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By:

Shoumojit Banerjee

27 August 2024 at 9:57:52 am

Maharashtra’s Rankean Chronicler and the Final Word on Shivaji Maharaj

In a lifetime devoted to relentless scholarship, Mehendale sifted legend from fact, giving the Maratha ruler the biography he truly...

Maharashtra’s Rankean Chronicler and the Final Word on Shivaji Maharaj

In a lifetime devoted to relentless scholarship, Mehendale sifted legend from fact, giving the Maratha ruler the biography he truly deserved G.B. Mehendale (1947-2025) The prodigious Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale, who passed away aged 77 in Pune, was a comprehensive debunker of the many myths associated with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the historiography on the legendary 17th century Maratha warrior king. A figure of Olympian erudition and quiet humility, Mehendale belonged to that now-extinct species of scholars whose lineage ran through luminaries of the late 19th and early 20th stalwarts like Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade, Vasudev Vaman Khare, G.S. Sardesai – whose craft was defined by a stern fidelity to evidence and the conviction that history was a serious and rigorous discipline that could not be subjected to frivolous ideological sloganeering or faddish theorizing. That Mehendale, in his 950-page tour de force Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj: His Life and Times (2011), could so effortlessly expose the flaws in the great Sarkar’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and His Times (1919) - a biography that had long dominated the field of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj studies in English - stands as a testament to his scholarly authority and exacting method. He tellingly began his monumental biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with the famous quote from John Adams, made during the latter’s ‘Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials’ in December 1770: “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” Mehendale’s masterwork, the product of a staggering 30 years of dedicated research, stands as the most technically perfect biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, with its fascinating appendices and every controversy and misconception examined in forensic detail. Born in 1947, the year of India’s independence, Mehendale grew up in an atmosphere where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was both folk memory and nationalist icon. He trained first as a student of defence studies at the University of Pune, and even worked as a war correspondent during the Bangladesh War of 1971 before turning fulltime to history research. In his magnum opus, he admitted that like most Maharashtrian boys he had grown up revering Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Maharaj; what changed was the nature of his reverence. As he read widely in military history, he realized that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj could be counted among the “great captains of the world” and that his legacy was not just that of a daring cavalryman but also of an astute administrator, a humane statesman and a builder of institutions. That recognition could have led him down the road of hagiography. Instead, Mehendale became a myth-breaker. Like an ace detective, he forensically cherished myths that abound in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s exploits and the great ruler’s milieu. A person who absolutely shunned any manner of celebrity, Mehendale was at home in the libraries and archives of Pune and elsewhere in Maharashtra, spending the best part of his research life at institutes like the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal (BISM) and the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI), immersing himself in Modi scripts, Persian chronicles, Portuguese records, neglected Marathi bakhars, digging up old letters and correspondence to understand and present as definitive a picture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and 17th century Maharashtra as was possible. When it was finally published in English, Mehendale’s ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj: His Life and Times’ became a running dialogue with earlier chroniclers, correcting, nuancing and sometimes outright dismissing their claims, especially in Sarkar’s biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. For instance, Mehendale debunked stories that the fort of Kondhana was renamed Sinhgad only after Tanaji Malusare’s death in its recapture, observing that a 1663 letter already called Kondhana as ‘Sinhgad,’ seven years before its recapture by Tanaji in 1670. He further corrected notions of scholars that an awakening in Maharashtra owing to the work of saints had laid the groundwork for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s coming. Likewise, he debunked the notion that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s many marriages were all politically motivated, noting that even a lesser noble like Kanhoji Jedhe had five wives. Mehendale further refuted the opinion of James Grant Duff and Sarkar that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was illiterate, pointing that in the absence of any hard evidence, such a claim on Grant Duff’s part (and echoed by others) carried with it a whiff of sensationalism. Mehendale pointed out how Sarkar dismissed most Marathi documents as undated, unreliable or altered, while himself relying heavily on undated Persian collections. Sarkar, he argued, had failed to engage with Marathi sources in depth, and in doing so allowed myth carelessness to creep in what Mehendale termed a ‘half-baked’ biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. While Sarkar was a master of Persian sources and a formidable chronicler of Aurangzeb and the fall of the Mughal Empire, but to Mehendale’s mind, he had only dabbled in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Dr. Bal Krishna’s two-volume Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the Great (1931), the other widely read English biography which made effective use sources, suffered the opposite problem. It was passionately nationalist, a work of uplift rather than of inquiry. Where Sarkar was sceptical, Bal Krishna was celebratory. However, the biography which Mehendale gives of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is sober without being bloodless, proud without being parochial. It was in his appendices, those dense but absorbing collections of letters, farmns, and cross-examinations, that one saw his craft at its clearest. Readers linger there not for narrative pleasure but for the thrill of evidence itself, which Mehendale sifted and arranged with lawyerly care. While giving a talk on truths and half-truths in history, Mehendale took aim at the easy relativism that passes for historical wisdom. “Some people, who are perhaps too indolent to study Persian or the Modi script, keep saying history keeps changing,” Mehendale had remarked. “It is my belief that ninety per cent of history remains as it is. Ten per cent may change owing to new evidence,” he said, in a thinly-veiled rebuke to so-called ‘progressive’ or Marxist historians. It was his firm view that the historians’ job is not to ‘guide’ society but only to tell from documents what happened. Mehendale’s fastidiousness in source criticism recalled Barthold Georg Niebuhr, who in the early nineteenth century revolutionized Roman history by discarding legend. His devotion to documentation echoed historians like Ranke and Guizot. It is imperative that his other works in Marathi like ‘Islamachi Olakh’ and ‘Shivachatrapatinche Aramar’ (The Navy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) be translated in English and other vernacular languages to enable the country to know the full measure of Mehendale’s scholarly rigour. In his biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mehendale joins a rare company of historians who have completely reshapes the very study of their subjects: Golo Mann with Wallenstein, David Chandler with Napoleon’s campaigns, Stephen Kotkin with Stalin or Ian Kershaw with Hitler. Just as the masterworks of these historians rendered earlier accounts of their subjects provisional, Mehendale’s ‘Shivaji: His Life and Times’ made the works of Sarkar and others seem like a first draft. It is hard to imagine any matching the comprehensiveness of Mehendale’s magnum opus. Its meticulous appendices, its demolition of errors large and small ensures that it will remain the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj biography to end all biographies – and the volume that every serious student must confront. In this sense, Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale accomplished something rare by writing a work so thorough and so definitive that it may never be superseded. And that is the highest tribute one can pay a historian. He did what Leopold von Ranke demanded, what John Adams urged, what he himself practiced: he gave us the historical Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, not as a plaster saint or a polemical symbol but as he really was.

