Monday, December 31, 2018

Brutal execution of Shambhaji set Maratha Hearts on fire of freedom

Shivaji married to Saibai while they were in childhood in 1640. His mother Jijabai arranged the marriage. The marriage was neither attended by his father Shahaji nor his uncles. Shahaji was living in Banglore with his second wife Tukobai.

Shambhaji the eldest son of Shivaji born on 14 May 1657, but his mother Saibai died at the age of 26 on 5 September 1659. Shivaji married to Soyarabai, the younger sister of his Sardar Hammirrao Mohite in 1659. Soyarabai was a niece of Tukobai, the step mother of Shivaji. Shambhaji was raised by his grandmother Jijabai. Brave Shivaji fought with Mughal, Bijapur and Golkonda forces and became Chatrapati on 6 June 1674 but only after 10 days, his mother Jijabai died on 16 June 1674. Soyarabai the mother of Rajaram gained prominence in the family.

Motherless Shambhaji was then was moving with his father. When he was 11, Shivaji took him to Agra Court of Emperor Aurangzeb on 12 May 1666. They were kept under house arrest by Aurangzeb but had escaped smartly.

When 51 years old Chatrapati Shivaji died of dysentery or food poisoning in 1680, Soyarabai got her 10 years son on the throne with the help of courtiers. But with the help of Hammirrao Mohite (brother of Soyarabai) the eldest Shambhaji removed Rajaram and became the Chatrapati at the age of 23 in 1680. Soyarabai then tried to dethrone Shamlaji and when her henchmen tried to poison Shambhaji, she was executed in 1681.

Shambhaji was married to Jivubai/Yeshubai, the daughter of Shivaji’s Sardar Pilojirao Shirke of Sangarpur of Ratnagiri. His previous patron Suryajirao Surve was defeated by Shivaji and had hold the Konkan area under command. Shivaji’s daughter Rajkunvarbai from third wife Sagunbai was married to Ganoji Shirke the son of Pilojirao. Sagunbai was a sister of Pilojirao Sirke. Pilojirao Shirke demanded for the Vatan of Port Dhol from Shivaji but Shivaji didn’t gave and abolished the Vatandari system from Maratha Kingdom to stop it’s misuse.

Shambhaji had been described as irresponsible and addict of sensual pleasure, therefore, he was imprisoned in Panhala fort in 1678 by Shivaji but he with wife Yeshubai escaped and defected to the Mughals December 1678 for a year but when he knew the plan of his arrest by Diler Khan, he returned to Shivaji. Some people interpreted it as an act of diplomacy by Shivaji and Shambhaji to ignite war of succession amongst the heirs of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb declared Azam Shah (son of Begam Rabia Durani) as his political heir in 1681. His eldest son Bahadur Shah (son of Nawab Bai) was a rebel.

After the death of Shivaji in 1680, when Shambhaji became Chatrapati, his brother in law Ganoji demanded the Vatan of Port Dabol but was denied. There was some family dispute going on. Therefore Shambhaji and Yeshubai both went to Sangarpur (in-law place) in February 1689. After the meeting, they were returning to Raigadh. They had troops for their protection. But Shambhaji stopped at Sangameshwar (39 kms from Sangarpur) with his poet friend Kavi Kalash with little force and sent major troops for protection of his wife Yesubai, travelling ahead of him to Raigadh. It was a mystery why was he stayed back in Sangameshwar with a little force though there was impending risk of attacks from the enemies.

What fuel unrest against Shambhaji in that family meeting, his brother in law Ganoji Shirke led Sheikh Nizam Hyderabadi (Muqabarkhan) the Mughal Sardar from the dense forest of Sayadri hills to Sangameshwar, where Shambhaji was fell in trance with Lord Shiva, was caught with his friend Kavi Kalash. Might be to malign him, some Mughal records mentioned him marrying at Sagameshwar.

