| Name(s) |
BHIMA KOREGAON
INCIDENT |
|
Issue |
Violence at
celebrations of the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon. |
|
Description and Events |
Bhima Koregaon in Pune, Maharashtra is associated with an
important phase of Maratha history. Two hundred years ago, on
January 1, 1818, a few hundred Mahar soldiers of the East India
Company, led by the British, defeated the massive Peshwa army,
led by Peshwa Bajirao II, in the
Battle of Koregaon.
Over the years, as the battle came to be seen as a victory of
the Mahars against the injustices perpetuated by the Brahminical
Peshwas, thousands of dalits have been gathering in Bhima
Koregaon on January 1 to pay their respect at the Vijay Sthamb
(victory pillar). The pillar was erected by the East India
Company in memory of those who fought the battle and includes
the names of the Mahar soldiers who unknowingly brought an end
to the Peshwa rule in 1818.
|
|
Jan 01, 2018 |
The gathering consisted largely of Dalits,
and interference by some Maratha groups
resulted in escalation of an already tense gathering into
violence, in which there was one death, 30 policemen being
injured as well as over 300 people being detained. |
|
Jan 02, 2018 |
An FIR was filed against Manohar 'Sambhaji' Bhide and Milind
Ekbote for instigating violence on Dalits. |
|
Jan 03, 2018 |
A Maharashtra Bandh was declared on this day by the Dalit
groups, as a result of which normal life in parts of Maharshtra
was affected. |
|
Mar 14, 2018 |
Milind Ekbote was arrested and the Supreme Court cancelled
his interim bail plea after he failed to cooperate with the
probe agencies.
|
|
Apr 22, 2018 |
A 19-year old girl, Puja Sakat, whose house was burnt, was found
dead in a well. |
|
|
Report submitted by The Forum for Intergrated National Security
(FINS), mainly comprising retired army officers, absolved Milind
Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide from direct involvement in the
violence. |
|
Aug 29, 2018 |
Pune police carried out searches of nine rights activists, and
arrested five of them. Those arrested include Maoist ideologue
Varavara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, and activists Arun
Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves. The Supreme
Court ordered them to be placed under "house arrest".
|
|
Sep 12, 2018 |
The Supreme Court extended the "house arrest" until 17 September
2018. |
|
Sep 28, 2018 |
The Supreme Court refused to interfere in the arrest
of five left-wing activists in this case. The court dismissed
the plea for an SIT investigation and said that Maharashtra
police could continue with its probe. The court also extended
the house arrest of the activists for another four weeks. It
further said that it wasn't a case of arrest due to dissent.
|
|
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