Traditional Indian
society consisted of a collection of endogamous divisions known as jatis (in
which marriage is limited to members of the same group by law).
The group's hereditary occupation, over which each group
had a monopoly, structured the Jatis (and determined their social position).
Along with the Kunbis, the Maratha jati was one of the most
powerful landholding clans in Maharashtra.
The Konkan coast and the hinterland area near Pune were the
most heavily affected.
The Marathas were hardy peasant farmers who, by the middle
of the eighteenth century, had formed the Maratha confederacy, a massive but
short-lived empire that spanned most of northern and central India.
The confederacy had disintegrated into many smaller states
by the late eighteenth century.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
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