Dalit Movements in India After 1947
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Volume : 5 | Issue : 8 | August 2016 ISSN - 2250-1991 | IF : 5.215 | IC Value : 77.65 Original Research Paper History Dalit Movements in India After 1947 M.A.Ph.D. Lecturer in History, N.B.K.R. Science and Arts College, Dr.K.Sravana Kumar Vidya Nagar, Kota Mandal, Nellore District. Andhra Pradesh, India-524 413. The word “Dalit” may be derived from Sanskrit, and means “crushed”, or “broken to pieces”. It was perhaps first used by Jyotirao Phule in the nineteenth century, in the context of the oppression faced by the erstwhile “untouchable” castes of the Hindus. Moahatma Gandhi adopted the word “Harijan,” translated roughly as “Children of God”, to identify the former Untouchables. According to the Indian Constitution the Dalits are the people coming under the category Scheduled castes‘.Currently, many Dalits use the term to move away from the more derogatory terms of their caste names, or even the term “Untouchable.” The contemporary use of “Dalit” is centered on the idea that as a people, the group may have ABSTRACT been broken by oppression, but they survive and even thrive by finding meaning in the struggle of their existence. Dalit is now a political identity KEYWORDS Major Causes of the Dalit Movement Dalit movement was fundamentally the movement to achieve The Dalit Movement is the result of the constant hatred being mobility on part of the groups which has logged behind. They generated from centuries from the barbaric activities of the were a reaction against the social, cultural and economic pre- upper castes of India. Since Dalits were assigned the duties of ponderance and exclusiveness of other class over them. serving the other three Varnas, that is all the non– Dalit, they were deprived of higher training of mind and were denied so- Educated Dalit , gradually begin to talk about the problems cial-economic and political status. of poor and about exploitation and humiliations from the up- per castes. They also got a fillip through British policy of divide The division of labour led to the division of the labourers, and rule in which census operation played a sufficient role based on inequality and exploitation. The caste system degen- (British policy of classifying caste). This provided an opportu- erated Dalit lifes into pathogenic condition where occupations nity for making claims for social pre-eminence through caste changed into castes. mobilisation. For centuries, Dalits were excluded from the mainstream soci- Improved communication network made wider links and com- ety and were only allowed to pursue menial occupations like bination possible; new system of education provided opportu- cleaning dry latrines, sweeping etc. nity for socio-economic promotion, new administrative system, rule of law undermined certain privileges enjoyed by few and They lived in the Hindu villages hence did not have advan- certain economic forces like industrialization threw open equal tage of geographical isolation like tribes. They were pushed opportunities for all dismantling social barriers. to the outer areas of villages whereas, the mainland was oc- cupied by the Brahmins. They were barred from entering into All these factors contributed to the shift in position of un- those mainland areas in every sense, they were prohibited to touchables. Social reform movement such as those of Jyoti- wear decent dress and ornaments besides being untouchable. ba phule in Maharashtra and Sri Narayan Guru in Kerala also Many of the atrocities were committed in the name of reli- began to question caste inequality. gion. Besides, the system of Devadasi they poured molten lead into the ears of a Dalit, who happened to listen to some man- Gandhiji integrated the issue of abolition of untouchability tra. To retain the stronghold on people, education was mo- into national movement and major campaign and struggles nopolized. such as Varkom and Guruvayur Satyagrahawere organized. Gandhiji’s effort was to make upper caste realise severity of The most inhuman practice is that of untouchability, which injustice done via practice of untouchability. made the Dalits to live in extreme inhuman situations . This has made the Dalits to rise and protest, against the inhuman Dr. B.R. Ambedkar emerged as major leader of Depressed practices of Brahmanism .The Dalits began their movement in Classes by late 1920’s. He formed All Indian Scheduled Caste India with their basic demand for equality. Federation in 1942. He also cooperates with colonial govern- ment on understanding that he could get more benefits for The Dalit movement that gained momentum in the post in- SCs. The All India S.C. Federation also contested election, but dependence period, have its roots in the Vedic period. It was its candidates lost to Congress. to the Shramanic -Brahmanic confrontation and then to the Bhakti Movement. Others strands also emerged in different regions in Pun- jab the Adi Dharm, in U.P.the Adi Hindi and in Ben- With the introduction