07.04.2024.UNTOUCHABLES NEWS.பி சிவாஜி &டீம்.சென்னை.26.
The bullies attacked the Dalit family, entered the house and looted and beat them; one shot dead
Mahoba: A heart-wrenching incident has come to light from Mahoba district in Uttar Pradesh. Here in Kharela area, on Saturday, miscreants attacked the house of a Dalit family, shot the owner of the house and looted jewelery and cash worth lakhs. There was sensation in the village after the incident. Information about the matter was given to the police. On receiving information, police reached the spot and investigated the case.
Edited By Pooja Gill,
Started investigation.
Giving information, Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police Satyam said that the incident took place in Chandauli village, where miscreants armed with sticks and illegal weapons attacked and wreaked havoc in the house of Udaybhan, a sanitation worker working in the District Panchayat Raj Department. They not only beat the people present in the house fiercely with sticks but also shot the elder of the family, 65-year-old Kallu Ahirwar. It is alleged that more than 15 miscreants came and fired fiercely to create fear in the village. While returning, one lakh rupees in cash and jewelery kept in Uday Bhan’s house were looted. Kallu, badly injured due to bullet injury, has been sent to the district hospital for treatment in a critical condition.
Additional Superintendent of Police said that the reason for the incident is being said to be protest against over-rating of country liquor vend located in nearby Jarauli village. A day earlier, Udaybhan’s son had made a video and sent a complaint to the authorities regarding the sale of quarters worth Rs 50 for Rs 60 by salesman Nandu alias Narendra Baba in the contract, on which a fine was imposed on the contractor.
Police conducting raids to arrest the accused
It is alleged that the contractor, enraged by this, threatened Uday Bhan over the phone and demanded Rs 70 thousand as fine and Rs 1 lakh as extortion money. Victim Udaybhan complained about the incident to Kharela police station but the police did not pay any attention to the matter. Despite the sensitive atmosphere in the district in view of Lok Sabha elections and festivals, this mischief done by bullies has been taken seriously. In this case, based on the complaint of the victim, the police have registered a case against the accused under serious sections and raids are being conducted for their arrest.
Debate | The Return of the Dalit in the New Cinema of South India
What we need, and what is gradually emerging, is cinema that is both regional and inclusive. It is grounded in the ethno-specific public and the geopolitical surroundings and resists the constant shelling of fake news and propaganda.
Asijit Datta
“This is our chance. Make your enemy tremble in fear.”
– Dr B. R. Ambedkar
Let me begin with a stray, not unusual, incident in the district where I reside now.
On July 4, 1991, in the village of Tsundur (Guntur, Andhra Pradesh), a Dalit graduate, Govatota Ravi, bought chair class tickets (reserved for the ‘upper’ caste Reddys) and in the darkness of the cinema auditorium, his crossed feet touched the viewer seated in front of him.
This seemingly isolated event was responsible for Reddy men and police’s massacre of 13 people belonging to Dalit communities in August 1991. Now, the blue and bronze Ambedkar statues positioned throughout the partially pitched roads of Namburu and Kanteru serve as enduring reminders of a violent and wheezing past.
If it is true that the projector and the screen activate the deep, dreamy mind of the audience, then filmmakers should be more inclined toward forging politically conscious cinema. For the last three decades, we have been exposed to the commercialisation and fetishisation of class struggles and communal issues. Whether we have reached some kind of harmonious state as a country with the aid of this overt attention to class and religion is a matter for another debate.
However, it is intriguing to note the total whitewashing of relevant caste questions from cinema altogether. Cinematic apparatuses are owned and regulated by traditional ‘upper’ caste ruling elites, and it is inevitably dangerous for them to allow images that tend to threaten their scopic privileges. An authentic representation of a Dalit person on screen carries the potential to harm the hygiene of their swachh or clean images.
Therefore, what we need, and what is gradually emerging, is cinema that is both regional and inclusive. It is grounded in the ethno-specific public and the geopolitical surroundings and resists the constant shelling of fake news and propaganda.
Around three years ago, I had the good fortune of interviewing the rebellious Malayali filmmaker Sanal Sasidharan (director of Ozhivudivasathe Kali, S*** Durga, Chola).
On being questioned about the Brahminical role-changing drunken entertainment in An Off-Day Game, Sanal underlined the traits of casteism inherent in us: “We don’t understand our privileges and our biases until we reach a particular inescapable situation. This revelation doesn’t come from the outside; it is inside us. I made this film. But it is also inside me as a person. Without total democracy, we can’t imagine reaching that elevated plane of existence.”
We are witnessing a new breed of filmmakers and a new kind of cinema surfacing from the heartlands of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra. Pa. Ranjith reveals, as Karthikeyan Damodaran and Hugo Gorringe note, “how the political apparatus of the state and representative politics systematically excludes Dalits, fisherfolk, and other marginalised subjectivities in the expressive cultures of music, literature, clothing, and sport. One of the effects of territorial stigmatisation… ‘is the “dissolution of ‘place’”, that is, the loss of a humanised, culturally familiar and socially filtered locale with which marginalised urban populations identify and in which they feel “at home” and in relative security’”.
Therefore, on one hand, we encounter the brutal realism of the Dalit condition in films like Peranmai (Valour, 2009), Visanarai (2015), Pariyerum Perumal (2018), Jai Bhim (2021), Pada (2022), Puzhu (2022); and on the other, the hyper-masculine fantasy of revenge and retaliation in Kabali (2016), Kaala (2018), Asuran (2019), Karnan (2021), Sarpatta Parambarai (2021). I feel the collaboration with superstars like Rajinikanth and Dhanush also divulges a perverse reversal where icons are employed to serve the Dalit cause. Especially from Vetrimaaran, Pa. Ranjith, Mari Selvaraj, we come across Dalit cinema rooted in struggle and oppression, and a forward and progressive movement toward Dalit empowerment and emancipation. These films fall somewhere between the conventional mainstream and the arthouse and dissolve all traditional definitions and genre expectations.
