#dalit movement

very insightful piece written in 2009 by the late gail omvedt on christianity in india, politics of conversions, dalit and tribal christians, the british empire (company and raj periods), brahminical hegemony and violence, 2008 anti-christian kandhamal massacre, jotiba phule and the dilemmas faced by dalit christian theology and the larger dalit movement.

Why have you made beating the BJP your life's mission?

The BJP originates from the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) which is a fascist force rooted in an ideology that can be traced back to Hitler and Mussolini. They can go to any extent. They can destroy whatever little democracy that we are left with. They can destroy our goal of creating a secular and socialist democracy. If the BJP comes to power in 2019 then this country will be a banana republic. Then, I should not be surprised that you get killed for doing a story and you should not be surprised if I get killed for organizing a rally. That is what fascism is. I want Dalits, who are 18% of the population in India, to mercilessly vote against the BJP in 2019.

You are working with parties and people from all kinds of political backgrounds, convictions and agendas. How do you reconcile your differences?

When you are fighting against fascism, against the BJP, each pro-poor face has to come together and keep aside their ideological disputes and problems. Fascism is fascism. It will ruin our country if we stay silent any longer. There are contradictions between the Patels and Dalits, Dalits and OBCs, OBCs and Patels. But still Alpesh, Hardik and I are together because our principal contradiction is against the BJP. We all feel that we are the victims of the "Gujarat model." But that does not mean that the contradiction that lies beneath will not surface. It will and we will resolve it.

Has the past year changed you?

It has made me more pragmatic and wise. I've learned to navigate the politics. Gujarat produces great social activists but they remain stuck. They are not able to do anything electorally and there is not much expansion on the ground. In politics, you learn to carve your way out

What did you make of the BJP campaign?

It was communal, it was nonsensical, it was irrelevant. Modi did not create the vibes that he was able to create earlier. He has not been able to catch people's imagination. He sounded very boring, continuously repeating himself, with no data to place before the people. He sounded like someone whose time has gone. The struggle is in 2019. It will be a mentally aging Modi against the 50-crore youth of this country, many of them unemployed and desperate for change.

You can't deny how popular Modi is even among the youth.

He isn't anymore.

He won Uttar Pradesh for the BJP – again – even after demonetization.

Modi is a media creation. There are agencies in the world that can manufacture consent for you. They can project you in a certain manner by pumping in enormous money. And there is no denying the communal bias among the people of this country. The section of youth who are under the clutch of Hindutva like him. His Goebbelsian rhetoric of development suited the neoliberal climate and the aspirations of the urban middle class youth.

How will you counter Amit Shah and Narendra Modi's strategy of eroding caste-based voting and uniting the electorate under the Hindu banner? (BJP won 69 out of 85 reserved seats in the UP-Assembly election).

Babasaheb Ambedkar said that most Hindus are not Hindus - they belong to a caste – but they become Hindus when it comes to killing Muslims. Otherwise we think, interpret and analyze in terms of caste. People even marry in terms of caste. They stay together on the basis of their caste identity. We are a caste-ridden society. But the BJP, many times, has managed to take people out of their caste identity and make them think as a monolithic entity. In the case of UP, in my understanding, Dalits did not become Hindu but somehow, they found the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati) becoming irrelevant. In Gujarat, however, Dalits are not with the BJP.

Since Dalits, more or less, have supported the Congress in Gujarat then what is your role in the state's electoral politics?

Making the anti-BJP Dalit front even stronger through my struggles on the ground and raising the material issues which unfortunately has not been the agenda of the movement of late. Everything I've done in the past two years has got stunning media coverage because I can articulate. I've got a lot of space on television channels where I bash Modi every day, very often below the belt. I'm a rogue on television debates. The Dalit population of the country is seeing one of its youth leaders giving gaali to the BJP all the time. This will help in 2019. The national election is my concern even more than the Gujarat election. Alpesh and Hardik may not be able to do much outside led Gujarat but I can.

Interview with Prof Khalid Anis Ansari on the Pasmanda Movement

In this episode of the Ambedkar Age series, Round Table India talks to Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari, Director, Dr. Ambedkar Centre for Exclusion Studies & Transformative Action (ACESTA), Glocal University, Uttar Pradesh.

The interview focuses on the Pasmanda movement, on the issues of secularism/communalism and on the upper caste hegemony in all political, cultural and social fields in India. The interview was conducted by Kuffir, Contributing Editor, Round Table India, and was produced by Gurinder Azad.

