History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c39.12

v3.c39.12

The efficacy and the necessity of national resistance, was first realised in India, in our view, by Shivaji, under the inspiration of whose spirit Mahārāshtra resisted as a nation and fought against Aurangzeb. The Marathas, meaning thereby Kshatriyas, Brahmins, and the common people or Śudras combined and fought as a man in the days of Rajaram and rose superior even to the whole combined power of the Mogul empire with which Aurangzeb in vain strove to crush them. The Marathas of the days of Shivaji and Rajaram, alone in Indian history, offered national resistance and attained and preserved independence. They alone in Indian history verified the maxim laid down in western politics that no power however great can crush the independence of a people however small if they resist as a nation. India naturally could not realise the necessity of national unity when its kingdoms were ruled by Hindu kings of whatever clan. The Marathas first realised it after three centuries of Mahomedan rule. The Sikhs followed them with their religious conscription. The Indian people under English rule must realise the necessity of national effort if they are to attain Swaraj or political freedom