This foreword written by Shri Narhar Kurundkar for Shriman Yogi. In that he has given an extract of an article "How small Shivaji was" which had appeared in The Hindu newspaper years before (writer name unknown).
I am copying the foreword and article from net from this link
https://www.scribd.com/doc/19172104/6931353-Chhatrapati-Shivaji-Maharaj-an-Analysis#scribd
Giving full extract here for easy reading.
Peshwa Bajirao story started with Shivaji Maharaj taking oath for Swarajya at age 16, this is about his Maratha Empire
---------------------------------------------------------------
How Small Shivaji Was...
Shivaji is the Deity of Maharashtrians. They would not have an iota of reservation in putting him above God. To say that in the entire 5000 years of history of human civilization, no other king can hold candle to Shivaji would seem an understatement to them. I do not wish to join this approbatory gang. Rather than evaluating his greatness as human being, I wish to examine how small he really was.
The first fact to strike is that he created a kingdom. There must have been over 500 Dynasties in India. Each had a founder. One among them was Shivaji. The rest had an opportunity to do so because of the reigning confusion. Vassals of a weak King would declare independence with the central power helpless to prevent it. A powerful general used to dethrone a weak King and raise his own Kingdom. This had been the usual way of establishing a new dynasty.The new King inherited the existing Army and the bureaucratic structure automatically. In Shivaji's case however, we find out that he had to raise everything from nothing, who did not have the benefit of a ready strong army; who, on trying to establish himself, had to face the might of Great Powers; with neighboring Bijapur and Golconda powers still on the rise and the Moghul Empire at its zenith. Shivaji was carving away a niche out of the Bijapur Empire that had assimilated more than half of Nijamshahi and was on its way to conquer entire Karnataka.
Here is somebody who, from the start, never had the might to defeat his rivals in a face-to-face battle, who saw the efforts of 20 years go down the drain in a matter of 4 months;but still fought on to create an Empire with 29 years of constant struggle and enterprise. It would be easy to see how small he was once we find which founder to compare him to in the annals of Indian history, on this issue.
A typical Hindu power had certain distinguishing traits. It is not that they did not emerge victorious in a war. Victories - there have been many. However, their victory did not defeat the adversary completely. The latter's territory did not diminish, nor his might attrite. The victory rarely resulted in expansion of Hindu territory. Even though victorious, Hindus used to become weaker and stayed so. In short, it is plain that they faced total destruction in case of defeat and high attrition in case of Pyrrhic victory.A new chapter in Hindu history begins with Shivaji wherein battles are won to expand the borders while strength and will power is preserved in a defeat.
Secondly, the Hindu Rulers used to be astonishingly ignorant of the happenings in neighboring Kingdoms.Their enemy would catch them unaware, often intruding considerably into their territory and only then would they wake up to face the situation. Whatever be the outcome of the battle, it was their land which was defiled. The arrival of Shivaji radically changes this scenario and heralds the beginning of an era of staying alert before a war and unexpected raids on the enemy.
Thirdly, the Hindu Kings habitually placed blind faith in their adversaries. This saga terminates with Shivaji performing the treacherous tricks. It was the turn of the opponents to get stunned. In the ranks of Hindu Kings,the search is still going on for somebody to compare with Shivaji on
His lifestyle was not simple. Having adopted a choice,rich lifestyle, he was not lavish. He was gracious to other religions. On that account, he may be compared with Ashoka, Harsha, Vikramaditya, and Akbar. However, all of these possessed great harems. Akbar had the Meenabazaar, Ashoka had the Tishyarakshita. Shivaji had not given free reign to his lust. Kings, both Hindu and Muslim, had an overflowing, ever youthful desire for women. That was lacking in Shivaji. He had neither the money to spend on sculptures,paintings, music, poetry or monuments nor the inclination. He did not possess the classical appreciation needed to spend over 20 crores to build a Taj Mahal as famine was claiming over hundreds of thousands of lives; nor was he pious enough to erect temple after temple while the British were systematically consuming India. He was a sinner; he was a practical man like the rest of us. Khafi Khan says he went to Hell. He would not have enjoyed the company of the brave warriors who preferred gallant death to preservation of their land. It would have ill suited him to live with the noble Kings who would rather indulge in rituals such as Yadnya than expand the army. For the Heaven is full of such personalities.
