Socio-Economic Conditions of Maharashtra in 19th Century | Maharashtra State PSC (MPSC): Preparation - MPSC (Maharastra) PDF Download

 Page 1


  
 
 
   
  
  
  
      
    
  
       
   
    
   
   
    
    
    
  
  
  
   
            
        
     
 INTRODUCTION 
In dealing with the social conditions of Maharashtra we will concentrate 
on the Hindu population in general. There were Muslim settlements and 
they were confined to those regions once ruled by Muslim rulers such as 
Khandesh, Daulatabad, Ahmednagar, Janjira and the port-towns on the 
West-Coast. The population of Maharashtra at the end of the Maratha rule 
would be a matter of conjuncture because of lack of reliable data. 
During the time of the Maratha Empire agriculture was the main 
occupation of the majority of the people in Maharashtra. Some of them had 
taken to the life of a military career. These soldiers who were employed in 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC	CONDITIONS	OF	MAHARASHTRA	
IN	19TH	CENTURY
Page 2


  
 
 
   
  
  
  
      
    
  
       
   
    
   
   
    
    
    
  
  
  
   
            
        
     
 INTRODUCTION 
In dealing with the social conditions of Maharashtra we will concentrate 
on the Hindu population in general. There were Muslim settlements and 
they were confined to those regions once ruled by Muslim rulers such as 
Khandesh, Daulatabad, Ahmednagar, Janjira and the port-towns on the 
West-Coast. The population of Maharashtra at the end of the Maratha rule 
would be a matter of conjuncture because of lack of reliable data. 
During the time of the Maratha Empire agriculture was the main 
occupation of the majority of the people in Maharashtra. Some of them had 
taken to the life of a military career. These soldiers who were employed in 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC	CONDITIONS	OF	MAHARASHTRA	
IN	19TH	CENTURY
  
 
                       
 
 
 
the Maratha army did not dissociate themselves with their agricultural 
activities. During the period of Shivaji’s Swarajya the soldiers were 
farmers first and soldiers afterwards. Shivaji used to arrange the 
programme of military campaigns - the mulkhgiri - to suit the needs of the 
agriculturists; the soldiers commenced their campaigns on Dasara Day 
(usually in the month of October) and returned to their village homes by 
holi (April-May) This practice was continued in the subsequent periods 
also. 
 SOCIAL CONDITIONS  OF MAHARASHTRA IN 
THE 19 TH CENTURY 
 Population of Maharashtra 
W. H. Sykes, Statistical Reporter to the Government of Bombay estimated 
the total Population of Khandesh, Pune, Ahmednagar and Dharwar around 
27 lakhs in 1828. This gives us a general idea of the population figures. If 
we ignore the non-Marathi-speaking areas and include the areas like, Nasik, 
sholapur, Kolhapur and the Kokan, we can safely arrive at a figure of 
between 35 to 40 lakhs. It may not exceed fifty lakhs even if we include 
the princely states covered by the Marathi- speaking regions. This is of 
course a tentative estimate of the population a hundred and fifty years ago. 
The religion wise figures are more difficult to arrive at. The areas ruled by 
Muslims did not have Muslim majorities; so the population of Muslims 
scattered throughout Maharashtra in 1818 may not be more than three to 
four lakhs on the conservative estimate. 
 Religion 
The Hindu Society was tradition-bound. It had become more conservative 
as we approach the end of the Maratha period. It was spiritually and 
intellectually exhausted. The people reposed implicit faith in the wisdom 
of the religious literature especially the Puranas as only an insignificant 
number was reading the scriptures or the ‘Shastra’. Their ignorance about 
the worldaffairs was monumental. The teachings of the saint philosophers 
had driven the idea of ‘Fate’ deep into the soul of the people. They’d found 
solace in the rituals and listening to the religions discourses, the ‘Kirtans’ 
and the devotional songs, the ‘Abhangas’. The scholar gentry was 
complacent in reciting the Sanskrit verses and formulae, mantras, at 
ceremonial functions, patronized by the Peshwa and Maratha nobles. Those 
who lived in Pune, the seat of the Central Government of Marathas, came 
in contact with the foreigners, diplomats, soldiers and the Pindaris. The 
Guards or Gardis or Gardi’ belonged to non-Marathi- speaking people 
who came to Pune for services. 
The society of the time is described by G. S. Sardesai as follows:- 
‘‘ The religious outlook of the society and especially of the upper classes 
of that time was directed to pursuits of a superstitious nature, making caste 
restrictions rigid, enjoying various practices as the only means of 
happiness and salvation, and introducing thousands of minute rules and 
Page 3


