भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

was the deciding vote in respect of the political manoeuvres in the south. A line from a contemporary poet, which became a common saying in those days, stated that the earth was ruled by the two guardians of directions'; उत शाहजहां इत शाहजी है। (Shahajahan in the North and Shahaji in the South) 920. For Shahaji, thus to conquer the remnants of the Vijaynagar Empire in the name of a Muslim, would at the first sight, seem highly preposterous and would even smell of high treason against the Hindu nation. But it should, at the same time, be remembered that it is because he brought all these scattered and vanquished Hindu states under his unified control, that he could overawe his very Sultan and rule the South like an independent Hindu King at Mysore. That he did this in order to root out all the Muslim Sultans from the Deccan and to found an all-embracing powerful Hindu Kingdom can amply be proved by the act that very soon, one of his sons could set up an independent, powerful and conquering Hindu Empire and that he could help him secretly in that great cause. That this ‘insignificant rebellious’ son of his could not have grown into a successful empire-builder without, not only the benevolent connivance of Shahaji, but also his active but secret assistance and guidance, requires no further elucidation. Although for reasons of chronological sequence, we may not name this illustrious son of Shahaji just yet, it must already have flashed like a lightning in the hearts of the readers! There can be no doubt about it! 921. In similar circumstances during the years A.D. 1316-1322, Khushrukhan commanded the Sultan’s whole army at Delhi as a Muslim, because the Hindu military help was readily available, and conquered and consolidated forcibly the Southern Hindu States, which never united of their own accord, as parts of the vast empire of a Muslim Sultan (Ch XVII). And, only after he succeeded in perfecting the plans for his coup d’etat, did he kill the Sultan of Delhi overnight, ascending the throne himself as a Hindu monarch. He merely brushed aside, as it were, the label ‘Muslim’ from the imperial throne and wrote in bold letters ‘Hindu’ over it. Within a day, the all-India Khilji empire became a Hindu empire! Again, a little later, when Harihar and Bukka were captured and made Muslims and were rotting in captvity at Delhi, they first employed the same Koutileeya code of ethics to win the confidence of the Sultan of Delhi under their Muslim garb. They invaded the rebellious Hindus of the South as Muslim commanders at the