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Chapter 4 Alternative Agenda For Rewriting the History of the IVIarathas

Readings of the histories of different nations in English gave an impetus to the young intellectuals of Maharashtra to think of their own history. In this respect, their thinking came to be guided by the principle of the writing of 'scientific history' that the past of any society should be presented 'as it actually was' ! For this, any history must be based on documents with which the historian works. The documents are of various forms viz; stone-inscriptions, copper-plates, coins, paper-documents, etc. In fact, they are a trace of the past. The next question arises is that where they are. The problem was basic and very genuine. However, the efforts of the orientalists had already paved the way for the collection of the source material. One may take into account a close relationship that existed between Balshastri Jambhekar and the orientalists in Bombay. Balshastri collected a copper-plate, the content of which was related to the watan of a low-caste priest. Balshastri published its text in the Digdarshan magazine, which was in two scripts viz, the Modi and the Balbodh Marathi.^^ This may be the first effort in the collection and publication of a document, by a native Marathi intellectual.

Following the lead given by the European orientalists and Balshastri Jambhekar, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad devoted himself to the collection of manuscripts in Sanskrit, Magadhi, Pali, Arabi etc. During his travels through different parts of India he copied and examined stone, rock and temple inscriptions. His collection included coins, copper-plates, paintings, technical tools and instruments. The greatness of these efforts was beyond doubt. But most of the part of this treasured possession was related to the history and culture of Ancient India. In the context of the early history of Maharashtra, the collection contained the source-material useful mainly for constructing the 235

historical account of the times of the Satavahanas, the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Kalchuris and of the Yadavas. His collection lacked the source material required for rewriting the history of medieval Maharashtra. It is possible that attitude of the British authorities towards the history of the Marathas deterred him and his likes from making an effort in that direction. And the Government was not ready to change its policy in respect of the opening of the Pune Daftar to native scholars.

Inspite of this, however, Kashinath Gangadharji Kshatri Published the Rajyavyavahar Kosh of Raghunathpant Hanumante in 1860. In doing so, his main purpose was that of the enrichment of the Marathi language.'^ It must be noted that Kashinath Gangadharji was not moved by the idea of publishing historical documents. Be as it may, the fact remains that a historical work related to the Marathas was published.

Lokhitwadi took interest in the study of various aspects of history, besides the one political. His articles explaining some of the aspects of the administrative system of the Marathas appeared in Induprakash. He published the inscriptions on the seals of Pralhad Niraji and his successors to the office of the Pratinidhi;^ ^ of Shivaji and his successors to the throne (gadi) of Chhatrapati at Satarap ^ of Shamrajpant and his successors to the office of the peshwap ^ and of various other sardars and ministers.^ ^# At times he

* 'Rajyavyavahar-kosh', the work of which had been entrusted by Shivaji to Raghunathpant Hanumante with the purpose of replacing the Persian terminology by Sanskrit one. # Sardars and ministers such as Shankarji Narayan, Haibatrao, Dhanaji Jadhav, Ratansingh Jadhav, Malegaonkar, Fattesing Bhosale, Fattesingh the Second, Raghoji Angre, Tulaji Angre, Udaji Chavan, Trimbak Krishna, Raghuji Bhosale, Gamaji Sadashiv, Yashwantrao Holkar, Satarkar Raje and Shamrao Abaji Lokhitwodi; Nibandh-sangriha, pp. 308-10 Priyolkar, A. K; (ed.), Lokhitwadikrit Nibandhasangriha (Bombay, Popular Prakashan, 2"'^ ed; 1967), Letter No. 120, pp. 308-10 (Herein after referred to as Nibandhsangriha) 236

discussed the opening seal and the closing seal impressed on the official documents issued from the office of pratinidhi Parashuram Trimbak and of Chhatrapati Shivaji. He gave information about various shapes of seals such as circular, square, octagonal etc. He gave a long list of forts and mahals which were in possession of the pratinidhi. He also described the saranjam in detail given to the pratinidhi by Bajirao the second. This type of original administrative information about the Marathas was published for the first time by Lokhitwadi. His service in the office of the Inam Commission probably enabled him to collect this information. In the absence of proper training of the methodology of research in history, he failed to realize the importance of publishing this original source material. Afterall he was not the product of the University education.

In another letter, Lokhitwadi gave brief account of the Pune Dafter.^ ^ He gave information regarding various types of documents preserved in the Pune Daftar. He referred to the use of these documents in reconstructing the administrative and economic history of the Marathas in the 18"' century.^ Here, he specifically referred to the letters by Chimaji Appa to the Peshwa after the capture of Vasai (Bassein) and to the letters regarding the Panipat, Srirangpattan and Gujarath expeditions. He further made a request to Director Howard to inquire into 'the Jabsali Patre', because the destruction of which,

* He was appointed subassistant- Inam Commissioner on 10"' February 1850. The government appreciated his honest services in a Resolution bearing the number 1955, dated P' November 1855. Then, he was promoted to the post of Assistant lamam Commissioner. His services in the office of the Inam commission continued till 11"' of March 1861. Nibandh Sangriha, p. 13 # Lokhitwadi informed that documents in the Pune Duftar will throw light on the information regarding the dates of the newly conquered provinces and their income, the assignments of new saranjams, the administration efforts, the correspondence between sardars on expedition and the office of the Peshwa, between the Chhatrapati at Satara and the Peshwa himself. Nibandha Sangriha, Letter No. 116, dated Sept; 1864, pp. 297-299 237

he claimed, meant half the history would never become knownA^ He was well aware of the fact that the use of these historical documents can change the image of the Marathas created by the colonial writers. In this context he made mention of Duff and Briggs and pointed out that they too made use of the documents preserved in the Pune Daftar. He also referred to the translations of some of the documents published by Briggs in the Journal of the Asiatic Society. Briggs, on the basis of them, told the Europeans that they should realize that the Marathas were not like the wild beasts.^^ This and other letters on the Pune Daftar brought to the notice of the public, three important facts: In the first place the Pune Daftar contained a treasure of historical documents; secondly, because of the policy of the government, the doors of the Pune Daftar remained closed to the native scholars; and thirdly, the implied logical outcome was well suggestive that the Pune Daftar should be opened to the native scholars and that they should be allowed to make use of these documents in writing history of the Marathas.

The first extant vernacular work prepared on the basis of private source material appeared in 1866. The book entitled 'Shivaji Maharaj Yanche Vanshacha Va Pratinidhi Ani Ashtapradhan Yancha Itihas' was written by Vishnu Gopal Bhide.^ '' In this book he described the migration of a branch of Sisodiyas of Chitod into the Deccan, the political activities of Maloji and Shahaji, the foundation of a new Kingdom by Shivaji and the establishment of a new gadi at Satara. Interestingly enough, he gave a long- list of forts, of parganas and provinces, of various officials and diplomats, of twelve Mahals and eighteen Karkhanas. He also gave details about infantry and navy, the offices of the Pratinidhi and eight ministers. With their successors, their duties, their assignments with income and conditions in regard to the troops to be maintained by them. 238

The author of this work was conscious of the importance of original sources in the writing of a historical work. Although, the author made use of the Satara Daftar and other sources, in the absence of proper training of the research methodology of history, he failed to mention the particular sources with their details. It seems that he might have used 'the Chitnisi Bakhar.' Prof. D. V. Potdar made mention of this work as one of the two noteworthy Marathi historical works produced during this period.^ ^

On 14"'' March 1867, Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik spoke at the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society on 'Materials for a history of the Marathas'.^ * It is not an accident that Mandlik chose to speak on this topic. One can notice the direction in which the winds were blowing in the field of history. Mandlik hoped that some of the old Bakhars may be found in the private libraries of the native princes. In this paper he described the efforts made by him to secure historical documents from the Phadnavis family. He told that in 1866, he got a copy of the life of Ramdas. He expressed that although the Bakhar contains some anecdote, he insisted on its publication for it "gives us a view of men and of the things as they existed in Maharashtra more than two hundred years ago."^ ^ For mandlik the publication of documents remained the main concern.

Mandlik described the Pune Daftar as 'the best place to look for the sources of Maratha History.'^ ^ He insisted that the documents from the Pune Daftar 'ought to be indexed and published.' He opined that the diaries of the old Maratha Sardars should also be published. He disclosed that a committee comprising of Krishnashastri Chiplonkar, R. G. Bhandarkar and

* One should not set aside the fact that the work entitled, 'the Life of Ramdas' certainly not belonged to the 17"" century, but most probably to the much later period of the IS"" century. What is significant here is that Mandlik being basically con­ cerned with the search for and the collection of documents, insisted on the publica­ tion of the bakhar. 239

Bhaskar Damodar Palande was appointed "to report on the advisability, I believe, of making over a portion of the Poona Daftar to the Educational Department."^ ^ But the Committee had failed to do anything positively. At the end, he suggested to form a Committee to work out a systematic plan for publishing documents kept in the Pune Dafter.^ ^

Two things became clear from the above discussion. In the first place, Mandlik was doing his best to tap all possible sources for original documents. And secondly, he was trying to organize a campaign to induce the government to publish documents from the Pune Daftar. However, for creating a powerfiil drive to realize the objective of opening the Pune Daftar to the general public, something more was needed. What was needed was to arouse a public opinion by creating a genuine interest among the people about their past. It was this interest which alone could prevail upon the colonial government that was reluctant to open the floodgates of nostalgic emotionalism about the past of a conquered people. Intellectuals like Mandlik were by design or by accident laying the foundations of nationalism in Western India. The process of historicization of the past began at least with a few intellectuals. But it was equally necessary to see that the process thus initiated did not remain confined to a few intellectuals alone. For this the colonial framework of historical writing had to be challenged. This challenge to the colonial framework came not from the intellectuals of Bombay but from those of Pune. The historical development of Pune being distinctively different from that of Bombay justified the image of the city as the city of disgruntled ones vis-a-vis the colonial rule.

Nilkanth Janardan Kirtane is less known for his criticism against Moroba Kanhoba's 'Ghashiram Kotwal' published in 1863.^ ^ One can see that even in this criticism, Kirtane was challenging certain elements of a colonial framework. It must be made clear that the work 'Ghashiram Kotwal' 240

is not a biographical study of a historical figure named Ghashiram, the Kotwal of Pune during the time of Sawai Madhavrao. In this book Moroba Kanhoba depicted 'Ghashiram' as ignorant and superstitious. The author's purpose was to bring to the notice of the reader the glaring contrast between the advanced civilization of the British and the backward civilization of Indians. The author through the medium of dialogue attempted to discuss various topics from science, literature, history etc. His sole object in producing this work was "to render some service to his country by administering to its intellectual and moral improvement."^ ^

Kirtane criticized the attitude of the English educated vernacular authors for their depiction of the present colonial rule as 'wise' and of the previous Maratha rule as 'backward.' Moroba Kanhoba had not only criticized the Marathas for their ignorance but had also described them as more barbarous than the barbarians from America i.e. the Red Indians. He made Ghashiram ask such foolish questions as "What is the sea ?", "Is there a tree of salt ?"'^"^ etc. Kirtane argued that such questions might indicate the stupidity of an individual but would not be indicative of the general level of knowledge of a society. He challenged the author's conviction that the Muslims were far better than the Marathas in intellect and justice and that they possessed more knowledge than the Hindus. In order to refute this conviction, Kirtane referred to the chaotic conditions that had been created by Aurangzeb's fanatic policies. Here one can clearly see the influence of James Mill on Moroba Kanhoba in depicting the Hindus as backward and the Muslims as slightly better civilized than the Hindus. Kirtane felt that the reason for such type of criticism lay in the lack of self-respect. If the people took pride in self-respect then they would praise the virtues of Ahilyabai, the honesty of Madhavrao, the daring acts of Shivaji and his comrades.^ ^ To explain this point further, he described that Umaji Raja was like the 241

'Highlanders' from Scotland. Kirtane while emphasizing the point of self- respect, said that a Scot could write in praise of Highlanders because he had love for his motherland^ ^ The essence of his argument was that the European framework for an Indian history be given up and that the history must be written with a sympathetic understanding of the people. An a priori view of history cannot be considered as just. In a way Kirtane was trying to present a viewpoint which Vishnushasri Chiplonkar was to develop later against the colonial mentality . Kirtane is known more for his criticism against Grant Duffs 'History of the Marathas'. He presented a paper entitled 'Grant Duffchya Bakharivar Tika' before the meeting of the Poona Young Men's Association in 1867.' ^ The meeting was presided over by Krishnashastri Chiplonkar. Both Krishnashastri and Shankar Pandurang Pandit appreciated Kirtane's paper. The paper also appeared in Induprakash.^ ^ Kirtane in this paper attempted three points : 1) To offer a criticism of Duff s work; (2) To develop a viewpoint for a better understanding of the history of the Marathas; and (3) to stress the need for rewriting the history of the Marathas.*

