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Published 19:56 IST, November 28th 2023

Opinion: Scindias' struggle against British rule - A forgotten chapter in history

A mural depicting the British surrender during the First Anglo-Maratha War in front of Mahadji Scindia

Reported by: Arunansh B Goswami
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Unveiling Scindia's Struggle Against British Rule - A Forgotten Chapter in History | Image: Wikimedia Commons
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Thanks to the year-long celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Indians got an opportunity to learn about numerous lesser-known struggles launched by Indians of diverse social origins united by their Indianess, against British across the geography and chronology of India. One of the biggest challenges that British got while trying to execute their nefarious colonial designs in India was from the Marathas. In this article, readers will get to know about a century of struggle of Maratha Scindias, against British colonialism.

Maratha struggle against the British was a struggle to decide who shall rule the Indian subcontinent. Dattajirao Scindia was assigned the duty by Maratha government on May 2, 1759, to move from Lahore, Punjab, where he then was and liberate Bengal, which was then under the de facto political control of the British after the battle of Plassey fought on 23 June 1757, Dattaji moved from Punjab to Doab to execute this mission but attained martyrdom fighting against the Rohillas at Burari Ghat in present day Delhi. British officer Charles Metcalf mentioned, “India contains no more than two great powers, British and Maratha, and every other state acknowledges the influence of one or the other.” He was rather right because under the veteran warrior of the third battle of Panipat Maharaja Mahadji Scindia brother of Shrimant Dattaji Rao Scindia, Maratha imperium was established over much of the the Indian subcontinent, and it was looking as if the British and Scindias will have a war to decide who shall rule India in the future.

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Dr. Pradeep Barua Professor of Asian History at the University of Nebraska at Kearney mentions “After Panipat, Mahadji Sindhia (Scindia) skill-fully built an empire for himself in northern India. A far-sighted statesman, he alone among the Marathas realized the danger of the gradual encroachment of the British from their base in Bengal. He had also heard of and seen for himself the remarkable exploits of the disciplined infantry of the E.I.C. and had resolved to establish a similar army of his own to complement his existing cavalry-based army… It was the Army of Hindustan, the embryonic national army of northern India, upon which Mahadji and his successor Daulatrao relied. ”

Mahadji Scindia Crushes British Army

The biggest and most humiliating defeat heaped on the British in India was by Mahadji Scindia, at Wadgaon in Maharashtra during the first Anglo-Maratha war. It has been mentioned if Mahadji had not won the battle of Wadgaon, then the British would have ruled 40 years before 1818. An asiatic army under the command of Mahadji Scindia defeated a European world power, a similar asiatic success was when Japanese defeated the Russians in the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war, then Jawaharlal Nehru wrote “lessened the feeling of inferiority, from which most of us suffered” about the military success of Mahadji Scindia, Nehru wrote “Marathas produced a number of very able men, statesmen and warriors, among them being Mahadji Scindia of Gwalior....they (Marathas) had practically inherited the Delhi Empire. The Marathas remained to challenge British supremacy. But the Maratha power went to pieces after the death of...... Mahadji Scindia....who died in 1794.”
Mahadji Scindia was the shield of India against British colonialism and Sir J. N. Sarkar wrote, “In the ashes of his funeral pyre outside Poona, perished also the hope of a Maratha Empire in Hindustan.” Mahadji had the strength and capacity even to ask for tribute from British in Bengal, which he did, he ensured that his subjects could do pilgrimage in British occupied territories by getting pilgrim passports. Sir John Shore on Scindia’s death wrote “Company has little reason to regret his death.” He was an eye sore to the British government as per Professor R. S. Chaurasia. In the opinion of Prof. B. Sheik Ali, "It was neither the Nizam, nor Nana & Haidar who was the main architect of the Confederacy (Anti-British confederacy of 1779), but Sindhia (Mahadji Scindia).”

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Daulatrao Scindia’s Struggle Against British

Mahadji Scindia left a huge empire to his successor Daulatrao Scindia as per Malcolm he inherited “a greater, if not more consolidated power than any Indian Prince had attained since the days of Aurangzeb.” He was adopted by Mahadji, Daulatrao was the grandson of great warrior Tukoji Rao Scindia who fought with astounding bravery against the Afghans in the Third Battle of Panipat and attained martyrdom.

Daulatrao fought against the British all across India. Prof R. S. Chaurasia writes “On the battle-field, he had to face Wellington, who later on defeated Napoleon, Lord Wellesley, one of the greatest English rulers of India, and administrators and diplomats like Malcolm, Close, Palmar, Tod, Munroo, Elphinstone, Matcalfe, Malet and the like, Lord Lake, a veteran who possessed wide experience of war....Daulat Rao Sindhia desired to make an anti-British coalition before the rupture with the English was complete. On 4th June, 1803, Raghuji Bhonsle joined Daulat Rao and both of them appealed Jaswant (Yeshwant) Rao Holkar to join them.” Lord Wellesley wrote that “the entire reduction of Sindhia’s power would certainly afford considerable security to our interest” and initiated an aggressive policy against Sindhia.

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War against Scindia was declared on 7 August 1803, Scindia’s army fought bravely at different fronts across India from Gujarat to Delhi and from Maharashtra to Rajputana, but many of Scindia’s European mercenaries stabbed their Maharaja on the back and showed European solidarity against Marathas in favour of British. Arthur Wellesley conquered Scindia’s Ahmadnagar Fort in Maharashtra, Scindia’s territories in Gujarat of Baroach (Bharuch) and Pawagarh were conquered by Col. Waddington and power of Scindia in Gujarat thus ended. In the North Scindia’s cities of Aligarh, Agra and Delhi were conquered by General Gerald Lake. At Laswari near Alwar and Assaye in Maharashtra British defeated Scindia’s army but even British officers mentioned about the extraordinary valour shown by Maharaja Scindia’s soldiers. In the battle of Aragaon fought near Ratnagiri Maharaja Daulatrao Scindia supported Bhonsle’s forces against the British. Scindia also lost Rajputana to the British. He wanted to protect India from British colonialism like his predecessor Mahadji Scindia had done, as manifested from the battles he fought against British and what Kavi Padmakar wrote in his book Aalijah Prakash he wrote that Maharaja Daulatrao Scindia will one day conquer Calcutta which was then the capital of the English East India Company.

