(The glory of Maharashtra will grow like the new moon.
It will be worshipped by the world
and will shine only for the well-being of its people.)

The motto from the emblem of Maharashtra, based on one found on the rajmudra or the royal seal used by Chhatrapati Shivaji, the difference being that the name of the monarch is replaced by the name of the state.

To the late Professor Narhar Kurundkar,
Maharashtra’s pre-eminent scholar, who, like many others from the state, deserved better recognition

Author’s Note

This book is not an academic study of Maharashtra’s history. It has not been written from the high perch of a historian, but instead looks at the state’s history from the lens of a journalist who is obsessed with finding a story – the story here being what history tells us about the nature of the Marathi Manoos, without taking a chauvinistic view of the matter. History, then, is the medium here, not the mission, to tell that story.

My understanding of the vast annals of history in the pages that follow rests, as the historian Tony Judt put it in his legendary book Postwar, ‘on the shoulders of other books’, a detailed, if not exhaustive, list of which the reader may find at the end. In the absence of published historical material, I have occasionally also referred to online sources that were at hand. Having said that, I hope readers will find the story itself engaging and worth their while.

I am aware that any one book, let alone this one, cannot be comprehensive enough to capture the sheer expanse of Maharashtra’s history and that of its people. And in this type of book, the real dilemma an author faces is what to exclude. I faced it too and know that there are many more worthy Maharashtrians whose presence here would have made this book even more valuable. Muslim reformist Hamid Dalwai, pioneer of the Indian insurance industry Annasaheb Chirmule, and noted economist Dhananjayrao Gadgil, who gave a nascent nation a formula for the devolution of taxes and also conceptualized the cooperative movement along with Vaikunthbhai Mehta, are some of the notable exclusions. My sincere apologies for this.

Though the writing of this book was an absolute pleasure, it was not easy to spare time for it while being entrusted with the responsibilities of the Marathi daily Loksatta. I thank Mr Viveck Goenka, Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Express Group, who was kind enough to allow me to juggle both simultaneously. I am also thankful to Mr George Varghese and Ms Vaidehi Thakar, CEO and Publisher of the Express group respectively, and other colleagues for their encouragement.

I owe special thanks to Prasad Havale, my young teammate in Loksatta, for his suggestions and efforts in helping me find the necessary references. Discussions with Prasad, himself a student of Maharashtra’s political and social history, were always insightful and were of immense help. A former colleague, Ravi Amle, was also instrumental in procuring the required books for me. I thank him too.

Outside of my workplace, I must mention Siddhesh Inamdar, my editor at HarperCollins, for his painstaking efforts and patient handling of the publication process. His keen interest in the subject helped me stay engaged. I will be failing in my duty if I don’t thank Amit Malhotra for the brilliant cover artwork, which perfectly encapsulates the theme of the book.

And, most importantly, thanks to my wife Shami, daughter Mrunmayee and her partner Abhishek for discounting me from family duties, without which it would have been impossible to spare time for the book.

Girish Kuber

Mumbai March 2021

Preface

The year was 1991. The V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar governments at the Centre had fallen in quick succession. India was grappling with grave political uncertainty. One more general election was on the horizon and, as a political reporter, I was trying to gauge the mood. Travelling from Goa – where I was posted at the time – I landed in Kankavli, a small, sleepy town in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. Madhu Dandavate, the finance minister in the Singh cabinet, was contesting the election from there. It was the constituency that had sent him to Parliament five times in a row.

Nana – as Dandavate was fondly called – was a socialist. I caught up with him late one evening at fellow activist Shashi Taishetye’s house. Nana was dressed in a white short-sleeved kurta and old-fashioned striped cotton pyjamas. Since I knew him personally, the conversation was candid and freewheeling. Soon it veered towards the overall decay of values in politics – the topic old-school socialists always like to lament about. Nana unravelled many details about V.P. Singh’s style of functioning. And then came the real shocker.

‘I was asked to take the lead in dislodging Singh,’ Nana said in his usual nonchalant tone.

‘What?’ I said, caught by surprise, as the implication of what he had said dawned on me.

‘A large number of MPs from our party approached me after it became clear that Singh was turning into a burden,’ he added. ‘They offered to push for his removal and propose my name as they believed I was the most acceptable, non-controversial leader they had. Some of them even assured me support from the Congress party.’

I was eager to know what had happened next. Knowing that Chandra Shekhar was eventually agreed upon for the post, I wanted to understand why and how Dandavate had fallen out of the race.

‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘I simply refused. That’s doublecrossing! How could I betray my leader?’

The conversation that followed was a long lecture in political values and the importance of loyalty. I tried to interrupt only once, very meekly, when I asked, ‘But, Nana, how could you turn down an opportunity to be the Prime Minister of India? Haven’t you done a great injustice to Maharashtra?’

‘No!’ he said. ‘Maharashtra should be proud of the fact that I didn’t deceive my leader.’

I realized that he did not see the episode as a wasted opportunity. This was because he was a true-blue ‘Marathi Manoos’. In politics, history is replete with examples that show how the Marathi Manoos has been more comfortable serving as an able deputy to another leader than staking claim to ultimate power himself.

Interestingly, only a few months later, another Marathi Manoos, Sharad Pawar, tried to grab the throne but lost out to P.V. Narasimha Rao. Again, it was the same history at play. Barring three distant exceptions – Chhatrapati Shivaji, Peshwa Baji Rao and Bal Gangadhar Tilak – Marathi Manoos is known to have played second fiddle to another master in power politics. At various times these masters were Mughals, Rajputs, Pathans or north Indians. Rarely did the Marathi Manoos think of turning the tables.

‘MAHARASHTRA’ MEANS A ‘GREAT State’ and it did live up to its name at one point. Dynasties from this region once ruled more than half of what is India today. In prehistoric times, some of these empires spread right up to Madurai and Rameswaram in the south, Raipur and Jabalpur in the east, Udaipur and Chitrakoot in the north and Girnar in the west. Though its geographical spread is not as vast today, the state remains second only to Uttar Pradesh in terms of political significance and strength in the Lok Sabha. It is geographically larger than all of Great Britain. If it were a separate country, it would rank twelfth in the world by population, leaving behind all European nations except Russia.

But Maharashtra is also a state full of paradoxes and contradictions. A land whose people – Jyotirao Phule, for instance, who worked tirelessly for women’s emancipation and the eradication of untouchability – led the nation on the path of social reforms is also home to some of the most socially backward movements. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became the foremost leader of India’s freedom struggle with the help of a Maharashtrian: Gopal Krishna Gokhale. And it was another Maharashtrian, Nathuram Godse, who shot Gandhi dead. A state that gave the nation its first woman doctor, Anandibai Joshi, has been suffering from rampant female infanticide for decades now. Maharashtra has the largest number of dams of any Indian state – 1,821 to be precise. But it is also a state with a grave ongoing agrarian crisis that has seen thousands and thousands of farmers commit suicide over the past twenty years. A Marathi Manoos, Dadasaheb Phalke, was behind India’s first ever motion picture. But the Hindi film industry today hardly has any Maharashtrians. The list of Maharashtra’s contradictions can go on…

Maharashtra is one of India’s wealthiest, most industrialized states. It is home to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, a fast-paced cosmopolitan megalopolis that bustles daily with more than twenty million people. It exemplifies the best of the country even if it also showcases some of its worst. The story of Maharashtra, then, in many ways is also the story of India. It must be told to better understand where we are and how we got here.

1

Maha Rashtra

Rulers rule history. Always. And that is of course true of India too. Historically, rulers of the north have ruled India. No wonder, then, most of the country’s history is that of the northern region. It may also be because Aryans first settled in the north. Epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata; emperors such as Nand, Maurya and Shung; historical figures such as Manu, Patanjali, Gautam Buddha and Mahavir were all from the north of the Vindhyas. Caught between the north and the south, Maharashtra has not got its due in the nation’s history despite its immense contribution to it.

Aurangzeb spread his reign over nearly all of India, but the region ruled by the Marathas frustrated him the most for over two decades of his life. ‘He defeated many Marathas but hardly emerged victorious,’ says scholar and historian Narhar Kurundkar, explaining the powerful Mughal emperor’s predicament. Maharashtra was where Aurangzeb would eventually die.

Incidentally, this is the region that also kept the British waiting. The East India Company’s conquest of India in the nineteenth century was incomplete as Pune had kept the spirit of independence alive. It took a betrayal from among the ruling Peshwas for the Union Jack to be unfurled over the fort of Shaniwar Wada in the city. This was the beginning of the end of Maharashtra’s glory days. But more on that later.

Does the name Maharashtra signify the region’s geographical strength? Or is it indicative of its people? Perhaps both, though academics are divided on this. A section of them believe that the region got its name because of its size. Some others think that it’s because of the people the region produced. In his writings, Dimbha, a fifteenth-century poet of the Mahanubhav sect, has described the region that is ‘spread south of the Vindhyas, north of the Krishna (river) and west of the forests. People from this region speak Maharashtri.’ Both these sections, however, agree on one point: that it was the language Maharashtri, an offshoot of Sanskrit, that was the genesis of the state of Maharashtra.

