ANTI CASTE MOVEMENT

The word cast in English is derived from the Portuguese word. Which means species, birth
or distinction. In this sense, caste-system is a system based on racial or birth-based
distinction. As will be clear later, the Indian caste system cannot be understood on this
basis. For most people, even scholars, “Hinduism” has been a taken – for granted concept
Hindus are the people of India. Hinduism is their religion. Beginning with the Reg Veda to
the philosophers and even contemporary political leaders, “it has been seen as a unique
phenomenon of spirituality linked to a practical life; and with a solid geographical base in a
diversified subcontinent. Although its stability has been broken from time to time by
invasions, conquests and disturbances, it has nevertheless maintained a fair continuity. It
has given birth to rampant and unjustifiable social inequalities but has also spawned the
protests against these. Its greatest virtue has been its elasticity, its pluralism, its lack of
dogma. Hinduism, it is said, has no ‘orthodoxy’ (though it may have an ‘orthopraxy). With a
core in the religious traditions going to the Vedas and Upanishads, it has brought forth other
sister / child religions – Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism- all born out of the same fertile
continuate of traditions, all part of India Hinduism’s contributions to the world. The caste
system, as we know it today, is about three thousand years old, its roots going back to the
Rig- Veda, the earliest of meant color, the Aryans, who were light- skinned, distinguishing
themselves from the indigenous dasyus who were dark-skinned and otherwise physically
different. To begin with, there were only three divisions among the Aryans, the Brahmins
who were priests and scholars occupying the highest positions, followed by the Kshatriyas
who were warriors and rulers, and finally the Vaish, who were people looking after cattle.
While the three varnas did form a hierarchy, the system was open, more like classes than
castes.it is important to remember that in the hymns of the Rig -Vedathere is little trace of
the rigid restrictions typically of cast, change of occupations or compensability (Majumdar et
al. 1965:33). However, towards the end of the Rig-Vedas (1500-900 BC), The system seems
to have congealed into four castes, with the Shudras being the fourth. Their duty was to
serve the other three Varnas.

Varnas system in Indian society

The caste system is a powerful tool of social discriminations. “It runs deep in the mind of
Indians and its application in the day-to-day life. In India, caste discrimination is traditionally
rooted in the Hindu caste system. Supported by the philosophical trends, caste system
constructs the moral, social and legal foundations of Hindu society. Dalits are outcastes or
the people who fall outside the fourfold caste system consisting as the Brahman, Kshatriya,
Vaishya and Shudra. Dalit are also mentioning other non-Aryan groups besides the
Chandala, namely, Ayogava, Paulksha and Nishada. But for the Nishada, the other were
looked down upon. The four varnas and the Nishada were collectively referred to in the
later Vedas as the ‘Panchajanah’ (five people). the Vedas also mention some occupation
such as the blacksmith, leather-worker, barber, physician, goldsmith, merchant and chariot-
builder but we do know of these occupations were comprised in any of the four orders, nor
can we say each of them constituted a separate class. We know for certain that the status of
the Rathakarathe chariot-builder was high enough to preclude his being classified with the
Shudras. The precise manner in which untouchability developed from the four Vedic varnas
is not clear though there is no doubt that such a development was inextricably linked with
elaboration of notions of spiritual purity and impurity, and their becoming pervasive in the
of the twice-born caste, in their daily life, in life cycle ceremonies, calendrical festivals, and
lastly and lethally, in inter-caste relations. With regard to the part played by purity- impurity
ideas in inter-caste relations, The original Vedic system called varnashrama was legitimate
and virtuous. It had divided society into four natural groups depending on individual
characteristics and dispositions, which was prescribed in Shastras as the four varnas. Over a
period, the four-fold varna system become a deviation into many hundreds and thousands
of other varnas, castes or jatis most of such jatis are the people of a particular geographical
or linguistic region. Thus, each member within a varna, would often act accordingly and
marry within the similar varna. However, Kshatriyas, were often excluded from such
nuances. ‘The original caste or varna system existed all over India and has been considered
by many sociologists and social anthropologists as pan Indian phenomenon. Since the castes
and caste system existing today originated from the earlier varna system or caste system in
the broader sense, it also developed and spread throughout India though there does not
exist uniformity, neither in their local names nor in their ranks in the local caste- hierarchy.
Ghurye views, ‘The caste system gave rise to hierarchical gradation and social
discriminations regrading privileges, marriage, social inter-course, choice of occupation, etc.

