The Sambhaji Brigade demanded on Monday the deletion of ‘objectionable’ paragraphs from veteran rightwing historian Babasaheb Purandare’s popular book on Shivaji titled Raja Shiv Chhatrapati .
At the same time, the Brigade, which has vociferously opposed the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government’s decision to confer Maharashtra Bhushan award on the nonagenarian historian, toned down its rhetoric by remarking that it while it “respected Mr. Purandare and his works on Shivaji”, it failed to understand why the historian “persisted in distorting facts about the Maratha King’s life.”
The Sambhaji Brigade has demanded the Maharashtra govt. revoke the award given to the 93-year-old historian as Mr. Purandare’s works twisted facts about Shivaji’s life by glorying in the achievements of his Brahmin guardian and mentor Dadaji Konddev and implying, that Shivaji, his mother Jijabai and his guardian and tutor Dadoji were of the same gotra (lineage).
The Brigade has further alleged that Mr. Purandare’s work was communally divisive by portraying Shivaji as a predominantly Hindu king when in fact he was a ‘people’s king’.
Raja Shivchhatrapati , Mr. Purandare’s popular two-part, 900-page magnum opus on Shivaji, was first published in the late 1950s and has since been a staple in Marathi households, going through numerous reprints over decades.
“There are at least 17 paragraphs in the book [ Raja Shivchhatrapati ] which are utterly defamatory to Shivaji’s life. And if this is not corrected, future generations will get a wrong idea of Shivaji’s life and times,” said Prashant Dhumal, the Sambhaji Brigade’s student wing leader.
Meanwhile, Mr. Purandare, a Shiv Sena ideologue in the 1970s, has expressed his readiness to hold debate with his detractors.
“I hold no bitterness towards anyone, even them [Sambhaji Brigade]. After some days, I may meet them for discussions,” he told an English daily.
The Sambhaji Brigade’s violent threats forced the government to present the Maharashtra Bhushan award to Mr. Purandare in a tightly-guarded function at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai last week. The award has already stoked competitive vote-bank politics between the Maratha and the Brahmin factions in the State.
The Sambhaji Brigade, founded by Purushottam Khedekar, purports to champion Maratha causes. It advocates a different form of Hinduism through its ant-Brahmin posture. It shot to infamy in 2004 after it vandalized the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune in protest against American scholar James Laine’s book on Shivaji titled Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India (2003).
However, the Brigade recently did a volte-face on Mr. Laine’s book in connection with the controversy generated over Mr. Purandare’s award, with Brigade leader Vikas Pasalkarremarking that “James Laine ought to be thanked for bringing Mr. Purandare’s distortions to light.”
Mr. Laine’s book, which illuminates the historiography and variegated narratives on Shivaji, was incidentally opposed by Mr. Purandare who had written to the Oxford University Press, calling for the book to be withdrawn.