Kirtane acknowledged that Duffs work was the only comprehensive work on the history of the Marathas. He realized the magnitude of tremendous * After the defeat of the Marathas in 1818, Duff was appointed the Resident at Satara : Duff completed most of the writing of his work on the History of the Marathas at Satara. The work was pubhshed in the year 1826. Elptinstone in a letter to Duff aptly described it as : "the wholeness of your subject is one of its greatest beauties." Colebrooke, T. E; Kulkami, A. R; James Cunningham Grant Duff (Pune, Pune Vidyapith Prakashan 1971), p. 130 Though the Marathi translation of Duff s work was ready with the Raja of Satara, it never came to be published. Duffs work was first translated into Marathi by Captain David with the help of Baba Sane and was duly published in 1830. It also came to be translated in to Gujarathi and Hindi. It was recommended for study in the vernacular schools. Ranade in his remark on the Marathi portion of the catalogue wrote that of the fourteen history books which relate to India, the translation of Duff s work along with other two translation works of Elphinstone's and Murray's histories 'are the only ones which possess any literary merit.' Grant, A. (D.P.I.), Catalogue of Native publications in the Bombay Presidency upto 31" December 1864 (Bombay, Education Society's Press, l""* ed; 1867), p. 26 242

labour that Duff had to put in for the completion of his work. He appreciated duffs love for knowledge and his sincerity of conviction in refuting the suggestion made by the publisher to change the title of his work. He narrated the whole story of publication and ended it saying that in the whole business Duff had to suffer a heavy loss of more than Rs. 17000/-*^ -'

Kirtane observed that any work of history on the Marathas contained the same stereotyped information. He explained how the'history of the Marathas came to be neglected by all including the Marathas themselves and at all levels. He lamented over the deplorable situation that the students knew more about the histories of Rome and Greece and something about England and little about their own Motherland. He criticized the tendency among students that once they joined the English schooling they quietly forgot whatever they had learned in Marathi schools about Shivaji. He also accused Howard and Grant of not giving encouragement to study the history of the Marathas.' ^ Kirtane, then went on to explain how Duffs work was not that of the best quality, but a mediocre one. ^ ^

Kirtane argued that Duff treated the early history of the Marathas with little respect and low profile. He observed that Duff should have taken into account the works such as, 'Kathasaritsagar', 'Saptashati', 'Chaturvarga Chintamani' and 'Dnyaneshwari'. He pointed out that Duff failed to mention the grammarian Varuchi and the astronomer Bhaskaracharya. Kirtane meant to say that the absence of all this rendered Duffs work incomplete.^ ^ He fiirther expressed that Duff should have dealt with the Aryan settlements in Maharashtra and the origin of the Maratha families such as Pawar, Shirke, Mahadik etc. and their settlements in Maharashtra. In this respect he cited that how Col. Wilford and Col. Tod made use of the bardic literature in their works on Rajasthan.*- ^ Kirtane himself attempted to explain the rise of Shahaji and with him the rise of Marathas in the politics of the Deccan. He 243

showed, how with the rise of the Marathas and particularly that of the Bhosales brought about a change in the character of the Deccan politics. Shahaji became so powerful in the politics of the Deccon that he at times frequently shifted his alliances from one sultanate to another but always kept his interests intact. He even exercised the power of a Regent during the last phase of the Nizamshahi of Ahmadnagar. He occasionally fought against the Mughal emperors. Thus the Marathas received their first lessons in the art of politics and of warfare during the times of Shahaji.^ ^

Kirtane made a distinction between situation in the south and the one that prevailed in the north. In the north the Hindus could keep themselves safe at Udaipur, Jodhpur or Jaipur. But, everywhere in the south the Muslim domination made the situation unbearable for the Hindus. Whenever the war broke out between the two Deccani sultanates the position of the native population would become more precarious. In the absence of the emperor like Akber, the Hindus in the Deccan could never identify themselves with any of the Muslim rulers of the Deccan. It was this logic of the situation that led the Marathas to organize themselves against the Muslim domination.'- ^

Kirtane criticized Duff for his too much reliance on the Persian sources. He charged Duff with adverse and prejudicial account of the activities of Shivaji because he for the most part of his account relied more on the Persian sources to the neglect of the view-point of the Marathi Chroniclers.^^^)

Kirtane further refuted Duff on two points : In the first place he challenged Duffs conjecture that Shivaji's riot suffered from poverty. In substantiation of his refutation Kirtane stated three reasons : In the first place, Kirtane argued that the inadequacy of the source material does not prove Duffs assertion. Secondly, Kirtane counterpoised Duffs assertion and wrote, "Had Shivaji been so oppressive then the ryot would not have helped him and 244

held him as a hero in response to his love for them. The ryot knows well who is their defender and who is a tyrant to them."^ ^ And lastly, if seen in the context of those difficult days, Shivaji's yearly settlement of revenue with the ryot would seem to be best that was possible.^ '

Kirtane's second point in refuting Duff was that of Duff s attitude of portraying Shivaji on the basis of Persian sources as immoral, treacherous and as a thief, particularly in the context of Afzal episode. In this respect Kirtane criticized Duff for not taking into account the mode of warfare, the nature of polity and the mode of dealing with the enemy of those days.^ ^ Interestingly enough, Kirtane pointed out, that Duff failed to mention Shivaji's treatment to the daughter-in-law of the Subhedar of Kalyan, the incident that throws light on the character of Shivaji.

Kirtane's attitude in respect of the indigenous and Persian sources needs to be explained. During the middle of the 19"" century, for the intellectuals in Maharashtra, the only available source representing the

gig indigenous viewpoint was that of a few Marathi Chronicles. There were two reasons for this poor state of affairs : In the first place, the Government kept the doors of the Pune Daftar closed to native scholars. And Secondly neither the intellectuals nor the heads of certain historical Maratha families possessing valuable collection of documents were yet conscious about their worth. The sense of distinguishing a state document from that of a chronicle was yet to be developed. This led to their uncritical acceptance of chronicles as a source * A growing sense of History can be seen in Govind Narayan Madgaonkar's Mumbaiche Vaman (An Account of Bombay). The book contained a chapter on 'people in Ancient Times.' In writing this chapter, he made use of 'Valukeshwar Mahatmya' - a Sanskrit text, relevant ancient inscriptions and a chronicle in Marathi by Janardan Ganesh Mahimkar. It was the practice to make use of bakhars in writing an historical account as bakhars were believed to be real histories. Madgaonkar, G. N; Mumbaiche vaman, (ed.), Phatak, N. R; (Mumbai, rpt; 1961), pp. 16-35 245

of history virtually regarding them as infallible testimonies.

Is seems that Scot Waring's assessment of Persian sources and of Marathi Chronicles must have influenced Kirtane's view-point in regard to them. About the Persian sources Scot Waring Wrote : "Persian authorities, who so far as I can judge, can be more fallacious, or can less require the diligence of patient investigation... The facts they give are garbled and perverted, while the slightest circumstance against them is seized upon, and extended to an immeasurable length. Their style is also a subject of just reprehension. Their forced and unnatural images, their swelling cadence's and modulated phraseology, are as disgusting to a discriminating taste, as they must be inimical to historical truth..."'' ^ And about the Marathi chronicles he wrote : "Not so the Maratha histories. Their historians (some will deny them the name) write in plain, simple and unaffected style, content to relate passing events in apposite terms without seeking turgid imagery or inflated phraseology.... Victory and defeat are chiefly related; if they pass over the latter too hastily, they do not dwell upon the former with unnecessary minuteness. They do not endeavour to bias or misled the judgment, but are certainly greatly deficient in chronology and in historical reflection."*- -'

Kirtane realized that a mere armed strength could not give rise to a Political power. Some other factors were equally important for the realization of the same. In this respect he tried to explain the background created by the * It was Ranke, the German historian and the founder of the rhodem discipline of academic history, who introduced the method of critical evaluation of primary sources. For this, Lord Acton saluted Ranke as 'the real originator of the heroic study of records.' However, the Rankean method came to influence the historical writings in Britain 'comparatively late'; 'it was primarily due to William Stubbs, Regius professor of History at Oxford from 1866 to 1884, whose reputation rested... on his scrupulous editing of medieval historical texts.' So one should always bear it in mind that so far as historical research in Maharashtra is concerned, scholarly criticism of primary sources is a later development. Tosh, John, The Pursuit of History (London, Longman, 1984), p. 51 246

movement of saint-poets to the rise of the Maratha power. He emphasized that one must take into account the spirit of "Hinduism" behind all the activities of Shivaji, which he thought essential for the real assessment of the life of ShivajiA ^ He opined that the great saint poets such as Ramdas, Tukaram, Nimbraj etc; through their teachings inspired the people, creating a great urge in them, for the foundation of a kingdom of their own. One can clearly see the influence of Kirtane's view-point on Mahadeo Govind Ranade who later presented a profound philosophical explanation for the rise of the Maratha power. Here, Kirtane was referring to the cultural ethos created by the saint- poets, the political manifestation of which can be seen in the foundation of "Swarajya" under the leadership of Shivaji.

Kirtane adopted a method of comparison in order to get a better understanding of the Maratha history. He, citing Malcolm, stated that the Marathas never behaved the way the European barbarians, after the fall of the Roman Empire had behaved with the people and had dishonored their women. He compared the rise of the Marathas with that of the Arabs and tried to find a parallel between the replacement of the Romans by the Arabs and that of the Mughals by the Marathas. Further, he explained the similarity between the code of conduct laid down by Shivaji for the Marathas and the one by Abu Bukr for the Arabs.^ ''

Kirtane tried to explain the wisdom of Shivaji : In the first place, Shivaji, instead of assigning the Jagirs to his Sardars for their services to the state, adopted the practice of cash-payment. This was quite contrary to the practice of the Mughals. Secondly, Shivaji's sense of self-respect was well reflected in his act of commissioning Raghunatpant Hanumante to prepare a dictionary of administrative terms by substituting the Sanskrit terms in place of the Persian ones. And thirdly Shivaji adopted the practice of sending his ministers on expedition whenever an occasion demanded. In the end, Kirtane 247

concluded that had the Marathas followed the path shown by Shivaji, their empire would not have vanished so early.^ ^

Kirtane took a brief resume of the Maratha activities, since the commencement of their struggle against the Mughals till the end of the Maratha empire in 1818. He covered this period in twenty pages only. Some important points of his account of this period can be noted as follows:

Kirtane did not agree with Duff on the significance of the battle of Panipat in the history of the Marathas. Duff considered the defeat of the Marathas at Panipat as a major setback to the Maratha activities in the north and it marked the beginning of the process of their decline. Kirtane, however, explained that it eclipsed the Maratha power temporarily and emphasized that under Madhavrao its revival took place and later under Mahadji, the expansion activities of the Marathas in the north reached their climax.^ ^

Kirtane inquired into the causes of downfall of the Marathas and remarked that deviation from the policies of Shivaji resulted in the creation of "independent" chieftains injecting an evil element into the body politic of the Marathas that brought about their downfall.^ ^

Kirtane did not approve of Duff s contention that the introduction of trained battalions into the Maratha army destroyed their power-apparatus. On the contrary, Kirtane praised Chimaji Appa's wisdom for the adoption of such a policy. Similarly, he justified Mahadji's policy in employing Du Boise to get the battalions trained.^ ^

Kirtane criticized Mahadji's Policy of employing the Muslims, Rajputs, etc in his army, which according to him, made his army a heterogeneous group. He further emphasized that this heterogenous army had no regard for the Maratha power. He pointed out the fact that after the death of Mahadji there followed chaos and disorder and the heterogeneous army as causative factor, 248

led to worsening the situation still fartherA ^

Kirtane while pointing out to loss of the sense of homogeneity referred to the increased caste tensions between the Brahmin and the Maratha Sardars. He held the rulers responsible for their extravagant behaviour and for the loss of the sense of responsibility. And this, according to him, adversely affected the relationship between the rulers and their chieftains. He also held the Shindes and the Bhosales equally responsible for their behaviour because that led to the growth of fissiparous tendencies among the Maratha sardars still fiirther. He also opined that the Marathas received a great shock when they accepted the subsidiary alliance system in their treaty of Vasai with the British in ISOZ.^"^^)

