Tag Archives: Shah Alam

The Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section III: The Scindias of Gwalior

Canberra, 29 August 2022 The earliest mention of Scindia (also spelt Sindia, Sindhia, supposed to have been anglicised from ‘Shinde’) is found during the Bahmani rule in Deccan when a few Scindia families are reported to have risen to eminence in the service of the Sultan. The name is traced back to ‘Sendrak’ an ancient […]

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The Marathas Part 18 The March to Destruction Section IV: Debilitating Disunity

Canberra, 10 July 2022 The Treaty of Salbai, although favourable to the Marathas overall, it also provided increasing power to the major leaders within the Maratha polity. Of these, the Scindia clan benefitted the most and they became a semi-autonomous royal house in their own right. Scindia in North India From the time of the […]

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The Marathas Part 9 Triumph of the Marathas

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 […]

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The Marathas Part 7 Sambhaji Bhonsle Section I: Accession and Early Rule

Canberra, 28 September 2021 On hearing of his father’s illness, Sambhaji hurried from Panhala to Raigarh but could not reach the fort before Shivaji’s death. He carried out the last rites and then returned to Panhala. The mourning period was followed by a short, but vicious power struggle for succession. The 23-year-old Sambhaji, as the […]

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Indian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section VI: The Last Foray into the Deccan

Canberra, 23 February 2021 On 8th September 1681 Aurangzeb, 63 years old and having been on the throne for 23 years, made a hasty peace with Mewar and set out from Ajmer for the Deccan, reaching Burhanpur on 13th November 1681. This was the culmination of a sequence of events in Rajputana, most of which […]

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Indian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section V: Shivaji Carves Out A Kingdom

Canberra, 13 February 2021 Aurangzeb spent the first half of his reign immersed in the affairs of Hindustan, North India, and dealing with the repeated Hindu rebellions, first of the Jats and then the even more serious Rajput uprising that led to veritable war. The Deccan was left to be administered by viceroys who were […]

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