Development of Caste in British Era

Colonial rule disengaged caste system from its pre-colonial political context, but gave it a
new lease of life by redefining and revitalizing it within its new structure of knowledge,
institutions and policies. First of all, during its non-interventionist phase, it created
opportunities, which were “in theory caste-free”, land become a marketable commodity;
equality before law become an established principle of judicial administration; educational
institutions and public employment were thrown open to talent, irrespective of caste and
creed. Yet the very principle of non-intervention helped maintain the pre-existing social
order and reinforced the position of the privileged groups. Only the higher castes with
previous literature traditions and surplus resources, could go for English education and new
professions and could take advantage of the new judicial system. Moreover, in matters of
personal law, the Hindu were governed by the dharmashastra, which upheld the privileges
of caste order. As the orientalist scholars, immersed in classical textual studies, discovered
in the caste system the most essential forms of Hindu social organizations, more and more
information was collected through official ethnographic surveys, which gave further
currency to the notions of caste hierarchy. Furthermore, the foremost of such colonial
ethnographers, Herbert Risley, following Alfred Lyall and the French racial theorist Paul
Topinarrd, now provided a racial dimension to the concept of caste, arguing that the fair
skinned higher castes represented the invading Aryan autochthons of the land.

The racial stereotype and he scriptural view of caste were gradually given enumerated
shape, and above all an official legitimacy, through the described as the “single master
exercise of tabulations” of the entire colonial subject’s society. When Risley become the
census commissioner in 1901, he proposed not only to enumerate all castes, but also
determine and record their locations in the hierarchy of caste. To the Indian public this
appeared to be an official attempt to freeze the hierarchy, which had been constantly,
though imperceptibly, changing over time. This redefined caste now become what Nicholas
Dirks has called the Indian colonial form of civil society”. Voluntary, caste associations
emerged as new phenomenon in Indian public life, engaging in census-based caste
movements, making petitions to census commissioners in support of their claims for higher
ritual ranks in the official classifications scheme. Ironically, caste thus become a legitimate
site for defining social identities within a more institutionalized and apparently secularized
public space. First of all, there were signs of “westernization”. Because of improved
communications, there was greater horizontal solidarity among the caste members, who
formed regional caste associations. There was also a growing realization of the significations
of the new sources if status, i.e., educations, jobs and political representation and
awareness that those new sinews of power monopolized by the Brahman and the upper
caste. This led to organized demands for more special privileges and reservations from the
colonial state. This involved conflict and contestations, particularly when the education of
Dalit groups was concerned, as the colonial bureaucracy, despite the much-publicized policy
of supporting dalit educations, often showed ambivalence in the face of caste Hindu
oppositions. It required the dalit groups to protest like the Mahar students in Dapoli in
Maharashtra sitting on the verandah of the local municipal school to actually induce the
colonial the colony civil servants to take measures to ensures their educational rights. In this
particular case, however, they were ultimately allowed to sit in a class room but a distance
from the caste Hindu students. These efforts at “westernizations” were not therefore just
attempts at imaging them selves in the light of their colonial masters, but to claim their
legitimate rights to educations and other opportunities from a reluctant state bureaucracy.
On the other hand, these upwardly mobile groups also engaged in cultural movement,
which noted sociologist M.N. Srinivas (1966) has called the process of “Sanskritization’s”, as
status was still being defined and expressed in the language of caste which enjoyed both
official legitimacy and social currency the upwardly mobile groups sought to legitimacy their
new status by emulating the cultural and ritual practices of the upper castes. This was one
of the reasons why customs like sati, prohibitions of widow remarriage, child marriage the
performance of which was graded as hallmarks of high cate status were in the nineteenth
century being more widely practiced by the upwardly mobile lower peasants’ groups.
Ironically, what this behavior signified was an endorsement of the caste system, and seeking
a positional readjustment within the exiting ritual hierarchy. However, not all castes at all
times followed this same behavioral trajectory.
Social and Cultural Movement in Maharashtra
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (1827-1890)
Jyotiba Phule was born on 11, April 1827 in Pune in a backward Mali caste of Maharashtra.
Jyotiba's father's name was Govindrao and mother's name was Vimala Bai. Jyotiba Phule's
mother died at the age of one. Father Govindrao went ahead and kept a widow named
Sugana Bai, whom he considered to be his estranged sister, to take care of the child. The
name of Savata Mali comes in the saint tradition of Maharashtra. He was a contemporary of
Namdev. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was born in the caste of SavataMali.MahatmaJyotiba
Phule was the forerunner of the social revolution of modern Maharashtra, the first great
man to raise his voice against the traditional social order, the first to challenge the religious
dictatorship that had been going on for thousands of years. Mahatma Phule, through
revolutionary reformism, provided that concrete work which was not there in other
reformist efforts of that time. Mahatma Phule used to talk of an egalitarian and just and
based society.

