As a North Indian and a person who never visited Maharashtra yet. I consider Maharashtra as my holy land. Because it produced the heroes who played a major role in my efficiency. Every state of India produced warriors and noblemen. But Maharashtra has a different vibe.
Girish Kunber’s book Renaissance State is a book that not only covers the whole history of Maharashtra but also works to give a broad overview of how Maharashtra is shaped. That is the book that I always wanted to read, however, there are some fallbacks I found in this book but 90% of the portion boosted my knowledge about Marathi Manoos and figures like- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Jyotibha Phule, Lokmanya Tilak, BR Ambedkar which influenced Indians even today. We will analyze the whole book, but before that, let's take a quick overview of the author.
Girish Kuber is the editor of Loksatta and writes frequently for the Indian Express. He is the author of The Tatas: How a Family Built a Business and a Nation, Which won the Inaugural Gaja Capital Business Book Prize in 2019. He also written 6 Books in Marathi. The most important thing that needs to be known is that in the first line of his preface note in Renaissance State, he writes,
“This book is not an academic study of Maharashtra’s history.”
So consider this as per the journalist's POV, except the historical one.
Analysis of Renaissance State
This book covers every movement and every empire’s history that emerged and collapsed in the land of Maharashtra or its nearest parts of the Marathi-speaking region. It starts from the Satvahana Empire and ends with an analysis of why Devendra Fadnavis did not win a second term in the 2019 Maharashtra election. The whole journey can be enjoyed in just 218 pages.
The journey of Maratha’s rise in medieval India was First halted by Allaudin Khilji. But the Marathi Manoos' ability to fight for his motherland was seen even before the rise of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. When I read this book, leaves no stone unturned to introduce most of the prominent figures from Maharashtra who played a role in the country’s history.
Three Lessons from this book
Gautami Putra Satkarni: A Forgotten Hero of Marathas
The thing that I found new was that Gautami Putra Satkarni was the pillar of inspiration before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was the king who tried to expand his kingdom in the northern direction; however, he did not succeed. The Maratha empire, under the prime ministership of Bajirao I, achieved it.
On page number 67,
“No Ruler of the Marathi Region before or after Shivaji, with the sole exception of Gautami Putra Satkarni, dreamt of spreading his empire over such a vast area.”
Allaudin: The First Successful Muslim Invader in the Western India
In the siege of Devgiri, during the battle against Ramchandra, Allaudin took only five days to defeat one of the richest empires in the West. However, Ramchandra asked for support from neighboring Hindu kings, but no one came forward, just like the case of Maharaval Rattan Singh in Chittorgarh.
Maratha Having Wings and an Airy Body
On page number 50,
“Shivaji looted Ahmadnagar, another prominent city under the Mughals. Such was Shivaji’s widespread terror that one Englishman wrote about the Maratha having “wings and an airy body,” which gave him the ability to be in many places simultaneously.
Suggestions to the Author: Forgotten figures
However, this section I did not include in most of my book review blogs, but here it is important. Author Girish Kuber beautifully gives a brief overview of most of the important figures in Maharashtra, but he misses some important ones.
Rango Bapuji
The first is from the 1857 War of Independence. It is still my doubt whether the author considered him a participant in the first War of Independence or not because he briefly analyzed Jyotiba Phule who celebrated the defeat of Indians in 1857. Maybe he should have remembered about Rango Bapuji, who took the initiative to spread the revolution in the West, completely omitted from this book. Rango Bapuji’s son was killed by the Britishers.
Vasudev Balwant Phadke
Whenever I hear his name, I get goosebumps, despite being born in North India. He was the first fear of the British Raj. When the British government declared a bounty on him, he reversed the declaration and offered a bounty on them. The British sent him to Africa for life imprisonment. That Marathi Manoos is also completely wiped out from this book. I don’t know why, but it is really unfortunate.
Chapekar Brothers
22nd June 1897 is a date that no one can forget, even if anyone tries to. Persons like Girish Kuber and various Marathi authors must mention it. Maybe he wrote about them in other works, but "State Reminiscence" is incomplete without the Chapekars. The legendary three brothers Damodar, Balkrishna, and Vasudev, along with their friend Mahadev Ranade, killed Rand and Ayerst and later two traitors, the Dravid brothers. However, Girish Kuber tells this incident from Lokmanya Tilak’s point of view but does not mention the Chapekar brothers even once.
I hope the author will consider this as positive feedback.
Audience Who I Recommend this Book to
Marathas have a glorious history. Indian history cannot be written without mentioning the bravery of the Marathas. Every Marathi man should read this because they need to rekindle the aura they once had. There is no doubt that the Marathas also have a significant influence in today’s India, but they deserve more. This book will be helpful for those preparing for state exams in Maharashtra as it provides a quick revision of history. Apart from that, every Indian has to learn from our past, and our great ancestors, and make India a superpower again.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki jai!
Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra!
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