Author – Harishchandra Sukhdeve is the author of the book named “Making of the Dome of Dignity-Deekshabhoomi” 

It was 9 pm of 25 December,1927, the Christmas day! All government buildings were illuminated, churches decorated and slave-India was celebrating the festival of their masters. But here in Mahad, slaves of slave-India, burning with desire to liberate from their shackles were rising in war cry, paving the way for their own parallel freedom struggle. They were indeed setting a new narrative for the freedom struggle of India itself. They were sowing seeds for the real, all-inclusive Swaraj. They were clearing the field of bushes and poisonous weeds to prepare a clean ground to usher in the new Mānava-Dharmaśāstra, the Constitution of India. No one, however, knew in his wildest dream that the man, who was burning the old, out-dated Mānava-Dharmaśāstra, will himself be instrumental in drafting the new one! What a fate of destiny!

It was 24 December 1927. Mumbai was abuzz with hectic activities of the untouchables. Many leaders from other parts had assembled in Mumbai to join Dr. Ambedkar on his journey to Mahad. ‘Bhaucha Dhakka’ the port from where sea boats plied was humming with untouchable activists. Mr. Sitaram Shivtarkar was frantically moving from here and there; he had tremendous responsibility as a Secretary of the Satyagraha committee. A batch of volunteers of ‘Samata Sainik Dal’ had taken their position on the port. They were smartly dressed in khaki uniform. They were trained like military soldiers especially for the security arrangements of the Satyagraha. It was initially named as ‘Dr. Ambedkar Sena Dal’ but at his instructions its name was changed to ‘Samata Sainik Dal’. Other passengers waiting at the port were amused to see all that excitement.  They thought Dr. Ambedkar is indeed taking his soldiers on the war. What kind of war was this? Who were his enemies? Was he right? Was he wrong? They wouldn’t know. They were trained not to think too much, leave it to the God who was under the guardianship of Brahmins. 

Untouchables assembled at the Bhaucha Dhakka were eagerly waiting for Dr. Ambedkar and other leaders to arrive. Dr. Ambedkar arrived exactly at nine in the morning. He was given a martial salute with military band by the ‘Samata Sainik Dal’. He was accompanied by about 250 delegates including some caste-Hindus. Gangadhar Sahastrabuddhe of Social Service League and Pradhan brothers of Samata Sangh were prominent amongst them. Rajbhoj from Pune and BK Gaikwad from Nashik also were with him amongst others. There was spate of enthusiasm on Bhaucha Dhakka as Dr. Ambedkar reached. People started shouting ‘Dr.Ambedkar ki jai’, ‘Satyagraha ki jai’ [victory to Ambedkar, Victory to Satyagraha]. Dr. Ambedkar boarded Padmavati, the boat which was to glide him towards his battle field. All were told to jump over the boat before it blew its horn and slowly drifted into the sea. Dr. Ambedkar was wearing white khadi dhoti and a shirt. He had put traditional cotton shawl over his shoulder. He was looking happy and older than his age of 36 years. Education had matured his facial expressions and body language. Once Padmavati took its course, he started moving around asking his co-passengers about their wellbeing. People on boat were cheering with slogans of ‘Dr.Ambedkar ki jai’, ‘Satyagraha ki jai’. Padmavati reached Hareshwar around 5.30 pm where all were to get down for overnight stay. 

Organisers had taken a conscious decision to take Dr. Ambedkar to Mahad by sea route. They had two other convenient options. They could have gone by road from Mumbai to Mahad by motors, the quickest way. But the road journey had a risk of blockade by protestors or the owner of the motors might have simply refused to go ahead anywhere from midway. They had another option of going to Dharamtar by boat and then by road to Mahad. Here again road journey was involved posing the same risk. The route Dr. Ambedkar had taken was longer, involved night halt at Hareshwar-Kolmandla, another boat journey to Dasgaon and from there 7-8 km walk to Mahad. Dr. Ambedkar and his co-satyagrahis did not want to leave anything to chance. They were committed to face any inconvenience for the success of their struggle. 

