Scindias of Gwalior

Contents: Preface. 1. Shindeshahi befores 1761 A.D. 2. The rise of the Peshwas in the Maratha Confederacy and expansion of the Maratha power. 3. The battle of Panipat and its aftermath. 4. Succession of Mahadji to the Sardari of Shinde Jagir. 5. Mahadjis work in Northern India in compliance with the wishes of the Poona authority 1762-1773. 6. Mahadji and the Poona Durbar upto the treaty of Salbai, 1782. 7. Consolidation of Mahadjis power in Northern India. 8. Mahadji at Poona. 9. Mahadji and the Maratha confederacy. 10. Maratha conglomeration and Maratha ideals of the welfare state. 11. Marathas, Hindutwa and Hindwi Swarajya. Index. The emergence of Shindeshahi is narrated in detail in this book, particularly the activities of Mahadji, his prominence strength and sway over the large territory in the declining period of Maratha rule. The rise of a petty Patel of a village and later a Bargeer the lowest rank in the Maratha army becoming a central power and an ally of the British is described on the basis of contemporary and original sources. The Scindias and other Maratha sardars betrayed the trust reposed on them by the Maratha ruler and the Peshwa. Being the last great Maratha chief, Mahadji was legally and morally bound to fulfill the dream of the founder of the Maratha Kingdom. The reasons for the Maratha chief's failure to achieve the goal of establishing Hindwi swarajya are many. The advent of the superior British power, the love of wealth, principalities the existence of a supreme command in the Maratha Mandal and mutual jealousies due to caste distinctions are delineated as some of the causes of the failure of Maratha power. This book makes an attempt to analyse the basic aim of the founder of the Maratha Kingdom and the reasons for the failure of his successors. (jacket)