New History of the Marathas v1.c18.54

v1.c18.54

7. Besiegers besieged.—The main object of the Maratha administrators and generals at this time was to release their Chhatrapati from Jinji, save him from a fate similar to his brother’s, and liberate the Maratha territories from the Mughal control. The Emperor was by no means blind or ignorant on these points. Through obstinacy he pursued rigorous measures of war in preference to some kind of understanding or accommodation for putting an end to the hostilities. If he had taken a reasonable line of action and employed means to end the war on honourable terms, the Maratha rulers would certainly have welcomed that course and even accepted Aurangzeb’s suzerainty, remaining content with a small subordinate principality in the Deccan. Several well-wishers of the Emperor did not hesitate to persuade him to this line of conduct. But he stoutly resisted it and suffered the consequences. The Marathas in retaliation managed to raise armies and develop a system of harassment, conquest and expansion, by which they regained not only their *Swarajya* of Shivaji’s days, but also the right to levy *Chauthai* and *Sardeshmukhi* over the lands of Mahārāshtra and the Karnatak. Many of the original leaders died in the attempt, but their half-finished work was continued by the next generation with redoubled devotion and success.