Shivaji was born in 1628 and passed away in 1680 at the relatively young age of 52. His entire life was spent in the shadow of Hindustan’s greatest Moghul conqueror, Aurangzeb. As much as they smear Aurangzeb, the fact that he reigned over the largest empire in India and no other Indian king or emperor, including Samrat Ashok, ruled an area larger than Aurangzeb cannot be erased.
Aurangzeb was the Shehan Shah (king of kings) and this was the greeting with which Guru Gobind Singh addressed him in his letter at the Zafarnama, which is part of the “Dusam Granth”. Shivaji too, like Gobind Singh, lived at a time when Aurangzeb was at its peak and the fact is that even after Shivaji’s death in 1680, Aurangzeb lived another 27 years before taking his last breath in 1707.
Shivaji ruled compared to Aurangzeb, a miniscule area and one must accept the fact that compared to Aurangzeb, Shivaji was a minor ruler. Much of the construction of Shivaji has taken place after Independence and is now also connected as part of the freedom movement. However, many Western historians who have chronicled Shivaji’s life have concluded that he was a petty chieftain of the Mughal Raj. Now we can try to do some research and remove rhetoric and legend from simple historical facts to see what place Shivaji has in the pantheon of great kings and soldiers like Chengiz Khan, Ghazni, Alexander, and Robert Clive.
Shivaji’s contribution as a soldier
Many romantics in Mahrashtra and the fringe areas around this state speak in glowing terms about Shivaji and his “victory” over the Mughals. But the fact is that outside of these areas no one seems to know about Shivaji, as he was a local influence. When I was assigned to the Eastern Air Command at Headquarters, I was surprised that people in the East had never heard of Shivaji, but of Robert Clive and Ghazni. So that the reader can draw their own conclusions. Many learned people in Pune informed me about it.
However, the facts are different. British historians who have loved India like Cunningham have opined that Shivaji was effective in only a few districts around Pune, notably the Western Ghat area and Aurangzeb treated him more like a little chieftain and bandit, because given the opportunity, looted the royal treasury. . Therefore, Shivaji had limited control over the land ruled by Aurangzeb. He never had a large standing army and, except for a pitched battle with the Mughal forces commanded by Raj Jai Singh, the C in C of the Mughal army, he never dared to fight another battle. In this particular battle known as the Battle of Chakan fought in 1660, the Maratha army under Shivaji was defeated.
Speaking of another pitched battle is the Battle of Purandar which was fought in 1665 between the Mahratha army under Shivaji and the Mughal army sent by Aurangzeb. The commander of the Mughal army was again Raja Jai Singh and was assisted by General Dilir Khan. The battle is important as after the death of the Maratha general Murar Baji Prabhu on June 2, 1665, the Mughals won a victory. Shivaj was defeated and surrendered 23 of his forts.
Shivaji, however, did win a few battles, but it was mostly small affairs and he won when most of the Mughal army withdrew. But he was a brave man, but bravery does not bring victory, but tactics and support. The fact is that many Maratha warriors had sided with the Mughals and Shivaji was fighting a battle with one arm tied behind his back. Therefore, he could not hold an open battle or an invasion like the great conquerors of history like Alexander the Great, Chegiz Khan or Mahmud of Ghazni.
Shivaji resorted to guerilla tactics and in this, he was very successful. But the writings of Che Guevera and Mao Tse Tung, who are the masters of guerrilla tactics theory, teach us that guerrilla warfare can harass and provoke, but guerrilla warfare can never win victory alone. At some point, the guerrilla war must become a conventional war and only then will victory come. Mao turned his guerilla warfare after the Long March and the end of World War II into a conventional war against the Nationalist Forces of Chiang Kai Shek and won. So did Ho Chi Minh, who also turned guerrilla warfare into a conventional war in Vietnam at the last stage and invaded the South. Garibaldi from Italy is also an example.
Shivaji was a highly successful guerrilla as a war captain, but he was unable to turn his type of war into a conventional war and defeat Aurangzeb. This was its fallacy and weakness and the result was that it remained just a jab at the massive Aurangzeb empire that stretched from Afghanistan to Bengal and the deep south. Only after Aurangzeb’s death and Baji Rao’s arrival on the scene did the Maratha empire begin to take shape. But again it was a short term government as the Maratha empire was decimated in 1761 at the third Battle of Panipat and also crushed by the Duke of Wellesley.
Coming to Shivaji must be given credit for raising the banner of revolt against the great Aurangzeb, who was in fact an intolerant ruler. He destroyed Hindu temples and was a pious man. His world of India was through Islamic eyes, but that does not detract from his ability as a great conqueror.
The fact is that, especially when the Mughal army marched against Shivaji with force, it always had the best of jousts. In 1679 the famous battle of BhupalGarh took place. The Mughal army surrounded the Bhupalgarh fort and Shivaji was defeated.
All of this makes for a very sad reading, but as a soldier, I am dispassionate and don’t get carried away by rhetoric. Just before his death, Shivaji and the Mughals fought the last battle. It was the Battle of Sangamner in 1679. This battle took place after Shivaji returned from a sack of Jalna. The battle lasted 3 days and ended when Maratha General Sidhoji Nimbalkar and 2,000 soldiers were killed. It was a crushing defeat. Shivaji fled the battlefield with 500 soldiers. The curtain fell on Shivaji when he expired the next year (1680).
Shivai was undoubtedly a great and brave man, but unlike the great captains in military history, it must be concluded that Shivaji was not in the same group.
Shivaji Assessment
Before passing judgment on Shivaji, we must remember the socio-economic situation in India at that time. The fact is that the Hindus were a defeated group and there was rampant caste discrimination. In addition to this, evils such as sati, child marriage, and strange beliefs dominated the henhouse. The golden age of the Gupta and Muraya Empire was long gone and a strange new belief had taken hold of the soul of India.
This was a time for someone to stand up and carry the Hindu flag. This is also the period when the Hindus had no worthwhile leader or hero to emulate or animate. Shivaji entered the scene and awakened the spirits of the Hindus and, for this, he must obtain the maximum score. There is no doubt that his place among the great soldiers and conquerors is not there, but he kept the Hindu flag alive with his bravery and example. To challenge the Shehan Shah, Aurangzeb himself, the mightiest of the Mughal emperors, was no small feat. However, Shivaji took the sword against him. He could not succeed, it is a fact, but he awakened the Hindus and showed that, given the will, anything is possible.
After the deaths of Shivaji and Aurangzeb, Shivaji’s legacy was carried forward by others and a Maratha empire was established. The roots of this lie in Shivaji’s staunch campaign. For the Mughals, Shivaji’s defeats in retrospect were a Frician victory, as after Aurangzeb, the Mughal empire fell into decline.
At the same time, we must evaluate Shivaji as a soldier in world history. His greatest contribution is not that he won or lost, but the opportunity to show Hindus and the world that they can fight too. But characterizing him as a great conqueror is a misnomer.
