Maharashtra: How Statues Become Flashpoints For Conflict

The Mahayuti government is in the dock over damage to the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at a fort in Malvan. The statue of the revered Maratha leader was installed by the Navy and unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last December.

However, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has trained its guns against the government, alleging corruption and a lack of proper maintenance. The MVA organised a Malvan bandh last Wednesday and announced protests in Mumbai on Sunday. The workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Bharatiya Janata Party clashed in Konkan.

This is not the first time that there has been a political storm over the statue of some revered personality. There have been instances in the past where violence erupted over the desecration of statues, leading to the loss of lives.

Ramabai Nagar, a slum colony adjacent to the Eastern Express Highway near Ghatkopar, will never forget the date of July 11, 1997. That morning, the residents woke up to see the idol of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar installed on a junction desecrated. The enraged residents went to complain against the act at the local police chowki, from where they were directed to the Pant Nagar police station.

The dilly-dallying by the police in registering an offence aggravated the situation, and the enraged crowd resorted to arson. A State Reserved Police team was summoned, which fired on the protesters. Ten people, including a bystander, were killed. The cops entered the colony, and residents were caned. In retaliation, the protesters burnt down a bus. The incident led to a huge uproar. At that time, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance was in power, and Gopinath Munde was the home minister.

Calling the saffron government anti-Dalit, the opposition parties organised protests across the state and demanded prosecution of the cops who shot Ramabai Nagar protesters. Consequently, the Gundewar Commission was established to investigate the incidents. Based on the commission's report, Manohar Kadam, the sub-inspector of SRP who ordered firing, was prosecuted.

Around nine years later, another incident pertaining to an idol led to violence in the city. On July 9, 2006, the idol of Meenatai Thackeray, then Shiv Sena supremo's late wife, was blackened at Shivaji Park. This led to outrage by the Shiv Sainiks, who affectionately referred to her as "Ma Saheb." The road between Shivaji Park and Shiv Sena Bhavan turned into a battleground between the police and rampaging Shiv Sainiks. Several vehicles, including a private bus, were burnt down. The police had to lathi-charge and fire tear gas shells to disperse Shiv Sainiks. Violence was reported from other parts of Maharashtra as well.

In the present scenario, the Mahayuti government is on the backfoot over the damage to Chhatrapati's statue. To prevent the incident from snowballing into a major political plank, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar apologised for the mishap. Modi too apologised when he visited Mumbai last week.

However, the MVA is not willing to let go of the issue, saying that there was arrogance in the prime minister's apology, and he did not address the allegations of corruption in the idol installation project.

Jitendra Dixit is an author and consulting editor of NDTV.

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