Since this kind of cinema is also a reaction against the longstanding exposure to Brahminical barbarism both inside and outside the screen, violence functions as an integral part of redeeming the tortured Dalit protagonist. Violence, here, is not simply a response to the past; it simultaneously indicates an impending revolution. It is not the sort of contagious violence where blood begets blood; conversely, it is moralistic in nature against Savarna feudal violence and abuse on the pretext of Hindutva nationalism.
However, extra ounces of muscles are not only added to the black bare bodies of the Dalits in question; instead, there is an urgency to shape Dalit minds as intellectual resources. In a cathartic concluding scene that follows the intense violence in Asuran (Demon), the last enlightening words of farmer Sivasamy to his son are: “Chidambaram, if we own farmlands, they will seize it. If we have money, they will snatch it. But if we have education, they can never take it away from us.”
Cinematically, we have traversed a long road since Achhut Kanya of mid-1930. We have significantly and incrementally moved away from Dalit torture porn to an upgraded version of high-octane Dalit retributive action and redemption. In some of these films, sometimes strength is derived from the conflict-free interrelationships between the human, the divine, and the animal in folktales and myths. At least on celluloid, we experience the possibilities of another India. What we need is not repeated melancholic reminders of the absent Dalit in popular cinema but celebratory assertions of the emergence of various kinds of Dalit voices in all other types of cinema.
Disquieting questions still stir inside: how do we confront and seek release from the unending maze of power structures? Where does one find one’s identity in this age of madness and illusions, at this precise stage of Bramayugam? What are the ways to escape the Brahminical hold over property, food, and historical time?
And it is here that I remember Ranjith’s hope in cinema as a political weapon: “I will not accept that a film is just something you watch and leave. It is a mass medium that connects with every layperson. Cinema is how parties are born, how leaders are created, how a movement is fanned. It can be used by people to claim their freedom. And I use it against the Brahminical system”.
Karthik Subbaraj, in his meta-parody Jigarthanda DoubleX (2023), wields the camera as a shooting gun that records the catastrophic genocide of tribals by the ruling party; the ‘unedited’ film is then released in theatres as documentary footage to topple the government.
And again I hopefully remember three stones flung at glasses/screens to wake us up from our collective amnesia, to inject aesthetic nervousness inside us: at the end of Shyam Benegal’s Ankur (1974), a young boy breaks the glass of the upper caste landlord’s window; Karnan’s little Dalit boy, in a fit of outrage, throws a rock at a bus’s windshield to register his protest against a long-established social boycott; the last shot of Fandry (2013) tracks the lower caste schoolboy as he hurls a stone at the camera shattering the cinema screen.
Asijit Datta works as Assistant Professor in the Department of Liberal Arts at SRM University, AP, and maintains an independent academic channel on YouTube for aspiring students, research scholars, and teachers.
Courtesy : The Wire
UP: Death of Sanitation Worker in PM Modi’s Parliamentary Constituency Raises Questions
Despite the advancements of Digital India, sanitation workers from Dalit and marginalized backgrounds continue to face hazardous conditions while performing their duties. Over the past five years, close to 400 sanitation workers have tragically lost their lives in sewer accidents, sparking heightened concerns about safety.
Satya Prakash Bharti
Varanasi- In Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, Prime Minister Modi’s parliamentary constituency, a devastating incident has shaken the community.
A Dalit sweeper lost his life due to suffocation while working in a sewer. This unfortunate event occurred in the same area where the Prime Minister had previously made headlines for washing the feet of sanitation workers. Despite the advancements of Digital India, sanitation workers from Dalit and marginalized backgrounds continue to face hazardous conditions while performing their duties.
Shockingly, in the past five years alone, approximately four hundred sanitation workers have lost their lives due to accidents in the sewers, highlighting a dire situation that persists in Uttar Pradesh, ranking the state second highest in such fatalities.
The incident unfolded at Bhaisapur Ghat in the Adampura area, where two sanitation workers were exposed to poisonous gases while cleaning a sewer. Tragically, one of the workers succumbed to drowning in the filth of the sewer, while the other is battling for life in critical condition at the district hospital. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the District Magistrate of Varanasi has ordered an immediate investigation into the matter to ascertain the causes and prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Ram Babu, a sanitation worker, recounted the tragic events to The Mooknayak, shedding light on the sequence of events that led to the devastating loss of life.
He shared, “There was a complaint regarding a sewer blockage in front of the Ravidas temple at Rajghat. In response to this complaint, the Ganga Pollution Department summoned Ghurelal (40 years old) and Sunil from the Machhodari area to Bhaisasur Ghat for cleaning duties. Upon arrival, Ghurelal, accompanied by Sunil, descended into the manhole using a rope around 3 pm. Three of their colleagues remained stationed above ground.”
Continuing his account, Ram Babu revealed, “After a while, there was an ominous silence from Ghurelal’s end. Sunil emerged from the manhole and alerted the other workers about the presence of poisonous gas below. He promptly informed the supervisor, Babu Yadav, about the hazardous situation. Shockingly, upon learning of the danger, Babu Yadav fled from the scene, leaving his colleagues behind. Subsequently, the workers notified the police stationed at Rajghat, who promptly summoned the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).”
Ram Babu detailed the swift response, stating, “Upon receiving the distress call, the NDRF team swiftly arrived at the scene and rescued the trapped sweeper. He was rushed to the Shivprasad Gupta Divisional Hospital for urgent medical attention. Tragically, the doctors at the hospital pronounced the death of Ghurelal.
Mahendra Kumar Bharti, a relative of the deceased worker, voiced serious allegations against the authorities involved, claiming that neither the Junior Engineer (JE), the contractor, nor any officer arrived promptly to provide assistance for nearly an hour following the incident. By the time the NDRF team eventually reached the scene, it was tragically too late.
Ghure Lal, who had been engaged in sewer cleaning duties for approximately 15 years, had been working under a contractor at the sewage pumping station located at Gola Ghat, earning a monthly wage of Rs 12,000.
His wife, Chanda, revealed the devastating impact of the loss on their family, stating that they have four children. Two daughters are enrolled in the ninth class, one son in the eighth class, and another in the seventh class. Chanda further shared the heartbreaking news that their eldest son, 18-year-old Azad, had tragically lost his life in a motorcycle accident just a month and a half prior to this incident.
