Question

When did Bhosales of Nagpur win the Odisha territory?
a. 1751 CE
b. 1752 CE
c. 1753 CE
d. 1754 CE

Answer 1

Hint: Raghoji I Bhonsale of the Bhonsale dynasty was a Maratha general. He took control of the Nagpur Kingdom in east-central India during the rule of Chhatrapati Shahu. The successors of Raghoji I were the rulers of the kingdom until 1853.

Complete answer: The Marathas invaded Bengal in the year 1741. The parts of Bengal that were invaded are Bengal Subah i.e., Bengal, Bihar and parts of modern Odisha after the successful campaigns in the Carnatic region at the Battle of Trichinopoly. The Maratha leader Raghoji I had frequently invaded Bengal which caused great destruction resulting in a huge number of civilian casualties and economic losses.
Thus, the Maratha leader was able to annex Odisha and parts of Bengal to his empire permanently as he had exploited the mess caused due to the death of the governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. So, finally, the Marathas won the Odisha territory in the year 1751.

Note: Raghoji I Bhonsale took very bold decisions. He was the archetype of a Maratha leader. He took advantage of troubles caused in other states and invaded and plundered them immediately. Thus, because of this nature only, he was able to obtain the cession of Cuttack, Chanda as well as Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur from 1745 to 1755. The Nawab of Bengal had also surrendered his territory up to the river Suvarnarekha to the Marathas and paid a huge amount of money as Chauth.