Vol. 5 · pages 66–70

51 UNTOUCHABILITY AND LAWLESSNESS but later came away. On the 23rd of March at midnight a house was set on fire belonging to the grandfather of that married girl who has been mentioned above. The house is now a heap of ashes. It contained sixteen skins ready to be made into shoes and worth 90 rupees. They also got burnt up together with the other household goods. The general situation now is that the Jats have surrounded the town and no Chamar is allowed to go out. The Baniyas also, out of fear of the Jats, have refused to sell anything to the Chamars. For three days the Chamars as well as their cattle have been starving.” The following is a more recent occurrence. It has happened in Malabar. The facts of the case are revealed by the following resolution passed at the first Chirakal Taluka Harijan Conference held at Cherukunn in Malabar on 5th June 1945 with Shri K. Kannan, M.L.A., presiding: “This Conference invites the urgent attention of the Government and the public to the increasing cases of inhuman oppressions of the Scheduled Castes of Malabar by Hindus, Muslims and Christians, particularly to the severest type of oppression now going on, almost with impunity, in the Nattika Firka, Ponnani Taluk, where something like a regular Harijan hunting is taking place every day as a result of the Harijans trying to wear gold ornaments and use clean clothes and umbrellas. In addition to numerous cases of assaults a Harijan marriage party was way-laid and assaulted and the shirts of men and the sarees of women removed by force and a Harijan student mercilessly beaten in Vadanpilly on 27th May 1945. This Conference while congratulating the progressive Thiya youths of the place under the enlightened leadership of Messrs. C. S. Gopalan, M. S. Sankaranarayan and P. C. Ramakrishna Vydier for their magnificient efforts to help the Harijans, most emphatically protests against the callous indifference of the local authorities, particularly of the Police Department in that the illtreated Harijans did not get any timely protection from them. This conference desires to state that almost in all cases of the above-said oppressions, the aggrieved Harijans have received neither protection nor justice from the police. There are instances where poor Harijans were even beaten by the Police for their coming forward to give evidence in such cases. In so far as these events have reduced the Harijans of Malabar to a very miserable plight and the situation, if left alone, is likely to develop into a crisis endangering the lives of all progressive Harijans who are trying to break the shackles of caste and economic exploitation of the vested interests in Malbar. This Conference most earnestly appeals to the

52 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Government of India, the Hon’ble Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and all the enlightened people in the country to see that the Harijans are allowed to live in this land as free citizens of a democratic country unmolested by any people and promptly protected by the administration whenever they are oppressed by others.” X The Untouchables must not eat rich food even if they can afford it. It is an offence for the Untouchables to live above their station in life. The ‘Pratap’ of 26th February 1928. relates the following occurrence: “In the State of Jodhpur at a place Chandayal, you will still see men who do not think that the Harijans have even the right to eat Halva. One of the Untouchable castes is that of Sargaroes. Sometime back on the occasion of the Marriage ceremony of two or three girls, Halva was prepared for the members of the marriage party. For this purpose, maida (white flour) was brought from the Thakur Sahib. At mealtime, the marriage party came for meals but just at that time the Kanwar Sahib of Chandawala sent orders to the Saragaroes that they could not eat Halva. Some cringing sycophants negotiated a compromise in this way that the Kanwar Sahib be presented with Rs. 200 and then permission will be given to eat Halva. At this the Sargaroes got infuriated and refused to pay the money.” XI To lead a marriage procession through the main streets of the village is the right of every caste Hindu. It is also in evidence that the community which enjoys this right is accepted as a respectable community. The Untouchables have no such right. But they have been seeking to establish such a right by taking their marriage procession through the main streets of the village with the object of establishing their social status. The following incidents show how the Hindus have dealt with this claim. From the ‘Adi-Hindu’ dated July 1927: “Bangalore, 27th May 1927: Seven Brahmins were sentenced to pay a fine of hundred rupees each, by the First Class Magistrate. These men had wantonly attacked a procession of the well-known Pariah Untouchable caste when it was passing along the Mallkot Road where only Brahmins live.”

53 UNTOUCHABILITY AND LAWLESSNESS From the ‘ Pratap’ dated 25th October 1931: “In the village of Hargaon, district Garhwal when the high caste Hindus heard that a marriage party of the Untouchables was coming and the bridegroom was sitting in a palanquin they sallied forth in great numbers and surrounded the party and gave it a severe beating. In intense cold they held up the marriage party and kept it without food for 24 hours. The members of the party were inhumanly treated and were only rescued from this difficult situation by the coming of the Police.” From the ‘ Satya Samwad’ Lahore dated 3rd November 1931: “A marriage party was passing near Delhi, carrying the bridegroom in a palanquin. The high caste Hindus took offence at this for they thought it to be an insult to them. They held up the party for two days and gave it nothing either to eat or drink. At last the police came and chased away these tyrants and rescued the marriage party.” The ‘Jivan’ , a Hindu journal for June 1938 reports: 1. “In village Sevra, the Golas (Purva Thakurs) who boast of being Congressites, have so mercilessly beaten with spears and lathis the unarmed Jatavs of that village that five of them were lying wounded in the hospital with arms and ribs broken. Bansi has sustained fracture of the skull bone and is still unconscious in the hospital. All this happened because when a marriage party came to the village the bridegroom was wearing a glittering crown (Pukka Mohar) which offended the Thakurs, who wanted to attack the marriage party; but desisted because of the party’s superior strength and were therefore content with only insulting the marriage party within the Zamindari at that time.” 2. “In village Dorra, Tehsil Fatechand, District Agra, a marriage party came to the house of Moti Ram Jatav from village Rampur. The bridegroom was wearing a glittering crown and the party also brought a band music and fireworks. The Caste Hindus objected to the party proceeding with the music band playing and displaying fireworks. Moti Ram protested against this and said that they were also as good human beings as any others. On this, the caste Hindus caught hold of Moti Ram and gave him a severe beating and also attacked the marriage party. A sum of Rs. 15-1-0 tied in Moti Ram’s turban was also removed.” 3. “While a marriage party was on its way to the house of Prem Singh and Girvar Singh, Jatavs of village Khurva, Police post

