पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

54 PANIPAT 1761 first taking the offensive himself His difficulties at Delhi obliged him to take this decision which was urged on him by all and sundry in the Maratha camp Before he could continue his march, Bhau thought it wise to make a political move to counteract the anti Maratha propaganda of Najib and men of his ilk He had already estranged Wazir Ghazi ud din and his supporter Surajmal Jat by his non committal attitude towards their aspirations and de signs All his approaches to Shuja had proved futile It became necessary for him now to give a demonstrable proof of his ultimate intentions So, setting aside the boy Emperor, Shah Jahan III (elevated to that dignity by Ghazi ud din after the murder of Alamgir II in the previous year), Bhau proclaimed the wandering Prince Ali Gauhar as Emperor with the title of Shah Alam II In his unavoidable absence his son Prince Javan Bakht, residing at Delhi, was installed as Vali Ahad or Crown Prince and Vicar of the absentee Emperor on 10th October 1760 ⁷ Mints struck new coins in the new Emperor's name, and his seals were also prepared and brought into use The ceremonies and proces- sions connected with these acts were seen through by Nana Purandare and Satvoji Jadhavrao, who had been specially deputed by Bhau for the purpose while encamped at Lalera, three miles to the south of Gannaur⁸ while on his way to Kunjpura The office of the Wazir is said to have been conferred on Shuja in absent a, but there is no mention of this fact in Marathi corre- spondence and hence seems improbable The details of this occurrence in Delhi throw a flood of light on Maratha manners in politics The puppet Emperor, Shah Jahan, was politely asked to vacate his seat as his days were over This was perhaps the first time in Mughal history when an emperor had been set aside without violence to his person The Prince Javan Bakht was escorted to the Juma Masjid by Bapuji Hingne, the Maratha envoy, who sat with the prince on the elephant, while Satvoji stood behind with peacock feathers, a sign of royal insignia, in his hand The ex Empress Zinat Mahal, the grand mother of the prince, was civilly asked to pay 25 lakhs from her privy purse for the expenses, but she paid only 5 lakhs The Marathas never set their hands on the persons of the royal household to get money, like the Afghans of Abdali or the Persians of Nadir Shah The grateful ex Empress took it upon herself to inform Abdali of these proceedings and tried her best to bring about a settlement between him and the Marathas, by forwarding the Maratha draft treaty to him with her recommendations and consent The good result of this action was seen in the satisfaction of Surajmal who was now convinced of the Maratha intentions and henceforward helped the Marathas, though he could not join them with his army The Afghan rule in the Panjab was challenged by the rebellious Sikhs who wholeheartedly came over to the Maratha side They proclaimed Bhau Sahib as the coming ruler with a beat of drums, and devoutly prayed for his victory in Lahore They beseeched their Guru Sahib to punish Abdali for his misdeeds Khwajah Mirza Khan, the son in law of Adina Beg, with the Maratha troops under Krishnaji Pawar stationed at Jammu, invaded Gujrat ⁷ Raj 1.259, Parasnis' Persian Akhbars (unpublished) ⁸ Ibid 1.259