https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Gajanan_MehendaleGajanan Mehendale - Revision history2026-07-31T02:45:43ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Gajanan_Mehendale&diff=499632&oldid=prevKatherinDenmark at 06:43, 25 February 20262026-02-25T06:43:55Z<p></p>
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{{Short description|Indian historian and author (1947–2025)}}<br />
'''Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale''' (19 December 1947 – 17 September 2025) was an Indian historian and author, noted for his scholarship on [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] history, particularly the life and times of [[Shivaji|Shivaji Maharaj]] and the [[Peshwa|Peshwas]].<br />
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== Early life and education ==<br />
Born on 19 December 1947, Mehendale earned a postgraduate degree in defence studies from [[Savitribai Phule Pune University]]. In 1971, he briefly served as a war correspondent during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], during which he reported from the [[India]]–[[Pakistan]] and India–[[Bangladesh]] fronts, before devoting himself to historical research.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=18 September 2025 |title=Noted historian Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale passes away at 78 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/noted-historian-gajanan-bhaskar-mehendale-passes-away-at-78-101758135016296.html |access-date=20 September 2025 |website=[[Hindustan Times]] |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Career and scholarship ==<br />
A polyglot, Mehendale mastered [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Modi script|Modi]], [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]], which he used extensively in his historical work. He was regarded as a leading authority on [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] history,<ref name=":0" /> especially on the life and military campaigns of the 17th-century Maratha ruler [[Shivaji|Shivaji Maharaj]] and the lives of the [[Peshwa]]s.<ref name="TIE">{{cite news |title=G B Mehendale, authority on Maratha history, passes away at 78 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/gajanan-bhaskar-mehendale-an-authority-on-maratha-and-shivaji-history-passes-away-at-78-10257371/ |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=19 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Raj Thackeray pays respect to late historian Gajanan Mehendale |url=https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/raj-thackeray-pays-tribute-to-renowned-historian-gajanan-mehendale-23594608 |access-date=20 September 2025 |website=Mid-day |language=en}}</ref> His most acclaimed contribution was ''Shri Raja Shivchhatrapati (Two Volumes) and Shivaji: His Life and Times,'' biography of Shivaji Maharaj published in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and English. It is described by scholars as a uniquely detailed and evidence-based account.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news |title=6 books on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s life and rule |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/features/6-books-on-chhatrapati-shivaji-maharajs-life-and-rule/photostory/99209773.cms |work=The Times of India |date=3 April 2023}}</ref> He also wrote ''Shivachatrapatinche'' ''Armar(The navy of Shivaji),'' ''[[Tipu Sultan|Tipu]] As He Really Was'', ''Islamchi Olakh: Bharatatil Islami Rajvatinche Dharmik Dhoran'' and ''Adilshahi Farmane (The Farmans of Adilshah)''. His writings have been widely referenced in academic circles in India and other countries.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="TIE" /><br />
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In December 2003, Mehendale destroyed approximately 400 unpublished pages of his planned two-volume biography ''Shri Raja Shivchhatrapati''. The act was a protest against members of the [[Shiv Sena]], who had publicly smeared the face of Sanskrit scholar Shrikant Bahulkar with black ink following controversy around [[James Laine]]'s book ''Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 December 2003 |title=Scholar destroys own work on Shivaji |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/scholar-destroys-own-work-on-shivaji/articleshow/385627.cms |access-date=20 September 2025 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=अग्रलेख: इतिहासाचे डोळस अभ्यासक |url=https://www.loksatta.com/sampadkiya/editorial/loksatta-editorial-historian-gajanan-bhaskar-mehendale-passes-away-amy-95-5382999/ |work=[[Loksatta]] |date=19 September 2025 |language=mr}}</ref> Mehendale had previously signed a letter that called for the complete withdrawal of ''Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sathaye |first=Addhesh |title=Censorship and Censureship: Insiders, Outsiders, and the Attack Censorship and Censureship: Insiders, Outsiders, and the Attack on Bhandarkar Institute |url=https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1360&context=jhcs |journal=Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies |volume=19 |pages=6}}</ref><br />