In his treatise Arthashastra, the legendary teacher of the emperor Chandragupta Maurya, Arya Chanakya (fourth century BCE) – who was also known as Kautilya – has mentioned a region called Ashmak, which is now the district of Nanded in present-day Maharashtra. It was in the third century BCE that the Satavahana empire brought the region under one rule. It was this empire that ruled for around 450 years and gave the region its inimitable cultural, social and geographical identity.

Before the Satavahanas, attempts were made to unify small states to create a big empire. The Magadhs were among the first to succeed. Shaishunag (sixth century BCE) formed his empire and slowly expanded it in the northern region, from Hindukush to today’s Assam. Bimbisara was the first well-known emperor from Shaishunag’s family. His empire survived for 150 years, after which the Nanda dynasty took over. The Nandas ruled for nearly a hundred years, only to be eliminated by the legendary Chandragupta Maurya after an eleven-year battle.

Studying the reign of the Mauryas is important in understanding the history of India. It was Chandragupta Maurya who defeated Seleucus I, a general from the army of the great Greek warrior Alexander, also known as Sikandar. The size of Chandragupta’s empire was mind-boggling: from the Hindukush mountains to the Deccan plateau and even further south to the area known as Mysore today.

After Chandragupta’s death, the dynasty was led by his equally capable son Bindusara, followed by Ashoka, who embraced Buddhism. His philosophy of non-violence encouraged attacks by Greek rulers and weakened the empire. The Greeks were followed by the Kushans of Central Asia, a syncretic empire formed by Yuezhi. Eventually, the entire northern region fell to invaders. However, the invaders did not reach the south.

Around the time of Ashoka’s death (232 BCE), an equally powerful empire was beginning to rise in the south of the Vindhyas and around the Deccan region – the Satavahana. This was the first dynasty to be formed south of the Vindhyas and was perhaps even stronger than the Mauryas. The history of southern India began with the Satavahanas. They ruled for 460 years, from 235 BCE to AD 225 – possibly the longest continuous rule by a single dynasty in world history.

The founder of the Satavahana dynasty was Simuka. He killed the last Kanva ruler of Magadh and presumably took over that kingdom. The dynasty established its authority from the mouth of the Krishna to encompass the entire Deccan plateau. Satakarni I, a descendant of Simuka, was particularly recognized for his conquests, which took him to the north of the Narmada river into eastern Malwa, which at the time was targeted by the Shakas and the Greeks. He also gained control over the region of Sanchi. Some inscriptions found there describe him as Rajan Shri Satakarni. He then moved southwards to conquer the Godavari valley. The Satavahanas eventually had control over the regions of Kalinga, Andhra, Malwa, Gujrat, Saurashtra and Rajasthan. For a while they also ruled over Magadh and the region south of the Kaveri river.

This was the first Maharashtrian dynasty. Historians widely believe that the Satavahanas originated in the western part of the country and extended their control over the eastern coast, also giving that region its name: Andhra. The earliest inscriptions and epigraphic records of the Satavahanas are found in the western Deccan – Nashik, Karle (near Pune) and Naneghat – proving their Maharashtrian origins. The Satavahanas had their capital in a town called Pratishthan – Paithan (Marathwada) of today, popular for the style of handloom saree called Paithani.

Compiled by the Satavahana king Hala, Maha Sattasai (or Gatha Sattasai in Sanskrit) is a collection of poems written by women in Maharashtri – or Prakrut, as the language was called then. The Satavahanas were known to encourage the use of Prakrut over Sanskrit, which was the more common language then. From Prakrut originates Marathi, the present-day language of the state of Maharashtra. That makes Gatha Sattasai the first Marathi book.

After the reign of Satakarni I, the Satavahanas were defeated by the Shakas of the Kshaharata clan. The Shakas were driven out by Gautamiputra Satakarni, under whose reign the Satavahanas reached their peak. His twenty-four-year rule is considered one of the most celebrated chapters in the history of the Satavahanas. Gautamiputra Satakarni’s empire extended from present-day Rajasthan in the north to the Krishna river in the south, and from Saurashtra in the west to Kalinga in the east. His achievements can only be compared with those of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the seventeenth century AD. He assumed the titles Raja-Raja (King of Kings) and Maharaja (Great King), and was described as the Lord of the Vindhyas.

In the north, where the Shakas were taking over kingdom after kingdom, it was Gautamiputra who not only held his ground but also defeated them. Inscriptions describe him as ‘the destroyer of the Shakas, Yavanas and Pahalavas’, ‘the restorer of the glory of the Satavahana dynasty’ and ‘the one who crushed the pride of the Kshatrapas’. The followers of almost all religions – and that includes Jains, Buddhists and Vaidiks – have only praise to offer the Satavahanas. Gautamiputra’s mother, Gautama Balasri, documented his achievements. These records have been found near Nashik in northern Maharashtra in recent times. Besides being a successful warrior, Gautamiputra was also known for his pro-people administration. He was a father figure to his population. It was this dynasty that is believed to have inaugurated the historical calendar era of Shalivahana Shaka.

The Satavahanas were able rulers with administrative responsibilities clearly defined. The empire was divided into regions, each led by an amatya (minister). The Satavahanas were also connoisseurs of literature and the arts. They built the Karle caves near Pune as well as some of the galleries in the world-famous Ajanta caves.

THE SATAVAHANA DYNASTY SAW a total of thirty-two rulers. After their fall, the region was ruled by the Vakatakas, who originated from present-day Vidarbha; the Chalukyas from Badami, Karnataka; and the Yadavas of Deogiri, Maharashtra. Each of these dynasties made a significant contribution to Maharashtra’s identity.

Vindhyashakti founded the Vakataka dynasty. He is believed to have served the last of the Satavahanas. Headquartered near present-day Nagpur, the Vakatakas had spread their rule from Bundelkhand in the north to Hyderabad in the south and from the west coast to the east. However, the real expansion of the Vakatakas began with the rise of the founder’s son, Pravarsen. He extended the empire up to the Narmada river in the north. Pravarsen was the first Vakataka ruler who called himself ‘Samrat’ (emperor). He fought with the Naga kings and was the only one from the dynasty who had sizeable control over northern India along with the whole of the Deccan plateau.

After Pravarsen, it is believed that the Vakataka empire was ruled by his four sons. His eldest son, Gautamiputra, died very early. The next two sons, Rudrasen and Sarvasen, each headed a part of the dynasty in the Vidarbha region. Today, the Vakatakas are remembered for their extraordinary creations at the Ajanta and Ellora caves. The architectural works, cut out of rock, have inscriptions denoting the size of their empire. The Vakatakas had conquered Avanti (Malwa) in the north; Kosala (Chhattisgarh), Kalinga and Andhra in the east; Lata (central and southern Gujarat) and Trikuta (Nashik district) in the west; and Kuntala (southern Maharashtra) in the south.

The Vakatakas, like the Satavahanas, were noted for their passion for literature along with the arts and architecture. The Prakrut language flourished under their rule. They ruled for over 300 years, up to the year AD 550. Their end was hastened by the incompetence of the next generation.

From the year AD 550 to 753, the region that is Maharashtra today was ruled by the Chalukyas from Badami in Karnataka. Unlike the Satavahanas and the Vakatakas, who were Brahmins, the Chalukyas were Kshatriyas. They came from northern Mysore to Badami, and from there they expanded northward and annexed the former kingdom of the Vakatakas. There were three branches of the Chalukya dynasty. Badami was the first, founded by Pulakesin I – however, his father, Jaisinh, had also tried to set up his kingdom in western Maharashtra.

The Chalukyas are identified with Karnataka but they also had a very strong connection with Maharashtra. Pulakesin I was succeeded by Kirtivarman I, who expanded the kingdom by defeating the Mauryas of northern Konkana, the Nalas of Nalavadi (Bellari) and the Kadambas of Banavasi. Kirtivarman I extended the empire to Bihar and Bengal in the north and the Chola–Pandya regions in the south. After his death, his son Ereya took over the reins of the Chalukya empire.

At his coronation, Ereya assumed the name Pulakesin II. It was during his rule, around the year AD 641, that the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited the kingdom. He is believed to have met Pulakesin II at Ellora, which was considered the second capital along with Badami. Hiuen Tsang showered praise on Pulakesin II, his well-groomed army and his administration. Pulakesin II was the first king south of the Vindhyas to have issued gold coins as currency. He is also reputed to have defeated two well-known emperors from northern India: Harsha and Vikramaditya II.

The Chalukyas had constant feuds with the Pallavas of Kanchi, in present-day Tamil Nadu. The Pallavas also had a sizeable presence in what is today the state of Andhra Pradesh. Pulakesin II was killed in one of the wars with the Pallavas. His sons – Chandraditya, Adityavarma, Vikramaditya, Jayasimha and Ambera – fought among themselves for succession. Pulakesin II’s third son, Vikramaditya I, defeated all his brothers to become the Chalukya king in AD 642. He was also successful in regaining the Chalukyas’ lost glory.

Vikramaditya I was the one who ended the Pallavas’ thirteen-year occupation of Badami. He was followed by Vikramaditya II, who rebuilt the empire. Some famous temples found in Tamil Nadu were built by Vikramaditya II. Like his father, he too had a grudge against the Pallavas. He was so enraged by the Pallavas that he wanted nothing short of their complete annihilation. This resulted in his too being in constant battle with them. In one such battle, he snatched Kanchipuram. Vikramaditya II is also credited with stopping the Arabs, who invaded from Sindh and wanted to capture the Deccan plateau and the southern regions.

