#amaaazing

Sisters, we are caught in a web of superstitions. It has enslaved us. Without breaking free from it, we cannot tread the path shown to us by Dr Ambedkar. We cannot become emancipated. Some children wear black threads, some red threads. Ask their mothers and they will tell us that it protects them from the evil eye. Ask the boys and they will tell you it is fashion. Yesterday, we were at Salimpur village. I asked a kid, “Why have you tied this black thread on your hand?” He said, “It is the thread of Trilokinath.” I asked, “Who is Trilokinath?” He said, “Trilokinath is the master of the three worlds”. I asked, “Trilokinath did not ask you to study?” He said, “I gave up studies after high school.” I said, “Trilokinath did not tell you that he is the master of three worlds, so you should become the master of at least one by educating yourself.” He did not utter a word. You are not telling your children whether power lies in this thread or in the pen that Babasaheb gave us, in the rights that he gave us. To you and for me, who are born into the Chamar caste, what harm can the evil eye possibly do. The Brahmins had tied a bone from this thread. And I am talking of the period after Independence. A bell was hung from this black thread; black anklets were tied to our feet. You know why? Because we were Untouchables and they wanted to be alerted by the sound of the anklets and the bell when an untouchable walking the streets was headed their way. Even if our shadow fell on them, they would have to go home and take a bath. A pot was hung from our neck and we could spit in it only. We were not allowed to spit on the roads. A broom was tied to our waist so that as we walked, it cleaned our footprints. If a Brahmin stepped on our footprints, he would have to go back to his home and take a bath. You think you have got all these rights just like that. Babasaheb had struggled, Babasaheb had written the Constitution and that was why the Brahmins had to remove the bell from our necks, the anklets from our feet. This is the thread of slavery. Break it and throw it away. As soon as the Brahmin sees this black thread around your neck, he asks your caste. And you don’t know where to hide yourself. How can you tell anyone that you are a Chamar? How? I hold a senior position – but our castes never change. I had been in my job for seven months when Brahmins broke open the lock of the room where I was putting up and threw out all my belongings. You know why? Because I was a Chamar woman and I was running an awareness campaign there. They wanted to teach me a lesson. I had to spend the night on the streets. At that time, I was unmarried. The next day, I got the incident published in the media, lodged an FIR. But I can never forget the night that I had to spend on the streets. I then realized this: when this can happen with an educated woman like me, what must be happening with the people of my community? I felt that I was needed there. You needed me. Then I decided to work among you. One day, a Pandit ji, a Trivedi ji, came to the department. I was the only Chamar in the staff. When the head of my department was introducing us, he said, “She is new to our department. Her name is_______.” The Pandit ji could not guess my caste by my surname. He began looking questioningly at me. I asked him, “Do you want to know my caste?” He was taken aback. “No, no madam. That is not so.” I said, “Sir, you people say that women have no caste, don’t you? My mother was a Brahmin and my father was a Chamar. The Brahmins are so shrewd that if they find that a Chamar boy is a suitable match for their daughter, they readily marry her off to him. My maternal grandfather was such a Brahmin. He thrust his daughter on my father. Now you tell me sir, what is my caste?” Sir was crestfallen. He could not utter a word. He had no answer. You have to make your children strong enough to give such replies and not try to hide yourself when anyone asks your caste. The black thread around your neck will not give you strength because when a Brahmin sees it, he immediately realizes that this person is my slave, my pet dog. Stop fearing these threads.