Study of Gender,Caste and Religion,their intersection and interconnection in Aravind Malagatti’s “GOVERNMENT BRAHMANA” ! [ Book Review ]

Study of Gender,Caste and Religion,their intersection and interconnection in Aravind Malagatti’s “GOVERNMENT BRAHMANA” in Book Review — by Nikhil Sanjay-Rekha Adsule — October 29, 2019

INTRODUCTION
” कथा सुनो रे लोगों एक व्यथा सुनो रे लोगों
 हम मजदूर की करून कहानी आओ करीब से जानो
 खाने को खाना नही
 पिने को पानी नही
 पेहेनेको कपडा नही
 ये कैसा राज हैं भाई ये झूठा राज है भाई ll”      

                शाहीर विलास घोगरे

“कशाला झाली शिक्षणाची ओळख बरा तो ओहळयाचा गोटा गावची गुरे वळली असती तर असल्या इंगळया डसल्या नसत्या. “

                     दया मारुती पवार

 Aravind Malagatti’s ” GOVERNMENT BRAHMANA” is the first Dalit Autobiography i.e 1994 in Kannada Dalit Literature under the realm of Dalitiya Sahitya which in the words of Malagatti himself implies that it’s the literature belonging to category of Dalitatva which means it’s written by Dalits with a Dalit Consciousness.It’s a weapon ought to be used in Psychological Revolution against the multifaceted demon of Caste, to which (psychological Revolution) Malagatti puts on the higest pedestal and even states that ” Psychological Revolution is more powerful than a Blood revolution”.It invokes awareness, in fact creative awarness as stated by Janet Vucinich which does the work of demolishing the Brahmanical Ideology which has a deep imprint in the realm of Religion,Gender and Caste in so called Nation i.e India.It has both the aspects of personal and its interconnection with societal realm to borrow the analogy from Christian Lee Novetzke(2007).The book doesnt limit itself in the realm of so called Dalits but speaks for the Society which is marred by “Graded Inequality” to use Dr.Ambedkars analogy from his ” Annihilation of Caste” (1936).It is a reflection of view from the bottom as noted by renowned Historian D.D Kosambi, but it potrays the holistic attitude and aptitude of Society which is brilliantly captured by ace poet Namdeo Dhasal in his poetry collection गोलपीठा which says,
” त्यांची सनातन दया फाल्कलांड रॊडच्या भडव्याहून उंच   नाही “
thus the above “Sanatan” idea in the realm of Gender, Caste and Religion is tried to be captured in this paper.
Gender
“देहासी विटाळ म्हणती  सकळ
               आत्मा  तो निर्मळ शुध्दबुद्ध   
               देहींचा विटाळ  देहीच जन्मला
               सोवळा  तो झाला कवण धर्म
               विटाळ वाचोनि  उत्पत्ती नाही
               कोण  देह निर्माण नाही जगी ll”
          