Lilavati Construction, the company responsible for overseeing the sewer cleaning work, extended financial assistance amounting to Rs 10 lakh to the aggrieved family.
Following the incident, DM Rajalingam swiftly ordered an inquiry into the matter, appointing an investigation officer to look into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. The investigation report is expected to be submitted to the DM within a week.
Supreme Court’s Ban on Unsafe Sewer Cleaning Practices
In a significant move aimed at safeguarding the lives of sanitation workers, the Supreme Court imposed a ban on hazardous sewer cleaning practices. According to the Manual Scavenging Act 2013 and a Supreme Court order dated 20 October 2023, it is now a punishable offense for any sanitation worker to descend into a sewer or septic tank without proper safety equipment.
The law stipulates that there should be a total of 59 types of safety equipment available for the protection of sweepers, including essentials like oxygen masks, safety shoes, and safety belts. Additionally, there must be provisions for an ambulance on-site. However, many contractors continue to send cleaning workers into sewers without adequate safety gear, flouting these regulations.
Disturbing Statistics Highlight the Urgency of Action
Recent statistics reveal the grim reality of the dangers faced by sanitation workers across the country. Over the past five years, a total of 339 deaths have been recorded due to accidents while cleaning sewers and septic tanks. This translates to an alarming average of 67 sanitation workers losing their lives each year while performing this hazardous task. Shockingly, these incidents have been reported from 18 states and union territories. The year 2019 saw the highest number of fatalities, with 117 sanitation workers losing their lives while cleaning sewers. Even during the challenging years of 2020 and 2021, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, 22 and 58 sanitation workers, respectively, met tragic ends.
Expert Voices Concern Over Worker Safety
The staggering loss of life among sanitation workers has raised concerns among experts and activists. Bezwada Wilson, a prominent figure leading a nationwide cleanliness movement in India, has been vocal about the need for urgent action to address this issue. Wilson emphasizes that despite repeated appeals to political parties over the past five years, no significant measures have been taken to address the hazardous working conditions faced by sanitation workers.
The recent Supreme Court decision to award compensation of Rs 30 lakh to the families of victims underscores the severity of the situation. Wilson criticizes this compensation amount, stating that it diminishes the value of the lives lost and underscores the urgent need for comprehensive action to protect the safety and dignity of sanitation workers across the nation.
Courtesy : The Mooknayak
Who is the face of Dalit politics after Mayawati in UP? Akash Anand revealed the secret
Lucknow: Who is the face of Dalit politics after Mayawati? Although the BSP President is saying that she has not retired yet, there is a war between Akash Anand and Chandrashekhar for the leadership of Dalit politics. This time, not Mayawati, her successor Akash Anand started the campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. Mayawati’s nephew Akash is now number 2 in BSP. He is also the National Coordinator of the party. Akash Anand is not contesting the elections this time, but he is the star campaigner of the party. He held his first rally in Nagina Lok Sabha seat of UP. His arch rival Chandrashekhar Ravan is contesting the elections from here. He is contesting from his party Azad Samaj Party.
Why did Akash Anand start his election campaign against Chandrashekhar Ravan? This was revealed to Akash himself. He told that this is sister’s order. BSP had won in Nagina in the last elections. Akash Anand has opened a front against Chandrashekhar. He said that till yesterday he was a big leader of India Alliance. But no one left a seat for him. Neither the Samajwadi Party nor the Congress took care of him. Now he is forced to contest the elections alone. The truth is that Congress had assured him of a seat, but did not demand Nagina seat from Samajwadi Party.
Akash Anand targeted Chandrashekhar Ravan
BSP leader Akash Anand slammed Chandrashekhar Ravan from the stage. A year ago he had refused to recognize Chandrashekhar Ravan. At that time journalists had asked him about Chandrashekhar. Then Akash said who and what are you talking about? In simple gestures, Akash Anand said that Chandrashekhar is provoking the Dalits. They are implicating Dalit youth in cases. Without taking Chandrashekhar’s name, Akash said that hot blood politics is a betrayal. Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram had asked to stay away from lawsuits.
Chandrashekhar creates ruckus from place to place
Akash said that Chandrashekhar creates ruckus from place to place. He fights with the police. There are lawsuits against him in this matter. In such incidents, cases are also filed against our young friends. Then they don’t even get a government job. He accused Chandrashekhar of calling the BSP candidate a weak candidate. Akash called the party’s candidate from Nagina, Surendra Pal, on the stage. Then he asked the crowd present in the meeting, do you find him weak?
Cast Out: Dalits Excluded from Wedding Feast in MP Village, No Action on Complaint
The Mali community issued a decree stipulating that the Kahar community, should be served food separately in a designated area, and their plates should be cleared by their own community members.
Ankit Pachauri
Bhopal- Madhya Pradesh continues to grapple with instances of caste discrimination, with a recent incident unfolding in Balaghat.
In Jhamul village, located in the Birsa tehsil of Balaghat district, Scheduled Caste individuals were excluded from attending a wedding ceremony hosted by a family from the OBC community.
Despite filing a written complaint with the Superintendent of Police, no action has been taken against the offenders.
The incident transpired on February 10, during the marriage of Devi Lal Panche’s daughter, a member of the backward class (OBC). About 23 families belonging to Scheduled Caste category live in this village. Devi Lal extended invitations to all villagers, aiming for an inclusive celebration.
However, tensions arose when some members of the Mali community objected to sharing meals with Scheduled Caste individuals.
Initially, Devi Lal faced pressure to rescind the invitations. Later, the Mali community issues a diktat stipulating that Scheduled Caste individuals, particularly from the Kahar community, should be served food separately in a designated area, and their plates should be cleared by their own community members.
Following this ruling, the Kahar community opted out of participating in the marriage ceremony due to the blatant caste discrimination they faced. Subsequently, the Dalit community members were left feeling deeply humiliated by the incident. Determined to address the injustice, the Kahar community chose to take action. On April 4, they formally lodged complaints with both the Superintendent of Police and the Ajak police station, highlighting the caste-based discrimination perpetrated by the Mali community.
