Eminent historian and Shivaji scholar Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale passed away in Pune on Wednesday evening following a massive heart attack. He was 78. Mehendale, who remained unmarried, had dedicated over five decades of his life to historical research.
His mortal remains will be kept for public homage at the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal on Thursday morning, after which the funeral will be held at Vaikunth crematorium.
Mehendale was regarded as an authority on Maratha history, particularly on the life and times of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and medieval military history. He authored several acclaimed works in Marathi and English, including Shivaji: Life and Times, Shivacharitra, If Shivaji Had Not Been Born, Marathyanche Armar (The Maratha Navy), and Tipu as a Warrior. His writings are widely referenced in academic circles in India and abroad.
A polyglot with command over Persian, Modi script, English, French, and German, Mehendale combined linguistic expertise with rigorous archival research. He often emphasised the need to separate fact from fiction in history writing, a theme that shaped much of his scholarship.
Mehendale had also worked as a war correspondent during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, reporting from both the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh fronts. Trained in military science with dual degrees, he had a lifelong interest in the study of wars and strategy.
At the time of his demise, he was engaged in research on Islam and Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while also completing a monumental five-thousand-page manuscript on the Second World War, which was nearing publication.
He was closely associated with institutions such as the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal.
Historian on Peshwa era Uday Kulkarni in his condolence message termed Mehendale's passing away as a big loss for Indian and Maratha history.
"Eminent historian GB Mehendale is no more. His monumental works on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will always be referred as masterpieces. It was a privilege to have known him," said Kulkarni.
Born on December 19, 1947, Mehendale from his school days had a deep interest in history. In 1969, he joined the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal in Pune, marking the beginning of his lifelong journey in research. This also drew him towards military studies, which he began exploring from the age of eighteen.
During the Bangladesh Liberation struggle, Mehendale crossed into different border regions and closely witnessed the situation on the ground. He interviewed several people, observed the resentment against the Pakistani Army, and regularly sent reports to newspaper Tarun Bharat. When the war broke out, he remained in Bangladesh, spending time with Mukti Bahini fighters and interviewing Indian Army officers stationed there.
After the war, he moved to Delhi and wrote a book on the conflict, though it remained unpublished. He then turned his attention to Shivaji Maharaj, with a desire to study his military leadership in detail. Mehendale pursued a master's degree in defence and strategic studies at Savitribai Phule Pune University, during which he resolved to undertake a comprehensive study of Shivaji Maharaj's life and campaigns. To access original sources, he learned several languages -- including Modi script, Persian, Urdu, German, French, and Portuguese -- along with his command of Marathi, Hindi, Sanskrit, and English. He travelled across India collecting documents and consulting with other scholars.
This led to monumental works such as Shivaji: His Life and Times (an English volume of 1,000 pages) and Shri Raja Shivchatrapati (a Marathi volume of 2,500 pages), together referencing nearly 7,000 sources. He also authored Shivachhatrapatinche Armar, Adilshahi Farmane, and Tipu: As He Really Was. Reflecting on Shivaji's place in history, he once remarked: "If Shivaji Maharaj is removed from history, what remains of it? If he is included, how does it change? He curbed the oppressive Islamic regimes of his time -- understanding that is to understand Shivaji."
Between 2000 and 2017, Mehendale undertook a detailed study of the First and Second World Wars, producing nearly 6,000 pages of research. Plans were underway to publish the work in 10-12 volumes. He also wrote on military intelligence and code-breaking.
As a senior member of the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, Mehendale rarely missed a day of studying documents from the Shivaji era over the last 50 years. A voracious learner, he was still studying German in recent years.
Over the years, he was also associated with several institutions such as the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Deccan College, and the Shri Shivaji Raigad Smarak Mandal. He also served as an advisory member of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and was part of the state government committee that worked on determining Shivaji's birth anniversary. For a period, he advised Balbharati's history textbook board.