The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c8.32

c8.32

The Arab, Abyssinian, Sindhi, Sikh and other non-Maratha recruits in the Peshwa’s army were enlisted by their own Jamadars, commissioned for the purpose, and were either equipped by these recruiting officers, or had to find their own arms. This partly explains the difference of pay alluded to above, but the custom naturally led them to identify their interests with those of their Jamadars, and their loyalty to the Peshwa was, at the best, uncertain.