How the Maratha defeat at Panipat change India's history forever

256 years back on the day of Makar Sankranti, 14th Jan 1761, a historic battle was fought between the Maratha and the Afghan army at Panipat, 90km north of Delhi. This is also known as the 3rd battle of Panipat, the other 2 being the battle between the Mughals and Lodhis (1526) and Hemu and Akbar's army (1556). All of these 3 battles have been turning points in Indian history.

The Maratha empire, then the most powerful empire in India ruling from Arcot (in Tamil Nadu) to Attock (Current day Peshawar, Pakistan), took it onto them to defend Delhi from the invading Afghan army of Ahmed Shah Abdali. It is considered as the world's last great battle of the 18th century when 2 armies faced each other in a classic formation on the battle field. The scale of the battle can be gauged from the fact that each side had close to 50 thousand soldiers. Ultimately the Marathas lost the battle with heavy casualties on both sides. This battle would alter the future of India as well those of 3 other countires - Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Maratha Capital 'Shaniwar Wada' fort at Pune

What many people don’t realize is the major impact it had on the geo-politics of the region, which can be seen till date. Had Marathas won the battle, there would have been probably no current day Afghanistan and no British rule of India.

1. Abdali was the founder of the Durrani empire which later culminated in current day Afghanistan. He had captured Kandahar (from Persians) and Kabul (from Mughals), to form the new country. Had he been defeated in Panipat, the Marathas would have added Kandahar and Kabul to make it part of the Maratha empire of India. Thus maybe Afghanistan as we know today may have never been created.
2. The Maratha commander Sadashiv Rao Bhau had orders from the Peshwa to move the army towards Calcutta after Panipat, and take on the British settlement there. The British had won their 1st battle in India only four years prior (Plassey 1757), and that too not on military strength but by bribing the commander of the Nawab of Bengal’s army. They were still a minuscule and fledgling power compared to the Marathas and would not have survived facing such a massive army. The British were definitely the biggest benefactors from the Maratha defeat at Panipat. If the British had been defeated, there may have been no British colonial rule over India, and no subsequent creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Some of the interesting facts of the Battle of Panipat:-

1. The Maratha and Afghan armies had been facing each other for many months prior to the battle, camped in the plains of panipat. While the afghans had camped to the south of the maratha army to cut off its supplies coming from the Deccan, the marathas in return had camped to the north to cutoff the afghan supply route. Each wary of being the first to attack considering the strength of troops and artillery of the 2 armies.
2. Both the camps were desperate for food. It is said that while the afghans slaughtered their horses for meat, the maratha leaders and troops, who were primarily vegetarians refused to do so. This starvation forced them to finally select the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti to dawn their battle armour and ride out of the camp to fight the afghans.

   

   A maratha cavalry soldier

3. The Maratha and Afghan lines were 12 km long. Even when the main army was defeated and the Maratha crown prince (Peshwa Vishwas Rao) and commander of army (Sadashiv Rao Bhau) were killed, many of the units on the flanks were unaware of the outcome and continued to fight, famous being the Artillery manned by the Gardi units who fought into the night and till the last man.
4. The Marathas were winning the battle up until 4PM that day and started to lose when the both Sadashiv Bhau and Vishwas Rao were killed while trying to attack the Afghan centre. 

   

   Sadashiv Rao Bhau   

5. Abdali used an innovative attack when he mounted mini cannons on camel back. The camels would then have burning hay put on their backs and they would run into the maratha army, firing the cannons at point blank range into the maratha formation.
6. The bravery of Sadashiv Bhau was legendary and came to front in this battle. Around 4PM, when his nephew and crown prince Vishwas Rao was shot dead, Bhau realized the desperate situation of the Marathas. The maratha soldiers, tired of fighting the whole day on empty stomach, had started to fall. It is at this junction that Bhau decided to charge at the afghan center. As he charged, he had 3 horses blown out below him from cannon fire before he finally fell and was surrounded by afghan troops. In the subsequent sword fight, he suffered 40 mortal wounds.
7. The message of Maratha defeat was conveyed to the peshwa by a tired water bearer from the battle with a cryptic message “2 pearls have been dissolved, 27 gold coins have been lost and of the silver and copper the total cannot be cast up" implying the death of both the princes and other 27 generals commanding the army.
8. The cannon Zamzama, made famous later by Rudyard Kipling as Kim's Gun later in his poems, was used by Abdali in this battle. It had been forged by taking away the copper utensils from the Hindu population of Lahore when the afghans captured the city. The cannon is one of the largest of the gunpowder cannons in the world. The gun is now kept on display in Lahore.

