While Dalit activism is generally understood as resistance to “Brahmanical Hinduism”, the Vivek Vichar Manch’s goal is to foster Hindu unity, something which is also a core ideological goal of the BJP and the Sangh
At a time when the Opposition, particularly the Congress, has made caste census, the representation of marginalised classes in structures of power, and their share in welfare benefits its key political planks, a recent initiative of Dalits subscribing to Hindutva and seeking to resolve caste faultlines is active in Maharashtra, with some support from the RSS and the BJP. Read more
The BK-16 case links India’s harmful neoliberal policies, state authorities abuse of laws, and the collapse of institutions, says the social anthropologist
… In this episode of State of Southasia, Shah speaks to Nayantara Narayanan about the work of the BK16 with indigenous communities and other minorities, their pushback against neoliberal policies and why they were seen as threats by the Indian state, and how and why they were implicated in the Bhima Koregaon case. The case shows a “very direct link between the kinds of interests of the state and corporate powers in accessing resources that lie under [Adivasi] lands and the fight for justice of those people who those lands belong to,” she says.
▪ 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
Ambedkar’s plea an attempt at political sensationalisation: State
Special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray opposed an application filed by senior politician Prakash Ambedkar before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry to call NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar again, if required, to depose as a witness. Read more
The book exposes the strategies of hate politics and violent populism and shows how democracy is being wrecked from within.
Hannah Arendt’s canonical exhortation for the persecuted Jew that “…if one is attacked as a Jew, one must defend oneself as a Jew” finds resonance in the Dalit’s resistance against Brahminism and caste atrocities in India. Articulating the political contestation, imbued with the concept of social justice, Dalits look forward not to a continued endurance of historical, or even day-to-day, injustice but to pursue both normative and strategic vindication of their rights and dignity. Read more
The Indian Express / by Chandan Shantaram Haygunde
It may be recalled that widespread violence took place in Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, during the 200th commemoration of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon
The Maharashtra government has granted yet another extension to the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, which is probing into the causes of violence reported in Pune’s Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018.
An order in this regard was passed by Chetan Nikam, deputy secretary, home department, on Monday. As per this order, the commission has been granted an extension till May 31, 2025. Read more
The Polis Project / by Prashant Rahi and Mouli Sharma
That chopper hasn’t gotten used to me yet
Its wound hasn’t gone deep enough as yet
That’s the commoners’ clarion call we hear
Not a mindless mob of elite nincompoops
These two couplets from a singular Marathi ghazal might feel a bit prickly to some, but they can touch an indignant chord among the oppressed. The first of the two couplets is the refrain, while the “clarion call” in the second gives the composition its name: Elgar. Read more
The Mahars have a historical connection with this victory pillar.
An application filed on February 22, 2025 before the Bhima Koregaon Commission of Inquiry has put forward an interesting proposal. It asks the Commission to include in its recommendations that the supervision and upkeep of the victory pillar commemorating the battle of Bhima Koregaon be handed over to former soldiers of the Mahar Regiment. It was filed by senior advocate B G Bansode on behalf of the association of ex-servicemen of the Regiment. Read more
Koregaon Bhima violence: Lawyer calls Prakash Ambedkar’s letter on Sharad Pawar ‘belated’
23/02/2025
Hindustan Times / by Nadeem Inamdar
In the letter, Pawar had alleged that the violence was orchestrated by the then Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government under Devendra Fadnavis and that the state machinery, particularly the police, had been misused.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar has written to the Bhima Koregaon Commission, requesting that Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar be summoned on the violence that occurred here in 2018 and asked to furnish a letter he had written to then-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on January 24, 2020. Read more
Koregaon Bhima Commission: Prakash Ambedkar seeks Pawar’s letter to Uddhav that blamed Fadnavis govt
21/02/2025
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
To support his claims, the VBA chief attached a news report with his application that stated Sharad Pawar’s letter to Uddhav Thackeray demanded the formation of an SIT to probe the Koregaon Bhima violence.
Senior politician Prakash Ambedkar on Friday filed an application before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry claiming that National Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar had around January 24, 2020, given a letter to then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying the violence (in Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2018) was a conspiracy hatched by the previous government under leadership of Devendra Fadnavis. Read more
The writer spent six years and seven months in jail before receiving bail in the Bhima Koregaon case.