Kirtane made certain suggestions regarding characterization of the Mughals, the Marathas and the English. He stressed that anyone who wanted to discuss the "Bakhar" (History) of the Marathas must discuss both the state and the imperial affairs. The historian, for the benefit of the reader, should describe the Mughal court with its pomp and glory, during the days of the great Mughals. He should also describe the weak Mughals of the later days with their harems, court intrigues and their mode of entertainment. He should also discuss the etiquettes and manners, and attitudes of the Mughas. He should explain all this with all seriousness. Then Kirtane further expressed that the historian while discussing the Maratha character, should present the half-naked Mavla participating in the activities of Shivaji and making swift movements with him through the territories of Gujarath and Karnatak. He should describe the marvelous capacity of Shivaji of turning an ordinary Mavla into a herolike character capable of performing deeds of remarkable valour of displaying and at the same time, capable also diplomatic skills. Lastly, he should describe the merchant of the East India Company with his commercial skills, the gradual development of commercial interests of the Company and then its 249

gradual interference in the native politics culminating in making the Company a sovereign power.^(44 )'

Here Kirtane was trying to portray the "national" character of the Marathas. In the context of Europe, it was Johann Gottfried Von Herder who for the first time developed the concept of'national character.' Herder believed that it greatly influenced the history of any nation. He coined the verb "einfiulen" and wrote in his injunction to historians : "First sympathise with the nation, go into the era, into the geography, into the entire history, feel yourself into it."^ ^ What Herder meant was that in case of human understanding, it is necessary to "enter into the spirit" of a people. Herder believed that each people has its "spirit", its Volksgeist, whose integrity is to be respected by other peoples. It seems that Elphinstone too was influenced by the concept of 'National Character. He, while explaining the application of this concept to the history of the Marathas, had suggested Duff "to introduce more of the manner of the Marathas, more to put the people and their leaders before the eyes of the reader, and to enable him to understand their motives and modes * There is little possibility that Kirtane in developing the concept of 'national char­ acter' was influenced directly by the writings of either Herder or Elphinstone, for Herder wrote in German and Elphinstone's correspondence came to be published in the year 1884 i. e. seventeen years after the presentation of Kirtane's paper. It seems that, in this respect Kirtane must have been influenced by the writings of Macaulay. (For this explanation see foot-note No. p. # While explaining how to present the things from the point of view of national character, Elphinstone cited the contrast between the European camp and the Maratha camp, between the march of the European army and of the Maratha army. He wrote : Camp presents to a European the idea of long lines of white tents an assemblage of every sort of covering, of every shape and colour, spreading for miles in all direc­ tions, over hill and dale, mixed up with tents, flags and trees and buildings. In Jone's "History" March means one or more columns of troops and ordnance moving along roads, perhaps between two hedges; in the Maratha history, horse, foot and dra­ goons inundating the face of the earth for many miles on every side, here and there a few horse with a flag and a drum mixed with a loose of straggling mass of camels, elephants, bullocks, nautch girls, fakeers and bafoons, troops and followers, lancemen (contd.) 250

of action".^ ^ Kirtane while illustrating the concept of 'national character'* he criticized Duff for giving only a half-page description of Ahilyabai and for not giving a correct perception of the character and behaviour of Ahilyabai in his History of the Marathas. Kirtane in support of his view cited Malcolm who in his 'History of Central Hindostan' gave a detailed account of the life of Ahilyabai in a proper perspective^ '

Kirtane did not forget to ask what happened to the documents collected by Duff. In support of the belief of the act of burning of documents, Kirtane suggested two plausible explanations : In the first place, most senior men of the Alienation office were of the opinion that the documents were burned and the act of burning was a deliberate one. Kirtane also made it clear that the senior men lacked evidence to prove their point. Secondly, Kirtane referred to the common belief that the British authorities had a fear of the feelings of hatred against them on account of the glorification of the great deeds of the Maratha heroes. In the end Kirtane described the official practice and matchlockmen, bunyans and mootasuddies" Cloebroook, T. E., Life of Hon'ble Mount Stuart Elephinstone, Vol.2, (London, 1884), p. 137 * Macaulay published his essay on "History" in May, 1828. He in this essay, while writing about the qualities of a perfect historian wrote : "The perfect historian is he in whose work the Character and spirit of an age is exhibited in miniature... He shows us the court, the camp, and the senate. But, he shows us also the nation... Men will not be merely described, but will be made intimately known to us...." He explained how one should write the history of England. While writing about the period of Elizabeth he wrote: "we should see Elizabeth in all her weakness and in all her strength, surrounded by the handsome favorites whom she never trusted, and the wise old statesmen whom she never dismissed, uniting in herself the most contra­ dictory qualities of both her parents — the coquetry, the caprice, the petty malice of Anne — the haughty and resolute spirit of Henry... we should see arts cultivated, wealth accumulated, the conveniences of life improved... we should see towns ex­ tended, deserts cultivated, the hamlets of fishemien turned into wealthy heavens, the meal of the peasant improved, and his hut more commodiously furnished...." The works of Lord Macaulay : Essays and Biographies, vol. 1 (London, 1898), pp. 216-219 251

of destroying documents as "childish and useless." He argued that one would find it very difficult to label any document as worth destruction^ -'

Grant Duffs 'History of the Marathas' came to be accepted, since its publication, as the only standard authority. The authors of the English histories of India mostly followed Duff in their treatment of the history of the Marathas. The vernacular class-books of history simply echoed Duff in respect of the events in the history of the Marathas. In other words, 'the colonial appropriation of the history of the Marathas, came to be regarded as "complete". But Kirtane in his criticism of Duffs work endeavoured to show that this "supposition" was not true. The significance of Kirtane's criticism of Duff's work, lay not only in challenging the colonial hegemonistic approach but also in presenting an alternative agenda for rewriting history of the Marathas. This "alternative agenda" influenced many an intellectual. Kirtane stressed the need for the publication of chronicles and later Vishnushastri Chiplonkar, Kashinath Narayan Sane and Janardan Balaji Modak undertook the same task for which they started the magazine 'Kavyetihas-sangriha' in 1878.^ ^ It has already been pointed out that Kirtane's attitude towards the activities of the saint-poets lent a fresh perspective to the subject and this influenced Ranade sb much so that he devoted a full chapter for this in his 'Rise of the Maratha Power.' ^ ^ Kirtane's emphasis on the activities of Shahji and viewing it as a meaningful background to the activities of Shivaji seems to have influenced Rajwade too

* The term "appropriation" has been explained by Ranjit Guha. He by adapting some of Hegel's thoughts on property, suggested to mean it as 'to appropriate is to put into one's will into a thing and then objectify such willing by occupancy and use. While applying it to past he wrote : "To appropriate a past is, therefore, to make time, dead time, into a thing before grasping it by one's will." Guha, R; An Indian Historiography of India : A Nineteenth Century Agenda and its Implications (Calcutta, for Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, K. P. Bagchi and Co, 1988), p. 48 252

when he wrote a famous introduction to Radha Madhav CampuA ' In a way Kirtane was trying to create 'an autonomous view' about the history of the Marathas. But making the Peshwa Daftar accessible to the scholars was a very difficult task. In this situation, a call to the people making them participate, in the process of writing a history of their own, was the only course of action left with the intellectuals. This was explicitly realized by the editor of the 'Vividh-Dnyan-Vistar.'

Meanwhile, Vithal Ramchandra Bapat and Naro Laxman Dighe published the chronicle entitled "Shri Ramdas Swaminche Charitranchi Bakhar", in 1870. It was edited by Appashastri Kulkami and Tatyashastri Nashikkar. The editors were mainly interested in publishing the source material. One can see the spirit behind it, for, among those who patronized it were men like Apayya Vyanka.yya Telangi, Dr. Atmaram Pandurang, Ganesh Babaji, Govind Vishnu Bhide, Bhavani Vishvanath Kanvinde, Dr. Sakharam Arjun, Krishnashastri Chiplonkar, Parashram Ballal Godbole and Sadashiv Ballal Govindi.^^^^

One can notice an indirect relationship between the expression of an urge, on the part of the intellectuals for the collection of the source material and efforts of the European Sanskrit scholars for the collection of Sanskrit manuscripts. During this period Dr. Martin Haug, Dr. Bulher, and Dr. Kielhom took special interest in the collection of Sanskrit manuscripts.^^ ^ The DPI reports for these years give tabularized information about MSS so

* It is expressed that 'the autonomy of historiography was not only a question of language' but 'a question of power.' It is further stated by Guha as : "To assert the autonomy of Indian historiography amounted therefore, to challenging that right - Britain's right to rule India" Guha, R; op. cit; pp. 3, 49-50 # Dr. Martin Haug was the superintendent of Sanskrit studies Poona college. Dr. Franz Kielhom of the university of Leipsic, was appointed by the secretary of state to suc­ ceed Dr. Haug on his retirement from his appointment, on the IS"" of Jan, 1866. (Contd.) 253

collected. These efforts of the government agencies seem to have influenced contemporary Marathi intellectuals who for the most part were students of the government collages like Elphinstone College or Poona (later Deccan) College.

The first significant attempt of putting an alternative agenda into practice for rewriting history of the Marathas was made by the editor of Vividh-Dnyan-Vistar. In the October issue of 1871 there appeared an appeal to the people.^ ' Lamenting the poor state of historical writing in Maharashtra the editor wrote : "The great Shivaji stood foremost amongst those who bravely fought against the Muslim domination, freed his brethren and founded a new Kingdom. Many other great men succeeded him who expanded the Maratha power and took the Maratha standard everywhere. It is unfortunate that their real history has not yet been published. English men wrote the works on the history of the Marathas but one-sided and incomplete. Even when they have written complete histories, it is shameful for the people of this land that they don't know the history of their own nation and that to know it, they have to go to the histories written by foreigners." After explaining, how the records came to be neglected by the people, the editor expressed a fear about the life documents and expounded a programme : "There is a fear that if nobody paid attention to these records then in some days they will be destroyed. Our desire is to collect such records and write

Dr. Bulher J. G. was the professor of the oriental language at Elphinstone college D. P. I. Report (1865-66), p. 108 Dr. Kielhom and Dr. Bulher in their report to the Director on the search for Sanskrit MSS during the period from P' July 1870 to 10"' July 1870 wrote : "The number of manuscripts brought by Dr. Kielhom amounts to seven among which there is the very rare and very important Sriharsh Charitra, a poetical account of the great king who under the name Siladitya is mentioned by Hisuen Thsang, the famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim of the 7"' century A. D." D. P. I. Report (1870-71), Appendix 'H'. 254

a real history of the Marathas." Further the editor asked the people to conduct a search for the chronicles of Shivaji, of his successors, of the Peshwas and of various sardars and also for the documents of various battles. The editor gave a long list of place-names where the documents could be found. In the end of the appeal the editor explained the procedure regarding collecting and sending documents to them. The editor wrote : "Therefore, it is an appeal to all those who could get such records, they should collect and send them to us. Wherever, it is not possible to send the original one, a copy of it should be sent to us or should they send the original one to us, we will copy it down and will send the original back to the sender. We will bear all the expenses incurred on account of all this trouble." Thus here is an appeal that aimed at making people conscious of their own past. If the government was not willing to change its policy vis-a-vis the Pune Daftar, the people should on their own come forward to collect the historical material from other sources. This was indeed an indigenous method for the creation of an 'autonomous domain of history.' The appeal told people about the things to be done. It gave them a call for an immediate action. In faroff Bengal Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay gave expression to a similar idea when he wrote in the Bangdarshan in 1880 nine years later.

