Mumbai: With the aim of highlighting ‘Maharashtra’s sacrifice for the security of Delhi and the country’, the Mahayuti government in the state plans to build a memorial in the national capital for a Maratha military general, Dattaji Shinde, of the Scindia dynasty.
The Maharashtra government wants to build the memorial at the Jharoda Majra Metro station near Burari where Dattaji Shinde, who is also known as Dattaji Scindia in some references, had died fighting ahead of the third battle of Panipat.
“This memorial will help in highlighting the history of Marathas in protecting the country from foreign invasions and the sacrifices that Maharashtra has made to protect Delhi and the country,” a Maharashtra government resolution approving the construction of the memorial said.
Dattaji Shinde was the second son of Ranoji Rao Shinde, the founder of the Scindia dynasty. He served as regent for his young nephew Jankoji Rao Shinde who was the Maharaja of Gwalior.
Dattaji Rao Shinde is said to have led Maratha forces against Afghan invasions at a time when there was heightened conflict between the Marathas and the Afghans. He was put in charge as commander of the Punjab province to take on the Afghans and enabled the Marathas to capture the forts of Attock and Peshawar at one point.
Dattaji Rao Shinde died during the Battle of the Barari Ghat about a year before the third battle of Panipat. He is said to have given a war cry of “Bachenge toh aur bhi ladenge” (if we survive, we will fight even more) that became a part of Maratha folklore.
‘In talks with Delhi Development Authority’
The Maharashtra tourism department has been appointed as the nodal department to implement the project.
“We have had preliminary discussions with the Delhi Development Authority to get a piece of land there. We still have to identify the land where we can build the memorial in the proximity of the Metro station,” a senior official with the state tourism department told ThePrint.
At this stage, details of how extensive the memorial will be and how much it will cost are also yet to be worked out, he added.
The state tourism department has asked the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to prepare a detailed plan for the memorial, exploring the possibilities of including a museum of archives, an audio-visual presentation, and so on.
“It is part of the Maharashtra government’s larger decision to develop places outside Maharashtra that have been important in Maratha history and known for the feats of various Maratha warriors,” the official said.
The idea is to popularise the history of Marathas beyond Maharashtra, and make it relevant for the next generations as well, officials say.
Last year, the state government had announced that it would build a grand memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Agra where the Maratha warrior king was kept under house arrest by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and managed to escape despite stringent monitoring. The memorial is still in the planning stages.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)