Citing unhealthy climate, historians won't comment on removal of statue from Lal Mahal
Citing unhealthy climate, historians won't comment on removal of statue from Lal Mahal
BJP and Shiv Sena activists made much noise over the removal of Dadoji Konddeo statue from the Lal Mahal, but historians in the city are tight-lipped about the issue.
Historian Shivshahir Bahasaheb Purandare, who has written Shivaji's biography, skirted the issue when asked about it. Without commenting on the removal of Dadoji's statue from Lal Mahal on Monday and the ensuing violence, Purandare said, "Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra and I wish the culture should remain and not go away."
Purandare said there were almost 3.5 crore historic papers on Maratha history lying at Peshwa Daftar (repository of old documents from Peshwa era), which have still not been touched by scholars and researchers.
Scholars should study those papers, which are in Modi (an alternative script for Marathi), Farsi and Urdu.
Ninad Bedekar, another scholar on Maratha history, preferred not to make any comments on the Dadoji issue.
Bedekar has officially declared he would not say anything on the Maratha history, when the Bhandarkar Oriental Institute was attacked by the Sambhaji Brigade six years ago.
James Laine has mentioned Dadoji Konddeo as the biological father of Shivaji in his book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India. "I will not comment on this, as nobody wants to listen to us," Bedekar said.
Gajanan Mehendale, who has written on Shivaji, also prefers to remain silent. "I will not speak unless there
is a rational debate, without any inhibitions and fear," he said. "It is really sad that there is no healthy atmosphere to speak on such sensitive issues."
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