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999			_c526581 _d526581
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100			_aHalladay, Andrew _953497
245			_aThe many swords of Shivaji: Searching for a weapon, finding a nation
260			_aModern Asian Studies
300			_a58(1), Jan, 2024: p.244-294
520			_aSince at least the nineteenth century, the Maratha warrior-king Shivaji (r. 1674–80) has served as a central symbol in Indian politics. This article interrogates his legacy through the lens of his famous sword, the Bhavani Talvar. At least three swords have been identified as this weapon since the nineteenth century; by analysing each of these claims in turn, I consider how the discourse around Shivaji’s sword(s) traces the evolving legacy of Shivaji himself. Interested less in the historical merits of these claims than in the socio-political work they perform, I seek to uncover why the last of these three, now in London, has become essentially synonymous with the Bhavani Talvar in the popular sphere. Ultimately, I attribute this preference to the object’s political resonance: supposedly given to the Prince of Wales by a descendant of Shivaji in 1875, the object has been a rallying cry for Indian politicians of diverse ideological persuasions, who, in demanding its return, have sought to position themselves as the heirs to Shivaji and the healers of a nation still ailing from colonial wounds.- Reproduced https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/many-swords-of-shivaji-searching-for-a-weapon-finding-a-nation/C0A9C587A343F7421D46850012A77F2A
773			_aModern Asian Studies
906			_aINDIA - HISTORY
942			_cAR