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Gopal Baba Walangkar
Gopal Baba Walangkar, also known as Gopal Krishna, (ca. 1840-1900) is an early example of an activist working to release the untouchable people of India from their historic socio-economic oppression, and is generally considered to be the pioneer of that movement. He developed a racial theory to explain the oppression and also published the monthly journal Vital-Vidhvansak, targeted at the Brahmanical Orthodoxy. Life Gopal Baba Walangkar was born into a family of Mahar caste around 1840 at Ravdul, near Mahad in what is now Raigad district, Maharashtra. He was related to Ramabai, who in 1906 married the polymathic social reformer, B. R. Ambedkar. In 1886, after serving in the army, Walangkar settled at Dapoli and became influenced by another early social reformer, Jyotirao Phule, thus being a link between two of the most significant reform families of the period. Walangkar was appointed to the local taluk board of Mahad in 1895, which displeased the members from the upper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range from mandate building in a community (including writing letters to newspapers), petitioning elected officials, running or contributing to a political campaign, preferential patronage (or boycott) of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, or hunger strikes. Activism may be performed on a day-to-day basis in a wide variety of ways, including through the creation of art ( artivism), computer hacking (hacktivism), or simply in how one chooses to spend their money (economic activism). For example, the refusal to buy clothes or other merchandise from a company as a protest against the exploitation of workers by that company could be considered an expression of activism. However, the most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deenbandhu
''Deenbandhu'', sometimes transliterated as ''Dinbandhu'' and spelled ''Din Bandhu'', was a weekly Marathi-language newspaper first published in Pune, British India in January 1877. It was the first newspaper in India to cater explicitly to the labouring people. The weekly articulated the grievances of the peasants and workers. ''Deenbandhu'' was founded by Krishnarao Pandurang Bhalekar (1850-1910) and served as an outlet for Jotirao Phule's Satyashodhak Samaj. Bhalekar was born in Bhamburde and came of a Mali family. Bhalekar ran Dinbandhu almost single-handedly till April 1880 after which the newspaper moved to Mumbai because of financial troubles. Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, who had already been writing for it, edited the newspaper from Mumbai from 1880. Deenbandhu was selling 1650 copies per week in 1884, thus making it the second-highest circulation Marathi or Anglo-Marathi newspaper in Bombay Presidency, after '' Kesari''. Vasudeo Birje became the editor of this iconic ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandala
Chandala ( sa, चांडाल, caṇḍāla) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, traditionally considered to be untouchable. A female member of this caste is known as a ''Caṇḍālī''. History Varṇa was a hierarchical social order in ancient India, based on the Vedas. Since the Vedic corpus constitute the earliest literary source, it came to be seen as the origin of caste society. In this view of caste, ''varṇas'' were created on a particular occasion and have remained virtually unchanged. In this ordering of society, notions of purity and pollution were central, and activities were delineated in this context. ''Varṇa'' divides the society into four groups ordered in a hierarchy; beyond these, outside the system, lies a fifth group known as the ''untouchables'', of which the Chandala became a constituent part. The first mention of the fourfold ''varṇa'' division is found in the later ''Rigveda''. Vedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namasudra
Namasudra, also known as Namassej, is an ''Avarna'' community originating from eastern and central Bengal. The community was earlier known as ''Chandala'' or ''Chandal'', a term usually considered as a slur. They were traditionally engaged in fishing and as boatmen, and later in cultivation too. They lived outside the four-tier ritual ''varna'' system and thus were outcastes. Etymology There is a dearth of discussion as to the etymology of the word ''namasudra'' in pre-nineteenth-century Bengali literature and its period of origin is also undetermined. Several theories have been suggested but there is no broad consensus supporting any of them. Origins The Namasudra community was earlier known as ''Chandala'' or ''Chandal'', a term usually considered as a slur. They lived outside the four-tier ritual ''varna'' system and thus were outcastes and untouchables in the eyes of the caste Hindu communities. The community was traditionally engaged in fishing and as boatmen, in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matua Mahasangha
Matua Mahasangha ( bn, মতুয়া মহাসংঘ) is a religious reformation movement that originated, around 1860 AD, in modern-day Bangladesh, with a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal of India. Matua is a sect of depressed class AVARNA Hindus who are Namasudras, a Scheduled Caste group. The movement was launched as a reformation by the followers of Harichand Thakur. Thakur attained ''atmadarshan'' at an early age and would subsequently preach his Darshan in Twelve Commandments. The teachings of Thakur establish education as preeminently important for the adherent and the upliftment of the population the adherent's duty, while also providing a formula for ending social conflict. Matua-mahasangha believe in ''Swayam-Dikshiti'' ("Self-Realisation") through the chanting of Harinaam, i.e., chanting the Holy name of God Hari. Harichand stressed the congressional chanting of Lord's name kirtan as the sole means to Mukti. His follower ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harichand Thakur
