Chapter 3: The Rise of the Marathas (History)

Mountains (the Sahyadris / Western Ghats):

• The steep hills, valleys and forests of the Deccan were ideal for guerrilla warfare. Small, fast groups who knew the terrain could ambush and defeat much bigger armies. Afzal Khan's army was routed near Pratapgad in thick forest, and Shaista Khan's camp was raided at night.
• Hill forts (Raigad, Pratapgad, Purandar and others) controlled the important routes, sheltered the army, and stored supplies. As Ramachandrapant Amatya wrote, "forts are the core of the state". The kingdom was built and survived "from forts alone", even against Aurangzeb's decades of attacks.
• The Swarājya began in the hilly Pune region, where Shivaji first captured neglected forts.

Coastline (the Konkan):

• To protect the west coast and its trade, Shivaji built a navy, which was revolutionary at the time, and sea forts like Sindhudurg and Vijaydurg.
• Under Kanhoji Angre, the navy used the coast's creeks and islands cleverly to defeat better-equipped European ships. It challenged the Portuguese system of passes (cartaz).
• Ports gave access to overseas trade with Mocha, Muscat and Malacca.

Strategic depth: the conquest of the south, around Gingee and Thanjavur, gave the Marathas a place to fall back to. Rajaram continued the fight from Gingee.

The Sahyadri hills favoured guerrilla warfare and a state built on hill forts that controlled routes and resisted huge armies; the Konkan coast led to a navy and sea forts that protected trade and challenged European sea power; southern conquests gave them a fallback base.

A sample biography: Ahilyabai Holkar.

Ahilyabai was born in the 18th century and married into the Holkar family, one of the chief Maratha families. The Holkars ruled a large kingdom in central India around present-day Indore.

Life was very hard for her. She lost first her husband and then her son. Many expected the kingdom to fall apart, but Ahilyabai took charge herself and ruled wisely for thirty years. This was her great challenge: to rule alone as a woman, after deep personal loss, in a time of many wars. She overcame it with courage, good sense and care for her people.

She is remembered as a ruler who looked after common people. She built and repaired hundreds of temples, ghats, wells and roads all over India, from Kedarnath in the north to Rameswaram in the south. Most famously, she rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and the Somnath temple in Gujarat. She also helped the Maheshwar handloom weavers, whose saris are still made today.

Ahilyabai inspires us because she turned sorrow into service. She showed that a ruler's greatness lies in caring for people, building for the public good and respecting tradition.

(You may instead write about Tarabai, who after her husband Rajaram's death led the Maratha resistance against Aurangzeb and sent armies north into Mughal lands; Kanhoji Angre, the naval commander who defeated European fleets with older ships; Bajirao I, the Peshwa who expanded Maratha power across India; or Mahadji Shinde, who recovered from the defeat at Panipat in 1761 and recaptured Delhi in 1771.)

A sample on Ahilyabai Holkar: after losing her husband and son she ruled Indore wisely for 30 years, built and restored temples, ghats, wells and roads across India (Kashi Vishwanath, Somnath) and revived Maheshwar weaving, which makes her a model of courage and public service.

A sample choice: Raigad Fort (Maharashtra).

• Why: it was Chhatrapati Shivaji's capital, and his coronation took place here in 1674. This marked the formal beginning of the Maratha kingdom.
• History: Shivaji was crowned here with full Vedic rites as "Shri Raja Shiva Chhatrapati" and started his own era. After his death, Aurangzeb's forces captured it in the long Mughal–Maratha wars.
• Architecture: it stands on a high, steep hilltop in the Sahyadris with cliffs on most sides. There is a grand entrance to the palace, a royal court (darbar), markets, water tanks cut into the rock, and gates that are hard to find.
• Strategic importance: its height and cliffs made it almost impossible to attack. It overlooked important routes between the Deccan and the Konkan coast, and it could store supplies for long sieges.

For the poster or presentation, include a map, photographs, a timeline and a labelled plan.

(Sindhudurg is a sea fort on an island, built to guard the coast and the navy. Gingee in Tamil Nadu was where Rajaram held out against the Mughals. At Pratapgad, Afzal Khan was defeated.)

E.g. Raigad: Shivaji's capital and coronation site (1674), a cliff-top fort with palace ruins, a court, markets and rock-cut tanks, nearly impossible to attack and controlling Deccan–Konkan routes.

By the 18th century, the Mughal Empire had become weak. The real power in much of India was in the hands of the Marathas, so to rule India, the British had to defeat them.

