| After reading this chapter, you wl be conversant with . 11Dalits ahctthe origin of untouchability ‘ "hatin he Dall moyernenss tf lOrigin of the modem Dalit movement ¢ “Factors responsible forthe sé of modem Dalit movement : +/Mahar mavement : ha : ‘ {Conon eta he Anaad ne Gn oe Dal mwa i es «Ros Ambedkar Oat movement ‘| DALITS AND THE ORIGIN OF UNTOUCHABILITY °. : ‘pra St edo he it a wich meng lt rk 1 Hh ‘rack, and so'on. It means spit, broken, burst, etc_as an ti iy aes oe ae ores int 1919. Gandhiji ). Ambedkar Be ey ls toga a a posed the term “Protestant Hindus’ In 1935, the British government Po the "Scheduled Castes” It was during the 1970s * Maharashtra popularized the term Dalit, Today, various 'religions and protest movements. . ‘Dalits occupy the lowest position in the caste hi, "props! and onde thetOtigin of Untouchabllty. ? ; 1 non \ ‘The origins of untouchability can be traced back to the times when the Aryans invaded India around 1500 BC.. They looked dowt upon the indigenous people as culturally . Chandalas. There was a lot of stigma againgt the Chandalas in the Later-Vedic perio, * but untouchability on a,large scale appeareti only between 600 BC and 200 AD. Manu olds that the four Varnas originated front different parts of Purusha: the Brahmans from ‘iis mouth, the Kehyatriyas from his jms, the Vaishyas from his thighs, and the Shudras from: his feet. Rest of the. Castes came into being as a result of alliances amor5 ‘the four: Varnus. The two, important theorids pertaining to the origin of untouchubility ‘The frst theory says that the discowery|that the Indus valley people spoke « po‘ ~ "Dravidian language suggests that the peoplé conquered by the Aryans were Dravidians. ‘They subsequently moved down south and subjugated’ the indigenous people. there. ee ee Came into existence. Thus, the Dalits were. ‘the original tribes of South India, who ;, became isolated from the xest of the world and eo were lookeddown others. They belonged to the first wave of Dravidians who emigrated to the Sour and ese ni uéatly won over by «mare civilized forced them to live as manual laborets Wha the Aras developed «noc enpaietion wisest Choc ona, alow : i catte” theory offered by Manu. This theotrbeh new golds, and new religious sect intothe Aryan siclety. Phas 76 |.Chapters cin th tence fh fou Vara dey adapt andthe oe ce os the Varna scheme as a result of unlawful séccual alliances between men and women of dif- ferent Varas, The Chandala resultéd as the offspring of a Brahman woman and « Sbudra man. Four other groups were also included, ‘the “untouchables”: In the years after 200 AD, “untouchability” camie to include used to refer to all those at the bottom of. ‘This oversimplifies what over a period groups by the technologically superior 1 : the division of labor as migrant Aryans: settled down adopting agricultural arid then| urban ‘wayt of life; incorporation of new Bee THEBHAKTIANDTHEDALITMOVEMENTS j ‘Though opposition to untouchability and the demand for basic tights for Dalits had existed earlier, they attained great during the Bhakti period. "The Bhakti Movement with its emphasis on spirituality at the roots of uintouchability, which. is the sanction granted by Hindism. The Bhakt! Movement preceded the modern Dalit ‘Movement by around 600 years. Hae é ‘The Bhakti Movement is a historical speatheaded by devo- tional mystics who emphasized devotion and love to God as the chief means of spiritual perfection. It created a philosophical base fot‘ social equality’atid'set in motion a new trend toward social and spiritual equality. The sporadic armed upsurges and conversions to Islam and Christianity had upset {he soclogpolitical belancé inthe country. Tt was a reaction to Orthodox Hinduism, which cause: unnecessary apprehension in the minds of caste Hindus and compelled them to rethink over the religious orthodoxy. These pro- Vided the means to protest against orthodox Hinduism for future generations of Dalits. ‘The same currents of thought of Bhakti, armed upsurges, and conversions were rejuve- nated in the shape of new waves respectively of sanskritization. ‘The Bhakti Movement in South India was spearheaded by the Nayanars and. Alwars of the fifth century AD. During the twelfth c@ntury, the Virashaiva movement and the Haridasa movement spread from today’s Kamnataka. The later Bhakti movement led {o the proliferation of regional poetic lit € in the various vernacular languages of India, Some of the Bhakti leaders who contributed to literature are Purandara Dasa and. ganaka Dasa ofthe present-day Karnatika. The Bhakti movement spread to the North Aiving the late medieval ages when North India was tnder the Meslich domination Lis associated with “Sants” Chaitaaya, Vallabha, Meera Bal, Kabis, Tulsi Dat, Tukaram, and others led the movement in the North. ‘They taught that people could cast aside the and caste considerations and express their overwhelming love forGod. ,!at ond Backward assMoyerents | 7 We now discuss Chokamel aint, of the'Bhakti traditio " 1a, a Dalit saint, and Eknath, a Brahmin saint, : models Ai terms of their contributions to the Dalit movement. Both of them offer “untouchebie Chere change with regard to untouchability. Even though hanes Se ne ee mea pon OF Eknath, Brahman, worked for equality among the true Bhaktas. Chokameia Chokamela belonged to the thirteenth century. Chokamela and