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Caste politics resurfaces in Maharashtra over award row

Mumbai - The Maratha lobby is accusing Fadnavis of backing a fellow Brahmin and causing unrest among the Marathas.

Caste politics have once again resurfaced in Maharashtra, with the state government honouring renowned historian Babasaheb Purandare with the Maharashtra Bhushan award.
The 93-year-old, Pune-based historian had been slammed by Maratha groups for having helped American author James Laine bring out a scholarly book on the 17th century warrior-king, called Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic in 2003.
Members of hardline Maratha group Sambhaji Brigade had attacked the respected Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune after the book was published, as James had accessed historical documents there. The state government, then ruled by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also imposed an arbitrary ban on the book, which had to be lifted after both the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court ruled the government action illegal.
The BJP-Shiv Sena government recently decided to bestow the Maharashtra Bhusan award on Purandare, drawing the ire of politicians from the NCP, most of who belong to the Maratha community. Devendra Fadnavis, the state Chief Minister, is a Brahmin, and so too is Purandare.
The Maratha lobby is now accusing Fadnavis of backing a fellow Brahmin and causing unrest among the Marathas. Both the Congress and the NCP have criticised the state government's moves, though the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are fully behind Fadnavis.
While leading NCP politicians have warned of trouble, Raj Thackeray, the MNS chief has vowed to retaliate in case Purandare's opponents indulge in violence. Jitendra Awhad, an NCP legislator from Thane, described Wednesday as 'a black day' in the state's history with the government honouring Purandare.
Awhad claims that Purandare, who has written several books and plays on Shivaji, has always projected the warrior-king from the perspective of Brahmins, and portrayed him as anti-Muslim, reflecting the viewpoints of the Hinduva groups.
Sharad Pawar, the NCP chief, has appealed for calm and urged politicians not to politicise the issue. Thackeray, however, accuses the Congress-NCP and some disgruntled BJP leaders in the state of targeting Fadnavis.
The government decided to hold the function to honour Purandare at the high-security Raj Bhavan to prevent protests. Purandare was also brought to Mumbai under high security.
nithin@khaleejtimes.com

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