290Burhan-ul-Mulk and Chandela Chief The area adjacent to the southern borders of Awadh in sarkar Qanauj of Agra province was in the zamindari of the Chandelas who under the leadership of Hindu Singh were a constant source of danger to the governor of Awadh. In November 1722, Burhan-ul-Mulk led an expedition against him and though the zamindars were temporarily contained, Burhan-ul-Mulk suffered a serious loss and the bakshi of his army was killed in the battle.56

Burhan-ul-Mulk wanted this area to be under his own control or at least in the hands of a friend in order to watch the movements of the Afghans in Farrukhabad. In 1729, with the collaboration of his ally, Gopal Singh Bhadauria, therefore, he again led a campaign against the Chandelas and besieged the fortress of Chachendi where they had taken shelter. Eventually with the help of what is alleged to have been a deceitful act on the part of the Bhadauria Raja, the fortress and the zamindari of the Chandela chief came into the possession of Burhan-ul-Mulk. Hindu Singh fled to the territory of the Bundelas. After his death, the zamindari and the fortress were restored to his son, Antrit Singh, on the mediation of the Bundela chief.57

(p.266) Saudar Jang and the Eangash Afghans of Farrukhaead Since Allahabad province and for that matter any other province or group of sarkars of the region were no longer under Muhammad Khan, the prospects of his rising to a position at par with that of the governor of Awadh had ended. Safdar Jang, however, had to reckon with the Afghans in Farrukhabad, in particular when the Rohillas of the Moradabad-Bareilly region on the northwestern borders of Awadh had openly turned hostile to him.58 These Afghans when unified could give the governor of Awadh a great deal of trouble. Friendly postures towards the Bangash Afghans of Farrukhabad signifying a modification in Burhan-ul-Mulk’s policy, were thus thought to be more pragmatic.

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291The Imperial Court, the New Subadars and the Region

On the other hand, the old and ageing Bangash chief had also accepted reality. He diplomatically rejected Safdar Jang’s overtures by assuring him of his cooperation in the latter’s bid to suppress the disturbances in and around the province of Awadh.59 In 1743 when Safdar Jang left for Delhi, the Bangash chief wrote to him inviting him to pass through Bangash territory and make a brief stopover at (p.267) Farrukhabad.60 Again, during the imperial campaigns against the Rohillas of Moradabad, Qaim Khan remained allied with Safdar Jang, even though Qamar-ud-Din Khan, the wazir, made every possible effort, as we shall see below, to alienate him from the governor of Awadh.

Yet, Safdar Jang was not unmindful of the threat the Bangash Afghans were capable of posing to his authority in Awadh. Since control over Qanauj was thought to be necessary to watch and check the movements of the Afghans of Farrukhabad, Safdar Jang secured a jagir in pargana Bara in sarkar Qanauj.61 He also obtained on ijara the jagirs of a number of the other nobles in the sarkar.62 It is very likely that his jagir and ijara implied faujdari powers as well. A fairly big area in sarkar Qanauj was thus virtually under his control.

Besides, there appears to be a change in Safdar Jang’s attitude towards the Bangash Afghans after the death of Muhammad Khan when the wazir tried constantly to incite the young Bangash chief, Qaim Khan, against the governor of Awadh. When Ali Muhammad Khan, the rebel Rohilla chief of sarkar Moradabad died in 1748 Safdar Jang persuaded (p.268) the emperor to appoint Qaim Khan to the faujdari of the sarkar and call upon him to recover it from the possession of the Rohillas. This was obviously a device to keep the Bangash chief engaged with the Rohillas. Qaim Khan would thus be unable to rise to a position whereby he could endanger the stability in Awadh. Safdar Jang got much more than he had hoped for. Qaim Khan perished with most of his sardars in his encounter against the Rohillas.63

With the death of Qaim Khan came the best opportunity for Sardar Jang to finally dismantle the Bangash power in Farrukhabad. As the wazir of the empire, he pressed on the emperor to confiscate the jagirs and the properties of the Bangash chief. In view of the decaying finance of the empire, Ahmad Shah readily agreed to the proposal.64 As Safdar Jang feared stiff resistance from the Afghans, he marched along with the emperor and a huge army. Though he failed in his bid and the Afghans even captured several districts of his province, the set-back was only temporary. Very soon he invited the Marathas to his assistance and then gave a crushing blow to the Afghans. The Afghans had to part with onehalf of their country to the Maratha allies of Safdar Jang in order to purchase peace from the governor of Awadh.65

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