Surendra Meshram, in conversation with The Mooknayak, highlighted the enduring plight of their society, marred by caste discrimination and untouchability over the years. He recounted the Mali community’s refusal to share meals with them, citing concerns about the village’s dignity.
Surendra further stated that members from the Dalit community have lodged a written complaint against the Mali community with the police.
Furthermore, the Dalit community revealed that local barbers refuse to provide haircuts to their people. One of the members, Rajendra informed The Mooknayak that he must travel to Balaghat for this service, underscoring the entrenched casteism in the village.
Despite filing a complaint, the police have yet to register a case against the accused for caste discrimination. While the Ajak police indicated that the complaint is under investigation, attempts to reach Balaghat Superintendent of Police Sameer Saurabh for comment remained unsuccessful.
-Translated by Geetha Sunil Pillai
Priyanka Sonkar’s book knocks on the discussion of Dalit women
Discussion and conflict are two different things. Which comes first, discussion or conflict? This is not a complicated egg or chicken question. In any society, conflict comes first, and discussion or literature later. This also applies to women’s issues. It is this struggle from whose womb discourse and literature is born. Read this review of Kanwal Bharti
Kanwal Bharti
There are many important books on Dalit discourse in Hindi, but Priyanka Sonkar’s ‘Dalit Stree Vimarsh: Creation and Struggle’ published this year is probably the first book on Dalit women discourse. I did not come across any other book on this subject.
This book has four sections, in which the first section discusses the anti-caste tradition, Premchand’s Dalit consciousness and the struggle and form of Dalit literature. In the second section, while explaining the Dalit women’s discourse, light has been thrown on some personalities like the therists of the Buddha period, medieval saint poetesses, some revolutionary Dalit heroines and the women’s movement of Dr. Ambedkar. The third section is based on the concept of Dalit women’s discourse, black feminist movement, ideology and theory of Dalit women’s discourse and creative literature of Dalit women. And in the last fourth section, exploitation, struggle, Devadasi, Bahujuthai, Chanar rebellion of 1859, Tebhaga movement, Mathura tribal movement, struggle of Phoolan Devi and Bhagana movement have been kept at the center of discussion.
Discussion and conflict are two different things. Which comes first, discussion or conflict? This is not a complicated egg or chicken question. In any society, conflict comes first, and discussion or literature later. This also applies to women’s issues. It is this struggle from whose womb discourse and literature is born. Struggle is not only to fight injustice or to get one’s rights, but also to survive. The struggle for survival is real. From this point of view, the life of a Dalit woman is nothing but a struggle. She struggles to survive from morning till evening. When the experiences of conflict create an awakened consciousness in a person, then only discussion is born. But literature comes into existence when education connects with that consciousness. Since the doors of education for Dalits in India opened after centuries under the rule of Muslims and the British. Therefore, the discourse and literature of the lower classes also came to light in these two periods. Thinkers like Kabir, Raidas, Mirabai, Jotirao Phule, Savitribai Phule and Ambedkar could have existed in these periods, before that their existence could not have been imagined. But Dalit women’s education is a much later phenomenon, decades after India gained independence.
However, Priyanka Sonkar considers the first journey of Dalit women’s discussion to be from the stories of Theris of the Buddha period. This is also worth considering, because undoubtedly Buddha had given prominence to women’s freedom in his teachings of equality, freedom and compassion. Therefore, the author has correctly recorded the history of Dalit women’s discourse in the second volume. She has written that the historical roots of Dalit women’s discourse lie in the discourse of the women included in the Buddha-Sangha. According to him, “She very simply and boldly expresses her feeling of being a human being through stories. Wishing for women’s liberation, these therias create history through poems and stories. Freed from the pain of mind, body and speech, freed from the constraints of caste, caste, gender and society, they sing –
sitting here on this rock
I feel completely liberated
atmosphere of freedom
to my soul and body
Are covered.”
(Priyanka Sonkar, Dalit Women’s Discourse: Creation and Struggle, Pralek Prakashan, Mumbai, page 73)
Priyanka Sonkar has rightly said that making a woman, who did not have any kind of rights in the male-dominated society, the rightful owner of all kinds of rights, such as giving her the right to acquire knowledge and to preach knowledge, was a very revolutionary thing.
