History · MPSC Prep

History · Ancient and medieval · Topic 1 of 10

Indus Valley, Vedic Age, Buddhism and Jainism

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Think of it like…

A village tired of costly pujas

Picture a village in the Deccan. Over the generations the family priest’s pujas grow longer and costlier. Every big ceremony needs a fee, Sanskrit chanting that nobody in the village understands, and sometimes the sacrifice of a bullock, the very animal the farmer needs to pull his plough now that the fields are bigger. The trader on the market street has become rich, but at the temple he is still seated behind the priest and the patil, and the priest’s rule books frown on his money-lending.

Then two teachers start speaking at the village square. They say: forget the expensive ritual; what decides your next life is how you live in this one. Do not kill, do not lie, do not steal, control your desires. They speak in the local language, not Sanskrit, and they welcome anyone, whatever his caste. The farmers like the ban on killing cattle, the traders like the respect, and the local landholding chief likes that the priest is no longer the only authority. That is, in miniature, why Buddhism and Jainism rose in the sixth century BCE against the ritual-heavy later Vedic religion.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Ever costlier pujas and priestly fees	Elaborate later Vedic sacrifices and Brahmin dominance
Bullocks sacrificed though needed for ploughing	Cattle needed for the new iron-plough agriculture of the Ganga plain
Rich trader still seated at the back	Vaishyas and merchants (setthis) seeking status; they patronised the new faiths
Teachers speaking the local language	Buddha preached in Pali, Mahavira in Prakrit (Ardhamagadhi), not Sanskrit
“How you live decides your next life”	Karma and right conduct: the Eightfold Path and the Triratna

The concept

The Harappan (Indus) civilisation was India’s first urban culture, at its mature peak roughly 2600–1900 BCE. Harappa was excavated by Daya Ram Sahni in 1921 and Mohenjo-daro by R.D. Banerji in 1922. Its signatures are town planning on a grid, covered drains, baked bricks of standard proportion, standard weights, seals with an undeciphered script, and no clear evidence of temples or palaces. Each site has a signature find: the Great Bath and the bronze “dancing girl” at Mohenjo-daro, the dockyard at Lothal (Gujarat), ploughed field and fire altars at Kalibangan (Rajasthan), the water reservoirs of Dholavira (Gujarat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021). For MPSC, remember Daimabad on the Pravara river in Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar) district, Maharashtra, famous for a hoard of bronze figures including a chariot.

The Vedic Age divides into the Early (Rigvedic) and Later Vedic periods. The Rigveda has 10 mandalas and 1028 hymns; the Gayatri mantra is in the 3rd mandala and the Purusha Sukta, the first mention of the four varnas, in the 10th. Rigvedic society was pastoral and tribal, with assemblies called the sabha and samiti, and women could attend them. In the Later Vedic period people moved east into the Ganga plain, iron came into use and the Painted Grey Ware pottery appears, agriculture became central, kingship grew stronger, sacrifices became elaborate and varna hardened into a birth-based order. The Upanishads, the philosophical end of the Vedas, already questioned ritual; “Satyameva Jayate” comes from the Mundaka Upanishad.

Out of this tension came the heterodox sects of the sixth century BCE. Gautama Buddha of the Shakya clan was born at Lumbini, attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon at Sarnath (Dharmachakra Pravartana) and attained mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar. He taught the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold (middle) Path, rejected the authority of the Vedas and accepted no permanent soul. Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th tirthankara, was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali and died at Pavapuri. His predecessor Parshvanatha (23rd) had preached four vows; Mahavira added brahmacharya as the fifth. Jainism stresses extreme ahimsa and the three jewels (Triratna): right faith, right knowledge, right conduct. Its later split into Digambara (Bhadrabahu, who went south to Shravanabelagola) and Shvetambara (Sthulabhadra) is a favourite question.

Key points & formulas

Harappa 1921 (Daya Ram Sahni, on the Ravi); Mohenjo-daro 1922 (R.D. Banerji, on the Indus)
Signature sites: Lothal — dockyard; Kalibangan — ploughed field, fire altars; Dholavira — reservoirs; Rakhigarhi (Haryana) — largest Indian site; Daimabad (Maharashtra) — bronze chariot
Rigveda: 10 mandalas, 1028 hymns; Gayatri mantra in mandala 3; Purusha Sukta (four varnas) in mandala 10
Battle of Ten Kings (Dasharajna) on the Parushni (Ravi): Sudas of the Bharata tribe won
Later Vedic: iron (krishna ayas), Painted Grey Ware, Ganga plain, rigid varna, big sacrifices
Buddha: Lumbini (birth), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first sermon), Kushinagar (mahaparinirvana)
Buddhist councils: 1st Rajagriha (Ajatashatru), 2nd Vaishali (Kalashoka), 3rd Pataliputra (Ashoka, Moggaliputta Tissa), 4th Kundalvana, Kashmir (Kanishka, Vasumitra; Mahayana split)
Tripitaka (Pali): Sutta, Vinaya, Abhidhamma Pitaka
Jainism: Rishabhadeva 1st, Parshvanatha 23rd, Mahavira 24th tirthankara; Mahavira added brahmacharya as the 5th vow
Jain councils: 1st Pataliputra (Sthulabhadra); 2nd Vallabhi (Devardhi Kshamashramana) — canon compiled

Worked example

Consider the statements: 1. The Harappans built large temples at the centre of their cities. 2. Daimabad, a Harappan-related site, lies in Maharashtra. 3. The Purusha Sukta, which first mentions the four varnas, is in the tenth mandala of the Rigveda. Which are correct?

Show solution

Statement 1: no clear temple or palace structure has been identified in any Harappan city; the Great Bath is a public bathing structure, not a temple. Incorrect.
Statement 2: Daimabad is on the Pravara river in Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) district, known for its bronze chariot hoard. Correct.
Statement 3: the Purusha Sukta is in mandala 10, generally regarded as a late addition to the Rigveda. Correct.

Answer: 2 and 3 only

Exam shortcut

Buddhist councils in order of place: “R-V-P-K” (Rajagriha, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Kashmir) with patrons “A-K-A-K” (Ajatashatru, Kalashoka, Ashoka, Kanishka). Four places of Buddha’s life in order: L-B-S-K (Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar).

Common traps

Ajatashatru (1st council) vs Ashoka (3rd council): both kings of Magadha, but a century and more apart.
Mahavira did not found Jainism; he was the 24th tirthankara. Parshvanatha’s four vows became five when Mahavira added brahmacharya.
The Great Bath is at Mohenjo-daro, the dockyard at Lothal; examiners swap them.
Kalashoka (2nd council, Vaishali) is not Ashoka the Great.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. Which of the following Harappan-related sites is located in Maharashtra?

Q2. Consider the following statements about Jainism:
1. Parshvanatha preached four vows; Mahavira added brahmacharya as the fifth.
2. The Jain canon was compiled at the council of Vallabhi presided over by Devardhi Kshamashramana.
3. The Digambara sect traces its origin to Sthulabhadra.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q3. Match the Buddhist councils with their royal patrons:
(a) First (b) Second (c) Third (d) Fourth
(i) Kanishka (ii) Ashoka (iii) Kalashoka (iv) Ajatashatru

Q4. Arrange in chronological order:
1. Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra
2. Mature Harappan cities
3. Use of iron and Painted Grey Ware in the Ganga plain
4. Composition of the early Rigvedic hymns

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History · Ancient and medieval · Topic 2 of 10

Maharashtra’s Dynasties and the Varkari Saints (Satavahanas to Yadavas; Dnyaneshwar to Tukaram)

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Think of it like…

A village temple built over generations

In an old Maharashtra village, every powerful family that held the patilki left something behind. The earliest family gifted land to the monks on the hill, and the cave monastery there still carries their inscription. The next family had the walls of those caves painted. A later one, richer still, had a whole temple carved out of a single rock. The last family built a mighty fort on the hilltop, which outsiders later captured and renamed.

Meanwhile, the ordinary villagers built something no army could capture: a temple of devotion, sung in their own Marathi. The saint-poet Bahinabai described it exactly like a building: “Dnyandev laid the foundation, Namdev extended it, Eknath gave it the pillar of the Bhagwat, and Tuka became its pinnacle (kalas).” Read Maharashtra’s early history as these two constructions, one of stone by dynasties and one of words by the saints.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Family that gifted land to the monks	Satavahanas: earliest land grants; Karle and Nashik caves
Family that painted the cave walls	Vakatakas: later Ajanta caves under Harishena
Temple carved from a single rock	Rashtrakutas: Kailasa temple at Ellora under Krishna I
Hill fort later captured and renamed	Yadavas’ Devagiri, taken by Alauddin Khalji; renamed Daulatabad by Muhammad bin Tughluq
Foundation, extension, pillar, pinnacle	Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram in the Varkari tradition

The concept

Satavahanas (also called Andhrabhrityas) ruled the Deccan from Pratishthan (Paithan) on the Godavari. Simuka founded the line. Gautamiputra Satakarni was the greatest: he destroyed the Shaka Kshatrapa Nahapana, as recorded in the Nashik inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri. Kings used their mothers’ names (Gautamiputra, Vasishthiputra), they issued the earliest known land grants to Brahmins and Buddhist monks, and King Hala compiled the Gathasaptashati (Gaha Sattasai) in Maharashtri Prakrit. The Vakatakas followed in Vidarbha: Rudrasena II married Prabhavatigupta, daughter of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II; Pravarasena II wrote Setubandha; and the later Ajanta caves belong to Harishena’s reign.

