Shivaji Maharaj’s iconic ‘wagh nakh’ on display at Maharashtra’s Satara Museum
The Hindu
Historic wagh nakh, tiger claw weapon used by Shivaji Maharaj, displayed in Satara Museum amid authenticity controversy.
The historic wagh nakh, the tiger claw-shaped weapon reportedly used by Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to kill Bijapur Sultanate general Afzal Khan in the 1659 Battle of Pratapgarh, has been put on display at the Satara Museum on Friday for the next seven months.
The weapon, brought to India from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on July 17 to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Maratha ruler’s ascension to the throne, received a grand welcome in Western Maharashtra’s Satara.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Culture Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, and members of the royal family of Satara, attended the event. The wagh nakh was encased in a bulletproof cover, and security was heightened.
The Chief Minister praised Mr. Mungantiwar’s efforts to bring the weapon from London. Sources said that after its seven-month display in Satara, the wagh nakh will be exhibited for nine months each in Nagpur and Kolhapur, before being housed in a Mumbai museum. It is on a three-year loan.
Amid controversy over its authenticity, Mr. Mungantiwar told The Hindu that the weapon was indeed used by Shivaji Maharaj to kill Afzal Khan. However, Maharashtra historian and author Indrajit Sawant claimed that the original wagh nakh used by Shivaji Maharaj was already in Satara, and the artifact brought from London was a replica.
“He [Mr. Sawant] is a politician and historian of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). All his claims are false,” the Minister said.
Mr. Sawant argued that the museum’s information indicated there was no evidence that Shivaji Maharaj used this weapon to kill Afzal Khan. “The museum even asked the government to acknowledge this uncertainty during the exhibition. Not doing so would violate the loan agreement. The government is clearly ignoring this evidence and lying,” he told The Hindu.