Introduction

Shivaji Mahraj is given great importance in Mahrashtra. One has only to travel in Mahrashtra to realise the extent to which he is adulated. Both the international and domestic airports are named after him and the main rail head at Mumbai is also named after him. In addition scores of places and roads bear the name of Shivaji. One gets the impression that in Mahrashtra there is a paucity of heroes, so much so that every third road or monument is dedicated to him.

Shivaji was born in 1628 and passed away in 1680 at the relative young age of 52. His entire life was spent in the shadow of the greatest Moghul conqueror in Hindustan namely Aurangzeb. Much as we malign Aurangzeb, the fact cannot be oblitered that he reigned over the largest empire ever in India and no other Indian king or emperor including Samrat Ashok ruled over a larger area than Aurangzeb.

Aurangzeb was the Shehan Shah( king of kings) and this was the salutation with which Guru Gobind Singh addressed him in his letter to him in the Zafarnama, which forms part of the " Dusam Granth". Shivaji also like Gobind Singh lived at a time when Aurangzeb was at his pinnacle and the fact is that even after the death of Shivaji in 1680, Aurangzeb lived on for another 27 years before  he breathed his last in 1707.

Shivaji ruled  in comparison to Aurangzeb, a miniscule area and one must accept the fact that compared to Aurangzeb, Shivaji was a small time ruler. Much of the build up of Shivaji has taken place after Independence and now he is connected as  part of the freedom movement as well. However many Western historians who have chronicled the life of Shivaji have concluded that he was a small time chieftain in the Mughal Raj. We can now try and do a bit of research and remove rhetoric and legend from the bald facts of history to see what place does Shivaji have in the pantheon of great kings and soldiers like Chengiz Khan, Ghazni, Alexander and Robert Clive.

Shivaji Contribution as a Soldier

Many romantics in Mahrashtra and the fringe areas around this state talk in glowing terms about Shivaji and his "victory" over the Mughals. But the fact is that outside these areas nobody seems to know about Shivaji as he was a local influence. When I was posted in the Headquarters Eastern Air Command, I was surprised that people in the East had never heard of Shivaji, but they had heard of Robert Clive and Ghazni. So the reader can draw his own conclusions.In Mahrashtra many myths abound and one of them echoed by many erudite persons is that  Shivaji soundly defeated Aurangzeb and his army. Many erudite people in Pune informed me about it.

The facts are however different. British historians who have loved India like Cunningham have opined that Shivaji was effectve in only a few districts around Pune, in particular the Western Ghat area and Aurangzeb treated him more like a small time chieftain and bandit, because given the chance he looted the royal treasury. Shivaji thus had limited control over the land ruled by Aurangzeb. He never had a large standing army and except for one pitched battle with the Mughal forces commanded by Raj Jai Singh, the C in C of the Mughal army, he never ventured to fight another battle. In this particular battle known as the Battle of Chakan fought in 1660, the Maratha army under Shivaji was defeated.

Talking of another pitched battle is the  Battle of Purandar fought in 1665 between the Mahratha army under Shivaji and the Mughal army sent by Aurangzeb. The Mughal army commander was again Raja Jai Singh and he was assisted by  General Dilir Khan.  The battle is important as after the death of the Maratha General Murar Baji Prabhu on 2 June 1665, the Mughals steam rolled a victory. Shivaj was defeated and surrendered 23 of his forts.

Shivaji however did win some battles, but mostly they were small affairs and he won when the bulk of the Mughal army had retreated. But he was a brave man, but as I have written  bravery is not that brings 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. Thus he could not sustain an open battle or invasion like the great conquerors of history like Alexander the Great, Chegiz Khan or Mahmud of Ghazni. 

Shivaji resorted to guerrilla tactics and in this he was highly successful. But the writings of Che Guevera and Mao tse Tung who are the masters of the theory of Guerrilla tactics teach us that Guerrilla warfare can harass and tease but a guerrilla war can never on its own win victory. At some stage the Guerrilla war has to be converted to a conventional war and then only will victory come. Mao converted his guerrilla war after the Long March and 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 converted the guerrrilla war into a conventional war in Vietnam in the last stage and overran the South. Garibaldi from Italy is also an example.

Shivaji was a highly successful guerrilla captain of war, but he could not convert his type of warfare to a conventional war and defeat Aurangzeb. This was his fallacy and weakness and the result was that he remained just a pinprick in the massive empire of Aurangzeb that stretched from Afghanistan to Bengal and the deep south. It was only after the death of Aurangzeeb and arrival on the scene of Baji Rao, that the Maratha empire began to take shape. But again it was a short term rule as the Maratha empire was decimated at 1761 in the 3rd battle of Panipat and also crushed by the Duke of Welesley.

Coming to Shivaji one must give him credit for raising the banner of revolt against the great Aurangzeb, who in factual matters was a bigoted 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 remains that mostly when the Mughal army marched against Shivaji in strength, they always had the better of the jousts.  In 1679 the famous battle of BhupalGarh took place. The Mughal army surrounded the fort of Bhupalgarh and Shivaji was defeated.

All this makes very sad reading, but as a soldier I am dispassionate and not swayed by rhetoric. Just before his death the last battle was fought by Shivaji and the Mughals. it was the battle of  Sangamner in 1679. This battle took place after Shivaji was returning from a sack of Jalna.  The battle lasted for 3 days and ended when the Maratha general Sidhoji Nimbalkar was killed as well as 2000 soldiers. It was a crushing defeat. Shivaji fled teh battle field with 500 soldiers. The curtain came down on Shivaji as he expired next year(1680).

Shivai was no doubt a great and brave man, but in contrast to the great capitans of miitary history, one must conclude that Shivaji was not in the same bracket.

Assessment of Shivaji

Before we pass judgement on Shivaji, one must rememebr the socio economic situation in India at that time. The fact is the Hindus were a defeated lot and there was rampant caste discrimination. In addition to this ills like sati, child marriage and wierd beliefs ruled the roost. The golden age of the Gupta and Muraya Empire was a thing of the past and a new and alien belief had taken hold of the soul of India. 

This was a time for someone to rise and carry the Hindu flag. This is also the period when Hindus had no wortwhile leader or hero to emulate or cheer about. Shivaji came on the scene and roused the spirits of the Hindus and for this he must get full marks. There is no doubt his place among the great soldiers and conquerors is not there, but he kept the Hindu flag alive by his bravery and example. To challange the Shehan Shah , Aurangzeb himself the mightiest of the Mughal emperors was no mean feat. Yet, Shivaji took up the sword against him. He could not have success is a fact, but he roused the Hindus and showed that given the will, everything is possible.

After the death of Shivaji and of Aurangzeb, the legacy of Shivaji was carried forward by others and  a Maratha empire was established. The roots of this lie in the die hard campaign of Shivaji. For the Mughals the defeats of Shivaji in retrospect were a Phyrric victory as after Aurangzeb the Mughal empire went into decline.

At the same time we must asssess Shivaji as a soldier in world history. His biggest contribution is not that he won or lost, but a chance to show the Hindus and world that they could also fight. But to charactise him as a great conqueror is a misnomer