Maharashtra on the Eve of 1848 | Maharashtra State PSC (MPSC): Preparation - MPSC (Maharastra) PDF Download

 Page 1


 
 
 
 
MAHARASHTRA ON THE EVE OF 1848 
 
 
  
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Maharashtra was a part and parcel of erstwhile Bombay 
state along with Gujarat. It was popularly known as Bombay 
Presidency, which was created by the British when they became 
undisputed power of the Western part of India. Maharashtra came 
into existence on 1
st
 May1960, as a separate state on the linguistic 
basis. It has Gujarat to its northern side, Madhya Pradesh to its 
north east and eastern borders, Goa and Karnataka are on its 
southern side whereas the Arabian Sea is nestled in the Western 
border. Maharashtra covers almost 3, 06,059 square Kilometers 
area of the country.  
 
 In Maharashtra the Maratha community is dominant, which is 
the direct result of the Aryan penetration from the north east and 
the north. It subsequently mixed with the strong local population 
and absorbed local words and expressions into their language. V. 
MAHARASHTRA	ON	THE	EVE	OF	1848	
Page 2


 
 
 
 
MAHARASHTRA ON THE EVE OF 1848 
 
 
  
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Maharashtra was a part and parcel of erstwhile Bombay 
state along with Gujarat. It was popularly known as Bombay 
Presidency, which was created by the British when they became 
undisputed power of the Western part of India. Maharashtra came 
into existence on 1
st
 May1960, as a separate state on the linguistic 
basis. It has Gujarat to its northern side, Madhya Pradesh to its 
north east and eastern borders, Goa and Karnataka are on its 
southern side whereas the Arabian Sea is nestled in the Western 
border. Maharashtra covers almost 3, 06,059 square Kilometers 
area of the country.  
 
 In Maharashtra the Maratha community is dominant, which is 
the direct result of the Aryan penetration from the north east and 
the north. It subsequently mixed with the strong local population 
and absorbed local words and expressions into their language. V. 
MAHARASHTRA	ON	THE	EVE	OF	1848	
 
 
P.  Dandekar says that Aryans advanced towards the great forest, 
which came to be known as Mahakantara or Dandakaranya in the 
seventh century B.C. during the third century B. C. there were the 
small kingdoms of Bhild, Katkaries Thakurs, Kolis and Nagas who 
were the aboriginals of Maharashtra. It means the Dravidians were, 
the inhabitants of Maharashtra before the advent of the Aryans. 
Maharashtra was a part and parcel of the Mauryan empire during 
the period of 321 B. C. and 184 B. C. in which the Buddhism and 
Jainism rooted herein, which is clear from the Damal (1095 A. D) 
and Miraj (1110 A. D) inscriptions. These cave inscriptions show 
that the several sections in the society in Maharashtra were 
devotees of Buddhism and Jainism.  
 
 P. V. Kane says that Maharashtra is called after the name of 
the great track of forest land Mahakantara during the period of 
Satvahana in 200 B. C.  He derived the word Maharashtra from 
MAHAN RASTRA means a great nation. Historian R. G. 
Bhandarkar derived the word Maharashtra from the people 
RASTRAIKAS or RATTAS. Marathi, the language spoken in 
Maharashtra belongs to the group of languages derived from 
Sanskrit language, which was spoken language but it was ceased 
and Prakrit became the language of people during the 5th century 
B. C. The Prakrit dialect of Maharashtra was Maharastri in use for 
many centuries and finally it became a distinct and established 
Marathi language in the 8
th
 century A. D. R. G. Harse says that 
there are some epigraphical records in connection with the Marathi 
language but they are of later age as one them is Sravan Belgola 
the inscription of Camundaraja, The Prime Minister of Ganga King 
of 983 A. D. The second reference is of Marathi song in the popular 
work Manasollasa or Abhilasitarthacintamani of Someshwara III, 
which was written in 1130 A. D.  
 