Tired of guerrilla warfare technique of Chatrapati Shivaji whom they couldn’t win, Mughals had Chatrapati Shambhaji in hands without a big fight. They removed his hairs to avoid identity and took him far away to Bahadurgadh and then Tulapur, near Pune and was put in brutal torture for 40 days. No rescue operation was conducted by his Maratha Sardars during those 40 days of captivity. He was presented before Aurangzeb and was told to surrender all his forts, give details of his wealths and convert to Islam, that he denied. He was made blind, his tongue was torn but he didn’t accept Islam. He reacted: ‘he would not accept Islam even if the emperor bribed him with his daughter!'. Nicole Manucci, an Italian artillery officier in Aurangzeb's service, mentions in his memoirs that Sambhaji's side was torn with an axe and heart removed while he was still alive. He was beheaded and all the pieces of his body were thrown into river Bhima on 11 March 1689.

The skin of the head was filled with straw and displayed in various cities, finally hanged on gates of Delhi city, as per Ishwardas Nagar's memoir, Futuh-i-Alamgiri. He didn’t follow the example of Netaji Palkar, who changed the faith when was in trouble and when opportunity arose, joined hands with Shivaji, became Hindu again and was the Commander in Chief of the Maratha Army. Shivaji then said, “religion is for men, men is not for religion”. Brave Shambhaji sacrificed his life but not his faith. Aurangzeb had five daughters. Elder two Zeb un Nissa and Zeenat un Nissa remained unmarried and were much older to Shambhaji. Badr un Nissa died unmarried in 1670 and Mihr un Nissa and Zubadat un Nissa were married to their cousins Murad Bakhsh and Sipihr Shikoh respectively. Therefore, it would be incorrect to infer that Shambhaji was offered Aurangzeb’s daughter to marry if he had proclaimed Islam.

People were warned by the Mughals that whoever would come forward to stitch and cremate the body of Shambhaji would be killed with his family. None came forward but on the downstream of river Bhima, one brave wrestler like man of Mahar community of depressed class of Koregaon-Vadhu came forward, assembled and stitched the body parts of his Chatrapati and then with the help of few local cremated him. Their heirs were surnamed themselves Shivale (those stitched the body) thereafter. That depressed man with his family was killed by the Mughals.

After the death of Shambhaji, Rajaram assumed the throne and shifted the capital to Jinji.

The brutal murder of Shambhaji filled the hearts of Marathas with vengeance and fire. His death ignited the fire of freedom in the masses against Mughals and Aurangzeb. Maratha guerrilla fighters under Shantaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav made the life of Mughals tougher. In one such attack, they cut down the ropes of the tent of Aurangzeb. He survived because he went to his daughter’s tent at the time of attack.  Fighting against guerrilla warfare of Marathas, and with other rebels in the country, dreadful fear was created amongst the Mughals and their treasury was getting emptied. Son of Aurangzeb, Muhammad Azam Shah was building Bibi ka Makabara, a replica of Taj Mahal, in the memories of his mother Begam Rabia Durani, couldn’t made it of marbles. Aurangzeb and Azam Shah died in 1707. Mughal Empire was declined thereafter in succession wars.

Weak Mughals released Yeshubai and Shahu (son of Shambhaji) and Shahu became the Chatrapati in 1707. Tarabai (wife of Rajaram) claimed the throne for her grandson Shivaji-II, but Shahu could win over them after a brief war. He with his Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath then made Maratha stronger and extended their rule over larger area.

Koregaon-Vadhu and Tulapur are the adjutant villages on the bank of river Bhima where Shambhaji was executed and his body parts were thrown away into the river which were gathered, stitched and cremated by the Mahars, the depressed. Maratha rulers were using their services limited to guards or scouts but British took them into the British force. Therefore, after 129 years, in 1818, Koregaon Bhima battle, 800 soldiers of British fought a battle against 2000 Maratha soldiers of Peshwa Bajirao II, and defeated them. 22 of 50 British soldiers killed in the war were Mahars, the depressed. They were part of the British force due for their loyalty and had fought Anglo- Maratha wars bravely. Dr. Ambedkar’s father Ramji Maloji Sakpal was a Subedar Major in British Army. Later, there was a Mahar Regiment established in British Army. Indian Forces were weaved in castes those days.