  
 
 
   
  
  
  
      
    
  
       
   
    
   
   
    
    
    
  
  
  
   
            
        
     
 INTRODUCTION 
In dealing with the social conditions of Maharashtra we will concentrate 
on the Hindu population in general. There were Muslim settlements and 
they were confined to those regions once ruled by Muslim rulers such as 
Khandesh, Daulatabad, Ahmednagar, Janjira and the port-towns on the 
West-Coast. The population of Maharashtra at the end of the Maratha rule 
would be a matter of conjuncture because of lack of reliable data. 
During the time of the Maratha Empire agriculture was the main 
occupation of the majority of the people in Maharashtra. Some of them had 
taken to the life of a military career. These soldiers who were employed in 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC	CONDITIONS	OF	MAHARASHTRA	
IN	19TH	CENTURY
  
 
                       
 
 
 
the Maratha army did not dissociate themselves with their agricultural 
activities. During the period of Shivaji’s Swarajya the soldiers were 
farmers first and soldiers afterwards. Shivaji used to arrange the 
programme of military campaigns - the mulkhgiri - to suit the needs of the 
agriculturists; the soldiers commenced their campaigns on Dasara Day 
(usually in the month of October) and returned to their village homes by 
holi (April-May) This practice was continued in the subsequent periods 
also. 
 SOCIAL CONDITIONS  OF MAHARASHTRA IN 
THE 19 TH CENTURY 
 Population of Maharashtra 
W. H. Sykes, Statistical Reporter to the Government of Bombay estimated 
the total Population of Khandesh, Pune, Ahmednagar and Dharwar around 
27 lakhs in 1828. This gives us a general idea of the population figures. If 
we ignore the non-Marathi-speaking areas and include the areas like, Nasik, 
sholapur, Kolhapur and the Kokan, we can safely arrive at a figure of 
between 35 to 40 lakhs. It may not exceed fifty lakhs even if we include 
the princely states covered by the Marathi- speaking regions. This is of 
course a tentative estimate of the population a hundred and fifty years ago. 
The religion wise figures are more difficult to arrive at. The areas ruled by 
Muslims did not have Muslim majorities; so the population of Muslims 
scattered throughout Maharashtra in 1818 may not be more than three to 
four lakhs on the conservative estimate. 
 Religion 
The Hindu Society was tradition-bound. It had become more conservative 
as we approach the end of the Maratha period. It was spiritually and 
intellectually exhausted. The people reposed implicit faith in the wisdom 
of the religious literature especially the Puranas as only an insignificant 
number was reading the scriptures or the ‘Shastra’. Their ignorance about 
the worldaffairs was monumental. The teachings of the saint philosophers 
had driven the idea of ‘Fate’ deep into the soul of the people. They’d found 
solace in the rituals and listening to the religions discourses, the ‘Kirtans’ 
and the devotional songs, the ‘Abhangas’. The scholar gentry was 
complacent in reciting the Sanskrit verses and formulae, mantras, at 
ceremonial functions, patronized by the Peshwa and Maratha nobles. Those 
who lived in Pune, the seat of the Central Government of Marathas, came 
in contact with the foreigners, diplomats, soldiers and the Pindaris. The 
Guards or Gardis or Gardi’ belonged to non-Marathi- speaking people 
who came to Pune for services. 
The society of the time is described by G. S. Sardesai as follows:- 
‘‘ The religious outlook of the society and especially of the upper classes 
of that time was directed to pursuits of a superstitious nature, making caste 
restrictions rigid, enjoying various practices as the only means of 
happiness and salvation, and introducing thousands of minute rules and 
 
 
   
