BhimaKoregaon: A Volcano Erupts

Lok Tantra
Sep 3, 2018 · 9 min read

A tale of simmering caste violence that turned into an inferno

The story of the arrests of August 28th dominated much of news media.

The raids were carried out simultaneously in multiple states for fear of tipping off suspects.

But what was this all about? Lets rewind, back to January of this year, where there was violence, back further along — 200 years ago, to the times of the British and the Peshwas, and even further along to 1689, the time of Aurangzeb. Nothing in India is ever easy!

Our story starts with Sambhaji, the eldest son of Shivaji and the second ruler of the Maratha kingdom.

Sambhaji on Wikipedia

Sambhaji and some of his advisors were captured by Mughal forces in February 1689, and taken to Ahmednagar.

Accounts of Sambhaji’s confrontation with the Mughal ruler and following torture, execution and disposal of his body, vary widely depending on the source, though generally all agree that he was tortured and executed on the emperor’s orders.

Accounts vary widely of Sambhaji’s torture and execution. The Mahars of the region have their own account of the bravery of one of their own, who defied Aurangzeb and was martyred after he performed the last rites for Sambhaji, a tale that Maratha’s vehemently dispute.

As the legend goes, Sambhaji’s body was mutilated and thrown into a river by Aurangzeb. It was Govind Mahar (Gaikwad), a Dalit resident of Vadhu Budruk, who then gathered the body parts together and made arrangements for the last rites.

The differences between the Maratha and the Mahar accounts are a source of continuing communal conflict, and one of the two threads of the BhimaKoregaon incident, a thread that started almost 330 years ago. The other thread started 200 years ago, and is known as the Battle of Koregaon.

On January 1, 1818 a battalion of around 900 soldiers under the British East India Company marched from Shirur to Pune in Maharashtra to face an army consisting of 2,000 soldiers led by Baji Rao II.

While the Battle of Koregaon did not see either of the parties emerging clearly victorious, it still came to be regarded as a moment of triumph for the British, who had finally won the Anglo-Maratha war and went on to construct a ‘victory pillar’ at Koregaon.

The victory pillar commemorates the Battle of Koregaon PC: Indian Express

The victory pillar is an annual pilgrimage for many of the Mahar community in Maharashtra.

When the Battle of Koregaon took place, the Mahars formed a majority of the British troops. Their victory over a much stronger Peshwa contingent came to be commemorated over the years as an event of pride for the Mahars. They look back at it as an instance when they were successful in overcoming their untouchable status and defeating the Brahmin Peshwas. The Marathas, on the other hand, have considered the Battles as a victory of British forces, which does not deserve to be celebrated on account of nationalist sentiments.

The Mahars were formidable fighters and had been a major part of Shivaji’s troops, renowned for their military prowess. Under Shivaji, they rose in social status, but only briefly. After his death, Peshwas persecuted them mercilessly, and destroyed their caste mobility. For the Mahars therefore, the Battle of Koregaon captures their military prowess and their revenge against a caste that persecuted them. For Peshwas, the battle is remembered as a defeat against invaders, and commemorating the victory of the British is viewed as anti-national.

The Battle of Koregaon. PC: The Wire.

This year the simmering caste tensions from these historical events collided.

On December 29th, Maratha and Dalit groups had a confrontation over the installation of a plaque that commemorates the legend of Govind Mahar

On December 31st, Sunday, the Dalit community had organised a meeting at Shaniwar Wada in Pune to mark 200 years of the Koregaon Battle.

Elgaar Parishad was followed by a rally from Pune to Bhima Koregaon

PC: Google Maps

On January 1st, 2018, Monday — huge crowds had gathered to celebrate the bicentennial. Clashes erupted, spread quickly throughout the city, and in the ensuing violence 1 person died.

The Wire reported that the trouble started when people who had been named in an FIR for the December 29th event took out a protest in Vudhu Budruk.

“The police lodged an FIR against 49 people from Vadhu Budruk under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Those 49 people conducted a rally in the village today against it. Vadhu Budruk is hardly three km away from Bhima Koregoan where Dalits were gathering from all across the state. These upper caste men started to pelt stones at unarmed Dalits who were going towards Bhima Koregoan to pay their tributes to the war memorial. They also burnt vehicles on the road. Shops had to be shut down and curfew was imposed,” the official added.

There were reports and videos of groups waving saffron flags attacking people and breaking cars carrying pro-Dalit stickers.

On January 2nd, Pune police filed an FIR against 2 people.

Now things begin to take on a different color. Lets start with Sambhaji Bhide.

