Revisiting Dasgaon, where a 23-year-old drank water from a well and broke a social order

Just disconnected National Highway 66 is Dasgaon, a colony of astir 3,000 people, successful the coastal Raigad territory of Maharashtra, astir 22 kilometres from Mahad. There is nary committee to signify its value successful India’s past and the locals don’t retrieve their people’s publication to the Dalit movement. What they retrieve is the shooting of the Mammootty-starrer Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, directed by Jabbar Patel. That was successful 2000, and Crawford water was called Chavdar Tale successful the movie, a notation to a water successful Mahad. 

On the banks of the lake, the authorities impermanent house, the dak bungalow arsenic the British called it, is being renovated. Here, excessively determination is nary committee to commemorate an important portion of India’s history. This is wherever Dalit icon Dr. Ambedkar had stayed during what has travel to beryllium known arsenic the Mahad Satyagraha.

The crushed burns the caput and feet, but Crawford lake’s greenish h2o calms the eyes. Scores of labourers enactment connected its banks, laying an enmeshment of wires to clasp unneurotic the rocks that volition specify the bound of the lake. “This embankment has pushed the water inside. It was wider before,” a section nonmigratory says.

There is soon to beryllium a jogging way and a tract connected the lake’s banks. “It is going to beryllium beautified truthful we tin usage it,” says Ataullah Deshmukh, astatine his ancestral location conscionable beside the lake. Outside his location is simply a well, again of historical importance, but Deshmukh is unaware of its significance. He is the 3rd procreation to inhabit the home. 

He tells stories of his grandfather, Dawood Khan Deshmukh, who started an Urdu schoolhouse successful Tudil colony nearby, and dispersed consciousness wrong his assemblage to nonstop their children to school. His father, Dr. Abdur Rauf Deshmukh, assisted Padmashri awardee Dr. Himmatrao Bawaskar, a doc renowned for his probe connected the attraction of scorpion sting and snakebite.

“Nobody has ever talked astir the good and the water successful the discourse of a satyagraha,” helium says. His wife, a pharmacist, brings retired acold sherbet to soothe the day heat.

Their neighbour, Faizar Shaikhnag, says his grandfather, Y.B. Shaikhnag, was the sarpanch of the village. The onshore wherever the dak bungalow stands, was owned by his household erstwhile upon a time, helium adds. “It was fixed connected lease to the authorities for 99 years. The lease is implicit now. We are warring to get the onshore back.” Shaikhnag excessively does not cognize astir the satyagraha oregon astir the Dalit mobilisation here. “Our gramps expired earlier we were born. Nobody spoke astir this,” helium says.

A fewer buildings distant stays a retired schoolhouse teacher, Vasant Dalvi. His daughter-in-law Vishakha Dalvi, says she has ne'er heard immoderate stories astir a Dalit mobilisation here.

An awakening and a movement 

“This is simply a bequest which we fearfulness volition beryllium lost,” civilian rights activistic Subodh More, says. Subodh’s grandfather, Ramchandra Babaji More’s was a Dalit leader, who, successful 1926, led a satyagraha to portion h2o from the good that is present connected Deshmukh’s property. 

The satyagraha was prompted by the Bole Resolution by the Bombay Legislative Council successful 1923, allowing “the Untouchable Classes beryllium allowed to usage each nationalist watering place”. In 1924, the Mahad municipal assemblage besides passed a solution reiterating this. While this was a important aboriginal measurement against caste-based exclusion successful India, it was not implemented. 

Babaji was 23 years aged then. He brought radical unneurotic successful Dasgaon, and held a nationalist gathering for the implementation of the Bole Resolution. On December 4, 1926, astir 300 people, considered untouchables by precocious castes, gathered to spell to Crawford water and Crawford good to gully water. Till then, the Dalits were not allowed to portion from nationalist tanks, arsenic those from the precocious castes believed it would pollute the water.

The protestation was local, and went mostly unnoticed. But its occurrence steeled Babaji’s resoluteness to clasp a protestation connected a larger standard astatine Mahad, nether Dr. Ambedkar’s leadership. On 20 March 1927, scores of protesters, led by Dr. Ambedkar, marched to the nationalist vessel of Chavdar Tale successful Mahad. “This conflict is not conscionable for water, but for basal quality rights…. We person to spell to Chavdar Tale to not conscionable portion the h2o there, but to beryllium that we are quality beings too, similar others,” Dr. Ambedkar had said, successful Mahad, during the Chavdar Tale Satyagraha.

Babaji was the main organiser of the Mahad Satyagaraha. Deeply inspired by Dr. Ambedkar, helium was 1 of the leaders who started referring to him arsenic Babasaheb. 

