Daulatrao Sindhia (born 1779, died 1827) was the king (Maharaja) of Gwalior state in central India from 1794 until his death in 1827. His reign coincided with struggles for supremacy within the Maratha Confederacy, and with Maratha resistance to the consolidation of British hegemony over northern and central India in the early 18th century, and Daulatrao played a significant role in the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha wars. The word Maharaja (also spelled maharajah) is Hindi as well as ancient Sanskrit for high king (a karmadharaya from maha great and rajan king). Its use is primarily for Hindu potentates (ruler or sovereign). ... Gwalior State was an Indian kingdom ruled by the Sindhia dynasty. ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803 - 1805) was a second conflict between Britain and the Maratha empire in India. ... The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817 - 1818) was a final and decisive conflict between Britain and the Maratha empire in India, which left Britain in control of most of India. ...

Daulatrao was a member of the Sindhia dynasty, and succeded to the Gwalior throne in February 1794 at the age of 15, upon the death of Maharaja Mahadji Sindhia. Mahadji left no heir, and Daulatrao was a grandson of his brother Tukaji. Gwalior state was part of the Maratha Empire, which founded by Shivaji in the 17th century. De facto control of the empire passed from Shivaji's successors to the hereditary chief ministers of the Empire, entitled peshwas, and empire expanded greatly in the 18th century at the expense of the Mughal Empire. As the empire expanded, commanders of the Maratha armies were given authority to collect chauth (tribute) in the conquered territories on behalf of the Peshwa, and Daulatrao's ancestor Ranoji Sindhia conquered territories in the Malwa and Gird regions from the Mughals, eventually establishing a state which was initially based at Ujjain, but was named for the strategic fortress of Gwalior. The Maratha defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat checked the Maratha expansion, and hastened the decentralization of power in the empire to a 'pentarchy' made up of the five most powerful Maratha dynasties: the Peshwas of Pune, the Sindhias of Gwalior, the Holkars of Indore, the Bhonsles of Nagpur, and the Gaekwads of Baroda. Daulatrao's predecessor Mahadji had, in the aftermath of Panipat, turned Gwalior into the chief military power in the confederacy, developing a well-trained modern army under the command of Benoît de Boigne. Daulatrao therefore looked upon himself less as member of the Maratha Confederacy, and more as the chief sovereign in India. The Sindhia, also spelled Scindia , Sindia, or Shinde are a prominent Maratha family in India. ... Shivaji Bhonslé, also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhonslé (Marathi: छत्रपती शिवाजीराजे भोसले)( ) was the founder of the Maratha empire in western India in 1674 which was instrumental in the downfall of the Mughal Empire. ... The Maratha Empire at its peak in 1760 Statue of the great Baji Rao, near Shaniwar Wada, Pune The Peshwa (also known in Marathi as Peshwe) were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis (Kings), who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire... The Mughal Empire, (Persian: دولتِ مغل) was an empire that at its greatest territorial extent ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent, then known as Hindustan, and parts of Afghanistan and Persia, between 1526 and 1707. ... Malwa (Malvi:माळवा) is a region in western India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin in the western part of Madhya Pradesh state and the south-eastern part of Rajasthan. ... Gird is a region of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. ... Ujjain (also known as Ujain, Ujjayini, Avanti) is an ancient city of central India, in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River. ... Teli-ka-Mandir Fortress of Gwalior Gwalior is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Holkar were a prominent Maratha family, who ruled as rajas and later maharajas of Indore in central India as part of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818, and afterwards as a princely state of British India until Indias independence, when the Holkars acceded to the Indian government. ... Indore is the commercial capital of the Malwa region and the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh (MP). ... The Bhonsle or Bhonsale were a prominent Maratha clan who served as rulers of several states in India . ... Nāgpur City name is derived from River Nag which flows through the city. ... The Gaekwad (or Gaekwar) were a Maratha dynasty that ruled as Maharajas of Baroda (Vadodara) from the mid-eighteenth century to 1947. ... Vadodara, also known as Baroda, is the third-most populated town in Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat (the three towns with a population of over 1 million in Gujarat). ... Count Benoît de Boigne (March 8, 1751 - June 21, 1830), the first of the French military adventurers in India, was born at Chambéry in Savoy, being the son of a fur merchant. ...

