Administration and Judiciary | Maharashtra State PSC (MPSC): Preparation - MPSC (Maharastra) PDF Download

 Page 1


  
 
2 
ADMINISTRATION AND JUDICIARY 
Unit Structure 
2.0 Objectives 
2.1 Introduction 
2.2 Administration 
2.2.1 Land Tenures 
2.2.2 Revenue settlement and administration 
2.2.3 Revenue collection during last days of Peshwaship 
2.3 Transition under the British Rule    
2.4 Judiciary 
2.5 Summary 
2.6  Questions 
2.7  Additional Readings 
2.0  OBJECTIVES : 
After the study of this unit, the student will be able to: 
1) Understand Land Tenures. 
      
        
             
      
 INTRODUCTION  
After the fall of Marathas, the East India co. gained a lot of territory. They 
became powerful and gradually became active in administrative affairs of 
the Maharashtra (i.e. in Bombay Presidency). They introduced several 
changes from time to time. Several Governors were also responsible for 
tackling these issues. Lord Cornwallis the first Governor General laid the 
foundation of administration and judiciary in India in (1786-93). The new 
influence       of modern ideas and the spirit of liberalism made them work out 
plans for better administration of justice and also provide better means of 
the transport and communication. The non-government Western Christian 
Missionaries of America and Scotland worked for the social welfare of 
down trodden and unprivileged people. 
Basically Englishmen were traders, later on they became rulers. They wee 
imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, Liberalism and scientific 
outlook. They were allowed to continue the old land tenures for some 
Page 2


  
 
2 
ADMINISTRATION AND JUDICIARY 
Unit Structure 
2.0 Objectives 
2.1 Introduction 
2.2 Administration 
2.2.1 Land Tenures 
2.2.2 Revenue settlement and administration 
2.2.3 Revenue collection during last days of Peshwaship 
2.3 Transition under the British Rule    
2.4 Judiciary 
2.5 Summary 
2.6  Questions 
2.7  Additional Readings 
2.0  OBJECTIVES : 
After the study of this unit, the student will be able to: 
1) Understand Land Tenures. 
      
        
             
      
 INTRODUCTION  
After the fall of Marathas, the East India co. gained a lot of territory. They 
became powerful and gradually became active in administrative affairs of 
the Maharashtra (i.e. in Bombay Presidency). They introduced several 
changes from time to time. Several Governors were also responsible for 
tackling these issues. Lord Cornwallis the first Governor General laid the 
foundation of administration and judiciary in India in (1786-93). The new 
influence       of modern ideas and the spirit of liberalism made them work out 
plans for better administration of justice and also provide better means of 
the transport and communication. The non-government Western Christian 
Missionaries of America and Scotland worked for the social welfare of 
down trodden and unprivileged people. 
Basically Englishmen were traders, later on they became rulers. They wee 
imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, Liberalism and scientific 
outlook. They were allowed to continue the old land tenures for some 
  
 
                  
 
 