The era of the Rashtrakutas began after Vikramaditya II’s death. They ruled the region from AD 750 to 973. Many of their inscriptions have been found in western Maharashtra, especially around Maan in Satara district. Maan was called Manpur during the Rashtrakuta regime and was also its capital for a while. It also appears that there was more than one family bearing the name Rashtrakuta. Historians believe ‘Rashtrakuta’ is not just a surname. Rather, it denotes a designation in the government hierarchy of the time – much like Kulkarni or Deshmukh or Chitnis among modern names.

Like many other dynasties, Rashtrakutas too can be considered Maharashtrians. They ruled over Maharashtra, parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. One branch of the Rashtrakutas ruled over Gujarat as well. Some members of the clan parted ways to set up their own empires. One of the well-known Rashtrakutas was Govind III, who took the reins of the empire around the beginning of the ninth century AD. Govind III spread the empire to present-day Uttar Pradesh, up to the Himalayas. Along with Sindh and Bengal, Benares was also a part of his empire.

After conquering the north, Govind III launched a campaign to take over the south. Small kingdoms such as Chol and Kanchi in present-day Tamil Nadu were smoothly captured. Such was the impact of his campaign that the then king of Ceylon extended a hand of friendship in a bid to enter into a no-war pact, which the Rashtrakuta king happily accepted.

Govind III’s phenomenal success can be compared with the Maurya, Satavahana or Gupta empires. He died in the year AD 813. Some historians have likened him to Alexander the Great. It’s said that during his regime the ‘drums of the Deccan could be heard from the Himalayas to the Malabar coast’. When he passed away, his son Amoghvarsha was only six years old and many of Govind III’s rivals dreamt of dethroning him. But the king had anticipated that. To prevent such a takeover he had entrusted the responsibilities of the empire to his nephew, who successfully averted the crisis and held on to the throne till Amoghvarsha grew up.

Amoghvarsha was not a warrior like his father. He preferred friendly relations with neighbouring kings to war. He was also a scholar, having interests in the arts and literature, and wrote several volumes in Kannada and Sanskrit. His peace-loving nature earned him the moniker of ‘Ashoka of the South’. Later in life, Amoghvarsha turned to Jainism. The popular Jain temples at Shravanbelagola, Karnataka, were built during the Rashtrakuta regime. But the Rashtrakutas were equally devoted to Hinduism. One of their kings used to worship at the Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur. The famous Kailasnatha temple at Ellora was also built during their regime.

The dynasty had a further seven kings after the legendary Amoghvarsha. The last was Khottiga Amoghvarsha, who faced many attacks and was eventually defeated in the year AD 973. That brought about the end of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. The dynasty had an almost unblemished record of rule and, except for the last two kings, all its rulers were known for their valour and large-heartedness.

After the fall of the Rashtrakutas came another spell of the Chalukya empire from Kalyani, from AD 973 to 1150. The connection between the Badami Chalukyas and the Chalukyas from Kalyani is not clear. The latter claimed that the two were related, but historians have contested this.

Initially these Chalukyas ruled from Manyakheta, the capital city of the Rashtrakutas. But subsequently they moved to Kalyani, both cities being in present-day Karnataka. The first king of this branch of the Chalukyas was Tailap, who defeated the Cholas, the Chedis and another branch of the Chalukyas in Gujarat. A better-known king of this dynasty was Someshwar I, who also defeated the Cholas and wrested Kanchi from them. Later, the Cholas would have their revenge by defeating Someshwar I’s son Vikramaditya.

But before that defeat, Vikramaditya had come to be known as the most powerful of the Chalukyas. He ruled for about fifty years, from 1076 to 1126, and was widely revered. A notable thing that happened during this regime was the rise of Veerashaivism. Basava, the founder of the sect, was born a Brahmin but challenged the prevailing caste system. Most of the royals were Hindus, and Veerashaivas posed a challenge to the prevailing system. Interestingly, the sect is active even today.

The Kalyani Chalukya era was also known for the literary movement in their native language, Kannada, as well as Sanskrit. It is considered to be the golden age of Kannada literature. Many Jain scholars wrote about the lives of Tirthankars, and Veerashaiva writers – called Vachankars – penned poetry called Vachanas. Among these writers were women poets who wrote on topics such as romance, medicine, mathematics and astrology.

About the time the Kalyani Chalukya regime began floundering, another one was taking baby steps near Halebidu in today’s Hassan district of Karnataka: the Yadavas, also known as the Hoysalas. Inscriptions dated 1078 and 1090 indicate that the Hoysalas were descendants of the Yadavas from Mathura in north India. The folklore is that after Lord Krishna left Mathura for Dwarka in Gujarat, many Yadavas too followed him. Later, they dispersed to various regions in Maharashtra and present-day Karnataka. This is why Yadavas are found in Nashik and also in southern India. All of them describe themselves as Yadukultilak, denoting their connection with the dynasty.

The first official Hoysala family record is dated 950 and mentions that the king Arekalla was succeeded by Maruga and then Nripa Kama I (976). The next ruler, Munda (1006–26), was followed by Nripa Kama II. Initially the Hoysala dynasty was a feudatory of the Kalyani Chalukyas. The Hoysalas started asserting themselves after the Chalukyas weakened. They first defeated the Cholas in 1116 and moved their capital from Belur to Halebidu. Though they always nursed an ambition to set up their own empire, it was Veera Ballala II who freed the Hoysalas from subordination. The Hoysalas, who began as subordinates of the Chalukyas, later went on to set up their own empire in Karnataka.

One of the offshoots of the Hoysalas flourished in Devgiri, in present-day Daulatabad, Maharashtra. It played a major role in shaping what came to be known as Maharashtra and Marathi culture. A stone inscription dated AD 860 found at Anjaneri (near Nashik) suggests that a minor branch of the Yadava family ruled a small district, with Anjaneri as its chief city. They set up a city-state named Chandrapur, which is known as Chandor (in Goa) today. The name came from Sevunchandra, who had first served the Rashtrakutas and, after their decline, worked for the Kalyani Chalukyas. After the Chalukya dynasty faded, this branch of Yadavas set up its own kingdom based around Devgiri.

Bhillam V was the first well-known Yadava king. He shifted the Yadava capital from Sindigram (Sinnar) to Devgiri. From then until the end of this empire, Devgiri was its capital city. Bhillam V ruled from 1147 to 1191. He, and later his son Jaitrapal, spread their kingdom to include the Konkan, Gujarat and Malwa regions. He also fought with the Hoysalas. It was during Jaitrapal’s reign that the famous poet-saint Mukundraj published his popular work Vivek Sindhu.

The Devgiri Yadavas came to fame with the rise of Singhan, Jaitrapal’s son. He is considered the greatest of Yadavas and during his reign the kingdom expanded from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south. Singhan brought about the end of the reign of the Hoysalas. Later, he defeated the Shilahars from Kolhapur in western Maharashtra and merged their empire into his own. In fact, nearly all the neighbouring kingdoms surrendered to him and accepted him as their Samrat.

The Yadavas retained the provinces with their principalities such as Shilahar, Kadamba and Sindh. Later, during Ramdevrao Yadava’s rule (1271–1309), his son Bheem took over the small kingdom of Mahim (Mumbai) and brought the entire northern Konkan under Yadava control. The Yadavas thus had all of Maharashtra under their rule, which lasted from 1187 to 1318. Ramdevrao was the last of the dynasty to rule over Maharashtra and even expanded the empire to cover a large portion of Indian territory.

MANY HISTORIANS – SUCH as V.K. Rajwade, Dr D.R. Bhandarkar and Dr A.S. Altekar – attribute the rise of Marathi identity to the Yadavas. According to them, the dynasty was the ‘first true Marathi empire’. They were also considered to be Maratha Kshatriyas. Jijabai, Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mother, belonged to the clan of Jadhavas, who were descendants of the Yadavas. They patronized Marathi and made it their court language. This period is considered very important in the history of the Marathi language. During the period of Sevunchandra’s rule, Kannada too enjoyed official status. However, later Marathi became the only official language.

During the Yadava dynasty’s rule, the capital Devgiri attracted scholars from all over. They provided a real impetus to the growth of Marathi language and culture. Singhan was a big patron of learning and literature. He established a college of astronomy for the study of the works of the celebrated astronomer Bhaskaracharya. Many inscriptions have been found with details of donations made for charitable and cultural causes.

The Yadavas ruled from the year AD 235 to 1318, and during this time the region produced many home-grown empires. It is important to note that during this period all these empires had their capital cities in present-day Maharashtra. From the Satavahanas to the Yadavas, six out of seven dynasties had capital cities in Paithan, Nandivardhan and Devgiri. The Rashtrakutas too had their base near Ellora of today, which was subsequently shifted to Manyakhet (present-day Malkhed). It is part of Karnataka now but, centuries ago, it was Marathi-speaking. The Chalukyas too had their capital city at Manyakhet. Later, they moved it to Kalyani, which is closer to Kalburgi on the present-day Karnataka–Maharashtra border. This was the era when literature, art and governance flourished in Maharashtra.

