HPB-Caves-9: Difference between revisions

We saw Logarh<ref>Here, apparently, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohagad Lohagad] ("Iron Fort") is meant – a mountain fortress in the state of Maharashtra near Pune, which Shivaji captured in 1648, then was forced to cede to the Mughal Empire in 1665 according to a peace treaty, and captured again five years later in 1670. The city of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohgarh_(Bilaspur) Lohgarh], which was at one time (1710-1716) the capital of the Sikhs, is located in northern India at the foot of the Himalayas, where the Maratha Empire expanded much later. – Ed.</ref>, a fortress which was captured by Shivaji from the Moguls in 1670, and the ruins of the hall, where the widow of Nana Phadnavis<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_Fadnavis Nana Phadnavis] [1742-1800] was the influential minister during the Peshwa administration of young Madhavrao, whom he held so sternly in hand that he, after publicly receiving a reprimand from him, on the morning of October 26, 1796, threw himself down from the terrace of his castle, in Pune, and died.</ref>, under the pretext of an English protectorate, became ''de facto'' the captive of General Wellesley<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wellesley,_1st_Marquess_Wellesley Richard Colley Wellesley], 1st Marquess Wellesley of Norragh (1760-1842) was the 6^th Governor-General of India (1797-1805). – Ed. </ref> in 1804, with a yearly pension of 12,000 rupees. We then started for the village of Vadgaon, once fortified and still very rich. We were to spend the hottest hours of the day there (from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon) and proceed afterwards to the historical caves of Birsa and Badjah, about three miles [4,83&nbsp;km] from Karli.

Vadgaon<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vadgaon_Maval Vadgaon] (formerly spelled Wadgaon or Wargaum) is a town in Pune district of Maharashtra state. – Ed.</ref> is famous for two shameful for the English events. Quite a mighty army was beaten there by a handful of the Marathas on the 12th and 13th of January 1779. Then Bombay Governor, Hornby, conspired with the former Peshwa<ref>The ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshwa Peshwa]'' was the appointed (and later hereditary) Prime Minister of the Maratha Empire. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, under the Bhat family, they became the ''de facto'' leaders of the Maratha Confederacy with the Chhatrapati becoming a nominal ruler. – Ed.</ref>, Raghunath Rao<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghunath_Rao Raghunath Rao] (1734-1783) was the 11th Peshwa in 1773-1774, but as a result of the coup organized by Nana Phadnavis, he was banished and entered into an agreement with the British East India Company for help in returning the throne in exchange for concessions. – Ed.</ref>, to confirm him as a Regent in Pune with four thousand soldiers, of whom 600 were the Anglo-Indians, sent to bring into force the Treaty of the President of the Council, Carnac<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carnac John Carnac] (1716-1800) was a British officer who served three times as Commander-in-Chief of India and was dismissed from the East India Company bacause of the named Convention of Wadgaon in 1779. – Ed.</ref>, who has disgraced his country and the honour of the East India Company, betraying both the Regent and his government. Being afraid of a small army of the Marathas, under the command of Nana Pharnavis, Shinde and Tokaji Holkar, Carnac first ordered to retreat, and then went in with a triumphant Marathas in the shameful deal, betraying Peshwa by this deal and was preparing to betray his new allies. Surrounded by the enemy, Carnac threw guns, ammunition into the lake, and ordered the people to ''flee'' even before the battle, leaving rearguard to the mercy of the attacking Marathas: 15 English officers were killed that day. Colonel Cockburn, deciding that the battle was lost and they themselves were in enemy’s hands, first advised Carnac to surrender. Then, Carnac sent an officer to surrender, and according to Grant Duff (''Marattas'', Vol. II, p. 363)<ref>''[http://www.ibiblio.org/britishraj/Duff.html A History of the Marattas]'' by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Grant_Duff James Grant Duff], in three volumes, 1826. – Ed.</ref> “was not ashamed to send Bombay Governor a letter which consoled him that all the concessions and promises made that day to the Marathas was made with ''the secret agreement among the English not to carry them out''. So as soon as the valiant Committee of diplomats crossed the mountains and found themselves in security, all the promises that the Marathas believed without hesitation, immediately flew to the wind. The auxiliary army being nearly stopped was called from Bengal; Shinde had not received a penny of the promised amount, and many of the hostages were put to death. The people of “the highest chosen race” once again proved the superiority of their civilized notions of honour over the prejudice of brown “savages.”<ref>One of the last in this kind of political and diplomatic tricks, but one of the most nefarious, a betrayal of the Judas kind was done by our friends the Anglo-Indians in 1857, during the rebellion. Of all independent and dangerous for them princes, Maharaja Shinde remained the most loyal and faithful to the English. They wanted – for their security from the sepoys of Shinde, whom he with difficulty restrained – a fortress renowned for its firmness and impregnability, and which was located on the mountain almost directly above the Maharaja's Palace. The English never managed to take the fortress, and even did not try. Using the favour of Shinde and his sincere desire to help his ''allies'', they tried to get the fortress out of him ''for a while'', sworn on their ''honour'' to leave it immediately after the suppression of the rebellion. Shinde was a true Maratha, that is hard and unforgiving with an enemy, but ready to sacrifice his life in order to keep his word given to a friend or an ally. He agreed. The English took possession of the famous fortress, into which they were introduced by Maharaja himself: the rebellion was pacified, and after a year he began to ask the government to give him the castle back. But now 22 years have passed, and the English, under various pretexts, still “have not handed over the apartment,” from which it is very convenient to observe their helpful ''ally''. Now, as it is known, they even are plotting to destroy the army of Shinde.</ref>