page_title: Third Anglo-Maratha War
section_title: The Pindaris
hierarchical_section_title: Third Anglo-Maratha War / Commencement / The Pindaris
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of British India, 1823
context_page_description: The Third Anglo-Maratha War was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of the Maratha territory by British East India Company troops, and although the British were outnumbered, the Maratha army was decimated. The troops were led by the Governor General Hastings supported by a force under General Thomas Hislop. Operations began against the Pindaris, a band of Muslim mercenaries and Marathas from central India.
  Peshwa Baji Rao II's forces, supported by those of Mudhoji II Bhonsle of Nagpur and Malharrao Holkar III of Indore, rose against the East India Company. Pressure and diplomacy convinced the fourth major Maratha leader, Daulatrao Shinde of Gwalior, to remain neutral even though he lost control of Rajasthan.
  British victories were swift, resulting in the breakup of the Maratha Empire and the loss of Maratha independence. The Peshwa was defeated in the battles of Khadki and Koregaon. Several minor battles were fought by the Peshwa's forces to prevent his capture.
context_section_description: After the second Anglo-Maratha war, Shinde and Holkar had lost many of their territories to the British. They encouraged the Pindaris to raid the British territories. The Pindaris, who were mostly cavalry, came to be known as the Shindeshahi and the Holkarshahi after the patronage they received from the respective defeated Maratha leaders. The Pindari leaders were Setu, Karim Khan, Dost Mohammad, Tulsi, Imam Baksh, Sahib Khan, Kadir Baksh, Nathu, and Bapu. Of these, Setu, Karim Khan, and Dost Mohammad belonged to Shindeshahi and the rest to Holkarshahi. The total strength of the Pindaris in 1814 was estimated at 33,000. The Pindaris frequently raided villages in Central India. The result of the Pindari raids was that Central India was being rapidly reduced to the condition of a desert because the peasants were unable to support themselves on the land. They had no option but to join the robber bands or starve. In 1815, 25,000 Pindaris entered the Madras Presidency and destroyed over 300 villages on the Coromandel coast. Another band swept the Nizam's kingdom while a third entered Malabar. Other Pindari raids on British territory followed in 1816 and 1817. Francis Rawdon-Hastings saw that there could not be peace or security in India until the predatory Pindaris were extinguished.
caption: Location of Malwa in an 1823 depiction of India. Malwa was the headquarters of some of the Pindaris in the early 19th century
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