RAS question
Shivaji's guerrilla warfare tactics were primarily suited for:
Correct answer: (A) Mountainous terrain of the Western Ghats.
Shivaji's guerrilla warfare tactics were primarily suited to the mountainous terrain of the Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri Range.
Explanation
Shivaji's guerrilla tactics, known as Ganimi Kava, worked best in the mountainous Western Ghats or Sahyadri terrain. The UNESCO-ICOMOS source describes the Maratha military landscape as a network of hill forts, with several major forts on the Sahyadri Range, and notes that the Western Ghats rise sharply, with separate hilltops, narrow valleys and few passes. That geography made local knowledge, hill forts and rapid movement decisive. It allowed Shivaji to use fortified positions and swift cavalry to ambush larger Mughal forces instead of meeting them in open-field battles. The Sahyadri fort network and Maratha use of territorial control through guerrilla warfare make option A correct.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Desert warfare belongs to arid, open environments, not the Western Ghats landscape of Sahyadri hill forts, valleys and passes.
- (C) Plains warfare favoured large Mughal armies, while Shivaji's advantage came from avoiding open-field conditions and using hilly terrain for ambushes.
- (D) Naval warfare was part of wider Maratha strategy, but Shivaji's guerrilla tactics depended chiefly on hill forts, rapid movement and mountainous terrain.
Concept
This tests the link between geography and military strategy in medieval Indian history. RAS often asks such questions because terrain, forts and regional power formation are central to understanding the rise of the Marathas.