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MAHARASHTRA 
  
The early political history of Maharashtra is traced from the 
4
th
 century B. C. There is Mora port on the Karanja Island near 
Mumbai. It is named after the Mauryan suzerainty over the area. 
After the decline of Mauryan Empire, the Satavahanas came to 
power in Deccan, that ruled Maharashtra from Pratisthana, the 
present Paithan a Tahsil Headquarter in Aurangabad district, which 
came to an end in the year 218. The Traikutakas came to power in 
Maharashtra and ruled some of the parts like vidarbha from 250 
onwards. After the decline of Traikutkas, the Vakatakas controlled 
whole Maharashtra. Subsequently, the Kalacuris and the 
Chalukyas came to power respectively and ruled Maharashtra up to 
1180 A. D. from Badami as their capital, which is in the present 
state of Karnataka. Dantidurga the first King of Chalakya dynasty 
conquered the whole Deccan. Krishna, the successor of Dantidurga 
Page 3


 
 
 
 
MAHARASHTRA ON THE EVE OF 1848 
 
 
  
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Maharashtra was a part and parcel of erstwhile Bombay 
state along with Gujarat. It was popularly known as Bombay 
Presidency, which was created by the British when they became 
undisputed power of the Western part of India. Maharashtra came 
into existence on 1
st
 May1960, as a separate state on the linguistic 
basis. It has Gujarat to its northern side, Madhya Pradesh to its 
north east and eastern borders, Goa and Karnataka are on its 
southern side whereas the Arabian Sea is nestled in the Western 
border. Maharashtra covers almost 3, 06,059 square Kilometers 
area of the country.  
 
 In Maharashtra the Maratha community is dominant, which is 
the direct result of the Aryan penetration from the north east and 
the north. It subsequently mixed with the strong local population 
and absorbed local words and expressions into their language. V. 
MAHARASHTRA	ON	THE	EVE	OF	1848	
 
 
P.  Dandekar says that Aryans advanced towards the great forest, 
which came to be known as Mahakantara or Dandakaranya in the 
seventh century B.C. during the third century B. C. there were the 
small kingdoms of Bhild, Katkaries Thakurs, Kolis and Nagas who 
were the aboriginals of Maharashtra. It means the Dravidians were, 
the inhabitants of Maharashtra before the advent of the Aryans. 
Maharashtra was a part and parcel of the Mauryan empire during 
the period of 321 B. C. and 184 B. C. in which the Buddhism and 
Jainism rooted herein, which is clear from the Damal (1095 A. D) 
and Miraj (1110 A. D) inscriptions. These cave inscriptions show 
that the several sections in the society in Maharashtra were 
devotees of Buddhism and Jainism.  
 
 P. V. Kane says that Maharashtra is called after the name of 
the great track of forest land Mahakantara during the period of 
Satvahana in 200 B. C.  He derived the word Maharashtra from 
MAHAN RASTRA means a great nation. Historian R. G. 
Bhandarkar derived the word Maharashtra from the people 
RASTRAIKAS or RATTAS. Marathi, the language spoken in 
Maharashtra belongs to the group of languages derived from 
Sanskrit language, which was spoken language but it was ceased 
and Prakrit became the language of people during the 5th century 
B. C. The Prakrit dialect of Maharashtra was Maharastri in use for 
many centuries and finally it became a distinct and established 
Marathi language in the 8
th
 century A. D. R. G. Harse says that 
there are some epigraphical records in connection with the Marathi 
language but they are of later age as one them is Sravan Belgola 
the inscription of Camundaraja, The Prime Minister of Ganga King 
of 983 A. D. The second reference is of Marathi song in the popular 
work Manasollasa or Abhilasitarthacintamani of Someshwara III, 
which was written in 1130 A. D.  
 
