The 200th anniversary of a battle fought at Koregaon in Maharashtra on the banks of the river Bhima should not have turned into an occasion for a caste clash. But that is exactly what happened and the scale of the violence seems to have caught the administration off guard. Bhima Koregaon has been etched in the Dalit consciousness ever since the Third Anglo-Maratha War was fought there in 1817-1818, paving the way for British supremacy in India.
In the battle, Peshwa Baji Rao’s Maratha forces were ranged against the British. The imperial power had only a few Mahar soldiers, while the Peshwa had several thousand troops. Despite the numerical advantage, the Peshwa’s forces suffered severe casualties. In the following years, the Battle of Koregaon was mentioned in a self-congratulatory tone by the British but it faded from mainstream commemoration later. It was only when B R Ambedkar visited the war memorial in 1927 and reminded Dalits of the valour of the Mahars in defeating the Peshwas that it re-entered the public imagination. Ever since then, Dalits have peacefully commemorated the battle every year.
This violence comes against the backdrop of recent clashes between the so-called nationalist and subnationalist elements. The competing scenario was played out in JNU in 2016, when a group of students along with some outsiders tried to organise an event in memory of Afzal Guru, who was hanged for his role in the Parliament attack in 2001. While the intent to organise the event was questionable, right wing groups attempted to paint those who questioned the death penalty as anti-nationals. The Bhima Koregaon anniversary followed the same script, with reports of right wing elements portraying the event as a symbol of British imperialism.
Bhima Koregaon exposes the caste faultlines in Maharashtra. The dominant Maratha community, comprising 34 per cent of the state’s population, has of late been feeling marginalised. Some experts have even equated their predicament with that of the Jats in Haryana and Patidars in Gujarat.