Descendants of Maratha Prisoners of War (1761)

After the Third Battle of Panipat of 1761 in northern India, the historical record states that a large number of prisoners, mostly female civilians fleeing the battle, were taken as slaves to Afghanistan. People in Maharashtra state in India feel that some of the Maratha prisoners could have survived and settled in Afghanistan.

The theory

They believe, even now, that the enslaved descendants of prisoners of war can still be found at least in Balochistan, in the Bugti and Marri tribal areas. Moreover, the belief holds that the Maratha Bugtis and Marri in Balochistan have become a separated social group - perhaps even a dedicated caste - under Islamic rule. This ethnic group would claim descent from Marathas captives of war brought back by members of the Bugti tribe, who served the armies of Ahmad Shah Durrani after Panipat. In time these descendants most likely intermarried and converted to Islam, though they were once considered bonded labour and prohibited from buying or owning land.

A rumor exists among some Maharashtrians that, till a generation ago, Maratha-descended Bugtis and Marri could be 'bought' for twenty or thirty rupees. Rumors also circulate that, even today, Marathas-descended women living in Pakistan occupied Balochistan remain "fair game" for Bugtis and Marris. This has raised tensions between the Marathis of India and Muslims of Pakistan, making the Panipat War a politically sensitive issue, over 240 years after its conclusion.

Among Sikhs and Jats

After the defeat at Panipat, many Maratha women and children took refuge with local Sikh and Jat chieftains, possibly intermarrying with their hosts, and converting to Sikhism. It has been noted that women in the family trees of several Sikh families have Marathi names like Gajananbai, Tukabai or Indumati. The noted Sikh author Khushwant Singh's great-grandmother and her sisters had similar to Marathi names, instead of Kaur usually given to Sikh daughters. Legendary Sikh general Sardar Hari Singh was raised & tutored by his maternal grandmother Kashibai .Kashibai had taken refuge with Sardar Ramdas of Majitha.Kashibai was married to Sardar Hardas son of Sardar Ramdas on Baisakhi day in year 1761 & gave birth to mother of Sardar Hari Singh Dharmabai alias Dharma Kaur.This raises the possibility that these women came from Maratha roots.

Current position

The Maratha and Marri Bugtis took jobs as unskilled labourers, which their tribal overlords disdained. Over the years some of them have come to occupy higher positions. This caste-like phenomenon has endured for more than two centuries, in a region largely devoid of Hindus.

Unfortunately for researchers, after the Partition of India, access to the Punjab province of the newly-created Pakistan was restricted, and conformination of any Sikh-Marathas lineage became difficult. Nonetheless, several Jat families acknowledge some mixing of Maratha lineage, especially those settled around Panipat, Kunjpura, Kurukshetra and Karnal.

The fate of the descendants of Maratha prisoners taken to Afghanistan remains a poorly-understood to this day, and is likely to remain so for some time. Neither the Maharashtra state nor Maratha leadership recognise the existence of Maratha descendants in Afghanistan.