However, these dynasties were oblivious to developments in the north. Many of them had marched up to Sindh or Punjab, but none thought of setting up a base there. Thus, they were not prepared for Islamic invasions from the north. This is particularly true of Singhan, who was otherwise the most successful warrior king of the Yadavas. Settled in Maharashtra and content with his empire, he failed to take note of invaders from Delhi marching on to the Malwa and Gujarat regions. The local rulers in those areas, such as the Parmars, were incapable of facing up to the Delhi raiders. Singhan was not only unsuccessful in saving the local satraps in these regions from falling into the invaders’ hands, but it also didn’t occur to him to organize a united front of all southern and western rulers to take on Delhi.

This lack of vision plunged Maharashtra into an era of darkness, one that lasted for well over 350 years.

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Bibliography

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2. Chousalkar, Ashok. Mahatma Phule Aani Shetkari Chalval. Lokwangmay Gruha, 2009.  

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7. Hasan, Zoya. Politics of Inclusion: Castes, Minorities and Affirmative Action. Oxford University Press, 2011.  

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9. Keer, Dhananjay. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Popular Prakashan, 2011.

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16. Rajwade, V.K. Rajwade Lekhsangraha. Varda Prakashan.

17. Ranganathan, Murali, ed. The Collected Works of J.V. Naik: Reform and Renaissance in Nineteenth Century Maharashtra. Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 2016.

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20. Salunkhe, A.H. Mahatma Phule Aani Dharma. Lokwangmay Gruha, 2015.  

21. Sarkar, Jadunath. Shivaji and His Times. Orient Black Swan, 2010.

22. Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar. Vidnyannishtha Nibandh, Parts 1 and 2. Swantantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak Prakashan.

23. Singh, Hulas. Rise of Reason: Intellectual History of 19th Century Maharashtra. Routledge India, 2015.

24. Srinivas, M.N. Social Change in Modern India. Orient Black Swan, 1995.

25. Vaidya, Chintaman Vinayak. History of Mediaeval Hindu India. Alpha Edition, 2019.  

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30. NA. Sources of Maratha History. Archives of Mumbai University.

Index

Abdul Karim Khan

Abhinav Bharat, 156

Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. See also Bahmani Sultanate

rulers:

Yusuf Adil Shah (1490–1510)

Ismail (1510–1534)

Mallu (1534)

Ibrahim (1534–1558)

Ali Adil Shah (1558–1580)

Ibrahim II (1580–1627)

Muhammad (1627–56)

Ali Adil Shah II (1656–1672)

Sikandar (1672–1686)

Adityavarma of Badami Chalukya dynasty

Advani, Lal Krishna

Afghans

Afzal Khan

Agarkar, Gopal Ganesh

and Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Age of Consent Act

Agharkar, Shankar Purushottam

Agrani (daily)

Ahmad Shah II. See Bahmani dynasty

Ahmad, Kamruddin Ali

Ahmad, Muzaffar

Ahmednagar (Bhinger). See also Nizam Shahi

Air India

Ajanta caves

Akbar. See Mughal Empire

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. See Hindu Mahasabha

Akola

Aladdin Imad Shah. See Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar

Ala-ud-din Shah. See Bahmani dynasty

Albuquerque, Afonso de

Alexander (Sikandar) (spl in your text Sikander)

Ali Adil Shah. See Adil Shahi dynasty

Ali Barid. See Barid Shahi of Bidar

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)

All India SC, ST, OBC and Minority Employees Association. See BAMCEF (All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation)

All India Scheduled Castes Federation

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

All-India Muslim League. See Muslim League

Ambabai temple, Vidarbha

Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji

converted to Buddhism

works:

Annihilation of Caste

The Buddha and His Dhamma

Thoughts on Pakistan

Who Were the Shudras?

Ambedkar, Ramabai

Ambedkar, Savita

Ambera of Badami Chalukya dynasty

Amir Barid. See Barid Shahi of Bidar

Amoghvarsha. See Rashtrakuta dynasty

Amravati

Anandibai

Andhra, Andhra Pradesh

Angre, Kanhoji

Angre, Sekhoji

Angre, Tukoji

Anjaneri

Ankurachi Wadh

Annaji Datto

Antony, A.K.

Antulay, Abdul Rahman (spl in your text Rehman)

Apte, Narayan

Arabic

Arabs

Arcot, North and South

Arekalla. See Hoysalas

Arjun, Rukhmabai

Arthashatra (Chanakya)

Arya Mahila Samaj

Arya Samaj

Aryan invasion theory

Aryans

Asaf Jah, Nizam

Ashmak

Ashoka. See Mauryan Empire

Ashta Pradhan system

Athani

Atomidine

Atre, P.K.

Atre, Prahlad Keshav

Aurangabad

Aurangzeb. See Mughal Empire

Avanti (Malwa)

Babri Masjid demolition

Babur. See Mughal Empire

Badami, Karnataka

Badge, Digambar

Bahadur Khan

Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha

Bahlol Khan

Bahmani Sultanate, Bahmanis

Deccanis (old guard) and Afaquis (newcomers)

power struggle and split

rulers:

Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah/Gangu Bahmani/Hasan Gangu (1347–58)

Muhammed Shah (1358–75)

Firojshah (1397–1422)

Ahmedshah Wali (1422–35)

Mahmud Shah Bahmani (1466–81)

Muhammad Shah III

Ahmad Shah II (1518–1520)

Ala-ud-din Shah (1520–23)

Wali-ullah Shah

Kalim-ullah Shah (1526–38)

and Mughals

and Vijayanagar empire

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

Bakhle, Janaki

Balaji Bhanu

Balasri, Gautama

Ballal II. See Hoysalas

BAMCEF (All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation)

Banaras Hindu University (BHU)

Banerjee, Mamata

Bapat, Pandurang Mahadev (Senapati) (Senapati is not rank here)

Baptista, Joseph

Bara Maval

Barid Shahi of Bidar

rulers:

Qasim Barid (r. 1489–1504)

Amir Barid (r. 1504–1542)

Ali Barid (r. 1542–1580)

Amir Barid III (r. 1609–19)

Barnum & Bailey Circus

Barooah, Dev Kant

Basava, the founder of Veerashaivism

Bedekar, Vishram

Belgaum

Bellary

Bengal

partition

Berar

Besant, Annie

Bhagmati (Hyder Mahal)

Bhagwat, Vasantrao

Bhandarkar, Ramakrishna Gopal

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona

Bharati, Uma

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Shiv-Sena combine

Bharatiya Lok Dal

Bhaskar, Krishnaji

Bhaskaracharya

Bheem. See Yadavas

Bhikaji, Dadaji

Bhillam V. See Yadavas

Bhinger. See Ahmednagar

Bhise, Shankar Abaji

Bhiwandi

Bhosale, Shahaji (1594–1664)

Bhosale, Shivaji (Chhatrapati Shivaji)

administration/governance

armed forces’ structure

army and military capability and Aurangzeb

coronation

death

democracy in his kingdom

Hindavi Swaraj

land reforms

law and order changes

navy

pact with Qutb Shah

and religion

war games’ genius

Bhosale, Venkoji (1632–1686), ruler of Thanjavur

Bhosale, Sambhaji (1657–1689); defected to the Mughals

Bhosale, Rajaram (1670–1700)

Bhosale, Shivaji II/Shivaji Rajaram (1696–1726)

Bhosale, Sambhaji II, Raja of Kolhapur (1698–1760)

Bhosale, Shahuji (1672–1712)

Bhosale, Madansingh

Bhosale, Raghoji (1695–1755)

Bhosale, Rajaram II (1726–1777)

Bhosale, Pratapsingh, Raja of Satara (1793–1847)

Bhosale, Shahuji, Maharaja of Kolhapur (1874–1922); policy of reservations to the underprivileged

Bhosale, Babasaheb

Bhosales of Nagpur

Bidar (Muhammadabad)

Bihar

Bijapur, Bijapur sultanate. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Bimbisara, King of Magadha

Bindusara. See Mauryan Empire

Bioscope, The

Birbal

Board of Industrial Development

Bokil, Sakharam Bapu

Bolshevik Revolution in Russia

Bombay: serial bomb blasts; as Union Territory

Bombay Darpan

Bombay Law Journal

Bombay Mill Hands Association

Bombay Native General Library

Bonnerjee, Womesh Chunder

Bose, Khudiram

Brahminism

Brahmins

Bretton Woods Conference

Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC)

British colonialism, British rule

divide-and-rule policy

educational system

inhuman handling of plague

assault on Maratha empire

and Marathas, treaty

Buddha

Buddhism

Bukka Raya. See Vijayanagar Empire

Buldhana

Bundelkhand

Burhan Nizam Shah I & II. See Nizam Shahi Sultanate

Burhanpur

Cama, Bhikaji

caste distinctions, caste system

Cellular Jail, Andaman

Centre–states balance

Chagla, Justice M.C.

