Administrative System of the Marathas c21.s3.18

c21.s3.18

We will again turn to the army. When wounded the men and officers were well attended to and rewarded. When killed in action, their children if of age were taken into the Peshwa's service, if minor, enjoyed a liberal pension until they should come of age and enter the army. Higher officers were encouraged by grant of Saranjam, Jaripatka, and similar honours. Some of the government "Kurans" or grasslands were set aside for the cavalry, and village artisans like the Chambhar, the Lohar and the Sutar were sometimes requisitioned for professional work in the cavalry. When disciplined battalions officer-ed by Europeans came into fashion, the Peshwa also decided to maintain two battalions. These battalions or kampus did not lag behind their undisciplined brethren in the matter of plunder. The depredation committed by a kampu under one Dalton Saheb is mentioned in more than one letter.²³