The Chalukyas of Badami (Pulakeshin II stopped Harsha on the Narmada; Aihole inscription by Ravikirti) were overthrown by Dantidurga, founder of the Rashtrakutas. His successor Krishna I had the monolithic Kailasa temple (Cave 16) carved at Ellora, and Amoghavarsha I moved the capital to Manyakheta (Malkhed) and wrote the Kannada Kavirajamarga. The Shilaharas held the Konkan and Kolhapur. Finally the Yadavas of Devagiri: Bhillama V founded Devagiri, Singhana was the strongest king, and Ramachandra (Ramadevaraya) was defeated by Alauddin Khalji in 1296, the first Delhi Sultanate raid into the Deccan. His minister Hemadri (Hemadpant) wrote Chaturvarga Chintamani and gave his name to the Hemadpanti temple style.

The Varkari sampradaya worships Vitthal of Pandharpur through the wari, the bhajan and the abhang, open to every caste and to women. Sant Dnyaneshwar wrote the Dnyaneshwari (Bhavarthadipika), a Marathi commentary on the Gita, at Nevasa in 1290 during Ramachandra Yadava’s reign, and Amritanubhav; he took samadhi at Alandi in 1296. Namdev, a tailor (shimpi), carried the bhakti message to Punjab; 61 of his hymns are in the Guru Granth Sahib. Around them stood Chokhamela, Gora Kumbhar, Sena Nhavi, Savta Mali, Janabai and Muktabai. Eknath of Paithan (16th century) wrote the Eknathi Bhagwat, Bhavarth Ramayan and lively bharud. Tukaram of Dehu (17th century, contemporary of Shivaji Maharaj) left the Gatha of abhangs. Samarth Ramdas (Dasbodh, Manache Shlok) founded a separate Samarth sampradaya, and Chakradhar Swami founded the Mahanubhav sect, whose Lilacharitra by Mhaimbhat is called the first Marathi prose biography.

Key points & formulas

Satavahana capital: Pratishthan (Paithan); founder Simuka; greatest Gautamiputra Satakarni (Nashik inscription of Gautami Balashri)
Hala — Gathasaptashati in Maharashtri Prakrit; Satavahanas gave the earliest land grants
Vakatakas: Prabhavatigupta (daughter of Chandragupta II) as regent; Pravarasena II — Setubandha; Harishena — later Ajanta caves
Rashtrakutas: founder Dantidurga; Krishna I — Kailasa temple, Ellora; Amoghavarsha I — Kavirajamarga, capital Manyakheta
Yadavas of Devagiri: Bhillama V (founder), Singhana, Ramachandra (defeated by Alauddin Khalji, 1296); minister Hemadri
Dnyaneshwari: 1290, Nevasa; Dnyaneshwar’s samadhi at Alandi, 1296
Namdev: 61 hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib; Eknath: Paithan, Eknathi Bhagwat, Bhavarth Ramayan
Tukaram: Dehu, the Gatha; Ramdas: Dasbodh, Manache Shlok (Samarth, not Varkari)
Mahanubhav sect: Chakradhar Swami; Lilacharitra by Mhaimbhat (first Marathi prose biography)

Worked example

An inscription in a Nashik cave praises a king who “destroyed the Shakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas” and rooted out the Kshaharata family. Identify the king, the dynasty and who had the inscription made.

Show solution

Nashik + Kshaharata points to the Shaka Kshatrapa Nahapana, whose line was the Kshaharatas.
The ruler who overthrew Nahapana was Gautamiputra Satakarni of the Satavahana dynasty.
The famous Nashik praśasti of this victory was engraved by his mother, Gautami Balashri, during the reign of her grandson Vasishthiputra Pulumavi.

Answer: Gautamiputra Satakarni, Satavahana dynasty; inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri

Exam shortcut

Dynasty order on the Deccan: “Sa-Va-Cha-Ra-Ya” (Satavahana, Vakataka, Chalukya of Badami, Rashtrakuta, Yadava). Saints by century: Dnyaneshwar and Namdev 13th–14th, Eknath 16th, Tukaram and Ramdas 17th.

Common traps

Ramdas is not a Varkari saint; he founded the Samarth sampradaya and is linked with Rama and Hanuman.
Kailasa temple (Ellora) was carved under the Rashtrakutas, not the Chalukyas or Yadavas.
Devagiri was renamed Daulatabad by Muhammad bin Tughluq (1327), not by Alauddin Khalji, who only conquered it.
Lilacharitra belongs to the Mahanubhav sect (Mhaimbhat), not to the Varkaris.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. Which of the following pairs of saint-author and work is incorrectly matched?

Q2. The Satavahana ruler who defeated the Shaka Kshatrapa Nahapana, as recorded in the Nashik inscription of his mother, was:

Q3. Consider the following statements:
1. The Kailasa temple at Ellora was carved under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I.
2. Alauddin Khalji renamed Devagiri as Daulatabad.
3. The Dnyaneshwari was completed at Nevasa in 1290 during the reign of the Yadava king Ramachandra.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q4. Arrange in chronological order:
1. Satavahana rule from Pratishthan
2. Yadava rule from Devagiri
3. Carving of the Kailasa temple by the Rashtrakutas
4. Later Ajanta caves under the Vakataka king Harishena

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History · Ancient and medieval · Topic 3 of 10

Shivaji Maharaj and Swarajya: Administration and Ashtapradhan

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Think of it like…

A cooperative sugar factory with salaried department heads

Think of two sugar factories. In the first, the old owner rewarded every manager with a few acres of cane land. Soon each manager treated his land as his own little kingdom, passed it to his sons, and obeyed the owner only when it suited him. The factory crumbled.

In the second, a cooperative, the chairman runs things through a board of eight heads: a managing director for general administration, an accounts head, a correspondence officer, a security and records officer, a head of the cane-transport fleet, someone to deal with other factories, a legal officer and a head of the temple trust and charities. Every one of them is appointed, can be transferred, and is paid a salary from the factory’s treasury. The weighbridge has three keys held by men from different backgrounds, so no one can cheat alone. That is exactly how Shivaji Maharaj designed Swarajya: the Ashtapradhan (council of eight), cash salaries instead of jagirs, and checks and balances inside every fort.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Chairman of the cooperative	Chhatrapati, the final authority
Board of eight department heads	Ashtapradhan: Peshwa, Amatya, Sachiv, Mantri, Senapati, Sumant, Nyayadhish, Panditrao
Salaries instead of plots of cane land	Cash payment instead of hereditary jagirs and watans
Weighbridge keys held by three different men	Each fort run by a Havaldar, Sabnis and Sarnobat as mutual checks
Fee charged to neighbouring areas for not being raided	Chauth (one-fourth) and Sardeshmukhi (one-tenth) from territories outside Swarajya

The concept

Shivaji Maharaj was born at Shivneri (near Junnar) on 19 February 1630 to Shahaji Bhosale and Jijabai. Starting with the capture of Torna (c. 1646), he built Swarajya in the Maval region. Key events: killing of Afzal Khan at Pratapgad (10 November 1659); the escape from the siege of Panhala and Baji Prabhu Deshpande’s stand at Ghodkhind (Pavankhind, 1660); the night attack on Shaista Khan at Lal Mahal, Pune (1663); the sack of Surat (1664, again 1670); the Treaty of Purandar (1665) with Mirza Raja Jai Singh, by which he surrendered 23 forts and kept 12; the visit to Agra and escape (1666); the coronation at Raigad on 6 June 1674 by Gaga Bhatt, taking the title Chhatrapati and starting the Rajyabhishek Shaka; and the Karnataka (southern) expedition of 1677–78 that took Jinji and Vellore. He died at Raigad on 3 April 1680.

The Ashtapradhan was a council of eight ministers who advised the king but did not bind him. Its key design choices are what MPSC tests: posts were not hereditary; ministers were paid in cash; and every minister except the Nyayadhish (justice) and the Panditrao (religious affairs) had to lead military campaigns when required. The Peshwa (Mukhya Pradhan) handled general administration; the Amatya (Majumdar) finance and accounts; the Sachiv (Surnavis) royal correspondence; the Mantri (Waqia-navis) the king’s daily record, intelligence and personal safety; the Senapati (Sar-i-Naubat) the army; the Sumant (Dabir) foreign affairs.

Revenue reforms aimed to cut out exploitative middlemen. Annaji Datto carried out a land survey, land was measured with the kathi (rod), and revenue was assessed and collected directly from the cultivator. Outside Swarajya, the Marathas collected Chauth (one-fourth of the revenue, paid by a region to escape Maratha raids) and Sardeshmukhi (a further one-tenth, claimed by the king as the hereditary Sardeshmukh, the chief deshmukh, of the land). The army had infantry of Mavalas and cavalry of bargirs (horse and arms supplied by the state) and shiledars (who brought their own). Forts were the backbone of defence, and Shivaji Maharaj built a navy with sea forts such as Sindhudurg (Malvan) and Vijaydurg. Ramchandrapant Amatya’s Ajnapatra (completed 1715, issued 1716) later described this system of polity.

