Koregaon Bhima

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.

Koregaon Bhima Koregaon
Village
Koregaon Bhima Location in Maharashtra, India Show map of Maharashtra Koregaon Bhima Koregaon Bhima (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 18°38′44″N 074°03′33″E
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Pune
Taluka	Shirur
Government
• Type	Panchayati raj (India)
• Body	Gram panchayat
Area
• Total	20 km2 (8 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	13,116
• Density	671/km2 (1,740/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-MH
Website	pune.nic.in

History

Main article: Battle of Koregaon

The Battle of Koregaon took place on 1 January 1818 between the army of Peshwa Baji Rao II and an 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]

2018 violence

Main article: 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence

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. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013.
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" (PDF). Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. p. 592. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
4. Poona India, Sheet NE 43-06 (topographic map, scale 1:250,000), Series U-502, United States Army Map Service, May 1960
5. Reginald George Burton (2008). Wellington's Campaigns in India. Lancer. pp. 164–165. ISBN 978-0-9796174-6-1.
6. Tony Jaques (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O. Greenwood. p. 542. ISBN 978-0-313-33538-9.
7. Kumbhojkar, Shraddha (2012). "Contesting Power, Contesting Memories - The History of the Koregaon Memorial". The Economic and Political Weekly. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2012.(subscription required)
8. "Clash over battle of Koregaon leaves one dead near Pune". The Indian Express. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
9. Shoumojit Banerjee (2 January 2018). "Protests spread in Maharashtra post clashes during bicentenary celebrations of Bhima Koregaon battle". The Hindu.
10. "Census 2001 Population Finder: Maharashtra: Pune: Shirur: Koregaon Bhima". Office of The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013.

External links

• "Official Website of Pune District". Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
• "Delimitation of PC and AC - 2004 Shirur Taluka, Pune District, Maharashtra (Administrative Units)". Pune District. Archived from the original (Map) on 7 March 2012.