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The History and Culture of the Indian People #8
The History and Culture of the Indian People: Volume 8: The Maratha Supremacy [1707-1818]
This is the first history of India written exclusively by her own people which brings to bear on the problems a detached and critical appreciation. A team of over sixty scholars of repute present herein a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the political, socio-economic and cultural history of the Indian people.
It deals with the period from the death of Aurangzib (1707) to the third Anglo-Maratha (1818). It was an eventful period that witnessed the end of Muslim rule, the rise and fall of the Maratha empire and the foundation of British empire in India. With the death of emperor Aurangzib vanished the glory and prestige of the Mughal empire. The governors of distant provinces assumed indigence for all practical purposes. The Rajputs, the Sikhs, the Jats, the Bundelas and the Marathas all started thinking in terms of independence and challenged the might of the empire. The Marathas proved the most successful of the lot, liberated their homeland and carried the war into the enemy's country. Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath set on the bold adventure of participating in the imperial affairs by the treaty of 1718. Under his son and grandson, Peshwa Baji Rao and Balaji Rao, participation made way for direction and control. All this while, the British were pushing forward their conquests from the East and the South, and it was clear they would one day clash with the Marathas for supremacy. British diplomacy created disarray among Maratha chiefs and fought them separately. A sleepy, inert, feudal society was overpowered by an aggressive imperialism. The self-sufficient economy based on domestic consumption was shattered first by the extraordinary privileges the British conquerors claimed for themselves, and later by the unequal competition of the Industrial Revolution of the West.
The contributors to this volume are:
Dr.R.C.Majumdar, Dr.B.P.Sakshena,Dr.V.G.Dighe, Dr.K.K.Datta, Dr.H.R.Gupta, Sri.Raghubir Singh, Dr.J.N.Chaudhuri, Dr.S.V.Puntambekar, Dr.A.C.Banerjee, Prof. Rao Sahib C.S.Srinivasachari, Sri.A.P.Das Gupta, Dr.S.N.Sen, Dr.N.K.Sinha, Dr.S.N.Qanungo, Dr.D.N.Banerjee, Dr.Ramanlal C.Shah, Dr. R.V.Herwadkar, Prof. K.R.Srinivasava Iyengar, Dr.S.V.Joga Rao, Prof. S.Srikantha Sastri, Prof.S.K.Nayar, Prof. A.N.Jafree, Sri Ram Panjwani, Sri Abdus Subhan, Sri S.A.Upadhyaya, Prof. Radha Kamal Mukherjee.
It deals with the period from the death of Aurangzib (1707) to the third Anglo-Maratha (1818). It was an eventful period that witnessed the end of Muslim rule, the rise and fall of the Maratha empire and the foundation of British empire in India. With the death of emperor Aurangzib vanished the glory and prestige of the Mughal empire. The governors of distant provinces assumed indigence for all practical purposes. The Rajputs, the Sikhs, the Jats, the Bundelas and the Marathas all started thinking in terms of independence and challenged the might of the empire. The Marathas proved the most successful of the lot, liberated their homeland and carried the war into the enemy's country. Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath set on the bold adventure of participating in the imperial affairs by the treaty of 1718. Under his son and grandson, Peshwa Baji Rao and Balaji Rao, participation made way for direction and control. All this while, the British were pushing forward their conquests from the East and the South, and it was clear they would one day clash with the Marathas for supremacy. British diplomacy created disarray among Maratha chiefs and fought them separately. A sleepy, inert, feudal society was overpowered by an aggressive imperialism. The self-sufficient economy based on domestic consumption was shattered first by the extraordinary privileges the British conquerors claimed for themselves, and later by the unequal competition of the Industrial Revolution of the West.
The contributors to this volume are:
Dr.R.C.Majumdar, Dr.B.P.Sakshena,Dr.V.G.Dighe, Dr.K.K.Datta, Dr.H.R.Gupta, Sri.Raghubir Singh, Dr.J.N.Chaudhuri, Dr.S.V.Puntambekar, Dr.A.C.Banerjee, Prof. Rao Sahib C.S.Srinivasachari, Sri.A.P.Das Gupta, Dr.S.N.Sen, Dr.N.K.Sinha, Dr.S.N.Qanungo, Dr.D.N.Banerjee, Dr.Ramanlal C.Shah, Dr. R.V.Herwadkar, Prof. K.R.Srinivasava Iyengar, Dr.S.V.Joga Rao, Prof. S.Srikantha Sastri, Prof.S.K.Nayar, Prof. A.N.Jafree, Sri Ram Panjwani, Sri Abdus Subhan, Sri S.A.Upadhyaya, Prof. Radha Kamal Mukherjee.
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About the author
R.C. Majumdar
86 books185 followersRamesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history.
Born at Khandarpara, in Faridpur District (now in Bangladesh) on 4 December 1888, to Haladhar Majumdar and Bidhumukhi, Majumdar passed his childhood in poverty. In 1905, he passed his Entrance Examination from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1907, he passed F.A. with first class scholarship from Ripon College (now Surendranath College) and joined Presidency College, Calcutta. Graduating in B.A.(Honours) in 1909 and MA from Calcutta University in 1911, he won the Premchand Roychand scholarship from the University of Calcutta for his research work in 1913.
