Introduction to PINDARI

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Pindari

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The Pendharis (also spelled as Pindaris) or Free Companions (Marathi: पेंढारी ; Hindi piṇḍārī, पिण्डारी / पिंडारी) were dispersed throughout the Maratha states and were countenanced and protected by the Maratha chiefs to whom they acted as agents for supplying all the commissariat required by their armies.^[1] They were composed of different tribes who congregated together solely for purposes of plunder.^[2]They came into existence during the 18th century when the Mughal Empire was breaking up.^[3] The Pindaris were loosely organized under self-chosen leaders, and each group was usually attached to one or other of the Maratha leaders. Their main characteristic was that they received no pay, but rather purchased the privilege of plundering on their own account.^[4]

Nawab Khan Bahadur Ghulam Hussain Pindari (Bade babu)

Nawab Ghulam Mohammad Pindari (Chhote babu)

Pindari, historically, an irregular horseman, plunderer, or forager attached to a Muslim army inIndia who was allowed to plunder in lieu of pay. The name is Marathi and probably derives from two words, meaning “bundle of grass” and “who takes.”[edit]

The Pindaris followed the Maratha bands who raided Mughal territory from the late 17th century. With the collapse of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century, these camp followers organized themselves into groups, each usually attached to one of the leading Maratha chiefs. But as those chiefs themselves grew weak at the end of the century, the Pindaris became largely a law unto themselves and conducted raids from hideouts in central India. The majority of their leaders were Muslims, but they recruited from all classes.

After the regular forces of the Marathas had been broken up by the British in the campaigns of 1803–04, the Pindaris made their headquarters in Malwa, under the tacit protection of the rulers of Gwalior and Indore. They usually assembled in November to set forth over British-held territory in search of plunder. In one such raid on the Masulipatam coast, they plundered 339 villages, killing and wounding 682 persons, torturing 3,600 others, and carrying off much valuable property. In 1808–09 they plundered Gujarat, and in 1812, Mirzapur. In 1814 they numbered between 25,000 and 30,000 horsemen, half of them well armed.

At last their practices became intolerable, and in 1816 the British organized the campaign known as the Pindari War (1817–18). The Pindaris were surrounded by an army of about 120,000 men, which converged upon them from Bengal, the Deccan, and Gujarat under the supreme command of the governor-general Warren Hastings. The Pindaris’ protectors in Gwalior were overawed and signed a treaty (1817) against the Pindaris. Their other allies against the British took up arms but were separately defeated. The Pindaris themselves offered little resistance; most of the leaders surrendered, and their followers dispersed. more

