Nar Veer Shiva Kashid

Shiva Kaashid was the personal barber to Shivaji, but that is not the motivation for this biography. He was a volunteer who saved Shivaji Raja and their jointly shared vision of a Hindavi Swarajya: a self-governing nation of people whose loyalties were to the land, the ideology of India and the rule of law.Recall that Raja Shivaji was stuck on the Panhala fort because of a well-planned and executed siege of that fort by the 40,000-strong army of General Siddi Jowhar. All attempts to break that siege from outside had failed. Torrential rains in the monsoon season did not help either as Siddi Jowhar had come prepared for just such an eventuality with waterproof tents. Monsoon would not last forever either and then Jowhar and his army could really push to seize the fort reinforced with English cannon. In short, Shivaji must somehow escape the siege of Panhala before the end of monsoon or else face an almost certain defeat. That would have been the end of himself and his vision of Hindavi Swaraj.

 

So, once Bahirji Naik discovered a relatively safe passage out of the siege, Shivaji sent his diplomat to visit General Siddi Jowhar and established the date for a summit meeting that he had no intention of keeping. Shivaji had asked Baji Prabhu Deshpande, a very capable captain in his army to lead him out of the siege under the cover of darkness and cacophony of rain and wind. There was a good chance that this attempt would succeed due to the natural laxity in the opposing army due to the impending summit meeting. Nonetheless, successful escape from Panhala with only 500 soldiers was not a certainty. What if that attempt failed? At this stage in the planning process, Shiva Kashid stepped forward to save his leader and the vision of an independent nation. Shiva Kaashid did resemble Shivaji in facial features as well as the general build. If he were to dress up like the real Shivaji, it would be difficult though not impossible to distinguish one from the other at least for a while. Reluctantly, Shivaji Raja accepted this plan though he did not like the concept of possibly sacrificing someone else for his own safety.

 

After much discussion, two different palanquins were prepared: one for Shivaji Raja and another for Shiva Kaashid. Both left the fort, along with 500 soldiers under the guidance of Captain Baji Prabhu Deshpande. Everything proceeded as per plan for a while. However, just as Shivaji and his soldiers were reaching the outskirts of the siege, it became clear that some of Jowhars soldiers had become suspicious and would attempt to follow the escaping army as soon as they had the necessary reinforcements. There was no time to waste.

 

 This was the eventuality for which Shiva Kashid had volunteered. As per the original plan, his palanquin, guarded by a few soldiers, was run via the main road to VishalGad while Shivaji Raja and the rest of his army went by a side road that very few knew about. When Siddi Jowhars son-in-law followed with his 2,000 strong army, eventually they captured Shiva Kaashids palanquin thinking that they had captured real Shivaji and brought him back to Siddi Jowhar. After a while, it became clear that Shiva Kaashid was not the real Shivaji but by that time, Shivaj is soldiers had acquired a very essential lead. Though history does not seem to know for sure, it is very likely that Shiva Kaashid was killed.

The origins of this battle were laid a little over six months before, when Shivaji killed Afzal Khan at Pratapgad on the 10th of November in 1659. This was then followed by a very short battle a month later between Shivaji and Rustom-e-Jaman at Kolhapur on December 28, 1659. Shivaji, after this victory took over Panhala from Ali Adil Shah II, the fifth king of the Adil Shahi sultanate of Bijapur (Bijapur was one of the five Deccan sultanates including Ahmednagar, Bidar, Berar, and Golconda). Shivaji then continued spreading his influence over the region. This obviously caused distress to Ali Adil Shah II who was all set to march to Panhala. However, Siddi Johar who had defied the Shah and taken over the jagir Kurnool, offered a deal to Ali Adil Shah II to recognise his control over Kurnool in return for laying the siege at Panhala. The Shah agreed, and also gave him the title of Salabat Jung. Siddi Johar was assisted by Siddi Masud and Fazal Khan (Afzal Khan’s son). The seige was laid on March 2, 1660 with a force of fifteen thousand men.

The siege continued for six months into the month of July in 1660. The Adilshahi army cut of all supplies to the fort and made it increasingly difficult for Shivaji to continue resisting the siege. Sensing the trap, Shivaji clandestinely communicated with Siddi Johar and requested an alliance with him and a safe passage. Siddi, saw this as an opportunity to carve out a separate empire of his own with Shivaji and agreed to meet him. They met at at midnight and agreed to cooperate. Shivaji returned to the fort and the seige continued as before.

Fazal Khan, however, was adamant on taking revenge for the death of his father, Afzal Khan, at Pratapgad. He maintained a close watch on the movements of Shivaji and continued the seige in all seriousness. However, Panhala is one of the largest forst in the Sahydri Mountain Range. Fifteen thousand men were too less to take on a fort of that size. Fazal Khan, instead, chose to atatck Pavangad, a nearby fort and avoided a frontal attack. He used British guns and began shelling Pavangad. The commander of Pavangad requested for relief from Panhala. Shivaji know knew that if Pavangad fell, supplies to Panhala would be cut and would be starved.

Two teams left Panhala on the night of July 13, 1660. Shivaji and his commanders took a side road to Vishalgad, about 70 kilometres away from Panhala, while Shiva Kashid, a barber who had a strong resemblence to Shivaji, led the other team on the main road to Vishalgad, impersonating Shivaji. When news reached Fazal Khan’s camp, they captured the second team and brought them back to base. The imposter was however recognised and beheaded and Fazal Khan chased Shivaji through the night to Vishalgad.