The Mughal-Maratha Relations: Twenty Five Fateful Years 1682-1707

by G.T. Kulkarni

Since the days when the eminent historian Prof. Shejawalkar was at the helm of the Department, it has presented new facts and coupled them with interpretative history. This two-fold approach has been continued by his successors as the present monograph by Dr. Kulkarni would bear out. It deals with a period of twenty five years encompassing the last quarter of the seventeenth century. This period is of crucial importance in the study of the history of the Marathas as much as for the rest of the country. The struggle launched by the Marathas during these eventful years established the right of the Marathas to emerge as an independant state. The noble example set before the Maratha nation by Shivaji undoubtedly served as an inspiration; but, for a people as a whole to rise as one and continue the struggle for twentyfive long years, there must have been a purpose, a cause, an ideal. Dr. Kulkarni has• sought to search for it through contemporary records, mostly in Persian. These, almost as a rule, are documents emanating from the opposite camp, the Mughal officials,and as such, lend greater perspective to the entire presentation. Since Persian was the official language in India for well over four centuries, any attempt to discuss the history of the Medieval and the Maratha periods without recourse to Persian sources would leave large areas outside the reach of a student.

317 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1983