Chhatrapati Shivaji met Afzal Khan, a famous Pathan army general, in a specially erected beautiful shamiana for peace talks. Before they sat down to talk they greeted each other with the customary hug. It was during this embrace that Afzal Khan drew his dagger and tried to stab Shivaji in the back but the Maratha warrior had come fully prepared and with one swift blow tore open his aggressor’s belly. Shivaji fought many wars of independence against foreign Islamic rule and managed to break its back.