Analyse the political, social and economic factors responsible for the rise of Marathas during 17th century.

The Marathas are natives of the hill country in the West of India which is now called Maharashtra. Their country, for most part, covered with the mountains and forest. The surface is uneven, the soil unproductive and the routes are intricate. The physical features and the bracing climate of their climate have played a great part in making the Marathas active, brave, warlike and simple in their habits.

Before the rise of Shivaji, the Marathas were scattered in different parts of South India. They were rather poorly organized and were mainly engaged in agriculture. Some Marathas were employed in the service of the Deccan and acquired training in the art of administration and warfare. 

Shivaji made Marathas a powerful nation which dominated India in the 18th century. Marathas were in fact the strongest power after the decline of the Mughal empire. 

Following were the important political, social and economic factors responsible for the phenomenal rise of the Marathas: 

1. Inspirational influence of religious and social leaders: Several prominent leaders in the religious and social fields of Maharashtra inspired the people to unite by preaching faith and Bhakti in one God and by condemning the caste system which had divided the society. The most famous of these reformers were: Tuka Ram, Ram Das, Vaman Pandit and Eknath. Guru Ram Das exercised a tremendous influence by underlying the philosophy of ‘Karma’ (action) in his famous book ‘Das Bodh. 

2. Love for the motherland: Swami Ram Das’s message to the Marathas was, “Mother and mother country are dearer than heaven itself. Gods and cows, Brahmans and the faith, these are to be protected. Therefore, God has raised you up; when faith is dead, death is better than life: why live when religion has vanished? Gather ye, therefore, the Marathas together; make the dharma live again! For otherwise our forefathers will laugh at us from heaven.” 

3. Character of the Marathas: Elphinstone has observed in this regard. “They (Marathas) are all active, laboriousy hardy and preserving. If they have none of the pride and dignity of the Rajput’s, they have none of their indolence or want of worldly wisdom too. And all these traits were due to the peculiar physical features of their country.” Shivaji made the best use of these characteristics of the Marathas. 

4. Ready-made and easily defensible rock forts: The broken ranges of the hills provided natural forts and the people were inspired to regard these forts as their mother-the seats of their protection. 

5. Influence of language and literature: Eknath taught the Marathas to take pride in their mother tongue which helped in bringing about a sense of commonness and unity among the Marathas. As remarked by J.N. Sarkar, “A remarkable community of language, creed and life was attained in Maharashtra in the 17th century even before political unity was conferred by Shivaji”. 

6. The geographical conditions: The location of Maharashtra and its physical features helped in the rise of Maratha power. The large part of Maratha land is a plateau where the Marathas had to struggle hard for their existence. This made the Marathas courageous and hard working. 

7. Economic equality: The Marathas did not suffer much from economic inequality, as there were not many people to be accepted as rich. There was no class of economic exploiters. This gave the Marathas a spirit of self-respect and unity. 

8. Guerilla warfare: The mountainous areas made it possible for the Marathas to adopt guerilla warfare very successfully. The scattered areas in the villages provided provision for soldiers. The invaders were prone to sudden attacks from forts located on the tops of hills. Means of communications for the large armies to move freely were not easily available. This obstructed the deployment of large armies by the outside rulers. 

9. Training in the art of administration: Even prior to the rise of Shivaji, the Marathas had acquired experience and training in the art of administration. There were a number of Marathas employed in various departments and especially in the revenue department of the Muslim rulers of the Deccan. The Maratha Jagirdars were playing an important role in the political affairs of the states of Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Berar and Golkunda etc. Several departments were virtually controlled by Maratha statesmen and warriors. 

10. Unstable political condition of the South: The Muslim kingdoms in the South were in the process of disintegration. The political situation was quite favourable for the rise of the Marathas.

 

Rise of Shivaji & Marathas in the 17th Century-

Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire, was born in 1627 in the fortress of Shivneri, in the western Ghats near Poona. His father was a military officer in the state of Bijapur. 

Shivaji was brought up at Poona, under the careful supervision of his mother who had infused in him a spirit to defend his nation and religion. Under the guidance of his tutor dada Konde. Shivaji became an expert solider and an efficient administrator. He was also greatly influenced by the writings of the religious reformers of Maharashtra which inspired him with boundless zwal for Hindu religion and love for his motherhood. 

All these influences made Shivaji to believe that it was his mission to liberate the Hindus and wield the Marathas into one nationality and to free his country from the Muslim yoke. He soon made himself the leader of his people.

Military Career-

Shivaji began his military career at the young age of 19. He conquered some forts in Bijapur state in 1640 and was shortly after he captured other forts of Rajgarh and Purandhar etc.

The sultan of Bijapur was alarmed by the rise of Shivaji and sent his general Afzal Khan in 1659 against him. The latter was killed in a ferocious battle by Shivaji. Further many attempts to stop Shivaji were made by the sultan, but they failed and at last, the king of Bijapur made peace with Shivaji and acknowledged him as an independent king.

Shivaji then began to ravage the Mughal territories. Aurangzeb sent Siesta Khan, the Viceroy of Deccan against him However, Siesta Khan failed in his mission which encourages Shivaji to continue his plunder. 

After the failure of Siesta Khan, Aurangzeb sent first his own son Prince Muazzam, and at his failure Raja Jai Singh of Amber against Shivaji. 

Raja Jai Singh besieged Shivaji in Purandhar and persuaded him to submit. Shivaji also ceded 23 of his forts to the Mughals and retained only 12 for himself.

When Shivaji attended the Mughal court at Agra, he was prisoned. After 3 months, he cleverly made his escape and from that point until his death, he remained an implacable enemy of the Mughals. He even conquered all the forts back. 

In 1674, Shivaji made Rajgarh his capital and carried out expeditions into southern India conquering Janjil, Vellore and other area of Carnatic. He died at the age of 53 in Rajgarh in 1680, but the Maratha Empire dominated the entire 17th and 18th century. 

Administration under Shivaji

Shivaji beside being s brave general was a great administrator. He evolved an efficient administrative system throughout his empire. 

The empire was divided into two parts - 

Swarajya - Directly under the rule of the king.

Mughalai - Areas which gave taxes ( Chauth and Sardeshmukhi) in lieu of protection by the Maratha Empire.

Central Government – The ruler was the supreme head of the civil government. He was assisted by a council of 8 ministers called  -” Ashta Pradhans”

Provincial Government – Whole kingdom was divided into 3 large provinces. The Governor (Mamlatdar) headed the province and was assisted by 8 chief officers. Provinces were further divided into parganas and gramas. 

Revenue Administration – 2/5th of gross produced was payable as tax in either cash or kind. Proper care was taken that no hardship was caused to the cultivators. Advances were given for seeds and tools.  

Apart from this, Chauth and Sardeshmukhi were collected from the Mughalai area.

Military – The military of the Maratha Empire was highly organized. Senapati, a member of the Ashta Pradhan headed the military. The soliders were paid in cash and were not allowed to live on plunder. There was no concept of allotting jagirs.Shivaji maintained an excellent military discipline among his army.

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