TREATY OF PURANDAR

The treaty of purandar has been an epic loss on the art of the Maratha Empire under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It has been regarding a battle fought between the mighty Mughal Empire led by Jai Singh 1 and the Maratha army under Chatrapati Shivaji. The agenda of the battle was to capture the fort of Purandar which had been the then abode of the Marathas in the southwestern part of India located near to Pune. The place has been known as Singhad and the fort has been the birthplace of Chatrapati Shivaji. 

Overview

The above-mentioned treaty of Purandar has been divided into five parts or five conditions that have been mentioned by the Mughals in order to capture other parts of India. Chatrapati Shivaji had bound to sign the treaty because he could not leave his men under Mughal supremacy. The war caused losses on part of the Maratha Empire and when Shivaji understood that they were not able to win the war then the treaty was signed. The treaty was signed by the then Governor-General of the East India Company, Warren Hastings, by sending two of their important men Colonel Upton and Nana Phadnavis of the Peshwa Empire. After this treaty, the Marathas were bound to take in Sawai Madhav Rao as the new Peshwa of the Maratha Empire and retained the non-existence of the French in India.

Terms of the Treaty

• Shivaji has been allowed to keep twelve forts to the name of the Marathas and along with an area of net income of up to 1 lakh huns.
• Shivaji has been bound to the pact that the Marathas will help the Mughals at all times.
• The son of Sivaji named Sambhaji has been forced to fight on behalf of the Mughal Empire along with 5000 armed forces as a mansabdar.
• Shivaji has been bound in the pact that whether the marathas ever wanted to claim the Konkan area which was then under the control of Bijapur, then they will have to pay 40 lakh huns as part of compensation.
• Shivaji has been forced to give up most of his captured forts that involved places like Ankola, Songadh, and Mangad.
• Apart from this, the treaty bound Shivaji to the aspect that he will have to come to Agra for a political meeting with Aurangzeb.

Post-Treaty Conditions

Post the teary condition Shivaji was no longer respected by the Mughals. Shivaji asked to be excused for his addressing to nobility and for this, the Mughal emperor will be paid with jagir. Shivaji promised his son along with 5000 horses as a contingent for the excuse. He said whether a land yields 4 lakh huns worth in the lowlands and 5 lakhs worth hun in the uplands then are granted to him by the use of an official Farman then the possession of the lands will be confirmed with Shivaji after the conquest of Bijapur. 

The negatives of Jai Singh have been foreseen in the above-mentioned case as he emperor that the policy will result in the gain of the Mughal Empire thrice. Firstly the Mughal emperor will get the valuation of 40 lakhs hun or almost 2 crore rupees. Secondly, Shivaji will be totally cut off from the Sultan of Bijapur as because of him the conquest of Bijapur could prove to be successful. The third and most important point is that the task of the imperial Mughal army can be perpetually reduced in the regions of jungle and adversities as Shivaji himself helped in the conquest of the Sultan of Bijapur. This is because Shivaji has himself promised to provide 2000 cavalry and 7000 expert infantry led by his son Sambhaji mansab on behalf of the Mughals to capture the Bijapur. 

Impacts of the treaty of Purandar

It has been observed that the treaty of purandar annulled the region of Surat to the Mughals. Raghunath Rao was provided a pension because of the treaty but was abandoned from the British Empire in regards to his claims. On the other hand, the Salsette and BroachRevenues have been uplifted by the British. The tangle between the British Empire and the Mughals was increased because of Raghunath Rao as the succession of the Maratha throne and his conglomeration with the Mughals. It has been later observed that the East India Company again supported Raghunath Rao during the period of 1778-79. The reason for the support is analogous to the conditions of the treaty and impacts deeply on the end of the Maratha Empire. 

Conclusion 

It can be effectively said that it has been a huge turning point on part of the Marthas towards the end of their reign in India. The Mughals were profited by it but could not understand the shrewdness of the British Empire in taking up India. The Marathas lost more than half of their possessions because of the treaty as Shivaji was not a self-centered and cruel leader. The Mughals intervened into the aspect with their cruelty and devastated the empire.