Uttar Pradesh-based ‘Bhim Army’ has announced a rally in Pune to mark the anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle on January 1. Datta Pol, the outfit’s Pune district president, confirmed they will hold a ‘Bhima-Koregaon Sangharsh Mahasabha’ at SSPMS grounds on December 30 to commemorate the 201st anniversary of the battle. He said their leader, Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’, will be present.
“Mr. Azad will address a rally on December 30 and will also hold a conversation with Ambedkarite students at the Savitribai Phule Pune University on January 1. He will then proceed to pay tributes to the martyrs of the battle by showering flowers from a helicopter on the Bhima-Koregaon Ranstambh (victory pillar),” Mr. Pol said.
However, in the tense climate following the Bhima-Koregaon clashes on January 1 this year, the Bhim Army is yet to receive police permission for the rally.
“We submitted our request [to hold the rally] more than a week ago, but are awaiting a green signal from the authorities. The rally will be held in the city come what may. We are following every procedure to make sure the event passes off peacefully,” Mr. Pol said.
He further said that Mr. Azad was likely to speak on the Pune police’s crackdown on ‘urban Naxalism’ and against the arrest of intellectuals and activists in connection with the Elgaar Parishad-Bhima-Koregaon clashes.
Joint Commissioner of Police, Shivaji Bodkhe said he had yet to discuss the matter with Special Branch officials.
“We will first have to scrutinize their [Bhim Army’s] agenda for the event and get details of their proposed rally. Only then can we think of granting permission,” Mr. Bodkhe said.
Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Brahman Mahasangh (ABBM), which was one of the main opponents of the Elgaar Parishad held on December 31 last year, has said that while it did not object to the Bhim Army’s proposed rally, its contents must be monitored by the police authorities.
“We are not opposed in principle. Everybody has a right to express their views. However, the event must be approved by the police,” said Anand Dave of the ABBM.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Dave said that the ABBM was apprehensive about the presence of incendiary speakers like Bhim Army’s founder, Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ and Solapur-based researcher Sarfaraz Shaikh.
“The speakers have been known to stir up controversy in the past with their needlessly provocative speeches designed to disrupt social harmony. Shaikh has written a book on Tipu Sultan where he has made derogatory remarks about Hindu women. The rally would do well to exclude such persons,” Mr. Dave said.
Despite Bhim Army’s call for other Ambedkarite outfits to join in, some have already distanced themselves from Mr. Azad’s group.
“We have nothing to do with this programme. Furthermore, given that the Koregaon-Bhima inquiry commission hearings are on, we do not wish for any more disturbances or tensions,” said RPI (A) leader Siddharth Dhende, who is also Pune’s Deputy Mayor.
For several Dalit activists, the narrative of the battle, where Mahar community members fought under the Union Jack to allegedly defeat Peshwa Bajirao II’s numerically superior forces in 1818, signified a major step in the ongoing struggle against caste oppression and Brahminical domination.
While lakhs of Dalits converge on the victory pillar each year to pay their respects, the celebrations this year were marred by riots that left one person dead besides aggravating social tensions across Maharashtra.
Since then, the Pune City police have conducted multi-city crackdowns across the country and arrested ten noted intellectuals and activists including advocate Surendra Gadling, professor Shoma Sen, poet P. Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj, among others, for their alleged links with proscribed Maoist outfits and for their roles in the Elgaar Parishad and the subsequent Bhima-Koregaon clashes.