Ánandráv Gáikwár, 1800.As had happened at the death of Dámáji, so again now, the heir Ánandráv was all but an idiot and quite incapable of managing his affairs. The disputes as to the guardianship again set the whole state in confusion. Kánhoji, a son of Govindráv by a Rájputni princess of Dharampor, who had been the first agent of his father in Baroda in 1793, had been put in prison for refusing to give place to Govindráv when the latter at length joined him at Baroda. At the death of Govindráv, Kánhoji managed to obtain his liberty and to secure the ascendancy in the counsels of his weak-minded elder brother. He assumed, in fact, the whole government. His arrogant conduct in this new position excited the Arab guard against him and he was again thrown into confinement. His mother Gajrábái, who was a refugee in Surat, endeavoured to get assistance from the English there, and at the same time made overtures to Malhár, son of Khanderáv Gáikwár, who had formerly been one of Govindráv’s bitterest opponents.
1800.Meanwhile the administration of the Gáikwár’s affairs passed into the hands of Rávji and Bábáji Áppa, two brothers who had been brought to Baroda in 1793 by Govindráv himself. Rávji took charge of the civil work, whilst Bábáji undertook the military duties, which at that time consisted in great measure in collecting the revenue by show of force. These two ministers, on hearing of the proceedings of The British aid Govindráv’s Party.Gajrábái, outbid her for the aid of the Bombay Government. In addition to the cessions formerly offered by Govindráv, they were willing to give up Chikhli also. Matters were precipitated by the successes of Malháráv in the field. Rávji offered to subsidize five European battalions, and Governor Duncan took upon himself the responsibility of sending an auxiliary force of 1600 men under Major Walker to act with the troops of Rávji and Bábáji north of Ahmedábád. Reinforcements were afterwards sent up, but the campaign was not closed till April 1802, when the fort of Kadi had been taken by storm. Malháráv surrendered and a residence in Naḍiád was assigned him with a liberal pension out of the revenues of that sub-division. The fort of Sankheda, which had been held by Ganpatráv Gáikwár for his cousin Malháráv, was soon after this reduced and the country for a time pacified.
The British and the Gáikwár, 1800.In March Rávji had an interview at Cambay with Governor Duncan, which was followed on June 6th by a definite treaty, of which the groundwork had been previously sketched in anticipation of the reduction of the revolted Gáikwárs. Two thousand men, besides artillery, were to be subsidized and a jáidád or assignment for their payment was made on the revenue of Dholka and the part of Naḍiád not assigned to Malhárráv. Chikhli was given to the British in reward for their aid in storming Kadi, and Residents were to be appointed reciprocally. A large sum of money was borrowed by Rávji, partly from Bombay partly from Baroda bankers, to pay off the arrears due to about 7000 Arab mercenaries, who had usurped a great deal of objectionable influence in civil affairs at the Gáikwár’s
The Maráthás, a.d. 1760–1819. capital. Major Walker was appointed Resident and proceeded to Baroda on 8th June.
The Gáikwár’s Minister Rávji.On the same day was signed a secret compact assuring Rávji of the support of the British Government and awarding him a village out of the territory ceded by the treaty of June 6th. It was deemed advisable by the British Government to have at the Baroda court some leading personage who might, in the present state of the relations between Bombay and Poona, further the designs of the former government in preventing a recurrence of the coalition of Marátha powers. Rávji was sure of his reward if he served British interests, whilst in case of the reorganization of a Marátha confederacy the state he was administering would probably play but a very subordinate part in subsequent events.
Treaty of Bassein, 31st Dec. 1802.The treaty of June 6th was disapproved by the Court of Directors as being in direct contravention of the treaty of Sálbai. Before, however, any orders had been issued by the Home authorities to restore to the Gáikwár the territory he had ceded, the Peshwa, out of regard for whom the treaty had been disavowed, was a fugitive before the army of Holkar, and by December had ratified these very concessions at the treaty of Bassein. By this treaty the Peshwa virtually placed his independence in the hands of the British. He ceded his share of Surat, thus giving them sole control over that district. In payment of the subsidiary force required he handed over territory in Gujarát, the revenue of which amounted to 12,28,000 rupees, and finally he constituted the British Government arbiter in the disputes between his government and that of Baroda. The grants made by the Gáikwár for the support of the subsidiary force amounted in 1802 to 7,80,000 rupees.
