DESPITE the great energy with which the celebrations went on all over the country on June 2, 2023, it is not possible for us to imagine the texture of atmosphere on that momentous day when Shivaji Maharaj became Chhatrapati, the coronated king. No matter all the vocabulary at our command, it is not possible for us today to understand what actually the coronation meant to the Indian nation at that time three-hundred-and-fifty years ago. It is not possible for anyone today to sense what must have gone through the minds of millions of people who lived in India in those glorious times -- the emotion of the moment, the memory of the terrible times the society had endured, the oscillations between great successes and shocking defeats, the hope and aspiration of people who suffered injustice and oppression for centuries ...! All those funneled into that moment when Pandit Gagabhatt placed the golden crown on the head of Shivaji Maharaj. Every historian without exception has recorded that moment as the most unique in India’s story of that time! The Indian nation had not seen such a moment in centuries!

Of course, there were coronations of many rulers all over the country, all right. But the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj was absolutely very different, very unique, the like of which the country had not seen in a long, long, long time. It was not a coronation of a person; it was an anointment of cumulative national aspiration!

That moment had come after a lifetime of focused hard work of a boy who first raised the banner of revolt when he was just a teenage fellow with stars in the eyes and fire in the belly. What followed after that moment was an outstretched story of how a small of dedicated people and their families turned the tide of history and scripted a new story of an aspiring people who were no longer in a mood to put up with terrible injustice and oppression by barbaric invaders. Shivaji Maharaj led that aspiration to fruition. His coronation was the culmination of that long story stretching over three-and-a-half decades of focused action to convert a loosely woven social fabric into a nation. The coronation was a reward the nation gave itself for its own achievement. It was also a moment when the people of that time gave themselves a coronated king who was their icon, their hero, their darling, their god-on-earth! For record, the great story was scripted in Maharashtra, so to say. But record also says that the story that flowered in Maharashtra had an all-India implication. For, many chapters of that story were written in the North India, South India and many places across the Indian landscape. A glorious chapter was also scripted on the high seas where the great navy of Shivaji Maharaj established its complete superiority over all the forces that tried to control the oceanic waves.

The story, therefore, had many dimensions including greatness achieved not just in military action, but also in good governance stemming from excellent management of revenue, agriculture, industry, education, culture, diplomacy. In other words, that was the story of a great welfare state taking shape to its fruition. Of course, a mother -- Jijabai -- saw the dream of that welfare state, and son -- Shivaji -- devoted himself to fulfilling that dream. The coronation 350 years was the moment of fulfillment of that dream. It was also a pointer to the direction the Indian nation will assume in the next two hundred years when the empire founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj would dominate the national politics in the most unique manner. That story -- not told to us in fine detail for whatever reason -- is being told and retold to us now through various channels. The celebration of the 350th anniversary of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is part of that nationalistic effort that merits a proud mention in contemporary history. This offers us all the greater reasons to ramp up celebrations to newer heights so that our future generations know the true story.

For record, it must be told that Shivaji Maharaj personally did not appreciate the idea of coronation. He loathed the thought that he was sitting on throne that symbolised the sacrifice of his countless cohorts. But he agreed to be coronated as a representative of the aspirations of the people -- of course after much persuasion. That story also needs to be told to our younger generations not just today but all the time deep into future. For, that is the story of a leader -- Shivaji Maharaj -- who made every possible sacrifice to fulfill his mother’s dream and his people’s aspirations. That is also the story of how he created the kingdom that dared the mightiest in the land in those times. That is also the story of how such success can be achieved with terribly limited resources. The coronation 350 years ago acted as a metaphor of all that!