“Tanaji – The unsung warrior” is an adventure in the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s childhood friend and warrior Tanaji Malusare. Om Raut is the director. The film is co-written by Prakash Kapadia, who co-wrote the film Padmaavat and Bajirao Mastani. The main characters are played by Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan. It is a story that is mixed with history and imagination. There is no authentic historical record of Tanaji’s life. He still lives in Marathi folk tales and transmitted orally through Tanaji’s descendants. Tanaji ended up in an exciting fight. The centerpiece of the story is the Simhagad fort in Pune. With the film, a little bit of history has gone up too. I’m sorry. (Disclaimer: India is used for convenience. It is not India today. The Indian subcontinent was a vast land area with many borders).
Kondana Kila / Sinhagad
This fort was built some two thousand years ago. The construction of the Sahyadri Range is one thousand three hundred meters above sea level. The fort has been designed to exploit the geological features of the hillocks where the fort is located. The fort was named Kondana Kila in memory of a Buddhist monk named Kandinaya who used to meditate in the place where the fort is located. The fort, which was repeatedly attacked by the Mughals, was first occupied by Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the 13th century.The Sultan of Pune, under the command of Bijapur Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah, was entrusted with the command of his commander, Sayaji Bhosle. But Sayaji’s teenage son didn’t like it. He could not accept the powers coming from outside to rule the people. That is how he drove the Mughals out of here and not the Hindwau Swaraj. His idea was to break free from foreign powers and create our own country. Siddi Amber, who was in charge of the fort, persuaded him to regain control of the fort. Naturally it angered Adilshah. Shah was put in jail by Shah. After six years, he had to withdraw from the obligation to relinquish the fort to Sayaji. But the coals in his mind were not. Swaraj’s dream began to flare up again. The teenager was Chhatrapati Shivaji, who later launched into an epic battle and became the epicenter of the Maratha Empire.
The Ceaseless Battle for the Fort
Once again, the Mughal rulers resorted to many tactics to conquer the fort. Deception, aggression, and temptation are many tactics. At the end of the 16th century, when King Aurangzeb’s general, Jaisingh, a Rajput king (queried whether the Jaising was in the Mughal Empire), Sivaji was forced to sign a treaty so as not to cause further damage to his subjects and the country. The Purandar Treaty. But the story didn’t end there. The Mughal flag hovering over the Marathas headquarters, Rajgadh, away from Kondana Fort, was a disturbing sight not only for Shivaji but also for his mother Jeejabhai. Jeejabhai told his son that he wanted to regain the fort anyway. That is how the legendary encounter occurred at the end of the 16th century.
Tanaji Malusare and his Fight in Blood
Sivaji expressed his wish to Tanaji, who was engaged in the preparation of his son’s wedding. At first, Tanaji went out saying that it was Kondana, then the wedding. But what lay ahead was a daunting task. It would have been impossible to ascend a steep hill on a steep hill. The fort was ruled by a Rajput army called Uday Bhan Rathod. Uday Bhan was not a retailer, as he had to obey Aurangzeb in no other way when his own country was lost in the Mughal invasion. The brave man was guarding the fort without a fly.The soldiers, accompanied by Tanaji and his brother Suryaji, kept watch around the fort. The guards, who have been awake for twenty-four hours, are everywhere. But there is no guard on one side of the fort. It was because of the confidence that no one could climb the steep cliffs and the fortress wall above it. But Tanaji found a way out of this. At that time there was a kind of garment that the Taskaras had brought up for theft. In such a case, tie the rope and let it go straight up. The rope fastened on the walls of the fort was fastened to the top of the rope. Tanaji and a few soldiers got to the top of the fort. Three hundred other Maratha soldiers entered the fort, holding the ropes they had thrown at them.
The guards of the fort were stunned by the unexpected attack. Tanaji and his men jumped at it. Most of Uday Bhan’s soldiers are dead. Finally Tanaji and Uday Bhan confront the battle. Both are mighty warriors. Uday Bhan’s successive cuts cut Tanaji’s shield into two pieces. Udayabhan cut one of Tanaji’s fists. But Tanaji wrapped his hand in his own command and did not stop the fighting. Uday Bhan finally succumbed to Tanaji’s continuous torment. Tanaji is bleeding from a broken arm. The Maratha army continued to fight with increasing vigor. Finally they passed their victory flag over the fort. Mourning Shivaji’s death.
