The 94-year-old writer honoured, politicians play dirty on the streets
ROW OVER MAHARASHTRA BHUSHAN TO BABASAHEB PURANDARE
Government confers ‘Shivaji poet’ Babasaheb Purandare with the state’s highest honour, even as MNS workers burn Sharad Pawar’s effigies.
In the middle of a political storm, writer and theatre personality Babasaheb Purandare was on Wednesday conferred with the Maharashtra Bhushan – the state’s highest honour – at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
Leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress are opposing the decision to honour Purandare, saying his portrayal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not based on facts, and that he has maligned the Maratha king and his mother Jijabai.
Even the Jnanpith Awardwinning Marathi author, Bhalchandra Nemade, has accused Purandare of making derogatory references about Shivaji. He is also being criticised for assisting controversial American author James Laine in writing his book ‘Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India’, which had allegedly made controversial inferences about Shivaji's mother Jijabai and his mentor Dadaji Konddev.
Interestingly, Purandare’s play on Shivaji, titled Jaanta Raja (the knowledgeable king), is considered as Asia’s most-performed mega play. His books, such as Raja Shiv Chhatrapati, Purandaryanchi Daulat, Purandaryanchi Naubat and Gadsanch, are considered masterpieces on the life and times of the 16th Century warrior king.
Earlier on Wednesday, the high court rejected a petition seeking a direction to the government to withdraw its decision to confer the award on Purandare. That, however, didn’t stop dozens of women members of the Jijau Brigade from attempting to barge into the official residence of cultural affairs minister Vinod Tawde at Nariman Point.
The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena MPs Arvind Sawant, Sanjay Raut, Tawde, industries minister Subhash Desai and Mayor Snehal Ambekar among others. Taking a dig at the opposition, Fadnavis said that those who have been protesting against the decision to honour Purandare have “not understood Chhatrapati Shivaji”. Fadnavis said, “This programme was not held at the Raj Bhavan because we got scared (of anybody). That is not the case. According to tradition, the country's biggest awards are given by the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Similarly, this is the state's biggest award and we decided to hold the function at the Raj Bhavan.”
Support to Purandare
While the Raj Bhavan was turned into a fortress on Wednesday, there was plenty of drama outside. The MNS workers burnt effigy of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, a day after their party president Raj Thackeray accused Pawar indulging in “dirty politics” over the decision to honour Purandare.
“The NCP workers had burnt the effigy of Raj saheb yesterday (Tuesday). So, the MNS workers, in return, burnt Sharad Pawar’s effigy,” MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said. Another MNS leader, Chetan Pednekar, said: “Raj saheb had made it very clear that protests against Babasaheb are happening at Pawar's behest. We burnt Pawar's effigy to convey to him that he should stop looking at the world with the prism of politics. .”
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, who has vehemently opposed Purandare's selection for the state's top honour, said, “Today is a black day for people of Maharashtra.”
Government confers ‘Shivaji poet’ Babasaheb Purandare with the state’s highest honour, even as MNS workers burn Sharad Pawar’s effigies.
In the middle of a political storm, writer and theatre personality Babasaheb Purandare was on Wednesday conferred with the Maharashtra Bhushan – the state’s highest honour – at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
Purandare, aged 94, didn’t speak about the controversy in his acceptance speech, and promptly announced that the prize money (Rs 10 lakh) be donated to the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune. He also donated Rs 15 lakh from his personal funds for the treatment of cancer patients.
Leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress are opposing the decision to honour Purandare, saying his portrayal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not based on facts, and that he has maligned the Maratha king and his mother Jijabai.
Even the Jnanpith Awardwinning Marathi author, Bhalchandra Nemade, has accused Purandare of making derogatory references about Shivaji. He is also being criticised for assisting controversial American author James Laine in writing his book ‘Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India’, which had allegedly made controversial inferences about Shivaji's mother Jijabai and his mentor Dadaji Konddev.
Interestingly, Purandare’s play on Shivaji, titled Jaanta Raja (the knowledgeable king), is considered as Asia’s most-performed mega play. His books, such as Raja Shiv Chhatrapati, Purandaryanchi Daulat, Purandaryanchi Naubat and Gadsanch, are considered masterpieces on the life and times of the 16th Century warrior king.
Earlier on Wednesday, the high court rejected a petition seeking a direction to the government to withdraw its decision to confer the award on Purandare. That, however, didn’t stop dozens of women members of the Jijau Brigade from attempting to barge into the official residence of cultural affairs minister Vinod Tawde at Nariman Point.
The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena MPs Arvind Sawant, Sanjay Raut, Tawde, industries minister Subhash Desai and Mayor Snehal Ambekar among others. Taking a dig at the opposition, Fadnavis said that those who have been protesting against the decision to honour Purandare have “not understood Chhatrapati Shivaji”. Fadnavis said, “This programme was not held at the Raj Bhavan because we got scared (of anybody). That is not the case. According to tradition, the country's biggest awards are given by the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Similarly, this is the state's biggest award and we decided to hold the function at the Raj Bhavan.”
Support to Purandare
While the Raj Bhavan was turned into a fortress on Wednesday, there was plenty of drama outside. The MNS workers burnt effigy of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, a day after their party president Raj Thackeray accused Pawar indulging in “dirty politics” over the decision to honour Purandare.
“The NCP workers had burnt the effigy of Raj saheb yesterday (Tuesday). So, the MNS workers, in return, burnt Sharad Pawar’s effigy,” MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said. Another MNS leader, Chetan Pednekar, said: “Raj saheb had made it very clear that protests against Babasaheb are happening at Pawar's behest. We burnt Pawar's effigy to convey to him that he should stop looking at the world with the prism of politics. .”
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, who has vehemently opposed Purandare's selection for the state's top honour, said, “Today is a black day for people of Maharashtra.”
