Dog statue near Shivaji memorial draws ire

After sparking a controversy over Dadoji Konddev’s statue as Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mentor at Lal Mahal in Pune, Maratha organisations are now gunning for the statue of a dog at Raigad fort.

Sambhaji Brigade’s state president Pravin Gaikwad has threatened to raze the statue of the dog, Waghya, said to be Shivaji’s pet. “The government should remove it before June 6 — the day Shivaji was coronated king — or we will destroy it,” he said.

The Maratha organisations feel that the dog’s statue near Shivaji’s memorial is part of a “Brahmanical conspiracy to disgrace Bahujan Samaj stalwarts”. According to folklore, Shivaji’s pet, Waghya, is said to have jumped onto Shivaji’s funeral pyre and ended his life.

The controversy over the dog’s statue gained centrestage last Tuesday during a discussion on preparations for festivities to mark the 338th coronation anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji on the fort on June 6.

During the meeting in Kolhapur, Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) leader Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a descendant of Shivaji’s lineage from the erstwhile Kolhapur princely family, demanded that a government committee be established to remove the dog’s statue. “The story of the dog jumping into Shivaji’s funeral pyre does not have a single primary or secondary historical source. The government should furnish proof of the dog’s legend or remove the statue,” researcher Indrajeet Sawant told DNA.

Sawant said the renovation and restoration of Shivaji’s memorial, the place where the king was cremated and where his ashes were buried, was completed in 1927 and the dog’s statue was installed in 1936. This was done after drawing a reference from Ram Ganesh Gadkari’s drama, Rajsanyas, a heroic story of Shivaji’s loyal dog, Waghya, jumping into his pyre.

The dog statue carries a marble plaque stating that Indore princely state’s king, late Tukoji Holkar, had donated Rs5,000 for installing it.

According to Sawant, “The dog’s statue was an attempt to disgrace Holkar who had contributed to the uplift of the Bahujan Samaj. Besides, the dog’s statue is also an attempt to glorify the drama Rajsanyas, in which Shivaji’s son Sambhajiraje has been defamed.”

Sambhaji Brigade’s Gaikwad said the fact that the dog’s statue is of the same height as Shivaji’s memorial “is a sinister attempt to lower Shivaji’s greatness. Also, the statue is placed on an old original structure which could be a memorial of a member from Shivaji’s family”.

The well-known historian, Jaysingrao Pawar, and Ramesh Jadhav have supported Sawant’s view that the dog’s legend is not based on historical evidence.

Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati told DNA that the government should appoint a committee to decide on the matter.

“I have appealed to everyone not to take the violent route. If the dog’s legend does not have historical proof, it should be removed. Irrespective of the controversy, the festivities to mark the coronation anniversary on June 6 will be peaceful,” he said.