Capture of Delhi (1771)

The Capture of Delhi was a battle in 1771 when the forces of the Maratha Empire led by Mahadaji Shinde captured Delhi along with the Red Fort, and gave Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II the throne back with a treaty.[1] The Marathas captured Delhi from Najib Khan's son Zabita Khan who was put in charge by the Afghans. With this capture, the Marathas regained their lost supremacy in North India after the Third Battle of Panipat and conquered much of the lost territories which they lost after the Third Battle of Panipat.[2]

Capture of Delhi
Date1771
Location
Delhi
Result Maratha victory
Belligerents
Maratha Empire Kingdom of Rohilkhand
Commanders and leaders
Mahadji Shinde
Ramchandra Ganesh Kanade
Visaji Krushna Biniwale
Tukoji Rao Holkar		 Zabita Khan

In the Third Battle of Panipat, the Maratha Empire suffered a serious blow at the hands of the Muslim axis of the Durrani Empire, the Nawab of Awadh, and the Kingdom of Rohilkhand under Najib ad-Dawlah. After the death of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao Bhat, Madhavrao I became Peshwa under the regency of Raghunathrao Bhat. Mahadji Shinde's victory over the Jats of Mathura, Rajputs of Rajasthan and Pashtun-Rohillas of Rohilkhand (in the western part of present-day Uttar Pradesh state) re-established the Marathas in the northern India.[3]

Aftermath

After taking control of Delhi, Marathas sent a large army in 1772 to "punish" the Afghan Rohillas for siding with the Durrani Empire at Panipat a decade ago. The Maratha Army devastated Rohilkhand by looting and plundering and also took the members of royal family as captives. Maratha general Mahadaji was “very much pleased with the revenge taken by his men” for Panipat.[4] Najib Khan's son and Nawab of Rohilkhand Zabita Khan was defeated by the Marathas, led by Mahadaji Sindhia alias Shinde in 1772 and the fort of Pathargarh (Najibabad) was completely looted by the Marathas in the form of horses, elephants, guns and other valuable things, to avenge the deaths of Maratha warriors who fell in the battle of Delhi and Panipat. The Marathas also destroyed grave of Najib, scattering his bones all around.[5]

References
  1. Rathod, N. G. (26 June 1994). The Great Maratha Mahadaji Scindia. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788185431529 – via Google Books.
  2. Stewart Gordon (2003). New Cambridge History of India: The Marathas (Vol. 2, Part 4) (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139055666.
  3. Bhatia, Harbans Singh (2001). Mahrattas, Sikhs and Southern Sultans of India: Their Fight Against Foreign Power (Reprint ed.). New Delhi: Deep & Deep. ISBN 978-81-7100-369-3.
  4. The Great Maratha Mahadaji Scindia p. 9
  5. Rathod, N. G. (1994). The Great Maratha Mahadaji Scindia. ISBN 9788185431529.
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