time. The Marathas were following the system of Malik Amber in revenue 
settlement. Land was classified and measured and tax was fixed 
periodically. Revenue was collected by village headman Patil, Patel, 
Kulkarni, Deshmukh, Deshpande etc. 
Britishers followed the Rayatwari system in Maharashtra. Land- tax was 
high and ryat had to incur debts which ruined the peasantry. 
According to term ‘Whiteman’s Burden’ Lord Elphinstone took interest in 
giving education to native people. Christian Missionaries had already 
started the work of learning regional languages and Sanskrit. 
Charter Act of 1813, and Bombay Native Education Society gave boost to 
education in Bombay and Maharastra. 
There were two groups of learning. One was the oriental learning and 
other was western learning. The Charter Act. of 1853 and ‘Wood 's 
Despatch provided for the expansion of education in India. 
Because of Western Education many public spirited men like Jagannath 
Shankar Sheth, Jamshetji Jeegibhoy, Jambhekar, Lokahitavadi started 
journalism for awakening of mass people. 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 LAND TENURES 
The collapse of the Maratha Power was a sad event in the life of the people 
of Maharashtra. They had experienced the vicissitudes of political 
fortunes. The disaster of the Panipat (1761) was still fresh in the memory 
of the old generation. The new generation however had not forgotten the 
good old days of expansion of Maratha Power. Their armies were 
marching throughout India. The army of the Peshwa was defeated and the 
people were silenced for sometime. 
The East India Company in their hour of victory did not perpetrate any 
atrocities on the people. That was the practice of the victors of the 
Medieval Age. These Englishmen though basically traders, merchants and 
soldiers of the Company were imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, 
Liberalism and Scientific outlook. They championed the ideas of ‘Free 
Trade’, ‘Western Learning’ and the ‘Whiteman’s Burden’. They were 
obsessed with the belief that the people of the East are unfit for self rule, 
their religion is mere superstition and they lack spirit of nationalism as 
understood in the West. 
The Company was fortunate to have at that time a band of brilliant men in 
their service. They carried out their duty with a sense of mission but could 
not rise above their low objective of colonial exploitation and denied 
rights and privileges which their own people demanded in their home 
country. We shall now attempt to describe their efforts to fashion the 
Indian people according to the ideals envisaged by them during the 
transition under their Rule. 
We shall study the first two topics in this unit namely (1) Land Tenures 
Page 3


  
 
2 
ADMINISTRATION AND JUDICIARY 
Unit Structure 
2.0 Objectives 
2.1 Introduction 
2.2 Administration 
2.2.1 Land Tenures 
2.2.2 Revenue settlement and administration 
2.2.3 Revenue collection during last days of Peshwaship 
2.3 Transition under the British Rule    
2.4 Judiciary 
2.5 Summary 
2.6  Questions 
2.7  Additional Readings 
2.0  OBJECTIVES : 
After the study of this unit, the student will be able to: 
1) Understand Land Tenures. 
      
        
             
      
 INTRODUCTION  
After the fall of Marathas, the East India co. gained a lot of territory. They 
became powerful and gradually became active in administrative affairs of 
the Maharashtra (i.e. in Bombay Presidency). They introduced several 
changes from time to time. Several Governors were also responsible for 
tackling these issues. Lord Cornwallis the first Governor General laid the 
foundation of administration and judiciary in India in (1786-93). The new 
influence       of modern ideas and the spirit of liberalism made them work out 
plans for better administration of justice and also provide better means of 
the transport and communication. The non-government Western Christian 
Missionaries of America and Scotland worked for the social welfare of 
down trodden and unprivileged people. 
Basically Englishmen were traders, later on they became rulers. They wee 
imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, Liberalism and scientific 
outlook. They were allowed to continue the old land tenures for some 
  
 
                  
 
 
