The majority community of Maharashtra, Marathas and Kunbis, are holding a series of conferences in Maharashtra to quit Hinduism and form a new religion, Shiva Dharma. The third such conference I attended here. The next one will be in Madras. The organisers are Maratha Seva Sangh, a noted OBC organization in Maharashtra, headed by Purushottam Khedekar. The brain behind the movement, which is going on for the last few years, is A.H. Salunkhe who presided over the conference. He is writing the code of conduct and the scripture of the new religion which they connect with the Indus Valley Civilization.
The well attended conference was addressed by many OBC Maharashtra leaders including Ashok Rana and M.M. Deshmukh.
What is Shiva Dharma: Purshuram Dhote, a former district president of BJP, editor of a local journal and the main organizer of the Waman Dahan Programme, which they hope, will be the OВС way to celebrate Diwali in future. Warman was a dwarf Brahmin who killed India’s greatest pre-Aryan ruler, Bali Chakravarty.
Their ideals and idols are Jijau, the mother of Shivaji, the Budha, Shivaji and other non-Brahmin personalities like Tukaram, Kabir, Shahu, Dr. Ambedkar, Phule and Periyar. The date for conversion is Jan. 12, 2005, the birth anniversary of Jijau, at Sindkhed Raja, her birth place.
There will be no founder for the new religion and no priests. Some may believe in god or may not. No Satyaranayana puja. The religion will be based on science.
Salunkhe said they were not accepting Budhism because of “the ground realities in the society”. The Budha was a great bridge between them and the Budhists and expressed the hope that some day “we all would be one.” He described their movement as a “Liberation movement”. We need toilets for women in villages not temples, he said. (kidas@rediffmail.com)
Marathas quitting Hinduism is a great news. It was the Marathas who fought the Brahmins in the olden days, Shivaji was a victim of Brahmins. It is only recently the Marathas started joining the Brahmins after the latter played on the caste contradictions between them and the Dalits We congratulate the Marathas for realising their mistake though very late. Dalits and Muslims in Maharashtra must take full advantage of the situation and offer their full solidarity EDITOR.
