Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a historical figure whom every politician in Maharashtra likes to invoke. Not a single word criticising Shivaji is tolerated in the state as he is unanimously accepted by people as Jaanta Raja—the wise and just king.
Little wonder then that his weapons and memorabilia are celebrated with much fanfare and there is a race of sorts among rival political parties to bring his weapons back from museums abroad.
Maharashtra culture minister Sudhir Mungatiwar has announced that England has agreed to part with Shivaji’s Wagh Nakhe, the famous tiger claws weapon which he is said to have used to kill Bijapur general Afzal Khan.
An aide of Mungatiwar informed that a team led by the minister is likely to go soon to England and could return with Wagh Nakhe of Shivaji. The team comprises principal secretary at the department of culture and the director of state archaeology and museums.
The team will also request the British authorities to return the famous Jagadamba sword of Shivaji that is in a royal museum in the UK. The sword was given to the British crown prince in the late 1870s by Shivaji IV, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
If Mungatiwar succeeds in bringing back the tiger claws to Maharashtra, the saffron alliance ruling the state will try to get a major political mileage out of it by claiming to be the real inheritors of the warrior king’s legacy.
A fund of Rs 50 lakh has been allocated to bring back the tiger claws and the UK trip is likely to take place at the end of September.
A source informed that the tiger claws were originally found by historian James Grant Duff. They are currently in the Victoria and Albert museum and the museum has shown willingness to return them.
“During this England trip, the team led by the minister is likely to sign an agreement for the return of Wagh Nakh and will also visit other museums to see if any memorabilia related to Shivaji is there,” said the source.