WI Marathas defeat the Duranni

SO in OTL at the third battle of panipat the amrathas suffered a stinging defeat because one of their notable comanders died on the battlefield. So lets say the commander does not die and the marathas are able to defeat ahmed shah duranni and ahmed dies. How does this victory for the marathas change the history of the subconitnent and the region in general?
 
Well, it's difficult to track down the effects, but this is potentially very huge.
You might have, in the medium term, a functional Maratha Empire encompassing most of North-central India for some time, and the timeframe in question is critical.
 
A potential capturing of Delhi? A strong Maratha empire in north and north west India, and potentially if they are good enough preventing the growth of the British Raj
 
Well, it's difficult to track down the effects, but this is potentially very huge.
You might have, in the medium term, a functional Maratha Empire encompassing most of North-central India for some time, and the timeframe in question is critical.

Not just might, at this point the Marathas were already the biggest native power in the subcontinent, defeating the Durranis and avoiding the defeat at Panipat makes them the supreme power. They also already held the Mughal empire in Delhi as basically Vassals and their army was on European levels.
In this TL the Marathas will be as a hard a nut to crack in terms of colonisation as mainland China. So don't expect a full colonisation ill india by a long shot.
 
Not just might, at this point the Marathas were already the biggest native power in the subcontinent, defeating the Durranis and avoiding the defeat at Panipat makes them the supreme power. They also already held the Mughal empire in Delhi as basically Vassals and their army was on European levels.
In this TL the Marathas will be as a hard a nut to crack in terms of colonisation as mainland China. So don't expect a full colonisation ill india by a long shot.

The issue that emerged after Third Panipat IOTL was a problem of governance and internal divisions within the Maratha state. This would be papared over by victory against the Afghans... temporarily at least. But it might re-emerge.
That's why I said "might" instead of "will".
 
The issue that emerged after Third Panipat IOTL was a problem of governance and internal divisions within the Maratha state. This would be papared over by victory against the Afghans... temporarily at least. But it might re-emerge.
That's why I said "might" instead of "will".

but after the downward spiral of the Marathas following Panipat came the 'Maratha Ressurection' under Madavrao I (who unfortunately died very early) in which the Maratha's managed to rapidly recover in the 1770s. So if they won at Panipat, and Madavrao I doesn't die in his 20s, I see no reason this scenario wouldn't be a Maratha-wank. (But tbf this is combining two PODs rather than one).
 
Had the Marathas won the Third Battle of Panipat defeating Ahmed Shah Durrani it would have firmly established the Maratha Empire strengthening the hands of Peshwa. The Marathas had recovered from this defeat and was growing more powerful. The untimely death of Madhavrao is considered a more severe blow than the defeat at Panipat. If the Peshwa had succeeded in putting the generals like Scindia, Bhosale, Holkar and Gaikwad in their places and had total control over the Maratha army the Empire would have remained intact. Then the Maratha Empire might have taken the place of former Mughal Empire preventing the total victory of the British. A situation similar to the one in China also could have developed.
 
I think this has been mentioned above, but the first order of business would be to bring the major Maratha dynasties under control. The Scindias and the Holkars are brought to mind.

In fact it was the Scindias themselves who sided with the British against the Marathas later in so the Peshwas need to take care of them. They also need to set up administrative capital in Delhi. Satara and Pune don't have enough infrastructure to rule and empire.

Next order of business would be to put proper defences against Nadir Shah's incoming invasion.
 
It was the failure of the Peshwas to retain the control of the military in their hands and to put the generals firmly in their places that enabled the Maratha generals to act independently. Once the generals had the armies under them without any superiors to control them, it was a natural development for them to start their own states and establish dynasties. Scindia, Bhosale, Holkar, Gaikwad etc. established their own states and dynasties. Peshwa, once the powerful Prime Minister who controlled the government, was reduced to be a first among equals or a just figurehead. The Empire became a confederacy and its collapse was quite natural. It was the weakening of the central authority of the Peshwa that led to the downfall of the Maratha power. A victory at the battle of Panipat and/or a long life of an efficient and strong Peshwa like Madhavrao could have altered this situation.
 
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