Maratha and British Period in Chhattisgarh
Introduction
The history of Chhattisgarh between roughly 1740 and 1947 is shaped by two successive waves of outside power: the Maratha conquest that ended the long Kalachuri–Haihaya order of Ratanpur, and the British takeover that followed just a few decades later. Together these two periods — the Maratha interregnum (c. 1741–1818) and the British superintendency and province era (1818–1947) — account for roughly two centuries of transformation that remade the administrative, economic, and social fabric of the region that became Chhattisgarh state in 2000.
For CGPSC aspirants this subtopic is among the most reliably tested sections of the History paper. Across the examination cycles from 2018 to 2023 it has yielded 15 questions — more than almost any other historical subtopic — spanning every paper held in that window. The questions cover a striking range of granularity: the chronological order of Maratha Subedars (asked in 2018, 2019, and 2021 — all three years), the correct meaning of Maratha land-grant terminology (2019), precise dates of British administrative acts (2022), the identities of individual Deputy Commissioners and their tenures (2020 and 2023), and even the specific script used in Maratha administrative documents (2023). This breadth signals that CGPSC examiners treat this as a domain where both narrative understanding and exact factual recall are rewarded.
The period matters not only for examination performance but for understanding Chhattisgarh's structural inheritance. The Marathas introduced a bureaucratic revenue system that persisted, in modified form, into British administration. The British, in turn, built the infrastructure — railways, canals, schools — that made modern Chhattisgarh possible. The princely states that came under British suzerainty during this period survived until 1947–48 and their merger shaped the borders of districts and divisions still recognisable today. The tribal and peasant revolts that punctuate both the Maratha and British periods — from the Halba revolt under the Marathas to the Sonakhan uprising and Bhumkal of 1910 under the British — are treated separately in the syllabus but are deeply embedded in the political conditions created during this era.
To appreciate why this period matters so much for Chhattisgarh specifically, one must understand what preceded it. For several centuries the Kalachuri–Haihaya kings of Ratanpur had fashioned a distinctive regional polity: a kingdom of 36 garhs (fortified chieftainships) spread across the dense plateau between the Vindhya and the Deccan margins. This political structure was feudal, decentralised, and deeply tied to the agrarian and tribal landscape of central India. When the Marathas came in from Nagpur in the 1740s, they did not simply replace one king with another — they imposed a new revenue bureaucracy, a new set of land-grant norms, and a new fiscal logic. When the British followed in 1818, they made yet another layer of institutional change, but again found it expedient to work with the structures they inherited rather than tear them down. The result is a layered, accumulating administrative history that the CGPSC examination tests in fine-grained detail.
A note on approach: the CGPSC paper tests both macro-history (who conquered whom and when) and micro-detail (land-grant vocabulary, Subedar sequences, specific years of infrastructure projects). This chapter addresses both levels. It opens with the conceptual foundations — the prior Kalachuri order that the Marathas replaced — then traces the Maratha conquest and administrative system in detail, before moving to the British takeover and the elaborate administrative structure the British constructed. A dedicated section covers the Princely States under British paramountcy. Another examines infrastructure milestones with their tested dates. The political awakening section connects this period to the freedom struggle and the specific 1937 cabinet fact. Worked examples walk through the actual PYQs to make exam technique explicit. The chapter closes with trend analysis, predictions, common traps, mnemonics, and a quick-revision digest.
Core Concepts & Foundations
Before the Marathas arrived, Chhattisgarh was governed by the Kalachuri dynasty (also called the Haihaya lineage) from their capital at Ratanpur in present-day Bilaspur district. Understanding the Kalachuri state is essential because the Maratha conquest is defined by its displacement. The conceptual architecture of governance — garhs, zamindars, revenue obligations, court culture — was the substrate onto which the Marathas and later the British grafted their own systems.
Kalachuri (Haihaya) dynasty: The ruling lineage of Chhattisgarh from approximately the 10th century CE, based at Ratanpur (near modern Bilaspur). They controlled 36 garhs (fortified territorial units) — the origin of the name Chhattisgarh, meaning "36 forts." Their rule was feudal in character: the king at Ratanpur sat atop a hierarchy of zamindars who controlled individual garhs. By the early 18th century the dynasty had weakened significantly due to internal succession disputes, making them vulnerable to Maratha expansion.
Garh: A fortified administrative and territorial unit in medieval Chhattisgarh. The 36 garhs of the Kalachuri kingdom were semi-autonomous chieftainships under tributary obligation to the Ratanpur throne. Each garh was headed by a zamindar or local chief who combined revenue-collection, military, and judicial functions at the local level. The garh system survived, in modified form, into both Maratha and early British administration as the basis for zamindar holdings. The 36-garh list itself is occasionally tested — major garhs included Ratanpur, Raipur, Sarangarh, Khairagarh, and others that became Princely States or taluqs in later eras.
Bhosla (Maratha) lineage: The Nagpur-based branch of the Maratha confederacy that expanded into Chhattisgarh. Raghuji Bhosla I of Nagpur was the architect of this expansion. The Bhoslas of Nagpur were distinct from the Peshwa-centred Maratha confederacy at Pune and operated as a semi-independent power with an eastward expansionist orientation. After Shivaji's grandson Shahu gave Nagpur to the Bhoslas, they built a substantial power base in the Vidarbha–Chhattisgarh corridor. Their control over Chhattisgarh lasted from about 1741 to 1818.