of western language, and with the in- gal the Namashvedsas. fluence of the Christian missionaries, the Dalits began to come across the ideals of equality and liberty and thus began In Bihar, Jagjivan Ram who emerged as the most important the Dalit Movement in modern times. The frustrated Dalit Congress leader formed Khetmajoor Sabha and Depressed minds when mixed with reason began confrontation against Class League. the atrocities of Brahmanism. In early 1970’s a new trend identified as Dalit Panthers 143 | PARIPEX - INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH Volume : 5 | Issue : 8 | August 2016 ISSN - 2250-1991 | IF : 5.215 | IC Value : 77.65 merged in Maharashtra as a part of country wide wave of part of Maharashtra, and Vetti or Maharaki system (a wage radical politics. The Dalit Panthers learned ideologically to free hereditary service to the caste Hindus in the local admin- Ambedkar’s thought. By 1950’s Dalit Panther had developed istration). He tried to convince the Government to recruit the serious differences and the party split up and declined. Mahars in Military. Ultimately he became successful in 1941 when the first Mahar Regiment was formed. In North India new party BSP emerged in 1980’s under Kan- shi Ram and later Mayawati who became the chief minister With the growing process of democratization, Dr. Ambed- of U.P. kar demanded adequate representation for Dalits in the leg- islatures and in the administration. Government of India Act, Acharya Ishvardatt Medharthi (1900–1971) of Kanpur 1919, provided for one seat to the depressed classes in the supported the cause of the Dalits. He studied Pali at Gurukul central Legislative Assembly. In 1932, British Government Kangri and Buddhist texts were well known to him. He was headed by Ramsoy Macdonald announced the ‘Communal initiated into Buddhism by Gyan Keto and the Lokanatha in Award’. The award envisaged separate electorate for the De- 1937. Gyan Keto (1906–1984), born Peter Schoenfeldt, was pressed Classes. Mahatma Gandhi went on a historic fast in a German who arrived in Ceylon in 1936 and became a Bud- protest against Communal Award especially in respect of de- dhist. Medharthi strongly criticised the caste system in India. pressed classes. The issue was settled by Poona Pact, Septem- He claimed that the Dalits (“Adi Hindus”) were the ancient ber 1932. It provided for reservation of seats for depressed rulers of India and had been trapped into slavery by Aryan in- classes out of general electorates sets. The Constitution of In- vaders. dia now provides for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes in proportion to their population in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sab- Dynamics of Dalit Movement: Sanskritization ha under Article 330 and 332. The strategies, ideologies, approaches of Dalit movement var- ied from leader to leader, place to place and time to time. Dalit Literary Movement At a time, when there was no means of communication to Thus, some Dalit leaders followed the process of ’Sanskriti- support the Dalits, pen was the only solution. The media, zation’ to elevate themselves to the higher position in caste newspapers were all under the control of the powerful class – hierarchy. They adopted Brahman manners, including vegetari- the Brahmins. Given that the Brahmins would never allow the anism, putting sandalwood paste on forehead, wearing sacred Dalits voice to be expressed, as it would be a threat for their thread, etc. Thus Dalit leaders like Swami Thykkad (Kerala), own survival, the Dalits began their own magazine and began Pandi Sunder Lai Sagar (UP), Muldas Vaishya (Gujarat), Moon to express their own experiences. Vithoba Raoji Pande (Maharashtra) and others tried to adopt established cultural norms and practices of the higher castes. Dalit literature, the literature produced by the Dalit conscious- Imitation of the high caste manners by Dalits was an assertion ness, emerged initially during the Mukti movement. of their right to equality. Later, with the formation of the Dalit Panthers, there began Adi-Hindu movement to flourish a series of Dalit poetry and stories depicting the Treating Dalits as outside the fourfold Varna system, and de- miseries of the Dalits the roots of which lies in the rules and scribing them as ‘outcastes’ or ‘Panchama’ gave rise to a laws of Vedas and Smritis. All these literature argued that Dalit movement called Adi-Hindu movement. Thus, certain section Movement fights not only against the Brahmins but all those of Dalit leadership believed that Dalits were the original inhab- people whoever practices exploitation, and those can be the itants of India and they were not Hindus. That Aryans or Brah- Brahmins or even the Dalits themselves. mins who invaded this country forcibly imposed untouchability on the original inhabitants of this land. They believed that if New revolutionary songs, poems , stories , autobiographies Hinduism was discarded, untouchability would automatically were written by Dalit writers.