Harichand Thakur (হরিচাঁদ ঠাকুর) (30 March 1812 – 5 March 1878), worked among the untouchable people of Bengal Presidency. He formed the Matua sect of Hindus. Life Harichand Thakur was born in a Namashudra (or avarna ''nee'' Chandala) peasant family in 1811(or 1812) in the Safaldanga village of Gopalganj District, Bangladesh of what was then Bengal Presidency (now a part of Bangladesh). He was the son of Jashomanta Biswas (father) and Annapurna Devi (mother). His family was a vaishnavite for generations His grandfather ''Manchanram Biswas'' was a devout vaishnavite and known as ''Thakur Manchanram'' in the locality. His father ''Jashomanta'' also inherited the same ''Thakur'' title from his grandfather and during the time of his father, his family adopted the surname ''Thakur'' abandoning their original surname ''Biswas''. He was married to Jagat Mata Shanti Mata and they had two sons. He was evicted from his native village ''Safaldanga'' through th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mang (caste)
The Mang, or Matang, community is an Indian caste mainly residing in the state of Maharashtra. The community was historically believed to be associated with village security and professions such as rope making, broom making, musicians, cattle castration, leather curing, midwifery, executioners, and funeral directors. In modern day India, they are listed as a Scheduled Caste, Their origins lie in the Narmada Valley of India, and they were formerly classified as a criminal tribe under the Criminal Tribes Acts of the British Raj. Religion The Mang practice Hinduism, and worship the deities Rama, Krishna Bhagavan, and Hanuman. Bhavani Janakamma is the caste deity of the Mang. Mang also worship spirits and village deities like Pochamma and Maisamma, who according to them are responsible for all the good and bad that befalls the village community. The Mang celebrate all major Hindu festivals, as well as the annual Jatara festival for the deity Maisamma, which entails the sacr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chamar
Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. They are found throughout the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the northern states of India and in Pakistan and Nepal. History Ramnarayan Rawat posits that the association of the Chamar community with a traditional occupation of tanning was constructed, and that the Chamars were instead historically agriculturists. The term ''chamar'' is used as a pejorative word for dalits in general. It has been described as a casteist slur by the Supreme Court of India and the use of the term to address a person as a violation of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Chamars have remained one of the most discriminated community within Hinduism. In reference to villages of Rohtas and Bhojpur district of Bihar, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a Marathi-speaking state of India in 1960, as part of a nationwide linguistic reorganization of the Indian states. The term "Maratha" is generally used by historians to refer to all Marathi-speaking peoples, irrespective of their caste; however, now it may refer to a Maharashtrian caste known as the Maratha. The Marathi community came into political prominence in the 17th century, when the Maratha Empire was established under Chhatrapati Shivaji; the Marathas are credited to a large extent for ending Mughal rule over India. History Ancient to medieval period During the ancient period, around 230 BC, Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty, which ruled the region for 400 years.India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martial Races
Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. The ostensible reason for this system of classification was the belief that a 'martial race' was typically brave and well-built for fighting, while the 'non-martial races' were those races which the British considered unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles. However, the martial races were also considered politically subservient, intellectually inferior, lacking the initiative or leadership qualities to command large military formations. The British had a policy of recruiting the martial Indians from those who has less access to education as they were easier to control. According to modern historian Jeffrey Greenhunt on military history, "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with East Asia. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. At its peak, the company was the largest corporation in the world. The EIC had its own armed forces in the form of the company's three Presidency armies, totalling about 260,000 soldiers, twice the size of the British army at the time. The operations of the company had a profound effect on the global balance of trade, almost single-handedly reversing the trend of eastward drain of Western bullion, seen since Roman times. Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies", the company rose to account for half of the world's trade duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, his expansion of Lord Roberts' concentration camps during the Second Boer War and his central role in the early part of the First World War. Kitchener was credited in 1898 for having won the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan for which he was made Baron Kitchener of Khartoum. As Chief of Staff (1900–1902) in the Second Boer War he played a key role in Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief – by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902–1909) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with another eminent proconsul, the Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
