Consider the following statements about Shivaji’s military acumen : 1. He was a master in guerrilla tactics and swift cavalry warfare. 2. He had built a series of fortified strongholds on the table mountains of the Western Deccan. Which of the statements given above is /are correct?

Shivaji Maharaj was a pioneer of guerrilla warfare, known as 'Ganimi Kava', which he used to defy the superior numbers of the Mughal and Bijapur forces [2]. His military strategy relied on swift cavalry raids and the mobility of his Mavle infantry to outmaneuver enemies in the rugged Deccan terrain [2]. Furthermore, Shivaji recognized that forts were the 'core of the state' and the mainstay of Maratha power [2]. He built and renovated a vast network of over 300 fortified strongholds, strategically located on the flat-topped 'table mountains' of the Sahyadri Range (Western Ghats) [3]. These hill forts served as defensive bases, administrative centers, and shelters for his army during guerrilla campaigns [2]. The combination of high-mobility warfare and an impregnable fort-centric defense system allowed the Maratha state to survive decades of onslaught by Aurangzeb [3].

Sources

1. [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 14: The Mughal Empire > Against Marathas > p. 211
2. [2] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science, Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 3: The Rise of the Marathas > Military administration > p. 75
3. [3] https://whc.unesco.org/document/222061