Pindari

The Pindaris (Bhalse, Maratha, Rohilla and Pathans) were irregular military plunderers and foragers from 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal Army, and later the Maratha Army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817–19 Pindari War. They were unpaid and their compensation was entirely the booty they plundered during wars and raids. They were mostly horsemen armed with spears and swords who would create chaos and deliver intelligence about the enemy positions to benefit the army they accompanied. The majority of their leaders were Muslims, but also had people of all classes and religions.

The earliest mention of them is found in the Mughal period during Aurangzeb's campaign in the Deccan, but their role expanded with the Maratha armed campaigns against the Mughal Empire. They were highly effective against the enemies given their rapid and chaotic thrust into enemy territories, but also caused serious abuses against allies such as during the Pindari raid on Sringeri Sharada Peetham in 1791. By the early 1800s, armed Pindari militia groups sought wealth for their leaders and themselves. There were an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Pindari militia during the "Gardi-ka-wakt" ("period of unrest") in north-central India around 1800–1815 CE, who plundered villages, captured people as slaves for sale, and challenged the authority of local Muslim sultanates, Hindu kingdoms, and the British colonies.

Francis Rawdon-Hastings, the Governor-General of British India, led an 120,000 strong force in early 19th-century against the Pindaris during the Third Anglo-Maratha War; the campaign became known as the Pindari War.

The term Pindar may derive from pinda, an intoxicating drink. It is a Marathi word that possibly connotes a "bundle of grass" or "who takes". They are also referred to as Bidaris in some historic texts, indicating that they originally came from the Bidar district in central India.

The Pindaris were horsemen who were mostly armed with a talwar and a large spear. They were organised into groups called durrahs each of which had a leader and were organised into different castes and classes. Allegiances were usually hereditary but membership of each durrah could be interchangeable.

The Pindaris were from a variety of traditional backgrounds, all of which appear to have been accepted within their society. In addition to their individual beliefs, the Pindaris worshipped Ramasah Veer, an ancient Pindari raider, as an icon. Pindari women would place small icons of horses in a shrine dedicated to Veer before the commencement of their raids, and the men would wear tokens stamped with his image. The Pindaris were of all classes but most of their important leaders were Muslims. They converted many of their children and the men whom they took as prisoners. Many Hindus also became converts to obtain honourable association with the fellow Pindaris.

The raids, called luhbur, would be conducted in the dry-season starting from late October. During the rainy season, the Pindari would stay with their families in their native lands around the Narmada River.

The first clear mention of Pindaris in historical texts occurs in the works of the Persian historian, Firishta, who refers to them marching with the Mughal armies of Aurangzeb during his 1689 campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Around the same time, the Italian traveler Niccolao Manucci, in his memoir about the Mughal Empire, wrote about Bederia (Pidari), stating that "these are the first to invade the enemy's territory, where they plunder everything they find."