His awakening to injustice was aboriginal and personal. When helium was 11, a section schoolhouse did not springiness him admittance contempt clearing a assistance exam. “There were nary concessions for students till the property of 11 years. I had passed the assistance exam held astatine Alibaug. The authorities had granted maine a ₹5 assistance and had asked maine to get enrolled successful an English mean school,” Babaji wrote aboriginal successful an article. This was successful 1913-14. The section schoolhouse had refused to springiness him admittance due to the fact that of his caste. 

Dalits were not allowed to beryllium with children from precocious castes, and the schoolhouse did not privation to hazard shutting down due to the fact that of 1 admission, it said. After being guided by societal reformers, helium penned a missive seeking that the authorities assistance for the schoolhouse beryllium withdrawn arsenic it had denied admittance to a meritorious pupil contempt a authorities directive. The missive was printed with his sanction successful the section paper Prabodhan, forcing the schoolhouse to springiness him admission. But helium was made to beryllium connected a stool successful a country extracurricular the classroom.

The instauration of a house

From 1931 to 1941, Babaji was forced underground aft the British externed him from 1931-1933. Subodh, who lives successful Mumbai now, remembers playing successful the location wherever his gramps hid. It was Babaji’s uncle’s house, and was 1 of the fewer astatine the clip to beryllium built up to the archetypal floor. In fact, his uncle was called Madiwale Joshi, oregon the Joshi whose location had a maadi (first floor, successful Marathi), a rarity astatine the time. The ruins present person lone the achromatic basalt stone blocks and staircase. It was the archetypal pucca location built by a Dalit.

“The Brahmins who did the bhoomi poojan were boycotted by the precocious caste then,” says Rajendra Hate, a schoolhouse clerk who lives adjacent the ruins. He adds that unluckily it was truthful dilapidated that it had to beryllium brought down.

Subodh speaks of the idiosyncratic stories of conflict astir the aggravated caste battles fought successful the portion then. Hate remembers however colony elders told stories of the clip Babaji came retired of hiding. “When helium came retired of hiding aft years, helium had to beryllium made to beryllium successful a abstracted cattle pond to lavation distant the dormant tegument from his body,” helium says. 

Last week, M.A. Baby, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (M) visited the water and the well, on with the schoolhouse established by Babaji. “This is the spot wherever the seeds of the historical Mahad Satyagraha were sown. It is simply a historically important site,” Dr. Ashok Dhawale, CPI(M) Polit Bureau subordinate who had accompanied M.A. Baby, says. 

“Caste-based favoritism has not yet disappeared from India. Whether it was the Chavdar Tale protestation oregon the burning of the Manusmruti, which was the fountainhead of India’s anti-caste struggle, comrade R.B. More had played a important role. He has a peculiar spot successful our history,” Dhawale says, adding that Babaji was a salient person of the Communist movement.

Lakes and their symbolism  

While Dasgaon is mostly forgotten, Mahad is the centre of the Dalit community’s attention. Every year, lakhs march connected December 25 and March 20, to people the Manusmriti dahan (burning) and Chavdar Tale Satyagraha, respectively. The Manusmriti is an past substance which codified the caste system. 

The Konkan Republican Samajik Sanstha, a grassroots non-profit, has written to the Raigad territory authorities appealing to them to state this full portion a nationalist monument. “We person written letters to the District Collector that Crawford well, Crawford lake, dak bungalow, the temple wherever the Manusmruti was burnt, the landing dock wherever Babasaheb had landed, and akin specified locations, beryllium declared arsenic a nationalist monument. Lakhs march present each year. We haven’t yet received immoderate reply to our pleas,” says Deepak Pawar, caput of the Sanstha. Despite repeated attempts, Kisan Jawale, District Collector of Raigad, did not respond to the queries by The Hindu.

Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat says that the authorities volition marque an effort present to sphere the past of the portion wherever the Dalits broke the societal order. “We bash not yet person accusation astir this. But our officials volition spell and spot the spot. In Dasgaon, we volition not conscionable instal plaques to springiness accusation astir the value of the place, but volition besides bash different things to bring past to life.”

Shobha Dhone, a regular wage labourer from Latur, is 1 of the hundreds of women who scope Mahad each year, astir from Marathwada and Vidarbha, to portion the h2o from Chavdar Tale. They speech to their children astir Ambedkar, paying respect to the statue successful the mediate of the lake, and past portion h2o from the taps around. “We are present due to the fact that of him. We were considered worse than cattle. We did not person immoderate rights. Only our hearts cognize what Babasaheb has done for us,” she says. 

Amruta Waghmare lives successful Mahad and runs Mahila Utkarsha Samajik Sanstha, which works to mobilise unorganised labourers. She feels, “No uncertainty things person changed from the mode they were a period ago, but casteism inactive exists; Brahminism inactive exists. Nobody is bothered astir the community. They are lone bothered astir their idiosyncratic worldly growth. The Ambedkarite question has weakened,” she says. 

vinaya.deshpande@thehindu.co.in