Page 29 - English Tehelka Issue 1&2

koregaon clashes

his year, celebrations of Anglo-Maratha wars, the Koregaon nition on its soldiers. While Staun-
a two-centuries-old bat- battle signifies a decisive decline ton was promoted to the honorary
tle at Bhima Koregaon of military power of the Marathas. post of aide-de-camp by the Gov-
near Pune took such a The battle also saw Bajirao II fleeing ernor General, the battle received
T turn that it will influence from Pune never to return again. special mention in parliamentary
the political course of the country The British commemorated the bat- debates the next year. A memorial
ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in tle to exhibit their determination was commissioned and Lt Col De-
2019. It may also change the Maha- to defend the territory occupied in lamin, who passed by the village the
rashtra politics to give rise to new India. The obelisk at the banks of the next year, witnessed the construc-
social and political equations in Bhima river highlights the triumph tion of a 60-foot commemorative
the state to the discomfiture of the of the Company soldiers in the most obelisk,” reads a research paper
present government headed by the hostile situation. “Captain Staunton published in the prestigious social
saffron party, BJP, at both the Centre was destitute of provisions, and this science journal the Economic and
and in the state of Maharashtra. detachment, already fatigued from Political Weekly.
Celebrations at the Jay-stambha want of rest and a long night march, The battle was fought between
to commemorate the battle be- now, under a burning sun, without 900 soldiers of the Company and
tween the British East India Com- food or water, began a struggle as the 20,000-strong Peshwa army.
pany and Peshwa Baji Rao II 200 trying as ever was maintained by Bajirao II witnessed the battle
years ago have been regular for the British in India,” writes contem- from a site 200 metres away from
several years now with people from porary British official and historian the battlefield and left the place,

Dalit-Maratha clashes: History

will affect future politics • Fight over country which presents a simplistic However, it is not that the Ko- identity that Dalits were acquir-

history Dalits
twentieth century. This was part of
a liberating moment as soon as it
the British, the nationalist versus
were attacked choice between the Peshwas and regaon battle was recognized as ing during the first decades of the
The recognition of the Koregaon battle assumes significance in a nationwide anti-caste by saffron the foreigner. The Peshwa rule was was over or the obelisk acquired the Dalit assertion which attained a
the symbol of emancipation as
peak under the leadership of Dr. BR
casteist to the core and unleashed
narrative. It contradicts the legacy of Maratha rule as being invincible while for Dalits, it flag-waving all kinds of atrocities against the soon as it was erected. The fact is Ambedkar. Ambedkar visited the
mobs in Bhima
acquires an iconic status, anil sinha explains Koregaon untouchables. Mahars, along with that they were reinterpreted and site on January 1, 1927 at the invita-
village of Pune Mang and others, were treated like reinvented in the light of the new tion of Shivram Kamble who had
on January 1 animals and subjected to all sorts been organizing celebrations at the
of indignities. They had lost what- monument for nearly two decades.
the Dalit community gathering at Grant Duff. abandoning his desire of recover- ever little they had gained during The debate on Ambedkar also mentioned the me-
the monument on the first of Janu- According to Pune historian ing Pune. British troops comprised the rule of the first Maratha ruler morial as a symbol of pride in his
ary every year. The military memo- Shraddha Kumbhojkar, “Neither of natives, mostly Mahars, and the Shivaji Maharaj who even recruited nationalism writings.
rial built by the British has become side won a decisive victory but de- Englishmen. The Koregaon memo- Mahars in his army. vs colonialism Ambedkar’s visit made the site a
a symbol of valour and pride for the spite heavy casualties, Staunton’s rial mentions the names of those The advent of the East India pilgrimage centre in later years and
Mahars, a major community among troops managed to recover their who lost their lives. Company in Bombay (now Mum- becomes neo-Buddhists started to visit the
the Dalits. Though caste Hindus guns and carry the wounded offic- It may baffle contemporary In- bai) provided the Dalits the oppor- meaningless and site every year.
never accepted the narrative asso- ers and men back to Seroor.” The dians as to how a memorial on the tunity to escape the tyranny of the In this context, the debate on na-
ciated with Bhima Koregaon, peace- Gazetteer of Maharashtra, pub- triumph of British troops came to Peshwas. The British recruited the could be seen as tionalism vs colonialism becomes
ful celebrations have been going on lished in 1885, also recalls the battle be regarded as a symbol of Dalit so-called low castes in their armies meaningless and could be seen as
without interruptions. This time, on as the “defence of Koregaon”. pride. But, it is not difficult to un- in huge numbers. They participated part of communal part of communal historiography
the 200th anniversary of the battle, “As this was one of the last bat- derstand given the existing social in many battles and performed historiography which is basically directed against
the gathering was attacked and one tles of the Anglo-Maratha wars that situation during the Peshwa rule well. This was, on the one hand, a the Muslims. In this case also, the
person lost his life. Many vehicles soon resulted in the complete vic- and the opening which was offered strong denial of the Brahmanical which is basically Peshwas are the icons of Hindu
were vandalized. Dalits leaders al- tory of the Company, the encounter by the rule of the British East India four order of Varna, a road to a life directed against nationalism because they carry
lege that the police did nothing to quickly came to be remembered as Company. A close look into the past free from the atrocities that the the legacy of the fight against the
stop the violence. a triumph. The East India Company will contradict the narrow inter- untouchables were suffering at the the Muslims Mughals.
Though there had been a series of wasted no time in showering recog- pretation of political history of the hands of the caste Hindus. The recognition of the Koregaon

tehelka / 31 january 2018 28 www.tehelka.com tehelka / 31 january 2018 29 www.tehelka.com

28-30 Anil Sinha.indd 2-3 12/01/18 3:59 PM