Fadnavis govt's big Maratha pride push: Legendary sword it ‘bought' back from London, with a Rs 47L bid
Mumbai: Maharashtra's BJP-led Mahayuti government will Monday showcase, with much fanfare, how under its leadership the state has, for the first time, brought back a historic Maratha-era artefact, Maratha commander Raghuji Bhosale's sword, which was once in London after securing it at an auction.
The 18th-century sword will be displayed in Mumbai for the first time.
The state government had planned an elaborate show, with the sword to be taken on a decorated chariot accompanied by a motorbike rally from the airport to the P.L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy in Prabhadevi. However, the rally had to be called off due to heavy rain and waterlogging in parts of the city.
On Monday evening, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will formally inaugurate the display of the sword in a ceremony where Raghuji Bhosale's descendant, Shrimant Mudhoji Raje Bhosale, will also be present, a statement from Shelar's office said. The event has been kept open to all citizens.
The state government has also organised an exhibition featuring the sword and displays of 12 heritage forts at the P.L. Deshpande Academy from 19 August to 25 August.
The state government acquired the sword at a Sotheby's auction for Rs 47.15 lakh. Shelar had earlier said that he heard about the historic sword going under the hammer for an auction on 28 April and immediately brought it to Fadnavis' attention.
The government looped in the Indian embassy in the United Kingdom, and also engaged an intermediary through whom the state government participated in the auction.
Shelar took possession of the sword in London last week in the presence of representatives from the Marathi diaspora and completed the legal formalities to bring it back to Mumbai.
Getting the historic sword back is the latest in a string of such moves. The BJP-led Mahayuti government has been increasingly deploying its culture and tourism departments in its pursuit of appropriating the legacy of the Maratha empire.
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The Maratha-style firangi sword
The sword of Raghuji Bhosale, which reached the P.L. Deshpande Academy at about noon on Monday, is a rare Maratha-style 'firangi' sword with a long European blade and an Indian hilt. It also has a Mulheri-style basket hilt with gold inlay koftgiri work. And there's a green cloth wrapping the rounded pommel.
The European manufacturer's name is displayed near the hilt, whereas the spine of the blade has an inscription in the Devanagari script that reads, 'Shrimant Raghuji Bhosale Senasahib Subha Firang'. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj had given Raghuji Bhosale the title of 'Senasahib Subha.'
The founder of the Nagpur Bhosale dynasty led violent Maratha military campaigns against the Nawab of Bengal in 1745 and 1755. He is also said to have established control over Chanda in Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur in Odisha and defeated the Nawabs of Cuddapah and Kurnool, extending Maratha influence to southern India.
'Most medieval Maratha weapons lacked decorative embellishments or inscriptions of their makers or owners. This sword is a rare exception, bearing both intricate ornamentation and the owner's name,' Shelar said in a statement last week from London.
He added that the presence of the European-made blade also pointed to the bustling global arms trade in 18th-century India.
In 1817, the Bhosales of Nagpur unsuccessfully fought the British East India Company at Sitalbuldi, following which the Bhosale treasury is said to have been looted. Over time, the Nagpur Bhosales also gave tributes and gifts to the British. The sword could have left India either as loot or as a gift, Shelar said in the statement.
Mahayuti's push to showcase Maratha history
Getting the sword of Raghuji Bhosale back to Maharashtra is the latest in a string of such moves by the state culture and tourism departments.
Last year, the BJP's Sudhir Mumgantiwar, the culture minister in the first Mahayuti government—comprising the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—brought back the 'wagh nakh' from London's Victoria and Albert Museum to Maharashtra.
The 'wagh nakh' is said to have been used by Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji to kill the Bijapur Sultanate's general, Afzal Khan, in 1659.
During his trip to London last week, Shelar had a meeting with the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, after which he said in a statement, 'We had received Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's iconic 'wagh nakh' on a three-year loan. However, they will eventually have to be returned. Such situations should not arise in the future. Therefore, we discussed on a positive note, the possibility of obtaining other important artefacts from the Victoria and Albert Museum on a longer-term loan.'
The state culture department also pushed a proposal to get UNESCO World Heritage status for 12 forts built by Chhatrapati Shivaji, which came through in July this year.
On Sunday, Minister Shelar commemorated Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's escape from Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's captivity by performing a ritual at the equestrian statue in front of Agra's Red Fort with water collected from 101 forts across Maharashtra.
Shelar also said that the Maharashtra government will henceforth commemorate this day as 'Shivchaturya din' and allocate funds for the celebration.
Similarly, the state tourism department plans to build memorials of Chhatrapati Shivaji outside Maharashtra as well by acquiring sites significant in the history of the Maratha empire across different states. Its first attempt is in Agra in Uttar Pradesh, where it is trying to acquire the land where Chhatrapati Shivaji was kept under house arrest by Aurangzeb before his escape.
The state government has also been trying to get Chhatrapati Shivaji's ceremonial 'Jagdamba sword', currently housed in St. James' Palace in London, back to Maharashtra.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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