Question

Compare how Chhatrapati Shivaji and later Marathas treated religious places and people of different faiths. What evidence from the chapter shows their approach to religious diversity?

Answer 1

Shivaji and the later Marathas followed a policy of religious tolerance and respected people of different religions and beliefs. Shivaji was a devoted Hindu, but he did not harm people of other faiths or destroy mosques. During the attack on Surat, he protected religious places and even spared the home of a kind-hearted man. His army also included Muslim soldiers and officers. Later, during the rule of the Thanjavur Marathas, a Muslim poet named Ambar Husain was allowed to write about the Bhagavad Gita. This shows that the Marathas valued religious harmony, equality, and peaceful coexistence among different communities.