Due to his conservative religious policies, Aurangzeb couldn’t win the hearts of the Hindus and the brutal murder of Shambhaji lit the fire of freedom in the hearts of Marathas. Brahmin Peshwas took swords in their hands (became Kshatriya) to weaken the mighty power of Mughals, and by the year of mutiny in 1857, Mughal Empire of 42 lakh sqkm was squeezed within the city of Delhi. After Mughals and before British, there was Maratha Empire. But in the third war of Panipat against Ahmedshah Abdali of Afghanistan and the Rohilas on 14 January 1761, no Muslim rulers joined them, and they were defeated and lost the suzerainty over Punjab and north India. There were three Anglo-Maratha wars in which the first (1775-82) was fought bravely by the Marathas but lost their major territories to British in the Second (1803-05) and Third (1817-18) wars. Maratha rule of Princely States thereafter continued till independence in some parts of Maharastra, MP and Gujarat with the subsidiary alliance with the British.

Polygamy was one of the major reasons of succession wars in all the kingdoms in India. Each mother dreamed for making her son the successor and weakened the kingdom/empire.

British came, rule us for 190 years, freedom movement led by Gandhiji brought us independence, but the fire of freedom ignited by Shivaji and Shambhaji is still burning in the hearts of Marathas.

Punamchand
28 December 2018

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Emperor of great simplicity failed to win hearts of Hindustan

Emperor with great simplicity failed to win hearts of Hindustan

He was the sixth emperor of Mughal extended the Mughal Empire to 40 lakh sqkm area and over 16 crore people with an annual revenue of ₹288 crore (in 1690), made the economy world largest and rule the empire for 49 years until his death in 1707. He succeeded the throne of Delhi by killing his brothers and keeping father Shahjahan in imprisonment. His administration had 31% Hindus and he had great relations with Jodhpur King Jaswant Singh. His Nobel Jai Singh played an important role in bringing Shivaji under Mughal commands. His tenure was a tenure of prosperity, wars and rebellions.

From all of his opponents, Shivaji was proved to be the most difficult to win. However, with the help of Jai Singh, by treaty of Purandar in 1665, Shivaji had to give up 23 forts, paid compensation, accepted vasal of Mughals and sent his son and troops to fight for Mughals. When Shivaji and his son were called in Delhi in 1666, they were put under arrest but they managed escaping through the large baskets. With the mediation of Raja Jaswant Singh, their relations settled by conferring Raja title to Shivaji and Shabhaji was restored as Mabsabdar. But the peace didn’t last long and Shivaji came in confrontations with Mughals again, raided their important posts including Surat and became Chatrapati in 1674. He died of fever and dysentery or of a blood vomit due to poison given by his second wife Soyarabai in 1680. It opened a way and opportunity for Aurangzeb to move to South and command Maratha, Bijapur, Golkonda and other kingdoms. He deployed 7 lakh soldiers in Deccan and moved himself to take charge of the operation. When one day, Shambhaji, the eldest son of Shivaji sent his wife to Raigarh under the protection of the Maratha army, he was left with few hundred soldiers. Knowing this, his enemies attacked and cordoned him and was arrested and was told to change the faith to survive. But when he denied to became Muslim even there would be an offer of marrying with the daughter of Aurangzeb, he was tortured and executed in 1689. Shahu the grandson of Shivaji was kept under Mughal prison for 25 years and was released only after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707.