Chakan fort

Chaki, Prafulla

Chalukya empire of Badami

Pulakesin I (r. 550–566)

Kirtivarman I (r. 567–92)

Pulakesin II/ Ereya (r. 609–642)

Vikramaditya I (r. 642–681)

Vikramaditya II (r. 733–744)

Chalukya empire of Kalyani (973–1150)

Tailap (r. c. 973–997)

Someshwar I (1042–68)

Chanakya

Chand Bibi of NizamShahi Sultanate

Chandavarkar, Narayan Ganesh

Chandraditya of Badami Chalukya dynasty

Chandragupta Maurya. See Mauryan Empire

Chandrapur (Chandor)

Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP)

Charan Singh, Chaudhary

Chatre, Kero Lakshman (Keronana)

Chatre, Lakshman

Chatre, Vishnupant

chauth and sardeshmukhi

Chavan, Shankarrao

Chavan, Yashwantrao

Chedis

Chhatar Singh, ruler of Gohad

Chhatrasal, Maharaja of Bundelkhand

Chiarini, Giuseppe

child marriage

Chimaji Appa

Chinese aggression on India

Chiplunkar, Vishnushastri

Chitpavan Brahmins

Cholamandalam

Cholas

circus and the Marathi Manoos

civil disobedience movement

class conflict

Communal Award

communal riots in Calcutta, post-independence

communism

Communist International (Comintern)

communist movement in India

Communist Party of Great Britain

Communist Party of India

Communist Party of Mexico

Congress, Indian National Congress (INC) –17

Congress (Indira)

Congress (Requisitionists)

Congress (Socialist)

Congress (Urs)

Constitution of India

Contagious Diseases Acts

culture and nationalism

Curzon, Lord

Dabhade, Trimbak

Dabhol

Dalit movements

Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DSSSS, DS4)

Dalits

Dandi March

Dange, Shripad Amrit

Dara Shikoh. See also Mughal Empire

Darpan (weekly)

Daulatabad

Deccan

and the Bahmanis

and the British

Islamic rulers

and the Marathas

Muslim invaders

incompetency of rulers

Peshwas

Ranoji

after Shivaji. See also Bhosale, Shivaji; Talikota Battle; Vijayanagar Empire

Deccan Education Society

Deccan Star

Deccan Sultanates

Deenbandhu

Delhi Sultanate

Dengale, Trimbakji

Deodhar, Gopal Krishna

Deora, Murali

Depressed Classes; and upper caste Hindus, riots in Maharashtra

Desai, Morarji

Deshmukh, Chintaman Dwarakanath

Deshmukh, Gopal Hari (Lokhitwadi)

Deshmukh, Vilasrao

Deshpande, Baji Prabhu

Deva Rai I & II. See Vijayanagar Empire

Devgiri (Daulatabad). See also Yadavas

Devhare, Narayanrao

Devi Lal

Digdarshan (monthly)

Dikshit, Umashankar

Diler Khan

Dimbha, a poet of the Mahanubhav sect

Dnyan Prakash

Dnyaneshwar

Dnyaneshwari and Amrutanubhav

Dongre, Anant Shastri

drain theory

Dravid, Natesh Appaji

Duff, James Grant

Durrani, Ahmed Shah

East India Company; Charter Act

Edison, Thomas Alva

Ellora

Elphinstone, Mountstuart

Employment Guarantee Scheme

Essential Commodities Act

factionalism

Fadnavis, Devendra

Fadnavis, Nana

farmer discontent

FathullahImad-ul-Mulk. See Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar

Fergusson, James

filmmaking and the Marathi Manoos

Finance Commission

First war of Independence (uprising against British)

Franklin, Benjamin

freedom movement, nationalist movement

Gadgil, Narhar Vishnu (Kakasaheb)

Gadgil, Vitthalrao

Gaekwads of Baroda, Gujarat

Sayajirao (1863–1939)

Gaga Bhatta

Gajapatis of Odisha

Gandhi, Indira

assassination

‘Garibi Hatao’ slogan

imposed Emergency

Gandhi, M.K.

assassination

Quit India movement

Gandhi, Rajiv

assassination

Gandhi, Sonia

Ganesh and Shivaji festivals

Gangabai

Gangavataran (1937)

Gautamiputra. See Vakataka empire

Gautamiputra Satakarni. See Satavahana dynasty

general elections

1971

1977

1980

1991

1996

2004

2009

2014

2019

Genghis Khan

Ghadar Party

Ghorpade, Bajirao

Ghorpade, Santaji

Ghulam Muhammad

Ghurid Empire

Giri, V.V.

Goa

Godbole, Narasinh Narayan

Godse, Gopal

Godse, Nathuram

Gokhale, Gopal Krishna

Golconda. See also Qutb Shahi dynasty

Golwalkar, Madhav Sadashiv

Gopikabai

Government of India Act

Govind III. See Rashtrakuta dynasty

Great Indian Circus, Tasgaon

Greeks

Green Revolution

Gujarati Budhhi-Wardhak Sabha

Gujarat

Gulbarga (Ahsanabad)

Gupta empire

Gupta, Nalini

Gutenberg, Johannes

Gyan Prakash

Hala. See Satavahana dynasty

Halebidu

Hampi

Hari Singh, Maharaja of Kashmir

Harihar I and Harihar II. See Vijayanagar Empire

Hasan Khan, Mir

Hayath Bakshi Begum

Hedgewar, Keshav Baliram

Hegde, Ramakrishna

Hindavi

Hindavi Swarajya

Hindu, Hindus

Brahmins

identity

Muslim post-independence relations

orthodoxy

Hindu Mahasabha

Hindu Rashtra (daily)

Hindu–German conspiracy

Hinduism

Hindukush

Hindupadpatshahi

Hindustan Films

Hindutva ideology; and Dalit movements

Hiroji Farzand

Hitechchhu (weekly)

Hiuen Tsang

Holkars

Malhar Rao (1693–1766)

Tukoji Rao (1723–97)

Home Rule movement

Hoysalas. See also Yadavas

Arekalla

Maruga

Nripa Kama I (976). 10

Munda (1006–1026)

Nripa Kama II (1026–47)

Veera Ballala II (r. 1173–1220

Hulas Singh

Hume, Allan Octavian

Husain Ali Khan

Husain Nizam Shah. See Nizam Shahi Sultanate

Hussain Sagar Lake, Hyderabad

Hyder Ali of Mysore

Hyderabad

Ibrahim Adil Shah. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Ibrahim II. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah. See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Ilham-ullah. See also Bahmani Sultanate

Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar; Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk (1490–1504); Aladdin Imad Shah (r. 1504–29)

Inayat Khan

Independent Labour Party

India vs Bharat

Indian Independence League, Oregon

Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA)

Indian National Congress. See Congress

Indian National Social Conference

Indian Spectator

Indu Prakash

Industrial Finance Corporation

industrial revolution

Instrument of Accession

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Islamic rule

Ismail. See also Nizam Shahi Sultanate

Ismail. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Jadhavas

Jadhav, Chandrasen

Jadhav, Dhanaji

Jadhav, Lakhuji

Jadhav, Pilaji

Jafar Khan

Jagjivan Ram

Jahangir Khan

Jahangir. See Mughal Empire

Jai Singh, Mirza Raja

Jaisinh. See also Chalukya dynasty

Jaitrapal. See Yadavas

Jambhekar, Balshastri

Jamsheed. See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Jana Sangh

Janakibai

Janata Party

Jani Beg

Jaswant Singh, Maharaja Jawali, invasion by Shivaji

Jats and Rohilla Afghans

Javalkar, Bapurao

Javalkar, Dinkarrao

Jayasimha of Badami Chalukya dynasty

Jedhe, Keshavrao

Jews

Jijabai. See also Bhosale, Shivaji

Jinnah, Muhammad Ali

jizya

Joshi, Anandbai

Joshi, Ganesh Vasudev

Joshi, Lakshman Shastri

Joshi, Narayan Malhar

Joshi, S.M.

Joshi, Sharad

Joshi, Shridhar Sarvottam

Joshi, Tarkatirth Lakshmanshastri

Junnar

Kadamba

Kadambas of Banavasi

Kadambas of Goa

Kakatiyas of Warangal

Kampili

Kalaram temple movement

Kalburgi

Kale, V.G.

Kalim-ullah Shah. See Bahmani dynasty

Kalingas

Kalmadi, Suresh

Kamala Three Ring Circus

Kamaraj, K.

Kampili. See Kakatiya dynasty

Kanchipuram

Kannada

Kanpur Bolshevik conspiracy case

Kanshi Ram

Karkare, Vishnu

Karle

Karnataka

Karunakaran, K.

Karve, Dattatreya Gopal

Karve, Dhondo Keshav

Karve, Raghunath Dhondo

Karwar

Kashibai

Kayasthas

Keer, Dhananjay

Keladi Chennamma

Kelkar, Narasimha Chintaman

Kesari (daily)

Kesri, Sitaram

Ketkar, Gajanan Vishwanath

Keynes, John Maynard

Khandesh

Khandoji

Khankhoje, Pandurang Sadashiv

Khanolkar, Vasant Ramji

Khatavkar, Krishnarao

Kher, B.G.