54 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Sakini, District Aligarh, it was prevented by the caste Hindus from proceeding further unless the music band stopped playing, and the procession was threatened to be killed and looted if the music was not stopped. Caste Hindus were also enraged for refusal by the Jatavs to do ‘Begar’ and for the audacity to have music band playing with a marriage party. On the marriage party’s refusal to stop music, the caste Hindus were so much enraged that they threw brick-bats and stones at the party.” The ‘Hindustan Times’ of the 24th of March 1945 reports the following incident relating to the same subject: “A Shilpakar marriage party of the village of Dhanuri in Lands down sub-division carrying the bridegroom in a ‘palki’ was proceeding to the bride’s house in the village of Mall Dhangu. A man introducing himself as an agent of the Patwari of Mall Dhangu advised the party to go through an out of the way route to avoid ‘disturbance by caste Hindus. The party, accordingly, took a forest path and when they were at a lonely spot a whistle brought out about 200 caste Hindus who, it is alleged, attacked the party and carried away the ‘palki’. The Shilpakar party reached the bride’s house two days later and the marriage was, it is reported, performed in the presence of the Sub-divisional Magistrate and a police party brought by him. The Patwari has been suspended in this connection.” The Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore in its issue of 24th June 1945 reports: “A party of Rajputs, armed with axes, lathis and daggers, attacked yesterday Harijans of a village in Gwalior State, killing one and inflicting serious injuries on four. The Rajputs and the Harijans of the village were on hostile terms for some time past ever since the Harijans took out a procession to celebrate the birth of an heir apparent to the Gwalior Darbar. The Rajputs strongly protested against it, as according to them, Harijans were not entitled to the privileges of such celebrations. Last month, a proclamation was issued by the Maharaja giving equal rights to the Harijans.” Here are a few cases to show how the Hindus treat with violence any attempt on the part of the Untouchables to imitate the ways and manners of the Hindus and to have a little pride in themselves. The following is from the ‘ Bombay Samachar ’ of 4th November 1936: “At Uttapalam (in Malabar) an Ezhava by caste named Sivaraman, aged 17, went to the shop of a caste Hindu to buy salt and asked in the Malayalam language for ‘uppu’. In Malabar,

55 UNTOUCHABILITY AND LAWLESSNESS according to custom, caste Hindus alone can use the word ‘uppu’ for salt; being only a Harijan he ought to have used the word ‘pulichatan’. Consequently, the high caste grocer was very angry and is alleged to have thrashed Sivaraman so severely that the latter died.” The following instances are collected from the ‘ Samata’: (1) “At Kathi (District Poona) the people have begun to persecute the Untouchables because the latter have begun saying ‘Ram, Ram and Namaskar’. Be it known to the unintimated that these are salutations which only the higher castes have the right to employ; the Mahars, etc. must say ‘Johar’ or ‘Paya Lagu’ (I touch your feet) to the people. (2) The Untouchables of Tanoo (District Poona) tried to behave ‘like Touchable Hindu people’; the result of this impudent encroachment is that many of them have had to leave the village and some have migrated to Bavda. (3) At Valapur (District of Sholapur) the Mahars are persecuted because they have dared to refuse to address Touchables as ‘Saheb’ and to say ‘Paya Lagu’ (‘I touch your feet’) in salutation. (4) At Jambad (District Sholapur) the Untouchables refused to make ‘Nautch’ and ‘Tamasha’ for the diversion of their Touchable lords. Therefore these Untouchables were thrashed, their huts were burnt down or pulled down, and they were driven out of the village, limits. (5) At Bavda (District Poona) some Untouchables exhorted their fellow-outcastes to give up eating the leavings of higher caste people, dead animals, etc., and to refuse to do the dirty work of the people. The elders of the village have told these Mahars with new fanglad notions that it is their ‘Dharma’ to eat what they have always been eating and do what they have been doing. Those Mahars who do not follow their ancient and eternal ‘Dharma’ have been thrashed by the people and threatened with expulsion from the village.” XII The Hindu treats the Untouchables as being born to serve the Hindu community. It being his duty to serve, the Untouchables cannot refuse to serve the Hindu whenever the latter call upon to do so. The Hindus of the village hold the belief that they can commandeer the labour of the Untouchables. The system is known as ‘ Begar’, or forced labour. A few instances will show that dire consequences follow from the refusal of the Untouchables to submit to the system.