On this occasion of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti, celebrated today, February 19, let us reflect on the enduring legacy of an empire-builder who rose against formidable odds to forge a sovereign Hindu state after centuries of foreign subjugation.
"Before his rise, the Maratha race was scattered like atoms through many Deccani kingdoms. He welded them into a mighty nation. And he achieved this in the teeth of the opposition of four great Powers like the Mughal empire, Bijapur, Portuguese India, and the Abyssinians of Janjira. No other mediaeval Hindu has shown such capacity.
Before he came, the Marathas were mere hirelings, mere servants of aliens. They served the State, but had no part in its management; they shed their life-blood in the army, but were denied any share in the conduct of war or peace. ‘They were always subordinates, never leaders.
Shivaji was the faust to challenge Bijapur and Delhi and thus teach his countrymen that it was possible for them to be independent leaders in war. Then, he founded a State and taught his people that they were capable of administering a kingdom in all its departments.
He has proved by his example that the Hindu race can build a nation, found a State, defeat enemies; they can conduct their own defence; they can protect and promote literature and art, commerce and industry; they can maintain navies and ocean-trading fleets of their own, and conduct naval battles on equal terms with foreigners. He taught the modern Hindus to rise to the full stature of their growth.
He has proved that the Hindu race can still produce not only jamadars (non-commissioned officers) and chitnises (clerks), but also rulers of men, and even a king of kings (Chhatrapati.).
The Emperor Jahangir cut the Akshay Bat tree of Allahabad down to its roots and hammered a red-hot iron cauldron onto its stump. He flattered himself that he had killed it. But lo! within a year the tree began to grow again and pushed the heavy obstruction to its growth aside!
Shivaji has shown that the tree of Hinduism is not really dead, that it can rise from beneath the seemingly crushing load of centuries of political bondage, exclusion from the administration, and legal repression; it can put forth new leaves and branches; it can again lift its head up to the skies."
Renowned historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar, in his seminal work Shivaji and His Times (first published in 1919), captured the profound significance of Shivaji's achievements in these stirring words:
Before he came, the Marathas were mere hirelings, mere servants of aliens. They served the State, but had no part in its management; they shed their life-blood in the army, but were denied any share in the conduct of war or peace. ‘They were always subordinates, never leaders.
Shivaji was the faust to challenge Bijapur and Delhi and thus teach his countrymen that it was possible for them to be independent leaders in war. Then, he founded a State and taught his people that they were capable of administering a kingdom in all its departments.
He has proved by his example that the Hindu race can build a nation, found a State, defeat enemies; they can conduct their own defence; they can protect and promote literature and art, commerce and industry; they can maintain navies and ocean-trading fleets of their own, and conduct naval battles on equal terms with foreigners. He taught the modern Hindus to rise to the full stature of their growth.
He has proved that the Hindu race can still produce not only jamadars (non-commissioned officers) and chitnises (clerks), but also rulers of men, and even a king of kings (Chhatrapati.).
The Emperor Jahangir cut the Akshay Bat tree of Allahabad down to its roots and hammered a red-hot iron cauldron onto its stump. He flattered himself that he had killed it. But lo! within a year the tree began to grow again and pushed the heavy obstruction to its growth aside!
Shivaji has shown that the tree of Hinduism is not really dead, that it can rise from beneath the seemingly crushing load of centuries of political bondage, exclusion from the administration, and legal repression; it can put forth new leaves and branches; it can again lift its head up to the skies."
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