पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

self. The result was that he seemed, which he was actually not, proud or
even haughty. This was a virtue as far as administrative efficiency—which
depends upon quick and final decision—was concerned, but it cannot be said
to be helpful when policy is to be shaped amongst equals. Over-riding opinion
is always possible for a higher authority, but it is not always conducive to the
best results, as ultimately the working out of the decisions devolves upon the
subordinates. A commander-in-chief can scarcely act against the combined
opinion and will of his generals.
Bhau selected his own assistants and corps from amongst the as-
semblage gathered in the Nizam's dominions. To begin with, his army was
not more than twenty-five thousand strong, besides the infantry under Ibrahim
Khan, which was nine thousand. Though Raghunathrao did not join, some
of the corps subordinate to him were included in the army which accompanied
Bhau to the north. The Maratha army was made up of the feudal divisions
under the main sardars. These sardars employed subordinate corps under indi-
vidual captains. The sardar was responsible for the conduct, training, equip-
ment and payment of the corps employed by him. Certain revenue districts
were assigned to him as jagirs for the expenditure thereof. Not all the noted
captains in the Maratha army were sardars. Certain corps were directly em-
ployed by the Peshwa who paid them from the central treasury. There was
no one fixed scale of payment, certain sardars being paid more favourably than
'others. The bigger sardars, like Shinde and Holkar, were treated more as
partners in the state than as mere subordinates. They had specified per-
centages of the total revenues in certain regions permanently assigned to them
as their inalienable share. It should be particularly noted that throughout the
Panipat campaign, the payment of the whole army did not devolve on Sa-
dashivrao Bhau. The divisions of Shinde and Holkar and also of a few other
sardars were expected to be paid by the sardars themselves. Bhau was re-
sponsible for the payment of the Peshwa's own troops, called "Huzarat," and
directly paid corps like those under Ibrahim Khan Gardi. The inconvenience
felt by the non-receipt of revenues called in by Sadashivrao Bhau from men
like Govindpant Bundele mainly affected the Peshwa's own divisions and not
the divisions under Shinde and Holkar. The normal Maratha practice was for
the moving army to subsist on its own earnings in the regions through which
it passed. When the army was warring in a foreign territory, it would automati-
cally subsist on tributes, ransoms and spoils, but when passing through its own
dominions or the dominions of its allies, it had to buy everything it needed.
In the Panipat campaign this was the condition in the main. Khandesh,
Malwa, the Jat country, the Delhi region, were all non-belligerent territories.
Besides, due to the continuance of almost constant war in the territories sur-
rounding Delhi for almost a decade, the regions had become depopulated, non-
agricultural and insecure. Unless there was good cash in one's pocket and
one could keep the line of communication safe for caravans bringing supplies,
it was impossible to go on for any length of time. There was no government
commissariat department giving free rations or selling things at fixed prices
in those days. The bazar which accompanied a moving army was chartered,
guaranteed and given the necessary protection by the army commander no