Key points & formulas

Born 19 February 1630, Shivneri; parents Shahaji and Jijabai
Afzal Khan killed at Pratapgad, 10 November 1659; Shaista Khan attacked at Lal Mahal, Pune, 1663
Treaty of Purandar, 1665, with Mirza Raja Jai Singh: 23 forts surrendered, 12 retained
Coronation at Raigad, 6 June 1674, by Gaga Bhatt; Rajyabhishek Shaka begun; died 3 April 1680, Raigad
Ashtapradhan: Peshwa — general administration; Amatya — finance; Sachiv — correspondence; Mantri — king’s records, intelligence; Senapati — army; Sumant — foreign affairs; Nyayadhish — justice; Panditrao — religion and charity
All Ashtapradhan except Nyayadhish and Panditrao could be sent on military expeditions
Chauth = 25% (one-fourth); Sardeshmukhi = 10% (one-tenth), additional
Fort officers: Havaldar, Sabnis, Sarnobat (and Karkhanis), drawn from different castes as a check
Cavalry: bargir (state horse) vs shiledar (own horse); navy forts: Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg, Kolaba

Worked example

A minister of Shivaji Maharaj kept the daily record of the king’s activities, watched over his personal safety and gathered intelligence. Which post, and what was its Persian name?

Show solution

Finance and accounts belong to the Amatya, so rule that out.
Royal letters and correspondence belong to the Sachiv (Surnavis).
Relations with other states belong to the Sumant (Dabir).
The daily record of the king, intelligence and personal security are the Mantri’s duties; his Persian title was Waqia-navis (writer of events).

Answer: Mantri (Waqia-navis)

Exam shortcut

Two names that sound alike: Sumant = States abroad (foreign affairs); Sachiv = Secretary of letters (correspondence). And remember the exception pair “Judge and Priest stay home”: Nyayadhish and Panditrao did not lead armies.

Common traps

Sumant (foreign affairs) vs Sachiv (correspondence): the most swapped pair in the Ashtapradhan.
Chauth is one-fourth (25%), Sardeshmukhi one-tenth (10%); they were collected outside Swarajya, not as the main land tax inside it.
Under Shivaji Maharaj the Peshwa was an appointed minister; the post became hereditary and supreme only under Shahu’s Peshwas in the 18th century.
Treaty of Purandar (1665, with Jai Singh) is not the Treaty of Purandar of 1776 (Marathas and the Calcutta council of the East India Company).

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. In Shivaji Maharaj’s Ashtapradhan, which minister was in charge of foreign affairs?

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. Chauth was one-fourth of the revenue of territories outside Swarajya.
2. Sardeshmukhi was an additional one-tenth claimed by the king as hereditary Sardeshmukh.
3. The Nyayadhish and Panditrao were also required to lead military campaigns.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q3. Arrange the following events in chronological order:
1. Treaty of Purandar
2. Killing of Afzal Khan at Pratapgad
3. Coronation at Raigad
4. Attack on Shaista Khan at Lal Mahal

Q4. The Treaty of Purandar (1665) was concluded between Shivaji Maharaj and:

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History · Ancient and medieval · Topic 4 of 10

The Peshwas and the Maratha Confederacy (to 1818)

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Think of it like…

The joint-family business run by the munim

A big joint-family trading house in Pune: the family head’s name is on the signboard and his seal is on every big deal, but day-to-day work is run by the trusted munim. The munim is so capable that, when he dies, his son gets the post, then his grandson. Soon traders come to the munim, not to the owner. Meanwhile the cousins who opened branches in distant towns (Gwalior, Indore, Baroda, Nagpur) keep their own accounts and send money to Pune only when they must.

As long as a strong munim sits in Pune, the family business expands across the country. But one bad season (a disastrous trade expedition north), then a young munim dying early, then a family murder and a quarrelling uncle who goes to a rival firm for help, and the outsiders get their foot in. Finally the last munim signs a contract handing his security over to the rival firm, the branches are picked off one by one, and the shop is bought out. That is the story from Balaji Vishwanath to Bajirao II.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Owner’s name and seal on the signboard	Chhatrapati at Satara, the formal sovereign
The capable munim whose post becomes hereditary	Peshwa at Pune, hereditary from Balaji Vishwanath (1713)
Cousins’ branch shops with their own accounts	Shinde (Gwalior), Holkar (Indore), Gaikwad (Baroda), Bhonsle (Nagpur): the confederacy
Disastrous trade expedition north	Third Battle of Panipat, 1761
Quarrelling uncle goes to the rival firm	Raghunathrao turns to the British: Treaty of Surat (1775)
Last munim hands security to the rival	Bajirao II’s Treaty of Bassein (1802), then defeat in 1818

The concept

After Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji fought the Mughals until he was captured and executed by Aurangzeb (1689). Rajaram continued the war from Jinji, and after his death Tarabai led it in the name of her son. When Aurangzeb died (1707), the Mughals released Shahu; he won the Battle of Khed (1707) against Tarabai’s forces, and Kolhapur later became a separate seat. Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath Peshwa in 1713. In 1719 he went to Delhi with the Sayyid brothers and obtained Mughal sanads granting the Marathas chauth and sardeshmukhi of the six Deccan subahs and recognising Shahu’s Swarajya; Richard Temple called these the “Magna Carta” of the Maratha empire.

Bajirao I (1720–40) defeated the Nizam at Palkhed (1728), raided up to Delhi (1737) and defeated the Nizam again near Bhopal (1737–38); his brother Chimaji Appa took Vasai (Bassein) from the Portuguese (1739). Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb) (1740–61) became the real ruler after Shahu’s death (1749); the Sangola agreement (1750) shifted power to Pune. Maratha expansion ended in disaster at the Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761) against Ahmad Shah Abdali, where Sadashivrao Bhau and Vishwasrao died. Madhavrao I (1761–72) restored Maratha power and defeated the Nizam at Rakshasbhuvan (1763), but died young at Theur; Grant Duff wrote that Panipat was not more fatal to the empire than the early end of this prince.

The decline came through internal quarrels. Narayanrao was murdered (1773); his uncle Raghunathrao sought British help (Treaty of Surat, 1775), sparking the First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82). The Barbhai council led by Nana Phadnavis ruled for the infant Madhavrao II; the Marathas forced the Convention of Wadgaon (1779), and the war ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782), mediated by Mahadji Shinde. After Nana’s death (1800), Yashwantrao Holkar defeated the Peshwa at Hadapsar (1802) and Bajirao II fled to the British, signing the Treaty of Bassein (31 December 1802), a subsidiary alliance. The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05: Assaye, Laswari) broke Shinde and Bhonsle. In the Third (1817–18) the Peshwa lost at Khadki (1817), Koregaon (1 January 1818) and Ashti (1818); Bajirao II surrendered to John Malcolm and was pensioned off to Bithur near Kanpur, the Peshwaship was abolished, and Mountstuart Elphinstone took over the Deccan. A small Satara state was kept for Pratapsinh Bhosale.

Key points & formulas

Balaji Vishwanath — Peshwa 1713; Mughal sanads 1719 (chauth and sardeshmukhi of six Deccan subahs)
Bajirao I: Palkhed 1728 (Nizam); Delhi raid 1737; Chimaji Appa takes Vasai from the Portuguese 1739
Nanasaheb Peshwa: Sangola agreement 1750; Third Battle of Panipat, 14 January 1761 (Ahmad Shah Abdali)
Madhavrao I: Rakshasbhuvan 1763; died at Theur 1772
First Anglo-Maratha War 1775–82: Treaty of Surat 1775, Purandar 1776, Convention of Wadgaon 1779, Treaty of Salbai 1782
Treaty of Bassein, 31 December 1802: Bajirao II accepts the subsidiary alliance
Second war 1803–05: Assaye, Laswari; Treaties of Deogaon (Bhonsle) and Surji-Anjangaon (Shinde), 1803
Third war 1817–18: Khadki, Koregaon (1 January 1818), Ashti; Bajirao II pensioned to Bithur
Confederacy houses: Shinde — Gwalior; Holkar — Indore; Gaikwad — Baroda; Bhonsle — Nagpur

Worked example

Explain why historians call the Maratha state of the later 18th century a “confederacy” rather than a centralised empire, and how this helped the British.

Show solution

The Chhatrapati at Satara remained the formal sovereign, but real power had passed to the hereditary Peshwa at Pune.
Great sardar families (Shinde, Holkar, Gaikwad, Bhonsle) held large regions, raised their own armies and kept their own revenues, acknowledging the Peshwa only loosely.
This loose structure worked while a strong Peshwa or minister (Madhavrao I, Nana Phadnavis) held them together; after 1800 each house acted for itself.
The British exploited this by dealing with them separately: Bajirao II alone at Bassein (1802), Shinde and Bhonsle defeated in 1803, Holkar handled in 1805, and the Peshwa finally isolated in 1817–18.

Answer: A loose union of semi-independent houses under the nominal headship of the Peshwa; their disunity let the British defeat them one at a time.

Exam shortcut

Treaties in order with one word each: Surat (Raghoba invites British, 1775) → Purandar (1776) → Salbai (peace, 1782) → Bassein (surrender of autonomy, 1802). Battles of the last war: “K-K-A” Khadki, Koregaon, Ashti.