Priyanka Sonkar, author and cover page of ‘Dalit Women’s Discussion: Creation and Struggle’
After the Buddha period, the author has considered the second phase of Dalit women’s discussion in the poetry of medieval Dalit saint poetesses. One of these saints is the fifteenth century poetess Laldeh or Laldyad of Kashmir. Subhash Rai
According to, the first introduction of Laldyad’s works is found in ‘Tarikhe Kashmir’ written in 1730 AD. The first important work on them was done by Grierson. Subhash Rai has mentioned a vakh (composition) of Laldyad, in which she says “Goras prachham saasi late/ Yas nu kenh vanan tas kya naav?/ Parachhaan parchhaan thasis tu lusus/ Kenh nas nishi kya naav drav.” She says, “I asked the Guru a thousand times, what is the name of that which is called ‘nothing’? I became tired and withered from asking. At last I understood that from nothing comes something.” Subhash Rai has not explained this. But the meaning of this speech of Laldyad opens in the nihilism of Buddhist philosophy. This testifies to the influence on them of Buddhism, which was not only the dominant religion of Kashmir in the time of Emperor Ashoka, but was already widespread there before that, and extended to neighboring Ladakh, Tibet and China. Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, the originator of nihilism, lived in Kashmir during the Kushan period. Most of the scholars’ opinion about Laldyad is that she was a Brahmin. Subhash Rai also agrees with this opinion. But some details of his life do not match. Such as his opposition to Nirgunaism, pilgrimages, rituals and scriptures. Both Laldyad and Akka Mahadevi had accepted the nudity of the body. But it is said that he was humiliated by the society by stripping him. Subhash Rai has also written that the folk language was considered the language of the lower classes of Kashmir. But the credit for making this language a powerful medium goes to a woman named Laldyad. (Digambara rebel Akka Mahadevi, page 44-47) Priyanka Sonkar has considered Laldyad to be a Dalit caste. Quoting Parshuram Chaturvedi’s book ‘Saint Tradition of North India’, he has written that Lalla or Lal (Laldyad) was a woman of Dhedhava Mehtar caste living in Kashmir, who was from a socially low status family, but had a very high status. Had ideas. It is famous about her that she was a traveling Bhangin following the Shaiva sect. (Priyanka Sonkar, above, page 76)
In this sequence, Sonkar has mentioned the second Dalit woman saint of the medieval period, Janabai (1258-1350) of Maharashtra. Saint Janabai, a highly knowledgeable and neglected person on the path of Bhakti, was a great poet of Bhakti poetry stream. It is said that she was a motherless orphan and lived as a servant in the house of Saint Namdev. Priyanka Sonkar has not mentioned Janabai’s caste. But evidence suggests that he was born into the Matang caste, an untouchable caste in Maharashtra. It is said that Janabai’s parents died in her childhood and as an orphan, Namdev gave her shelter. Some scholars have described Namdev as being of Kshatriya caste, while some consider him to be of tailor caste. But in reality he was a tailor or a Shudra of another caste. If he had belonged to a higher caste, he would never have given shelter to Janabai of the Matang caste in his house. However, Namdev’s influence is considered to be on Janabai’s poetry; But Priyanka Sonkar has considered his devotional poems, which are in the form of about 350 hymns, as a separate stream against the Bhakti stream, in which God has also come in the form of an ordinary human being. In this regard he has quoted this verse of Janabai –
Jana is sweeping the floor
And God is collecting garbage
putting it on your head and taking you away
conquered by devotion
God is working low
Jana says to the widow
How will I repay your debt? (same, page 78)
Priyanka Sonkar, underlining Janabai’s women’s liberation discourse, has written that in the medieval period, Janabai had shown the way to live an independent life by throwing away all the shackles and taboos imposed on women.
Among other Dalit women poets of the medieval period, he has mentioned Rami of the washerman caste of Bengal, who had a love marriage with the Brahmin poet Chandidas. But later Chandidas left him and went back to his Brahmin family. According to him, the sample of his poetry is like this-
let the storm fall upon their heads
who curse good people hiding in their homes
I can’t live in this land of injustice any longer
I want to go there where there is no torture. (same, page 80)
Among other poetesses, the author has made a brief discussion about Uma, Meera, Kamali, Sahajobai, Dayabai, Phulabai, Puli Bai, Dotulamma and Lakhamma etc., whose poetry has a distinct female voice in the Brahmin discourse of the medieval period.
In the third journey of Dalit women’s discussion, the author has mentioned some Dalit heroines of 1857, in which Jhalkaribai, Mahabiri Devi, Udadevi, Ashadevi, Ajivanbai etc. have been discussed. After this, she established Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai, Muktabai and Durgabai as the first school of women’s education in the fourth floor of Dalit women’s discussion; The contribution of these four women has been highlighted. Undoubtedly these women were the revolutionary pillars of women’s renaissance in India. Ramabai was a Brahmin, but she had abandoned Hindu religion, which she considered an obstacle to women’s emancipation. She worked throughout her life for women’s liberation, women’s education and upliftment of widows. Savitribai Phule was India’s first female teacher, while Muktabai was a woman educated in her school, who awakened against Brahminism through her articles and poems. Durgabai was the life partner of Swami Achutananda, the originator of the Adi Hindu movement in North India in the twentieth century, who took inspiration from him and opened a school in Sirsaganj and tried to educate Dalit girls. These women, as the author has written, have made an important contribution to the women’s liberation movement.
As the fifth pillar of Dalit women’s discourse, the author has mentioned Dr. Ambedkar’s women’s movement, Hindu Code Bill and Mayawati’s contribution to Dalit politics. But his analysis on this subject is critical, which proves him to be a conscious critic.
For example, while throwing light on the women’s movement of Dr. Ambedkar, the author writes that the important time of the women’s movement led by Babasaheb Ambedkar was in the 1930s and 1940s. However, according to him, Ambedkar had started the women’s movement in 1920 itself, when for the first time Dalit women participated in the meeting of the Bharatiya Bahishkrit Parishad organized under the chairmanship of Kolhapur King Shahuji Maharaj. In this meeting, Tulsabai Bansode and Rukmanibai had laid essential emphasis on women’s education. Mahila Mandal was established in Bombay in 1928, whose president was Ramabai Ambedkar. Dalit women also took an active part in the temple satyagraha led by Babasaheb. Similarly, in 1929, thousands of women protested under the leadership of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Tanubai to enter the Parvati temple of Pune. The author has given details of the struggle and movement of Dalit women till 1940, which are very important to understand Babasaheb’s women’s liberation discourse.
In this section, Priyanka Sonkar has also given an important discussion on the Bahujan movement of Kanshi Ram and Mayawati that emerged in Uttar Pradesh in the 1980s. In this, he has kept Mayawati’s politics at the center especially in the context of women’s liberation. He has praised Mayawati’s political rise as the first Dalit Chief Minister, but he has also explained why Mayawati could not become an inspiration for the women of the Dalit community, and did not pay attention to the issues of Dalit women during her rule. Could. He has written that by allying with Brahminism, Mayawati has caused huge damage not only to the Dalit movement but also to the liberation struggle of Dalit women. He has further written that Babasaheb Ambedkar had considered Brahminism and capitalism as enemies of Dalits, Mayawati did the politics of their development. The author’s analysis on Bahujan politics is undoubtedly noteworthy.
The third section is important from the point of view that it discusses the concept of Dalit-women’s discourse, the black feminist movement and its relationship with Dalit women’s discourse, the ideology and theory of Dalit women’s discourse and the creative literature of Dalit writers.
