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Peshwa was second highest office in the Maratha Confederacy, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha empire, the office became hereditary after the death of Shahu in 1749. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwa grew in power and the Peshwas came to be the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. However following the defeat of the Marathas in 1761, the office of the Peshwa became titular as well and from that point onwards served as the ceremonial head of the Confederacy underneath the Chhatrapati.
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The Chitpavan Brahmin or the Kokanastha Brahmin is a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin community inhabiting Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra. Initially working as messengers and spies in the late seventeenth century, the community came into prominence during the 18th century when the heirs of Peshwa from the Bhat family of Balaji Vishwanath became the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. Until the 18th century, the Chitpavans were held in low esteem by the Deshastha, the older established Brahmin community of Karnataka-Maharashtra region.
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Telugu Brahmins are Telugu-speaking Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in India. Telugu Brahmins are further divided into sections like Vaidiki, Niyogi, Deshastha, Dravida, Golkonda Vyapari among others.
Deshpande is a surname native to the Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The surname can be also found in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Deshpande surname is found among the Deshastha Brahmins, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus (CKP).
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Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, was an Indian social reformer, writer and politician. He campaigned against superstitions, untouchability, child marriage and dowry. He was also a prolific author.
Marathi Brahmins are communities native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. They are classified into mainly three sub-divisions based on their places of origin, "Desh", "Karad" and "Konkan". The Brahmin subcastes that come under Maharashtra Brahmins include Deshastha, Chitpavan (Konkanastha), Saraswat, Karhade, and Devrukhe.
Vishweshwara Pandit, popularly known as Gaga Bhatt, was a 17th-century Brahmin scholar from Varanasi, best known for presiding over the pan-Indian Brahminical committees convened by Shivaji to adjudicate the caste status of the Syenavi Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, who claimed Brahmin rank, and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus, who claimed to be Kshatriyas, before taking up the matter of Shivaji's own caste and eligibility for investiture with the sacred thread (Upanayana), coronation as Chhatrapati (Abhisheka), and participation in other high rituals.
Karanam or Karnam was an office and title native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Traditionally, Karanam was an official who maintained the accounts and records of the villages and collected the taxes. Karanam was one of the two village-level administrative posts that existed in Andhra along with 'Munasabu' (Munsiff). The Karanam kept an elaborate system of village accounts.
References
- 1 2 O'HANLON, Rosalind, 2010. Letters home: Banaras pandits and the Maratha regions in early modern India. Modern Asian Studies, 44(2), pp.201-240.
- ↑ Chaurasia, R S (2004). History of the Marathas. Atlantic Publishers. pp. 30–33. ISBN 9788126903948.
- ↑ "Maharashtrians in UP come out against Raj-led campaign". Economic Times. Retrieved 2 November 2008.