Scroll.in / By Aarefa Johari
Five months after the caste-based violence in Maharashtra’s Bhima Koregaon town, the state police has shifted the focus of its investigation from Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide to a group of five social activists working with Dalits, Adivasis and political prisoners.
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Statement by Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS)
WSS condemns the wave of state repression following the peaceful commemoration of the Ambedkarite community on the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. The most recent wave of repression is a set of raids without a warrant conducted simultaneously at 6 am on 17 April, 2018, upon the homes of Kabir Kala Manch activists Rupali Jadhav, Jyoti Jagtap, Ramesh Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe and Dhawala Dhengle in Pune; Republican Panther activists Sudhir Dhavale and Harshali Potdar in Mumbai; and Nagpur-based lawyer Surendra Gadling and Delhi-based CRPP activist Rona Wilson.
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The Wire / By Sukanya Shantha
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Police’s inability to arrest Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan chief Manohar Bhide, the prime suspect in the attacks unleashed on Dalits visiting Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1, led to a massive protest with over 50,000 Ambedkarites pouring into Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on March 26.
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Documented on Sanhati India / By Sudhir Dhawale
Two hundred years ago, on the 1st of January 1818, the Peshwas and the troops of the British East India Company confronted each other at Bhima Koregaon near Pune in one of the battles of the Anglo-Maratha War. The battle heralded the end of the Peshwa empire. The British installed a victory pillar at the site, with the names of 51 fallen soldiers inscribed on it, of whom 22 were Mahars, while the rest were Bahujans and people from different religious communities.
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India Cultural Forum / By Harish S. Wankhede
The Dalits are angry again.
Another incident of caste violence and atrocity was registered in Maharashtra. This time Dalits were protesting against the planned attack by the Hindutvadi rightwing groups on an event, organized to commemorate the “victory of Mahar’s” over the mighty Peshwas at the battle of Bhima-Koregaon in 1818.
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The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha
‘Instead of arresting those involved in terrorising our community, the police has been busy arresting our children,’ said the uncle of a 14-year-old boy who was picked up.
Mumbai: Sarita Kamble stood in front of the tall, wooden door of the Dongri Observation Home for almost 10 minutes before entering. “He can’t see me crying. It will make him weak. Let us go in once I feel composed,” she hastily tells her husband, Sanket, as she struggles to hold back her tears.
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The Wire / by Varsha Torgalkar
Pune: Organisers of Elgar Parishad, including members of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), were booked on Monday night for allegedly promoting enmity between various groups at the December 31 event held at Shaniwar Wada to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon in Pune.
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The Wire / By Sukanya Shantha
Impromptu protests erupted in various parts of the city with calls for a state shutdown due to the police’s inability to contain violence in Pune which later spread to other parts.
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multiple Indian languages / en subtitles │ 50 min │ 2017
By pedestrian pictures
Direction and Camera – Somnath Waghmare
Editor – Deepu (Pradeep K P)
About the film
History speaks about great wars fought, brave warriors and clever kings and emperors. What history doesn’t do is justice to the wars, warriors and leaders of the oppressed. This documentary is about the 500 Mahar soldiers who offered to fight alongside their countrymen, against the colonisers. Rejected by the ruling class they joined forces with the colonisers and fought in the ‘Bhima Koregaon Battle’, defeating the Brahminical rule of the Peshwas. Just as history did, so do the media and ruling class today conveniently forget to acknowledge them. On the 1st of January, every year, 20 lakh (2 million) people gather at Bhima-Koregaon, Pune, Maharashtra to commemorate that battle. No national or local media covers the largest annual gathering in the region. The documentary captures the history of Bhima Koregaon and its relevance to contemporary Dalit issues and politics in the country. It tells the history of the Bahujans through the coverage of the events of this gathering.
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