The Times of India 26.10.2010
PMC to appoint committee of historians to decide on Konddeo statue
PUNE: Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal on Monday announced that a committee of historians will be formed by November 15 to decide the fate of the Dadoji Konddeo statue in Lal Mahal.
The proposal to appoint a committee of historians to bring historical facts’ before the General Body (GB) of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had come up for discussion at the GB.
The mayor said, “By November 15 the committee will be appointed and later decision on this matter will be taken.” All parties supported the proposal while independent corporator Ujwal Keskar opposed it saying that there was no need to appoint any such committee and the PMC GB should take the decision.
In August following the agitation by the Lokshasan Andolan members, who were led by former justices P B Sawant and B G Kolse Patil demanding removal of the statue, Mayor Rajpal had stated that the statue of Dadoji Konddeo will be removed within 24 hours from the historic Lal Mahal, which was the residence of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
However, later he changed his stand and said that a committee will be appointed in the matter and only then the decision will be taken.
Konddeo’s statue is part of a sculpture depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji, along with Jijamata, tilling the soil of Pune with a golden plough. Konddeo, according to some historians, guided Shivaji during his childhood. However, some historians say that he was not Shivaji’s teacher.
In January 2004, over 150 members of the Sambhaji Brigade, affiliated to the Maratha Seva Sangh, had attacked Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (Bori) here for helping’ American author James Laine, who had made some objectionable remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji in his book, Shivaji: Hindu King In Islamic India’. Since the attack, the demand for removal of Konddeo’s statue had gained momentum.
Laine’s book, published by Oxford University Press in early 2003, led to widespread protests and vandalism. The Maharashtra government banned the book. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Bombay High Court to lift the ban on the book, which, according to the state government, contained material promoting social enmity.
