True: Chhatrapati Shivaji belongs to a Maratha lower caste.

Shivaji's caste dispute has arisen many times even after 300 years of his death. His father Shahji Bhonsle was a lower-caste Maratha, and the community was considered a Shudra at that time. His mother Jijabai hailed from the high-ranking Yadava caste. He wasn't born in a royal household but as a peasant boy who rose to become one of the greatest kings in India. Because he wasn't originally from a high ranking Maratha caste and wasn't eligible to become a king, he had taken the help of Brahmanas to enact a ceremony through which he could be raised to the status of a Kshatriya. However, one historian argues that Shivaji's caste is Kshatriya because his generations were experts in fighting skills.