Why 1818 Bhima Koregaon battle marks a flashpoint in 2026 Maharashtra civic polls

Nearly 7,500 police personnel will be deployed in and around Bhima Koregaon on January 1 as tens of thousands of Dalits and Ambedkarite supporters are expected to converge for the 208th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon. While no new programmes have been announced for this anniversary, the event comes at a time when the campaigning for the state civic polls is hotting up, lending it an additional political significance. Even if it is not formally projected as a political rally, the gathering has often provided a platform for several leaders and parties to make significant statements and mobilise their supporters.

What was the Battle of Koregaon?

In the battle fought at Koregaon, then a small village with a population of about 960, located around 25 km northeast of Pune, nearly 800 troops of the East India Company faced an estimated 30,000 Maratha soldiers on January 1, 1818, as per the British Gazette.

In the runup to this battle, on June 13, 1817, the East India Company had forced Peshwa Baji Rao II to sign a treaty that ceded large territories to the British, effectively bringing the Maratha Confederacy to an end. Five months later, the Peshwa’s forces rebelled against the British Resident in Pune but were defeated in the Battle of Khadki. Following the defeat, Baji Rao II moved to Satara, while Pune came under the charge of Colonel Charles Barton Burr.

According to the British Gazette, Colonel Burr received intelligence that Baji Rao was moving south from Junnar with the intention of attacking Pune. He sought reinforcements, prompting the second battalion of the first regiment of the Bombay Native Infantry, about 500 soldiers under Captain Francis Staunton, to march from Sirur towards Pune on the evening of December 31, 1817.

The force, accompanied by 300 irregular cavalry and two six pounder guns manned by European Madras artillerymen, marched through the night. By around 10 am the next morning, after covering nearly 40 km, they encountered the Peshwa’s army of roughly 25,000 Maratha cavalry near the Bhima river.

Captain Staunton positioned his troops and artillery within Koregaon village and prepared to face the attack. The Gazette records that the Marathas first recalled a unit of about 5,000 infantry that had moved ahead. Once they arrived, three assault groups, each comprising around 600 Arab mercenaries, Gosavis and regular infantry, advanced under cover of the riverbank, supported by two guns, and attempted to storm the village from three directions.

British historian Charles Kincaid, in ‘The History of the Maratha People’, estimates that about 900 soldiers formed the initial attacking force. The British troops were soon besieged and cut off from food and water. The first major assault was led by Arab soldiers fighting for the Peshwa, who killed an assistant surgeon outside a temple.

The British Gazette notes that morale in the Company’s troops dipped when the Maratha forces briefly captured one of their artillery guns. The situation changed when Lieutenant Pattinson, an officer who had been shot, led a counterattack to recover the guns. By then, only three officers, Captain Staunton, Lieutenant Jones and Assistant Surgeon Wyllie, were fit for duty.

Towards evening, their case seemed hopeless. As night fell, the attack slackened and they managed to get water. By nine, the firing ceased and the Marathas withdrew, the Gazette records.

Of the 834 British troops engaged at Koregaon, 275 were killed, wounded or went missing, including 20 of the 26 artillery gunners. The Maratha losses were estimated at between 500 and 600 killed and wounded.

Which memorial commemorates the battle?

In 1822, the British erected a 65-foot obelisk at Koregaon to commemorate the battle. The monument bears inscriptions in Marathi and Hindi, listing the names of British soldiers killed or wounded, as well as four Indian artillerymen. An English inscription on the western side praises Captain Staunton and his detachment for withstanding the Peshwa’s army and terms the engagement one of the “proudest triumphs” of the British Army in the East.

What does Bhima Koregaon symbolise for Dalits?

For Dalit activists, the battle represents a historic challenge to caste oppression and a symbolic break from the rigid social order enforced under the Peshwas. Dalit accounts describe the Peshwa regime as imposing humiliating restrictions on untouchables, including forcing them to carry spittoons to prevent their saliva from touching the ground in upper caste areas.

While contemporary British records do not mention the caste composition of the troops, later accounts claim that Mahars, a Dalit community, formed a significant part of Captain Staunton’s unit. Dr B R Ambedkar is believed to have visited Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 1927 to pay tribute to the Mahar soldiers, a gesture that cemented the site’s importance in Dalit political memory. The village is now referred to by activists as Shaurya Bhoomi, or the land of valour.

Why is the site politically volatile?

While the anniversary event has been taking place for decades, it made headlines in 2018 when violence broke out near Bhima Koregaon during the annual Dalit commemoration, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to several others. The Maharashtra Police initially registered cases against two Hindutva leaders, alleging that their speeches had incited violence.

The then BJP-led government however stated that the violence was instigated due to the Elgar Parishad conclave that was held at the site a day earlier on December 31, 2017. The Elgar Parishad conclave was organised by retired judges and activists and featured speeches, cultural performances and resolutions addressing caste discrimination and social inequality.

The Pune Police, however, alleged the Elgar Parishad event had links to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and claimed it was part of a larger conspiracy to provoke violence and destabilise the state.

Between June 2018 and 2020, several activists, lawyers, academics and writers were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the Elgar Parishad case. The accused included Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha and Father Stan Swamy, among others. The legal proceedings in the case are still continuing in various courts.