Common traps

The 1719 sanads were obtained by Balaji Vishwanath, not Bajirao I.
The Treaty of Bassein (1802) was signed by Bajirao II with the British; Vasai (Bassein) was captured from the Portuguese by Chimaji Appa in 1739.
The Treaty of Salbai (1782) ended the First Anglo-Maratha War; it was mediated by Mahadji Shinde, not Nana Phadnavis.
Bajirao II was pensioned to Bithur (near Kanpur); his adopted son Nana Saheb later led the 1857 revolt at Kanpur.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. The Mughal sanads of 1719, which granted the Marathas chauth and sardeshmukhi of the six Deccan subahs, were obtained by:

Q2. Arrange in chronological order:
1. Treaty of Salbai
2. Third Battle of Panipat
3. Treaty of Bassein
4. Battle of Palkhed

Q3. Which of the following pairs of Maratha house and seat of power is correctly matched?

Q4. Consider the following statements:
1. Bajirao II accepted the subsidiary alliance by the Treaty of Bassein (1802).
2. The Battle of Koregaon was fought on 1 January 1818.
3. After his surrender, Bajirao II was pensioned off to Bithur near Kanpur.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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History · Modern India · Topic 5 of 10

British Expansion: Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse, Land Revenue Systems

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Think of it like…

The society that hired a security agency

A housing society on the edge of town is nervous about thieves and quarrelsome neighbours. A big security agency offers a deal. “We will station our guards in your compound. You pay their salaries. Our supervisor will sit in your office. You will not hire any other agency, and you will not settle any dispute with the neighbouring society without asking us. In return we protect you, and we promise not to interfere in your internal matters.”

It sounds safe. But the guards’ salaries keep rising. When the society cannot pay, the agency says, “Give us the plot behind the clubhouse instead.” The supervisor starts deciding who sits on the committee. The members disband their own watchmen because they are no longer needed. In a few years the society cannot act at all without the agency, and one day it simply takes over. Lord Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance worked exactly this way. Lord Dalhousie later added a lease clause: if the flat-owner dies without a natural son, the flat “lapses” to the agency; an adopted son may keep the furniture but not the flat. That is the Doctrine of Lapse.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Agency guards stationed in your compound	British troops stationed in the Indian state
You pay their salaries, or hand over a plot	Ruler pays a subsidy, or cedes territory (Nizam, Awadh)
Agency supervisor in your office	British Resident at the ruler’s court
No other agency, no talks with neighbours without permission	No other Europeans employed; no war or diplomacy without British consent
Flat lapses if no natural son; adopted son gets only furniture	Doctrine of Lapse: adopted heir inherits private property, not the state

The concept

Subsidiary Alliance was perfected by Lord Wellesley (Governor-General 1798–1805). The ruler had to keep a British force in his territory and pay for it (in cash or by ceding territory), accept a British Resident, employ no other Europeans, and conduct no war or diplomacy without British approval; in return the British promised protection and non-interference in internal affairs. The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to accept (1798). Mysore followed after Tipu’s fall (1799), then Tanjore, Awadh (1801, ceding about half its territory), the Peshwa (Treaty of Bassein, 1802), the Bhonsle and Shinde (1803). Its genius for the British: they maintained a large army at Indian expense, gained territory, disarmed rivals and made rulers dependent. For the states it meant loss of sovereignty, disbanded armies (and unemployed soldiers), and misgovernment, because a protected ruler no longer feared his subjects.

The Doctrine of Lapse was applied by Lord Dalhousie (1848–56). If the ruler of a dependent state died without a natural heir, the state “lapsed” to the British; an adopted son could inherit the ruler’s private property but not the kingdom. Satara (1848) was the first state annexed this way, followed by Jaitpur, Sambalpur, Baghat, Udaipur (in present Chhattisgarh), Jhansi and Nagpur (1854). Awadh was annexed in 1856 not under lapse but on the ground of misgovernment. The doctrine created deep resentment among princes, and Jhansi and Nana Saheb (whose pension as Bajirao II’s adopted son was stopped) became centres of 1857.

Three land revenue systems decided who paid the British and who owned the land. The Permanent Settlement (Lord Cornwallis, 1793; Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Varanasi) made zamindars owners of the land with revenue fixed for ever; the Company kept about 10/11 of the rent and the zamindar 1/11, and the Sunset Law auctioned estates of defaulters. The Ryotwari system (Alexander Read and Thomas Munro; Madras, later the Bombay Presidency) settled directly with each cultivator (ryot), who became the registered occupant paying revenue directly, revised periodically (about every 30 years). The Mahalwari system (Holt Mackenzie, 1822; refined under Bentinck by R.M. Bird and James Thomason; North-Western Provinces, Punjab, parts of Central India) settled with the village or estate (mahal) as a whole. In Maharashtra, heavy ryotwari assessments pushed peasants into the hands of moneylenders, leading to the Deccan Riots of 1875 (beginning at Supa, Pune district) and the Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Act, 1879.

Key points & formulas

Subsidiary Alliance: Lord Wellesley, 1798; first accepted by the Nizam of Hyderabad (1798)
Others: Mysore 1799, Tanjore 1799, Awadh 1801, Peshwa 1802 (Bassein), Bhonsle and Shinde 1803
Terms: British troops at the state’s cost, a British Resident, no other Europeans, no independent foreign policy
Doctrine of Lapse: Lord Dalhousie; first annexation Satara 1848; also Jaitpur, Sambalpur, Baghat, Udaipur, Jhansi, Nagpur (1854)
Awadh annexed 1856 on grounds of misgovernance, not lapse
Permanent Settlement: Cornwallis, 1793, Bengal–Bihar–Orissa; zamindar as owner; revenue fixed in perpetuity
Ryotwari: Thomas Munro and Alexander Read; Madras and Bombay presidencies; direct settlement with the cultivator
Mahalwari: Holt Mackenzie, Regulation VII of 1822; village (mahal) as the unit; North-Western Provinces, Punjab
Deccan Riots, 1875 (Supa, Pune) → Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Act, 1879

Worked example

A peasant in the Bombay Presidency in the 1860s pays land revenue directly to the government, the rate is revised after a survey every few decades, and no zamindar stands between him and the state. Which system is this, who is associated with it, and what unrest did it contribute to in Maharashtra?

Show solution

Direct settlement with the individual cultivator, no zamindar: this rules out the Permanent Settlement.
The unit is the individual ryot, not the village community: this rules out Mahalwari.
So it is the Ryotwari system, associated with Thomas Munro (and Alexander Read) and extended to the Bombay Presidency.
High assessments payable in cash drove peasants to moneylenders, whose seizure of land sparked the Deccan Riots of 1875.

Answer: Ryotwari (Thomas Munro); it fed the Deccan Riots of 1875

Exam shortcut

Revenue systems by first letters: Permanent — Province of Bengal (Cornwallis); Ryotwari — Ryot directly (Munro, Madras–Bombay); Mahalwari — Mahal = village (Mackenzie, North-West). Subsidiary first taker: “Nizam is Number one”.

Common traps

Awadh (1856) was annexed for misgovernance, not under the Doctrine of Lapse; Satara (1848) was the first lapse annexation.
Subsidiary Alliance is Wellesley; Doctrine of Lapse is Dalhousie. Cornwallis is the Permanent Settlement.
The Nizam, not the Peshwa or Mysore, was the first to accept the subsidiary alliance.
Under the Permanent Settlement the revenue demand on the zamindar was fixed for ever, not the rent the zamindar charged the peasant, which kept rising.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. The first Indian ruler to accept Lord Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance was:

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. Satara was the first state annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse.
2. Awadh was annexed in 1856 under the Doctrine of Lapse.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q3. Under which land revenue system was the village community (mahal) jointly responsible for paying the revenue?

Q4. Match the following:
(a) Permanent Settlement (b) Ryotwari (c) Mahalwari (d) Subsidiary Alliance
(i) Lord Wellesley (ii) Holt Mackenzie (iii) Thomas Munro (iv) Lord Cornwallis

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History · Modern India · Topic 6 of 10

The Revolt of 1857 (with Maharashtra’s role)

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Think of it like…

The strike at the sugar factory

A sugar factory has been squeezing everyone for years. Cane growers are paid late and taxed heavily. Former owners of small jaggery units have had their units taken over on technicalities. The workers grumble about low allowances and transfers far from home. Then a rumour spreads that the new canteen food has been deliberately mixed with something forbidden to every worker’s religion. One morning a few workers refuse to eat, are punished in public, and the whole shift walks out.

The strike spreads to other units. Farmers join, and the dispossessed former owners take the lead in their own areas, each fighting for his own lost unit rather than for one common plan. But many units never join, and the management brings in loyal workers from other factories to break the strike. When it is all over, the government decides the board can no longer be trusted: it dissolves the board and runs the factory directly through a minister. That is 1857, from the greased cartridges to the Government of India Act, 1858.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Years of squeezing growers and owners	Long-term causes: revenue burden, annexations, Doctrine of Lapse, stopped pensions
The rumour about the canteen food	Immediate cause: greased cartridges of the Enfield rifle
Workers walk out first	Sepoy mutiny at Barrackpore (Mangal Pandey) and Meerut (10 May 1857)
Former owners each leading their own area	Nana Saheb, Rani Lakshmibai, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kunwar Singh: local, uncoordinated leadership
Loyal workers from other units	Sikh, Gurkha regiments and loyal princes (Scindia, Nizam) helped the British
Board dissolved, government takes over	Company rule ends; Crown rule under the Government of India Act, 1858

The concept

The revolt had layered causes. Political: annexations under the Doctrine of Lapse (Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur) and of Awadh (1856), and the stopping of Nana Saheb’s pension. Economic: heavy land revenue, ruin of artisans, and loss of employment for soldiers of disbanded state armies. Social-religious: fear of conversion and of interference in customs. Military: low pay, discrimination, loss of the foreign-service allowance and the General Service Enlistment Act (1856), which required sepoys to serve overseas. The immediate cause was the cartridge of the new Enfield rifle, rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat. Mangal Pandey of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry attacked officers at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857; the decisive outbreak came at Meerut on 10 May 1857, and the sepoys marched to Delhi and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar emperor.

