Behind the apparent Maratha-Dalit rift in the Koregaon Bhima clashes lies a more sinister mobilisation by Hindutva fringe groups that tap into Maratha grievances.
WHILE THE KOREGAON BHIMA VIOLENCE IS made out to be a Maratha-versus-Dalit battle, a far deeper and dangerous political game seems to be playing out behind it. In the context of the significant Maratha movement of October 2016 and the long history of strife between the two communities, it was an obvious conclusion that this attack was just another incident involving the assertion of Maratha supremacy over a lower caste.
A closer scrutiny points to the emergence of a couple of right-wing fringe groups that have a following in the region. They have been co-opting the Maratha community, currently a disgruntled, vulnerable and insecure lot, into their programmes with the message that backward communities are getting too big for their boots and must be shown their place. The project does not appear to be about Maratha rights.
The recent clashes have exposed a strange dynamic in Maharashtra. The Marathas believe Dalits are getting too strong, while Dalits say Brahmins are trying to create a divide between the two communities so that they do not join forces in the 2019 elections as they did in Gujarat. The support of the Marathas, who constitute about 50 per cent of the State’s population, is crucial to all parties. It works in favour of the saffron brigade that the Marathas are Hindu Kshatriyas and are thus amenable to the Hindutva ideology, says JaideoGaikwad, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
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