There is a difference between the concept of Dalit literature and the concept of Dalit women’s discourse only on this point that as much as a woman understands or can understand her mind and liberation, a man cannot understand her pain nor her liberation. The very concept of. Therefore, from the point of view of thinking, pain and treatment, women’s literature is more authentic than the literature written by men about women. Therefore, Dalit women’s writing chose its own path. But it is interesting that Priyanka Sonkar used the thinking of male writers Bajrang Bihari Tiwari and Subhash Gatade as her basis to underline the women’s discussion, whereas the thinking of many Dalit women writers is present. She should have consulted Hemlata Mahishwar’s book ‘Women’s Writing and Time’s Concerns’ published in 2006, which is an important book on Dalit women’s discourse in Dalit literature. Ramanika Gupta’s women’s discussion was also worth mentioning in this context.
Priyanka Sonkar writes that while talking about Dalit women’s discourse, first of all it is necessary for us to know what exactly is the black feminist movement that went on in the West and whether it has any similarity with the Dalit women’s discourse that went on in the nineties. ? But it is surprising to realize its dissimilarity from the women’s movement started by Dr. Ambedkar so soon.
Priyanka Sonkar believes that just as the autobiographies of black writers changed the entire discourse of America, in the same way the biographies of Dalit women also helped in bringing about the change. Black women have been victims of apartheid here, while Dalit women have been victims of caste discrimination. (same, page 137)
Under the ideology and theory of Dalit women’s discourse, Priyanka Sonkar has given references to many feminist women activists and writers, but she could not create any ideology at her level, which was expected from her. She reiterates the same opinion here that where feminism is limited to the camp of upper caste women, Dalitism has been limited to the camp of men, in which Dalit women’s discourse has been born due to Dalit women not getting a place.
But what is Dalit women’s discourse? In response to this, she supports Rajni Tilak’s opinion that after not finding their existence in feminist history, Dalit women themselves started writing the history of their struggles. She considered Dalit women’s discourse to be influenced by Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai and Babasaheb Ambedkar. But he has not discussed its models and principles, which can be disappointing for researchers.
At the end of this section, the author has presented a description of the autobiographies, poems, stories and other works and magazines of some Dalit writers. This is also just a description, whereas discussion of some important works was necessary.
The fourth and final section of the book is important in that it discusses some of the disgusting social practices and rebellions of Dalit women. There is also a discussion on sexual exploitation, in which the author has discussed the views of Dr. Tej Singh, Uma Chakraborty, Mohandas Naimishrai, Rajendra Yadav, Kancha Ilaiyya Shepard and the views of Sushila Takbhaure, Baby Kamble, Kousalya Baisantri, Tulsi Ram, Dr. Dharamveer and Baby Haldar. Quoting the autobiographies, details of gender discrimination in society and homes have been presented. After this, the author has described the nature of rape that occurs with Dalit women and has enumerated several categories of rape. Namely, landlord rape, officer class and caste rape. She has given this description on the basis of Radha Kumar’s book ‘History of Women’s Struggle’. From some other sources also he has described some incidents of rape of Dalit women. One of these incidents is from Shahpur village of Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit woman went to the field to defecate, when Natthu Singh, an upper caste of the village, raped her. When she mentioned this to her husband, Natthu Singh and his son entered the woman’s house and beat her husband, fearing which he fled the village. When the victim woman went to other houses to plead, Nathu Singh dragged her from there, stripped her naked and paraded her around the village. No one tried to save him, and the police also refused to file a report. Similarly, the author has mentioned two incidents of Madhya Pradesh quoting Manimala. Among them, one was a Dalit woman and the other was a tribal. Both those women were also stripped naked and paraded around. Women’s Commission also often remains inactive in the case of Dalit women. According to the author, there are two reasons for this, one is that Dalit representation is often not there in these commissions and only upper caste women are the officials, whose class character is biased and insensitive towards Dalits.
While discussing the Devdasi system, the author has rightly named it as the prostitute offering of Dalit women in temples. According to the author, the number of Devadasis in Pune is around six thousand and in Maharashtra and Karnataka it is ten thousand. However, the number of Devadasis may be much higher, because this disgusting practice has not been completely eradicated yet. If the Devdasi system was established by the Brahmin priests for their debauchery, the Thakur landlords for their lust established the ‘Bahu Juthai’ system, which was prevalent in most, if not all, villages of India. This practice not only sexually exploited Dalit women but also crushed their self-respect. Under this tradition, loads of newly married brides from lower castes used to descend on the mansion of Thakur Zamindar. His first night was with Thakur. Although, the author has not made any specific discussion on this practice in this chapter, but from the point of view of Dalit women’s struggle, the author has made an important discussion on the resistance of Nadar women of Dalit caste. This was a very cruel and disgusting tradition of the Indian society, under which Nadar women in Travancore, Kerala were not allowed to cover their breasts. Therefore they kept the upper part of the body naked. Not only this, the state used to collect breast tax from women who tried to cover their breasts. Christians were the first to take cognizance of this uncivilized tradition. When Christian missionaries preached Christianity among them and some Nadar women converted to Christianity, they started covering their bodies. For the first time in 1814, during the British rule, Colonel Munro, the Diwan of Travancore, issued an order to all Christian Nadars and other Nadar women to wear blouses. According to the author, despite this order, upper caste men continued to force Nadar women to keep their breasts naked with the help of their power. Eight years later, the government again issued an order to cover the breasts, after which some Nadar women started wearing decent clothes. But the pressure from Brahmins and feudal lords was still in opposition. Priyanka Sonkar has written that this entire movement was not only directly related to the fight for women’s liberation, but also to the history of India’s independence. As a result of the resistance of Narayana Guru and other reformers and non-caste women of Kerala and pressure from the British, the King of Travancore finally had to issue an order to end this practice on July 26, 1859. Such shameful practices are proof of how cruel India’s Brahminism and feudalism was towards Dalit women.
At the end of the book, Priyanka Sonkar has discussed class economic exploitation and Dalit women’s struggle in detail, under which some important women’s movements and struggles have been described. These include Chanar rebellion, Tebhaga and Telangana movement, Mathura tribal movement, Bhagana movement, Phoolan Devi struggle and Bhanwari Devi episode. Although the author, while introducing her readers to these movements, has also briefly discussed the leftist movements in them, which was necessary, but the lack of critical analysis that was required here is glaring.
