Shaniwarwada Elgar Parishad

Last updated

The Elgaar Parishad was an event held on 31 December 2017 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima. It was organised by a coalition of 260 non-profit organisations at Pune's Shaniwar Wada Fort, [1] and had approximately 35,000 people in attendance. The program consisted of a number of cultural performances, speeches and slogans. [2]

Contents

"Elgaar" means loud invitation or loud declaration. [3]

Background

The event was organised at the Shaniwarwada Fort in Pune on the eve of the bicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The Shaniwarwada Fort was the seat of power of the Peshwas, the de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire. The Peshwas belonged to the 'Chitpavan Brahmin' community. In the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, a regiment of Mahar Dalits, serving in the British Army had defeated the Peshwa's army. This victory is held as very important by the Mahar Dalits, who see it as a victory over the Brahmin Peshwas. Organising the Parishad at the Shaniwarwada Fort was thus seen as a symbol of Dalit assertion. However Anand Teltumbde has argued that painting the Battle of Bhima Koregaon as the battle of Mahars against their caste oppression in Peshwa rule, is a "pure myth". [4] He states that the majority of those died in the battle (27 out of 49) were not Mahars, and the Peshwa army retreated, fearing the arrival of a larger British force. Thus he regards portrayal of the battle as Mahars’ against the Peshwas’ Brahmanic rule as misleading.

Before the event, two marches were organised through several districts of Maharashtra and culminating in Pune with artists, activists, theatre performers and musicians among others. These marches held public meetings to rally support for Dalit victims of atrocities and collect donations for the Elgar Parishad. [2]

Event

The event began at 2 PM under six tents pitched in front of the Shaniwarwada Fort. After the tents filled up at 2.30, police refused to let more people in, fearing stampede. The stage seated the organisers and speakers of the event, including Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, Dalit activist Radhika Vemula, Adivasi activist Soni Sori, Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar, Bhim Army President Vinay Ratan Singh, retired Bombay High Court Justice BG Kholse-Patil, and student leader Umar Khalid. [2]

A number of cultural performances with anti-caste themes were staged. Shahirs performed songs in tribute of Sant Tukaram, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj. A dance troupe performed acrobatics and hip-hop groups also performed. Before Radhika Vemula made her speech, she was invited to smash a stack of pots signifying the varna system in a symbolic gesture of annihilating caste.

Aftermath

On 1 January 2018, violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon, where lakhs of Hindu Dalits minorities like Buddhist had converged to commemorate the battle. [1] One person was killed, and three others injured. [5]

In the months following the event, a number of people present at the event were arrested under laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). This included Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen and Stan Swamy. Pune Police alleged that the event was sponsored by Maoists. [6] An FIR was filed against Jignesh Mevani for promoting enmity on grounds of religion. [2]

It was alleged by the Pune Police that the event was organised by members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). They said that it instigated violence at Bhima Koregaon. However, Justices BG Kolse-Patil and PB Sawant refuted their claims. The Justices said that it was the two of them who were the main organisers and sole funders of the event, and that they had held a similar event against communalism and Hindutva in October 2015 at the same venue. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaniwar Wada</span> Historical fortification in the city of Pune, India

Shaniwar Wada is a historical fortification in the city of Pune, India.

Shirur is an administrative subdivision of the Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located on the eastern boundary of the district, on the banks of the Ghod River. The town is also called Ghodnadi to distinguish it from other locations that have the same name. Ghodnadi in Marathi Language means Ghod River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Koregaon</span> Battle fought between British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy

The Battle of Koregaon was fought on 1 January 1818 between the British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy, at Koregaon Bhima.

The All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation, abbreviated as BAMCEF, is an organisation for employees of oppressed communities that was established in 1971 by Kanshi Ram, D. K. Khaparde, and Dinabhana. The term got its significance from the Constitution of India, which intersects the oppressed and exploited Indians into classes on the basis of their status: Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) and Minority Communities.

Sudhir Dhawale is an Indian activist, actor and publisher of the bi-monthly Marathi magazine Vidrohi. He is also the founder of organisation, Republican Panthers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anand Teltumbde</span> Indian scholar (born 1950)

Anand Teltumbde is an Indian scholar, writer, and civil rights activist who is a management professor at the Goa Institute of Management. He has written extensively about the caste system in India and has advocated for the rights of Dalits. He is also a longtime critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and was imprisoned in 2020 along with other activists and intellectuals who were critical of the government. His arrest has been condemned by other academics and human rights organizations, and legal experts have said that the charges against him appear to be fabricated.

