Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is under fire for his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
During a function in Aurangabad on Sunday, Koshyari said that Samarth Ramdas, a Brahmin saint, was the “guru” of the Maratha king and that he would be nothing without his teacher.
The comments have not gone down well with political parties in the state with leaders demanding that the governor apologise and retract his statement. Let's examine the controversy and who said what
What the governor said
At the programme organised by Samarth Sahitya Parshad, Koshyari was speaking about the role of a guru while giving the examples of Shivaji Maharaj and Chandragupta Maurya. “Who would give importance to Chandragupta without Chanakya? Who would give importance to Shivaji without ? Shivaji or Chandragupta are not small... But our society has a very important role of a guru,” he said.
“I am not attempting to lower the personality of Chandragupta and Shivaji Maharaj. Like a mother who plays a key role in shaping her child. Similarly, the role of guru has a big place in our society,” he added.
Has the governor apologised?
Not yet.
But he has said that Shivaji Maharaj was a “great inspiration to the country”. “Based on the information I had and what all I had read, I was under the impression that Samarth Ramdas ji was the guru of Shivaji Maharaj. However, some historians have now approached me with new facts and I would look into that,” he told media persons.
What are politicians saying?
But Koshyari’s clarification on Shivaji Maharaj was not enough to placate outraged political parties in Maharashtra.
Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule, slamming the governor, referred to a verdict by the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court from 16 July, 2018, according to which the king and Samarth Ramdas did not meet.
“There’s no evidence that there was a student-teacher relationship between Shivaji Maharaj and Ramdas,” she wrote on Twitter.
Sule also tweeted a clip of NCP chief Sharad Pawar saying, “Shivaji Maharaj’s guru was never Samarth Ramdas. His guru was Rajmata Jijabai.”
शिवाजी महाराज आणि रामदास यांच्यामध्ये गुरुशिष्याचे नाते असल्याचा देखील कोणताही पुरावा उपलब्ध नाही.' #ChatrapatiShivajiMaharaj pic.twitter.com/7EeM57GUxF
— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) February 28, 2022
The NCP held protests in the Pune district saying that they would welcome Koshyari with black flags. Solapur saw some protests by Shiv Sena’s workers.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut too lashed out at the Maharashtra governor. “It seems that the Bharatiya Janata Party has invented a new orator on Shivaji Maharaj. The BJP must clarify this issue. Had someone else had made such a statement, then BJP would have a created ruckus. But now their governor has made such a statement, and there is widespread anger and unease in Maharashtra over it. I feel BJP must immediately make their stand clear,” he told a news channel.
Koshyari is a former BJP leader from Uttarakhand. With the already strained relationship between the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government and the Opposition BJP, the mudslinging is expected to continue.
The governor also faced flak from Udayanraje Bhosle, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and descendant of Shivaji Maharaj. “Rashtrama Jijau {Shivaji Maharaj’s mother} was his mentor. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has hurt the sentiments of entire Maharashtra, including followers of Shivaji. He should withdraw his statements immediately.”
राष्ट्रमाता जिजाऊ या छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांच्या गुरु होत्या. तरीही राज्यपाल भगतसिंह कोश्यारी यांनी रामदास हे महाराजांचे गुरू होते असे वक्तव्य करून शिवप्रेमीसह संपूर्ण महाराष्ट्राच्या भावना दुखावल्या आहेत. तरी राज्यपालांनी आपले वक्तव्य त्वरित मागे घ्यावे.
— Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhonsle (@Chh_Udayanraje) February 28, 2022
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole also demanded the governor’s resignation.
Old controversy, new furore
This is not the first time controversy has erupted over Shivaji Maharaj’s teacher.
That Samarth Ramdas was the religious guru of Shivaji Maharaj, is a claim that has been contested in the past. Several Maratha organisations have also raised objections to Dadoji Kondevv being touted as the king’s guru.
In 2004, a controversy erupted over a book published by researcher James W Laine titled Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India. Passages on the king’s life, some related to Kondevv, were considered objectionable and the book was banned in Maharashtra.
In June 2015, the Pune Municipal Corporation passed a resolution and removed Kondevv’s statue from a structure in Lal Mahal which showed him with a young Shivaji and his mother.
Several Maratha outfits believe that Shivaji’s mother Rajmata Jijau was his real teacher, who inspired and influenced him.
Historians, too, believe that there is no evidence to show that Samarth Ramdas mentored Shivaji Maharaj and say this issue is about Brahmin supremacy.
With inputs from agencies
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March 01, 2022 at 06:16PM
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