Give an account of the conquests and administration and rise of the Maratha under Shivaji.
Shivaji was one of the most remarkable personalities in the history of India. He was born on 20 April, 1627 in the hilly fort of Shivneri. His father Shahji Bhonsle was a high military official at the court of Sultan of Bijapur and mother Jijabai was a very noble and pious lady. Shivaji was looked after by his grandfather named Dadaji Kondev. His Guru Ramdas created in him a strong spirit of nationalism. Consequently, Shivaji who took the responsibility of managing the Jagir at Poona, followed military expeditions with a view to set-up a strong Maratha kingdom.
A) Conquests of Shivaji : Shivaji decided to conquer the neighbouring territories and at f conquered the forts of Rajgarh, Konkan and Toran He conquered the fort of Purandar in 1648. After some time he occupied Supa. He conquered all these territories without any bloodshed and without paying any heavy price.
Secondly, Shivaji seized Javali in 1655 and became the ruler of Maval, Satara and Konkan. Thus Shivaji created a kingdom of Marathas and decided to extend its frontiers. In this context, Shivaji came in conflict with the Mughals in 1657 when Aurangzeb launched an attack against Bijapur. But Shivaji adopted aggressive attitudes against Mughal authority. Shivaji occupied the forts of Kalyan and Bhiwandi. He killed Afzal Khan who was the military general of Bijapur and captured a huge amount of gold and riches including 1200 camels and 4000 horses. Afterwards, Shivaji conquered a large portion of Mughal territory by defeating and killing important military generals like Siddi Jauhar, Shaista Khan etc. and extended his frontiers. Lastly, he plundered Surat and acquired enormous wealth from this plunder.
B) Treaty of Purandar : The Mughal ruler Aurangzeb decided to crush the power of Shivaji. So he sent Jai Singh of Mewar and his own son Muzzin against Shivaji. The Mughal forces invaded the fort of Purandar and captured it. Shivaji was compelled to surrender and made the treaty of Purandar 1665.
Following were the main provisions of the treaty of Purandar.
i) Shivaji surrendered 35 forts including 4 Lacs Huns.
ii) He promised to follow the order of Mughal rule.
iii) Shivaji hold over Konkan region yielding 4 Lacs Hun annually was allowed to remain as before.
iv) Shivaji was granted permission not to go personally to the Mughal court but his son Sambhaji 5000 was granted a Mansab of
v) Shivaji vowed to render help to the Mughals against Bijapur.
C) Accession of Shivaji: The coronation of Shivaji took place on 15th June 1674 under Pandit Gang Bhatt who declared that Shivaji was a high ranking Kshatriya. The coronation greatly enhanced Shivaji political position. After coronation Shivaji decided to extend the frontier of his kingdom. Thus Shivaji was able to establish an independent kingdom. After coronation Shivaji conquered a few more territories like Vellore, Zinji, Bhopal, Belldi, Tanjora and Karnataka. Shivaji passed away in 1680 and was succeeded by his son Sambhaji.
D) Administration of Shivaji : Great as a conqueror Shivaji was equally great as an administrator. He maintained strong stability of his kingdom by enforcing law and order. In order to rule over the people he followed the liberal principles but was strict on the question of national dignity. His administration can be studies under the following points.
i) Central Administration : Shivaji was a very brave and ambitious king who had concentrated all powers in his own hand but he had a council of Minister called Ashtapradhan. It consisted of the following ministers such as Peshwa or Mukhya Pradhan, Sare-Naubat or Senapati, Amatya or Finance Minister, Sumant or Foreign Minister, Sachiv, Waqia Navis, Panditrao and Nyayadhish. All these ministers had to render military service at the time of national emergency. The office of these ministers were not hereditary. Shivaji was possessing the supreme power in taking decision on all important matters.
ii) Provincial and Local Administration : Shivaji had divided his kingdom into four provinces which were Northern provinces, Southern provinces, South Eastern provinces and Far Southern provinces. Shivaji named all these provinces called Swarajya, The rulers of these provinces were responsible for their activities to Shivaji who maintained strong vigilance on their activities. Shivaji did not make their offices hereditary. The Karkun was responsible for the maintenance of the Empire and Subedar was incharge of land yielding about Rs. One Lac annual revenue. The office of Subedar was generally given to the Brahmins. Forts played a vital role in the administration of local govt. Havildar was solely responsible for the maintenance of law and order. There were nearly 240 forts which were placed under the control of Havaldar. The financial arrangements of the forts and neighbouring area were the responsibilities of the Sar-i-Naubat. Under the Marathas the village panchayats continued to perform variety of administrative, judicial and welfare functions.
iii) Revenue system : Shivaji wanted to strengthen the economy of his kingdom. So he divided his empire into four provinces and made assessment of the total produce of the empire. He fixed ?, part as the share of the royal treasury. The farmers were allowed to pay the revenue either in cash or in kind. He had abolished the Jagirdari system. Besides land revenue, Chauth and Sardeshmukhi were another W important source of revenue. The Catch was 'th part of the income of the province while Sardeshmukhi was 'th. In addition to it, there were other taxes in the form of revenue on the sale and purchase of things, trade taxes, forest tax, gifts and presents and the booty collected during invasions.
E) Military Administration : Shivaji maintained a strong standing army for maintaining not only law and order but also to protect the nation against foreign or Mughal invasions. It is estimated that the army of Shivaji had 1,00,000 infantry, 40,000 cavalry and 1260 elephants. He also possessed artillery and mortar guns. The highest officer of cavalry was Sar i-Naubat. The infantry was also divided in graded form. It was divided into regiments, brigade fund divisions. Shivaji ordered his soldiers to observe discipline and morality during war. Anyone who violated his instructions was severely punished. The soldiers were paid in cash at the appointed time. The state also looked after the widows and children of the soldiers who lost their life in the battle field.
Shivaji as a nation builder: Shivaji organised the scattered Maratha community and laid the foundation of Maratha kingdom which included a large part of Maharashtra, Konkan, Karnataka and entire coastal area. He created national spirit among the Marathas who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Maratha kingdom. It was under Shivaji that the Marathas developed a feeling of nationality and autonomy. Thus in conclusion it can be said that Shivaji was a great conqueror, administrator, policy maker and a nation builder.