In Vividh-Dnyan-Vistar there appeared an exhaustive article which among other things criticized the teaching of history in schools, Duffs attitude towards Shivaji, the attitude of the people towards the historical * Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay wrote in the Bangadarshan of 1880 : "Bengal must have her own history. Otherwise there is no hope for Bengal. Who is to write it ? You have to write it. I have to write it. All of us have to write it. Anyone who is a Bengali has to write it.... Come, let us join our efforts in investigating the history of Bengal... It is not a task that can be done by any one person alone; it is a task for all of us to do together. Cited in : Guha, Ranajit, op. cit; p. 1 255

source material. The article also presented a critical examination of the source material for the Afzal episode^ ^

The article pointed out that the teaching of history in schools created wrong notions about Shivaji in the minds of students : "A school boy who does not know anything about history will commit to memory at the very beginning of his studies that Shivaji excelled in treachery. The student will never get rid of this idea whether he continues his studies or not." The article opined that some other factors must have caused Grant Duff to carry wrong impressions of Shivaji. While explaining it further, it said that is was in the context of the revolutionary situation of his times that Duff was to commit

* Image of Shivaji as portrayed in the school-books : i) "He rose to power by small acts of robbery...." Outline of the History of India, (Bombay, A. M. D. G; 2"'' ed; 1870), p. 15 ii) He certainly presented a complete of character not uncommon in the East or in the barbarous countries but seldom into view in our happier forms of society in which the monarch, general, partisan, bandit and even the expert thief are blended in nearly equal proportions, and each part is performed in equal success, according to the scene on which it is acted. In all these capacities Sewajee showed himself what we should call an excessively clever fellow, and the history of his tricks and sur­ prises, repeated and exaggerated for the sake of amusement has rendered his name highly popular among the Hindus. Yet there seems nothing, either in his objects or in his mode of pursuing them, which can entitle him to be ranked as a great man actuated by high or enlarged views of policy. In regard to his moral qualities, again it seems difficult to ascribe any merit to the man who scrupled at nothing whatever by which he could compass his ambitious designs; for it had the principles of faith or honour, it is obvious that they were never allowed to interfere with any important interests..." Murray H., History of British India (London, 1849), p. 24 iii) "rft JTiRFq^, gsTF 3T# wm ViW^ 3mr\ ^ itrd." "He was highly deceitful, plunderer and very cruel to the foreign subjects." Oak, V. K., Hindusthanacha Sankshipt Itihas (Bombay, 2"" ed; 1870), p. 24 iv) He plundered the territories of Delhi and Bijapur and increased his power Limaya, K., Maharashtra Deshache Vaman Ani Ithas (Pune, 1840), p. 22, trans, of a book by Eisdel, D. A., Catechism of the Georgraphy and History of Maharashtra. v) "3TO5T^R§R%7T^3WHT^^TT^3TTqtHicTJn^R#^q^SRHR^." While Afzal was negligent (Shivaji) thrust the tiger-claws into his stomach and killed him." Godbole, R. S., Maharashtra Deshacha Sankshipt Itihas, (Bombay, 1876), p. 12 vi) See also Morris, H., Hindusthanacha Itihas (Bombay, 1867), p. 22 256

a purposeful fraud upon the real account of the life of Shivaji. However, in the absence of substantial evidence it was difficult to prove the fraud. It stated that no one knew what happened to the records that had been used by Duff

While criticizing the attitude of the people towards the source material the article observed that though the people knew the value of the old records they considered the search for it as 'below dignity and childish.' It further criticized in strong words that the people would not change their attitude unless and until the British scholars describe those documents as of great importance and worth collecting. It emphasized that whenever one gets historical documents, one must do one's duty to publish them. Vividh Dnyan Vistar thus undertook the mission of inculcating the spirit in the minds of people of undertaking a search for the collection of the source material and of publishing them.

The article explained, how to examine the source material through logical analytical operations. It first stated Scot Waring's account of the Afzal episode. Scot Waring had appreciated Shivaji making all arrangements for his own defense and for keeping the control of the situation in his own hands, including the life of Afzal. He justified Shivaji's action on two counts. Firstly, Shivaji was left with no altemative but to meet Afzal; and secondly, it was Afzal who struck the first blow and then Shivaji killed him with the help of the tiger claws.

The article pointed out three things : i) Neither Scot Waring nor Grant Duff was an eye-witness to the Afzal episode; ii) One must present an account of an event on the basis of evidence. Then, Grant Duff should have written an account of the Afzal episode according to the first mentioned principle of historical research. Although Duff claimed that he gave an impartial account on the basis of evidence, the article pointed out that Duff did not refer to the 257

account given by Scott-waring, iii) The article rejected the English sources related to the Afzal episode on the ground that neither of the authors of them was present when the event took place. It further explained that if none of those Muslims who had been present there could escape the attack of Netaji Palkar to give an eye-witnessed account, then the only source, most close to the situation remained one that of the Marathas. At the same time, the article made it clear that the Marathi accounts were not without any defects.

The article maintained that the Hindu and the Muslim accounts of the story, described quite opposite views 'then it is the duty of an historian to state both the views and to try to find out truth.'

The purpose of this examination of the evidence on the Afzal episode was to bring to the notice of the readers how, in the absence of old records (evidence) truth came to be twisted. The editor in this article thus demonstrated to the readers how to examine the evidence. In other words, the editor wanted to convey the reader that since the documents are written in particular circumstances, with particular ends in view, they are not innocent. So the historian must be utmost careful in making use of a source material in creating a systematic and cohesive construct of an event. Here the editor emphasizes the importance of examining a document in the process of the writing of history.

The editor of the Vividh Dnyan Vistar after their appeal to the people did remain mute about their plan. On its own the Vistar started publishing a chronicle on the third battle of Panipat on the basis of the English translation of the original Persian account of Kashiraj.^ ^ It was stated that the Persian account of the battle of Panipat may differ from the Marathi one. It was hoped that the comparison between these two versions would help to bring the truth out. It was expressed that it would also be a good exercise to see where Grant 25S

Duff differed from it. The editor made it clear that though there are many Marathi documents including the 'Holkar's Thaili', dealing with the battle of Panipat, they obtained none. At the end of the article, the editor again made an appeal to the readers to send documents to them for publication.

The response to the appeal was quite encouraging ! Govind Babaji Joshi Vasaikar and Ganesh Balkrishnashastri Bodas sent a chronicle dealing with the Peshwa period and also a list of the names of ancient Hindu Kings, to the editor, respectively.^ '

The editors succeed in obtaining 'Ajnapatra' of Ramchandrapant Amatya Bawdekar.*^ ' The Vistar was deeply concerned with the problem of knowing the conditions prevailing in the 18"" century Maratha country. It was believed that the Marathas lost their Kingdom because the country had fallen in a state of anarchy. This was the oft-repeated theory of the breakdown of law and order in the Maratha country and elsewhere in India too, put forth by the imperial historians in order to justify their rule in India. The editors expressed that one should also take into account other factors that caused the expansion and decline of the Maratha power before dealing with its fall. They further told that sources alone could tell more about it. It was this concern of theirs that led them to embark upon the task of publishing "Ajnapatra." It was opined that there might be other such royal edicts dealing with other aspects of Maratha history.

The editors did not remain confined to the publication of documents related to political matters alone. It seems that they were also interested in knowing more about the society and culture of the Maratha times. They published a note on Instructions to the Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao. It is the most useful document throwing light on the types of instructions that had been imparted to the prince.^ ' 259

Jagannath Prabhakar Saranjame published the History of the House of Ahjabahaddur Shinde in 1872.' ' The author expressed his dissatisfaction with the attitude of the people in not making the material available to the scholars. The author himself had an opportunity while he was in the service of the Inam Commission to go through the old records. His association with the Inam Commission and the newly created spirit of making the use of old records in writing a work of history seems to have guided him in writing this particular work. The author, in the preparation of this particular work mainly relied on the authorities of Malcolm, Grant Duff, Murray, George Cambell and also Milton's Gazetteer and also made use of the old records including Marathi chronicles and of oral evidence collected from various individuals. Datto Vaman Potdar praised the author for his attempt at collecting historical information from various sources and hailed this as an important historical work.(60)

Thus, Kirtane challenged the hegemony of the colonial framework of historical writings, initiating the discussion on an alternative agenda for rewriting history of the Marathas. However, to put the agenda in practice, it was of foremost importance to break the bondage of colonial mentality. The man who performed this task was Vishnushastri Chiplonkar. Chiplonkar carried out his plan through the publication of the Nibandhmala. The publication of the Nibandhmala marked the birth of a new consciousness

* Chiplonkar started his literary career by editing the Shalapatrak in 1868. He helped his father (Krishnashastri) in completing the Marathi translation of a Rasselas, novel by Samuel Johnson. In 1869, he wrote Sanskrit Kavi-Panchak consisting of critical biographies of five Sanskrit poets - Kalidas, Bhavabhuti, Subandhyu, Ban and Dandi - first published serially in Shalapatrak. He brought out the first issue of the Nibandhamala, a monthly on 25"' January 1874. The first issue contained 20 pages where as the issue No. 2 to 25 contained 36 pages each. But, from issue No. 25 onwards the number of pages remained the same i. e. 32. It's last issue was of December 1881. In all there are 84 issues of the Mala. The Mala was a single-handed affair. The essays in the Mala dealt with a variety of topics-literary, political, historical, etc. 260

characterized by the attitude of self-respect, self-respect for one's own culture, religion, language and history. Chiplonkar pursued this plan with indomitable force of will which was the most striking peculiarity of his character. He wrote with extraordinary force of argument and language. His immensely stimulating and finely written essays became very popular with the educated Maharashtrians. He was influenced more particularly by the writings of Addison, Johnson, Junius and Macaulay. In this context, it is shown in the succeeding pages that Macaulay's writings, particularly his^ssay entitled "History", published in the year 1828 influenced Chiplonkar in developing his understanding about the nature and purpose of history. It is interesting as well as instructive to note that Chiplonkar's essay appeared in three successive issues i.e. the 6*, the 7'^ and the 8"' of the Nibandhmala in 1874 carried the same title i. e. ^Ici^m meaning 'History.'^

In writing this essay entitled 'History' Chiplonkar had three specific objectives before him. In the first place, he aimed at removing certain notions * Macaulay after considering various aspects of Junius' letters such as hand-writ­ ing style, composition, mode of argument and the moral resemblance concluded that Philip Francis, who was one of the councillors of the Governor General's coun­ cil during the Governor-Generalship of Warren Hastings, was Junius. According to Macaulay following are the most important facts to prove his point: "His acquain­ tance with the technical forms of the Secretary of State's office, his intimate ac­ quaintance with the business of the War-office; his attendance during the year 1770 at the debates of the House of Lords which refer to the speeches of Lord Chatham; his bitter resentment at the appointment of Mr. Chamier to the place of deputy sec­ retary at war; and his strong ties with that of first Lord Holland. The Works of Lord Macaulay : An Essay on "Hastings", (Albany ed; 1898), pp. 441-45

# Compare what Macaulay wrote in a letter to MaCvey Napier when he decided to devote himself to his "History" : "I shall not be satisfied unless I produce something which shall for a few days supersede the last fashionable novel on the tables of young ladies", with what Chiplonkar boastfully said about his achievements : "I am the Shivaji of the Marathi language, who has not his equal either to precede or succeed him." 1) Bryant, A., Macaulay, (London, rpt. 1979), p. 46 2) Sunthankar, B. R., Maharashtra: 1858-1920, (Bombay popular Book Depo 1993), p. 207 261

about history from the minds of the readers of the 'Mala' by way of illustrating them the advantages of the study of history - its educative, enlightening and didactic values. In the second place, he was fiilly determined to strike a heavy blow against the colonial hegemonistic frame-work of historical writing as provided by Mill and Macaulay; against the Christian missionaries for their vicious campaign against Hindu religion and culture; and against those educated ones, especially reformers, who in accepting the frame-work provided by the colonial historians and Christian missionaries denounced Hindu religion and culture. In the third place, he decided to give impetus to the study of history of the Marathas by urging the educated ones to make efforts for collection of source material.

Chiplonkar criticized both an unlightened mind and the mind possessing powerful capacity to think for they see no meaning in history and display their dislike for history.^ ^ He divided these people into two categories. He described the people of the first category as 'Yamkukshivale' who like to live a routine life of'feasting, siesting, smoking and chitchatting.' Such people always ask : "What will we get by knowing that Bajirao conquered Delhi and Nana Phadnavis displayed his ingenuity ?" He called the people of the second category as obstinate and heavy-witted. He expressed that although their views are respected in their specialized areas, their opinion need not be taken seriously in respect of the studies in which they have never cultivated their scholarship closely and intently viz. History.

With a view to remove misconceptions about history, Chiplonkarr

* Here the reference is to Dr. Johnson's statement, who wrote : "Great abilities are not requisite for an historian; for in historical composition, all the greatest powers of the human mind are quiescent. He has the facts ready to hand so there is no exercise of invention. Imagination is not required in any high degree; only about as much as is used in the lower forms of poetry." (contd.) 262

elaborately discussed the uses of history. In the first place, he stated that history satisfies the inquisitiveness of the human mindA ^ In fact, in the absence of this inquisitiveness, no change would have occurred in the original state of the world. He thought that the inquisitiveness of the human mind provides a powerful drive for a change when the original art and skill, and the genius and talent of the human mind come under suppression by the popular usage. It is this inquisitiveness of the human mind that creates an urge in human being to study the past.