his family followed the traditional cuties of a Mahar. The legend is that Chokamela’s parents carried mangoes to Pandharpur at the behest of the village headman. One day, on their way to Pandharpur, Lord Vitthal disguised himself as a Brahman, begged for a fruit from Chokamela’s mother. He tasted it, and finding it sour returned it to her. She tucked it into the folds of her'sari and delivered the other mangoes to the priests at Pandharpur. When the marigoes were counted, one ‘was missing. She pulled out the half-bitten mango from her sari which became a lovely child, ' Choksmels. composed ‘many abhangas, Chokamela’s abhangas suggestel sole Protest on the concept of “untouchability, even though most of them reveal only the Sevotion asd pty ofthe bias. Tee tates creat tat Chateach wea fovaby troubled by his miserable place in the society. One abhanga relates to one of the legends about Chokamela, which talks of rejection in the temple and acceptance’ by God. The legend is that Chokamela was once denied entry into a temple by the temple priests, and he sat on the banks of the Bhima. Lord Vitthal himself came to comfort him, and dur- ing the conversation, Chokamela addressed lord Vitthal as “Vithoba’. A priest overheard. him and slapped him. When the priest returned to the temple, he found the idol of Vitthal with a'swollen cheek. : Though Chokamela lived in his traditional role as a Mahar with its traditiona) limitations, he: did protest against and question “untouchability”. The spirit of most is delight in God, Itberation from life’s suffering through devotion. Even though there is patn, the central message is that Choka experienced the grace of God. , Eknath Eknath was a Brahman who lived in Paithan in Maharashtra in the sixteenth century. Eknath obtained the scholarly learning by virtue of his family background was further reinforced by his worldly knowledge. Eknath was the most versatile of all saints of the Bhakti tradi- tion. He was also the most conscious of the presence of the “untouchables” in society and of their spiritual capabilities. He lived in the bizarre position of a highly orthodox wond, yet remained in contact with the non-Sanskritic manner of men. His devotion to the lowly. his insistence on using Marathi at the expense of Sanskrit, and his unorthodox behavior tn performing charitable acts for all human beings meant that he often lived under the threat of excommunication. Partly because he never challenged the right of Brahman privileges for other Brahmans, he lived his life fairly peacefully in Paithan and took samadhi there,oo Chapter 5 .* ah eras ; ris en. OB Meant to be acted out and of these 47 bhanids seem to be uttered by take and -js written in the name ofa Mang, an “untouchable” caste, Many poets IB OAT oe of \; ‘Maharashtra used the bharud form. It needs a metaphor tp, put across he aged a Poein, which can be a dog, a caste, a Muslin fakir, an unhappy wife Forads tostitute, etc. a symbol drawn from any aspect of routine life. Bknath’s bhart®® references to Vedanti philosophy and stories from the’epics and Puranas. ae ais »__ Bkatath’s all-encompassing compassion, No Brahmin or peasant figures in bis ‘instead, they reflect the non-Sanskritic side of life which he witnessed ith anes He called the poems in which the Mahar. is the speaker as Johar poems © With the greeting used by Mahars to their elders and superiors. In bharuds, the not only preaches to others about morality, the necesity of guru, and the comPATE of the saints, but also of the calamity of rebirth that is inevitable for thbsq who do net follow the\Bhakti path, and of the false lives pretence. THiere are many, ways to interPts” these Jokar poems. Eknath can be seen as the Mahar of the Lord, ane who does work singerely and with devotion, Some poems indicate that the life-of the Mahar is 80 difficult us it stands for the hardship of constant rebirth. ‘The fact that the Johar poem’ ate often harsh and vulgar suggests that Eknath may have taken on’ this,linie so. as to preach a fundamentalist form of Bhakti—the certainty of rebirth for nondevotees being - 4 Sort of dampation threat. What is obvious is that Eknath observed the work of the ' Mahatland put himself in the. Mahar’s place. The poems also suggest a deep belief that thé faith of the true Bhakta is true wisdom, and that the devout Mahar can-speak with some clarity the truth about the evils of the world and its people. Eknath had areal though limited appeal. What was unusual about him was his obser- vant ee, his enormous ability to see and feel things as they were and to act in accordance |’ with the human need. The idea that one so scholarly and so wise could be so quick to eh His most unique conttibution to the Bhakti tradition is the blia understand the life of lowly around him and be so human is a forceful idea. His synth of the worldly and the spiritual has the capacity to be understood in ‘odanfs times. ‘ “y % . ra ORIGIN OF THE MODERN DALIT MOVEMENT ' " 7 5s u | The origin of the modern Dalit movement’ cah:he traced back to the’ ni hry when Dalits began making efforts to their In apa eee : irati i jously. Most of the source ‘on the Dalit movement was not written by the Dalits themselves, but those forei, is “who were interested in them, The works of the Toreigners provide invaluable desert” _ details offering a much firmer basis for understanding Dalit