Consider the reign of following Peshwas and arrange them in chronological order -
(I) Balaji Viswanath
(II) Bajirao I
(III) Narayan Rao
(IV) Madhav Rao I
Select the correct answer using the code given

Question

Consider the reign of following Peshwas and arrange them in chronological order -
(I) Balaji Viswanath
(II) Bajirao I
(III) Narayan Rao
(IV) Madhav Rao I
Select the correct answer using the code given below -

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, I, II, IV, III. In order of their tenure as Peshwa: Balaji Vishwanath (I, 1713-1720) was the first hereditary Peshwa under Chhatrapati Shahu; Bajirao I (II, 1720-1740), his son, greatly expanded Maratha power; then — after Balaji Bajirao/Nana Saheb (1740-1761), who is not in this list — came Madhav Rao I (IV, 1761-1772); and finally Narayan Rao (III, 1772-1773). So the sequence is I → II → IV → III.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Wrong — it puts Bajirao I before Balaji Vishwanath. Balaji Vishwanath was the first Peshwa and Bajirao I was his son and successor, so I must precede II.  (c) Wrong — it places Narayan Rao (1772-73) second and Bajirao I (1720-40) third. Narayan Rao was actually the last of these four, and Bajirao I the second.  (d) Wrong — it makes Narayan Rao precede Madhav Rao I. In fact Madhav Rao I (1761-1772) ruled before his younger brother Narayan Rao (1772-1773), so IV must come before III.

Concept: The Peshwas were the hereditary prime ministers of the Maratha Confederacy who became its de-facto rulers from the seat at Pune. The Bhat family line ran Balaji Vishwanath → Bajirao I → Balaji Bajirao (Nana Saheb) → Madhav Rao I → Narayan Rao → Raghunath Rao → Madhav Rao II → Bajirao II, the last surrendering to the British in 1818.

State PCS 2023 Q82 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q82 — History PYQ with Answer