Secondly, Chiplonkar gave more importance to the moral lessons of history.' ^ In fact he referred to the quote : "History is philosophy teaching by examples." He further explained that history is useful for it enables one to get good admonition from it; to distinguish between the good path and the bad path; to understand the meaning of real pleasure, real satisfaction and real dignity. It also enlarges one's vision.

Thirdly, history exalts and delights mind. Continual reading of history makes one's mind tranquil, steady. It has an ennobling effect. Chiplonkar was highly influenced by Carlyel's theory of great men (64)*

Tosh, J; The pursuit of History (New York, Longman Inc., 1984) p. 103. quoted from Chapman, R. W., (ed.), Boswell's Life of Johnson, (OUP, 1953), p. 304. Macaulay in his essay referred to Johnson's quote for his criticism of history in a contemptuous manner : "The historian tells either what is false or what is true : in the former case he is no historian : in the latter he has no opportunity for displaying his abilities : for truth is one : and all who tell the truth must tell it like." Macaulay's essay on 'History' op, cit; p. 179. See also : Nibandhmala, Ttihas', p. 34

* MaCaulay wrote : "History, it has been said, is philosophy teaching by examples". MaCaulay's essay on 'History', (Albany ed., 1898), p. 168. See also : Nibanshamala, 'Itihas', p. 37. 2S3

Chiplonkar compared the great men in history with the philosopher's stone. Following Carlyle, he believed that the study of great men in any way taken up is profitable.^ Chiplonkar further related the study of great men i. e. history with Locke's theory of education.^ ^ He, like Locke, believed that man is the product of his environment. Locke who thought that the human mind is a tabula rasa, a blank slate, on which sensation and experience engrave all knowledge, asserted the importance of the environmental factor in moulding the attitude of human beings. In this respect the study of history becomes much more significant. Realizing that the tendency of imitation is a powerfiil instinct in the human being, Chiplonkar forcefully stated that the proper cultivation of this tendency would yield extraordinary results. He explained that when people have forgotten their great men, reading of the biographies of great men, would create enthusiasm and inspiration in them. The reading of history would make one respect the sense of correct and proper deportment to which Chiplonkar attached greater importance, greater than intelligence. In this respect, he made comparison between Shivaji and Napoleon. He thought that because of the lack of the sense of correct and proper deportment Napoleon brought about the disaster of Europe, while Shivaji who possessed this sense of doing good to others, employed all his resources in advancing the cause of his people.^ ^

Fourthly, Chiplonkar stated that the reading of historical works is delightful.^ ^ He explained that there are such historical works in Greek, * Carlyle in his first lecture on 'The Hero as Divinity', explained that 'the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here'. Carlyle, T., Heroes, Hero-worship And The Heroic in History, ed. Advani, T. M., (Bambay, 2nd; 1922),p.l See also : Nibanshamala, 'Itihas', p. 37.

Carlyle, T., op. citl; p.2 See also : Nibanshamala, 'Itihas', pp. 37-39. 264

Latin, Persian and in English. He made reference to the historical works of Hume, Gibbon and Macaulay. He further maintained that these works are characterized by the qualities of their mode of writing, proper composition, proper arrangement of the material of a plot, profundity of thought and skills of introducing varied information at proper places. In other words, Chiplonkar insisted that an ideal historian should take into account all these aspects for making his work delightful to the reader. He further, while comparing the historical work with a novel, expressed that the habit of reading novels is harmful for it makes one's mind incapable of understanding the difficult and profound writings such as scientific works; it also spoils one's mind because of its strange and miraculous imaginations; and it also makes one's mind feeble.^ -' Chiplonkar continued this discussion still further and stated that the delightful historical works do not contain miraculous and strange stories of ghosts and goblins, of demons and of knights. Even then such historical

•4c works do not lack that poetic sentiment named 'surprise.' To illustrate this point, Chiplonkar made reference to the biographies of the heroes like Napoleon, the inventor like Watts, and the philosopher like Bacon. This makes it clear that his concept of history was not limited to political biographies but it covered, following Carlyle, the activities of great men from all fields. Chiplonkar concluded that the reading of historical works is certainly not harmflil, but on the contrary, it makes the reader's mind large and capable of thinking. And as the historical works contain records of bare truth, they unlike the novels create deep impressions upon the reader's mind.

* Macaulay while explaining the scope of historical studies wrote : "If he attends only to public transactions, to wars, congresses and debates, his studies will be as unprofitable as the travels of those imperial, royal, and serene sovereigns who from their judgment of our island from having gone in state to a few fine sights, and from having held formal conferences with a few great officers." Macaulay's essay on History, op. cit; p. 216 265

In the fifth place, Chiplonkar stated that history in its main purpose, is useful for statesmen. While writing about the usefulness of the historical works to a statesman, Chiplonkar stated that just as the biographies are useful for an individual, the historical works are useful for a statesman.^ ^ He further elaborated this point and opined that the present day rulers have been immensely benefited from the study of polity, the organization of army, the law, etc; of the Greeks and Romans. The study of history enabled the rulers to understand what are the beneficial things; what are the tricks and devices to overcome calamities; what are the causes of conflicts; and what are the ways to keep people happy.^ '* For Chiplonkar, historical knowledge is not only useful but also essential for progress. He observed a direct relationship between the concept of historical knowledge and the concept of progress.^ ^ He seemed to believe that it is impossible to attain progress without historical knowledge. For him the past of any society is like what the roots are to a tree or to a building. He categorically stated that it is impossible to understand any society simply by studying its present state. Suffice it so that Chiplonkar made it imperative to enquire into the past of a society with the changes occurred in it, for its better understanding. He expressed that in the absence of historical knowledge, it is impossible to get any idea about the future developmental course of any society.^ * While commenting on the contribution of Mitford to the historical writing Macaulay wrote : "Mr. Mitford certainly introduced great improvements; he showed us that men who wrote in Greek and Latin sometimes told lies; he showed us that ancient history might be related in such a manner as to furnish not allusions to school boys, but important lessons to statesmen" (Italics by researcher) Macaulay's essay on 'History', op. cit., p. 210 See also : Nibandhmala, 'Itihas', p. 45

# Macaulay while emphasizing the importance of historical knowledge in respect of the predictability of the future course of development wrote : "No past event has any intrinsic importance. The knowledge of it is valuable only as it leads us to form just calculations with respect to the future. A history which does not serve this purpose, though it may be filled with battles, treaties and commotions is as useless as the

(contd.) 266

Lastly, Chiplonkar stated that the various faculties of mind become matured by the reading and contemplation of history A^ Study of history causes the gradual growth of the faculty of memory because one has to remember dates, place-names and names of individuals. It also causes the growth of mental faculty. Chiplonkar emphasized that without the use of historical imagination one will not be able to understand particularly the histories of distant countries and of remote times. Further, he made a distinction between historical accounts and fiction. In order to explain this point he cited the travels of Columbus and the travels of Sindhbad, the Taj of Shahjahan and the mansion of Ala-ud-din the magician. In this context, he opined that the historical account, unlike the fiction, being true, the reading of it, would not make the reader compunctioned, and will create a greater impact upon his mind. Chiplonkar was an empiricist who believed that experience is the source of all knowledge.^ -'^ He thought that most of the historical objects are perceivable and therefore their impressions upon mind are distinct than those of fictions. Thus because of this empiricist character of history, the reader will find interested in it. The Knowledge of history causes growth of the faculty of thinking. He realized the importance of both - the why history and how history. series of turn poke tickets collected by Sir Mathew Mite". Macaulay's essay on 'History', op. cit., p. 212. See also : Nibandhamala, 'Itihas', p. 46. * Macaulay's thinking about a fiction runs like this : He wrote : A fiction may give a more impressive effect to what is already known; but it can teach nothing new..., instead of deriving insturctions from it, we pronounce it unnatural. We do not form our opinions from it, but we try it by our preconceived opinions. Fiction therefore, is essentially imitative..." Macaulay's essay on 'History', op. cit., p. 180. See also : Nibandhamala, 'Itihas', p. 48. # Macaulay, while emphasizing the importance of the philosophy of empiricism wrote : "It has lengthened life; it has mitigated pain; it has extinguished diseases; it has increased the fertility of the soil; it has given new securities to the mariner; it has furnished new arms to the warior...." Geyl, p; op. cit., p. 32 267

Reading of history enables the reader to understand the vivid and dappled nature of the human mind. The reader comes to know about state, society, etiquettes and religious beliefs. Thus, the reading of history widens horizon of outlook of the reader; freeze him from illusions and foolish notions; helps him in getting the better perspective of reality and teaches him to be friendly with others. Chiplonkar strongly criticized the people for their parochialism and obstinacy, people who maintain that they are the only wise and the chosen people; and their mannerisms as the only best mannerisms; their country as the only civilized country; their religion as the only real religion promoting good behaviour; their language as the only excellent language; and their knowledge and arts as the only adorable things in the whole of the world.'' ^* In a way Chiplonkar was implicitly replying to Mill and Macaulay and the Christian missionaries who not only criticized the religion, mannerisms, knowledge and arts and language of the Hindus but also condemned their civilization in toto and they portrayed themselves as the only civilized people. Chiplonkar with a view to emphasizing the importance of the study of history, made reference to Edmund Burke's 'Reflections on the French Revolution.'^ -' Burke's judgments on the future course of the French Revolution, which came to be true were based on the study of the history of France. Chiplonkar following Burke, observed that the cdntinuity of history is meaningful. In this context, he further referred to the pdsitivist-view-point

* Macaualy in his review-type essay on Southey's work entitled, 'Sir Thomas More', boastfully remarked while commenting about Southey's influence on the English society that 'a mind like Mr. Southey's.... a mind which has exercised considerable influence on the most enlightened generation of the most enlightened people that ever existed...." (Italics by researcher) Macaulay's, essay entitled 'Southey's colloquies', op. cit., p. 45 See also : Macaulay sincerely believed that his England was, 'the greatest and most highly civilized people', not only of the world of his day, but of the world of all times. Geyl, p; Debates with Historians, (London, 1955), p. 26 268

of history.^ ^ The positivists who thought of the science of human nature in the same way as the science of nature, emphasized a view-point that history too can claim to certainty in its conclusions, making predictions possible in history. It seems that in this respect he might have also read Buckle who thought that 'the movements of nations are perfectly regular and that like all other movements, they are solely determined by their antecedents. If he cannot do this, he is no historian.' Chiplonkar, like the Whigs believed in the concept of progress in history.^ •'* In order to explain this point he showed that events such as the destruction of the Roman empire, defeat of the Christians in the crusades, the Revolution in France, etc; might seem contrary to the course of progress, but in fact, they were of temporary nature and the world benefited from them. He observed that the world is coming closer and is gradually becoming wise and happy. Chiplonkar, realized the importance of interpretation in history, but at the same time reminded the reader that it is not the job of an ordinary man; for it requires observation, perusal of many books, much experience of the world and the style of presenting the matter.^ '^

* Macaulay belived that, 'History is full of the signs of natural progress of society.' He further explained that "We see in almost every part of annals of mankind how the industry of individuals, struggling up against wars, taxes, famines, conflagrations, mis­ chievous prohibitions, and more mischievous protections, creates faster than govern­ ments can squander and repairs whatever invaders can destory; we see the wealth of nations increasing, and all the arts of life approaching nearer and nearer to perfection, in spite of the grossest corruption and the wildest profusion on the part of rulers. Macaulay's essay entitled 'Southey's Colloquies', op.cit; pp. 499-500. See also : Geyl; p; op, cit., pp. 32-33. See also : Nibandhamala, 'Itihas', p. 52. # While writing about the qualities of a perfect historian Macaulay wrote : "By observing the manners of surrounding nations, by studying their literature, by com­ paring it with that of his own country and of the ancient republics, he is enabled to correct those errors into which the most acute men must fall when they reason from a single species to a genus...." Macaulay's essay on 'History', op. cit; p. 207 269

After enlightening the reader on the meaning and uses of history, Chiplonkar proceeded to deal with challenges posed by the writings of colonial historians. He understood that the British domination over the Indian subcontinent was complete and it characteristically differed from the earlier ones. The state of affairs created as result of this imperial domination made Chiplonkar despondent, for he hardly felt any possibility of the country getting independence from the foreign clutches. But he was consoled by his belief in the cyclical theory of history for it supposes that the wheel of time is continuously rotating causing the succession of ups and downs.^ ' He further elucidated that how the ancient civilizations such as the Greek, the Roman and the Arab which once flourished also experienced the fall. From the cyclical theory of history, Chiplonkar inferred that what happened to those civilizations, also happened to the Hindu civilization and for this he felt no surprise. He took note of the fact that the critics of the Hindu civilization did not view the rise and fall of the Hindu civilization as a part of the cyclical process of history and went on condemning it. It was this attitude of the critics that enraged Chiplnkar and forced him to challenge their position.

