Shivaji Maharaj sets up an efficient Administration

The Administrative set - up : Shivaji had walked through the wilderness before establishing Swaraj . He became the crowned King of Hindavi Swaraj . People in Swaraj were happy , temples were safe . The places of worship of other religions were also safe and secure . But the Kingdom was surrounded by enemies on all sides and in constant danger of attack from these enemies . Shivaji was anxious to see that his Swaraj survived against all these dangers . For a kingdom to be stable and long - lasting , it must have very good administration . Shivaji provided an excellent administrative machinery to his Swaraj . For smooth working , the administration was divided into eight departments . He appointed a minister in charge of each . This was his famous council of eight ministers . Except the ministers in charge of justice and religious matters , all others had to participate in battles . They had to lead the army and fight

Shivaji was a very shrewd judge of men . Just as a jeweller selects very carefully each pearl in the necklace , in the same way Shivaji selected each of his ministers with great care . He gave them neither jagirs nor fiefs . They were paid handsome salaries instead .

Defence Shivaji's army was divided into two main divisions : infantry and cavalry . He also established a naval wing which was something quite new . His army consisted mostly of ' hetkaris ' from the Konkan and ' mavlas ' from the Deccan Plateau . The cavalry had two main classes of troopers , the Bargirs and the Shiledars . The Bargirs received their arms and mounts from the government . They were paid on a monthly basis and were in the direct employ of the government . The Shiledars had their own weapons and horses . They were bound to use these in warfare and in return received suitable rewards . The infantry was also a big division , like the cavalry . The commander - in - chief of the infantry was known as ' Sarnobat ' . There were many officers of different ranks in the infantry like ' Havaldar ' , ' Jumledar " Hajari ' and ' Panch Hajari . There was strict discipline in the army . The soldiers in his army treated women with respect . Shivaji was renowned everywhere as the protector of women . Soldiers were under strict orders not to drink liquor , harass the subjects , or loot the subjects . They were paid regularly .

The Maratha Navy : The Sultan of Bijapur and the Moghuls were Shivaji's enemies on land . Shivaji brought them to their knees . But the Siddis , the Portuguese and the  English started harassing him from the sea . With characteristic foresight , Shivaji built up a Navy to meet their threat . This Navy was the first of its kind in medieval India . In this sense , he is rightly regarded as the father of the Indian Navy . He also built big warships . He built strong forts like Sindhudurg Vijaydurg along the sea coast . His navy fought the enemies from the sea on many occasions and taught them to fear and respect the Maratha Power . Forts in those days offered a powerful support for defence . There were about three hundred forts under Shivaji's direct control . The forts were well manned and guarded . In every fort there were officers : a Killedar , a Sabnis , a Karkhanis , and others . There was a well organized and very efficient system of army intelligence and espionage . Bahirji Naik was the chief of this branch of the Defence Department . Shivaji's spies knew almost everything that went on in the enemy camp . Shivaji started no offensive unless he had complete information about the enemy's strength and troop dispositions

Civil Administration : Shivaji set up an excellent Civil Administration . He divided the whole Kingdom into twelve ' Subhas ' and appointed a ' Subhedar ' as the head of each ' Subha ' . The ' Subhas ' were further divided into * Parganas ' and each Pargana ' had a ' Havaldar ' at its head . A Pargana ' consisted of many villages and each village had Patil and a Kulkarni .The overall control of the administration rested with Shivaji . He appointed all the officers and distributed work among the ministers . His treasury was always full . Shivaji made no distinction between Hindus and Muslims in administrative matters . He collected able men around him and engaged them in the service of Swaraj . He used their talent in the cause of Swaraj . But he showed no mercy to those who were disloyal to the regime or secretly worked against it . Such persons were severely punished irrespective of their caste or religion . In this way Shivaji established good government and gave a clean administration to his subjects .