A Leader at 75: Celebrating PM Modi’s Journey

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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 75, the nation joins in celebration of not just a personal milestone but a historic era of change, progress, and renewed self-belief for India. His journey, from humble beginnings to the highest office of the world’s largest democracy, continues to inspire millions. Over the last 11 years, Modi’s leadership has left an indelible mark across every sphere of national life—economic reforms, social empowerment, national security, cultural revival, and global diplomacy.


This occasion provides an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary transformation India has witnessed under his stewardship and to look forward with hope to the path ahead.


Economic reforms

In 2014, when Narendra Modi first assumed office, India was at a crossroads. His government immediately focused on stabilizing the economy, rooting out inefficiencies, and creating a framework for sustained growth. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) unified India’s fragmented tax regime into one common market—something that had eluded policymakers for decades.


The Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives have encouraged domestic manufacturing, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. India is today among the world’s top destinations for foreign direct investment, a reflection of the confidence global investors place in its economy.


Meanwhile, projects such as Digital India have transformed governance and commerce. From small shopkeepers to multinational corporations, digital payments and e-governance platforms are now the backbone of economic life. Millions who were once excluded from the financial system have gained access to banking through the Jan Dhan Yojana, symbolizing Modi’s belief that economic growth must be inclusive.


Social Empowerment

Prime Minister Modi has often said that true progress is measured by the dignity it brings to the common citizen. His social programs reflect this principle.


The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, launched in 2014, changed not just sanitation practices but also social attitudes, with millions of rural households receiving access to toilets for the first time. The Ujjwala Yojana replaced smoky chulhas with clean LPG connections, directly improving the health of women and children in poor households.


Healthcare was revolutionized with Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest public health insurance scheme, which has given millions of families financial protection and access to hospitals. Meanwhile, initiatives such as PM Awas Yojana and 100% rural electrification brought basic dignity and comfort to the poorest citizens.


These programs showcase Modi’s philosophy of turning welfare into empowerment—giving people not just assistance, but opportunities to build a better life.


National security

India’s standing as a strong and secure nation has grown significantly under Modi’s leadership. His government has modernized the armed forces, accelerated defense procurement, and invested in indigenous defense production.


When faced with cross-border aggression, Modi has displayed decisive resolve, as seen in the surgical strikes of 2016 and the Balakot airstrikes of 2019. These actions sent a strong message that India would not hesitate to defend its sovereignty.


Infrastructure along sensitive border regions has also been strengthened, ensuring preparedness and security in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment.


A strong global voice

On the international stage, Narendra Modi has repositioned India as a key player in shaping global conversations. From hosting the G20 Summit to leading the International Solar Alliance, his diplomacy has highlighted India’s role as both a rising power and a responsible global leader.


His ability to forge strong personal relationships with world leaders has elevated India’s profile. At the same time, his insistence on being the “Voice of the Global South” has ensured that the concerns of developing nations are heard at the highest global forums. Today, India is seen as a bridge between East and West, North and South—a nation confident in its identity yet open to global partnerships.


Cultural pride

Alongside economic and political transformation, Modi has spearheaded a renaissance of India’s cultural and civilizational identity. His government has promoted Yoga and Ayurveda on the global stage, leading to the recognition of International Day of Yoga by the United Nations.


The completion of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, long awaited by millions, marked a milestone in India’s cultural resurgence. Investments in heritage restoration, spiritual tourism, and cultural diplomacy have given India new pride in its timeless traditions.

As Narendra Modi turns 75, his personal journey continues to inspire millions. Happy 75th Birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. May your journey continue to inspire generations and lead India toward an even brighter future.


(The writer is a BJP official based in Thane. Views personal.)

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