Mumbai: The Maharashtra govt has acquired rare historical archives that document the story of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, covering all the big turning points of the struggle to create a unified Marathi state with Mumbai as its capital in the form of correspondence, written records, and 150 precious photographs. Part of the record are minutes of an all-party meet chaired by late CM Yashwantrao Chavan to set up the Hutatma Chowk Memorial in honour of those martyred and also a two-women commission report on ‘harassment’ of Gujarati women.The collection, preserved by senior journalist Kumar Kadam, was examined and evaluated by a govt-appointed committee before the decision was taken to acquire it. “The collection will be added to the state’s archives for preservation and conservation,” said state cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar in the council on Wednesday.Shelar said among the major movements seen in India after Independence, the one for creation of a unified Marathi-speaking state stands out as among the most extraordinary.“Prominent leaders from across political parties, literary figures, workers and ordinary citizens participated. Their determined and united efforts gave the movement immense strength. In all, 106 people laid down their lives, while many others were injured. The movement has since been recorded as a landmark event in India’s history. Owing to this movement, the then Central govt was compelled to establish the state of Maharashtra on May 1, 1960. While this history may be familiar to those over 60 years old, it is essential future generations also understand and appreciate it,” he stated.Between 2005 and 2015, Kadam travelled across Mumbai, Pune, Belgaum, Satara and Sangli and interviewed those who participated in the movement. None of the interviewees are alive today. There are 35 recorded interviews in all, with a combined duration of 1,258 minutes.Sujitkumar Ugale, director, directorate of archives, said so far only two persons, Y D Phadke and Lalji Pendse, have done research on the subject, so obtaining interviews of those who participated in the stir is invaluable. “For instance, Liladhar Hegde has sung povadas (songs of bravery) during the interview. These povadas were used to inspire people to join the movement and they also served as a commentary on the agitation,” Ugale said. The participation of women was also significant.The collection includes interviews with Madhu Shetye, Dinu Ranadive, Shirish Pai, Ahilya Rangnekar, Baba Adhav, Bhai Vaidya, Shahir Liladhar Hegde, N D Patil, Narayan Athawale, Balkrishna (Bal) Deshpande, Kamal Bhagwat, Housabai Bhagwanrao Patil, Malini Tulpule, Mrinal Gore, Bapusaheb Kaldate, Acharya Shantaram Garud, Dattaji Tamhane, Mohan Dharia, G P Pradhan, Prabhakar Kunte, Nagnathanna Ramchandra Nayakvadi, Yashwant Chavan, Madhu Joshi, Madhukar Page, Bapusaheb Pujari, Babanrao Kshirsagar, Ramchandra Annaji (Rambhau) Joshi, Gajanan Huddar, Vasantrao Hoshing, Ram Apte, Parashuram Nandihalli, Krishna Mense, Ashok Yalagi, Vasantrao Patil, Narayanrao Tarale and Shahir Liladhar Hegde, among others.Shelar said Kadam preserved this rare historical treasure through his personal efforts and resources.