Hareshwar-Kolmandla activists knew that Dr. Ambedkar is travelling to their village for a halt. They had constituted a reception committee with local activist of Mahar Seva Sangh Mr. Pandurang Babaji Mandlekar as its president. They had made grand plans for the welcome of Dr. Ambedkar. Several hundred satyagrahis from nearby Murud, Janjeera, Shrivardhan, Mandangad, etc. had come to receive Dr. Ambedkar at Hareshwar port. Dr. Ambedkar and all his satyagrahis stayed at Kolmandla under the starry sky on 24th night. Mandlekar had made best possible arrangements for their food and comfortable stay in his village. Everybody fell asleep but Dr. Ambedkar, BK Gaikwad, Rajbhoj were still awake till late in the night. All except sea had succumbed to dead silence of the Night. Sea was roaring relentlessly, its waves hitting the port every now and then. Gaikwad looked at Dr. Ambedkar who was lying in his cot, his eyes wide open towards sky. He did not dare to say anything, rather he did not want to disturb the rhythm of Dr. Ambedkar’s thoughts. His face was looking calm and serene. But his mind was certainly roaring like a sea and his thoughts were hitting hard at the stone-walls of Brahminical social order.   

Next day on 25 December they boarded Amba boat at 8 am from Bagmandale and reached Dasgaon at 12.30 noon. Mahad was 7-8 km from Dasgaon. Motor car was arranged for Dr. Ambedkar and some important guests. All others were to walk to Mahad. There were some 3-4 thousand men and women to receive Ambedkar. The members of conference committee had come from Mahad to receive Dr. Ambedkar at Dasgaon. They were wearing conference badges on their chest. The huge crowd of people was shouting enthusiastically ‘Dr. Ambedkar ki Jai, Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai, Mahad Satyagrah ki Jai’.  Dr. Ambedkar was being escorted to his car by the activists.  

But Collector Mr. Hood had different plans for Dr. Ambedkar. He had sent Kolaba district Police Superintendent Mr Farrant with his letter for Dr. Ambedkar requesting to meet him before reaching to Satyagraha site at Mahad. Collector had even sent a car for him. Dr. Ambedkar read Collector’s letter and called BHS Secretary Shivtarkar loudly ‘Sitaram, I am going with Bapusaheb (Sahastrabuddhe) in Collector’s car to meet him. You bring all Satyagrahis to Mahad in disciplined and peaceful procession.’ People thought Dr. Ambedkar has been arrested. There was some pandemonium. But Shivtarkar and other leaders quickly controlled it. 

Ambedkar and Sahastrabuddhe left for Mahad in a car sent by the Collector. Shivtarkar and Pradhan Brothers made file of five persons in each and marched like foot soldiers with a band of BHS volunteers who had come with Ambedkar. People were carrying colourful festoons and placards with inspiring slogans. The caravan marched towards Mahad shouting Har Har Mahadev, Mahad Satyagraha ki Jai, Dr.Ambedkar ki Jai.  Mr. Farrant and his Police officers were closely monitoring the march. But these soldiers for liberty were so disciplined that police had not much to do. All were highly charged up but under controlled anger against the indignities inflicted by their own religion. They were singing gallantry songs in chorus. Even bright sun shining over their head could not dampen their spirit.  

As they reached Satyagraha site, Anantrao Chitre came forward to receive them. He pointed towards the Raigad fort of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj which could be clearly seen from there. He told them to seek blessings of Shivaji Maharaj and Mata Jeejau. People shouted with full throat ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai, Jeejau Mata ki Jai.’ Their voice resonated throughout Mahad and echoed from Raigad fort. All were filled with valour for victory. 

Dr. Ambedkar arrived at the Satyagraha site after meeting Collector Mr. Hood. Collector informed Ambedkar about the prohibitory orders against him and his Satyagraha. He tried to persuade Dr. Ambedkar to call off the Satyagraha. Ambedkar told him that he would convey his message to the conference. Collector offered himself to speak to all the Satyagrahis. Dr. Ambedkar promised to invite him after discussing with all.  

