The Maratha State Some Preliminary Considerations

Maratha power was one of the most important across much of India through much of the eighteenth century. It was the last of the Indian kingdoms to be defeated by the British colonial regime, and even after the defeat of the last ruler, the area ceded by him was treated as a separate administrative u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIndian historical review Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 35 - 46
Main Author Seshan, Radhika
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New Delhi, India SAGE Publications 01.06.2014
Subjects
patrimonial–bureaucratic state model
social mobility
saranjam
integrative model
processural model
Maratha confederacy
Peshwaiche vastre
(pre-modern) state formation
real sovereignty
segmentary state model
ritual sovereignty
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Summary:Maratha power was one of the most important across much of India through much of the eighteenth century. It was the last of the Indian kingdoms to be defeated by the British colonial regime, and even after the defeat of the last ruler, the area ceded by him was treated as a separate administrative unit for almost a decade. A number of labels have been applied to the Maratha state, including marauder, confederacy and more prosaically, just empire, but none of these labels have been subjected to rigorous theoretical analysis. This article is an attempt to apply three of the models of the state that have already been applied elsewhere, to the Marathas. It is perhaps important to state here that the models of the state are being used as a methodological tool, to enable a better understanding of the subject. The article is, therefore, in the nature of an exploratory exercise, rather than a clear application of a model, and so, there is no attempt at defining the Maratha state in terms of one specific model.
ISSN:0376-9836
0975-5977
DOI:10.1177/0376983614521732