Setu Madhavrao Pagdi

Setumadhavarao Pagdi or Sethu Madhav Rao Pagdi (27 August 1910 – 14 October 1994) was an Indian civil servant, a polyglot linguist, an accomplished historian and a distinguished man of letters specialised in modern Maratha history, especially the history of Shivaji. He also worked as the secretary of Government of Maharashtra. As a secretary he did his job fairly well. Setu Madhavrao was well versed in Marathi, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian, apart from Kannada, which was his mother tongue. As a linguist he discovered the sound system and Grammars of tribal languages like Kolami and Gondi. He was one who served the cause of Marathi against all odds in pre and post - Independent Hyderabad state. Following in the footsteps of the noted Bengali historian Jadunath Sarkar, Setu Madhavrao wrote Shivaji's biography in Marathi and English and the theory enkindled the spirit of nationalism in his readers.

The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1992.

Early life Madhavrao was born on 27 August 1910 in Nilanga, Hyderabad State (now part of Maharashtra) into a Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family of landlords. He was educated in Gulbarga, Osmanabad, and Pune. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Banaras Hindu University in 1930 and Master of Arts degree from Allahabad University three years later.

He was well-versed in Marathi, Kannada, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian, Telugu and tribal languages like Gondi and Kolami

Literary works

In English Among the Gonds of Adilabad, 1949 Grammar of the Kolami Language, 1950 Grammar of the Gondi Language, 1954 Tribal Welfare in Adilabad, 1950 History of Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad: 1800-1920 (Edited work in three volumes), 1956 Eighteenth Century Deccan, 1963 Maratha Mughal Relations: 1680-1707, 1966 Studies in Maratha History Vol. 2, 1971 Srinath Madhavji Shinde alias Alijah Mahadji Scindia of Gwalior

In Marathi Usha, a collection of short stories, 1938 Ashokachi Pane, a collection of essays, 1941 Warangalche Kakatiya Raje, 1946 Sufi Sampraday, Tatvadnyan Ani Karya, 1953 Mirza Ghalib Ani Tyachya Ghazala, 1958 Panipatcha Sangram, 1961 Marathe Va Aurangzeb, 1963 Mogal Maratha Sangharsh (मोगल मराठा संघर्ष), 1965 Tahmasnama, 1967 Shivacharitra: Ek Abhyas, 1971 Chhatrapati Shivaji, 1974 Shree Samarth ani Samarth Sampraday, 1985 भारतीय मुसलमानः शोध आणि बोध १८५७चे आणखी काही पैलू