Govind Ballal Kher (1710 - 17 December 1760), historically known as Govind Pant Bundela, was a

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Peshwas 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 ...

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

during 1733 to 1760. Peshwa

Bajirao Baji Rao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal (Pronunciation: ad͡ʒiɾaːʋ bəlːaːɭ, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul- ...

appointed him his trustee for the 1/3 kingdom rewarded to him by

Maharaja Chhatrasal Chhatrasal Bundela (4 May 1649 – 20 December 1731) was an Indian warrior and ruler from the Bundela Rajput clan, who fought against the Mughal Empire, and established his own kingdom in Bundelkhand during the 17th-18th centuries. Early ...

in Bundelkhand. He ruled the city of

Kalpi Kalpi is a historical city and municipal board in Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is on the right bank of the Yamuna. Once Kalpi was more important Than Orai It is situated 78 kilometres south-west of Kanpur from which it is conn ...

and later it was given as jagir to his descendant Nana Govinda Rao. After this Govind Rao ruled the Jalaun State.

Early life

Govind Pant was born in a

Karhade Brahmin Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Classification Along w ...

family in village ‘Nevare’ in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in or around 1710. His father was

Kulkarni Kulkarni is a family name native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words (''kula'' and ''karni''). ''Kula'' means "family", and ''Karanika'' means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title gi ...

of the village and Govind Pant inherited this post on early death of his father. Being a vagabond, however, he was forced to leave the post and also his native place and was compelled to wander in the search of a job.

Career

In the beginning of his career, he worked under the established Maratha Generals of North India

Malharrao Holkar Malhar Rao Holkar (16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766) was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the es ...

and Antaji Mankeshwar Gandhe and got good experience of guerilla war and administration. On recommendation by the Deshastha Brahmin Antaji, Bajirao Peshwa assigned some jobs to Govind Pant and found him extremely useful. Soon he became Bajirao’s one of the most favorite. When Bajirao got Bundelkhand from

in 1733, he appointed Govindpant as his Administrator and

Power of attorney A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...

for this newly annexed land. He was always known to be the greatest ‘

Fund raiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

’ of 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 ...

Contribution to the Battle of Panipat

Govind Pant did his best to help the

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...

army under the leadership of

Sadashivrao Bhau Sadashivrao Bhau Peshwa (3 August 1730 – 14 January 1761) was son of Chimaji Appa (younger brother of Bajirao I) and Rakhmabai (Pethe family) and the nephew of Baji Rao I. He was a finance minister during the reign of Maratha emperor Chhatr ...

during Battle of Panipat. He himself had trapped

Ahmed Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

in the region between

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

(termed as ''Duab'') and had made him totally helpless. But when he got the opportunity he delivered a considerable amount at Delhi to Naro Shankar and started attacking the supplies of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Unfortunately however, a sheer misunderstanding led him to lose his life in an unexpected tussle with the troops under Abdali’s General Ataikhan.

Controversy

Veteran historian

V K Rajwade Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade (12 July 1863 – 31 December 1926), popularly known as ''Itihasacharya'' Rajwade, was a historian, scholar, writer, commentator and orator from Maharashtra, India. He is considered to be the first in real sense to und ...

holds Govind Pant responsible for the defeat of

Marathas The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

in the Third Battle of Panipat. Also he does not consider him as a man of importance. Moreover, he accuses him to be always corrupt. Whereas according to Shuresh Sharma, "It was Balaji Bajirao's love of pleasure which was responsible for loss in Panipat. He delayed at Paithan celebrating his second marriage until December 27, when it was too late."

References

* ‘Marathi Riyasat Volume I’ (

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

) by

Govind Sakharam Sardesai Govind Sakharam Sardesai (17 May 1865 – 29 November 1959), popularly known as ''Riyasatkar Sardesai'', was a historian from Maharashtra, India. Through his ''Riyasats'' written in Marathi, Sardesai presented an account of over 1,000 years ...

* ‘Peshwyanchi Bakhar’ (Marathi) Editorial Notes by R.V.Herwadkar * ‘Bhausahebachi Bakhar’ (Marathi) Editorial Notes by R.V.Herwadkar * 'Aitihasik Prastavana' (Marathi) by

* 'Third Battle of Panipat' by Abhas Verma Bharatiya Kala Prakashan {{DEFAULTSORT:Bundele, Govind Pant People from Maharashtra Year of birth uncertain People from Ratnagiri district People from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 1761 deaths