The Marathas began their quest for Swarajya in 1646 under Chhatrapati  Shivaji. From this year until 1818, the Marathas remained a formidable  power in the Indian sub-continent. This is a story of their rise to  paramountcy in the Eighteenth century – and their fall in early  Nineteenth century. It was the first indigenous Empire after centuries  of foreign rule…and the last before the British took over.   Dr. Uday Kulkarni is an author of 6 excellent books on 18th century  Maratha history. He is an AFMC, Pune graduate and a retired navy  surgeon. Dr Kulkarni started writing about Maratha history a decade  back, while still practicing medicine.   His first book Solstice at Panipat, describing the 1761 Panipat War,  released in 2011 on 250th anniversary of what perhaps is the most  significant war in Indian history. He followed it with Bakhar of Panipat  (2014), The Era of Baji Rao (2016) and James Wales: Artist &  Antiquarian in the time of Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao (2019).   The Maratha Century is the latest in his series of books on Maratha  history. In this discussion, we talk to Dr Kulkarni about this book, his  passion for writing about Maratha history and the very intriguing 18th  century India. He talks about how the impact of Chhatrapathi Shivaji,  his campaign on Surat, Aurangazeb's 25-year war with the Marathas, and  more.     Amit Paranjape, the anchor for this conversation, is a Pune-based  history buff and technology entrepreneur. Amit himself has deep  knowledge of Maratha history and has helped Dr Kulkarni with the  production process of his latest book. Amit also compered the book  launch program, where Madhya Pradesh minister Smt Yashodhara Raje  Scindia was the chief guest.    Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBfBd-1kvCOPxVll8tBJ9Q/join   0:00 - Introduction 3:30 - About the book "The Maratha Century" 10:05 - Impact of Chhatrapati Shivaji 19:06 - Strategies and innovations used by Shivaji in war 22:10 - Shivaji's Campaign on Surat and his famous letter 23:52 - 25 Year War: Aurangazeb vs. the Marathas 31:00 - Maratha campaign to capture North India 34:50 - Last decades of the 18th Century: Nana Phadnavis and Mahadji Shinde 39:39 - Why were there no new Maratha rulers after Nana Phadnavis? 42:40 - Life in the 18th Century 48:20 - Khunya Murlidhar Temple 50:40 - Final thoughts on the legacy of the Maratha empire  52:47 - Conclusion