Baji Rao I

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Shrimant Baji Rao Vishwanath Bhatt (August 181699- April 25 1740), also known as Baji Rao I, was a noted general who served as Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati (King) Shahu between 1719 until Baji Rao's death. He is also known as Thorala (Marathi for Elder) Baji Rao.

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Like his father, despite being a Brahmin, he took up leading his troops. He is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire created by its founder, Shivaji, to help reach its zenith during his son's reign twenty years after his death. Baji Rao is thus acknowledged as the most famous of the nine Peshwas.

Origins

Baji Rao was the son of the first Bhatt family Peshwa, Balaji Vishwanath. At the age of 17,he was appointed by Shahu as Peshwa upon the death of his father, thus making the position of Peshwa hereditary in the Bhatt family.

Standing tall, poised and confident before Shahu and his court the young new Peshwa Baji Rao is said to have thundered, “Let us transcend the barren Deccan and conquer central India. The Mughals have become weak indolent womanizers and opium-addicts. The accumulated wealth of centuries in the vaults of the north, can be ours. It is time to drive from the holy land of Bharatvarsha the outcaste and the barbarian. Let us throw them back over the Himalayas, back to where they came from. The Maratha flag must fly from the Krishna to the Indus. Hindustan is ours”.

He fixed his piercing gaze on Shahu and said, “Strike, strike at the trunk and the branches will fall off themselves. Listen but to my counsel, and I shall plant the Maratha banner on the walls of Attock”. Shahu was deeply impressed and is said to have cried with blazing eyes, “By heaven, you shall plant it on the throne of the Almighty”.

This story itself indicates the vision of Bajirao and Shahu's faith in the young man.Shahu appointed him as a peshwa at such tender age ,recognising his talents and entrusted him imperial troops which have recently emerged victorius in the Mughal-Maratha conflict which ended in 1707.Baji rao's greatness lies in that true to judjment of his master and seasoned troops at his disposal, he struck terror of Maratha arms in the Indian sub-continent.

Accomplishments

• Baji Rao, who fought over 36 battles, is reputed to have never lost one.

• He was one of the first to understand and exploit the fragmenting Mughal Empire, following the footsteps of his father. The declining influence of the Sayyid brothers at the Imperial court was another factor influencing his decision to attack.

• The later Kingdoms of Scindias (Ranoji) of Gwalior, Holkars (Malharrao) of Indore, Gaekwads (Pilaji) of Baroda, and Pawars (Udaiji) of Dhar were Baji Rao's creation of a Maratha confederacy as he wreaked havoc on the disintegrating Mughal Empire and set up his jahagirdars (governors).

• He moved the administrative capital of the Maratha Empire from Satara to the new city of Pune in 1728 with permission of his master. His general, Bapuji Shripat persuaded some of the richer families of Satara to settle in the new city, which was divided into 18 peths (boroughs).

• Although a very capable cavalry leader, Baji Rao is thought by historians to not be a very able administrator. He did not organize his expanding empire or put a governance structure in place. This may have resulted in the eventual creation of smaller fiefdoms when the central authority of the Peshwas began declining. This was a great weakness of the Nizam (Governor) system of the Mughals
• He is also criticised for underestimating the growing presence of the English to whom his dynasty, and the Maratha empire finally succumbed in 1818.

Major Battles

• Malwa - December , 1723
• Dhar - 1724
• Aurangabad - 1724
• Battle of Palkhed - February, 1728
• Ahmedabad - 1731
• Udaipur - 1736
• Firozabad - 1737
• Delhi - 1737
• Bhopal - 1738
• Battle of Vasai - May 17, 1739

Battle tactics

Baji Rao is famous for rapid tactical movements in battle using his cavalry, hence he is often called a cavalry general. Two examples are the Battle of Palkhed in 1728 when he outmaneuvered the Mughal Governor of the Deccan province, and again in the battle against the Mughal Emperor, Muhammad Shah at Delhi during 1737.

Family

Baji Rao was married to Kashibai, and had three sons of whom, Nanasaheb, was appointed Peshwa by Shahu in 1740.He had one son,Samsher bahadur from a dancing girl,Mastani.

Mastani

Baji Rao also maintained a mistress, Mastani. His affair with her, including his consumption of alcohol and meat enraged the conservative Chitpavan Brahmin community that he belonged to.

Mastani was also the single biggest complication in Bajirao's personal life. Their love affair caused much rift in the orthodox Pune society of the time and led to a major crisis within the Peshwa family.

Bajirao ardently desired that his son by Mastani be invested with the sacred thread and be declared a brahmin. But even the powerful Bajirao could not get the orthodox Pune brahmin priests to agree. With a heavy heart he had to bring up the lad as a Muslim. Named Shamsher Bahadur, Bajirao and Mastani's son died fighting valiantly aged barely 27 in the Third Battle of Panipat. Shamsher Bahadur's son, Ali Bahadur ruled over Bajirao's lands in Bundelkhand, and founded the state of Banda, UP.

Death

Bajirao died on April 25, 1740 still in his prime. He died of a sudden fever while inspecting his jagirs at the village of Khargon, near the city of Indore. His mortal remains were consigned to flames on April 28, 1740, at Raverkhed on the river, Narmada.

Trivia

• Baji Rao built the palace, Shaniwar Wada in the city of Pune. A statue of Baji Rao was erected in front of the palace in 1999 to mark the tercentenary (300th anniversary) of his birth.

Media

• During 2002, Rahul Da Cunha adapted an English play, "I am not Rappaport" (the 1986 Tony winner on Broadway) to "I am not Bajirao".
• A Bollywood Hindi movie, Bajirao Mastani the romance between Baji Rao and his mistress, Mastani is currently being planned. The movie is to be directed by director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and is slated to star Rani Mukherjee as Mastani and Salman Khan as Baji Rao Peshwa.

Quotes

• "He died as he lived, in camp under canvas among his men, and he is remembered to this day among the Marathas as the fighting Peshwa and the incarnation of Hindu energy." - English historian Sir Richard Carnac Temple, Sivaji and the rise of the Mahrattas
• "The Palkhed Campaign of 1727-28 in which Baji Rao I out-generalled Nizam-ul-Mulk , is a masterpiece of strategic mobility" - British Field Marshall Bernard Law "Monty" Montgomery, The Concise History of Warfare, 132
• "Remember that night has nothing to do with sleep. It was created by God, to raid territory held by your enemy. The night is your shield, your screen against the cannons and swords of vastly superior enemy forces." - Bajirao was said to have told his brother Chimaji Appa.
• "Bajirao was a heaven born cavalry leader. In the long and distinguished galaxy of Peshwas, Bajirao was unequalled for the daring and originality of his genius and the volume and value of his achievements" - Author Sir Jadunath Sarkar, foreword in V.G. Dighe's,Peshwa Bajirao I and Maratha Expansion

External links

• Shaniwar Wada - the Peshwa palace at Pune

Additional reading

• Palsolkar, Col. R. D. Bajirao I: An outstanding Indian Cavalry General, India:Reliance Publishers, 248pp, 1995, ISBN 8185972931.
• Paul, E. Jaiwant. Baji Rao - The Warrior Peshwa, India:Roli Books Pvt Ltd, 184pp, ISBN 8174361294.
• Dighe, V.G. Peshwa Bajirao I and the Maratha Expansion, 1944

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