Role of SatyashodhakSamaj: SatyashodhakSamaj was established on24, September 1873. at

Junaganj,Puneunder the chairmanship of Jyotiba.Every member of it took a pledge.
Satyashodhak society had three conditions. One, there is no need for any middleman
between the devotee and the Lord. To destroy the religious slavery imposed by middlemen,
to free the ignorant people from that slavery due to superstition.Second, to free the
peasants from the clutches of moneylenders and landlords. Third, to provide education to
men and women of all castes. This movement did an important job of awakening the
identity of ShudraAtishudras and women.The objective of SatyashodhakSamaj was to
combat the religious and social injustices done by Brahmins and scriptures on women and
Shudra-Atisudra. It was not possible for Jyotiba to do all this alone, so through this
organization he wanted to continue his struggle. Jyotiba became the first president and
treasurer of 'SatyashodhakSamaj' and Shri NarayanraoGovindraoKadalak became the
secretary.SatyashodhakSamaj had become a Maharashtra wide movement due to its
principles and programs. It had deep consequences on the social life of Maharashtra. People
of all caste religions were members of SatyashodhakSamaj. It continued to grow as a
monotheistic sect completely free from the spirit of caste discrimination, untouchability.
SatyashodhakSamaj took the initiative to destroy the brokerage of Brahmins from all
religious rituals.

Objectives of SatyashodhakSamaj

• To free people from mental and religious slavery of brahminical scriptures.

• Stop the exploitation by the priests.

• To promote education.
• To educate women.

• Eradicate untouchability by saving the untouchables.

• To be sympathetic towards the oppressed children and the blind.

• Adoption of truthfulness and integrity.

The priestly class also made every effort to stop the proceedings of the SatyashodhakSamaj.
Jyotiba rightly made SatyashodhakSamaj the voice of the suppressed
people.TheSatyashodhakSamaj was not against the Brahmins, it was against the brahminical
practice of cheating in the name of religion.Thus, Jyotiba Phule struggled throughout his life
for the emancipation of Shudras and women, for this along with his creations, he also
adopted practical work-style and got success in it. It is proved from the texts and writings
composed by Jyotiba that Jyotiba Phule was the biggest advocate of Dalit and women
society.

Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922)

Pandita RamabaiDongre was born on 23, April 1858 in an upper-class Brahmin family of
Malheranji village in South Kanara district of Karnataka.His father was Anant Shastri Dongre
and mother was Lakshmi Bai Dongre.PanditaRamabai was born in a high Brahmin family but
she fought an effective fight against the divisive and unequal nature of Hindu society. He
raised wide-ranging issues related to the orthodox and oppressive methods of Brahminical
domination from the society. These conservative and oppressive issue rules made women of
Shudra Varna a victim of exploitation.

Hindu caste system and Pandita Ramabai: It is true that whatever was written in the scriptures
was not written with the opinion of all the people of the society and no advice was taken
from the Shudras and women while writing the scriptures. In this way, different kinds of
one-sided social bonds were imposed on Shudras and women. which were illegal and
inhuman. For example, the caste system came into existence only due to the Chaturvarna
system of Hinduism. Pandita Ramabai was well aware of this. He always identified 'India'
with 'Hinduism'. The 'Aryan model' also states that women were completely ignored and
made completely dependent on men.

Domination of high caste: Pandita Ramabai was very upset with the discrimination done by the
upper castes in Hinduism and she had also made up her mind to break casteism and the high and
low system of Hinduism. Whereas Ramabai did this path by adopting the path of equality apart from
caste-division and hating the hierarchy of Hindu religion. He said that I had lost faith in the religion of
the forefathers, so I am marrying a person belonging to Shudra caste and other linguist - Bengali
speaking person. Not only this, he did this marriage according to the provisions of the Civil Marriage
Act 1872 and not according to the traditions of Hindu religion. There was a lot of opposition to this
marriage and that couple was also caste-excommunicated.
 Pandit Ramabai's approach was humanistic, so he had hated the caste division and caste
traditions of Hindu society, in which one caste is high, the other is subordinate, one is
touchable and the other is untouchable. He also believed that this practice has been going
on for thousands of years because of this. Because Hindu society not only wanted to give
freedom to certain classes, but also wanted to keep them as slaves. In those few classes,
both women and untouchables had the same condition and destiny.

