page_title: Sambhaji Brigade
section_title: 2004 James Laine incident
hierarchical_section_title: Sambhaji Brigade / History / 2004 James Laine incident
caption_attribution_description: English: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune
context_page_description: Sambhaji Brigade is a Maratha organisation based in Maharashtra, India. It is a branch of the Maratha Seva Sangh. The Brigade is named after the Maratha king Sambhaji son of the first Maratha king Shivaji and gained exposure after they attacked and vandalised the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune in protest against American scholar James Laine’s book on Shivaji titled Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India. Currently the head of this organisation is Pravin Gaikwad. Sambhaji Brigade demands reservation for the Maratha community and wants inclusion of Marathas in Other Backward Classes category. They also demand free education for Maratha children and registered marriages instead of religious ceremonies. The organization has been described as having an anti-Brahmin caste stand and has been repeatedly criticized for its extremist views.
context_section_description: A group of brigade members attacked and vandalised the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute(BORI) in January 2004. The attack was prompted by the controversy over James Laine's controversial book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India (OUP, 2003); scholars from the institute had collaborated with Laine on information for his book about the founder of the Maratha Empire, Shivaji, which the group had viewed as blasphemy claiming that book features "derogatory remarks on Shivaji and his mother". Angry mob of Sambhaji Brigade stormed the BORI and destroyed priceless manuscripts and artifacts. Then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee condemned this violence though he upheld the importance of disagreement and debate in a democracy. After the incident 72 members of the group were arrested. In 2004 the director-general of police announced that a legal ban on the organization was being investigated, but as of 2015, organization has never been banned.
caption: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune
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