The Legend of Ibrahim Khan Gardi the Phastun Pathan

In the recent times we have seen emergence of many hero’s who were long lost or were deliberately ignored by our famed historians. For such ignorance has always existed since Independence, specially if the concerned Character is one who had actively participated, fought & gave up his life for Akhand Bharat Varsh.

And one such hero Is a Pathan trained by the French to become an Artillery Legend who used to disseminate his enemy like slicing a knife through the butter, he is none other than the Legendary Artillery exponent of 18^th Century who was tortured to a horrible death by Ahmad Shah Abdali, after he refused to join Abdali’s forces & had been turning down lucrative offers with the religion tag line. He absorbed within himself all the pain inflicted by the Durrani Ahmad Shah Abdali but could never think of even once of deserting his Master Sadashiv Rao Bhau the Commander in Chief of Peshwa & the Supreme Commander of the Maratha forces at the Third Battle of Panipat. Such examples will never be shared with us, but I have been his ardent fan ever since the days of TV Block Buster “ The Great Maratha” which showcased the life of Mahadji Scindia responsible for the resurrection of the Maratha Empire along with The Holkars & Nana Fadnavis. How many of us know that The battle field of Panipat till today holds his memorial & the soil still speaks of the gallantry & supreme sacrifice of Ibrahim Khan Gardi & his 12000 Gardis, as they used to call themselves proudly (Telgi Origin).

Ibrahim Khan Gardi initially was the Artillery In Charge of the Nizams but when Bhau defeated the Nizam’s he was mighty impressed by Ibrahim & honored him with the position of his Artillery in Charge & Second in Command of the mighty Maratha force in 1759. Gardi was handpicked & specially trained by another great French Artillery exponent of 18th Century Bussy (later Governor General of the French colony of Pondicherry from 1783 to 1785). Ibrahim Khan Gardi was the best Gardi trained by de Bussy . The term " Gardi " came to be applied to the troops and officers trained by Bussy with strict regulations about discipline, uniforms, arms, marches and other military essentials, which were till then conspicuous in India by their absence, and which the Marathas with their strong self-will particularly hated . Bussy spent the first three years of his life in India (1747-49) in selecting proper well-built candidates for service with a strong physique and measured height and in training them for the purposes of infantry and artillery during field-operations and sieges. Ibrahim Khan was the son of Muzaffar Khan Gardi’s  sister.

Sadashivrao granted Ibrahim Khan the sole management of Peshwa’s artillery. Ibrahim Khan entered the services of Peshwa with 12,000 French-trained sepoys forming 12 battalions of thousand men each. Ibrahim Khan led Peshwa’s artillery in the battle of Udgir and fought against the Gardis of Nizam Ali. In this battle Ibrahim Khan displayed an impressive show of his French capacities and talent.

Impressed by his capacities Sadshivrao decided to take Ibrahim Khan in the Panipat campaign. Ibrahim Khan set out from Patdur with 8,000 gardi sepoys. Nana Fadnavis or Keshrav Rao Panse one of the few survivors of The Third Battle of Panipat had actually played a pivotal role in getting Gardi recruited & placed in the Maratha force after talking to Bhau. Ibrahim Khan proved useful at Delhi and Kunjpura where his guns created havoc in the Afghan camps. Impressed by this general of Sadshivrao, the Afghans tried to detach him from the Marathas in the name of religion but this loyal general boldly turned down all lucrative offers. It was on the advice of Ibrahim Khan that Sadshivrao decided to entrench himself at Panipat. Finally in the main battle fought on 14th January, it was his war plan (of moving in a hollow square formation) that was implemented by Sadshivrao but was not consistently followed by his Maratha Generals. Needless to say that the rise of Gardi was not viewed with due respect by the other Maratha Generals, who did’nt consider the final military plan leading to a complete carnage of the Maratha’s.

Regarding this episode Nana Phadnavis wrote on 28th November : “The Afghans have been impressed by him” . Impressed by this general of Sadshivrao , the Afghans tried to detach him from the Marathas in the name of religion but this loyal general boldly turned down all lucrative offers. It was on the advice of Ibrahim Khan that Sadshivrao decided to entrench himself at Panipat .Finally in the main battle fought on 14th January. It was his war plan (of moving in a hollow square formation) that was implemented by Sadshivrao Bhau. While the battle was fought on the fateful day of 14^th Jan 1762 which was a Makar Sankranti, the biggest impediment was the chilling January Winter that battered the Maratha forces whose clothing was not fit for the weather & also that after camping there for 02 months they were out of ration. Thus the Maratha’s fought with an empty stomach, battling the chilling January winter of North Indian plains. On the other hand the Durrani & Rohilla forces were not only numerically superior but well prepared in all respect. Inspite of this Ibrahim Khan Gardi & his Telgi Artillery unit demolished the Durrani defenses immediately with the start of the fight. The casualties were huge within first 04 hours at the Durrani & Rohilla forces which lost 15000 men & cavalry, when Gardi’s Guns opened fire from the right wing of the Maratha formation.

Late afternoon on January 14, 1761, Maratha generals and soldiers fleeing the battlefield at Panipat took with them an indelible memory of Ibrahim Khan Gardi's artillery and musketeers wreaking havoc on the enemy "like a knife slicing through butter". Despite their thinning ranks, the French-trained Telangi infantry, who called themselves Gardis in the honour of their illustrious commander, fought like true professionals. Though predominantly Muslim, they stayed loyal to the Brahmin Peshwa and fought a Muslim coalition, ignoring blandishments and threats till the very end. If all Maratha generals had stuck to the original plan drawn up by Ibrahim Khan-that of forming a hollow infantry square and forcing a passage to Delhi by destroying the Afghan right flank-the result of the Third Battle of Panipat could have been different.

Although the Battle was lost by 3pm after both Sadashiv Rao Bhau was killed, Gardi kept on firing his guns & inflicting royal damages to the Durrani forces till the evening.. His extreme sense of loyalty to his master Sadashivrao Bhau, Ibrahim Khan fought to his end and was captured only when all his famed Maratha musketeers laid down their lives, one by one, or simply vanished during the night of 14 January 1761 when darkness fell on the battlefield. Some of Ibrahim Khan Artillery detachment with infantry and musketeers kept on fighting while defending their positions until sunset to escape in the darkness of night. His plan was to keep the Durrani forces engaged & then pass over to Delhi with the remaining / surviving catchment of the Maratha forces. But he ran out of luck & his men were killed one by one or escaped, leading to his capture in the evening in a wounded condition. Even in his captivity he was once again offered to join Abdali in the name of Islam & his origin being of a Pathan. But in that condition even he did’nt budge & laid down his life through immense torture honoring his commitment towards the Hindu Swaraj & the Maratha’s.

He was an epitome of sacrifice, bonding (special bondage with Bhau) & un parallel grit & chivalry. A master strategist & a great Commander who loved his men & was equally loved & respected back, so much so that to this date, some of the Pardhi communities' folklore have various songs in praise of Ibrahim Khan as well as Suleiman Khan Gardhi. The family and army of Ibrahim Khan Gardi kept on serving Peshwa’s as personal guards as well as musketeers until the end of the Peshwa rule in 1818.