• संत सोयराबाई

“तुझी  सत्ता आहे देहावरती मज माझ्यावरती तुझी किंचित नाही “
                             –  संत जनाबाई
The concept of Gender that is understood here is the recent one coming from evolving theories and legal principles that are being laid down.It deals with the notion of Gender as Socially constructed rather than notions of sex as bilogical construct to borrow from Martha Minnow.
In the very first chapter of his saga Malagatti writes about his Mother about her traits of being his companion, guide and protector along with exuding feminine charm.This very description of his Mother points to the aspect of liberation from Dalit patriarchy as mentioned by Karin Kapadia and S.Anandhi in their mammoth ” Dalit women : a vanguard of Alternative politics” with her successfully handling the void of her male counterpart(Malagatti lost his father when he was infant) thus rejecting the very compartmentalisation that was imposed on Women and differently on Dalit Women via the “infection of imitation ” which led to the march of differentiation of Castes as mentioned by Dr.Ambedkar in his Classic “Castes in India”(9th May, 1916).Malagatti even mentions the concept of Varna Hierarchy as potrayed in Purushsukta in Tenth Mandala of Rigveda which is in alignment with laterly composed treatise on Law i.e Manusmruti, Matsyapurana and Medhatithi, Satapatha Brahmana which push women under the realm of Brahmanical patriarchy as noted by Scholar Uma Chakravarthi via Subordination to the opposite sex i.e male.In another instance during a festive meal  he mentions of his Aayi about her assertion i.e Dalit Assertion to use Prof.Sudha Pai’s analogy when the guard who ought to catch the food theives tries to touch her, sensing the very nature of touch that has traits of patriarchy, exclusion, suppression, oppression i.e Touch when analysed from its Social and Historical Aspects along with its Society, Sociality, Sociability to borrow from Aniket Jaware’s Practising Caste points to the very understanding of hers which the above theorists have tried to theorize but the very Social Structure coming with its dilemmas and Casteist morals have imbibed in her the required sense as well the phenomelogy of Touch.This discrimination of Caste with has entered in the realm of Gender is also evident in chapter 4 of the book in which Caste has even entered in the realm of Animals in this case the mating of Buffaloes by again taking the example of Non-Brahmin Sage Vishwamitra and  Brahmin Sage Vasishta and even the animals that are created by them i.e the so called Holy which were epitome of sweetness, beauty, purity belonged to Brahmin Sage and those of opposite qualities belonging to NonBrahmin Sage and this control on intermixture of sex which is the most important of Caste system has been extended in Animals too.The above discussion in Malagattis book points to the intricacies of Caste and its spill effect in the realm of Gender which has been theorised by Uma Chakravarthi in her book ” Gendering Caste“.Malagatti asks a crucial question here that how can a society which doesn’t give chance  to the creations of Vishvamitra to make love naturally give a chance for human lovers to meet? To take this discrimination practised in the realm of animals he mentions of a instance in chapter 11 where a dog from his dalit colony is killed because he mates with the sahukars bitch of the village.He closes the chapter with brilliant lines that Dalit Colony is the maternal home for all village dogs which has a potential hidden meaning beneath it.Thus taking this analogy of Caste it can be derived that caste has certain upper tendencies and certain lower tendencies.Again in chapter 5 he mentions of the discrimination practised by Women during washing clothes by demarcating the areas where which women of what caste shall wash clothes and even differentiation of Stones on the basis of Caste.Dr.Ambedkar said Women are the gateways to Casteism, but here the problem was that the very beings which are treated as Shudras in daily lives to quote historian Romila Thapar and Untouchables during some days i.e “menstruation” could practise the very institution under which they are crushed?  This makes important to look into the claims made Dalit Women which was theorized by Dr.Gopal Guru in ” Dalit women speak differently”.In chapter 8 being a folk scholar himself he has potrayed the degrading, an assault to human dignity and hegemonic as well as brahmanical, casteist practise of Okuli which was an assault especially on Dalit women in the garb of traditions and invoking the fear of God which implies the imposed subservient conditionalities on Dalit women being crushed under dual patriarchal systems under the subset of traditions in which she had no say! Dr.Ambedkar rightly said that to undo the menance of such caste affiliated humilations it needs annihilation of caste which can be achieved by destruction of very such rituals and traditions of whose source lies in the Brahmanical Religious Books.In chapter 11 Malagatti mentions of Prostitutes who practised the profession owing to the imposition of Societal injustices on them from above owing to the Traditional  and Brahmanical System(jogtinis).It must be remembered that the women who practised the prostitution belong to particular Caste of Society for which Ambedkar in 1936 asked for giving up of this disgraceful profession and this was even a huge controversy when Panther  Raja Dhale challenged Durgabai Bhagwat to take up the profession herself when she asked support for making prostitution legal in Maharashtra.The same chapter also speaks on the the class difference among the women where he mentioned the liberated attitude of women of his caste in village while smoking beedis vis a vis hypocrisy  practised by Women of the cities for the same.In chapters 14 and 15 he mentions about the love which falls in a larger scheme of things, the love which ought to be one of the factors in annihilation of caste and also the one which ought to be a primary means for instituting fraternity and eventually for success of Democracy in the  form of mode of associated living.In both instances Caste Consciousness hinders this so called Love in the via the modes of self or societal ethos which still is a compartmentalised one and has caste consciousness as the subtext with the ideal of endogamy and preventing the respective enclosures in the name of culture.
Religion
I regard true Religion as that Religion which recognises the principle of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
  
                                    Dr. B.R.Ambedkar.

