Battle of Kharda

01One army again

Disputes over chauth arrears had soured relations with Hyderabad, and the Nizam’s minister Mushir-ul-Mulk spoke openly of humbling Pune. Nana Phadnavis gathered the whole confederacy: Scindia’s trained brigades, Holkar, the Bhonsle of Nagpur, the Patwardhans and the Peshwa’s own troops. The armies met near Kharda in March 1795. The Nizam’s line gave way after a short fight, and he took refuge in the small fort, where the Marathas surrounded him.

02The terms

Cut off from water, the Nizam gave in. He ceded lands including Daulatabad district, agreed to pay the arrears and handed over Mushir-ul-Mulk. Within months the young Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao died after a fall at Shaniwarwada, Nana died in 1800, and the confederacy that had won at Kharda fell apart.

Dynasty · 1713–1818 CEThe Peshwas of PuneThe Peshwas were the hereditary chief ministers of the Chhatrapatis, and from 1713 to 1818 they ran the Maratha state from Pune. Under Bajirao I and his son Nanasaheb the Marathas became the strongest power in India, until Panipat in 1761 and the British wars that ended the line in 1818.Read →