Context: Hailing Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for rebuilding the temples destroyed by the Mughals and other foreign invaders, Union Home Miniter Amit Shah said the restoration work that continued after Shivaji Maharaj is being taken forward by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Who is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?
- Shivaji was born in Shivner near Junnar. He was the son of Shahji Bhonsle by his first wife Jijabai. Shahji was a descendant of the Yadava rulers of Devagiri from his mother’s side and the Sisodias of Mewar on his father’s side.
- Shahji Bhonsle served under Malik Ambar (1548–1626), former slave, and the Abyssinian minister of Ahmed Shah of Ahmednagar. After the death of Malik Ambar, Shahji played a vital role in its politics. After the annexation of Ahmednagar by the Mughals, he entered the service of the Sultan of Bijapur.
- Shivaji and his mother were left under the care of Dadaji Kondadev who administered Shahji Bhonsle’s jagirs (land grants given in recognition of military or administrative services rendered) at Poona.
- Shivaji earned the goodwill of the Mavali peasants and chiefs, who were a martial people with knowledge about the hilly areas around Poona.
- Shivaji made himself familiar with the hilly areas around Poona. Religious heads, Ramdas and Tukaram, also influenced Shivaji. Ramdas was regarded by Shivaji as his guru.
Shivaji Military Conquests
- Shivaji began his military career at the age of nineteen. In 1646, he captured the fortress of Torna from the Sultan of Bijapur. The fort of Raigad, located five miles east of Torna, was captured and wholly rebuilt. After the death of Dadaji Kondadev in 1647, Shivaji took over all the jagirs of his father. Subsequently, the forts of Baramati, Indapura, Purandhar and Kondana came under his direct control. The Marathas had already captured Kalyan, an important town in that region.
- Shivaji’s father had been humiliated and imprisoned by the Sultan of Bijapur. He negotiated with Prince Murad, the Mughal Viceroy of the Deccan and expressed his wish to join Mughal service. The Sultan of Bijapur released Shahji in 1649 on some conditions. So, Shivaji refrained from his military activities from 1649 to 1655. During this period, he consolidated his power and toned up his administration.
- In 1656, Shivaji re-started his military activities. He captured Javli in the Satara district and the immense booty that he won made him popular among the Marathas. Many young men joined his army. A new fort, Pratapgarh, was built two miles west of Javli.
Confrontation against Bijapur
- After Mohammad Adilshah of Bijapur died in November 1656, Adilshah II, a young man of eighteen, succeeded him. Aurangzeb captured Bidar, Kalyani and Purandar in 1657. So, both Shivaji and the Bijapur Sultan were forced to make peace with Aurangzeb. At this time Shah Jahan fell ill, and a war of succession was imminent in Delhi. Aurangzeb left for Delhi to take part in it. Using this opportunity, Shivaji invaded north Konkan and captured the cities of Kalyan, Bhivandi and fort of Mahuli
Conflict with the Mughals (1670)
- Aurangzeb took back a part of the jagir in Berar which was once given to Shivaji. Shivaji got annoyed and Recalled his troops from Mughal service. He recovered almost all the forts he had ceded to the Mughals by the treaty of Purandar. In 1670, he again sacked Surat, the most important port on the western coast. In 1672, the Marathas imposed chauth or one fourth of the revenue as annual tribute on Surat.
Coronation
- On 6 June 1674, Shivaji was crowned at Raigarh. He assumed the title of “Chhatrapathi”( metaphor for “supreme king ”).
Deccan Campaigns
- In 1676, Shivaji began his career of conquests in the south. A secret treaty was signed with the Sultan of Golkonda. Shivaji promised him some territories in return for his support. He captured Senji and Vellore and annexed the adjoining territories which belonged to his father, Shahji.
Marathas Administration
Central Government
- Shivaji was a not only a great warrior but a good administrator too. He had an advisory council to assist him in his day-to-day administration. This council of eight ministers was known as Ashta Pradhan. Its functions were advisory. The eight ministers were:
- The Mukhya Pradhan or Peshwa or prime minister whose duty was to look after the general welfare and interests of the State. He officiated for the king in his absence.
