Source: uday kulkarNi in puNe mirror, August 28 2018.
Ghashiram Kotwal, the tyrannical police chief of Pune, met an infamous end at the hands of his constituents
Towards the end of the 18th century, Pune, the capital city of the Maratha Empire, was well governed, peaceful and prosperous. The citizens had seen peace for three straight decades, business was flourishing, and the Maratha power had spread over most parts of India.
To keep crime and lawlessness under control and ensure the security of Pune’s residents, Nana Phadnis, the Peshwa’s minister, had appointed a Brahmin from Aurangabad named Ghashiram Savaldas as the kotwal, the police chief of the city. A night curfew was enforced in the city when its gates were closed, and nobody could enter or leave. A gun was fired every night, by which time all citizens were expected to be indoors. The streets were patrolled by the police and any stragglers could be arrested.
The ruins of Ghashiram’s residence in Cantonment - He laid gardens and built a lake around the area, which was named after him.
The Sravana Dakshina was an important annual event in Pune’s calendar, when learned Brahmins from all over came to the Ramana near Parvati Hill and were given rewards based on their learning. In August 1791, as was the practice, Ghashiram Kotwal’s policemen enforced the night curfew in the city. The city had a large number of visitors for the dakshina and a group of 35 Telinga Brahmins, perhaps unaware of the rule, remained outdoors. Preparing to leave the city at dawn, they also made enough noise to attract attention. It was not unusual therefore that they were rounded up and locked up in a small room in Bhavanipeth.
The prisoners passed the night in relative discomfort, but the morning brought no succour as nobody came to open the locks. The poorly ventilated room became acutely uncomfortable as the door remained locked for another day and a night. The prisoners’ ordeal continued for long as nobody heard their cries for help. It was only on the third day that Manaji Phakda, a fierce warrior chief of the Peshwa, who was passing that way, heard noises and broke open the locks. Of the 35 prisoners, 21 were found dead.
News of the tragedy spread through the city and the masses, who were unhappy with Ghashiram for his dictatorial rule, protested in large numbers all day. The people refused to move the bodies of the dead until they secured justice. The kotwal reported the matter to his master, Nana Phadnis. Nana sent Chief Judge Ayyashastri to enquire about the incident, but he was assaulted and had his clothes torn off. As public fury mounted and protests were held outside Nana’s own house, orders were given to arrest Ghashiram.
Ghashiram was shackled and paraded in the city on an elephant, facing backwards. The people greeted him with stones and he was imprisoned near the Ramana at Parvati. The arrest did not calm the city, and on the last day of August a large crowd of Brahmins gathered and demanded the death penalty for the kotwal. The young Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao intervened at this stage and declared that the death sentence would be appropriate.
The kotwal was then pulled out of his prison and placed on a camel, once again facing the hindquarters of the beast. His head was publicly shaved in front of his own office; five lines were drawn on his head and filled with red lead. The appearance of the kotwal was not unlike that of an animal prepared for a sacrifice.
Once again, the procession on the camel wended its way through the entire city of Pune. People followed, shouting angry slogans demanding justice. The procession stopped at the Garpir, near present-day Pune cantonment, and the kotwal was let loose. His guards were withdrawn and the angry crowd given free rein to do as they chose.
A rough justice awaited the once powerful Ghashiram. Tied at the end of a long turban cloth and held by some men, the Kotwal was made to run a gauntlet and stoned by the angry mob. British Resident Charles Malet described this final scene, “Twelve Brahmins of that tribe attacked the fallen magistrate with large stones. With an eagerness disgraceful to humanity, these Brahminical murderers despatched him by a succession of large stones thrown violently on his head and breast.”
Nana Phadnis, who administered Pune and had appointed Ghashiram a decade earlier, wrote a few days later, “The kotwal’s crimes had crossed all limits, hence he was punished. If anybody has written anything to the contrary, it is false. People are known to start rumours. That is the way of the people of Pune.”