In a recent episode of Democratic Newsroom on India Today, Rajdeep Sardesai falsely claimed that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s army had raided Bengal — a fabrication with no basis in historical fact. This distortion was part of his broader attempt to draw a false moral equivalence between Shivaji, a native Hindu defender who fought the Mughals, who were known for their brutal campaigns of forced conversions, temple destruction, and the enslavement of women.
In an alarming demonstration of distorting history, India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has once again stirred controversy — this time by misrepresenting the legacy of one of India’s most revered historical icons, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. During a recent episode of ‘Democratic Newsroom’ on India Today, Sardesai appeared so rattled over the latest NCERT textbook revisions initiated by the central government that he didn’t mind employing lies to achieve false moral equivalence between Mughal tyrants and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
While the changes in textbooks, among other things, aim to bring more balance and historical accuracy by highlighting the brutalities of Mughal invaders, facts long suppressed or sanitised in earlier educational narratives, it has also veritably triggered a meltdown among leftwing ‘intellectuals’, with Rajdeep’s angry rant perfectly embodying the complete disregard of historical facts concerning Hindu cultural and historical icons among the left echo chamber.
In his attempt to defend the discredited, Mughal-centric version of Indian history, Sardesai launched into a bizarre tirade, drawing false equivalences between the reign of Shivaji Maharaj and that of the Mughals. Sardesai argued that all medieval rulers, including Shivaji, were driven by political compulsions of the times, an oversimplification that serves only one purpose: to blur the civilizational distinction between native guardians of dharma like Shivaji and foreign invaders like Mughals.
But in doing so, Rajdeep went a step too far. He alleged that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a dacoit and his army had wreaked havoc during raids on Bengal. This is not just factually incorrect; it is a blatant lie.
The truth: Shivaji never invaded Bengal
Historical records, including those by both Indian and foreign chroniclers, unanimously state that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj never invaded Bengal, nor did his army conduct raids in that region. Shivaji’s military campaigns were primarily focused on liberating large parts of the Deccan and western India from Mughal and Sultanate control. His resistance was largely confined to the oppressive regimes of Bijapur, Golconda, and especially the Mughals under Aurangzeb.
If there is no credible record of Maratha activity in Bengal during Shivaji’s time, what then was the basis of Rajdeep Sardesai’s claim? None. It appears to be a calculated fabrication aimed at manufacturing moral equivalence between Hindu warrior kings and Islamic invaders whose campaigns were drenched in blood, temple destruction, and forced conversions.
A false equivalence meant to whitewash Mughal crimes
By drawing such false comparisons, Rajdeep is not merely misinforming the public; he is engaged in a subtle but dangerous propaganda effort to trivialise the genocidal violence committed by the Mughals against Hindus and other non-Muslims. Unlike Shivaji, whose campaigns were focused on defensive warfare, protection of the native population, and establishing Hindavi Swarajya (self-rule), the Mughals, especially Aurangzeb, were driven by an explicitly Islamic supremacist fantasy of turning India into an Islamic nation. Temples were occupied, razed, women were abducted and put into harems, and Hindus were taxed, converted, or killed.
There is no recorded instance where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forces indulged in mass rape, temple desecration, or religious persecution. In fact, he was known for his chivalry, especially toward women, and often went out of his way to protect the honour of those captured during warfare, a code of ethics absent from the Mughal playbook.
Political bias masquerading as journalism
This episode raises uncomfortable questions about the ideological lens through which certain sections of Indian media view history. Rajdeep Sardesai’s remarks were not rooted in ignorance, but were entrenched in clear intent to undermine nationalist historical consciousness, which is gaining ground through textbook corrections and contemporary public discourse where questions are raised over celebrations of Mughal tyrants and maintaining tombs commemorating them.
However, Rajdeep’s statements on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is symbolic of a larger pattern: an entrenched elite class that views native Indian rulers with contempt while romanticising Muslim invaders, rationalising their atrocities as the “order of the day”, and drawing false moral equivalences and lies to buttress their contentions. This intellectual dishonesty is not only disrespectful to historical truth but also an affront to national sentiment.
History must be respected, not manipulated
As India reclaims its civilisational narrative and corrects decades of systematic historical distortion perpetrated by Nehruvian Marxists, public intellectuals and journalists must act responsibly. Criticism of government policies is welcome in a democracy, but spreading outright lies about national heroes like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj crosses all lines of journalistic ethics, which some ‘journalists’ seem to have abandoned, especially after Modi came to power for the third term in 2024.
Rajdeep Sardesai owes an apology, not just to the people of Maharashtra, but to all Indians who take pride in their history and heroes. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was not just a king; he was a symbol of resistance against tyranny, a guardian of dharma, and a beacon of just rule. Any attempt to stain his legacy with falsehoods and slanderous allegations must be exposed, condemned, and corrected.
