Shrimant Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath was the first of a line of hereditary Peshwas who effectively ruled the Maratha Empire in the 18th century. Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath played a key role in helping the nascent Maratha kingdom transit into an empire during the reign of Chhatrapati Shahuji.
This article will give details about Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath within the context of the IAS Exam.
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Background of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath
Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath was born on January 1st, 1661. His family came from a long line of hereditary Deshmuk’s haling from Shrivardhan. As per historical sources, he entered the Maratha administration either under the reign of Chhatrapati Sambhaji or under the regency of his half-brother Rajaram.
Later, he served as an accountant for the Maratha general, Dhanaji Jadhav, at Janjira
When Chhatrapati Shahuji ascended the Maratha Throne he appointed the Balaji Vishwanath to help him in manage state affairs in 1708.
One of his tasks was the subjugation of Kanhoji Angre, an admiral who had established his own kingdom around the Kalyan region. Kanhoji defeated an army sent by Chhatrapati Shahu and even began to advance towards the capital of Satara. Balaji Vishwanath believed that negotiation was a better path instead.
He appealed to the Kanhoji Angre’s sense of patriotism towards the Maratha cause. This was successful and both of them joined their forces to besiege the Siddhis of Janjira.
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Their combined forces captured most of the Konkan coast, including Balaji’s birthplace of Shrivardhan, which became part of the Angre fiefdom. Delighted with Balaji’s success, Chhatrapati Shahuji appointed Balaji Vishwanath as Peshwa on 16 November 1713.
Role as Peshwa
Following the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, a power vacuum emerged in the Mughal Empire in lead to a series of conflicts between his successors and the nobles who supported them. In time even the Marathas became one of these factions.
Two nobles, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan and Sayyid Abdullah Khan had become king-makers in the Mughal court, putting Farrukhsiyar, a great-grandson of Aurangzeb, on the throne. To Emperor Farrukshitya’s great discomfort, the Sayyid brothers began exerting too much authority in state affairs. To curb their power, he sent one of the brothers, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan south to the Deccan to restore Mughal authority there.
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Hussain Ali Khan did not fare well in his tasks as his army was harassed by the Marathas under Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath. Instead, Hussain Ali Khan considered it prudent to make peace with the Marathas.
In July 1718, Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath negotiated a Mughal -Maratha treaty in which he demanded 1/4th of revenue along with an additional 10% of the revenue in the old Mughal provinces of the Deccan and those of the provinces of Gujarat and Khandesh. In return, the Peshwa promised that Chhatrapati Shahuji would acknowledge the nominal overlordship of the Mughal Emperor and would provide a force of 15,000 armed horsemen to the Mughal Empire. Hussain Ali agreed to these demands as he would use the Maratha troops in his fight against the Mughal emperor.
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Farrukhsiyar refused to ratify this treaty and aimed to depose and murder the Sayyid brothers. The plot was discovered and Sayyid Abdulla Khan won over other nobles with the promise of governorship and other bribes. Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath accompanied Sayyid Hussain Ali with a force of 16,000 Maratha horsemen. Marching to Delhi, they fought with Farrukhsiyar’s supporters and emerged victorious.
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Farrukhsiyar was dethroned, blinded and imprisoned by the Sayyid’s, who substituted in his place a more pliable puppet, Rafi-ul-darjat in February 1719. Rafi-ul-Darjat duly ratified the Maratha treaty. Shahu and his successors were recognized by the Mughal Emperors as the rightful heirs to Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Mughals became a puppet government of Marathas and gave a quarter of their total revenue as Chauth and additional 10% for their protection.
From this point on the Maratha kingdom became the Maratha Empire, beginning a series of conquests that would cover most of India by the latter half of the 18th century.
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Death and Legacy of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath
Balaji returned in triumph from Delhi to Satara, having also secured the release after decades of Mughal captivity, the mother (Yesubai), wife (Savitribai) of Chhatrapati Shahuji. Weary from his labours and the tiresome journey back from the imperial capital, Balaji Vishwanath’s health began to fail.
In October 1719 he obtained leave from Chhatrapati Shahuji to retire to the village of Saswad near Pune that had been granted by Shahu to the Peshwa. Balaji Vishwanath died on 12 April 1720. He was succeeded by his elder son, celebrated Baji Rao I.
Balaji Vishwanath also laid the foundation for the complex administrative system of the Marathas that held sway for a century after his death. He laid the foundation of a strong state that would forever change the course of the history of the Indian subcontinent.
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