Chhatrapati Shivaji

This statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji stand opposite the Gateway of India. This is what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1st Prime Minister of free India) had to say about Chhatrapati Shivaji:

" Shivaji did not belong to Maharashtra alone; he belonged to the whole Indian nation. Shivaji was not an ambitious ruler anxious to establish a kingdom for himself but a patriot inspired by a vision and political ideas derived from the teachings of the ancient philosophers. He studied the merits and faults of the systems of administration in kingdoms existing at the time and determined his own policies and administration in the light of that knowledge. A devout Hindu, he was tolerant of other religions and established a number of endowments for maintainig sacred places belonging to them. As a general he was undoubtedly one of the greatest in Indian history; he saw the need for and raised a navy to guard his coastline and to fight against the British and the Dutch. Pratapgad Fort build in 1656 stands today as a monument to his military genius. Shri Shivaji is a symbol of many virtues, more especially of love of country."

For further details click on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivaji