Preface - Dalit Panthers - An Authoritative History
The golden period
of the Ambedkarite movement after the demise of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar belonged
to the Dalit Panther. The militant organization was formed on 29 May 1972. Five
years later, it was disbanded through a declaration at a press conference held
in Mumbai on 7 March 1977. An ideological schism among its leaders prompted
Namdeo Dhasal to sack Raja Dhale and J.V. Pawar by announcing it in the
newspapers published from Mumbai on 30 September 1974. It culminated in Dhasal
being sacked at the first convention of the organization held in Nagpur on 23
and 24 October 1974. In June 1975, then prime minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency
in India, imposing restrictions on newspapers and organizations. Hence, the
period from May 1972 to June 1975 was most crucial in the activities of the
Dalit Panther movement.
During this
period, the Dalit Panther movement caused a storm, shattering contemporary
sociopolitical ethos and recharging Ambedkar’s followers to combat rising
injustice and atrocities. It transformed youths, who took to the streets as
committed footsoldiers of the movement, took on the system and provided relief
to the victims. During its short life, the organization shook up the government
from its slumber and forced it to take note of the plight of the oppressed
people. The struggle of the Dalit Panther movement was not just for the
economic upliftment of the Dalits but also for the implementation of their
Constitutional rights and the establishment of liberty, equality and
fraternity.
The Dalit
Panther was at its prime until 4 January 1974. On 5 January 1974, a
masterminded riot engulfed the entire Mumbai metropolis, especially Worli and
Naigaon, and claimed the lives of Dalit Panthers Bhagwat Jadhav and Ramesh
Deorukhkar. The riot devastated the lives of numerous youngsters, who lost
their jobs and had to languish in prisons. Their sacrifices, however,
rejuvenated the Ambedkarite movement, in sharp contrast to those who had
mortgaged it at the feet of the rich and the powerful in return for crumbs of
power and wealth. During its short life, the Dalit Panther made a lasting
impact on Indian society and politics. The impact of the movement has been so
historic that after four members of a Dalit family (including a woman and her
teenage daughter) were brutally killed in Khairlanji village in Bhandara
district of Maharashtra in 2006, there were spontaneous demands for a militant organization
like the Dalit Panther to take on the perpetrators of caste atrocities.
A lot has
been written on the movement, including research papers and anthologies, based
on information gathered from newspapers and conversations with the people who
were in the movement. The movement has been analyzed and interpreted by many to
suit their convenience or ideological stance, often veering off on the verge of
distorting history. For the sake of easy publicity and the consequent gains,
many people masqueraded as experts on the movement, including some claiming to
have fathered it. I have been a witness of this period from day one. I have
actively participated in the movement, not just as a spectator or a writer, but
as one of the people who initiated it. Hence, while assigning the paternity of
the Dalit Panther organization to Namdeo Dhasal and myself, I consider the
nurturing of the movement by Raja Dhale as important.
I feel that
only three persons can write the history of the Dalit Panther movement: Raja
Dhale, amdeo Dhasal and J.V.Pawar (myself).
I was the organizer and later, the general secretary of the organization and
therefore I am in possession of all the relevant correspondence and ocumentation.
During those days, there were no photocopying machines and I had to use carbon
paper to make copies of letters or statements, all of which I have preserved.
What this means is that my writing is authentic and supported by documents.
Besides, the Government of Maharashtra gave me access to its archives,
including documents from the police and intelligence departments, which further
enriched me.
I have
written a series in Marathi on “The Ambedkarite movement after Dr B.R.
Ambedkar” and this book is the fourth in the series. The era of the Dalit
Panther was the glowing period about which many people, including Raja Dhale,
Namdeo Dhasal and other intellectuals have already written.
During the
days of the Dalit Panther, Marathi newspaper Nava Kaal, founded by its editor
Neelubhau Khadilkar, had opened its door for us, as if it were our mouthpiece.
There were several other newspapers like Nav Shakti, Maratha, Maharashtra
Times, Loksatta and Sakaal, which helped the movement by publicizing its activities.
I am indebted to all of them.
Since
Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Mahaparinirvana on 6 December 1956, the Ambedkarite
movement has tasted both victory and defeat. The victory has been that the
movement has, through the years, attained social, educational, and cultural
maturity. In the literature and the arts, the movement reached the pinnacle at
various moments – especially Ambedkarite literature, which has now gained
respect and acceptance as the only literature that matters, because it is based
on realism. So much so that what was so far called Dalit Literature is now
referred to as Ambedkarite literature. The conditions in society today are
vastly different from those prevailing in the pre-Ambedkar era and the
transformation can be attributed to Ambedkar’s call to educate, organize and
agitate.