Subedar: The chief Maratha administrative officer posted to govern Chhattisgarh under the Bhosla rulers of Nagpur. The Subedar was the viceroy-equivalent — responsible for revenue collection, military order, and judicial functions. Below the Subedar sat a hierarchy of Kamavisdar (district revenue officers), Tahutdar/Taluqdars (sub-district), and village-level functionaries such as Patwaris (record-keepers) and Kotwar (village watchmen). Maratha Subedars typically served short tenures and were changed frequently, limiting administrative continuity. The sequence of Subedars is the most tested chronological fact in all of CGPSC history, having appeared across 2018, 2019, and 2021.
Kamavisdar: The Maratha district-level revenue officer under the Subedar, responsible for collecting revenue from a cluster of villages. The Kamavisdar was often compensated through Namnuk or Mokasa assignments — grants of village revenue in lieu of cash salary. This system was a variant of the jagir/inam tradition widespread in Maratha administration.
Mokasa: A type of Maratha land or revenue grant in which a village or set of villages was assigned to a military officer or official as a revenue assignment in lieu of salary or as a reward for service. It was functionally similar to a jagir. Crucially, Mokasa was NOT a donation to Brahmins — that category was Inam. The confusion between Mokasa and Inam is a classic CGPSC trap (tested 2019). Candidates who know only that Maratha grants were for military or religious purposes but do not know the specific category names will confuse these two.
Dharmaday: A Maratha land grant in which a village was donated in the name of religion or for charitable-religious purposes such as running a dharamshala, supporting a pilgrim rest-house, or funding a festival. Distinguished from Devasthan (village donated specifically to sustain a temple or shrine) and from Namnuk (a village assignment to a Kamavisdar as a fee).
Devasthan: A Maratha land grant in which a village's revenue was dedicated to the maintenance of a specific temple or religious establishment. Devasthan grants were an important part of Maratha religious patronage and are found across the Deccan and in Chhattisgarh.
Namnuk: A grant or fee assignment given to a Kamavisdar — an administrative compensation mechanism in Maratha revenue practice. Functionally similar to Mokasa but specifically associated with the Kamavisdar position rather than military officers.
Inam: A tax-free grant of land or revenue typically given to Brahmins, scholars, or religious institutions as patronage. Under the Marathas, Inam grants were common instruments for winning Brahmin support and maintaining religious establishments. This is the correct category for Brahmin grants — NOT Mokasa.
Modi script: The administrative script used by Maratha rulers in their official documents throughout their realm including Chhattisgarh. This is a crucial CGPSC fact (tested 2023). Modi is a cursive script — a variant of Devanagari adapted for rapid official writing — traditionally used for written Marathi in administrative and commercial contexts. The Ratanpur Maratha administration did not use standard Devanagari (the literary script), Marathi in the vernacular sense, or Urdu (the Mughal imperial language). Their records were maintained in Modi. Understanding this distinction is important: the language of administration was Marathi, but the script was Modi, not Devanagari.
Deputy Commissioner: The chief British administrative officer of the Chhattisgarh Division from 1818 onward. The position evolved through several designations — the earliest British officers were often styled Superintendent or Political Agent before the designation Deputy Commissioner became standard under the Central Provinces administration. The sequence of early British officials posted to Chhattisgarh is a frequently tested chronology, appearing in 2020 and 2023.
Tahutdari: A sub-district revenue and administrative unit created by the British in Chhattisgarh, roughly equivalent to a tehsil or taluk in other parts of India. The Tahutdar was the revenue officer heading this unit, responsible for land records, revenue collection, and minor civil administration. Captain Sandis (also rendered as Sandes/Sendis) created several Tahutdaris during his tenure in Chhattisgarh, including Sanjari (confirmed by CGPSC 2022 as the Tahutdari formed by Captain Sandis, according to British records).
Sanad: A formal royal or state charter/deed conferring rights of succession, recognition, or appointment. Under British paramountcy, Sanads were issued to confirm the legitimacy of rulers of Princely States — essentially a formal recognition that the British accepted the ruler's position. The absence of a Sanad meant the state's succession was not guaranteed. The Sanad given to Mahant Ghasidas of Rajnandgaon in 1865 confirming his status as ruler is a tested fact (CGPSC 2022) and reflects the unusual route through which a religious figure became a recognised princely ruler.
Zamindari system: A mode of revenue collection in which zamindars (large landlords or estate-holders) collected land revenue from cultivators and paid a fixed or variable sum to the state, keeping any surplus. In Chhattisgarh the zamindari system was a direct continuation of the garh-based feudal structure of the Kalachuri period. The British found it convenient to work through zamindars rather than directly assess individual cultivators. Senior officials like Richard Temple explicitly noted that Chhattisgarh's geography and social structure made the survival of zamindars "natural and inevitable" (statement tested in CGPSC 2021). This observation is important because it shows the British were conscious of making a deliberate structural choice — to preserve, rather than abolish, the zamindari layer.
Bengal-Nagpur Railway (BNR): The major colonial-era trunk railway line connecting the Bengal presidency to Nagpur and central India. The Chhattisgarh Railway was a smaller regional line that was merged into the BNR in 1887 (tested 2018), integrating Chhattisgarh's economic geography into the broader colonial export network.
Rudri Canal: An important British-era irrigation project in Chhattisgarh, constructed in 1912, drawing water from the Mahanadi River to irrigate agricultural lands in the Dhamtari–Raipur region. Tested in the 2018 matching question.