The Historian and the Polyphony of Sources: The Complex Panipat Years in Maratha History

The plaque next to the ruins of an apartment in Shaniwarwada, the Peshwa’s eighteenth century fortified residence in the heart of Pune, proudly proclaims that its former occupant was Sadashiva Rao ‘Bhau’, a national martyr, convincing the mesmerised tourists that medieval people were animated by their idea of history derived from contemporary discourses1. The curious visitor receives historical wisdom from the tourist guide whose own imagined narrative is nourished by an amalgam of nationalist historiography and unsubstantiated folklore. Thus, the guides, historians and tourists form a community based on shared beliefs. This community identifies history with its image of the past.