Why does Modi apologize to Shivaji?
The incident of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue falling three days ago in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra has taken a political color. While the opposition is preparing a plan to surround the government on this issue, now the government people are apologizing on this issue. After Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologized for the fall of the statue. The Prime Minister said that Shivaji is a revered god for us.
The Prime Minister’s apology is being seen as putting the whole matter to rest. It is being said that if the atmosphere created by the fall of Shivaji’s statue is not rectified in time, the NDA government may suffer a big loss in the next elections. Elections are to be held on 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra after 2 months.
How important is Shivaji in Maharashtra?
Although Shivaji is an object of faith throughout Maharashtra, Konkan, Marathwada and western Maharashtra have a large number of devotees. There are about 20 districts in these areas. If we look at the assembly seats, there are more than 100 seats in these three areas.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Shiv Sena (Shinde) and the BJP had a lead in the Konkan region, while the Bharatiya Janata Party had a lead in Marathwada and western Maharashtra.
Descendants of Shivaji Maharaj have also been contesting elections in Satara in western Maharashtra. One of his descendants also won the recent Lok Sabha elections in Kolhapur. The Maratha community also holds Shivaji in high esteem. These communities constitute about 28 percent of the population in Maharashtra.
In Maharashtra, the Maratha community plays an important role in setting the tone and direction of elections. Shiv Sena was also founded by Bal Thackeray to bring Shivaji Maharaj into politics.
BJP besieged Shivaji’s name on two issues
BJP is in trouble on two issues due to the fall of Shivaji’s statue. The first issue is the insult to Shivaji. The opposition says that despite knowing everything, the people of the government allowed the statue to fall. Another issue is corruption. The opposition says that the government is doing corruption even in preparing the statue of Shivaji.
In fact, a letter from the PWD department came out after the statue of Shivaji fell. In this letter, the department warned about the presence of junk in nuts and bolts. That being said, how can junk get into the nuts and bolts of a new idol so quickly?
However, the government is blaming the wind for the fall of the statue. The government says winds of up to 45 kmph caused the statue to break at the ankles. The statue was constructed by the Indian Navy, while it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The opposition is trying to link this issue with insulting Shivaji. Talking to reporters, Uddhav Thackeray said that former Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari used to make statements against Shivaji in public. Now if his statue has fallen, the government says it fell due to wind. Hey, when Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s cap cannot be blown away by the wind, how can the statue fall?
Sharad Pawar and Nana Patole of Congress have also targeted the government by terming this incident as sad.
Who was Shivaji Maharaj and why is he important?
Born here in 1630, Shivaji was the first Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire. His father’s name was Shahji Bhosale. When Shivaji was born, the Mughal Empire was in power in Delhi. Shivaji blew the bugle against the Bijapur Sultanate for the first time.
Gradually, he started giving freedom to the people by defeating the generals established by the Mughal Empire in Maharashtra. Thanks to Shivaji, the Konkan and Raigad areas were freed from the Mughal clutches around 1850.
When Adil Shah died in 1656, Aurangzeb attacked to capture him. From here Shivaji also reached there with his army. There was initial tension between the two, but Aurangzeb is said to have reconciled with Shivaji at the behest of Shah Jahan.
However, this agreement did not last long. In 1666 the two faced each other again. Shivaji won the battle this time and took back the province ceded to the Mughals under the treaty.
Historians say that in 1674, Shivaji realized that he was not the proclaimed king, and the local people faced problems over their land. After this he decided to become Chhatrapati. The Brahmins of Kashi completed his ceremony.
It is said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj united the Maratha community and also protected their culture. It was during his tenure that the Maratha community flourished the most. It is said about Shivaji that he never bowed down to the Delhi Sultanate, while most of the empires of that era bowed down to Delhi.
