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The founder of the Maratha Empire was Shivaji Bhonsle, and he laid the foundation of an empire that would exist for two centuries and redefine the police scenario. For a major part of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Marathas were the key players in the Deccan Plateau. There are many noteworthy victories that they are credited with. One of the most famed rulers of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji, belonged to this dynasty and is hailed as one of the greatest kings of India.
Chhatrapati Shivaji
One of the biggest and most well-known of the Marathas, Shivaji, was the ruler of the Maratha Kingdom. Under his leadership, the kingdom of the Maratha warrior reached never seen before heights and had almost expanded to the entirety of India. The kingdom of the Marathas was hailed for ushering in the rule of India by the Hindus.
At the time of Shivaji, India was still being ruled by the Mughals, and the Marathas saw this as an insult to their motherland. They were never in favor of their country being ruled by an outsider dynasty. This is also one of the biggest reasons why Chhatrapati Shivaji enjoyed such a huge and devoted following of the masses.
Over the years, Shivaji victoriously led his army to many victories and, as a result, was able to greatly enhance his reach and political influence. He was able to do this with the help of both treaties and negotiations. War was an option only when all other inroads to a negotiation failed.
This approach of his was able to win him the support of many other kings of small areas who were opposed to being ruled by the Mughals but did not have an army large enough to openly stand against the ruler. With their support, Shivaji was able to stand up to the Mughals and even fought them on many fronts over the years, remaining largely undefeated.
Marathas and the Mughals
The history of the Maratha Samrajya and the Mughals is a complicated one. The Mughal ruler at the time wanted to make the Maratha Kingdom a part of their empire and had called for a truce and amicable relations. All this existed under the condition that the Maratha Kingdom would be under the Mughals. But to the freedom-loving Maratha, this was unacceptable. They took great pride in the independence of Hindus.
Outside rule to them was like a stain on their dignity. Little did they know that this would be a feud that would be fought out over the next couple of decades. A long and fruitless war ensued, and each side was able to gain victories that justified their conquest. None of them were able to completely eradicate the other.
Over the years, both the Maratha Samrajya and the Mughals lost their edge, and their kingdoms declined. With time, the Mughals would lose their power to the British, and the fall of the Maratha Kingdom would give rise to the Peshwas. The history of Peshwa is also quite interesting, and we will go over the section in the following part.
The History of Peshwas
The full glory of the Maratha Empire was yet to dawn. It reached the full extent of its power with the coronation of Baji Rao I. One of the greatest Peshwas ever was Peshwa Bajirao. Under his leadership, the Maratha Kingdom was victorious in more than 40 wars. He was the one who marched on Delhi and ultimately deposed the Mughal rulers.
It was then that the Mughals started fearing the Maratha Empire. Under the leadership of Baji Rao I, the Maratha Kingdom expanded to cover almost the entirety of India.
Peshwa Bajirao led the Marathas into the northern part of India, where they did not have any prior influence. Under his leadership, the Maratha Kingdom was able to defeat the Afghans and capture Peshawar. With the fall of Peshawar, the Maratha Kingdom had established itself in the north and was the biggest kingdom in India. This victory established the rule of the Maratha Kingdom in India and was the height of their glory. Over the coming years, they would decline until they eventually lost power to the British. But that transition would not happen for the many decades to come.
The history of the Maratha warrior and how the Peshwa rulers led it to glory is one of the greatest stories of courage and bravery in the Indian context. It also tells how Indians have never been ready to accept the rule of a foreigner.
Conclusion
The rise of the Maratha Empire was not just a fluke but a collective voice to the will of the people. The reason why they received such huge public support was that they had rallied themselves behind the will of the people and worked to only serve and further their welfare. The reason behind the fall of the Mughals was that even despite the huge power they had, they never truly were able to connect with the Indian masses on account of a huge difference in their cultures.
