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A page from history
Bajirao I: The Peshwa who tried to give shape to Hindu Pad Padshahi
By Ganesh Prasad Baranwal
The resurgence of Hindu polity after the Vijainaygar Kingdom under the nomenclature of Hindu Pad Padshahi, well founded by Shivaji, attained its Indian shape during the ascendency of the Peshwas. From this point of view, Peshwa Bajirao's tenure offers a landmark. It was he who enlarged the Padshahi" beyond the Maratha campus across the Vindhyas and got it recognised in Delhi, the capital of the Mughals.
Baji was born on August 18, 1700, as the eldest son of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath Rao who had taken the Peshwaship to a new height. He belonged to the reputed, traditional Chit-Pawan Brahmin family of Konkan. Balaji Vishwanath, though third among the Peshwas, had overtaken his predecessors as far as his achievements were concerned.
Thus, Bajirao was an infant with a silver spoon in his mouth. Bajirao was given military training. For the young Bajirao, in the absence of his mother, the father's close association was a mobile school of politics. Bajirao, even while he was quite young, rarely missed the military campaigns of his father. This provided maturity to Bajirao, in practical military science.
In 1716, Maharaja Shahu's army -in-chief Dabhaji Thorat perfidously arrested Peshwa Balaji. Bajirao also chose to accompany his father for two years till he was released. Bajirao shared the torture bestowed upon his father during his imprisonment.
Anyway,the post-imprisonment carrier of Balaji Vishwanath reached a new dimension in the history of the Maratha-Mughal relationship, as he managed successfully to dethrone Sultan Farukhsier with the help of the Sayad brothers and substituted Rafi-Ud-Darjat as a new Sultan in 1719. The obliged Sultan conferred on him the Peshwa title and give other valuable facilities as favour on the Maratha Kingdom. Young Bajirao was eye-witness to all this development. Balaji?s role in Bajirao?s life was similar or even greater than that played by Jijabai in Shivaji?s life.
On April 2, 1719, Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath breathed his last. The Satara royal court, nay, different Maratha power agglomeration was humming with only one question-would Bajirao the son of deceased Peshwa, just 19, void of experience, be suitable for the supreme post?
Maharaja Shahu a great jeweller of human qualities, made no delay in answering the question. He immediately announced the appointment of Bajirao as the new Peshw. The announcement was soon translated into a royal function It was April 17, 1719, when Bajirao was ordained with the regal formalities. He was entrusted with the high honourable post much more because of stout mental and physical constitution clumped with his political sagacity apart from conventional hereditary right or reward against the great services rendered by the late Peshwa. Still a number of nobles and ministers were unable to hide their jealousy towards Bajirao. Bajirao, however, hardly spared any opportunity to justify the decision of the King and thereby shut up the mouths of his rivals.
Bajirao soon realised that the feudalistic forces had a tendency of segmentation and that the honour of the kingship required determined deterrence to the centrifugal forces. Then alone the expansion of the Hindu Pad Padshahi could be ascertained. Bajirao's realistic insight was phenomenal. He was quite aware of his enemical surroundings. Nizam, the governor of Mughal Sultan, the vexatious terrorist Siddi of Janjira and the bugbear Portuguese along with internal rivals demanded his immediate commanding performance for the sake of the security of the Maratha Kingdom on which was based the volume of expansion of Padshahi across the Vindhyas in the north.
In order to give vent to the Maratha ascendency in the south, Bajirao set an organisation of new Maratha nobles at the cost of old one. With the recovered strength he redrew the borderlines of the Maratha Kingdom and got it recognised by the overt and covert enemies around it. Bajirao's constant awareness over the foxlike Nizam was the key for the consolidation of hard-earned unity of Maratha houses. Nizam always lay in wait some times using Shabhaji-II of Kolhapur house as his tool, to disrupt Bajirao?s plans. Keeping Nizam to his limits, Bajirao was able to rightly claim to be the saviour of Maratha ascendency as well as the Padshahi, founded by Shivaji.
Sensing a bit of relief in the affairs of the south Bajirao turned the reins of his horses towards the north below and beyond the Vindhyas. Bajirao's statement here deserves our attention. He says: "We have to strike off the trunk of the drying tree (Mughal Sultanate). It would help the branches fall automatically. Thus, the flag of the Padshahi would come to be hoisted from river Krishna in the south to the Indus in the north."
Bajirao's first campaign in the north-west started from 1723 with the victory of Malwa followed by Gujarat. Here we happen to see the sympathy of Hindus in general with Bajirao, for he had emerged for them as a liberator.
Bajirao's political wisdom stands out in his Rajput policy. He sought to avoid confrontation with the Rajput houses, the ex-supporters of the Mughal rule, and opened a new era of friendly relation between Marathas and Rajputs. To name the houses were Bundi, Amer, Doogargarh, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, etc.
Visualising the danger lurking at the hand of Delhi, the titular King or Sultan called for the help of once vanquished Nizam. Bajirao again raised him to the ground. This wielded considerable influence of Bajirao over the Delhi court.
Bajirao's, crowning success was the defeat of Bungash Khan who was regarded as the bravest commander of the Mughal army, near Mahoba while he was busy in bullying the old Hindu King of Bundelkhand. This act of military assistance provided by Bajirao made Chhatrasal passionately indebted for ever.
Obliged Chhatrasal convened a grand public function in order to give his unreserved compliment to Bajirao, who now commanded the respect of the people of Bundelkhand. However, the more noteworthy was the offer of the famous court dancer, Mastani extended by Chhatrasal to Bajirao. Mastani, added a new chapter to the carrier of Bajirao.
Bajirao came back to Poona. The magnanimity in the personality of Mastani enamoured Bajirao. Keeping aside his social and traditional limits, Bajirao wedded Mastani with her consent. A Chita Pawan Brahmin of Konkan, the Prime Minister of the Maratha Kingdom admitted Mastani-a Muslim and of a low caste-status lady-in his royal apartment. It was a sensational event of his time. Bajirao was subjected to social boycott by the conservative elements. Nevertheless, Bajirao, ventured to maintain what he had done.
Mastani possessed manly and heroic ingenuity. She was an expert horse-rider. She used to accompany Bajirao in his battles, keep him encouraged in the battlefield and look after him with full devotion. Its effect was that Bajirao never deviated from his chosen objective and dynamism. His post-marriage exploits bear witness to the cooperation extended by Mastani.
The mention of this episode here is with a purpose. Progressive writers headed by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru are seen admiring Akbar highly as he included a Rajput girl in his royal harem. This act of Akbar afforded to bridge the gap between Muslims and Hindus. It makes him the first national King of medieval India. It's somewhat strange that the similar epithet is not conferred on Bajirao who irrespective of caste and creed ceremoniously married Mastani in the teeth of opposition around him. It's nothing but the chronic allergy pertaining to the very name Hindu the progressives suffer from. This is the same allergy that draws a dividing line between Maratha Kingdom and Hindu Pad Padshahi.
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