 
 
practices entirety antagonistic to the material interests of a progressive 
community. The Bhakti cult or the Bhagavata religion had the same effect, 
especially among the uneducated masses.’’ 
The Society was enslaved by superstition and insisted on duties appropriate 
to the castes. The upper classes or higher castes demanded that the lower 
classes, the untouchables must serve the high caste people. The forced 
labour demanded by the higher castes and the degradation of the Mahar, 
Mang and other low castes is adequately described by N. G. Bharve in his 
research paper ‘Peshwekalin Dalit Samaj ’ published in the journal of              
B. I. 
S. M. Pune, Year, 1983. 
 The Casteism - (Social Structures ) 
The traditional caste-ridden society manifested its ugly features during the 
declining period of the Maratha rule. The outcastes like Taral, Ramoshi, 
Chambhar, Mahar, Mang, Berad were treated very harshly. If the members 
of these castes committed any crime, a heavy fine was imposed on them 
and inhuman punishment was awarded to them. They were treated as unfit 
for the protection of law. Most of these outcastes were treated as criminal 
castes. The inequality of the castes was the main feature of the social 
structure. All were not equal before the law. Even among the high-castes 
there were many sub-divisions. It was generally believed that the Hindu 
Society was a graded society. Some of the Vedic Pundits would declare that 
there were only two self-exclusive groups of Hindus, Brahmins and 
Shudras. There were no Kshatriyas or Warriors by birth and the merchants 
were treated as among the Shudra caste only. The Brahmans however had 
the privilege to follow any trade or profession. They were appointed to 
civil and military offices and many a Brahman was engaged in the gold and 
jewellery trade. Some of them were rich money- lenders who lent money to 
the sardars and the Peshwas. 
  Rural Society 
The rural society was a well-integrated and compact society. Elphinstone 
and Metcalf praised the self-sufficiency of these Village Republics. The 
caste and the-family were treated as important units. The individual person 
had no independent position; he was a member of a particular family and 
castes and was bound by the caste-regulations. 
The rural society established interrelation by the time honoured method of 
the cultivators receiving services and goods from occupational castes in the 
scheme of social scale. Besides the upper castes that is the Brahmanas and 
the ruling elites, the others had to render public service. Their work was 
given remuneration by the voluntary payment of goods at the harvest time 
by the farmers. The recipients of such goods were known as ‘Balutedars’. 
They were twelve in a number depending upon the size of the village and 
its population. The important Balutedars were:- 
 
Page 4


  
 
 
   
  
  
  
      
    
  
       
   
    
   
   
    
    
    
  
  
  
   
            
        
     
 INTRODUCTION 
In dealing with the social conditions of Maharashtra we will concentrate 
on the Hindu population in general. There were Muslim settlements and 
they were confined to those regions once ruled by Muslim rulers such as 
Khandesh, Daulatabad, Ahmednagar, Janjira and the port-towns on the 
West-Coast. The population of Maharashtra at the end of the Maratha rule 
would be a matter of conjuncture because of lack of reliable data. 
During the time of the Maratha Empire agriculture was the main 
occupation of the majority of the people in Maharashtra. Some of them had 
taken to the life of a military career. These soldiers who were employed in 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC	CONDITIONS	OF	MAHARASHTRA	
IN	19TH	CENTURY
  
 
                       
 
 
