Shrimant Daulat Rao Shinde (also Sindhia; 1779 – 21 March 1827) was the
Maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...
(ruler) of
Gwalior state
Gwalior state was a semi-autonomous Maratha state. It was centred in modern-day Madhya Pradesh, arising due to the rise of the Maratha Empire and fragmentation of the Mughal Empire.
It was ruled by the Scindia, House of Scindia (anglicized fro ...
in central
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
from 1794 until his death in 1827. His reign coincided with struggles for supremacy within the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...
, and wars with the expanding
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
. Daulatrao played a significant role in the
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...
and
Third Anglo-Maratha war
The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...
s.
Ascent of Scindias
Daulatrao was a member of the
Sindhia dynasty, and succeeded to the Gwalior throne on 12 February 1794 at the age of 15, upon the death of Maharaja
Mahadji Shinde (Mahadji left no heir, and Daulatrao was a grandson of his elder brother
Tukoji Rao Scindia
Tukoji Rao Scindia (after 1727 - 14 January 1761) aka Baba Sahib was the fourth son of Ranoji Rao Scindia and elder brother of Mahadaji Scindia. He was killed at the Third Battle of Panipat, 14 January 1761. He was also father of Kadarji Rao ...
, who was killed in the
Third Battle of Panipat, 7 January 1761). Daulatrao was recognised and formally installed by the Satara Chhatrapati and Peshwa, 3 March 1794, and conferred the titles of Naib Vakil-i-Mutlaq (Deputy Regent of the Empire), Amir-al-Umara (Head of the Amirs) from Emperor
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II (; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar (or Ali Gauhar), was the seventeenth Mughal Emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal empire. His po ...
on 10 May 1794.
Gwalior state was part of the Maratha Empire, which was founded by
Shivaji
Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...
in the 17th century. ''De facto'' control of the empire passed from Shivaji's successors to the hereditary chief ministers of the Empire, entitled ''
peshwa
The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...
s'' and the empire expanded greatly in the 18th century at the expense of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. 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. Daulatrao's ancestor
Ranoji Sindhia
Ranoji Shinde the founder of the Scindia dynasty from maratha caste that produced outstanding Maratha military commanders during the 18th century. Later the Scindia served as vassals of the British from the northern Princely state of Gwalior.
...
had conquered territories in the
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also sy ...
and
Gird regions from the Mughals, eventually establishing a state which was initially based at
Ujjain
Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Uj ...
, but was named after the strategic fortress of
Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...
. His wife
Baiza Bai was a powerful and an intelligent lady of her time. She played an important role in the affairs of the Gwalior state.
The Maratha defeat at the
Third Battle of Panipat checked the Maratha expansion towards the Northwest, 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
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
, the Sindhias of Gwalior, the
Holkar
The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the M ...
s of
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...
, the
Pawars of
Dhar
Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dh ...
and
Dewas
Dewas is a city in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The municipality was formerly the seat of two 15-Gun Salute state princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas Senior state, ruled by the Pu ...
, the
Bhonsle
The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen.
History Earliest members
The earliest ...
s of
Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...
and the
Gaekwads of
Baroda
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
.
Daulatrao's predecessor Mahadji Shinde had, in the aftermath of Panipat, turned Gwalior into a chief military power of the empire, developing a well-trained modern army under the command of
Benoît de Boigne. Daulatrao therefore looked upon himself less as a member of the Maratha Empire and more as the chief sovereign in India.
Scindia-Holkar Confrontation
At this time the death of the young Peshwa,
Madhavrao II (1795), and the troubles which it occasioned, the demise of
Tukojirao Holkar
Tukoji Rao Holkar (26 June 1723 – 15 August 1797), belonging to the Holkar clan of the Marathas was the feudatory of Indore (r. 1795–1797). Tukoji Holkar was the adopted son of Malhar Rao Holkar, he was the second son of Shrimant Tan ...
and the rise of the turbulent
Yashwantrao 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 Sarjerao Ghatge, a dubious character from Maratha point of view, 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
Ponwar
Parmar is a Rajput clan found in Northern and Central India, especially in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Kutch, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and North Maharashtra.
See also
* Paramara Dynasty
* Panwar Dynasty
* Pawar
* Panw ...
s of
Dhar
Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dh ...
and
Dewas
Dewas is a city in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The municipality was formerly the seat of two 15-Gun Salute state princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas Senior state, ruled by the Pu ...
. The rising power of
Yashwantrao Holkar of
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...
, however, alarmed him. In July 1801, Yashwantrao 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, Sarjerao Ghatge took revenge by sacking Indore, razing it almost to the ground, and practicing every form of atrocity on its inhabitants.
Then, in 1802, on the festival of Diwali,
Yashwantrao Holkar defeated the combined armies of
Scindia and Peshwa
Bajirao II
Shrimant Peshwa Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted hi ...
at Hadapsar, near Pune. The battle took place at Ghorpadi, Banwadi, and Hadapsar. 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.
Benoît de Boigne had retired as commander of Gwalior's army in 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.
Scindia-British treaty
Finally, on 31 December 1802, the Peshwa signed the
Treaty of Bassein, by which the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
was 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 in both western and northern India was brought down by major defeats at
Ahmadnagar,
Assaye
Assaye is a small village in the Jalna district of the state of Maharashtra in western India. The village was the location of the Battle of Assaye in 1803, fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company
The East Indi ...
,
Argaon,
Asirgarh and
Laswari
The Battle of Laswari took place on 1 November 1803 near Laswari village, Alwar. It was part of the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
The British under Gerard Lake were anxious to finish the war by neutralizing the last substantial force that the Marat ...
. On 30 December 1803, he signed the
Treaty of Surji Anjangaon, by which he was obliged to give up his possessions between the Yamuna and the Ganges, South Haryana, 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 Surji 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
The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central and Northern India, and thus forms part of the greater Gangetic drainage system. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a time through Rajasthan t ...
was made the northern boundary of the state, while certain claims on Rajput states were abolished, the Company administration at the same time binding itself to enter into no treaties with
Udaipur
Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic ...
,
Jodhpur
Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...
,
Kotah
Kota (), previously known as ''Kotah'', is a city located in the southeast of northern Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located about south of the state capital, Jaipur, situated on the banks of Chambal River. With a population of over 1.2 m ...
, or any chief tributary to Sindhia in
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also sy ...
,
Mewar
Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and ...
, or
Marwar
Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tra ...
.
In 1811, Shrimant Daulat Rao conquered the neighboring kingdom of
Chanderi
Chanderi, is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of the state Madhya Pradesh in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri, 37 km from Lalitpur, 55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 46 km fr ...
. 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
Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "' ...
and other lands being ceded.
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.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scindia, Daulat
Daulat
Daulat may refer to:
* Daulat (painter), Mughal painter
* ''Daulat'' (1949 film)
* ''Daulat'' (1982 film)
* ''Daulat'' (2020 film)
*Daulat Beg Oldi, Indian military base in Ladakh
People with the given name
*Daulat Khan Lodi, 16th-century governo ...
1779 births
1827 deaths
People of the Second Anglo-Maratha War