HINDU-PAD-PADASHAHI OR a CRITICAL REVIEW of the HINDU EMPIRE of MAHARASHTRA by the SAME AUTHOR Hindutva
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HINDU-PAD-PADASHAHI OR A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE HINDU EMPIRE OF MAHARASHTRA BY THE SAME AUTHOR Hindutva. The book represents the con sidered opinion of the author on the vital present day problems of Hindu Sangathan. Who is a Hindu? etc. ... ... 1 4 0 An Ecko from the Andamans. This book con tains the series of letters written by the Author to his brother Dr. Savarkar from his Andaman Jail ... ...10 0 Hindu~Pad~Padashahi OR A Review of the HINDU EMPIRE OF MAHARASHTRA BY V. D. SAVARKAR 1925 PUBLISHED BY B. G PAUL & CO. MADRAS Price Indian Rs. 3. Price Foreign 5 sh. First Edition 1,500 Copies, November, 1925 PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT THE Author needs no introduction, and the book no apology. There is no subject on which there has been more by way of perversion of facts and judgments than on that of the role played by the Marathas in Indian History at a most critical epoch. Much has, no doubt, been done in recent years, but we believe that the present publication makes an earnest attempt to place the Maratha contribution to Indian History in its proper perspective, briefly and clearly. The Author has, in doing this, laid under contribution all contemporary records,— historical, literary and epistolary,—and there is not a single fact cited here for which he is not prepared to quote chapter and verse as authority. While we, therefore, announce its publica tion with pleasure, we have, at the sflme time, vi PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT to express regret for the delay owing to causes about which it is useless to complain. It has been printed in Madras and has not, therefore, had the benefit of the Author's immediate cor rection : and we crave the indulgence of the reader for the errors that have crept in in consequence. The Index at the end of the book will, we believe, prove useful. INTRODUCTION THE rise and growth of the Maratta Power must ever remain as one of the most fascinat ing and stimulating chapters of Indian history. Looked at from a broader point of view, it ceases to he merely of local interest, and occupies its rightful place in the history of the development of humanity in which the success ful struggle of the down-trodden against their mighty oppressors fills the largest space. It is seldom, however, that the subject is viewed in its true perspective. It is too often presented either as the wonderful, bordering on supernatural story of a mighty hero, or the successful struggle of a military race against the powerful Moghul empire. The writer of the following pages, however, has rightly per ceived that behind all these was a noble and inspiring ideal. This ideal, in the words of the author, was Hindu-Pad-Padashahi, the estab lishment of an independent Hindu Empire. As the author has correctly observed, " the consciousness of this noble ideal animated their efforts from generation to generation, gave to their distant and widely scattered activities a unity of aim and kinship of interests, and made them feel that their cause was the cause of their Dharma and their Desk.11 vi-b INTRODUCTION The author has taken this as his thesis, and brought forward facts and figures to substanti ate it in full. He has quoted facts to show how from almost the very beginning of his career, Shivaji was regarded as the deliverer of the Hindu race from the aliens' rule, and nobly responded to the solemn appeal of his co-reli gionist even beyond the borders of Maharashtra. Shivaji died, but the noble ideal survived him. The general impression is that the his tory of the Maratta nation began and ended with Shivaji and what followed was a " confu sion worse confounded by selfish and demora lised struggle of stray adventurous bands of freebooters. " But, as the atathwof the follow ing pages has shown, nothing can be a greater mistake. Shivaji was followed by a long and brilliant succession of worthy captains who carried aloft the banner of their illustrious Chief, and realised his noble ideal to a far greater degree. At. last, the table was completely turned. The proud Moghuls were humbled to the dust and the l Gerua' ban i er of the Marattas was planted on the fort of Delhi. The dream of a pan-Hindu empire, for which generations of heroes and martyrs had lived and died, was within the range of practical politics. But it was not to be; for Panipat decided otherwise. The Marattas, however, did not renounce their old ideal and rose above the INTRODUCTION vi-c most tremendous calamities that can befall a nation. * Each home had to mourn the loss of some one of its relations, yet there was scarcely a home in Maharashtra