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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Memorials that celebrate Dalit assertion of rights
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Memorials that celebrate Dalit assertion of rights

Just like Bhima Koregaon, there are several other sites that act as anchors in the quest for the Dalit identity and assertion of their rights

The victory pillar at Bhima Koregaon village commemorates the battle in which Dalit soldiers of the British Army defeated the Maratha Peshwas in 1818. Photo: HTPremium
The victory pillar at Bhima Koregaon village commemorates the battle in which Dalit soldiers of the British Army defeated the Maratha Peshwas in 1818. Photo: HT

New Delhi: Some memories survive the onslaught of time and are deeply etched in the public conscience in the form of history. And places like memorials, sites, statues and parks keep these collective communal memories alive.

One such site that lies at the intersection of history and memory is the Bhima Koregaon, housing the victory pillar that commemorates the battle in which Mahar (Dalit) soldiers of the British Army defeated the Maratha Peshwas (“upper castes") in 1818. On 1 January 1927, B.R. Ambedkar led a commemoration at the pillar and since then the ceremony continues inviting more and more Dalits.

This year as well, the 200-year-old anniversary of the battle was celebrated with people coming from different parts of the country, sitting together, reciting dhamma chants, remembering the community’s valour and resistance in the past. However, violent clashes broke out on Monday after some people, allegedly waving saffron flags, attacked Dalits in the village of Bhima Koregaon, some 30km from Pune. One person was killed and the violence spread to other parts of Maharashtra.

Ambedkar, in one of his speeches had said about the upper castes: “It is your claim to equality that hurts them." At a time when more and more Dalits are asserting their rights and speaking up for themselves, sites like Bhima Koregaon become places to celebrate the community’s memory of resistance. Just like Bhima Koregaon, there are several other sites that act as anchors in the quest for the Dalit identity and assertion of their rights.

Yeola: In Yeola, a bare cement pillar and a stupa mark the spot where, on 13 October 1935, Ambedkar announced his intention to leave Hinduism at the Depressed Classes Conference, in the Bombay Presidency. He said: “I had the misfortune of being born with the stigma of an Untouchable. However, it is not my fault; but I will not die a Hindu, for this is in my power."

Deekshabhoomi: In Nagpur, on 14 October 1956, hundreds and thousands gathered in what was later called Deekshabhoomi to convert to Buddhism along with Ambedkar. The day since has been known as “Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din". Several years later, a massive stupa was constructed as a memorial there.

Guru Ravidass Temple at Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi: Guru Ravidass, a 19th century “Untouchable" saint, defeated the famous Kashi Pundits in a formally organized Shastrartha, a philosophical and religious contest in which scholars in ancient India participated to reveal the inner meaning of scriptures, organized by the king of Kashi then. The saint, Dalit writer Chandra Bhan Prasad recollects “rode the royal chariot through Kashi, while the king was standing by his side". Kashi, hence, Prasad says, marks the first intellectual victory of the Dalits against the upper castes.

Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha: On 20 March 1927, Ambedkar led a satyagraha to allow “Untouchables" to use water in a public tank in Mahad in Raigad district of Maharashtra. On that day, Ambedkar said: “I feel no parallel to this can be found in the history of India. If we seek for another meeting in the past to equal this, we shall have to go to the history of France—the revolutionary French National Assembly convened in 1789 that set new principles for the organization of society." The Dalits consider the Mahad protest its “Declaration of Independence", as quoted by an April 2016 piece in Outlook magazine.

Statue of Mahar Regiment soldier Sipahi Anusuya Prasad: At 16, Prasad was the youngest recipient of the Mahavir Chakra. Prasad, who volunteered for the single-man suicide squad mission during the 1971 War of Liberation of Bangladesh, was shot in both the legs when he was advancing towards enemy position holding a few phosphorous grenades. He crawled up to the enemy position and neutralized it before succumbing to his wounds.

A ground is named after Prasad in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, and his statue is installed there.

Nashik’s Kalaram temple: The site in the old city is where Ambedkar led and later abandoned a temple-entry movement in the early 1930s.

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Published: 05 Jan 2018, 11:43 AM IST
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