Maharashtra at the beginning of British Rule in 19th century Introduction Maharashtra has the tradition of very old and ancient history. During ancient times, the dyansties like Satvahanas, Vakatakas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Shilharas ruled various parts of Maharashtra at different times. These dynasties had produced the famous rulers like Gautamiputra Satkarni, Hala (the king Hala belonging to Satvahana dynasty is credited with compiling the first book in Maharashtri Prakrit language. The title of the book was 'Gathasaptashati' or 'Gathasattasai'. According to experts the modern Marathi language has its roots in ancient Maharashtri Prakrit language), Pravarsen II (this king belonging to Vakataka dynasty composed a book titled 'Setubandh' or 'Ravanvaho' in Maharashtri Prakrit) Sarvasen (Sarvasena was also a Vakataka king who wrote 'Harivijay', a book in Maharashtri Prakrit. The Vakatakas came to power in Maharashtra after the Satvahanas), Pulkeshin II (He belonged to the Chalukya dynasty and had defeated king Harshavardhan, his powerful northern contemporary) and Aparaditya I (this Shilhara king was interested in music and Dharmashastras. He had written a commentary on Yajnyavalkya Smriti titled 'Apararka'). During medieval period, the most prominent dynasty which ruled over Maharashtra was the Yadava dynasty. During the Yadava rule great Marathi Bhakti Saint Dnyaneshwar wrote 'Dnyneshwari', a commentary on 'Bhagvad Gita' in Marathi language around 1290 CE. During the rule of Yadava king, Ramdevraya, Allauddin Khilji had attacked Devgiri (modern Aurangabad district in Maharashtra), the capital of Yadava Kings of Maharashtra. The Yadavas of Maharashtra claimed themselves to be decendants of 'Yadu' dynasty. Devout Hindus believe that Lord Krishna belonged to this mythological dynasty. Different parts of Maharashtra were subsequently ruled by the Sultans of Delhi (Delhi Sultanate) and Mughal Dynasty. In mid 17th century the Great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj carved out independent state of Marathas called as 'Swarajya' by fighting against the Adilshahi rulers of Bijapur and other Muslim rulers including the Mughals. Chhatrapati Shivaji enthused people with positive energy and confidence as he was the one who had shown courage to take on the mighty political powers in Maratha country. His rule was people friendly rule in the real sense of the term. Hence, Chhatrapati Shivaji is aptly and fondly called as the 'Rayatecha Raja' (People's King). Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj died in 1680 CE. After him his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji became the the ruler. After the death of Chhatrapati Sambhaji, Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj and Rani Tarabai gave spirited fight to the Mughals led by Emperor Aurangzeb and defeated them. The sacrifice of Chhatrapati Sambhaji strengthened the resolve of the people of Maratha land to give spirited fight to Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. Chhatrapati Rajaram and Rani Tarabai mobilised the Marathas and gave effective leadership to them after the death of Chhatrapati Sambhaji. By the beginning of the second decade of 18th century the Peshwas firmly established their position as the de facto rulers. Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath was the close aide of Chhatrapati Shahu (son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji) and helped him to revive the prestige and power of Maratha kingdom. Balaji Vishwanath's son Baji Rao I alias 'Rau' succeeded him as Peshwa in 1720 CE. Baji Rao I was a gallant fighter. The other prominent Peshwas were Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao alias Nanasaheb Peshwa Peshwa Madhavrao I. Baji Rao II, the son of Raghunathrao was the last Maratha Peshwa. His rule was brought to an end by British after his deafeat in the third Anglo-Matatha War of 1817-18 CE and the British rule began in Maharashtra. Even though, the third Battle of Panipat (1761) gave a temporary setback to Marathas, within a limited span of time again the Maratha Confederacy was dominating the most of the parts of India during the time of Peshwa Madhavrao I. The Maratha Confederacy included the powerful 'Sardars' like Gaikwads of Baroda, Holkars of Indore, Scindias (Shindes) of Gwalior, Bhosales of Nagpur, Newalkars of Jhansi, etc. The Peshwas of Poona were considered as 'First among the Equal' during this time. As mentioned above, the Peshwa Baji Rao II was defeated in 1818 CE by the British and the prestige and power of last indigenous rulers of India viz. Marathas weakened greatly which paved the way for the establishment of British rule in India on strong basis. Social Condition in Maharashtra The rigid caste system was prevalent in Maharashtra when the British rule started in 19th century. There was a social hierarchy consisting many castes. The condition of lower castes was precarious. Especially, the condition of untouchables was worst. Untouchables were denied social, religious and economic equality. Their touch was considered as polluting and they were also denied entry in temples. There was a strong influence of Bhakti tradition saints and their writings on society. Different