A Proud Maratha

The Maratha Empire had already expanded upto Delhi during the time of Peshwa Bajirao Ballal. Malwa, Gujrat, parts of Bundelkhand and Rajputana were already under the Maratha rule. Bajirao Peshwa was succeeded by his eldest son, Balaji who was also known as Nanasaheb. Nanasaheb had the support of the major generals like Malharrao Holkar, Ranoji Shinde, Vitthalrao Vinchurkar and Pilaji Gaikwad. One of the major commanders, Raghoji Bhosale was against the Peshwa but that thing was sorted out when Raghoji Bhosale was sent on an expedition to the Eastern province of Bengal. Nana Saheb had a younger brother, Raghunathrao, who was a better commander than most. His cousin, Sadashivrao Bhau was an expert in Civil affairs and administration. Ahmed Shah Abdali In 1756, Ahmed Shah Abdali invaded the Northern regions of India and captured Delhi with support from the Rohilla Chief, Najib ud Daulah. Abdali installed Alamgir II on the Mughal Throne but left the true power in the hands of Naji...

Bundelkhand is the region between present day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The region was initially controlled by the Chandela Rajputs till the advent of Mughal rule after which they remained as nominal chiefs of the area. In the 16th century, Rudra Pratap Singh founded the city of Orchha and became the first Raja of Bundelkhand. Sher Shah Suri tried to take the kingdom but died while besieging the fort of Kalinjar. Later, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, Bundelkhand was added to the Mughal dominions with the Bundelas serving as generals in the Mughal army. A Map showing Bundelkhand Champat Rai Bundela was a Mansabdar with a command of 12000 men in the service of Mughals. An incident occurred which insulted his pride and he declared independence from the Mughal rule. The Mughals reacted to this with a strong force and in desperation, Champat Rai agreed to surrender and left the fort after the enemy commander guaranteed his safety. But as soon as the...

The Maratha Empire had suffered immensely after the death of Dharmaveer Sambhaji Maharaj. For the next few years, upto 1707, Maharani Tarabai, the widow of Rajaram Chhatrapati, led the guerrilla campaigns against the Mughals and was assisted by generals like Dhanaji Jadhavrao, Santaji Ghorpade, Parshuram Pratinidhi and Balaji Vishwanath Bhat. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Shahu, the son of Sambhaji Maharaj was released by the Mughals in 1707. Balaji Vishwanath Bhat rallied the major Maratha chieftains like Dhanaji Jadhav, Nemaji Shinde, Haibatrao Nimbalkar and Khanderao Dabhade among others behind the flag of Shahu Maharaj and as a result Shahu Maharaj was coronated as the Chhatrapati in 1708. For getting the cooperation of Kanhoji Angre, Balaji Vishwanath Bhat became the Peshwa in 1713. In his career, Balaji Bhat achieved many victories by his diplomacy as well as military might. Sadly, he passed away early in 1720. Balaji Bhat was succeeded by his elder son, Bajirao Ballal Bhat...

The Land of India has been the birthplace of many great people. Such a person born in this country was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji Maharaj is an inspiration, not just for Maharashtrians, but also for the rest of Indians. His life is a reminder of the continuous struggle against foreign oppression and domination. The task which he accomplished was initially limited to freeing Maharashtra from the oppressive rule of the Sultans, but later the small seed of Swarajya which he had sowed in the lands of Maharashtra, germinated and grew into the large tree of The Maratha Empire.      For 300 years, Maharashtra was under the barbaric domination of the Sultans. The natives were tired of suffering under the oppressive rule of the Mughals and the Adilshahi forces. In such troubled times, the people needed a saviour, who would lead them to freedom. And on 19th February, 1630, Shivaji Raje was born on Shivneri Fort. His father, Shahaji Raje Bhosale was a fierce and calcu...

The Third Battle of Panipat was one of the most brutal battles ever fought in India. The battle was won by the Afghans but they didn't stay any longer to consolidate their foothold in India. The North was ripe for the taking but Abdali could no longer stay there. This write-up is an in depth analysis on the Third Battle of Panipat, it's causes and it's consequences. The Maratha Empire had already expanded into Malwa, Bundelkhand, Gujarat, all the way upto the gates of Delhi under the able guidance of Shrimant Peshwa Bajirao Ballal Bhat - The greatest cavalry general, India has ever seen. Bajirao Peshwa had created a generation of capable Maratha commanders like the Holkars, Gaikwads, Pawars and Shindes (Scindhia). The untimely demise of Peshwa Bajirao in 1740 brought a temporary halt to the expansions. Bajirao Bhat was succeeded by his son, Nanasaheb (Balaji Bajirao) who did not have the military talents of his father but was not too bad of a leader. To further our st...

