Nagpur: “The ‘Wagh Nakh’, the famous tiger claws of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who used it to rip into the stomach of Afzal Khan in 1659, will be brought back to Maharashtra from London for three years,” said Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar before leaving for London on Sunday late night to sign an MoU with London-based Victoria and Albert Museum.
Maharashtra State is celebrating the 350th anniversary of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The tiger claws will be brought back from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum for three-and-a-half years to Maharashtra with the cooperation of the British Government.
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According to the Gazetteer of Satara district of Maharashtra Government, Afzal Khan was an Army officer of the Bijapur State which was not a part of the Mughal Empire. Khan was killed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during the meeting in 1659. Khan had held the neck of Shivaji Maharaj under his left arm. However, the legendary King Shivaji Maharaj put ‘Wagh Nakh’ on his fingers and used the weapon for the killing of Afzal Khan.
The ‘Wagh Nakh’ was in the collection of the Chhatrapatis of Satara. In 1827 Raja Pratapsinh, then King of Satara (1810-1839) gave the ‘Wagh Nakh’ to Elphinstone, mentioned in the Gazetteer. However, the ‘Wagh Nakh’, believed to have belonged to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was taken to London by the Britishers and kept at Victoria and Albert Museum.
Maharashtra’s Culture Minister, Sudhir Mungantiwar, was determined to bring back the ‘Wagh Nakh’ from London. The State Government and Victoria and Albert Museum will sign an MoU on Tuesday for bringing the weapon for three years to India. “The ‘Wagh Nakh’ is likely to be brought back to Maharashtra very soon after signing an MoU with the Museum,” said Mungantiwar.
