Maratha (caste)

This article is about the specific "Maratha caste". For the wider group of Marathi speakers, see Marathi people.

Maratha
Classification	Kshatriya, warrior, landlord
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Marathi, Kannada, Konkani, Gujarati, Hindi.
Populated states	Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh
Subdivisions	"Ninety-six Clans"

Flag of the Maratha

A Maratha is a member of one of the major Hindu Kshatriya (warrior) groups of India and a ruling class of the Indian subcontinent. They enjoy a reputation as soldiers; many of them serve in the Indian Armed Forces. Marāthā (Marathi: मराठा, also Marhatta) has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people; historically, it describes the Maratha empire founded by Shivaji in the seventeenth century and continued by his successors, which included many castes.

The Maratha caste consists mainly of rural cultivators, landowners, and soldiers. At times, Maratha and Kunbi have claimed kshatriya standing, based on clan names linking them with Rajput clans and historical medieval dynasties. Its logically believable since a few major Rajput clans like Rathores and Solankis trace their origin to medieval empires of Deccan like Rashtrakutas and Chalukyas respectively which ruled over present day Maharashtra. In theory, there are ninety-six Maratha clans. The exact names of the ninety-six are greatly disputed,with different authorities giving names that vary widely. Adding to the confusion, Kunbi families often adopted the names of their Maratha chiefs.

In 1798 Colonel Tone, who commanded a regiment of the Peshwa’s army, wrote of the Marāthas: “The three great tribes which compose the Marātha caste are the Kunbi or farmer, the Dhangar or shepherd, and the Gawli or cowherd; to this original cause may perhaps be ascribed that great simplicity of manner which distinguishes the Marātha people.”

They primarily reside in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa. Those in Goa and neighbouring Karwar are known specifically as Kshatriya Marathas or Konkan Marathas as an affiliation to their regional and linguistic alignment.

Etymology

The etymology of the words "Marātha" and "Marāthi" is uncertain. It may be a derivative of the Prakrit word Marhatta found in Jain Maharashtri literature, itself from Sanskrit Maharāṣhṭra "great realm" (from maha "great" and rāṣṭra "nation, dominion, district"). One theory holds that a reference to a clan known as Rāṣṭrika in some of Ashoka's inscriptions alludes to a people of the Deccan who were progenitors of the Marathi-speaking people; that the later "Mahārāṣhṭri Prakrit" is associated with these people

Other theories link the words Marātha and Rāṣhṭri with Ratta, supposedly a corruption of Rāshtrakuta, the name of a dynasty that held sway over the Deccan from the 8th to 10th centuries.

All theories however affirm, as do linguists, that the modern Marathi language has developed from the Prakrit known as Mahārāshtri.

File:Shivaji and Marathas.jpg

Shivaji Maharaj accompanied by Maratha comrades

Maratha clans

Main article: Maratha clan system

According to some sources, most Marathas must belong to one of the 96 different clans, known as the "96 Kuli Marathas". The actual organization of this clan system is disputed in the popular culture and by historians. An authoritative listing was apparently first attempted in 1889 and a list finalised in 1956 by the Government of India.

History

Maratha history before Shivaji

The history of the Maratha caste prior to Shivaji Maharaj (1630–1680)is unilluminated. However some of the 96 clans were notable. A number of Rajputs and Maratha warriors, including Shivaji's father, Shahaji served the various Muslim kingdoms of the day. Shivaji's mother Rajmata Jijabai was the daughter of Lakhuji Jadhav who belonged to the royal family of the Yadavas of Deogiri. The Maratha clans and their subdivisions were also involved in fighting amongst themselves, until Rajmata Jijabai started a trend toward greater Maratha unity. They also took up various other professions like writers, poets, land owners, ministers, etc.