time. The Marathas were following the system of Malik Amber in revenue 
settlement. Land was classified and measured and tax was fixed 
periodically. Revenue was collected by village headman Patil, Patel, 
Kulkarni, Deshmukh, Deshpande etc. 
Britishers followed the Rayatwari system in Maharashtra. Land- tax was 
high and ryat had to incur debts which ruined the peasantry. 
According to term ‘Whiteman’s Burden’ Lord Elphinstone took interest in 
giving education to native people. Christian Missionaries had already 
started the work of learning regional languages and Sanskrit. 
Charter Act of 1813, and Bombay Native Education Society gave boost to 
education in Bombay and Maharastra. 
There were two groups of learning. One was the oriental learning and 
other was western learning. The Charter Act. of 1853 and ‘Wood 's 
Despatch provided for the expansion of education in India. 
Because of Western Education many public spirited men like Jagannath 
Shankar Sheth, Jamshetji Jeegibhoy, Jambhekar, Lokahitavadi started 
journalism for awakening of mass people. 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 LAND TENURES 
The collapse of the Maratha Power was a sad event in the life of the people 
of Maharashtra. They had experienced the vicissitudes of political 
fortunes. The disaster of the Panipat (1761) was still fresh in the memory 
of the old generation. The new generation however had not forgotten the 
good old days of expansion of Maratha Power. Their armies were 
marching throughout India. The army of the Peshwa was defeated and the 
people were silenced for sometime. 
The East India Company in their hour of victory did not perpetrate any 
atrocities on the people. That was the practice of the victors of the 
Medieval Age. These Englishmen though basically traders, merchants and 
soldiers of the Company were imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, 
Liberalism and Scientific outlook. They championed the ideas of ‘Free 
Trade’, ‘Western Learning’ and the ‘Whiteman’s Burden’. They were 
obsessed with the belief that the people of the East are unfit for self rule, 
their religion is mere superstition and they lack spirit of nationalism as 
understood in the West. 
The Company was fortunate to have at that time a band of brilliant men in 
their service. They carried out their duty with a sense of mission but could 
not rise above their low objective of colonial exploitation and denied 
rights and privileges which their own people demanded in their home 
country. We shall now attempt to describe their efforts to fashion the 
Indian people according to the ideals envisaged by them during the 
transition under their Rule. 
We shall study the first two topics in this unit namely (1) Land Tenures 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and Revenue Settlement and (2) Education and the Press. Before describing 
the new influence and transition under the new rulers it would be 
instructive to give a brief account of the pattern generally followed by the 
Marathas upto the end of their rule. 
Main features of the Maratha system of Land Tenures 
There were two systems of Land Tenures and Revenue Settlement followed 
by the Marathas, the one was for their home territory and the other for 
other lands. They termed the former as ‘Swarajya’ and the latter as 
‘Samrajya’. We are not concerned with territories outside Maharashtra. 
Prof R.V.Oturkar has provided us with useful information on this subject. 
(1) The Todarmal system modified by Malik Amber for Nizamshahi of 
Ahmednagar in the 17th century was adopted with slight changes to 
meet the needs of time. 
(2) The emphasis was on safeguarding the interest of the cultivator as he 
was regarded as the backbone of the national economy. 
(3) Land - Tenures were divided into two broad categories i.e. (a)‘Thal’ 
land and (b) ‘Watans’. The land cultivated by original settlers was known 
as ‘Thal’ land and the tax free land granted by the king in recognition of the 
services to the State was known as ‘Watan’. This was prized land tenure as it 
was hereditary and carried many benefits and high status. 
(4) Miras and Upari – Lands was another classification for the purpose of 
revenue collection. Land assigned by the State to the Original settlers was 
known as ‘Miras’ whereas land assigned to new settlers for cultivation 
was known as ‘Upari’ land. Usually the new settlers were given fallow, 
unused or waste land for cultivation. They would loose their lease-hold if 
they could not make satisfactory payment to the state. They were regarded 
as tenants at will whereas the Mirasdars were treated with respect as they 
had the responsibility to pay the revenue for the whole village or villages 
under their charge. 
(5) The Jagir system was discouraged by Chhatrapati Shivaji but during 
the reign of Chhatrapati Shahu this system became popular. In fact it 
became an instrument of territorial expansion as the Jagirdars were 
allowed to collect ‘Chouth’ and ‘Sardeshmukhi’ on behalf of the king in 
territories outside Maharashtra. In Mahatashtra itself the Jagirdars had civil 
as well as political responsibility. 
 REVENUE SETTLEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION 
As already mentioned above the Marathas followed the time- honoured 
Malik Amber System of revenue settlement. Land was classified and 
measured and the land tax was fixed periodically. The Maratha 
government was more concerned with more yields from the fields and 
extensive cultivation. It helped the cultivators during bad seasons by 
remission of taxes and offering “tagai” or loans to tide over difficulties. 
The administration of revenue was handled competently by the village 
Page 4


  
 
2 
ADMINISTRATION AND JUDICIARY 
Unit Structure 
2.0 Objectives 
2.1 Introduction 
2.2 Administration 
2.2.1 Land Tenures 
2.2.2 Revenue settlement and administration 
2.2.3 Revenue collection during last days of Peshwaship 
2.3 Transition under the British Rule    
2.4 Judiciary 
2.5 Summary 
2.6  Questions 
2.7  Additional Readings 
2.0  OBJECTIVES : 
After the study of this unit, the student will be able to: 
1) Understand Land Tenures. 
      
