History Retold Afzal Khan Is a Villain Maharashtra Loves to Hate, but History Tells a More Complex Story
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
25-10-2014, PAGE 2. History retold Afzal Khan is a villain Maharashtra loves to hate, but history tells a more complex story ays before Maharashtra went to spired directly by the Goddess Bhavani. Each once I had zoned out the boisterous families, a polls on October 15, the 25-year-old town in Maharashtra will have an equestrian beautiful sight greeted me: the lush monsoon alliance between the BJP and Shiv Shivaji statue in its main square, and in the green valley stretched out for miles below, Sena came to an end. Even before capital city of Mumbai, its airport, its largest dotted with the canary-yellow sonki flowers. If Dthe results confirmed victory for the BJP in the train station, largest park and principal mu- you were at this place on November 8, 1659 state, it was clear that the break-up was going seum, are all named after the Chhatrapati . however, a more sinister sight would have pre- to hit the Shiv Sena hard. So bitter was Sena Given the popularity of Shiv- sented itself. In the Radtondi chief Uddhav Thackeray that he equated Na- aji, it is not surprising that his pass below, you would have rendra Modi and members of his party to the history is often pressed into ser- watched the massive Bijapuri ar- army of 17th-century Bijapuri general Afzal vice whenever it is convenient my rumble by, headed to Pratap- Khan. Now, if you are acquainted with Maha- for politicians. So, way back in Given the popularity garh fort where Shivaji was. rashtra, you’d know that Afzal Khan is a villain the ’50s, Jawaharlal Nehru had of Shivaji, it is not For a long time, the Bijapur the state loves to hate. As the war of words es- to actually apologise for making surprising that his Sultanate — Deccan’s most pow- calated during campaigning, I embarked on a some allegedly disparaging re- history is often erful state — had ignored Shivaji, journey to Pratapgarh — the site of the legend- marks about Shivaji in his The pressed into service even as his men captured one Bi- ary encounter between Shivaji and Afzal Khan Discovery of Indiaand when polit- japuri fort after another in the Sa- — to revisit a tale that continues to rear its con- ical cartoonist Bal Thackeray hyadri hills. With Bijapur mired tentious head in every election. wanted a name for his new chau- in internal strife and conflict In 1659, despite being outnumbered and vinist party, he simply called it with a belligerent Aurangzeb, outgunned by Afzal Khan’s men, Shivaji led his ‘Shivaji’s army’. This tradition lives on till to- Shivaji had a free run. Finally, in 1659, the sul- army to victory over the troops of the Bijapur day and more than three centuries after his tanate dispatched one ots top generals, Afzal Sultanate, in what came to be known as the death, Shivaji is an active part of Maharash- Khan, to confront Shivaji. A point of view Battle of Pratapgarh. This triumph marks the trian politics. En route to Pratapgarh, Khan’s army adopt- On November 8, 1659, beginnings of the Maratha Empire. Synony- ed an unexpected policy ontimidation, de- the mighty Bijapuri mous with Marathi pride since then, Shivaji The battle site stroying several Hindu temples in their path, army headed to became a household name. Every school child The town closest to Pratapgarh fort today is including the famous Vithoba temple in Pand- Pratapgarh Fort, in the state learns of his heroic exploits and Mahabaleshwar. Situated on a plateau, the co- harpur. Historian Stewart Gordon writes that where Shivaji and his men were hiding Maharashtrian bakhars (traditional histories) lonial-era hill-station has various ‘points’ that “this behaviour was unprecedented for a Bija- shashi ashiwal treat Shivaji as a quasi-divine figure, often in- overlook the valley below. At Bombay Point, puri force,” given the kingdom’s past syncre- SOURCE: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/blink/know/history-retold/article6530010.ece tism. Not only was this seen as an unconscionable act, but it was highly impru- dent as it alienated most of Bijapur’s civil and military bureaucracy — the Marathi Brahmins and Marathas. Even as a strategy to force Shiv- aji’s hand, it failed. He knew his forces would be no match for Bijapur’s well-equipped army on the plains and, wisely, retreated to the near- impenetrable hill fort of Pratapgarh. However, time was running out for both ar- mies. Forced to wait at the foothills of the Sa- hyadri in the district of Wai, Khan’s massive army needed to be fed. Lodged inside