Created by Richard Keatinge
Last edited June 8, 2021



Koregaon Bhima

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Settlement type Village
Country India
State
District
Subdivision

Template:See also Koregaon Bhima is a panchayat village[1] and census town[2] in the state of Maharashtra, India,[3] on the left (north) bank of the Bhima River.[4] Administratively, Koregaon Bhima is under Shirur Taluka of Pune District in Maharashtra.[2] There is only the single town of Koregaon Bhima in the Koregaon Bhima gram panchayat.[2] The town of Koregaon Bhima is 10 km along the SH 60 motorway southwest of the village of Shikrapur, and 28 km by road northeast of the city of Pune. It is the site of the Battle of Koregaon fought on 1 January 1818.

History

Template:Main The Battle of Koregaon took place on 1 January 1818 between the army of Peshwa Baji Rao II and a East India Company force, mainly Mahars. The Peshwa, with some 28,000 troops encamped at Phulgaon nearby, dispatched about 2000 of his soldiers to attack the Company force of some 800. The Company troops successfully defended themselves against the attack,[5] and the Peshwa withdrew at night fearing the arrival of a larger British force.[6] After the British victory in the War, the Company commissioned a victory obelisk in Koregaon to commemorate its fallen soldiers. 22 of the 49 names of the slain soldiers on the pillar are that of Mahar caste. Today, the Mahars, who were formerly considered as untouchable, regard it as a symbol of their victory over the high-caste Peshwa, and gather in large numbers at the site on the anniversary of the battle.[7]

This battle has attained legendary status in Dalit history. The Dalits who follow BR Ambedkar view this battle as a victory of Mahars over the injustice and torture meted out to them by the Brahminical Peshwas.[8][9]

Demographics

In the 2001 census, the village of Koregaon Bhima had 8,999 inhabitants, with 5,178 males (57.5%) and 3,821 females (42.5%), for a gender ratio of 738 females per thousand males.[10]

References

  1. 2011 Village Panchayat Code for Koregaon Bhima = 188591, Reports of National Panchayat Directory: Village Panchayat Names of Shirur, Pune, Maharashtra. Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2011 Census Village code for Koregaon Bhima = 555672, Reports of National Panchayat Directory: List of Census Villages mapped for: Koregaon Bhima Gram Panchayat, Shirur, Pune, Maharashtra. Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.
  3. 2001 Census Village code for Koregaon Bhima = 03050100, 2001 Census of India: List of Villages by Tehsil: Maharashtra. Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  4. Poona India, Sheet NE 43-06. United States Army Map Service(May 1960).
  5. Wellington's Campaigns in India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Lancer(2008). ISBN 978-0-9796174-6-1
  6. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Greenwood(2007). ISBN 978-0-313-33538-9
  7. Contesting Power, Contesting Memories - The History of the Koregaon Memorial. The Economic and Political Weekly({Template:Year).Template:Subscription
  8. Clash over battle of Koregaon leaves one dead near Pune. The Indian Express(2018-01-02). Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  9. Protests spread in Maharashtra post clashes during bicentenary celebrations of Bhima Koregaon battle. The Hindu(2 January 2018).
  10. Census 2001 Population Finder: Maharashtra: Pune: Shirur: Koregaon Bhima. Office of The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

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