“What happens in Kolhapur follows in the rest of Maharashtra.” 

This is how historian Indrajeet Sawant sums up the cultural and political significance of the historic city in the election-bound state. While it was social justice ideals that were ‘happening’ in the city in the last century, it has now become a communal hot spot.

For over a century, Kolhapur proudly wore the ‘progressive’ label, a distinction rooted in the bold reforms introduced by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of the Bhonsle dynasty, who championed social justice and economic progress in the early 20th century. The city’s identity is also anchored in the ideals of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Dr BR Ambedkar – leaders who dedicated their lives to eradicating caste-based discrimination and promoting social justice.

Yet, as Maharashtra gears up for assembly elections on November 20, Kolhapur’s legacy is under the threat of polarisation by Hindutva outfits. The city, once celebrated for its commitment to equality, finds itself at odds with its past, having witnessed a growing number of communal incidents over the past two decades, including the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare in 2015. The violent clashes in July this year over allegedly ‘unauthorised encroachments’ at the famed Vishalgad Fort was the latest in a series of communal events that have been used by Hindutva outfits to gain political traction.

A ‘democratic’ monarch and Ambedkar

The progressive reputation of Kolhapur dates back to the early 20th century, when Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, implemented sweeping reforms in his princely state. In 1902, he issued a groundbreaking decree: 50 percent reservation in government jobs for backward classes, making him a forerunner in affirmative action in India. 

The Mangaon Conference of 1920 is another one of Kolhapur’s foundational moments in progressive history. Dr BR Ambedkar, a young scholar freshly returned from Columbia University with a PhD, was invited by Shahu Maharaj to a conference organised by the Dalits of Mangaon village who were actively resisting caste oppression. During the conference, Shahu Maharaj hailed Ambedkar as “the true leader of the oppressed classes in India” and endorsed a 15-point agenda for Dalit rights, emphasising free education and the abolition of untouchability.

He established boarding schools and educational institutions to ensure that people of all communities had access to learning, laying a foundation that remains in place till date. His efforts in promoting education were radical for his time, particularly as he introduced scholarships for students from oppressed castes and even founded Vedic schools to make the study of Hindu scriptures accessible to non-Brahmins.

An ideological shift

Fast forward to 2024: Shahu Maharaj’s great-grandson, 76-year-old Shahu Maharaj, recently made his political debut, contesting on a Congress ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His son, Sambhaji Raje, a former Rajya Sabha MP from the Bharatiya Janata Party, launched his political outfit, Swarajya Sangathana, in August 2022. 

The two initially planned to contest the Lok Sabha elections separately, but Sambhaji later stepped down when his father entered the race for the Congress.

Sambhaji’s decision to step aside did not mean a retreat from public life. He emerged as a central figure in one of Kolhapur’s most contentious and violent disputes in recent history – the Vishalgad Fort controversy.

It was Sambhaji Raje’s call for the removal of ‘unauthorised encroachments’ near the fort that started the violence of July 2024. The fort is of deep significance to the Maratha community; it was here that Shivaji narrowly escaped a siege by Bijapur forces in 1660. As tensions rose, right-wing groups rallied around Sambhaji’s demands, with some framing the issue as a matter of Maratha pride. But on ground, these demands were a means to target Muslim residents in the area, casting them as encroachers on a space considered sacred to Maratha pride.

On July 5, social media was flooded with inflammatory videos urging people to ‘liberate’ Vishalgad, in a manner akin to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. As Indrajeet Sawant told TNM, Vishalgad became “a battleground not just of land, but of ideology,” as longstanding tensions over communal identity were stoked by social media-fuelled provocations.

As the rallying cry grew louder, Sambhaji announced a ‘Chalo Vishalgad’ march on July 14, which marked the anniversary of Shivaji’s historic escape to Vishalgad. The march was postponed to July 15 as he was denied permission by the state, which feared that it would incite further violence.

However, the situation quickly escalated on July 14, when a mob identifying themselves as ‘Shivaji Maharaj’s lovers’ targeted a dargah within the fort grounds and a mosque in the nearby village of Gajapur, and vandalised 42 homes in the Muslim-majority area. Several people were injured in the incident, leading to heightened security and restrictions on movement.

Kolhapur’s descent into communalism

The Vishalgad violence was only the latest in a series of events that have tested Kolhapur’s reputation as a progressive and inclusive society.

In 2009, a tableau depicting Shivaji killing the Mughal general Afzal Khan, as part of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Sangli district, triggered violence. The ensuing clashes spilled into Kolhapur and became a rallying point for Hindu nationalist groups, who called for a retaliation against Muslim neighbourhoods. This received support from both the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena.

The incident marked one of the earliest signs of the region’s shift from progressive to communal.

In 2015, the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare by members of Sanatan Sanstha, a Hindu militant organisation, sent shockwaves through Kolhapur and the rest of Maharashtra. Pansare, a prominent critic of the communal appropriation of Shivaji’s legacy, had actively spoken against his portrayal as solely an anti-Muslim warrior.

The situation has grown more complex in recent years as communal tensions have surfaced around religious sites like the Mahalakshmi Temple. In 2016, activists advocating for women’s entry into the temple’s sanctum sanctorum were met with violence from right-wing groups, who labelled them as atheists and interlopers. 

As Ashok told TNM, “This was the first time in its history that the city witnessed violence against women. The progressive people of Kolhapur failed to launch strong campaigns against the issue, allowing the right-wing to strengthen their influence in the city.”