Majumdar started his teaching career as a lecturer at Dacca Government Training College. Since 1914, he spent seven years as a professor of history at the University of Calcutta. He got his doctorate for his thesis "Corporate Life in Ancient India".[3] In 1921 he joined the newly established University of Dacca as a professor of history. He also served, until he became its vice chancellor, as the head of the Department of History as well as the dean of the Faculty of Arts. Between 1924 and 1936 he was Provost of Jagannath Hall. Then he became the vice chancellor of that University, for five years from 1937 to 1942. From 1950, he was Principal of the College of Indology, Benares Hindu University. He was elected the general president of the Indian History Congress and also became the vice president of the International Commission set up by the UNESCO for the history of mankind.
Majumdar started his research on ancient India. After extensive travels to Southeast Asia and research, he wrote detailed histories of Champa (1927), Suvarnadvipa (1929) and Kambuja Desa. On the initiative of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, he took up the mantle of editing a multi-volume tome on Indian history. Starting in 1951, he toiled for twenty six long years to describe the history of the Indian people from the Vedic Period to the present day in eleven volumes. In 1955, Majumdar became the founder-principal of the College of Indology of Nagpur University. In 1958-59, he taught Indian history in the University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania. He was also the president of the Asiatic Society (1966–68) and the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad (1968–69). For some time he was also the Sheriff of Calcutta (1967–68).
When the final volume of "The History and Culture of the Indian People" was published in 1977, he had turned eighty-eight. He also edited the three-volume history of Bengal published by Dacca University. His last book was "Jivaner Smritidvipe".
When the Government of India set up an editorial Committee to author a history of the freedom struggle of India, he was its principal member. But, following a conflict with the then Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on the Sepoy Mutiny, he left the government job and published his own book. The Sepoy Mutiny & Revolt of 1857. According to him the origins of India's freedom struggle lie in the English-educated Indian middle-class and the freedom struggle started with the Banga Bhanga movement in 1905. His views on the freedom struggle are found in his book History of the Freedom Movement in India. He was an admirer of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
Born at Khandarpara, in Faridpur District (now in Bangladesh) on 4 December 1888, to Haladhar Majumdar and Bidhumukhi, Majumdar passed his childhood in poverty. In 1905, he passed his Entrance Examination from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1907, he passed F.A. with first class scholarship from Ripon College (now Surendranath College) and joined Presidency College, Calcutta. Graduating in B.A.(Honours) in 1909 and MA from Calcutta University in 1911, he won the Premchand Roychand scholarship from the University of Calcutta for his research work in 1913.
Majumdar started his teaching career as a lecturer at Dacca Government Training College. Since 1914, he spent seven years as a professor of history at the University of Calcutta. He got his doctorate for his thesis "Corporate Life in Ancient India".[3] In 1921 he joined the newly established University of Dacca as a professor of history. He also served, until he became its vice chancellor, as the head of the Department of History as well as the dean of the Faculty of Arts. Between 1924 and 1936 he was Provost of Jagannath Hall. Then he became the vice chancellor of that University, for five years from 1937 to 1942. From 1950, he was Principal of the College of Indology, Benares Hindu University. He was elected the general president of the Indian History Congress and also became the vice president of the International Commission set up by the UNESCO for the history of mankind.
Majumdar started his research on ancient India. After extensive travels to Southeast Asia and research, he wrote detailed histories of Champa (1927), Suvarnadvipa (1929) and Kambuja Desa. On the initiative of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, he took up the mantle of editing a multi-volume tome on Indian history. Starting in 1951, he toiled for twenty six long years to describe the history of the Indian people from the Vedic Period to the present day in eleven volumes. In 1955, Majumdar became the founder-principal of the College of Indology of Nagpur University. In 1958-59, he taught Indian history in the University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania. He was also the president of the Asiatic Society (1966–68) and the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad (1968–69). For some time he was also the Sheriff of Calcutta (1967–68).
When the final volume of "The History and Culture of the Indian People" was published in 1977, he had turned eighty-eight. He also edited the three-volume history of Bengal published by Dacca University. His last book was "Jivaner Smritidvipe".
When the Government of India set up an editorial Committee to author a history of the freedom struggle of India, he was its principal member. But, following a conflict with the then Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on the Sepoy Mutiny, he left the government job and published his own book. The Sepoy Mutiny & Revolt of 1857. According to him the origins of India's freedom struggle lie in the English-educated Indian middle-class and the freedom struggle started with the Banga Bhanga movement in 1905. His views on the freedom struggle are found in his book History of the Freedom Movement in India. He was an admirer of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
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November 6, 2023
It covers the Peshwa Period of Maratha History. They should have included the story of Narayan Rao Peshwa and the later Peshwas in greater detail. They missed out on rather interesting history. Uday Kulkarni covers it partially in his 'Maratha Century'. I would like to read a full fledged book on the subject.
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