Administrative System of the Marathas c30.160

c30.160

Pioneer, Sunday, the 2nd September, 1923. " The most noticeable characteristic of this book is a pleasing sobriety of judgment. We have seen much of history written rather from the standpoint of present politics than of past happenings, and we heartily welcome the thoroughly impartial standpoint which Dr. Sen assumes. We are disposed to congratulate him the more warmly, in that the Maratha period of Indian history offers an almost irresistible temptation to the ‘patriotic’ scholar to discover what is not to be found, and to interpret hard realities in the light of glowing aspirations. The author has confined himself to two principal tasks :he desires, in the first place, to defend Maratha rule from some of the aspersions ignorantly cast upon it; and he traces the connection between the salient features of Maratha institutions and the traditional characteristics of the typical Hindu polity. We may say at once that he has discharged both these tasks with learning, moderation, and a rare sense of historical perspective. * *