All this delayed the beginning of conference which could be started only at 4 pm instead of 10 am on 25 December. It started with an inspiring reception song specially written keeping in view objectives of the conference. It swore to bring about glory to the Hindu religion. Then BHS Secretary Shivtarkar read goodwill messages received from various important persons. Shivtarkar then invited Dr. Ambedkar, president of the conference to deliver his address.  

Dr. Ambedkar rose to speak amid huge applause and slogans of ‘Dr. Ambedkar ki Jai’. He was aware that his people are illiterate, superstitious and lack in self-respect. He will have to speak in simple language. His references will have to be simple, relevant to their day-to-day life. He remembered Buddha, he remembered how Buddha explained his complicated philosophy in simple stories with examples of everyday life. His subjects too were illiterate, superstitious, poor. Dr. Ambedkar began in Marathi, ‘Sadgruhastaho….’ His voice was soft yet firm. It resonated in the air, echoed from the surrounding Sahyadri hills and melted gradually in the atmosphere. There were no loudspeakers. Dr. Ambedkar had to strain hard to make him audible to the large mass of people. Absolute silence of people helped him little. His words were smooth and soothing, not a bit of rancour or bitterness about extreme indignities. Only matter-of-factly narration. 

He declared that this Satyagraha is not merely for taking water from the tank. ‘You have not taken it earlier, you never used it and still you are alive. It doesn’t really matter whether you take it or not. Similarly, the caste-Hindus are not objecting to it because they are afraid that water will vanish or it will pollute, if you touch it. They are objecting because they think we are not equal to them. We have to establish through this Satyagraha that we are human beings like them, we are equal to them and we have every right to be treated equal. Don’t be under any impression that we have come here to drink water from the Chavdar Tale. This is our freedom struggle to establish social equality in the country. This Satyagraha has no parallel in the history in India. If anything, this is akin to the Versailles Conference of 1789 leading to French Revolution. Our agitation is for self-emancipation, but more than that it is for nation building through social revolution.’ Said Ambedkar. 20

His address was followed by discussions and passing of various resolutions which were called ‘Declaration of Birth Rights of Hindus’. Dr. Ambedkar had mentioned in his speech about similar resolutions adopted in Versailles Declaration. The conference noted that Hindu society is a glaring example of how a glorious nation like India could be ruined because of social injustice, religious ignominy, political deprivation and economic servitude within the society. The Hindu majority never bothered to know the birth rights of every human being, much less protect them. Hindus are left at the mercy of some selfish elements who exploit them in the name of God. ‘This Mahad Satyagraha Conference, being aware of the fact that it is the pious duty of every human being to take care that the birth rights of any individual are not trampled upon, and with a view that Hindu society is always mindful of these Birth Rights of each Hindu, issues this Declaration with the blessings and in the name of all pervading omnipresent Almighty’. 21

1. All human beings have equal status at birth and shall enjoy equal status till death. Therefore, there shall be no inequality in political and public policies.
2. Preservation and protection of the above human rights of equality by birth shall be the ultimate objective of any political or public policy. This Conference strongly denounces the inequality in Hindu social system, and all such ancient texts and customs which sanctify such inequalities. 
3. All powers and authority originate in the People. Unless the majority of People have granted these powers, whether political or religious, no one shall be entitled to enjoy any such authority. Therefore, this Conference refuses to accept the authority of Sruti, Smriti and Puranas, etc. in the matters of social system.
4. Every individual has full freedom to exercise his birth rights. If any restrictions are to be imposed on anybody those can be only to the extent that others will have similar freedom to exercise their birth rights; and such restrictions can be imposed by the laws made by the People themselves. No restrictions can be stipulated by any religious or whatever authority. Therefore this Conference denounces the system of inequalities based on Caste.
5. Laws should prohibit only such activities which are detrimental to the society. Everybody should be free to do whatever which is not barred by law; and no body shall be compelled to do what is not considered necessary by the law. Therefore, no body shall prevent anybody to use any public places and roads, water reservoirs, temples, etc. This Conference is of the opinion that anybody who prevents others from exercising his civil rights is an enemy of the civilised society and rule of law.    
6. Laws cannot be merely prohibitions imposed by any particular section of the society. Laws should be made only by the People or their representatives. All laws, whether protective or administrative, shall apply equally to all. There can be no place for caste in the matters of honours, authorities or profession in an equality based society. Discrimination, if any, can be only on the basis of individualities, not on the basis of his birth. Therefore, this Conference severely denounces the caste-based discrimination and resultant social inequalities.

