UK paper carried Shivaji news on Page 1

MUMBAI: The legendary Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji's writ prevailed to such an extent that a UK newspaper, The London Gazette, carried front page news on the firebrand emperor, as far back as 1672.
This piece of information was unraveled by an electronics engineer from Pune, Sayali Palande Datar, who came across the reports at the British library in London, in the course of a research on the Maratha ruler.
Shivaji had founded the Maratha Empire in western India in 1664. The report mentions him as Sevagee the rebel, who had beaten the mighty Moghuls and even displayed boldness by threatening the Europeans (mainly from the East India Company) in Surat (spelt Suratte) in Gujarat asking them to deposit vast sums of money with him.
The report says that because of Shivaji's sway over his area, even the baniyas (the trading community) were escaping towards "south' (meaning Bombay) and setting up business there. It describes Bombay as a lucrative place to do trade. The news provides insight into why the East India Company shifted base to Bombay.
The publication carries vast collection of newspapers and reports on major events in Shivaji's life, his son Sambhaji, the Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb, Shayista Khan (whom Aurangzeb had sent with a large army to defeat Shivaji) and the Europeans in India who were planning to make use of Khan's closeness to the Moghuls to do trade in the country.
Having obtained a diploma in Indology and a BA in Sanskrit, Sayali is, at present, learning Persian and is planning to study the changing western perspective of India.