movement. Bi descriptive ~has talked about three approaches to describe the conditions that shaped Cohn \ “OF Dalit “history produced during that century. The Orient eet urces ' gextis, and agrived at the conclusion that “Indian Saclty isa set of rules sa d. ancient Hindu followed” Since the texts did not have much material gut Dali ane every impact on the sources in the nineteenth century was limited. fe ales f ‘pea ist( Dalit and Backward Class Movements \ a 7 » drawing uport Orientalist research methqiis and conclusions, treated « | tn which religious idéas and practices pngeflay all social strticture;” and __ “he aditinistrative approach which, in tun, has two approsches, one treating i i | t Brahminical theory of the four Varnas and ‘saw the origin of castes in the ines the Higoigh manage ofthe meinbes ofthe four Varnes Shey ook» more negative et Hindu society as a whole, and of the caste system in particular. ed approach collection of castes and tribes, each with ifs own set of origins and customs, a aa be classified and the other treating India a land of village republics. — On the basié of the various sources depicting the prevailing conditions at the beg; ning of the nineteenth century, historians and sociologists have listed certain a ‘istics of Dalits of the nineteenth century. ‘they are: Sharacter. ee " + "Dalits were not ‘a homogenous group. ‘There were differences among the Dalits ternis of jati traditions, occupations; patterns oflandholding, and caste interaction |.” Despite their heterogeneity, Dalits have been placed in the same category pa the basis ofthe one feature all Dalits shdred—the stigma of “untouchability’, «+ The second characteristic of the itinetéenth century Dalits was their occupg. “tion, Irtespective of their’ traditional jati occupation, the vast majority of Dalit ‘were engaged’ as agricultural laborers. Many of their traditional occupations were supplementary taski they undertook to supplement their incomes. + The third common characteristic'was poverty. Dalits were poorly paid for their labor and were forced to live on the of starvation. + The fourth characteristic was the of Dalits into various jatis. They martied within their own jatis and had their own jati councils. Position within the hierarchy of jatis shaped their relationships with of other jatis including other Dalit jats. +: The fifth characteristic was about the ti of Dalits. Abbe Dubois and others fa "lowing him:have referred to the so-called unclean lifestyle including low personal shygiene levels, eating of carrion, etc}, which were the direct result of poverty, and | drunkenness, quarrelling, domestic violence, untrustworthiness in serving others ‘as a result of self-hatred, contempt for one’s own people, and passive aggression toward those whom ‘they considered! of, * “There’was no hope of sympathy. or suppost for Dalits, Contrary to its claims tobe te epic earner t interested in Dalits during the nineteenth a ing with its policy of non-interference with the social aspects of the “Indian society, ir tammed a blind eye to thd caste aspects of t 8 it introduced in *LW re hm Reform Movements ‘fT FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RISH OF THE MODERN \ DALIT MOVEMENT f ‘There _are factors for the rise of Dalit. movements in th i entry. The mar OT ae ements in the latter-half of the eteenth century. The major factors are as follows: : feahfal end brave. They were recruited in the Marine Battalion as they had “nd inhibi tions in serving on the sea or crossing the! to get to foreign lands.” The Mahars gave a decisive fight to the peshwa on the battlefield of Koregaon in 1818 and Ter ed the victory they later participated in the Kathiawar war in 1826, and fooght in 1857. The Churha “untouchables” of Punjab side world through military 3 ° 7 ‘other countries. As @ result, their outlook ‘broadened. their livesthrough mass movements. \ Ramdeo Panth: Ramdeo Panth was founded B ‘Dhed community. The chief tenets of the sect are: LNo beliefin Varnashram. i: “tL ‘No belief in the incarnation of God. i ( ‘ ; | | da awareness among the Dalits throvgh he inportnt em maremets et “Weretormers activities areasfollows—. by Guru Ramdas whio belonged 0 an' i : : Dalit and Backward Class Movements | 81, il, No talvation without chanting of Ram ni '™. The Guru is greater than God. ¥ ‘The books sf Guru Ramdas are greater than the Vedas. Vi. Ramis tHe Sukhsam Veda, a Satnami Panth: ama. Sethami movement founded by Guru Ghasidas. He felt that “God Was one and formless” The only way te aline God, secoeding to Gur Ghasidas, ad “to imbibe the spirit of Satnam, the truth” He apparently lald more stress on the stO0g organization of the dow people. This faith became very popular in Madhya Naval Dharma: Naval Sahib was born in 1783 in Nagaur district of Rajasthan: He worked among the Bhangis. He set up his own sect whose chief tenets are as follows: 4. To forbid idol worship. Pa | i. To worship “Nirankar” i iL To forbid'¢vil habits, : ; 'y, To believe in equality of human beings. pou ¥ To restrain temptation and anges. " ' vi To help the poor. jis 2 Besides the above-described sects, several other sects including Warkari Panth, Kabir Panth, Nasraiah Sect, and Matua Sect worked for the elimination of the caste-based discrimination and propagation of the motto bf equality among the people: They were reactions to the orthodox