Vol. 5 · pages 51–55

36 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES of the Harijan community came in the form of a procession and tried to gain access to the temple Gods. The priests, however, refused them permission to enter and said, “You can have audience of the Gods standing outside on the street.” Upon this a great crowd gathered at the place. The priests tried to enter the temple and thus a clash took place between the two parties and blows were freely exchanged.” The Hindus do not allow the Untouchables to enter the Hindu temples. It would be thought that they would allow the Untouchables to have their own temples and install therein the image of God. That is a mistake. The Hindus will not allow even that. It is enough to quote two instances. One is from the ‘ Pratap’ of 12th February 1923: “In the District of Agra, a Chamar who had seen a Brahmin worshipping the image of Vishnu in his hous’e, began to do the same himself. When the Brahmin came to know of this he was most indignant and with the help of a number of villagers caught hold of the ill-fated Harijan, gave him a sound beating saying, ‘How dare you try to win over the God Vishnu’. Finally, they stuffed his mouth with filth and left him. In sheer desperation the Chamar abandoned the Hindu faith and embraced Islam.” The other is from the ‘ Hindu’ of 4th July 1939: “A meeting of the Bellary District Harijan Advisory Board was held on 29th June 1939 at the Collector’s Bunglow. Mr. A. D. Crombie, CIE., ICS., President of the Committee and Collector presided. With regard to the grievances of the Harijans of Narayanadevarakeri including allegations of extraction of forced labour from them and harassment by money-lenders, the Committee decided to call for official report, with a view to taking action, if necessary. The religious disabilities of the Harijans residing in Kudathini village were brought to the notice of the Committee. It was alleged that though the Harijans constructed a temple in their colony as long as twelve years ago, they could not install the image of God which was also ready in the temple, owing to the objections raised by a section of the Caste Hindus in the place to the Harijans taking out the image in procession in the village before the installation.” II How any attempt to take water from the Hindu well is dealt with by the Hindus can be seen from the following instances. The first one appeared in the ‘Pratap ’ of 12th February 1923:

37 UNTOUCHABILITY AND LAWLESSNESS “Mahashaya Chhedi Lalji has reported that a Chamar was going for idol worship, when on the way he felt thirsty. He cast his own iron pail into a well and drew out some water. Upon this he was rebuked by a high caste Hindu and then soundly beaten and locked up in a room. As it happened, I was passing by and when I enquired why this man was being kept under lock and key, the Diwan Saheb replied that this man cast his own pail into our well and wants to profane religion.” That even the Hindu women will not hesitate to take part in the assaults committed by the Hindus against the Untouchables who dare to take water from the Hindu well is a fact. Compare the following report which appeared in the ‘ Pratap’ of 26th February 1932: “On 19th February 1932, a very tragic incident took place in the village of Pul Bajwan. This happened when Mahashaya Ramlal went to fetch some water from a well, the same well at which on 13th January 1932 some Rajputs had belaboured Mahashaya Ramlal and his companion, Pandit Bansilal. At that time, a crowd of Rajput women came up armed with all sorts of bats and sticks and gave such a sound beating to the Mahashaya that it is difficult to describe. All his body was covered with blood by the time the Rajput women had done with him. At this time, he is admitted in the hospital of Phuklian.” That even the support of an officer of Government in the exercise of their right to take water from the well will not save the Untouchables from assault is clear from the following incident which appeared in the ‘Milap’ of 7th June 1924: “Some days ago, an officer of the Canal Department came to the village of Rahian in Tehsil Sabha and he ordered some Megha Untouchables to help in drawing out water from a well. At first they refused but the officer rebuked them sternly and forced them to draw water. The next day the Hindus gathered at the well and sent for the Megha through a Chowkidar and asked them why they dared to climb up to the well. One Megha replied that they were obliged to do so and it was no fault of theirs. For this cheek he was attacked by the Hindus with sticks and hands and until the time of writing this, he is lying unconscious. Although the doctor has declared that the injuries are minor ones, a report of attempted murder and unlawful assembly has been filed with the Police. This however has been ignored and the indifference of the police has created a feeling of great insecurity among the Megha people. The villagers are persecuting the Meghas very much, even their cattle are not allowed to drink water and all wells and ponds have been closed to them.”

