Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c53.s1.1

v4.c53.s1.1

Mahādji Sindhiā, as a shrewd judge of men, had maintained an admirable balance in his ministry by placing the civil administration in the hands of Deshastha Brāhmans and his army under Shenvi Brāhmans; these two groups, though theoretically branches of the same Brāhman caste, lived apart in their social relations, beyond the possibility of uniting or even fraternising. The leaders of the Deshastha party were the three sons of Raghunāth Malhār Kulkarni of Nigodi, known as Ābā Chitnis, Krishnobā Chitnis, and Gopāl Bhāu. Ābā was a civil administrator and financial manager of extraordinary capacity, Krishnobā also was a good secretary and accountant, while Gopāl Bhāu was Mahādji’s dignified deputy in Hindustan and controlled the civil and military affairs of his absent master, but more as a viceroy than as a commander in the field, though all the generals were subordinate to him.