Playing With Fire

The violent protests by Dalits across Maharashtra on January 2 hint at a deepening caste polarisation that will test the Fadnavis government

- Kiran D. Tare

The street unrest by Dalits across most of Maharashtra on January 2, sparked by attacks on the community a day earlier, signal a deepening caste polarisation in the state. Many analysts point to a growing sense of alienation and political isolation among the community.

Trouble erupted on January 1 when ‘miscreants’ set upon a Dalit procession headed for Bhima-Koregaon, the scene of the 1818 battle in which 500 Dalit soldiers (of the British forces) withstood a 4,000-strong Maratha army led by the Peshwa Bajirao II. Dalits have commemorated the day as ‘Shaurya Din’ since 1937 when B.R. Ambedkar visited Bhima-Koregaon.