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The Third Battle of Panipat took place on January 14, 1761 at Panipat (Haryana State, India), about 80 miles (130 km) north of Delhi. The battle checked the advance of the Marathas and, if for a brief period, restored the Mughal empire. The main battle was fought between the forces under Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Maratha host. It is believed that nearly 100,000 people either died or were injured on both sides in the one-day battle, though some historians estimate^{[citation needed]} the total to be nearer to 60,000. Image File history File links Circle-question-red. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1761 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Panipat is a historic as well as an ancient city in the Panipat District in Haryana state, India, The city has a population of 216,000. ... For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... The Mughal Empire at its greatest extent. ... See Ahmad Shah Qajar for the Persian ruler (1909-1925). ... The Marāthās (Marathi: मराठा)is a collective term referring to an Indo Aryan group of Hindu warriors and peasants hailing mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a substantial empire, covering a major part of India, in the late 17th and 18th centuries AD. The Marathas...

The battle pitted the French-supplied^{[citation needed]} and trained artillery of the Marathas against the light cavalry of the Afghans. The scenario would have been slightly in favour of the Marathas had not their own cavalry decided to charge prematurely, which lead to their defeat. Both forces were so heavily depleted that the Mughal Empire fell, and the expansion of the Maratha's power ended. Also, Ahmad Shah's Durrani Empire suffered continuous attacks by the growing Sikh power, and eventually retired to the north of Kandahar. However, the battle was most decisive because it crushed the Maratha Empire's dream of uniting India. Historically, artillery (from French artillerie) refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ... The Durrani Empire was a state in present day Afghanistan. ... A Sikh (IPA: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is an adherent of Sikhism. ... This article is about the city in Afghanistan. ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ...

The Imperial Maratha Conquests (1659-1761) were a series of conquests in the Indian subcontinent which led to the building of the Maratha Empire. ... January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1761 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Panipat is a historic as well as an ancient city in the Panipat District in Haryana state, India, The city has a population of 216,000. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... See Ahmad Shah Qajar for the Persian ruler (1909-1925). ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... The Durrani Empire was a state in present day Afghanistan. ... See Ahmad Shah Qajar for the Persian ruler (1909-1925). ...

Prelude to Panipat

The Mughal Empire had been in tremendous decline for some time after the invasion of India by Nadir Shah in 1739. Continued rebellions by the Marathas in the south, and the de-facto separation of a number of states (including Hyderabad and Bengal), weakened the state further. This paved the way for the Jats and the Sikhs to eventually become a powerful force, and led to aggressive imperial designs by the Marathas in the west. Nadir Shah’s portrait from the collection of Smithsonian Institute Nadir Shah (Persian: نادر شاه) (Nadir Qoli Beg (Persian: نادر قلی بیگ), also Tahmasp-Qoli Khan (Persian: تهماسپ قلی خان) also Nadir Shah Afshar (Persian: نادر شاه افشار) ) (October 22, 1688 - June 19, 1747) ruled as Shah of Iran (1736–47) and was the founder of the short-lived Turkic Afsharid... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... Hyderabad and Berar, 1903 Hyderābād was an autonomous princely state of south-central India from 1724 until 1948, ruled by a hereditary Nizam, and an Indian state from 1948 to 1956. ... Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in the Bengali language, is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ... Jats are now preeminently a farming community. ...

The Marathas had gained control of a considerable chunk of India. A large Maratha force had brought Delhi under its control, and the Marathas could speak of having the Emperor within their power. These aggressive designs of the Marathas, and the general weakness surrounding the Afghan province of Punjab, prompted Ahmad Shah Abdali, the ruler of Afghanistan, to send yet another force to deal with the threats.

