Page 107 - SST Class 07

Shikhas formed 12 political groups called misls. serving in the kingdoms of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur
Each misl controlled a specific area and had a and Golconda. When these kingdoms became
leader. Towards the end of the eighteenth cen- weak, the Marathas declared themselves inde-
tury, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the leader of the pendent. The man who carved out a powerful
Sukerchakia misl, united all the misls. He estab- kingdom in the Konkan region was Shivaji.
lished a powerful kingdom in Punjab. SHIVAJI BHONSLE

The Jats The Marathas became well-organised under the
Badan Singh was a powerful Jat chief who leadership of Shivaji.
organised the Jat force to carve out an independ- He was born in 1627. His father, Shahji Bhonsle,
ent kingdom. He was followed by his son-in-law, was a high official in the Bijapuri kingdom. Jija
Suraj Mal, the proverbial Jat hero, who extended Bai, his mother and Dadaji Kondadev, his tutor
his authority over a vast area extending from shaped the early life of Shivaji.
Agra to the vicinity of Delhi, including Hathras,
Aligarh, Rewari and Gurgaon. Bharatpur was the
capital of the Jat kingdom.
Mysore
In the second half of the eighteenth century,
Haider Ali (1761-82) and his son, Tipu Sultan
(1782-99) made Mysore very powerful. Tipu was
known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’. Both Haider Ali
and Tipu modernised the army and introduced
new and efficient weapons. With the help of the
French, Haider Ali established modern arsenal at
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Tipu Sultan
Dindigul. Tipu Sultan even made efforts to build
a modern navy. Early Successes
Both father and son fought against the English. Shivaji dreamt of establishing a large empire.
Haider Ali defeated them, in the First Anglo- While still young, he put together a small army.
Mysore War in 1769. Tipu Sultan died fighting Using guerilla warfare, he captured many forts
the English during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War near Pune.
1799. War with Bijapur

Tipu Sultan was perhaps the first ruler to use
The growing power of Shivaji alarmed the king
rockets in war. These could travel a few hundred of Bijapur. He sent an army under Afzal Khan to
yards. Such rockets became very unstable crush the Marathas. Shivaji killed Afzal Khan and
towards the end of their flight, causing the blades defeated the Bijapuri army.
to spin around, cutting down all in their path. He
War with the Mughals
also had rocket launchers which could fire 5 to
Aurangzeb considered Shivaji a great threat. In
10 rockets at one time. Expert ‘rocket men’
operated these rocket launchers. 1663, he sent Shaista Khan to capture him. One
night, Shivaji with a few soldiers entered the
THE MARATHAS
Mughal camp and wounded army. A year later,
The Marathas had a humble origin. Till the early he raided Surat and plundered it.
seventeenth century, they were minor chieftains

Social Science-7 107