that did not vow to redeem the national honour and win the cause for which its heroes fell.' Once more had the Marattas succeeded in nearly accomplishing their task. They had occupied Delhi, and the Moghul emperor sought protection in their hands. The Nizam's power was laid low. Throughout northern and southern India the reputation of the Marattas again rose high, and inspired hope in the hearts of millions. Then came the age of the traitors and cow ards, unworthy descendants of those who fought for the cause of India's freedom. It was a grim tragedy that laid low the mighty nation and shattered its high ideals. Such is the fascinating story that Mr. Savar- kar has to tell his readers. It is a theme of pro found interest to modern India—fraught with lessons of inestimable value. The author has soared high above the matter-of-fact history and drawn bold relief the spirit lying behind it. He has justly observed that the Hindu revival, in order to be complete, required not only freedom from political bondage, but also liberation from the superstitions that had gathered round it in course of centuries. He had shown that the Marattas, while success- vi-d INTRODUCTION fully achieving the first, made an earnest effort to secure the latter. They initiated the revolu tionary movement of Suddhi in order to re-ad mit the apostates into the Hindu fold, but could not achieve a large measure of success in this direction. " The leason is," as the author remarks, " that although fetters of political slavery can at times be shaken off and smash ed, yet the fetters of cultural superstition are often found far more difficult to knock off." The author has further shown that the result of the combat between the English and the Marattas was a foregone conclusion—for the Marattas, along with other Indians, lacked in those " public virtues" which the English nation possesses to an eminent degree. Here are two important lessons which modern India should not ignore. Standing on the grave of the last and one of the most glorious of our Hindu empires the author has asked us to watch and hops. Let us say ' amen.7 A FOREWORD IN spite of the fact that the past is ever rapidly reced ing from us further and further, the indefatigable exertions of a band of Maratha scholars led by "Messrs. Raj wade and others had thrown such a flood of new light on the history of the Hindu Empire of Maharash tra that the salient features of that great movement have become far more clearly discernable to us than they were to those who were constrained for want of better means to view the history through the distorted and dim glasses of foreign scholarship alone. But as the monumental material, consisting of state records, documents, original letters and contemporary narrat ives that the Maratha scholars have discovered and laid under contribution, is to a very great extent confined to the Marathi language and as no attempt, excepting that of Mr. Justice Ranade, has been made to rewrite, at least concisely, the history of Maharashtra in the light that these valuable researches throw on it, in a language that would place before the non-Maratha scholars and readers the fruits of their labours, the Indian public, not to speak of that of any other nation, has still very dim, curious and even perverted nations regarding both the heroic principles that animated the Maratha movement as well as the far-reaching effects it had on the course of the larger history of the Indian People. In the absence of such a comprehensive work as would marshal out all the details of 3 this viii A FOREWORD history under a masterly review in this new light thrown on it, we had long intended to write at least a monograph, a small handbook that would pave a way to a large work and acquaint the Non-Maratha readers with the great message that the movement came to deliver, the outline of the momentous mission it strove to fulfil. In 1910 A. D. we had, just after finishing the work we wrote on the history of the Sikhs but which was throttled even in the hour of its birth by the ruthless shocks of Revolu tionary struggle, even commenced such a handbook in the English language on the history of the Mara- thas. , Just then, duties more imminent and exacting involved us in a dreadful combat with forces of darkness and death in the solitary cells of the Andamans and blotted out the very hope of ever surviving to resume our labour of love. But ultimately it has pleased Providence to grant us liberty and strength enough to take up our pen again, and thus we are able to-day to pay this humble and loving tribute to the mission of those of our illust rious forefathers who, in the 17th and the 18th centuries, fought so gallantly and succeeded so well in vindicating the honour, and winning back the Freedom, of our Hindu Race.