Anand Teltumde Stand on Bhima Koregaon.
The Myth of Bhima Koregaon Reinforces the Identities It Seeks to Transcend https://thewire.in/caste/myth-bhima-koregaon-reinforces-identities-seeks-transcend ) 02/JAN/2018
The resolve to fight Hindutva forces is certainly laudable, but the myth used for the purpose may be grossly counterproductive. While the resolve to fight the Hindutva forces is certainly laudable, the myth used for the purpose may be grossly counterproductive insofar as it reinforces identitarian tendencies whereas the necessity is to transcend them. If the Dalits wanted to claim significant contribution to the establishment of the British Raj in India, it may not be as such incorrect. But to attribute motive of fighting caste oppression to their soldiery shall be far-fetched and unhistorical. ..
It is equally incorrect to say that since the Peshwa forces belonged to the Maratha confederacy, they were the nationalist forces, and the defeating British forces were the imperialists. To see historical facts through the spectacles of a non-existent nation is equally condemnable. There was no concept of an Indian nation; as a matter of fact, this concept eludes us even to this day. Paradoxically, India itself is by and large a gift of British rule, having forged a political unity of vast landmass of the subcontinent. Those who have been driving it as a nation for their selfish gains are indeed debauched like Peshwas and are the biggest anti-nationals.
https://m.thewire.in/article/rights/anand-teltumbde-explains-the-genesis-of-his-articles-on-bhima-koregaon/ How the so-called Ambedkarites have – not unlike the Sanghis – inverted the meanings of what Babasaheb Ambedkar actually meant and stood for. The site and its associated meanings have thus only further cemented their reputation as a source of resistance to a Brahminical order.
On the History and Memory of the Battle of Koregaon Dwaipayan Sen 16/MAY/2020 https://thewire.in/history/battle-of-koregaon-memory
The assertion of Mahar pride and self-dignity with respect to Bhima Koregaon victory has been reiterated by B.R. Ambedkar’s visit to the Bhima Koregaon monument in 1927. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Bhima-Koregaon Battle is More Than a Military Victory, It Signifies Dalit Pride By: Anand Teltumbde JANUARY 09, 2018, https://www.news18.com/news/india/opinion-bhima-koregaon-battle-is-more-than-a-military-victory-it-signifies-dalit-pride-1621091.html
Bhima–Koregaon Myth, Metaphor and Meta-mission https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/5/margin-speak/bhima%E2%80%93koregaon.html The identity mongering appears to indicate the former, that the Dalits seek to gain a dominant position à la ruling community, as Ambedkar once said, within the caste structure. The problem with this proposition, however, is that it betrays ignorance of the very character of caste identity, that is hierarchy. It drives caste to split like amoeba. The proof of it is that the aspirational category of “Dalits” constructed by Ambedkar could not hold Dalit castes together and prevent their splintering. Nothing that is based on caste identity could forge a larger unity of people. The dream of becoming a ruling community may inspire a section of upwardly mobile Dalits, but it will stay a chimera.
Shepherd, Kancha Ilaiah (2018): “Why the Mahar Soldier Was the First Freedom Seeker in 1818,” Wire, 17 January, https://thewire.in/213987/understanding-mahar-soldier-bhima-koregaon
- https://www.indianculture.gov.in/flipbook/76848
The Basis: Dalit Alternative Futures https://youtu.be/MlhI9shURCs Politics which reinforce identitarian tendencies v/s transcending indentity based politics