Shivaji's 'Wagh Nakh' brought to India from London museum for display. The history explained

The iconic ‘wagh nakh’ (tiger claw-shaped dagger) that is said to be used by the Maratha empire’s warrior king, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been repatriated from the London to its homeland in Maharashtra.

The wagh nakh was taken to Chhatrapati Shivaji Sangrahalay (museum) in western Maharashtra’s Satara, where it will be put on display from July 19, the state’s Culture Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told PTI.

The weapon has been brought back by Indian authorities from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum “on loan” for three years during which it will be put on display across several museums in Maharashtra.

On Friday, the weapon will reach Satara which is preparing to accord a grand welcome, State Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai said earlier this week, adding that it will be encased in a bulletproof cover. Moreover, he said that security has also been beefed up at the museum where wagh nakh will be on display for seven months.

The special exhibit, featuring many other artifacts from the Maratha king, will be inaugurated by CM Eknath Shinde and DCMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis on Friday (July 19).

But what makes this weapon so significant and how did it end up in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum? Let’s take a closer look

The history

Afzal Khan, a general who served the Adil Shah dynasty of Bijapur, was ordered to conduct a military operation against Chhatrapati Shivaji’s Maratha empire. According to the London-based museum, the duo arranged a truce and agreed to meet – alone and unarmed – in a tented enclosure during a protracted military engagement in 1659.

The catch, however, was that both carried concealed weapons. Shivaji wore chainmail under his clothes and a metal skull protection under his turban, while hiding a metallic ’tiger claw’ in his hand. When they fought, the Maratha warrior “disembowelled his opponent,” the museum’s website said.

“This weapon was quite dangerous and was used to surprise the opponent. It was used in close combat without letting the opponent know," medieval weapons expert Indrajeet Sawant told The Print.

The weapon which was handed by the last Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Marathas, Baji Rao II, surrendered to the British in June 1818 after defeat in the Third Anglo-Maratha War and was banished to Bithoor near Kanpur.

The museum’s website further said it is possible one of Peshwas’ officials “gifted” this weapon to James Grant Duff, East India Company official and Resident or political agent of the Satara state in 1818, who later gave it to the British museum.

However, it has not been possible to verify whether these tiger claws are the ones used by Shivaji nearly 160 years earlier, the museum stated.

Why is wagh nakh’s authenticity in question?
After news broke, Sawant claimed that the iconic weapon that was being brought back to India was not “original” and asserted the one used by the legendary emperor remains in the state’s Satara itself.

According to historians, the wagh nakh was kept in the sanctum sanctorum of a temple housed within the ruler’s family residence.

Another researcher, Pandurang Balkawade, told a Marathi TV channel that Pratapsinh Chhatrapati, the last emperor of the Maratha empire, gave the weapon from his personal collection to Duff between 1818 and 1823, adding that his great-great-grandson then handed it over to the museum.

According to the museum’s website, the weapon was accompanied by a fitted case made after Grant Duff returned to Scotland. The inscription on the case reads, “The ‘Wagnuck’ of Sivajee With Which He Killed the Moghul General. This Relic was given to Mr. James Grant-Duff of Eden When he was Resident at Satara Minister of the Peshwa of the Marathas”.

Vaibhav Purandare, author of  Shivaji: India’s Great Warrior King told The Print that there is _"_no conclusive evidence [to prove]” that it is the same weapon used by the Maratha warrior. Agreeing with him, Sawant, said there are multiple such tiger claws, and their references have come up many times.

However, the Maharashtra government rejected such claims.

“It is unfortunate that doubts are being raised about Shivaji’s wagh nakh,” Cultural Affairs Minister Mungantiwar told PTI and noted that the item being procured from London was the original one which had been displayed in two exhibitions in London held in 1875 and 1896 respectively.

The iconic tiger claw weapon is set to be displayed in three other museums apart from the one in Satara, namely the Central Museum in Nagpur, the Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Kolhapur and CSMVS in Mumbai, a Government Resolution (GR) stated.

With input from agencies