Chaityabhumi

In 1818, around five hundred Mahar (Dalit) soldiers who were part of the British army defeated their Peshwa oppressors, despite being largely outnumbered in battle. The Battle of Bhima Koregaon is commemorated on the first of January every year, when two million people gather at the site of this particular victory against Brahminical rule. The annual pilgrimage is ignored by national and local media, as India's ruling castes reinforce systemic caste-based discrimination by either erasing this history or deeming it antinational. This documentary by Somnath Waghmare, a young Dalit filmmaker, tells the story of Bhima Koregaon and of its relevance to contemporary Dalit issues and politics.