“This is the time when we can drive out the foreigners (Mughals) from our country and earn immortal glory. If we strike at the trunk of this old, drying tree, its branches will fall on their own.” – Who said this?
This famous, ambitious statement was made by Peshwa Bajirao I. He said this to Chhatrapati Shahu I around 1720, advocating for a policy of aggressive expansion into North India. The “old, drying tree” referred to the weak and crumbling Later Mughal Empire, which he believed should be attacked at its “trunk” (Delhi). ANSWER: (C) Bajirao I
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The highly ambitious and defining statement, “If we strike at the trunk of this old, drying tree, its branches will fall on their own,” was uttered by Peshwa Bajirao I to Chhatrapati Shahu I in 1720. The “old, drying tree” referred to the crumbling Later Mughal Empire. Bajirao’s vision was one of aggressive, pan-Indian expansion, arguing that attacking the Mughal capital (the trunk) would lead to the automatic collapse of the provincial governors (the branches). This philosophy guided his successful military campaigns that transformed the Maratha state into an empire.