No politics or pressure could stop Babasaheb Purandare to be the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’. The Hon. High Court not only dismissed the PIL against presentation of ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’ to Shiv Shahir Babasaheb Purandare but slammed a fine of Rs. 10,000 against the petitioners. ‘It’s a mere publicity stunt’, said the Court. What more to say? I hope the message is loud and clear.
Ceremony to bestow the Maharashtra Bhushan, the top honour of the Maharashtra state, on Babasaheb Purandare, a 93-year-old historian, the government managed to deliver. Purandare, a writer and playwright who is popularly known as Shiv Shahir or Shivaji’s bard, is the author of a series of works written over 60 years on Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Opposing the choice of Purandare, Maratha organisations have not only protested but gone violent too, a public interest litigation was filed on calling for the ceremony to be stalled, the Congress and NCP have both opposed the move, and intellectuals, littérateurs and activists are joining the issue. The principal allegation against Purandare is of having distorted history, chiefly through claims regarding Shivaji’s parentage and his mother’s caste. The current charge against Purandare is being led by the same Maratha organisations that had marshalled the successful demand for a ban on James Laine’s book on Shivaji. Many others too have opposed the government’s choice for the award, including Jnanpith awardee Balchandra Nemade, and member of Parliament Udayan Raje Bhosale, a descendant of the Maratha king.
The opposition to Purandare’s work is not new and it was emerged in last decade through a late analysis of his writing. The opponents, mostly Maratha organisations including some anti-Brahmin activists, have objected to certain references to Shivaji’s parents, particularly to his mother Jijamata. The other problem with Purandare’s work is his representation of Shivaji as an anti-Islamic ruler. The antipathy to presenting Shivaji as anti-Muslim is complex. The king, whom school textbooks in the state depict as the heroic slayer of the much larger Afzal Khan and who outwitted Mughal emissary Shaista Khan, is also described as a secular leader and administrator, but the Maratha organisations’ view is contextualised in a sometimes extreme anti-Brahmin stand in which is dovetailed support for Muslim and Dalit issues. Anyway, court has slammed the petitioner and Purandare received his award. Everything came to halt on a good note.
Balwant Moreshwar Purandare works are mostly based on the events related to the life of Shivaji, the 16th-century founder of the Maratha Empire. As a result, he is sometimes termed as Shiv-Shahir (“Shivaji’s bard”). He is mostly known for his popular play on Shivaji, Jaanta Raja which was popular not only in Maharashtra but also in Andhra Pradesh and Goa. Purandare has also studied the history of the Peshwas of Pune. He is also known for his significant contribution along with Madhav Deshpande and Madhav Mehere as senior party leaders in the early 70’s of Shiv Sena along with Bal Thackeray.
Yesterday, he was awarded with Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra’s highest civilian award. Purandare had started writing stories related to the period of Shivaji’s reign at a very young age, which were later compiled and published in a book titled “Thingya”. His other works include books titled Raja Shiva-Chatrapati and Kesari, and a book on life of Narayanrao Peshwa. However, the most well-known of his works is the drama, Jaanata Raja, a widely popular play on Shivaji Maharaj published and first staged in 1985. Since then the drama has been staged over 864 times in 16 districts of Maharashtra, Agra, Delhi, Bhopal, and the United States. Originally written in Marathi, this work was later translated into Hindi. This drama is performed by over 200 artists, as well as elephants, camels and horses. Generally the performance of this drama begins around Diwali each year.
The behaviour of the opposition politicians was strange, especially Maharashtrians were opposing another Marathi. When Sachin Tendulkar was awarded BHARAT RATNA at such a young age, while building his own image and by becoming billionaire every Maharashtrian had justified it? NCP leaders say Purandare is not a historian then why didn’t they question Sachin Tendulkar’s credibility and why he was awarded BHARAT RATNA. What a mockery of democratic process. Anyway, there are many such incidences where Marathi manoos and Marathi political leaders have shown double standards, but finally Shiv Shahir Babasaheb Purandare has been awarded with the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’.
We, the Afternoon Voice Team congratulate such a great legend for the award and also feel proud to be a part of the ‘Land of Maharashtra’.