        
             
      
 INTRODUCTION  
After the fall of Marathas, the East India co. gained a lot of territory. They 
became powerful and gradually became active in administrative affairs of 
the Maharashtra (i.e. in Bombay Presidency). They introduced several 
changes from time to time. Several Governors were also responsible for 
tackling these issues. Lord Cornwallis the first Governor General laid the 
foundation of administration and judiciary in India in (1786-93). The new 
influence       of modern ideas and the spirit of liberalism made them work out 
plans for better administration of justice and also provide better means of 
the transport and communication. The non-government Western Christian 
Missionaries of America and Scotland worked for the social welfare of 
down trodden and unprivileged people. 
Basically Englishmen were traders, later on they became rulers. They wee 
imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, Liberalism and scientific 
outlook. They were allowed to continue the old land tenures for some 
  
 
                  
 
 
time. The Marathas were following the system of Malik Amber in revenue 
settlement. Land was classified and measured and tax was fixed 
periodically. Revenue was collected by village headman Patil, Patel, 
Kulkarni, Deshmukh, Deshpande etc. 
Britishers followed the Rayatwari system in Maharashtra. Land- tax was 
high and ryat had to incur debts which ruined the peasantry. 
According to term ‘Whiteman’s Burden’ Lord Elphinstone took interest in 
giving education to native people. Christian Missionaries had already 
started the work of learning regional languages and Sanskrit. 
Charter Act of 1813, and Bombay Native Education Society gave boost to 
education in Bombay and Maharastra. 
There were two groups of learning. One was the oriental learning and 
other was western learning. The Charter Act. of 1853 and ‘Wood 's 
Despatch provided for the expansion of education in India. 
Because of Western Education many public spirited men like Jagannath 
Shankar Sheth, Jamshetji Jeegibhoy, Jambhekar, Lokahitavadi started 
journalism for awakening of mass people. 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 LAND TENURES 
The collapse of the Maratha Power was a sad event in the life of the people 
of Maharashtra. They had experienced the vicissitudes of political 
fortunes. The disaster of the Panipat (1761) was still fresh in the memory 
of the old generation. The new generation however had not forgotten the 
good old days of expansion of Maratha Power. Their armies were 
marching throughout India. The army of the Peshwa was defeated and the 
people were silenced for sometime. 
The East India Company in their hour of victory did not perpetrate any 
atrocities on the people. That was the practice of the victors of the 
Medieval Age. These Englishmen though basically traders, merchants and 
soldiers of the Company were imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, 
Liberalism and Scientific outlook. They championed the ideas of ‘Free 
Trade’, ‘Western Learning’ and the ‘Whiteman’s Burden’. They were 
obsessed with the belief that the people of the East are unfit for self rule, 
their religion is mere superstition and they lack spirit of nationalism as 
understood in the West. 
The Company was fortunate to have at that time a band of brilliant men in 
their service. They carried out their duty with a sense of mission but could 
not rise above their low objective of colonial exploitation and denied 
rights and privileges which their own people demanded in their home 
country. We shall now attempt to describe their efforts to fashion the 
Indian people according to the ideals envisaged by them during the 
transition under their Rule. 
We shall study the first two topics in this unit namely (1) Land Tenures 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and Revenue Settlement and (2) Education and the Press. Before describing 
the new influence and transition under the new rulers it would be 
instructive to give a brief account of the pattern generally followed by the 
Marathas upto the end of their rule. 
Main features of the Maratha system of Land Tenures 
There were two systems of Land Tenures and Revenue Settlement followed 
by the Marathas, the one was for their home territory and the other for 
other lands. They termed the former as ‘Swarajya’ and the latter as 
‘Samrajya’. We are not concerned with territories outside Maharashtra. 
Prof R.V.Oturkar has provided us with useful information on this subject. 
(1) The Todarmal system modified by Malik Amber for Nizamshahi of 
Ahmednagar in the 17th century was adopted with slight changes to 
meet the needs of time. 
(2) The emphasis was on safeguarding the interest of the cultivator as he 
was regarded as the backbone of the national economy. 
(3) Land - Tenures were divided into two broad categories i.e. (a)‘Thal’ 
land and (b) ‘Watans’. The land cultivated by original settlers was known 
as ‘Thal’ land and the tax free land granted by the king in recognition of the 
services to the State was known as ‘Watan’. This was prized land tenure as it 
was hereditary and carried many benefits and high status. 
(4) Miras and Upari – Lands was another classification for the purpose of 
revenue collection. Land assigned by the State to the Original settlers was 
known as ‘Miras’ whereas land assigned to new settlers for cultivation 
was known as ‘Upari’ land. Usually the new settlers were given fallow, 
unused or waste land for cultivation. They would loose their lease-hold if 
they could not make satisfactory payment to the state. They were regarded 
as tenants at will whereas the Mirasdars were treated with respect as they 
had the responsibility to pay the revenue for the whole village or villages 
under their charge. 
(5) The Jagir system was discouraged by Chhatrapati Shivaji but during 
the reign of Chhatrapati Shahu this system became popular. In fact it 
became an instrument of territorial expansion as the Jagirdars were 
allowed to collect ‘Chouth’ and ‘Sardeshmukhi’ on behalf of the king in 
territories outside Maharashtra. In Mahatashtra itself the Jagirdars had civil 
as well as political responsibility. 
 REVENUE SETTLEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION 
As already mentioned above the Marathas followed the time- honoured 
Malik Amber System of revenue settlement. Land was classified and 
measured and the land tax was fixed periodically. The Maratha 
government was more concerned with more yields from the fields and 
extensive cultivation. It helped the cultivators during bad seasons by 
remission of taxes and offering “tagai” or loans to tide over difficulties. 
The administration of revenue was handled competently by the village 
  