Mughals and the Islamic Rule before them
The Indian subcontinent is a landlocked region that has witnessed many empires, wars, bloodshed, invasions and peace movements. The Maurya Empire, the Kushan Empire, the Gupta Empire, the Pratihara (Rajput) and the Chola Empire were all very distinct systems. Attempts to seize the administrative center of Delhi are still centuries old. It continues even after the end of Hindu, Muslim and British rule. One of the most confusing of these is the violence by the early Muslim rulers of India which mingle with the Mughals. This is not to say that the Mughals did not do this. But there was a fundamental difference between them and their predecessors. Let me explain
In the eleventh century, the Sultans, who ruled the Indian subcontinent (or vast parts of it), were notorious for their brutality, hatred and attacks on non-Islamic religions and religious pogroms. Not only the Qutb-ud-din Ibak, Khilji, Taimur and Lodhi, but also the Sultan Ghiyasuddin who ruled Madurai at that time, Sultan Sikandar of Kashmir, and the Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta, reported the atrocities of non-Islamic sects, mainly Hindus. But they did not come to India to promote religion, as the British propagated. Their main aim was to plunder the precious wealth that the princely prince had and to build his own empire. The idolatry and idolatry that existed in the Hindu kingdoms of the day was a natural affront to them, and they were toppled and destroyed. Religion was not the driving force behind the attacks
The Mughals had only one goal: to grow their empire. The rulers of the thousands of princely states that existed in the Indian subcontinent at that time were mostly lovers of power and delights. It was common for them to fight for power. In contrast, the Mughals had a centralized structure. With all the forces concentrating on one person, they had no difficulty in making decisions and implementing them quickly. The Mughal conquest of India was accompanied by many tactics. They enraged the fury and jealousy of the princes of the country. Paying the coin made the bendlers pay for it. Some were given authority. Some intimidated. Some were forced and subdued. They were very up front in technology. They were pioneers in fireworks. History has it that the kings, who had seen only swords, shields and spears, had hated the Mughal military and military might. Unlike the kings who followed the straightforward policies of war, they were not behind war and deception. The native kings of the region did not have the ability to withstand the artillery fire. Most of the ports of that time were occupied by Portugal. Therefore, the Mughals’ desire to use the Muslim commanders from other countries in India was not fulfilled. Thus many of their competent Rajput kings reached important military functions in the Mughal Empire.
There were Muslim rulers in India for about six hundred years. The Mughals ruled it for nearly two hundred years. They were one of the largest empires in the Indian subcontinent. They were the rulers who ruled the land very strategically. The Mughals were a way of maintaining the existing social order in India but at the same time making them all their vassals. Religious persecution like that of their predecessors, due to the religious intolerance which they practiced as a part of this strategy, was scarce in the days of the Mughals (even for those like Aurangzeb). The Mughal sultans did not rule over a large area alone, but divided it into three or four factions. The Hindu rulers of the time had surrendered to the Mughals, but they resisted any interference in their faith or practice. That is one of the reasons. But it is the very liberal methods of the Mughals that kept them in power for two hundred years. In India, art, literature, music and technology have been making unparalleled purchases. Marriages were frequent among the Mughals and the Rajputs. They did not insist on conversion after marriage. It is still visible in many palaces and palaces scattered all over Rajasthan. This is precisely what has caused the majority of the Indian community to stay the same even after they have ruled India for so long.
The Marathas
But the Marathas were different. They were fierce patriots. And great pride. And more than that. But they did not do the same with the Mughal Empire. It was just a matter of bravery and confidence. They had to obey the kings of the Mughals. But in 10 or 20 years, Shivaji, an intelligent and courageous man who used the opportunity of sama, charity, bhagya and dhanam as an opportunity, overtook the Maratha Empire. Shivaji recaptured the abandoned forts and territories within a short period of time. Peshwas like Bajirao, who came after Shivaji, a similar fervor with continued attack. The fire which Shivaji had lit up later caused a large number of Mughals to leave India. Talk to any Marathi now. Those who take great pride in their ancient history and who believe that such an empire is still in trouble. It is this quality that makes them different from the royal sons.
Don’t feel great on Mugals and their dynasty as they also have done several war, killings, but don’t want to waste your time, would explain in another blog.