Thanks Lew and Barry. These really are an interesting weapon and I'm glad you posted them Lew ,as it presented a great opportunity to learn a bit more on them. Actually, in one respect they are indeed intended as perhaps an assassins weapon as they are indeed easily concealable. It seems that there is little known on these before the event which 'put them on the map' as it were, the use of these bagh nakh by the Maratha emperor Shivaji when he killed the Bijapur general Afzhal Khan in 1659. This was intended to be a 'meeting' but Shivaji went well prepared wearing mail under his clothing and concealing bagh nakh and a bichwa (scorpion dagger). The meeting developed the treachery Shivaji expected and Khan stabbed him in the back, and he dispatched Khan with these claws.
It would appear that these were primarily Maratha weapons from this recorded point and most examples seen from what I found in searching for info on them.
Barry,in my comment on thier use by the Thuggee sect, I think you are right in degree Barry as what I recall on these mysterious murderers and thieves who followed a strange path of belief toward the worship of Kali. They indeed were known to use strangulation to dispatch thier victims, as the spilling of blood was prohibited in this act. While it is unclear how faithfully this was followed, it does seem that the use of the 'tigers claw' was to present the appearance of death by these animals.
The thing is that the Thuggee always buried or disposed of thier bodies, and they operated so covertly in these deeds and disposing of evidence that thier very existence was often disputed. There would be no need to feign an animal attack on a victim if the body was likely to be discovered...and in the case of the very thorough Thugs, this would be patently absurd.
It is curious however that as I mentioned, I had read somewhere that these most unusual weapons were indeed used by Thuggee, and I finally found the reference. In "Knives and Daggers" (Z. Faktor, Prague, 1989, fig. 221. p.38) it is noted that, '...the characteristic weapon of the Thug sects in Punjab was the bagh nakh or tigers claws, formed by several sharpened hooks connected to a bar".
It would seem that the use of these Maratha weapons diffused into the northern regions, and the implication is of course that these sects of Thugs did as well. From what I found on the Thugs, the members of this sect transcended ethnic and religious boundaries and were comprised of Hindu's, Muslims and Sikhs. It would seem that these variations culturally as well as geographically may have had these weapons used by Thugs in the north, but not in the Deccan and southern regions.
Whatever the case, and regardless of the outcome in the assessment on the age of these examples, they are intriguing weapons that apparantly have caught the attention of many writers of fiction and adventure as frightening and mysterious weapons. There can be no denying that the innovation of the Indian armourers makes collecting from this vast subcontinent a fascinating adventure in itself!
Thank you Lew for sharing these!!!
All the best,
Jim