Aurangzeb came to Aurangabad to win the South and couldn’t move to Delhi till his death in 1707. He was an orthodox Muslim and was a strong believer of the orders of Quran, Hadid and Shariya. As orthodox Muslim, he might became fanatic, didn’t allow construction of new temples. Under his order, some temples were demolished. His men started a conversion drive to force people to change their faith. He imposed Jazia tax over non Muslims. Either they pay tax or convert or fight with Mughals and die. That had created hatred of majority against him.  As Governor of Gujarat, he had executed Dawoodi Bohra 32nd Sayedna Qutubkhan Qutbuddin in 1648, executed his brother Dara Sukhoi in a war of succession in 1659; as emperor, executed his brother Murad Baksh for murdering a Diwan of Gujarat in 1661, executed 9th Shikh Guru Teg Bahadur when he denied changing his faith in 1675, brutally executed Shambhaji in 1689. He created many enemies though expanded the Mughal Empire.

When he visited the dargah of Hazrat Khwaja Makhdum Sayed Shah Zenunuddin Dawood Hussain Sirazi, 22nd in the raw after Prophet Hazrat Muhammad, he bow his head before the kabra and accepted him a Guru. He lived a life of simplicity, didn’t use government revenue for his living. He was making caps and calligraphed Quran and from selling them saved ₹12 to buy a burial land, near the burial of his Guru in Khuldabad. He lived a life of simplicity in a Sunahari Mahal in Aurangabad but was active till his last breathe died in a military cantonment in Ahmednagar in 1707. As per his wish, he was buried near his Guru and the grave was kept kaccha open to the sky without any monument.

He failed to understand the purpose of his deeds and confessed before his son Azam Shah in February 1707: "I came alone and I go as a stranger. I do not know who I am, nor what I have been doing.” It was too late, he made the empire the largest but with his acts and omissions created the weaknesses of it’s fall. Mughals were ruined by the succession wars, commands over emperors by the two Sayed Brothers and the loots and massacre by Nadir Shah. After the failure of 1857 revolt, the Outsourcing Company became the King and the last emperor of Mughals, Bahadur Shah Jafar was exiled to Rangoon (Burma) in a bullock cart on 7 October 1858 at 4 AM, where he died in 1862 at the age of 87. In his words: “कितना है बदनसीब “ज़फ़र″ दफ़्न के लिए दो गज़ ज़मीन भी न मिली कू-ए-यार में।”

There is a Punchakki (water mill) a medieval engineering mill by a religious teacher Hazrat Baba Shah Musafir, came from Russia in 1744, brought water from 6kms away through water chamber and with the help of slops and raised by a siphon to the pillar, from where it is made to falls in the reservoir below at Aurangabad. It runs the flour mill with the help of turbine wings made from five metals. It was a miracle for the common people and were easily impressed by the Baba. A young man was distributing a small booklet and was explaining the teachings of Islam to the tourists. Meantime a Kazi Saheb a retired teacher of a high school in his 80s came and started explaining the teaching of Islam of one God Allah similar to Vedas of Hindu. He further explained that humans have been created and made masters of all the creatures to pass the examination of God. There are two things: a body and a spirit. When a person dies, the spirit depart and wait till the day of justice, the day when the Almighty Allah will ask about the deeds during the life on earth (the examination hall) and accordingly will send the spirits into heaven or hell. Therefore, life of human is very important and one shouldn’t lose a minute and do wrong for the want of body. They shall live a life of honesty and goodness so that the spirit gets the heaven on the day of justice. He was giving references of Vedas and teachings of Hindus of one God but was very insistent on believing the teachings of Quran presented by the last prophet Hazarat Muhammad, before whom 1.25 lakh prophets came but their teachings were not preserved.

One may look at it as a mini picture of the days of Aurangzeb, how would the religious teachers of those days might had tried to persuade people to change their faith under the fear of the power. It had created resentments against the Muslim rulers and from that suppression the seeds of freedom planted by Shivaji, then grew as a tree through the bravery of Peshvas, weakens the Mughals and opened the way for the rule of British East India Company then of UK and with the freedom struggle we became a nation of democratic independence, where the people of India are deciding their fate by adult franchise of pushing a button of the EVM.