Non-Brahman Movement
Self Respect Movement in South India
“Self-Respect movement, under the leadership of E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, “Periyar”. Once
an enthusiastic campaigner for the non-cooperation programme, he left the congress in
1925, believing that it was neither able nor willing to offer “substantive” citizenship to the
non-brahmans. He was incensed by Gandhi’s pro-brahman and pro-varnashrama dharma
utterances during his tour of Madras in 1927 and constructed a trenchant critique of
Aryanism, Brahmanism and Hinduism, which he thought created multiple structure of
subjection for Sudras, Adi- Dravidas (untouchables) and women. So, before self-rule what
was needed was self-respect, and its ideology was predicated upon a sense of pride in
though not an uncritical valorization of the Dravidian antiquity and Tamil culture and
language. Indeed, Ramaswamy had reservations about privileging Tamil, as this could
alienate the other non-Tamil speaking Dravidians of south India. Yet, Tamil language
remained at the center of the movement, sometimes creating tensions between ‘Tamil’ and
‘Dravidians’ identities. The movement, however, was clearer in identifying its oppositional
other, as it mounted scathing attacks on the Sanskrit language and literature, being the
cultural symbols of Aryan colonization’s of the south. The story of the Ramayana was
inverted to make Ravana an ideal Dravidian and Rama an evil Aryan. Unlike Justice Party,
this ideology was more inclusive in its appeal. What is significant, the Self-Respect
movement also drew its inspirations from and gave more currency to the earlier writings of
the Adi- Dravida intellectuals like IyotheeThass and M. Masilamani. Both were publishing
since the first decade of the twentieth century numerous articles against the caste system,
Brahman dominations and Indian nationalism. During the 1930s, as the Congress gradually
become more powerful, the non-Brahman movement became more radical and populist in
its appeal, with more emphasis on the boycott of Brahman priests, more and more incidents
of public burning of Manusmriti and attempts to forcibly enter temples which denied access
to low caste people.

Eugene Irschick (1969) has shown how the non-Brahman movement in Madras gradually
took the shape of an articulate Tamil regional separatism, particularly when in 1937 the
congress government under C. Rajagopalachari proposed to introduce Hindi as a compulsory
school subject in the province. There were huge demonstrations in the city of Madras,
Identifying Hindi as an evil force trying to destroy Tamil language and tis speakers, and with
this the Tamil language movement spread from elite circles into masses. This political
campaign slowly propelled into a demand for a separate land or “DravidaNad” In August
1944, the Justice Party, of which Ramaswamy was now the president, changed its name into
DarvidaKazhagam (DK), with its primary objectives supposedly being the realization of a
separate non-Brahman or Dravidian land. But in its essence, E.V. Ramaswamy’s concept of
nations, as M.S.S Pandian has recently claimed, was “not constrained by the rigid
territoriality of the nations-space”. He visualized “equal and free citizenship for the
oppressed in the anticipatory mode”. i.e., in a relentless struggle, and for him “Dravidian”
was “an inclusive trope” for all the oppressed people living across the territorial and
linguistic boundaries. In other words, the social equality movement nurtured a millennial
hope of a society that would be free of caste dominations, untouchability or gender
discriminations.

Justice party and Non-Brahman Movement

In 1916, a political organization 'South Indian Liberation Association' was established. Its
main objective was to oppose the economic and political power of the Brahmin community
and the social upliftment of the non-Brahmins. This organization later became the 'Justice
Party'. To gain the support of the masses, it propagated the ideology of equality among
nonBrahmin castes. But this unity of leftists and caste opponents was eclipsed from the very
beginning. The antiquarians present within the non-Brahmin movement protested. And in
1933 when Periyar was arrested and sent to jail. So, it became clear that the pressure of the
British Government is falling against this solidarity. Ramaswamy broke the backbone of
Brahmanism by forming the Justice Party.The main task of this Justice Party was to stop the
exploitation arising out of Brahminism, to protect the rights of Dalits. But later this Justice
Party became a political party.

The non- Brahman movement in Maharashtra, as Gail Omvedt (1976) has shown, developed
at the turn of the century two parallel tendencies. One was conservative, led by richer
nonbrahman, who respond their faith in the British government for their salvations, and
after the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms of 1919, organized a separate and loyalist political
party, the Non-Brahman Associations, which hoped to prosper under the benevolent
paternal rule of the British. But the movement also had radical trend, represented by the
SatyashodhakSamaj, which developed a “class content” by articulating the social dichotomy
between the “Bahujan Samaj” or the majority community or the masses, and the “Shetji-
bhatji”. The merchants and brahmans. Although opposed initially to the Brahman -
dominated congress nationalism, by the 1930s the non-brahman movement in Maharashtra
was gradually drawn into the Gandhian congress. The power of nationalism, the growing
willingness of the congress to accommodate non-brahman aspirations, the leadership of the
young Poona based nonbrahman leader KesavraoJedhe and his alliance with N.V. Gadgil,
representing a new brand of younger Brahman congress leadership in Maharashtra, brought
about this significant shift. In 1938 at Vidarbha, the non-brahman movement of the Bombay
Presidency formally decided to merge into congress, providing it with a broad mass base.

