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Nana Fadnavis

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Nana Fadnavis (also Nana Phadanvisalso abbreviated Nana Phadnis, February 12, 1742 [citation needed] - March 13, 1800) (originally Balaji Janardan Bhanu) was a minister of the Maratha Empire during the Peshwa administration in Pune, India.


James Grant Duff states that he was called as "the Mahratta Machiavelli" by the Europeans.[1]


Balaji Janardan Bhanu was born in a Chitpavan Brahman family in Satara in 1742. He was nicknamed 'Nana' and rose to be the Phadnavis or the finance minister of the Peshwa ruler. Nana's grandfather Balaji Mahadaji Bhanu who migrated from village "Velas" near "Shrivardhan" along with the 1st Peshwa Balaji Vishwanth Bhat. Bhats'(Peshwa) and Bhanus'(Phadnavis) had family relations then and also a deep friendship as both the families were from Chitpavan Brahmins inheriting the respective positions as 'Mahajan' Head of the nearby Town's namely 'Velas' and 'Shrivardhan'.


1718 Balaji vishwanath negotiated a treaty with the Sayyid brothers, which the Mughal emperor later refused to ratify. With the help of Maratha troops commanded by the gallant Parsoji Bhosale, Husain Ali (one of the Sayyid brothers) marched on Delhi, dethroned [[Farrukhsiyar, and substituted in his place a more pliable puppet, Rafi-ul-darjat in February 1719. The Marathas also supplied a 15,000 strong army to enforce the Mughal Empire's authority in the Deccan. In exchange for the help thus rendered to Husain Ali, Balaji Vishwanath extracted a formal recognition of the autonomy of the Marathas in the territories held by them and the right to collect chauth (literally: "one-fourth," a basic tax) in the six Deccan provinces. In this entire process of march and extration of autonomy Balaji Mahadaji Bhanu extended massive help to Peshwa Balaji Vishwanth. In an trechours plot of Mughals to kill the Peshwa, Balaji Mahadji sacrificed his life and then Peshwas recommended Chattrapati Shahu to award the Tile of Phadnavis (one of the Ashtapradhan) to Bhanu's. Later as the Peshwa's become the defacto head of state, the Phadnavis became the main ministers who held key portfolios of Administration and Finance for the Maratha Empire during Peshwa regime.


Nana was the grandson of Balaji Mahadaji Bhanu inherting the same name of grandfather due prevailing tradition. He was treated as one of the family members of Peshwa's while extending the same facilites of education and diplomatic training along with sons of Peshwa's namely Vishwasrao, Madhavrao & young Narayanrao.


In 1761, Nana escaped from the Third Battle of Panipat to Pune and rose to becoming the leading personage directing the affairs of the Maratha Confederacy, though never a soldier. This was a period when one Peshwa was rapidly succeeded by another, and there were many disputed successions. It was the endeavour of Nana Phadnavis to hold together the confederacy in the teeth of both internal dissension and the growing power of the British. Nana's excellent administrative, diplomatic & financial skills brought the prosperity in Maratha Empire and his brilliant management of external affairs kept the Maratha Empire away from thirst of the British East India Company. He displayed his best warfare skills in the various battles won by Maratha forces against Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore & British Army.


Rear entrance to Nana Phadanvis' house (Nana phadanvis wada) which is still preserved today in the same condition as when Nana built it in 1780. Location: Menawali, Wai T.

Peshwa Madhavrao II (1773-1795), managed the affairs of state with the help of a 12 member regency council (Barbhai council),which was Nana's mastermind plan to safeguard only successor child Madhavrao II from Peshwa's internal family conflicts. This was an alliance of influential Sardars (Generals) and Nana was king pin of this council. Other members of the council were Haripant Phadke, Moroba Phadnis, Sakarambapu Bokil, Trimbakraomama Pethe, Mahadji Shinde, Tukojirao Holkar, Phaltankar, Bhagwanrao Pratinidhi, Maloji Ghorpade, Raste and Babuji Naik.


Nana died at Pune on the 13th of March 1800, just before Peshwa Baji Rao II placed himself in the hands of the British, provoking the Second Anglo-Maratha War that began the break up the Maratha confederacy. In an extant letter to the Peshwa, the Marquess Wellesley describes[2] him thus: "The able minister of your state, whose upright principles and honourable views and whose zeal for the welfare and prosperity both of the dominions of his own immediate superiors and of other powers were so justly celebrated."


Nana Phadnavis has been depicted in Vijay Tendulkar's Marathi play, Ghashiram Kotwal. Set in late 18th century Pune, the play documents the degeneration of the socio-political fabric during the last days of the Peshwa rule.

Notes

  1. ^ James Grant Duff, A History of the Mahrattas. Volume 3, page 136.
  2. ^ Captain A Macdonald, Memoir of Nana Furnuwees (Bombay, 1851).


Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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