| Maratha or Who are Marathas? - page 1 |
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| Marathas are a blend of the Warrior and Agrarian classes, speaking Marathi and generally having their roots in Maharashtra. They are also found in large Nos in Karnataka, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat. There are contradictory theories about the Historic origins of Marathas and hence are not discussed here. A few Maratha clans claim themselves to be Kshatriyas (Warriors). Some such families were the Bhosales, Ghorpades, Jadhavs, Nimbalkars, Mores, Manes, Ghatges, Dafleys, Sawants, Shirkes, Mahadiks and the Mohites. The prominent Maratha families mentioned above were serving under the Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar and Adil Shah of Bijapur. These families are generally referred as the 96 clans or kulis which comprise of 96 different main clans with their different sub clans. Marathas are descendents of Rashtrakuts, Mauryas, Pariharas/Parmar (Pawar), Pratiharas, Shilahars, Kadambas, Yadavas, Chalukyas and many other royal clans in India. Maloji Bhosale (c.1552-1606) then the patil of verul joined Nizam Shah with a small band of cavalry. His son, Shahaji (1599-1664) served under Nizam Shah and Adil Shah, and came to prominence as a leading General. His son Shivaji (1627-1680) established the Hindavi Swarajya (Sovereign Hindu state), which happened to be the nucleus of the Maratha power that came into being later on. The Marathas, who had been till then serving as Deshmukhs (Jagirdars) to the Muslim rules, now had their own king and kingdom. The majority of Marathas, however belong to the peasantry class. The dividing line between the Kshatriya classes and the peasantry classes has become thin with the passage of time.A lot of matrimonial alliances are also taking place amongst them, unlike those in North or South India. The Maratha army and the administration also had people from all castes taking pride in it. The fanatic Brahmins of those times had refused to coronate Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and subsequently Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur since they didn't consider Marathas, as 'Kshatriyas'. The Brahmins declared that 'Only Kshatriyas are entitled to be crowned as the Kings' and Marathas being 'Shudras' were not entitled to be crowned. Chhatrapati Shivaji brought Gagabhat of Varanasi to establish his lineage with the Sisodias (Rajputs) of Rajasthan & testify his being Kshatriya, whereas the great social reformer Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj extended the vedic rights to non brahmins and empowered them do the jobs of the brahmins. |
| Rajarshi Shahu realised the falacy in the caste system and corrected it by bringing all the sections of the society on one platform to fight this brahmin fanatism. Throughout his life, he struggled for the upliftment and education of the downtrodden. . It is a worthwhile to see the majority lot of Maharashtrians identifying themselves as Marathas. It is a case of inculcation of pride in masses, a case study for sociologists. Marathas consider themselves to be the saviours of Hinduism who fought the onslaught of fanatic Mughal Emperor Aurangjeb. It is generally agreed by Historians that had the Maratha power not been there after the Mughals, the whole of India would have become Pakistan after Independence. The death of Chhatrapti Shivaji in 1680 and his son Sambhaji in 1687 pushed the Maratha kingdom in the period of instability upto 1707. The tiny Maratha kingdom , established by Chattrapati Shivaji was expanded by the Peshwas, who were the Brahmin Prime Ministers. The real credit for expanding the Maratha kingdom goes to Bajirao Peshwa I(1721-1740) . The Peshwas subsequently ruled the Maratha Kingdom as defacto rulers. The Maratha Sardars or chieftanslike Gaekwads of Baroda, Shindes of Gwalior, Holkars of Indore expanded the power in North India and became powerful after the Peshwas.They then established their own kingdoms. At one time, the Marathas rule spread from Attock in Paktoonistan to Bengal (beyond Cuttack) in East India to become a Maratha confederacy. The Great Maratha, 'Mahadji Shinde' was the kingmaker at Delhi who played a dominant role in deciding the fate of Delhi rulers but never thought of occupying the throne for himself. In the battle that took place near Delhi ,after the Mughal power declined, the Marathas conclusively defeated Afgan-Rohila forces led by Shah Abdali & Najib Khan in 1756. Najib Khan surrendered to the Marathas and became their prisoner. This battle liberated Punjab from the Muslim dominion after 800 years. The Marathas chased and drove the Afghans back to Afghanistan. Thereafter Najib Khan woed Malharrao Holkar to his side and in return secured his release. Thus Marathas released Najib Khan. He again invited Shah Abdali for his second invasion in 1759. Marathas formed alliance with the Jat King Suraj Mal of Bharatpur This alliance led by Shrimant Sadshiv Rao Bhau and Shrimant Vishwas Rao (the Peshwa Shrimant Balaji Baji Rao's son) won spectacular victories and captured Delhi and Kunjapura. This was the time when the entire North & Central India was in the Maratha Command. Here the alliance developed cracks about handling of Delhi matters and ultimately split. Suraj Mal withdrew from the alliance. The Marathas then marched upto Panipat and blockedg the way of the Afghans back to Afghanistan, instead of continuing their attacks to completely defeat the partly defeated Abdali and Najib Khan. Seeing their way back to their homeland blocked, the Afghans in turn, blocked the way of the Marathas back into the Deccan. This standoff continued for a few months, while the Afghans cut-off all supplies to the huge Maratha army. The Afghans with Najib Khan meanwhile recaptured Delhi and Kunjpura. On the decisive day of 14th January 1761, the Marathas decided to break-through the Afghan blockade and re-enter Deccan. The disastrous battle saw about one hundred thousand Maratha troops killed in a matter of eight hours. Nanasaheb Peshwe (Balaji Bajirao) lost his brother, Sadashivrao, and also his first son, Vishwasrao, in this battle. Nanashaeb , unable to bear the shock also died shortly. It was one of the worst defeats for Marathas, Hinduism & the Indian Nationalist Forces. The dream of bringing India under one unified Hindu rule was thus shattered. The Afghans too suffered heavy losses and decided enough was enough and went back to Afghanistan. Abdali never returned to India after this stormy campaign. The Peshwas also lost control on the Maratha empire thereafter and the Maratha Generals like Shindes (Gwalior) and Holkars (Indore) consolidated themselves after this, in the North & Central India. For Marathas 'Panipat is a synonym for Disaster' and it haunts even the present generation of Marathas. Click on the link 'Marathas - Page 2' given below, to go to page-2 of this website. page 2 |