Evidence:

• After Aurangzeb's death, the Marathas, led by Tarabai and then the Peshwas Bajirao I and Nanasaheb, expanded over large parts of India. They briefly reached Lahore, Attock and Peshawar.
• They recovered from the defeat at Panipat (1761), and under Mahadji Shinde recaptured Delhi in 1771. They held it for about three decades, until the British took it.
• They collected chauth and sardeshmukhi from many provinces, even with Mughal approval.
• In the late 18th century they were the chief rivals of the British. Three Anglo–Maratha wars (1775–1818) were fought, and the Marathas won the first. Nana Phadnavis organised the first pan-Indian anti-British alliance.
• Only after the third war, in 1818, did Maratha power end, and with it the last great obstacle to British rule.

By the 18th century the Marathas, not the weakened Mughals, controlled much of India (even Delhi from 1771); the British had to fight three Anglo–Maratha wars (1775–1818) to defeat them, so they won India mainly from the Marathas.

Chhatrapati Shivaji:

• He was a devout Hindu who respected other religions while upholding his own.
• When he sacked Surat, he was careful not to attack religious places.
• He rebuilt desecrated temples and promoted Sanskrit, Marathi, religious institutions and traditional arts.
• He stopped the Dutch slave trade in the south out of concern for his subjects.

Later Marathas:

• They continued to support temples and local traditions without religious discrimination. Ahilyabai Holkar rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath and Somnath temples. The Bhonsles of Nagpur supported Jagannath worship at Puri.
• In Thanjavur, they created a syncretic, multilingual culture, mixing Tamil, Telugu and Marathi traditions. Serfoji II offered free treatment using both Indian and Western medicine.
• They even used coins with Devanagari and Persian inscriptions.

However, as the chiefs gained power in the 18th century, there was occasional indiscipline and abuse, "in stark contrast with Chhatrapati Shivaji's values".

Shivaji respected all faiths (he spared religious places at Surat, rebuilt temples, and opposed the slave trade); later Marathas largely continued this, reviving temples (Ahilyabai) and supporting syncretic culture (Thanjavur), though the 18th century saw some indiscipline by regional chiefs.

• Control: forts stood on high hills and the coast, controlling important routes, passes and harbours, and so the land around them.
• Shelter and supply: they sheltered the army, stored food, water, weapons and treasure, and served as bases for guerrilla raids.
• Defence: steep cliffs and strong walls made them very hard to capture. Each fort had to be besieged separately, which took months.
• Survival: as Ramachandrapant Amatya wrote, Aurangzeb conquered great kingdoms like Bijapur and Golconda, but "it was due to forts that the [Maratha] state survived despite decades of onslaught". The Marathas held hundreds of forts. The Mughals' huge army was tied down in the Deccan, and Aurangzeb died without defeating them.
• Sea forts like Sindhudurg protected the navy and coastal trade.

Forts controlled routes and land, sheltered troops and supplies, were very hard to capture, and supported guerrilla warfare; with hundreds of them, the Marathas outlasted Aurangzeb's decades-long campaign.

A sample design:

• Front: a hill fort (like Raigad) above a ship on waves. These stand for the forts that were the core of the state, and for the navy that guarded the coast. The legend in Devanagari, "Swarājya", shows pride in their own language and the ideal of self-rule. (Shivaji's coins and seal used Devanagari and Sanskrit instead of Persian.)
• Back: a saffron flag (the Bhagwa Jhenda adopted by all Marathas), a sword and shield for courage, and a plough and sheaf of grain for care of farmers. Shivaji ordered officials not to take even "a blade of grass" by force.
• Border: a crescent moon, recalling Shivaji's seal: "waxing like the new moon… for the welfare of the people". It stands for growth and welfare.

E.g. a fort and a warship (strength on land and sea), "Swarājya" in Devanagari (self-rule and cultural pride), a saffron flag, a sword and a plough (courage and care for farmers), and a waxing moon from Shivaji's seal (welfare of the people).

A sample paragraph:

In my view, the Marathas' greatest contribution was the ideal of Swarājya: proving that Indians could challenge mighty empires and govern themselves. Chhatrapati Shivaji began with a few forts near Pune, yet he defeated the Bijapur and Mughal generals, escaped from Agra and crowned himself Chhatrapati in 1674. After him, the Marathas outlasted Aurangzeb's decades of war, expanded across India and even controlled Delhi from 1771. They became the largest Indian power before the British, and the British had to fight three wars to defeat them.

They also ran an efficient administration: salaried officials instead of hereditary posts, the eight-minister council (aṣhṭa pradhāna), panchayat justice, and care for soldiers' families. They built a navy that challenged European sea power, and they revived culture and temples without religious discrimination, from Ahilyabai's temples to Thanjavur's music. Their fight for Swarājya later inspired the freedom movement, planting the belief that India could rule itself.

Most important: the ideal and example of Swarājya (self-rule), backed by strong administration, naval power and cultural revival, which challenged empires and later inspired India's freedom struggle (a sample paragraph is given).