MUGHAL HISTORIAN PRAISED SHIVAJI

Praise from an enemy is considered to be the highest form of praise. Shivaji, the Maratha king, has been both eulogized and reviled by Khafi Khan, the official historian of his greatest enemy and adversary, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

In his historical work, Muntakhab-ul-Lubab, Khafi Khan has used various epithets for Shivaji including “a scheming rascal,” “an entrepreneur of rapine”, “a tyrant” and “a mere robber chief, equal in treachery and finesse only to the devil.”However he has also showered praise on his bete noire. He writes: "But he (Shivaji) made it a rule that whenever his followers went plundering, they should do no harm to the mosques, the Book of God, or the women of anyone. Whenever a copy of the sacred Quran came into his hands he treated it with respect and gave it to some of his Mussalman followers. When the women of any Hindu or Muhammadan were taken prisoner by his men, he watched over them until their relations came with a suitable ransom to buy their liberty.”

He writes in another place: “Shivaji had always striven to maintain the honor of the people in his territories…..and was careful to maintain the honor of women and children of Muhammadans when they fell into his hands. His injunctions upon this point were very strict, and anyone who disobeyed them received punishment.”

When Shivaji died in 1680, the same historian observed without mincing words “Kafir ba jahannam raft” or the infidel went to hell.