Vadgaon Maval – A tale of unsung heroes and astounding warcraft

No big leader made it to Vadgaon Maval on January 14 to celebrate the resounding victory of Maratha Confederacy led by General Mahadji Shinde over British rulers.

On January 14, 1779, which is 238 years ago, Mahadji Shinde had defeated the forces of the English East India Company.

A group of like-minded people formed Express Nagrik Vadgaon Vijaystambh Pratishthan and in 2003, installed a victory pillar to commemorate the victory of the Marathas over the British. The memorial is styled after Deep Maal, which was erected by Mahadji's father Rannoji Shinde at near Kolhapur in 1730.

The gram panchayat of Vadgaon Maval celebrates this resounding victory every year. However, no big leader is ever present for the same for sundry weighty political reasons. Mahadji Shinde's troop comprised of people from all sections of society, including lower castes and other religions.

According to historian Dr Col (retd) Anil Athale, the Vadgaon Maval victory holds a special place in Maratha pride. He said, "The British were met with strong resistance in India on four occasions, and Vadgaon Maval incident was the only time when they had to sign a treaty of surrender and return the territory."

Athale was one of the trustees when the Vadgaon Maval was erected and is also the coordinator of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Chair and Fellow at the United Services Institute of India.

Athale told the Marathas, Tipu, Sikhs and Gorkhas were victorious against the British in Vadgaon (Marathas), Chingalpettu (Tipu), First Kalinga War (Gorkhas), and the battle of Chllinwala (Sikhs).

James Douglas, a British historian documenting the beginning of the 20th Century, wrote, "All honours do not lie in European lands, else we would not have been swallowed up on that fateful day of January 13, 1779." Douglas has mentioned that had Nana Fadnavis been Napolean or even Edward I, there would have been no man left to tell the tale and the whole course of history of India would have changed.

Vadgaon Battle

Athale informed that brilliant warcraft was demonstrated by the Indian troops at Vadgaon Maval by making judicious use of cavalry, guns, rockets, as well as infantry. He said that when the English troops advanced from Mumbai to takeover Pune, Mahadji trapped them between Khopoli and Talegaon. Villages were vacated and water sources were poisoned, following which the weary British forces were unable to resist the Maratha cavalry. Mahadji had also removed food-grains and even grass, which left the British starved after scaling the Ghats.

Maharashtra Giribhraman — a group of trekkers — is organising victory celebrations at Vadgaon Maval on January 16 — the day on which the British signed the treaty of surrender. This year marked the 14th victory day celebration. A grand procession with General Mahadji Shinde's painting, offering of holy water to Mahadji's statue, and a lecture by Bhushan Prataprao Shinde would be held to observe the victory.