On January 24, when Sudhir Dhawale walked back into the narrow lane in the Mumbai neighbourhood of Govandi where he lived until he was arrested in June, 2018, young men welcomed him with the beat of the dhol.
His neighbours then marched in a celebratory procession to a statue of BR Ambedkar 100 metres away. Dhawale garlanded the statue and gave a short speech about the importance of safeguarding Dalit rights. And just like that, he said, his life returned to normal. Read more
The Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case began after caste violence broke out during a Dalit gathering in 2018 near Pune. It later turned into allegations of a Maoist conspiracy, leading to the arrest of several activists.
Last week, the Bombay High Court granted bail to prominent rights activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. The two were arrested on the accusations of being ‘urban naxals’ and linked to the banned CPI(Maoist) organisation. Of the 16 accused–including Wilson, Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, and activists like Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao, and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj–Father Stan Swamy died in custody while many others are out on bail.
As of 2025, no charges have been framed against the accused, and the trial is yet to begin with over 300 witnesses to testify in the case. Read more
By The Dalit Voice / @ambedkariteIND (Jan 2):
More than 2 million people visit Bhima Koregaon on Shaurya Diwas.
Jan 1, 2025
207th anniversary of Battle of Koregaon Bhima: We will kick those who oppose Dr Ambedkar, rhymes Ramdas Athavle
01/01/2025
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
Lakhs visit Jaystambh in Pune, no untoward incident reported, say police
Over six lakh people, mainly followers of Dr B R Ambedkar from different parts of the country, visited the ‘Jaystambh’ at Perne village in Pune district to mark the 207th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima on Wednesday. Read more
About 10 lakh people tribute peacefully at Koregaon Bhima victory pillar
01/01/2025
Times of India / by Sandip Dighe
About 10 lakh people on Wednesday paid tributes at the Koregaon Bhima Jaystambh (victory pillar) at Perne village, about 30km from the city on the highway to Ahmednagar road.
People from all walks of life went there to commemorate the 207th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima fought between the East India Company and the Peshwa of the Maratha empire on January 1, 1818. Read more
In Maharashtra, Fadnavis’s Foray to Capture Bhima-Koregaon
01/01/2025
The Wire / by Anand Teltumbde
The scale and nature of Maharashtra government’s involvement in the forthcoming celebration at Bhima-Koregaon raises questions, especially in light of the historical significance of the event as a symbol of anti-caste resistance.
The upcoming congregation on January 1, 2025 at Bhima-Koregaon is being actively sponsored by the state government under the leadership of the returning Maharashtra chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis. After reclaiming the chief ministerial position following a six-year hiatus, this initiative marks one of his first major undertakings, thereby carrying immense political significance. Read more
Graphic by Arun Ferreira & Vernon Gonsalves
People gather in large numbers at Bhima Koregaon village to mark 207th anniversary of battle
01/01/2025
The News Mill / by ani
A large number of people on Wednesday gathered at Koregaon Bhima village in Maharashtra’s Pune to mark the 207th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon Battle at the Vijay Stambha memorial erected in honour of the soldiers who fought in the battle. Read more
Political leaders pay tribute at the Bhima Koregaon Memorial
01/01/2025
The Mooknayak / by Pratikshit Singh
Every year on 1st January, lakhs of people assemble at Jay Stambh, the memorial dedicated to the martyrs of the historic Bhima Koregaon Battle.
Prakash Ambedkar, the president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and grandson of Dr. Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar visited Jay Stambha, the Bhima Koregaon memorial and paid tributes to the martyrs of the historic battle. Read more
Security Heightened As Uneasiness Looms Over Bhima-Koregaon Anniversary
30/12/2024
Free Press Journal / by Ashish Singh
For the Dalit community, the battle represents a significant moment of pride, as they view the victory as symbolic of their resistance against the upper-caste oppression of the Maratha Peshwa regime.
In light of a recent incident in Parbhani district, the 207th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon (1818), scheduled for January 1, 2025, is being watched by security agencies. The agencies are on high alert due to concerns about the law and order situation. Read more
