At Elgar Parishad 2021, calls for freedom for the ‘Bhima Koregaon 16’
After the first edition of the anti-caste event in 2018, several people were arrested for allegedly provoking violence in a village near Pune. Jan 31, 2021 · 06:30 am Members of the Samta Kala Manch cultural group performing at the 2021 Elgar Parishad in Pune on January 30. | Photo: Aarefa Johari
On Saturday morning, people entering Pune’s Ganesh Kala Krida auditorium were greeted by dozens of police officials at every gate, multiple security checkpoints with metal detectors, repeated bag-checks and body pat-downs, and police sniffer dogs roaming around the compound.
The intense police scrutiny was on account of the event held at the auditorium: Elgar Parishad 2021, the defiant second edition of an event that became controversial after the Maharashtra police accused its organisers – a coalition of 250 anti-caste and human organisations – of instigating caste-based violenc