Koregaon Bhima: Pay Tribute At Vijaystambh In A Simple Way – Pune District Collector Appeals
Pune, December 13, 2020: Pune District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh has appealed to have simple celebrations at Vijaystambh at Pernephata on January 1 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It should be celebrated in a representative way”, he appealed, during a meeting held yesterday which was attended by district police superintendent Abhinav Deshmukh, Zilla Parishad CEO Ayush Prasad among others.
The second wave of a pandemic is expected similarly, there is no vaccine yet, thus, the district collector has appealed to be careful and not to make a crowd.
The Vijaystambh had been erected by the British as a memorial for the soldiers killed in the Koregaon Bhima battle on January 1, 1818. Dalits believe that it was a victory over casteism as the British army comprising a large contingent of Dalit Mahar soldiers had defeated the forces of Peshwa who was the Brahmin custodians of the Maratha kingdom.
On January 1, 2018, caste clashes had broken out around Koregaon Bhima village which left one dead and injured several others.
