पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

112 PANIPAT: 1761 miss an unwanted officer or to replace him by a better one. If Govind- pant did not prove serviceable enough during the Panipat campaign, the result must be attributed to the defective system and not to the individual. But supposing that Govindpant did not send the funds to Bhau even though he did possess them, his non-compliance had little to do with the military side in the Panipat affair. Ample funds in the hands of Bhau at Panipat would not have brought him the necessary supplies which depended solely on the military strength to fetch them. Even Bhau, writing to his son after Govind- pant's death, is not found speaking anything against him. The Peshwa heard the news of Govindpant's death after his crossing the Narmada in January 1761. Writing a letter⁸b of condolence to his son, the Peshwa eulogised his faithful services unto death, a befitting end to a long life of faithful serv- ice. The Peshwa wanted to treat the sons of Govindpant as children in his own family. This shows that the Peshwa had no information or suspicion of Govindpant's dereliction in the Panipat camgaign. Balkrishna Dikshit, writing from Benares about Govindpant's end, remarked,⁸c "A great man has passed away." Thus it would seem that contemporary opinion did not condemn Govindpant. It was only when survivors from Panipat, who wished to absolve themselves from all blame, began to put the whole responsi- bility on those who had died, that Govindpant came in for his share in the condemnation along with Bhau and Balvantrao. The Bhau Bakhar puts the whole affair in such a dramatic form as to lead to the inevitable disaster. It has made Govindpant a friend of Najib Khan⁹ from the beginning of the campaign, where he is shown as an accessory of Malharrao in shielding Najib against Dattaji Shinde's wrath! Govindpant is the agent who made Dattaji accept Najib's treacherous proposal of building a bridge over the Ganges, so as to de- lay the affair till the arrival of Abdali! Later on, Govindpant is represented as having refrained from attacking Najib's family and treasure in his trans- Ganges raid by accepting five lakhs as a bribe. Ultimately Govindpant is killed, according to the Bakhar, not by Atai Khan, but by Najib's Ruhelas! Now from what we know of Govindpant's relations with the Shinde family from the very beginning, it cannot be imagined that he would do anything of the kind, especially against the Shindes. There is positive proof in his letters to Ramaji Anant, the Diwan of the Shindes, that Govindpant favoured Jayapa Shinde in preference and perhaps as against Malharrao Holkar.¹⁰ In Dattaji's cam- paign against Najib, Govindpant is throughout acting under his orders. He