Akbar adopted a generous attitude towards Hindus and has been praised for that. However, it is an elementary rule that a stable government is impossible without having a contented majority. Akbar was courteous to them who, as a community, were raising his kingdom and stabilizing it for him. The Hindus he treated well were a majority in his empire and were enriching his treasury through their taxes. The Hindus had no history of invasions. They had not destroyed Mosques. They were never indulged in genocides against Muslims. They had not defiled Muslim women nor were they proselytes, as compared to Abrahmic fanatics found in Muslims and Christians. These were the people Akbar was generous to. On the contrary; Muslims were a minority community in Shivaji's Empire. They were not the mainstay of his taxes. They were not chalking out a Kingdom for him. Besides,there was a danger of an invasion and Aurangzeb was imposing Jiziya Tax on Hindus. Yet, he treated Muslims well. That was not out of fear but because of his inborn generosity.
Given this background, I am ready to see Shivaji as small as he really is, but whom to turn to make him smaller? Is there any such standard?
_____________________
Shivaji's expertise as a General is, of course, undisputed.However, besides that, he was also an excellent Governor. He believed that the welfare of the subjects was a responsibility of the ruler.Even though he fought so many battles, he never laid extra taxes on his subjects. Even the expenditure for his Coronation was covered by the taxes on the collectors. In a letter he challenges, "It is true that I've deceived many of my enemies. Can you show an instance where I deceived a friend?" This challenge remains unanswered.
He funded establishment of new villages, set up tax systems on the farms, used the forts to store the farm produce, gave loans to farmers for the purchase of seeds, oxen etc, built new forts, had the language standardized to facilitate the intra-government communication, had the astrology revived and revised, encouraged conversion of people from Islam to Hinduism. He was not a mere warrior. Moreover, he believed that charity begins at home. His brother in law, Bajaji Nimbalkar, was forcibly converted to Islam. He called for a religious council and had him reconverted to Hinduism. He reconverted many people who were forcibly converted to Abrahmic faiths, Islam OR Christianity. Even after conversion, when nobody was ready to make a marital alliance with Bajaji's son, Mahadaji, Shivaji gave his own daughter to Bajaji's Son in marriage, and set an example in society.
Secondly, and most important of all, to protect his Kingdom, his subjects fought for over 27 years. After Shivaji's demise, they fought under Sambhaji. After Aurangzeb killed Sambhaji, they still fought for over 19 years. In this continued struggle, a minimum of 500,000 Moguls died (Jadunath Sarkar's estimate). Over 200,000 Marathas died. Still in 1707, over 100,000 Marathas were fighting.They did not have a distinguished leader to look for inspiration.There was no guarantee of a regular payment. Still, they kept on fighting. In these 27 years, Aurangzeb did not suffer a defeat. That was because Marathas simply lacked the force necessary to defeat so vast an army. Jadunath says, "Alamgir won battle after battle. Nevertheless, after spending crores of rupees, he accomplished nothing, apart from weakening his All India Empire and his own death. He could not defeat Marathas".
Where ordinary man fights, armies can do nothing. In long history of India, Kalinga fought against Ashoka. After Kalinga, Maharashtra fought with Mughals from grass-root level. The greatness of Shivaji lies here in his ability to influence generations to fight for a cause.
Why was Shivaji successful in making common man identify with his kingdom? The first reason is his invention of new hit and run tactic. He showed people that they can fight Mughals and win. The insistence was always on survival and maximum attrition of enemy in his territory and successful retreat. He gave his men the confidence that if they fight this way, they will not only outlast the Mughals,but also defeat them. He gave way to traditional notions of chivalry and valor on battlefield, for which Rajputs were famous. Instead, he focused on perseverance, attrition, survival at all costs, series of tactical retreats and then finishing off the foe.
His land reforms were revolutionary which further brought his subjects emotionally closer to him. He took care of their material needs, which is of utmost importance. He started the system of wages in his army. And third reason is Hindu Ethos and hatred towards Muslim supremacy prevalent in masses. In this light, the above facts demonstrate the excellence of Shivaji as founder of a dynasty, which ended political supremacy of Islam in India.
Shivaji fits in all the criteria of Chanakya's ideal King.Considering the prevalent socio-political scenario, it is fallacious to try and fit Shivaji in classical Kshatriya values of chivalry and nobility. Shivaji was religious; but he was not a fanatic. Although ruthless and stubborn, he was not cruel and sadist. He was courageous, yet not impulsive. He was practical; but was not without ambition. He was a dreamer who dreamt lofty aims and had the firm capacity to convert them into reality.
Shri. Narahar Kurundkar
Cricket
Marathi TV
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
