Sambhaji Brigade
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Sambhaji Brigade is a militant group in the state of Maharashtra, India, which claims to work for the rights of the Maratha community.[1] The organization is named after Sambhaji, son of the first Maratha king Shivaji,[2] and gained exposure after a 2004 attack on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune.
[edit] History
The organization was founded by Purushottam Khedekar, also prominent in the Maratha Seva Sangh, a related organisation.
A group of brigade members[2] attacked and vandalised the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in January 2004, claiming that the Institute had assisted in defaming Shivaji. They caused considerable damage to unique manuscripts. The attacks were prompted by the controversy over James Laine's book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India (OUP, 2003); scholars from the institute had collaborated with Laine on his research for the book.[3] After the riot 72 members of the group were arrested,[4] and the director-general of police announced that a legal block on the organization was being investigated.[5]
In 2006, the organisation's activists ransacked the office of Marathi daily Loksatta, protesting that the newspaper editor who is a brahmin, judiciously published article criticising government's decision to build memorial of Shivaji Maharaj. The claim was bolstered when similar project was announced by government to build memorial of V.D.Savarkar and no protest was registered by the said newspaper.
In 2010 the group attempted to attack R. R. Patil, "a day after the Supreme Court lifted the ban" on Laine's book.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Siddharth, Kelkar (22 November 2008). "Rift widens: Sambhaji Brigade flays Shiv Sangram chief - Indian Express". The Indian Express. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rift-widens-sambhaji-brigade-flays-shiv-san/389001/. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ a b Nussbaum, Martha C. (2008). The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future. Harvard UP. p. 240. ISBN 9780674030596. http://books.google.com/books?id=WS_0saaC-jkC&pg=PA240. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ "The Hindu : Politics and the cult of the Chhatrapati". The Hindu. 1 April 2004. http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/01/stories/2004040101101300.htm. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ "Front demands destroying copies of Laine’s book - Times Of India". Indiatimes. 16 January 2004. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-01-16/pune/28338631_1_islamic-india-sambhaji-brigade-bhandarkar-oriental-research-institute. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ "Ban on Sambhaji Brigade likely: DGP - Times Of India". Indiatimes. 8 January 2004. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-01-08/pune/28348158_1_shangari-pune-police-commissionerate-vacant-posts. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ^ Balakrishnan, S. (11 July 2010). "Sambhaji Brigade targets home min - The Times of India". Indiatimes. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City-Mumbai/Sambhaji-Brigade-targets-home-min/articleshow/6153260.cms. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
