He begins this chapter on the history of the settlement of Marathas in Thanjavur and other Southern states as...
"NEITHER MR. GRANT DUFF nor any of the native writers of
Marathi Bakhars have given much attention to the fortunes of
the Maratha colony in the far South at Tanjore, though the Mara-
tha dominion there was of an older date than in many other parts
of India, and the family which ruled at Tanjore for nearly two
centuries, 1675-1855, was closely allied to the founder of the
Maratha power in Western India"
So while we delve and search for our history the above lines from this renowned scholar and social reformer give us a good idea of our bearings and our connection to the State where we came from!
While revealing the census statistics of 1881 , the author describes the marathi population to be divided amongst these places... ..
- Ganjam
- Vizagapatam
- Godavari
- Krishna
- Nellore
- Cuddapah
- Kurnool
- Bellary
- Chingalpat
- North Arcot
- South Arcot
- Tanjore
- Trichanapoly
- Madurai
- Tirunelveli
- Salem
- Coimbatore
- Nilgiris
- Malabar
- South Kanara
- Madras city
- Pudukottai
Here are some excerpts from the book.....
"There is thus not a district in that Presidency which has not
a small Maratha colony of settlers who have permanently made
it their home. "
"The city of Tanjore and the districts in its neighbourhood, North Arcot,
Salem, and Madras City, show the largest aggregates of the foreign
Maratha settlers whose ancestors accompanied Shahaji and his
son to the south. Tanjore has been very happily styled by the
Maharaja of Travancore as the southern home of the Marathas"
"The military settlers included both Brahmans and Marathas, and
by reason of their isolation from their distant home, the sub-
divisions which separated these castes in their mother-country
were forgotten, and they were all welded together under the
common name of Deshasthas"
"The great city of Kombhakonam has a
large sprinkling of distinguished Maratha families whose represen-
tatives, Sir T. Madhavrao, Diwan Bahadur Raghunathrao,
Venkaswami Rao, Gopal Rao, etc., have risen to great distinc-
tion, each in his own line, and some of them have even attained
an Indian reputation for statesmanship, learning and philanthropy.
The Native States of Travancore and Mysore have afforded scope
to the display of the heighest abilities of some of these Maratha
statesmen, both in the last and in the present century. The services
of the Travancore Minister, English Subbarao, are well known,
and one of his successors, Sir T. Madhavrao, rescued that State
from disorder and insolvency, and turned it into a model State,
and the father of Diwan Bahadur Raghunathrao achieved equal
distinction in Mysore."
"In North Arcot the little Jahagir of "Arni" is still in the
enjoyment of a Maratha Brahman Chief, whose ancestors acquired
it originally as a fief for military service from the Bijapur King
more than two hundred years ago."
"Similarly, the small state of Pudukottai
which still retains its subordinate integrity, has a large Maratha
population, and its affairs were administered by many Brahman
Diwans, and the most distinguished of these belonged to the
family of Maratha settlers in the south."
"The Native State of Cochin contains a large Maratha population"
" In the district of Bellary there is another small Maratha State at Sonda
which has survived the general decay of Maratha power in the
south"
"The first entrance of the Marathas in Southern India took place
during the leadership of Shahaji Bhonsle, the father of Shivaji, in
1638. He led an army as a general in the service of the Adilshahi
Bijapur kings. ".........." and he conquered Mysore, Vellore in reward for his services".
Shahaji also obtained a jahagir which included Bangalore, Kolar, Sira or Cutta and other places in Mysore in 1648 and established Bangalore as his headquarters
Venkoji, son of Shahaji and step brother to Shivaji, succeeded to this jahagir and when the dispute arose among the Tanjore and Madurai nayaks, the Tanjore Naik sought the help of the Bijapur Court. The Bijapur Court then ordered Venkoji to place the Tanjore Nayak back on his throne.
Tanjore was taken by Venkoji in 1674, and he removed
his headquarters from Bangalore to Tanjore in 1675
"The most noteworthy event during the period of Venkojis
rule over Tanjore, was the expedition of Shivaji in those parts of
the country in 1676 Shivaji obtained easy possession of the Kama-
tik Jahagir of the family, and Venkoji was unable to maintain his
position. " Shivaji laid claim to Tanjore and Trichy and the karnatak jahagir. Basically, Venkoji was dethroned and despaired and vowed to give it all up and become a byraagi!
"Shivaji at this time generously yielded all his claims to his father's patrimony
to satisfy his brother. "
"Venkoji continued to be in charge of his principality down to the
time of his death in 1687"
And here the author makes a very interesting point, he discusses what cut this Maratha kingdom and all its settlers from its place of origin in Maharashtra. He also discusses what might have been if we had stayed connected and Shivaji had not " generously yielded all his claims to his father's patrimony to satisfy his brother. "and given up the southern kingdom and jahagirs to his half brother!
Here...
"In the interest of the Maratha con-
federacy it would certainly have been better if Shivaji had
strengthened his hold in these parts at this time. By his abandon-
ment of the kingdom to Venkoji, he cut off this settlement from
its proper place in the united Maratha kingdom, and Tanjore
suffered grievously by reason of this isolation. "
"Venkoji was not a strong ruler, and in consequence of his inability to retain his
distant possession in Mysore, he was obliged to make Bangalore
over to the Mysore Rajas, who purchased this Maratha town for
the small sum of three lakhs. "
"These cessions cut off the Tanjore
kingdom completely from its parent source in the Deccan, and it
was not long before it was hemmed in on one side by the English,
and on the other by the Mysore rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu."
He ends with...
"This, in short, is the unfortunate story of this little military
settlement of the Marathas in the far south. While the confederate
Marathas were able to hold their own against the power of the
Moghuls, and to recover their independence after a struggle
carried on for twenty years, this little settlement, by refusing to
be a member of the confederacy"........ virtually ceased to be
a leading independent State in 1762. There can be no doubt that
If it had kept up its connection with the parent State, it would
played a most part in the several invasions of the Maratha Kingdom
which took place between 1762 and 1792, and in all which the
Maratha- arms prevailed"
