This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography
This article is within the scope of WikiProject India, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of India-related topics. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page.IndiaWikipedia:WikiProject IndiaTemplate:WikiProject IndiaIndia
This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.Military historyWikipedia:WikiProject Military historyTemplate:WikiProject Military historymilitary history
The contentious topics procedure applies to this article. This article is related to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, which is a contentious topic. Furthermore, the following rules apply when editing this article:
You must be logged-in to an extended confirmed account (granted automatically to accounts with 500 edits and an age of 30 days)
Q: Why can I not add "Shri", "Chhatrapati", or "Maharaj" to Sambhaji's name?
A: As per WP:Honorifics and WP:Commonname, in Wikipedia, we refer to people by their commonly used name in the cited academic sources. We do not include titles or Honorifics unless they are commonly used in the cited sources (Shambaji does not fall in this category). Please note Charles III, where he is referred to as "Charles" throughout, not "King Charles" nor "His Royal Highness" or whatnot. We clearly note Sambhaji's titles in the article, we just don't repeat them each time his name is written.
Q: Why does it say "addiction to sensual pleasures"?
A: That is exactly what the cited sources say, and other sources note allegations that he behaved inappropriately with a Brahmin woman, or may have committed some other offense. Suffice to say, for whatever reason, Shivaji confined him to Panhala. If you know of an alternate theory for that confinement, and have a reliable source, you can add that as an alternative theory, but you cannot simply remove that explanation unless you have very strong evidence that such story is obsolete according to modern scholars.
Q: I believe the article's sources are biased against Sambhaji, why are they being used?
A: Assertions of bias must be backed up by references to reliable sources saying as much, or other highly compelling policy-based arguments. Simply asserting that it is biased is not sufficient to convince other editors.
Purnima Sah (February 19, 2025). "Remove objectional reference about Sambhaji Maharaj from Wikipedia: Fadnavis". The Hindu. Retrieved February 19, 2025. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday (February 18, 2025) took a serious note on the objectional and derogatory content and references about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj on Wikipedia and directed the State cyber police to approach the open-source free online encyclopedia to get them removed.
"4 Wikipedia editors booked over factual inaccuracies about Chhatrapati Sambhaji". Hindustan Times. February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025. The Maharashtra Cyber Cell has registered a case against at least four Wikipedia editors for not taking down "objectionable" content on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj from the open-source encyclopedia, PTI reported on Friday, citing officials.
Sharveya Parasnis (February 19, 2025). "Fadnavis Targets Wikipedia Over Alleged Distorted History of Chhatrapati Sambhaji". MediaNama. Retrieved February 21, 2025. Fadnavis did not specify the exact content he found objectionable. However, a quick review through the Wikipedia page reveals statements that may have contributed to the controversy. The second paragraph states that Sambhaji was confined at Panhala Fort by his father, allegedly due to his addiction to sensual pleasures or for violating a Brahmin woman. It also stated that Sambhaji defected to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and fought against his own father.
Divyesh Singh (February 21, 2025). "Case against 4 Wikipedia editors for not removing content on Sambhaji Maharaj". India Today. Retrieved February 21, 2025. The Cyber Cell of Maharashtra Police has lodged a case against 4–5 editors of Wikipedia for failing to take down controversial content on Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, sources said. Sources said 4 to 5 individuals were involved in editing and spreading disinformation about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj on Wikipedia, which could lead to a law and order situation.
"FIR against person who made 'derogatory edits' to Chhatrapati Sambhaji profile on Wikipedia". The Indian Express. February 22, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2025. Maharashtra cyber police have registered an FIR against a person who allegedly edited the profile of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj on Wikipedia and added content to it. The police have registered an FIR against the user Ratnahastin, who, as per the complaint, added 'derogatory' content to the profile.
The controversy surrounding this article seems to have died down now, so hopefully cooler heads can prevail. The fact that we have very few good recent sources that discuss the life of Sambhaji (in the English language anyway, though popular histories of Sambhaji in Indian languages are unlikely to be any better), is obviously a headache for actually improving this article. It still looks like Gajanan Mehendale's Shivaji: His Life and Times is one of the best recent sources on the topic, even if it doesn't directly focus on Sambhaji. Hemiauchenia (talk) 03:11, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Unlikely. Indian judicial processes tend to drag on—often testing our patience. 😄
Justice comes slowly, sometimes painfully, but when it does, it arrives with certainty and vengence."
Mehendale selectively used information to support particular conclusions. Mehendale pretends to be objective but some of his claims are tenuous at best. He just cherry-picks things to suit his agenda. Quite unreliable Xhivetozaragrivropa (talk) 10:42, 6 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
While they don't name this article specifically, considering this is the one the police previously released statements about, this news article is probably related to this article. -- Cdjp1 (talk) 22:58, 13 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
_without_national_boundaries.svg)