   

   Zamzama kept in Lahore, 1930s

9. Almost all the Maratha noble familes fought in this battle and lost members of their family. The Peshwa ruler (Balaji Baji Rao) lost his eldest son and first cousin, the Scindia family lost its 3 brothers. It is believed that every family in Pune and surrounding villages then, lost atleast 1 member in the battle. That is why the phrase “Panipat Zala” is still used in Maharashtra to imply a major tragedy in the family.
10. Not many are aware but Shamsher Bahadur, the son of earlier peshwa Baji Rao and his muslim wife Mastani, also took part in this battle along with his bodyguard units and was killed fighting. Mastani had never been accepted in Pune due to her muslim background and so Baji Rao had created a small estate for her and Shamsher in Banda on the norther borders of the Maratha empire. When the afghans invaded India and the Peshwa then (Balaji Baji Rao - son of Baji Rao) called on all maratha generals for war, Shamsher considered it his duty and honour to fight along side his family (He was step-brother of Balaji Baji Rao).
11. The loss of Sadashiv Bhau was a severe blow to the ruling Peshwa family. Those aware of Peshwa family chronology may relate that he was the son of Chimaji Appa and first cousin of ruler Balaji Baji Rao. This made him a senior member of the family. He was considered a highly disciplined and trained soldier. He was entrusted with major administrative duties in the Maratha empire. His loss created a vacuum in the family hierarchy and gave chance to Raghunath Rao to cunningly exert his influence. Raghunath Rao would later go on to murder another peshwa ruler (Narayan Rao) in 1773. Narayan Rao had ascended the maratha throne only a year back after his elder brother Madhav Rao died in 1772.
12. The battle did not only destroy the army but resulted in death of thousands of civilians accompanying the maratha army. An estimated 40,000 maratha camp followers and pilgrims who had taken shelter in Panipat, were slaughtered by beheading on 15th Jan on orders of Abdali.
13. The victory to Afghans also came at a heavy price (Abdali lost his brother) and they retreated back immediately to Kabul rather than advancing further into India. The reason for this is attributed to a second maratha army under the peshwa Balaji's personal command crossing the Narmada river and marching towards Delhi. Abdali had lost too many soldiers in the battle and had no will or courage to take on a second maratha army of similar size.
14. It took the marathas 10 years to regain their military might and recapture Delhi again, but they could never be the same power again. The next Peshwa (ruler) Madhav Rao was able to capture Delhi in 1772 and also destroy the towns of Rohillas (who had betrayed the Marathas and helped the afghans).
15. In the immediate years after the battle, the British used the power vacuum created by the Maratha defeat, to make themselves the masters of the rich provinces of Awadh and Bengal. The Marathas were busy in rebuilding their power in Deccan and North after 1761 and the British used this time to strengthen their hold over Bengal and Awadh. Later on they would play the main role in the demise of the Maratha confederacy.

Maratha Empire extent in 1795

To summarize, the history of the Indian subcontinent would have been very different had the Maratha army won on the battle field that day. The loss of an entire army crushed the Maratha power and pride and they would never be the same power again. The english poet Rudyard Kipling has captured this tragedy in his poem "With Scindia to Delhi":

"Our hands and scarfs were saffron-dyed for signal of despair,

When we went forth to Paniput to battle with the ~Mlech~,

Ere we came back from Paniput and left a kingdom there."