Chauth
Chauth (from
Opinions on the function of the chauth vary. According to
The historian
One fourth of the levy, called babti, went to the Chhatrapati and he also had discretionary grant making authority over the nadgaunda, proceeds which amounted to 3% of the total collection. Also, 6% of the chauth collections was granted to the pant sachiv, the officer in charge of the royal secretariat and was called the sahotra grant. Two thirds of the collections, however, remained with the Maratha sardars, who collected the taxes and used them for maintaining their troops for the chhatrapati. That part of the levy was called mokasa. The chauth, along with sardeshmukhi levies, ensured a steady and large stream of income for the Marathas and helped them expand their beyond the swarajya territories of Shivaji.[5]
The right to assess and collect this tax was asserted first by Shivaji in the later 17th century on the grounds that his family were hereditary tax collectors in Maharashtra.
Durgadas Rathore harassed Mughal officers through guerrilla warfare and forced them to pay chauth during his war against Aurangzeb.[6]
See also
- Sack of Surat
- Mahratta Sackings of Goa and Bombay-Bassein
- Mahratta Invasions of Bengal
Notes
- ^ S. A. A. Rizvi, p. 263 of A Cultural History of India (1975), edited by A. L. Basham
- ISBN 9788189093068.
- ^ "Chauth and Sardeshmukhi". General Knowledge Today. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ Pratiyogita Darpan - Medieval India. New Delhi: Upkar Prakashan. p. 141.
- ^ ISBN 9781932705546.
- ^ Majumdar, R.C. (2020). An Advanced History of India. Trinity Press. pp. 494–497.
Under the able leadership of Durgadas, the Rathors ceaselessly carried on a guerrilla warfare and harassed the Mughal outposts so that the Mughal officers were compelled to pay chauth.