The First Republic : The Untold True Story of the Imperial Karbhari Sarkar

by Venkatesh Rangan

January 30th, 1774, a forgotten yet momentous date when a revolutionary movement originating in western India declared the formation of a republican government with executive powers residing not in kings or reigning monarchs but a representative council chosen by popular will. In the next quarter of a century, this government, known as the “Karbhari Sarkar”, expanded to cover the subcontinent from the Himalayas in the north to the river Kaveri in the south. It gave a crushing defeat to the British East India Company after an intense eight years of war and pushed back western imperialism by over three decades. It protected India’s north-western borders and repulsed successive invasions of the Afghan Durranis. It officially ended the Mughal Empire and transferred all imperial executive power to itself.
Never before was a republican experiment on a pan-Indian and subcontinent wide-scale ever achieved. It was, in essence, the “First Republic” of India. The unsung and untold story of India’s First Republic, though forgotten in popular consciousness, has been kept alive in numerous primary sources of 18th-century history in Marathi, English, French, Portuguese, Persian and multiple Indian languages. Based on a study of these sources, The First Republic attempts to outline the rise and fall of the Imperial Karbhari Sarkar.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

442 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 6, 2020

Reviews

[Ashish Iyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book. Despite being passionate about Indian history, I wasn't aware about Imperial Karbhari Sarkar of Maratha Empire. The author presents an objective and balanced narrative throughout the book which makes it an engaging read. You will have lot of admiration for Ram Shastri, Nana Phadnvis, Mahadji Shinde and Ahilyabai Holkar.

Nana Phadnis, one of the three Aadhar Sthambs of the First Republic. Nana is the first pan-Indian civilian political leader whose rise to supreme executive authority was not based on either military credentials or royal lineage. Nana's popular support was driven by his strong reputation for administrative brilliance and political sagacity. A man of many parts; a diplomat par excellence and a statesman whose actions were minutely discussed in the power centers of Versailles, London, Lisbon and Kabul.

Mahadji Shinde, one of the three pillars of the Imperial Karbhari Sarkar. A national war hero, an invincible general and a visionary Commander in-Chief of the First Republic's military. Mahadji gave the British East India Company two of its most humiliating tactical defeats at Wadgaon and Shivpuri Kolaras. An implacable foe to the Durranis; Mahadji exterminated the Afghan-Turani party as a factor from North Indian politics.

The Third pillar of the Republic was as much an institution as an exceptional individual. It is rare in history, when a single person, due to his or her efforts impacts the daily life of millions of people across thousands of miles and lives in cherished memory of an entire nation. Ahilyabai Holkar, the Queen of Maheshwar was one such rare personality. She was the "Matriach" of the First Republic, serving as a guide, philosopher and moral force to the entire nation and its Karbharis. She remains the unsung heroine of Indian history and is easily amongst the greatest personalities ever produced in the subcontinent's long history. While brilliant as an administrator of her own province, she used her personal wealth to launch the most ambitious pan-Indian welfare programme ever recorded in history. The grand matriarch of a nation - Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar - one of the three pillars of the Imperial Karbhari Sarkar. She is most remembered for her continental scale welfare programmes; unprecedented in the subcontinent's history.

It is a tragedy that this epic tale is not so well known to the modern Indians. Research on the First Anglo Maratha war is woefully inadequate and one would be able to count on fingers books written on the same in the last seventy years. The history books that are a part of our school curriculum also make but a passing mention to this great achievement of the Indian people.

Republic had three stalwarts who can be said to represent the foundations of the "idea of the Sarkar" - Mahadji Shinde, Nana Phadnis and Ahilya Bai Holkar. Mahadji represented the sword arm of the Republic -its strength, resilience and military power. Nana, the statesman represented its political, diplomatic and administrative genius. But it was Ahilyabai who truly made the government relevant to millions of the common people - she represented the welfare aspect of the Sarkar. Ultimately the legitimacy of any government rests on how it is able to change the lives of millions of its citizens. Ahilyabai, for attempting heroically to fulfill this defining aspect of governance, stands out in a hallowed spot amongst the "founding fathers" of the imperial Karbhari Sarkar of India.