Foremost among such critics were the Christian missionaries and the British historians. The Christian missionaries depicted the Hindus as, 'foolish, fatuous, coward, fraudulent and dissolute.'*^ -' The British historians too did not lag behind them in condemning the Hindus. Consequently, the British officials in India and the British public in general formed their notion about the Hindus as 'trifle, vile and foolish.^ ' Chiplonkar insisted that the Hindus

* It is interesting to compare this view of Chiplonkar with that of Majumdar. Majumdar while criticizing Mill argued the same point of view. He wrote : "Following the same argument on would be fully justified in dismissing as myth the stories of the greatness of Greek and Roman civilization by considering the conditions of Greece and Italy in the eighteenth century. But Mill was not prepared to believe that like the Romans and Greeks of the present day the Hindus were formerly in a "state of high civilization." Mujumder, R. C, Historiography in Modem India, (-,Asia publishing House, 1970), p. 12 270

should refute these blemishes. Accordingly, he himself analysed the causes for the formation of such an attitude vis-a-vis the Hindus.

In the first place, Chiplonkar criticized both the common Englishman and the so called Indologists for hardly they possessed any real knowledge about the religion, learning and languages of the Hindus and still they condemned them.^ ^

Secondly, Chiplonkar tried to explain the psyche of the imperial mind. He observed that the superordinte one would never like to appreciate the greatness of the subordinate one. On the contrary, the superordinate one would always try to impose one's greatness on the subordinate one. Thus, Chiplonkar's explanation is that it was this mentality that made the Englishman look down upon the Hindus with contempt and ridicule them.^ ^

Chiplonkar's criticism became more severe in his dealing with the British historians particularly Mill and Macaulay. It must be made clear that it was not his purpose to present a critical review of their historical writings about India. Chiplonkar was basically interested in bringing to the notice of the reader, the prejudicial attitude of these historians towards the Hindus on the background of their tall claims to write, 'a factual, just and scholarly' historical account.^ ^

Chiplonkar was not the first one to criticize Mill. As early as, in the year 1832, Balshastri Jambhekar, under the influence of orientalists in Bombay had implicitly rejected Mill's notion about the Hindu Civilization. On the background of Mill's ^History of India' Balshastri found, Elphinstone's 'History of India' strikingly different because of its marked sympathetic treatment of the Hindu period. 'It was not by mistake or by chance that first Balshastri Jambhekar and later on Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik translated Elphinstone's 'History of India' into Marathi. In a way, 271

it was an attempt to indirectly reply Mill's condemnation of the Hindu civilization. However, it goes to the credit of Bhaskar Pandurang Tarkhadkar to have launched into a strong and direct criticism of Mill's 'History of India.' He under the pen-name of 'A Third Hindu' wrote in the Bombay Gazette of November 6, 1841, : "James Mill is an author biased and prejudiced in the highest degree, an author, who had never visited even from a distance, the shores of the country, whose history in general forms the subject of his work, and who is severely despised for his partiality even by his own countrymen."^ ^* Chiplonkar went further and decided to break the mental shackles of slavery created by the writings of Mill.

Chiplonkar found the extreme end of revilement against the Hindus in Mill's 'History of India.'^ ^ In the first place. Mill as he had never come to India lacked any Kind of first-hand experience of the Indian society. Secondly, Mill made no use of the original source material and totally depended only on the material available in English, for.he lacked the knowledge of any of the Indian languages.

Thirdly, Mill failed to present an impartial account of the history of India. Chiplonkar while exposing Mill's ingenuity pointed out that in the process of the selection of facts, Mill chose only those facts which were against the Hindus and eliminated all those which were in appreciation of the Hindus. Chiplonkar emphasized that Mill bore a strong grudge against the Hindus to such an extent that he even failed to appreciate, 'the muslin of Dacca', 'the Taj of Agra', 'Shakuntal of Kalidas', and 'Caves of Verul.'^^^^ Chiplonkar ridiculed Mill for his illogical remarks about the caves of Verul. In the end, Chiplonkar concluded that Mill's 'History of India' was bound * Mill's 'History', became a standard work for the East India Company officials and eventually a text-book for candidates for the Indian civil service. Forbes, James Mill and India, p. 23, cited from, Majeed, J. op. cit., p. 128 See also : Gooch, G. P., op. cit., p. 306 272

to create foolish notions about the Hindus for which he expressed no surprise!

Long before the pubHcation of Chiplonkar's this essay entitled 'His­ tory', Dr. H. H. Wilson, an eminent orientalist, in his preface to the critically edited Mill's 'History of India', in the year 1840, had exposed Mill. Dr. Wilson commented on Mill's prejudicial treatment of the Hindu civilization as, "In many instances, the intensity of his prejudices has dimmed the clearness of his perception and blunted the acuteness of his intelligence."^ ^ He pointed out that Mill's 'History', 'presents inaccuracies both of fact and opinion''- \ and this he attributed to Mill's, 'imperfect knowledge of the country and unacquaintance with any of the languages spoken in it.'' ^ While commenting about the unscientific attitude of Mill in regard to the handling of authorities he wrote : "He commonly attaches the greatest weight to the authorities which are least entitled to confidence...'^ ^ He, while editing Mill's work, pointed out numerous instances of, 'mistaken estimate and partial application of authority.'^ ^ Dr. Wilson's remark in respect of Mill's motives is quite interesting as well as instructive. He wrote, "And this he did to establish the barbarism of the Hindus."^ ^ From all this discussion one may find a close parallel between the criticism of Dr. Wilson and that of Chiplonkar, of course with a difference of vigour and spirit! Even one may not find any difficulty in expressing that Chiplonkar might have referred to the critically edited Mill's 'History', by Dr. Wilson. Later on. Dr. R. C. Majumdar, in his critical appraisal of Mill's extra-ordinary anti-Hindu outburst, arrived at the conclusion that, 'Mill suffered from a strong dose of racial prejudice.'^ '' It is surprising to note that, in spite of all the criticism that Chiplonkar leveled against Mill's work, one doesn't find him ever considering Mill, even in the least, a racist ! Dr. Javeed, in his recent indepth study of Mill has opined that Mill was not in any way a racist. Dr. Javeed justified his stand on the ground that, "he (Mill) never expressed a belief in zn

inherent racial differences as accounting for different forms of society."^ ^ He further argued that, 'his (Mill's) argument in the 'Essay on Colonies', demonstrates his belief that the universalistic character of the principle of utility renders such consideration irrelevant?^ ^ Even Professor J. K. Galbraith, in his preface to the latest edition of Mill's work, did not call Mill a racist and preferred to describe, 'a very narrow man.'^ '' Prof. Galbraith's further comments are more interesting and one may find a similarity of views with that of Chiplonkar. Porf. Galbraith wrote : ".. ..he must have been nearly devoid of aesthetic sense. In consequence the magic of Indian temple architecture and sculpture escapes him entirely. And so does the art and architecture of the rulers."^ ^ Of course, here again Chiplonkar was concerned more with Mill's malice towards the Hindus rather than his aesthetic sense ! Chiplonkar spent more space for his criticism against Macaulay. In his criticism against Macaulay, Chiplonkar made reference to Macaulay's essay on 'Clive', 'Hastings',and 'Gladstone on Church and State'^

* Javed in his work on Mill has argued that "Mill's History was not just a critique of Indian cultures and British rule, more importantly, in using British India as a testing ground for utilitarianism, it was fashioning a critique for British society itself "He fur­ ther argued that, "it is this self-reflexivity in Mill's thought along with the role which linguistic and aesthetic beliefs played in it, which has been neglected by scholars eager to represent the History as simply an attempt to apply utilitarianism to British India." Majeed, J; Ungovemed Imaginings, (Oxford, 1992), p. 128

# While commenting on Macaulay's essays on 'Clive' and 'Warren Hastings', the historian Gooch writes : "The two great Indian essays, written shortly after his re­ turn from Calcutta, are among the most magnificent of Macaulay's achievements... of the two 'Clive' is the more accurate, but the less popular... But 'Warren Hastings' is perhaps Macaulay's most brilliant work... Yet the picture of Hastings is perhaps the most dazzling work of art in the authors gallery, it is one of the most inaccurate of his portraits. Gooch, G. P., History and Historians in the Nineteenth century, (Longmans, Green and CO. Ltd; New Impression, 1935). pp. 296-97 The historian Geyl has also criticized Macaulays' essay on warren'Hastings for his unfairly treatment of Mr. Justice Impey, Geyl, P; Debates with Historians (London, 1935), p. 30 274

It may be recalled that it was Macaulay who while commenting on Jame's Mill's 'History of British India', during the debates of 1833, had described it "On the whole the greatest historical work which has appeared in our language since thatofGibbon".(^^ht may be recalled that it was Mill who himself had suggested Macaulay's name to the select Committee of the House of Commons as the one who would do the jobs of introducing legal reforms in India.^^^^^ It may be recalled that in defence of the introduction of Western learning in India, Macaulay had asserted that, 'a single shelf of good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia?'^ ^ All these references suggest that Macaulay had accepted the framework provided by Mill in understanding and judging the Indian past, to which Macaulay gave expression, in his above mentioned esays. It was obious that Chiplonkar attacked Macaulay for his notions of the Hindu Civilization.

Chiplonkar expressed that Macaulay's references in respect of India exhibited his obstinacy nay his puerility. He pointed out that Macaulay cited illustrations from the Greek, Latin and Persian works and also from the works in modem European languages, but not from the Sanskrit ones - not even from 'Shakuntal'- the English translation of which influenced many a German Scholar.^^^^) One finds it difficuU to be in concurrence with the views expressed by Chiplonkar that Macaulay was doing all this deliberately. For this explanation, one needs to go still further and examine Chiplonkar's comments about Macaulay. Chiplonkar expressed surprise, for though, Macaulay unlike Mill, had the first hand experience of the Indian society, he criticized it to such an extent that he found nothing praiseworthy about it.^ ^ But this is rather misrepresenting Macaulay. Macaulay in his essay on 'Clive' described the people of India, 'as highly civilized' as the victorious spaniyards'; their cities, 'larger and fairer than Saragossa or Toledo'; their 275

buildings, 'more beautiful and costly than the Cathedral Sevelle'; and their bankers, 'richer than the richest firms of Barcelona or Cadiz.'^ ^ Macaulay beautifully described the richness of Bengal. He wrote : "....Bengal was known through East as the garden of Eden as the rich kingdom. Its population multiplied exceedingly. Distant provinces were nourished from the overflowing of its granaries; and the noble ladies of London and Paris were clothed in the delicate produce from its looms..."^ -' In his essay on Hastings he gave a beautiful description of the city of Benaras : "the schools and temples drew crowds of pious Hindus from every province where the Brahminical faith was known... All along the shores of the venerable stream lay great fleets of vessels laden with merchandise. From the looms of Benaras went forth the most delicate skills that adorned the balls of St. Stames and of Versailles; and in the bazaars the muslin of Bengal and the sabres of Oude were mingled with the jewels of Golkonda and the shawls of Cashmere."^ '

Macaulay in his essay on 'Hastings' described that the Europeans had been under an illusion about the wealth of India and further describing the state of India wrote : "Nobody seemed to be aware of what nevertheless was most undoubtedly the truth, that India was a poorer country than countries which in Europe are reckoned poor, than Ireland for example, or than Portugal."' ^ Chiplonkar found this whole expression bewildering. He boldly asked : '.. .then how did England become rich ?'^ ^ Chiplonkar most probably under the influence of Dadabhai Nauroji's drain theory clearly stated that England became rich by plundering the wealth of India. In this respect, Chiplonkar was holding the mlers of the East India Company responsible for this poor state of India. But he derisively said that tomorrow they (the Englishmen) might with a view to avoiding their responsibility, attribute this poor state of India to the tyrannical rule of the Indian despots. Chiplonkor 278

further observed that though Macaulay Hved in Bengal and visited its many parts, he found nothing good about Indians. Here Chiplonkar in his attack on Macaulay, went out of context and misrepresented him ! Macaulay in his essay on Clive criticized the oppressive rule not only of the Indian despots but also of the East India Company. While criticizing the administration of the East India Company in Bengal, Macaulay wrote : "That government oppressive as the most oppressive form of barbarian despotism, was strong enough with all the strength of civilization. It resembled the government of evil genii rather than the government of human tyrants."^ -' In fact Macaulay while summing up all instructions that Hastings received from home wrote : "Govern leniently and grand more money ?"^ ^ Macaulay while explaining the evil effects of the efforts of the Supreme court to extend its jurisdiction over the whole of the Company's territory wrote : "No Maratha invasion had ever spread through the province such dismay as this inroad of English lawyers. All the justice of former oppressors, Asiatic and European, appeared as a blessing when compared with the justice of the Supreme Court?"^^^^^ Suffice it to say that Macaulay in describing the poor state of India was pointing that the notion of the European bankers about the wealth of India was not correct, in fact, it was in contrast to the condition that prevailed in India. One should bear it in mind that Macaulay in presenting this reality, he, equally in strong words, criticized the administration of the Company in Bengal.

