Overview
- Police detained publisher Prashant Ambi and several supporters Tuesday in Buldhana ahead of a planned protest and public reading of the Marathi book.
- The dispute followed a viral audio last week in which Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad used abusive language and threatened Ambi over the book’s portrayal of Shivaji Maharaj.
- Gaikwad later expressed regret for his language while insisting the Maratha ruler should be addressed with honorific respect in publications.
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called the controversy unwarranted and cautioned against sensationalism, as Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil condemned Gaikwad’s remarks.
- The book, Govind Pansare’s 1988 Shivaji Kon Hota, is a widely read text that presents Shivaji as a secular king, with millions of copies across more than 75 editions, making it a recurrent flashpoint in Maharashtra’s culture and politics.