PUNE: The ‘wagh nakh’, or knuckle duster with metal nails resembling tiger claws, used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to kill Afzal Khan would be brought back to India before June 6 this year, Maharashtra cultural affairs minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told TOI on Thursday.
“The ‘wagh nakh’ was to be brought in April 2024. However, the model code of conduct may come into force by then due to the Lok Sabha elections.We have now decided to get it before June 6, which is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s Rajyabhishek day,” Mungantiwar said.
Shivaji Maharaj was crowned as the king on June 6, 1674, which marked the beginning of Hindavi Swarajya in India. “The ‘wagh nakh’ will be kept in Maharashtra for three years as per the MoU signed with Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It will first arrive in Mumbai and later be kept in four government museums in Mumbai, Satara, Kolhapur and Nagpur amid heavy security. Virtual screens in these museums have been planned alongside, which will display the story connec- ted with the ‘wagh nakh’, for the benefit of visitors and school students,” he said.
Mungantiwar said the story would explain how Shivaji Maharaj had used the ‘wagh nakh’ for victory. A district-level committee has been set up to oversee the exhibitions that will feature the ‘wagh nakh’, slated to be repatriated from the UK to India. The districts of Satara, Kolhapur, and Nagpur will be the focal points of the committee, which comprises key figures such as the collectors of Satara, Kolhapur and Nagpur, the commissioner of police in Nagpur, and the superintendents of police in Satara and Kolhapur, along with other relevant stakeholders.
Satara collector Jitendra Dudi told TOI, “After Mumbai, the ‘wagh nakh’ will be brought to Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj museum in Satara to be displayed here for some days for the public to see. We have undertaken some refurbishment works in the museum for this purpose. We have also been asked to invite school students to visit the museum when the ‘wagh nakh’ is displayed.”
Another member of the committee stated, “Upon the arrival of the ‘wagh nakh’ in Nagpur, it is planned to be housed at Ajab Bangla, the Central Museum of Nagpur. Security protocols will be heightened, employing a threetiered approach with first, second, and third lines of security.”
“The ‘wagh nakh’ was to be brought in April 2024. However, the model code of conduct may come into force by then due to the Lok Sabha elections.We have now decided to get it before June 6, which is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s Rajyabhishek day,” Mungantiwar said.
Shivaji Maharaj was crowned as the king on June 6, 1674, which marked the beginning of Hindavi Swarajya in India. “The ‘wagh nakh’ will be kept in Maharashtra for three years as per the MoU signed with Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It will first arrive in Mumbai and later be kept in four government museums in Mumbai, Satara, Kolhapur and Nagpur amid heavy security. Virtual screens in these museums have been planned alongside, which will display the story connec- ted with the ‘wagh nakh’, for the benefit of visitors and school students,” he said.
Mungantiwar said the story would explain how Shivaji Maharaj had used the ‘wagh nakh’ for victory. A district-level committee has been set up to oversee the exhibitions that will feature the ‘wagh nakh’, slated to be repatriated from the UK to India. The districts of Satara, Kolhapur, and Nagpur will be the focal points of the committee, which comprises key figures such as the collectors of Satara, Kolhapur and Nagpur, the commissioner of police in Nagpur, and the superintendents of police in Satara and Kolhapur, along with other relevant stakeholders.
Satara collector Jitendra Dudi told TOI, “After Mumbai, the ‘wagh nakh’ will be brought to Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj museum in Satara to be displayed here for some days for the public to see. We have undertaken some refurbishment works in the museum for this purpose. We have also been asked to invite school students to visit the museum when the ‘wagh nakh’ is displayed.”
Another member of the committee stated, “Upon the arrival of the ‘wagh nakh’ in Nagpur, it is planned to be housed at Ajab Bangla, the Central Museum of Nagpur. Security protocols will be heightened, employing a threetiered approach with first, second, and third lines of security.”