The Aftermath: Refugee Routes, Najib Khan's Safe Passage & The Massacre

Marathi History Book Reading Session Summary

The Exodus: Three Escape Routes

The Reality at Sunset (Sandhya - 6 PM):

• By early evening, battlefield had few remaining fighters
• No Maratha commander-in-chief (Bhau dead/gone)
• Minimal resistance remaining on battlefield
• Afghans still present but not concentrated
• Winter season meant early sunset (~5-6 PM) - fighting window closed

The Maratha Options: Soldiers who couldn't follow commanders had two choices:

1. Southeast to Delhi (difficult/hazardous route)
2. North to Panipat Town (closer but Afghan-controlled)

The Safe Passage: Holkar's Exception

Holkar's Route to Delhi:

• Crossed Chambar River (natural barrier)
• Reached Hindu-friendly area where he felt safer
• Had ~5,000 soldiers with him
• Took Parvati Bai (Bhau's wife) and her escort with him
• Traveled safely to Delhi

The Secret: Najib Khan's Protection

• Najib Khan Rohila (Afghan) gave Holkar a "royal path" (safe passage)
• Allowed Holkar's army to pass unmolested
• Special relationship: Adopted father-and-son bond
• Najib Khan instructed: "Let this guy and his army pass, don't interfere"

Why This Mattered:

• Without Najib's protection: Holkar would have been caught/killed
• Holkar couldn't have escaped with large force
• Showed cracks in Afghan-Maratha unified opposition (some personal relationships transcended politics)
• "Not everybody could do that" - Holkar was exception due to personal connection

The Consequence:

• If Najib hadn't protected Holkar: there would have been "no battle" (Afghan victory would be total)
• Holkar's escape represented smallest number surviving with organized force

The Panipat Town Refugees

Why Panipat Town Was an Option:

• Battlefield was south of Panipat Town itself
• Soldiers fleeing north could reach town (shorter distance)
• Hoped to find asylum/safety among civilian population
• Delhi route was hazardous and required permission/good fortune

The Problem:

• Afghan army could pursue into Panipat Town
• Not all refugees found safety
• "Some were lucky, some were not" (coming next in narrative)
• Most were unarmed, exhausted, desperate

The Reality:

• Either fleeing to Panipat = risky
• Or fleeing to Delhi = risky
• Most chose Panipat Town (closer)
• "They were doomed either way"
• Many found temporary asylum in villages around Panipat

The Ditch Catastrophe

The Context:

• Marathas had dug 12-foot trench around camp (defensive measure)
• Designed to prevent Afghan night infiltration
• 60 feet wide, significant barrier

The Battle Morning (January 14):

• Maratha soldiers crossed the trench to attack
• Later had to retreat back across it

The Escape Evening:

• Soldiers fleeing battlefield toward Panipat Town
• Had to cross same ditch
• In the panicked rush, many fell into it
• Suffocated from bodies piling up
• The ditch became mass grave

The Tragedy:

• Defensive structure became death trap
• Soldiers dying not from Afghan blades but from own fortifications
• Crushing, suffocation, chaos in narrow 12-foot pit

The Post-Battle Capture & Massacre

The Next Three Days (January 14-17):

• Afghans swept battlefield and surrounding area
• Caught many fleeing soldiers
• Captured prisoners of war
• Found dependents (noncombatants) who couldn't flee fast

The Scale:

• Total Maratha camp: 125,000-140,000 people
• Many were support staff, dependents, maintenance personnel
• Not all were soldiers
• Unarmed, exhausted, trapped

The Slaughter:

• "Huge massacre" over three days
• Not all prisoners taken as slaves
• Many killed immediately on battlefield/in Panipat
• Afghan practice: built minars (towers) from human heads
• Constructed ~100 such "piles of heads"

The Afghans' Precedent:

• Never before had such massacre of Hindus happened
• This was novel, setting new record
• Contemporary observation: "Won't happen in future either"
• But this statement proved wrong (foreshadowing)

Why So Many Killed vs. Enslaved:

• Too many prisoners to transport
• Logistics impossible for 125,000-140,000 person camp
• Only some could be enslaved
• Rest executed

The Pattern:

• Those with commanders (like Holkar) escaped with army
• Those without protection tried Panipat Town route
• Those caught became prisoners
• Some enslaved, many more killed
• Those who fell in ditch suffocated

Key Themes

Escape by Leadership:

• Organized army under commander = escape route (Delhi)
• Leaderless soldiers = panic, poor decisions
• Najib Khan's protection = complete safety for Holkar
• Everyone else = exposed to Afghan pursuit

The Ditch as Metaphor:

• Protection becomes trap
• Same structure that defended camp now kills defenders
• Ironic death - not in combat but in retreat
• Pile-up of bodies shows chaos/panic

Massacre as Precedent:

• Afghans establishing new level of brutality
• ~100 towers of heads = systematic, deliberate
• Shows not random violence but calculated terror
• Hindu casualties unprecedented at that scale

The Logistics of Defeat:

• Can't move 140,000 people as prisoners
• Have to make choice: enslave some, kill rest
• Murder becomes administrative problem
• Happens "next three days" - methodical, not frenzied

Dependency as Vulnerability:

• 40,000+ noncombatants (women, children, elderly) = burden
• Can't fight, can't flee quickly
• Become targets in post-battle aftermath
• Some saved (like Parvati Bai via Holkar)
• Many more caught and killed

Timeline

Geographic Reference

• Chambar River: Natural barrier between Panipat and safer Hindu areas; Holkar crosses it safely
• Delhi: Southeast direction, ~10-15 miles away; Holkar's destination
• Panipat Town: North of battlefield; close refuge but Afghan-controlled
• Panipat Villages: Surrounding areas where some found temporary asylum

Where We Left Off: Battle over. Soldiers scattered in three directions. Ditch becomes mass grave. Afghans begin systematic three-day massacre of prisoners. Towers of human heads constructed. About 100 piles created. Survivors either escaped with commanders, hid in Panipat area, or captured and killed/enslaved. The real casualty count extends beyond the battle into post-victory slaughter.

The ditch killed more people than courage did. Bhau died fighting. But thousands more died suffocating in the very fortification meant to protect them. And after that, for three days straight, the Afghans killed and stacked heads. They wanted a record. They got one. A hundred towers of skulls. That's what total victory looked like. Not just winning the battle. Winning the right to massacre the losers without restraint.