Amid heavy police deployment, thousands of people paid tribute at the memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, in Vadhu Budruk on Saturday. (Express Photo)
Thousands of people paid tribute at the memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj at Vadhu Budruk village on the occasion of ‘Balidan Smaran Din’, the death anniversary of the Maratha king, on Saturday. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was killed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1689.
State Education Minister Vinod Tawade and Member of Parliament Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil, of the Shiv Sena, also visited the memorial. District Collector Saurabh Rao performed some rituals, in the presence of District Superintendent of Police Suvez Haque, local MLA Baburao Pacharne, Tehsildar Ranjit Bhosale and residents of Vadhu Budruk, Koregaon Bhima and nearby areas. Tawade felicitated Amol Kolhe, who is playing the role of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in a TV series on a Marathi entertainment channel. He also felicitated activists Yuvraj Vishnu Kashid and Rajiv Jadhav with the Shambhu Seva Award.
During his speech, Tawade assured that sufficient funds will be provided to develop the memorial. A large number of policemen had also been deployed at Vadhu Budruk on Saturday. An incident at Vadhu Budruk is believed to have been the trigger behind the violent clashes near villages in Pune on January 1, when lakhs of Dalits had come to the Jaystambh, or victory memorial, in Perne village to mark the 200th year of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Marathas believe it was their ancestors who defied the orders of Aurangzeb and performed the last rites of Sambhaji Maharaj at Vadhu Budruk. However, as per a Dalit narrative, Govind (Mahar) Gaikwad, a 17th century Dalit figure, performed the last rites of Sambhaji Maharaj.
A controversy over erecting a board with “inaccurate history” near the memorial, in the intervening night of December 28 and 29 last year, had led to a clash between local Dalits and Marathas. This incident is believed to have sparked violent clashes between Dalit and Maratha groups in Koregaon Bhima region on January 1, in which one person was killed and several others were injured.
On Saturday, Shiv Sena leader Adhalrao-Patil demanded that offences falsely registered against “innocent local residents” should be withdrawn.