article

"The Marāthās" is a collective term referring to an Indo Aryan group of Hindu, Marathi-speaking castes of warriors and peasants hailing mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a substantial empire, covering a major part of India, in the late 17th and 18th centuries AD.

The "Marathas" were known by that name since their native tongue was almost invariably Marathi; however, not all those whose native tongue is Marathi are Marathas. The term "Maratha" refers only to those marathi-speaking people who also belong to certain specific Hindu castes: for one available listing, refer to Maratha Clan System. Thus, the terms "Marathi people" and "Maratha people" are not interchangeable and should not be confused for each other.

Etymology

Several theories have been proposed by various scholars for the etymology of the words "Marātha" and "Marāthi". One theory holds that a reference to a clan known as "Rāshtrika" in some of Ashoka's inscriptions alludes to a people of the Deccan who were progenitors of the Marathi-speaking people; that the later "Mahārāshtri Prakrit" is associated with these people; and that Marāthi is a derivation of the word Mahārāshtri. This theory does not address the deeper root of the word Rāshtrika and its use in reference exclusively to a specific people in south-central India. The Sanskrit word "Rāshtra" is presently translated to "nation" (Rāshtrika meaning "national") but in millennia past, the word could apparently be applied to any sizable administrative division.

Other theories link the words Marātha and Rāshtri with Ratta, supposedly a corruption of Rāshtrakuta, the name of a dynasty that held sway over the Deccan from the 8th-10th centuries CE. However, the Ashokan inscriptions predate the Rashtrakutas by more than a millennium, and these theories cannot be reconciled.

All theories however affirm, as do linguists, that the modern Marathi language has developed from the Prakrit known as Mahārāshtri.

Origins and genetics

The Maratha comprise 96 "royal clans" plus a kunbi (kshatriya) group as well. The Maratha are associated almost entirely with a specific Indo-Aryan linguistic group, particularly the Marathi language.

Ethnically speaking, Maratha are geographically dispersed and represent more than 50% of the current population of Maharashtra.

The Marathas are believed to be of mixed origins but historians, researchers and scholars are divided over their precise origins; claimed genetic sources include Scythians, Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, Caucasians and Huns. There have been no comprehensive studies of the Maratha as a group, but some evidence is available which shows wide genetic diversity within.

A recent study shows that some Maratha are of South Asian origins (Gaikwad et al. 2005). Their major Y-Haplogroups are H and J2. The frequency of these two haplogroups is comparable to that of South Indian non-Brahmin castes (Sengupta et al. 2006). Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA) is believed to be associated with the spread of agriculture in Anatolia and India. Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA) also is found frequently in Greece, Italy, Turkey and the Caucasus region.

Haplogroup H (Y-DNA) is found at a high frequency in India and nowhere else. It is a branch of haplogroup F*, and is believed to have arisen in India 20-30,000 years ago. Its probable site of introduction is India since it is concentrated there, but it may also have arisen in Iran or the Middle East. The haplogroup H also is a major component of Dravidian tribes.

Haplogroup R1a1 (Y-DNA) is another major group found among Marathas; it is found in Europe as well. It was earlier thought to be the haplogroup of the hypothetical Aryan race.

There is another genetic study which shows affinity between Karan, a middle rank group of Orissa, with Marathas.

Maratha clans

According to some sources, every maratha must belong to one of 96 different clans (the "96 Kuli Marathas"). The list of 96 Maratha clans is different as per different historians. An authoritative listing was apparently first attempted in 1888 and a list finalised in 1956 by the Government of India. One of several available listings of the various maratha clans are available at Maratha Clan System.

Historical prominence

The Marathas have contributed a glorious chapter to the history of India. They first came into historical prominence under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the 17th century. Shivaji Maharaj, born into the Bhonsle clan of marathas, secured an independent state by dint of lifelong struggle and thereby founded an empire, the remnants of which lasted until the independence of India in 1947. The state thus founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji attained its zenith under the tutelage of the Peshwas in the 18th century, extending from the Indus in present-day Pakistan to Orissa in the east and northern Karnataka in the south. The kingdom of Thanjavur in present-day Tamil Nadu was also ruled by a Maratha dynasty, albeit outside the ambit of the main Maratha Empire. At its peak, the Maratha Empire established a protectorate over the mughal emperor and paramountcy over the numerous rajput chieftains of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Central India and elsewhere. This vast empire declined gradually after the third battle of Panipat (1761); by 1818, all of present-day India had fallen to the British East India Company.

