Mahadaji Shinde
Encyclopedia
Mahadaji Shinde (Marathi
: महादजी शिंदे), was a Maratha
ruler of the state of Gwalior in central India
. Mahadaji was instrumental in resurrecting Maratha power after the debacle of the Third Battle of Panipat
in 1761, and rose to become a trusted lieutenant of the Peshwa
, leader of the Maratha Confederacy, as well as the Mughal
emperor Shah Alam II
. During his reign, Gwalior became the leading state in the Maratha Confederacy and one of the foremost military powers in India.
of Kanherkhed
in Maharashtra
. Ranoji was put in charge of the Maratha
armies in Malwa by the Peshwa
. He conquered much of Malwa from the Mughal Empire
, and fixed his headquarters in the ancient city of Ujjain
, which ultimately became the capital of the Shinde
dominion, which was known after its later capital of Gwalior. Ranoji died in 1745 and left three legitimate sons, Jayapa, Dattaji, and Jotiba, and two illegitimate, Tukaji and Mahadji. He was succeeded by Jayappa Shinde who expanded their territories up to the River Yamuna.
Mahadji's mother was a Rajput
woman named Chimabai. From an early age, he was given a thorough military education. He first went to war at the age of 10.
In 1742, the Marathas were attacked by the Nizam of Hyderabad at Berar
and Belur
. Mahadji accompanied the forces sent by Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao who drove away the invaders.
, Bundelkhand
, Brij, Doab
, Rohilkhand
, Delhi
, Kunjpur, and in the Battle of Panipat. Among the campaigns which Mahadji assisted, the notable ones include the ones at Chandravati Ganj (1746), Fatehabad (1746), Badi Sadri (1747), Marwar (1747), and Himat Nagar (1748).
The army of Malharrao Holkar joined the Shinde army to bring all the Rajput states under Maratha
control and force them to accept Maratha suzerainty, as directed by the Peshwa. Under this campaign, several city states were added to the Maratha Empire
such as Medtya, Ratangarh, Lalgarh, Bikaner, Laswari, Lachhmangarh, Kumher and Deeg and the states with territory of Jaipur
and Jodhpur
agreed to become vassals of the Maratha Empire
. All the Jat states except Bharatpur
and Vijaynagar too were conquered.
Mathura which was under Mughal
rule was conquered by Mahadji in 1755 where he reconstructed various old temples and established a centre for Sanskrit learning. In January 1758, Mahadji established Gwalior as his headquarters.
against the Afghan
forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali at the Third Battle of Panipat
. In this battle, Jankoji was taken prisoner and put to death. Dattaji, brother of Jayappa had also been killed previous year in a battle wth Abdali's forces at Buradi Ghat in 1760 and so Mahadji being the next successor in line ascended as the ruler of the Gwalior state.
Mahadji too had fought at Panipat, and made a hair-breadth escape from the rout of the Maratha army. He suffered a serious wound in his leg, which left him with a limp for the rest of his life.
Besides his military training, Mahadji was also literate in Persian
and Sanskrit
. He used to read all his audits himself, unlike other rulers of later medieval India who employed scribes.
in February 1770, the Jat king Nawal Singh
of Bharatpur
opposed them. However, in the battle on 6 April 1770 Mahadji defeated him and Maratha supremacy over the North was re-established.
In 1777, Mahadji provided military assistance to the Peshwas against the Maratha army of Kolhapur. Mahadji besieged and attacked the town of Karvir in Kolhapur.
who placed himself as the next Peshwa although he was not a legal heir. Meanwhile, a group of twelve Maratha chiefs known as the Barbhai council made Narayanrao's infant son Sawai Madhavrao the legal Peshwa. The Barbhai council included Mahadji Shinde and Nana Phadnis, who was acted as the Peshwa's regent. Raghunathrao, unwilling to give up his position of power, sought help from the British East India Company
at Bombay.
In January 1779, the forces of British troops consisting of about 3,900 men under command of Col. Egerton marched towards Pune. They were joined on the way by Raghunath's forces, adding several thousand more soldiers, and more artillery. The Maratha army was commanded by Mahadji Shinde and Tukojirao Holkar. Mahadji slowed down the British march by firing from above a hill and sent forces under Jiwbadada Bakshi and Lakhbaji to cut off its supply lines by burning food and fodder. When they found out about this, the British halted at Talegaon near Pune. The Maratha cavalry harassed the British from all sides and applying a scorched earth policy, burnt farmland and poisoned wells. The British began to withdraw from Talegaon in the middle of the night, but the Marathas attacked, forcing them to halt at Wadgaon, where the British force was surrounded on 12 January 1779.
