Question

Discuss the efforts taken by Lord Hastings to eliminate the Pindaris.

Answer 1

Lord Hastings won the approval of the East India Company directors in 1816 to put an end to the Pindaris. For this purpose, he developed cordial relationships with various active powers in India and began various accurate military preparations. The plan was to confront the Pindaris from all four directions – the North, Bengal in the East, Deccan in the South and Gujarat in the West. Cornwallis then entrusted the elimination task to a team comprising 120,000 men and 300 artilleries. This campaign was called the Pindari War and paved way for the Third Anglo-Maratha War.