The Battle of Khadki (Kirkee) took place on November 5th 1817 between the forces of the English East India Company and those of Bajirao II the Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy.

A detachment commanded by Lt. Col. Burr advanced from near the village of Khadki near Pune in a southwestern direction. It swung a little to the right to meet up with a batallion under Captain Ford arriving south from Dapodi via Bopodi (near the confluence of Pavana and the Mutha rivers). The batallion threw back its right wing and repulsed the Peshwa forces somewhere in the eastern part of the current University of Pune campus. It is conjectured that this event took place by a brook (probably the brook running behind the garden along the road by the Ladies Hostel) from accounts of one Mr. Jadhavrao of Malagaon who had visited the Governor's residence(currently Main Building) in the 1860s or 1870s. This gentleman had taken part in the battle and recounted its incidents while visiting the Governor. Ford's batallion linked up with Burr's forces at a place probably near the point where the current Mutha right bank canal crosses from Agricultural College into Khadki Cantonment. The Jaree-pat (Peshwa's flag) also refers to the detachment which carried it. The Jaree-pat charged the 7th Bombay Native Infantry somewhere on the current Agricultural College campus as did the Peshwa horse which is known to have floundered on account of an unknown morass. The Khadki Cantonment boundary turns North suddenly as one goes further westward. Near about this spot, it is so guessed, that Moropant Dixit, commander of Peshwa's forces was killed. The battle marked the end of the Maratha polity. A few battles were fought in sequel against the Bhosale faction at Sitabardi in Nagpur and against the Pindaris. But the Peshwa, the executive of the Maratha Confederacy was militarily defeated in the Battle of Khadki. Another brief skirmish occurred after 5th November at Yerawda following which the Peshwa fled Pune. The East India Company took over the Shaniwar Wada, the seat of the Peshwa on 17th November 1817. By 1818, the Peshwa surrendered to the East India Company.

After the battle, the East India Company troops crossed the river at a place called Yellur point which is still unidentified. Also, the morass which played a crucial role in the battle is unidentified as of today. It is expected to lie on the campus of Agricultural College. An account of the battle by Grant Duff is well known to historians. Grant Duff observed the battle from a position on the hills of Bhamburda. This location is likely to have been some place on the hill faces behind the current day Hanuman Nagar or Pandav Nagar.

References

• Memoirs of the operations of the British Army in India during the Mahratta war of 1817,1818 and 1819, London 1821- by Lt. Col. Valentine Blacker.

• J.M.Campbell, Gazeeer of the Bombay Presidency. Vol XVIII Part III Pune District, 1885.

• Pune:Queen of the Deccan - J Diddee and S. Gupta (2000) publ. Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd., Kothrud, Pune, INDIA . ISBN 81-87693-00-2

• map of the battle events and a recent satellite picture of the same area