“Unifying Hindus — How Tilak mobilised Maharashtra to Honour Shivaji’s legacy”, Swarajyamag, August 1, 2024:

“Mahadev Govind Ranade called a public meeting in Poona of sardars and influential citizens to take up the cause of the Shivaji memorial, and the Bombay government led by Lord Reay in April 1885 made an annual grant of five rupees for maintenance of the samadhi.

Around this time, biographies of the Chhatrapati and plays on his life began to be produced in the Marathi-speaking regions. Ranade himself wrote a series of articles on the Maratha power in 1893, and the following year, the scholar R.P. Karkaria gave a lecture on the Shivaji versus Afzal Khan episode at the Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay and spoke of how Shivaji was fully justified in killing the Bijapur general.

The lecture created a mini sensation, spurring further interest, and early in 1895, the Native Opinion reiterated Douglas’s complaint about the state of Shivaji’s samadhi……”

Read the full article at Swarajyamag.com