Vol. 17, Part I · pages 21–25

3MAHAD SATYAGRAHA MAHAD SATYAGRAHA* NOT FOR WATER BUT TO ESTABLISH HUMAN RIGHTS ‘ The Sun of self-respect had now arisen in the sky and the clouds of oppression had begun to flit away. The Depressed Classes began to look up. And we now come to a momentous event in the life of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. That event was a march on Mahad. This had its origin in the important resolution of the Bombay Legislative Council moved by S. K. Bole and adopted by the Bombay Government. In pursuance of the Bole resolution passed in 1923 and reaffirmed with a slight change in 1926, the Mahad Municipality had thrown open the Chawdar Tank to the Untouchables. However, the resolution of the Municipality remained a mere gesture in that the Untouchables had not exercised their right owing to the hostility of the caste Hindus. It was, therefore, decided by the Kolaba District Depressed Classes to hold a Conference at Mahad on March 19 and 20, 1927. The leaders of the Conference had notified Dr. Ambedkar the date of the Conference in the first week of the previous month. Arrangements for the Conference were made with care by Surendranath Tipnis, Subhedar Savadkar and Anantrao Chitre. For the past two months workers and leaders had trodden hills and dales in the vicinity and had roused the Depressed Classes to the importance of the Conference. As a result, boys of fifteen to old men of seventy from far and near plodded distances of over hundred miles with bundles containing pieces of bread hanging from their shoulders and reached Mahad. About ten thousand delegates, workers and leaders of the Depressed Classes from almost all the districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat attended the Conference. Every care had been taken, every convenience was provided, and every means was adopted to make the Conference a success. Water worth rupees forty was purchased from the Caste Hindus to satisfy the needs of the Conference, for water was not available to the Untouchables at the place of the Conference. Dr. Ambedkar rose to deliver his presidential address to the half-clad, embarrassed, earnest men and women and began it in his simple, short and forceful sentences. With a strange *Resisting injustice with soul force.

4 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES agitation in his voice he described the conditions of Dapoli where he had received the first rudiments of education and said that one was attracted to the place where one passed one’s childhood and the beautiful scenery surrounding it deepened one’s love for such a place. He recalled the days of his childhood and said : “There was a time when we, who are condemned as Untouchables, were much advanced, much ahead in education compared with communities other than the advanced classes. This part of the country was then pulsating with the action and authority of our people.” With great earnestness he then delivered a message to his people which echoed throughout the hills, dales and villages of Maharashtra. Declaring that the demilitarisation was one of the causes of their downfall, he said : “ The military offered us unique opportunities of raising our standard of life and proving our merit and intellect, courage and brilliance as army officers. In those days Untouchables could also be headmasters of military schools and compulsory primary education in the military camps was very effective and wholesome.” “It is nothing less than a betrayal and a treachery,” he went on, “on the part of the British to have closed the doors of the army to the Untouchables who had helped them establish the Indian Empire while their home Government was at grips with the French during the Napoleonic War.” Then in an inspiring tone he said : “No lasting progress can be achieved unless we put ourselves through a three-fold process of purification. We must improve the general tone of our demeanour, re-tone our pronunciations and revitalise our thoughts. I, therefore, ask you now to take a vow from this moment to renounce eating carrion. It is high time that we rooted out from our mind the ideas of highness and lowness among ourselves. Make an unflinching resolve not to eat the thrown-out crumbs. We will attain self-elevation only if we learn self-help, regain our self-respect, and gain selfknowledge.” He further urged his people to agitate against the Government ban on their entry into the Army, Navy and Police, and impressed upon them the importance of entering Government services and of education. Turning to the question of Mahars, he tweaked their self-respect by telling them