Macaulay had severely criticized the Hindu system of education and law, and had strongly supported the replacement of them by the English ones. Chiplonkar found the logical culmination of these views of Macaulay in two suggestions which he put forth regarding the Hindu religion.^ ^ In the first place, Macaulay advocated the total annihilation of Hinduism because of its mean nature. And secondly, he justified the imposition of Christianity on the 277

Hindus, in their best interest. These two suggestions must be considered separately. Macaulay had no regard for Hinduism. In his condemnation of Hinduism he wrote : "In no part of the world is heatheism more cruel, more licentious, more fruitful of absurd rites and pernicious laws."^^^^) This his understanding of Hinduism should not be mixed up with his 'suggestions' for the demolition of Hinduism and the imposition of Christianity upon the Hindus. This was his counter argument to what Gladstone had opined about the Irish Catholics. Gladstone, in his work entitled, 'The state in its Relations with the Church', expressed that the seven millions of Irish Catholics should be brought over to the protestant church.^ ' While criticizing Gladstone for his double-standard approach Macaulay asked that then why not the government should use, 'its power and its revenue in order to make seventy millions of idolaters. Christians.'^ -' This is an argument for the sake of argument. Macaulay never meant it the way Chiplonkar put it. Really the very purpose of Macaulay in reviewing Gladstone's work lay in challenging his basic assumption that, 'the propagation of religious faith is the principal duty of the government,^ ^ by clearly stating that it is not so, 'but the protection of the persons and property of men.'' ^ From all this it becomes clear that Macaulay himself really never put forth any such idea; he never supported any one who put forth such an idea; but on the contrary to it, he challenged and criticized it.

However, in all this discussion one thing is distinct clear, Chiplonkar clearly characterized the relationship between the rulers and the ruled-ones as one that of the superordinate and the subordinate type. Chiplonkar perceived that this kind of relationship created a major hindrance in getting the real knowledge about the Hindus. In fact, he explicitly stated that there would be no real knowledge about the Hindus so long as this type of relationship continues to exist. 278

Then, Chiplonkar further moved on to criticize the attitude of the English educated ones, for they too under the influence of the British historians and the Christian missionaries condemned their own ancestors in stead of taking pride in their great deeds and considered their religion, their sciences, their knowledge, and their all other things as maddish.^ ^ Chiplonkar charged the English educated ones that they wanted to destroy everything that was indigenous for the sake of reform. In one sense Chiplonkar's attack becomes meaningful, because he considered that such an effort of understanding one's own society through the perception of the English historians and Christian missionaries as improper and ignominious. He further warned that such an attempt of imitation would create mental slavery.^ ^ This is exactly the same argument that Edward Said has developed in his much debated work-'Orientalism.' Chiplonkar, at the same time, made it clear that he was not against pointing out the drawbacks but against exaggerating them. Here it seems that Chiplonkar gave more emphasis on the understanding of one's own society from within; probably to avoid distortion that arises from the understanding of the society from without. But this approach puts limitation on the process of understanding of one's own society by oneself This approach fails to give a totality view, and exactly this happened in case of Chiplonkar. This particular point is discussed later.

Chiplonkar, thinking that the method of imitation creates mental slavery, attacked the English educated ones, for their adoption of it in every respect such as dress, language, manners and etiquettes.^ ^ In other words, Chiplonkar was criticizing the process of westernization based on the method of imitation. In a colonial setting, this process of westernization was bound to create mental slavery. In this context one may recall Macaulay, who had expressed the hope, in defense of the introduction of English education in India, that this would create, 'a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour 279

but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.'^ ^ Chiplonkar cited examples of mental slavery as reflected in the writings of Moroba Canhoba and N. V. Joshi. Moroba Canhoba, in his work entitled, 'Ghashiram Kotwal' wrote everything to ridicule the Hindus in every respect. He described the Hindus as barbarous, stupid and fatuousA -' Chiplonkar pointed out that N. V. Joshi in his work entitled 'Punyache Vaman' described the origin of the world in accordance with that of the Bible and wrote not even a single piece of information in appreciation of the Peshwas. Chiplonkar made a charge against Joshi that he wrote with a view to please the Christian missionaries such as Dr. Wilson.'- ^ Here Chiplonkar was trying to emphasize that in the process of westernization, the formation of such a view point, of condemning ones own civilization, was the logical result of the method of imitation. The crucial feature of his criticism lay in the fact that he strongly put forth the necessity of completely abandoning the method of imitation. It was but obvious that Chiplonkar aimed at breaking the shackles of mental slavery.

Chiplonkar comprehended that the superordinate - subordinate type of power relationship was bound to affect the process of history writing. In this respect Chiplonkar emphasized the disdainful attitude of the superordinate vis-a-vis the history of the subordinate. To explain this point he cited Maurice's 'History of India.'' ^ Chiplonkar showed that Maurice spent not more than thirty to thirty-five pages for describing the long period of Indian history from its beginning to the year 1739. Maurice finished each of the Mughal emperors in a few lines except Akber, on whom he spent a page for describing his reign of fifty years ! Maurice portrayed Shivaji as a thief He hardly discussed the activities of the Peshwas. But, he devoted almost all the portion of his book to describe the rise and expansion of the British power in India. Thus, Chiplonkar was right in criticizing Maurice for he equated the 280

history of India with that of the history of the rise and expansion of the British power in India. Chiplonkar also criticized Maurice for committing a number of factual mistakes. He also referred to the factual mistakes occurred in Penny Encyclopedia with reference to the history of the Marathas.' ^ In all this discussion Chiplonkar stressed the attitude of indifference and of hatred of the superordinate towards the history of the subordinate. In support of this conviction, he pointed out that even the story of the publication of Duffs work revealed the same attitude !^ -^

Chiplonkar observed that how the repressive measures of the government compelled the Hindus to utter humiliation and in strong language criticized the political atmosphere in the country. He also observed that how under the impact of the writings of Mill and Macaulay and of the Christian missionaries, the minds of the English educated ones became enslaved. While commenting on the gravity of the situation, he stated that the impact was so deep that the English educated ones began to understand the word 'a Hindu' as synonym of'a fool.'^ ^ Chiplonkar's comprehension of the situation becomes meaningful in his realization that this mental slavery resulted in alienating the English educated ones from their own religion, language and culture. And, this alienation, in his view was total. In this deplorable state of affairs, he realized the difficulty of the Hindu writers in holding out themselves against the smartness of the pen of the English savants. He stressed the need to rise to the occasion to revive the spirit of the Hindu reed- pen, before it dies out. He himself decided to give the lead and then reminded the Hindus of their various great traditions such as that of learning, of heroism, of devotion, of justice etc.*' ' He expressed hope that the Hindu religion which is most ancient and which was once defended by men like Shankaracharya, would not get destroyed by the pratting and arid logic of 'Macaulay, Rev. Wilson and Phule.'^^^^^ 281

In the light of this discussion it becomes clear that the problem before Chiplonkar was, how to check the process of alienation. Thus, after identifying the problem, Chiplonkar, with a view to enabling the English educated ones to free themselves from the shackles of mental slavery, stressed the need of writing good and objective works on the history of India. One may recall that what Prof. Oakshott has asserted in respect of the importance of writing history. He wrote : "History is historian's experience. It is made by nobody save the historian : to write history is the only way of making it."(130) This was the only way out for providing the reader with correct information and better perception. Chiplonkar described the works of Duff and Malcolm as mainly the works of political history.^ '' This implied that the new works of history should deal with various aspects of the Indian society, other than the political one. For the writing of new works, original source material should be made available to the scholars of history. But, as already explained, the policy of the government was rather discouraging. A few years ago, an appeal regarding the collection of old documents had appeared in the 'Vividh Dnyan Vistar.' Chiplonkar while referring to this appeal pointed out that how the ignorance, carelessness or stupidity of the people failed to evoke little response.^ ^ Chiplonkar asked the people to serve their nation and their ancestors by collecting old documents from famous historical houses before they get perished. He, further, told the reader to collect even an insignificant piece of information for the very piece, might throw new light on the understanding of the past. He also asked them to collect the English works about India as they give sympathetic treatment to the issues of the Indian society, such as 'Malcolm's account of Ahilyabai', 'Scott's account of the Afzal episode'. Meadows Taylor's, 'Tara', 'Seeta', and 'The confession of a Thug.'^ -'

Thus, Chiplonkar, threw out a challenge to the colonial framework 282

of historical writings and rescued the Maratha historiography from the crisis of colonial dependence. And shortly, within a period of four years, since, the publication of this essay; i.e. on the P' of January 1878, Ch.iplonkar in co­ operation with Kashinath Narayan Sane and Janardan Balaji Modak started 'the Kavyetihas-Sangriha' for the publication of Sanskrit and Marathi texts.^ ^ This was an attempt to correct the unfamiliar and distorted notion of the Indian past created by the colonial historians. This marked the birth of a new historical consciousness, - a consciousness characterized by the spirit of nationalism. Chiplonkar's writings provided a powerful drive with a view to creating an urge in the minds of the people to come out of their mental slavery. This emancipatory approach was bound to initiate the process of deconstruction of the colonial hegemonistic framework. The process of deconstruction aims at identifying the multitude of meanings and undoing the "constructs" of ideology or convention that have imposed meaning on the text. The process inevitably and intentionally, exposes inconsistencies and contradictions leading to declare that 'there is no such thing as a single meaning in a text, nor can it claim to express any absolute Truth.^^ Chiplonkar's writings contained all those elements of the process of deconstruction. All that was to manifest in the struggle for freedom.

One must not lose sight of the fact that Mill's criticism against the Hindu civilization posed a very basic problem in regard to the sociology of the Hindu religion. Mill's application of the principles of reason and utility had exposed the lack of conformity to practical everyday rationality and its utility in the Hindu religion. He had also brought out its inhuman and exploitative nature. Thus, Mill's 'History' shaped theoretical basis for the emancipatory programme and this influenced many a reformer in Maharashtra, the foremost amongst them were men like Phule and Lokhitwadi. Both Lokhitwadi and Phule challenged the traditional bondage 283

of hegemony and stood for the cause of reforming the society. Chiplonkar wrote on Lokhitwadi in twelve issues of 'Nibandhamala' from April 1880 to June 1881. Here Chiplonkar wrongly branded the advocates of social reforms as the enemies of political freedom. He failed to understand that the appreciation of the British rule in India by the reformers meant the upholding of certain basic values such as individualism, liberalism, rationalism and humanism. Chiplonkar showed complete indifference to the writings of Phule and dubbed him as the friend of Christian missionaries.*- ^ He misconceived the social significance of the writings and activities of Phule. He sincerely believed that his views of nationalism represented the alpha and omega of political freedom. And with this frame of reference, it was difficult for him to understand the complex and subtle social issues of his times. This put limitations on the movement that he initiated for the rewriting of the history of the Marathas. It is for this reason that the nature of Marathi historical writings continued to remain elitist in character for a long period*

To summing up : The Pune Daffar as a result of the policy of the government, remained closed to the native scholars. The intellectuals in Maharashra realizing that the Pune Daffar contained a treasure of historical documents made repeated appeals to the government to open its doors to the native scholars. But the response of the government to the appeal

* While taking into account the Maratha historical writings which came to be produced during the 19th century, one should not forget the fact that even in Europe historical writings primarily remained preoccupied with political history dealing mainly with 'statecraft, faction and war.' Even the great Ranke wrote that 'the spirit of modem times... operates only by political means. (l)The scope of historical studies broadened mainly during the twentieth century with an awareness of the fact that 'they (historian) could leam from other disciplines, especially the social sciences - economics, sociology, social psychology and geography, (a particularly strong enthusiasm of the Annales historians.' (2) 1) Tosh, J., The Pursuit of History (New York, Longman, 1984), p. 67. 2) Ibid., p. 79. 284

disappointed the intellectuals in Maharashtra.