Baiza Bai Scindia versus British

As per Arthur Wellesley erstwhile Prime Minister of Britain the toughest battle he fought in his life was not Waterloo against Napoleon but Assaye against Scindia. In the battle of Assaye a brave Maratha Queen wife of Maharaja Daulatrao Scindia Baiza Bai Scindia fought against the British. Cooper in his book Anglo-Maratha campaigns mentions “Sargi Rao Ghatke ( Father of Baiza Bai Scindia ) was among those Maratha leaders in Sindia’s durbar that considered the option of a blood purge( of the British colonialists).” According to traveller Fanny Parkes “Her Highness as the head of her troops rode a horse with a Lance in hand and infant in her arms.”

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 As per Prof. Amar Farooqui throughout the 1830s and 1840s Baiza Bai’s name was linked to numerous conspiracies that had an underlying anti-British thrust. In December 1857 the British authorities at Mysore detained a person by the name of Sitaram Baba alias Mahapurush who was suspected of involvement in 1857 war of freedom. Baiza Bai Scindia according to Mahapurush, ‘was the person who first commenced this conspiracy about twenty years ago.’ Indeed Baiza Bai Scindia was hated by the British, she was expelled from her capital Gwalior by the British, even when she became old during 1857 she remained an inspiration for freedom fighters.

Jayajirao Scindia versus British

While most Indian rulers had accepted British rule, Scindia’s kingdom maintained it’s independence even as late as 1832, by the way first prince to accept British rule was age old enemy of the Scindias Nizam of Hyderabad. As per an answer given by Mill in a Parliamentary Committee in Britain on February 16, 1832 on the status of Scindia’s kingdom it was mentioned that “he was independent.” This Committee finally reported to Parliament that “within the Peninsula, Sindhia is the only prince who preserves the semblance of independence.”

Scindia’s opposition of the British was not over, and this was a cause of concern for them and therefore Lord Ellenborough, governor-general of India, directed Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Gough to assemble forces to converge on Gwalior ruled by a young Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia under the regency of his mother Shrimant Tarabai Raje Scindia. On 29th December 1843, in two simultaneous battles, at Maharajpur and at Punniar, British East India Company forces defeated the Scindia’s armies. On 31st December a treaty was signed, and arrangements were made for the occupation of Gwalior fort.

As per the descendant of martyr Tatya Tope (Who fought against British in the war for Indian independence of 1857), Mr. Parag Tope in his book Operation Red Lotus, Jayajirao Scindia gave full support to Tatya Tope who acted as the link between Gwalior Durbar and freedom fighters in Kanpur and Jhansi, Jayajirao ordered his army to join Tatya and freedom fighters when they come to Gwalior, this way Jayajirao gave very significant covert support to the freedom fighters even after loosing against British at Maharajpur and Punniar but by keeping his support covert Scindia ensured that if the war of independence failed British fury will not fall on the common people of Gwalior, this was an age old Maratha policy of “Gupt-Yuddh” against enemy if you are weak (Scindia fought and lost against British at Maharajpur and Punniar and did not surrender without fighting like many other rulers). Maharani Tarabai Raje Scindia asked the Scindia treasurer martyr Amarchand Bainthia to open Scindia treasury for the freedom fighters.

British punished Scindia by not returning Gwalior fort to him after crushing war for Indian independence in 1857 and gave back the fort of Gwalior to Scindia only as late as 1886, the question is why? The answer is because they did not trust Scindia, when most of the princely states supported British in 1857, Scindia’s Gwalior became a centre of war of independence where freedom fighters got money and soldiers, to British trusting Scindia did not make sense, so they maintained an overt friendly tone towards Scindia like they had with other Maharajas of India, but their suspicion about Scindia’s vision of resurrecting the Maratha Empire was not over.

Later Scindias’ Challenge to British Might

Even though after Jayajirao, Scindia Kingdom did not have any independent power left to challenge British still when Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia I, became the Maharaja he supported Swadeshi enterprise to challenge British Economic might that Dadabhai Naoroji had written about, by funding the foundation of Tata Iron and Steel Company, Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia I took a very important step to empower Indian industry.

Maharaja Jiwajirao M. Scindia also promoted Swadeshi as can be observed in an old advertisement in newspaper Jayaji Pratap in which his portrait was put with Mahatma Gandhi to promote Swadeshi garments and Khadi. Maharaja Jiwajirao M. Scindia also supported Hindu Mahasabha leader Dr. Balkrishna Shivram Munje to start Bhonsla Rifle Academy Nashik for making Indian army’s mindset Swadeshi, also with Sardar Patel he prevented Balkanisation of India after British left, his support in this mission of creating united India has been appreciated by V. P. Menon in his book integration of Indian states. Maharaja Jiwajirao’s wife Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia was inspired by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and participated in the freedom struggle against the British. The long history of Scindia dynasty shows how they struggled against British colonialism even when several others surrendered, this valorous saga of this Maratha dynasty is worth appreciating and the author hopes readers will read more about it.

(Disclaimer - Author Arunansh B Goswami is Head, Scindia Research Centre. The views expressed here are solely his own.)

Updated 19:56 IST, November 28th 2023