Within the early nineteenth century when the British had been trying to increase within the Indian subcontinent, they had been confronted with only one main regional energy able to destroying their rising empire – the Marathas. Unfold throughout a number of small kingdoms, from modern-day Tamil Nadu within the south to Gwalior within the north and Odisha within the east, the Marathas, at one level, had been stated to have occupied a 3rd of the subcontinent.
Although the regime set in place by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj dissipated by the early 1800s, in Maharashtra, the Marathas proceed to have a powerful presence. Ever for the reason that beginning of Maharashtra in 1960, 12 of the state’s 20 chief ministers have been Marathas, together with the incumbent Eknath Shinde. Points associated to the Maratha neighborhood, together with the closely debated demand for reservation, constantly body electoral narratives within the state’s polls.
On this four-part collection, we are going to take a deep dive into the multi-faceted historical past of the Marathas and unravel some exceptional and unknown aspects of the neighborhood’s evolution over the centuries.
In 2023, Baloch, a Marathi movie directed by Prakash Pawar premiered on Amazon Prime. The film sheds gentle on a forgotten chapter of historical past — the Maratha captives taken to Balochistan following the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.
In a extra modern setting, Karachi-based social media influencers Sameer Kay and Vishal Rajput have been documenting Pakistan’s Marathi neighborhood, significantly its vibrant Ganpati celebrations. Via their detailed YouTube movies, the duo provide an intimate view into the neighborhood’s wealthy traditions, from festive feasts of halwa-puri-modak to the poignant immersion ceremonies.
The Marathi-speaking diaspora in Karachi, although important, will not be the primary from Maharashtra to have established roots in Pakistan. So who had been the earliest settlers? How did they navigate life in a overseas land? And, maybe most intriguingly, do they nonetheless cling to their unique identities? The solutions reveal an enchanting tapestry of migration, captivity, and resilience.
Marathas, Ahamd Shah Durrani, and the battle for management
After the demise of Emperor Aurangzeb and the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Maratha Confederacy expanded quickly, posing a risk to Ahmad Shah Durrani’s (also referred to as Ahmad Shah Abdali) Afghan Empire. To counter this, Ahmad Shah launched a marketing campaign, capturing giant elements of Punjab and aiming to starve the Maratha forces. In response, the Marathas assembled a big military beneath Sadashivrao Bhau, who managed to reclaim Delhi.
Ahmad Shah sought to entice the Maratha forces in Punjab, reducing off their provides whereas transferring troops southward. Surrounded by the enemy and ravenous, Sadashivrao Bhau tried to interrupt the siege, resulting in a confrontation at Panipat in 1761. Partially II of his e-book, Medieval India, historian Satish Chandra observes that “the Bhau wouldn’t have been capable of prevail over the Abdali, saddled as he was with heavy artillery and womenfolk.” He contends that whereas the Maratha troopers primarily relied on lances and swords, the Afghan forces held a big benefit with expert musketeers geared up with quick-loading flintlock weapons and mounted on “swift, well-trained horses.” This technological and tactical superiority, mixed with inner rivalries inside the Maratha ranks, finally weakened their forces. The smaller however unified Ahmad Shah military decisively overwhelmed the Marathas.
Third Battle of Panipat, 1761 (Supply: Wikimedia Commons)
The third battle of Panipat on January 14, 1761, devastated the Maratha military, ended their ambition to succeed the Mughals, and plunged northwestern India into a long time of instability. “The last word beneficiaries weren’t the Maratha sardars and erstwhile Mughal nobles who stood for regionalism, however the English who introduced in centralism of a new-kind, the colonial sort,” notes Chandra.
Narratives of early communities
Following the crushing defeat at Panipat, just a few hundred of the Peshwa’s military survived, in search of refuge within the jungles of Haryana. Immediately, they’re often known as the Rod Marathas, a neighborhood of practically seven to 10 lakh folks, unfold throughout Karnal, Rohtak, and Bhiwani.
But, as historical past buff and co-author of Travels with Nandighosh Yashwant Marathe writes in his weblog, for 22,000 different males, ladies, and youngsters, destiny was far harsher. Captured as prisoners, they had been marched to Afghanistan alongside Ahmad Shah’s forces. Whereas many ladies and youngsters had been rescued by Sikh warriors throughout the military’s passage by Punjab, Marathe argues that those that crossed into Balochistan’s Dera Bugti area confronted a grim future. Within the gripping opening of the movie Baloch, the narration vividly captures the captives’ concern: “Each step was taking them away from their dwelling, with the concern that they might by no means see it once more.”
In gratitude for his Baloch allies’ assist, Ahmad Shah ‘gifted’ the Maratha prisoners to Mir Nasir Khan Noori, the Baloch ruler. Nonetheless, this was much less an act of generosity and extra a approach to rid himself of exhausted captives beneath the guise of diplomacy.
The Maratha captives had been then divided among the many tribes of Bugti, Marri, and Gurchani, amongst others, forming new communities and mixing into Balochistan’s social material. “The Marathas we’re discussing usually are not unfold throughout Pakistan, however are particularly situated in Balochistan. Maintaining the group collectively was a dangerous choice, which led Nasir Khan to implement the coverage of dividing them,” says engineer and historical past fanatic Sudhir Dandekar.
