Mahadaji Shinde (Madhavrao Scindia)

Mahadaji Shinde (1730–1794), also known as Madhavrao I Scindia, was the ruler of Gwalior and the dominant statesman-general of the Maratha Confederacy in the late 18th century. Severely wounded and left with a permanent limp at the catastrophic Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, Mahadaji miraculously survived to resurrect Maratha imperial fortunes from the ashes.

Recognizing the technological superiority of European armies, Mahadaji employed French mercenary Benoît de Boigne to raise disciplined infantry battalions armed with modern flintlock muskets and standardized mobile field artillery. In 1771, he recaptured Delhi, restoring the blind Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II as a Maratha puppet and assuming the supreme title of Vakil-ul-Mutlaq (Regent of the Empire). During the First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782), he defeated British East India Company forces at Wadgaon, dictating the Treaty of Salbai.