A Saranjam is a grant of land (initially non-hereditary, sometimes hereditary) for maintenance of troops or for military service found among the
Maratha
The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...
,
Brahmins
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
,
Rajput,
Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu,
Pathare Prabhu, and
Kunbi communities in
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
and the former Maratha administered regions of India, including territories in present-day
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
and
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
. The grant was bestowed by a king or regional ruler of a
princely state.
The Saranjam system may be a form of to the
Jagir (feudatory estate) system. The land was mostly in the form of a rural Watan (rights given in reward for previous service or merit) or Jagir, its owner being entitled to extract revenue from the villages included in the territory.
Saranjamdar was the title given to the landlord or holder of a Saranjam. It was usually bestowed on that person for heroic deeds in the military field, thus most Saranjamdars were former military officers. He may be a
jagirdar, always ranking as a vassal.
Political Saranjam
Rajaram Bhonsle (1670 – 1700) adopted the Saranjam system as a political measure to ensure the loyalty of key persons to the side of the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
. Later under the
Peshwa
The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...
the system would become hereditary, being liable to be partitioned as well.
[Jaswant Lal Mehta, ''Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813,'' pg. 43]
In
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
there were also certain
estates which were rendered as Political Saranjams, having equal status with the
princely states.
Related titles
*
Shinde
*
Deshmukh
Deshmukh (IAST:Dēśamukh) is a historical title conferred to the rulers of a . It is used as a surname in certain regions of India, especially in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana and also in Andhra Pradesh and northern parts of ...
*
Inamdar
*
Naik
*
Mansabdar
*
Patil
*
Zamindar
See also
*
List of Maratha dynasties and states
References
{{reflist
External links
Jalgaon - Gazetteer
Indian feudalism
*
Titles of national or ethnic leadership
Maratha Empire
Sarajamdar