- The Amatya or finance minister checked and countersigned all public accounts of the kingdom.
- The Walkia-Nawis or Mantri maintained the records of the king’s activities and the proceedings in the court
- Summant or Dabir or foreign secretary was to advise king on all matters of war and peace and to receive ambassadors and envoys from other countries.
- Sachiv or Shuru Nawis or home secretary was to look after the correspondence of the king with the power to revise the drafts. He also checked the accounts of the Parganas.
- Pandit Rao or Danadhyaksha or Sadar and Muhtasib or ecclesiastical head was in charge of religion, ceremonies and charities. He was the judge of canon law and censor of public morals.
- Nyayadhish or chief justice was responsible for civil and military justice.
- Sari Naubat or commander-in-chief was in charge of recruitment, organization and discipline of the Army. With the exception of the Nyayadhish and Pandit Rao, all the other ministers were to command armies and lead expeditions.
- All royal letters, charters and treaties had to get the seal of the King and the Peshwa and the endorsement of the wfour ministers other than the Danadyaksha, Nyayadhisha and Senapati. There were eighteen departments under the charge of the various ministers.
Provincial Government
- For the sake of administrative convenience, Shivaji divided the kingdom into four provinces, each under a viceroy. The provinces were divided into a number of Pranths. The practice of granting jagirs was abandoned and all officers were paid in cash. Even when the revenues of a particular place were assigned to any official, his only link was with the income generated from the property. He had no control over the people associated with it. No office was to be hereditary. The fort was the nerve-centre of the activities of the Pranth. The lowest unit of the government was the village in which the traditional system of administration prevailed.
Revenue Administration
- The revenue administration of Shivaji was humane and beneficent to the cultivators. The lands were carefully surveyed and assessed. The state demand was fixed at 30% of the gross produce to be payable in cash or kind. Later, the tax was raised to 40%. The amount of money to be paid was fixed. In times of famine, the government advanced money and grain to the cultivators which were to be paid back in instalments later. Liberal loans were also advanced to the peasants for purchasing cattle, seed, etc.
Chauth and Sardeshmukhi
- As the revenue collected from the state was insufficient to meet its requirements, Shivaji collected two taxes, Chauth and Sardeshmukhi, from the adjoining territories of his empire, the Mughal provinces and the territories of the Sultan of Bijapur. Chauth was one-fourth of the revenue of the district conquered by the Marthas. Sardeshmukhi was an additional 10% of the revenue which Shivaji collected by virtue of his position as Sardeshmukh. Sardeshmukh was the superior head of many Desais or Deshmukhs. Shivaji claimed that he was the hereditary Sardeshmukh of his country.
Military Organization
- Shivaji organized a standing army. As he discouraged the practice of granting jagirs and making hereditary appointments. Quarters were provided to the soldiers. The soldiers were given regular salaries. The army consisted of four divisions: infantry, cavalry, an elephant corps and artillery. Though the soldiers were good at guerrilla methods of warfare, at a later stage they were also trained in conventional warfare.
- The infantry was divided into regiments, brigades. The smallest unit with nine soldiers was headed by a Naik (corporal). Each unit with 25 horsemen was placed under one havildar (equivalent to the rank of a sergeant). Over five havildars were placed under one jamaladar and over ten jamaladars under one hazari. Sari Naubat was the supreme commander of cavalry. The cavalry was divided into two classes: the bargirs (soldiers whose horses were given by the state) and the shiledars (mercenary horsemen who had to find their own horses). There were water-carriers and farriers too.
Justice
- The administration of justice was of a rudimentary nature. There were no regular courts and regular procedures. The panchayats functioned in the villages. The system of ordeals was common. Criminal cases were tried by the Patels. Appeals in both civil and criminal cases were heard by the Nyayadhish (chief justice) with the guidance of the smritis. Hazir Majlim was the final court of appeal