Past perfect
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Shikara Shinaganapracha Shambhu Mahadeva, which traces Shivaji's origins, is presented in an abridged version in Kannada
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Shivaji Mula Kannada Nela
by Saraju Katkar
Lohiya Prakashana Bellari, Rs. 75
History is a continuous process. What was believed to be true yesterday, could turn out to be incorrect tomorrow. The new understanding of our past should enable us to foresee our future better. History, is not a field of ontological truths. Of all disciplines, history is the most prone to subjective interpretations and contemporary political compulsions. In a country as divided and diverse as India, reconstructing the past has seldom been completely an affair of historiography.
The roots of the king of Maharastra, Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj, has become an important subject of study of late. Many scholarly research works, widely acclaimed by historians and archaeologists alike have been produced in Maharastra. One such book tracing the origin of Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj is by the famous historian Dr. Ramachandra Chintamana Dhere, popularly known as Ra. Chim. Dhere. His seminal work on the subject Shikara Shinaganapracha Shambhu Mahadeva has been brought to Kannada as an abridged version of the work by famous Kannada writer Dr. Saraju Katkar as Shivaji Mula Kannada Nela meaning the origin of Shivaji is Kannada soil.
The core thesis of the research is that the Shivaji is not a Rajput hailing from Sisodiya dynasty from Rajasthan. On the contrary Dr. Dhere argues that Shivaji's ancestor is Balipa or Baliyappa hailing from a place called Soratur near Gadag in north Karnataka.
Another important claim apart from the geographical origins of Shivaji by Dr. Dhere is that Shivaji is not a Rajput but a Yadava or a Gowli as is popularly known in Maharastra or a Golla in Karnataka. The author also dwells into the origin of the word Bhosale, which is believed to be Shivaji's second name. According to the author Bhosale is a verbal distortion of the word "Hoysala," which is a name of a dynasty that ruled Karnataka. Likewise the author also takes a clue from the deity Shivaji worshipped, "Shikara Shinganapura Shambhu Mahadeva." According to Dhere's findings, the deity is none other than "Shreeshaila Mallikarjuna," which also corroborates the fact that Shivaji is not a Rajput. To this effect Dhere provides sufficient historical and evidences from folklore.
When Dr. Dhere's findings were released in 2001 in Maharastra, there was chaos as it exploded all myths about Shivaji's origins. Shivaji has been co-opted by right wing forces as a Hindu hero who fought successfully against Muslim Moguls and established a Hindu kingdom.
It is to the credit of the scholastic qualities of the research of Dr. Dhere that after a very short span of initial uproar, people and scholars alike have accepted his arguments.In fact now there is a massive movement to reclaim Shivaji from rightist forces like Shivasena in Maharastra by Sambhaji brigade, a militant non-Brahminical force, by citing the shudrahood of Chatarpati Shivaji.
The irony of the situation is that while Dr. Dhere's work is being used by the shudra forces in Maharastra to reclaim him from Right, it is unfortunate that the Kannada translation focuses on the geographical origins of Shivaji in Karnataka to score a blatantly communal point by describing his regime as a continuation of a fight against the Muslim regime starting from Vijayanagara Empire! The introduction by Dr. Chidananda Murthy does not hide this objective!
SHIVASUNDAR
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