Raghuchi Bharaari (The Whirlwind Campaign)

Extent of the Maratha Empire ca. 1760

After his invasion in 1754, he had left the Mughals in nominal control which however, proved to be a fateful mistake when his son, Timur Shah, proved to be utterly incapable of maintaining control over the conquered territories. Soon the local Sikh population rose in revolt and asked for the protection of the Marathas. Raghoba, the famed Maratha leader raised a powerful army consisting of Marathas, Rajputs, Pathans and was successful in ousting Timur and his court from India. Timur`s fleeing army was defeated at various stations. The Marathas chased him right up to Attock, at the base of the Khyber Pass, and Punjab was brought under their dominion. Image File history File links Marathas. ... Image File history File links Marathas. ... Raghunathrao was the younger brother of Nanasaheb Peshwa. ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... A Rajput (possibly from Sanskrit rāja-putra, son of a king) is a member of a prominent caste who live throughout northern and central India, primarily in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun (Persian: پختون) (Urdu: پشتون ), or Pathan) or ethnic Afghans[4] are an ethno-linguistic group living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan and in North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ...

Ahmad Shah could not allow this to go unchecked, and in 1759 raised an army from the Pashtun tribes with help from the Baloch, and invaded India once again. By the end of the year they had reached Lahore, but Marathas continued to pour into the conflict and by 1760 had formed a single army of over 100,000 to block him. The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ... The Baloch (Persian: بلوچ alternative transliterations Baluch, Balouch, Balooch, Balush, Balosh, Baloosh, Baloush et al. ... Lahore (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور) is the capital of the province of Punjab, and the second most populated city in Pakistan, also known as the Gardens of the Mughals or City of Gardens, after the significant rich heritage of the Mughal Empire. ...

There followed much manoeuvring, with skirmishes fought at Karnal, Kunjapura. After the Marathas failed to prevent Abdali's forces crossing the Yamuna river, they set up defensive works in the excellent ground near Panipat, thereby blocking Ahmad's access back to Afghanistan just as his forces blocked theirs to south. Abdali slowly tightened the noose by cutting off the Maratha Army's supply lines. Sikhs and Jats (with the exception of Ala Singh the first Maharaja of Patiala) did not support Marathas because of their refusal to sack Delhi, which was at that time a Maratha protectorate and their only source of supplies in the north. Their supplies and stores dwindling, the Marathas then moved in almost 150 pieces of modern long-range rifled French made artillery. With a range of several kilometres, these guns were some of the best of the times. Panipat is a historic as well as an ancient city in the Panipat District in Haryana state, India, The city has a population of 216,000. ... It has been suggested that Break action be merged into this article or section. ...

Siege

The Afghan forces arrived in late 1760 to find the Marathas in well-prepared works. Realizing a direct attack was hopeless, they set up for a siege. The resulting face-off lasted two months. During this time Ahmad continued to receive supplies from locals. The Marathas, however, had difficulty in securing supplies, the local population having become hostile to them. In contravention of their policy of tolerance towards non-muslims, they had pillaged the surrounding Hindu population. This offense resulted in the Sikhs and Jats to remaining neutral during the war, and thus the Marathas were left without resupply in the battle zone. This battle zone was probably between Kaalaa Aamb and Sanauli Road of today. The Afghan lines probably were a few metres to the south of Sanauli road. Maratha lines began a little to the north of Kaalaa Aamb. They had thus blocked the northward path of Abdally's troops and at the same time they themselves were blocked by the latter from the south which was the direction to Delhi, where they could get badly needed supplies. A siege is a military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ...

Realizing the situation was not in their favour, the Marathas under Sadashiv Bhau decided to break the siege. His plan was to pulverise the enemy formations with cannon fire and not to employ his cavalry until the Afghans were thoroughly softened up. With the Afghans now broken, he would move camp in a defensive formation towards Delhi, where they were assured supplies.

The line would be formed up some 12km across, with the artillery in front, protected by infantry, pikemen, musketeers and bowmen. The cavalry was instructed to wait behind the artillery and bayonet wielding musketeers, ready to be thrown in when control of battlefield had been fully established.

Behind this line was another ring of 30,000 young Maratha soldiers who were not battle tested, and then the roughly 30,000 civilians entrained. Many were middle class men, women and children on their pilgrimage to the Hindu holy places and shrines, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Aryavarta (Aryan Land). The civilians were irrationally confident of the Maratha army, regarding it as one of the best in the world, and definitely one of the most powerful in Asia. Behind the civilians was yet another protective infantry line, of young inexperienced soldiers.