Religion should be organic and based on principles and not dogmatic !
      
                                   Dr.B.R Ambedkar.
Karl Marx spoke of Religion is the opium of the masses whereas Dr.Ambedkar(volume 17) spoke of necessity of Religion along with the values that should be inherent in Religion.Malagattis text speaks in each instance speaks volumes on the very Hindu religion which Dr.Ambedkar in his 1942 speech equates with Hinduism, Hindutva and Brahminism as one and the same.The whole book speaks on the violation of basic Human Dignity, Basic Human Rights in pre independent India as well as post Independent India raising an important  question whether what should triump public/societal morality or Constitutional morality.Ambedkar answers this by quoting Historian Grotus and votes for Constitutional Morality.The very religion even triumphs the political Freedom  when boiling water is splashed on the chest of malagattis uncle on 15th August and Thus he says I shall always  remember 15th August  for this instance and not for Nehru’s Tryst with destiny ! This is also in alignment with Shahir Annabhau Sathe’s march on 15th August saying, ” This freedom is a Farce!” Each chapter and each line speaks on the subtle nature of caste its accommodating tendencies as per the changing domains of time space and place and thus ultimately leading to triumph of it and along with it that of Majoritarian Religion.Malagatti here mentions of Veerashaivism which came with the reformer Basavanna in 12th century karnataka but mentions that though conversion happened Castes still remained as he mentions of Veerashaiva Harijans!This he points to the inability of surmounting the barriers of caste only with religious conversion because the psychology of so called people of India is so imbibed with casteism and related tendencies that caste too found its way in the newly adopted religions which he mentions by giving examples of Buddhism in Maharashtra as well as that of Veerashaivism in Karnataka.Again he mentions of Brahmanical tendencies being percolated in the religions via the notions of purity, pollution and vegetarianism of which Dr.kancha ilaiah talks in his Buffalo Nationalism and Dr.Ambedkar in his who were the untouchables? (1948).In chapter 12 he talks of Access to the House of God was not only restricted to him in person but even the sketch made by him of Lord Raghvendra which eventually led his feeling of devotion from zero to a virtual vacuum.Again in chapter 13 he talks of his escape from a temple where he pretended to be a Brahmin and eventually got caught which left a deep imprint on his further life.In chapter 18 he speaks of people who themselves call them Marxists and practise Caste in the name of Atheism.Thus the very Hindu Brahmanical tendencies supplanted in the society are at length discussed in great detail by malagatti and makes us ponder that can there ever be a Egalitarian Society?
Caste
     “जात ना पूछो साधू की, पूछो उस्का ग्यान l”
                                    