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MAHARASHTRA 
  
The early political history of Maharashtra is traced from the 
4
th
 century B. C. There is Mora port on the Karanja Island near 
Mumbai. It is named after the Mauryan suzerainty over the area. 
After the decline of Mauryan Empire, the Satavahanas came to 
power in Deccan, that ruled Maharashtra from Pratisthana, the 
present Paithan a Tahsil Headquarter in Aurangabad district, which 
came to an end in the year 218. The Traikutakas came to power in 
Maharashtra and ruled some of the parts like vidarbha from 250 
onwards. After the decline of Traikutkas, the Vakatakas controlled 
whole Maharashtra. Subsequently, the Kalacuris and the 
Chalukyas came to power respectively and ruled Maharashtra up to 
1180 A. D. from Badami as their capital, which is in the present 
state of Karnataka. Dantidurga the first King of Chalakya dynasty 
conquered the whole Deccan. Krishna, the successor of Dantidurga 
 
 
extended the borders of Maharashtra to the Vindya Mountains in 
the north to Canjeevaram in the sourth. As the Vakatakas carved 
the beautiful cave no. 16, 17 and 19 at the Ajanta caves during their 
period, the Chalukya King Krishna built the beautiful Kaitas temple 
at the Ellora caves.  
 
 In the 12
th
 century A. D. the Chalukyan Empire was divided 
into the three dynasties as the Yadavas, the Hoysalas and the 
Kakatiyas. The Yadavas ruled from Devgiri i.e. Daulatabad a 
Taluka Headquarter in present Aurangabad District. The Hoysalas 
from the area of present Karnataka and the Kakatiyas ruled 
Talangana, which is one of the important divisions of todays Andra 
Pradesh. In the last decade of the Thirteenth Century, Ala-uddin 
Khilji reached Devgiri and recovered huge indemnity from the 
Devgiri ruler, which made Devgiri a vassal state. The other Maratha 
warriors, who did not submit to the Muslim, were driven towards 
Maval, the eastern ranges of Sahyadri. In the second half of the 
fifteenth century, the Muslim rulers of Deccan became tolerant 
towards the Hindus. As the result the Maratha chieftains began to 
accept services under such Muslim rulers and received attractive 
rewards for their bravery.  
 
 In the Seventeenth Century, the Maratha in Maval, Konkan, 
Karad, Pune and Ahmednager regions got independence under the 
leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji, a great military and political 
genius, who crowned himself as the Maratha King in 1674. V. S. 
Bendrey says that Chhatrapati Shivaji infused national spirit in the 
Maratha people, which led them to protect themselves from the 
foreign aggression and save their culture and religion from such 
onslaughts. Chhatrapati Shivaji was a great visionary for which his 
whole regime was the most important evidence. After the death of 
Chhatrapati Shivaji, the brutal policies of Aurangjeb forced the 
Marathas to declare the Maratha war of independence, which led to 
concentrate the Maratha power in the hands of Peshwas who 
resided at Pune and increased the Maratha power day after day 
throughout the country. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the 
several Maratha nobles established themselves firmly at Baroda, 
Indore, Gwalior, Nagpur and many other places. They also tried to 
establish the Maratha confedency at Delhi as the sovereign power 
of India in place of the Mughal but the Battle of 1761 brought out a 
complete disaster for them. The Marathas tried to recover 
themselves under the leadership of Madhavrao but could not 
receive their former prestige. It was festered with the internal 
disunity and finally it submitted to the British in 1818. 
 
 The Britishy East India Company had already come to India 
for trade, regarding which the charter was sanctioned by the British 
Queen Elizabeth on 31
st
 December, 1600. It established their first 
trading centre at Surat in 1613. The British got Bombay in 1661 as 
Page 4


 
 
 
 
MAHARASHTRA ON THE EVE OF 1848 
 
 
  
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Maharashtra was a part and parcel of erstwhile Bombay 
state along with Gujarat. It was popularly known as Bombay 
Presidency, which was created by the British when they became 
undisputed power of the Western part of India. Maharashtra came 
into existence on 1
st
 May1960, as a separate state on the linguistic 
basis. It has Gujarat to its northern side, Madhya Pradesh to its 
north east and eastern borders, Goa and Karnataka are on its 
southern side whereas the Arabian Sea is nestled in the Western 
border. Maharashtra covers almost 3, 06,059 square Kilometers 
area of the country.  
 