On 16 January, the British signed the Treaty of Wadgaon that forced the Bombay government to relinquish all territories acquired by East India Company in western India since 1773 which included Sashti (Salsette), Thane, and the entire Gujarat region. The British were also made to pay Rs. 41,000 as an indemnity to the army of Mahadji. It was agreed that Raghunathrao would be handed to the Marathas. On 18 January 1779 Mahadji captured Raghunathrao and his forces. He also defeated and arrested Sakharam Bapu and imprisoned him in the jail of Sinhagad.
, rejected the Treaty of Wadgaon on the grounds that the Bombay officials had no legal power to sign it, and ordered Colonel Goddard to secure British interests in the area. Goddard's 6,000 troops captured Ahmedabad in February 1779, and Bassein in December 1780. Another Bengal detachment led by Captain Popham captured Gwalior in August 1780. Hastings sent yet another force commanded by Major Camac to harass Mahadji Shinde. In February 1781, the British beat Mahadji at the town of Sipri, but every move they made after that was shadowed by his much larger army, and their supplies were cut off, until they made a desperate night raid in late March, capturing not only supplies, but even guns and elephants. Thereafter, the military threat from Shinde's forces to the British was much reduced.
who increased Sindhia's regular forces to three brigades. With these troops Sindhia became a power in northern India.
After the growth in power of feudal lords like Malwa sardars, landlords of Bundelkhand and Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan, they refused to pay tribute to Mahadji. So he sent his army conquer the states such as Bhopal, Datiya, Chanderi (1782), Narwar, Salbai and Gohad. He launched an expedition against the Raja of Jaipur, but withdrew after the inconclusive Battle of Lalsot in 1787.
The strong fort of Gwalior was then in the hands of Chhatar Singh
, the Jat ruler of Gohad
. In 1783, Mahadji besieged the fort of Gwalior and conquered it. He delegated the administration of Gwalior to Khanderao Hari Bhalerao. After celebrating the conquest of Gwalior, Mahadji Shinde turned his attention to Delhi
.
On June 17, 1788 Mahadji's armies defeated Ismail Beg, a Mughal noble who resisted the Marathas. The Rohilla chief Ghulam Kadir, Ismail Beg's ally, took over Delhi, capital of the Mughal Empire, and deposed and blinded the Emperor Shah Alam II, placing a puppet on the Delhi throne. Mahadji intervened, taking possession of Delhi on October 2, restoring Shah Alam to the throne and acting as his protector. Mahadji sent de Boigne to crush the forces of Jaipur at Patan (June 20, 1790) and the armies of Marwar at Merta on September 10, 1790.
Mahadji reinstated the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II
on his throne at Delhi, receiving in return the title of deputy Vakil-ul-Mutlak or vice-regent of the Empire and that of Vakil-ul-Mutlak being at his request conferred on the Peshwa.
Another achievement of Mahadji was his victory over the Nizam
of Hyderabad’s army in a battle. The Nizam ceased be a factor in the north Indian politics after this battle and it generally confined itself in the Deccan afterwards. After the peace made with Tipu Sultan
of Mysore in 1792, Mahadji successfully exerted his influence to prevent the completion of a treaty between the British, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Peshwa, directed against Tipu.
By 1790 he had re-established Maratha power over North India.
, a grandson of his brother Tukaram Shinde, who was scarcely 15 years of age at the time.
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
: महादजी शिंदे), was a Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
ruler of the state of Gwalior in central India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Mahadaji was instrumental in resurrecting Maratha power after the debacle of the Third Battle of Panipat
Third battle of Panipat
The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761, at Panipat , about 60 miles north of Delhi between a northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Confederacy and a coalition of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali with 2 Indian Muslim allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab, and the...
in 1761, and rose to become a trusted lieutenant of the Peshwa
Peshwa
A Peshwa is the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Emporer Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8-9 years and controlled the Maratha army...
, leader of the Maratha Confederacy, as well as the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperor Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II , also known as Ali Gauhar, was a Mughal emperor of India. A son of Alamgir II, he was exiled to Allahabad in December 1759 by Ghazi-ud-Din, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah.Shah Alam II was considered the only and...
