New History of the Marathas v1.c19.s1.33

v1.c19.s1.33

revenues, without armies and without resources of any kind, they managed to raise armies, retake forts and develop a system of conquest by which they regained not only the Swaraj but also the right to levy Chauthai and Sardeshmukhi all over the Deccan and the Karnatak. Mere free-booters and plunderers never could have obtained success in such a war. It was a higher moral force which brought out all the virtues of the best men of the nation, daring heroism, noble endurance, administrative skill, hope which rose higher with every disappointment, an unshakable faith, devotion to high ideals, a sense of brotherhood, a spirit of self-sacrifice, and a trust in the final success of their cause. It is as a school for such discipline that this War of Independence will always remain the most glorious period of Maratha history.”