At a time when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)is grappling with the ruling Shiv Sena’s demand for development of a garden atthe Shivaji Park in memory of late Bal Thackeray, a new revelation has come tothe light: that the BMC does not have any information, as to when the grandstatue of Chhatrapati Shivaji was installed at this historic ground.
In reply to a query raised by an RTI activist Anil Galgali,the BMC has said in no certain terms that it has no information as to when the statueof Maratha warrior Shivaji “ adjacent to which the Sena has proposed a gardenin memory of late Thackeray -- came to be installed at the Shivaji Park atDadar in north-central Mumbai.
However, in reply to the main query raised by Galgali, theBMC came out with a historic fact that the BMC “way back on May 10,1927”adopted a "modified" motion tabled by member G B Nare andseconded by Avantikabai Gokhalay, recommending that the then known “Mahim Park”be renamed as “Shivaji Park” on the occasion of the 300th birth anniversary ofShivaji.
The "modified" motion adopted by the BMC readthus: “That in order to commemorate the tri-centenary of Shivaji which falls incoming May, the Mahim Park be named as Shivaji Park”.
In reply to another query, the BMC stated that it had noinformation about the history and significance of the Shivaji Park.
"I am baffled as to how the BMC does not have anyinformation about the origin of the Shivaji statue at the Shivaji Park, aground controlled by it. I am equallysurprised that the BMC has no information about the history and significance ofas important Mumbai landmark as the Shivaiji Park," Galgali said.
The lack of information as to when the Shivaji statue wasinstalled at the historic ground in north-central Mumbai may not materialbearing on the unresolved issue of developing a garden in memory of lateThackeray there, but the development reflects on the lack of initiative on theBMC’s part to preserve archival material with regard to as important a heritagesite of Mumbai as the Shivaji Park.
The majestic statue of Shivaji, astride a war horse, at theShivaji Park is one of the very few statues in which the Maratha warrior hasbeen depicted without a drawn-out sword in his hand. Instead, Shivaji has beenshown with an out-stretched hand. Unofficial information has it that thisstatue was set up in 1966, using donations from the local population.
It is said that the then Congress government, which waspacifist in its approach, had purposely facilitated the setting of the statueof Shivaji without a drawn-out sword -- instead of the usual confrontationalposture of the Maratha warrior who had fought many a battle against Mughalempire in his life time.
The latest controversy over the date of installation ofShivaji statue at the Shivaji Park notwithstanding, the BMC has not made muchof a progress on the execution of the Shiv Sena’s proposal to develop a gardenin memory of late Thackeray.
On December 18, the Shiv Sena-BJP controlled BMC approvedthe proposal for a garden in memory of late Thackeray who was cremated at theShivaji Park on November 18. A day later, the civic administration marked theproposed site for developing a 20 foot by 40 foot garden, where the urn of lateSena chief would be kept on a specially created marble platform.