 In Maharashtra the Maratha community is dominant, which is 
the direct result of the Aryan penetration from the north east and 
the north. It subsequently mixed with the strong local population 
and absorbed local words and expressions into their language. V. 
MAHARASHTRA	ON	THE	EVE	OF	1848	
 
 
P.  Dandekar says that Aryans advanced towards the great forest, 
which came to be known as Mahakantara or Dandakaranya in the 
seventh century B.C. during the third century B. C. there were the 
small kingdoms of Bhild, Katkaries Thakurs, Kolis and Nagas who 
were the aboriginals of Maharashtra. It means the Dravidians were, 
the inhabitants of Maharashtra before the advent of the Aryans. 
Maharashtra was a part and parcel of the Mauryan empire during 
the period of 321 B. C. and 184 B. C. in which the Buddhism and 
Jainism rooted herein, which is clear from the Damal (1095 A. D) 
and Miraj (1110 A. D) inscriptions. These cave inscriptions show 
that the several sections in the society in Maharashtra were 
devotees of Buddhism and Jainism.  
 
 P. V. Kane says that Maharashtra is called after the name of 
the great track of forest land Mahakantara during the period of 
Satvahana in 200 B. C.  He derived the word Maharashtra from 
MAHAN RASTRA means a great nation. Historian R. G. 
Bhandarkar derived the word Maharashtra from the people 
RASTRAIKAS or RATTAS. Marathi, the language spoken in 
Maharashtra belongs to the group of languages derived from 
Sanskrit language, which was spoken language but it was ceased 
and Prakrit became the language of people during the 5th century 
B. C. The Prakrit dialect of Maharashtra was Maharastri in use for 
many centuries and finally it became a distinct and established 
Marathi language in the 8
th
 century A. D. R. G. Harse says that 
there are some epigraphical records in connection with the Marathi 
language but they are of later age as one them is Sravan Belgola 
the inscription of Camundaraja, The Prime Minister of Ganga King 
of 983 A. D. The second reference is of Marathi song in the popular 
work Manasollasa or Abhilasitarthacintamani of Someshwara III, 
which was written in 1130 A. D.  
 
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MAHARASHTRA 
  
The early political history of Maharashtra is traced from the 
4
th
 century B. C. There is Mora port on the Karanja Island near 
Mumbai. It is named after the Mauryan suzerainty over the area. 
After the decline of Mauryan Empire, the Satavahanas came to 
power in Deccan, that ruled Maharashtra from Pratisthana, the 
present Paithan a Tahsil Headquarter in Aurangabad district, which 
came to an end in the year 218. The Traikutakas came to power in 
Maharashtra and ruled some of the parts like vidarbha from 250 
onwards. After the decline of Traikutkas, the Vakatakas controlled 
whole Maharashtra. Subsequently, the Kalacuris and the 
Chalukyas came to power respectively and ruled Maharashtra up to 
1180 A. D. from Badami as their capital, which is in the present 
state of Karnataka. Dantidurga the first King of Chalakya dynasty 
conquered the whole Deccan. Krishna, the successor of Dantidurga 
 
 
extended the borders of Maharashtra to the Vindya Mountains in 
the north to Canjeevaram in the sourth. As the Vakatakas carved 
the beautiful cave no. 16, 17 and 19 at the Ajanta caves during their 
period, the Chalukya King Krishna built the beautiful Kaitas temple 
at the Ellora caves.  
 
