On Wednesday, 19th October 2022, the Gujarat High Court directed that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) make a decision about a representation made by a minority organization challenging the renaming of a residential colony from “Afzal Khan No Tekro” to “Shivaji No Tekro” in Ahmedabad. On October 14, the AMC’s town planning committee put up a proposal to alter the name to “Shivaji No Tekro” and sent it to the Standing Committee for approval. The committee will hold a meeting on Thursday.
However, Ahmedabad Sunni Muslim Waqf Committee objected to the name change of the area in a letter to AMC, claiming that the area exists for the last 400–500 years. The petitioner Waqf is the owner of the 3,116 sq. m. property in Sarangpur that is located opposite the New Cloth Market. Additionally, the site includes a graveyard, a Pir Afzal Khan mosque, and a Pir Afzal Khan “dargah.” According to the Waqf petition, the mosque and “dargah” have important historical importance and were built 400–500 years ago.
Additionally, it was said that there are hutments and buildings bordering the mosque and “dargah” that belong to both the Muslim and Hindu populations, some of whom are encroachers and others being Waqf tenants. The petition claimed that the land owned by the Waqf is well-known as “Afzal Khan No Tekro” for a long time. The plea claimed that without providing it with a hearing chance, the AMC committee made a decision to rename the locality that was illegitimate and unconstitutional.
However, the petitioner stated at the court hearing that the issue raised in the petition may be resolved if the corporation decides in accordance with its representation after taking into account all relevant factors. Ultimately, the court rejected the request and ordered the AMC to make a quick decision about the Waqf committee’s argument within a week.
Is this the same Afzal Khan whom Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj killed?
However, it is not ascertained in the reports if the Pir Afzal Khan quoted in the petition is the same as the one killed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or if some self-identified Sufi saint has mushroomed along with his Mazar. Also, the Waqf board is claiming that the mosque on the site dates back almost 500 years which is before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in time. But, apparently, the objection to the name ‘Shivaji no Tekro’ is only because the Hindu king had killed Adilshaha’s commander Afzal Khan with the iconic weapon of hand combat – the claws on 10th November 1659.
This Afzal Khan never visited Ahmedabad. However, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj raided Surat – then governed indirectly by the Mughals – twice to raise funds for the Hindu Swarajya. Naming some areas in Ahmedabad after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is at least worth considering as the King foresaw the expansion of the Swarajya, but the tyrant Afzal Khan never visited Ahmedabad. For all practical purposes, Afzal Khan has nothing to do with Indian culture and civilization in general and Gujarat and Ahmedabad in particular.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj killed ‘an Afzal Khan’ in the battle of Pratapgad
On 10th November 1659, the Battle of Pratapgad was fought between the forces of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Adilshahi general Afzal Khan, near the town of Satara, Maharashtra, where the Marathas emerged victorious despite the numbers not being in their favor. It led to the eventual establishment of the glorious Maratha empire. In 1657, Aurangzeb, the Mughal leader with a heart of gold as described by so-called liberals, decided to leave the Deccan and march northward. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in his bid to expand his Maratha empire, started winning over Konkan and other Adilshahi kingdoms.
Afzal Khan, the commander of the Adilshahi dynasty in Bijapur Sultanate, presently in Karnataka, took it upon himself to stop the forces of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He had earlier killed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s brother, Sambhaji Shahaji Bhosale, through treachery when he was just 33. Khan started destroying temples (not surprising). Khan’s strategy was to bring Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in open in the Deccan plains against the rocky plateau where Shivaji had an advantage, and overpower him since they outnumbered the Marathas.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj sent out an emissary to Khan that he did not want to fight and wanted peace. Khan and Shivaji met on the foothills of Pratapgad. They had decided to meet unarmed with just 10 bodyguards each, who would stay within an arrow’s distance from the two men. A towering figure, Khan hugged Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, but in a treacherous move, tried to kill him with a sword. However, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had come armed as well and the force was repelled by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s armor which was underneath his clothes. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who had concealed a bagh nakh (curved blades fixed to a crossbar just like claws) and disemboweled Khan when they embraced in the tent.
Hand-to-hand combat ensued in which the Marathas, though having been outnumbered by Adilshahi forces, emerged victorious. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was attacked by Sayyed Banda, Afzal’s bodyguard, but his trusted bodyguard Jiva Mahala came to the rescue, cutting him down, and saving Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s life. Such is the story of the valor and courage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that the Hindu king is respected across India. No wonder the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation chose his name over that of Afzal Khan to name a residential colony in the city.