38 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES The Untouchables cannot take water from the Hindu well is not all. They must not build a pucca brick well for themselves even though they may have the money to do so. For having a pucca well for themselves means an attempt to raise themselves to the status of the Hindus which is contrary to the Established Order. The ‘ Milap’ of 6th June 1934 reports the following incidents: “Lala Ram Prashadji, Secretary of the Achhut Udharak Committee, Punjab, has written to the following effects: “During this hot season, complaints are being received from everywhere that the supply of water is becoming a great problem. The Depressed Class people, who have no wells of their own sit near the well with their vessels in their hands. If someone is kind enough to pour out some water, well and good, otherwise they sit helpless. In some places, however, no one is allowed to pour out water to these people even for money and if anyone does so, mortal fights ensue. Not only is the use of the village wells forbidden to them, but they are not even allowed to make wells of their own with their own money.” To the same effect is the incident reported in the “ Tej ” of 21st April 1924: “The Chamars of the village, Opad, numbered about 250. About a month and half ago, they gave up drinking water out of the leather bags of the Muslim water carriers (on the suggestions of the Arya Samaj Pandits?) and now they are in great difficulties about their water supply. The Jats of the village not only refuse to let them draw water out of the village wells but do not even let them make wells of their own. The poor Chamars are living on water from ponds and ditches. Yesterday, Dr. Sukhdevji, Secretary of Dalit Sudhar (Harijan Uplift) Committee came to make investigations in Upad and saw everything with his own eyes. He found the condition of the Chamars abject beyond words and their persecution by the Jats a real fact.” The following is from the ‘ Times of India ’ dated 9th May 1931: “In the Baroda State the Untouchables are supposed to be better treated than in the adjoining British territory, because the State has made laws recognising the equality of the Antyaja with caste people. And yet in Padras Taluka the other day the standing crop of a poor Antyaja woman was fired and she herself brutally assaulted, because she dared to send her little son to the local primary school. Now comes a tale of woe from Chanasma in Kadi Prant where an artisian well has been sunk and built with the labour of the Antayajas who were promised the use of the well. But when the well was ready for

39 UNTOUCHABILITY AND LAWLESSNESS use they were first flatly told it was not for them, and when they complained to the Punch the latter generously allowed them to lay a pipe 500 feet long at the end of which they could have a tap all for themselves. Now an unexpected owner of the land at the tap had cropped up, so the pipe line was taken somewhere near to the local tank, but this meant pollution of the tank and therefore of the dirty linen washed there. So the tap was accommodated elsewhere. But did this mean the end of the trouble? No, the enraged caste people have cut the pipe line several times and the Antyajas are without water to drink. How very ‘adequate’ to use Mr. Gandhi’s term, must the Untouchables feel the treatment given to them by their coreligionists.” Mr. Sanjana in a letter to the ‘ Times of India’ of the 7th November 1928 reports what Mr. Thakkar saw in the year 1927 regarding the awful plight of the Untouchables in the matter of water. “In Balsad Taluk, Mr. Thakkar saw a Bhangi woman waiting near a well for some merciful ‘people’ to give her some water. She had waited from morning till noon, and none had given her any. But the most exquisite touch of spirituality is revealed in the manner of giving water to the Bhangis; it cannot be poured direct into their pots—any ‘people’ doing so would get polluted. Says, Mr. Thakkar, ‘once our teacher Chunibhai had shown the temerity of pouring water direct from his bucket into a Bhangi’s pot and he had received a stern warning in consequence ‘Master this sort of thing won’t be (tolerated) here’. A small cistern is built below the slope of the well. Anyone who is moved by pity may pour some water in the cistern. A bamboo pipe just out of the cistern, and the Bhangi women must put her pot under the pipe, and it may get filled in an hour or so. For, adds Mr. Thakkar, it is only the unwanted water remaining over in the bucket of the woman drawing it that is as a rule thrown into the cistern, and that too if she takes pity on the waiting Bhangi woman.” III Under the established order, the Untouchables have no right to education and certainly have no right to be admitted to the village school. Those Untouchables who have dared to make a breach in these rules of the Established Order have been severely punished by the Hindus. The following are only a few of the numerous cases that have happened:

40 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES From the ‘ Arya Gazette ’ of Lahore dated 30th June 1921: “A Mahashaya wrote an article in the paper ‘ Young India’ , in which he reported that in district Surat there is a village called Sisodri. In a very short span of time it has made such progress on the path of nationalism, that it could be held up as a model of non-cooperation. With all this, however, the old contempt for the Harijan remains. The writer says that in the nationalist school of that place, 1 saw a Dhed caste child sitting all apart in one corner of the class room and proclaiming by his very looks that he was an untouchable. I asked the students why they did not let this boy sit with them and they replied: that this could not be until the Harijan left drinking wine and eating meat. The Harijan boy at once said that he had already given these up. The high caste students could say nothing now.” From the ‘ Pratap’ of 12th February 1923: “Mahashaya Santramji has reported : It happened recently that a Brahmin teacher was appointed by the Government to go and teach in a village school for Chamar boys. When he came there, the Brahmins, Kshatrias and others boycotted the teacher saying, ‘You have come here to teach the Chamars and raise them to our level. Have You?” From the ‘ Tej’ of 11th April 1924: “Swami Shradhanandji has written: There was a nationalist school in Khatsayas which I visited towards the end of November 1921. When 1 enquired how many Harijan children read there, I was told only three and they too, sit outside the class room in the verandah. In my lecture I objected to this procedure and said that in a nationalist institution, it was only proper that these boys should be allowed to sit inside the class room. The manager of the school acted on my advice. The next day the benches of the school were all deserted and till this day the Grand building of that nationalist school stands locked out and dreary.” From “Milap” dated 18th April 1924: “Here is an incident from Hoshungabad. The district Council sent a circular letter to the schools that the Harijan children should be educated in the schools. The headmasters began to act on the orders. When one of the schools admitted some Harijan children the Honorary Magistrate took great offence at it and withdrew his children from that school; other guardians also followed suit and all together got a meeting of the school committee convened and resolutions passed in it, that the education of Harijans in the school