Battle of Koregaon

The Battle of Koregaon was fought on 1 January 1818 between the British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy, at Koregaon Bhima. The 25,000-strong Marathas, led by Peshwa Baji Rao II intended to attack Pune. On their way, they were met by a 800-strong Company force that was on its way to reinforce the British troops in Pune. The Peshwa dispatched around 2,000 soldiers to attack the Company force stationed in Koregaon. Led by Captain Francis Staunton, the Company troops defended their position for nearly 12 hours. The Marathas ultimately withdrew, fearing the arrival of a larger British force led by General Joseph Smith.

The Company troops included predominantly Mahar Dalit soldiers belonging to the Bombay Native Infantry, and therefore the Dalit activists regard the battle as a heroic episode in Dalit history.

Background

By the 1800s, the Marathas were organized into a loose confederacy, with the major constituents being the Peshwa of Pune, the Scindia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the Gaekwad of Baroda, and the Bhonsle of Nagpur. The British had subjugated and signed peace treaties with these factions, establishing Residencies at their capitals. The British intervened in a revenue-sharing dispute between the Peshwa and Gaekwad, and on 13 June 1817, the Company forced Peshwa Baji Rao II to sign an agreement renouncing claims on Gaekwad's reveues and ceding large swaths of territory to the British. This treaty of Pune formally ended the Peshwa's titular overlordship over other Maratha chiefs, thus officially ending the Maratha confederacy. Soon after this, the Peshwa burnt down the British Residency at Pune, but was defeated in the Battle of Khadki near Pune on 5 November 1817.

Koregaon

Koregaon is a census town and headquarters for the surrounding Koregaon Taluka in the Satara subdivision of Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated on the Satara-Pandarpur road about 18 km east of Satara city, about 120 km from Pune and 267 km from Mumbai. The Koregaon railway station, situated on the Pune-Miraj line, is 2 kilometers outside the town. At a stones throw from the railway station is Koregaon Bus Station.

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar writes about his childhood experience of travelling from Satara to Koregaon, and the discrimination they suffered, in his autobiographical book, Waiting for a Visa (chapter 1).

Demographics

In the 2011 India census, the town of Koregaon had a population of 23,539 individuals.

Kedareshwar Mandir

In Koregaon there is present Lord Shiva's temple, named Kedareshwar Mandir in Marathi. This place is large, and well known in all neighboring areas of Koregaon.

Education

Koregaon (Vidhan Sabha constituency)

Koregaon(Assembly constituency)(Marathi: कोरेगाव विधान सभा मतदारसंघ) of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha is one of the constituencies located in the Satara district.

It is a part of the Satara (Lok Sabha constituency), along with five other assembly constituencies, viz Wai, Karad North, Karad South, Satara and Patan from the Satara district.

Members of Legislative Assembly

Key

  INC     Independent     INC(U)     NCP  

Election results

Assembly elections 1951

Assembly elections 1957

Assembly elections 1962

Assembly elections 1967

Assembly elections 1972

Assembly elections 1978

Assembly elections 1980

Assembly elections 1985

Assembly elections 1990

Assembly elections 1995

Assembly elections 1999

Assembly elections 2004

Assembly elections 2009

Assembly elections 2014

See also

References

Koregaon (disambiguation)

Koregaon may refer to any of the following places in Maharashtra, India: