The last of the Peshwas was Baji Rao II, who
abdicated in 1818, after the termination of the great Maratha war,
and retired to Bithur near Cawnpore. His adopted son was the
notorious Nana Sahib. The Marquis of Hastings, in 1818, drew the Raja
of Satara from captivity, and re-established his dignity and power.
In 1839 the Raja's treachery compelled the Government of India to
depose him. His territory is now a district of the Bombay Presidency.
See Mankar, _The Life and Exploits of Shivaji_, 2nd ed., Bombay,
Nirnayasagar Press, 1886.
20. The Raja of Berar, also known as the Raja of Nagpur, was called
the Bhonsla. The misrule of Gwalior has been described _ante_, in
chapters 36 and 49. The condition of Gwalior and Indore, the capitals
of Sindhia and Holkar respectively, is now very different. The
Bhonsla has vanished.
21. Since the annexation of the Panjab in 1849, the Sikhs have justly
earned so much praise as loyal and gallant soldiers, the flower of
the Indian army, that their earlier less honourable reputation has
been effaced, Captain Francklin, writing in 1803, and apparently
expressing the opinion of George Thomas, declares that 'the Seiks are
false, sanguinary, and faithless; they are addicted to plunder and
the acquirement of wealth by any means, however nefarious'.
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