ned in 1756 – Naro Shankar Motiwale was transferred to Malegaon by the Peshwa. It was a typical sarkari transfer, which showed that the Marathas could also juggle subhedars and sardars like the Mughal Empire of yesteryears. Raghunath Hari Newalkar was appointed in his place. It would have been a forgotten footnote in history, but for events that happened almost exactly a century later – when Manikarnika Tambe married into the Newalkar clan! More of that in Part IV.
But the events that would link Bundelkhand to Panipat were centred around a different person – Govindpant Bundele.
Govindpant Bundele was born as Govindpant Ballal Kher in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. It was his long association with Bundelkhand that got him the nickname “Bundele”. His abilities with civil administration and finances impressed Peshwa Bajirao, who gave him a position of responsibility in Bundelkhand around 1735/36. Bundele ensured that large amounts of tribute regularly reached Pune from Bundelkhand. He also established the town of Sagar. In fact, by the time the latter half of the 1750s dawned, he was already in the province for over twenty years! The amount of experience coupled with his natural talents for administration had made him indispensable to the Peshwa and others at Pune and had also generated a lot of respect in the minds of Hingane, Antaji Mankeshwar and other Maratha sardars stationed for lengthy periods of time in the north. His younger brother being present in Pune, communication between the two was smooth and tributes in the region of ten lakh per annum regularly reached Shaniwarwada.
The importance of Bundelkhand
As described in part II, Bundelkhand was situated in an extremely strategic location in the Indian plains. It formed a “pivot” for various regions and stood right between Malwa, where Maratha control was strong, and Delhi – Punjab region, where Maratha control was so – so. Thus, the importance of Bundelkhand as a region, which could readily supply provisions, money, and soldiers to armies stationed north was immense. Likewise, Govindpant Bundele wanted the province to be periodically overseen by the Peshwa or his cousin Sadashivrao Bhau, rather than lesser chieftains or even his younger brother Raghunathrao. The strategic importance of Bundelkhand and its unique geographical location with relation to the whole of north India was not lost on Govindpant Bundele. In fact, he makes this amply clear in a letter to Sadashivrao Bhau (1755), where he makes a case for a powerful Maratha garrison to be permanently stationed in the north. A rough translation of the letter in Marathi, given by Sardesai:
“Hindustan requires a strong, permanent Maratha army. Only then can order be maintained. The whole area from Bundelkhand to Antarved must be strongly secured. Delhi is a chaotic place, all powers that be have their eyes on it. Maratha sardars and subhedars come north but then return with their armies. But for maintaining peace in Bundelkhand and our grip on Hindustan, an army of twenty thousand is needed at all times. These shall be well trained and regular soldiers under our pay, not irregular troops living by looting the land. Only then can peace be maintained for a long time and tribute obtained peacefully.”
This letter goes to show that not only did Govindpant Bundele have a good grasp of the location he was in , but also the fact that to control Hindustan, the Marathas would need to have a very strong presence to north of Gwalior as well. If his advice had been followed, perhaps the events of later years may not have happened. It is pertinent to note that Govindpant Bundele had joined the administration as a mere kamavisdar, and it was solely his experience of many years that was speaking.
Events leading to Panipat
The events which would eventually culminate in the Third Battle of Panipat (Jan 1761) were set in motion around 1755/56 with the Afghan invasion of Delhi, which ended with Najib ud Daulah being appointed the Amir ul Umrah at the Mughal court by Ahmed Shah Abdali. Large scale massacres were carried out in Math