Battle opens

Before dawn on January 14, 1761 the Maratha forces emerged from the trenches, pushing the artillery into position on their pre-arranged lines, some 2km from the Afghans. Seeing that the battle was on, Ahmad positioned his 60 smoothbore cannon and opened fire. However, because of the short range of the weapons, the Maratha lines remained untouched. Ahmad then launched a cavalry attack to break their lines. January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1761 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

The first defensive salvo of the Marathas went over the Afghans' heads and inflicted very little damage, but the Afghan attack was nevertheless broken by Maratha bowmen and pikemen, along with some famed Maratha Gardi musketeers stationed close to the artillery positions. The second and subsequent salvos were fired at point blank range into the Afghan ranks. The resulting carnage sent the Afghans reeling back to their lines. The European-style plan had worked just as envisioned. A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. ...

The Marathas then started moving their infantry formation forward, led by the artillery. The Afghans responded with repeated cavalry attacks, all of which failed. About 12,000 Afghan cavalry and infantrymen lost their lives in this opening stage of the battle.

The Marathas cavalry charge

At this stage it looked as though Bhausaheb would clinch victory for the Marathas once again. However, some of the Maratha lieutenants, particularly Vitthal Vinchurkar and Damaji Gaikwad, jealous of the exploits of their artillery chief (Commandant de la gard - Ibrahim Khan Gardi who had designed the powerful Gardi muskets), decided to exploit the gaps in the enemy lines & dash; despite strict instructions not to charge or engage Afghan cavalry in hand to hand fight. The mass of Maratha horsemen raced through their own artillery lines and charged towards the demoralised Afghans, intending to cut the faltering army in two.

The over-enthusiasm of the charge saw many of the half starved Maratha horses exhausted long before they had travelled the two kilometres to the Afghan lines; some simply collapsed. Making matters worse was the suffocating odour of the rotting corpses of men and animals left on the field from the fighting of the previous months. Still, a major mass of Maratha cavalry collided with the Afgan cavalry, initially taking down a few thousand of Afghani troops.

In response, the Afghan officers stiffened their troops resistance. Abdali sent his body guards to call up his reserves of 10,000 from his camp and arranged it as column right in front his cavalry of musketeers (Qizilbash), and swivel mounted cannons (shaturnals) on the back of camels. because of their positioning on camels they could fire an extensive salvo over the heads of their own infantry and at the Maratha cavalry, who were unable to withstand the rifled muskets and camel-mounted swivel cannons of the Afghans. Abdali had 2000 such shaturnals. They could be fired without the rider having to dismount and were especially effective against fast moving cavalry.

With their own men in the firing line, the Maratha artillery could not respond, and about 7,000 Maratha cavalry and infantry perished before the hand to hand fighting began at around 2PM. By 4PM the tired Maratha infantry began to succumb to the onslaught of attacks from fresh Afghan reserves, protected by armoured leather jackets.

Attack from within

The Maratha army had captured some afghan slaves earlier during the siege of Kunjpura. They had not been trusted to be in the front line because their loyalty was suspect. As they were captured slaves, saw an opportunity to avenge the humiliation. They started fighting the Maratha army from the inside. This brought confusion and great consternation to loyal Maratha soldiers, who thought that the enemy had attacked from behind. The Marāthās (Marathi: मराठा)is a collective term referring to an Indo Aryan group of Hindu warriors and peasants hailing mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a substantial empire, covering a major part of India, in the late 17th and 18th centuries AD. The Marathas...

Sadashivrao Bhau, seeing his forward lines dwindling and civilians behind, could not move forward his young soldiers as reserves from behind and felt he had no choice but to come down from his elephant and lead the battle at the head of household troops. He left instructions with his bodyguards that, if the battle were lost, they must kill his wife Parvatibai for he could not tolerate her being dishonoured by the Afghans.

Some Maratha soldiers, seeing that their general had disappeared from his elephant, panicked and began to flee. Vishwasrao, the son of Prime Minister Nanasaheb, had already fallen to a shot in the head. Sadashivrao Bhau and his loyal bodyguards fought to the end, the Maratha leader having three horses shot out from under him.

