Canberra, 11th September 2022 The Gaekwads were hereditary Patels of Davdi, a village near Talegaon in Pune district. From the time of the Maratha conquest of Gujarat, they were in the direct service of the Senapati, Khande Rao Dabhade. The Senapati was also a hereditary position and equal in status to the Peshwa, being the […]
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Tag Archives: Satara
The Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section II: The Rajas of Nagpur
August 20, 2022 
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Canberra, 20 August 2022 The Rajas of Nagpur come from a branch known as the Hingnikar Bhonsles who were closely related to the main branch of the Bhonsles in Satara. The founder of the dynasty Mudhoji is better known as the father of Parsoji Bhonsle who was instrumental in making the dynasty, and the kingdom […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section I: The Rajas of Kolhapur
August 13, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 13 August 2022 On Chhatrapati Shivaji’s son and successor Sambhaji being killed by the Mughals, his younger half-brother Rajaram ascended the throne in 1689. He ruled for 11 years and died in 1700, whereupon his widow Tarabai declared her young son Shivaji II the king and started to rule the kingdom as the Regent. […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 16 Raghunath Rao: Ambition Knows no Bounds
June 11, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 11 June 2022 As mentioned in the previous chapter, in June 1770 Madhav Rao was forced to hand over the Carnatic expedition to Trimbak Rao and return to Pune on account of his illness. He had inherited the tendency to be afflicted with consumption that had affected his father and grandfather and gradually the […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 14 Peshwa Balaji Rao Section II The Second Phase – Coming of Age
January 23, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 23 January 2022 While the Persian adventurer Ahmad Shah Abdali was repeatedly attempting to make inroads into North India, and the French were laying the foundations upon which the English would later build their Eastern Empire, the Maratha king Shahu continued to dither as an indecisive head of the greatest power of the time […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 11 Beginning of the Maratha Confederacy
October 30, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 30 October 2021 Aurangzeb’s death initiated the inevitable succession struggle. Shah Alam, the eldest surviving son based in Peshawar, reached Delhi first and claimed the throne after taking over the treasury. Azam Shah from Ahmednagar opposed him and started the march north, without concluding any formal agreement with the marauding Marathas. On the advice […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 9 Triumph of the Marathas
October 16, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 16 October 2021 Sambhaji’s brutal execution and Rajaram’s hurried flight to Ginji were events that severely shocked the Maratha psyche. However, the Marathas are one of the most resilient of peoples, oriented towards action and therefore, the despondency did not linger for long. In May 1690 a combined Maratha army, commanded by many military […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 6 Shivaji Bhonsle Section II: Coming of Age
June 28, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 28 June 2021 Shivaji’s reluctance to do the ‘sajida’ was looked upon by the Adil Shah as an act of a spirited youth and overtly condoned. The sultan was also aware that Shahji, who was extremely loyal to him, was embarrassed by his son’s behaviour and therefore was content to let the matter rest […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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