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At the time of his death, he was researching [[Islam]] and the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Aurangzeb]], and was completing a 5,000 page manuscript on the [[Second World War]], which was nearly ready for publication by the time of Mehendale's death.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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== Personal life and death ==<br />
Mehendale never married. He died of a heart attack in [[Pune]], on 17 September 2025, at the age of 77.<ref>{{cite news |title=Eminent historian GB Mehendale passes away in Pune |url=https://www.ptinews.com/story/national/eminent-historian-gb-mehendale-passes-away-in-pune/2925324 |access-date=20 September 2025 |work=www.ptinews.com |publisher=[[The Press Trust of India]]}}</ref> His body was kept at the [[Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal]] for public homage before cremation.<ref name=":0" /> <br />
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[[Maharashtra Navnirman Sena]] founder and chief [[Raj Thackeray]] paid tribute to Mehendale, praising his efforts to recover perspectives of the vanquished and describing him as a historian who maintained "complete neutrality."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news |title=इतिहासाचं वेड लागलेलीच माणसं..; इतिहास संशोधक गजानन मेहेंदळेंच्या निधनानंतर राज ठाकरेंकडून भावना व्यक्त |url=https://www.tv9marathi.com/maharashtra/raj-thackeray-post-on-eminent-historian-and-chhatrapati-shivaji-maharaj-scholar-gajanan-bhaskar-mehendale-death-1495125.html |work=[[TV9 Marathi]] |date=18 September 2025 |language=mr}}</ref><br />
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== Bibliography ==<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Mehendaḷe |first1=Gajānana Bhāskara |title=Śrī Rājā Śivachatrapatī |date=1996 |publisher=Gajānana Bhāskara Mehendaḷe |isbn=978-8187975038 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%C5%9Ar%C4%AB_R%C4%81j%C4%81_%C5%9Aivachatrapat%C4%AB/BQxuAAAAMAAJ |language=mr}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Mehendaḷe |first1=Gajānana Bhāskara |title=Śrī Rājā Śivachatrapatī |date=2007 |publisher=Ḍāyamaṇḍa Pablikeśansa |isbn=978-81-89724-90-0 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%C5%9Ar%C4%AB_R%C4%81j%C4%81_%C5%9Aivachatrapat%C4%AB/nCGmPwAACAAJ |language=hi}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Mehendaḷe |first1=Gajānana Bhāskara |title=Chhatrapati Shivaji: Saviour of Hindu India |date=2022 |publisher=Shri Bharati Prakashan |isbn=978-93-92813-93-1 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chhatrapati_Shivaji/zZYh0QEACAAJ |language=en}}<br />
* {{cite book |title=Tipu as He Really Was ''(e-book)'' |date=2018 |publisher=Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited |asin=B07C58GFD1 |pages=119 |url=https://www.amazon.in/Tipu-as-He-Really-Was-ebook/dp/B07C58GFD1 |language=en-in}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Mehendale |first1=Gajanan Bhaskar |title=Islamchi Olakh - Bharatatil Islami Rajvatinche Dharmik Dhoran |date=2024 |publisher=Aitihasik Sahitya Prakashan |isbn=978-9334062496 |pages=300 |url=https://www.amazon.in/Islamchi-Olakh-Bharatatil-Rajvatinche-Mehendale/dp/9334062495|language=mr}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Mehendale |first1=Gajanan |last2=Bedekar |first2=Ninad |last3=Loankar |first3=Ravindra |title=Adilshahi Farmane |publisher=Diamond Publishers |isbn=978-8189959456 |pages=208 |url=https://www.amazon.in/Aadilshahi-Farmane-Gajanan-Mehendale/dp/818995945X|language=mr}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehendale, Gajanan}}<br />
[[Category:1947 births]]<br />
[[Category:2025 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century Indian historians]]<br />
[[Category:Historians of India]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male non-fiction writers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian biographers]]<br />
[[Category:Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Indian war correspondents]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century Indian biographers]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male biographers]]</div>KatherinDenmark