Review the caste system as a means of social stratification in Maratha state.
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
"Marathas" redirects here. For other uses, see Marathas (disambiguation).
Maratha
Maratha Soldier.jpg
Engraving of a Maratha Soldier by James Forbes, 1813.
Religions Hinduism
Languages
Marathi
Populated states Major: Maharashtra
Minor: Haryana, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
The Maratha are an Indian caste, originally of Marathi-speaking peasant-warriors. They established the Maratha Empire under Shivaji Maharaj in 1674 and were the dominant power on the subcontinent for much of the following century before their downfall in 1818. They were champions of Hinduism in the face of the Islamic Mughal Empire.[1][2][3]
The term Maratha is used in three overlapping senses: within the Marathi-speaking region it refers to the single dominant Maratha caste or to the group of Maratha and Kunbi castes; outside Maharashtra, the term often loosely designates the entire regional population speaking the Marathi language. The "Maratha group of castes" is a largely rural class of peasant cultivators, landowners, and soldiers."[3]
According to the Maharashtrian historian, B.R.Sunthankar, and scholars such as Rajendra Vora, the "Maratha caste" is a "caste of peasants" which formed the bulk of the Maharashtrian society together with the other Kunbi peasant caste. Vora adds that the Maratha caste is the largest caste of India and dominate the power structure in Maharashtra, especially in the rural society.[4][5]
According to Jeremy Black, British historian at the University of Exeter, "Maratha caste is a coalescence of peasants, shepherds, ironworkers, etc. as a result of serving in the military in the 17th and 18th century".[6] According to one scholar, Marathas are dominant in rural areas and mainly constitute the landed peasantry.[7] As of 2018, 80% of the members of the Maratha caste were farmers.[8]
Territory under Maratha control in 1760 (yellow)
Robert Vane Russell, an untrained ethnologist of the British Raj period, basing his research largely on Vedic literature,[9][need quotation to verify] wrote that the Marathas are subdivided into 96 different clans, known as the 96 Kuli Marathas or Shahānnau Kule[10][11] The general body of lists are often at great variance with each other.[12]