Ahmad Shah Durrani (Supply: Wikimedia Commons)
In an interview with indianexpress.com, Abhas Verma, writer of Third Battle of Panipat, says, “The Maratha Bugtis in Balochistan are an fascinating case of what could also be a caste forming even beneath Islamic rule.”
“The prisoners of warfare, together with kids, had been offered into slavery and held captive. The group was additionally forbidden from proudly owning land and compelled to transform to Islam,” he says. Nonetheless, Verma emphasises that these narratives stay largely undocumented resulting from a scarcity of analysis and the emotions inside the Maratha neighborhood.
“No matter their craving to return,” he continues, “the area was hostile, and the space of return was an extended and unsure journey they might not consider making.” Verma’s e-book mentions the story of a Brahman named Narhari Ranalekar, who, after getting back from captivity to his dwelling in Paithan (in present-day Aurangabad district in Maharashtra), sought acceptance from the Brahma Sabha, having been forcibly transformed to Islam. After a lot deliberation, the Sabha agreed to welcome him again.
In his e-book Pakistan A Hard Country, British writer and journalist Anatol Lieven recounts an encounter with a neighborhood Nawabzada Jamil Bugti in Quetta. Lieven was struck by the “small, skinny, dark-skinned” servants accompanying Bugti. Upon inquiring, he realized that they had been descendants of the Marathas from central India, “captured in warfare by the Mughal emperors and given to their Bugti troops as slaves in lieu of wages.”
Regardless of enduring compelled conversions to Islam and harsh circumstances within the arid lands of Balochistan, the Marathas displayed exceptional resilience, preserving their cultural id for over two centuries. Their heritage continues to be evident of their customs, surnames, and rituals. The Bugti Marathas, as an example, proceed to have fun weddings with haldi ceremonies, Saptapadi rituals, and Marathi traditions comparable to crossing a rice bowl to enter a brand new dwelling.
Dandekar additionally highlights the widespread customized of ear-piercing, which stays prevalent among the many Maratha neighborhood in Balochistan. “One other occasion that involves thoughts is the recognition of the Marathi movie Ramshastri within the theatres of Quetta, the capital metropolis of Balochistan, throughout the mid-Twentieth century. The delight the Marathas in Balochistan take of their roots was evident,” he says.
Chiefs of Baloch tribes (Supply: Wikimedia Commons)
The Marhtta Qaumii Itehad, the most important organisation of the Maratha neighborhood in Balochistan, garnered important consideration in 2017 after they joined their Indian counterparts within the agitation protests for reservation. The chief, Wadera Din Muhammad Marhtta Bugti, expressed solidarity on a Fb submit, stating, “We absolutely assist the protest in India. We condemn any injustice meted out to the neighborhood and agree that there ought to be a reservation quota for them with regards to authorities jobs and schooling. In Pakistan, the rights of the neighborhood have been established. Why can’t or not it’s the identical in India?”
For generations, these Marathas’ lives had been marked by hardship and displacement. Over time, nevertheless, they started to work their approach towards prosperity. Immediately, many have risen to distinguished positions in society. Their contributions to agriculture in Balochistan stand as a testomony to their endurance. As Dandekar says, “It’s due to the information and arduous work of those Maratha descendants that farming started to flourish within the Baloch area.”
Years Later
Verma categorises the migration of the Marathi-speaking diaspora to Pakistan into three distinct phases: “After the Battle of Panipat, the opposite two key occasions marking the motion of Marathi-speaking teams to Pakistan had been the Partition of British India, which prompted widespread displacement, and the post-partition migration of retailers from Bombay to Karachi for enterprise functions.”
Whereas there have been additionally actions of labourers to Pakistan, most of those had been voluntary, starkly contrasting the compelled migrations of the early captives to Balochistan. Regardless of these challenges, the Marathas’ resilience endured, and immediately, the Marhtta Qaumii Itehad proudly continues to uphold this legacy. Its leaders have, on quite a few events, expressed their delight and solidarity with the broader Maratha neighborhood
Lieven additionally famous that “there was no signal of Bugti blood within the faces of the Nawabzada’s [Maratha] servants.” Although formally made equal residents of Pakistan after 1947, and regardless of figures like Nawabzada Bugti claiming that ‘they’ve merged fully with the Bugti and nobody can inform their distinction anymore,’ this group continues to protect its roots and reclaim its historical past.
Pawar’s film poignantly closes with a line that encapsulates the spirit of the Maratha neighborhood: “We now have to inform our descendants that the Panipat warfare was not the final warfare of Maratha, however the closing battle was fought in Balochistan the place the Marathas emerged because the winners.”
(The subsequent half in our collection will take a look at the importance of Bombay to the Marathas.)
Additional Studying:
-
Pakistan A Hard Country by Anatol Lieyen
-
Kabulnama by Firoz Rande
-
Third battle of Panipat by Abhas Verma
-
The Maratha Century by Uday S. Kulkarni
