Several members of the Bajrang Dal protested outside former MLA and Konkani writer Uday Bhembre’s house in Margao Friday night demanding an “explanation” for a video in which the latter contested some historical claims recently made by Goa chief minister about 17th Century Maratha king, Shivaji. The protesters accused Bhembre of “insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji and distorting history”.
The protesters, who had previously burnt Bhembre’s effigy, dispersed after a brief argument with the writer’s son and his friends. Bhembre, 85, played a pivotal role during the Konkani language agitation and won Sahitya Akademi award in 2015 for his play ‘Karnaparva’.
At a state-level function to celebrate Shiv Jayanti last week, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said it was a misconception that the Portuguese ruled ‘entire’ Goa for 450 years and that only three talukas of Goa were under Portuguese rule for that period while the rest were under Shivaji’s rule.
Sawant added that a majority of people in Goa were saved from being converted to Christianity due to Shivaji’s rule.
In his video uploaded Thursday, Bhembre, a former MLA from Margao constituency, uploaded a video on YouTube, referring to the claims made by Sawant in his speech and cited some texts to contest it.
Defending his video, Bhembre told The Indian Express: “I have not expressed any of my opinions, because I am not a historian. I just quoted historians to say that what was mentioned [in the speech] is not history. I presented facts. I respect Shivaji as a hero in our national history. I have not said anything against Shivaji”.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
