Shivaji
Controversies related to Shivaji's depiction

In the late 20th century, Babasaheb Purandare became one of the most significant authors in portraying Shivaji in his writings, leading him to be declared in 1964 as the Shiv-Shahir (lit. ' Bard of Shivaji '). However, Purandare, a Brahmin, was also accused of overstating the influence of Brahmin gurus on Shivaji, and his Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in 2015 was protested by those claiming he had defamed Shivaji.

In 1993, the Illustrated Weekly published an article suggesting that Shivaji was not opposed to Muslims per se, and that his style of governance was influenced by that of the Mughal Empire. Congress Party members called for legal actions against the publisher and writer, Marathi newspapers accused them of "imperial prejudice", and Shiv Sena called for the writer's public flogging. Maharashtra brought legal action against the publisher under regulations prohibiting enmity between religious and cultural groups, but a High Court found that the Illustrated Weekly had operated within the bounds of freedom of expression.

In 2003, the American academic James W. Laine published his book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India to, what Ananya Vajpeyi terms, a regime of "cultural policing by militant Marathas". As a result of this publication, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, in Pune, where Laine had done research, was attacked by the Sambhaji Brigade. Laine was even threatened with arrest, and the book was banned in Maharashtra in January 2004. The ban was lifted by the Bombay High Court in 2007, and in July 2010 the Supreme Court of India upheld the lifting of the ban. This lifting was followed by public demonstrations against the author and the decision of the Supreme Court.
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