UPSC Articles
Bhima-Koregaon battle of 1818: 202nd Anniversary
Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains I- Modern History
In News
- The battle was fought on 1 January 1818 between the British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy, at Koregaon Bhima, a small village in Pune district of Maharashtra,
- A few hundred Mahar soldiers of the East India Company, led by the British, defeated the massive Peshwa army, led by Peshwa Bajirao II
- The Vijay Sthamb (victory pillar) was erected by the East India Company in memory of those who fought the battle. The names of the Mahar soldiers who unknowingly brought an end to the Peshwa rule in 1818 are inscribed on the pillar.
- The Dalits who follow BR Ambedkar view this battle as a victory of Mahars over the injustice and torture meted out to them by the Brahminical Peshwas.