Rout

The Afghans pursued the fleeing Maratha army, while the Maratha front lines remained largely intact, with some of their artillery units fighting until sundown. Choosing not to launch a night attack, made good their escape that night. Parvatibai escaped the armageddon with her bodyguards, and eventually returned to Pune. Pune (Poona) (Marathi:पुणे) (Hindi:पूना), is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. ...

The Massacre

Mass of surrendered Maratha soldiers were handcuffed and then murdered, their heads chopped off by Afghans to earn blessings for killing Kafirs on account of their families back in Afghanistan.

(“the unhappy prisoners were paraded in long lines, given a little parched grain and a drink of water, and beheaded… and the women and children who survived were driven off as slaves - twenty-two thousand, many of them of the highest aristocratic rank in the land, says the Siyar-ut-Mutakhirin.”22)

About 10,000 Maratha civilians and soldiers alike were slain this way on 15 January 1761. Many of the fleeing Maratha women jumped into the Panipat wells rather than risk rape and dishonour. Many others did their best to hide in the streets of Panipat when even the North Indian Hindus / Muslims of the town refused to give them refuge.

The main reason for the failure of Marathas was that they went to war without good allies. Though their infantry was based on European style contingent and had some of the best French made guns of the times,they failed to woo allies in North India. Their earlier hegemonistic behavior and their political ambitions which led them to loot and plunder, had antagonized all the powers. They had interfered in the internal affairs of the Rajputana states (present day Rajasthan) and levied heavy taxes and huge fines on them. They had also made huge territorial and monetary claims upon Awadh. Their raids in the Sikh territory had angered the Sikh chiefs. Similarly the Jat chiefs, on whom also they had imposed heavy fines, did not trust them. They had, therefore, to fight their enemies alone, except for the weak support of Imad -ul-Mulk. Moreover, the senior Maratha chiefs constantly bickered with one another. Each one of them had ambitions of carving out their independent states and had no interest in fighting against a common enemy.

A conservative estimate places Maratha losses at 35,000 on the Panipat battlefield itself. At least 22,000 women and children were captured as prisoners and slaves. According to Mr. Hamilton of Bombay Gazette about half a million people were present there on Panipat town from Maharashtra and on any rate he gives figure of 40,000 prisoners as executed.

Afghans losses

The Afghans losses were around 40,000. As far as battle casualties are concerned, the Afghans too suffered heavy losses. The enormous casualties on the Afghan side forced the invaders to abandon any plan of setting up an empire in India and retreat back to Afghanistan.

Following the battle

To save their kingdom, and in the name of Islam, the Mughals once again changed sides and welcomed the Afghans to Delhi, forgetting that Marathas had just lost 100,000 men and women for their cause. However, the news soon arrived that Marathas had organised another 100,000 men in the south to avenge their loss and to rescue the captured prisoners. He left Delhi two months after the battle, heading for Afghanistan with his loot of 500 elephants, 1500 camels, 50,000 horses and at least about 22,000 women and children.

The Mughals remained in nominal control over small areas of India, but were never a force again. The empire officially ended in 1857 when its last emperor was accused of being involved in the Sepoy Mutiny and exiled.

The Marathas expansion was stopped in the battle, and soon broke into infighting within their empire. They never regained any unity, and were soon under increasing pressure from the British. Their claims to empire were officially ended in 1818.

It is worth noticing the fact the Maratha empire provided the biggest challenge to the moguls in the erstwhile India keeping in check the influence of foreign invaders, forced conversions and oppression of the local people.

Meanwhile the Sikhs, who were left largely untouched by the battle, soon retook Lahore. Although, it should be noted that the Sikh community was under constant persecution from the last half of the 1600s to the first half of 1700s, with prices on the their heads. It was also during this time that they they suffered 2 great massacres, see Guru Gobind Singh, Banda Bahadur and Sikh Confederacy. It should also be noted that the Sikh Misls also rescued a large number of the captured women and children during midnight raids on the Afghan camps (the origin of the ethnic 12 O'clock joke made against Sikhs in India). November 5, 1605 â€” The Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British Parliament. ... Events and trends The Bonneville Slide blocks the Columbia River near the site of present-day Cascade Locks, Oregon with a land bridge 200 feet (60 m) high. ... Sobha Singh (painter)s impression of Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (Gurmukhi:ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਿਬੰਦ ਿਸੰਘ), (Born in Patna, Bihar, India, on 22 December 1666 as Gobind Rai – 7 October 1708, Nanded, Maharashtra, India) was the tenth and last of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on November 11, 1675 following... Banda Bahadur Banda Bahadur is revered as one of Sikhisms greatest warriors as well as one of its most hallowed martyrs. ... The Sikh Confederacy (from 1716-1799) was a collection of small to medium sized political Sikh states, which were governed by barons, in Punjab. ... // Misl (literal meaning: fighting clan or fighting band). ...