I am not an
activist or a writer from Ambedkar’s time. During Ambedkar’s time, many people
contributed to the journals he edited — Mook Nayak and Prabuddha Bharat. But
they were simply chroniclers of that age. However, C.B. Khairmode’s
documentation remains quite invaluable. I did not want to merely document the post-Ambedkarite
movement but also analyze it. I was involved in the movement myself. I wasn’t
merely an observer sitting on the sidelines. I can, therefore, stake my claim
to analyze the history of the movement. Apart from being at the forefront of
the movement since 1972, I led the student wing of Dadasaheb Gaikwad’s popular land-agitation
movement in 1964.
In 1972,
with my poet-friend Namdeo Dhasal, I co-founded the Dalit Panther. Although it
was a short-lived movement, just like the Black Panther in the United States,
among all the post-Ambedkarite movements, the Dalit Panther enjoys the greatest
admiration.
It was the
period of struggle and hardships that earned Dalit Panthers their credibility
and reputation in society. What Babasaheb Ambedkar had envisaged for the
Republican Party of India (RPI) had failed to materialize. The post-Ambedkarite
movement had begun to decline in the 1960s due to the ulterior motives of the Republican
Party leaders – and today the party has become an object of ridicule. Instead
of concentrating on RPI’s growth, its leaders helped strengthen the Congress
party. The Congress party thus became more arrogant and exploitative. In the
rural areas, it was Dalit Panthers who tried to stem the atrocities that were
being inflicted on the Dalits. There was a growing consciousness among the
Dalit masses that there was a group and an organization to protect them. Even
today, when Dalits in villages face atrocities, people yearn for the resurgence
of a movement like the Dalit Panther.
This wish in
people’s hearts can be seen as the greatest recognition of the Dalit Panther
among the masses. Even when the movement spread from Maharashtra to the rest of
the country, it never spread itself too thin. Social scientists have realized
the importance of the Dalit Panthers. Even today, both Indians and foreigners seek
to understand and analyze the history of the Dalit Panther. Researchers and
students are still mesmerized by its history. The militant activism of the
Dalit Panther is one that needs to be revived, hence the need to translate this
work into Hindi and English. I published this history of Dalit Panthers in
Marathi on 6 December 2010, under the title Dalit Panthers. It was well
received by Marathi readers and activists.
Since
researchers and scholars worldwide studying the Dalit Panther movement seek information
from us, I felt there was a need to publish this material in Hindi and English.
Angela Davis from the Black Panther, USA, on her visit to India on 16 December 2016,
had expressed her desire to me for an English translation of Dalit Panthers, for
the benefit of the African-American brothers and sisters involved in their
struggle in the USA.
I am
indebted to my senior colleague Rakshit Sonawane, who translated Dalit Panthers
from Marathi into English. This is the second book of mine that he has translated;
Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s Social Revolution was published on the eve of the 125th
birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar. Yogesh Maitreya translated my first book into
English. I owe my gratitude to Balasaheb Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Dr
Harshdeep Kamble, Dr Shridhar Pawar, Vivek Pawar, Ashok Sonune, Subhodh More,
Sumedh Jadhav, Nagesh Sawant, Ratan Bansode, Sudhir Bagul, Dr Korai, Dr Bhande,
Dr Walmik Saravade, Sachit Tasgaonkar, Surendra Bansode, Prabhakar Dangle, Manohar
Sonavne, Amrapali Tambe, Milind Lahane, Harsh Krishnatray, Chetan Shinde,
Bodhare Brothers, Advocate Prahlad Khandare, Mahboob Badshah Wali Shaikh,
Pramod Ranjan, Anil Varghese, Shrujana Niranjan Shridhar and Karunakar Akare.
As always,
my family members’ support has been invaluable, so I want to record my
gratitude to my wife Jaimala Pawar and son Tejvil Pawar.
I hope that
the activists and researchers who benefited from the Marathi edition of Dalit
Panthers will find the English translation equally rewarding.
J.V.
Pawar
28 November
2017
Bulding No
1, C - 203,
Laxminarayan
Nagar,
Eksar Road,
Borivali West,
Mumbai -
400103
