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It’s a lesson in history for Bhima Koregaon commission panel about inaccuracies linked to 1818 battle during hearing in Pune
On Wednesday, Chandrakant Patil, a freelance journalist deposed before the commission, raising what he claimed to be several historical inaccuracies.
The Bhima Koregaon commission began its hearings in Pune on Wednesday, at its office located in the Zilla Parishad building at the Bund Garden chowk.
The state government-appointed two-member judicial commission is headed by former chief justice of Calcutta high court, justice Jai Narayan Patel, and has state chief secretary Sumit Mullick on it as well. The commission conducted the day-long proceedings, which took place in two sessions.
On Wednesday, Chandrakant Patil, a freelance journalist deposed before the commission, raising what he claimed to be several historical inaccuracies.
Patil said that the Mahar Battalion was raised by the British in Belgaum in 1941 and it did not exist 1818 formally. He also claimed the 1818 battle did not end conclusively.
Patil made the submissions of necessary historical documents as proof with the aid of his lawyer. In particular, Patil referenced a book entitled Military History and Warfare, written by John Wiley. Patil said that Wiley was a surgeon in Madras Artillery and took part in the war and his name is etched on plate no 2 of the Vijaystambh memorial.
Patil further said that through media reports, he came to know that incidents in Vadhu Budruk and Bhima Koregaon were connected.
Patil also claimed that the Peshwa Bajirao had hired Arab mercenaries. The commission took all his submissions on record and got all his statements typed and the details were seen publicly on an LCD display in the outer offices.
Patil deposed before the commission for the entire day.
The two-member committee have already visited the Vijay Stambh memorial and Vadhu Budruk village in May. The commission received as many as 174 affidavits during the first phase and 166 affidavits during the extended deadline period. As many as 25 affidavits were submitted in Mumbai, taking the total number of affidavits submitted before the commission to 365.
Large-scale violence erupted in Bhima Koregaon and its adjoining areas on January 1 after a bicentennial function to mark the battle of Bhima Koregaon, a village 40 kilometres from Pune.
The functions commemorates an 1818 battle between the Peshwa army and the Mahar regiment-backed British army. Meanwhile, Republican Yuva Morcha’s Maharashtra president, Rahul Dambale, moved an application before the commission stating that the judicial commission’s work was moving at a tardy pace and demanded that its work be completed before December 25.