Main centres and leaders: Delhi — Bahadur Shah Zafar, with Bakht Khan commanding; Kanpur — Nana Saheb, with Tatya Tope and Azimullah Khan; Lucknow — Begum Hazrat Mahal; Jhansi — Rani Lakshmibai, who died fighting near Gwalior (1858); Jagdishpur (Bihar) — Kunwar Singh; Bareilly — Khan Bahadur Khan; Faizabad — Maulvi Ahmadullah. On the British side, Delhi was retaken (September 1857; Nicholson died, Hodson captured Bahadur Shah, who was exiled to Rangoon), Colin Campbell recovered Lucknow and Kanpur, and Hugh Rose defeated the Rani. Tatya Tope, born at Yeola (Nashik district), kept fighting a guerrilla war until he was betrayed, captured and hanged at Shivpuri on 18 April 1859. The revolt failed because it lacked a common plan, leadership and modern arms, and because large areas, many princes and the educated middle class stayed away.

Maharashtra’s role was real though limited. The 27th Native Infantry rose at Kolhapur on 31 July 1857; Chimasaheb of Kolhapur was later exiled to Karachi. Rango Bapuji Gupte, agent of the deposed Pratapsinh of Satara, organised a rising in Satara and escaped capture. Bhagoji Naik led the Bhils in the Ahmednagar–Nashik region, and Bhils rose in Khandesh. Nana Saheb Peshwa and Tatya Tope, the two great Kanpur leaders, were Marathi, and Lakshmibai was born in a Marathi family at Varanasi. The aftermath was a turning point: the Government of India Act, 1858 ended Company rule; a Secretary of State for India with a Council of India took over in London; the Governor-General also became Viceroy (Canning first); and Queen Victoria’s Proclamation (1 November 1858, read at Allahabad) promised to honour treaties with princes, renounced further annexation (ending the Doctrine of Lapse) and promised religious non-interference.

Key points & formulas

Mangal Pandey (34th BNI), Barrackpore, 29 March 1857; outbreak at Meerut, 10 May 1857; Delhi taken 11 May
Immediate cause: greased cartridges of the Enfield rifle; Governor-General: Lord Canning
Kanpur — Nana Saheb, Tatya Tope; Lucknow — Begum Hazrat Mahal; Jhansi — Rani Lakshmibai; Jagdishpur — Kunwar Singh; Bareilly — Khan Bahadur Khan
British commanders: Nicholson, Hodson (Delhi); Colin Campbell (Lucknow, Kanpur); Hugh Rose (Jhansi)
Tatya Tope: born Yeola (Nashik); hanged at Shivpuri, 18 April 1859
Maharashtra: 27th NI at Kolhapur, 31 July 1857; Rango Bapuji (Satara); Bhagoji Naik (Bhils, Ahmednagar–Nashik)
Government of India Act, 1858: Crown rule, Secretary of State + Council of India (15 members), Viceroy
Queen’s Proclamation, 1 November 1858, Allahabad: Doctrine of Lapse given up
Interpretations: Savarkar — The Indian War of Independence of 1857 (1909); S.N. Sen — Eighteen Fifty-Seven; R.C. Majumdar — “neither first, nor national, nor war of independence”

Worked example

Consider: 1. The revolt began with the sepoys of Meerut, who marched to Delhi. 2. The Nizam of Hyderabad was one of its main leaders. 3. After the revolt, the Doctrine of Lapse was abandoned. Which are correct?

Show solution

Statement 1: the Meerut sepoys rose on 10 May 1857 and reached Delhi the next day, proclaiming Bahadur Shah Zafar emperor. Correct.
Statement 2: the Nizam (and his minister Salar Jung) stayed loyal to the British, as did Scindia of Gwalior. Incorrect.
Statement 3: Queen Victoria’s Proclamation of 1858 renounced further annexation and recognised the princes’ right to adopt. Correct.

Answer: 1 and 3 only

Exam shortcut

Leader–place pairs as a story: “Nana at Kanpur, the Rani at Jhansi, the Begum in Lucknow, Kunwar in Bihar.” Two Marathi leaders (Nana Saheb, Tatya Tope) fought at Kanpur; Tatya’s birthplace Yeola is in Nashik.

Common traps

Mangal Pandey’s incident (Barrackpore, March 1857) came before the Meerut outbreak (May 1857), but the revolt proper is dated from Meerut.
Lord Canning was Governor-General during 1857; Dalhousie (Doctrine of Lapse) had already left in 1856.
Savarkar called it the “War of Independence”; R.C. Majumdar rejected that label. Do not swap them.
Kunwar Singh led at Jagdishpur (Bihar), not Faizabad; Maulvi Ahmadullah was at Faizabad.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. Which of the following pairs of leader and centre of the 1857 revolt is not correctly matched?

Q2. Tatya Tope, one of the leading generals of 1857, was born at Yeola, which is in the present-day district of:

Q3. Consider the following statements:
1. The Government of India Act, 1858 transferred power from the East India Company to the Crown and created the post of Secretary of State for India.
2. Queen Victoria’s Proclamation of 1858 announced that the Doctrine of Lapse would be applied more strictly.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q4. Who described the 1857 uprising as “The Indian War of Independence” in a book published in 1909?

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History · Maharashtra · Topic 7 of 10

Social Reformers of Maharashtra (Phule, Ranade, Agarkar, Shahu, Ambedkar, Karve…)

Mark as done

Think of it like…

Opening the village water tank

In a village, the public water tank is closed to so-called untouchable families, widows are kept in the back room, and girls are not sent to school. Everyone agrees something is wrong, but they disagree about how to fix it.

One man simply opens his own household tank to everyone and starts a school for girls in his courtyard. A respected lawyer prefers to persuade the panchayat step by step, through meetings and resolutions, without breaking with the elders. A blunt young editor says, “Before we spend money on a grand new temple for the village’s honour, we must first clean the tank and treat our own people fairly,” while another leader replies that the temple (self-rule) must come first. The local raja issues an order reserving half the village jobs for the excluded families. A teacher builds a home and school where widows can live with dignity. And a brilliant young lawyer from an excluded family leads a march to the public tank and drinks from it, saying that water is a civic right, not a favour. Maharashtra’s reformers did all of these, and MPSC asks you to tell them apart.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Opening his own tank; girls’ school in the courtyard	Jyotirao Phule: opened his water tank to untouchables (1868); girls’ school (1848); Satyashodhak Samaj (1873)
Persuading the panchayat step by step	M.G. Ranade: gradual reform from within; Prarthana Samaj, Sarvajanik Sabha, Social Conference
“Clean the tank before the temple”	Agarkar’s social-reform-first stand vs Tilak’s political-freedom-first stand
The raja’s order reserving jobs	Shahu Maharaj: 50% reservation in Kolhapur state, 1902
A separate home for widows	D.K. Karve: home for widows (1896, Hingne, Pune), SNDT women’s university (1916)
Marching to the public tank as a right	B.R. Ambedkar: Mahad Chavdar Tale satyagraha, 1927

The concept

The early reformers were journalists and thinkers. Bal Shastri Jambhekar started Darpan on 6 January 1832, the first Marathi newspaper (Anglo-Marathi); 6 January is observed in Maharashtra as Patrakar Din. Gopal Hari Deshmukh “Lokhitwadi” attacked superstition and caste in his Shatapatre (a hundred letters, published in the Prabhakar). Dadoba Pandurang founded the Manav Dharma Sabha (Surat, 1844) and was linked to the secret Paramhansa Sabha. The Prarthana Samaj (Bombay, 1867) was founded by Atmaram Pandurang, inspired by Keshab Chandra Sen; M.G. Ranade and R.G. Bhandarkar became its leading figures. Ranade, a judge, believed in gradual reform from within; he helped found the Widow Remarriage Association (1861), guided the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1870) and started the Indian National Social Conference (1887).

Jyotirao Phule led the first movement from below. With Savitribai Phule, India’s first woman teacher, he opened a girls’ school in Pune in 1848, a home to prevent infanticide (1863), and opened his water tank to untouchables (1868). He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj on 24 September 1873 to free the Shudras and Ati-Shudras from priestly domination. His books: Gulamgiri (1873, dedicated to those fighting slavery in America), Shetkaryacha Asud (1883, on the peasant’s plight), Tritiya Ratna (a play) and Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak; he was honoured as “Mahatma” in Bombay in 1888. Among the Chiplunkar–Tilak–Agarkar group, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar was the uncompromising rationalist: first editor of Kesari (1881), he broke with Tilak over “social reform first” and started Sudharak (1888). Others: Pandita Ramabai (Arya Mahila Samaj 1882, Sharada Sadan, Mukti Mission), Tarabai Shinde (Stri Purush Tulana, 1882), Maharshi D.K. Karve (home for widows, 1896, at Hingne, Pune; first women’s university in India, 1916, now SNDT; Bharat Ratna 1958), Vitthal Ramji Shinde (Depressed Classes Mission, 1906), Gopal Krishna Gokhale (Servants of India Society, Pune, 1905) and Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil (Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, 1919, “earn and learn”).

Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur (ruled 1894–1922) turned reform into state policy. After the Vedokta controversy, in which priests refused him Vedic rites, he issued the order of 26 July 1902 reserving 50% of vacancies in his state for the backward classes, the first caste-based reservation in modern India. He made primary education free and compulsory (1917), patronised the Satyashodhak movement, and supported the young Ambedkar’s Mooknayak (1920). Dr B.R. Ambedkar organised the depressed classes politically: newspapers Mooknayak (1920), Bahishkrit Bharat (1927), Janata (1930) and Prabuddha Bharat; the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (20 July 1924); the Mahad satyagraha at the Chavdar Tale (20 March 1927) and the burning of the Manusmriti (25 December 1927); the Kalaram temple entry satyagraha at Nashik (1930); the Poona Pact with Gandhi (1932); the Independent Labour Party (1936); the People’s Education Society (1945); and his conversion to Buddhism at Nagpur on 14 October 1956. His books include Annihilation of Caste (1936) and The Problem of the Rupee (1923).

Key points & formulas

Darpan — Bal Shastri Jambhekar, 6 January 1832, first Marathi newspaper; Digdarshan (1840), first Marathi monthly
Shatapatre — Lokhitwadi (Gopal Hari Deshmukh); Nibandhamala — Vishnushastri Chiplunkar
Prarthana Samaj, 1867, Bombay — founded by Atmaram Pandurang; Ranade and R.G. Bhandarkar prominent
Phule: girls’ school 1848; Satyashodhak Samaj 24 September 1873; Gulamgiri (1873), Shetkaryacha Asud (1883); “Mahatma” 1888
Agarkar: first editor of Kesari (1881); Sudharak (1888); Tilak edited Mahratta
Shahu Maharaj: 50% reservation in Kolhapur state, 26 July 1902; free compulsory primary education, 1917
Karve: home for widows (1896, Hingne, Pune); women’s university 1916 (SNDT); Bharat Ratna 1958
Pandita Ramabai: Arya Mahila Samaj (1882), Sharada Sadan (1889); Tarabai Shinde: Stri Purush Tulana (1882)
V.R. Shinde: Depressed Classes Mission (1906); Gokhale: Servants of India Society (1905); Bhaurao Patil: Rayat Shikshan Sanstha (1919)
Ambedkar: Mooknayak 1920; Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha 1924; Mahad 20 March 1927; Kalaram temple 1930; Poona Pact 1932; ILP 1936; Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, 14 October 1956

Worked example

Match the reformer with the cause: (a) Agarkar (b) Shahu Maharaj (c) Tarabai Shinde (d) Vitthal Ramji Shinde — (i) an early feminist critique comparing men and women (ii) Depressed Classes Mission (iii) reservation for backward classes in a princely state (iv) social reform before political reform, through Sudharak.

Show solution

Agarkar broke with Tilak because he insisted on social reform first and founded Sudharak in 1888: (a)-(iv).
Shahu Maharaj’s 1902 order reserved half the vacancies in Kolhapur state for the backward classes: (b)-(iii).
Tarabai Shinde wrote Stri Purush Tulana (1882), comparing the conduct of men and women: (c)-(i).
Vitthal Ramji Shinde founded the Depressed Classes Mission in Bombay in 1906: (d)-(ii).

Answer: a-iv, b-iii, c-i, d-ii

Exam shortcut

Newspaper hooks: Darpan — Jambhekar (first, 1832); Sudharak — Agarkar (reform = sudharana); Mooknayak — Ambedkar (“leader of the voiceless”); Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English) — the Tilak–Agarkar group. Ambedkar’s papers in order: “M-B-J-P” Mooknayak, Bahishkrit Bharat, Janata, Prabuddha Bharat.

Common traps

Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang (1867); Ranade joined and led it but did not found it.
Agarkar was the first editor of Kesari; Tilak edited Mahratta. Agarkar later started Sudharak.
Depressed Classes Mission (1906) is Vitthal Ramji Shinde; Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924) is Ambedkar.
Mahad satyagraha (1927) was for water at the Chavdar Tale; Kalaram (1930, Nashik) was for temple entry.
Servants of India Society (1905) is Gokhale; Satyashodhak Samaj (1873) is Phule.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. Match the reformers with the organisations they founded:
(a) Jyotirao Phule (b) Vitthal Ramji Shinde (c) B.R. Ambedkar (d) Bhaurao Patil
(i) Rayat Shikshan Sanstha (ii) Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (iii) Depressed Classes Mission (iv) Satyashodhak Samaj

Q2. Which of the following pairs of publication and author is incorrectly matched?

Q3. Consider the following statements:
1. Shahu Maharaj reserved 50% of vacancies in Kolhapur state for the backward classes in 1902.
2. Maharshi Karve founded the first women’s university in India in 1916.
3. The Prarthana Samaj was founded at Pune in 1867 by M.G. Ranade.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q4. Arrange in chronological order:
1. Founding of the Satyashodhak Samaj
2. Mahad Chavdar Tale satyagraha
3. First issue of Darpan
4. Founding of the Servants of India Society

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History · Modern India · Topic 8 of 10

INC, Moderates and Extremists, Tilak, Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi

Mark as done

Think of it like…

Cane growers versus the sugar factory

A sugar factory owned by outsiders pays cane growers too little and sends the profits away. The growers form a union. The senior members, educated and respected, believe the chairman is basically fair but badly informed. So they collect figures showing how much money leaves the village every year, write careful petitions, send delegations and ask for a few growers to be taken on the board. Their method is prayer, petition and protest.

The younger members lose patience. “The chairman will never give up his profit because we ask nicely,” they say. “Stop supplying cane to his factory. Make our own jaggery. Buy only from our own people. Send our children to our own schools.” When the factory splits the cane district into two zones to weaken the union, the young group’s boycott spreads like fire. At the annual meeting at Surat the two groups clash so badly that the union splits, and the factory immediately rewards the seniors with a few board seats while punishing the young leaders. Nine years later they reunite at Lucknow. That is the Moderate–Extremist story from 1885 to 1916.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Figures on money leaving the village	Dadabhai Naoroji’s drain theory
Polite petitions to a “fair” chairman	Moderates’ faith in British justice; prayer, petition, protest
Boycott, own jaggery, own schools	Extremists’ boycott, swadeshi and national education
Splitting the cane district into two zones	Partition of Bengal, 1905 (Curzon)
Union splits at the annual meeting	Surat split, 1907
Seniors get board seats, young leaders punished	Morley–Minto reforms (1909) and Tilak’s Mandalay sentence (1908); reunion at Lucknow, 1916

The concept

Before the Congress came regional bodies: the East India Association (London, 1866, Dadabhai Naoroji), the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1870), the Indian Association (Calcutta, 1876, Surendranath Banerjee) and the Bombay Presidency Association (1885). The Indian National Congress met first on 28 December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay, with 72 delegates under W.C. Bonnerjee; A.O. Hume was the organiser and Lord Dufferin the Viceroy. It was meant to meet in Pune but shifted because of cholera. Important sessions: 1886 Calcutta (Dadabhai Naoroji); 1887 Madras (Badruddin Tyabji, first Muslim president); 1888 Allahabad (George Yule, first European); 1896 Calcutta (Rahimtulla Sayani; Vande Mataram first sung); 1905 Banaras (Gokhale); 1906 Calcutta (Dadabhai Naoroji; Swaraj declared the goal); 1907 Surat (Rash Behari Ghosh; the split); 1911 Calcutta (B.N. Dar; Jana Gana Mana first sung); 1916 Lucknow (A.C. Mazumdar; reunion and the Lucknow Pact with the Muslim League); 1917 Calcutta (Annie Besant, first woman president).

Why did Moderates and Extremists differ? The Moderates (Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee, Gokhale, Ranade) believed British rule was on balance providential, that the British public had a sense of justice, and that India needed reforms within the empire. Their weapon was economic critique, above all Naoroji’s drain theory (Poverty and Un-British Rule in India) and R.C. Dutt’s economic history, delivered through petitions and resolutions. The Extremists (Lal–Bal–Pal: Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal; and Aurobindo Ghose) saw that petitions had brought little, distrusted British intentions, and wanted Swaraj through self-reliance and mass action: boycott, swadeshi, national education. Both shared the same diagnosis of exploitation; they differed on faith in the British and on method.

Lokmanya Tilak was the Extremists’ voice in Maharashtra. With Agarkar and Chiplunkar he founded the New English School (1880), the Deccan Education Society (1884) and the newspapers Kesari and Mahratta (1881). He made the Ganeshotsav a public festival (1893) and started the Shivaji festival (1895–96) to mobilise people. He was jailed for sedition in 1897 (the year the Chapekar brothers shot plague commissioner Rand in Pune), and in 1908 sentenced to six years at Mandalay, where he wrote Gita Rahasya. In April 1916 he founded the Home Rule League at Belgaum, before Annie Besant’s in Madras, with the slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”. Valentine Chirol called him the “father of Indian unrest”. The Partition of Bengal, announced by Curzon and effective on 16 October 1905, triggered the Swadeshi movement; the Muslim League was founded at Dhaka in December 1906; the Indian Councils Act, 1909 (Morley–Minto) brought separate electorates for Muslims; and the partition was annulled at the Delhi Durbar of 1911, when the capital was moved from Calcutta to Delhi. Maharashtra’s revolutionaries included Vasudev Balwant Phadke (1879), the Chapekar brothers, the Savarkars’ Mitra Mela and Abhinav Bharat (Nashik), and Anant Kanhere, who shot Nashik collector Jackson in 1909.