 In the 12
th
 century A. D. the Chalukyan Empire was divided 
into the three dynasties as the Yadavas, the Hoysalas and the 
Kakatiyas. The Yadavas ruled from Devgiri i.e. Daulatabad a 
Taluka Headquarter in present Aurangabad District. The Hoysalas 
from the area of present Karnataka and the Kakatiyas ruled 
Talangana, which is one of the important divisions of todays Andra 
Pradesh. In the last decade of the Thirteenth Century, Ala-uddin 
Khilji reached Devgiri and recovered huge indemnity from the 
Devgiri ruler, which made Devgiri a vassal state. The other Maratha 
warriors, who did not submit to the Muslim, were driven towards 
Maval, the eastern ranges of Sahyadri. In the second half of the 
fifteenth century, the Muslim rulers of Deccan became tolerant 
towards the Hindus. As the result the Maratha chieftains began to 
accept services under such Muslim rulers and received attractive 
rewards for their bravery.  
 
 In the Seventeenth Century, the Maratha in Maval, Konkan, 
Karad, Pune and Ahmednager regions got independence under the 
leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji, a great military and political 
genius, who crowned himself as the Maratha King in 1674. V. S. 
Bendrey says that Chhatrapati Shivaji infused national spirit in the 
Maratha people, which led them to protect themselves from the 
foreign aggression and save their culture and religion from such 
onslaughts. Chhatrapati Shivaji was a great visionary for which his 
whole regime was the most important evidence. After the death of 
Chhatrapati Shivaji, the brutal policies of Aurangjeb forced the 
Marathas to declare the Maratha war of independence, which led to 
concentrate the Maratha power in the hands of Peshwas who 
resided at Pune and increased the Maratha power day after day 
throughout the country. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the 
several Maratha nobles established themselves firmly at Baroda, 
Indore, Gwalior, Nagpur and many other places. They also tried to 
establish the Maratha confedency at Delhi as the sovereign power 
of India in place of the Mughal but the Battle of 1761 brought out a 
complete disaster for them. The Marathas tried to recover 
themselves under the leadership of Madhavrao but could not 
receive their former prestige. It was festered with the internal 
disunity and finally it submitted to the British in 1818. 
 
 The Britishy East India Company had already come to India 
for trade, regarding which the charter was sanctioned by the British 
Queen Elizabeth on 31
st
 December, 1600. It established their first 
trading centre at Surat in 1613. The British got Bombay in 1661 as 
 
 
a part of the dowry of Catherine of Bragnza, who married Charles 
II, the British King. He rented Bombay to the East India Company 
for 10. The company shifted it’s headquarter in Western India from 
Surat to Bombay in 1687. They converted Bombay, Calcutta and 
Madras from trading centers to the centers of political and military 
operations.  
 
 Lord Wellesley, who came to India as Governor General got 
the benefit of the internal feud and disunity of the Marathas. Bajirao 
II, who became Peshwa, was a good friend of Daulatrao Shinde. 
He advised Daulatrao to kill Vithoji Holkar near Pandharpur, the 
brother of Yashwantrao Holkar. This led Yashwantrao to attack on 
the conbined forces of Daulat Rao Shinde & Bajirao II and defeat 
them at Hadapsar near Pune in October, 1802. Bajirao II fled in 
terror from Pune and sought aid of the British. He signed the Treaty 
of Bassein on December 31, 1802 with the British Company and 
entered into the defamous subsidiary Alliance system. The 
company assured him protection and restored him to the Peshwa 
ship. The Daulatrao Shinde and the Bhosales of Nagpur did not 
approve the Treaty of Bassein and incurred the wrath of the 
Company. The Company started the II Anglo-Maratha war and 
defeated them one by one. In December, 1803 Bhosales signed the 
Treaty of Deogaon, parted with Cuttack and accepted the 
subsidiary Alliance system of the Company. In the same way, 
Shinde surrendered Brooach, Ahmednagar and other areas to the 
British and accepted the Subsidiary Alliance system by the Treaty 
of Surji Anjangaon. Bajirao II became uneasy due to the crushing 
policies of the British tried to be free from them and urged secretly 
to other Maratha chiefs to help him in his endeavours. But he could 
not succeed in it. The British crushed the Peshwa in the Third 
Anglo – Maratha war in 1817-1818. Bajirao II was deposed and his 
territories were annexed. The Bhosales of Nagpur also met the 
same fate. Although, the Holkars had accepted the subsidiary 
Alliance system of the British in January, 1818, the dynasties of 
Holkar, Shinde and Gaikawad continued to rule their respective 
sates till the reorganization of states in independent India on the 
linguistic basis. Despite these nobles and the Maratha sardars 
there were same other centers of power in Maharashtra as the 
descendents of Chhatrapati Shivaji, who were at Satara and 
Kolhapur. Although, the Maratha power was exercised by the 
Peshwas, these royal descendents commanded the respect and 
esteem of the people. In addition to these Sawantwadi was one 
more political power centre under the Regent ship of Rani 
Durgabai. The last but not the least was the state of Janjira, which 
was under the Siddis, who were in league of the Company and 
often acted against the Marathas. Another place of political 
importance was Raigad, the then popularly known as Kolaba, which 
was under the traditional Maratha admirals, Angrias. Pune was the 
Page 5


