Eighteenth-Century Political Formations — Social Studies STD 7 — Question

The Maratha kingdom was another powerful regional kingdom to arise out of a sustained opposition to Mughal rule. They faced the threat of the Mughals. To overcome them, they took the help of powerful warrior families known as deshmukhs. The Kunbis or peasant pastoralists rallied round Shivaji in large number to raise their status in social hierarchy and formed the backbone of the Maratha army. Shivaji used this army to challenge the Mughals in the peninsula.