Punamchand
23 December 2018
Aurangabad

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Time destined for Gandhi

Time destined for Gandhi

That day, Sardar Patel came for the meeting at 4pm. It was so important that none of the assistants disturbed Gandhiji when the time of prayer passed at 5pm. He was not keeping his waist watch those days. He was suffering from cough and cold in the winter of Delhi after breaking his fast until death on 18/1/1948 that was to stop the communal violence in Delhi. His demands to give ₹55 crore cash share to Pakistan and to repair the Kaki Masjid of Delhi damaged by the rioters added fuel to the fire amongst the communal refugees and the persons planning his assassination. Madanlal Pahva threw a bomb in Birla Bhavan, 2 days after the break of his fast on 20/1/1948 but failed to kill Gandhi. He had faith in God and believed that if death is destined, it can’t be stopped by any security, therefore, didn’t allow the thorough checking of the visitors. When the bomb attempt failed to kill him, he remarked: “ऐसे ही हम डर जाय तो सचमुच यह कोई हो जाय तो हमारा हाल कैसा होगा?”

In that bad health, he visited the Ursh of Kaki masjid on 29/1/1948. Godse, Karkare and Apte had positioned themselves in Old Delhi Railway Room no.6. Like Gandhi, they also wake up in the brahma muhurta. Gandhi listened the slokas of Gita and one Gujarati Bhajan and then meditated as per his routine schedule. One of his assistants Abha didn’t join the session that morning, displeased him.

As Clove or pepper powder is a great medicine for cold and cough, he was given clove powder twice in a day. That morning on 30 January, he took his normal drink of hot water with lemon and honey but missed the clove powder because it was finished. When Manu tried to make the powder in the afternoon of 30/1, he commented “who knows what is going to happen before nightfall or even whether I shall be alive. If at night I am still alive you can easily prepare some then." His had intuition that somebody is chasing him to kill.

Godse initially planned to fire on him from the distance and Karkare and Apte to clear people if someone would come in the way. With Beretta M9 pistol in pocket of Godse, they three easily entered into the Birala House Campus. Generally, Dr Sushila Nayar or one man Gurbachan Singh used to walk ahead of Gandhi to clear the way. But that day, Dr Nayar was away to Pakistan and Gurbachan Singh was caught up in the group. There were hardly 250 persons including 20 policemen in plain clothes present in the campus.

When Manu drew his attention of getting late in prayer time, the meeting with Sardar ended. Two leaders of Saurastra Dhebarbhai and Rasiklal Parikh came to discuss formation of districts in Saurastra State and asked for the meeting, but Gandhi told, “tell them that I will, but only after the prayer meeting, and that too if I am still living. We shall then talk things over." Patel was returning to his bungalow. Gandhi’s meeting with Nehru and Maulana Azad was scheduled at 7pm that evening and his plan to go to Sevagram on next day or on 2nd February was to be announced in the prayer meeting.

65 inch tall and 50 kg weight, 79 years old Bapu took his last steps towards eternity with his two walking sticks Abha to the left and Manu to the right. As no one was in front of Gandhi, Godse changed his plan to fire from the distance and grab the opportunity, pulled out pistol from the pocket, pushed forcefully Manu aside, and fired three rounds of bullets very closely on his heart and stomach. With the third fire Gandhi slowly sank to the left on the ground into the hands and lap of Abha and gasped ‘hey ram’ and departed. It was 5.17pm. Smoke filled the air. Confusion and panic reigned. His face turned pale, his white shawl of Australian wool was turning crimson with blood. Deputy to Pyarelal, Kalyanam was walking to the left of him behind Abha, therefore, couldn’t hear hey ram. But believing Gandhi’s word to Manu early that very morning, "If someone fires bullets at me and I die without a groan and with God's name on my lips, then you should tell the world that here was a real Mahatma...". He was our Mahatma, sacrificed life for the unity of Hindu-Muslim in India. His journey to truth and from darkness to light will lantern India for centuries. Godse killed his body but made him immortal.

Had the prayer been conducted at 5pm as per the schedule, Godse might had failed in his attempt. But Gandhi’s departure was destined at 5.17 pm.

Punamchand
8 December 2018
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