Boomlive carried excerpts from an interview done by TV9 last year, and also details his close relationships with several senior BJP members, including the Maha CM Fadnavis and of course the PM Modi. (The video has been taken down from youtube since Boomlive published its report. I’m not shocked)

An RSS pracharak, somewhere in the 80s Bhide separated from the RSS after an almost 3 decades long association and created his own outfit dedicated to Shivaji and upholding Maratha pride. Just another one of those fringe outfits, except that he has lakhs of followers and is important enough that all the senior politicians court him when they need the Hindutva terrorist vote in Western Maharashtra.

PC: Boomlive

Rabble rouser, fiery speaker, firm Hindutva believer and cult leader, first came into the national spotlight in 2008 for opposing the screening of Jodha Akbar in Sangli.

News reports also claim he was behind the 2009 Sangli riots, although in a search of news archives of 2009–2010 on Google his name does not come up in English media coverage. However, those searches do throw up his name speaking at events organised by the Sanatan Sanstha. Funny coincidence, no?

The other person named in the FIR is Milind Ekbote — another communal pot boiler who loves nothing more than muslim baiting, starting a riot, threatening meat shop owners and extorting protection money from minority owned businesses.

1. Deccan Police Station : under sections 812/90, IPC 153 (a) (b), 34 435/92, Judicial, 435/92, 29.9.92
2. Deccan Police Station: under sections 548/91, IPC 143, 336, 427, 120 (b), Case No 26,00/91 18.9.91
3. Khadak Police Station: under sections 133/2001, IPC 143, 148, 149, 452, 427, 323, Section 37(1) 135, Judicial, Case Nos 89/2001 dated 14.6.01
4. Deccan Police Station: under sections 368/01, IPC 341, 34, Judicial, /2001 dated October 25, 2001
5. Satara City: 214/01, Section 143, 147, 341, 151, 186, ‘To be Enquired’
6. Saswad (rural Pune): 75/01, IPC 143, 147, 148, 149, 333, 332, 353, 435, 297, 116, 153 (a), 1(a)(b)©, and 2, 505(2)(1)(k)(g), and Section 135 Press and Registration Books Act 1867, 3

So is it any surprise that a Maratha pride leader who has taken on the name “Sambhaji” should be embroiled in a controversy regarding the history of Sambhaji’s death and subsequent cremation?

As the case progressed, investigations focused on Ekbote and he was subsequently arrested on March 15.

Roughly around this time is when it appears that the investigation “pivoted”. Investigation by the rural Pune police came to a grinding halt.

Roughly around this time (March 9th, 2018) is also when a report was published by an organisation called Forum for Integrated National Security that started to hint at the possible connection between Maoists and the organisers of the Elgaar Parishad.

Seshadri Chari is a Secretary General of FINS. He is an RSS member and a BJP National Executive Committee member.

On April 17th, police action against Elgaar Parishad activists started.

On April 20th, Milind Ekbote was released on bail. 30 people had earlier been arrested in connection with the violence based on video footage, and all of them have been granted bail.

2 minutes silence for the murder of yet another witness in yet another politically charged case.

On April 24th, an RSS propaganda wing called Vivek Vichar Manch released a “fact finding report” on the Bhima Koregaon violence. The author of this report happened to be the author of the FINS report as well.

On June 6, the Pune police arrested Gadling, Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut and Rona Wilson. In six months, the focus had shifted from Far Right to Far Left. What started out as a communal clash has been turned into a Maoist plot to overthrow the government.

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

In chasing these wild fantasies of the RSS and it’s propaganda units, the Pune police seems to have overlooked a tiny detail.

A 10 member committee setup by Pune Police had in January itself laid the blame on Bhide and Ekbote.

The eight-page report, submitted on January 20 and kept under wraps by the state government, claims that Bhide and Ekbote allegedly roped in Hindutva ultras to create unrest. The document further states that Milind and Ekbote’s men also declared about the violence on social media and were aware about the clashes since 16 December 2017.

The probe was headed by Pune Deputy Mayor Siddharth Dhene.

It contains explosive allegations about the extent of preparations and the involvement of Hindu terrorists in the attacks.

Water tractors full of kerosene were prepared a night before the violence, while lathis and swords were stacked up at a tea stall in the village.

Villagers were aware about the clash conspiracy a night before it took place but were forced to stay quiet.

While the police is out raiding activists, lawyers and authors for being #UrbanNaxals (this one deserves another post), its sitting on evidence that indicts Bhide and Ekbote for the violence. Bhide, who the CM has given a clean chit to, and Ekbote, who allegedly murdered an alleged witness (allegedly) and allegedly dumped her allegedly body into an alleged well.

Fuck.

Lok Tantra

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