For the second consecutive year, the Maharashtra government has put up the Mahar regiment insignia along with flowers and the tricolour on the British military monument ahead of the January 1 event.(Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)Pune News Live Updates, 01 January 2023: Thousands of followers have started to arrive at the Jaystambh in Pune’s Perne village marking the 205th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima Sunday amidst heavy police deployment. For the second consecutive year, the state government put up the Mahar Regiment insignia along with flowers and the Tricolour on the ‘Jaystambh’. Nearly 5,000 police personnel have been deployed at the Jaystambh and nearby villages, including Koregaon Bhima and Vadhu Budruk. This year, the Maharashtra government expects over 5 lakh visitors to Jaystambh.
As many as 106 farmer families, whose land was acquired by Pimpri Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA) 50 years ago, had a reason to raise the toast to the New Year, for the Shinde-Fadnavis government in Maharashtra has announced a compensation package for them. The announcement was made by Industry Minister Uday Samant during the state legislative assembly session Friday.
Pune has seen the highest year-on-year absorption of office spaces in the country in 2022. The city, as per Savills India Research, a real estate research firm, saw absorption of 6.4 million square feet (mnsqft) of office space as compared to 2.9 mnsqft in 2021. However, the possible resurgence of another Covid-19 wave has put office spaces on caution ahead of the new year.
On January 1, 1818 a battalion of around 900 soldiers under the British East India Company marched from Shirur to Pune in Maharashtra to face an army consisting of 20,000 soldiers led by Baji Rao II. The battle that lasted for a very short while resulted in the death of more than 200 soldiers on the side of the British and about 500 soldiers on the side of the Peshwas. According to Scottish statesman and historian Mountstuart Elphinstone, who visited the battlefield two days later, houses had been burnt and the streets were covered with dead bodies of men and horses. While the Battle of Koregaon did not see either of the parties emerging clearly victorious, it still came to be regarded as a moment of triumph for the British, who had finally won the Anglo-Maratha war and went on to construct a ‘victory pillar’ at Koregaon.
Two centuries later, the Koregaon victory pillar is the site of an annual celebration by the Mahar community of Maharashtra. Though in essence, the Battle of Koregaon was won by the British, the victory is celebrated every year by the Mahars, an untouchable caste in Maharashtra. Back in the nineteenth century, the Mahars were particularly favoured by the British for recruitment in the military troops. At the Battle of Koregaon, they formed a majority in the British contingent. The event of triumph of a Mahar majority battalion over the upper caste Peshwa army has played a significant role in elevating Dalit pride and enforcing a positive identity in them. Adrija Roychowdhury reported
Criticising the Modi government for failing to rise to people’s expectations, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Saturday reminded the Centre of its “failed promises of 2022”.
“Now that we have only a few hours left of 2022, it is time that the nation revisits the promises made by the BJP government,” said NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase. Read more