Mumbai: Very few in India - at least out of Maharashtra - knew about the battle of Bhima Koregaon until January 1 when violence marred the event held to mark the 200th anniversary of the battle in Pune in which the British Army comprising Dalit Mahars had defeated the Peshwas.
A large number of Dalits have come to view the battle as not one between the British and the natives but between upper-caste Peshwas and lower-caste Mahars in which the Dalits defeated the Brahmins.
What happenedIt was the last battle of the Anglo-Maratha war fought at Koregaon on the banks of Bhima river, hence the name Bhima Koregaon battle, on January 1, 1818 between the British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy. Peshwa Baji Rao II, defeated in the Battle of Khadki near Pune on 5 November 1817, hotly pursued by the Company forces, turned towards Pune. On his way, he ran into an 800-strong Company force. The Peshwa sent around 2,000 soldiers to attack the Company force led by Captain Francis Staunton. The Company troops fought for the whole day, forcing Peshwa's troops to withdrew because they feared Company reinforcements.
Two hundred years ago, Maratha forces led by Peshwa Baji Rao II tried to attack Pune which was held by the British. The British authorities dispatched a strong contingent of forces to defeat the Marathas. The battle was fought for 12 hours after which the Marathas were forced to retreat. Dalits traditionally celebrate this day as most of the soldiers in the Bombay Native Infantry which fought the Peshwa's men were Mahar Dalits. Dalit thinkers and activists consider this victory as a significant episode in history. Many Dalit activists think it was a victory of the oppressed over the upper-caste establishment of the Marathas.
Why Bhima Koregaon is seen as a Dalit symbolThe battle has come to be seen as a symbol of Dalit pride because a large number of soldiers in the Company force were the Mahar Dalits. Since the Peshwas, who were Brahmins, were seen as oppressors of Dalits, the victory of the Mahar soliders over the the Peshwa force is seen as Dalit assertion.
On 1 January 1927, B.R. Ambedkar visited the memorial obelisk erected on the spot which bears the names of the dead including nearly two dozen Mahar soldiers. This is what he said: "Who were these people who joined the army of the East India Company and helped the British to conquer India? ...the people who joined the Army of the East India Company were the Untouchables of India. The men who fought with Clive in the battle of Plassey were the Dusads, and the Dusads are Untouchables.
The men who fought in the battle of Koregaon were the Mahars, and the Mahars are Untouchables. Thus, in the first battle and the last battle (1757-1818) it was the Untouchables who fought on the side of the British and helped them to conquer India." It was natural for Ambedkar to feel proud of the Mahar valour when the Mahars were considered nothing more than untouchables destined to do lowly work. Since then, a number of Dalits have commemorated the battle by visiting the memorial obelisk as a symbol of Dalit assertion against the Brahminical Peshwa forces.
What the opponents sayAmbedkar's pride in Bhima Koregaon belonged very much to that age. Ambedkar was a very original and provocative thinker. Some of his views were quite cogent but belonged to those very times. For example, many of his views on Muslims and Christians would be totally unacceptable in today's India. Second, it was not as if the British were kind to the Mahars.
In fact, the British had abolished the Mahar regiment after 1857 uprising. They started preferring upper castes whom they called 'martial races'. The Mahar regiment was restarted only during the Second World War. Third, the Peshwa soldiers who fought against the Company forces including the Mahars at Bhima Koregaon were mostly Arabs. Can those Arab soldiers be seen as fighting to save the Brahaminical regime of the Peshwas? Moreover, a lot of the Mahars too fought alongside the Peshwas. If The Company forces were pitted against lower-caste Sikhs, would the Mahars have refused to fight against fellow Dalits? There are innumerable incidents when Hindus fought on the side of Muslim forces against Hindus. The naked naga sadhus, who belong to the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, had fought on the side of Ahmed Shah Abdali in the Third War of Panipat against the Peshwas.
What happend Now
For decades Dalits have been celebrating the victory of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, that was fought on January 1, 1818 but this year they were opposed by 'right wing' groups.The fault line between Marathas and Dalits in Maharashtra are once again exposed. Many say the violent protests since January 1 are a grim reminder of underlying Dalit oppression in the state.
Like every year, members of the Dalit community from all over Maharashtra gathered in Koregaon Bhima to celebrate what they call their victory over Maratha Peshwas. This year was the 200th anniversary and that attracted a much larger crowd on January 1, on the outskirts of Pune. 'Right wing' groups opposed the Dalit celebrations saying they cannot observe a 'British' victory. The clash between 'right-wing' groups and Dalits who had congregated there turned violent with stone pelting and arson between two groups. One person, Rahul Fatangale, died in the violence and several were injured. Protesters also blocked traffic on the Pune expessway and rail tracks. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe and warned that there is no place for casteist violence in Maharashtra which is a progressive state. This year the celebrations at Bhima Koregaon got a political colour with Jignesh Mewani, the newly elected MLA of Gujarat attending the event.