II. The Early History Of The Pindaris

 Their Social and Military Organization

Shortly after Lord Hastings arrived and took over the governorship in India, he became conscious of the menace of the Pindaris, Surveying the relationships of the various powers in India with the Company government, he concluded "I see around me the elements of a war more general than any which we hitherto encountered in India." ⁽²⁾ One of these "elements of war" was the Pindari menace, threatening the rich British frontier from the Hoogli to the Bhonsla's territories with a possible plundering incursion.
The Pindaris⁽³⁾, as a group of freebooters and plunderers, were not new to India. The earliest reference was
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made by Firishta in 1689 in connection with Aurangzeb. They were probably attached to his army in the Deccan. Later when Muslim power declined and Maratha power increased, they attached themselves to the Marathas. At that time their main purpose to the Maratha army was to advance and plunder an enemy's camp just after the battle had ended. Dreading the Pindaris, the enemy would run and the Pindaris would plunder. loot, and burn the enemy's camp, making recovery unlikely. ⁽⁴⁾
Up to 1800 Barun and Hiro were the main leaders of the Pindaris. They both served the Raja of Berar against the Nabob of Bhopal for some time. Enmity, however existed between them because of the suspicion surrounding the murder of Barun's son, Muhammad Husein. The Raja, finally in support of Hiro, seized Barun and kept him in prison until his death around 1800. Hiro also died at this time, and the leadership slowly evolved to other Pindaris. ⁽⁵⁾
At the time of their power, each of these leaders had about 1000 horse under them. They received annual cash payments from the Raja of Berar for their employment, of from 90,000 rupees (for Biro) to 1.7 lakh of rupees (for Barun), and annual revenues from jagir and other lands in their possession of from 75,000 rupees (for Hiro) to 1.5 lakh of rupees (for Barun).⁽⁶⁾
In the following years, the Pindaris considerably increased their power and numbers from the figures above. The new leaders, who emerged between 1806 through the Maratha War of 1817-8119, were principally Karim Khan, Chito, and Wasil and Dost Muhammad.
Karim Khan was perhaps the best known leader of the Pindaris. He was the son of a Rohilla, and rose to power in the service of the Nabob of Bhopal from whom he received land He also occasionally served Sindia. In 1806 he was at the height of his power and had not less than eleven parganas in the Malwa area and was receiving over 15 lakhs of rupees annually in revenue.⁽⁷⁾ In the same year be was captured by Sindia through trickery. Namdar Khan, Karim Khan's nephew, continued the leadership of Karim Khan's diminished band, and directed his plunder toward Sindia's territory in revenge for his leader. In 1811 Karim Khan's
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ransom of six lakhs of rupees was paid by an arrangement with Sindia through Zalim Singh (of Kotah). Karim Khan reformed his band and met with Chito, another Pindari leader, during Dussehra of 1811. He wished to make a united effort against Nagpur, but Chito would not agree and left with his band. Sindia then decided to retaliate against Karim Khan and defeated his band, but Karim Khan was able to flee to the Pathan leader, Amir Khan. Amir Khan along with Holkar kept him in semi-confinement until 1817, when he again was released and reformed his band.
Chito the son of a Jat, was purchased during a period of famine by Dooble Meer, a horseman in Barun's band. He rose in the Raja of Berar's service, and became a leader of the Pindaris. In 1805 he received land and the title of Nabab from Sindia. But the latter confined him between 1807 and 1811. ⁽⁸⁾ He opposed Karim Khan in the leadership of the Pindaris as seen in the Dussehra mentioned above. A possible reason for this opposition to plundering Nagpur was because he had recently received a considerable amount of land from the Bhonsla of Nagpur. ⁽⁹⁾ Chito's power among the Pindaris seemed to increase while Karim Khan was confined by Holkar.
Dost and Wasil Muhammad the sons of Hiro, inherited the leadership of their father's band. Besides these Namdar Khan. Karim Khan's nephew, and Kadir Buksh, son of Barun, were important leaders of the Pindaris. Other petty leaders or chiefs conducted smaller bands.
Estimates of the strength of the Pindaris during this period (1806.1818) vary from 20,000 to 30,000. In 1814 one estimate calculated their strength at 27,000 horse of which Chito had 10,000, Karim Khan 6,000, Dost Muhammed 4,000, Holkar's Shahi 5,000, and Bara Bhai's division 2,000.⁽¹⁰⁾Another estimate was 21,000.⁽¹¹⁾ Whatever the estimates for this period, the Pindaris had increased from about 2,000 under Hiro and Barun. to the lowest estimate in 1814 of 20,000.
The reasons for this increase are various, but not completely proven. One of the reasons was that of surrounding conditions. Proponents of Lord Hastings' aggressive policy against the Pindaris pointed out that the treaties of 1805 with the Maratha powers were only half-measures which
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did not really solve the problem of Maratha control over west and central India. Also these treaties made the Maratha weak enough not to oppose the British but not strong enough to control the Pindari leaders. On the other hand the case favoring the Maratha powers stated that- it was advantageous for the Marathas to keep the Pindaris active so that they could help in case of Maratha opposition to the British. Furthermore the Marathas admired the Pindaris for their style of fighting, which was in the old Maratha tradition without contemporary European methods or weapons. They may have approved of the Pindari method of plpnder, which was similar though more disorganized and devastating than their own method of obtaining (chauth) 'tribute'.⁽¹²⁾
It is also uncertain as to the exact source of the increase in the numbers of the Pindaris. The Pindaris' earlier ancestors seem to have come from Bijapur in the Deccan. These were further augmented by Pathans, Muslims in general, and Rohillas.⁽¹³⁾ Sir John Malcolm believes they come from-all classes and tribes, but retained their original customs.⁽¹⁴⁾ He emphasizes that the very system of the Pindaris (plundering) often times produced the effect .of increasing their numbers. Thus many villagers, whose villages were plundered, found a horse and joined the Pindaris. Sydenham believes that every horseman discharged from a regular army, every vagabond with a horse and a sword, debtors, outcastes and unemployed could, and often did join the Pindaris.⁽¹⁵⁾ It would seem that the Pindaris were drawn from all castes and classes; besides many areas of India. The decrease in Maratha troops after the Second Maratha War and the lack of military action by the Maratha states to employ irregular troops, probably helped to fill the rank of the Pindaris.⁽¹⁶⁾
