Circa 1663, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sent his uncle Shaista Khan, a much decorated noble, with a large army to the Deccan, to crush the growing power of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Aware of his lack of numbers compared to the Mughal army, Shivaji Maharaj avoided a direct confrontation and engaged in a war of attrition to wear out his much powerful opponent. But Mughal depredation in his lands mounted to such an alarming level that he was forced to plan a daring and audacious raid on the Mughal general himself. At our Online Talk #SurgicalStrike, historical fiction author Dr Gautam Pradhan narrates how Shivaji Maharaj and four hundred hand-picked Maratha soldiers sneaked into the large Mughal military camp and launched a spectacular  guerrilla attack on the General’s residence. He also talks of the aftermath of the attack.

About the speaker

Dr Gautam Pradhan is a radiologist with a keen interest in history, historical monuments and places. His interest and love for history has grown into a parallel profession asa writer of historical fiction and history podcaster. He has written a historical fiction trilogy on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj - “300 Brave Men” published in 2017, “Lord of the Royal Umbrella” published in 2020, and “The Legend” published in 2022. He currently hosts a history-based podcast in Hindi on Spotify, called “The Great Indian Story.”