If in western India the non-brahman movement was associated with the Kunbis and the
Maratha identity, in Madras Presidency it was associated with the Vellalas and a Dravidian
identity. It arose in a late nineteenth century context where the brahman constituting less
than three percent of the populations monopolized 42 percent of government jobs.
Advanced in their English education, they valorised Sanskrit as the language of a classical
past, and showed a public disdain for Tamil, the language of the ordinary people. This
motivated the Vellala elite to uphold their Dravidian identity. For some time, the Christians
missionaries like Rev Robert Caldwell and G.E. Pope were talking about the antiquity of
Dravidian culture. Tamil language, they argued, did not owe its origin to Sanskrit, which had
been brought to the south by the colonizing Aryans brahmans, while the Vellalas and other
nonbrahman could be described as Sudras, as this was a status imposed on them by the
brahman colonists trying to thrust on them their idolatrous religion. The non-brahman elite
appropriated some of these ideas and began to talk about their Tamil language, literature
and culture as an “empowering discourse” and to assert that caste system was not
indigenous to Tamil language. This culture movement to construct a non-brahman identity
which began like its western Indian counterpart with an inversion of the Aryan theory of
Indian civilizations always had as its central theme an emotional devotion to Tamil language,
which could bring disparate groups of people into a “ devotional community” on the
political front the movement followed a familiar trajectory that began with publication of a
‘Non-Brahman Manifesto’ and the formations of the Justice Party in 1916, as a formal
political party of thee non-brahman. It opposed the congress as a brahman dominated
organizations, and claimed separate communal representation for the non-brahmans had
been granted to the Muslims in the Morley Minto reforms. This demand, supported by the
colonial bureaucracy, was granted in the Montague Chelmsford reform of 1919, as it
allowed twenty-eight reserved seats to the non-brahman in the Madras Legislative Council.
Opposed to the congress and to its programme of non-cooperation, the justice party had no
qualm in contesting the elections in 1920, which the congress had given a call for boycott.
As a result, the council boycott movement had no chance of success in Madras, where the
Justice Party won 63 of the 98 elected seats, and eventually came to form a government
under the new reforms.

E.V. Ramaswamy ‘Periyar’ (1879-1973)

Periyar E.V. RamaswamiNayakar was a prominent and influential Dravidian of the Dalit
movement. He had made a deep study of the Brahmanical system. When he understood
that this system was responsible for keeping more than half of the Hindu population of the
country in a condition worse than the animals, then they gathered against it with full force.
By uniting the entire South India Dalit society, he attacked Brahmanism by counting. This
boosted the morale of the backward castes and they stood up for their rights.Erode Venkata
Nayakar Ramaswamy was born on 17 September 1879 in the city of Erode, Tamil Nadu. His
father's name was Venkata Naykar and mother's name was ChintataiAmmal.E.V.
Ramaswamy was a Tamil nationalist, politician and social activist. His fans used to address
him with respect as 'Periyar'. He started the 'Atmasamana' movement or 'Dravidian
movement'. He formed the Justice Party, which later became 'DravidaKazhagam'. He
continued to oppose orthodox Hindutva throughout his life and compulsory teaching of
Hindi. He did lifelong work for the exploited section of the South Indian society. While
attacking brahminism and brahmins, he demanded a separate nation 'Dravida Nadu'. Periyar
E.V. Ramaswamy emphasized on issues like rationalism, self-equality and women's rights
and strongly opposed the caste system. He also fought for the rights of South Indian
nonTamil people and opposed the domination of North Indians. His works brought a lot of
change in Tamil society and caste discrimination also reduced to a great extent.

Periyar’s Socio-Political Journey.