Key points & formulas

INC: 28 December 1885, Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay; 72 delegates; president W.C. Bonnerjee; founder A.O. Hume; Viceroy Dufferin
First Muslim president Badruddin Tyabji (1887, Madras); first European George Yule (1888); first woman Annie Besant (1917)
1896 Calcutta — Vande Mataram first sung; 1911 Calcutta — Jana Gana Mana first sung
1906 Calcutta (Dadabhai Naoroji): Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education resolutions
1907 Surat (Rash Behari Ghosh): split; 1916 Lucknow (A.C. Mazumdar): reunion and Lucknow Pact
Tilak: Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English), 1881; public Ganeshotsav 1893; Mandalay — Gita Rahasya; Home Rule League, Belgaum, April 1916
Partition of Bengal: Curzon; effective 16 October 1905; annulled 1911 (Delhi Durbar); capital moved to Delhi
Muslim League: Dhaka, December 1906; Morley–Minto reforms, 1909: separate electorates
Maharashtra revolutionaries: Vasudev Balwant Phadke; Chapekar brothers (Rand, 1897); Abhinav Bharat (Savarkar, Nashik); Anant Kanhere (Jackson, 1909)

Worked example

Statement I: The Moderates relied on petitions and resolutions. Statement II: They believed that the British were basically just and would grant reforms once correctly informed. Is Statement II the correct explanation of Statement I?

Show solution

Statement I is true: the Moderates’ method was constitutional agitation through petitions, memorials, resolutions and delegations.
Statement II is true: leaders like Naoroji and Gokhale trusted British liberal traditions and the British sense of fair play, blaming bad administrators rather than British rule itself.
Does II explain I? Yes: precisely because they believed the British would respond to reasoned appeals, petitions made sense to them. The Extremists, who lacked this faith, chose boycott instead.

Answer: Both statements are true and Statement II correctly explains Statement I.

Exam shortcut

Session firsts by year: 1885 Bonnerjee (first), 1887 Tyabji (first Muslim), 1888 Yule (first European), 1917 Besant (first woman). Songs: Vande Mataram in 1896, Jana Gana Mana in 1911. Split and reunion: Surat 1907 → Lucknow 1916.

Common traps

Swaraj was declared the goal at Calcutta 1906 (Naoroji); Purna Swaraj came much later at Lahore 1929.
Tilak’s Home Rule League was founded in April 1916 at Belgaum; Annie Besant’s in September 1916 at Madras (Adyar).
Partition of Bengal was effective in 1905 and annulled in 1911; the capital shifted to Delhi in 1911, but New Delhi was inaugurated only in 1931.
The Lucknow Pact (1916) was between the Congress and the Muslim League; the Lucknow session also reunited Moderates and Extremists.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. The first session of the Indian National Congress, held at Bombay in 1885, was presided over by:

Q2. Which of the following pairs of Congress session and event is correctly matched?

Q3. Consider the following statements about Bal Gangadhar Tilak:
1. He was associated with founding the newspapers Kesari and Mahratta in 1881.
2. He wrote Gita Rahasya while imprisoned at Mandalay.
3. His Home Rule League was founded at Madras in 1916.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q4. Arrange in chronological order:
1. Partition of Bengal comes into effect
2. Surat split of the Congress
3. Founding of the All-India Muslim League
4. Annulment of the partition at the Delhi Durbar

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History · Modern India · Topic 9 of 10

The Gandhian Era to Independence (NCM, CDM, Quit India, 1942 in Maharashtra)

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Think of it like…

The wari to Pandharpur

Every Ashadhi, lakhs of warkaris walk to Pandharpur. Nobody is paid to come. Farmers, women, labourers and shopkeepers of every caste walk side by side. Each village forms its own dindi under its own leader, but all follow the same palkhi and the same rules: no fighting, no liquor, no pushing ahead. The power of the wari is not weapons but numbers, discipline and the willingness to bear hardship, rain and blistered feet.

Before Gandhi, the national movement was mostly a meeting of lawyers in a hall. Gandhi turned it into a wari. The Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements were huge walks of ordinary people, each district with its own leaders but one direction. When the discipline broke, as at Chauri Chaura, he stopped the march, just as a dindi halts if a fight breaks out. And the most famous movement of all literally began as a walk: the Dandi March to make salt. In 1942, when the leaders were arrested, the dindis carried on by themselves, and in Satara some even set up their own village government.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Lakhs walking, every caste, women too	Mass movement under Gandhi: peasants, workers, women joined
Strict rules: no fighting	Non-violence (ahimsa) and satyagraha
Dindi halts if a fight breaks out	Non-Cooperation withdrawn after Chauri Chaura (February 1922)
The walk itself is the message	Dandi March, 12 March – 6 April 1930: Civil Disobedience begins
Dindis carry on when the leader is away	Quit India 1942: leaderless mass rising; Satara Prati Sarkar, Chimur

The concept

Gandhi returned from South Africa on 9 January 1915 and tested satyagraha at Champaran (1917, indigo farmers), Ahmedabad (1918, mill workers; his first hunger strike in India) and Kheda (1918, revenue remission). The Rowlatt Act (March 1919) and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (13 April 1919) turned him against the government. The Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu–Chelmsford reforms) introduced dyarchy in the provinces: “reserved” subjects such as police, land revenue and finance stayed with the Governor and his executive council, while “transferred” subjects such as education, health, agriculture and local self-government went to Indian ministers answerable to the legislature. It is like a father who gives his son charge of the children’s schooling and the garden but keeps the keys of the money box: the son gets blamed when things fail but controls no funds. That is why dyarchy failed and was abolished in the provinces by the 1935 Act.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was approved at the special Calcutta session (September 1920) and confirmed at Nagpur (December 1920), which also reorganised the Congress on linguistic provinces. It began on 1 August 1920, the day Tilak died, merged with the Khilafat movement, and was withdrawn after the violence at Chauri Chaura (5 February 1922). C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru then formed the Swaraj Party (1923) to fight councils from inside. After the all-white Simon Commission (1928) and the Nehru Report, the Lahore session (December 1929, Jawaharlal Nehru) demanded Purna Swaraj, and 26 January 1930 was celebrated as Independence Day. The Civil Disobedience Movement began with the Dandi March (12 March – 6 April 1930). It paused with the Gandhi–Irwin Pact (5 March 1931), after which Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference; it resumed in 1932. Ramsay MacDonald’s Communal Award (1932) led to Gandhi’s fast at Yerwada and the Poona Pact with Ambedkar (24 September 1932), which replaced separate electorates for the depressed classes with reserved seats in the general electorate.

The Government of India Act, 1935 gave provincial autonomy; Congress ministries took office in 1937 (B.G. Kher in Bombay) and resigned in 1939 over India being dragged into the war. Vinoba Bhave was the first individual satyagrahi (1940). After the failure of the Cripps Mission (1942), the AICC passed the Quit India resolution on 8 August 1942 at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay (now August Kranti Maidan), with the call “Do or Die”. Leaders were arrested at dawn on 9 August; Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the flag and Usha Mehta ran the secret Congress Radio from Bombay. Maharashtra in 1942: risings at Chimur (Chandrapur) and Ashti (Wardha) on 16 August 1942; the Prati Sarkar (parallel government) of Satara under Krantisinh Nana Patil (1943–46); the schoolboy martyr Shirish Kumar at Nandurbar. Earlier, during the Civil Disobedience Movement, Solapur was placed under martial law (1930) and four of its men were hanged on 12 January 1931, and Babu Genu was crushed under a truck of foreign cloth in Bombay on 12 December 1930. The endgame: the RIN mutiny in Bombay (February 1946), the Cabinet Mission (1946), the Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947) and the Indian Independence Act (July 1947).

Key points & formulas

Gandhi returns 9 January 1915; Champaran 1917; Ahmedabad and Kheda 1918
GoI Act 1919: dyarchy in provinces — reserved (police, finance, land revenue) vs transferred (education, health, local government) subjects
NCM: Calcutta special session (September 1920), Nagpur (December 1920); withdrawn after Chauri Chaura, 5 February 1922
Lahore 1929 (Jawaharlal Nehru): Purna Swaraj; 26 January 1930 first Independence Day
Dandi March: 12 March – 6 April 1930; Gandhi–Irwin Pact: 5 March 1931; Second RTC 1931 (Gandhi attended)
Poona Pact: 24 September 1932, Gandhi–Ambedkar, reserved seats in place of separate electorates
GoI Act 1935: provincial autonomy; 1937 Bombay ministry under B.G. Kher; first individual satyagrahi Vinoba Bhave (1940)
Quit India: 8 August 1942, Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay; “Do or Die”
Maharashtra: Chimur and Ashti (16 August 1942); Satara Prati Sarkar — Nana Patil (1943–46); Solapur martial law 1930; Babu Genu, 12 December 1930
RIN mutiny, Bombay, February 1946; Mountbatten Plan 3 June 1947

Worked example

Why did Gandhi withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922 when it was at its height, and what followed in Congress politics?

Show solution

At Chauri Chaura (Gorakhpur district) on 5 February 1922, a crowd set fire to a police station, killing more than twenty policemen.
For Gandhi, satyagraha without non-violence was not satyagraha; he feared the movement would turn violent and be crushed, and that the people were not yet disciplined enough.
The Congress Working Committee met at Bardoli and suspended the movement; Gandhi was arrested in March 1922.
Disagreement followed: C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party (1923) to contest council elections and obstruct from within, while the “no-changers” stuck to Gandhi’s constructive programme.

