Attack on Shahista Khan - The First Indian Surgical Strike

Purani Jeans

Aurangzeb decided to send one of his most able ministers- Shahista Khan to defeat Shivaji. Khan with a huge army of about a lakh soldiers, quickly seized Pune in January 1660. He destroyed many temples in and around Pune. He also captured the forts of Chakan, Kalyan and Konkan after heavy fighting with the Marathas. Shahista Khan had taken residence at Lal Mahal, Shivaji’s childhood home. This irked Shivaji like anything. Shahista Khan brutally ruled the region for more than 3 years while Shivaji patiently waited for the right opportunity. On 5th April 1663, the destiny presented one such golden opportunity to Shivaji. One of Shivaji’s spies in Khan’s army had obtained permission for a marriage procession to enter Pune. Shivaji and around 400 of his men entered Pune disguised as bridegroom’s procession members while others entered into small parties dressed as laborers and soldiers working under Khan. At midnight, the whole city was dark with light only at places where soldiers were stationed. Shivaji, who grew up in Laal Mahal, knew every nook and corner of the palace. With his forces quickly entered the palace by making a hole in the kitchen and on entering swiftly slayed the cooks. They then began to dig a hole in Khan’s bedroom, quickly but quietly. However, the noise awoke the maid-servants who quickly awoke Shahista Khan. Khan was unprepared for this sudden attack and on seeing Shivaji in his room tried to escape through the window. However, Shivaji was successful in cutting his forefingers with his sword before he could escape. Though Shahista Khan escaped, his son, Abdul Fatih Khan along with forty attendants were killed. Taking advantage of the confusion, Shivaji and his army fled Pune. Selected troops hidden outside Pune attracted the Mughal army with torches while Shivaji managed to escape to Singhgad via a different route. Shivaji’s night raid on Shahista Khan was probably one of the daredevil acts in medieval history, arguably the First Surgical Strike of India. If you like this episode please Like, Comment on our FB Page and share it.

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/puranijeans/message