RAS question
The Peshwa who transformed the Maratha Empire from a kingdom into a confederacy and made Pune the effective capital was:
Correct answer: (A) Baji Rao I.
Baji Rao I was the Peshwa who made Pune, then Poona, the effective centre of Maratha power while expanding the Maratha kingdom into a wider confederacy.
Explanation
Baji Rao I fits the clue because the shift was both military and political. He was Peshwa from 1720 to 1740, never lost a battle, led 41 campaigns, and reduced the Chhatrapati at Satara to a figurehead while Pune became the real centre of power. NCERT's account matches the structural point: after Shivaji, effective power in the Maratha state passed to the Chitpavan Brahmana Peshwas, Poona became the Maratha capital, and under the Peshwas the Marathas expanded between 1720 and 1761. NCERT specifically credits Baji Rao I with expanding the Maratha kingdom beyond the Vindhyas through campaigns in Malwa, Bundelkhand and Gujarat.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Balaji Vishwanath was Baji Rao I's father and predecessor as Peshwa, but NCERT credits the expansion beyond the Vindhyas to Baji Rao I.
- (C) Balaji Baji Rao (Nana Saheb) was Baji Rao I's son and successor, so he does not match the 1720-1740 Peshwa associated with the decisive expansion described here.
- (D) Madhav Rao I does not fit, because NCERT names Baji Rao I as the Maratha general credited with expansion beyond the Vindhyas and campaigns in Malwa, Bundelkhand and Gujarat.
Concept
This tests eighteenth-century state formation: how regional powers rose as Mughal authority weakened and how Maratha power shifted from Chhatrapati-led monarchy to Peshwa-led confederacy. RAS repeats this theme because it links political decentralisation, military expansion and Rajasthan's exposure to Maratha pressure.