Indian revival under the Marathas .

Indian history has followed a set pattern . Especially when it comes to military victories and defeats . In victory , the opponent lived to regroup , expand and retaliate and in defeat , native powers got wiped out in totality . Case in point Prithviraj Chauhan . Status quo inspite of resounding wins and utter obsolescence in defeat . The way we treated our gains after the war in 1971 harks back to this self defeating doctrine . We had Pakistan on the mat and could have gotten anything in return and settled the issue once and for all . All we did was sign some Shimla agreement . Today we are faced with nuclear war .

The Marathas , from Chhatrapati Shivaji onwards , provided a new and fresh outlook in this regard . For the first time in centuries invading armies got a taste of their own medicine . Nocturnal raids , loot , politics and annexation of enemy territory were unheard of as far as Hindu kings were concerned . Shivaji Maharaj lighted the flame of revival , for the first time in many years ( the last Hindu kingdom , Vijayanagar , had been finished in 1565 ) there was an indigenous kingdom on the horizon . But more important is the way the Marathas conducted themselves after his death and after the long drawn war with the Mughals . It would have been easy for them to stay holed up in the Sahyadris , guarding their borders and invading the heartland every now and then for some easy loot . That would have been in tune with much of the nations's history . Vestiges of the Mughals would have thrived all over the country , and would have continued till kingdom come . But Shahu , Bajirao and others recognised the threat they posed . The majority of the battles fought by the Marathas were against blokes of this type -- the nizam , Aliverdy khan , nawabs of the south , mughal outposts in Malwa and Gujarat , Afghans in Punjab and elsewhere ... topped with ofcourse Panipat . In the course of all this , battles were won , territories regularly annexed and some kingdoms banished to oblivion for eg Cuddapah and Ahmedabad .