Hinduism. ‘The leaders of various sects played a significant: role in generating a new vigor, separate identity, self-pride, and self-confidence amongst! "~ Dalit Education i Dalits did ‘not have access to education. Therefore, h they started to spread: education amongst themselves to.improve their own situation, In this respect the contributiors made by the following persons are creditable, ‘ ensely. Though previously fieaeg! husband, and joined school only, !' as of Punjab converted to Sikhism. They were believed to have carried the body of Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth guru of Sikhs. They were called Mazhabis. ‘The’ Portuguese missionary St. Francis Xavier converted a lot of lower-caste people to istitnity in Western India. Later on, the Church of England was involved in-prosely- {ization too. The “untouchables” in Travancore became Christians an a large scale; owing. to the efforts of the British. However, caste status was retained even in the new faiths due to caste consciousness. sursed by the high-caste converts. This reveals, on the one hand, efforts to eliminate \_ caste-based discrimination and, on the other, efforts to retain caste-consciousness. It can. be sdid thag the missionaries’ attempts must have had an educative vale which could bring'an awakening in the Indian society in general and among the Christians and lower ‘classes in particular, ot oh : |, Resides the ‘above-described factors, certain remote factors are also responsible for the tise of Dalit movernents in India. ‘These are divided irito two types: Animate and Iinanimpate factors. The animate factors are as follows. ae u : Missionary Activity Christian missionaries contributed immensely to.the rise of modern India. The first ‘missionary was St. Francis Xavier, who arrived in Goa from Portugal in 1542. In 1705, Danish Lutheran missionaries of Protestant Mission named Bartholomew. Zi and Henry Plutschau established the mission in Tanjavur. In 1792, Wiliam Caney of England founded the Baptist mission in Serampur in Bengal. He translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, Hindi, and Marathi, In 1813, the East India Company agreed to allow ‘missi9naries to work in India, Since then many missionaries came to India and involved themséives if missionary activity. Protestant mission! was set up in 1845. American mis- 3, and at Ahmadnagar in Ludhiana, Allahabad, Jalandhar, sionsties set up their centets at Madras and Madurai in 183: 1831: American Presbyterians set up their centers at Andhra in the mid-nineteenth century.1 ' { DohsanddackradClsMovneny | ie tots 1 . ae at ae et selorated when the law was passed 1 ty The process. of P ee eee uss ion to, Christianity. In schools ryj, i. isabilities arising out i ‘They subjected Hi; hy ‘ ‘of the Bible was compulsory. ‘Th ‘thie nde) ay Christians, the wd leaving Hindus witha low morale is ccleraed the pry Be oe shar Tt created a sense of panic among’ Hindus. The fear’ of logy 44), : i: os Maher movement brought the snfaller and untoiiable castes onto'a single Platform and also brought a degree of awareness and uni eaabh to create a. “Separate politiel party rs sees oF awareness and unity enabling them to create ¢ Party; a system of education indn schools and colleges, 7 and, an effective hist conversion eS are the essentiq! factors in ‘They felt the need to have a leadership fre from téuditional service...” * Concerns and grievances felt and understood by béth the “elite” m of caste and also the masses, ; " a iil, The desire of legitimization of the new non-traditional Mahar ‘aimed at both. Inside the caste and among members of the elite in the larger society. ‘iv. “Brokers’, men who served as inks between the caste and the institutions of power in society, and those who knew how to use modern channels of change. ° v. Rise in communication channels, both within the group and from the group to ‘the masses. : Protection for protesters when they overstepped the traditional boundaries. ‘ Che Mahar Movement in Maharashtra was designed over the years with the ideology a s- Sd program initiated by various leaders from time to Unie. Before Dz Ambedkar rise ‘|, 88 an emancipator of the “untouchables”, the Mahars tried'to raise their’social status within, the Hindu religion. Many efforts made by various leaders 8 give us.a picture of the -origin of Dalit Movement on the one hand and'a clear perspective of this movement on the other. : ECE Wag wth fot fhe right i the ats he ca He retired from military service in 1886 and mobilized people and madé them conscious about thei human. rights. He highlighted the. grievances of the people through his writings in two Marathi newspapers, Dinbandhu and Sudharak, in which he argued that casteism and untouichability had no religious base and were creations of the Hindus. To prove, his theory he wrote a booklet titled “Vital Vidhvansak” He established Anarya Doshpariharak Mandali at Dapoli in the localities of Ratnagiri. district, where. the untouchable castes such as Chambhar and Mahar pensioners lived. In 1890; recruitment 1 ‘ofthe Mahars, the ewe stopped. ed te iether Me also " agked to leave, Upset with this, Walangkar petitioned the British government demandi ng 1 Pa fe socalled “untouchable” castes be taken back into the army. If hig petition he laiinéd that “untouchables” were former i . Re \_ Anarya Déshpariharak