Scenes from the Jaystambh, in Perne village on Tuesday (Express photo by Arul Horizon)AMID intermittent loud sloganeering like “Ekach saheb, Babasaheb” in praise of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, lakhs of Dalits, drawn from far-off villages of Maharashtra, virtually took over a 50-km stretch of Pune-Ahmednagar to celebrate the 201st anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon on Tuesday. The “Blue wave”, which shone brightly clearly swept the Nagar Road which came to a grinding halt for 15-20 km throughout the day and even spilled over to late evening hours.
It was a day of celebrations for the Dalit community, which came in droves to pay obeisance at the Vijaystambh, located at Perne Phata in Haveli taluka of Pune district. It seemed all the roads in the area headed to only one destination: the victory pillar. Four-wheelers, two-wheelers, jeeps and cars with the blue flag fluttering high and honking loudly moved gingerly on Nagar Road only to land in jams, but nobody seemed to mind or exchanged heated words.
Though the exuberant youths, dressed in their best, made their presence felt in big numbers, the old, the elderly and the ailing were no less in numbers as they walked hand-in-hand and proudly rubbed shoulders with the surging crowd. Women and girls were not to be left behind as they wore white sarees, blue “odnis” and “phetas” to match the blue caps and “phetas” of the men. The selfie lot zoomed in top gear, taking pictures and marking the occasion with gusto.
Unlike last year when the area witnessed violence, there were no sign of any untoward incident. Peace clearly reigned supreme amid joyous moments as the Dalit brethren smiled, laughed, clapped, raised slogans of praise for their God and danced. The Dalit community, united in their thought and spirit, it seemed, had only one agenda for the day: pay respects at the spot where Ambedkar used to visit, the Vijay Stambh.
An elderly man walks from Lonikand to Perne Phata, a distance of 12 km. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)And they did, unmindful of severe odds on their way. For instance, the crowd had to walk to and fro for hours from Lonikand to Perne Phata, a distance of 12 km. Even after that they struggled to get proper transport facility. The crowd also did not mind the early morning chill or the blazing afternoon sun.
What was most heartening was the gumption shown by the elders and ailing among the crowd. Some of whom have been visiting the place for more than 25 years. Like Vilas Bhalerao, 85, who spoke chaste English, said, “I have been visiting the place for nearly 30 years. All for the love of Babasaheb.” Bhalerao said he started coming here after he got to know the correct history by reading Ambedkar’s speeches. “Until then I thought Marathas had defeated the Peshwas. Actually, Dalit had defeated Peshwas. I learnt this from Babasaheb’s speeches and since then I am a regular here,” said Bhalerao, who could barely walk due to old age but was helped by his grandson. Bhalerao walked for nearly five hours to and fro.
Subash Kamble (65) a Pune resident, said: “I have undergone back surgery and is not in a position to walk without the help of crutches. But I did not want to miss out on this day,” he said.
Shahaji Kamble, 65, who came from the drought-hit Atpadi taluka, said: “I am a regular visitor. I come here because my God used to visit this place. It gives me immense pleasure.” He suffers from knee pain but was walking briskly on the dusty margin of the Pune-Nagar Road.
Sharda Donge, 65, was walking wearing socks. “I can’t wear a footwear as it hurts badly,” she said. “Our God used to come here…I wanted to touch the spot and get the feel,” she said. Vijay Ingle, who was affected by polio in one leg, showed amazing spirit as he walked for hours to reach the spot. “I am a farm labourer. I am coming for the first time. I heard what happened last time. I am sure it will not happen this time because we all have come together,” he said.
If the elders marched for peace, the youths and middle-aged too seemed to voice the same view. Kushi Kasare and Sangeeta Ghadge, two homemakers, who were part of a group of 60 people from Mumbai. “None here wants violence. We want to offer prayers in silence and peace. If anybody tries to attack us, we will hit back. But from our side we don’t want violence,” said Ghadge. Pushpa S from Nigdi who has been visiting the place for 33 years said,
“This is not our last time. We don’t know much about the victory pillar, but we know Babasaheb used to come here. And so are we here.”
