The Pindaris (Bhalse, Pasi, Maratha, Hindustani and Pathans) were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal Army, and later the Maratha Army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817–19 Pindari War.[2] They were unpaid and their compensation was entirely the booty they plundered during wars and raids.[2] They were mostly horsemen armed with spears and swords who would create chaos and deliver intelligence about the enemy positions to benefit the army they accompanied.[3] The majority of their leaders were Muslims, but also had people of all classes and religions.[4][5]
Area under Nawab Chitu Khan
The earliest mention of them is found in the Mughal period during Aurangzeb's campaign in the Deccan, but their role expanded with the Maratha armed campaigns against the Mughal Empire.[3] They were highly effective against the enemies given their rapid and chaotic thrust into enemy territories, but also caused serious abuses against allies such as during the Pindari raid on Sringeri Sharada Peetham in 1791.[3] By the early 1800s, armed Pindari militia groups sought wealth for their leaders and themselves.[6] There were an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Pindari militia during the "Gardi-ka-wakt" ("period of unrest") in north-central India[7][8] around 1800–1815 CE, who plundered villages, captured people as slaves for sale,[9] and challenged the authority of local Muslim sultanates, Hindu kingdoms, and the British colonies.[5]
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, the Governor-General of British India, led an 120,000 strong force in early 19th-century against the Pindaris during the Third Anglo-Maratha War; the campaign became known as the Pindari War.[2][10][11]
^ abcPindari: Indian History, Encyclopaedia Britannica
^ abcRandolf Cooper (2003). The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns and the Contest for India: The Struggle for Control of the South Asian Military Economy. Cambridge University Press. pp. 32–34, 94–95, 303–305. ISBN 978-0-521-82444-6.
^"Pindari". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ abMartine van Woerkens (2002). The Strangled Traveler: Colonial Imaginings and the Thugs of India. University of Chicago Press. pp. 24–35, 43. ISBN 978-0-226-85085-6.
^Banerjee, Tarasankar (1972). "The Marathas and the Pindaris: A Study in Their Relationship". The Quarterly Review of Historical Studies. 11: 71–82.
^Banerjee 1972, p. 77
^Katare, Shyam Sunder (1972). Patterns of Dacoity in India: A Case Study of Madhya Pradesh. New Delhi: S. Chand. p. 26.
^Edward Thompson (2017). The Making of the Indian Princes. Taylor & Francis. pp. 208–217, 219–221. ISBN 978-1-351-96604-7.
^Vartavarian, Mesrob (2016). "Pacification and Patronage in the Maratha Deccan, 1803–1818". Modern Asian Studies. 50 (6): 1749–1791. doi:10.1017/S0026749X16000044. S2CID 151915975.
^Hardy, Thomas (1972). The Muslims of British India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 34–39, 51–52. ISBN 978-0-521-09783-3.
The Pindaris (Bhalse, Pasi, Maratha, Hindustani and Pathans) were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian...
The Pindari Glacier is a glacier found in the upper reaches of the Kumaon Himalayas, to the southeast of Nanda Devi and Nanda Kot. The glacier is about...
River is a river located in Uttarakhand, India. The Pindar originates from Pindari Glacier which is located in Bageshwar district of Kumaon region in Uttarakhand...
Pindari Khurd is a village in Amawan block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 9 km from Raebareli, the district headquarters...
Pindari Kalan is a village in Amawan block of Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. As of 2011, its population is 3,960, in 671 households. It has...
Pindari Dam is a minor concrete faced rockfill embankment dam with an ungated uncontrolled rock cut with concrete sill spillway across the Severn River...
of their Empire itself. Pindaris were irregular horsemen and their primary role was to plunder in return of payment. Pindaris composed of both Muslims...
to the Deogaon pact, Nizam received the Warhād as a sign of friendship. Pindāri invaded Amravati city around 1805. In 1983, Amravati became Vidarbha's...
Maharaja of Bikaner reached a settlement with Marwar. Meanwhile, Amir Khan Pindari's raids into Jaipur territory forced Jagat Singh to reach settlement with...
Retrieved 7 November 2008. Drachmann, A. B., ed. (1910). Scholia Vetera in Pindari Carmina, Vol. II. Leipzig: Teubner. Pyth.10.72. Archived from the original...
guns and 44 bullets which might have been related to Pindaris have been found here after the Pindaris looted this place. The picturesque hill was visited...
19th-century princess.[citation needed] The film revolves around the 1825 Pindari movement of Rajasthan, when India was ruled by the British. Veer did not...
Mysore as a princely states. In 1817, the British went to war with the Pindaris, raiders who were based in Maratha territory, which quickly became the...
Holkar, looked after the administration. However, with the help of Pathans, Pindaris, and the British, Dharama Kunwar and Balaram Seth plotted to imprison Tulsabai...
government offered its protection to the Rajput rulers from the Pindaris and the Marathas. The Pindari were defeated, and the Afghan adventurer Amir Khan submitted...
1806 to 1811, Syed Ahmad began his career as a Pindari horse soldier in the militia of Amir Khan Pindari, a military expeditionary at the age of 25. This...
is setting up an observatory here under the Vibrant Villages programme. Pindari Glacier Trek Kafni Glacier Trek Sunder Dhunga Trek Milam Glacier Trek Rudrahari...
battle strategy skills, which proved useful in the battle against the Pindari tribe. Devasena, during her visit to a temple cuts Sethupathi's fingers...
above the Pindari Glacier. This peak offers a ridge leading to Nanda Kot. On its massif Traill's pass is situated, which connects Pindari valley to Goriganga...
domination of Rajputana resumed. In 1817, the British went to war with the Pindaris, raiders who were fled in Maratha territory, which quickly became the Third...
due to which the captain and the tracker are accompanied by a group of Pindaris. The Gossain and the widow then meet with the former's Naga Guru, who tries...
sufficient numbers to handle imported guns.[citation needed] The raids of the Pindaris, irregular horsemen who resided in the Maratha territories, into British...
Global Information