The so called "Great Mughals" were not so great after all... The facts about the real nature of Mughal invasions and subsequent rule in India - 1. In the Babur Nama, it is clearly written that "the aim of Babur was to promote the spread of Islam throughout the newly conquered land and for that reason, he ordered the destruction of prominent Hindu temples and put a stop to the celebration of local festivals." 2. In the Akbar Nama, it is stated that Akbar allowed his Rajput queens and ministers to celebrate their festivals in the palaces of Fatehpur Sikri and was witness to the celebrations. The Emperor, however used to sneak into the fairs and misbehave with the wives and daughters of some of his Rajput ministers. Tired of this the wife of Prithviraj, a poet, committed suicide. 3. According to the Sabhasad Bakhar, Aurangzeb put a stop to the celebrations which were allowed by Akbar, saying that it was against the principles of Islam. He even destroyed the temple...

स्वराज्य स्थापना आणि बलिदान - शिवकालीन आपणास हे तर माहीत आहेच की स्वराज्याची स्थापना श्री छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांनी केली. पण त्या स्वराज्यासाठी किती रक्त वाहिले याची कल्पना बऱ्याच लोकांना माहीत नाही. आजचा हा लेख त्याच नरवीर सैनिकांना समर्पित आहे. स्वराज्याची इच्छा श्री शहाजी राजे भोसले यांच्या काळापासून मराठ्यांच्या मनात उद्भवली. पण ती प्रत्यक्षात आणण्यासाठी खरे प्रयत्न चालू झाले ते श्री शिवाजी राजे भोसले यांच्या काळापासून. स्वराज्यस्थापनेच्या पुण्य कार्यात सर्वप्रथम बळी पडले ते "बाजी पासलकर". बाजी पासलकर हे मावळ मधल्या सर्व देशमुख-पटलांमध्ये मानाचे व्यक्ती होते. स्वराजयचे तोरण बांधण्यापासून ते शिवबांच्या पाठीशी खंबीरपणे उभे होते. तोरणा, राजगड, पुरंदर - हे सगळे किल्ले जिंकायला बाजी काका मैदानात उतरले होते. राजेंना शस्त्रविद्येचे आणि रण नीतीचे शिक्षण सुद्धा यांनीच दिले होते. १६४८ मध्ये आदिलशाहने फत्तेखानास मावळ प्रांतामध्ये धाडले. फत्तेखान याने जेजुरी जवळ बेलसर ला आपले तळ ठोकले आणि पुरंदरला वेढा घातला. बाजी पासलकर, कान्होजी जेधे यांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली मराठ्यांनी आदिलशाही ...

Kesari  The colour of bravery and sacrifice The bravery of the 21 Brave Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment at one of History's greatest last stands - The Battle of Saragarhi. Against an army of 10000 Pathans, what chance did 21 Sikhs have of victory? And who in their wisdom would dare fight against such odds? But those 21 led by Havildar Ishwar Singh dared. We cried over the deaths of Iron Man and Black Widow in Endgame. They were fictional characters who made our childhood interesting. We all know them. How many of us know about Saragarhi? How many of us have shed tears for those 21? Young men died over there with hundreds of sword and gunshot wounds on their bodies. Yet we didn't shed a tear for them. The tradition of Bravery and Sacrifice runs through the veins of Indians, especially Sikhs. Maybe we never knew about that fateful battle. It was never included in our history syllabus. And who studies history nowadays! But it is important to remember that they d...

आजकल बऱ्याचदा आपण मराठी माणसाच्या विरुद्ध गेलेल्यांना पेशवाई म्हणून संबोधित करतो. पण 'पेशवाई" म्हणजे मराठी विरोधक हे कधी पासून झाले? पेशवाई चा खरा इतिहास जरा बघूया आज. पेशवे हे मराठा साम्राज्याचे प्रधान मंत्री होते. जशे मुघलांचे वझीर तशेच मराठ्यांचे पेशवे. स्वराज्याचे पाहिले छत्रपती श्री श्री शिवाजी महाराज यांचे पेशवे श्री मोरोपंत पिंगळे होते. त्यांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली मराठ्यांनी नाशिकचा त्र्यंबकगड काबीज केला. अण्णाजी पंत दत्तो यांच्या दगाबाज प्रवृत्ती मुळे ब्राह्मण समाजास वाईट नाव आले परंतु त्याच अण्णाजी दत्तो यांनी स्वराज्याच्या अकख्या जमिनीची मोजणी केली होती. केशवराव पंत यांनी लिहिलेली दंडनीती ही मराठा साम्राज्यातील न्यायव्यवस्थेचा पाया बनली. त्यानंतर संभाजी महाराजांचे राज्य आले. रामचंद्रपंत बावडेकर, निळोपंत पिंगळे या सारख्या पंत मंडळीने महाराजांच्या खांद्यास खांदा लावून मुघलांशी युद्ध लढले. शेवटी महाराजांना गणोजी शिर्के (मराठा) यानेच दगा देऊन मुघलांच्या हवाली केले. त्यावेळी महाराजांच्या सोबत असलेले निळोपंत पिंगळे ह्यांना हौतात्म्य प्राप्त झालं. शंभू राजेंच्या मृत्यूनंत...