History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c33.s6.24

v3.c33.s6.24

I The foremost superiority of the Turks was in the personality of their general Mahmud. We do not generally realise the value and power of personalities. As stated before, nature produces from time to time men who by their mental and physical power change the destinies of kingdoms or the face of the human world. One Buddha or one Jesus was powerful enough to turn half the world towards peace, one Mahomet could turn the other half towards the principle of force in the propragation of truth. In the field of politics we see the immense influence of one Shivaji who secured independence to the Maratha people for two centuries and established their reputation for ever. It is our firm conviction that without the personal factor of Shivaji the Marathas could not have achieved what they achieved and it is our firm opinion that without Mahmud the Turks could not have overthrown the Hindus of the Panjab. The case of Mahmud is exactly similar to that of Shivaji. Endowed with indomitable courage and indefatigable energy they both formed great designs and had the necessary resourcefulness and resolution to put their conceptions into execution. Nobody at the time of Shahaji could have thought it possible to free Mahārāshtra from the yoke of Mahomedan rule by destroying the Bijapur power in its immediate vicinity and defeating the immense imperial Mogul armies of distant Delhi. And yet Shivaji formed that seemingly impossible plan and carried it out in his own life-time by his unique powers of organization and his immense moral force. Nobody similarly could then have thought that the small kingdom of Ghazni could destroy the powerful kingdom of Kabul in its vicinity or defeat the imperial armies of distant Kanauj. Yet Mahmud in his high ambition conceived that bold design and by his energies and personal influence put it into execution. Shivaji stands no doubt on a higher moral pedestal than Mahmud as he devoted his energies to the noble task of freeing his people from the thraldom of a foreign power and religion, while Mahmud conceived and carried out the project of enslaving other people, of conquering other kingdoms and imposing upon them a foreign religion. All the same, almost impossible purposes were formed by both and achieved by both by unique qualities. Both had in the beginning only a small army and a nucleus kingdom; but both increased them by their recourcefulness and their power of organization. Shivaji indeed had a very small army inherited from his father; yet he eventually organised a striking force that could defeat even the imperial Mogul armies and plunder rich Mogul cities. Mahmud did the same and created an army which at the close of his life amounted to a lakh of foot, half a lakh of horse and 1300 elephants as stated before.