Mandali was succeeded by the Oppressed India Association of Shivaram.Kamible. Kamble founded this association in 1917, Kamble became the' ! Dolit and Backword Class Moverent; ‘ous leader of the “untouchables” jn Pune, and started @ Marathj new aaa vansht Mitra, in Pune in 1909 10 the masses. He began the strug! within the fold of “untouchables” to do . ¢ customs of devdas! and _ prevailing among the Mabars and the taught at 8 night school and wa Ieader nthe Paral Temple Satyagaba,onpanted By untouchables and afew cy Hindus in 1929. Kamble used such as ae ene for action, mitting petitions, opening schools and libraries, etc. fea British Governiney, to provide employment opportunities to Mahars in the mi tary. He worked with 1 on several “untouchable- issues. sate ‘Another notable personality in pre~ Mahar movement was tons Negru He sted press in 1900, n which he published various neysrs® bepchitres, and'books concemed with the reform of untouchables. He set up a library, He published the biography He published Muzdur Patrika in 1916 ¢, ” of educate and mobilize the mill laborers. established a school for girls in 1907 ang . started « umber of hostels for boys. He fstablished “The Sanmarg Bodhak Nirash, Sama{” in 1901 which urged “untouchables” to take education, fight for civil rights feeling among Hindus that the downtrodden should be raised up. Kalicharan Nandagavli, another Dalit activist set up a school for girls in 199), He was a convenor of the Bhartiya Bahiskrjt Parishad which was held in Nagpur in 1920 under the chairmanship of Shahu of Kolhapur. He highlighted the problems of the “untouchables” to the Simon and the Southborough Committee also, He fought injustice. He published many booklets in order to mobilize the people. Wher, bet cloner wo National congress dierendes appeared anong the “untouchables” ane h CTeatein fo Buddhism and led a revolt against Hinduism. In the first phase, Cor ages to wenedelia iia tha he ind vc re ars 7 Program He led the Satyagraha campaign at Mahad in 1 7 gsioa tha ben on eS alake. Dr Ambedkar led « group of people and frank water, The largest Satyagraha took in 1930 at Nasik. It was organized Sa fbedkar and local leader, It was called the Kala Ram Satyagraha involving les making efforts to enter temples, He PA eed by a 1355 to gain entry to the Parvtl temple in Pune ‘The untouchables, varem Karabla end. 10 «four-month effort to te ain soe Brant In all the aforementioned mass movementts, bank wean pepo enthustasm. Por the first time the untouchabids had themselves undérgone the suffer- the untouchables regarding their ability to looking up to Ambedkar with a lot of respect. } ‘ CONTRIBUTIONS OF JYOTIBA PHULE, DR B.R. AMBEDKAR AND MAHATMA GANDHI TO THE DALIT MOVEMENT: i ' i . \ Phule Pune in'1827 in Mali, family supplied flowers to the eee pecs bald end Reeder ter coe be known as “Phale’. As « child he was, Intelligent. He studied at the Scottish Mission School in Pune from where he completed his English course in 1847. When he was a child, he was greatly influenced by Thomas Pain’s Rights of Man. | He was of the opinion that as if God every person had equal status, and creed. He had the a strong feeling that our society could not progress and prosper without the proper sprtad of education, especially among women; and secondly, the have-nots’ socioeconomic status should be alleviated. He opened a school for untouchable girls at a young age at Bhide. Local upper-caste people objected. to it, and he was asked to close the school and ait the locality. He left the place, but soon he restarted the work after raising funds from prominent Europeans and Indians. Soon he, three schools for Scheduled Castes hich were (1) A school at Budhwar_ (2) A school at Pasta Pettr( T8517, and (3) A school at Vital Peth (1852). y ‘Opened the first native for low. dents, In 1854, Jotiba joined the Mission School as a ‘and was; influenced by prominent educa- tionists and missionaries such as Rev. Muray'Mitchell, Prof. Wilson, and Prof. Jones. In 1855, Jotiba started a night school at his hoube and in this work, he was greatly helped his wife. In 1857, government allotted him,a plot to set up a school. In 1860, Jotibe the for widows, which grestly helped the destitute women. In 1873, ~bedt ata Sa el eesi o ning human rights naar and the untouchables. /)ty : * Dalttand Backward GassMovements |! 89 In 1882, Jyothibe appeared for evidence before the Hunter Commission and showed _his solicitude for the education of women and the Dalits. He was against Sati and child_ ‘marriages. He was in favor of Western education and demanded free and compulsory ‘primary eduication—up to the age’ of 12. He advocated technical education for the lower classes. He also wanted education to be ‘imparted to the children in rural areas: * He always agitated for better Itving conditions for the workers in the mills in Bombay as well as for the farmaérs, a majority of whom were untouchables. He his socioeconomic id ress. Hé always led « selfiess life‘devotedto the t ‘of Dalits athong the Hindu society. Thus it is clear that! Phule was realty a teformer, who lived and died for the welfare of the Dalits whose uplift- | ment in every respect was dear to his heart. >) Mahatma Gandhi Gandhi experienced social discrimination for the first time when he was in South Africa where he ‘engaged himself against the discriminatory