Maratha invasions of Bengal

After the ascension of Alivardi Khan as the Nawab of Bengal, the provincial governor of Orissa, Lutfullah Tabrizi Rustam Jung, more commonly known as Murshid Quli II, revolted against him. The revolt was crushed by Alivardi in March 1741, but Murshid Quli II escaped with his family and took shelter of Raghuji Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur. Raghuji agreed to assist Murshid Quli II in regaining Orissa. Murshid Quli II's son-in-law Mirza Baker, assisted by Maratha troops and the rebel forces of Orissa (who were dissatisfied with the governor of Orissa), invaded Orissa in August 1741. Orissa's governor, Syed Ahmed Khan (a nephew of Alivardi Khan), was defeated and captured along with his family.[3]

Hearing of this, Alivardi rushed to Orissa and Alivardi's commander Mir Jafar freed Syed Ahmed and his family.[3] Alivardi regained control of Orissa and returned to Murshidabad. The Marathas retook Orissa in 1749.

There were a total of five invasions between 1742 and 1751.[15] According to the 18th-century Bengali text Maharashtra Purana written by Gangaram, the Hindu Maratha warriors invaded and occupied western Bengal up to the Hooghly River.[16] During that period of invasion by the Marathas, warriors called as "Bargis", perpetrated atrocities against the local population of Bengalis and Biharis. As reported in Burdwan Kingdom's and European sources, the Bargis are said to have plundered villages.[15] Jan Kersseboom, chief of the Dutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that perhaps 400,000 civilians in Western Bengal and Bihar died in the overall conflict. However, this claim has been widely disputed.[17][9] Contemporary accounts of the invasions report mass gang rape against women,[18][19][20][21] and mutilation of victims by the Marathas which included cutting off their hands and noses.[22] Many of the Bengalis in western Bengal also fled to take shelter in East Bengal, fearing for their lives in the wake of the Maratha attacks.[23] Zamindars outside the affected districts and also from the districts that involved this conflict were affected by the Maratha raids.[24]

They shouted over and over again, 'Give us money', and when they got no money they filled peoples' nostrils with water, and some they seized and drowned in tanks, and many died of suffocation. In this way they did all manner of foul and evil deeds. When they demanded money and it was not given to them, they would put the man to death. Those who had money gave it, those who had none were killed.

The Bargi atrocities were corroborated by contemporary Dutch and British accounts.[25][17] The atrocities devastated Bengal's economy, as many of the people killed in the Bargi raids included merchants, textile weavers,[17] silk winders, and mulberry cultivators.[9] The Cossimbazar factory reported in 1742, for example, that the Bargis burnt down many of the houses where silk piece goods were made, along with weavers' looms.[17]

Baneswar Vidyalankar's text Chitrachampu attributed the victories of the Marathas to "the wonderfully fast horses they ride." Bharatchandra's Annadamangal attributed the attacks to a particular communal factor which was the destruction of temples at Bhubaneswar by Alivardi's soldiers.[26]

The further attacks took place in 1748 in Bihar, on Murshidabad in 1750, and in 1751 in Western Bengal.[27]

The internal fights within the Alivardi Khan's military also contributed to their losses. For example, in 1748 Pathan soldiers rebelled and seized Patna which they controlled for some time. Another example is the faujdar of Purnea who departed from Alivardi and created a small autonomous state.[28] Apart from territorial losses, the Nawab of Bengal also suffered severe economic losses. Industries such as agriculture and trade were dislocated and a large number of people migrated from Western Bengal to the Northern and Eastern districts.[29]

• Ivermee, Robert (2020). Hooghly: The Global History of a River. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-78738-325-8.
• Haque, Mohammed Anwarul (1980). Muslim Administration in Orissa, 1568-1751 A.D. Punthi Pustak.