RAS question
Which Peshwa is known as the 'architect of the Maratha Empire' and made the Peshwa office hereditary?
Correct answer: (D) Balaji Vishwanath.
Balaji Vishwanath, Peshwa from 1713 to 1720, is known as the architect of the Maratha Empire and made the Peshwa office hereditary.
Explanation
Balaji Vishwanath is the right answer because his Peshwaship turned the office from a ministerial post into the real centre of Maratha power. After Shahu's release, the Maratha camp was divided between Shahu and Tarabai, and Balaji helped secure Shahu's final victory by bringing major Maratha sardars to his side. Alagappa University, History of India (from 1707 to 1947 AD) records that he became Peshwa in 1713 and made the post powerful and hereditary. In 1719, his agreement with the Sayyid brothers secured Mughal recognition of Shahu and the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi. His son Baji Rao then succeeded him as Peshwa in 1720, confirming the hereditary character of the office.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Balaji Baji Rao came later and is associated with the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, not with making the Peshwa office hereditary.
- (B) Baji Rao I expanded Maratha power after 1720, but he inherited the Peshwa office from his father Balaji Vishwanath rather than creating its hereditary status.
- (C) Madhav Rao I belongs to the post-Panipat phase, when he tried to restore Maratha power, so he cannot be credited with the earlier hereditary shift in the Peshwa office.
Concept
This tests the rise of the Peshwas and the shift from Chhatrapati-centred authority to Peshwa-led Maratha power. RAS asks it often because it links succession, Mughal firmans, chauth-sardeshmukhi rights and the political structure of the Maratha Confederacy.