                                                –संत कबीर

Discussing Caste separately falls beyond the scope of this paper as the whole experience of Author which are narrated via chapters in the book speak of various instances which falls exclusively as well as in tandem with Gender and Religious domain.But to sum up the lacuna of treatment or addressing of Caste system by Scholars it implies that there’s an emphasis only on ritual aspect of Caste System i.e ideology inherent in working of the system i.e evident in the writings of scholars like  Michael Moffet and Louis Dumont rather than that of Gerald Berreman and Joan Mencher owing to their treatment of Caste System as a set of consensual values which also addresses the experiential dimensions of Caste system by both the dominant and dominated too.Dr.Ambedkar put forth a new perspective by treating Caste within the realm of Sociology as well as Cultural domain in the realm of purity and pollution but taking a view from the bottom which has been very selectively neglected by academicians.It is a gigantic task to analyse only caste so its other varied aspects are discussed below.
Intersection and Interconnection:
Aravind Malagattis masterpiece is one such fora where a deep analysis of graded inequality can be resorted to along with its mobilities  in the domain of Gender and Caste which is specific in India along with regional diversity.Caste does not operate solely on its own basis it always searches for a medium via which it could reinforce the hierarchies to establish the supremacy of few via keeping a huge chunk of populace in subordination by denial of basic rights, instituting inequality which hampers their access to basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, health and education.As mentioned above in the sections of Gender and Religion, Caste has manifested itself in order to suit the requirements of specific modes of operation thus making course corrections in the way and have emerged  as a victor in maintaining the status quo of keeping Brahmanical hegemonies intact with the changing notions of time, space and place.It has maintained patriarchy via the medium of Caste in Indian context to borrow the analogy of Gerda Lerner by both psychological tendencies of Caste as per Tarde’s law of imitation as well as Mechanistic process, both are mentioned and explained in detail by Dr.Ambedkar in his scholarly work “Castes in India” thus imbibing the notions of being fissiparous as well as its virtue of self duplication in the realm of Gender and Religion  in India.This has been put to work via the mode of conscious command of supreme authority as well as unconscious growth in the life of a human society as noted by Dr.Ambedkar.
Conclusion
Thus the paper discussed the events in Malagattis “Government Brahmana” from below to use D.D Kosambis analogy and from the perspective of a Dalit with empathy and not sympathy in words of poet Namdeo Dhasal.It argues about the Nature of Caste which uses the medium of Gender and Religion to maintain its Supremacy via Psychological and Mechanical modus operandi via Scriptures, Shastras and so on.The pain mentioned in the book is specific as well as representative as Malagatti himself mentions in start of his Autobiography and in the very first stroke distances himself from the technique and attitude of M.K.Gandhi towards the issue of Caste.Thus the line of thought that ought to emanate from the book is Annihilation of Caste cant be taken with intermartiage and interdinning though both are important in their own sense but striking  at the very roots of this POISON to borrow from Arjun Dangles compilation, which is a mixture of Hierachies of Gender, Religion, Caste, Class i.e Destroying the very Authorities that give sanction to them which is striking a blow and destruction of so called Holy Religious Texts and thus destryoing their Sanctity for once and all as rightly espoused by Dr.Ambedkar in his Annihilation of Caste(1936).
References:

1. Castes in India
2. Annihilation of Caste
3. Ambedkar speeches and writing(Volume 17)
4. Seeking Begumpura by Gail Omvedt
5. Kondhwada by Daya pawar.
6. The making of Brahmanic hegemony by suvira jaiswal
7. Caste by suvira jaiswal
8. Golpitha by Namdeo Dhasal
9. D kosambi
10. Ancient India by Romila Thapar.
11. Gendering Caste by Uma chakrvarthi.
12. Why I am not a hindu by kancha ilaiah shepherd
13. From shepherd to intellectual by kancha ilaiah shepherd
14. Buffalo Nationalism by kancha ilaiah shepherd.
15. Poisoned Bread by Arjun Dangle.
16. Dalit panthers by j.v pawar
17. Dalit panthers by Sharan kumar limbale
18. Bijak of kabir
19. Ambedkar and Democracy by Christopher jeffrelot.
20. Justice engendered by Martha Minnow
21. Homo hierarchicus by Louis Dumont
22. Untouchable community in south india by Michael Moffat
23. Siva and her Sisters by karin kapadia
24. Dalit patriarchy by karin kapadia and S.Anandhi

Nikhil Sanjay-Rekha Adsule has completed B.E(Electrical) and my LLB from Savitribai Phule Pune University(SPPU). He also completed  Masters in History from I.G.N.O.U and Currently pursuing a Masters In Law from TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (TISS)

Ravan challenges Mohan Bhagwat to an open debate on reservation ! Dalit group Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar Azad on Tuesday challenged RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to an open debate on the issue of reservation and asserted that a discussion should instead be held on the abolition of caste system which, he said, has “hollowed out” the country.

Ravan  challenges Mohan Bhagwat to an open debate on reservation ! 

Dalit group Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar Azad on Tuesday challenged RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to an open debate on the issue of reservation and asserted that a discussion should instead be held on the abolition of caste system which, he said, has “hollowed out” the country.

