Shivaji beheads Christian missionaries for persecuting Hindus

The following is a scan of page 119 from a book titled “English records on Shivaji (1659-1682)” published in 1931:

The letter of interest dated “30th November 1667” at the top of the scanned page reads thus:

“Sevagee, deeply resenting this rigour, invaded the precincts of Bardese, not farre distant from Goa, and there cutt off the heads of four Padres that refused to turne Moretto’s [Marathas-Hindus] of his owne pereuasion, they having councelled the destruction of all that were not opinionated as themselves; which so terrifyed the Vice Rey that he was forced to revoke his fierce and severe edict. He [Shivaji] burnt and destroyed all the country, and carried away 150 lack of pagodaes. [E. F. India 1665-1667 p. 286]”

Available online at: http://library.du.ac.in/dspace/bitstream/1/7033/7/Ch03-English%20Record%20On%20Shivaji%20vol-1%282%29.pdf

But do note the fact that they were given the chance of becoming Hindus and it was only upon their refusal that they were beheaded.

To understand this act of Shivaji one must know the background which is summarized thus in a couple of books on Maratha history:

“In 1667 ” he cut off the heads of four padres ! that refused to turn Marathas of his own persuasion, they having counselled the destruction of all that were opinionated as themselves; which so terrified the Viceroy that he was forced to revoke his fierce and severe edict. Shivaji burnt and destroyed all the country, and carried away 150 lack of pagodas/ 9 Thus he was not only ready to take back apostates, but even persons of other religions were welcome into Hinduism. (4) Shivaji issued a proclamation to the Hindus of Goa in 1668. An extract from it will reveal the intensity of his religious and patriotic sentiments and the means adopted by him to prevent conversion. Here is a small extract from the long document. ” Slaughter of the most revered cows by Yavanas and Mlechhas, destruction of our Hindu temples, disrespect of our all-honoured and all-pervading religion shown by these low people, violation of the most sacred chastity of our sisters and mothers brought about by these villains such horrible things happen constantly. . Does it become us who call ourselves Kshatriyas to silently see these acts like cowards, and to turn a deaf ear to them ? Alas ! Alas ! It is a most shameful thing that instead of striving restlessly till death for the uplift of our country which should be dear to us like our parents, we should be whiling away our time foolishly, tactlessly and indifferently even in the critical times like the present. What more deplorable thing can there be than the fact that we, with our own hands, should destroy our houses, our gods, our religion and culture by adopting a fawning attitude towards the Mlechhas, only for the sake of a little livelihood ? ” *

(5) Here is some English evidence on the religious policy of Shivaji towards the Portuguese. Both the parties used to ” daily quarrel, the cheifest cause of his hatred to them being for forcing orphans of his caste to turn Roman Catholics.”

(6) The Captain of Bassien turned against the Jesuits for bringing troubles on the state by their proselytizing zeal, and even went to the length of burning their houses. Thus it is clear that a very great pressure was brought by Shivaji on the Portuguese government for stopping conversion.*”

Source: Shivaji The Great by Bal Krishna, pg’s. 178-179, Available online at: http://www.archive.org/details/shivajithegreat035466mbp

“The Portuguese also ( though alone of all Western peoples who had come to India ) often resorted to religious oppression through fanaticism, like Aurangjeb, and we find from a Goa letter1, dated 30th November 1667, that the then Governor of Goa had ordered the expulsion of inhabitants who did not belong to the Roman Catholic faith and that four Padres had even advised that the Hindus should be massacred. Shivaji in his invasion of Bardesh caught hold of these Padres and on their refusing to become Hindus executed them. The Governor of Goa2 thereupon found it necessary to cancel his order.”

Source: Shivaji The Founder Of Maratha Swaraj by C V Vaidya, pg. 208, Available online at: http://www.archive.org/details/shivajithefounde035304mbp

The full English factory letter can be seen in “The English factories in India, 1665-1667: Volume 12” by Sir William Foster, pg. 286.

There are many “eminent (communist) historians” in India who to this day try to reduce Shivaji to one of those local rebels whose only aim was plunder and nothing else because it disturbs their narrative of peaceful Islamic and Christian rule in India. A mere plunderer would never go to the lengths Shivaji went to put an end to forcible conversions of Hindus at the hands of Christians and Muslims.

A couple of other well known actions of Shivaji are relevant here, these may not be widely known outside Maharashtra so I will refer to them here. Netaji Palkar one of Shivaji’s ablest commanders (sometimes referred to as the second Shivaji) was captured and forcibly converted by Aurangzeb who sent him Northwest to suppress the rebellious Pathans where he spent many years, then he was sent to the Deccan again as part of a Mughal army to suppress Shivaji. Needless to say Netaji never forget his true loyalties and escaped as soon as he could and joined Shivaji, who upon his wish reconverted him and made sure he was admitted back honorably among the Hindus. Another well known incident is that of Balaji Nimbalkar his brother-in-law through his first wife Sai Bai who was forcibly converted to Islam by the Bijapuri Sultanate, at the personal initiative of Mata Jijabai and Shivaji he was also reconverted and to show his full acceptance back into Hindu society Shivaji married one of his own daughters to the son of Balaji.