 
 
 
 
MAHARASHTRA ON THE EVE OF 1848 
 
 
  
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Maharashtra was a part and parcel of erstwhile Bombay 
state along with Gujarat. It was popularly known as Bombay 
Presidency, which was created by the British when they became 
undisputed power of the Western part of India. Maharashtra came 
into existence on 1
st
 May1960, as a separate state on the linguistic 
basis. It has Gujarat to its northern side, Madhya Pradesh to its 
north east and eastern borders, Goa and Karnataka are on its 
southern side whereas the Arabian Sea is nestled in the Western 
border. Maharashtra covers almost 3, 06,059 square Kilometers 
area of the country.  
 
 In Maharashtra the Maratha community is dominant, which is 
the direct result of the Aryan penetration from the north east and 
the north. It subsequently mixed with the strong local population 
and absorbed local words and expressions into their language. V. 
MAHARASHTRA	ON	THE	EVE	OF	1848	
 
 
P.  Dandekar says that Aryans advanced towards the great forest, 
which came to be known as Mahakantara or Dandakaranya in the 
seventh century B.C. during the third century B. C. there were the 
small kingdoms of Bhild, Katkaries Thakurs, Kolis and Nagas who 
were the aboriginals of Maharashtra. It means the Dravidians were, 
the inhabitants of Maharashtra before the advent of the Aryans. 
Maharashtra was a part and parcel of the Mauryan empire during 
the period of 321 B. C. and 184 B. C. in which the Buddhism and 
Jainism rooted herein, which is clear from the Damal (1095 A. D) 
and Miraj (1110 A. D) inscriptions. These cave inscriptions show 
that the several sections in the society in Maharashtra were 
devotees of Buddhism and Jainism.  
 
 P. V. Kane says that Maharashtra is called after the name of 
the great track of forest land Mahakantara during the period of 
Satvahana in 200 B. C.  He derived the word Maharashtra from 
MAHAN RASTRA means a great nation. Historian R. G. 
Bhandarkar derived the word Maharashtra from the people 
RASTRAIKAS or RATTAS. Marathi, the language spoken in 
Maharashtra belongs to the group of languages derived from 
Sanskrit language, which was spoken language but it was ceased 
and Prakrit became the language of people during the 5th century 
B. C. The Prakrit dialect of Maharashtra was Maharastri in use for 
many centuries and finally it became a distinct and established 
Marathi language in the 8
th
 century A. D. R. G. Harse says that 
there are some epigraphical records in connection with the Marathi 
language but they are of later age as one them is Sravan Belgola 
the inscription of Camundaraja, The Prime Minister of Ganga King 
of 983 A. D. The second reference is of Marathi song in the popular 
work Manasollasa or Abhilasitarthacintamani of Someshwara III, 
which was written in 1130 A. D.  
 