Answer: Because of the violence at Chauri Chaura; it led to the Swarajist versus no-changer debate.

Exam shortcut

Gandhi’s three mass movements by decade: 1920 NCM → 1930 CDM → 1942 Quit India. Each began with a trigger: Jallianwala/Khilafat → Simon Commission/Purna Swaraj → Cripps failure. For dyarchy remember “Reserved = Rulers keep it; Transferred = To Indians”.

Common traps

Dyarchy in the provinces came with the 1919 Act; the 1935 Act abolished it in the provinces and proposed it at the centre (never implemented).
The Quit India resolution was first drafted by the Working Committee at Wardha (July 1942) but adopted by the AICC at Bombay on 8 August 1942.
Purna Swaraj was declared at Lahore (1929), not at Karachi (1931), which passed the Fundamental Rights resolution.
The Poona Pact (1932) was signed by Ambedkar and Gandhi’s side after the Communal Award; it was not part of the Gandhi–Irwin Pact (1931).

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. The Quit India resolution was adopted by the All India Congress Committee on 8 August 1942 at:

Q2. Which of the following pairs of event and place in Maharashtra is incorrectly matched?

Q3. Consider the following statements:
1. Under the Government of India Act, 1919, provincial subjects were divided into reserved and transferred subjects.
2. The Government of India Act, 1935 introduced dyarchy at the provincial level.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q4. Arrange in chronological order:
1. Gandhi–Irwin Pact
2. Chauri Chaura incident
3. Poona Pact
4. Purna Swaraj resolution at Lahore

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History · Maharashtra · Topic 10 of 10

The Samyukta Maharashtra Movement and the State’s Formation (1960)

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Think of it like…

Dividing the joint-family house

Three Marathi-speaking brothers live apart. The eldest lives in a big joint household (Bombay State) shared with Gujarati cousins. The second has been married off into a household in Nagpur that mostly speaks Hindi (Madhya Pradesh). The third lives in a Telugu-speaking household (Hyderabad State). All of them want to live together under one roof where their own language is spoken at home.

Elders are appointed to decide. The first two committees say families should not be divided by language at all. A third, more senior committee suggests the eldest’s household simply take in the other two brothers and stay shared with the cousins, a two-language house. The brothers refuse. The real fight is over the big city flat in Bombay, which both the brothers and the cousins want. Protests turn tragic when the police fire on demonstrators. Finally, in 1960, the house is divided: the Marathi brothers get Maharashtra with Mumbai, and the cousins get Gujarat. The second brother was promised a fair share through a written agreement (the Nagpur Pact) so that he would not feel neglected in the new home.

In everyday life	In the exam topic
Three brothers in three households	Marathi areas split among Bombay State, Madhya Pradesh (Vidarbha) and Hyderabad (Marathwada)
First two committees: no division by language	Dar Commission and JVP Committee (1948–49)
Senior committee: one two-language house	States Reorganisation Commission (1955) and bilingual Bombay State (1956)
The disputed city flat	Bombay city: the heart of the conflict
Written promise to the second brother	Nagpur Pact (1953): Vidarbha’s share, Nagpur winter session
House finally divided	Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960: Maharashtra and Gujarat on 1 May 1960

The concept

The Congress had accepted linguistic provinces in principle at its Nagpur session of 1920. After independence, Marathi speakers were spread across Bombay State (western Maharashtra, Konkan, Bombay city), the Central Provinces and Berar, later Madhya Pradesh (Vidarbha), and Hyderabad State (Marathwada, freed from the Nizam by the police action of September 1948, remembered as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din on 17 September). The Samyukta Maharashtra demand was voiced at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Belgaum in 1946, which led to the Samyukta Maharashtra Parishad under Shankarrao Deo. The Akola Pact (1947) between western Maharashtra and Vidarbha leaders proposed a united state with sub-provinces. But the Dar Commission (1948) and the JVP Committee (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, 1949) both advised against linguistic reorganisation for the moment, fearing for national unity.

The death of Potti Sriramulu after a fast in 1952 forced the creation of Andhra State (1953) and the appointment of the States Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Ali, with K.M. Panikkar and H.N. Kunzru). Meanwhile the Nagpur Pact (28 September 1953) assured Vidarbha of a fair share of funds and jobs and an annual legislative session at Nagpur, the origin of the winter session. The SRC report (1955) recommended a bilingual Bombay State and a separate Vidarbha state. Protests followed: police fired on demonstrators at Flora Fountain, Bombay, on 21 November 1955, and more firings came after the Centre proposed in January 1956 to make Bombay city centrally administered. About 106 people died in the agitation; Flora Fountain was renamed Hutatma Chowk. C.D. Deshmukh resigned as Union Finance Minister in 1956 in protest. The Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, an all-party front, was formed on 6 February 1956 at Pune, with S.M. Joshi as general secretary; its leaders included S.A. Dange, Acharya P.K. Atre (whose paper Maratha drove the campaign), Prabodhankar Thackeray, Senapati Bapat, Keshavrao Jedhe, and shahirs such as Annabhau Sathe and Amar Shaikh.

Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, a bilingual Bombay State came into existence on 1 November 1956, now including Vidarbha and Marathwada along with Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch; Yashwantrao Chavan became its Chief Minister. The movement did not stop: the Samiti made big gains in the 1957 elections, and the Mahagujarat movement (Indulal Yagnik) wanted a Gujarati state too. Parliament finally passed the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960, and on 1 May 1960 Maharashtra and Gujarat were born, with Mumbai in Maharashtra. Yashwantrao Chavan became the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Sri Prakasa its first Governor; 1 May is Maharashtra Din. Unfinished business remains: the Belgaum–Karwar–Nipani border dispute with Karnataka (the Mahajan Commission report of 1967 was rejected by Maharashtra, and Maharashtra took the matter to the Supreme Court in 2004), and regional balance, for which Article 371(2) lets the President give the Governor special responsibility for separate development boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra.

Key points & formulas

Congress accepted linguistic provinces at the Nagpur session, 1920
Before 1956: Vidarbha in Madhya Pradesh; Marathwada in Hyderabad State (liberated September 1948; 17 September)
Belgaum Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, 1946 — Samyukta Maharashtra resolution; Parishad under Shankarrao Deo
Dar Commission (1948) and JVP Committee (1949) — against immediate linguistic states
Nagpur Pact, 28 September 1953 — guarantees for Vidarbha; annual session at Nagpur
SRC: Fazl Ali, K.M. Panikkar, H.N. Kunzru; report 1955 recommended bilingual Bombay State and separate Vidarbha
Flora Fountain firing, 21 November 1955; about 106 martyrs → Hutatma Chowk; C.D. Deshmukh resigned (1956)
Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti: formed 6 February 1956, Pune; S.M. Joshi general secretary; Acharya Atre, Dange, Prabodhankar Thackeray, Senapati Bapat
Bilingual Bombay State: 1 November 1956 (CM Y.B. Chavan); Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 → Maharashtra, 1 May 1960
First CM Yashwantrao Chavan; first Governor Sri Prakasa; Article 371(2) — development boards

Worked example

Trace the administrative journey of a village near Nanded (Marathwada) from 1947 to 1960.

Show solution

In 1947 Nanded was in the Nizam’s Hyderabad State, which did not join India at independence.
After the police action of September 1948 (Operation Polo), Hyderabad State became part of India; Nanded remained in Hyderabad State.
Under the States Reorganisation Act, Marathwada was transferred to the bilingual Bombay State on 1 November 1956.
When the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 divided Bombay State, Marathwada became part of Maharashtra on 1 May 1960.

Answer: Hyderabad State (to 1956) → bilingual Bombay State (1956) → Maharashtra (1 May 1960)

Exam shortcut

Committee order “D-J-S” (Dar 1948, JVP 1949, SRC 1955): the first two said no to language states, the third gave a bilingual compromise. Key dates as a chain: 21 Nov 1955 firing → 6 Feb 1956 Samiti → 1 Nov 1956 bilingual state → 1 May 1960 Maharashtra.

Common traps

The SRC did not recommend Samyukta Maharashtra; it recommended a bilingual Bombay State and a separate Vidarbha.
Yashwantrao Chavan was CM of the bilingual Bombay State (from 1956) and then the first CM of Maharashtra (1960); Morarji Desai was the earlier Bombay CM during the 1955 firing.
Nagpur Pact (1953) concerned Vidarbha’s guarantees; Akola Pact (1947) was the earlier agreement on sub-provinces.
Marathwada came from Hyderabad State and Vidarbha from Madhya Pradesh; examiners swap them.

Practice · tap an option to check

Q1. Consider the following statements:
1. The States Reorganisation Commission recommended a separate Marathi-speaking state including Bombay city.
2. Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Vidarbha and Marathwada became part of the bilingual Bombay State.
3. Maharashtra was formed on 1 May 1960 under the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q2. Arrange in chronological order:
1. Police firing at Flora Fountain, Bombay
2. Report of the Dar Commission
3. Creation of the bilingual Bombay State
4. Nagpur Pact

Q3. Which leader resigned as Union Finance Minister in protest against the Centre’s handling of the Bombay and Samyukta Maharashtra question?

Q4. Article 371(2) of the Constitution relates to:

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