By: www.hindustantimes.com Posted On: August 21, 2019 View: 17

Bhim Army leader challenges Mohan Bhagwat to an open debate on reservation

Dalit group Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar Azad on Tuesday challenged RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to an open debate on the issue of reservation and asserted that a discussion should instead be held on the abolition of caste system which, he said, has “hollowed out” the country.

He claimed that 54 per cent of the people belonging to Scheduled Castes do not own any land in the country, while a particular caste dominates and enjoys all privileges.

“He (Bhagwat) wants the issue to be discussed among those who are against reservation. I challenge him to hold a debate in front of the media and all concerned. We want to tell people about all that we (Dalits) have suffered because of the caste system. He should come armed with all statistics,” Chandrashekhar said.

“Seventy-three years after Independence, 54 per cent Dalits don’t own any land... By calling for a discussion of the reservation system, the RSS has showed its anti-Dalit mindset,” he said.

Chandrashekhar said if Bhagwat gives a call for abolishing the caste system, the Bhim Army will support it.

“The caste system has hollowed out the country. Bhagwat should hold discussion on it instead,” he said.

The Dalit group chief said the community will take to streets if the government tried scrapping the reservation system.

“The Dalit community cannot be considered weak anymore. We are ready to face any challenge. We will hit back,” he warned. Referring to the revocation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, he said, “This time we won’t speak up after they have taken a decision (on reservation). This time, we will take to the streets before they can do anything.” At an event on Sunday, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Bhagwat said that there should be a conversation in harmonious atmosphere between those who are in favour of reservation and those against it.

(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text)

Bhim Army : set to expand base in Karnataka ,

Bhim Army set to expand base in Karnataka 

Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Raavan’   | Photo Credit: G_P_Sampath Kumar

Bhim Army set to expand base in State

Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Raavan’, the fiery Dalit activist from Uttar Pradesh who shot to fame when he was arrested under National Security Act in 2017, is set to expand base to Karnataka. The organisation he heads, Bhim Army, has already formed committees in most districts of the State. It is planning a mega rally in Bidar soon. The organisation already has a presence in 22 States.

Though Karnataka has had a long history of the Dalit movement, it has rarely had a radical one on the lines of the Bhim Army. However, Mr. Azad seems keen on changing this. “I have come here to sow the seeds of a radical Dalit struggle. In the next six months, you will hear the loud voice of Dalits on the streets of this State. It is our right that we are asking for and like Ambedkar told us, we won’t get anything without a struggle,” he told The Hindu.

Mr. Azad made an unscheduled visit to Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday to participate in a protest against an alleged Dalit atrocity case and police inaction. 

“I have heard that police action in cases of atrocities in the State has been found wanting. Legally, we can seek to prosecute officers who are partisan in atrocity cases. We will soon take up such cases and file complaints against such officers,” he said.

One of the first organisational moves of the Bhim Army would be to start ‘Bhim Schools’ across the State – evening classes, holiday schools – that cater to Bahujan sections of society that are out of schooling, or even supplement formal schooling.

“Bhim Army runs 1,700 such schools in Uttar Pradesh today. These schools teach English and also impart political education to inculcate a Dalit consciousness among students,” he said.

On the issue of medium of instruction, he said there was now a divide between poor students forced to learn in the local language, while the rich learned English. “English is the road to liberation and English needs to be taught mandatorily in all government schools. Teaching English is one of the main features of Bhim Schools,” he said.

Electoral politics

The organisation, Mr. Azad said, is a dilemma over whether it should remain a social movement or turn to electoral politics. Mr. Azad announced his candidature against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi in 2019, but later withdrew. “We are not averse to electoral politics. We will take a call on the issue at a later stage based on what is good for the movement,” he said. 

By : K . V . Aditya Bharadwaj / Bengaluru / Aug 16/2019

Will special status of NE states also be removed: Prakash Ambedkar

Will special status of NE states also be removed: Prakash Ambedkar
Prakash Ambedkar said despite the special status, several North-East states were facing insurgency.

