Latest / The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History
The Bargi Raids: Maratha Lightning in Bengal's Heart
In 1742, the Maratha horsemen of Raghuji Bhonsle descended on Bengal like a storm, sacking villages and extracting a brutal tax known as chauth. This episode traces the Bargi raids from their first thunderous arrival at the Hooghly to the desperate countermeasures of Nawab Alivardi Khan, who built a massive trench—the Maratha Ditch—that later became a defining line of colonial Calcutta. We meet the renegade Mir Habib, whose shifting loyalties opened the door to invasion, and the Afghan general Mustafa Khan, whose betrayal nearly sealed Bengal's fate. Through eyewitness accounts and local…
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