madras govern 
 ment and the Court of Directors that the East India Com- 
 pany alone could protect the Carnatic from the horrible rav- 
 ages to which it had been exposed from Hyder Ali, Nizam 
 Ali, or the Mahrattas. It was equally obvious that unless 
 the English held the power of the purse they could not wield 
 the power of the sword. The sixth part of the revenues had 
 been regularly paid to the Nawab, and in reality yielded him 
 more money for his private purposes than he had ever en- 
 joyed before. Lord Macartney was willing to continue the 
 payment, and to investigate and liquidate all the just claims 
 of the Nawab's creditors ; but he was determined that hence- 
 forth the Nawab should be powerless for evil; and for this
 
 BRITISH INDIA 439 
 
 purpose it was necessary to depose Muhammad Ali from his 
 sovereign authority, and reduce him to the condition of a 
 pageant pensioner like the Nawab Nazims of Bengal. 
 
 The equity of the measure was open to question. So 
 long as the English maintained a helpless Nawab on the 
 throne of the Carnatic, so long were they responsible fop 
 the sufferings of his wretched subjects. On the other hand, 
 for more than thirty years, the East India Company, tot 
 purposes of its own, had treated the Nawab as an independ- 
 ent prince; and his sovereignty had been acknowledged alike 
 by the English parliament and the Crown. In a word, the 
 Nawab of the Carnatic was a political Frankenstein, the cre- 
 ation of the Company, galvanized into artificial life by the 
 Company's own servants ; and he could not be deposed from 
 his sovereignty unless it could be proved to the satisfaction 
 of the English parliament that his extinction was essential 
 to the safety of British interests in Southern India. 
 
 Meanwhile Indian affairs had been hotly debated in the 
 English parliament. Indian wars and conquests had been 
 denounced, and alliances with native princes had been con- 
 demned as the cause of all Iridiiyn wars. In 3784 an act 
 was passed, known as Mr. Pitt's bill, under which a Board 
 of Control was nominated by the Crown to exercise supreme 
 authority over the civil and military administration of the 
 Company's servants. It consisted of six members, but all 
 real power was vested in the President of the Board, who 
 played the part of an additional Secretary of State, and was 
 directly responsible to parliament and the Crown. 1 It was 
 enacted that for the future no alliances should be formed 
 with any native prince without the consent of parliament. 
 
 1 The Board of Control consisted of six members of the Privy Council, chosen 
 by the Crown, and always including the Chancellor of the Exchequer and one 
 of the Secretaries of State. In the absence of the Chancellor and Secretary of 
 State, the senior member acted as President of the Eoard, and practically was 
 the sole authority. Mr. Dundas, afterward Lord Melville, was the first Presi- 
 dent of the Board of Control. The Board was maintained down to the year 1858, 
 when it was amalgamated with the Court of Directors, and the whole was trans- 
 formed into a Secretary of State for India in Council.
 
 440 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 It was also enacted, with the view of preventing future 
 scandals, that no servant of the Company should engage in 
 any monetary transactions with any native prince without 
 the express sanction of the Governor-General of India. 1 
 
 All this while the creditors of the Nawab were straining 
 every effort to procure his restoration to the sovereignty of 
 the Carnatic. Indeed unless Muhammad Ali was replaced 
 in the possession of the revenues, his creditors could never 
 hope to realize the enormous fortunes which for years had 
 dazzled their imaginations and perverted their moral sense. 
 Emissaries from the Nawab, including the notorious Mr. 
 Paul Benfield, appeared in London with large means at 
 their disposal for the purchase of seats in parliament, and 
 otherwise bringing corrupt influences to bear upon men in 
 high places.* 
 
 It would be tedious to rake up a forgotten controversy in 
 which there was much to be said on both sides. The Board 
 of Control eventually decided that as the war with Hyder 
 Ali had been brought to a close there was no necessity for 
 lowering the status of the Nawab, and no excuse for retain- 
 ing the management of the Carnatic. With this view the 
 Board of Control ordered, not only that the Carnatic should 
 
 1 By a subsequent act, 37 of George III., this prohibition was extended to 
 all European subjects of the British Grown. 
 
 * The lives of the English adventurers who preyed upon the Nawab of the 
 Carnatic, and other native princes, during the latter half of the eighteenth cent- 
 ury, would make an instructive volume. Their intrigues in London would per- 
 haps prove more curious than those at Arcot and Madras. Their parade of 
 wealth and jewels at the Court of St. James's was the marvel and envy of the 
 aristocracy. Mrs. Paul Benfield astonished London by driving through the parka 
 in a chariot of cerulean blue. Mr. Paul Benfield ultimately lost all his fortune, 
 and died at Paris in extreme poverty. Mr. , afterward Sir John, Macpherson, 
 who for a brief period succeeded Warren Hastings as Governor-General, was 
 originally the purser of a ship, who entered the service of the Nawab of the 
 Carnatic, and afterward went to London and gained the ear of the Duke of Graf- 
 ton. The magazines and journals of the day would furnish equally suggestive 
 details respecting Mr. Holland and others. All these men were at one time or 
 other in the Company's service. There were also adventurers at Seringapatam, 
 Hyderabad, and Lucknow, who had never been in the service. In the story of 
 "Lame Jervis" Miss Edgeworth describes one of these men who visited the 
 Court of Tippu, and proved a favorable specimen of his class. There were oth- 
 ers whose careers would vindicate the proceedings of the Court of Directors in 
 prohibiting the advent of Europeans into the domiuioan of native princes.
 