At this time the death of the young Peshwa, Madhu Rao II (1795), and the troubles which it occasioned, the demise of Tukaji Holkar and the rise of the turbulent Jaswant Rao Holkar, together with the intrigues of Nana Farnavis, threw the confederacy into confusion and enabled Sindhia to gain the ascendancy. He also came under the influence of Sarje Rao Ghatke, the most unprincipled scoundrel of his day, whose daughter he had married (1798). Urged possibly by this adviser, Daulatrao aimed at increasing his dominions at all costs, and seized territory from the Maratha Ponwars of Dhar and Dewas. The rising power of Jaswant Rao Holkar of Indore, however, alarmed him. In July 1801, Jaswant Rao appeared before Sindhia's capital of Ujjain, and after defeating some battalions under John Hessing, extorted a large sum from its inhabitants, but did not ravage the town. In October, however, Sarje Rao Ghatke took revenge by sacking Indore, razing it almost to the ground, and practicing every form of atrocity on its inhabitants. From this time dates the gardi-ka-wakt, or 'period of unrest', as it is still called, during which the whole of central India was overrun by the armies of Sindhia and Holkar and their attendant predatory Pindari bands, under Amir Khan and others. had retired as commander of Gwalior's army 1796; and his successor, Pierre Cuillier-Perron, was a man of a very different stamp, whose determined favouritism of French officers, in defiance of all claims to promotion, produced discontent in the regular corps. Nana Farnavis (May 4, 1741 - March 13, 1800) was the great Mahratta minister at Poona at the end of the 18th century. ... The Ponwar (also Panwar or Pawar) are a Maratha clan that ruled the states of Chhatarpur, Dewas, Dhar, and Rajgarh in central India. ... Dhar is a town in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh state in central India. ... Dewas is a city in western Madhya Pradesh state of central India. ... Indore is the commercial capital of the Malwa region and the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh (MP). ... Pindari is a word of uncertain origin, applied to the irregular horsemen who accompanied the Maratha armies in central India during the 18th century when the Mughal Empire was breaking up. ... Amir Khan was a Pindari leader, probably Afghan_born, who fought the British in India in the early 19th century. ... Pierre Cuillier-Perron (1755-1834), French military adventurer in India, whose name was originally Pierre Cuillier, was born at Château du Loire in France, the son of a cloth merchant. ...

Finally, on December 31, 1802, the Peshwa signed the Treaty of Bassein, by which the British were recognized as the paramount power in India. The continual evasion shown by Sindhia in all attempts at negotiation brought him into conflict with the British, and his power was competely destroyed in both western and northern India by the British victories at Ahmadnagar, Assaye, Asirgarh, and Laswari. His famous brigades were annihilated and his military power irretrievably broken. On December 30, 1803, he signed the Treaty of Sarji Anjangaon, by which he was obliged to give up his possessions between the Yamuna and the Ganges, the district of Bharuch, and other lands in the south of his dominions; and soon after by the Treaty of Burhanpur he agreed to maintain a subsidiary force to be paid for out of the revenues of territory ceded by the treaty. By the ninth article of the Treaty of Sarji Anjangaon he was deprived of the fortresses of Gwalior and Gohad, The discontent produced by the last condition almost caused a rupture, and did actually result in the plundering of the Resident's camp and detention of the Resident as a prisoner. In 1805, under the new policy of Lord Cornwallis, Gohad and Gwalior were restored, and the Chambal River was made the northern boundary of the state, while certain claims on Rajput states were abolished, the British government at the same time binding itself to enter into no treaties with Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kotah, or any chief tributary to Sindhia in Malwa, Mewar, or Marwar. In 1811, Daulat Rao annexed the neighboring kingdom of Chanderi. In 1816 Sindhia was called on to assist in the suppression of the Pindaris. For some time it was doubtful what line he would take, but he ultimately signed the Treaty of Gwalior in 1817 by which he promised full cooperation. He did not, however, act up to his professions, and connived at the retention of the fort of Asirgarh, which had been ceded by the treaty. A fresh treaty in 1818 effected a readjustment of boundaries, Ajmer and other lands being ceded. The Battle of Assaye occurred September 23, 1803 near the village of Assaye in south-central India. ... The Battle of Laswari took place on November 1, 1803 and was part of the Second Anglo-Maratha War. ... Bharuch (also known as Broach) is a district in south Gujarat state in India. ... Gohad is a town of historical importance of Bhind district in Madhya Pradesh in India. ... Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (December 31, 1738-October 5, 1805) was a British general and colonial governor. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. ... Marwar is the southwest region of Rajasthan in India that lies in Thar Desert. ... Chanderi is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar district of Madhya Pradesh state in India. ... Asirgarh is an Indian fortress situated in the Satpura Range, about 20 km. ... Ajmer , or Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Indias Rajasthan state. ...

References

• Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, et al (1908). Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 12. 1908-1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford.
• Markovits, Claude (ed.) (2004). A History of Modern India: 1480-1950. Anthem Press, London.