attitude of the South African Governinent against Indians, ‘The problems were akin to that of untouchability as migrants were treated as inferior to the local population which enjoyed numerous basic tights legally riot available to Indians. It was then that Gandhi realized the extent of the . impact of social discrimination on the underprivileged sections of the society incinding,, He thoog fess ocelot ty resonsrcttbe feof thiematon. This was ony poset : through alleviating the status les. He always considered‘untoucha-' | Billty as a ‘cruel and inhuman institution. It violated human dignity. He didnot bel lieve: ‘that the imperial ‘ambitions of Britain ‘were ‘alone responsible: for our slavery but it was the negligence of our national duty which was primarily responsible for it. As he “always thought tintouchability an evil in Hinduism, he had no hesitation in Hinduism ‘itself, Removal of untouchability was the responsibility of the caste-Hindus towards Hinduism. 7 Tcl upon the Harijans to magnify their own faults so that they looked .. as big as mountains and they make regular attempts to overcome them. He. said to ‘untouchables, “Never believe that since, others have the same faults we need not mind our own. No thatter what others do; it is your dharma to overcome the feelings Which you find in, yourselves” In the process of regeneration of the nation, Gandhi waged an _ incessant wat. He said, “If we are children of the same God how can there be any, rank) « among us”, ng to Him; there was only one Varna, in India, the Sudras. He desired," that all the Hindus voluntarily call thempaives Sadras.) He criticized those who would claim superiority over fellowmen. He thought theré was no such thing as inherited superiority. He was happy and felt satisfied to call himseit a scavenger, a spinner, a weaver, and a laborer, He was troubled to see the appalling plight of untouchables in different regions of the country. Its eradication greatly agitated his ‘mind and he devised ways and means from time to time, through his speeches and90) Chapter 5 ‘ | ": Gandhi called Harijans as men of God and elt that all the religions of'the world consider God pre-eminently as the Friend of the Friendless, Help of the Helpless, and Protector of the Weak. He questioned that in India who could be-more. friendless, . helpless, or weaker than the 40 millions or more Hindus of India who were classified as “untouchables” Therefore, if there were people who could be fitly described as men of God, they were surely these helpless, friendless, and despised people. He said that if India became free with untouchability intact, the untouchables would become worse under that Swaraj than they were before the freedom for the simple reason that the weakness and failings would then be buttressed up by the accession of power. Mahatma Gandhi used newspapers including Harijan and ito propaga ~hisanti. lity views. In his writings he stressed the problem of tintouchability and'its removal from its roots. He felt that Hinduism, in reality, did not permit untouch- ability. the Bhagavad Gita never taught that an untouchable: was in any way inferior to'a Brahman, A Brahman was no mores Brahman, ‘once he became insolvent and considered himself a superior being. Gandhi felt that untouchability would aot be removed by the force of even law. It could only be removed, when the majority of Hindus felt that it was a'crime against God and man and were ashamed of it. The aid of law had to be invoked when it came in the way of reform, ie., opening of a temple. He described the social posi- tion of untouchables as follows: “Socially they are lepers. Economically they ar¢ worse than slaves. Religiously they are denied entrance to places we miscall ‘houses of God”. Gandhiji never stopped fighting against untouchability. He considered it a blot n Hinduism. He said that a religion that established the worship ofthe cow could nog in all probability countenance or warrant a cruel and inhuman boycott of human beings. Hindus would never deserve freedom, nor get it if they allowed their noble reli- gion to be disgraced by the retention of the taint of untouchability. He found Harijan ' Stvak Sangh in 1932' G.D. Birla was its president and Thakkar Bapa its Secretary. He always preached among the Harijans, the importance of cleanliness, abstention from castionjeating and intoxicating drinks and drugs, requirement of taking education themselves and giving it to their children, also abstention from eating the leavings from spaste Hindus’ plates. , ‘Gandhi. therefore, was concerned with the issues of Dalits no less than any other leader. His heart went out to them and he Worked very hard and sincerely for their uplift- “Tent The {act thathe had many other tasks on hand did not stop him from talking up their cause and he devoted considerable time and energy to bring an end to untouchability - se uaa Dt B.R. Ambedkar : ‘ a : Ambedkar was a social activist, thinker, and scholar. He: studied extensively’ ‘the social Hislory of India. Ambedkar’s whole life was shaped by his personal expyiences, bitter5 with the.advent O° CA tol 7 ~ ae nn society is @ collection’of castes and each caste a close corperatio, cee ous caries Tehas Killed publc spine, damaged the eense of publi cha | part of the food of untouchable communiti - of the past are.the untouchables, He says ae tea "be pata