The pro-Maharashtra Marathi speaking linguistic community and their frontal organisations such as the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) and the Shiv Sena here are gearing up to organise a public meeting on Sunday to observe ‘Hutatma Divas’ to commemorate the “sacrifice” of Marathi activists who were killed during a protest in 1956.
Prakash Abitkar, a Shiv Sena leader and MLA from Radhanagari in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra, is likely to address the gathering.
All the Marathis have been appealed to participate in the event to be held at Hutatma Chowk at 9 a.m. and keep their business establishments closed for the day in protest in Belagavi, Nipani and Khanapur.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Marathis have been observing January 17 as martyr’s day since 1957 following killing of five its activists in police firing during a protest against inclusion of the then Marathi-dominated areas such as Belagavi, Khanapur and other villages and towns into Karnataka after the reorganisation of States in 1956. They have also been observing Karnataka Rajyotsava Day as ‘Black Day’ every year and have been organising ‘Maha Melava’ on the first day of the legislature session in Belagavi since 2006.
However, over a period of time, these agitations have turned out to be symbolic, thanks to frequent splits in the MES camp leading to various factions controlled by politically ambitious leaders. They have been using these events to consolidate their own leadership to encash in elections to the Belagavi City Corporation, panchayat and town/city municipal bodies and legislative assemblies in Belagavi, Nipani and Khanapur.
Presently, Belagavi South and Khanapur are represented by MES leaders Sambhaji Patil and Arvind Patil, respectively.
ADVERTISEMENT
The term “unity” hardly finds any meaning in the present context, even as all the factions have the common agenda while spearheading their struggle for merger of Belagavi, Nipani, Karwar and other areas dominated by Marathi-speaking linguistic communities with Maharashtra.