Maratha Administration History - General Knowledge of Modern India

The Maratha state appointed Hindus to high positions and gave Marathi the status of official language instead of Persian. He created a dictionary of his own under the name 'Raj Grammar Kosh' for state use. The Maratha Empire can be studied under the following three heads- Central Administration, Revenue Administration and Military Administration.

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Central Administration:

It was established by Shivaji for a capable administrative system, which was mainly inspired by the administrative style of the Deccan. Most of the administrative reforms were inspired by the administrative reforms carried out by Malik Amber in Ahmednagar.

The king was the highest official who was assisted by a group of eight ministers known as 'Ashtapradhan'.

Ashtapradhan

Peshwa or Prime Minister: It looked after the general administration.
Amatya or Majumdar: This was the head of accounts who later became the Minister of Revenue and Finance.
Secretary or Shuru-Navis: It was also called Chitnis and it looked after the work of state correspondence.
Sumant or Dabir: He was the chief minister of state functions and foreign affairs.
Senapati or Sar-e-Naubat: This was the army chief who looked after military recruitment, training and discipline.
Mantri or Wakia-Navis: This was the head of intelligence, personal security of the king and other housework.
Judge: This was the head of the administration of justice.
Panditrao: He was the head of the charitable and religious work of the state and worked for the moral upliftment of the people.

In addition to their departmental responsibilities, three ministers named Peshwa, Minister and Secretary were also entrusted with the responsibility of in-charge of large provinces.

Except for the judge and Panditrao, all the other ministers had to hold military command in addition to their civilian duties.

The minister was assisted by the following eight scribes/clerks-

Diwan - Secretary.
Majumdar - Auditor and Accountant.
Phadnis - Deputy Auditor.
Sabnis or Daftadar - Head of the office.
Chitnis - Correspondence clerk.
Jamdar - Treasurer.
Potnis - Cash Officer.
Factory - Rep.

Shivaji divided his entire kingdom into four provinces and each province was under a royal representative (viceroy). He further divided the provinces (subas) into parganas and taluks. Under the parganas, there used to be more and more. The smallest unit of administration was the village, which was headed by the Patil (Patel).

Revenue Administration:

Shivaji abolished the Zamindari system and replaced it with the Ryotwari system and changed the status of hereditary revenue servants known as Deshmukh, Deshpande, Patil and Kulkarni.
Shivaji kept a close watch on the mirasdars, who had hereditary rights to the land.
On the revenue system owner Amber's saddle system was based. According to this system, each part of the land was measured with a stick or a saddle.
Chauth and sardeshmukhi were their other sources of income. Chauth was one-fourth of the total revenue collected by the Marathas from non-Maratha territories in exchange for evading Maratha invasion. Sardeshmukhi was an additional tax which was ten percent of the income and was collected from the areas located outside the state.

Military Administration:

Shivaji created a disciplined and efficient army. Ordinary soldiers were paid in cash, but the big sardars and generals were paid in the form of jagir grants (saranjamaya mokasa).

The army consisted of infantry (e.g. mavli soldiers), cavalry (e.g. bargirs and sildars), cavalrymen and navy.

Military Officer/ Staff

Sar-i-Naubat (Commander) - Chief of the Army Staff
Qiladar - Officer of the forts
Pike - Foot soldier
Nayak - The head of an infantry detachment
Havildar - Chief of the five heroes
Jumladar - Chief of five constables.
Ghurav - a boat laden with guns
Gallivat - 40-50 rowing boat

The army was an effective tool in determining the policies of the Maratha kingdom, where rapid military campaigns were important. The army rested only in the rainy season, otherwise it was busy in campaigns throughout the year.

The Pindaris were allowed to accompany the army, who were allowed to recover the "pal-patti", which was 25 percent of the goods lost in the war.

Maratha Administration History - General Knowledge of Modern India