the fort, Shivaji’s men too were grappling with limited food supplies. So, Khan sent his envoy Krishna- ji Bhaskar to promise Shivaji that if he surren- dered, he would be treated with respect and rewarded. The future Chhatrapati agreed to meet Afzal Khan, but on his terms — at the base of the fort, deep in the ghats. In this terrain, Bi- japur’s heavy artillery would be useless and Shivaji’s men, who knew the Jawali forests around Pratapgarh intimately, would have a tactical advantage. by the graves of soldiers who had fallen in the ans such as Khafi Khan claim Shivaji was the Battle of Pratapgarh. Ramzaan, I discover, is a first to attack. No matter the means, the end The encounter repository of the region’s history, rattling result was that Shivaji ended up killing Afzal Greatly underestimating Shivaji, Khan accept- away names of the sultans of Bijapur, Afzal Khan. Immediately after, Shivaji’s forces at- ed the offer. He moved his army to the village Khan’s entourage and dates of battles with tacked the unsuspecting Bijapur army in Par. of Par, a few miles short of the fort. Par is today ease. As it turns out, he also claims to be the de- In the ensuing Battle of Pratapgarh, victory a small hamlet of about 30 shingle-roofed scendant of one of Amir Shah’s aides. “I am the came swiftly for Shivaji — one of many instanc- shacks and one tiny convenience store. When I 15th generation in the family to act as caretak- es when his intelligence combined with his re- arrived at noon, the shop attendant was quiet- er of the tomb,” he says, a note of pride creep- markable personal bravery resulted in an ly dozing. Interrupting his afternoon siesta, I ing into his voice. improbable win. ask him about Afzal Khan. “There is an old ma- Back in 1659, on November 10, Khan and Khan was buried at the base of the fort and, zaar from that period. Talk to the caretaker, Shivaji met in private, unarmed, at the base of chivalrously, Shivaji even had a tomb con- Ramzaan,” he says. In gratitude, I bought a bag the fort to discuss the terms of the Maratha’s structed for his fallen opponent. Time passed, of chips. surrender. What followed next is a Rashomon- and the tomb became a local shrine for the ar- Ramzaan is 70. His wife and he are the only like tale that depends greatly on the source. In ea’s Muslims. two Muslims left in the village. The mazaar, he the Marathi bakhars, the tale goes that Khan informs me, is the tomb of Amir Shah Bijapuri, resorted to treachery, attacking Shivaji with a In the name of Khan Afzal Khan’s maternal uncle. Shah had died kataar (dagger) hidden on his person. Parry- In 2004, all this came to a grinding halt when, the day the Bijapuri army had moved in to Par. ing his blow, Shivaji hit back, disembowelling right before the general elections, the Vishwa While nothing remains of the original tomb, Khan with a concealed weapon of his own — a Hindu Parishad made an issue of the tomb’s which had collapsed 50 years ago, a new, mod- set of tiger claws. In the Persian accounts of existence. They threatened to demolish the ern structure has taken its place, surrounded the Mughals and Bijapuris however, histori- structure. The place was rife with tension and “for months, no tourists came to Pratapgarh,” says Tanaji, my guide. Bowing to pressure from political parties, the police closed down the tomb for visitors and it remains shut to this day. Even now, a garrison of nearly 30 po- licemen stand guard outside Khan’s tomb. I- ronically, 10 years after the VHP’s call for the demolition of Afzal Khan’s tomb, it is the sister outfit — the BJP — that is being compared to the Bijapuri general. Both inci- TenQ years after the dents indicate how history has VHP’s call for the been twisted to conform to demolition of Afzal modern politics. Once distort- Khan’s tomb, its sister ed as a Hindu versus Muslim outfit, the BJP, is being battle, the Battle of Pratapgarh compared to the now is being presented as a Bijapuri general Maharashtrian vs non-Maha- rashtrian one. Both the armies, Bijapur’s and Shivaji’s, were R made up of a mixture of faiths, as was the norm in the Deccan at the time. Shivaji’s closest confidant was a Muslim called Nur Khan Beg; his line of de- fence began with Sidi Ibrahim; Afzal Khan’s most trusted aide, Krishnaji Bhaskar, was a Ma- rathi Brahmin. And both opposing armies consisted primarily of Marathi-speaking Ma- The monuments rathas. Religious or linguistic identity was not men (above) In 2004, equated with political loyalty as is often imag- the VHP called for the ined these days. destruction of Afzal Our politicians may not care much for his- Khan’s tomb.