How Yashwantrao Holkar easily defeated the British?

hello friends, how are you all. I hope everyone is having fun and being healthy. Today, in the series of Ancient Indian Kings, we are going to talk about Yashwantrao Holkar, a king

• who used to fight with gorilla warfare like Shivaji.
• who managed alone to fight with british.
• the British were so afraid of him that they entered into a treaty with him without making any kind of agreement with him.

Let us try to know the history of such a great warrior Yashwantrao Holkar today.

Yashwantrao Holkar

Who was Yashwantrao Holkar?

Yashwantrao Holkar was born on 3 December 1776 to Tukojirao Holkar in Maharashtra. Tukojirao ruled Indore after Rani Ahlyabai Holkar. Tukojirao Holkar had four sons, the eldest son being Kashirao Holkar.

So the rule of Indore was handed over to Kashirao Holkar. But the general and other responsible persons of the state did not trust Kashirao Holkar. So Yashwantrao Holkar was given the rulership of Indore.

How did the British subjugate the kings?

The Mughals were also weakened against the British at that time. The British were coming to India and running their rule. Taking advantage of the weakness of the kings, the British used to sign agreements.

The British used to take away the rule and property of the kings from the kings and gave them money to the king in the form of pension every month. The kings lived as kings but the British used to run their own laws.

Why did the kings not support Yashwantrao Holkar to fight against the British?

The British came to India and established their dominance very strongly. The British were always victorious in their battles with the Marathas and Peshwas. So Yashwantrao Holkar thought of defeating the British by making the kings as friend and forgetting the enmity of his enemy king.

king's meeting

In order to defeat the British conquering India, Yashwantrao Holkar wrote a letter to Doltarao Scindia, Bajirao Dritiya, as well as other kings and asked them to unite and fight against the British. But all the kings had already signed treaties with the British. So fearing the British, all the kings refused to support Yashwantrao Holkar in fighting against the British.

How Yashwantrao Holkar easily defeated the British?

Yashwantrao Holkar did not get the support of the kings. So he was preparing alone to fight the British. He along with his comrades used guerrilla tactics. They used to hide so cleverly in the mountain roads that they would suddenly attack the British when they came in front of them.

attack in rain

The enemy was not even given time to draw his sword. Yashwantrao Holkar deliberately chose to fight in the rainy season. So it was difficult to drag British weapons like cannons in the mud. Weapons containing incendiary material could be extinguished by rain, making warfare easier.

How did the British managed to defeat Yashwantrao Holkar?

Yashwantrao Holkar suffocated the British in many battles. He defeated the British very badly in the battle of Jaipur. So the British took the help of his special man Bhawani Shankar Khatri. Enticing Bhawani Shankar Khatri, the British took him over and then fought the war. Because of that, it was easy for the British to defeat Yashwantrao Holkar.

Why did Ranjit Singh left Yashwantrao Holkar?

Losing the war with the British, Yashwantrao Holkar once again sought help from the kings. But none of the kings came to help him due to the fear of the British. Only Ranjit Singh of Bharatpur helped him.

Again Yashwantrao Holkar and Ranjit Singh were defeating the British in battle. They both defeated the British in the battle so badly that news of the British defeat reached London.

The British general thought that if they both stayed together, the defeat of the British was certain. So to alienate Yashwantrao Holkar and Ranjit Singh, the British general started harassing the people of Bharatpur. So Ranjit Singh left him and made a treaty with the British.

Conclusion:

In this article we have seen that even if Yashwantrao Holkar was alone, he managed to defeat the British with his cunning, cleverness and guerilla policy. The British were so afraid of his war policy that they made a treaty with him without any understanding.

British had also given back the state won by Yashvantrao Holka. They not only want to defeat the British in war but also wanted to drive them out of India. So Yashwantrao Holkar was planning to build many cannon factories in Indore. But Yashwantrao Holkar died on 27 October 1811 due to illness.

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We will meet again very soon with more Ancient Indian Kings and explore more on Indian History in a new article, till then take care.