How will you view the Maratha policy of expansion? Delineate.

Answer:

Maratha expansion moved through three distinct phases: Shivaji's compact Deccan kingdom, the Peshwas' drive to establish an all-India hegemony, and the confederacy's fragmentation into rival houses. Its character was as much fiscal as territorial, and that fiscal basis explains both its success and its ultimate failure.

Shivaji's foundation

• He built a compact kingdom (swaraj) secured by a network of hill forts.
• Guerrilla warfare (ganimi kava) offset the numerical superiority of his opponents.
• Chauth and sardeshmukhi were levied on territory outside his direct rule.
• A navy was created to guard the Konkan coast.
• His coronation in 1674 asserted an independent legitimate sovereignty.

Expansion under the Peshwas

• Balaji Vishwanath obtained imperial sanction for chauth and sardeshmukhi in the Deccan in 1719.
• Baji Rao I carried the campaign northwards, declaring he would strike at the trunk of the withering tree.
• Malwa, Gujarat and Bundelkhand were brought under Maratha influence.
• Raids reached the gates of Delhi in 1737.
• By 1758 the Marathas held Punjab and Attock, the high-water mark of their power.

The character of the policy

• Expansion was driven by the need for revenue to sustain a large military establishment.
• Chauth was a claim on revenue rather than a system of administration.
• The Marathas often left local rulers in place, collecting tribute instead of governing.
• This produced influence over vast areas without corresponding administrative control.
• The confederacy divided among the Bhonsles, Scindias, Holkars and Gaekwads.

Consequences and assessment

• Extraction without administration alienated the peoples of the regions raided.
• No Indian power supported them at Panipat in 1761, where they were decisively defeated.
• Recovery under Madhav Rao I was cut short by his early death.
• Internal rivalry among the chiefs prevented a united response to the British.
• The three Anglo-Maratha wars ended their power by 1818.

Maratha expansion may therefore be viewed as a remarkable military achievement that never became a durable imperial system. As historians such as Jadunath Sarkar and Satish Chandra observe, chauth gave the Marathas revenue without responsibility, and a confederacy resting on tribute and divided among rival houses could not consolidate the hegemony its armies had won.