Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja and His Time 1630 CE to 1680 CE Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026

Module 1: 17th-Century Deccan and the Emergence of Shivaji Maharaj

• a Socio-political landscape of the Deccan: Bijapur and Golconda Sultanates, Mughal expansion, Portuguese coastal presence, Siddhis of Janjira, and the role of local deshmukhs, watandars, and peasant communities
• b Society, economy, and ecology: Agrarian relations, caste and occupational groups, mobility in the Maval–Sahyadri region, trade routes, forts, and the environmental setting shaping politics
• c Emergence of Shivaji Maharaj: Family influences of Shahaji Raje and Rajmata Jijabai, early organization in the Maval, capture of key forts, mobilization of local support, and the initial articulation of Swarajya.

Module 2: Conflict of Shivaji Maharaj with Regional Powers and Rival Costal

• a Struggles with the Deccan Sultanates: Engagements with Bijapur authority, Afzal Khan episode, and consolidation through control of forts and territory
• b Confrontation with Mughal expansion: Shaista Khan campaign, sack of Surat, Treaty of Purandar, arrest at Agra and strategic recovery
• c Rival coastal and regional powers: Conflicts with the Siddhis of Janjira, tensions with the Portuguese, and assertion of authority over local deshmukhs and chieftains.

Module 3: Coronation, Ideology, and Administrative Statecraft

• a Importance of the Coronation (1674): legitimacy, symbolism, and concept of Swarajya
• b Administrative structure: Ashta Pradhan, local officers, forts as administrative units
• c Welfare state and its policies: revenue justice, protection of peasants, religious tolerance, and civil order.

Module 4: Environmental Policy and Expansion of Swarajya

• a Environmental and economic foundations: Strategic use of the Sahyadri forts, forest resources, water systems, terrain-based warfare; agrarian economy, inland trade routes, ports, market centers, and revenue patterns
• b Naval policy and coastal assertion: Konkan strategy, shipbuilding initiatives, coastal forts, conflicts with Siddis and Portuguese, and the emergence of an indigenous naval defense system
• c Relations, southern expansion, and legacy: Diplomacy with Bijapur, Mughals, Siddhis, and Portuguese; Karnataka campaigns and strategic mobility; legacy, memory, and historiographical interpretations in Marathi, Persian, colonial, and modern writings.

Text Books

• 1 Jadunath Sarkar. (1919). Shivaji and His Times. Longmans, Green & Co., London.
• 2 Kulkarni, A. R. (1996). Maharashtra in the Age of Shivaji. Deshmukh, Pune.

Reference Books

• 5 Stewart Gordon. (1993). The Marathas 1600–1818. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 6 Satish Chandra. (2005). Medieval India, Vol. II. Har-Anand, New Delhi.
• 7 Sumit Guha. (2004). Environment and Ethnicity in India. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 8 Andre Wink. (1990). Land and Sovereignty in India. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 9 Pearson M. N.. (1987). The Portuguese in India. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 10 Datta K. K., (1971). Shivaji. National Book Trust, New Delhi.
• 11 Sardesai G. S. (1946). New History of the Marathas, Vol. I. Phoenix, Bombay.
• 12 Sen, S. N. (1976). Administrative System of the Marathas. Calcutta University, Calcutta.
• 13 Guha, S. (1999). Agrarian Economy of the Deccan. Oxford University Press, Delhi.
• 14 Eaton, R. M. (2005). A Social History of the Deccan. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 15 Subrahmanyam, S. (1990). The Political Economy of Commerce. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 16 Richards, J. F. (1993). The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 17 Gordon, S. (1977). Maratha Politics. Delhi University, Delhi.
• 18 Fukazawa, H. (1991). The Medieval Deccan. Oxford University Press, Delhi.
• 19 Habib, I. (1963). The Agrarian System of Mughal India. Asia Publishing House, Bombay.
• 20 Raychaudhuri, T. (1982). The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. I. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 21 Das Gupta, A. (1967). Malabar in Asian Trade. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 22 Chaudhuri, K. N. (1985). Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• 23 Pearson, M. N. (2003). The Indian Ocean. Routledge, London.
• 24 Alam, M. & Subrahmanyam, S. (1998). The Mughal State. Oxford University Press, Delhi.
• 25 Wink, A. (2002). Al-Hind, Vol. III. Brill, Leiden.
• 26 Gordon, S. (Ed.). (1993). Robes of Honour. Oxford University Press, Delhi.
• 27 Kulke, H. (1998). Kings and Cults. Oxford University Press, Delhi.
• 28 Chattopadhyaya, B. D. (1994). The Making of Early Medieval India. Oxford University Press, Delhi.