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

the progress of the Protuguese, the French, the Dutch, the English, however, shrewdly availabled themselves of the opportunity, they got, when the Marathas were engaged in the struggle with the Muslim powers, and gradually but firmly established their foothold in Bengal trampling under their feet the weaker Muslim Nawabs over there. Thereafter, they pushed on their aggressive moves and established, though not dejure, yet, de facto sovereignty over the territory right up to Delhi. Naturally they soon came to grips with the Marathas, who had to lead the Hindu nation at that time. In my book, Hindu Padpadshahi (originally written in English and now translated in Marathi) I have sufficiently discussed, from the standpoint of the Hindu nation, how and to what extent the Marathas worsted the English during the First and the Second Anglo-Maratha Wars. The curious readers should do well to read it. 1097. That discussion will make the following two broad points absolutely clear. The first is that from the time the English stepped on the Indian soil, the Muslims never fought with them for national political independence. With the short exception of those with the Mysore State of Haidar and Tipu, all the wars, that the English fought for the sovereignty over India had to be necessarily fought with the Hindus alone. This clearly shows that the Hindus had practically destroyed the political power of the Muslims and had snatched the imperial authority. Another equally important point to be remembered is that the English, too, had maintained the nominal dignity of the puppet Moghal Emperor for fifty years after they had established their de facto sovereign power over India in the very same manner as the Marathas had, as a political expedient of the time, kept on recognizing the same ‘king of shreds and patches’ as the ‘Emperor of India’. 1098. It again exposes the snobbery and ignorance of the Anglicized people who ridicule the Marathas for this ‘political expedient’ of theirs, of a nominal recognition of the Moghal Emperor. For the English, too, found the same political expedient useful to them. These Anglicized people, however, do not criticize the English for this same ‘weakness’ of theirs! The Anglo-Sikh Wars 1099. No sooner did the English destroy the sovereign Maratha power over India in A.D. 1818 and no sooner did they force the rest of the Maratha states to accept their overlordship than they had to cross swords with another newborn Hindu power. That Hindu power was the great kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, which rose to prominence after 1818. It was after