Prakash Ambedkar said the decision to scrap Article 370 was taken hurriedly. (Photo: Twitter)

Hitting out at the Modi government for "hurriedly" scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar on Friday asked whether the special status of the North East states will also be removed. He said despite the special status, several North-East states were facing insurgency.

"The decision to scrap Article 370 was taken hurriedly. Before deciding on the move, the people of Kashmir were not taken into confidence," Ambedkar said while addressing a press conference in Nagpur.

"The fundamental rights of the people are the same as per Article 14 of the Constitution. Hence, will the rule implemented in Kashmir be applicable to the states that have special status?" asked the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader.

"Will the special status of states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram stay intact after the Centre's move of scrapping Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir?" he asked.

"Home Minister Amit Shah made a statement that Aksai Chin is part of India. I see a danger in the statement as till now various insurgent groups in the North East were fighting individually, but now we have given China an issue to bring them together," said Ambedkar.

He said reservation provided to backward classes is also a kind of special status.

"The reserved category also has a special status, but the government is trying to remove that status," he said.

The former MP appealed to the government to provide details about the dams being built by China on the Brahmaputra in Tibet.

"The Brahmaputra river originates in Tibet and comes to India. I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to tell the nation about how many dams China is constructing on the Tibet side," he said.

"If that water is blocked, then the Brahmaputra water, which is perennial now will it remain perennial? Will the seven sisters of North East remain with India if that water does not remain perennial? As per our information, those dams are nearing completion in next 3 to 4 years," he said.

Replying to a query, he said, "Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was not in favour of Article 370 when the Constitution was made in 1950. I feel he was right at that time because the people of Kashmir were attached to India through their heart and mind then."

"But today's situation is different as the people of Kashmir moved away from us psychologically. Babasaheb wanted to implement the Constitution in Kashmir and the people of Kashmir were also ready to accept it. But, now it is not appropriate as the people of Kashmir are no more attached to us through their mind and heart," Ambedkar said.

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Allowing the State to Designate Someone as a ‘Terrorist’ Without Trial is Dangerous

Let's talk about caste ! WE THE PEOPLE .

Let's talk about caste ,
The launch of Suraj Yengde's book saw some much-needed social insights and discussions.

BY :

Smitha Verma

New Delhi

Qamar Sibtain

Dalit scholar Suraj Yengde at the launch of his book 'Caste Matters'.

It was a book launch where people walked out feeling stirred. It's no surprise that the event in question was first-generation Dalit scholar Suraj Yengde's book launch. The thought that most went back home with was about how voices against caste had to be raised not just loud but clear as well.

His book Caste Matters, published by Penguin, was launched at the India Habitat Centre this week. And on the podium were stalwarts like Bezwada Wilson, activist and head of Safai Karamchari Andolan, activist JV Pawar and academic Pratap Bhanu Mehta.

"Caste is a reality we don't want to confront," said Yengde as started talking about his book.

"How cruel can a society be which harms the most vulnerable," questioned the 30-year-old to a packed auditorium, which was paying rapt attention to every single word uttered this scholar with the Department of African and African-American studies at Harvard University. He argued how casteism has affected Dalits so much that it has almost become invisible to outsiders.

"Dalits are not asking for something more or less. They just want to be at par with other Indians," he adds.

On his part, Wilson commented about the unpardonable way Safai Karamcharis are treated by society. "Caste seems like an illusion to everyone. But the basis of all problems is the way we are practising caste. It's a barbaric practice, it destroys human beings," he commented.

Discussing how some of the provisions of the Constitution had been tampered with, Wilson said, "I have nothing to dream besides my Constitution. When that Constitution is being taken away, it feels like you are taking my life away from my body."

Pawar, while lauding Yengde for his achievements, narrated incidents of Dalit activism and the way the ideology has shaped up. He stressed on how casteism exists in religions as diverse as Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, and how every caste has a sub-caste leading to further alienation. "Caste matters and only education will survive to eliminate this caste system," he said with a note of optimism.