Periyar was a prominent politician and social reformer of Tamil Nadu of the twentieth
century. Periyar formed the Justice Party on the principle of opposition to orthodox
Hindutva. After returning from Banaras, Ramaswami started an open movement against the
upper castes. He had united the Dalit society in South India. The backward castes had
understood that the injustice being done to them is the result of the conspiracy of the
brahmins. More than three-fourth of the country's resources were owned by the upper
castes and more than one-fourth of the population did not have even one-fourth of the
resources. From above, they were hit by forced labor, humiliation, debt and interest. Gold
was becoming more and more rich, the downtrodden were becoming more and more poor
and resourceless. Due to lack of education, a separate hell was being prepared for their next
generations as well. Ramaswamy could not tolerate such a great injustice. His transparent
vision saw everything clearly. Ramaswamy would roam from village to village and collect
Dalits. Telling them how Brahmins have conspired with them. They have no right to
education, no right to worship in temples, no right to fill water from wells and stepwells.
Even by touching their shadow, gold considers itself impure. It's all a trick of gold. They want
to keep more than half of the country's population as their slave. Therefore, Periyar openly
attacked Brahmanism.

To inculcate a sense of respect among the downtrodden, oppressed and victims of Indian
society, the work of Socrates and the creator of India's destiny will always remain a pillar of
fame in the history of the world. Periyar was not an individual but an institution in himself.
Anna Durai considered Socrates Periyar of the modern era as an era. Anna Durai said,
"Periyar has done the work of two hundred years in twenty years". Periyar fought
throughout his life with the problems of caste inequality and exploited society. Periyar
deeply influenced Indian philosophy, politics and social life.

Dalit Protests in India during British Era

Dalit protests in India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries followed
somewhat different -but not entirely dissimilar trajectories. As the Christion missionaries
started working among the Dalits and the colonial government sponsored special
institutions for the spread educations among them, not only was a small educated elite
group created among these classes, but in general a new consciousness was visible among
the masses as well. However, it should be emphasized her the colonial bureaucracy, as we
have noted earlier, often vacillated in implementing the professed public policies on Dalit
education and it required the Dalit groups to protests and assert themselves to get their
rights to educations protected. Similarly, the Christian missionaries were not always the
aggressive agents of improvement among the Dalit, as they too often succumbed to the
pressures of an intolerant traditional society and an ambivalent bureaucracy. It is often
believed that one way of protesting against the caste system was conservations to
Christianity, as Dalit took recourse to this method in large numbers in some parts of south
India.

Without denying the distinctiveness of each movement, we may discuss here some of the
shared features of these Dalit protests. What some of these organized group (not all) tried
first of all, was to appropriate collectively some visible symbols of high ritual status, such as
wearing of sacred thread, participation in ritual ceremonies such as community pujas, and
entering temples from where they were historically barred by the Hindu priests. A number
for organized temple entry movement took place in the early twentieth century, the most
important of them being the Vaikkam Satyagraha in 1924-25 and the Guruvayur Satyagraha
in 1931-33 in Malabar, the Munshiganj Kali temple Satyagraha in Bengal in 1929 and the
Kalaram temple Satyagraha in Nasik in western India in 1930-35. Apart from such religious
rights, the organized Dalit groups also demanded social rights from high caste Hindus, and
when denied, they took recourse to various forms of direct action. For example, when the
higher castes resisted the Nadar women’s attempt to cover their breasts like high caste
women, this resulted in rioting in Travancore in 1859. The issue remained an irritant in the
relationship between the Ezhavas and Nairs and again led to disturbances in 1905 in Quilon.
In Bengal, when the high caste Kayasthas refused to attend the funeral ceremony of a
Namasudra in 1872, the latter for six moths refused to work in their land in a vast tract
covering four eastern districts. In Maharashtra, the celebrated Mahar leader, Dr. Ambedkar
organized in 1927 a massive satyagraha with ten to fifteen thousand Dalits to claim the
rights to use water from a public tank in Mahad under the control of the local Municipality.

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar (1891-1956)

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mau (Madhya Pradesh). Dr. Ambedkar
was the last (fourteenth) child of Ramji Sakpal and Bhimabai. Ramji Sakpal's other sons were
Balram and Anandrao and daughters were Manjula and Tulsi. All the rest of the children
died due to deprivation and diseases. Dr. Ambedkar's ancestors had been serving in the
army of 'East India Company' for a long time. Ramji Sakpal was working as a Subedar in the
army and he also worked as a headmaster in the army school for a period of 14
years.Realizing the importance of education, he paid special attention to the education of
his children. Ramji Sakpal was unsuccessful in his initial efforts, but after a lot of effort,
Anandrao and Bhimrao got admission in an army school itself. Both the brothers had to go
through the bitter experiences of untouchability in school. He had to sit separately from all
the students. The upper caste teachers and students used to keep a distance from them and
did not even allow them to touch anything. When he felt thirsty, water was given to him by
a third person. The reason was clear. He belonged to the 'Mahar' caste, which was
considered untouchable. India has an ancient history of caste system which has been
present in the society for thousands of years in its cruelest and inhuman form.

