Shall we ostrich-like bury our head and ignore this original contemporary material in the Marathi language and base our conclusions on the writings of distant British and Dutch merchants whose trade was thrown into confusion by Shivaji's revolt for the liberation of his homeland, or on the Muslim chronicles which breathe antipathy to the Hindu rebels in every sentence? Vincent Smith and his followers have given a warped view of Maratha administration as it obtained in the homeland. The time has come to challenge the Vincent Smith School postulates and cultivate a correct perspective.