Khilji dynasty

Jalal-ud-din (r. 1290–1296)

Alauddin (r. 1296–1316)

Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah (r. 1316–1320)

Khottiga Amoghvarsha. See Rashtrakuta dynasty,

Khurram (Shah Jahan). See Mughal Empire

Khushru, Malik (Khushru Khan)

Kingsford, Douglas

Kiran

Kirat Singh

Kirtivarman I. See Chalukya empire of Badami

Kistaiya, Shankar

Kolhapur

Kolis of Ramnagar

Kondana fort

Konddev, Dadoji

Konkan

Korade, Raghunath

Kosala (Chhattisgarh)

Krishna (river)

Krishna Rao. See Shamsher Bahadur

Krishnadevaraya. See Vijayanagar Empire

Krishnamachari, T.T.

Kshatrapas

Kshatriyas

Kshetra Singh

Kudtoji Gujar

Kulkarni, Ganesh Vitthal

Kunhikannan, Keeleri, Master

Kuntala (southern Maharashtra)

Kunte, Govind Vitthal

Kurnool

Kushanas of Central Asia

Lad, Bhau Daji

Lajpat Rai, Lala

language reforms

Lata (central and southern Gujarat)

Laxmibai, Rani of Jhansi

leftist movement in India

Lenin, Vladimir

liberalization of the Indian economy

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)

Life of Christ, The

linguistic reorganization of Indian states

Lodi, Daulat Khan

Lodi, Ibrahim (r. 1517–1521)

Lohagad

Lokhande, Narayan Meghaji

Lokhitwadi

Lotvala, Ranchoddas

Lucknow Pact

Maan (Manpur)

Macaulay, Thomas Babington

MacDonald, Ramsay

MADHAV (Malis, Dhangars and Vanjaris)

Madurai

Magadh, Magadhs (Magadhs is for people, Magadh is for place name, but clubbed as there are single pages)

Mahabharata

Mahad Satyagraha, Konkan

Mahajan, Bhau

Mahajan, Pramod

Mahalaxmi temple, Kolhapur

Maharashtra assembly elections:

1980

1985

1990

1995

2019

Maharashtri (Prakrut)

Mahars. See also Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji

Maha Sattasai (or Gatha Sattasai in Sanskrit)

Mahavir

Mahmud Gawan

Mahratta (daily)

Mahuli fort

Make in India initiative

Malaviya, Pandit Madan Mohan

Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah. See Nizam Shahi Sultanate Malik Ambar (d. 1626)

Malik Hasan Bahri, Nizam-ul-Mulk. See also Nizam Shahi Sultanate

Malik Kafur

Mallu. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Malwa

Mamluk dynasty

Mandlik, Vishvanath

Mangrol Battle

Manu, Manusmriti

Manyakhet (Malkhed)

Marathas See also Bhosales; Mughals; Marathi Manoos

beginning of the end

internal differences and succession wars after Shivaji

Gaekwads Holkars

Jat relationship

Kshatriyas

Peshwas

Scindias

Marathi Dnyan Prasarak, 115

Marathi journalism

Marathi language

Marathi Manoos

Marathi Vishwakosh Mandal

Marathwada

Marathwada University, Aurangabad

Maruga. See Hoysala dynasty

Marutsakha

Marx, Karl

Marxism in India

Mastani

Mathai, John

mathematics, science and technology, Marathi Manoos’ caliber

Mathura

Mauryas

Chandragupta (c. 324 or 321 – 297 BCE)

Bindusara (c. 297–273 BCE)

Ashoka (c. 268–232 BCE)

Mavales

Mavji, Purushottam

Mayawati

Medhvi, Bipin Behari

Mehmood. See also Adil Shahi dynasty

Mehta, P.B.

Mehta, Pherozshah

Menon, V.K. Krishna

minimum support price (MSP)

Miraj Kolhapur

Miran Nizam Shah. See Nizam Shahi Sultanate

Modi, Narendra

Mohite, Hambirrao

Mohite, Shambhuji

Mohite, Tukabai

Mongol empire

Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

Montgomery, Filed Marshal Bernard

Mooknayak

Mores

Chandrarao

Morley–Minto Reforms in 1909

Mughal Empire, Mughals

decline

emperors:

Babur (r. 1526–30)

Humayun (1530–1540)

Akbar (1556–1605)

Jahangir (Salim) (r. 1605–1627)

Shah Jahan (Khurram) (1628–1658) Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707)

Azam Shah (1707)

Muhammad Shah (1719–1748)

Mughals and Marathas

Peshwas

Rajaram

Sambhaji

Shivaji

Muhammad Adil Shah. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Muhammad Akbar, son of Aurangzeb

Muhammad bin Tughlaq. See Tughlaq dynasty

Muhammad Kam Bakhsh, son of Aurangzeb

Muhammad Khan Bangash, Nawab of Farrukhabad

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Muhammad Shah III. See Bahmani Sultanate

Muhammed Ghori

Mukherjee, Syama Prasad

Mukundraj

Mulla Ahmed

Mumtaz

Munda. See Hoysala dynasty

Munde, Gopinath

Munje, Balakrishna Shivram

Munshi, Priyaranjan Das

Murad

Murar Baji

Murtaza Nizam Shah. See Nizam Shahi Sultanate

Muslim League

Mustafa Khan

Nadkarni, Yashwantrao

Naga kings

Naik, Bahirji

Naik, Vasantrao

Najib ad-Dawlah, Rohilla Nawab

Nalas of Nalavadi (Bellari)

Namdev

Namjoshi, Mahadev Ballal

Nanda dynasty

Nanded

Nandivardhan

Nanjundaswamy, M.D.

Naoroji, Dadabhai

Narayan, Jayaprakash

Nariman, Veer

Narmada

Nashik

Nasir Jung

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

Native Improvement Society

Native Opinion

Navyug

Nawras-Namah (Ibrahim Adil Shah)

Nehru, Jawaharlal

New English School, Poona

Newmont, Justice John

Nibandhmala (monthly)

Nijalingappa, S.

Nilangekar, Shivajirao

Nimbalkar, Haibatrao

Nimbalkars of Phaltan

Niraji Ravaji

Nizam Shahi (Ahmednagar Sultanate)

Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah (r. 1490–1510)

Burhan Nizam Shah (r. 1510–1553)

Husain Nizam Shah I (r. 1553–65)

Murtaza Nizam Shah I (r. 1565–1588)

Miran (r. 1588)

Burhan Nizam Shah II (r. 1591–95)

Chand Bibi (r. 1595–1596)

Husain Nizam Shah III (r. 1631–1633)

Non-Cooperation Movement

North Canara

Nripa Kama I & II. See Hoysalas

Ottoman Empire

Pacific Coast Hindustan Association

Pahalavas

Pahwa, Madanlal

Paithani (handloom style)

Pakistan’s infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir

Pakistan–India war; 1971

Pal, Bipin Chandra

Palkar, Netaji

Palkhed

Pallavas of Kanchi

Panchayati Raj system

Pandharpur; Vitthal temple

Pandyas of Madurai

Panhala fort

Panipat Battle I (1526)

Panipat Battle, III (1761)

Paramahansa Mandali

Paramanand, Narayan Mahadev

Paranda fort, Osmanabad

Paranjape, S.M.

Parbhani

Parchure, Dattaram

Parmars

Partition of Bengal

Parvati temple, Poona

Pasalkar, Baji

passive resistance

Paswan, Ram Vilas

Patanjali

Patel, Rajni

Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai

Patil, Gulabrao

Patil, Nana

Patil, Ranze

Patil, S.K.

Patil, Vasantdada

Patnaik, Biju

Patwardhan, Anant

Patwardhans of Sangli

Pawar, Sharad

Peasants and Workers Party (PWP)

peasants’ movement in Maharashtra

Pendse, Lalji

Persian

Persians

Peshwas

Baji Rao I

Baji Rao II

Balaji Baji Rao (Nanasaheb)

Balaji Vishwanath

Madhavrao

Narayanrao

Raghunathrao

Madhavrao

Phalke, Dhundiraj (Dadasaheb)

Phule, Jyotirao

Phule, Savitribai

Pingle, Bahiroji

Pingle, Moropant Trimbak

Planning Commission

Plassey Battle (1757)

Ponda, Goa

Poona Pact

Poona Sarvajanik Sabha

Portuguese

atrocities against Hindus

and Marathas

Prabhakar

Prabhune, Ram Shastri

Pradhan, R.D.

Prarthana Samaj

Pratapgad fort

Pratishthan – Paithan. See Marathwada

Pravarsen. See Vakataka empire

princely states in pre-independent India

Progressive Democratic Front

Pulakesin I & II. See Chalukya dynasty of Badami

Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir

Purandar fort

Purandar treaty

Qasim Barid. See Barid Shahi dynasty of Bidar

Quit India movement

Quli Qutb Shah. See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

quota system related to foreign exchange reserves

Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1512–1543)

Qutbuddin

Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1543–1550)

Subhan Ali Qutb Shah (r. 1550)

Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1550–1580) Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1612)

Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah (r.1612–1626)

Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626–1672)

Abul Hasan (Tana Shah) (r. 1672–1680)

Qutb-ud-din Aibak

Qutubuddin. See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Raigad (Rairi) fort

Raja Harishchandra

Rajasbai

Rajasthan

Rajgad fort

Rajputs

Rajwade, V.K.

