Ajay Kumar at 17:20, 23 July 2023

2023-07-23T17:20:23Z

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{{Short description|Light cavalry mercenary group in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox criminal organization
| name = Bargis
| image =
| caption =
| founded = unknown
| named after = Hindustani word for "light cavalry"
| founding_location = [[Indian subcontinent]]
| years_active = unknown
| territory = [[Indian subcontinent]]
| membership = unknown
| allies = [[Nagpur Kingdom]] [[Peshwa]]
| rivals = [[Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad|Nawab of Bengal]] [[Mughal Empire]] [[Durrani Empire|Durrani Emirate]] [[British Raj]]

}}

'''Bargis''' were a light cavalry mercenary group of [[Maratha Empire]]'s who indulged in large scale plundering of the countryside of western part of [[Bengal]] 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'' comes from the [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] word ''bargir'', which described cavalry whose equipment and horses were provided by the government. The ''bargi'' were distinct from the ''[[shiledar]]s'', who owned their equipment and horses.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sengupta|first=Nitish|title=History of the Bengali-speaking People|publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors|year=2001|isbn=978-81-7476-355-6|page=137|quote=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.|author-link=Nitish Sengupta}}</ref> Bargi are also known as Jogi or Gosain in Eastern Bundelkhand region.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

== History ==
[[Alivardi Khan]] became Nawab of Bengal in April 1740 by defeating and killing [[Sarfaraz Khan]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |year=2012 |chapter=Alivardi Khan |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Alivardi_Khan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> 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 ruler 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.<ref name="Sengupta2001p132" /> In April 1742, they crossed the Damodar River at [[Panchet]] and began looting and burning the army of the Nawab.<ref name="Sengupta2001p132">{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2001 |title=History of the Bengali-speaking People |publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors |page=132 |isbn=978-81-7476-355-6 |quote=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.}}</ref><ref name=Banglapedia>{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |year=2012 |chapter=Maratha Raids |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Maratha_Raids |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=10 November 2015 |archive-date=18 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018044543/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Maratha_Raids |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Maratha Ditch]] was built by the British [[East India Company]] around [[Fort William, India|Fort William]] to protect the city of [[Calcutta]] from the ruthless Bargi raids.<ref name="city">{{cite book |last1=Borden |first1=Iain |last2=Kerr |first2=Joe |last3=Pivaro |first3=Alicia |last4=Rendell |first4=Jane |title=The Unknown City: Contesting Architecture and Social Space |date=2002 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-52335-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RAIEiMDLZAYC&dq=Maratha+Ditch&pg=PP180 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="bengal">{{cite book |last1=foundation |first1=Temple of India |title=Bengal – India's Rebellious Spirit |date=10 August 2018 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-1-64324-746-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4poDwAAQBAJ&dq=Maratha+Ditch&pg=PT74 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Acworth |first1=Harry Arbuthnot |title=Ballads of Marathas |date=1894 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cftHAAAAMAAJ&dq=Maratha+Ditch&pg=PR5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Randolf G. S. |title=The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns and the Contest for India: The Struggle for Control of the South Asian Military Economy |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-82444-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qweZWra_tbwC&dq=Maratha+Ditch&pg=PA79 |language=en}}</ref>

For about ten years, the Bargis raided and plundered the army of the Nawab, every year.<ref name="Sengupta2001p132" /> 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 River|Ganges]]-[[Hooghly River|Bhagirathi]] river line restrained them. They crossed it to raid eastern Bengal only a few times.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2001 |title=History of the Bengali-speaking People |publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors |page=133 |isbn=978-81-7476-355-6 |quote=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 ... [Alivardi's] 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.}}</ref>

The Bargi invasions ended in May 1751 when the Nawab and the Marathas made peace.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2001 |title=History of the Bengali-speaking People |publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors |page=135 |isbn=978-81-7476-355-6 |quote=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}}</ref>

The Bargi remained in the cultural memory of the Bengali people in the form of songs and poems.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Ahmed|first=Wakil|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]|year=2012|editor1-last=Islam|editor1-first=Sirajul|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam|edition=Second|chapter=Folk Literature|editor2-last=Jamal|editor2-first=Ahmed A.|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Folk_Literature}}</ref> One traditional song, translated, reads:<ref name=":0" />

{{Blockquote|text=When the children fall asleep, silence sets in, the Bargis come to our lands 
[[Bulbul]]s have eaten the grains, how shall I pay the nawabs tax demands?}}

==See also==
* [[Maratha Ditch]]
* [[Bengal Subah]]
* [[Pindari]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Bengal Subah]]
[[Category:Dhangar]]
[[Category:Looting]]

Bargis - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 17:20, 23 July 2023