A fairly static picture of Pindari society can be drawn between the year 1806-1814. Many Pindari leaders owned lands in the Nerbudda valley. and on these lands their families and followers subsisted when they were not plundering. Other lands were located within the territories of the ruler who employed or supported Pindari leaders.
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Many of them were within the territory of the Nabob of Bhopal, and it was from this area. which included Nimwar, Sutwas, Raiseen, and Bhilsa, that the Pindaris conducted their raids.⁽¹⁷⁾
The basic "military" unit of the Pindaris was the durrah or band under a leader, and formed exclusively of horsemen. A leader, in turn, often recognized either Holkar or Sindia as his protector and patron. Consequently various durrahs belonged to the Holkar Shahi while others belonged to the Sindia Shahi. Sometimes over the years a durrah would change its allegiance from one Shahi to another, such as Karim Khan's durrah which changed over to Holkar's Shahi from Sindia's Shahi when Sindia captured him The designation of belonging to a Shahi became less important in later years.
When serving a Maratha chief, the Pindaris never expected to be paid in anything but the opportunity to plunder. In this basic respect they differed from the Pathans, lead by Amir Khan, who received regular pay for almost a similar service. These also differed from the Pindaris in that their main area of operations was Rajputana, while the Pindaris raided southward in the territories of the Marathas and the Nizam. The Pathan army contained a large number of infantary and some artillery, while the Pindaris relied completely on "cavalry." The few infantry of the Pindaris were stationed to guard their lands and small forts.
The Pindaris also generally differed from the Marathas, though Mr. Prinsep was concerned that they might "model into the same description of force that Timur and Ghengis Khan had directed to the devastation of the eastern world. The rise of Sivaji and of Haidar ... was a proof that such things could take place in India as well as in other countries."⁽¹⁸⁾ But there was little comparison of the Pindaris with the Marathas or any other great power. The Pindari organization was directed toward one purpose-plunder. They raided selected areas for short times, and completely avoided confrontation or battle with any established power. It was not their desire to control land and people for any extended time. They also had no idea of union into a "state" - the origin of their numbers was diverse; they frequently changed allegiance to leaders; and they were not able to resolve differences between their durrahs in order to exert a united effort.
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The mode of existence and style of life of the Pindaris is best exemplified by a general description of one of their raids or labhurs. The Pindaris would usually gather together at a point just north of the Nerbudda river (often Nimwar) during the Dussehra festival which occurred in late October or early November after the monsoons). The leaders of the various durrahs would meet and discuss the prospects of plunder for the following season-winter. After the festival, parties of Pindaris would gather under a leader labhuri chosen especially for the particular raid (labhur). The labhuris would not be the leaders of the durrah itself. The leader would usually stay behind to direct or follow the process of a labhur through his "spies." These spies would often be dressed as mendicants or holy men and keep contact between the labhuri and the durrah leader.⁽¹⁹⁾
A labhur was usually composed of 1,000 to 4,000 horse of different quality. Out of 1,000, 400 were usually well-mounted and formed the advance. Most of these were armed with a common bamboo spear, eight to twelve feet long, but it was a policy that one out of fifteen to twenty men should carry a firearm. Four hundred besides the well mounted, would be indifferently mounted with a variety of weapons, while the rest (about 200) were servants, attendents, etc., on ponies or tattoos. ⁽²⁰⁾ The labhur traveled extremely light with no camp equipment and could ride forty to fifty miles a day for several days They usually obtained what forage and food they needed along the way.
After crossing the Nerbudda, when it was low enough, they would proceed to a pre-set area and then spread to the surrounding villages in groups of fifty to sixty, and plunder. A picked group usually stayed at the centre to be of assistance to any of the plundering groups who encountered difficulty.
The plundering group would enter a village, search out its wealthy houses and persons, obtain their wealth by torture,⁽²¹⁾ loot houses, exhaust their passion on the women, and kill anyone who opposed them. What loot they could not carry off, they often destroyed, and, before leaving they
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set fire to the village. They then returned to their center group and would perhaps move on to another center to continue plundering for several weeks or months.
After they had obtained all the plunder they wished, or had exhausted an area, they would return with their loot to their base across the Nerbudda. Here they would exchange and sell their loot with merchants, paying off debts and living gayly for a few days.
The total loot of a raid was divided in various ways sometimes one-fourth went to the leader of the durrah, one-fourth to the labhuri, and the rest to the plunderers. Sometimes one-fourth was also given to the recognized head such as Sindia or Holkar. In some cases the leader would select only one or two items of great value from the loot for his share.
After several days of rejoicing, and when the loot was exhausted, the party would either return to its more peaceful life, or if they felt successful, would go out on another labhur. This, of course, is only a general description. Particular raids often varried from this usual pattern.
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III. PINDARI RAIDS INTO BRITISH TERRITORY

