A Warrior Peshwa

Being adopted by a King during British rule meant that you were probably not going to get that pension. Nana Saheb was a victim, but he fought back harshly to the point of murder and even gained control!

Nana Saheb Peshwa II; Source: The Famous People

Seeing the potential of the Peshwa, History too was amazed! This is the story of 1857 written by the sword of the Peshwa.

Dhondu Pant was born on May 19, 1824. His father travelled to the court of Peshwa Baji Rao II to become a court officer, where he and his brother were adopted by the Peshwa who was childless. After being adopted by Peshwa Bajirao II, he came to be known as Nana Saheb Peshwa II. Following the path his ancestors followed; Nana Saheb rejected the intervention of the Company just like Shivaji had rejected Mughal authority in his own time! Though not from the same blood, they were connected with the same intentions and the same throne of power.

Nana had a good knowledge of Sanskrit and religious texts but he never tried to learn the western language. He was influenced by Western culture and read English newspapers with the help of a translator to update himself about the British. It is never easy to swim in the opposite direction to which the river flows and everyone turns slightly to ease things.

Nana Saheb was a skilled warrior and took formal education in the strategy of war. He was a man who was fond of horses, elephants and camel and possessed many kinds of weapons.

Let's turn the pages of Peshwa history. In 1749, the post of Peshwa was created by Chhatrapati Shahu as a military post. From then on, the Peshwa regime and administration came into effect. Nana Saheb was adopted by the last Peshwa Bajirao I, and he declared him his successor. During his twenty-year rule, he is most known for his clash with the British!

He is named prominently in the Revolt of 1857. The rebellion from Cawnpore and Awadh to Delhi got the right direction through his efforts.

The Doctrine of Lapse policy was adopted by Lord Dalhousie to annex the Indian territory. According to this policy, any Indian princely state, under the suzerainty of the English East India Company, would have to abolish their princely status if the ruler was either clearly incapacitated or had died. Through this policy, the East India Company took control of many princely states including Jhansi and Awadh.

After the death of Peshwa Bajirao II, the English withheld the pension of Nana Saheb. He sent Diwan Azimullah Khan to the Court of Directors of England to file a complaint, but he was not allowed to enter. With this incident, Peshwa II decided to go to war with the English. On 4 June 1857, a military rebellion began in Kavapor.

This warrior took command of the rebellion of Cawnpore in his hand. He planned with Cawnpore's Collector Charles George Hillersdon that if the rebellion would start in Cawnpore, the Collector would help him by providing 15000 soldiers. By presenting efficient diplomacy, Nana not only won the war against the British but also conquered the city. 

At the same time, Sati Chaura Kand occurred, in which many British women and children were killed. The British considered it a deception by Nana Saheb. During the Revolt of 1857, several British soldiers were captured by Nana Saheb, which was the biggest success of this rebellion.

However, this success did not last long. Nana's brother Bala Rao also fought the Battle of Aong with the English, but he had to face defeat. After such small wars, finally, General Havelock again conquered Cawnpore on 16 May.

He was a supporter of Tantia Tope and Lakshmi Bai. When the company attacked Jhansi on 18 March 1858, Nana sent 2000 soldiers to Jhansi. He helped her not only to escape from Jhansi but also to conquer Gwalior.

After the capture of Cawnpore by the East India Company, the Peshwa fled to Nepal. Some reports suggest that he died in 1906 at the age of 81. On the other hand, Azimullah Khan's diary shows that he returned to India and died in 1926 near the Gomti River. His fight for independence, much in his family line, though directed against a different enemy, is what has made him immortal in the pages of history.