India to get back Chatrapati Shivaji’s ‘Tiger Claw’

The famous ‘bagh nakh’ (tiger claw) of Marathi king Chatrapati Shivaji with which he had killed Muslim army general Afzal Khan in 17th century, who had been sent by the Muslim ruler of Bijapur.

According to media report, Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar will be visiting London to bring back the tiger claw.

He will go to London at the end of this month and sign an agreement to bring back the tiger claw. This agreement will be with the Victoria and Albert Museum located in London. It is hoped that after this, this historical weapon of Shivaji Maharaj will return to India by the end of the year.

In 1659, the king of Bijapur Sultanate had sent Afzal Khan to enslave Shivaji. Shivaji reached this meeting with two of his loyalists. There were five people with Afzal. He came in the palanquin. In this meeting, Afzal Khan asked Shivaji to submit to Adil Shah. According to Sir Jadunath Sarkar's book 'Shivaji and His Times', Afzal also attacked Shivaji treacherously.

But Shivaji had come prepared. They expected such deception. According to many books, Afzal Khan tried to kill Shivaji with a dagger by overpowering him on the pretext of hugging him. Then Shivaji killed Afzal Khan with the claws of a tiger.

Tiger claw is a kind of weapon. It fits in the entire fist. This weapon, made of steel, has four pointed rods. Deadly like the claws of a tiger. It has two rings on either side, so that it can be worn on the first and fourth fingers of the hand and fit properly in the fist. It is so deadly that it can kill anyone in a single blow.

This weapon of Shivaji Maharaj was in Satara, the capital of Maratha Empire. After the British came to India, the Minister of Maratha Peshwa gifted it to James Grant Duff, an officer of the East India Company, in 1818. Duff returned to England in 1824 and donated it to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It has been there ever since.