Vol. 17, Part I · pages 31–35

8 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES orders, their eyes literally blazing with fire and their hands itching for retaliation and revenge. Their leader, however, appealed for peace and discipline. There was hushed silence for a while. A word of provocation from Dr. Ambedkar would have turned Mahad into a pool of blood and destruction. The number of delegates still lingering in the town, in the pandal and in the Bungalow together could have easily outnumbered the hooligans and battered down their skulls. Hundreds among the Untouchables were men who had seen, fought, and moved actively in the theatres and battles of the First World War. But discipline was wonderfully maintained at the behest of their leader. They set their faces against the aggressors. Their struggle was non-violent and constitutional. They did not dream of breaking the law. Thus a more serious riot was averted. At nightfall all the delegates left for their respective villages. Dr. Ambedkar with his lieutenant, Anantrao Chitre, left the bungalow as it was booked by a Government Officer from that evening, and took up his residence in the police station rooms. He completed his inquiry into the riot and returned to Bombay on 23rd March. Policemen appeared on the scene after the storm was over. They arrested some of the orthodox rowdies as trespassers. Out of the nine orthodox Hindu heroes, five who were found to be most valorous, were, afterwards on June 6,1927, sentenced by the District Magistrate to four months’ rigorous imprisonment. Dr. Ambedkar was not far from truth when he remarked that had not the chief officers in the District been non-Hindus, justice would not have been administered impartially to the Untouchables. Under Peshwa rule, he said, he would have been trampled to death by an elephant. And it was the Peshwa rule under which Untouchables were not allowed to enter the city of Poona during certain hours by daytime, and when they were admitted at other times they had to walk in the city with earthen pots hanging from their necks to spit into.” 1 1: Keer, Pp. 69-71,73-77.

9MAHAD SATYAGRAHA Mahad Conference-Report By ‘ The Bombay Chronicle’ A Conference of the Depressed Classes of the Kolaba District was held at Mahad on the 19th and 20th instants [ i.e. of March 1927] under the Presidentship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Bar-at-Law. The attendance of the Depressed Classes was over 2,500 and great enthusiasm prevailed. But the work of the Conference was severely marred by a riot, the responsibility for which rests entirely upon the upper class Hindu residents of the town of Mahad. On the first day of the Conference after the President had delivered his address, several Upper Class Hindus addressed the Conference assuring the Depressed Classes that, they were willing to help them in all ways and urging that the Depressed Classes should not cultivate hatred of the Upper Class Hindus. In pursuance of this the Subjects Committee drafted a resolution among others laying down what the Upper Class Hindus should do for the uplift of the Depressed Classes. In the Subjects Committee attention was drawn by some people to the fact that there was a great difficulty at Mahad for the Depressed Classes in obtaining water for drinking purposes and that this difficulty was felt not only by the resident Depressed Classes of Mahad but also by the Depressed Classes from villages who resorted to Mahad for private business or for the purposes of Government work. So great was the scarcity that water worth Rs. 15 had to be bought each day to satisfy the needs of the Conference. The Municipality of Mahad had sometime ago passed a resolution declaring the tanks in the city to be open to the public but as it had not placed a board there, people feared to resort to them. The Subjects Committee, therefore, decided after taking the sense of the upper classes who attended the Conference in this matter, that the Conference should go in body to the Chawdar Tank and help the Depressed Classes in establishing their right to take water. A False Rumour When, therefore, the Conference met on the morning of the 20th, and the first resolution which declared what the Upper Classes should do for the Depressed Classes was put before the Conference by members of Depressed Classes the President requested Messrs Purushottam Prabhakar Joshi and Govind

