The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c21.10

v4.c21.10

One of Āsaf Jāh's earliest acts, after taking full possession of his charge (1725), was to make an agreement with the Marāthās. The *chauth* of the Deccan provinces having been granted by the emperor by a royal rescript, Āsaf Jāh had to recognise the settled fact. But he did what was possible in the circumstances to save his realm from ruinous occupation and unlimited extortion by a host of greedy Marāthā tribute-collectors and their troops. He settled with Rājā Shāhū that in respect of the province of Hyderābād he would himself pay the amount of the tribute in cash from his treasury, so that no Marāthā collector need enter his dominions for the money. Unauthorised extra taxes (like the *sardeshmukhī* and *rāhdārī*), which the Marāthās used to realise in the Mughul Deccan by sharing with the former governors, were definitely abolished. This arrangement was concluded on Shāhū's behalf by his minister, Shrīnivās Rāo, while the Peshwā Bājī Rāo advocated a more aggressive and ambitious policy. Its details had not been fully worked out and the agreement had not been put into actual operation before war broke out. The Nizām encountered opposition in taking possession of the Mughul territories in the Kanarese districts (south-west), while Marāthā raiders disturbed the country west and south of Aurangābād.