Koregaon Bhima is a panchayat village and census town in the state of Maharashtra, India, on the left (north) bank of the Bhima River. Administratively, Koregaon Bhima is under Shirur Taluka of Pune District in Maharashtra. There is only the single town of Koregaon Bhima in the Koregaon Bhima gram panchayat. The town of Koregaon Bhima is 10 km along the SH 60 motorway southwest of the village of Shikrapur, and 28 km by road northeast of the city of Pune. It is the site of the Battle of Koregaon fought on 1 January 1818.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gautam Navlakha</span> Indian human rights activist and journalist

Gautam Navlakha is an Indian human rights activist, journalist, and prisoner. He has written on left-wing extremism and is a critic of army and state atrocities in Kashmir. He is a member of People's Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi. He is also an editorial consultant of the Economic and Political Weekly. He resides in New Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jignesh Mevani</span> Indian politician and activist

Jignesh Mevani is an Indian politician, lawyer, activist and former journalist serving as the representative of the Vadgam constituency in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly since 2017. He is a member of the Indian National Congress party. He is the convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM).

The 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence refers to violence during an annual celebratory gathering on 1 January 2018 at Bhima Koregaon to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The violence and stone pelting by a crowd at the gathering resulted in the death of a 28-year old youth and injuries to five others. The annual celebration, also called Elgar Parishad convention, was organised by retired justices B. G. Kolse Patil and P. B. Sawant. Justice Sawant stated that the term "Elgar" meant loud invitation or loud declaration.

Sidhnak Mahar Inamdar, also known as Sidhnak Mahar, was an Indian soldier of the Mahar Regiment. He belonged to the Mahar caste. He is popularly known for the Battle of Koregaon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umar Khalid</span> Indian political activist

Umar Khalid is an Indian student activist, a former research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, former leader of Democratic Students' Union (DSU) in JNU. He was allegedly involved in the Jawaharlal Nehru University sedition row and is an accused under the UAPA law. Khalid is also associated with United Against Hate, a campaign founded along with Nadeem Khan in July 2017 in response to the series of lynchings.

Surendra Gadling is a human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist based in Nagpur.

Rona Wilson is an activist, researcher and the public relations secretary of the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). He has worked with people accused in terrorism cases, including those booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He is an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence.

Shoma Sen is a women's rights activist and assistant professor and was head of the English literature department of the Nagpur University. On 8 June 2018, she was arrested by the Pune Police for her alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon riots

Mahesh Raut is an activist working with Adivasi in Gadchiroli. He is the youngest accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.

Arun Ferreira is an Indian activist. He was arrested in 2007 for alleged links to the Indian Naxalite movement and spent five years in prison before he was acquitted in 2012. He began a career as a criminal lawyer defending political prisoners. He was arrested again in August 2018 and is currently lodged in Taloja prison along with other accused of the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence

Sambhaji Bhide is a Hindutva activist from Maharashtra. Bhide, a native of Sangli district, was a full-time worker for the Hindu-nationalist organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, before leaving to form his own organisation, the Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, in the late 1980s. The organisation claimed to spread the teachings of Shivaji and his son Sambhaji.

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon: An Unending Journey is a 2017 documentary by Indian filmmaker Somnath Waghmare. It explored the role of 500 Mahar dalit soldiers of the East India Company in the Battle of Koregaon on 1 January 1818 against Peshwa rulers. It talks about dalit assertion on 1 January taking place every year. The 50 minute documentary was released in April 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somnath Waghmare</span> Documentary filmmaker and Dalit activist

Somnath Waghmare is an Indian documentary filmmaker based in the state of Maharashtra. His most prominent and most recent film, Battle of Bhima Koregaon, was critically received and screened in India and abroad. Till now, all his films have been documentary films and they have dealt with various social issues like the persecution of women and Dalit assertion in Maharashtra. He made his directorial debut with the short documentary feature I Am Not a Witch (2017). His upcoming films are Chaityabhoomi and Gail and Bharat.

References

  1. 1 2 Johari, Aarefa. "A poet, a lawyer, a professor: These are the five activists held for sparking Bhima Koregaon clashes". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Satheesh, Shone. "Flashback: Vibrant scenes from Pune's Elgaar Parishad, which led to the Bhima Koregaon case arrests". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  3. 1 2 Johari, Aarefa. "'They want fascist forces to reign': Retired judges who organised Pune's Elgaar Parishad speak out". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  4. ↑ The Myth of Bhima Koregaon Reinforces the Identities It Seeks to Transcend, Anand Teltumbde, The Wire, 02/JAN/2018
  5. ↑ "One Killed in Clashes at Bhima Koregaon Battle Anniversary Event in Pune; Situation Tense in Maharashtra". The Wire. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  6. ↑ Scroll Staff. "Bhima Koregaon violence: Activist Rona Wilson and lawyer Surendra Gadling among five arrested". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.