 
the Maratha army did not dissociate themselves with their agricultural 
activities. During the period of Shivaji’s Swarajya the soldiers were 
farmers first and soldiers afterwards. Shivaji used to arrange the 
programme of military campaigns - the mulkhgiri - to suit the needs of the 
agriculturists; the soldiers commenced their campaigns on Dasara Day 
(usually in the month of October) and returned to their village homes by 
holi (April-May) This practice was continued in the subsequent periods 
also. 
 SOCIAL CONDITIONS  OF MAHARASHTRA IN 
THE 19 TH CENTURY 
 Population of Maharashtra 
W. H. Sykes, Statistical Reporter to the Government of Bombay estimated 
the total Population of Khandesh, Pune, Ahmednagar and Dharwar around 
27 lakhs in 1828. This gives us a general idea of the population figures. If 
we ignore the non-Marathi-speaking areas and include the areas like, Nasik, 
sholapur, Kolhapur and the Kokan, we can safely arrive at a figure of 
between 35 to 40 lakhs. It may not exceed fifty lakhs even if we include 
the princely states covered by the Marathi- speaking regions. This is of 
course a tentative estimate of the population a hundred and fifty years ago. 
The religion wise figures are more difficult to arrive at. The areas ruled by 
Muslims did not have Muslim majorities; so the population of Muslims 
scattered throughout Maharashtra in 1818 may not be more than three to 
four lakhs on the conservative estimate. 
 Religion 
The Hindu Society was tradition-bound. It had become more conservative 
as we approach the end of the Maratha period. It was spiritually and 
intellectually exhausted. The people reposed implicit faith in the wisdom 
of the religious literature especially the Puranas as only an insignificant 
number was reading the scriptures or the ‘Shastra’. Their ignorance about 
the worldaffairs was monumental. The teachings of the saint philosophers 
had driven the idea of ‘Fate’ deep into the soul of the people. They’d found 
solace in the rituals and listening to the religions discourses, the ‘Kirtans’ 
and the devotional songs, the ‘Abhangas’. The scholar gentry was 
complacent in reciting the Sanskrit verses and formulae, mantras, at 
ceremonial functions, patronized by the Peshwa and Maratha nobles. Those 
who lived in Pune, the seat of the Central Government of Marathas, came 
in contact with the foreigners, diplomats, soldiers and the Pindaris. The 
Guards or Gardis or Gardi’ belonged to non-Marathi- speaking people 
who came to Pune for services. 
The society of the time is described by G. S. Sardesai as follows:- 
‘‘ The religious outlook of the society and especially of the upper classes 
of that time was directed to pursuits of a superstitious nature, making caste 
restrictions rigid, enjoying various practices as the only means of 
happiness and salvation, and introducing thousands of minute rules and 
 
 
   
 
 
practices entirety antagonistic to the material interests of a progressive 
community. The Bhakti cult or the Bhagavata religion had the same effect, 
especially among the uneducated masses.’’ 
The Society was enslaved by superstition and insisted on duties appropriate 
to the castes. The upper classes or higher castes demanded that the lower 
classes, the untouchables must serve the high caste people. The forced 
labour demanded by the higher castes and the degradation of the Mahar, 
Mang and other low castes is adequately described by N. G. Bharve in his 
research paper ‘Peshwekalin Dalit Samaj ’ published in the journal of              
B. I. 
S. M. Pune, Year, 1983. 
 The Casteism - (Social Structures ) 
The traditional caste-ridden society manifested its ugly features during the 
declining period of the Maratha rule. The outcastes like Taral, Ramoshi, 
Chambhar, Mahar, Mang, Berad were treated very harshly. If the members 
of these castes committed any crime, a heavy fine was imposed on them 
and inhuman punishment was awarded to them. They were treated as unfit 
for the protection of law. Most of these outcastes were treated as criminal 
castes. The inequality of the castes was the main feature of the social 
structure. All were not equal before the law. Even among the high-castes 
there were many sub-divisions. It was generally believed that the Hindu 
Society was a graded society. Some of the Vedic Pundits would declare that 
there were only two self-exclusive groups of Hindus, Brahmins and 
Shudras. There were no Kshatriyas or Warriors by birth and the merchants 
were treated as among the Shudra caste only. The Brahmans however had 
the privilege to follow any trade or profession. They were appointed to 
civil and military offices and many a Brahman was engaged in the gold and 
jewellery trade. Some of them were rich money- lenders who lent money to 
the sardars and the Peshwas. 
  Rural Society 
The rural society was a well-integrated and compact society. Elphinstone 
and Metcalf praised the self-sufficiency of these Village Republics. The 
caste and the-family were treated as important units. The individual person 
had no independent position; he was a member of a particular family and 
castes and was bound by the caste-regulations. 
The rural society established interrelation by the time honoured method of 
the cultivators receiving services and goods from occupational castes in the 
scheme of social scale. Besides the upper castes that is the Brahmanas and 
the ruling elites, the others had to render public service. Their work was 
given remuneration by the voluntary payment of goods at the harvest time 
by the farmers. The recipients of such goods were known as ‘Balutedars’. 
They were twelve in a number depending upon the size of the village and 
its population. The important Balutedars were:- 
 
  
 
                      
 
 
 