(Editing: Rajan/Nawal/Anil)
83% of Youths Jobless in India, but Why Isn’t ‘Unemployment’ a Theme for Indian Filmmakers Anymore?
In a recent study by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development, it’s revealed that unemployment in India has reached alarming levels. From 2000 to 2022, it shot up from 54% to a staggering 66%, with young people bearing the brunt at 83%.
Pratikshit Singh
Lucknow- The ILO report depicts a grim scenario of India’s unemployment scenario, which has worsened during the Modi regime since 2014.
In 2019, data released by the Labour Ministry showed that joblessness in the country was 6.1% of the total labour force during 2017-18, the highest in 45 years.
However, despite the spiralling unemployment and inflation, the issue seems to be missing from the newsroom debates which have a predilection for communal and agenda-based topics for discussion.
The issues are also not reflected in the entertainment industry as the film industry today appears to be more inclined to movies that cater to the propaganda of the ruling dispensation.
As the nation grapples with this economic conundrum, the realm of cinema, with its intrinsic ability to mirror societal truths, stands poised at a crucial juncture.
Despite the gravity of the issue, contemporary filmmakers seem reticent to delve into this pertinent theme. The absence of cinematic explorations on unemployment in the midst of political and social narratives dominating the silver screen raises pertinent questions about the industry’s engagement with the pulse of the nation.
Speaking to the Mooknayak, noted film journalist and critic Ajay Brahmatmaj said “ The government itself is denying that there is unemployment in the country and therefore filmmakers think that making a film, which contradicts the claims of the government can invite raids from Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate.
However, delving into the annals of cinematic history unveils a different narrative. Rewind to an era when unemployment mirrored worrying statistics, and one finds a canvas replete with cinematic masterpieces that dared to confront the harsh realities of economic disparity and societal struggle.
Roti Kapda Aur Makaan: The Portrayal of the Harsh Realities of the Time
Roti Kapda aur Makaan, released in 1974, had unemployment as its theme. The film, produced and directed by veteran actor Manoj Kumar, opens with Kumar as Bharat carrying his degree in his pocket and angry youths resenting the system.
The film highlights the stark unemployment of the time and the resultant poverty and exploitation. Bharat, son of a retired employee, is encumbered by the responsibility of his family consisting of two brothers- Deepak (Dheeraj Kumar), Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan), and a sister Champa (Meena.T), and a retired father (Krishan Dharwan) who is struggling to scale the headwinds of his life because of unemployment.
The unemployment adversely affects his love life as well, as Sheetal (Zeenat Aman) falls for Mohan Babu (Shashi Kapoor), a wealthy businessman after dancing with Bharat to a wet, sensual song … Haye Haye Yeh Majboori…! Ironically, Sheetal expresses her preference for a date in the rainy season to a Do takiya ki naukri (low paying job).
The script of the classic moves at a fast pace to show the disillusionment and despair of the times amongst the lower middle-class youths. The element of symbolism is woven masterfully into the characters of Manoj Kumar’s films, and in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, the character of Bharat represents the hopeless, embattled, unemployed youth of the country at that time. While Mohan, played by Shashi Kapoor, and Harnaam Singh, played by Prem Nath, are characterized as honest businessmen and hardworking laborers, respectively. The scene where Bharat consigns his degree to the flame of the pyre of his dead father for the failure to provide medicines reflects the hopelessness and disillusionment of the youth of that era.
The song ‘Mahangai Maar Gayi…’, picturized on Manoj Kumar, Maushami Chaterjee, and Prem Nath, depicts the pangs of inflation on the poor and the marginalized of the country which affect education, marriage, clothing, housing, etc. The song rings true even today with inflation spiraling out of control of the governments.
The hopelessness pushes Bharat to crime in the later part of the film, even as his brothers Deepak and Vijay are selected for the Police and Indian Army respectively, rendering a perfect foil effect on the situation – a common trope in the movies of that era.
In the climax of the film, the characters representing different professions fight off Neki Ram (Madan Puri) who, as a black marketer and hoarder, represents the enemies of Bharat. The film was received well commercially and was the highest grosser of 1974, proving that the film touched a chord with the masses at that time. Besides, Manoj Kumar went on to win the Award for the Best Director at the Filmfare Awards of 1974.
It is to be remembered that Manoj Kumar, like most of the film personalities of the time, was considered close to the ruling Congress party, but still rose above political affiliation to make a film that narrates the harsh realities of that time. Today, however, the situation is a bit different as we observe that major filmmakers today have focused on appeasing the ruling dispensation by making films that are aligned with the ideology of the ruling dispensation
Other Movies that had Unemployment As a Rippling Theme
Roti Kapda aur Makaan is not the only film made in that era that focuses on unemployment; rather, there are several other films that have unemployment and despair attached to it as a theme.
The film Dost, released the same year, shows Maanav (Dharmendra) as an educated and unemployed youth who fails to get a job in most parts of the film but does not give up on honesty. In contrast, his friend Anand (Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo) expresses his desire to take the recourse to crime, in case he does not get a job. Sadly, it is Anand, a minor character in the film, whose words sound closer to the despair and disillusionment of the youth of that era. However, Maanav too gives up hope and attempts suicide, only to be saved by Gopichand (Shatrughan Sinha), a small-time criminal symbolizing how crime and dishonesty save honest, idealized youths from death.
The song “Gadi Bula Rahi Ha…,” sung by Kishore Kumar and written by Anand Bakshi, is a leitmotif of the film. The film, directed by Dulal Guha and produced by Premji, was the fourth-highest grosser film of the year, proving yet again that the audience connected with the theme of unemployment in that era.
Unemployment was a prominently appearing theme not only in the 70s but also in the 80s when the crisis was not as severe as in the previous decade. Arjun, released in 1985, shows Sunny Doel playing the title role of an unemployed youth who takes the cudgels against corrupt politicians.
These movies painted a vivid picture of a society struggling with unemployment, resonating deeply with audiences.
However, in today’s cinema, unemployment stories are missing. Perhaps it’s because of commercial pressures or a lack of interest in real-life struggles.
