Shivaji and the idea of Swarājya

Chhatrapati Shivaji was born in 1630, in the Bhonsle clan, to Shahji and Jijabai.

His father Shahji served the Deccan sultanates and was often away. So Shivaji grew up in the family's jāgīr at Pune, under the care of Jijabai and some trusted officials, receiving good values and a good education.

A jāgīr was land given by a ruler as a reward for service. The holder could collect taxes from it to meet his needs, and help the king when needed.

The region's condition matters too. Pune suffered badly from constant fighting between the Deccan sultans whom the Marathas served, and that fighting brought great hardship to ordinary people.

So young Shivaji grew up watching his own people suffer from wars fought by rulers they served.

At just 16, he began military campaigns. Notice how he started: by capturing neglected and empty forts in the Pune region and strengthening their defences.

That is a clever choice. He did not begin by attacking an army; he began by taking what nobody was defending, and making it strong. Forts would stay at the heart of Maratha power for the next 150 years.

His aim had a name: Swarājya, a sovereign kingdom, one's own rule. The book stresses that the idea grew over the years to include political, economic and cultural sides, not just military ones.