Mahad Satyagraha
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Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha was a satyagraha led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in
Mahad Mahad ( əɦaːɖ is a city in Raigad district (formerly Kulaba district) situated in the North Konkan region of Maharashtra state, India. It is located from District's headquarter Alibag, and from Mumbai, the state capital of Maharashtr ...
(currently in
Raigad district Raigad district (Marathi pronunciation: aːjɡəɖ, previously Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The district was renamed to Raigad after the fort that was the first capital of the former Marath ...
), Maharashtra, India. The day (20 March) is observed as Social Empowerment day in India.


Background

By the
Indian caste system The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mu ...
, untouchables (
Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
) were segregated from the other Hindu castes. They were banned from using water bodies and roads which were used by other Hindu castes. In August 1923, Bombay Legislative Council passed a resolution that people from the depressed classes should be allowed to use places which were built and maintained by the government. In January 1924,
Mahad Mahad ( əɦaːɖ is a city in Raigad district (formerly Kulaba district) situated in the North Konkan region of Maharashtra state, India. It is located from District's headquarter Alibag, and from Mumbai, the state capital of Maharashtr ...
which was part of the Bombay Province passed the resolution in its municipal council to enforce the act. But it was failed to implement because of the protest from the savarna Hindus.


Satyagraha

In 1927, Ambedkar decided to launch a satyagraha ( nonviolent resistance) to assert their rights to use water in the public places. Mahad, a town in Konkan, was selected for the event because it had a nucleus of support from 'caste hindus'. These included A.V.Chitre, an activist from the Marathi
Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) is a caste group mainly found in Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. They held the posts such as Deshpandes and Gadkaris and according to the historian, ...
(CKP) community; G.N.Sahasrabudhe, a Chitpawan Brahmin of the Social Service League and Surendranath Tipnis, a CKP who was president of the Mahad municipality. Surendranath Tipnis, the president of the Mahad municipality declared its public spaces open to untouchables and invited Ambedkar to hold a meeting at Mahad in 1927. After the meeting, they proceeded to the 'Chowder tank'. Ambedkar drank water from the tank and thousands of untouchables followed him. Ambedkar also made a statement addressing the Dalit women during the Satyagraha. He asked them to abandon all old customs that provided recognizable markers of untouchability and asked them to wear saris like high caste women. Before that time, the Dalit women were not allowed to drape saris completely. Immediately after Ambedkar's speech at Mahad, the dalit women readily decided to drape their saris like the higher caste women. 'Radical' upper caste women namely Lakshmibai Tipnis and Indirabia Chitre helped the Dalit women dress like 'upper caste women' by covering the legs of the dalit women down to their ankles. A riot broke out following a rumour that Ambedkar and his followers were planning to enter a Hindu temple in the town. And the caste Hindu argued that untouchables polluted the tank by taking water from it. To purify the tank cow-urine and cow-dung were used. 108 pots containing a mixture of these products were emptied into the tank while Brahmins recited mantras. The tank was then declared fit for upper caste hindu consumption. Ambedkar decided to hold the second conference in Mahad on 26–27 December 1927. But caste Hindus filed a case against him that tank as a private property. He was not able to continue his satyagraha as the case was
sub judice In law, ''sub judice'', Latin for "under a judge", means that a particular case or matter is under trial or being considered by a judge or court. The term may be used synonymously with "the present case" or "the case at bar" by some lawyers. ...
. On 25 December (''
Manusmriti Dahan Din Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...
''), Shastrabuddhe under the guidance of Ambedkar, burnt ''
Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote thei ...
'', a Hindu law book, as a protest. In December 1937, the Bombay High Court ruled that untouchables have the right to use water from the tank. On 19 March 1940, Dr. Ambedkar arranged a rally and public conference in Mahad to recollect 14th Mahad Satyagraha Day as "Empowerment Day". On this day, Adv. Vishnu Narhari Khodke, as President of Mahad Municipal Corporation, arranged a function and honoured Dr. Ambedkar with a Letter of Honour (मानपत्र) for his "Chavdar tale Satyagraha" and "Manusmruti Dahan" and other movements in Mahad.


See also

*
Manusmriti Dahan Din Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...
* Poona Pact * Dalit Buddhist movement *
Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...


References

{{Reflist Social movements in India B. R. Ambedkar History of Maharashtra Dalit history Anti-caste movements 1927 in India