. During his reign, Gwalior became the leading state in the Maratha Confederacy and one of the foremost military powers in India.
Shinde family
Ranoji Shinde was the son of Jankojirao Shinde, the PatilPatil
Patil is an Indian title or lastname. "Patil" is predominantly used by Inhabitants of Deccan Maratha people . The native language of most Patils is predominantly either Kannada or Marathi...
of Kanherkhed
Kanherkhed
Kanherkhed is village in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is famous as the home village of Shinde family of Gwalior ....
in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. Ranoji was put in charge of the Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
armies in Malwa by the Peshwa
Peshwa
A Peshwa is the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Emporer Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8-9 years and controlled the Maratha army...
. He conquered much of Malwa from the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, and fixed his headquarters in the ancient city of Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
, which ultimately became the capital of the Shinde
Shinde
Shinde is a common surname among the Maratha people of India. The term may refer to:* Shinde, a Maratha caste found mainly in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andra Pradesh and Goa.* Scindia, a prominent Maratha family-People:...
dominion, which was known after its later capital of Gwalior. Ranoji died in 1745 and left three legitimate sons, Jayapa, Dattaji, and Jotiba, and two illegitimate, Tukaji and Mahadji. He was succeeded by Jayappa Shinde who expanded their territories up to the River Yamuna.
Mahadji's mother was a Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
woman named Chimabai. From an early age, he was given a thorough military education. He first went to war at the age of 10.
South India
In 1740, the Marathas were successful in defeating the Nizam of Hyderabad. Mahadji (who was then aged 10) accompanied Dattajirao Shinde and Trimbak Kinnad on this campaign.In 1742, the Marathas were attacked by the Nizam of Hyderabad at Berar
Berar Subah
-Origin of name:According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the original name of Berar was Waradatat .-History:Before the Mughal occupation, Berar was part of the Nizam Shahi sultanate of Ahmadnagar. It was ceded to the emperor Akbar by Chand Bibi in 1596, unable to stand against the imperial forces led by...
and Belur
Belur
Belur may refer to any of the following:* Belur, Karnataka, town in Karnataka, India* Belur, West Bengal, India, a locality on the west bank of the Hooghly River* Belur Math, the religious abbey located in Belur, West Bengal, India...
. Mahadji accompanied the forces sent by Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao who drove away the invaders.
North India
Between 1745 and 1761, Mahadji fought in around 50 wars, including those in Malwa, RajputanaRajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
, Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...
, Brij, Doab
Doab
A Doab is a term used in India and Pakistan for a "tongue" or tract of land lying between two confluent rivers...
, Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand is a region of northwestern Uttar Pradesh state of India.Rohilkhand lies on the upper Ganges alluvial plain and has an area of about 25,000 km²/10,000 square miles...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Kunjpur, and in the Battle of Panipat. Among the campaigns which Mahadji assisted, the notable ones include the ones at Chandravati Ganj (1746), Fatehabad (1746), Badi Sadri (1747), Marwar (1747), and Himat Nagar (1748).
The army of Malharrao Holkar joined the Shinde army to bring all the Rajput states under Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
control and force them to accept Maratha suzerainty, as directed by the Peshwa. Under this campaign, several city states were added to the Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
such as Medtya, Ratangarh, Lalgarh, Bikaner, Laswari, Lachhmangarh, Kumher and Deeg and the states with territory of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
and Jodhpur
Jodhpur
Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
agreed to become vassals of the Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
. All the Jat states except Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...
and Vijaynagar too were conquered.
Mathura which was under Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
rule was conquered by Mahadji in 1755 where he reconstructed various old temples and established a centre for Sanskrit learning. In January 1758, Mahadji established Gwalior as his headquarters.
Ruler of Gwalior
Jayappa Shinde, the head of the Shinde family was murdered in his own house and was succeeded by his son Jankoji. In 1761, the Shindes joined the Peshwa's army led by Sadashivrao BhauSadashivrao Bhau
Sadashivrao Bhau was son of Chimaji Appa and Rakhmabai and nephew of Peshwa Baji Rao I and served as the commander of the Maratha army.-Birth and early years:...
against the Afghan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali at the Third Battle of Panipat
Third battle of Panipat
The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761, at Panipat , about 60 miles north of Delhi between a northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Confederacy and a coalition of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali with 2 Indian Muslim allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab, and the...