Carpenters, blacksmiths, shoe makers, Maharas; Guravs, Potters, barbers, 
gold-smits, fishermen etc. (more about this in the next lesson). They were 
treated as men eligible for the benefit proper to that ‘Baluta’ or ‘social 
service’ which the occupational-castes were supposed to render. Among 
the untouchables, village servants-the Mahars had two important 
functions. 
They were used as private labourers and village servants doing government 
duties. They had to discharge duties as watchmen for the village and they 
were forced to work on the fields of certain mirasdars or men of high 
station. The Mahars had acquitted themselves with high credit in the 
military service risking their lives in daring adventures. They were 
however not sufficiently rewarded. In the battle of Kharda in 1795, Sidnak 
Mahar was commanding a battalion against the Nizam. The English 
Company recruited them as sepoys in their army. 
 Position of Women 
The position of women during the first decades of the nineteenth century 
was deplorable in general. Barring a few high-castes women and family 
members of ruling classes the rest of the womenfolk had to live in an 
undignified way. The widows of soldiers, the prostitutes, the 
‘devadasis’ or women throne at the mercy of the society in the name of 
God, the dancers, musicians and women who entertained men in public are 
frequently mentioned in the folk literature of the time. This creates an 
impression that the country had reached the lowest depth of moral decay. It 
is sufficient to point out that “women convicted of adultery were 
employed as prostitutes to raise a body of female slaves for the use of the 
state’’. 
 Crime and Punishment . 
The conventional law based on, the Manusmriti and the Yajnyawalkya 
Smriti was implemented with all severity. The Brahmanas were let off with 
light punishment but the severities of the punishment progressively 
increased as the law was applied to the criminals lower down the social 
scale. The uncertainties of fortunes and weakness of the political authority 
rendered thelife of women insecure and sale of women slaves was 
practiced at some places. The treatment of the prisoners was most cruel. In 
Kolaba dark underground dungeons were used for prisoners. In other 
places dark cells in some forts were used. The punishments were 
barbarious such as cruel mutilations, throwing down the prisoners bound 
hands and feet from the high spurs of the Sahyadri or simply blowing him 
out from the mouth of the guns. The deterrent punishments might have kept 
down the number of revolts and risings. However the terrors of the 
punishments in Hell for violating religious practices tormented the minds of 
the general mass of the people more than the known punishments for 
crimes. Nevertheless, bribery and graft in many forms in the public life 
relived the horrors to a great extent. Bribery appeared to be no crime. 
 
Page 5


  
 
 
   
  
  
  
      
    
  
       
   
    
   
   
    
    
    
  
  
  
   
            
        
     
 INTRODUCTION 
In dealing with the social conditions of Maharashtra we will concentrate 
on the Hindu population in general. There were Muslim settlements and 
they were confined to those regions once ruled by Muslim rulers such as 
Khandesh, Daulatabad, Ahmednagar, Janjira and the port-towns on the 
West-Coast. The population of Maharashtra at the end of the Maratha rule 
would be a matter of conjuncture because of lack of reliable data. 
During the time of the Maratha Empire agriculture was the main 
occupation of the majority of the people in Maharashtra. Some of them had 
taken to the life of a military career. These soldiers who were employed in 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC	CONDITIONS	OF	MAHARASHTRA	
IN	19TH	CENTURY
  
 
                       
 
 
 
the Maratha army did not dissociate themselves with their agricultural 
activities. During the period of Shivaji’s Swarajya the soldiers were 
farmers first and soldiers afterwards. Shivaji used to arrange the 
programme of military campaigns - the mulkhgiri - to suit the needs of the 
agriculturists; the soldiers commenced their campaigns on Dasara Day 
(usually in the month of October) and returned to their village homes by 
holi (April-May) This practice was continued in the subsequent periods 
also. 
 SOCIAL CONDITIONS  OF MAHARASHTRA IN 
THE 19 TH CENTURY 
 Population of Maharashtra 
W. H. Sykes, Statistical Reporter to the Government of Bombay estimated 
the total Population of Khandesh, Pune, Ahmednagar and Dharwar around 
27 lakhs in 1828. This gives us a general idea of the population figures. If 
we ignore the non-Marathi-speaking areas and include the areas like, Nasik, 
sholapur, Kolhapur and the Kokan, we can safely arrive at a figure of 
between 35 to 40 lakhs. It may not exceed fifty lakhs even if we include 
the princely states covered by the Marathi- speaking regions. This is of 
course a tentative estimate of the population a hundred and fifty years ago. 
The religion wise figures are more difficult to arrive at. The areas ruled by 
Muslims did not have Muslim majorities; so the population of Muslims 
scattered throughout Maharashtra in 1818 may not be more than three to 
four lakhs on the conservative estimate. 
 Religion 
The Hindu Society was tradition-bound. It had become more conservative 
as we approach the end of the Maratha period. It was spiritually and 
intellectually exhausted. The people reposed implicit faith in the wisdom 
of the religious literature especially the Puranas as only an insignificant 
number was reading the scriptures or the ‘Shastra’. Their ignorance about 
the worldaffairs was monumental. The teachings of the saint philosophers 
had driven the idea of ‘Fate’ deep into the soul of the people. They’d found 
solace in the rituals and listening to the religions discourses, the ‘Kirtans’ 
and the devotional songs, the ‘Abhangas’. The scholar gentry was 
complacent in reciting the Sanskrit verses and formulae, mantras, at 
ceremonial functions, patronized by the Peshwa and Maratha nobles. Those 
who lived in Pune, the seat of the Central Government of Marathas, came 
in contact with the foreigners, diplomats, soldiers and the Pindaris. The 
Guards or Gardis or Gardi’ belonged to non-Marathi- speaking people 
who came to Pune for services. 
The society of the time is described by G. S. Sardesai as follows:- 
‘‘ The religious outlook of the society and especially of the upper classes 
of that time was directed to pursuits of a superstitious nature, making caste 
restrictions rigid, enjoying various practices as the only means of 
happiness and salvation, and introducing thousands of minute rules and 
 
