History of Delhi Under the Later Mughals

PREFACE

This book is a study of Delhi and its adjacent territory during the late Mughul and early British periods. It covers the period from the emergence of the ‘Kingdon of Delhi’ with the reces- sion of both Afghans and Marathas after the battle of Panipat in 1761, until the Mutiny in 1857.

The first section of the book is a sketch of the Kingdom of Delhi until the British conquest in 1803, special attention being paid to the period 1782-8 when the kingdom passed from a precarious independence to Maratha control. While secondary authorities have been largely used for this period, the object being to analyse and co-ordinate already available material, original sources have been used for the vital years 1782-88.

The second part of the book consists of a series of studies of the Delhi city and Territory under British administration from 1803-57. This part falls into three sections. The first deals with the relations of the British with the Mughul emperors or ‘Kings of Delhi’ and the internal life of the Mughul family. The second is a study of the British administration of the Delhi Territory and specially of the ‘Metcalfe system’. This has been dealt with by Kaye and Thompson in their lives of Charles Metcalfe, but from a different point of view. The third deals with a number of separate topics-British life in Delhi, the Colebrooke case, the Fraser murder and finally the Mutiny and its aftermath in Delhi mainly from the Indian point of view.

The second and third sections of this book are based on original sources. These materials, both manuscript and printed, are drawn from the official records, Parliamentary papers, diaries and memoirs, and private papers to which I have been fortunate to be given access. A substantial proportion, though not of course all these materials, have been used for the first time.

The first purpose of this study is to help in the clarification of north Indian history during the period 1760-1800 by obtaining a clear picture of the Delhi kingdom, its extent, its resources, its degree of independence and the cause of its fall. After 1800 the book seeks to clarify British policy towards rent Vaue the Mughuls and estimate the degree of both its expediency and success. On the British side it seeks to discover the special features of Charles Metcalfe’s ‘Delhi System’ and its relation to the problem of village autonomy under British administra- tion, and the nature of the administrative abuses which persisted in India after the Cornwallis reforms. The life of the British in up-country India during the first half of the nine- teenth century is then described. The study is completed by the drawing of pictures of Delhi during and immediately after the Mutiny as seen principally through Indian eyes.

References to authorities are giver serially chapter by chapter at the end of the text. A general note on authorities for each chapter, a bibliography and a glossary of Indian terms used will also be found at the end.

A word should be added on the transliteration of Indian names. In general the Hunterian system has been followed as modified in the later volumes of the Cambridge History of India. The letter ‘q’ has been used for and in the spelling of place-names the usage of the Imperial Gazetteer has been generally followed. Diacritical marks have been generally omitted. But to avoid confusion to those not acquainted with India the traditional spelling has been retained in the case of well-known places. Thus Delhi itself is preferred to the Urdu Dehli or the Hindu Dilli (beloved of Charles Metcalfe); Mirat appears in its familiar guise of Meerut and Cawnpore instead of the correct Kanpur.

This book owes much to many people. First, as in duty bound, I would express my gratitude to the Trustees of the Leverhulme Research Trust, whose award of a Fellowship provided the leisure which made this work possible. Next, I would record my grateful thanks to those in charge of various record offices whose help was invaluable as their kindness and courtesy were unfailing. They are Dr H. N. Randle and the late W. F. Ottewill of the India Office Library, Dr S. N. Sen, lately Director of the National Archives of India, and his colleagues, the late Khan Bahadur A. F. M. Abdul Ali, Keeper of the Indian Imperial Records, the late H. L. O. Garrett, Keeper of the Punjab Records, and two Chief Com- missioners of Delhi, Sir Evan Jenkins and Mr A. V. Askwith, C.I.E. For access to and the use of private papers I am in-

debted to Mrs Hardcastle and Miss Clive Bayley (Metcalfe Family Papers), the late Duke of Portland, through the late Philip Morrell (the Lord William Bentinck Papers), and the Master of Trinity (the early Trevelyan Papers). To the late Edward Thompson and the late Sir Frank Noyce I owe much; without the encouragement of the first this book migt.. never have been begun and without the insistence of the latter it might never have been finished. I owe valuable suggestions to Dr R. B. Whitehead and also to Dr I. H Qureshi, Mr Guy Wint, Mr J. F. Bruce, and Mr H. G. Rawlinson. Most of all my thanks are due to my wife whose assistance in many ways has been invaluable throughout.

T. G. P. S.