Click to play videoPune: With assembly elections in Maharashtra just months away, politicians have revived a pet issue: the depiction of the state's eternal icon, Shivaji and this time, its the school text books that are caught in the crossfire.
For generations, the cult of Shivaji has been taught in school textbooks across Maharashtra, but now Class 4 history textbooks will read a little differently this year.
The state government has skipped the reference to the man who is often credited to be Shivaji's mentor, Dadoji Kondadev from the book's chapters. The official reason: There isn’t enough evidence of Dadaji Konddev's role in Shivaji's life. The real reason: Koddev was a Brahmin who the modern day Maratha groups would like to oppose.
Historian and Maratha group leader Pandurang Balkawade said, "I think it's a move by some extremist organisations to impose their version of history on us."
This is not the first time in recent years that Maratha organisations have challenged the historical depiction of Shivaji. In 2004, a group called the Sambhaji Brigade went on the rampage over a book by American author James Laine that raised certain sensitive issues about the Maratha king. In recent months, the demand for reservation for Marathas has gathered momentum, with the NCP being seen as the silent patrons of the movement.
Executive President, Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray said, "They had employed these tactics at the time of elections in 2004 and now they are doing it again."
The rewriting of textbooks for political reasons has often sparked off controversy. With assembly elections in Maharashtra a few months away, consolidating the state's powerful Maratha vote bank has become a prime goal for some. Not surprising then, that alternative versions of the life of the greatest Maratha icon are now being contested.
( With inputs from VJ Chandrakant Hanchate),
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