 
   
 
 
practices entirety antagonistic to the material interests of a progressive 
community. The Bhakti cult or the Bhagavata religion had the same effect, 
especially among the uneducated masses.’’ 
The Society was enslaved by superstition and insisted on duties appropriate 
to the castes. The upper classes or higher castes demanded that the lower 
classes, the untouchables must serve the high caste people. The forced 
labour demanded by the higher castes and the degradation of the Mahar, 
Mang and other low castes is adequately described by N. G. Bharve in his 
research paper ‘Peshwekalin Dalit Samaj ’ published in the journal of              
B. I. 
S. M. Pune, Year, 1983. 
 The Casteism - (Social Structures ) 
The traditional caste-ridden society manifested its ugly features during the 
declining period of the Maratha rule. The outcastes like Taral, Ramoshi, 
Chambhar, Mahar, Mang, Berad were treated very harshly. If the members 
of these castes committed any crime, a heavy fine was imposed on them 
and inhuman punishment was awarded to them. They were treated as unfit 
for the protection of law. Most of these outcastes were treated as criminal 
castes. The inequality of the castes was the main feature of the social 
structure. All were not equal before the law. Even among the high-castes 
there were many sub-divisions. It was generally believed that the Hindu 
Society was a graded society. Some of the Vedic Pundits would declare that 
there were only two self-exclusive groups of Hindus, Brahmins and 
Shudras. There were no Kshatriyas or Warriors by birth and the merchants 
were treated as among the Shudra caste only. The Brahmans however had 
the privilege to follow any trade or profession. They were appointed to 
civil and military offices and many a Brahman was engaged in the gold and 
jewellery trade. Some of them were rich money- lenders who lent money to 
the sardars and the Peshwas. 
  Rural Society 
The rural society was a well-integrated and compact society. Elphinstone 
and Metcalf praised the self-sufficiency of these Village Republics. The 
caste and the-family were treated as important units. The individual person 
had no independent position; he was a member of a particular family and 
castes and was bound by the caste-regulations. 
The rural society established interrelation by the time honoured method of 
the cultivators receiving services and goods from occupational castes in the 
scheme of social scale. Besides the upper castes that is the Brahmanas and 
the ruling elites, the others had to render public service. Their work was 
given remuneration by the voluntary payment of goods at the harvest time 
by the farmers. The recipients of such goods were known as ‘Balutedars’. 
They were twelve in a number depending upon the size of the village and 
its population. The important Balutedars were:- 
 
  
 
                      
 
 
 
