Administrative System of the Marathas c21.s3.44

c21.s3.44

It is needless to say that the vast feudal army of the Peshwas could not be mobilised at a moment's notice. The Feudal chiefs were scattered all over the empire, and when an urgent summons reached them they were not always able to hasten to the Peshwa's standard. Ambitious and powerful chiefs like the Sindhia found it necessary to maintain a big army, but the lesser barons found it profitable to employ in times of peace as few horsemen as possible. The Peshwa, moreover, was unable to finance a military expedition and the feudal chiefs had to find money for themselves. It appears that very few Maratha chiefs had a surplus or reserve fund to fall upon and on such occasions they had to rely on moneylenders. It is on this account that rich bankers like Gokul Parekh could rise to the position of Daulat Rao Sindhia's principal minister.³⁵ When the war was over the Peshwa's government had to grant fresh Jagirs to the feudal chief to pay off the debt he had incurred in the service of the state. This however led to numerous and interminable altercations between the feudal Barons and the audit officers of the Peshwa. The ultimate result was invariably an addition to the feudal chief's Jagir and consequent increase of his power. The process went on till in the closing years of the Maratha empire, the ruling Peshwa had very little power or prestige left. The personal defects of the last Peshwa did to a certain extent contribute to this result, but it was not a little due to the inherent defects of the system.