 
                       
 
 
headman and the accountant known as Patil or Patel and Kulkarni 
respectively. The district level officers were ‘Deshmukh’ and 
‘’Deshpande’ who in turn were under the control of the ‘Sarsubah’ 
equivalent, to a provincial governor. The financial transactions were 
supervised by the finance minister or ‘Phadnis’. 
The farmers in their villages also had to pay in kind for the services 
rendered to them by the village social servants called ‘Balutedars’ and 
‘Alutedars’. This was an integral part of the village economy. 
   REVENUE COLLECTION DURING LAST DAYS OF  
PESHWASHIP : 
Bajirao II the last Peshwa was in dire need of the funds to raise an army to 
fight the company’s forces. He resorted to farming of land-taxes. It meant 
he offered the commission to collect taxes to private agents who would 
make the highest bid. No doubt huge amounts were collected but it ruined 
most of the farmers in Maharashtra. 
 TRANSITION UNDER THE BRITISH RULE : 
The final victory of the East India company was a foregone conclusion as 
the Maratha Chiefs at Nagpur, Baroda, Indore and Gwalior had already 
accepted the subsidiary alliance with the company. The problems of peace 
were mainly that private treasures of the Peshwa had to be discovered and 
seized to prevent him from further mischief. The Company’s officers were 
anxious to under take that activity as they would be rewarded with a 
portion of the hidden wealth either from the Peshwa or his protégés. 
Captain Robertson and Colonel Protter found gold ‘Mohars’ and cash 
worth several millions. The temptation was too great. Briggs and Rind two 
junior officers had a scuffle over the discovery of Peshwas’s fabulous 
wealth. 
Professor R.D. Chokesey has described the sorry state to convey idea that 
the new rulers had to discipline themselves before they could establish 
their authority over the defeated enemy. 
 Work of reconstruction 
The gains of the military victory had to be prudently consolidated. The 
new rulers could not allow their preconceived ideas and prejudices about 
the fallen enemy to colour their vision of strong and stable government in 
an alien country. They experienced many handicaps. They came from a 
distant land, they did not know the language of the people. They 
represented a trading company but they had to tackle the problems of an 
agrarian economy. Mountstuart Elphinstone who was a Company 
commissioner of the Bombay Deccan led a team of his dedicated officer to 
act with vigour and firmness. He exercised considerable restraint and 
avoided repressive measures. He devoted much of his time as a Governor of 
Bombay from 1819 to 1827 to Land Revenue settlement. Education and 
Law and Administration. 
Page 5


