| Product
Code |
: |
PUD NO_818-1 AE |
| Subject | : | Pindaree & Mahratta Confederacy Defeated |
| Size | : | 41 mm |
| Metal | : | Copper |
| Year | : | 1818 |
| Description | : | obv. Head of Hastings, left. Encircled by : MARQUIS OF HASTINGS K:G: GOVR GENL OF INDIA. Signed : MODELLED BY P. ROUW. / W. WYON. F:, rev. Goddess Victory in a chariot drawn by two winged lions, right. Above in two lines : PINDAREE & MAHRATTA CONFEDERACY / DEFEATED 1818. In exergue : a trophy of arms. Signed : MUDIE. D:W:WYON:S.
The Pindaris were armed predatory hordes, composed of cast-offs from the Moghul and Maratha armies and outlaws. They gathered around strong leaders showing skill in warfare and inhabiting central India, with strongholds in the area of Malwa. They became a regular feature of Maratha armies under Peshwa Baji Rao and gained strength during the Maratha decline through the first and second Maratha wars. In 1776, the Pindaris’ ranks had swelled to 60,000. They were involved in their form of brigandage, from Surat on the west coast to Cuttack on the east, and roamed far to the north and south. Baji Rao was intriguing again and attempting to rally the main Maratha chiefs : Sindhia, Bhonsle and Holkar. The Governor-General, Hastings, decided the Pindaris had gone too far and mobilized a force of more than 100,000 men and 300 guns. He would surround them; north and east from Bengal, west from Gujarat, south from the Deccan. He was remarkably successful and not one of the major Pindaris chiefs or his followers escaped. The operations lasted over a year and the Pindaris were virtually annihilated. At the same time, the Peshwa was up to his usual machinations. He accepted the offer of a British treaty while secretly preparing for war. The end result was his being deposed, exiled to Bithur and given a Company pension. |
