Shivaji Raje The Founder of Idea of Swaraj

Anupama Nair

www.mediaeyenews.com

Our great Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Amrit Mahotsav or celebration of  India’s 75^th year of Independence. We will be celebrating this event till 2022. I am going to write a feature on all those great men and women who fought against foreign invasion not just against the British. Today I am going to write about the greatest sons of Bharat Ma – Hindu Hridaya Samrat, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. From him, I learned about the importance of Swaraj and Swadharm and “freedom is the birthright of all beings in the world and should never be taken for granted”. His life inspired many nationalists to fight for our Independence, and finally, we are free today.

Shivaji Bhonsle, also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was a great warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle clan. Shivaji carved out an “enclave from the declining Adilshahi Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire”.

Shivaji was born in the hill-fort city of  Shivneri, in Poona District on February 19, 1630 to Shahaji Bhonsle and Jija Bai. Shivaji was named after a local deity — the goddess Shivai. Shivaji's father was a Maratha general who served the Deccan Sultanates.  At the time of Shivaji's birth, power in Deccan was shared by three Islamic sultanates: Bijapur, Ahmednagar and Golconda. Shivaji’s guru was Dadaji Konddeo.

It was his brave mother Jija Bai, who made her great son Chhatrapati. Right from his childhood, Jija mata would tell him about the lives of Shri Ram, Maruti, Shri Krishna and also stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana to make him pious and patriotic. Thus, she molded him into an ideal ruler by sowing seeds of devotion to the idea of Swaraj and Swadharma. She was not only a mother to Shivaji, but also a source of inspiration to her son.

She had a strong faith that she was blessed by Devi Bhavani and Bhagwan Mahadev. She always backed her great husband Shahaji Bhosle and her son fearlessly and resolutely. When her husband or son would be in perilous situations, she would ardently pray to Bhavani Mata night and day, for their protection and safe return. She was loved and respected by all her family members and was looked upon as the support system in the family

Many of Shivaji's comrades, and later a number of his soldiers, came from the Maval region, including Yesaji Kank, Suryaji Kakade, Baji Pasalkar, Baji Deshpande and Tanaji Malusare. Shivaji traveled the hills and forests of the Sahyadri Hills  with his friends, gaining skills and familiarity with the land that would prove useful in his military career. In 1639, Shahaji was stationed at Bangalore, which was conquered from the Nayaks who had taken control after the disintegration of the Vijaynagara Empire. Shivaji was taken to Bangalore where he, his elder brother Sambhaji, and his half-brother Ekoji were further formally trained. He married Sai Bai, from the prominent Nimbalkar family in 1640. As early as 1645, the teenage Shivaji expressed his concept for Hindavi Swarajya (Indian self-rule), in a letter.

The kingdom of Bijapur under Adil Shah was a great enemy of Shivaji. In 1655, he collected a band of followers, to seize Bijapur’s weaker outposts. His daring and military skill, combined with his harshness toward the “oppressors of the Hindus”, won him much admiration. When the Sultan of Bijapur in 1659 sent an army of 20,000 under Afẕal Khan to defeat him, Shivaji, pretending to be intimidated, enticed the force deep into difficult mountain terrain.  Earlier, Afzal Khan had killed Jija’s elder son, Sambhaji Raje in a military expedition of Kanakagiri by firing a cannon deceitfully. Later Afzal Khan set his sights on capturing Shivaji Maharaj. In this endeavor, he was unstoppable, burning fields and inhumanly murdering people, as he headed swiftly towards Raigad. In this situation, if Shivaji Maharaj was to clash with Afzal Khan’s army, the Maratha army’s defeat was inevitable, and if Shivaji was to meet Afzal Khan to sign a treaty, he would certainly not return. So, Shivaji’s sardars and his learned ministers advised him to move to a safe place, away from Afzal Khan. But, Jija Bai ordered Shivaji to meet Afzal Khan and slay him and display the Maratha valor to the world. And Shivaji killed Afzal Khan with tiger claws.

Meanwhile, some troops that had been previously positioned, swooped down on the unwary Bijapur army and defeated it. Overnight, Shivaji had become a “daunting warlord, possessing the horses, the guns, and the ammunition of the Bijapur army”.

After defeating the army of Bijapur, Shivaji's army marched towards Konkan and Kolhapur. They seized the Panhala Fort, and defeated again the army of Bijapur under Rustam Zaman and Fazl Khan in 1659. In 1660, Adilshah sent his general Siddi Jauhar to attack Shivaji's southern border, in alliance with the Mughals who planned to attack from the north. At that time, Shivaji was living in Panhala Fort with his forces. Siddi Jauhar's army attacked Panhala, cutting off all supply routes to the fort. For the bombardment of the Panhala Fort, Siddi Jauhar had earlier, purchased grenades from the English East India Company at Rajapur to increase his efficiency, and also hired some English artillerymen to assist him in his war with Shivaji. The betrayal angered Shivaji, who retaliated by plundering the English factory at Rajapur and captured four men, who were released after some months. When Shivaji Maharaj was trapped for four months when Siddi Jauhar had besieged Panhala fort, Jija had shouldered the responsibility of Swaraj till Shivaji escaped from the besieged fort. Jija Bai led the Marathas who were fighting Shaista Khan thus protecting the idea of Swaraj.

Did you know Shivaji, was the first Indian king who built a strong navy? When Shivaji became the master of a long coastal strip, he undertook, the construction of a Navy. Shivaji realized that the one who had a navy became the master of the sea. To protect his own territory from Siddi's attacks, to protect the merchant ships and ports in order to secure and enhance revenue incomes derived from maritime trade and customs duty, he concentrated on building the Navy. There were four hundred ships of various kinds in the Navy. The most famous battleships were Gurab, Galbat and Pal.

I write this great emotion as Shivaji and his ideal of Swaraj has influenced many including me. His idea of Swaraj needs to be inculcated today so that India becomes a super power again and the dream of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” comes true.