Mumbai: The birth date of Chhatrapati Shivaji is still a matter of dispute. The government observes a public holiday on February 19, the day in 1630 in the universal Gregorian calendar that corresponds with the third day of the Krishna paksha or dark fortnight of Phalgun month in the year 1551 of the Shaka calendar. However, many Maharashtrians will celebrate the anniversary on Monday, March 17, the day in 2025 that corresponds to the third day of Phalgun.
Historian Indrajit Sawant said that the dispute started in the late 19th and early 20th century when independence leader Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who popularised the Ganeshotsav festival to galvanise community participation in the freedom struggle, popularised the celebration of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s birthday for the same reasons. “Until then there were no historical documents that had recorded Chhatrapati Shivaji’s birthday. Lokmanya Tilak came across documents at the home of the descendants of Kanhoji Naik, an associate of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The manuscript said that he was born on the third day of Phalgun in Shakha 1551. In 1912 or 1913 Tilak said the birthday should be celebrated on February 19. Previously the day was believed to be the 2nd day of the shukla or bright fortnight in the month of Vaisakh in 1549 Shaka which was April 10, 1627,” said Sawant.
The dispute continued after independence and the Maharashtra government constituted a committee to research available documents to arrive at a date acceptable to everyone. The consultants included eminent historians like Babasaheb Purandare, academician Appasaheb Pawar, and Jayant Salgaonkar, historian, astrologer, and publisher of the popular almanac Kalnirnay. Pawar was of the opinion that till new data was available February 19 should be commemorated as the birthday, said Sawant.
However, many Maharashtrians, including members of the Shiv Sena prefer to celebrate the day according to Hindu tithi. The dispute over the date has often led to violence. In 2024, a professor in Raigad was assaulted and arrested for discussing the date on a social media group. The dispute over the date has turned political, said Sawant. Political groups are on opposite sides as far as the date is concerned. The Sambhaji Brigade, a Maratha group, accepts the official government date.
The Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena follow the Shaka date. Kalnirnay gives the choice between February 19 and the third day of Phalgun as the Maratha king’s birth anniversary.