It's a book that reflects the coming of age of the Dalit movement. And Yengde highlights how half a million crimes have been committed against Dalits between 2006 and 2016.

For Mehta, the book holds promise and showcases the author as a romantic. "Yengde is a rising star. The most profound insight is that you have to be a romantic to see injustice." Mehta talked in detail about how the book provides a compelling reflection of caste in India.

On a critical note, Mehta added, "Suraj has an intense desire to give this world a sense of wholeness. This desire is so deep that sometimes it makes him impatient of ordinary social movements. You are a little harsh on these kinds of movements you criticise. Even for your project that group is important."

The high-brow book launch was also attended by activist author Arundhati Roy, theatre guru MK Raina and filmmaker author Natasha Badhwar, to name just a few.

Newsclick : Ambedkar Slogan ‘Tweaked’ in Gujarat Govt School Textbooks

Ambedkar Slogan ‘Tweaked’ in Gujarat Govt School Textbooks

Newsclick Report

Gujarat government school textbooks, stirring another controversy have ‘tweaked’ BR Ambedkar’s commandments – Educate, Agitate and Organise – words that resonate the sentiments of crores of his followers and have become synonymous with decades of dalit struggle movements.

According to the Indian Express report, class 5 Gujarati textbooks have revised Ambedkar’s slogan from its original form to “Educate, organise and self reliance is the true assistance,” eliminating the concept of agitation. The textbooks have been prepared by the Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks.

A protest letter, demanding the restoration of the slogan, has been submitted to the Gujarat Chief Minister by a group of Ambedkarites, the report added.

Gujarat school textbooks have time and again attracted media attention for rewriting history. While reports might suggest that the Gujarat government is shooting at its own foot with such revisions, academicians and scholars see such attempts as part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) campaign to change how Indian history is taught in schools. The attempt is to control the past, quite necessary to control the future, by demeaning democracy, undermining the Mughals and sometimes even praising Hitler.

NewsClick spoke to Anil Sadgopal, a renowned Indian educationist and activist, who expressed his anger on how such rewrites discredit the legacy of an individual, Ambedkar in this case, and damages the caste struggles. He commented, given the plethora of writings of Ambedkar that are available today, such tweaks come as disturbing cases to distort the way in which the future generation will get to know about him.

“The words have a history of their own,” says Sadgopal, “and it must be noted that these were the founding principles of Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha in 1924, with an aim to eliminate the difficulties of the untouchables.”

According to him, the revision of Ambedkar’s slogans must not be viewed in isolation, as distortion of his legacy and his contributions have been happening in the past as well. One example of this is the picturisation of Ambedkar as just another ‘dalit leader’ and not as a jurist or Father of the Constitution by the political establishment.

Additionally, to understand the casteist prejudice of school textbooks against Ambedkar, Newsclick also spoke to a scholar and cartoonist Unnamati Syama Sundar. According to him, at first, this revision must be viewed as an attack on the spirit of agitation and an introduction of the concept of a ‘self’ which stands opposite to organising – a significant tool to combat the structures of caste.

“These are deliberate acts,” Sundar said, “by the scholars who often misquote Ambedkar and sometimes even revise his writings according to their own conveniences.”

While that remains the case, one must not fool oneself by accruing reasons like less reading of Ambedkar or possible mistakes in translating to a vernacular language for such acts and term them as mere gaffe, he added.

Unnamati Syama Sundar has recently authored a book, No Laughing Matter in which he deals with a similar subject and studies the cartoons on Ambedkar in the English language press from 1932 to 1956 which “offers a veritable biography of a man historically wronged.”

Earlier today, in a tweet, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati also slammed the BJP government in Gujarat for tweaking the slogan and demanded that it be restored to its original form immediately.

"'Shikshit Bano, Sangharsh Karo, Sangathhit Bano' are the immortal words of Dr Ambedkar which inspire crores of Dalits and backwards to march ahead. But the Gujarat government's books are imparting wrong education which exposes the BJP's anti-Ambedkar and anti-Dalit face as that of the Congress," she tweeted.