According to historians the term bargi (or in Common Bengali "borgi") comes from the Hindustani word bargir, which described cavalry whose equipment and horses were provided by the government.
[2] His seizure of power was challenged by Sarfaraz Khan's brother-in-law Rustam Jung, who enlisted the backing of Raghoji I Bhonsle, the Maratha King of Nagpur.
[3][4] The Maratha Ditch was built by the British East India Company around Fort William to protect the city of Calcutta from the ruthless Bargi raids.
[11] One traditional lullaby "Child sleeps, Neighbourhood sleeps" ("Khoka ghumalo, para juralo"), translated, reads:[11] When the children fall asleep, silence sets in, the bargis come to our lands Bulbuls have eaten the grains, how shall I pay the khajna (tax)?The Hindu Maratha soldiers invaded and occupied western Bengal up to the Hooghly River.
[12] During that period of invasion by the Marathas, mercenaries called as "bargis", perpetrated atrocities against the local population,[12] against Bengali Hindus and Biharis.
Those who had money gave it, those who had none were killed.According to the Bengali text Maharashtra Purana:[12] Durga ordered her followers to be gracious to the Muslim Nawab and oppose the Marathas, because the evil-minded ones had killed Brahmans and Vaisnavas.This devastated Bengal's economy, as many of the people killed in the Bargi raids included merchants, textile weavers,[15] silk winders, and mulberry cultivators.
Industries such as agriculture and trade were dislocated and a large number of people migrated from Western Bengal to Northern and Eastern districts.