UTSARITA ALO- DEBI AHALYABAI, SOMA BANDOPADHYAY, AKHHAR PRAKASHANI.

 

UTSARITA ALO- DEBI AHALYABAI, SOMA BANDOPADHYAY, AKHHAR PRAKASHANI, PAGE-111, PRICE RS 200.

After a long time, I had the opportunity to read a remarkable historical novel. That opportunity primarily arose through Soma Bandopadhyay’s novel, Ahalyabai. While reading, I felt as if I had entered into the unfolding events of medieval history. In recent times, discussions on history have reached us in many dimensions—philosophy, theory, society, economy, and much more. But among all these, the hidden stories that lie within, when revealed, bring before us another truth of history. This unexamined chapter of history helps us to understand the people of the times, their thoughts, and ideas.

Just as in Sharadindu Bandopadhyay’s Tungabhadrar Tire, we come to know about the rise and fall of the Vijayanagar Empire of South India, the lives of its kings, their inner courts, and daily life—so too, in the historical context of Indian politics in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, several overlooked chapters have been dramatically brought before us.

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were, in one sense, periods of crisis in Indian history. The Mughal Empire had lost its grandeur and was sinking into a whirlpool of complexities. Emperor Aurangzeb, although devoutly religious, adopted several policies that were detrimental to the people, leading to widespread discontent across the country. The empire was drowning in a deep financial crisis. The emperor was almost helpless, unable to find any way out. Farmers, jagirdars, and mansabdars all took advantage of the weakening central power and indulged in excesses. Aurangzeb, though aware, was utterly powerless. His sole obsession was the suppression of the Marathas, spending almost half his life in the Deccan. Many now say that had he granted autonomy to the Marathas, perhaps he would not have fallen into such a crisis, and the neglect of North India due to his prolonged stay in the South might have been avoided.

Yet he could not subdue the Marathas. On the contrary, the Marathas themselves emerged as the worthy successors of the Mughals by exploiting the empire’s weakness. It became evident that after the fall of the vast Mughal Empire, the Marathas would be the sole rulers from the Himalayas to the seas.

The novel begins with the existence and expanse of the Maratha Empire. Its boundaries stretched north to the Narmada River and the Satpura hills, west to the Arabian Sea, south to the Krishna and Malprabha rivers, and east to Gondwana and Telangana. This frontier region was known as Maharashtra or the Maratha Empire. Since ancient times, the Maharashtrians have been renowned for their tolerance, resolute spirit, and manly virtues like courage and valor. It was during the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji that the true national awakening of the Maharashtrians took place.

Even today, descendants of many Maratha leaders continue to rule parts of Maharashtra. Among these illustrious warriors, Malhar Rao Holkar’s name is especially prominent—the very same family into which Ahalyabai, the heroine of this novel, became a daughter-in-law.

Who was this Malhar Rao Holkar? He had no great lineage in the strict sense. His family was known as Dhangar, or shepherds. Malhar Rao’s father, Khandoji, lived in a small hamlet called “Hol” not far from Pune. It was from this village name that the family came to be known as Holkar.

After Khandoji’s death, family strife forced Malhar Rao’s mother to leave her in-laws’ home and take shelter at her brother Narayanji’s house in Talode village in Khandesh. While growing up in his maternal uncle’s home, Malhar Rao gradually developed skills in various fields, especially in warfare. Impressed, Narayanji enrolled him in the cavalry. As a cavalryman, Malhar Rao soon proved himself to be highly capable. When he killed a renowned general of Nizam-ul-Mulk in battle, his fame spread far and wide, and fortune began to smile upon him.

Pleased with his valor, Peshwa Baji Rao, in 1728, granted him the jagir of Indore with nearly twelve districts north of the Narmada. Thus, Malhar Rao proved his power and bravery and became one of the most trusted lieutenants of the Peshwa in defense of the Maratha Empire. For the glory of his family and his jagir, he brought into his household the virtuous Ahalyabai as his son’s bride.

From the moment Ahalyabai entered the Holkar family as a daughter-in-law, the responsibility of the state gradually fell upon her shoulders—and she fulfilled it with great success. She nurtured the subjects of the kingdom with motherly affection. In her nature and character, she combined both womanly tenderness and the firmness required for governance. The rules she introduced regarding revenue collection and administration deserve high praise.

At the age of only eighteen, she lost her husband. Later, the deaths of her son, daughter, son-in-law, and grandson left her grief-stricken. Like many others, she might have entrusted state affairs to others and gone in search of peace, but she did not. Instead, she preserved the Holkar dominion with her own intelligence and loyalty.

In the eighteenth century, she was able to engage in only limited social reforms—more was not possible for her. She could not abolish the vile and inhuman practice of sati. Though she upheld the honor of women, she could not bring about comprehensive social progress. Her successes and failures lay embedded in the social, economic, and political conditions of the eighteenth century.

The Maratha Empire, under whose shelter she nurtured her own dominion, had deep internal weaknesses. Perhaps had Ahmad Shah Abdali not invaded India, the people might never have realized them. We know that the stability of any empire depends on its economic prosperity. But the economic base of the Marathas was very weak. As production was insufficient, they had to import weapons, which weakened their military capacity. Trade and commerce had a very limited scope, and the Maratha state made little effort to improve it. Industry was negligible. Farmers lived in dire conditions. Since agriculture generated little income, they imposed chauth and sardeshmukhi levies on neighboring territories. To pay soldiers and meet expenses, plundering became rampant.

Thus, with insufficient revenue and the constant burden of warfare, the Maratha economy collapsed. Departure from the ideals of Shivaji and the first Baji Rao, moral decline, loss of social values, caste divisions, and lack of unity all hindered the empire’s survival. By abandoning the ideal of a Hindu state or Hindu Pad Padshahi, they lost the support of the Rajputs and other Hindus. Furthermore, the conservative and backward mindset of Maratha leaders paralyzed the empire. As historian Jadunath Sarkar observed:
“The cohesion of the people of the Maratha states was not organic but artificial, accidental, and therefore precarious.”

With these inherent flaws and weaknesses, the Maratha Empire might one day have collapsed anyway. But their misfortune was that, alongside their rise in the eighteenth century, the British Empire in India was also taking shape—accelerating their downfall. After the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, when their unchecked progress was halted by Ahmad Shah Abdali, the plight of the Maratha leaders became starkly evident in their dealings with the British. Needless to say, they could never match the British in military preparedness and strategy.

Though the Maratha leaders understood the importance of diplomacy, their diplomacy was based on selfish intrigue and betrayal. They did not know how to create divisions among the British commanders and residents as they once had among rival Mughal generals. In this context, Christopher Bayly’s observation is significant:
“The problem for the Marathas was that they could not fragment and split the British Commanders and residents in the same way that they had once played on the rivalries between the Mughal generals.”

Not only that, Soma Bandopadhyay, with exceptional skill and graceful prose, presents in this book the life and deeds of Queen Ahilyabai. Readers will certainly come to know an unexplored chapter of the Maratha Empire from this work.

In conclusion, the book achieved completeness through its excellent printing and cover design.

Parthasarathi chowdhury

Associate Professor, Dept of History (retd)

Sukanta Mahavidyalaya.

Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri-735210

Telephone & whatsapp no-9674623879

email-cpartha1960@gmail.com