  
 
2 
ADMINISTRATION AND JUDICIARY 
Unit Structure 
2.0 Objectives 
2.1 Introduction 
2.2 Administration 
2.2.1 Land Tenures 
2.2.2 Revenue settlement and administration 
2.2.3 Revenue collection during last days of Peshwaship 
2.3 Transition under the British Rule    
2.4 Judiciary 
2.5 Summary 
2.6  Questions 
2.7  Additional Readings 
2.0  OBJECTIVES : 
After the study of this unit, the student will be able to: 
1) Understand Land Tenures. 
      
        
             
      
 INTRODUCTION  
After the fall of Marathas, the East India co. gained a lot of territory. They 
became powerful and gradually became active in administrative affairs of 
the Maharashtra (i.e. in Bombay Presidency). They introduced several 
changes from time to time. Several Governors were also responsible for 
tackling these issues. Lord Cornwallis the first Governor General laid the 
foundation of administration and judiciary in India in (1786-93). The new 
influence       of modern ideas and the spirit of liberalism made them work out 
plans for better administration of justice and also provide better means of 
the transport and communication. The non-government Western Christian 
Missionaries of America and Scotland worked for the social welfare of 
down trodden and unprivileged people. 
Basically Englishmen were traders, later on they became rulers. They wee 
imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, Liberalism and scientific 
outlook. They were allowed to continue the old land tenures for some 
  
 
                  
 
 
