Bhima Koregaon 2018. Graphic by Arun Ferreira & Vernon Gonsalves.
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
Commission Summons Maharashtra Chief Secretary Over Sharad Pawar’s Alleged Secret Note to Uddhav Thackeray.
The Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry has directed the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra to submit information regarding a letter sought by VBA president and Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar.
In his application filed before the Commission in February last year, Ambedkar had claimed that Nationalist Congress Party NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar had on January 24, 2020 given a letter to then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, claiming the violence (in Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2018) was a conspiracy hatched by the previous government under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis. Read more
Members of Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry visit ‘Jaystambh’ with Elgaar Parishad activist
10/01/2026
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
Activist Potdar is among the organisers of the Elgaar Parishad—a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of battle of Koregaon Bhima.
Members of the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, along with activist Harshali Potdar and lawyers representing different parties, visited the ‘Jaystambh’ at Perne village in Pune district on Friday. Read more
If Sharad Pawar wrote any letter seeking SIT probe into Koregaon Bhima riot, it must be with CMO: Uddhav
09/01/2026
Times of India /by Vishwas Kothari
Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray filed an affidavit with the Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission in Pune stating that NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s letter, if any, written to him in his capacity as the CM in Jan 2020, and demanding an SIT probe into the Jan 1, 2018, riot at Koregaon Bhima, has to be with the CMO now. Read more
CMO should have Sharad Pawar’s letter blaming Fadnavis govt for Koregaon Bhima violence: Uddhav Thackeray
09/01/2026
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
Ambedkar’s lawyer Kiran Kadam said he would be soon filing a fresh application requesting the commission to issue a notice to the CMO for producing the said letter.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray submitted an affidavit before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry through his lawyer Asim Sarode on Thursday, in connection with an application filed by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar. Read more
Bhima Koregaon violence probe: Sharad Pawar’s letters should be with CMO, Uddhav Thackeray tells inquiry panel
08/01/2026
Midday / by mid-day online correspondent
The commission had issued a notice to Thackeray in October 2025, asking him to produce documents and letters allegedly submitted by Sharad Pawar during Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure as Maharashtra Chief Minister
Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray has informed the inquiry commission probing the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence that certain letters written by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar should still be available with the current Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), reported the PTI. Read more
Bhima Koregaon 2018. Graphic by Arun Ferreira & Vernon Gonsalves
In Photos: Lakhs Gather at ‘Jaystambh’ to Mark the Anniversary of Battle of Bhima Koregaon
02/01/2026
The Wire / by Atul Howale
On January 1, 2018, violence had broken out on the same anniversary, at Bhima Koregaon. Several writers, academics, lawyers and other intellectuals were arrested in connection with the case.
On Thursday, January 1, 2026, lakhs of followers gathered around the ‘Jaystambh’ in Pune, Maharashtra, to mark the 208th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Every year, it is customary for Ambedkarite followers from Maharashtra and across different parts of the country to visit the site. Read more
Bhima Koregaon, Dalit Assertion, and the Politics of Public Memory
02/01/2026
The Mooknayak / by Dr. Vikrant Kishore
Bhima Koregaon is not about settling the past. It is about insisting on a present in which Dalit dignity, memory, and presence are taken seriously.
Bhima Koregaon occupies a distinctive place in contemporary Dalit public life, not because it offers a settled historical consensus, but because it allows Dalits to gather, remember, and assert themselves in public without mediation. Each year on 1 January, large numbers of Dalits travel to the village near Pune to commemorate the 1818 battle and to mark what has come to be known as Shaurya Diwas. For many observers, the scale and persistence of this gathering remain puzzling. Read more
Why 1818 Bhima Koregaon battle marks a flashpoint in 2026 Maharashtra civic polls
01/01/2026
The Indian Express / by Zeeshan Shaikh
Some parties are keen to be seen at this January 1 anniversary event during the election season, viewing it as a symbol of Dalit pride, constitutional values and social justice, while some others would stay away from it
As political parties in Maharashtra intensify their campaigns for the January 15 municipal corporation elections, a major public event is set to take place at Bhima Koregaon, a small village near Pune, on Thursday, which would be one of the state’s largest and most politically sensitive gatherings.
