Why does govt fear Koregaon?
Today is Koregaon Vijayotsava Day. As is the normal practice, thousands of Dalits will gather around Koregaon Vijay Stambh to pay their respects. But then, the whole place is surrounded by policemen. The government seems to have decided to stop the celebration in some way or the other.
Last year Sangh Parivar and police department together had launched an attack on the Dalits who had set out to celebrate Koregaon Vijay Diwas. The government has foisted many cases on those who participated in the procession and jailed them under various charges.
This year, Koregaon has been turned into a fortress. Will the Dalits be able to break this security cordon and reach their symbol of resilience that lies inside the fort, remains to be seen. Ambedkar started the practice of paying obeisance to Koregaon Vijay Stambh on January 1, 1927.
For the first time, he had reached Koregaon with his followers and paid respects to Dalit Mahar soldiers who were martyred in a small ceremony held at Bhima Koregaon.
He showed to the Dalits of this country for the first time that Koregaon is a symbol of pride and victory. This is the day when just 500 Mahar soldiers defeated an army of more than 2000 people belonging to Peshwa Bajirao. Koregaon day is about celebrating the victory of Dalits against the casteism of Peshwas in the history of this country.
The government is now eyeing this celebration and wants to abort it. The reason behind this is pretty obvious. This victory is a triumph against the same ideology that the Sangh Parivar and RSS is trying to impose on the people of this country.
Since the Dalits crushed it under their feet, this day is humiliating for the Sangh.
Hence the government wants to end this celebration. The history of Koregaon is somewhat a glowing remainder for the Manuvadis of what they couldn't erase off people's minds. Which is why this attempt by the government to undo this part of history, sponsored by the government.
Shivaji, no doubt, is among the most prominent rulers that lived in India. Sangh Parivar is pushing he hindutva agenda by invoking the name of Shivaji. RSS has partially succeeded in twisting the narrative of how the Dalits and lower castes fought for Shivaji resisting the Mughal invasion. We have e to understand that the Sangh wants us to accept the Peshwa version of hindutva by way of referring to Shivaji. Peshwas were ministers in the palace of Shivaji who later usurped power from his hands and ruled the regions themselves.
They were known for loot, plundering and violence all across the country. Their armies even looted the temples and mutts. The attack on Sringeri mutt in Karnataka and Bangladesh, and the violence that followed is still a hunting part of history for people here.
When Shivaji built an army against the Mughals he was supported by Dalits, Muslims and lower castes.
Shivaji is not from the Maratha community. He belonged to the Bhonsle community which is essentially lower caste. His army included men from Muslim, Koli, Bhandari, Mahar, Shenavi, and other members from across 56 communities that were essentially lower caste.
All his 11 commanders in chief were Muslims. In a letter written to the queen in 1672, an English officer John Fire mentions about 66,000 muslim soldiers in Shivaji's army. About 11 of his his close security guards were Muslims.
This shows his trust on a community in his fight against the Mughals. When he went to meet Afzal Khan, one of his bodyguards was a dalit and the other was a Muslim. One of Afzal Khan's security guards was a Kulkarni. When Kulkarni launched an assault on Shivaji to kill him, he was done to death by Shiva, a dalit, who was Shivaji's guard.
This is mentioned in Abhang written by Sant Tukaram that if not for Shiva, Shivaji wouldn't have survived. At the same time, we also need to take into consideration the fact that Rajputs and Brahmins had openly joined hands with the Mughals, and they fought for the Mughals. Mughal army chief Raja Jayasimha was a Rajput.
When he fought Shivaji, he had performed Koti Chandi havan praying for the victory of Mughals. About 400 brahmins had taken part in this event.
Jayasimha had spent about Rs 2 crore for this, a whopping amount during those days. Shivaji and his son Sambhaji were held in this war, to Jayasimha.
A Muslim soldier paid with his own life and set Shivaji free.
After all that, Brahmins posed challenges for Shivaji's coronation as well. Their only problem was that he was from lower caste and shouldn't be occupying a seat of power.
A Kashi returned Brahmin priest Gaga Bhatta was brought forcibly to perform the rituals. When he had to apply Tilak on Shivaji's forehead, he chose to do this with his left toe instead of using his finger. Jyotiba Phule remembers this as a dark day in the history of India.
Shivaji built an army of Dalits and Muslims to fight the Mughals and even succeeded. Then the Peshwas snatched the kingdom from Shivaji's hands. Peshwas were Chitpavan brahmins and their caste came to forefront again in this fight for power.
Situation of Dalits went from bad to worse with those in the army being humiliated and chased out. This hit the peak during the time of second Bajirao.
At the same time, British waged a war against Bajirao. The team of Mahars who had had enough at the hands of their king, joined hands with the British. The team of Mahars who fought an army of more than 20,000 soldiers of Bajirao, won the war.
Impressed by this victory, British erected a pillar of victory to commemorate this moment of glory for the Mahars. While Shivaji brought all together, the Peshwas split then all on caste and surrendered the whole region to the British by making it easy for them.
After this victory, Mahar regiment was started in British army. For the very reason, Koregaon is a question of life and death for the identity of Dalits.
To stop this celebration is to challenge the dalit pride.
This country does not need the Hindutva of Peshwas but that of Shivaji's. If the conspiracy of bringing in the ideology of Peshwas in the guise of Shivaji has to be stopped, Koregaon has to Demian alive in the hearts of every indian.
If the government tries to stop the celebration forcibly, it may lead to violence. By trying to stop the celebrations, the government is also attempting to defeat the ideology of Ambedkar. This is highly condemnable. The government has to ensure the celebration goes on without any problems by supporting and providing it all the security needed.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
