It is true... 'Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it.' The Mughal rule began in 1526 with Babur's accession to the throne, and ended with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. Overall the Mughals ruled northern part of India for approx 181 years and ruined India. The Mughal empire rapidly disintegrated after Aurangzebs death and was replaced by the Maratha Confederacy. At its peak the Maratha empire covered much of South Asia, with a territory of over 2.8 million km˛ and stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in the north, and Bengal Subah in the east.
To understand the rise and prominence of the Marathas lets dig a little deeper :
There is NO doubt that the brutal & fanatic Islamic Mughal rule in India faced stiff resistance at different periods from the great RAJPUT warriors, fierce AHOM warriors from Assam & from Punjab the brave SIKH warriors...rightly did the great Hindi Poet Bhushana, who forsook the royal favours of the Mughal court to come over to Shivaji to record his glories, sang :-“काशी की कला जाती, मथुरा की मसजीद बनती, अगर शिवाजी ना होते तो सबकी सुन्नत होती.” meaning : (Had not there been Shivaji, Kashi would have lost its culture,Mathura would have been turned into a mosque and all would have been circumcised.)
If not for Shivaji and the Marathas, there would have existed a continuous Islamic belt from Morocco to Indonesia. What addition of 1 billion more adherents to Islam would have done to the world power balance or what would have happened to Indian legacy like yoga, ayurveda, music, art and philosophy, is not difficult to guess….
It is worthwhile examining the 'what if' of Indias history, Aurengzeb, Akbars great great grandson, had embarked on the 'Islamisation' of India. The Marathas, inspired by Shivaji, fought Aurengzeb and saved India from following the fate of Persia. The proof of Maratha victory lies in the fact that Aurangzeb lies buried, not in Lahore /Delhi or Agra, but near Aurangabad in good old Maharashtra...
Indian history before Shivaji's advent reads like a chronicle of military disasters. Shivaji changed all that. He used Guerilla Tactics (hit and run) very effectively. Shivaji, as a great warrior & visionary laid a solid foundation such, that after his death in 1680, there was a series of battles fought between Marathas and Mughals from 1681 to 1707 known as 'War of 27 years' and ended with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, about 2.5 million of Aurangzeb's army were killed during the Mughal–Maratha War of 27 years. The Marathas eventually emerged victorious and this was followed by the phase of rapid expansion of the Maratha Empire for the next 50 years under patronage of Shahu and his appointed Peshwas Baji Rao I and Balaji Baji Rao.
Chatrapati Shivaji is also credited for the laying the foundation of the Indian Navy. He appointed Kanoji Angre the chief of the Maratha Navy who fought against the British, Dutch and Portuguese naval interests on the coasts of India during the 18th century and became their greatest enemy on sea, so much was he dreaded that the British and Europeans labeled him a pirate. He was instrumental bringing about a considerable change in Naval Warfare by introducing a Blue-water navy in those times.
The Maratha empire reached its peak in summer of 1758 with the conquest of Attock, which is banks of Indus river in Pakistan today*(check Notes below). Maratha Empire's eastern frontier was today’s Orissa, being ruled by Raghuji Bhosale of Nagpur. Maratha armies had also reached upto Murshidabad, but then retreated and settled for tribute from Bengal and control of Orissa. To the south, in 1758, territories upto the fort of Gurramkonda in Kadappah district were held. Also, Tanjore (Thanjavur) was under Marathas, but that was a different line. In 1761, the 3rd battle of PANIPAT war was lost to the Afghans but they RECOVERED quickly like phoenix bird from ashes and within 10 years (during the 1770's) brought the whole of North India in their control under the able leadership of Madhavrao Peshwa.
Marathas also comprehensively defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad and kept Hyder Ali- Tipu Sultan of Mysore in serious check.
During this phase, Pune, the seat of Peshwas, flourished as a center of Hindu learning and traditions. The Confederacy is also credited for developing many of the nation’s important cities like Pune, Baroda under Gaikwads, Indore under Holkars and Gwalior under Shinde's or Scindia's. Eventually, the Marathas grew stronger and fought the British in three Anglo–Maratha Wars (1775–82, 1803–05, 1817–18), In the First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) the Marathas emerged Victorious. A Vijay Stambh (Victory Pillar) erected to commemorate Maratha victory over British is located at Vadgaon/Wadgaon Maval, close to the city of Pune. The 2nd and 3rd were subsequently lost and British established themselves which was followed by the Uprising of 1857.
Thus after a prolonged fight with the Marathas and with the Sikhs in Punjab the British firmly established themselves as the de-facto rulers of India. As mentioned above, the British were technologically superior to the Marathas..and hence they were at an advantage.
(-By the way, just for your G.K, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is considered today as the 'Father of the Indian Navy'AND apart from Jijabai-mother of Shivaji, the other 2 well known Women personalities emerging from the Maratha Confederacy were Devi AHILYABAI HOLKAR from Indore, Maharani Tarabai and RANI LAXMIBAI of Jhansi also known as Manikarnika.
* "Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subahs on this side of Attock are under our rule for the most part, and places which have not come under our rule we shall soon bring under us. Ahmad Shah Durrani's son Timur Shah Durrani and Jahan Khan have been pursued by our troops, and their troops completely looted. Both of them have now reached Peshawar with a few broken troops . . . So Ahmad Shah Durrani has returned to Kandahar with some 12-14 thousand broken troops.. Thus all have risen against Ahmad who has lost control over the region. We have decided to extend our rule up to Kandahar." – Raghunathrao's letter to the Maratha Peshwa, 4 May 1758.
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"To the Jats,Gujars,Ahirs and the Jats of 18 khaps or pads (thambas) or the heads of thoks and panchayats, I send my regards. For the defence of religion it is the duty of every hindu to help me in defending the 'country'. Everyone will have to fight for the defence of the country against the coming invasion. From the ninth century the apostates have made this country their stronghold and are ruling over it. There will be no better oppurtunity than this to drive them out. The servant of the hindu religion. - Sadashivrao BHAU, October 1760" - Sadashivrao Bhau's letter to the Jats and other North Indian rulers.