The menace of the Pindaris existed for several years before the Pindaris penetrated British territory itself. At first the Pindari raids were directed toward the territories of the Peshwa, Nizam, Bhonsla, Bhopal, and even Holkar and Scindia, and were as regular as the seasons. But in 1812 and 1813, and again during the three years before the last Ang o Maratha War, the Pindaris extended their raids to include British territory. The .first raids were small and in the north, but the later ones in the south caused great devastation and alarm. From first-hand observation, British officers were able to recount vividly the scenes of plunder and devastation, which had been reported from compiled information for some years by officers in the Nizam's territories. These raids also proved conclusively to the Company government that defensive measures would not be adequate to contain or eliminate the Pindaris.
The first labhur into British territory occurred in 1812 on the frontier of Mirzapur. It was reported that a durrah of Dost Muhammad ⁽²²⁾ was headed for the territory of the Raja of Nagpur when it met an "expelled" zamindar from Allahabad. He told them that there were few troops in the Mirzapur area at this time, and that it was a wealthy area.
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The Pindaris changed their direction of plunder and went through the territory of the Raja of Rewah into the district of Mirzapur. This group, at first reported at from 1,200 to 12,000 but later determined at 3,000, plundered five or six villages and threatened, but did not enter, the city of Mirzapur. It then crossed the Son river, went through a district of the Raja of Nagpur and back to its base.⁽²³⁾ By the time reports reached the government, the Pindaris had left. In order to prevent such raids from occurring again, the government sent troops to defend this frontier and formed a treaty with the Raja of Rewah. ⁽²⁴⁾ There were no more raids in this area.
The following winter (1812-1813), the Pindaris made the second incursion into British territory, this time in the west around Surat. Five thousand horse were reported to have plundered four or five villages, and the frightened people in the area fled to Surat for protection. The Pindaris returned to their base with a great loot, before any troops were sent against them. They contemplated another raid, but never carried it out.⁽²⁵⁾
The following two seasons the Pindaris made no serious incursions into British territory. As a prelude to the worst devastation of British territory, the Pindaris made raids into the Nizam's territories in October and November of 1815. During this raid, the Madras Presidency was probably saved from plunder by the Pindaris because of the high level of the Krishna (or Kistna) river, along which the Pindaris raided down to the frontier of Musalipatnam. They succeeded in avoiding Colonel Doveton's positions (in service of protecting the Nizam's territories), and returned to Nimwar with a booty so large that merchants from Ujjain were required to come for its sale.⁽²⁶⁾
Encouraged by this success, the Pindaris prepared for another raid, larger than the first, which headed south in February (1816). It reached the western frontier of Musalipatnam on March tenth and remained in the Company's
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territories for the next twelve days plundering and looting, especially the Guntur and Cuddapah districts. As a show of their swiftness and destructiveness, this group of Pindaris plundered 146 villages and covered 76 miles in two days alone (March eleventh and twelfth).⁽²⁷⁾ Though Madras troops were dispatched, they did not overtake the Pindaris before they had recrossed the Krishna. Colonel Doveton in the Nizam's territory, was able to surprise a small group of Pindaris once but by May this group had again returned to their base.
The commission, sent to assess the destruction caused by this raid in the Company's territories, reported 182 killed, 505 wounded, 3633 tortured, and many cases of women who had thrown themselves into wells or in other ways committed suicide in order avoid pollution or disgrace. Mr. Dalzell, in Guntur at the time of the raid, reported the picture of Pindari destruction as "the most consummate misery I ever recollect to have witnessed."⁽²⁸⁾ He also reported how an on-the-spot defense by local pariahs (a low caste) had defended the collector's office from being plundered, and the "heroic" inhabitants of Ainavole, who had burned themselves and their village after having failed in defending themselves against the Pindaris. ⁽²⁹⁾ The villages became deserted for several weeks, as the inhabitants fled with their most valued possessions to the hills for protection. But Mr. Ross, collector of Cuddapah, reported that this was sometimes an even worse fate, since the hill peoples, Lumbardis and Koorchievors, plundered these refuges of their valuables. ⁽³⁰⁾ The desertion of the villages showed that the people had lost confidence in the protective power of the British. This moral injury was probably worse than the material loss. ⁽³¹⁾
By the following October (1816) a line of defense had been established by Colonel Walker along the southern bank of the Nerbudda. It was only after considerable difficulty that three groups finally got through these defenses. For simplicity, they can be designated at the Bidar, Poona, and Ganjam groups.
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The Bidar group plundered around Bidar and Nirmal during the latter part of December, but owing to indecision among their leaders did not cross the Krishna and Tungabhadra into the Company's ceeded districts. In the middle of January, Major Macdowal was able to surprise and completely route them, causing this group to disperse and return to their bases. Another smaller group had separated from the main Bidar group, and it plundered the we- tern coast of India, having difficulty from British troops only in recrossing the Nerbudda. ⁽³²⁾
The Poona group had entered the Peshwa's territory in the last part of November, and was completely routed by Major Lushington, December twenty-sixth near Poona It returned in confusion, and also had difficulty in recrossing the Nerbudda.
The Ganjam group was the only one of these three groups to penetrate into Company territory, but the circumstances of their raid did not differ much from the others. After having passed through Walker's defences, the group headed east and appeared in the Northern Circars in the middle of December. They plundered Kimedi, and then almost all of the district and even part of the town of Ganjam. Mr. Spottiswoode, collector of Ganjam, reported that the estimation of four lakhs of rupees, taken in money and jewels from Ganjam town alone, was low. ⁽³³⁾ The people again fled and feared that the Pindaris might even plunder Puri and the temple of Jaganath. But the Pindaris left by the end of December without raiding these places. They had only been surprised twice-once by Major Oliver after the Kimedi raid, and again more thoroughly by Major Borthwick after the Ganjam raid. This party had trouble returning to their base, even though warned by Wasil Muhammad (whose durrah they belonged to ) of the defensive preparations. By this time, the line of defense had been extended further east and north from Walker's original line, and Captain Caulfield succeeded in attacking and practically destroying this group. The fugitives were again attacked by Major Clarke, and only some returned to their base.⁽³⁴⁾
Except for two unsuccessful attempts to plunder in the cast in Bundelkhand, these were the last raids of the Pindaris on British territory. During the rainy season of 1817, Karim Khan who had again been released, tried to form a Pindari defensive, but disagreement among the Pindari leaders, particularly Chito, destroyed any hope of a concerted effort even in the face of the impending threat of a war with the British.

Dear Visitors!

 These are the updates from various sites and various authors. Pindaris are called plunderer in the above article but pindari never plundered innocent indians, through plunder their main aim was to weaken the power of british company. These are the only updates as the Pindari sardars wanted. There are some political reasons behind these mystery.

1.   Cheetu khan was not killed by tiger

When pindari sardar cheetu khan was left alone after fleeing from Warren Hastings he was with his few followers in a forest making his tactics for the future as he had lost most of his warriors he needed time to reorganize his band, but the britishers were following and tracing his presence in order to capture him and make prisioner. At the time of meeting a tiger appeared from the back of cheetu khan, cheetu khan did not noticed it whereas one of the fierce warrior sitting in front of cheetu khan rushed towards the tiger and in order to save his beloved sardar he stuck to the tiger till its death.

The tiger was killed but the great warrior was also wounded badly.  There was no facility of medicine and the tiger had eaten up his thumbs and there were also serious injuries, before dying this warrior showed a way to sardar, he told him to renoun his body as cheetu khan.

So, my dear friends cheetu khan was marked as dead by attack of a tiger in jungle, due to which the britishers left the search of cheetu assuming him as dead. The same history is written by britishers.

2.    Qadir Bakhsh and Cheetu Khan

There is one more mystery Pindari sardar Qadir Bakhsh and Cheetu Khan are the two sides of the same coin this topic will be cleared soon with proofs.