New History of the Marathas v1.c18.43

v1.c18.43

The credit of retrieving the Maratha fortunes goes mainly to two men of uncommon ability, Rāmchandra Pant Amātya the consummate planner and Santājī Ghorpade Senapati the adroit executor. Santājī is called the perfect master of guerilla warfare. Santājī as a boy had served Shivaji and possibly Sambhājī also: but there is no evidence on record how he was occupied during the rule of the latter unfortunate monarch. Santājī suddenly emerged from oblivion in the sore need created by the fall of Raigad, when he was called upon to defend his Chhatrapati and the Maratha raj. Writes Sarkar,² “Santāji had an inborn genius for handling large bodies of troops spread over a wide area, changing his tactics so as to take prompt advantage of every change in the enemy’s plans and condition and organizing combined movements. The success of his tactics depended on the rapid movement of his troops and on his subordinates carrying out his orders punctually to the minute. He, therefore, insisted on implicit obedience from his officers and enforced the strictest discipline in his army by drastic punishments. As Khafi Khan writes, “Santa used to inflict severe punishments on his followers. For the slightest fault he would cause the offender to be trampled to death by an elephant.” “His greatest monument is the abject fear he inspired in the ranks of the Mogul army, which faithfully reflected in the curses and abuses invariably used as the epithet to his name by Persian histories. As will be seen later Santāji’s boastful and defiant demeanour made him odious to his master and his harsh ways made him equally disliked by his subordinates. This proved the cause of his ruin.”