Untouchability and Social Inequality: Ambedkar

At Columbia University, Dr. Ambedkar submitted his doctoral dissertation in June 1916 on
the topic 'National Dividend for India: A Historic and Analytic Study', which was later
published under the title 'The Development of the Provincial Economy in British India'. At
the end of this discourse, he threw light on social oppression and social injustice and
emphasized that how can a country progress without political power? After finishing higher
education in America, in June, 1916, he had taken admission in 'London School of Economics
and Political Science' and 'Grey's Inn' for barrister. But after a year of education in London,
he had to go through a new crisis. According to the contract, Maharaja Sayajiraoof Baroda
did not increase his scholarship, nor did he allow him to study in Britain. Little did they know
this man was going to be a great man, the Messiah of humanity.

Participation in Dalit Caste Conference

In November 1917, two sessions of Dalit castes were held in Bombay. Through a resolution
in a conference, it was demanded that the government should protect the interests of the
untouchables and for this, according to the proportion of their population, the Dalit castes
should be given the right to elect their representatives in the Legislative Assemblies. In a
resolution the convention supported the Congress-League agreement. So that the
disqualifications that were imposed on the Dalit castes in the name of customs and religion
can be removed and for this the upper caste Hindus can be influenced.On March 23 and 24,
1918, under the chairmanship of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad of Baroda, All India Depressed
Classes Conference was organized in Bombay in which prominent leaders participated. The
main objective of this conference was to call for the eradication of untouchability spread in
the country. Tilak even went so far as to say that he would not accept God as the authority if
the stigma of untouchability was not removed. But this type of anti-untouchability campaign
carried out by the upper caste Hindus was like an antelope in the eyes of Dr. Ambedkar.

Path of Struggle: Direct Action (Mahad Talab Satyagraha)

The period of 1926-27 is very important in the history of the Dalit movement. It was the
path of direct action or struggle. In the Bombay Legislative Council," S.K. Bole, through a
resolution, demanded the use of public water sources, wells, government-built
dharamshalas, government schools, courts, offices and dispensaries for the untouchables.
According to the government order dated 11th September, 1923, the said proposal was
implemented.yet the local bodies and municipal boards disobeyed this order and deprived
the Dalits of civil rights.As a result, at the end of the conference, with the inspiration ofDr.
Ambedkar, about 10,000 delegates went towards Chavadar Talab to drink water in the
direction of exercising their fundamental right. At that time mischievous elements spread a
rumor that Dalits had entered Vireshwar temple. On this the mischievous upper caste
Hindus organized and broke into the pandal of the conference and thrashed the
representatives. The representatives saved their lives by entering the homes of Muslim
people. Dr. Ambedkar had to take refuge in the police station for his life.In the history of
Dalit movement, another struggle chapter has thus been added for fundamental rights. Now
the issue of social boycott of Dalits in the upper castes started. They started being evicted
from agricultural land. They were attacked in their villages.Dr. Ambedkar asked his followers
to fight fiercely. Go to public places Fill and drink water from wells and ponds and do not
waste time to enter the temple. It was a call to do and die or direct action. According to a
thinker on this, 'The rich Hindu used to fight with the British for power. Untouchables, Dalits
used to fight with superstitious-hardcore Hinduism for human rights.

This movement of Dalits lasted for a long time. Again, on December 25, 1927, a conference
of satyagrahis was called in Mahad. A Muslim citizen granted permission to hold a
convention in his place. Local businessmen boycotted this conference. Even food and drink
had to be arranged from outside. Dr. Ambedkar went to Bombay with 200 Satyagrahis. 3000
satyagrahis were fully prepared. The District Magistrate appealed to Dr. Ambedkar to
postpone the proposed Satyagraha. Ambedkar said that the root cause of all evils and
inequality is the caste system. He said that equality means equal opportunity and
transforming the hidden qualities in the person into power. He insisted that Hindu society
should be fully formed on two principles, recognition of equality and boycott of caste
system.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Idea (1869- 1948 )

