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Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Kharda

Small fort in the hills between Paranda and Ahmadnagar, outside the Telugu country. In March 1795 the Nizam Nizam Ali Khan took refuge here after his army broke up in a night panic during a battle with the united Maratha armies. Surrounded, he gave up his minister, ceded territory worth thirty-five lakhs a year and promised three krores of rupees by the convention of Kharda (Kurdla). The Nawab of Kurnool's troops fought on the Nizam's side.

Kharda is written “Kurdla” by Grant Duff and “Khurdla” by Gribble.12 In Grant Duff’s words it was “a very small fort surrounded by hills”, on the road from the Nizam’s frontier to Paranda.12 The battle fought near it in 1795 between the Peshwa and the Nizam is named after it: the Kurnool manual calls it “the battle of Kardla”.3 The Nizam’s army included the horse of the Nawab of Kurnool.23 See the Marathas in the Telugu country and the Asaf Jahis.

The war of 1795

According to Aitchison’s treaty collection, the Marathas revived their claim to arrears of chauth (a quarter share of the revenue).4 The Nizam asked for British help.4 The Governor-General refused, because he was bound by treaties with the Marathas.4

At Hyderabad the Nizam’s minister said in open court that the Peshwa’s minister Nana Phadnavis would be brought to explain his accounts in person.5 The Nizam marched from Bidar along the Manjira in December 1794.6 The Peshwa’s army of more than 130,000 men met him in March 1795.7 It included the contingents of Sindhia, Holkar and the Bhonsle raja Raghoji II.7 Gribble’s second volume says that “the two armies met midway between the forts of Parenda and Khurdla, near the river Manjera”.8

On 11 March the Nizam’s advance was attacked as it came down the Mohri ghat (mountain pass), and he held a durbar (court) to celebrate a victory.2 The next day, as his army marched from Kharda towards Paranda, the Marathas appeared in force.2 A charge of Patan horse, “well supported by Alif Khan, the son of the Nabob of Kurnoul”, drove back the Maratha advance.29

But rockets from Raghoji’s wing and the guns of Perron’s battalions broke the Nizam’s cavalry.9 The Nizam retreated and ordered his French-officered infantry under Raymond to follow.9 In the night a chance exchange of shots set off a panic.110 Then “Nizam Ally, in perfect consternation, sought refuge within the walls of Kurdla”, where he was surrounded and shelled.110

On 15 March he asked for terms.10 He agreed to:1011

  • give up his minister Mushir-ul-Mulk10
  • cede territory from Paranda to the Tapti with the fort of Daulatabad10
  • promise three krores of rupees10
  • settle the claims of the Bhonsle raja1011

Grant Duff says that “there were scarcely two hundred men lost by both those two great armies in the battle”.11 Aitchison gives the cession as territory “yielding a revenue of thirty-five lakhs of rupees”.4 He adds that three-fourths of it was later recovered during the troubles that followed the Peshwa’s death.412

The Kurnool manual says that the Nawab Alif Khan “accordingly marched with 1,400 horse and joined him at the battle of Kardla (A.D. 1795)”.3 It adds that “the first attack on the Mahratta horse was ‘favorable to the Patan cavalry’”.3

Gribble’s Cuddapah manual of 1875 gives another account.13 In it the Marathas were defeated “mainly owing to the military skill of M. Raymond”.13 The Nizam then threw the victory away by retreating to Kharda at the entreaty of his harem.13 Gribble’s History of the Deccan follows Malleson and describes Raymond’s infantry as holding firm until ordered to retreat.14 See Nizam Ali Khan and Kurnool.

Footnotes

  1. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 115 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 113 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. Narahari Gopalakristnamah Chetty, A Manual of the Kurnool District (1886), p. 37 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. C. U. Aitchison, A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads, Vol. IX (4th ed., 1909), p. 4 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. James Grant Duff, A History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 110 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  6. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 111 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  7. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 112 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  8. J. D. B. Gribble and Mary Pendlebury, A History of the Deccan, Vol. II (1924), p. 90 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  9. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 114 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 116 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  11. Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (1826), p. 117 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  12. Aitchison, Treaties, Vol. IX (1909), p. 5 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  13. J. D. B. Gribble, A Manual of the District of Cuddapah (1875), p. 102 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. Gribble and Pendlebury, History of the Deccan, Vol. II (1924), pp. 90–91 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

People

Ghulam Ali Khan (Mansur-ud-daula) of Banganapalle

c. 1790–1822 CE

Jagirdar (holder of the land grant) of Banganapalle from 1790 to the early 1820s, titled Mansur-ud-daula. The family later regarded him as the founder of the State. A son of Husain Ali Khan, he was confirmed in the jagir by Tipu Sultan in 1783 and at once expelled. With his uncle Asad Ali Khan and troops from the Nizam he won it back at Tammadapalle in 1790. He lived mostly at Hyderabad and fought in the Nizam's army, and he lost the use of his right hand against the Marathas. Under the cession of 1800 the jagir passed under the Company's control free of tribute. Before his death he divided villages among his relatives as sub-jagirs and placed his son Husain Ali Khan on the musnad (throne).

Alif Khan II (Nawab of Kurnool)

1792–1815 CE

Pathan Nawab of Kurnool from 1792 to 1815. He was the third son of Ranmast (Munawwar) Khan, and the Kurnool manual calls him Aluf Khan. He put down his elder brother Hasan Ali Khan, led 1,400 horse for the Nizam at Kharda in 1795 and refused Tipu Sultan's claim to tribute. In 1800 the Nizam handed the Kurnool tribute to the East India Company. Alif Khan denied that it was owed but agreed to pay of his own will. In 1804 the payment was fixed at a lakh and a quarter of Gadwal rupees for eight years and a lakh after that, with 500 horse and 500 foot soldiers. He tried to make his favourite son, Ghulam Rasul, his heir and imprisoned the eldest, whom a Company force freed in 1813. His rule was remembered as harsh.

References

Sources (5)
  1. James Grant Duff, A History of the Mahrattas, Vol. III (opens in a new tab), Longmans, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, London, 1826, pp. 109–117. [Public domain]
  2. J. D. B. Gribble (edited and finished by Mary Pendlebury), A History of the Deccan, Vol. II (opens in a new tab), Luzac & Co., London, 1924, pp. 88–92. [Public domain]
  3. C. U. Aitchison (compiler), A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads relating to India and Neighbouring Countries, Vol. IX: Hyderabad, Mysore and Coorg (4th ed.) (opens in a new tab), Superintendent, Government Printing, India, Calcutta, 1909, pp. 4–5. [Public domain]
  4. Narahari Gopalakristnamah Chetty, A Manual of the Kurnool District in the Presidency of Madras (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1886, pp. 37. [Public domain]
  5. J. D. B. Gribble, A Manual of the District of Cuddapah in the Presidency of Madras (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1875, pp. 102. [Public domain]

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