Professor Khalid Anis Ansari does give an interesting background to what he calls the first wave of the Pasmanda movement. I found it so similar to the way Dalits, especially in UP and Bihar attempted to “sanskritize” their histories and shed the humiliating caste surnames they were given based on their caste “profession”. And then of course, hearing about upper-caste/upper-class political groups like the Muslim League were similar to the Indian National Congress and the Arya Samaj in trying to push lower-castes/Dalits into terms they would have been essentially too “polluted” to fall under before such as “Hindu” and “Muslim”, conveniently when the census came around in 1931. Same with the backlash against demands for a separate electorate! 

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Kuffir: So, this is important when we come back to the 19th century and the so-called freedom struggle or nationalist movement, so we come upon Sir Syed and on the other side we come upon on all these Brahmin nationalists. What we note that there was Phule, there was, you know, Ambedkar later, and in the interim period there were lots of others across the country. There was also the Adi-Dharm movement in Punjab and also Adi-Hindu movement, and Adi-Dravida, Adi-Andhra, all these movements. All these were lower-caste movements--and also Self-Respect movement. There has also been a movement among the lower-caste Muslims, what are now OBCs and Dalits. So could you talk about that tradition in history because you know, you start with Abdul Qaiyum Ansari...

Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari: I’ll go a bit backwards. So I’ll start with whatever was happening within the so-called Hindu society, similar movements and trajectories were evident within the Muslim society as well. So within 1880s, 1870s onwards, after the first census and all--I think it was 1871 or something. So most of the lower-caste Muslims, at least those Muslims who were slightly numerically strong and they had a certain section of educated class emerging within those lower Muslim castes, so they started inventing various mythologies of origin from 1880s onwards. They started using, “appropriating” upper-caste surnames in order to gain some self-respect. Because most of their caste titles were used as derogatory terms, as objects of abuse. And the moment they had some social mobility, so they wanted to first Ashraf-ize themselves or Islamize themselves, so that they could at least have some modem of self-respect within the Muslim body politic. So, the Mansooris, the cotton carders, they trace their genealogy to Mansur al-Hallaj, the Sufi who said “Ana'l Haqq”, and they started using the title Mansoori. The Julahas, the weavers, they again created another story, how they were related to Ayyub Ansari from Medina--Hazrat Ayyub Ansari from Medina. And they started using the term Ansari. Similarly, the butchers, the Qasaais, they started using Qureshi. Now most of these were upper-caste titles--Ansari was an upper-caste title at that time, Qureshi was an upper-caste title. And when the lower-castes started inventing their own mythologies in order to gain self-respect, they started using their new surnames, there was a meeting in Deoband. So Mufti Mohammad Shafi, he was on of the--

Kuffir: This was during the 1870s?

Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari: No, this was during later, in the first part of--say 19 something. So a meeting was called by Mufti Mohammad Shafi and other Deoband upper-caste Ashraf stalwarts...and the meeting was called to ban, to pass a law, to say that this appropriation of upper-caste surnames should be made illegal, right. So this is at the point of time. So these lower-caste Muslims are now trying to Islamize themselves and this Islamization attempt, or Ashraf-ization attempt, is not being taken kindly to at all by the Ashrafiya class. Then let us take the term quam for instance--quam which now stands for the community. In the 1870s, 1880s, if you read the Urdu literature, even if you read the speeches of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and other stalwarts, this term quam actually denotes the higher elite sharif classes. It is later on, when democracy becomes inevitable, and numbers become crucial in the political game. When just belonging to the propertied class, and being educated doesn’t matter anymore and there is now some understanding that democracy is inevitable, there would be universal adult franchise and every vote would matter, then suddenly the definition of quam is expanded to include the other lower-castes. Otherwise in the previous literature quam means Syed, Sheikh, Mughal, Pathans, Rajputs, and so on and so forth.

Kuffir: They are like the Brahmins.

Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari: Yes, and the others are Julahas, they are Mansooris, they are Dhunias, they are Qasaais. But they are not “proper” Muslims, they are neoconverts or--there is always a sense of lack. That the Muslim would be defined by the Ashrafiya class--their culture, their language, that would be the norm. The rest, there’s a sense of lack. So everyone has to compete, they have to keep on becoming like Ashrafiya Muslims. So they have to wear sherwanis, they have to speak chaste Urdu, they have to use a particular kind of poetry in order to become a respectable Muslim. So those trends were going on. Around the 1920s or so, Abdul Qaiyum Ansari, which I actually call the first wave of Pasmanda politics...so Abdul Qaiyum Ansari he was instrumental in consolidating the Momin Conference. I think it was formed around 1925 or something, Momin Conference. So there were caste associations which started forming from 1900 onwards. So there was Jamiat-ul-Ansar, there was Jamiat-ul-Quresh, there was Jamiat-ul-Mansoor. So these were different caste associations within the Mansooris, within the Qureshis, within the Ansaris. And it is very interesting because most of these caste organizations were formed in Calcutta, where Fakir works these days. So that is again interesting because most of these lower-castes, they went to Calcutta to make it, to begin life..so they wanted to move out of their villages in Bihar and U.P., they migrated to Calcutta. And that is where they got some politicization and they formed these caste associations. These caste associations then consolidated, they joined ranks and they formed the Momin Conference. So the Momin conference, which is the first wave of Pasmanda politics, it challenged the Ashrafiya hegemony over Muslim politics. And something which is never really discussed is that on the lines of Dr. Ambedkar, that he asked for a separate electorate for the Dalits, the Momin Conference raised the argument, demand for a separate electorate in around 1938-1939. 

Kuffir: Almost around the same time.

Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari : Yes, almost the 1930s. So that is the first wave. It was a razeel collective, it was seen as a razeel collective. The Momin Conference it brought in the butchers, the Saifis--

Kuffir: Razeel is the low-borne.

Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari: Low-borne, low-borne. It was kind of a razeel collective and again the term “Momin” is important because if you look at history, the claim to be religious it was always monopolized by the Ashrafiya class. We have a certain genealogy, so we are the pakkha Muslims, and these are the “Other” Muslims, the lesser Muslims in a way of speaking. They are the Muslims who are lacking. And that is why the term “Momin” is important, so “Momin” means someone who is pious. So they use the term Momin in order to stress that we are the equally good Muslims. They are still working within the Muslim body politic. So in the first wave, there isno strong criticism of Islam, or there is no historic excavation as such. But in terms of politics, there is a question of representation which was raised, there is the question of separate electorates which was raised. Abdul Qaiyum Ansari was instrumental in forming Momin hostels when he became a minister from 1950s on. 

Kuffir: All this was happening in Bihar, U.P...

Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari: And Bengal. 

Kuffir: And Bengal. Okay, please continue.

Prof. Khalid Anis Ansari: So that is the first wave. I mean they contested the two-nation theory. So the Momin Conference, it constested the two-nation theory. It critiqued the Muslim League everywhere. But unfortunately because there was a restricted franchise, a restricted electorate, not everyone was allowed to vote. So in the 1946 election which is also dubbed as the consensus on Pakistan, so only 12% Muslims were able to vote. At that point of time only the propertied classes, who had a certain educational attainment, only they could vote. So the majority of Muslim vote was not even put to test in that sense. So if there is a consensus on Pakistan, then it is these 12% who maybe supported Pakistan in that sense. The Pasmanda vote--because there is a caste and class correlation and it is so stark now that in 1940s it must have been absolutely coeval. It must have been absolutely coeval, so upper-caste would mean upper-class as simple as that. So 85%-87% of the lower-caste vote, of the Pasmanda vote was not even put to test. 

Kuffir: And there was no migration as such, I mean no significant migration from the lower-caste

Q: There is talk of a meeting ground between Marxism and Ambedkarism. Your take?

MEVANI: Ambedkarism and Marxism will come closer, and that is logical and desirable too. Just do a comprehensive analysis of Ambedkar. We have the Ambedkar of Republic Party of India, we have the Ambedkar of Buddhism, but we also have the Ambedkar of State and Minorities who says that the entire agricultural land of the country should be nationalized. This is what the Left also says. He had founded the Independent Labour Party. Its flag was red. It was a party of workers and farmers. It was not a party of Dalits. Just look at Ambedkar in his entirety. There are many in the Dalit Movement who interpret Ambedkar according to their convenience. This is what I say: If Dr Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, if he founded the Scheduled Castes Federation, he also established Republican Party of India and he also wrote State and Minorities. 

At the time of the historic Mahad Satyagraha, Ambedkar had said that besides Brahmanism, Capitalism is also an enemy of the Dalits and the working class. Why don’t they want to see Ambedkar as a whole? That would show them the path ahead. The Left may have a committed a thousand mistakes but if some of its leaders are now developing a decent caste perspective, we welcome it. If some of them sincerely associate themselves with the Dalit movement or raise the issue of caste violence, I will stand by them. Why should we think that only one ideology is capable of emancipating us?