Arabs Disbanded.Major Walker attempted to negotiate with the Arab guard, but the greater part of them flew to arms and released Kánhoji Gáikwár. The latter then tried to collect an army near Baroda, and succeeded in obtaining possession of the person of Ánandráv the titular ruler. The British force then took Baroda by storm, after which most of the Arabs submitted, except a few who joined Kánhoji. The rest took the arrears due to them and left the country. Kánhoji was not subdued till February 1803. Malhárráv in Revolt, 1803.Malhárráv meanwhile had broken out in rebellion in Káthiáváḍa and was plundering the Marátha possessions there. Bábáji Áppáji and a young officer named Vithal Deváji (or Divánji) led the operations against him; and to the latter belongs the honour of having captured this troublesome member of the ruling family. The estate of Naḍiád, which had been assigned to Madhavráo by Govindráv, was resumed by Rávji Áppáji and made over in its entirety to the British Government. A treaty, supplementary to that of 1802, was drawn up guaranteeing this cession as well as the inám or free gift of the fort and district of Kaira, “out of gratitude for the support given in the recent troubles to the Gáikwár’s honour and for assistance in securing the good of the State.”
The Maráthás, a.d. 1760–1819. Contingent Strengthened, 1803.Very soon after this agreement Rávji applied for an addition to the subsidiary force, in payment of which he assigned Mátar Mahudha and the customs of Kim-Kathodra, a station about seventeen miles north of Surat. His reason for strengthening the subsidiary force appears to have been that owing to the reduction of the Arabs, his own force was not enough to guard even the frontier, and that a great part of that duty fell on the European contingent, which was numerically insufficient for service on so extended a scale. Death of Rávji, 1803.This was the last public act of note on the part of Rávji Áppa, who died in July 1803, after adopting one Sitárám to succeed to his estate.
War with Sindia.Whilst these arrangements were being carried out at Baroda, Bájiráv Peshwa, chafing at the dependence to which his straits of the previous winter had reduced him with regard to the English, was actively propagating dissension between Sindia and the Calcutta Government. Not long after, the war that had been some time imminent broke out, and a contingent of 7352 men from Gujarát was ordered to the field. In August or September Broach and Pávágaḍ[15] both fell to the British.
The Revenue Collecting Force.Under the treaty of Sirjé Anjangaon in December 1803, both Pávágaḍ and Dohad were restored to Sindia, but Broach remained British. By this means one of the rising Marátha powers was extruded from the centre to the outlying portion of the province. The employment of all the British contingent against Sindia’s possessions in Gujarát precluded Major Walker from furnishing any portion of the army that was annually sent to collect the tribute in Káthiáváḍa. Rávji Áppáji had expressly stipulated that some part of the contingent might be so used when it could be spared from its main duties. The Supreme Government agreed to the proposal when made by Governor Duncan, on the grounds of the advantage both to the Gáikwár and the tributaries of employing on this disagreeable duty a strong and well-disciplined force. Already some of the tributaries had made overtures to Major Walker with a view to obtaining British protection against powerful neighbours. Governor Duncan was in favour of accepting the duty of protection and also of helping the Gáikwár’s commander in his expeditions through the peninsula on these grounds. Firstly, the officer in command could exercise a certain supervision over the collections in which the British as part assignees had a direct interest. Secondly, a way could thus be opened for the acquisition of a port on the coast from which the intrigues, supposed to be carried on by agents from the Isle of France, could be watched and counteracted. From such a point, too, the views of the Bombay Government as regards Kachh could be promoted. Thirdly, the commandant could take steps to improve the system of forcible collections, and towards abolishing the barbarous features of this rude method of levying tribute. He could also, perhaps, suggest some system by which the advantages of all three parties concerned would be better secured than by reliance on the uncertainty of temporary expeditions. The fourth and last
The Maráthás, a.d. 1760–1819. reason given savours strongly of the Marátha policy of the time, of which the leading maxim was Divide et impera. It was represented that Bábáji, who had successfully collected the tribute during 1802–03 and whose subordinate and companion Vithal Deváji was a person of similar energy and capability, might possibly acquire too great influence if left in a quasi-independent command at such a distance from the Court. It was politic, then, to join with the force under his command a strong foreign body, thus dividing both the power and the responsibility. The war with Sindia caused these proposals to fall into abeyance for some time.
Renewal of Farm, 1804.Meanwhile the Resident at Poona was doing his best to secure for the Gáikwár a further lease for ten years of the farm of the Peshwa’s dominions in Gujarát, so that the inconveniences of dual government might be avoided. In October 1804 a ten years’ farm was granted in the name of Bhagvantráv Gáikwár at an annual rate of 4½ lákhs of rupees.