Every year on January 1, lakhs of Dalits assemble at Bhima Koregaon to mark the anniversary of the 1818 battle that they regard as a historic assertion against caste oppression. Read more
Lakhs Gather At Jaystambh To Commemorate Battle Of Bhima Koregaon
01/01/2026
Free Press Journal / by FPJ Web Deshk
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar and many other leaders paid tributes at the Jaystambh
As in previous years, lakhs of people gathered at the Jaystambh in Perne village at Bhima Koregaon in Pune district on Thursday to pay tribute on the 208th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. Read more
How Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s 1927 Bhima Koregaon Visit Turned New Year’s Day into Shaurya Diwas for the Bahujan
31/12/2025
The Mooknayak / by Geeta Sunil Pillai
What was once a marginal British commemoration morphed into an annual Dalit-Bahujan ritual. Followers began gathering at the Vijay Stambh every January 1, honoring the fallen with floral tributes, “Jai Bhim” chants, and recitations of the Constitution’s Preamble.
As the clock strikes midnight tonight, millions across India will usher in 2026 not just with fireworks and celebrations, but with a profound act of remembrance and resistance. For the Bahujan community, encompassing Dalits, Adivasis, and other marginalized groups, January 1 is no ordinary New Year’s Day. It is Shaurya Diwas, or Valour Day, commemorating the 1818 Battle of Bhima Koregaon and the transformative legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Read more
Ambedkar, among others, at the Vijay Stambhain Bhima Koregaon, January 1, 1927. Pic credits: Wikipedia
Beating Brahminism The Way 500 Soldiers of Bhima Koregaon Did
29/12/2025
Velivada / by Velivada
For most of the world, January 1 represents the start of a new calendar year. But for the Dalit-Bahujan community in India, January 1 is Shaurya Din (Day of Valour). It marks the anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon (1818), where 500 soldiers of the Mahar community, fighting under the British East India Company, delivered a crushing blow to the 28,000-strong army of Peshwa Baji Rao II.
This was not merely a military skirmish between a colonial power and a local kingdom. It was a war of liberation – a historic reckoning where the oppressed took up arms against the very architects of their degradation. To understand the victory of the 500 is to understand the blueprint for beating Brahminism today. Read more
The Shaurya Saga: Pune Prepares for 20 Lakh Visitors at Bhima Koregaon!
28/12/2025
Pune Mirror / by Aashlesha Kakde
Pune is poised to experience an unprecedented influx of people this New Year’s Day. As the city readies itself for the 209th Bhima Koregaon Vijay Stambh Shaurya Day on January 1, 2026, the local administration is making every effort to ensure that the event at Perne village is truly remarkable.
With an astounding 20 lakh attendees anticipated to flock to the memorial, here’s your comprehensive guide to the happenings on the ground! Read more
Bhima Koregaon probe panel issues show cause notice to ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray
31/10/2025
Hindustan Times / by Nadeem Inamdar
The notice was issued after Thackeray failed to respond to an application seeking the production of documents related to the case
A commission probing the 2018 Koregaon Bhima violence on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for failing to respond to an application seeking the production of documents related to the case. Read more
Koregaon Bhima violence case: Probe panel issues show cause notice to Uddhav Thackeray
30/10/2025
mid-day / by Mid-day online correspondent
The inquiry panel, headed by former High Court Chief Justice J. N. Patel, questioned in the notice why an application filed by Prakash Ambedkar, leader of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and a witness in the case, seeking a bailable warrant against Uddhav Thackeray, should not be allowed
The commission investigating the Koregaon Bhima violence case of 2018 has issued a show cause notice to former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray for failing to respond to a request for documents related to the case, reported the PTI. Read more
What began in 2018 as a commemoration of anti-caste resistance turned into an eight-year-long legal ordeal, with 16 lawyers, poets, professors and activists jailed under anti-terror laws—many without trial, and some still behind bars today
Summary
◦ The Bhima-Koregaon event in 2018, a Dalit-led commemoration, was followed by violence—leading to the arrest of 16 activists, academics, and lawyers.
