The history of Dalit movement is over 100 years old. It was started by Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule in Maharashtra, Shri Guru Chand Thakur in Bengal, Nama Sudras: D.L. Biswas Thakur, (DV May 1, 91 p.20), EVR Periyar in Madras and by other revolutionary Dalit leaders in other linguistic areas of India. But all these movements for liberation from the Brahminical thralldom were confined to their respective States and it took the shape of an all-India movement only after the advent of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
But when we compare the Dalit movement with the movement of the Aryans/Hindus to oust the British from the seat of power, we find that the former has moved at a much slower pace than the latter. The Hindus formed their first political party – Congress – in 1885 and achieved their target by 1947 i.e. within a period of 62 years. But the Dalit movement though about 100 years old is still far away from its destination. So, it becomes the duty of all Untouchable intellectuals to analyze the reason and suggest remedial measures. This thought kept me absorbed for quite some time and the answers that came to my mind are analyzed below.
How Hindus became rulers?
The Hindu struggle for political power did not bring them success in one generation. The first generation carried the movement to some distance and passed on the burden to the next generation which carried it forward with much more strength and vigor. There was no slackening of the spirit at any stage. The first generation while passing it over to the second created an impression in their children that the British were “foreign people” and they were the “enemies of our country”. The second generation implicitly believed it and carried the torch forward. The success came in the third generation and the present generation of the Hindus are enjoying the results of the “sacrifices” of their past three generations. That is how the Hindus became the ruling class.
Now, let us look at our (Untouchables’) movement. The movement started about 100 years ago. Some right-thinking Dalits started analyzing the causes of our miserable conditions. They realized that unless the Dalits came out of the Brahminical social order (BSO) they had no salvation. They started an agitation to liberate their people. But it was a difficult task as the body and soul, not only in this life but in the life after death also of these people, were mortgaged to the BSO for generations.
Brahminical brainwashing:
So, these leaders did not get support from all the Dalits for whom they were fighting. Some accepted their philosophy but many did not. But the movement kept on moving forward. The leaders felt the necessity of education for the children. They established schools and convinced the parents to send their children to the school. They persuaded the people to throw away the Brahminical rituals and their old beliefs but with limited success.
Now comes the question of transfer of movement from first generation to the next. What is the mental condition of this new generation? They have been brought up in the Brahminical environment. From early morning till the late night, they are exposed to the Brahminical ideas and ideals and follow them blindly. At school, they study the textbooks prepared by the BSO, for the BSO and in praise of the BSO. They participate in religious festivals which are in praise of the BSO, the social festivals such as celebration of the birthday of this “great man” and that “great man” must be somebody from the BSO. Even the stories in the novel or a drama, BSOs are depicted as the “savior’s of the Dalits”.
How to Increase our Speed?:
So, our social, religious and cultural fields are totally controlled by the BSO. In other words, the air the Dalits breathe is Brahminical air. So, when the responsibility of carrying forward the movement falls upon the new generation of the Dalits, they are not really prepared for it. That is how the strength and the ferocity of the movement got reduced. But very soon the Dalits come to sense when in their daily life they face opposition at every stage from the BSO-controlled administration and society. The speed of the agitation again picks up. If we want our struggle to move forward with higher and higher speed, we have to start parallel cultural, social and religious movements. We must have our own festivals. The 14th April, the birth anniversary of Babasaheb, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule, Guru Chand Thakur of Bengal and other Dalit great men must be celebrated as festivals. We must have our own literature, theatre halls, audio visuals to spread the Dalit culture. Even though we may not at the moment have a common religion, we must have a common identity – Dalit. We must have our own national newspaper and periodicals which will preach Dalit ideology and help Dalit movement very fast.
In establishing our Dalit cultural identity, we have to learn a lot from our Black sisters and brothers from America. They have stolen a big march of 200 years over us. We can usefully study from their rich Black literature. Black strategies and tactics, Black history about which in “Dalit Voice” Office we have enough books from America.
– EDITOR.
