1671.Śiváji left a claim for twelve lákhs of rupees to be paid as a guarantee against future expeditions. It is possible, however, that as he does not appear to have taken any immediate steps to recover this sum, the demand was made only in accordance with Marátha policy,
The Maráthás, a.d. 1760–1819. which looked upon a country once overrun as tributary, and assumed a right to exercise paramount authority over it by virtue of the completed act of a successful invasion. In 1671 the Marátha fleet was ordered to sail up the gulf and plunder Broach, and it is probable that Śiváji intended at the same time to levy tribute from Surat, but the whole expedition was countermanded before the ships sailed.
The conduct of the military authorities in Gujarát with regard to this expedition of 1670 was such as to render it highly probable that the Mughal leaders were in complicity with the Maráthás in order to gain the favour and support of their leader. Shortly before Śiváji’s arrival there had been a large garrison in Surat, apparently kept there by the governor, who suspected that some attempt on the town would soon be made. This garrison was withdrawn before Śiváji’s attack, and almost immediately after his departure 5000 men were sent back again. The commanders of the Mughal army in the Dakhan were Jasvant Singh the Ráhtor chief of Jodhpur and prince Muazzam. Jasvant Singh had been viceroy of Gujarát from a.d. 1659 to 1662, and in a.d. 1671 shortly after Śiváji’s second expedition was re-appointed to that post for three years. He had, moreover, been accused of taking bribes from Śiváji during the operations in the Dakhan. Prince Muazzam, again, had every reason for wishing to secure to himself so powerful an ally as Śiváji in the struggle for the imperial crown that took place, as a rule, at every succession. Aurangzeb, reasoning from his own experiences as a son, refused to allow a possible heir to his throne to become powerful at court; and accordingly sent him against Śiváji with an army quite inadequate for such operations. It is therefore not unreasonable to suppose that if there had not been some previous understanding between Śiváji and the Mughal leaders, the troops that were known to be within easy reach of Surat would have been found strong and numerous enough either to have repulsed him altogether or at least to have prevented the three days’ sack of the city.
Sáler Taken, 1672.In a.d. 1672 Śiváji took some of the small forts to the south of Surat, such as Párnera and Bagváda, now in the Párdi sub-division of the Surat district, whilst Moro Trimal got possession of the large fort of Sáler in Báglán, which guarded one of the most frequented passes from the Dakhan into Gujarát. The Maráthás were thus able to command the routes along which their expeditions could most conveniently be despatched.
The Narbada Crossed, 1675.No further incursion was made till 1675, in which year a Marátha force first crossed the Narbada. On the resumption of hostilities between Śiváji and the Mughals, Hasáji Mohite, who had been made Senápati, with the title of Hambirráv, marched up the North Konkan, and divided his army into two forces near Surat. One portion plundered towards Burhánpur, the other commanded by himself plundered the Broach district. Ten years later a successful expedition was made against Broach itself, either preconcerted or
The Maráthás, a.d. 1760–1819. actually led by a younger son of Aurangzeb, who had taken refuge with the Maráthás. Broach was plundered, and the booty safely carried off before the local force could get near the invaders. Gujarát was now left free from inroad for some fourteen years, probably because the attention of the Marátha leaders was concentrated on their quarrels in the Dakhan.
Raids by Dábháde, 1699.In a.d. 1699 Rám Rája appointed one of his most trusted officers, Khanderáv Dábháde, to collect in Báglán the chauth[2] and sardeshmukhi imposts which had by that time become regularly instituted. This chief, whose name was afterwards so intimately connected with Gujarát, not only collected all that was due to his master from the village officers in Báglán, but also made an incursion into the Surat districts on his own account. 1700–1704.Between 1700 and 1704 Khanderáv attempted two expeditions, but was foiled by the vigilance of the Mughal authorities. 1705.In 1705, however, he made a raid on a large scale and got safely across the Narbada, where he defeated two Muhammadan detachments sent against him, and got back to Sáler with his booty. 1706–1711.Khanderáv now kept bodies of troops constantly hovering on the outskirts of Gujarát and along the road to Burhánpur. He himself led several expeditions into the Ahmedábád territory, and is said to have once got as far as Sorath in the peninsula, where however he was repelled by the Musalmán governor. In 1711, again he was severely defeated by the Mughals near Anklesvar in the Broach district, and had to withdraw to the borders of Khándesh.
1713.In 1713 some treasure was being conveyed from Surat to Aurangábád escorted by a large force under Muhammad Tabrízí. The party was attacked in the jungles east of Surat and the treasure carried off. Just before this, Sarbuland Khán, the deputy viceroy, on his way to take up his office at Ahmedábád, was attacked and robbed in the wilds of Ságbára on the north bank of the Tápti. As Khanderáv had a short while previous to these occurrences taken up his position near Nándod[3] in the Rájpipla territory, it is probably to him or to his subordinates that these raids are to be attributed. He managed by a system of outposts to cut off communication between Surat and Burhánpur, except for those who had paid him a fee for safe conduct. If this charge was evaded or resisted, he appropriated one-fourth of the property that the traveller was conveying up country.
Dábháde, 1716.As the Burhánpur road was one of those most frequented by both pilgrims and merchants, the Dehli authorities were obliged, in 1716, to organize an expedition against Dábháde. The leader of the force was one Zulfikar Beg, an officer inexperienced in Marátha warfare. Dábháde found little difficulty in decoying him into a mountainous country, and there completely defeated him with the usual Marátha accompaniment of plunder.
The Maráthás, a.d. 1760–1819. Dábháde Senápati.Finding himself once more in the Dakhan, Khanderáv Dábháde took the opportunity of rejoining the court at Sátára, from which he had long been absent. He was lucky enough to arrive just as the Senápati Manáji Morár had failed on an important expedition and was consequently in disgrace. Rája Sháhu, pleased with Khanderáv’s recent success against the Delhi troops, divested Manáji of the title of Senápati, and bestowed it upon the more fortunate leader.
The Peshwa’s Negotiations, 1717.Khanderáv remained away from Gujarát for three years, accompanying, meanwhile, Báláji Vishvanáth the Peshwa to Dehli, where the latter was engaged in negotiations for the confirmation of the Marátha rights to chauth and other tribute from certain districts in the Dakhan.
It is evident that at this time there was no definite claim to tribute from Gujarát on the part of the Marátha government; for in spite of the intrigues of Báláji and the weakness of the court party at Delhi no concessions were obtained with regard to it, although the Marátha dues from other parts of the country were fully ratified. The grounds on which Báláji demanded the tribute from Gujarát were that Sháhu would thereby gain the right to restrain the excesses of Marátha freebooters from the frontier and would guarantee the whole country against irregular pillage. The argument was a curious one, considering that the most troublesome and notorious freebooter of the whole tribe was at the elbow of the envoy, who was so strenuously pleading for the right to suppress him. It is probable that Báláji foresaw that Khanderáv’s newly acquired rank would take him for a time from Báglán to the court, so that meanwhile an arrangement could be made to prevent the growth of any powerful chief in the Gujarát direction who might interfere with the plans of the central government. The Marátha statesman was as anxious to ensure the subordination of distant feudatories as the Mughals to secure the freedom of the Ghát roads to the coast.