I have been visiting Bhima Koregaon regularly since last 10 years, but this year the crowd swelled to a massive number of people coming not only from Maharashtra but also from various parts of our country. People came from afar. They came from Andhra. They came from Telangana. They came from Rajasthan. They came from all over. It is interesting to see how the event of battle is transformed now into the symbol of social revolution throughout India. Every year, people will come to this place, and they will come in significant numbers.

What was strange this time was the way everything was arranged by the administration. If you are visiting from Pune by Nagar Road, your vehicle was halted 5 km before the spot where the monument devoted to the soldiers is erected. Before you reach the actual place of the pillar, 100 meters of a distance would take you 50 minutes. In total, one had to walk 5 km to reach the place in the throng of people. It is laborious exercise. Now imagine so many mothers and sisters walking with their children for 10 km in total. It is completely enervating. The mass of people at the Bhima Koregaon must be into lakhs and the people were floating in and out every moment. It is difficult to estimate the number of people that might have visited, but surely a few lakhs of people.

If this toil was not enough, the caste Hindus pelted stones at the people coming from Nagar. They set some vehicles on fire and created an atmosphere of fear among the people coming from all over the places. The atmosphere of fear was created, but the descendant of Siddhanak did not fear anyone and they will not fear anyone. The crowd remained undeterred. According to the legend, a few thousand Peshva soldiers just ran away hearing the name of Siddhanag. Such was the terror of the MaharNags that just 500 of them beat the army of 28,000 and before the actual battle took place 2000 of them ran away from the battleground.

If we act in unity and a sense of purpose, Brahminism can be uprooted at once from this earth.

Author – Mangesh Dahiwale, Human Rights Activist