Netaji Palkar

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Netaji Palkar
Sarsenapati (Commander in Chief) of the Maratha Empire
Born	c. 1620 Khalapur (Raigad District, Maharashtra)
Died	c. 1681
Religion	Hindu (Muslim for a decade)

Netaji Palkar (1620–1681) was a Sardar Senapati or Sarnaubat (Commander-in-Chief) under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha empire.

Family history[]

Netaji Palkar was born in a small village, called Chouk in Khalapur, Maharashtra, India in a Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu family.^[1] Netaji's father was a major Jagirdar in Western Maharashtra under the Adil Shah.^[2]

Military career[]

Palkar was made Sarnaubat in the year 1657 after the death of Mankoji Dahatonde. During the period of the rise of Shivaji from 1645 to 1665, Netaji was given charge of many expeditions which he successfully completed. His greatest success was the campaign against the Adilshah of Bijapur Sultanate that followed the killing of Afzal Khan.^{[citation needed]} His standing among the local population was such that he was known as Prati Shivaji (image of Shivaji).^[3] He disturbed lot of area of Mughals till year 1665. As he did not inform about the actions of Jai Singh and Dilerkhan, Shivaji was upset on him. After the 1665 Treaty of Purandar between Jai Singh and Shivaji, Shivaji was forced to give up 23 forts to the Mughals and also fight against the Adilshah of Bijapur. During this period, Netaji Palkar defected to the Bijapur forces. It was the strategy of Shivaji so as to reduce his own military power as Aurangzeb wanted Shivaji to fight for him. Thus Shivaji strategised to defect Netaji Palkar to Adilshah of Bijapur. Therefore as expected by Shivaji, Mughals were unable to conquer Adilshah.^{[citation needed]}

After Shivaji's meeting with Aurangzeb at Agra, Netaji Palkar joined the service of Jaisingh. When Shivaji escaped from Agra, Mirza Raja fell out of favor of Aurangzeb. ^[4]

Capture by the Mughals, conversion to Islam and re-conversion to Hinduism[]

After Shivaji's escape from Agra, Aurangzeb, as a revenge, ordered Jai Singh to arrest Netaji Palkar. He was under arrest at Dharur fort for a few days. Also it is told that on the same fort Jijabai, Shivaji's mother, sent some money to Jaisingh when demanded by Shivaji to distribute sweets in Agra.^{[citation needed]} Netaji Palkar was then converted to Islam. His wives were thereafter brought to Delhi and also converted for him to remarry them in the Islamic way. Taking up the name of Muhammed Kuli Khan, Netaji Palkar was appointed as garrison commander of the Kandahar fort in Afghanistan.^{[citation needed]} He tried to escape but was traced and trapped at Lahore. Thereafter on the battlefields of Kandhar and Kabul, he fought for the Mughals against rebel Pathans. Thus he gained the good faith of Aurangzeb and was sent to the Deccan along with Commander Diler Khan to conquer Shivaji's territory.^{[citation needed]}

However, after entering Maharashtra, Netaji joined Shivaji's troops and went to Raigad. Thus, after a decade in Mughal captivity, Netaji turned up at the court of Shivaji, asking to be taken back into the Hindu fold. He was not only converted back to Hinduism but into his own community of CKP as well.^[5][1] He died in 1681.^{[citation needed]}

Military campaigns[]

Netaji led battles against the Adilshah at Panhala, Shahapur, Tikona and Vijapur (Bijapur) in 1660 and at Khatav, Mangalvedha, Phaltan, Taathvada, and Bijapur in 1665.^{[citation needed]}

References[]