. In this battle, Jankoji was taken prisoner and put to death. Dattaji, brother of Jayappa had also been killed previous year in a battle wth Abdali's forces at Buradi Ghat in 1760 and so Mahadji being the next successor in line ascended as the ruler of the Gwalior state.
Mahadji too had fought at Panipat, and made a hair-breadth escape from the rout of the Maratha army. He suffered a serious wound in his leg, which left him with a limp for the rest of his life.
Besides his military training, Mahadji was also literate in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. He used to read all his audits himself, unlike other rulers of later medieval India who employed scribes.
Later Campaigns
When the Maratha army crossed the NarmadaNarmada River
The Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
in February 1770, the Jat king Nawal Singh
Maharaja Nawal Singh
Maharaja Nawal Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur . He succeeded Maharaja Kehri Singh in 1771. After his death in 1776 his successor was Maharaja Ranjit Singh....
of Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...
opposed them. However, in the battle on 6 April 1770 Mahadji defeated him and Maratha supremacy over the North was re-established.
In 1777, Mahadji provided military assistance to the Peshwas against the Maratha army of Kolhapur. Mahadji besieged and attacked the town of Karvir in Kolhapur.
First Anglo-Maratha War
In 1773, Peshwa Narayanrao was murdered in a conspiracy involving his uncle RaghunathraoRaghunathrao
Raghunathrao was Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy from 1773 to 1774. He was instrumental in the downfall of the Peshwa clan.-Early life:Raghunathrao, also known as "Raghoba" and "Ragho Bharari," was the younger brother of Nanasaheb Peshwa. His father was Peshwa Bajirao I & mother was Kashibai....
who placed himself as the next Peshwa although he was not a legal heir. Meanwhile, a group of twelve Maratha chiefs known as the Barbhai council made Narayanrao's infant son Sawai Madhavrao the legal Peshwa. The Barbhai council included Mahadji Shinde and Nana Phadnis, who was acted as the Peshwa's regent. Raghunathrao, unwilling to give up his position of power, sought help from the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
at Bombay.
Battle of Wadgaon, 1779
In 1777 Nana Phadnis violated his treaty with the Calcutta Council by granting the French a port on the west coast. The British replied by sending a force towards Pune. Mahadji Shinde joined forces with other Maratha generals to fight the British army supported by Raghunathrao.In January 1779, the forces of British troops consisting of about 3,900 men under command of Col. Egerton marched towards Pune. They were joined on the way by Raghunath's forces, adding several thousand more soldiers, and more artillery. The Maratha army was commanded by Mahadji Shinde and Tukojirao Holkar. Mahadji slowed down the British march by firing from above a hill and sent forces under Jiwbadada Bakshi and Lakhbaji to cut off its supply lines by burning food and fodder. When they found out about this, the British halted at Talegaon near Pune. The Maratha cavalry harassed the British from all sides and applying a scorched earth policy, burnt farmland and poisoned wells. The British began to withdraw from Talegaon in the middle of the night, but the Marathas attacked, forcing them to halt at Wadgaon, where the British force was surrounded on 12 January 1779.
On 16 January, the British signed the Treaty of Wadgaon that forced the Bombay government to relinquish all territories acquired by East India Company in western India since 1773 which included Sashti (Salsette), Thane, and the entire Gujarat region. The British were also made to pay Rs. 41,000 as an indemnity to the army of Mahadji. It was agreed that Raghunathrao would be handed to the Marathas. On 18 January 1779 Mahadji captured Raghunathrao and his forces. He also defeated and arrested Sakharam Bapu and imprisoned him in the jail of Sinhagad.
Defeat at Sipri
The British Governor-General in Bengal, Warren HastingsWarren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
, rejected the Treaty of Wadgaon on the grounds that the Bombay officials had no legal power to sign it, and ordered Colonel Goddard to secure British interests in the area. Goddard's 6,000 troops captured Ahmedabad in February 1779, and Bassein in December 1780. Another Bengal detachment led by Captain Popham captured Gwalior in August 1780. Hastings sent yet another force commanded by Major Camac to harass Mahadji Shinde. In February 1781, the British beat Mahadji at the town of Sipri, but every move they made after that was shadowed by his much larger army, and their supplies were cut off, until they made a desperate night raid in late March, capturing not only supplies, but even guns and elephants. Thereafter, the military threat from Shinde's forces to the British was much reduced.