These six points were part of Resolution No. 1 which was proposed by BHS Secretary Shivtarkar, supported by B K Gaikwad from Nashik, confirmed by N T Jadhav and seconded by Smt. Gangabai Savant. 

It was followed by another crucial Resolution No. 2 which was proposed by Gangadhar Nilkanth Sahastrabuddhe of Social Service League; it was seconded by Rajbhoj of Pune and confirmed by Thorat. It read- ‘Taking strong exception to the following (….) discriminatory provisions mentioned in the Manusmriti which insult Shudra castes, forbid their progress, destroy their self-respect and approve their social, political and economic suppression; and on its comparison with the Declaration of Birth Rights, this Conference is of the firm opinion that this text, the Manusmriti is not fit to be called a pious Religious Text; and to explicitly express it’s such an opinion, this Conference decided to burn today this anti-social, inhuman, so called religious text, the Manusmriti.’ 

Resolution no. 3 related to abolition of all caste identities and formation of Hindu society based on one single creed. Resolution no. 4 recommended that the religious authority shall vest into a person appointed by the people based on his proficiency in the religious matters. This profession shall be open to all Hindus irrespective of caste and their appointment shall be through competition, they shall be paid by the government just like any other public servant and they shall not be entitled to any donation or offerings. 

After passing above resolutions unanimously, various leaders spoke animatedly on them. After this was done, one important agenda that was to be done was to give immediate effect to the Resolution No. 2, i.e. burning of the Manusmriti. Manusmriti was also called Mānava-Dharmaśāstra or the Laws of Manu. 

It was 9 pm of 25 December, the Christmas day. All government buildings were illuminated, churches decorated and slave-India was celebrating the festival of their masters. But here in Mahad, slaves of slave-India, burning with desire to liberate from their shackles were rising in war cry, paving the way for their own parallel freedom struggle. They were indeed setting a new narrative for the freedom struggle of India itself. They were sowing the seeds for the real, all-inclusive Swaraj. They were clearing the field of bushes and poisonous weeds to prepare a clean ground to usher in the new Mānava-Dharmaśāstra, the Constitution of India. No one, however, knew in his wildest dream that the man, who was burning the old, out-dated Mānava-Dharmaśāstra, will himself be instrumental in drafting the new one! What a fate of destiny!

All assembled surrounding the already prepared altar for burning of the Manusmriti. Dr. Ambedkar and his associates came closer to the altar. Sandalwood pyre was lit. Bapusaheb Sahastrabuddhe read various shlokas from the Manusmriti which were obnoxious, one by one. He was joined by some saints from the depressed classes. They read one shloka, torn that page and consigned to flames in the altar. People shouted Mahad Satyagraha ki Jai. Another shloka was read, page was torn, put into fire, people chanted Dr. Ambedkar ki Jai. One by one many such shlokas were read, pages torn, consigned to fire amidst slogans of Mahad Satyagraha ki Jai, Dr. Ambedkar ki Jai, Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai, Jeejau Mata ki Jai… etc. But the slogans were in a solemn tone as if reciting some hymn. Sadhus from the depressed classes were giving company by reciting abhang of Sant Tukaram or Sant Chokhamela or Sant Namdeo, etc. who had condemned customs of social discrimination through their poetry and religious discourses. Manusmriti was condemned and burned resolutely. There was sense of liberation in the conference. Cool December breeze was providing soothing serenity with Raigad fort standing tall at distance in witness to this revolution launched by Ambedkar which changed the course of Indian politics and freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi, for ever. 

#Bahujan_must_rise #Manu_must_fall