Backward Class Movernens i “Hindui issi religion but j to Ambedkar, ‘Hinduiem once a missionary it ces According ne-advent of caste system among the Hindus. Caste is inconsitest ns a conversion. Indi tribes are april because of n part of the caste-Hindus to fadopt” them (the caste-Hindus deliberate reluctance 01 the lower caste, within Hinguism from rising to the.cultural levej ofthe to’prevent + et er eases Cate vem breeds anii-soaal split, Because Of the division ofthe popy. ae “ghich has no place for Os ae ‘and made atl inion impossible - . an “ Bead d oes origin of“ totichability” to ry of the Buddhist and beef-eating by uritouchable communi ies” Ambedkar says that the “Broken mer” seen rs that the “Broken men” were Buddhists. They ever respected Brahaiins and considered them impure. Brahmins did not respect the Buddhists either, Brahmins preactied againlst Buddhists and as a result the Broken men came to be regarded as uritouchables, Accprding to Ambedkar, meat of cows forms a ies of the country. On the other hand, he | says no Hindu community however low, Foret untouchables, touches cow meat. He tries to trace the origin of untouchability to the “beef hables, He says initially all including Brahmins, ate meat including that of cow. Brahmins stoy fart from the beef-eating people, including the Bu . Ambedkar says that if ting had remained a secular affair an ‘Rot a religious one, a mere matter of indifidual taste, untouchability would not have ~ _ 1.1927, at Mahad, be led a 10,000-stroxig crowd to protest against the Caste-Hindus’ decision not to let the untouchables draw water from the public wells. Ambedkar, with , 10,000'people, marched to Chowkdar Tank and exercised their civic rights to use the eet lay in their very numbers. It was the first ‘Tmany similar actions which later followetl. It also drew attention to the nature of the 7 ‘untouchables’ complaints regarding their clvil rights. The protest caused great concern tran dng dine once Tk as ally puied by priests using a mix- tea temple-entry camptign and many temples were closed down to the Shree Rama eae oh Untouchables, 15,000 in numbers, tried to gain entry ie'at Nasik. They were not allowed inside the temple and riots broke out when they i > eae bot produc peetmls to eer the temple Although thet iple mie effects in India and the’ duce sweeping for untouchables, it had important became the undisputed leader of thecomarit andthe untouchables realized that they sented ns cone ey ether to face common problems they were : : 2 eSimon Comission ia i : government came to India in 1928 however, used the occasion to plain the caneress Party boycoted st eine Brievances of the Dalits and sug-sine 92 | ‘Chapter 5 ted some ways of improving their post} \ , "4 arrouchables atthe Firet Round Table eee the Congress Party was boycotting 'the _ as an opportunity for-influencing public opinion. He Ambedkar used the conference able Conference in 1931 at which he demanded sense sttended the Second Roun to which Gandhi opposed. : ef Separate electorates = ates for into Z ~Jn.1952, the Commune’ Ave. was snriounced in which the pachables two _votes—01 ct_their represent : Dalits were award “assemblies and the other thet episenatved to separ sen te vind” Th re . Gandhi wal oppostd to this award ¢ Be a Gai ied Oar as intb untouchables and seni touchables, Gandhiji believed that untouch: ae les and nonlun- not one that could be’ dealt with Constitutional minbin herons and made Ambedkar to conclude an agreement wil chs Guepea epeanintuten’ chars : came to be known as the Poona Pact. As ie 7 doz Dalks, bat the condldates bad pobechucn fy ots donee sod theta ipl untouchables. by jointelectorates of both Hindus and al In 1935; Ambedkar deci ism and 6 g Si of emi Sikhis He‘also upon his cadres to give up the temple at = “3 entry movement, because it was + “unlikely to succeed and a change of religion,maite it irrelevant. He pi ‘a book. : ‘He perined titled fon of Caste’ jn w he had rejected Hindi formed the Independent Labor Party. [ni 1937 election for Gouncils, ane mn won most , Ambedkar was;elected and used his £5" position to fight for the Dalits. of MM gambedkar founded the All India Schedi a political body 3 for the Dalitsin 1942. In 1945 elections, it failed to win a single seat. ‘The Scheduled~ por nly be slid if the religious principles Se aback ta based ere destrogad fn the lta! ) result Assembly abolished untouchability. This cla failed to root out untouchability- completely. In he became Law Mini the ress Government He cooperated with ‘as much as he could. Hs i mittee Chairman ‘which was the to draft the ‘on for the country. He resigned from the with the aint that nt was not doing enough for Dalits. “Spent rest of Tis Iie for laying foundations fof the failure of the Dalits—-h€ strove for_ the redistributi d wasteland to untouchables, he foun: ied Ambedkar’s Dee bilished many colleges and schools, he ‘ich _he - ae aa ie setti o vi eppbliean P fa, and he along with ‘a million embraced Buddhi 3d propagated the message ‘among untouchables to = < Te i pabocnsn dsoieky Castes Federation fought for better representation for Dalits in the Cabinet, As @ It, the untouchable representation s doubled in1947, the Constituent, |— : v a i i —————— Palle and Bochword loss Movements NT i POST-AMBEDKAR DALIT MOVEME! 