Prologue
A nation grows, reaches pride of place among the comity of nations, commands recognition and respect from everyone, not due to its natural wealth, physical size, population density but, on the quality and calibre of its citizens, their patriotic spirit, eagerness and enthusiasm to excel in every field, ability, acumen, probity and purity, virtues and veracity of its nonpareil leaders. To boost the morale and bolster the vitality of the people, to make them feel that they belong to a holy, honoured, hallowed heritage, they should be amply and adequately exposed to the history of the heroic deeds, conquests, exploits, triumphs of their past heroes like kings, monarchs, emperors, warriors etc.
Let us know a little about one such dashing and daring, gutsy and gallant warrior Maratha queen, Tara Bai.
Early Years
Tara Bai was born in 1675 as the daughter of Hambir Rao Mohite, commander-in-chief in the army of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. She lost her mother when she was just three years old and she grew up under the exclusive care of her father in the battle environment. At the tender age of eight itself she learnt horse riding, at ten, archery and at twelve, fencing and pistol shooting. Fiercely independent as a young girl and with the tutelage of her father, she was well-trained in sword fighting, archery, cavalry, military strategy, diplomacy and all other subjects of statecraft.
At the age of eight she was married to Shivaji’s younger son Rajaram.
The Scenario
After Chatrapati Shivaji, his eldest son Sambhaji ascended the throne in 1680. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by his own kinsmen, tortured and killed by Aurangzeb. His younger brother, Rajaram Maharaj became the king but he also died due to ill health in 1700.
The Maratha empire was orphaned and the moghul sultans of Delhi, Bijapur, Golconda, Bahmani, Ahmednagar gleefully joined together and on the third day of the demise of Rajaram Maharaj, they threatened the marathas to surrender.
Instead of surrendering thus, young widow Tara Bai made an announcement on the seventh day, inviting leaders to take over charge of the kingdom and protect it from the sultanates. None came forward. At that moment, without wasting time on tears, she herself volunteered forthwith and took charge of the regime.
Her Glorious Period
Agile, alert, active, astute that she was, she started taking aggressive and assiduous action against the enemy forces with such rapidity that, taken by complete surprise, they were flabbergasted and floored to failure in just three days!
An intelligent woman, Tara Bai had earned a reputation during her husband’s lifetime itself for her civil, diplomatic and military skills. She thus led from the front, travelling between forts, forging crucial partnerships, mobilizing resources and men. A skilled cavalry warrior herself, she motivated her commanders and soldiers by personally leading aggressive attacks on the enemy. She lived in the camps along with her soldiers, eschewing all the royal privileges.
She mastered the art of bribing the enemy commanders so that she could penetrate into the enemy’s camp to sabotage and subvert their strategies at their embryonic stage. While she was ruthless and relentless towards her foes, she was extremely affable and amiable towards her own subjects, as a result of which lot of youth volunteered to join her army.
Tara Bai, herself being a savvy, sharp, skilled warrior and a supreme strategist, accompanied the soldiers personally on the missions from the front. Some of her major military campaigns were:
In 1700, she sent a forces of 50000 soldiers in the region of west Chanderi (present day Madhya Pradesh)
In 1702 she invaded Khadesh (region of northwestern Maharashtra), Berar and Telangana.
In 1703, she attacked urban centers in Khandesh.
In 1705, the Marathas under Tarabai again attacked Gujarat and Khandesh. By extending war to Gujarat and Malwa, which the Mughal army had not anticipated, she gave a clear message to Aurangzeb that Marathas are equally determined for the fight to finish.
Thus the mighty Aurangzeb died in 1707, a defeated emperor by her at the age of 82.
She died at the age of 86 in 1761 after third battle of Panipat. To sum up her life, she was an extraordinary and inspirational figure. She led the Maratha Empire, in its existential crisis, from the front. By the time of her death in 1761, she witnessed the transformation of a nascent Maratha state in a Pan-India Empire.
Her courageous efforts alone saved the Maratha Empire from the wrath of Aurangzeb and the Marathas dream of Swaraj survived. Had she not taken charge of the Maratha Empire at the time she did, it would not have survived to reach the glory it did and Aurangzeb would have snuffed out Maratha rule, and the history of India would have been very different.
Why Indian History Needs To Be Re-Written
The above narration is a skeletal account of just one extraordinary warrior queen. If one pores through the hidden pages of history, one can discover hundreds and hundreds of such personages spread all over our motherland during different periods of history.
Now, a point for deep deliberation and necessary emendation.
While the foreign historians cannot be expected to sing paeans on efforts, enterprises and exploits of our heroes, yet, at the dawn of freedom, when the nation should have started feeling justifiably proud of such adventures of daring warriors like Tara Bai and consequently should have prominently highlighted their episodes in all history books so that the spirit of patriotism is sown and grown in the nascent hearts of the children so that they face the world with courage, confidence, composure, why did the pseudo historians of free India continue to repeat parrot-like for seven long decades, the false narration of the foreigner, glorifying their fake victories and never bothering to rewrite real history, presenting it in the proper perspective? What was their detestable, demoniac, damnable, diabolical intention in concealing and censoring the achievements and accomplishments of our own heroes and heroines? Did they, propelled by mordacity and malice, aim to continue to keep the mood and mindset of the masses in eternal mope and morbidity, with a permanent inferiority complex penetrating their psyche and pervading in all their transactions with the rest of the world?
The time has come to make amends. Let us start before it is too late; in fact, it is already late.
References:
Sudesi magazine August 2022.
https://www.esamskriti.com/e/History/Indian-History/Life-of-TARABAI,-the-Maratha-Warrior-Queen–1.aspx
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/tarabai-13313.php
Rani Tarabai – A Formidable Maratha Warrior | #IndianWomenInHistory
The Forgotten Story of Rani Tarabai, The Indomitable Warrior Queen of the Marathas