Nana Fadnavis

Nana Fadnavis, born Balaji Janardan Bhanu, was an influential statesman and the chief minister (Phadnavis) of the Maratha Empire during the Peshwa administration in Pune. Often referred to by European contemporaries as the “Maratha Machiavelli,” his administrative acumen, financial mastery, and diplomatic maneuvers held the fracturing Maratha Confederacy together after the disastrous Third Battle of Panipat (1761). His geopolitical strategy was defined by a complex web of alliances, betrayals, and military campaigns involving the British East India Company, the Kingdom of Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, and the Nawab of Bengal.

Nana Fadnavis and the Maratha-Mysore Relations

The relationship between the Maratha Empire and the Kingdom of Mysore during the tenure of Nana Fadnavis fluctuated between bitter military hostility and strategic diplomatic alignment. Nana Fadnavis viewed the expansionist policies of Haidar Ali and later Tipu Sultan as a direct threat to Maratha dominance in the Deccan, yet he frequently negotiated alliances with them to counter British encroachment.

The Maratha-Mysore Conflicts

Nana Fadnavis orchestrated several military campaigns to reclaim territories lost to Mysore in the Karnataka region.

• The Conflict of 1779–1780: Nana Fadnavis formed a grand anti-British confederacy that included Haidar Ali of Mysore and the Nizam of Hyderabad. This temporary alignment diverted British resources during the First Anglo-Maratha War.
• The Maratha-Mysore War (1785–1787): Following Haidar Ali’s death, Tipu Sultan’s aggressive expansion forced Nana Fadnavis to form an alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Maratha forces, led by commanders like Haripant Phadke, clashed with Tipu’s army.
• Treaty of Gajendragarh (1787): This treaty concluded the hostilities. Tipu Sultan agreed to pay an annual tribute (Chauth) to the Marathas and surrendered the districts of Badami, Kittur, and Nargund, establishing a temporary peace.

Alignment in the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792)

Recognizing Tipu Sultan as an existential threat to regional stability, Nana Fadnavis altered his diplomatic course. He signed the Treaty of Poona in 1790, entering into a Triple Alliance with Lord Cornwallis (British East India Company) and the Nizam of Hyderabad against Mysore.

The Maratha Engagement with Bengal Operations

While Nana Fadnavis operated primarily from Pune in the Deccan, his administrative policies and regional alliances were deeply impacted by the political vacuum created in Bengal after the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the Battle of Buxar (1764).

Countering the Bengal Presidency’s Expansionism

The British East India Company utilized the financial resources and revenues of the Bengal Diwani to fund their military campaigns against the Marathas in the West and Mysore in the South. Nana Fadnavis recognized this financial pipeline and sought to disrupt British hegemony through diplomatic choke points.

The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782)

When the Bombay Presidency unilaterally backed the pretender Raghunath Rao (Ragoba) for the Peshwaship, Nana Fadnavis appealed directly to the Supreme Council in Calcutta, headed by Governor-General Warren Hastings.

• Treaty of Purandar (1776): Signed between Nana Fadnavis (representing the infant Peshwa Madhavrao Narayan II) and the Calcutta Council. The treaty annulled the Bombay Presidency’s Treaty of Surat, demonstrating Fadnavis’s skill in exploiting the internal administrative divisions between British presidencies.
• The Final Settlement: When Hastings later reversed his stance to back Bombay, Fadnavis successfully coordinated the Maratha response, culminating in the Treaty of Salbai (1782), which secured a 20-year peace and preserved Maratha sovereignty.

Domestic Consolidation within the Maratha Empire

Nana Fadnavis’s primary historical significance lies in his ability to manage the internal power struggles of the Maratha Confederacy while simultaneously checking foreign adversaries.

The Barbhai Council (Council of Twelve)

Following the assassination of Peshwa Narayan Rao in 1773 by the factions supporting Raghunath Rao, Nana Fadnavis organized a state council consisting of twelve Maratha chiefs and statesmen. This council set up a regency to protect the posthumous son of Narayan Rao, Sawai Madhavrao II, and governed the empire collectively, keeping Raghunath Rao away from power.

Management of the Maratha Confederacy Chiefs

Nana Fadnavis maintained a delicate balance of power among the autonomous chieftains of the Maratha Confederacy, ensuring collective security while centralizing financial control in Pune.

• Mahadji Shinde: The brilliant military commander of Gwalior. While Mahadji expanded Maratha power in North India and modernized the infantry using French officers like Benoît de Boigne, Nana Fadnavis managed the civil administration, finances, and diplomatic relations from the South. Despite mutual rivalry, their collaboration preserved the core strength of the empire.
• Tukoji Holkar: Fadnavis utilized Holkar’s forces to counter Shinde’s growing influence whenever the balance of power within the confederacy shifted too drastically.

Key Treaties and Diplomatic Milestones

The career of Nana Fadnavis is mapped through several crucial treaties that altered the course of modern Indian history.

• Treaty of Surat (1775): Signed between Raghunath Rao and the Bombay Presidency. Opposed completely by Nana Fadnavis as an infringement on Maratha sovereignty.
• Treaty of Purandar (1776): Negotiated by Fadnavis with the Calcutta Council; it briefly recognized the Barbhai Council’s legitimacy.
• Convention of Wadgaon (1779): A humiliating surrender imposed by the Maratha forces on the British Bombay army, heavily engineered by the strategic positioning of troops under Nana’s direction.
• Treaty of Salbai (1782): Ended the First Anglo-Maratha War. It recognized Sawai Madhavrao as the rightful Peshwa and isolated Haidar Ali from Maratha assistance.
• Treaty of Seringapatam (1792): Concluded the Third Anglo-Mysore War, where Fadnavis secured northern Mysorean territories for the Maratha state.

Historical Trivia and Key Facts for Prelims

Administrative and Revenue Reforms

Nana Fadnavis revolutionized the Maratha auditing and record-keeping system. He standardized the Phadnavisi system, ensuring strict accounting of land revenues, military expenditures, and secret service funds, which kept the Poona treasury functional despite decades of continuous warfare.

The Death of Sawai Madhavrao

In 1795, the young Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao committed suicide by jumping from the terraces of Shaniwar Wada in Pune, reportedly due to the overbearing control and strict oversight maintained by Nana Fadnavis. This tragedy initiated the final decline of Nana’s absolute authority.

Death and Legacy

Nana Fadnavis died on March 13, 1800, at Pune. Following his demise, the British Resident at Pune, Colonel Palmer, remarked that with Nana Fadnavis departed all the wisdom and moderation of the Maratha government. His death cleared the path for Peshwa Baji Rao II to sign the Treaty of Bassein (1802), effectively placing the Maratha Empire under British Subsidiary Alliance.