History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v1.c3.4

v1.c3.4

The reign of Aurangzib is also marked by the upspringing of the Maratha nationality out of the ashes of their short-lived kingship, and by the appearance of the Sikh sect in the role of warriors and armed opponents of the ruling power. Thus the supreme factors of Indian politics in the 18th and early 19th centuries owe their origin to Aurangzib’s reign and policy. In the Deccan, after kings like Adil Shah and Qutb Shah, Sambhaji and Rajah Ram, had bowed low before the Mughal blast, the *people* asserted themselves and drove back the spoiler from the North. To the Marathas, alone among the Indian peoples, belongs the glory of giving the first successful check to the onward advance of the Mughal power and saving their fatherland from foreign encroachment. Their development into conquerors and raiders belongs to the next age.