In this book, Dr. Stewart Gordon presents the first comprehensive history of the Maratha polity, which was an important regional kingdom in the seventeenth century and the largest political entity of eighteenth century India. He focuses on the origins of the elite families, problems of legitimacy and loyalty, military organization and change, and the development of administration, tax collection and religious patronage. Through the use of a vast array of documents, the author also gives a picture of everyday life in the Maratha polity.

In this book, Dr Stewart Gordon presents a comprehensive history of one of the most colourful and least-understood kingdoms of India: the Maratha Empire. The empire was founded by Shivaji in the mid-seventeenth century, spread across most of India during the following century, and was conquered by the British in the nineteenth century. Using administrative documents of the Maratha polity, family papers and Histories of the Empire, Stewart Gordon explores the origin of the Marathas, their emergence as elite families, patterns of loyalty and strategies for maintaining legitimacy. He traces how the armies developed into European-style infantry and artillery and assesses the economics that funded the polity, especially taxation and credit. Finally the author considers the lasting effects the empire had on administrations, law and trade patterns of Central India, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

A critical work of synthesis and interpretation of agrarian change in India over the long term.

This Book Deals With History Of The Marathas. Marathas Became Paramount Power After The Disintegration Of Mughal Empire. After The Third Battle Of Panipat In 1761 And Of Buxar In 1765, Marathas Installed Mughal Emperor Shah Alum At Delhi Under Their Protection. Marathas-Sindhian Forces Were Defeated In The Battle Of Assaye And Laswari By British Forces Led By Duke Of Wellington, Who Later On Defeated Nepoleon Bonaparte And Lord Lake. After This Mughal Emperor Shah Alum Came Under British Control. In Spite Of Defeat Of Marathas In 1818, Daulat Rao Sindhia Succeeded In Saving His Gwalior State Without Accepting Subsidiary Alliance During His Life-Time And His Wife Raiza Bai Played An Important Role In Bringing Upheaval Of 1857. Sindhian Family Followed Pragmatic Diplomacy.Sindhia Family Continues To Play An Important Role In Indian Politics And The Last Sindhian Ruler Became Raj Pramukh Of Madhya Bharat. After The Abolition Of Privy Purse, Vijay Raje Sindhia And Basundhra Raje In B.J.P. And Madhavrao Sindhia And Jyotiraditya Sindhia In Congress Continued To Play An Important Role In Indian Politics And Are Related With Nepal And Kashmir Royal Family. This Book Deals With Political Aspects Of Marathas-Sindhian Politics Along With Their Social, Economic And Administrative Aspects. Justice Was Fair, Quick, Cheap And Impartial And There Were No Arrears Of Cases While Now More Than 300 Million Cases Are Pending. The Book Is Based On Original Documents As Well As On Contemporary Books And Is, Therefore, Very Useful For Teachers, Research Scholars, Students And Readers Who May Be Interested To Know Social, Cultural, Economic And Judicial Set Up And Indian Way Of Life Of Pre-British Days.

Interest in the science, technology and medicine of India under British rule has grown in recent years and has played an ever-increasing part in the reinterpretation of modern South Asian history. Spanning the period from the establishment of East India Company rule through to Independence, David Arnold's wide-ranging and analytical survey demonstrates the importance of examining the role of science, technology and medicine in conjunction with the development of the British engagement in India and in the formation of Indian responses to western intervention. One of the first works to analyse the colonial era as a whole from the perspective of science, the book investigates the relationship between Indian and western science, the nature of science, technology and medicine under the Company, the creation of state-scientific services, 'imperial science' and the rise of an Indian scientific community, the impact of scientific and medical research and the dilemmas of nationalist science.