In June 2023, members of the Hindutva outfit Shiv Pratishthan targeted Muslim-owned shops in Kolhapur after a social media post went viral among the youth. Hindutva organisations alleged that the post glorified the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, which they claimed was an insult to Shivaji as the two were archrivals. 

BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis amplified these sentiments, stating that Aurangzeb’s auladein (progeny) had emerged in Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters, he said, “We are investigating who is glorifying Aurangzeb and who is inciting such actions.”

In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi – comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – rallied for unity, with some accusing the BJP of exploiting communal divides to get electoral support. Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena-UBT accused the BJP of manipulating historical narratives for political gain, likening their tactics to an “Aurangzebi attitude” that was foreign to Maharashtra’s culture.

Communalism powers electoral wins for BJP

The Kolhapur-Sangli region has traditionally been a stronghold of the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, both of which have long appealed to a diverse and inclusive electorate.

Ashok Chausalkar, former head of the political science department at Shivaji University, told TNM, “The timing of the 2009 violence – just months before the Maharashtra assembly elections – proved politically significant. The chaos shifted local allegiances toward right-wing politics, benefiting the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena, both of which capitalised on the communal fallout.”

He added, “BJP MLAs from Sangli like Sambhaji Pawar and incumbent Labour Minister Suresh Khade won Assembly seats in 2009 with little campaigning, while Rajesh Kshirsagar of the Shiv Sena took Kolhapur North. This shift showed how polarising narratives can change the political landscape and has set a precedent that resurfaces during every major election in the region.”

Divisions, defections

In the years since the 2009 riots, the BJP has successfully capitalised on Maharashtra's shifting political dynamics. The saffron party’s recent gains have fractured the opposition, splintering both the Shiv Sena and the NCP into rival factions.

Internal conflicts that started around 2019 led to the Shiv Sena splitting into two factions in 2022, one led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the other by Uddhav Thackeray (UBT). 

In the battle for ideological supremacy, Shiv Sena (UBT) workers displayed placards of Bal Thackeray, denouncing the gaddar (traitor) gang, referring to those who defected to the Shinde-led Sena. This division over the legacy of Bal Thackeray was central to the 2024 Lok Sabha election battle, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi labelling Uddhav’s faction the “duplicate Shiv Sena”.

In the Kolhapur Lok Sabha constituency, which includes six assembly constituencies, the Congress managed to win three in 2019 while key NCP and Shiv Sena leaders who won the remaining seats defected to BJP-aligned factions. This included Sanjay Mahadik, a former MP from undivided Shiv Sena who is now a BJP spokesperson. The defections have now bolstered the governing Mahayuti coalition comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction.

Among them was Hasan Mushrif, who had won from the Kagal Assembly seat and faced an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate for money laundering in March 2023. Despite the investigation, Mushrif took oath as cabinet minister three months later, joining the faction of NCP leaders who broke off with party supremo Sharad Pawar and aligned with Ajit Pawar’s BJP-backed faction.

The defection ignited outrage, with local campaigns voicing a strong “no votes for traitors” sentiment.

Saffron rhetoric

At a rally ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Uddhav Thackeray took aim at the BJP’s focus on cultural conservatism, remarking that Kolhapur was known for its tambda and pandhra rassa (mutton-based gravies) in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi making an issue out of the consumption of mutton during sawan, a month during which certain Hindu castes abstain from meat.

Ahead of the assembly elections, the BJP has launched its next weapon: ‘vote jihad’. In October, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis claimed that ‘vote jihad’ by Muslim voters had been crucial to the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s victories in the recent Lok Sabha elections. This statement, which drew a warning from the Election Commission, was widely interpreted as a bid to consolidate Hindu votes.

As the BJP leans heavily into its Hindutva rhetoric, the Shiv Sena-UBT presented a rebranded, “secular and inclusive” version of Hindutva while launching its campaign from Kolhapur.

The slogan of BJP’s star campaigner and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, ‘batenge toh katenge’ (division is destruction), saw opposition not just from Mahayuti allies but also from within the BJP. Uddhav countered it with, “Amhi tutu denar nahi, amhi lutu denar nahi (We will not let them break us, we will not let them loot us).” 

Harshal Surve, a local Shiv Sena (UBT) coordinator, encapsulated the party’s ideological stance: “Our Hindutva is nationalist – this is Balasaheb’s Hindutva. BJP’s Hindutva is a betrayal. They rose to power in Maharashtra with our support, only to turn their backs on us. Now, to protect Balasaheb’s vision, we support Congress, once our adversary.”

The Congress, meanwhile, seems to have shifted focus to economic issues like inflation, with huge banners displaying before and after prices of commodities.

Crucial mandate ahead

Kolhapur today stands at a crossroads, caught between a legacy of progressive ideals and a present marked by rising communal tensions. Political leaders on both sides are vying to appropriate its identity. For the progressive factions in Kolhapur, the challenge is steep; they must now reclaim their legacy in a climate where divisive tactics have gained political traction.

As the elections draw closer, incidents are being inflated and re-framed with communal overtones, a tactic that, while deeply divisive, has proven effective at shifting political power, said Communist Party of India leader Girish Phonde.

The aftermath of the 2009 riots also saw respected social leaders like Govind Pansare and ND Patil stepping in to lead recovery efforts, ensuring that the victims received support. However, the absence of such voices today is keenly felt. “Without figures like Pansare and Patil, Kolhapur’s progressive legacy faces a grave challenge,” Girish added. “Now more than ever, all communities must unite to prevent this cycle of violence from continuing.”

This report is republished from The News Minute as part of the NL-TNM alliance. Click here to support our election coverage, and join the army that pays to keep news free.