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Bargis were a light cavalry mercenary group of Maratha Empire's who indulged in large scale plundering of the countryside of western part of the Bengal Subah for about ten years (1741–1751) during the Maratha invasions of Bengal. Maratha invasions took place almost as an annual event for 10 years.

Etymology

According to historians the term bargi (or in Common Bengali "borgi") comes from the Hindustani word bargir, which described cavalry whose equipment and horses were provided by the government. The bargi were distinct from the shiledars, who owned their equipment and horses. Bargi are also known as Jogi or Gosain in Eastern Bundelkhand region.

History

Alivardi Khan became Nawab of Bengal in April 1740 by defeating and killing Sarfaraz Khan. His seizure of power was challenged by Sarfaraz Khan's brother-in-law Rustam Jung, who enlisted the backing of Raghoji I Bhonsle, the Maratha King of Nagpur. Historians writes that in the ensuing campaign, the Marathas "discovered the Bengal's rich countryside through lightning raids". Maratha cavalry pillaged the army of the Nawab on being requested by Rustam Jung. In April 1742, they crossed the Damodar River at Panchet and began plundering and burning the army of the Nawab. The Maratha Ditch was built by the British East India Company around Fort William to protect the city of Calcutta from the ruthless Bargi raids.

For about ten years, the Bargis raided and plundered the army of the Nawab, every year. Contemporary sources describe the ineffectiveness of the Nawab's army in the face of the Bargis' hit-and-run tactics. The raiders' aim was not battle or conquest, but to plunder the Nawab's territories.

Alivardi's soldiers could not match the Maratha horsemen in speed and maneuverability. Only the Ganges-Bhagirathi river line restrained them. They crossed it to raid eastern Bengal only a few times.

The Bargi invasions ended in May 1751 when the Nawab and the Marathas made peace.

The Bargi remained in the cultural memory of the Bengali people in the form of songs and poems. One traditional lullaby "Child sleeps, Neighbourhood sleeps" ("Khoka ghumalo, para juralo"), translated, reads:

When the children fall asleep, silence sets in, the bargis come to our lands
Bulbuls have eaten the grains, how shall I pay the khajna (tax)?

Atrocities

The Hindu Maratha soldiers invaded and occupied western Bengal up to the Hooghly River. During that period of invasion by the Marathas, mercenaries called as "bargis", perpetrated atrocities against the local population, against Bengali Hindus and Biharis. As reported in Burdwan Estate's and European sources, the Bargis are said to have plundered villages, and Jan Kersseboom, chief of the Dutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that perhaps 400,000 civilians in Western Bengal and Bihar were dead owing to the invasion of Bargis. The resulting casualties of Bargi onslaught against in Bengal are considered to be among the deadliest massacres in Indian history. According to the 18th-century Bengali text Maharashtra Purana written by Gangaram:

They shouted over and over again, 'Give us money', and when they got no money they filled peoples' nostrils with water, and some they seized and drowned in tanks, and many died of suffocation. In this way they did all manner of foul and evil deeds. When they demanded money and it was not given to them, they would put the man to death. Those who had money gave it, those who had none were killed.

According to the Bengali text Maharashtra Purana:

Durga ordered her followers to be gracious to the Muslim Nawab and oppose the Marathas, because the evil-minded ones had killed Brahmans and Vaisnavas.

This devastated Bengal's economy, as many of the people killed in the Bargi raids included merchants, textile weavers, silk winders, and mulberry cultivators. The Cossimbazar factory reported in 1742, for example, that the Bargis burnt down many of the houses where silk piece goods were made, along with weavers' looms.

British historian Robert Orme reported that the Marathas caused so much distress to the local population that many of them "were continually taking flight" in large numbers to Calcutta whenever they heard rumours of the Marathas coming. Many of the Bengali Hindus in western Bengal also fled to take shelter in eastern Bengal, fearing for their lives in the wake of the Maratha attacks.

The further attacks took place in 1748 in Bihar, on Murshidabad in 1750, and in 1751 in Western Bengal.

The internal fights within the Alivardi Khan's military also contributed to their losses. For example, in 1748 Pathan soldiers rebelled and seized Patna which they controlled for some time. Another example is the Faujdar of Purnea who departed from Alivardi and created a small autonomous state. Apart from territorial losses, the Nawab of Bengal also suffered severe economic losses. Industries such as agriculture and trade were dislocated and a large number of people migrated from Western Bengal to Northern and Eastern districts.

