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.
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Mock drills to be held at three places in Karnataka on May 7
Bengaluru, May 6 (PTI): Mock drills will be conducted in Bengaluru, Karwar, and Raichur on May 7, given the "new and complex threats" that have emerged amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Director General of Police Prashant Kumar Thakur said the drills will continue for a week and are aimed at identifying and addressing gaps in preparedness and resources.
"Mock drills will be held at three locations in the state, including Bengaluru city, which is a metropolitan area with numerous defence establishments and is a very sensitive district for Karnataka," Thakur said.
"The second location is Karwar in Uttara Kannada district, home to the Kaiga nuclear power station. The third is Raichur, selected due to the thermal power station there," he added.
Speaking to reporters, Thakur said, "We have discussed the mock drill components with the Ministry of Home Affairs."
He clarified that sirens are not the sole component of the drill. The exercise also includes hospital mobilisation, relief efforts, and rescue operations.
There are about 5,000 civil defence personnel in Bengaluru, all of whom will be activated and deployed across the city as part of the drill, he added.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has instructed all states to conduct such mock drills.
Thakur said the drill will be held at 4 pm tomorrow, with the timing chosen to account for both daytime and nighttime scenarios, from Northeast India to Gujarat.
The civil defence organisational structure includes people from diverse backgrounds—doctors, students, NCC cadets, and others. All of them have been trained and will be briefed and tested during the drill. By deploying them, we aim to assess and fix the gaps in preparation and resources, thereby building capability and confidence, he said.
Thakur noted that sirens have been installed at various police and fire stations.
In Bengaluru, 35 sirens have been deployed, of which 32 are functional, each with a range of approximately 3 km.
"People should know what actions to take when they hear the siren. We are expecting a formal guideline from Delhi on this. The decision regarding the drill was taken yesterday in Delhi, and we were informed last night," he said.
A video conference was held on Tuesday to finalise plans. We must assess our preparedness and address any shortcomings, he added.
According to a communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the measures to be taken during the mock drills include operationalising air-raid warning sirens, training civilians on civil defence procedures to protect themselves during a "hostile attack" and clearing bunkers and trenches.
Other steps include implementing crash-blackout measures, camouflaging vital plants and installations, and updating and rehearsing evacuation plans, according to a letter sent to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories.
The drills will also involve activating hotline and radio-communication links with the Indian Air Force (IAF), and testing the functionality of control rooms and shadow control rooms.