18th Century has often been dubbed as era of anarchy by colonialist historians. Even one author recently wrote book on it too. 70 yrs has been passed still they are not over colonialist hangover. Even our school textbooks have taught many generations that it was the time when the control of India passed from Mughal to Britishers. The correct history is by the time British emerged as a strong political power, India was ruled by Marathas, Rajputs, Jats, Sikhs, Carnatic, Mysore, Travancore, Awadh & Ahoms. Mughal empire was virtually dead. The fixation of historians to move from the Mughals to the British, with Marathas as a passing reference needs to revisited in today's multi polar world.

This book does have numerous primary sources of 18th-century history in Marathi, English, French, Portuguese, Persian and multiple Indian languages. It also have photographs and maps. This book deserve a read.

[Ankur Chaudhary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched book about the Maratha empire and the rise of the Barbhai council in 1773.

Maratha empire was in turmoil in 1773 after the sensational murder of Narayanrao Peshwa and family dispute to control the Peshwai. Book captures the formation of the Barbhai council amid that turmoil under the leadership of Nana Phadnis.

Nana Phadnis revolted against Raghunathrao and in January of 1774, the Barbhai council formally announced and took charge of the Maratha empire. Under the leadership of Nana Phadnis and Mahadji Scindia, Marathas defeated the British in the first and second Anglo-Maratha War.

Book has many details of those times and is well researched on the topic. The Barbhai council, which ruled the Maratha empire for around two decades, is the first republic Government in the world.

Do read this interesting and powerful book to know more about the Barbhai council, later years of the Maratha empire, and the tussle between Marathas and British to control Pune.

[prasad menon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Venkatesh’s brilliant debut novel takes a look at a significant yet relatively unexplored period of Maratha history viz the period between the death of Thorale Madhavrao and close of the 18th century. It explores in vivid detail not only the rise and fall of what the author calls the first pan-indian republic but also the relatively unheralded feats of two of 18th century’s brightest luminaries viz. Nana Phadnis and Mahadji Shinde,


The First Republic has all the trappings of a well researched historical book but the copious research from primary sources does not in any way dull the thrilling narrative. The lucid ( with occasional doses of uber-nationalism)story-telling and elegant, free flowing prose make it a must-read for history buffs and casual readers alike

[Ajay Thakur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable book.

[Lasic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it long time back. Another history we were not aware of. Just go for it.

[Aniket Ponkshe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in Pune, one heard stories of Nana Phadnavis, Ramshastri Prabhune, and the glories of the Maratha empire. Unfortunately, it isn't easy to find English material that covers this period of Indian history in depth. There is some credence to the narrative that Indian textbooks and culture rides slipshod over this period. One can debate over whether this is intentional or not, but the truth is a lot more people know about the Mughals and the British than the Peshwas. I wouldn't say the book is unbiased, but it shares a narrative that Indians would do well to imbibe and popularize. Beyond the military campaigns and expansions, I love that it touches upon some of the key personalities and the governance structure of the 'first republic of India' making a good case for India to stand well against the American and French revolution and subsequent republics.

[Ujjwala Singhania · Rating 5 out of 5]

The First Republic is the debut book by the author Venkatesh Rangan. In this book, the author introduces us to a very important and glorious chapter of our Indic History which is hardly known to many people, or we can say deliberately obliterated from the pages of our history. Why I made such a hard statement? There is a reason for it, almost every Indian child has read about the ignominious defeat of India in the Battle of Panipat 1761. The loss of the third battle of Panipat has been told in a specific way, masking key points and sub-stories which could have given a broader view to the readers on the what, the why and the how. The story thus told led us to believe that the loss was all there is to our History and it was of our own making. But our History doesn't end there, the loss was avenged by the army of Madhavrao Peshwa, sadly not many people know about it. And soon after this victory, the next chapter of our History begins which took India to newer heights.

