Citing law & order issue, Thane cops deny permission for meet on Shivaji

“This is the second time in six months that Thane police have declined permission for programmes questioning the wrong portrayal of Shivaji by right wing groups. The police have no qualms in allowing people like Praveen Togadia and Ashok Singhal who openly espouse hatred to hold programmes but it is stopping eminent historians and economists from holding functions,” NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, one of the organisers, claimed.

Awhad alleged that by denying permission to noted scholars to speak, the state was espousing fascism.

In February, the Thane police denied permission for a scholarly discussion on Shivaji and whether his portrayal of being anti-Muslim was correct. The programme was to be organised by NCP corporator Najeeb Mulla.

The Thane police, denying permission to Sunday’s programme, said that they feared there could be a law and order problem if the programme was allowed. Social activists slammed police for not allowing the conference.

“Allowing criminals an open field and not allowing citizens to exercise rights to hold peaceful meetings is betrayal of the constitution. If such things happen, rights of citizens will be limited to paper and we will have a theocratic and dictatorial state,” Former Supreme Court Judge P B Sawant wrote in a letter in support of organizers.

There has been a feud in Maharashtra over the past year over portrayal of Shivaji in history. Left wing groups and Maratha organizations claimed that the BJP-Shiv Sena government in power was promoting and felicitating historians portraying Shivaji as anti-Muslim. There have also been allegations that the state is keen on building a narrative of Shivaji as a patron of Hindutva ideology and portraying him as anti-Muslim.