Q: Some Dalit activists of Gujarat allege that you are promoting Marxism and not Ambedkarite ideology. Where do your ideological leanings lie?

MEVANI: Ambedkar of the Independent Labour Party is the biggest influence on me. Radical Ambedkar of State and Minorities inspires me. As for Marxism, it has also influenced me. There can be no two opinions about that. I would have raised slogan of Jai Bhim if my objective were the emancipation of Dalits only. I want the entire world’s working class to be freed from exploitation. That is why I also say Lal Salaam.

Q: You are talking of the unity of Dalit and Left ideologies and movements. But, who would lead the coalition? Those associated with Dalit movement say that a Dalit should be its leader, ie they say they won’t be content with only representation, they want leadership.

दलित चळवळीचे रूपांतर आर्थिक विकासाच्या चळवळीत होण्यासाठी रामदास आठवलेंनी पुढाकार घेतला: केंद्रीय मंत्री नितीन गडकरी यांचे भारतरत्न डॉ. बाबासाहेब आंबेडकर स्मृती पुरस्कार-2024 च्या वितरण प्रसंगी नागपुरात प्रतिपादन नागपूर – दलित समाजासाठी काम करतांना  दलित शोषित समाजाला न्याय देण्याचं काम रामदास आठवले यांनी केले असून  दलित चळवळीच रूपांतर आर्थिक विकासाच्या चळवळीत होण्यासाठी रामदास आठवलेंनी पुढाकार…

हमारे कायर और स्वार्थी नेता!

दलित-हिंसा में लगभग 15 लोगों का मरना और सैकड़ों का घायल होना बहुत दुखद है। सर्वोच्च न्यायालय ने दलित अत्याचार निवारण कानून में जो संशोधन किए थे, यह आंदोलन उसके खिलाफ है। यानी यह आंदोलन होना था, सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के खिलाफ लेकिन इसमें निशाना बनाया जा रहा है, मोदी सरकार को! इसका अर्थ क्या हुआ? क्या यह नहीं कि यह दलितों का आंदोलन कम और मोदी-विरोध ज्यादा है?

विरोधी नेताओं के पास मोदी-पार्टी के विरुद्ध…

I am an inevitable product of my history. It shadows me from the battlefields of Bhima Koregaon to the streets of London outside the Indian Embassy. This is where my history meets my destiny. My name is Saunvedan Aparanti. My ancestors were Mahars, shackled under the yoke of the caste system for millennia, not centuries. The 1st of January 1818, is what I call 'the beginning', not because there were no anti-caste revolts before this date but because anti-caste assertion was reified in the Victory Pillar at Bhima Koregaon. I can touch it and trace my fingers over the names of the martyrs and feel it. Reading about a battle in a history book is different from sitting in its precincts and living the assertion in your mind's eye. It is a feeling similar to when I first touched the Taj Mahal. It was merely beautiful until then, but when I touched it, I fell for it.

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon itself did not occur in such a distant past to make it history with a capital H in my view. I can easily picture Mahars relishing the thought of finishing off the Peshwas to exact revenge for the humiliation they were subjected to, during the Peshwas' reign. Times were good during the reign of Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Raje who were more benevolent and inclusive. The British merely offered an opportunity for Mahars to settle the score, eye for an eye. 500 of the Company's troops comprising of a large number of Mahars holding off 28,000 of the Peshwa army says a lot about both sides without me boasting about it. The main takeaway for me is the eye for an eye part. You see, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar struck an apocalyptic blow to the Brahminical caste empire from which it will never recover. He destroyed in one lifetime what caste supremacists built over millennia and he did it inter alia through academic rigour and relentless struggle.

दलितों का स्वतंत्रता आन्दोलन शुरू होता है अब …

वीरेन्द्र जैन देश की अंग्रेजों से स्वतंत्रता चाहने वाले दूसरे लोगों की तरह स्वतंत्रता आन्दोलन में अम्बेडकर अंग्रेजों से तुरंत आज़ादी के पक्षधर इसलिए नहीं थे क्योंकि उस मांग में दलितों को सवर्णों की गुलामी से मुक्ति पाने की स्पष्टता नहीं थी। उनका सही सवाल था कि यह आज़ादी किसको मिलेगी? जब तक देश में जातिभेद है तब तक जिनके हाथों में सत्ता आयेगी वे दलितों को समान नागरिक का दर्जा भले ही दे दें पर समाज…