Once again the fault line between Dalits and Marathas was exposed this year when protests are being staged against celebration of Battle of Bhim Koregaon. Political meddling has led to intolerance and giving fewer margins to anyone who does not toe the line of thought. This looks to have become order of the day and the Maharashtra incident is in no way a new episode in the political arena. Northern Karnataka saw the flaring up of political emotions of same tune with violence for over a week recently. Before that Kerala saw a spate of political killings. The BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh remained in unrest mode for quite a long time. In Maharashtra, Dalits have been celebrating for decades the victory of the Battle of Bhim Koregaon, that was fought on January 1, 1818 but this year they were opposed by ‘right wing’ groups. Many say the violent protests since January 1 are a grim reminder of underlying Dalit oppression in the state. Two hundred years ago, Maratha forces led by Peshwa Baji Rao II tried to attack Pune which was held by the British. The British authorities dispatched a strong contingent of forces to defeat the Marathas. The battle was fought for 12 hours after which the Marathas were forced to retreat. Dalits traditionally celebrate this day as most of the soldiers in the Bombay Native Infantry which fought the Peshwa’s men were Mahar Dalits. Dalit thinkers and activists consider this victory as a significant episode in history. Many Dalit activists think it was a victory of the oppressed over the upper-caste establishment of the Marathas. Like every year, members of the Dalit community from all over Maharashtra gathered in Bhim Koregaon to celebrate what they call their victory over Maratha Peshwas. This year was the 200th anniversary and that attracted a much larger crowd on January 1, on the outskirts of Pune. ‘Right wing’ groups opposed the Dalit celebrations saying they cannot observe a ‘British’ victory. The clash between ‘right-wing’ groups and Dalits who had congregated there turned violent with stone pelting and arson between two groups claiming the life of one person, many injured, property worth lakhs damaged and many cars burnt down.