Grant Duffs History of the Marathas came to be accepted since its publication as the only standard authority. Nilkanth Janardan Kirtane in his criticism against Duff s 'History' not only challenged the colonial hegemonistic framework of historical writing but also presented an alternative agenda for rewriting history of the Marathas. The first significant attempt to put an alternative agenda into practice was made by the editor of Vividh-Dnyan- Vistar when the appeal for collecting and publishing documents appeared in its October issue of 1871. Vishnushatri Chiplonkar through the publication of the Nibandhmala aimed at breaking the bondage of colonial mentality. He struck a heavy blow against the colonial hegemonistic framework of historical writing as provided by Mill; against the Christian missionaries for their vicious campaign against Hindu religion and culture and against those educated ones who under the influence of Mill and Macaulay and of Christian missionaries denounced their own religion and culture. In the discussion an attempt has been made to analyze Macaulay's influence on Chiplonkar. Chiplonkar threw out a challenge to the colonial framework of historical writing and rescued the Maratha historiography from the crisis of colonial dependence. Later Chiplonkar in co-operation with Sane and Modak started 'Kavyetihas Sangraha' for the publication of old manuscripts. This marked the birth of a new historical consciousness characterized by the spirit of nationalism. However, the nature of Maratha historical writings continued to remain elitist in character for a long period. 285 References

1. Jambhekar, G. G; (Comp. and ed.), Memiors and Writings of Acharya Balshastri Jumbhekar (1812-1846), Vol.11 (Pune, Lokshikshan Karyalay, 1950)pp.207-209. 2. Kshatri, K.G., (ed.), Rajyavyavahar Kosh (Bombay, 1860), p. 1. 3. Priyolkar, A.K; (ed.),Lokhitwadi Krit Nibandhasangriha; ( Mumbai, Popular Prakashan, rpt. 1967),article published in Induprakash, December 29, 1862, pp. 283 - 289 (Herein after referred to as Nibandhsangriha) 4. Ibid., Letter No. 14, Induprakash, March 28, 1864,pp. 289-94. 5. Ibid., letter No. 119, Induprakash, July 28, 1862, pp. 304-08. 6. Ibid., Letter No. 120, pp. 308-10. 7. Ibid., Letter No. 116, Induprakash, Sept. 28, 1864, pp. 297-299. For more information on the organization of the Huzur Duftar see : Kulkami, A.R., (ed.). History in Practice (New Delhi, Books and Books, 1993) includes an article by Dr. A. R. Kulkami entitled 'Archival Movement in the Bambay Presidency', pp. 126-130. 8. Ibid., p. 299. 9. Ibid., p. 298. 10. Bhide, V.G; Shivaji Maharaj Yanche Vanshacha Va Pratinidhi Ani Ashtapradhan Yancha Itihaas ( Bhor, 1866). 11. Nene, V.P; Joshi, C.V; and Mane Patil, R.S; (ed.), Arvachin Marathi Sahitya: 1875-1935 ( Badode, 1935), p. 323. 12. Mandlik, N.V; (ed.). Writings and Speeches of the late hon'ble Raosaheb Vishwanath Narayan Mandlik ( Bombay, Native Opinion press, 1896), pp. 676-77. 13. Ibid., p. 677. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid. 17. Moroba Kanhoba, Ghashiram Kotwal (Pune, 1863), (ed.), Phathak, N.R. (Mumbai, rpt; 1961). *^Ji «r«?^ 18. Ibid., Appendix II. /i; / \*='-'^ «/'" - ^ • • ? .a 19. Ibid. 28S

20. Shalapatrak, BookS, Issue 10, February!, 1866, p. 221. 21. Ibid., p. 224. 22. Kirtane, N.J., Grant Duffchya Bakharivar Tika ( Pune, Pune Chitrashala Press, rpt, 1926). 22 A. Kirtane in the preparation for this paper made use of an article on Duff that had appeared in Bombay Saturday Review, Duffs History of the Marathas, with its Marathi translation by David Capon and Baba Sane, Robert Orme's Fragment Mill's British India, Sir John Malcolm's History of Central Hindostan, Knights the Value of India to England, Dadabhi Nauroji's paper related to the Effects of the American Civil War on the trade between India and England and Lord Macaulay's Miscellaneous Works. See : Kirtane, N. J., op.cit., Foot-notes : pp. 11, 34, 36, 41,43,45, and 49. 23. Ibid., pp. 7-11. see for a detailed discussion on Grant Duff and his writing of the History of the Marathas its publication and its critics : Kulkami, A. R; James Cuningham Grant Duff (Pune, Pune Vidyapitha Prakashan, 1971), pp. 116-250. 24. Ibid., pp. 1-2. 25. Ibid., p. 2. 26. Ibid., p. 5. 27. Ibid., p. 6. 28. Ibid., pp. 22-23. 29. Ibid., p. 24. 30. Ibid., pp. 25, 27-28. 31. Ibid., p. 26. 32. Ibid., pp. 25-26. 33. Ibid., p. 26. 34. Quoted from Waring Scot, History of the Marathas, (London, 1810) preface IX, X; in Parasnis, D. B; (ed.), Bharatvarsha, pp. 4-5. 35. Ibid. 36. Kirtane, N. J; op. cit; p. 28. 287

37. Ibid., p. 31. 38. Ibid., p. 32. 39. Ibid., pp. 40-41. 40. Ibid., pp. 32-33. 41. Ibid., pp. 38-39. 42. Ibid., p. 38. 43. Ibid., pp. 43-45. 44. Ibid., pp. 18-19. 45. Marwick, A., The Nature of History (London, Macmillan, 3rd (ed)., 1989), p. 40. 46. Colebrook, T. E., Life of the Hon'ble Mountstuart Elphinstone, vol. 2 (London, 1884), p. 136. 47. Kirtane, N. J., op. cit., p. 42. 48. Ibid., pp. 11-13. 49. For more and detailed information on 'Kavyeitihas Sangriha' see : Lonkar, R. L; Kashinath Narayan Sane - 'A historian' in the Quarterly Journal of the Itihasacharya V. K. Rajwade Samshodhak Mandal, Samshodhak, pp. 62-80. 50. Ranade, M. G., Rise of the Maratha Power (Bombay, Piinalekar & co; 1900) pp. 143-172. 51. Rajwade, V. K; Radhamadhav-Vilas-Campu Jairam Pindyekrit (Pune, Chitrashala Press, 1922), Introduction, pp. 1-201 52. Bapat, V. R; and Dighe, N. L; (ed.), Shri Ramdas Swaminche Charitrachi Bakhar (Mumbai, Ganpat Krishnaji Press, 1870), at the end, see the list of patrons, pp. 1-7. 53. D. P. I. Report (1869-70), Appendix 'H', pp. 361, 364-373, 377-79. see also D. P. I. Report: (1870-71), Appendix 'H', p. 495. 54. Gunjikar, R. B; (ed.), Vividh Dnyan Vistar, Oct. 1871, cover page 2. (Herein after referred to as VDV) 55. VDV, Nov; 1871, cover page 2. 56. Ibid., December, 1871, pp. 105-114. see for its continuation : 288

VDV Feb; 1872, pp. 145-149. Ibid., July, 1872, pp. 31-36. Ibid., April 1872, pp. 185-190. Ibid., Oct. 1872, pp. 81-85 Ibid., Dec. 1872, pp. 126-129. 57. Ibid., January, 1872, back p. 3. 58. Ibid., August, 1872, pp. 56-58. for its continurtion see also : Ibid., Oct; 1872, pp. 90-93. Ibid., Feb; 1873, pp. 178-180. 59. Saranjame, J. P., Shinde Alijabahaddur Hyanchya Gharanyacha Itihas (- - 1872). 60. Potdar, D. V., Marathi Gadyacha Engraji Avatar (Pune, Vhinas (venus) Prakashan, 3rd rpt; 1976), p. 94. 61. Phadkule, N., Vishnushastri Chiplonkar : Nibandhmaletil Tin Nibandha (Pune, Continental Prakashan, 1975), pp. 34-35 (Hereinafter referrred to as Nibandhmala). 62. Ibid., pp. 35-36. 63. Ibid., pp. 36-37. 64. Ibid., p. 37. 65. Ibid., pp. 37-38. 66. Ibid., pp. 39-40. 67. Ibid., p. 42. 68. Ibid., pp. 42-44. 69. Ibid., pp. 45-46. 70. Ibid., p. 46. 71. Ibid., pp. 46-53. 72. Ibid., p. 48. 73. Ibid., pp. 48-49. 74. Ibid., pp. 49-50. 75. Ibid., p. 51. 76. Ibid., pp. 51-52. 281

77. Ibid., p. 52. 78. Ibid., p. 53. 79. Ibid., p. 54. 80. Ibid., p. 56. 81. Ibid. 82. Ibid., pp. 57-58. 83. Ibid., p. 58. 84. Ibid., p. 59. 85. Letter of "A Third Hindu", Bombay Gazette, November 6,1841. Quoted fromNaik, J. V; An Early Appraisal of the British colonial Policy, Journal of the University of Bombay, October, 1975-76, No. 80-81, vol. XLIV - XL, pp. 266-67. 86. Nibandhamala, p. 62. 87. Ibid. 88. Mill, James, The History of British India with notes and contituation by Wilson, H. H; vol. 1 (London, 4th ed; 1848), preface p. vi. 89. Ibid., Preface p. ii. 90. Ibid. 91. Ibid.,p. iv. 92. Ibid. 93. Ibid., p. vii. 94. Majumdur, R. C, Historiography in Modem India (Bombay, Asia Publishing House, 1970), p. 14. 95. Majeed, Javed, Ungovemed Imaginings : James Mill's The History of British India and Orientalism (London, OUP, 1992), p. 138. 96. Ibid. 97. Mill, James, History of British India (New Yark, Chelsea House Publishers, rpt; 1968) contains a note : 'John Mill's India by John Kenneth Galbraith, page not numbered, but serially 5th page of his note. 98. Ibid. 99. Gooch, G. P; History and Historians in the Nineteenth Century (London, Longmans, Green and co. Ltd; new impression, 1935), p. 306. 290

100. Majeed, Javed, op. cit., p. 192. 101. Bryant, A., Macaulay (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, rpt; 1979), Appendix Indian Education : Minute of February 2, 1835, p. 112. 102. Nibandhamala, p. 60. 103. Ibid. 104. The work of Lord Macaulay : Essays and Biographies, vol. Ill, (London, Albany edition, 1898), pp. 186-187. (Herein after referred to as Macaulay) 105. Ibid., p. 219. 106. Ibid., p. 478. 107. Ibid., p. 427. see also : Nibandhamala, p. 60. 108. Nibandhamala, p. 61. 109. Macaulay, op. cit., p. 256. 110. Ibid., p. 432. HI. Ibid., p. 470. 112. Nibandhamala, p. 61. 113. Macaulay, op. cit., p. 149. 114. Ibid. 115. Ibid. 116. Ibid., p. 117. 117. Ibid., p. 118. 118. Nibandhamala, p. 65. 119. Ibid. 120. Ibid., pp. 65-67. 121. Bryant, A; op. cit., p. 33. 122. Bibandhamala, p. 67. 123. Ibid., pp. 67-69. 124. Ibid., pp. 70-71. 125. Ibid., p. 71. 126. Ibid., pp. 71-72. 127. Ibid., p. 74. 128. Ibid., p. 73. 291

129. Ibid., p. 74. 130. Quoted in Can, E. H; What is History ? (Middlesex, Penguine Books Ltd;rpt. 1973), p. 22, from Oakeshott, Experience and Its Modes (Cambridge, 1933), p. 99. 131. Nibandharmala, p. 76. 132. Ibid., p. 77. 133. Ibid., p. 78. 134. see for more imformation regarding 'Kavyetihas-Sangriha' in an article by Lonkar, R. L; op. cit., pp. 62-80. 135. Rohmann, Chris, The Dictionary of Important Ideas and Thinkers (London, Hutchinson Arrow Books, 2001), p. 92. 136. Nibandhamala, p. 69.