Question

(5) Which prevailing religious custom was defied by Shivaji Maharaj?
Ans.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Shivaji was a great warrior and king of Deccan, India. Many anti-Muslim historians of India have portrayed him as an anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic, and this concept was used by some politicians of India, especially from Maharashtra for their anti-Muslim propaganda.

But was Shivaji an anti-Muslim king? Surely not, because when we study the life of this great king, we find that many of his military officers and associates were staunch Muslims.The fact is that the king had appointed Muslims on the highest posts in many departments, including his Navy and Artillery. Moreover, many of his bodyguards were from Muslim community. These things clearly tell us that Shivaji was not an anti-Muslim king.

Shivaji’s war was against Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and Vijapur Sultan Adilshah. Although both these enemies of the king were Muslims, that does not mean that Shivaji was anti-Muslim. It is notable that the army of Aurangzeb which fought against Shivaji was mainly consisted of Rajput Hindus. On the other hand, the army of Adilshah which fought against king Shivaji consisted of mainly Deccan Hindus. Besides that, Aurangzeb and Adilshah, both were not friends, but the enemies of each other. Also, Shivaji was a close friend of Nizam, a Muslim Sultan of Hyderabad.

The great warrior Shivaji always respected Muslim saints. Yakut Baba, a Sufi Muslim saint was one of the king’s spiritual guides.

The king had ordered his Hindu soldiers, that Muslim women and children should not be maltreated, Mosques should be given a protection and if they find a copy of Kuran while the mission, they should handover it to their Muslim colleagues respectfully.

The king had many Hindu enemies and Muslim friends and vice versa. So the fact is that the war which the king fought was just a political war. It had nothing to do with religion. Shivaji was a secular king, but the biased historians wrote false history which lead India to communal wars and disputes between Hindus and Muslims in 20th Century.