caste groups called as 'Balutedars' were involved in range of professions or work. The Brahmins enjoyed privileged position in society. The women mostly did not get formal education. They were supposed to look after the household responsibilities. Some women from affluent and Brahmin families could read and write. But, the system of sending girls to schools like boys was not yet common. Hence, the literacy rate among women was low. Women had to suffer from the evils like 'Davadasi', 'Sati', forced widowhood, child marriage, etc. Marathi language was used for conversation and writing. It was written both in 'Devnagari' and 'Modi' script. Marathi is one of the oldest languages in Indian subcontinent. We have already seen that as early as during 1st century CE Satvahana King, Hala had compiled the book called 'Gathasaptasati' in Maharashtri Prakrit, Marathi language has its roots in Maharashtrii Prakrit. The Marathi language got boost during medieval times when the saints belonging to 'Mahanubhav' sect and 'Bhakti' sect composed or wrote their writings in Marathi. Economic Condition As mentioned earlier, the people belonging to different castes called as 'Balutedars' were involved in different types of work like and carrying out responsibilities as blacksmiths, goldsmiths, carpenters, washermen, cobblers, barbers, weavers, fishermen, village watchmen, etc. These professions were caste-based and hereditary and there was no horizontal mobility from one profession or caste to other. The persons belonging to untouchable castes were treated as outcasts and were mainly involved in menial work. But, the mainstay of the economic fabric was agriculture. The cultivators also used to serve as soldiers when they were not involved in farming work. For the purpose of land revenue collection, the Maratha rulers used to classify land in different categories and measure it. In this way on the basis of classification of land and measurement the land revenue was collected from cultivators. The cultivators were given remission from taxes during failure of the crops and were given the help by the rulers in the form of 'tagai' i.e. a loan in order to face the bad or difficult times. 'Patil', 'Kulkarni', 'Deshmukh' and "Deshpandes' were the important revenue officers at different level. The finance minister was called as 'Phadnis'. The system of giving loan to farmers during the failure of crops or famine was indeed a sign of people friendly rule. Paithan, Pune, Thane and Kalyan were important centres of trade. Paithan was known as Prathishthan during ancient times. This town located on the banks of river Godavari was the great Centre of Learning apart from being the Trade Centre. During ancient times, it was the capital of Satvahanas. Saint Eknath, one of the greatest Bhakti Saints known for his compositions in Marathi as well as Sanskrit was from Paithan. Pune became the Centre of Power, especially during the time of Peshwa. Thane and Kalyan were the ports, hence from here the foreign trade was carried out. Administration and Judiciary Mountstuart Elphnstone who served as the Deccan Commissioner and first Governor of Bombay Presidency played crucial role in introducing and strengthening the western British style administration in Bombay Presidency. While restructuring the administrative system Elphinstone retained the good indigenous principles. He made it a point to not to disturb the local people while bringing in new administrative changes. The District Collector emerged as very important official at the District level during British period. The Collectors also subsequently started funtioning as Magistrates, hence, maintaining law and order in the District became responsibility of a Collector under British rule. Mountstuart Elphinstone's praiseworthy contribution was the codification of laws. The new Code of Laws compiled by British rulers and applicable in Bombay Presidency came to be known as 'Elphinstone Code'. For compiling this Code the help of Indian 'Pundits' i.e. learned Brahmins and other people was also taken, wherever necessary. Mountstuart Elphnstone was a liberal administrator. He was born on 6 October 1779 in Dunbartonshire, Scotland. He was offered the Governer- Generalship of India but he declined it. He believed in treating the natives with respect. He promoted the cause of state education. In his honour the Elphinstone College in Bombay (now Mumbai) was named by the rich Indians from the city of Bombay, who built this College by way of public funding. The British maintained the military contingents at Shirur, Junnar and Poona. Shirur and Junnar are important talukas of Pune district. Shirur is located on the eastern boundary of Pune district while Junnar's location is in north- eastern side of Pune. During the early British rule both these areas were centres of untest against British rule. The British introduced the modern military modelled on western army and equipped with modern weapons. The army was also given proper training and soldiers had to fight in different parts of the country. Later on the British took the Indian soldiers to far off places like Afghanistan and Sindh for fighting purposes. Today's most of the Western Maharashtra and Khandesh was the part of Bombay Presidency.