◦ All accused were charged under the harsh UAPA law, allowing long detentions without evidence or trial—Fr Stan Swamy died in custody.
◦ Eight of the 16 have been granted bail, but some remain jailed as courts have not yet ruled on their discharge petitions. Read more
Committee asks former CM to submit Sharad Pawar’s letter by Sept 22
The ongoing Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry has taken a decisive turn, putting former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray into the spotlight. The commission has formally requested Thackeray to produce a letter allegedly written to him by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar in January 2020, which, according to claims, blamed the then BJP-led government of Devendra Fadnavis for orchestrating the January 1, 2018 Koregaon Bhima violence. Read more
The latest extension was granted via an order dated July 30 by Chetan Nikam, deputy secretary in the home department, who allowed the panel time until October 31, 2025 to complete its work. Read more
Maharashtra’s Urban Naxal Bill and its New War on Civil Society -Criminalizing Dissent
23/07/2025
Countercurrents / by Dr Ranjan Solomon
“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance, not silent submission.”
(Inspired by Thomas Jefferson)
The Maharashtra government’s Special Public Security Bill, 2024, introduced to counter so-called “urban Naxal” activities is a perilous milestone in India’s accelerating slide into authoritarianism.
… Activists like Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, and the late Fr. Stan Swamy were imprisoned for years without trial under charges of sedition and conspiracy. The Bhima Koregaon case was a dress rehearsal for exactly the kind of repression this bill now makes routine at the state level. Read more
‘Urban Naxal’ To Maharashtra’s New Bill Rekindles Fears Of Criminalised Dissent
17/07/2025
Outlook / by Pritha Vashisth
The Bhima Koregaon case returns to focus as the Supreme Court allows bail plea revival—while Maharashtra’s sweeping Jan Suraksha Bill raises alarms over civil liberties, ambiguous terms, and the creeping criminalisation of protest.
A tiny pore of blood rinsed down the alley until one among the several injured was dead. Around seven years ago, on January 1, 2018, silence hovered over the annual celebration as a Hindu mob allegedly attacked a gathering assembled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Decorated with plays, speeches, and songs, the state soon strangled this small village in Pune. Read more
Maharashtra just passed a law that could jail you for peacefully protesting
16/07/2025
Frontline / by Amey Tirodkar
BJP-led government says it’s fighting “Urban Maoists”, but critics say the MSPS Bill is the biggest threat to free speech since the Emergency.
Days after the ruling BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra observed the 50th anniversary of the Emergency and the curtailment of freedoms it entailed, the Maha Yuti government, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, passed the Maharashtra Special Public Security (MSPS) Bill, 2024, by voice vote in the Legislative Assembly on July 10. Read more
The case of a group of writers and activists unjustly imprisoned in India starkly reveals the exploitative nature of Indian capitalism and its international connections, finds Nandita Lal
Alpa Shah’s The Incarcerations is an investigation into the imprisonment of the BK-16, a group of poets, lawyers, professors, and activists wrongfully incarcerated on the pretext of conspiring against the Indian state. Their stories unravel a vast web of transnational surveillance (including the Israeli spyware Pegasus), neoliberal repression through Financial Action Task Force mandates, the rise of Modi’s crony capitalism epitomised by the Adani empire, and ‘internal’ colonialism in Kashmir. Read more
▪ The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon And The Search For Democracy In India
Author: Alpa Shah
Publishing Date: March 2024
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher
Pages: 672 Read more / order
Also read:
▪ Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste. Brahminism’s wrath against dreamers of equality
Author: Ajaz Ashraf
Publisher: AuthorsUpFront
Publishing Date: June 2024
Pages: 496 Read more/order
▪ How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners
Authors: Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia
Publishing Date: Aug 2023
Publisher: Pluto Press
Pages: 247 Read more / order