Maratha Empire

The extent of the Maratha Confederacy c.1760 AD, roughly corresponding to its peak (denoted by the yellow region)

Main article: Maratha Empire

Different Maratha (also called as Rastriks or Maha-rathis or Mahrattas) rulers during Medieval period (before 12th century) include Satavahana and Rashtrakuta. They re-united into historical prominence under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the 17th century. Shivaji Maharaj, born into the Bhosale clan of Marathas, secured an independent state by dint of lifelong struggle and thereby founded an empire, the remnants of which lasted until the independence of India in 1947. The state thus founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji attained its zenith under the Peshwas in the 18th century, extending from the Indus in present-day Pakistan to Orissa in the east and from the Punjab to central Karnataka in the south. At its peak, the Maratha Empire established a protectorate over the Mughal emperor and paramountcy over the numerous Rajput chieftains of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Central India and elsewhere. This vast empire declined gradually after the third battle of Panipat (1761) in which Ahmad Shah Abdali and his forces, from Afhganistan, defeated the Marathas; by 1849, all of present-day India had fallen to the British East India Company.

Influence

The history of the states and dynasties comprising the Maratha Empire constitutes a major portion of the history of late medieval India. While that extensive history is detailed elsewhere, the rise of the Marathas:

• represented the revival of the political power of the Hindus in north India after many centuries of Muslim rule.The Maratha Empire represented the biggest military challenge for the Mughals, and was primarily responsible for breaking the back of Mughal domination of India
• led to the dilution of the caste system as a large number of Lower caste, Brahmins and other castes fought along with them.
• led to the modernisation of India's armed forces, as they introduced indigenously-designed and manufactured muskets (known as Gardi muskets), and modernised the Indian navy.
• encouraged the development of the Marathi language and was seminal to the consolidation of a distinct Maharashtrian identity.

Maratha dynasties and states

Main article: List of Maratha dynasties and states

Engraving of a Maratha Soldier by James Forbes 1813

Transplanted Marathas

The empire also resulted in the voluntary relocation of substantial numbers of Maratha and other Marathi-speaking people outside Maharashtra, and across a big part of India. Thus, there are today several small but significant communities descended from these emigrants living in the north, south and west of India. These communities tend often to speak the languages of those areas, although many do also speak Marathi in addition. Notable Maratha families outside Maharashtra include Scindia of Gwalior, Gaikwad of Baroda.

Political participation

Marathas have dominated the state politics of Maharashtra since its inception in 1960. The first Chief Minister of Maharashtra was a Maratha (Yashwantrao Chavan). Since then, Maharashtra has witnessed heavy presence of Maratha ministers or officials (which comprises 25% of the state) in the Maharashtra state government, local municipal commissions, and panchayats.

Military service

The Maratha Light Infantry regiment of the Indian Army is one of the oldest and most influential regiments. Its First Battalion, also known as the Jangi Paltan, was raised as far back in 1768 as part of the Bombay Sepoys. The Marathas came to special attention in World War I and have been awarded several medals and awards including:

4 Ashok Chakra
14 Param Vishisht Seva Medals
4 Maha Vir Chakra
4 Kirti Chakra
1 Ashoka Chakra, Class II (renamed as Kirti Chakra)
14 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals
34 Vir Chakra
18 Shaurya Chakra
4 Ashoka Chakra, Class III (renamed as the Shaurya Chakra)
4 Yudh Seva Medals
107 Sena Medals
1 Shaurya Chakra & Bar
23 Vishisht Seva Medals
1 Padma Bhushan
1 Arjun Award
3 Unit Citations

Notable Marathas

Further information: List of Maratha people

Sources

• James Grant Duff - A History of the Mahrattas, 3 vols. London, Longmans, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green (1826) ISBN 81-7020-956-0
• Haplogroups of the Marathi people
• Molecular insight into the genesis of ranked caste populations of western India by Sonali Gaikwad and VK Kashyap
• Influence of language and ancestry on genetic structure of contiguous populations by Sanghamitra Sahoo and VK Kashyap
• Polarity and Temporality of High-Resolution Y-Chromosome Distributions in India Identify Both Indigenous and Exogenous Expansions and Reveal Minor Genetic Influence of Central Asian Pastoralists by Sengupta et al.
• Singh, V.K. (2005), Leadership in the Indian army: biographies of twelve soldiers, Sage Publications, ISBN 9780761933229

External links

• Information about Maratha Legends from Manase.org I
• http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20583/20583-8.txt
• The Maratha community
• Maratha history
• "The Marathas" at Columbia Encyclopaedia
• J.T.Platt's Dictionary of Urdu, Hindi
• RoyalArk- (former British) India (here the Glossary page, see also individual dynasties)