 BRITISH INDIA 
 
 be restored to the Nawab, but tbat all claims against the 
 Nawab should be liquidated out of the revenues of the Car- 
 natic without any further investigation. Lord Macartney 
 retired from the service rather than obey such orders; but 
 many of the Company's servants acquired large fortunes, 
 Mr. Benfield alone realizing about half a million sterling. 1 
 
 Meanwhile the government of Warren Hastings drew 
 toward a close. His proceedings as regards Cheit Singh 
 and the Begums were severely censured by the Court of 
 Directors, and he lost the support of his colleagues in coun- 
 cil. Accordingly he resigned the service, and left India in 
 February, 1785, never to return. 
 
 The subsequent impeachment and acquittal of Warren 
 Hastings are great events in English history, but they made 
 no impression on the people of India. A storm of indigna- 
 tion was raised by Philip Francis, and turned to a hurricane 
 by the hot eloquence of Burke, Fox, and Sheridan ; but the 
 people of Bengal only knew Hastings as a deliverer, a pro- 
 tector, and a conqueror, and they were bewildered by the 
 remote thunder in Westminster Hall. 
 
 The three most important charges against Hastings re- 
 ferred to the Rohilla war, and the treatment of Cheit Singh 
 and the Begums; but the animus of the charge was that 
 Hastings had exercised and countenanced cruelty and op- 
 pression for the sake of money. Lord Clive had accepted 
 presents, but he was not accused like Hastings of taking 
 bribes. Bribery and corruption, however, are difficult of 
 judicial proof, whether in England or India; and grave 
 suspicion will often insure a moral conviction when a legal 
 
 1 The settlement of the debts of Muhammad Ali was accompanied by minis- 
 terial scandals which will never be cleared up, and which belong to the history 
 of England rather than to the history of India. Burke denounced Benfield, 
 Dundarf, and all concerned ; but his invectives were so coarse and extravagant 
 that they failed to make any lasting impression. It will suffice to say that be- 
 tween 1784 and 1804 five millions sterling were paid away. In 1805 commis- 
 sioners were appointed to investigate the further claims of private creditors ; and 
 between 1805 and 1814 claims to the amount of twenty millions were brought 
 under examination, during which nineteen millions were rejected as bad, while 
 little more than a million was treated ae true and lawful debt.
 
 443 HISTORY OF INDIA 
 
 | 
 
 conviction is wanting ; but in the case of Warren Hastings 
 the national resentment was neutralized by the obvious vin- 
 dictiveness of Francis, and the dreary procrastination of a 
 state trial, until it had spent its force and died away. Pos- 
 terity will possibly decide that the services of Hastings have 
 thrown his failings into the shade; that Hastings deserved 
 approbation and reward at the hands of the East India 
 Company; but that William Pitt was in the right when 
 he refused to recommend Warren Hastings for a peerage, 
 or for honorable employment under the British Crown. 1 
 
 Philip Francis may be consigned to oblivion. His tal- 
 ents might have gained him a lasting name in the history 
 of India, but were frittered away in attempts to advance 
 himself at the expense of Hastings. He intrigued for the 
 post of Governor-General until his hopes were shattered by 
 old age. To this day he is only remembered as the writer 
 of the "Letters of Junius," and as the vindictive enemy of 
 Warren Hastings. 
 
 1 Lord Macaulay acquits Hastings of money corruption on the ground of want 
 of evidence ; had he been familiar with the workings of native courts in India he 
 would have found Hastings guilty. Hastings acknowledged to having taken a 
 hundred thousand pounds from Asof-ud-daula in 1782. The inference follows 
 that in 1773 he received a like sum from Shuja-ud-daula, and silently pocketed 
 the money. Officers of any political experience would be satisfied that Asof-ud- 
 daula would never have offered the hundred thousand pounds to Hastings unless 
 a like sum had been previously offered by his father, Shuja-ud-daula, and accepted 
 by Hastings. 
 
 While Warren Hastings was preparing to defend himself against his enemies, 
 he was harassed by the thought that he had left an old bureau behind at Cal- 
 cutta, containing papers of such secrecy that he could not intrust them to his 
 closest friends. At least seven references to this lost bureau are to be found in 
 his published correspondence (Gleig's Life of Hastings, vol. Hi., pp. 238, 240, 
 268, 286, 290, 297, and 327). Nowhere is it said that the bureau was recov- 
 ered.. Had it fallen into the hands of Francis, it might have made short work 
 of the trial at Westminster Hall. 
 
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