It is for this reason that Kaviraj Bhushan a contemporary poet from Bundelkhand said this of Shivaji in Braj Bhasha (not in Marathi as today’s Marathi chauvunists like Raj Thackeray who use Shivaji’s name would want):

“देवल गिरावते फिरावते निसान अली ऐसे डूबे राव राने सबी गये लबकी
गौरागनपति आप औरन को देत ताप आप के मकान सब मारि गये दबकी
पीरा पयगम्बरा दिगम्बरा दिखाई देत सिद्ध की सिधाई गई रही बात रबकी
कासिहू ते कला जाती मथुरा मसीद होती सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी

सांच को न मानै देवीदेवता न जानै अरु ऐसी उर आनै मैं कहत बात जबकी
और पातसाहन के हुती चाह हिन्दुन की अकबर साहजहां कहै साखि तबकी
बब्बर के तिब्बर हुमायूं हद्द बान्धि गये दो मैं एक करीना कुरान बेद ढबकी
कासिहू की कला जाती मथुरा मसीद होती सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी

कुम्भकर्न असुर औतारी अवरंगज़ेब कीन्ही कत्ल मथुरा दोहाई फेरी रबकी
खोदि डारे देवी देव सहर मोहल्ला बांके लाखन तुरुक कीन्हे छूट गई तबकी
भूषण भनत भाग्यो कासीपति बिस्वनाथ और कौन गिनती मै भूली गति भव की
चारौ वर्ण धर्म छोडि कलमा नेवाज पढि सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी

When temples were demolished by those marching under nishAn-i-alI [1], rAvals-rANA-s had been tamed and every Hindu intimidated
When foresaken by gaura-gaNapatau themselves, the Hindus becoming timid were afraid even to come out from their homes
When renouncing their siddhi, siddha-s and digambara-s were happy to become pIra and paigambara, and talk was heard only of ‘raba’
kAshI was losing its kalA, mathurA becoming a masjid, and everyone was about to lose his foreskin, had shivAjI not been born!

All hearts were deluded, and faith in deities evaporated, such were the days that I speak of
Akbar the earlier pAtisAh had shown regard for the Hindus, even shAhajahAn will bear witness to it
The grandson of bAbur[2], and also humAyUn, had follwed the policy of not allowing the creed of Qoran to consume up the sacred religion of the veda-s
But now? kAshI was losing its kalA, mathurA becoming a masjid, and all were about to lose their foreskin, had shivAjI not happened!

Awrangzib, the very devil incarnated, the perpetrator of the genocide of mathurA in name of ‘Rab’
When he was uprooting abodes of devI-s and deva-s, and converting millions upon millions to mahomedanism across the cities and mohalla-s, have you forgotten that day?
bhUShana had thought that even mahAdeva, the Lord of kAshI, had fled away renouncing the world to its own, counts who else!
All four varNa-s were about to renounce dharma to read kalamA and do namAz and everyone was ready to lose his foreskin, had shivAjI not happened right then, that is!

Notes:
[1]nishAn-i-alI, also known as the nishAn-i-haydar, is today the highest award of military honour in terrorist country.
[2]bhUShaNa uses the epithet ‘babbara ke tibbara’, we think for Akbar. ‘tibbar’ can be from trivara, and might be used for ‘third one’, ‘third time’, ‘third generation’, or grandson.

http://bharatendu.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/bhushana-sivaji-na-hoto-tau-sunnati-hota-sabaki”

In Roman script the famous line of Bhushan reads: kAshI kI kalA jAtI mathura masId hoti sivAjI na hoto tau sunnati hota sabakI.

To these communist “historians” and assorted buffoons the following words of the late Shri Sita Ram Goel apply well:

“Shivaji first. It is sheer mischief to suggest that Shivaji is glorified in Maharashtra alone. The fortunate fact is that he is honoured by every Hindu worth his name, wherever that Hindu may reside in the length and breadth of India. Rabindranath Tagore, who was not a Maharashtrian, paid his homage to Shivaji in a long poem pulsating with the great poet’s image of a Hindu hero. Many more poems and dramas and novels about Shivaji’s chivalry and heroism are to be found in all Indian languages. It is, therefore, presumptuous on the part of some very small people to lay down that Shivaji shall not be overglorified. The fact is that he cannot be overglorified, such is the majesty of his character and role. The historian who will do full justice to the personality of Shivaji as well as to his role in Indian history is yet to be born. Some puny politicians pretending to be historians are trying to cut Shivaji to their own size. They are like street urchins spitting at the sun.”

Source: THE STORY OF ISLAMIC IMPERIALISM IN INDIA by Sita Ram Goel, Available online at: http://www.voiceofdharma.com/books/siii/ch2.htm & http://www.voiceofdharma.com/books/siii/