The history of the states and dynasties comprising the Maratha Empire constitutes a major portion of the history of late medieval India. While that extensive history is detailed elsewhere, it is noteworthy that the rise of the Marathas:

  • represented the revival of the political power of the Hindus in north India after many centuries of Muslim overlordship;
  • prevented the spread of the Mughal Empire and associated Islamic culture to south India;
  • was the primary cause of the decline of the Mughal Empire, a momentous development;
  • constituted one of the earlier instances, in later medieval India, of the empowerment of subaltern castes; this arguably presaged the social modernization of India;
  • encouraged the development of the Marathi language and was seminal to the consolidation of a distinct Maharashtrian identity.

Maratha states

Since the marathas ruled much of India in the period immediately preceding the consolidation of British rule in India, the maratha states came to form the largest bloc of princely states in the British Raj, if size be reckoned by territory and population. Prominent maratha states included:

Prominent Maratha dynasties

Non-Marathi Marathas

The empire also resulted in the voluntary relocation of substantial numbers of maratha and other Marathi-speaking people outside Maharashtra, and across a big part of India. Thus, there are today several small but significant communities descended from these emigrants living in the north, south and west of India. These communities tend often to speak the languages of those areas, although many do also speak Marathi in addition. Gujarati, Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil are some of the other languages thus spoken

Notable Marathas

References

  1. Haplogroups of the Marathi people
  2. Molecular insight into the genesis of ranked caste populations of western India by Sonali Gaikwad and VK Kashyap
  3. Influence of language and ancestry on genetic structure of contiguous populations by Sanghamitra Sahoo and VK Kashyap
  4. Polarity and Temporality of High-Resolution Y-Chromosome Distributions in India Identify Both Indigenous and Exogenous Expansions and Reveal Minor Genetic Influence of Central Asian Pastoralists by Sengupta et al.

See also

Maratha literature , Movies etc

  • 1) Watch the marathi movie Samana ( Samna ) (1974) - Directed by Jabbar Patel
, Writing credits Vijay Tendulkar and actors Mohan Agashe .... Maruti Kamble ( As Dalit caste ) --- Shreeram Lagoo .... Mystic Hobo( As Bramin caste )--- Nilu Phule .... Hindurao Dhonde Patil ( As Maratha caste )
Watch and listen carefully the dialogues . Even the slang and curse have gotta meaning. This movie through light on an Maratha strongman and Maratha politics. The origin of Bramin caste in Maharashtra and Maratha - Bramin caste struggle can be found within the movie.How Hindurao Dhonde Patil pick up the Shreeram Lagoo .... Mystic Hobo from street , gutter and give shelter in his home but afterwards he proved to be a snake.

2) Book :- British Kawa Parwad Bhartachi Author :- Advo Manikrao Narsingrao Patil Main distributor :- Shree P.G.Karandikar 1225 Deccan Jimkhana Pune 411004. In this book the author have successfully proved with evidence that how the British during ther regiment in India cunningly distroyed the Maratha Ecosystem ,nation , pepole and made them poor in all manner. The British had noticed that the Maratha are the only , original warrior caste of India and the foundation stock for all other worrior caste of India. The desasterous effects of British Edutional policies through Macol system on mind of Indian youth. How glorious , selfemployed were the olden Maratha period and how the British destroyed it and gave birth to their lad,s.

3)Sinhasan Sinhasan Starcast: Sriram Lagoo, Arun Sarnaik, Nilu Phule, Nana Patekar and Mohan Agashe Director: Jabbar Patel

- Another masterpiece by Jabbar Patel, shows a political battle in Maharashtra politics. The movie won the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Marathi film in 1979. 1979 Best Film: Sinhasan, Best Director: r. Jabbar Patel, Best Producer

4)* Links to Maratha Organisations :- http://www.shivdharma.com

External links

Caste | Maratha Empire | Ruling clans of India | Ruling Hindu clans | Social groups of India | Social groups of Maharashtra

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Maratha".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world