Afzal Khan

In news– Recently, the Supreme Court of India has sought reports from the district administration of Satara district in Maharashtra, on the demolition drive conducted around the tomb of Afzal Khan, a 17th-century commander of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur.

History of Afzal Khan-

Afzal Khan was a general who served the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur Sultanate in India.
He played an important role in the southern expansion of the Bijapur Sultanate by subjugating the Nayaka chiefs who had taken control of the former Vijayanagara territory.
In 1659, the Bijapur government sent Afzal Khan to subjugate Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a former vassal who had started acting independently.
He was killed at a truce negotiation meeting with Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and his army was defeated at the Battle of Pratapgad.

Bagh nakh (or wagh nakh) was the weapon used by Shivaji against Afzal Khan.

The various sources differ regarding who killed Afzal Khan, and how.
The Hazrat Mohammad Afzal Khan Memorial Society, which has looked after the tomb since the 1950s, moved the Supreme Court through advocate Nizam Pash, seeking protection for the monument.
As per Maratha sources, Khan’s remains were buried at the fort and a tomb was constructed on Shivajij’s orders.
“It was indeed a graceful act on the part of Shivaji to have erected a tomb over the remains of Afzui Khan and built a tower in his honour, which is still known by the name ‘Afzul Buruj’ at Pratapgarh.
The sword of Afzul Khan was preserved as a valued trophy in the armoury of Shivaji and his descendants.

The Adil Shahi Dynasty-

It was a Shia,and later Sunni Muslim,dynasty founded by Yusuf Adil Shah, that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur, centred on present-day Vijayapur district, Karnataka from 1489 to 1686.
Bijapur had been a province of the Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1518), before its political decline in the last quarter of the 15th century and eventual break-up in 1518.
The Bijapur Sultanate was absorbed into the Mughal Empire on 12 September 1686, after its conquest by the Emperor Aurangzeb.
The founder of the dynasty, Yusuf Adil Shah (1490–1510), was appointed Bahmani governor of the province, before creating a de facto independent Bijapur state.
Yusuf and his son, Ismail, generally used the title Adil Khan. ‘Khan’, meaning ‘Chief’ in various Central Asian cultures and adopted in Persian, conferred a lower status than ‘Shah’, indicating royal rank.
Only with the rule of Yusuf’s grandson, Ibrahim Adil Shah I (1534–1558), did the title of Adil Shah come into common use.
Even then, Bijapur rulers recognized Safavid Persian suzerainty over their realm.
After constant wars, a coalition of Bijapur with the three other Muslim Deccan states—Golconda, Bidar, and Ahmadnagar—overthrew the Hindu Vijayanagar empire at the Battle of Talikota in 1565.
The dynasty’s greatest period was during the reign of Ibrāhīm ʿĀdil Shah II (1579–1626), who extended his frontier as far south as Mysore and was a skillful administrator and a generous patron of the arts.
He reverted to the Sunni form of Islam but remained tolerant of other religions, including Christianity.
Thereafter, increasing weakness permitted Mughal encroachment and the successful revolt of the Maratha king Shivaji, who killed the Bijapur general Afzal Khan and scattered his army.
The dynasty left a tradition of cosmopolitan culture and artistic patronage whose architectural remains are to be seen in the capital city of Bijapur.