`Dadoji KondaDev`

By Madhukar Joshi

We seldom think of an administrator as a “hero” in a revolution. This character sketch should help us change our conceptions.

Dadoji was the first advisor sent by Shivaji’s father, Shahaaji, to Shivaji and his mother, Jijabai. Dadoji’s services were crucial to bringing Pune Jahagir back to prosperity. When Dadoji joined Shivaji, Pune was a deserted town. Dadoji reestablished it as the capital of Shahaji’s 36-town estate which would eventually become the nucleus of an independent Marathi nation. Dadoji acted as the able, loyal and selfless administrator of Shahaaji’s property. He was Shivaji’s educator in the ways of being a ruler. In effect, he was Shivaji’s father figure.
Dadoji showed Shivaji how to use people’s own superstitions to overcome problems. Recall that Murar JagDev, a Maratha knight, had “cursed” Pune by plowing the farmland with donkeys. Farmers were afraid to till a land that was so cursed. Dadoji “removed that curse” by asking the young Shivaji to officially till the land using a golden plough with decorated bulls on an “auspicious” day. This act encouraged local farmers to re-establish farms around Pune. The wild animals in the Pune Jahagir were also a nuisance. Dadoji announced, on behalf of Shivaji, that Shivaji would give cash prizes to anyone bringing the tails of wild animals that bothered farmers and their animals. This act had several consequences:

Farmers got rid of unwanted wild animals that bothered farmers and their animals and hence the farms prospered – providing one more “proof” that the curse had been removed.
They began to recognize Shivaji as their ruler and Jijabai as the protector of the “rule of law.”
Farmers became accustomed to using weapons. This helped their self-esteem and eventually, many of them became good soldiers. Due to torrential rains in the monsoon season, military campaigns were usually in the dry season. Thus, farmers could be soldiers as well.

Dadoji also established a fair method for both recording ownership and assessing taxes on farm income based on the size and quality of the farmland. Viziers of contemporary Muslim rulers grudgingly acknowledged the high quality of Dadoji’s reforms

Dadoji was strict when dealing with corrupt officials. It is said that once Dadoji himself was tempted to eat a ripe mango from an orchard that he had established on behalf of Shivaji. To set an example, from then on, he wore shirts whose one sleeve was noticeably shorter than the other as a reminder to never again be tempted

Based on the teaching of his mother, Jijabai, and the lessons learned from Dadoji, Shivaji established a just nation where the people were encouraged to prosper and to expect humane and fair treatment from their ruler. The citizens began to think of Shivaji's kingdom as their nation and demonstrated their unconditional loyalty in the many hard times to come. Military campaigns by AfzulKhan, Siddi Jowhar, ShahisteKhan, as well as by MirzaRaja JaiSingh severely tested the loyalty of Shivaji’s citizens. Most often, the common people came through successfully. Vatandar, Jahagirdar, etc., were not so loyal.

Even when Shivaji was languishing 800 miles away in Aurangzeb’s jail in Agra and it was almost certain that he might not return, Shivaji's kingdom grew rather than diminished – a tribute to the leadership skills of Jijabai. This was in sharp contrast to the fate of many otherwise prosperous and mighty kingdoms which perished as soon as their king was defeated.

After Shivaji’s death, citizens fought valiantly for 27 years to defend their nation when AurangJeb himself campaigned to destroy it. This was despite the lack of an able ruler amongst Shivaji’s descendants. It is to the citizens’ credit that AurangJeb died in Ahmednagar, some 600 miles from his capital, Delhi, in complete frustration and with his empire in total disarray.

This was due in large measure to the solid foundation of laws that Dadoji established on behalf of Shivaji. Part 5

A Jahagir is a property (estate) donated by the ruler to his subordinates for some notable deed. The person who receives such a gift is, by definition, a capable person who is also loyal to the ruler. However, a Jahagir is inherited by that person’s eldest son, then by his eldest son, etc. There is no guaranty that the inheritor is either capable or loyal. Also, since only the eldest son (by the accident of birth) is the inheritor, it often causes conflicts amongst family members of the Jahagirdar, the inheritor. Court battles, treason, or outright murders are not unusual under these circumstances. There are numerous examples of such conflicts in the history – in Europe as well as in India.

See Shahaji’s character sketch in the previous chapter for details.

Note the similarity between these farmer-soldiers (maavale) and the minutemen of New England.

In Marathi, a corrupt person is said to “eat money” (Paise Khaato). It is said that when one tax collector was found to be guilty of this, Dadoji invited him for a lunch and then fed him poisoned food. As the officer was dying, Dadoji told him, “This is what happens to those who eat money.”

Those of us who are used to “borrowing” stationery, etc., from the office or those who engage in private activities on company time would probably consider Dadoji to be highly impractical. However, a successful revolution requires many such “impractical” persons.