The Wings Of Expression

Shivaji turned out to be an able administrator under the tutelage of Dadaji, training for several hours a day he was becoming a fierce warrior. With a few courtiers and guardsmen in his army, Shivaji raided a small portion of the Bijapur Army, which was moving across the hilly region carrying gold in trunks to pay their due taxes to the imperial government at Delhi. The hills were effectively used by both, the Marathas and Rajputs to fight guerilla warfare. Such subsequent successes instilled worry in the minds of the Bijapur Government as well as the imperial government who cautioned and wanted the provincial government of Bijapur to tackle the rebel effectively. The first few successes of Shivaji caused an uproar in the city of Pune and districts in the vicinity, men from all age groups started joining Shivaji's army which was now 10 thousand in number, surprisingly much of the soldiers were from the Brahmin community. The Sultan of Bijapur at once ordered a messenger to ask Shi...

How often do we come across men of grit and character? How often do we flip the annals of history and come across rulers who could be bestowed with the responsibility of the country? At a point in time when dark clouds of Islamic forces hailed supreme and persecution was at its peak, a cry in the Maharashtrian district of Shivneri, crackled as though it was chosen to rattle the Islamic forces and liberate the land, the  man who fought for the culture and established a Hindu Empire, the pride of Marathas- Chhatrapati Shivaji, not known to many as Shivaji Bhonsle. As mercenaries, the Bhonsles settled in districts of Maharashtra owing their sword and allegiance to the Muslim rulers who ruled there. Much of the Deccan was annexed by the Adil Shahi Dynasty, who too accepted the suzerainty of the Mughals. The Adil Shahi Sultanate ruled majorly over the Bijapur district of the present day Karnataka, Bijapur was earlier a part of the Bahamani Kingdom, which had broken into five compa...