BHIMA KOREGAON BATTLE

Description

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Context: The 205th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle passed without incident as lakhs of Ambedkarites from across Maharashtra and the country congregated near the Ranstambh (victory pillar) in Perne village in Pune district under heavy security cover.

Details:

Keeping an ever-vigilant eye to avoid any recrudescence of the violence during the bicentenary celebrations of the battle in 2018, the Pune Rural Police strictly monitored social media, deleting over 100 posts found to contain provocative content with the possible aim of rupturing peace
The ‘Jaystambh’ is obelisk in Bhima-Koregaon village commemorates the British East India Company soldiers who fell in a battle on January 1, 1818, where the British, with just 834 infantrymen — about 500 of them from the Mahar community — and 12 officers defeated the 28,000-strong army of Peshwa Bajirao II.
It was one of the last battles of the Third Anglo-Maratha War, which ended the Peshwa domination.
While the outcome of the Koregaon-Bhima battle was inconclusive, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s visit to the spot on January 1, 1927, revitalised its memory for the Dalit community, making it a rallying point and an assertion of pride.
The victory was seen as a win against caste-based discrimination and oppression. Peshwas were notorious for their oppression and persecution of Mahar dalits. The victory in the battle over Peshwas gave dalits a moral victory a victory against caste-based discrimination and oppression and sense of identity.