RajyaVyavahar Kosha

Ram Singh, Kuvar

Rama

Rama Rau, Benegal

Rama Raya. See Vijayanagar Empire

Ramabai, Pandita

Ramachandra. See Yadava dynasty

Ramachandran, M.G.

Ramayana

Ramdas, Samarth

Ramdevrao. See Yadavas

Ranade, Mahadev Govind

Ranadulla Khan

Rand, W.C.

Rangbhoomi

Rao, N.T. Rama

Rao, P.V. Narasimha

Rashtrakuta dynasty

Govind III (r. 793–814)

Amoghvarsha (r. 814–878)

Khottiga Amoghvarsha (r. 967–972)

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

was banned after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination

Rationalists

Ratnagiri

Ravi Varma, Raja

Reddy, K. Brahmananda

Reddy, Neelam Sanjiva

Reddys of Kondavidu

regional issues

religion, role in shaping morality of humans

religious purity

Republican Party of India (RPI)

reservation:

for the oppressed classes

for women in local bodies in Maharashtra

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

issue of nationalization

Rohira

Roy, Manabendra Nath

Roy, Raja Ram Mohan

Rudramal fort (Vajragad)

Rudrasen. See Vakataka empire

Russo–Turkish war

Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh

Sadashivrao Bhau

Saif Khan

Sajjan Singh

Sakhar Kheda, Battle

Salsette Island

Samajswasthya, 169

Samata Sangh

Samyukta Maharashtra Parishad

Samyukta Maharatshtra (Unified Maharashtra)

Sangameshwar

Sanskrit

Saraswati, Swami Dayanand

Sarkar, Jadunath

Sarvasen. See Vakataka empire

Sashti

Saswad

Satakarni I. See Satavahana empire

Satara

Satavahana empire, Satavahanas

Simuka

Satakarni I

Hala (r. 20–24 CE)

Gautamiputra Satakarni (106–130)

Sathe, Vasant

Sathye, Keshav

Satyashodhak Samaj

Saurashtra

Savarkar, Ganesh

Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar

Savitribai

Sawantwadi

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

Scindias of Gwalior

Mahadji

Ranoji

Seleucus

Seligman, Edwin

Servants of India Society

Setubandhan (1932)

Sevunchandra. See Yadavas

Shah Jahan (Khurram). See Mughal Empire

Shah Alam, son of Aurangzeb

Shah, Amit

Shahabuddin

Shaishunag (sixth century BCE)

Shaista Khan

Shakas of the Kshaharata clan

Shalivahana Shaka

Shamsher Bahadur (Krishna Rao)

Shaniwarwada, Pune

Sharma, Shankar Dayal

Shastri, Gangadhar

Shastri, Lal Bahadur

Shastri, Pandit Vishnu Parasuram

Sherman, General William

Shetkari Sanghatana Shias: and Mahdawis; and Sunnis

Shilahars

Shilpa Kalavidnyan

Shinde, Sushilkumar

Shiv Sena

Shivaji University, Kolhapur

Shivneri fort

Shraddhanand, Swami

Shravanbelagola

Shree Pundalik (1912)

Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT)

Shrivardhan

Shuja-ud-Daula, Rohilla Nawab

Siddi, Jauhar

Siddis of Janjira

Sikandar Adil Shah. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Sikh militancy

Simhana. See Yadavas

Simon Commission

Sindh

Sindhugad

Sindkhed

Singh, Kalyan

Singh, Manmohan

Singh, V.P.

Sinha, S.C.

Social Conference

social evil in Hindu society

social reforms and reformers in Maharashtra

Social Service League

Socialist

Solapur

Someshwar I. See Chalukya dynasty of Kalyani

Sondev, Niloji

Soyarabai

Spratt, Philip

Sriramulu, Potti

State Bank of India

States Reorganization Commission

Students’ Literary and Scientific Society

Subhan Ali.See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Subodh Patrika

Subramaniam, C.

Sudharak

Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah. See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Suraj Mal, ruler of Bharatpur

Surat; invaded by Shivaji

Survanavarsha. See Rashtrakuta dynasty

Swadeshi movement

Sydenham, Lord

Tailap. See Chalukya Empire of Kalyani

Taj Mahal, Agra

Talikota, Battle

Talpade, Shivkar Bapuji

Tana Shah.See Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda

Tanaji Malusare

Tanjore, Thanjavur

Tansen

Tarabai

Tarikh-i- Ferishta (Muhammad Kasim Hindu Shah)

Tarkhadkar, Atmaram Pandurang

Tarkhadkar, Bhaskar Pandurang

Tarkhadkar, Dadoba Pandurang

Tarkunde, Vithal Mahadeo

Tata, J.R.D.

Tata, Jamsetji

Tata, Ratan

Tatya Tope

Telang, Kashinath Trimbak

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)

Telugu

Thackeray, Bal

Thackeray, Keshav Sitaram (Prbodhankar)

Thackeray, Uddhav

Thane

Theosophical Society

Thimayya, K.S.

Thorat, Damaji

Tikait, Mahendra Singh

Tilak, Bal Gangadhar

and B.S. Munje

death

and Mahatma Gandhi

Gita Rahasya

and Gopal Krishna Gokhale

and Hindu Mahasabha

Swadeshi movement

Tilak, Sridharpant

Timur

Tipu Sultan of Mysore

Tirpude, N.R.

Tirthankaras

Tiwari, Narain Dutt

Torna fort, Pune

Torne, Ramchandra Gopal

Trikuta (Nashik district)

Trinamool Congress

Tughluq dynasty

Ghiyasuddin

Muhammad bin

Tuljapur Bhavani temple

Tungabhadra

Tungabhadra–Krishna Doab

Udairaj

Ugrasen

untouchables, untouchability

urban–rural and rich–poor divide

Urs, D. Devraj

Usmani, Shaukat

Vachankars

Vadodara

Vaishnavas

Vajpayee, Atal Bihari

Vakataka empire

Vindhyashakti (c. 250 – c. 270 CE)

Pravarsen (270–330)

Gautamiputra

Rudrasen (r. c. 330 – c. 355 CE )

Sarvasen (r. c. 330 – c. 355 CE )

Varma, Shyamji Krishna

Vasai

vatandari system

Vedas

Vedokta controversy

Veerashaivas, Veerashaivism

Verma, Chiranjilal

Vernacular Press Act

Vidarbha

Vijayanagar empire. See also Talikota Battle

administrative practices

and Bahmanis

fall of

power struggles

rulers:

Harihar I (r. 1336–1356)

Bukka Raya I (r. 1356–1377)

Harihar II (r. 1377–1405)

Deva Rai (r. 1406–1422)

Deva Rai II (r. 1424–1446)

Krishnadevaraya (r. 1509–1529)

Rama Raya (r. 1542–1565)

Vikramaditya I and II. See Chalukya Empire of Badami

Vindhyas

Vindhyashakti. See Vakataka empire

Vishalgad fort

Vishwasrao

Vivek Sindhu (Mukundraj)

Vividh Dnyan Vistar

Vividh Kala Prakash

Vyankoji

Wai battle

Wali-ullah Shah.See Bahmani dynasty

Walpole, Robert

Warkari Sampradaya

Webb, Alfred

Weber, Albrecht

widows’ remarriage

Wilson College, Bombay

Wilson, John

World Bank

World Trade Organization (WTO)

World War I

World War II

Wright brothers

Yadavas: of Deogiri/Devgiri, Maharashtra

Dwaraka

rulers:

Sevunchandra (880–900) 10

Bhillam V (1147–91)

Jaitrapal (1191–1200)

Singhan

Ramdevrao/Ramachandra (1271–1309)

Bheem

Simhana

Simhana III (1311–1313)

Yagnik, Bhanushankar

Yakut Khan

Yavanas

Yavatmal

Yesaji Kank

Yesubai

Young India

Yuezhi

Yusuf Adil Shah. See Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur

Zeenat-un-Nissa

Photographic Inserts

A statue of Gautamiputra Satakarni in Amaravathi in Andhra Pradesh. He was a ruler of the Satavahana Empire who lived around second century BCE and can be said to be the most important historical political figure for Maharashtra until Shivaji.

A statue of a young Shivaji along with his mother, Jijabai, in Mumbai. Jijabai had a strong formative influence on the seventeenth-century leader.

A painting of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who lived from 1630 to 1680 and established the Maratha Empire.

A mural in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park depicting the coronation of Shivaji, which took place in 1674 at Raigad fort.

A painting showing Chhatrapati Shivaji in the court of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Shivaji is known to have felt humiliated that the treatment accorded to him was not suited to his stature.

A view of Torna fort in Pune. It is historically significant as it was the first fort captured by Shivaji at the young age of sixteen.

Some of Shivaji’s other popular forts: (from top to bottom) Shivneri near Junnar in Pune, his birthplace; Pratapgad in Satara, the site of the battle in which the Marathas defeated Adil Shahi forces led by their general Afzal Khan, the Marathas’ first significant victory against a major regional power; and Raigad in the Konkan, where Shivaji was coronated and which became the capital of his empire.

Balaji Vishwanath, the first of a series of Peshwas (prime minister) who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire during the eighteenth century even as Chhatrapati Shahu, Shivaji’s grandson, remained the ruler.

A view of Shaniwar Wada in Pune, the seat of power of the Peshwas.

