After 350 Years, Chhatrapati Shivaji’s “Bagh Nakh” Back In India

The tiger claw that Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji is believed to have used to kill General Afzal Khan is back in Maharashtra after 350 years. The state government has brought it on loan from London’s Albert Museum for three years and put it on display at the Satara in western Maharashtra.

The weapon brought from London has a bulletproof cover and security was strengthened for it. It will be kept at a museum in Satara for the next seven months.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his Deputy Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders attended the function to inaugurate it.

History says in 1649, Shivaji — who established Maratha empire after a successful rebellion against the Bijapur Sultanate — had to parley with Bijapur general Afzal Khan.

For the unarmed meeting, he secretly wore a chain-mail shirt under his clothing and concealed a bagh nakh in his right hand. When the two leaders met and formally embraced,  Shivaji killed Afzal Khan with the bagh nakh. The event took place at the foot of Pratapgarh fort, which is in present-day Satara.

The loan of the legendary weapon comes ahead of the assembly election in Maharashtra, and is expected to be a talking point in favour of the ruling alliance.  

Shivaji has been a Maratha icon revered especially by the undivided Sena and the loan of the Bagh Nakh is expected to strengthen the credentials of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is still hoping to be seen as carrying the political legacy of the late Balasaheb Thackeray – Uddhav Thackeray’s father and the founder of Shiv Sena.

The assembly election due by the end of this year has been a matter of concern for the ruling alliance, which has been outperformed in the state by the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

In 2019, the BJP – allied with the undivided Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray – won 23 of 25 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena contested the other 23 and won 18.

This time, the BJP won just nine seats. Its allies — the splinter units of the Sena led by Eknath Shinde and NCP led by Ajit Pawar — won eight of the 19 seats they fought.

On the other side, the Congress won 13 seats, the Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray won nine seats and the faction of NCP led by Sharad Pawar won 8 seats.