Shivaji's iconic 'wagh nakh' weapon likely to be brought back from UK. Know more

livemint.com:

A weapon wielded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1659 will return to India in November this year. The ‘wagh nakh’ – an iron weapon shaped like tiger claws – was used by the Maratha leader to kill the Bijapur sultanate's general Afzal Khan. Designed to slash through skin and muscle, the small weapon is currently part of London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

“We are celebrating 350 years of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, so we've decided that the 'Wagh Nakh' taken to Britain should be brought back and the Shiv Bhakt of the country should get the chance to see it...It (Wagh Nakh) should become the stimulus to work for PM Modi and Amit Shah...We'll sign the MoU on October 3 and we'll bring back the 'Wagh Nakh' in November," said Maharashtra Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. The state Culture Minister also broached the possibility of the famed 'Jagdamba' sword of the 17th century Maratha warrior king being brought back soon from the UK. The wagh nakh is likely to be housed in south Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya upon its return.

The Victoria and Albert Museum listing claims that the famed weapon had belonged to East India company officer James Grant Duff. He had purportedly received it as a gift by the ‘Prime Minister of the Peshwa of the Marathas’. As per the museum description the blades are accompanied by a fitted case with the inscription dubbing it ‘The ‘Wagnuck’ of Sivajee With Which He Killed the Moghul General’.

The killing of Afzal Khan marks an important chapter in the annals of Maratha history. Superior in numbers, Khan's powerful army was defeated by the Marathas using guerrilla warfare. The legendary Maratha king killed Khan using a wagh nakh, a sharp iron made weapon shaped