#History: The Third Battle of Panipat in 1761

I was reading about the Third Battle of Panipat which was fought between India's Maratha empire Vs Afghanistan's Ahmad Shah Abdali's alliance with Rohilla Afghans and Nawab of Awadh in 1761.

The original reason behind the battle was Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani)'s invasions in Punjab region. At that time Marathas ruled over most of India and under leadership of Sadashivrao Bhau they had just finished their victory over Nizam of Hyderabad. Abdali had been invading India; and Marathas thought to end the matter forever. In 1758, the Marathas had occupied Lahore and evicted Timur, the son of Abdali and hence Abdali also sought revenge. Also, Shah Waliullah, an Islamic scholar of Delhi invited Abdali and asked all Muslim forces to unite to destroy dominance of Maratha's Hindu empire. Since Abdali was promised a grand alliance, he raised an army from Afghan tribes and started for Delhi.

Marathas had started their travel from Maharashtra in March 1760 and reached Delhi on 1 August 1760, taking the city on the same day. They had bigger army than their opponents. But Abdali+ forces cut Marathas supply lines and Marathas were surrounded from all sides without food and supplies reaching them. In the end when soldiers started to die with starvation, they declared attack on the opponents. Even with initial military successes, as the war continued for some time, Maratha soldiers started falling with exhaustion.

Marathas were led by Sadashivrao Bhau, nephew of Peshwa Baji Rao I, as commander-in-chief, who died fighting till last breath. At death, he was only 31 years old. Vishwasrao, the eldest son of the Nanasaheb Peshwa was heir to the title of Peshwa and also participated in the war. During the war unfortunately a stray cannon shell hit him in the head and hence he died. He is said to be extremely handsome and at the time of sacrifice he was only 19 years old! When Bhau saw Vishwasrao gone, he got down from the elephant and started fighting on a horse with a great force; but the Afghans started shouting that Bhau had fallen, and when Maratha soldiers saw the elephant with missing Bhau on its top, they panicked. After the battle both their bodies were recovered and cremated according to Hindu rituals.

An interesting side of the war was the manner in which alliances were made or not made.

Marathas tried to take Nawab of Awadh as ally, since Marathas had protected the Nawab many times in the past. But Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh ultimately chose to join the Afghans as their Muslim army was being called "Army of Islam". Rohillas were of course Afghans by race and hence joined Abdali. Abdali had come to India at invitation of Shah Waliullah of Delhi who had called for all Muslims support for him.

Rajputs did not join Marathas because they were angry at them for taxing them heavily and interfering in internal matters. Raja Suraj Mal, the Jat ruler of Bharatpur joined Maratha forces but left midway due to conflicts in opinions. Sikhs also did not support the Marathas because of their own regional aspirations. To some extent Marathas were over-confident; but there were reasons for that since their army was many times more than Afghans. But they depended on others for their food and supplies and this is where not having alliances hurt. It is interesting that Sikhs did not support Maratha forces against Abdali, when Abdali had made his forces attack the Golden Temple in the past. I think Sikhs and others, even if not supporting Maratha forces should have at least helped them with food and supplies. But there were reports that Marathas had decided to punish them after defeating the Afghans and hence they did not share mutual trust.

What happened to those who did not support Marathas during third battle of Panipat?

Sikhs: After winning the battle of Panipat against Marathas, Abdali turned to Sikhs again and resorted to a big holocaust where thousands of Sikhs were killed within 2 days (February 5 & 6, 1762). Abdali sacked Golden Temple, filled the sacred pond with slaughtered cows and soil. Sikhs had to rebuild and clean the water tank. Abdali was furious with Sikhs because whenever he invaded India and returned to Afghanistan, Sikhs attacked their caravan and looted money and freed prisoners. Sikh forces had also attacked and looted Abdali's forces when they were returning to Afghanistan after winning against Marathas!

Jat Raja Suraj Mal: He initially gained for not joining Marathas - as he gained immense power in the North after Abdali returned to Afghanistan. However he soon found himself amidst several conflicts and he himself was killed in battle against Najib-ud-Daula just in 1763.

Shuja-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Awadh: Later on he regretted joining Abdali as his Shia forces got into clashes with the orthodox Sunni Afghans. He is said to have sent secret letters to Peshwa repenting. His forces had played crucial role in cutting off Marathas' supply lines even when in the past Marathas had helped save his father from his Afghan enemies. He died in 1775.

Rohilla Afghans: After the war they gained many regions. But after death of Najib Khan in 1770, the Rohillas were defeated by the British.

Shah Waliullah, Islamic scholar of Delhi: He died in 1762; ironically only a year after the famous battle he called for.

It is said that if the Marathas did not lose this battle, the British won't have gained power in India so soon.

After losing the battle, Marathas witnessed a resurrection which is called 'Maratha Resurrection'. Within 10 years’ time, the Marathas returned to Delhi under leadership of Peshwa Madhavrao I in 1771 and restored their power in North India. This revenge was the ultimate climax in the events related to the third battle of Panipat.

- Rahul