Anglo-Maratha War: That mistake of Marathas which became 'Sanjeevani' for the British, they kept capturing

Second Anglo-Maratha war: Both the bravery and betrayal of Maratha rulers are recorded in history. Otherwise it was not easy for the British to capture India. But, due to small selfishness, something happened which should not have happened.

The Second Anglo-Maratha War was fought between the British and Maratha rulers. The English army fought face to face with the Maratha army thrice at different times. Marathas were so powerful that fighting them was not easy. Maratha rulers were the strongest link in stopping the growing influence of the British in India. Then the British officers started working on the policy of divide and rule and ultimately they were successful and then ruled the country for a long time.

Both the bravery and betrayal of Maratha rulers are recorded in history. Otherwise it was not easy for the British to capture India. But, due to small selfishness, something happened which should not have happened.

Anglo-Maratha wars took place three times. The first year was from 1775 to 1782. The second year was from 1803 to 1805 and the third year was from 1817 to 1818. These three declared wars were the result of mutual disputes between the Maratha rulers and the expansionist thinking of the British. With the decline of Mughal rule, Maratha powers were rising in India. Naturally the British had to fight with them.

The two armies came face to face three times one after the other. All three wars are recorded in history as Anglo-Maratha War One, Two and Three. The result of all three was that the Maratha rulers were eliminated and the dominance of the British increased. When the Marathas were strong, the war continued for seven years and then a treaty was signed, in which along with many bargains, it was also decided not to wage war for 20 years. Both sides followed this but internally everyone kept on weakening each other.

The Marathas kept on weakening their people and the British kept on weakening them and as soon as 20 years of the treaty were completed, another war started, which lasted for barely two years.

division among maratha rulers

The main reason for the second Anglo-Maratha war was the death of Nana Fadnavis and division among the Maratha rulers. Nana was a skilled leader. He had the art of connecting with everyone. After his death, a void was created and the yearning for leadership increased among the Maratha satraps Peshwa in Pune, Gaekwad in Baroda, Holkar in Indore, Scindia in Gwalior and Bhosale in Nagpur.

The British were already active in setting fire to their relations. The result was that all of them became ready to confront you from within. The feeling was to survive. The result of this campaign was the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Bajirao II proved to be an itch in leprosy. When he became Peshwa, he got Yashwant Rao Holkar's brother murdered when he visited Pune. Angered by this, Yashwant Rao defeated Bajirao II's army. Scindia's army, which was supporting Bajirao II, was also among the losers.

When the British proposed a humiliating treaty

British officers were keeping an eye on this entire incident. Bajirao II left the war and went under the protection of the British. Appealed for security. For this, a proposal for a treaty came before Bajirao II. Which came to be known as the Basin Pact. For this, Bajirao II had to sacrifice a lot. Scindia, Bhosale etc. opposed the Basin Treaty, resulting in second war. Scindia and Bhosale had to face defeat in this war and then the British proposed a humiliating treaty.

The British East India Company established it as Surji-Anjangaon (Scindia) and Devgaon (Bhosale). In both the treaties the British gained a lot and both the rulers lost. As soon as Yashwant Rao Holkar got wind of this, he decided to attack the British army and was badly defeated. Here also Holkar had to sign a treaty named Rajghat.

The result of Surji-Anjangaon treaty was that the British captured Scindia, Rohtak, Delhi, Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Gurgaon, Agra, Bharuch, Bundelkhand, Ahmednagar fort. Under the Devgaon Treaty, the British got Cuttack, Balasore and the area west of Wardha river from Bhosale of Nagpur.

In the Rajghat Treaty, the British got Tonk, Bundi and Rampura. In this way the dominance of the British was established over a large part of India. The remaining task was completed by the British in the third war between 1817 and 1818. And completely limited the Maratha rulers by tying them in various treaties and started ruling the whole of India.