See also

• Maratha Ditch
• Bengal Subah
• Pindari

References

1. Sengupta, Nitish (2001). History of the Bengali-speaking People. UBS Publishers' Distributors. p. 137. ISBN 978-81-7476-355-6. This is a popular corruption of a Maratha word bargi, which meant horsemen who were provided with horses and arms by the Maratha state in contrast to siladars who provided their own horses and arms.
2. Shah, Mohammad (2012). "Alivardi Khan". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
3. ^ Sengupta, Nitish (2001). History of the Bengali-speaking People. UBS Publishers' Distributors. p. 132. ISBN 978-81-7476-355-6. Within a few months of his accession by the power of sword ... his rule was challenged by Rustam Jung ... Jung sought the help of Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur ... having once discovered how easy it was to plunder Bengal's rich countryside through lightning raids, the Marathas were tempted to invade Bengal again and again ... Maratha cavalry under Bhaskar Pandit was sent to Bengal by the Bhonsle ruler of Nagpur. It entered Burdwan through Panchet and started looting ... For about 10 years ... Maratha horsemen would appear every year, plundering the whole territory west of the Hooghly river.
4. Shah, Mohammad (2012). "Maratha Raids". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
5. Borden, Iain; Kerr, Joe; Pivaro, Alicia; Rendell, Jane (2002). The Unknown City: Contesting Architecture and Social Space. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-52335-6.
6. foundation, Temple of India (10 August 2018). Bengal – India's Rebellious Spirit. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64324-746-5.
7. Acworth, Harry Arbuthnot (1894). Ballads of Marathas. Longmans, Green, and Company.
8. Cooper, Randolf G. S. (2003). The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns and the Contest for India: The Struggle for Control of the South Asian Military Economy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82444-6.
9. Sengupta, Nitish (2001). History of the Bengali-speaking People. UBS Publishers' Distributors. p. 133. ISBN 978-81-7476-355-6. Contemporary chroniclers also left vivid descriptions of the bargi terror, their hit-and-run tactics and the helplessness of the nawab's army in effectively checking them in the face of their unwillingness to be engaged in pitched battles ... soldiers were unable to move fast and keep pace with the speed and easy maneuverability of the Maratha horsemen ... their object was not occupation but plundering ... Only the Ganga-Bhagirath river-line proved an effective barrier to their movement. They crossed over to the eastern side only on a few occasions.
10. Sengupta, Nitish (2001). History of the Bengali-speaking People. UBS Publishers' Distributors. p. 135. ISBN 978-81-7476-355-6. The nearly 10 year period of Maratha invasion came to an end only in May 1751 when the Marathas and the nawab entered into a peace treaty
11. ^ Ahmed, Wakil (2012). "Folk Literature". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
12. ^ P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740–1828. Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780521028226.
13. ^ C. C. Davies (1957). "Chapter XXIII: Rivalries in India". In J. O. Lindsay (ed.). The New Cambridge Modern History. Vol. VII: The Old Regime 1713–63. Cambridge University Press. p. 555. ISBN 978-0-521-04545-2.
14. ^ P. J. Marshall (2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740–1828. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780521028226.
15. ^ Kirti N. Chaudhuri (2006). The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company: 1660–1760. Cambridge University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780521031592.
16. Aklam Hussain (1997). History of Bangladesh, 1704-1971. Vol. 2. University of Michigan, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. p. 80. ISBN 9789845123372.
17. Habib, I.; Panikkar, K.N.; Byres, T.J.; Patnaik, U. (2002). The Making of History: Essays Presented to Irfan Habib. Anthem South Asian studies. Anthem Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-84331-038-9.
18. Markovits, C. (2004). A History of Modern India, 1480–1950. Anthem South Asian Studies. Anthem Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-84331-152-2. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
19. Mahajan, VD (2020). Modern Indian History. S. Chand Limited. p. 42. ISBN 978-93-5283-619-2. However, the Marathas were the greatest menace to Ali Vardi Khan. There were as many as five Maratha invasions in 1742, 1743, 1744, 1745 and 1748.

• Bengal Subah
• Dhangar
• Looting in India
• Persecution of Bengali Hindus
• Maratha Confederacy