Gandhi for the first time had made untouchability an issue of public concern and the 1920
Non-Cooperation resolutions mentioned the removal of untouchability as a necessary
precondition for attaining swaraj. But his subsequent campaign for the welfare of the Hari
Jans after withdrawal of the non-cooperation movement, could neither arouse much caste
Hindu interest in the reformist agenda nor could satisfy the Dalits. He condemned
untouchability as distortion, but until the 1940s upheld Varnashrama dharma or caste
system as an ideal noncompetitive economic system of social division of labor as opposed to
the class system of the West. This theory could not satisfy the socially ambitious group
among the untouchables as it denied them the chances of achieving social mobility. For the
eradications of untouchability too, Gandhi took essentially a religious approach: temple
entry movement of “Bhangi”, the self-sacrificing domestic sweeper, were these answers to
the problems. This campaign significantly undermined the moral and religious basis of
untouchability, but, as Bhikhu Parekh has argued, failed to deal with its “economic and
political roots”. It dignified the untouchables, but failed to empower them. The Dalit leaders
argued that if they were given proper share of economic and political power, the gates of
temples would automatically open for them. The Gandhian approach, in other words, failed
to satisfy Dalit leaders like Ambedkar who preferred a political solution through guaranteed
access to educations, employment and political representations. Ambedkar (1945) later
charged Gandhi and congress for obfuscating the real issue and the demand for a separate
political identity for the Dalits become a sticky point in the relationship between the Dalit
political groups and the congress.

The differences persisted when the Communal Award in September 1932 recognized the
right to separate electorate for the untouchables now called the Schedule Castes and
Gandhi embarked on his epics fast unto death to get it revoked. Ambedkar now had little
choice but to succumb to the moral pressure to save Mahatma’s life and accepted a
compromise, know as the Poon Pact, which provided for 151 reserved seats for the
Schedule Castes in joint electorate. For the time being, it seemed as if all conflicts had been
resolved. There was a nationwide interest in temple entry movement and Gandhi’s Harijan
campaign. Even, there was cooperation between Gandhi and Ambedkar in relation to the
activities of the newly founded Harijan Sevak Sangh. The provisions of the pact were later
incorporated into the governments of India Act of 1935. Although there were many critics of
the pact at the time, Ravinder Kumar has argued that represented a triumph for Gandhi who
prevented a rift in India’s body politics and offered a nationalist’s solutions to the
untouchability problems. But disunity reappeared very soon, as congress and Ambedkar
again began to drift apart, while Gandhi’s Harijan Sevak Sangh was involved in social issues,
the other congress leader had little interests in his mission. They needed a political front to
Mobilize Dalit voters to win the reserved seats in the coming election. For this purpose, they
founded in March 1935 the AllIndia Depressed Classes League, with Jagjivan Ramm a
nationalist Dalit leader from Bihar, as the president. But sill in the elections of 1937 the
congress won only 73 out of 151 reserved seats all over India. Subsequently, situations
changed in different areas in different ways, depending on the nature of commitment the
local Congress leaders had towards the Gandhian creed of eliminating untouchability. In the
non-congress provinces like Bengal, the leaders were more sensitive to electoral arithmetic
and assiduously cultivated the friendship of the Dalit leaders. But in the eight provinces
where the congress formed ministries and remained in power for nearly two years, they
performed in such a way that not just critics like Ambedkar were unimpressed, but even
those Dalit leaders like M.C. Rajah of Madras who once sympathized with congress, were
gradually alienated.
Anti-caste movement is a gift of medieval India. By the way, atrocities on Shudras and
Atishudras are not new, it has been going on for thousands of years.Many restrictions were
made against Shudras and Atishudras in religious scriptures like Manusmriti, Ramayana and
Gita.And they were kept away from their rights like religion and education. It can be said
that, in a way, the Varna system was created on the basis of Kama and Karma.The system of
this ancient period also influenced the medieval system. The ups and downs that were seen
in the society especially regarding the caste system.The way Jyotiba Phule, Pandita Ramabai,
etc. hit hard on the caste system. The religious rituals made by the Brahmins were openly
opposed in the society, which is how the Brahminical ideology has done injustice to the
Shudras, such as not allowing religious texts to be read, ban on the temple entry, ban on
education system, ban on living in the village, Restrictions on taking water from wells and
ponds etc. were the rules imposed on Shudras and Atishudras. Whom it was necessary to
obey the Shudras. If a Shudra went against these rules. His punishment was determined by
the rules made by Brahmanism. In medieval India, many great men made people aware of
casteist thinking, but the contractors of religion did not allow much change. The impression
of the casteist movement in the medieval period was seen in modern India, such as Jyotiba
Phule, Pandit Ramabai, Periyar, Dr. Ambedkar, and Mahatma Gandhi etc. created a
consciousness among the people of Dalit society. The great men together made the Dalits
recognize their existence, they put more emphasis on getting education, on entering the
temple, taking water from wells and ponds, all people are equal. All Dalits should study the
Vedas and Puranas of Hinduism. So that the atmosphere of equality is maintained in the
society, and all the Dalits are aware of their rights.