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Mumbai: After claiming that the 'wagh nakh' weapon brought from a British museum is the one that Chhatrapati Shivaji used to kill Bijapur Sultanate general Afzal Khan, the museum where it is currently being exhibited has now put up a disclaimer about the weapon's authenticity.
The weapon, which is on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, was unveiled last week at the. Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum in Satara. The exhibit will move to Nagpur in February 2025 and later travel to Kolhapur, Mumbai, and other cities.
The British museum's records say that the weapon was gifted by Chhatrapati Shivaji's descendant Chhatrapati Pratapsinh to Resident James Grant Duff between 1818 and 1823. Duff's descendants handed it over to the museum in 1971.
The exhibit is drawing visitors in large numbers, said the museum"s managers. However, the information board next to the exhibit is a dampener for history enthusiasts. The board says: 'It is not possible to verify whether James Grant Duff was given the actual waghnakh that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj used, as other waghnakh with such a provenance were recorded in the royal collections at Satara long after the resident's return to Britain.
The disclaimer thus questions the veracity of earlier statements made by ministers about the weapon's authenticity. It also vindicates the claim by historian Indrajit Sawant, founder of Sahyadri Itihas Sanshodhan Kendra, Kolhapur, who has said that the artifact brought from London was not the original one. Sawant used several historical records to prove his claim. "The London museum had loaned the exhibit on the condition that there should be a public declaration on the waghnakh's authenticity. The government has been forced to make the disclaimer,” said Sawant. Shivaji had used a waghnakh, a weapon with nails like a tiger, to disembowel the Bijapur general in 1659. According to Sawant, there are records of the original one being with the Satara branch of the Maratha king's family. Sawant says there are replicas in many museums. The 8.6 cm-long artifact currently exhibited in Satara dates to the 17th-18th century. There is no information on the whereabouts of the original one, with unconfirmed reports that it was stolen during a robbery at the residence of the Satara royals. The family has not spoken about the controversy. The Satara museum's in-charge, Assistant Curator Pravin Shinde, did not comment on the disclaimer board next to the exhibit. "My statement is the same as the government's. There may be doubt about the authenticity of the waghnakh. We cannot say," said Shinde.
The government, meanwhile, has sticking to its claim that the claws are authentic. During the inauguration of the exhibition on July 19, the state's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dismissed doubts about the weapon's authenticity.
