Dennis Kincaid - Shivaji: The Grand Rebel

SHIVAJI

THE GRAND REBEL

Dennis Kincaid (19051937), a civil servant in British India, arrived in Bombay in 1928 to work with the courts. He was the elder son of Charles Augustus Kincaid, a distinguished civil servant, and a well-known novelist and historical writer.

Also a novelist, Dennis authored British Social Life in India, 1608-1937, a classic account of the British in colonial India. His Cactus Land was an unusual story, breaking with the conventions of Indian novels of that period.

Dennis died on 10 June 1937 while swimming in a rough sea.

SHIVAJI

THE GRAND REBEL

An Impression of Shivaji,

Founder of Maratha Empire

DENNIS KINCAID

With an Introduction by T.N. Chaturvedi

Published by

Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd. 2015

7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj

New Delhi 110002

Edition copyright Rupa Publications 2015

Introduction copyright T.N. Chaturvedi 2015

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: XXX-XX-XXX-XXXX-X

First impression 2015

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publishers prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

T HE name of Shivaji is one to conjure with in India. He is a well-known hero in Indian folklore and historical chronicles, and the bare bones of his story are known to most peoplehe defied and harried the Mughal power in the seventeenth century in Western India, established an independent Maratha kingdom which dominated India in the twilight of Mughal supremacy and the rise of British paramountcy, and had himself crowned in an orthodox Hindu ceremony.

The story of Shivaji was pieced together in the 19th and early 20th centuries on the basis of the popular ballads and narratives in his native Marathi language, and documents of the Mughals, Persians, English, Portuguese and other sources. The first serious studies appeared in Marathi and subsequently in English, written mainly by Marathi and other Indian writers and historians. The first genuine attempt at writing a history of the Marathas in English was by Grant Duff in 1826, which characterized Shivaji as a brigand. The first biography in English was written by HG Rawlinson in 1910. Thanks to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who used Shivaji and his legacy as a potent force in his militant version of Indian nationalism, he was transformed into a national icon, and an inspirational figure for people squirming under alien rule. Tilaks fellow radical of Home Rule days, Annie Besant, gave a series of lectures on Shivaji in 1916, which were also published. Sir Jadunath Sarkars biography was first published in 1919, to be expanded in subsequent editions till it reached its final form in 1952, and is justly acclaimed. During this period much research was done by scholars in various aspects of Maratha history. All kinds of new documents in different languagesPortuguese, Dutch, French, English, Gujarati, old Kannada, Rajasthani, Persiancame to light which helped in the reconstruction of Shivajis life and Maratha history. A number of scholars also wrote on Shivaji and his deeds. Yet, it was the vivid portrayal of Shivaji in The Grand Rebel by Dennis Kincaidironically, an English civil servant posted in Indiawhich fixed its defining impression and image of a heroic Shivaji in Indian minds, and helped to remove distorted impressions even in the minds of the British.

Dennis Kincaid was one of those very few interesting Englishmen who came to India and absorbed themselves in keenly observing the country, learning as much as they could about it, and relaying it to others through an enormous output of articles and books. Two of Kincaids forebears had worked with the East India Company, and Dennis followed his illustrious father Charles Kincaid into the Indian Civil Service and the field of scholarship. Charles Kincaid was born in 1870 and served in India from 1891 to 1926. He worked in the Bombay Presidency as an Agent, a High Court Judge, and a member of the Viceroys Council. His fluency in Marathi meant that he could deliver judgments in that language, and it opened to him the world of western India, He was able to delve into the folklore and history of the Marathas, leading to the publication of a three-volume history of the Marathas. He wrote at least 50 books dealing with Indian history, mythology and folklore. Incidentally, he was part of the Crown prosecution team in the trial of VD Savarkar. After a long and eventful life he passed away in 1954 in England.

Dennis Kincaid was born in 1905, studied at Balliol College, and joined the ICS under parental pressure, instead of studying Egyptology as he initially wanted. He arrived in India in 1928, and again like his father, was allotted to the then Bombay Presidency. He was posted at Satra, and Larkana, as Sindh was then part of Bombay Presidency, before proceeding on long leave in 1932. It was during this holiday in Greece that he wrote The Grand Rebel, but did not publish it immediately. Instead, after being transferred to Karwar he wrote Durbar, a novel, and tasted immediate success as a writer. He wrote almost a book a year after that, each of which was well-received. He drowned off the coast of Karwar in 1937. The impression that he had made during his tenure can be gauged from the fact that almost 6,000 people came to pay their last respects to this young civilian who lies buried in Karwar (now in the state of Karnataka). The Grand Rebel, and another book, British Social Life in India, 1600-1937, were published posthumously. Strangely enough, Charles Kincaids last published book was also to be on Shivaji, in 1948. Even more ironic is that Charles, the historian, is remembered today more for his non-historical writings; while Dennis, the novelist, is known more for his two works of non-fiction. I gratefully acknowledge that information about the Kincaids is largely derived from Dr Aroon Tikekars pioneering and well-researched The Kincaids: Two Generation Of A British Family in The Indian Civil Service.

Dennis had finished working on the proofs for The Grand Rebel, and cleared it for publication when he died. Published in 1937, it met with immediate critical and commercial success. It was widely and favourably reviewed and sold well. Lord Willingdon, who had just ended his term as Viceroy, wrote after reading the proofs: I can sincerely say that the volume was to me one of the most delightful descriptions of the life of a great leader in India. This comment was printed on the dustjacket, as was that of Francis Yeats-Brown: I have been fascinated by the accounts of the Imperial Court of Agra and the adventures of Shivaji. It was reprinted in 1939 and again in 1946 in cheap editions. A special edition was published during the Second World War for distribution among the allied troops. An abridged version with illustrations for children was published in 1951, and by 1967 had been printed nine times. However, most importantly, it was reprinted in India in 1962 by the National Book Trust of India not only in English, but in at least 11 Indian languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Assamese, Telugu, Punjabi, Oriya and Gujarati.

There are two notable things to remember about Dennis book before examining it, and they are related to the title and subtitle that he gave it. The title itself comes from a half-contemptuous, half-admiring reference to Shivaji in the correspondence of the East India Company. We are immediately given to understand two things about Shivaji that Dennis wanted to fix in our minds. That Shivaji was a rebel against an established order (the Mughals), and that he was grand, that is, a great or extraordinary personality. Moreover, in the subtitle, he uses a very important wordhe tells us that it is an impression of Shivaji. Dennis is telling us that it is not a formal biography, history or novel about Shivaji. It is one mans understanding of Shivaji, based upon the available authentic sources.