10 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Narayan Dhariya [as representatives of the upper classes] to speak on the resolution. With the exception of one clause in the resolution dealing with inter-marriages they both accepted the resolution. Having thus assured itself that there was general support behind it the Conference when the Session was over, went in body to the said tank. The procession was a most peaceful one and everything passed off quietly. But after about two hours some evil minded leaders of the town raised a false rumour that the Depressed Classes were planning to enter the temple of Vireshwar, whereupon a large crowed of riff raffs, all armed with bamboo sticks were collected. The crowd soon became aggressive and the whole town at once became a surging mass of rowdies who seemed to be out for the blood of the Depressed Classes. Twenty Wounded The Depressed Classes were busy in taking their meal before dispersing to their villages. When a large part of them had left the town the rowdies entered the kitchen where the Depressed Classes were taking their food. There would have been a regular battle between the two forces; but the Depressed Classes were held back by their leaders and thus a far more serious riot was averted. The rowdies finding no occasion for provocation began patrolling the main street and assaulting the members of the Depressed Classes who in stray batches were passing along on their way to their villages and committed trespass in the houses of several Depressed Class people and gravely assaulted them. In all, the number of wounded, among the Depressed Classes is supposed to be as large as 20. In this the attitude of the Depressed Classes was commendable whereas the attitude of many of the Upper Classes was unworthy. The Depressed Classes assembled vastly out-numbered the Upper Classes. But as the object of their leaders was to do everything in a non-violent and absolutely constitutional manner they set their faces against any aggression on the part of the Depressed Classes. It speaks a great deal in favour of the Depressed Classes that although the provocation given to them was immense they kept their self-control. The Mahad Conference has shown that the Upper Classes are not willing to allow the Depressed Classes to enjoy such elementary civic rights as taking water from public water-courses.

11MAHAD SATYAGRAHA The most reprehensible part of the conduct of the Upper Caste Hindus in Mahad and Kolaba District was that messages were sent immediately to the different villages asking the upper class people there to punish the delegates of the Conference as soon as they returned to their respective villages. In obedience to this mandate assaults were committed on a number of Mahars returning from the Conference either before or after they reached their villages where the Depressed Classes have the disadvantage of being overwhelmingly out-numbered by the Upper Caste Hindus. The leaders of the Depressed Classes have appealed to the authorities for protection and the District Officials includding the D. S. P. are making enquiries on the spot. It must, however, be stated that if the Resident Magistrate had not allowed two precious hours to pass without doing anything the riot would have probably been averted.” “ Thus ended the first big, open Conference of the Depressed Classes in Maharashtra and their first public attempt to assert their civic rights. This Conference was a great and momentous event, the opening of an epoch in the history of Hindustan. It was an event which changed both Dr. Ambedkar’s personal life and the current of social and national reorganization. Under the leadership of their saviour, the down-trodden, the dehumanised and dumb millions opened a new chapter in the annals of India. They not only voiced their age-long grievances but also took on themselves energetically to mitigate them. They now summoned up courage and showed the right spirit in standing boldly and shaking off the dust from their feet and faces. The struggle inaugurated by their educated leaders gripped their minds and enkindled the flame of self-respect and self-elevation. They now smarted under the insults and humiliations inflicted upon them at Mahad. They applied their minds to self-improvement and self-culture as never before. As a result of this Conference, the Untouchables gave up eating carrion, skinning carcasses, and stopped begging for crumbs. And what happened to the Chawdar Tank that was declared to have been desecrated by the touch of untouchable Hindus ? The orthodox and reactionary Hindus called a meeting at the temple of

12 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Veereshwar to consider the question of the purification of the tank. They had a remedy for purifying any damned and polluted earthly thing. To them a mixture of cowdung, cow-urine, curd and water was the potent remedy for all manner of pollution. Accordingly water in one hundred and eight earthern pots was taken out from the tank. These pots full of curd, cow-dung, milk and cowurine were dipped in the tank in the midst of air-rending Mantras uttered by Brahmin priests, the elect. It was then declared that water was purified for the use of the caste Hindus. Of course, Mohammadans and Christians had nothing to do with the act or process of purification. For, in their eyes human touch did not pollute water. They used the water of the tank as before without any interruption.* The news of the so-called purification of the Chawdar Tank lacerated the hearts of the Depressed Classes, and so deep was the wound on Dr. Ambedkar’s heart that he grew indignant and decided to launch a satyagraha struggle for the vindication of his people’s rights. Some feared that this ‘impatient’ remedy was worse than the disease. Dr. Ambedkar, in a mood of righteous indignation, replied that mere spread of education and exposition of the scriptures would not be able to root out that agelong diesease. The disease, he said, was deep-rooted and merely dressing it with bandages of knowledge or ingenuous schemes would not cure it. Deadly diseases required drastic remedies. Accordingly, it was announced on June 26, 1927, in the Bahishkrit Bharat that those members of the Depressed Classes who wanted to wash out the stigma of pollution attached to their whole class by the Mahad Hindus by their act of purification of the Tank, and who wanted to denounce the act of assaults committed on their representatives for having taken water from the Chawdar Tank, should enlist themselves at the office of the *See Appendices-I, II and III.