The assassination of Narayan Rao Peshwa is Maratha history’s own Red Wedding — and it changed the fate of an empire. This book launch event, featuring historian Uday Kulkarni with Dr. Meenakshi Jain and Swapan Dasgupta, unveils a riveting account of the darkest chapter in Peshwa history.
The talk opens with a remarkable contextual fact: twelve years after Aurangzeb spent three decades failing to crush the Marathas, Maratha forces stood at the gates of Delhi — a civilisational resilience with no parallel in Indian history. Against this backdrop, the assassination of the young Peshwa Narayan Rao by his own uncle Raghoba (Raghunathrao) becomes all the more devastating — a self-inflicted wound that fractured Maratha unity at a pivotal moment and opened the door to British consolidation.
Kulkarni describes Raghoba as “one of the most fascinating characters in the 18th century” — a brave general caught in a vortex of political intrigue whose decisions reverberated through decades of Maratha decline. A landmark work on a forgotten turning point in India’s last great civilisational empire.

About the Speakers:

Uday Kulkarni is a Surgeon Commander in the Indian Navy and an acclaimed writer. He combines a career in service with deep research and authorship on Indian history.

Dr. Swapan Dasgupta is a former MP in the Rajya Sabha, a Padma Bhushan laureate, and an illustrated journalist.

Dr. Meenakshi Jain is a noted historian of medieval and colonial India. She is a former Associate Professor of history at Gargi College, University of Delhi, former Fellow of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, and former member of the Governing Council of Indian Council of Historical Research. She is currently Senior Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

Sandeep Unnithan is a Delhi-based journalist and Editor of News 9Plus, the world’s first news OTT app. He is the author of Black Tornado and co-author of OperationX.