Mawalas

The region along the eastern side of the Sahyadri mountain range of the Western ghats of present-day Pune district in India is called Maval.Inhabitants of this region have historically been called the Mawalas or Mavale. [1] During the time of Maratha leader, Shivaji in 17th century, the term was exclusively used for people belonging to the peasant Kunbi community of the region. They were expert footmen and excelled in mountain warfare. Shivaji raised an infantry of Mavale who used guerilla tactics of hit and run to inflict heavy losses on numerically stronger enemies.The infantry was considered the backbone of his power, and according to Sabhasad Bakhar, which chronicled Shivaji's life, the Mavale and Hasham infantry of Shivaji had 100.000 men.[2][3][4]

See also

References
  1. Raeside, I. (1978). A Note on the 'Twelve Mavals' of Poona District. Modern Asian Studies, 12(3), 393-417. Retrieved September 1, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/312227
  2. M. R. Kantak (1993). The First Anglo-Maratha War, 1774-1783: A Military Study of Major Battles. Popular Prakashan. pp. 9, 123. ISBN 978-81-7154-696-1.
  3. A.R.Kulkarni (2005). J.S.Grewal; D.P.Chattopadhyaya (eds.). The State and Society in Medieval India, Volume Vii Part I. Oxford University Press. p. 226. Shivaji made use of both sections of the Marathas in establishment of his swaraj...He drew his military strength mainly from the mawales, the kunbis of the Mawal region. In the north, particularly in the eighteenth century, the term 'Maratha' was used with reference to all the people of Maharashtra, irrespective of their caste distinctions.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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