was an increase in the influence of Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao who eventfully succeeded his father in A.D. The trouble-maker, Dadasaheb, was relegated to the background and he eventually retired from state politics. To its dismay, the East India Company met its match in the new Maratha ruler, Vishwasrao. He and his brother, Madhavrao, combined political acumen with valour and systematically expanded their influence all over India.
The Company was reduced to pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta* and Madras @@@@@ , just like its European rivals, the Portuguese and the French. For political reasons, the Peshwas kept the puppet Mughal regime alive in Delhi. In the nineteenth century these de facto rulers from Pune were astute enough to recognise the importance of the technological age dawning in Europe. They set up their own centres for science and technology.
Here, the East India Company saw another opportunity to extend its influence. It offered aid and experts. They were accepted only to make the local centres self-sufficient. The twentieth century brought about further changes inspired by the West.
India moved towards a democracy. By then, the Peshwas had lost their enterprise and they were gradually replaced by democratically elected bodies. The Sultanate at Delhi survived even this transition, largely because it wielded no real influence. The Shahenshah of Delhi was no more than a figurehead to rubber-stamp the ‘recommendations’ made by the central parliament.
As he read on, Gangadharpant began to appreciate the India he had seen. It was a country that had not been subjected to slavery for the white man; it had learnt to stand on its feet and knew what self-respect was. From a position of strength and for purely commercial reasons, it had allowed the British to retain * Now known as Kolkata @@@@@ Now known as Chennai Bombay as the sole outpost on the subcontinent. That lease was to expire in the year , according to a treaty of .
Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him. But, at the same time, he felt that his