Provincial Administration
- Shivaji’s kingdom was divided into several provinces for revenue collection and governance. Each province was split into Parganas which were further subdivided into Tarafs. The village was the smallest unit. Shivaji abandoned the then prevalent practice of contracting out land revenue. Instead, he started the practice of collecting taxes directly from the ryots by government officials.
- Conquered territories were divided into Prants (province)–> Its officers were Subedar supervised by Sarsubedar.
- Provinces were divided into Tarafs (districts) –> Its officer was the Havaldar.
- The District was divided into Parganas (sub-districts)–> It was headed by an officer called Deshpandey (for accountancy) and Deshmukh (for law and order).
- Parganas were divided into Mauza (village)–> Kulkarni (Account and record keeper) and Patil (law and order).
Administrative System of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born in Shivneri of Pune (formerly Pune was known as Poona) in the year 1627 to Shahaji Bhonsle and Jija Bai. The credit for establishing such a huge kingdom goes to Shivaji and his father, Shahaji. In 1637, he received the jagir of Poona from his father and later emerged as one of the greatest rulers of the Maratha empire. The Maratha regime was primarily an advanced and centralized authoritarian monarchy. The king was in charge and his main goal was the happiness and security of his subjects.
In this article, we will discuss the salient features of the administration under Shivaji which were extensively borrowed from the administrative approaches of the Deccan states.
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