Causes of the fall of the Maratha empire
1. The biggest blunder was their Northern adventure coupled with lack of administrative control over defeated territories. Shivaji had created an efficient system of governance which yielded him reasonable amount of annual revenue. As the Marathas became more ambitious they decided to extend themselves over Hindoostan. Since they did not have the money to do so they kept on conquering territories for Chauth. What this did was to alienate the common man and the ruler as they were always being pestered for money eg this policy alienated the Rajputs who did not come to Mts support during the battle of Panipat. Had the Marathas exercised administrative control they would have succeeded in expanding their empire on a long-term basis and got regular revenue. Revenue was promised but not always came thus they had to fight avoidable wars only to collect revenues.
2. Driven by this ambition to expand, Raja Shahu compensiated chieftains by granting them mutually exclusive areas to rule, jagirs. While this expanded the Maratha empire, it made the sardars very powerful. To control them Shahu played one against the other resulting in avoidable wars. The Maratha chiefs could not sink their differences even in times of common danger. While Shivaji advocated a strong centre, Shahu went in for a federal structure.
3. The later Marathas never dreamt big. Raja Shahu’s main aim was to bring India under Maratha influence but having the Maratha Empire only in name. The Marathas did not vanquish their enemies totally only to see them become a thorn in their flesh later e.g. they let off Haidar Ali on easy terms. Having crippled the Nizam in 1738, Bajirao Peshwa should have got rid of the Nizam. Just think about it, no Nizam might have avoided the problems we faced during Partition.
4. By destroying the naval power of Tulaji Angria, Nana Saheb allowed the Europeans to dominate India’s western coast allowing for their eventual conquest.
5. The Maratha army was not homogeneous in composition. It consisted of Arabs, Sikhs, Rajputs, Sindhis, Rohillas, Pathans. Besides resulting in lack of unity, an Arab soldier was paid Rs 18 per month, a Christain one Rs 15 and a Maratha Rs 6. Disparities in pay created jealousy and increased the cost of war.
6. Since the Maratha army consisted of men from various chieftains, there was lack of a team spirit and probably unity of command on a micro level.
7. Another mistake made by Maratha chiefs was to entrust the defence of their country to foreigners. When it came to the crunch, they sided with the Brits. India can use their Americans in their diplomatic war against Pakistan but eventually it is us Indians who will have to fight in Kargil or Thar. Foreign help can be used to strengthen the nation vis a vis its enemies, not substitute it.
8. The military preparations, the tactical moves, the extraordinary exertions and gallantry of the Brits need to be commended. Perhaps, the Marathas made the mistake of giving up their old guerilla tactics. I have always maintained that Ishwar has made each one of us in a certain way, blessed us with certain competencies. When we try and live a life that is different from the way we are made, we will be unhappy, with success eluding us.
9. The Marathas neglected artillery. Later on they became obsessed with it but did not know how to effectively coordinate cavalry, infantry and the advance of artillery in close support of moving infantry. Another reason cited is the Maratha chiefs lack of knowledge of the geography of the country. Travelling did and does teach you a lot.
10. Various forms of moral cankers were also responsible for making society deteriorate. Sensual pleasures, drunkenness etc on the part of the top Maratha leaders like Bajirao II, Nana Phadnis, Daulat Sindia, and Yashwant Holkar were responsible too.
11. The tragedy of the Maratha power was the result of the formidable and aggressive British imperialism bursting upon a sleepy, inert and medieval society. The Maratha chiefs were too engrossed in their own lives to even fathom the sweeping changes that were taking place in the Western world.
After Nehru rejected Chou-en-lai’s proposals in 1959, the Chinese began cultivating our neighbors and other countries in South East Asia. We ignored these moves, thus when the Chinese attacked us in 1962, they had virtually every South East Asian country on the their side. We made the same mistake in 1962 that the Marathas made centuries ago. Maratha were very good operation guys but they missed a guy in Corporate Planning and Strategy who would sit back and take a global view.
Chanakya always believed that the more the information you have about your adversary the stronger you become but! The Bhagwad Geeta talks about the importance of knowledge so does management guru Michael Porter. Why have Indians ignore its importance baffles me ? Lets hope Internet helps Bharat overcome the knowledge barrier.
Inspite of their shortcomings, the Marathas dominated / ruled over most parts of India for a majority of the eighteenth century. Mughal rule was there in name only.
Ambition and greed were the root cause of the fall of the Maratha empire. Like in a company, there can be only one Chief Executive Officer, so also in a nation or a area there can be only one King. After Bajirao P, the Maratha kept on fighting amongst themselves giving their opponents an opportunity to exploit the differences between them. Now just suppose that the chieftains had put their ambitions / egos aside, told Raja Shahu that they would operate under his central command, the history of Bharat may well have been different. Along with the Sikhs the Marathas would have ruled India.
The essay is based on inputs from volumes seven and eight of The History and Culture of Indian People published by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.