This Third Battle of Panipat saw an enormous number of casulties and deaths in a single day of battle, perhaps unmatched even today in the later wars. It was the scene of uncommon valour, unwanted strategic blunders,internal bickerings, murders of prisoners of war, and large scale rapes perpetrated on women.

Descendants of Maratha Prisoners of War and their Modern Political Consequences

The historical record states that a large number of prisoners, mostly female civilians fleeing the battle, were taken as slaves to Afghanistan. It is likely that many of these prisoners died, unaccustomed, as they were, to the climatic conditions of Afghanistan. However, a large portion of people in Maharashtra (a State in India where Maharashtrians live in large numbers) feel that some of the Marathan prisoners could have survived and settled in Afghanistan. They believe even now, after 244 years (circa 2006), that the enslaved descendants of prisoners of war can still be found at least Balochistan in Bugti and Marri tribal areas. Moreover, the belief holds that the Maratha Bugtis and Marri in Balochistan have become a separated social group - perhaps even a dedicated caste - under Islamic rule. This ethnic group would claim descent from Marathas captives of war brought back by members of the Bugti tribe, who served the armies of Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali) after the fateful battle of Panipat. In time these descendents most likely intermarried and converted to Islam, though they were once considered bonded labour and prohibited from buying or owning land. Unsurprisingly, a rumor exists among some Maharashtrians that, till a generation ago, Maratha-descended Bugtis and Marri could be 'bought' for twenty or thirty rupees. Rumors also circulate that, even today, Marathas-descended women living in Balochistan remain "fair game" for Bugtis and Marris. This has raised tensions between the Marathis of India and the of Muslim of Balochistan, making the Panipat War a politically sensitive issue, over 240 years after its conclusion.

The Maratha and Marri Bugtis took jobs as unskilled labourers, which their tribal overlords disdained. Over the years some of them have come to occupy higher positions. However they are still targeted and remain to be rescued. It is interesting to note that this caste-like phenomenon has endured for more than two centuries, even in a region largely devoid of Hindus.

After their defeat at Panipat, many Marathas women & children took refuge with local Sikh & Jat chieftains, possibly intermarrying with their hosts, and converting to Sikhism. It has been noted that women in the family trees of several Sikh families, have Marathi names like Gajanabai, Tukabai or Indumati. This raises the possibility that these women came from Maratha roots. Unfortunately for researchers, after the Partitioning of India, access to the Punjab province of the newly created Pakistan was restricted, and confirmination of any Sikh-Marathas lineage became difficult. Nonetheless, several Jat familes acknowledge about mixing of Maratha lineage, especially those settled around Panipat, Kunjpura & Karnal.

The fate of the descendants of Maratha prisoners taken to Afghanistan remains a poorly-understood to this day, and is likely to remain so for some time. Neither the Maharashtra nation nor Maratha leadership recognise the existence of Maratha descendants in Afganistan, nor is there much support for the rescue of these descendents, if they do indeed exist.

See also

• Ahmed Shah Abdali
• Marathas
• Ranjit Singh
• Mahadji Shinde
• Balaji Baji Rao
• Sadashiv Rao

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shah Abdali (c. ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjabi: ), also called Sher-e-Punjab (The Lion of the Punjab) (1780-1839) was a Sikh ruler of the Punjab. ... Mahadji Sindhia (born 1730-died 1794) was a ruler of Gwalior State in central India. ... Nanasaheb Peshwa (also called Balaji Bajirao )(born ???? - Died 1761) was one of the Peshwa rulers of Pune, India and the most influential person in the development of the city. ...

External links

• http://www.marathapower.com