Vol. 17, Part I · pages 331–335

26 MAHARS HAVE BEEN MARTIAL PEOPLE The Mahars have been a martial people. The army of the East India Company which successfully fought against the army of the Peshwa was recruited from the Mahars. The last battle between the Peshwa and the British was faught at Koregaon in the Poona district. There is a column at Koregaon raised by the British to commemorate the battle. On the column are inscribed the names of the soldiers who fell in the battle on the side of the British. Nine out of ten names are of Mahars. The recruitment of the Mahars continued upto 1892 and in all the wars, the Mahars have proved their martial qualities. All of a sudden the recruitment of Mahars was stopped in 1892. Ever since the Mahars have nursed a grievance against the British Government for what they regarded as very ungrateful conduct. There is much justification for this grievance for there can be no doubt that without the help of the Untouchables the British would never have been able to conquer India. The Mahars carried on a great agitation against their banishment from the Army. But it bore no fruit. It was during the war of 1914 that the British Government under necessity lifted the ban and raised one Mahar battalion. It was raised at the fag end of the war and the battalion had no apportunity to go on war service and show its mettle. It was posted in Waziristan in the North-West Frontier Province, and it is on record while almost every battalion stationed in the N.W.F. lost some rifles and ammunition to the Pathans, who are in the habit of raiding ammunition and rifle depots to arm themselves, the Pathans did not succeed in stealing a single title or a single cartridge from the Mahar battalion. It was expected that the British Government, having reenfranchised the Mahars for Military puiposes, would continue the Mahar battalion and add to it more Mahar battalions. But instead the British Government on the excuse of economy, disbanded the Mahar battalion. This caused great bitterness in the minds of the Mahars. When the present war came, the Mahars hoped that their turn would come. But the steps taken by the British Government in the early stages of the war only added insult to injury. The Mahars were only wanted

307MAHARS HAVE...............MARTIAL PEOPLE for labour corps and not for the combatant ranks. The labour corps is safer than the combatant ranks, but the Mahars wanted to join the combatant ranks. One of the banalities of the British Government in India is this distinction between martial and non-martial classes. Nothing has been more disastrous. It is a pity that so great a catastrophe as the war was necessary to force the British Government to give up this senseless distinction. It is stated that Government have directed to raise a Mahar battalion. The credit must go to H. E. the Governor of Bombay. On my making it a grievance he took up the matter with the Central Government and brought it to a successful issue. I appeal to the Mahars to take advantage of this apportunity; both for their sake as well as the sake of the country and also appeal to the British Government to keep faith with the Mahars and not to disband them from the army after the war is over. Bombay : ( Dr. ) B. R. Ambedkar ”1 zz 1: The Times of India, dated 18th June 1941.

27 REPRESENTATION RELATING TO THE GRIEVANCES OF THE WATANDAR MAHARS, MANGS ETC. “The Bombay Government levied additional taxes on the Mahar Vatans. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had been fighting that problem since 1927. But now instead of relieving the poor from the serfdom, the Government added salt to their injuries by the levy of additional taxes. The Mahars, Mangs and Vethias in Maharashtra and Karnatak met in Conference at Haregaon, District Ahmednagar in the middle of December 1939 to voice their grievances under the Presidentship of Dr. Ambedkar.” 1 On 16th December 1939 addressing the Conference of 20,000 Mahars, Mangs and Vethias, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar assured that he would submit the representation to the Government relating to their grievances. Accordingly he prepared and submitted the representation, dated 14th July 1941 which is as follows :—Editors. To HIS EXCELLENCY SIR ROGER LUMLEY G.C.S.I.E., T.D., GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY. I beg to submit the following representation relating to the grievances of the Watandar Mahars, Mangs and Vethias, known as Inferior Village Servants, in this Presidency, for favour of Your Excellency’s kind consideration and necessary action— 1. These grievances arise out of the new policy initiated by the Government of Bombay relating to the Watandars called Inferior Village Servants. They affect them in two vital matters, namely :— (i) Heavy reduction of their remuneration, and (ii) Substantial increase of their Duties. 1: Keer, Pp. 330-331.

309REPRESENTATION..........MANGS ETC. 2. In the matter of their remuneration the new policy proceeds on the assumption that the remuneration to the village Mahavs was excessive and that the same should be reduced. This was directed to be done either by imposing Judi (a levy in cash) upon their Inam lands where none existed before or by increasing the Judi in cases where the same was already being levied. 3. In the matter of their duties the Government of Bombay issued Government Resolution No. 7420/33 in the Revenue Department, dated 13-9-1938, in which they have set out the duties which the Mahars, Mangs and Vethias will hereafter be required to perform the duties specified in the Resolution number 19 in all. 4. To protest against the injustice of this policy a Conference of the Mahars, Mangs and Vethias was held at Haregaon in the Ahmednagar district on 16th November* 1939 under my Presidentship. In that Conference certain Resolutions were passed. These Resolutions were forwarded to Your Excellency for favourable consideration and issue of necessary order by Your Excellency’s Government. For ready reference I have annexed hereto copies of the said Resolutions as Appendix I. 5. These Resolutions were also placed by Mr. B. K. Gaikwad, M.L.A., at a meeting of the Backward Class Board held on 7th June 1940. Copy of the proceedings of the meeting relating to these items are hereto annexed as Appendix II. 6. With great respect I am constrained to say that the Government have so far not given their proper consideration to the resolutions passed by the said Conference. More than a year and a half has elapsed since I forwarded the resolutions and yet there has been no modification of the policy of the Government either in the matter of the levy of the Judi or in the matter of revision of the long and onerous list of obligatory duties required to be performed by the Inferior Village Servants. On the contrary, the policy of collecting Judi has been going on apace and even pots and pans of poor and indigent families of the Inferior Village Servants are being attached under the process of the Court and many of these families have been rendered quite destitute. * Month should be read as December— Janata : 9th and 23rd December 1939.

310 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES It is for these reasons that I am submitting this Memorial to Your Excellency with fervent hopes that Your Excellency will be pleased to give this matter your most careful, kind and sympathetic consideration and grant the much-needed and long-awaited relief to the Inferior Village Servants. I. Reduction of Remuneration 7. First, I propose to deal with the question of the levy of Judi. This policy is for the present made applicable to the Inam lands of the Mahars only. It may be extended to others in course of time. In the matter of the levy of Judi on the Inam lands of Mahars, I do not know the precise reasons which have led Government to embark upon the policy of reducing the remuneration of the Mahars. They are, however, understood to be two. 8. In the first place the increase in Judi is sought to be justified by Government on the ground that there has been a reduction in the number of Officiating Mahars. It is said that this policy of reduction in remuneration by an increase of Judi on the Inam lands held by the Mahars is only a consequence of the policy of reducing the number of Officiating Mahars. 9. At the outset I wish to draw Your Excellency’s attention to the fallacy underlying this reason. As a matter of fact there has been no reduction in the actual number of the Officiating Mahars at all either in general or in any particular village. The number of Officiating Mahars has remained the same. What has, however, happened is that the Watan Registers were corrected and brought in accord with facts. At one time in the Watan Register of every village the number of Officiating Mahars shown was very large. The Mahars did not object to it and that for two reasons. In the first place the number shown on the Register was a nominal one and the actual number on daily duty was much smaller. Secondly, it was in the interest of a Mahar to have his name shown in the Register in as much as it served as a proof to show that he was a Watandar, entitled to Watan office as well as to Watan property. When owing to the self-respect movement started by the Mahars, there grew up an antagonism in every village between the Mahars and the Villagers. The Village Officers started making misuse of the Watan Register and called for service the full quota of the Mahars mentioned in