Nanasaheb carried out the responsibility of the office of the Peshwa from 25 June 1740 to 23 June 1761, i.e. for twenty-one years, with almost complete authority. Out of these, the initial nine years, he had to bow down to Shahu’s control. Even though it went on slackening with time, the Peshwa’s worries doubled with that. He enjoyed complete independence in the kingdom’s administration in the twelve years following Shahu’s death. Out of these, the initial two years were wasted in setting up the future administrative affairs. Damaji Gaikwad participated in Tarabai’s conspiracy. Resolving that affair, Nanasaheb forgot Satara, and settled down at Pune. Due to that, Satara automatically lost its importance slowly, and with time the Chhatrapatis were rendered facile heads of the state thereafter. In the final nine years, Nanasaheb’s enterprise seems to have grown with leaps and bounds. Keeping aside the eclipse that his enterprise faced due to the calamity at Panipat, one can say that the real growth of the Maratha Confederacy occurred during the reign of this Peshwa. However, during the initial nine years, until Shahu Maharaj was alive, Nanasaheb’s heart would try to strike a balance between external activities and the affairs at the capital Satara.
In short, if one attempts to highlight aggression and military acumen as the primary qualities of Bajirao, one can safely say, that perfect and calculative administration was the primary quality of Nanasaheb. He embarked on campaigns often and would also pay attention to battles. However, he solely relied on his colleagues to carry out the military responsibilities. There was no other wise Peshwa who could equal Nanasaheb in managing the sources of funds, staying alert to keep them permanent, keeping a close watch on the activities everywhere, auditing the accounts of the whole kingdom at regular times, and ensuring the sources of funds were taken care. His overall correspondence and administration primarily display the only subject of earning money, repaying the debts, and ameliorating the miserable condition of Maharashtra. The facility that modern governments have of distributing the public debt over the whole society was not available in those days. The whole burden of debt fell on the shoulders of the chief executive and he alone was responsible to repay the moneylender. At the time of Bajirao’s death, the kingdom’s debt amounted to around fourteen lakh rupees distributed amongst thirty chief moneylenders. The whole list of these moneylenders along with the monies owed to them is available. Babuji Naik had lent thirty-six-thousand rupees. The interest rate in operation seems to have ranged from one to two-and-a-half percent per month. One has to say, the funds were extremely dear to come by in those days, and the credit repayment capability of the executors was gauged very low. The Peshwa’s constant efforts to remove this sword of debt hanging above his head are visible in all his correspondence. All the agreements of the treaties signed have a standing clause about payment of cash amounts. In the month of March 1741 Murarrao Ghorpade was entrusted with the administration of Tiruchirappalli, for which it was agreed that he would send an annuity of twenty thousand rupees to the Peshwa. The Peshwa similarly displayed his poverty to Maharaj and got the grant-notification pertaining to the region around Vasai very cheap. He got Shahu to also agree about the system of tributes that would be deposited by the regions north of the Narmada. There are references citing, “Rajashree Pantapradhan has a burden of debt, which has been distributed over his colleagues.”
So, it was clear, that on specific occasions, the burden of debt would be distributed over a set of people. In Bajirao’s enterprise, this sort of unified accounting practice and revenue system had not been put in place. Nanasaheb primarily created this everywhere. Maratha Sardars went on expanding to the north and south. Nanasaheb embarked on initial few campaigns, in order to provide a regular direction to their whole enterprise. The primary objective of his later years was arresting the Nizam’s activities and capturing the Carnatic. He went out on three campaigns back-to-back towards the north, in which the initial advent of Hindupadpaadshahi is clearly visible. The regions like Rajputana, Bundelkhand, Doab, and later Bengal-Bihar also became the core area of his enterprise.
The entries in his diary about places of stay prove that the routine of the Peshwas of not sitting at one place, and staying constantly on the move everywhere, was continued by Nanasaheb passionately. Even while on the journeys, as per the necessary situation, he doesn’t seem to have stayed more than two to four days at one place. Even the ritual ceremonies for marriages etc. too would not be able to hold him down. There would be very few examples found in Indian history which would equal the Peshwas’ penchant to bear constant difficulties by paying attention to countless affairs. The whole chain of duties involving a new task, new campaign, new difficulty, new resolution to that every day would constantly go on. They never felt tired of this, and instead they had become accustomed to that routine itself. There is no telling that everybody, including from the youngest to the oldest person, must toil hard in the cause of an expanding kingdom.
To be continued…
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