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MAHARASHTRA 
  
The early political history of Maharashtra is traced from the 
4
th
 century B. C. There is Mora port on the Karanja Island near 
Mumbai. It is named after the Mauryan suzerainty over the area. 
After the decline of Mauryan Empire, the Satavahanas came to 
power in Deccan, that ruled Maharashtra from Pratisthana, the 
present Paithan a Tahsil Headquarter in Aurangabad district, which 
came to an end in the year 218. The Traikutakas came to power in 
Maharashtra and ruled some of the parts like vidarbha from 250 
onwards. After the decline of Traikutkas, the Vakatakas controlled 
whole Maharashtra. Subsequently, the Kalacuris and the 
Chalukyas came to power respectively and ruled Maharashtra up to 
1180 A. D. from Badami as their capital, which is in the present 
state of Karnataka. Dantidurga the first King of Chalakya dynasty 
conquered the whole Deccan. Krishna, the successor of Dantidurga 
 
 
extended the borders of Maharashtra to the Vindya Mountains in 
the north to Canjeevaram in the sourth. As the Vakatakas carved 
the beautiful cave no. 16, 17 and 19 at the Ajanta caves during their 
period, the Chalukya King Krishna built the beautiful Kaitas temple 
at the Ellora caves.  
 
 In the 12
th
 century A. D. the Chalukyan Empire was divided 
into the three dynasties as the Yadavas, the Hoysalas and the 
Kakatiyas. The Yadavas ruled from Devgiri i.e. Daulatabad a 
Taluka Headquarter in present Aurangabad District. The Hoysalas 
from the area of present Karnataka and the Kakatiyas ruled 
Talangana, which is one of the important divisions of todays Andra 
Pradesh. In the last decade of the Thirteenth Century, Ala-uddin 
Khilji reached Devgiri and recovered huge indemnity from the 
Devgiri ruler, which made Devgiri a vassal state. The other Maratha 
warriors, who did not submit to the Muslim, were driven towards 
Maval, the eastern ranges of Sahyadri. In the second half of the 
fifteenth century, the Muslim rulers of Deccan became tolerant 
towards the Hindus. As the result the Maratha chieftains began to 
accept services under such Muslim rulers and received attractive 
rewards for their bravery.  
 
 In the Seventeenth Century, the Maratha in Maval, Konkan, 
Karad, Pune and Ahmednager regions got independence under the 
leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji, a great military and political 
genius, who crowned himself as the Maratha King in 1674. V. S. 
Bendrey says that Chhatrapati Shivaji infused national spirit in the 
Maratha people, which led them to protect themselves from the 
foreign aggression and save their culture and religion from such 
onslaughts. Chhatrapati Shivaji was a great visionary for which his 
whole regime was the most important evidence. After the death of 
Chhatrapati Shivaji, the brutal policies of Aurangjeb forced the 
Marathas to declare the Maratha war of independence, which led to 
concentrate the Maratha power in the hands of Peshwas who 
resided at Pune and increased the Maratha power day after day 
throughout the country. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the 
several Maratha nobles established themselves firmly at Baroda, 
Indore, Gwalior, Nagpur and many other places. They also tried to 
establish the Maratha confedency at Delhi as the sovereign power 
of India in place of the Mughal but the Battle of 1761 brought out a 
complete disaster for them. The Marathas tried to recover 
themselves under the leadership of Madhavrao but could not 
receive their former prestige. It was festered with the internal 
disunity and finally it submitted to the British in 1818. 
 
 The Britishy East India Company had already come to India 
for trade, regarding which the charter was sanctioned by the British 
Queen Elizabeth on 31
st
 December, 1600. It established their first 
trading centre at Surat in 1613. The British got Bombay in 1661 as 
 
 
a part of the dowry of Catherine of Bragnza, who married Charles 
II, the British King. He rented Bombay to the East India Company 
for 10. The company shifted it’s headquarter in Western India from 
Surat to Bombay in 1687. They converted Bombay, Calcutta and 
Madras from trading centers to the centers of political and military 
operations.  
 