time. The Marathas were following the system of Malik Amber in revenue 
settlement. Land was classified and measured and tax was fixed 
periodically. Revenue was collected by village headman Patil, Patel, 
Kulkarni, Deshmukh, Deshpande etc. 
Britishers followed the Rayatwari system in Maharashtra. Land- tax was 
high and ryat had to incur debts which ruined the peasantry. 
According to term ‘Whiteman’s Burden’ Lord Elphinstone took interest in 
giving education to native people. Christian Missionaries had already 
started the work of learning regional languages and Sanskrit. 
Charter Act of 1813, and Bombay Native Education Society gave boost to 
education in Bombay and Maharastra. 
There were two groups of learning. One was the oriental learning and 
other was western learning. The Charter Act. of 1853 and ‘Wood 's 
Despatch provided for the expansion of education in India. 
Because of Western Education many public spirited men like Jagannath 
Shankar Sheth, Jamshetji Jeegibhoy, Jambhekar, Lokahitavadi started 
journalism for awakening of mass people. 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 LAND TENURES 
The collapse of the Maratha Power was a sad event in the life of the people 
of Maharashtra. They had experienced the vicissitudes of political 
fortunes. The disaster of the Panipat (1761) was still fresh in the memory 
of the old generation. The new generation however had not forgotten the 
good old days of expansion of Maratha Power. Their armies were 
marching throughout India. The army of the Peshwa was defeated and the 
people were silenced for sometime. 
The East India Company in their hour of victory did not perpetrate any 
atrocities on the people. That was the practice of the victors of the 
Medieval Age. These Englishmen though basically traders, merchants and 
soldiers of the Company were imbued with the modern ideas of humanism, 
Liberalism and Scientific outlook. They championed the ideas of ‘Free 
Trade’, ‘Western Learning’ and the ‘Whiteman’s Burden’. They were 
obsessed with the belief that the people of the East are unfit for self rule, 
their religion is mere superstition and they lack spirit of nationalism as 
understood in the West. 
The Company was fortunate to have at that time a band of brilliant men in 
their service. They carried out their duty with a sense of mission but could 
not rise above their low objective of colonial exploitation and denied 
rights and privileges which their own people demanded in their home 
country. We shall now attempt to describe their efforts to fashion the 
Indian people according to the ideals envisaged by them during the 
transition under their Rule. 
We shall study the first two topics in this unit namely (1) Land Tenures 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and Revenue Settlement and (2) Education and the Press. Before describing 
the new influence and transition under the new rulers it would be 
instructive to give a brief account of the pattern generally followed by the 
Marathas upto the end of their rule. 
Main features of the Maratha system of Land Tenures 
There were two systems of Land Tenures and Revenue Settlement followed 
by the Marathas, the one was for their home territory and the other for 
other lands. They termed the former as ‘Swarajya’ and the latter as 
‘Samrajya’. We are not concerned with territories outside Maharashtra. 
Prof R.V.Oturkar has provided us with useful information on this subject. 
(1) The Todarmal system modified by Malik Amber for Nizamshahi of 
Ahmednagar in the 17th century was adopted with slight changes to 
meet the needs of time. 
(2) The emphasis was on safeguarding the interest of the cultivator as he 
was regarded as the backbone of the national economy. 
(3) Land - Tenures were divided into two broad categories i.e. (a)‘Thal’ 
land and (b) ‘Watans’. The land cultivated by original settlers was known 
as ‘Thal’ land and the tax free land granted by the king in recognition of the 
services to the State was known as ‘Watan’. This was prized land tenure as it 
was hereditary and carried many benefits and high status. 
(4) Miras and Upari – Lands was another classification for the purpose of 
revenue collection. Land assigned by the State to the Original settlers was 
known as ‘Miras’ whereas land assigned to new settlers for cultivation 
was known as ‘Upari’ land. Usually the new settlers were given fallow, 
unused or waste land for cultivation. They would loose their lease-hold if 
they could not make satisfactory payment to the state. They were regarded 
as tenants at will whereas the Mirasdars were treated with respect as they 
had the responsibility to pay the revenue for the whole village or villages 
under their charge. 
(5) The Jagir system was discouraged by Chhatrapati Shivaji but during 
the reign of Chhatrapati Shahu this system became popular. In fact it 
became an instrument of territorial expansion as the Jagirdars were 
allowed to collect ‘Chouth’ and ‘Sardeshmukhi’ on behalf of the king in 
territories outside Maharashtra. In Mahatashtra itself the Jagirdars had civil 
as well as political responsibility. 
 REVENUE SETTLEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION 
As already mentioned above the Marathas followed the time- honoured 
Malik Amber System of revenue settlement. Land was classified and 
measured and the land tax was fixed periodically. The Maratha 
government was more concerned with more yields from the fields and 
extensive cultivation. It helped the cultivators during bad seasons by 
remission of taxes and offering “tagai” or loans to tide over difficulties. 
The administration of revenue was handled competently by the village 
  
 
                       
 
 