This book by Rangan ji tells us about that golden period, it tells us about the quarter of a century long period when the visionaries like Nana Phadnis, Matrushree Holkar, and their compatriots came together to establish the First Republic of India. Yes, that is correct. After the death of Peshwa Madhavrao and the assassination of the next Peshwa, Narayanrao, Nana Phadnis and few other stalwarts from the Maratha Empire joined hands to clean-up the rot in the Empire and bring in wide-ranging transformative changes in military, administration, judiciary, socio-cultural and other public services, introducing more accountability, plugging in leakages and allowing representation from hitherto neglected sections of the society.

The birth of the Karbhari Sarkar or the Republic in January 1774 was a novel concept when the word republic was not known to even the "civilized" nations of the world. This experiment, so to speak, had a turbulent start but for the next two and half decades, the Republic consolidated its power, the changes brought rich dividends to wider section of people, put the death-nail to the decaying Mughal Empire, defeated the Afghani-Turrani invaders and their brethren inside the borders, stitched up strong alliances with other kingdoms and vassals, put a leash on the ambition of the colonial powers like French, Portuguese and British; and made the Sarkar a pan-India power to reckon with. The founders' political wisdom/diplomacy, strategic and tactical thinking and valor enabled the republic to ascend to higher altitudes in foreign relations, global trade and military might.

And this very important chapter is what the author has brought to us through his first book. He has used the extant primary sources for his research, to recreate the story of the First Republic of India that was established some 175 years before we declared ourselves the Republic on 26th January 1950. He has given citations and references of the original sources to ensure the authenticity of his study and his writing is established. And he has told the story in the narrative style to keep the readers engaged and totally hooked.

This has been a great read and I absolutely loved this book from the get-go. Recommended to the readers who are interested in Indic History.

[Shreyansh Thakur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant eye opening book on Karbhari Sarkar.

[Adarsh ಆದರ್ಶ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Nana realized that the real reason for the ability of the British to intervene in the affairs of the Indian powers was because the Indian polity was divided into several principalities, with mutual jealousies against each other. The British profited from this and attempted a divide and rule policy. Instead of fighting on the defensive, if all the Indian powers came together, the British would not be able to sustain the offensive".

If only we had understood the consequences of infighting from our history we wouldn't have been a colonial blunder.

I still Wonder why i delayed reading this book left it in between maybe because ending was obvious and i was too softhearted or maybe i chickened out to read kindle. Anyway this particular book doesn't seem like a work of a debutante writer it seems more like a seasoned writer's work.

Until i picked this book had never heard of the names Like Nayadisha Rama Shastri, Nana Phadnvis, Mahadji Shinde and Ahilyabai Holkar. Might call the pillars of sarkar. Thanks to Social Media platforms for constantly reminding us the story of our heroes. All the three mentioned above would need a separate introduction here. Unfortunately im not into long reviews.
Now i get it why brown sepoys & Macaulay's adopted kids hate the Maratha and all the revolutionaries of Maharashtra so much. They always stood like a rock against the Marauders since 16th century till 1940's. Says a lot about the patriotic DNA of the land.

Distorians and Brown sepoys have snubbed this part of history of 18th century India as more of anarchy and Chaos. But witnessed the rise of a new resurgent indigenous republican empire which sought to bring stability to the sub-continent. It was the closing chapter in a period of contestation and not a period of increased anarchy.

There is lot more things to say about this book 1770-1800 CE can be easily considered as a time of "Calm before the chaos" which resulted in later 149 years of brutal barbaric rule of the white plague.

Greatest Statesmen Nana Phadnis and Military Commander & Statesman Mahadji Shinde duo showed how a sustainable Hindu Swarajya backed by republic is possible through a well designed administrative power though it existed for merely 2 decades.

I Repeat Whiteys didn't takeover the Country from Mughal but it from The Marathas which was the weakened after the death of the great Nana with constant infighting and some how still remained one of the the richest empires.If it had remained the same for another half a century course of our history would have been a different story altogether.


Hope more read this book and i strongly recommend it for all..

[Student · Rating 1 out of 5]

An important work of revisionist 18th century Indian history by Venkatesh Rangan that's desperately in need of a better writer. I had an incredibly difficult time fighting the urge to read and not read this book.