A painting depicting Peshwa Baji Rao I, who lived from 1700 to 1740. He was one of Maharashtra’s greatest generals and can be compared with the likes of Napoleon Bonaparte or the Duke of Wellington. He was the first Marathi warrior who dared to take on Delhi and it was under him that the Maratha Empire reached its peak.

A Faizabad-style drawing of the Third Battle of Panipat, which took place in January 1761. The Durrani Empire led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and supported by the Mughals defeated the Marathas. The loss can be said to have left a deep impact on the psyche of the Marathi Manoos for centuries to come.

A portrait of Nana Fadnavis, an influential sardar under the Peshwas, who was called the Maratha Machiavelli by the British.

A painting showing Peshwa Baji Rao II, the last Peshwa, signing the Treaty of Bassein (Vasai) with the British in 1802 which proved decisive in the dissolution of the Maratha Empire.

Stamps showing the great social reformers of the nineteenth century, Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, whose work extended to many fields, including the fight for the eradication of untouchability and the caste system. They were also the pioneers of women’s education in India.

A portrait of Pandita Ramabai, a champion of the education and emancipation of women in India and a social reformer.

Rukhmabai Arjun, whose refusal to consummate her marriage as a child bride led to a landmark legal case that stirred public debate in India and England and contributed to the passage of the Age of Consent Act of 1891.

The leading figures of the Indian freedom struggle from Maharashtra: (clockwise from top) Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who shaped India’s nationalist politics and was one of the first leaders of India’s Independence movement; Mahadev Govind Ranade, among the founding members of the Indian National Congress; and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a mentor to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in his formative years.

Figures of the Hindu right: (clockwise from top left) Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, the second chief of the RSS and considered the most prominent ideologue of Hindutva; Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a leading personality of the Hindu Mahasabha; and Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a man of unparalleled intellect, a jurist, economist, politician and social reformer. He was independent India’s first Minister of Law and Justice, the chief architect of the Constitution, and a tireless fighter for the Dalit cause all his life.

The two other cabinet ministers from Maharashtra in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s first term in office: Narhar Vishnu Gadgil (left), the Minister of Works, Mines and Power, who is credited with undertaking an important Pathankot–Srinagar road which played a crucial role in Indo-Pak wars, and playing a significant role in some of India’s mega dam projects; and Sir Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh (right), who became Minister of Finance in 1950 and prior to it was the first Indian to be appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, in 1943.

Dr Ambedkar with his wife, Savita, on 14 October 1956, when he converted to Buddhism with more than 5,00,000 of his supporters at a ceremony in Nagpur.

The statue of ‘A Martyr with a Flame’ at Hutatma Chowk in south Mumbai which hosts Flora Fountain and was known by that name until 1961, when it was officially renamed in memory of the members of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti who lost their lives when police fired upon their peaceful demonstration for a unified Maharashtra. Public resentment against the atrocity proved to be a major impetus for the creation of Maharashtra on 1 May 1960.

Leaders from Maharashtra who have been considered ‘Prime Minister material’ over the years: (clockwise from top) Yashwantrao Chavan, who had an uneasy equation with Indira Gandhi and was Deputy Prime Minister for a short period but could never make it to the top post; Pramod Mahajan, who was anointed the second in command of the BJP after L.K. Advani by Atal Bihari Vajpayee but was killed by his own brother; and Devendra Fadnavis, whose supporters’ election slogan of ‘Narendra nantar Devendra’ (Devendra Fadnavis for PM after Narendra Modi) is believed to have upset the leadership in Delhi and cost him a second chance as Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Uddhav Thackeray and Narendra Modi, the incumbent leaders in the state and at the Centre. Thackeray assumed office after a dramatic election in 2019, when the Shiv Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party formed an unlikely alliance to keep the BJP out of power.

Sharad Pawar remains the only leader from Maharashtra to have made an unabashed bid for the PM’s post – in 1991, losing to P.V. Narasimha Rao – even as he has kept up a tradition of standing up to the power centres in Delhi, be it Sonia Gandhi earlier or Narendra Modi now.

About the Book

MAHARASHTRA. AMONG THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST, WEALTHIEST, MOST SIGNIFICANT CONSTITUENTS. A GREAT STATE IN NAME AND IN DEED THAT HAS BEEN THECRADLE OF INDIVIDUALS AND EVENTS THAT HAVE SHAPED INDIA.

Girish Kuber, a seasoned journalist and one of Maharashtra’s foremost opinion makers, tells the region’s story in Renaissance State. Taking in its vast sweep the politics, society and history of the land, from the time of the Satavahanas down to the present day, the book chronicles a number of lesser-known tales: the empire that brought the mighty Mughals to their knees, the woman who took the issue of consent in marital sex right up to Queen Victoria, the social reformers who were far ahead of their time, the men and women who were pioneers in different walks of life, the evolution of movements of the right and left as well as for Dalit identity, the man who mentored Gandhi and also the one who killed him, besides recounting the region’s long tradition of standing up to the power centres of the north.

This is the account of the making of Maharashtra and the Marathi Manoos that its proud people deserved but which had so far remained unwritten.

About the Author

Girish Kuber is the Editor of Loksatta and writes frequently in the Indian Express. He is the author of The Tatas: How a Family Built a Business and a Nation, which won the inaugural Gaja Capital Business Book Prize in 2019. He has also written six books in Marathi. He lives in Mumbai.

ALSO BY GIRISH KUBER

The Tatas: How a Family Built a Business and a Nation
Translated from the Marathi by Vikrant Pande

The story of India’s leading business family

The nineteenth century was an exciting time of initiative and enterprise around the world. If John D. Rockefeller was creating unimagined wealth in the United States that he would put to the service of the nation, a Parsi family with humble roots was doing the same in India.

In 1822, a boy was born in a priestly household in Gujarat’s Navsari. Young Nusserwanji knew early on that his destiny lay beyond his village and decided to head for Bombay to start a business. He had neither higher education nor knowledge of trade matters, just a burning passion to carve his own path.

What Nusserwanji started as a cotton trading venture, his son Jamsetji—born in the same year as Rockefeller—grew into a multifaceted business, turning around sick textile mills, setting up an iron and steel company, and building a world-class hotel. Stewarded ably over the decades by Jamsetji’s sons Dorabji and Ratanji, the charismatic and larger-than-life JRD, and thereafter the more business-like Ratan, the Tata group today is a 110-billion-dollar empire.

The Tatas is their story. But it is more than just a history of the industrial house; it is an inspiring account of India in the making. It chronicles how each generation of the family invested not only in the expansion of its own business interests but also in nation building. Few know, for instance, that the first hydel power project in the world was conceived of and built by the Tatas. The Indian Institute of Science, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, as also the national carrier Air India—the family has a long, rich and unrivalled legacy.

A tribute to a line of visionaries who have a special place in the hearts of ordinary Indians, this is the only book that tells the complete Tata story spanning almost two hundred years.

Available in hardback, paperback
and also as an e-book and audio book

Praise for Renaissance State

‘A fascinating account of Maharashtra’s long and turbulent history, Girish Kuber’s Renaissance State presents the key facts and faces of some 2,000 years of this great state’s existence. Introducing us to mathematicians and warriors, scientific legends and political giants, Kuber’s insightful and extensively researched narrative is enriched by compelling detail.’

– SHASHI THAROOR, AUTHOR AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

‘One of the unfortunate side effects of rabid nationalism is the loss of regional identities. Maharashtra has a magnificent history, unimpeachable traditions and a unique artistic culture that has always refused to bow before the mighty monarchs of Delhi who believed they owned it all. Freedom came. But Maharashtra is still fighting for its rightful place in Modi’s new India. Girish Kuber takes a panoramic view of what makes Maharashtra so special and why its proud people have always refused to bow before Delhi – and still do. For good reason.’

– PRITISH NANDY, SENIOR JOURNALIST AND MEDIA PERSONALITY

‘“Though as an individual Shivaji was a practising Hindu, he kept religion at bay when it came to his politics and social life.” For me, this is one of the most significant lines in Renaissance State, a rigorously clear-eyed study of Maharashtra’s past and present.’

– SHANTA GOKHALE, AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR

‘Sweeping through centuries of history, Renaissance State is an excellent starting point for anyone trying to understand the dynamics and dynamism of India’s richest state. It also offers a window on the paradoxical intellectual currents that have shaped the Marathi Manoos. As Girish Kuber notes, Maharashtra produced both Gandhi’s mentor and his murderer.’

– NARESH FERNANDES, EDITOR, SCROLL, AND AUTHOR OF CITY ADRIFT: A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF BOMBAY

‘This will be the go-to book on Maharashtra and its residents for many decades to come.’

– JERRY PINTO, AUTHOR OF EM AND THE BIG HOOM AND MURDER IN MAHIM

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First published in India in 2021 by

HarperCollins Publishers

A-75, Sector 57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, India

www.harpercollins.co.in

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Copyright © Girish Kuber 2021

P-ISBN: 978-93-9032-739-3

Epub Edition © April 2021 ISBN: 978-93-9032-740-9

The views, interpretations and opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own. The facts are as reported by him and have been verified to the extent possible. The publishers are not in any way liable for the same.

Girish Kuber asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

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