headman and the accountant known as Patil or Patel and Kulkarni 
respectively. The district level officers were ‘Deshmukh’ and 
‘’Deshpande’ who in turn were under the control of the ‘Sarsubah’ 
equivalent, to a provincial governor. The financial transactions were 
supervised by the finance minister or ‘Phadnis’. 
The farmers in their villages also had to pay in kind for the services 
rendered to them by the village social servants called ‘Balutedars’ and 
‘Alutedars’. This was an integral part of the village economy. 
   REVENUE COLLECTION DURING LAST DAYS OF  
PESHWASHIP : 
Bajirao II the last Peshwa was in dire need of the funds to raise an army to 
fight the company’s forces. He resorted to farming of land-taxes. It meant 
he offered the commission to collect taxes to private agents who would 
make the highest bid. No doubt huge amounts were collected but it ruined 
most of the farmers in Maharashtra. 
 TRANSITION UNDER THE BRITISH RULE : 
The final victory of the East India company was a foregone conclusion as 
the Maratha Chiefs at Nagpur, Baroda, Indore and Gwalior had already 
accepted the subsidiary alliance with the company. The problems of peace 
were mainly that private treasures of the Peshwa had to be discovered and 
seized to prevent him from further mischief. The Company’s officers were 
anxious to under take that activity as they would be rewarded with a 
portion of the hidden wealth either from the Peshwa or his protégés. 
Captain Robertson and Colonel Protter found gold ‘Mohars’ and cash 
worth several millions. The temptation was too great. Briggs and Rind two 
junior officers had a scuffle over the discovery of Peshwas’s fabulous 
wealth. 
Professor R.D. Chokesey has described the sorry state to convey idea that 
the new rulers had to discipline themselves before they could establish 
their authority over the defeated enemy. 
 Work of reconstruction 
The gains of the military victory had to be prudently consolidated. The 
new rulers could not allow their preconceived ideas and prejudices about 
the fallen enemy to colour their vision of strong and stable government in 
an alien country. They experienced many handicaps. They came from a 
distant land, they did not know the language of the people. They 
represented a trading company but they had to tackle the problems of an 
agrarian economy. Mountstuart Elphinstone who was a Company 
commissioner of the Bombay Deccan led a team of his dedicated officer to 
act with vigour and firmness. He exercised considerable restraint and 
avoided repressive measures. He devoted much of his time as a Governor of 
Bombay from 1819 to 1827 to Land Revenue settlement. Education and 
Law and Administration. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We shall now discuss Land Revenue settlement and Education in this lesson 
and Law and Administration along with other two topics of this unit in the 
next lesson. 
 Land Revenue Settlement 
The new rulers had to give priority to the settlement of land tenures and 
revenue collections as the people of Maharashtra as in other part of India 
mainly depended on agriculture. 
The success in this regard would determine the measures that could be 
contemplated in accordance with current ideas about humanism. liberalism 
and modern science. Some of the guiding principles for the programme of 
reconstruction were as follows:- 
(1) The old land tenures would be allowed to continue for sometime. 
(2) The model of Permanent settlement of revenue was not to be 
adopted. The Madras Model of Ryatwari adopted by Thomas Munro 
was to be followed with changes needed in the particular condition 
of Maharashtra. 
(3) The Company’s Government believed that the English officials were 
competent and not corrupt whereas the Indian revenue officials of 
the old regime were clever only in misappropriating the Government 
collections. Hence, their salaries should be kept low and they should 
be vigilantly watched. 
(4) The Western ideas of land tenure and right to the property should be 
applied in determining the ownership of land. 
(5) While assessing the land-revenue the rent of lands not sown by the 
farmer was to be deducted as lands which were not actually 
ploughed. The loss of crop of one year was to be regarded as 
compensated to the ‘ryat’ by the advantage of another year. In case of 
general stress and pressure a general relief was to be granted to the 
‘ryat’. 
 Administration of the revenue matters 
The regime made vigorous attempts to centraIise resources. The officers 
looked at the farmers with mistrust and suspicion. Hence while fixing the 
rate of land·tax there was over assessment which created tension among the 
cultivators and unrest everywhere. It was not because of malice or ill-
feeling towards the people but it was the result of misunderstanding the 
complex system of land - tenures and assessment in Maharashtra during the 
previous regime of the Marathas. The English officers got confused with 
the system of identical rights in Iand. For property became simple and 
homogenous and land was regarded as a factor of production. The land 
revenue system of the Marathas applied the squeeze on the Mirasdars and 
the jagirdars that is the upper strata of the land holders whereas the 
Ryatwari system of fixing the rate sapped the energy of the ryat and in 
many cases they had to incur debts.