 Lord Wellesley, who came to India as Governor General got 
the benefit of the internal feud and disunity of the Marathas. Bajirao 
II, who became Peshwa, was a good friend of Daulatrao Shinde. 
He advised Daulatrao to kill Vithoji Holkar near Pandharpur, the 
brother of Yashwantrao Holkar. This led Yashwantrao to attack on 
the conbined forces of Daulat Rao Shinde & Bajirao II and defeat 
them at Hadapsar near Pune in October, 1802. Bajirao II fled in 
terror from Pune and sought aid of the British. He signed the Treaty 
of Bassein on December 31, 1802 with the British Company and 
entered into the defamous subsidiary Alliance system. The 
company assured him protection and restored him to the Peshwa 
ship. The Daulatrao Shinde and the Bhosales of Nagpur did not 
approve the Treaty of Bassein and incurred the wrath of the 
Company. The Company started the II Anglo-Maratha war and 
defeated them one by one. In December, 1803 Bhosales signed the 
Treaty of Deogaon, parted with Cuttack and accepted the 
subsidiary Alliance system of the Company. In the same way, 
Shinde surrendered Brooach, Ahmednagar and other areas to the 
British and accepted the Subsidiary Alliance system by the Treaty 
of Surji Anjangaon. Bajirao II became uneasy due to the crushing 
policies of the British tried to be free from them and urged secretly 
to other Maratha chiefs to help him in his endeavours. But he could 
not succeed in it. The British crushed the Peshwa in the Third 
Anglo – Maratha war in 1817-1818. Bajirao II was deposed and his 
territories were annexed. The Bhosales of Nagpur also met the 
same fate. Although, the Holkars had accepted the subsidiary 
Alliance system of the British in January, 1818, the dynasties of 
Holkar, Shinde and Gaikawad continued to rule their respective 
sates till the reorganization of states in independent India on the 
linguistic basis. Despite these nobles and the Maratha sardars 
there were same other centers of power in Maharashtra as the 
descendents of Chhatrapati Shivaji, who were at Satara and 
Kolhapur. Although, the Maratha power was exercised by the 
Peshwas, these royal descendents commanded the respect and 
esteem of the people. In addition to these Sawantwadi was one 
more political power centre under the Regent ship of Rani 
Durgabai. The last but not the least was the state of Janjira, which 
was under the Siddis, who were in league of the Company and 
often acted against the Marathas. Another place of political 
importance was Raigad, the then popularly known as Kolaba, which 
was under the traditional Maratha admirals, Angrias. Pune was the 
 
 
capital city of the Peshwas which experienced the administrations 
from the Peshwas to the Kotwals like Ghashiram and Anandrao.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF 
MAHARASHTRA 
  
Under the Marathas, the population was not more than thirty 
five to forty lakhs people in the tradition bound society of 
Maharashtra. It was a conservative and religion dominated society. 
G.S. Sardesai says that the Maratha society was a superstitious 
and believed in various social practices advocated by the Bhagvat 
religion. Dr. Gavali in his book the Peshwekalin Ashprashta says 
that it was a caste ridden society and it practiced systems like 
Bonded Labour, which came into society from the Medieval Mughal 
social set up. It was inequal in inflicting punishments to members of 
the lower castes. It never allowed the lower castes to invoke any 
law for their protection or welfare because they were treated as 
good as criminals.  
 
a) Social Condition 
 The social life was dominated by the village communities, 
which had Patil as the head of the village; he was supported by the 
village accountant or Kulkarni, who kept village record upto date 
and village watchman. There was Chaugule, who worked as 
assistant to Patil. This team worked in consonance of each other 
and became a special feature of the Maratha social life.  
 
 There was a joint family system under the Marathas. The 
eldest member was the head of the family. It was a patriarchal 
family system property of the family was in the name of head of the 
family. He was to look after the family but all members were to help 
him equally. There was a system of arranged marriage in society. 
Naturally, systems like child marriage, prohibition of widow