Carpenters, blacksmiths, shoe makers, Maharas; Guravs, Potters, barbers, 
gold-smits, fishermen etc. (more about this in the next lesson). They were 
treated as men eligible for the benefit proper to that ‘Baluta’ or ‘social 
service’ which the occupational-castes were supposed to render. Among 
the untouchables, village servants-the Mahars had two important 
functions. 
They were used as private labourers and village servants doing government 
duties. They had to discharge duties as watchmen for the village and they 
were forced to work on the fields of certain mirasdars or men of high 
station. The Mahars had acquitted themselves with high credit in the 
military service risking their lives in daring adventures. They were 
however not sufficiently rewarded. In the battle of Kharda in 1795, Sidnak 
Mahar was commanding a battalion against the Nizam. The English 
Company recruited them as sepoys in their army. 
 Position of Women 
The position of women during the first decades of the nineteenth century 
was deplorable in general. Barring a few high-castes women and family 
members of ruling classes the rest of the womenfolk had to live in an 
undignified way. The widows of soldiers, the prostitutes, the 
‘devadasis’ or women throne at the mercy of the society in the name of 
God, the dancers, musicians and women who entertained men in public are 
frequently mentioned in the folk literature of the time. This creates an 
impression that the country had reached the lowest depth of moral decay. It 
is sufficient to point out that “women convicted of adultery were 
employed as prostitutes to raise a body of female slaves for the use of the 
state’’. 
 Crime and Punishment . 
The conventional law based on, the Manusmriti and the Yajnyawalkya 
Smriti was implemented with all severity. The Brahmanas were let off with 
light punishment but the severities of the punishment progressively 
increased as the law was applied to the criminals lower down the social 
scale. The uncertainties of fortunes and weakness of the political authority 
rendered thelife of women insecure and sale of women slaves was 
practiced at some places. The treatment of the prisoners was most cruel. In 
Kolaba dark underground dungeons were used for prisoners. In other 
places dark cells in some forts were used. The punishments were 
barbarious such as cruel mutilations, throwing down the prisoners bound 
hands and feet from the high spurs of the Sahyadri or simply blowing him 
out from the mouth of the guns. The deterrent punishments might have kept 
down the number of revolts and risings. However the terrors of the 
punishments in Hell for violating religious practices tormented the minds of 
the general mass of the people more than the known punishments for 
crimes. Nevertheless, bribery and graft in many forms in the public life 
relived the horrors to a great extent. Bribery appeared to be no crime. 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 Cultural Condition. 
The strength of the government and the caste-system lay in keeping the 
people poor and ignorant. There was no first rate literature and no new 
development of Hinduism. It was a declining period of arts. There were no 
saint-philosophers like Eknath, Tukaram or Ramdas. There were no 
independent compositions. The only names that figure as written in the 
18th century are those of Mahipati and Moropant, and some Lyrists like 
Ram Joshi. We do not come across any creative talent. The economic 
dissatisfaction was widespread. The small middle class, the merchants and 
money lenders were at the mercy of unworthy rulers and pillage bandits. 
The conditions could be summed as full of ‘Ladhai (wars) ‘Pundai’ 
(depredations) and ‘Bandai’ (revolts). 
The Maratha Polity during the previous century before the British 
conquest had gradually absorbed some of the cultural trends which 
prevailed in North India. Peshwas’ territory was in Maharashtra but he 
supervised and controlled the ‘Sardars or Chiefs’ who ruled in the North. 
The Shindes and Holkars had come under the influence of some of the 
cultural trends in modern Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Mahadji 
Shinde had introduced the fun and frolic of “Rang Panchami” the festival 
of colours during the Phalgun month. Peshwa Nana Saheb had also 
inspired some of the artists to develop performing arts, the painting of 
portraits of the Peshwa, Mahadji Shinde, Nana Phadnis and other chiefs. 
But the buildings and structures were demolished by the mercenaries 
during the time of war and the plunder and pillage of the Pindaris. The 
temples and palaces that have survived the attacks are witnesses to the 
grandeur of the Maratha period. 
The Marathi language was slowly being developed as a state language and 
the Modi script had been accepted as the script for important documents. 
Although the Marathi language of the 18th century was influenced by the 
Urdu and Persian language which was the court language of the Mughals, 
it continued to use more and more Sanskrit words in official documents. 
The conquest of the Maratha territory by the English did not change the 
cultural pattern. However the introduction of western ideas and institutions 
had influenced the important cities of Maharashtra namely Pune, Nasik, 
Nagpur, Kolhapur and the city of Bombay. The work of the Jesuit 
missionaries on the west coast in the 18th century had influenced the 
minds of the educated people of Maharashtra and slowly the western 
culture and civilization was influencing the Maratha society.