Mahadji Scinida : The Great Maratha
Throughout history , there have been various leaders who changed the course of history. I have always found reading about such leaders intriguing ,especially those of older times when the politics was way different from that of today. As you know I wrote about Pawankhind movie last time , while searching for it on Google, there was a recommendation about another Maratha Statesman , who I was not familiar with. The name was Mahadji Scindia . I clicked on it to find out more about him and was personally surprised that I hadn’t come across his name earlier.
The founder of Maratha empire, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj , during his reign the Maratha Empire was limited to parts of modern day Maharashtra ,Karnataka . By 1761 , Marathas gained control of most of Central India, Bundelkhand and Gujrat . But in 1761 they suffered a major backlash in 3rd Battle of Panipat. They lost many top nobles and generals in that battle. An entire generation of Marathas was decimated in that war. But Mahadji was able to escape from that and along with then Peshwa Madhavrao and Nana Phadnavis, This trio was able to resurrect the Maratha Empire.It was under the able command of Mahadji that the Marathas reclaimed parts of Rajasthan , Punjab and Delhi.
The one thing that made Mahadji special in my eyes was that it is something to be part of an expanding kingdom(or you can say a growing organization) , but to revive an organization when it has suffered a crushing defeat and grow past it is a challenge . And that is what Mahadji did .His victories post the Battle of Panipat bolstered the confidence of the Maratha forces and their morale was re-established. Out of many victories of Mahadji , one of the famous one was the Battle of Wadgaon , where he defeated the British Forces , it was here where his Military as well as Diplomacy skills were tested as the outcome of this battle resulted in treaty of Wadgaon.
Kini , his English Biographer has called Mahadji as “The greatest man in Asia in the 18th century” .Even today there is a special “Shinde Chattri” remembering his valor in Pune today. Also during this search I came across a TV series based on his life which was titled “The Great Maratha” , it was telecasted in the 90’s and had a talented cast comprising of but not limited to Shahbaaz Khan,late Irrfan Khan, Mukesh Khanna among others. If you are also a history buff and know about any famous General or King do let me know. See you until the next one !