Treaty of Salbai 17 May 1782
After Mahadji's defeat, he proposed a new treaty, known as the Treaty of Salbai, between the Peshwa and the British that would recognize Sawai Madhavrao as the Peshwa and grant Raghunathrao a pension. The treaty also returned to Shinde all his territories west of the Yamuna and so was made to withdraw to Ujjain. Mahadji was recognized as an independent chief and not as a vassal of the Peshwa. A resident, Mr. Anderson (who had negotiated the treaty) was at the same time appointed to Mahadji's court.Vakil-ul-Mutlak
Mahadji took full advantage of the system of neutrality pursued by the British to resurrect Maratha power over Northern India. In this he was assisted by Benoît de BoigneBenoît de Boigne
Benoît Leborgne , better known as Count Benoît de Boigne or General Count de Boigne, was a military adventurer from the Alps of French Savoy, who made his fortune and name in India...
who increased Sindhia's regular forces to three brigades. With these troops Sindhia became a power in northern India.
After the growth in power of feudal lords like Malwa sardars, landlords of Bundelkhand and Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan, they refused to pay tribute to Mahadji. So he sent his army conquer the states such as Bhopal, Datiya, Chanderi (1782), Narwar, Salbai and Gohad. He launched an expedition against the Raja of Jaipur, but withdrew after the inconclusive Battle of Lalsot in 1787.
The strong fort of Gwalior was then in the hands of Chhatar Singh
Chhatar Singh
Maharaja Chhatar Singh Rana was the ruler of Gohad Jat state in Madhya Pradesh, India. He became the ruler of Gohad after the fall of Bhim Singh Rana. Rana Bhim Singh had no son. Girdhar Pratap Singh became his successor in 1755. Girdhar Pratap Singh was son of Samant Rao Balju, a family friend of...
, the Jat ruler of Gohad
Gohad
Gohad , also Gohud, is a city and a municipality in Bhind district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A town of historical importance it is situated close to the city of Gwalior.-History:...
. In 1783, Mahadji besieged the fort of Gwalior and conquered it. He delegated the administration of Gwalior to Khanderao Hari Bhalerao. After celebrating the conquest of Gwalior, Mahadji Shinde turned his attention to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
.
On June 17, 1788 Mahadji's armies defeated Ismail Beg, a Mughal noble who resisted the Marathas. The Rohilla chief Ghulam Kadir, Ismail Beg's ally, took over Delhi, capital of the Mughal Empire, and deposed and blinded the Emperor Shah Alam II, placing a puppet on the Delhi throne. Mahadji intervened, taking possession of Delhi on October 2, restoring Shah Alam to the throne and acting as his protector. Mahadji sent de Boigne to crush the forces of Jaipur at Patan (June 20, 1790) and the armies of Marwar at Merta on September 10, 1790.
Mahadji reinstated the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II , also known as Ali Gauhar, was a Mughal emperor of India. A son of Alamgir II, he was exiled to Allahabad in December 1759 by Ghazi-ud-Din, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah.Shah Alam II was considered the only and...
on his throne at Delhi, receiving in return the title of deputy Vakil-ul-Mutlak or vice-regent of the Empire and that of Vakil-ul-Mutlak being at his request conferred on the Peshwa.
Another achievement of Mahadji was his victory over the Nizam
Nizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
of Hyderabad’s army in a battle. The Nizam ceased be a factor in the north Indian politics after this battle and it generally confined itself in the Deccan afterwards. After the peace made with Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
of Mysore in 1792, Mahadji successfully exerted his influence to prevent the completion of a treaty between the British, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Peshwa, directed against Tipu.
By 1790 he had re-established Maratha power over North India.
Death and legacy
De Boigne defeated the forces of Tukaji Holkar at Lakheri on 1 June 1793. Mahadji was now at the zenith of his power, when he died on February 12, 1794 at Wanowri near Pune. He left no heir, and was succeeded by Daulatrao SindhiaDaulatrao Sindhia
Daulatrao Sindhia was the king of Gwalior state in central India from 1794 until his death in 1827. His reign coincided with struggles for supremacy within the Maratha Confederacy, and with Maratha resistance to the consolidation of British hegemony over northern and central India in the early...
, a grandson of his brother Tukaram Shinde, who was scarcely 15 years of age at the time.