| |
| The British |
|
In the 17th century, the British East India Company
struggled to secure commercial monopoly on the West coast and
regarded the growing power of Shivaji as a potential danger. Shivaji
shrewdly guessed of British intentions of territorial acquisition
under the guise of trade and commerce. But the Peshwas did not
anticipate the opportunist British mentality; Peshwa Nanasahab
invited them to crush the Angres of Kolaba in 1754. The Maratha
thus dug their own grave. In the Madras Military consultations
of April 17, 1770, it was recorded that, "It has always been allowed
and that too with reason, that nothing can reduce the Maratha
power but dissension among themselves, and it is fortunate for
the other powers in Hindustan that the Maratha chiefs were always
ready to take every advantage of each other."
The most successful British statesman in routing
out Maratha power was Mountstuart Elphinstone, who occupied the
office of Resident (Pune) in 1811. He slowly worked for the fall
of the Marathas and when the third and final war broke out with
them in 1817, Bajirao II finally submitted to the British on June
3, 1818, and the glory of the Maratha power vanished. Elphinstone
then became the Commissioner of the territories conquered from
the Peshwas in 1819 and later the Governor of Bombay. He laid
the foundation of British administration in Maharashtra without
introducing much innovation, completed the work of settlement,
initiated an educational policy, and founded Sanskrit College
(which later became Deccan College) with the Dakshina funds of
the Peshwas.
|
|
| |
The Marathas were never reconciled to the British Raj,
and occasionally challenged its officers. In 1826, the Ramoshis of Pune
district, under the leadership of Umaji Naik, revolted against the British,
who subsequently compromised with them. The Ramoshis were absolved of
their crimes, absorbed in government service and granted lands in inam.
They revolted again. Umaji Naik was captured. Raghu Bhangra of Nasik,
Ramji of Nagar and his associate, Govindrao Khare, the killedar of Ratnagiri,
also resisted British rule. The Kolis of Pune and Nagar districts also
organised themselves against the British. It is really surprising that
these unlettered, unequipped residents of the hills had the courage to
challenge the British long before intellectuals could start the freedom
movement.
In the revolt of 1857, Maharashtra was not an active participant,
though leaders such as Tatya Tope and Maharani Laxmibai of Jhansi were
Maharashtrians.
In 1857, peasants of some parts of Pune, Satara and Nagar
districts revolted against oppressive policies supported by the British,
in the Deccan Riots. Vasudeo Balwant Phadke launched his violent compaign
against British rule in 1879, aiming to establish an Indian republic by
driving them out. However, his armed resistance failed and he was arrested
and deported to Aden, where he passed away in 1883. Resentment against
the British rule continued unabated and the Chaphekar brothers murdered
Mr Rand and Lt Ayerst on Jubilee Night on June 22, 1897, in Pune. In his
book, India of Yester Years, published in 1899, GW Stevens explains
Maratha resistance to British rule: "Other provinces of India were ceded
to us or conquered from alien lords, the Marathas lost all in war, ...
The Marathas have never forgotten how high they were less than a hundred
years ago, and who it was that brought them low. They lost more than others
did and they feel the loss more. For others who were a change of masters;
them we brought down from masters to slaves.... His empire, his nationality,
his religion, his honour, his beautiful language - we have taken away
his all."
|