7 a Tene elace in the Fomanianietieca /G57 ; __The Republican Party of India : OTT Foe a oes the All Tada Scheduled Castes Federation in 1957-1959 is considered the Golden Age for the Republican Party. During this period all is Teaders focused their efforts on cceptance of the g sine deand othe bites Parliament in 1957 where they raised such isvues. The Republican Party of ladia worked, Cinmany eee oceee eee Ty erdaonely Ave] ' L To-woice their concern against the stroes commited to Dalits and to mal | "them conéclous. J. 5. Revitalization of the Sdmata Saint, founded by Dr Ambedkar in 1928, tomdintain discipline in the party. 1 3, All Indias Women’s Conference was organized in 1957 at Nagpur. : 4. It contributed enormously to the Dalit S: the first conference was eld in 1958 under the Chairmanship of B.C. ace ' 5, “All India Republic Students Federation was established by the Republican Pare of India. / " : &. The Republican Party of India al eof Lord Buddha 1 1955 ‘held with the demand of the distribution of = pany ates inguding Gall Gaikwad, Khobraged Seas ime Minister velar the fisplaying the portrait of. Central Hall of Parliament, giving the ‘len istibution of wasteland to the poor and the landless, adequate ae and control over rising prices, improvement of the situation of slum : ‘Act 1948, extension ° of the its, full implementation of the minimum wages of ie or pega 1 those who have converted to Buddhism, to stop harassment!oS) CHapter 5 { jyptice under the Untouchability Offence Act, and’ reservation for the gehedaled \s s and Tribes in services be completed by 1970 1967, ican Party of _ rormed an alliance with the Co y hte Cong Seas ee Pa _ “tre spit in the party with Khobragade and Gaikwad leading the two factio they patched up their differences am Khob: ‘was unanit yclected as us president. This again split The party Tato two gee a alles ively. / Splits, reunions and renewed splits in RPJ has no jdeological asis, but they are due to dash of personalities nal political ambitions. In fact, the, Party failed to recogn tmhade chalces as pey of the Dalits. and the leaders 2 ieir political convenience. The D. pa ps Were as much con- @ about privileges and power as any other community leaders, ey used their party Sanne promote elf nee HAS ese a _Casie membens led to the birth of the D: it ent in Maharashtra. Dalit Panther Movement Ig Ye ait Panther Moveme: nt was formed in 1972, wi «Dalit youths came forward ‘ook up of Sringing all the Dalits on to one si rm dnd mobilize . Spel anagem een wl not wil ify Dalit and bockward lass ‘Movernents | Communists of the co for havi Communit my sport He abs criticized tos i g “ett ny Vind oj ln he life ofthe downtrodden, Rai Dhaly eee al ancl ome of his supporters for alleged|disloyalty to the Panthers, majority ofthe d with Raj Dhale, ——— rier it Ee ation in 1974, some Panthers wi ntinued tad he the leadership of Prof. Arun Kamble, Ramdas ‘ook the inltiative’over the roblems of raervatoh anime: Prey) (ucts fong grante: ioe ‘the Dalits in various parts of the country. In more recent * hey revi ved the e party by open y opening more biailches in the northern part of the county abort the movement fs still confined to urban centers vith of the Dalitscon. Adm “centfated In fur remaining untouched, i er Party provided carafe Bh aun ie gas ghastly incidents in the Dalits. \ a he.u les are es are mute and passive, inst the unjist caste system, | > A acted as i the pover politics and Republican Party leaders, 1 They started a debate on Dr Amb: 's ideo % compelled the government to fill the 7, ‘They contributed immensely towards palit literature. 8. ‘They were able to create a counter culture and separate identity. ¢ 9, “They made popular the term “Dalits preference to terms such Hac and “Untouchables”, + ta. ‘They captured the imagination of the} younger generation, projected a militant *. image shosg their tactics of confrostation. Ambedkar W : K Sauter. in bee ee a i Of the party coincided in Uttar ince its inception, the frowth ‘India, He gained an nila ihe - as the tallest leader of Dalits in India the hts ofthe Dalits eRUfcance along with Mayawati and started fighting for eas —e" i) itsit extremé D would be forced to do meni ways and means which ‘w d greatly facilitate the execution of Welfare policy which the Bah jan Samaj wobld like to implement. | | RETA eH Se Pry ok etoile “ ode pers BACKWARD CLASS MOVEMENT | The socto-religious reform movements of the pineteenth ceatury were Jed by the Republic Party of India, the Dalit Panther Movement and the Bahujan Party. The Republic Party of India focused its efforts on acceptance of luled: Castes. The Dalit Panther Movement brought Lp ey mobi for civil rights and justice, The Bahujan Samaj Party” gopraised thet Tate of their socloeconomi¢, political, caltural, and and edocationsl, rights and the ways and means through which they could achieve their goals. a During the nineteenth century,’ several factors a os Wester aati ae duction of a common Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, the extension of the rallway network, jousness, and the epalarity ofthe modem pol political thou; je caste could not be defen' ‘Backward-clast movements such “as the Justi ;-the Sathya Shodbak Sarhaj, Shit Narayana Dhafma Paripalana_ “Yogam Movement and the Self-respect Movement fought for throwing open of temples, education, and basic civil rights forthe backward-class people. = ; es