Elgaar Parishad held to defuse social tension between OBCs and Marathas: Ambedkar

According to the investigation carried out by the Pune city police, the Elgaar Parishad was held in Pune’s Shaniwar Wada on December 31, 2017 at the behest of the banned CPI-Maoist and that speeches delivered at the conclave and previous campaigns held for the event were among the factors that led to the Koregaon Bhima violence.

Ambedkar had presided over the Elgaar Parishad as retired Justice P B Sawant, who was the president of the conclave, remained absent due to illness.

During his cross examination by advocate Pradip Gawade, Ambedkar said the main objective of the Elgaar Parishad was to defuse social tension between OBCs and Maratha community on the issue of reservation.

Gawade alleged that Ambedkar’s claim was an “afterthought” to secure political gains, as none of the pamphlets and other material published and circulated by Elgaar Parishad mentioned its objective as defusing social tension between the two communities.

Ambedkar rejected the allegation, saying the first meeting called by retired Justice Sawant and Justice B G Kolse Patil was on the issue of the widening divide between the OBCs and Marathas. “This being the soul of the organisation (of Elgaar Parishad), does not need mentioning anywhere….,” said Ambedkar.

The Dalit leader was also cross-examined by advocate Rohan Jamadar, a descendant of a British soldier Kandoji-bin Gajoji Jamadar, who was injured in the battle of Koregaon Bhima against the Peshwas on January 1, 1818.
The British had appointed Kandoji Jamadar as in-charge of the Jaystambh, a war memorial erected in 1821, in the memory of its soldiers who fought this battle.

According to the Jamadar family belonging to the Maratha community, both British and Peshwa forces comprised soldiers of different castes. And thus, they say the battle of Koregaon Bhima cannot be linked to any particular caste or religion, and that it was not a war against casteism. But a section of Dalits, mainly Ambedkarites, believe the British Army comprising 500 soldiers from the Mahar community defeated a 28,000–strong force of Peshwas, who were Brahmins, in this battle. Lakhs of Ambedkarites visit the Jaystambh on January 1 calling it ‘Shaurya Din (victory day)’ to pay tribute to soldiers who, they believe, fought a war for freedom against the alleged casteism of Peshwas.

Believing the same narrative, the Elgaar Parishad was held by a group of organisations under the banner ‘Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyaan’ ahead of the 200th commemoration of the battle of Koregaon Bhima.