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| {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} | | #REDIRECT [[Bargis]] |
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| {{Infobox criminal organization
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| |name = Bargi
| | {{R from move}} |
| |image =
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| |image_size =
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| |caption =
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| |founded = unknown
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| |named after = Sanskrit word for to seize
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| |founding_location = [[Indian subcontinent]]
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| |years_active = unknown
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| |territory = [[Indian subcontinent]]
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| |membership = unknown
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| |allies = [[Peshwa]]
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| |rivals = [[Mughal Empire]] <br> [[Durrani Empire|Durrani Emirate]] <br> [[British Raj]] <br>
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| }} | | }} |
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| '''Bargis''' were a light cavalry of [[Maratha Empire]]'s who indulged in large scale plundering of the countryside of western part of [[Bengal]] for about ten years (1741–1751) during the [[Maratha expeditions in Bengal]]. Maratha invasions took place almost as an annual event for 10 years.
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| == Etymology ==
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| According to historian [[Nitish Sengupta]], ''Bargi'' is a corruption of a Marathi word ''bargi'', which denoted horsemen who were supplied with horses and weapons by the state, in contrast to ''[[shiledar]]s'', who brought their own.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2001 |title=History of the Bengali-speaking People |publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors |page=137 |isbn=978-81-7476-355-6 |quote=This is a popular corruption of a Maratha word ''bargi'', which meant horsemen who were provided with horses and arms by the Maratha state in contrast to ''siladars'' who provided their own horses and arms.}}</ref>
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| Bargi are also known as Jogi or Gosain in Eastern Bundelkhand region . In short , they all sums up as Pindaris of Hindu origin based out of Peshwa territories of North India .
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| == History ==
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| [[Alivardi Khan]] became Nawab of Bengal in April 1740 by defeating and killing [[Sarfaraz Khan]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |year=2012 |chapter=Alivardi Khan |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Alivardi_Khan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> His seizure of power was challenged by Sarfaraz Khan's brother-in-law Rustam Jung, who enlisted the backing of [[Raghoji I Bhonsle]], the Maratha ruler of [[Nagpur]]. Historian [[Nitish Sengupta]] writes that in the ensuing campaign, the Marathas "discovered how easy it was to plunder Bengal's rich countryside through lightning raids". Maratha cavalry pillaged Bengal on being requested by Rustam Jung.<ref name="Sengupta2001p132" /> In April 1742, they crossed the Damodar River at [[Panchet]] and began looting and burning.<ref name="Sengupta2001p132">{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2001 |title=History of the Bengali-speaking People |publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors |page=132 |isbn=978-81-7476-355-6 |quote=Within a few months of his accession by the power of sword ... his rule was challenged by Rustam Jung ... Jung sought the help of Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur ... having once discovered how easy it was to plunder Bengal's rich countryside through lightning raids, the Marathas were tempted to invade Bengal again and again ... Maratha cavalry under Bhaskar Pandit was sent to Bengal by the Bhonsle ruler of Nagpur. It entered Burdwan through Panchet and started looting ... For about 10 years ... Maratha horsemen would appear every year, plundering the whole territory west of the Hooghly river.}}</ref><ref name=Banglapedia>{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |year=2012 |chapter=Maratha Raids |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Maratha_Raids |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=10 November 2015 |archive-date=18 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018044543/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Maratha_Raids |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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| For about ten years, the Bargis raided and plundered Bengal every year.<ref name="Sengupta2001p132" /> Contemporary sources describe the ineffectiveness of the nawab's army in the face of the Bargis' hit-and-run tactics. The raiders' aim was not battle or conquest, but plunder. Alivardi's soldiers could not match the Maratha horsemen in speed and maneuverability. Only the [[Ganges River|Ganges]]-[[Hooghly River|Bhagirathi]] river line restrained them. They crossed it to raid eastern Bengal only a few times.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2001 |title=History of the Bengali-speaking People |publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors |page=133 |isbn=978-81-7476-355-6 |quote=Contemporary chroniclers also left vivid descriptions of the bargi terror, their hit-and-run tactics and the helplessness of the nawab's army in effectively checking them in the face of their unwillingness to be engaged in pitched battles ... [Alivardi's] soldiers were unable to move fast and keep pace with the speed and easy maneuverability of the Maratha horsemen ... their object was not occupation but plundering ... Only the Ganga-Bhagirath river-line proved an effective barrier to their movement. They crossed over to the eastern side only on a few occasions.}}</ref>
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| The Bargi invasions ended in May 1751 when the nawab and the Marathas made peace.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2001 |title=History of the Bengali-speaking People |publisher=UBS Publishers' Distributors |page=135 |isbn=978-81-7476-355-6 |quote=The nearly 10 year period of Maratha invasion came to an end only in May 1751 when the Marathas and the nawab entered into a peace treaty}}</ref>
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| ==Impact==
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| The repeated raids played on the creative impulse of the people.
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| খোকা ঘুমালো পাড়া জুড়ালো বর্গী এল দেশে <br>
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| বুলবুলিতে ধান খেয়েছে খাজনা দেব কিসে?
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| :''khoka ghumalo, paṛa juṛalo, borgi (bargi) elo deshe<br>bulbulite dhan kheyechhe, khajna debo kiše?''
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| :When the children fall asleep, silence sets in, the Bargis come to our lands<br>[[Bulbul]]s have eaten the grains, how shall I pay the tax?<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Wakil |year=2012 |chapter=Folk Literature |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Folk_Literature |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>
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| ==See also==
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| * [[Maratha Ditch]]
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| * [[Bengal Subah]]
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| * [[Pindari]]
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist}}
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| [[Category:History of Bengal]]
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| [[Category:Dhangar]]
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| [[Category:Looting]]
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