The caste war in Maharashtra has taken its toll on the newly published Std IV history and civics textbook. Key references to Brahmin teacher Dadaji Konddev and his role in the life of the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji have been altered dramatically.
The new textbook in Marathi and English will be introduced from this academic year.
While the previous textbook said Shivaji took “warfare lessons under the guidance of Dadaji Konddev, who was the subedar of Kondana” and that he learnt martial arts like throwing spear and archery under Konddev’s able guidance, the new textbook says Shivaji took warfare lessons “under the guidance of a few experts who were appointed by Shahaji Raje when Shivaji and Jijabai migrated to Pune”.
A colour picture showing Konddev prominently next to Shivaji in the previous textbook (published in 2000) now shows Konddev in the background. These are just some of the changes in the textbook.
The Sambhaji brigade had led a stir demanding the “demotion” of Dadaji Konddev.
Chronology James Laine’s book was published by Oxford University Press in early 2003
It led to widespread protests and vandalism on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, after which the government banned the book
The demand to remove Dadoji Kondadev’s statue at Lal Mahal in Pune came forward along with a demand to remove his name as Shivaji’s teacher from history textbooks
The state government appointed a committee to look into the matter pertaining to an award in the name of Kondadev while Balbharati appointed a separate committee to look into the demand by Maratha organisations