But amidst all this, there’s hope. The silver screen has the power to shine a light on important issues like unemployment. It’s time for filmmakers to step up, tell these stories, and inspire change. As we enter a new era of cinema, let’s hope for movies that reflect the real struggles of everyday people.
Courtesy : The Mooknayak
‘Hugging In Delhi, Begging In Kerala’: Smriti Irani Slams Congress Over Its Situation In The Southern State
In Bengaluru, while interacting with businessmen, Union Minister Smriti Irani said, ‘The condition of the opposition is that they are fighting in Wayanad. Left parties are saying, Why does Rahul Gandhi not go to Uttar Pradesh and contest. But when the same Left goes to Delhi for an INDI Alliance meeting, they hug Rahul Gandhi.’
Taking a strong jibe at Congress over its situation in the southern state of Kerala, Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani said that on one side, the Left parties are asking Rahul Gandhi to go to Uttar Pradesh and contest from there, while on the other side, the same party members are embracing Gandhi during the meeting of the INDIA bloc.
What all did Smriti Irani say?
In Bengaluru, while interacting with businessmen, Irani said, “The condition of the opposition is that they are fighting in Wayanad. Left parties are saying, Why does Rahul Gandhi not go to Uttar Pradesh and contest. But when the same Left goes to Delhi for an INDI Alliance meeting, they hug Rahul Gandhi.”
Taking a swipe at the grand old party, Irani added, “Yesterday I said in Kerala, ‘Delhi mein hugging, Kerala mein begging.’ The situation through which the Congress is going in Karnataka is, ‘Delhi mein hugging, Kerala mein begging, Karnataka mein thugging.”
Besides launching verbal attack on Congress, Smriti Irani, who is also a former actress, requested women to cast their votes in huge numbers and said that casting votes is not a game of any TV serial; instead, it’s a heavy responsibility.
“I request all the women that if we want everyone to take women seriously in politics, then we have to pay attention to important political issues. ‘Saas-Bahu’ serials are very far from the realities of life. Women who understand this can have a successful social and political life. The Gandhi family looted the country by clicking pictures and smiling. Casting your vote is a heavy responsibility, it is not a game of any TV serial,” the Union Minister said.
Left Party fielded Annie Raja from Wayanad
Despite being partners in the Oppositionn INDIA bloc, both the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Congres have fielded their strongest candidates against each other. CPI fielded Annie Raja against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad who on Wednesday filed her nomination for Lok Sabha elections.
Kerala, one of the few states where the Congress still has a strong presence, sends 20 parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi won from Wayanad with a huge margin of over 4.31 lakh votes; the highest margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala.
NAElectoral Bonds ‘World’s Biggest Scam’: Rahul Gandhi
Highlighting the five ‘Nyays’ (justice) mentioned in the Congress manifesto, he said that through ‘Kisan Nyay’, farm loans will be waived and legal guarantee will be given for MSP, if they were voted to power at the Centre. He said that their manifesto reflects the voice of Indians.
In a scathing attack against the BJP-led Central government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the electoral bonds scheme was the “world’s biggest scam” and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept “his people” in the election commission.The Supreme Court had struck down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional in a ruling in February.
Addressing an election rally here, Rahul Gandhi also alleged that nearly 30 farmers were committing suicides in India every day and claimed that Modi has waived loans to the tune of Rs 16 lakh crore of the rich, while not even one rupee of farmers’ loans was waived.He also alleged that after Modi’s government assumed office, crores of people became poor in the country.
Highlighting the five ‘Nyays’ (justice) mentioned in the Congress manifesto, he said that through ‘Kisan Nyay’, farm loans will be waived and legal guarantee will be given for MSP, if they were voted to power at the Centre. He said that their manifesto reflects the voice of Indians.
Rahul Gandhi also said the Congress is fulfilling its poll guarantees made to Telangana people.
The state government has already filled up 30,000 government jobs and will fill another 50,000 soon, he added.
Dalit History Month Special: Why are Dalit Girls and Boys Dropping Out of School?
New Delhi - In India, there has been a longstanding connection between caste and education, with Brahmins historically seen as the rightful custodians of knowledge. Unfortunately, individuals from lower castes, such as Sudras and Dalits, have often been marginalized, depicted as inferior and unworthy of education.
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This discrimination has persisted through generations, resulting in many modern-day Dalit children being the first in their families to attend school. However, despite some progress in school enrollment rates, Dalit children still face significant obstacles to education, including poverty, social discrimination, and caste-based prejudice.
According to an analysis by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, while there has been an increase in overall enrollment of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students from 2001 to 2011, a considerable number drop out before completing their education.
By upper primary and secondary levels, dropout rates among SC and ST children are alarmingly high. A 2014 survey by the International Market Research Bureau (IMRB) highlighted that Scheduled Caste children remain the most vulnerable group in terms of school dropout rates, followed by Scheduled Tribe and minority children.
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Despite efforts to improve school enrollment and reduce dropout rates nationwide, the challenges faced by Scheduled Caste children emphasize the ongoing prevalence of caste-based discrimination in education.
The pervasive influence of patriarchy in education extends beyond surface appearances, with a prevailing belief that investing in a girl's education is futile compared to prioritizing her skills for household duties. Conversely, educating boys is often seen as securing the family's future and elevating its legacy. This mindset transcends class and caste boundaries.
According to a UN Chronicle article on gender disparity in primary education in India, regions in the south and west generally exhibit better rates of girl child education compared to the north and east. Government initiatives such as 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' and 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Abhiyan' aim to promote girl child education through various incentives, including free scholarships and schemes like 'Kanyashree Prakalpa' in West Bengal and free bicycles for girls in Haryana.
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Despite these efforts, caste dynamics significantly influence the expectations and interactions of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) children, particularly girls, making them more susceptible to dropping out of school. During adolescence, girls face heightened challenges, including inadequate sanitation facilities in rural schools, leading to increased dropout rates. This lack of access to reproductive health education further exacerbates their vulnerability, often resulting in early marriage and involvement in manual labour, mirroring the circumstances of their parents.
Economic hardship compels boys from impoverished families to abandon their education and seek employment, often migrating to cities for low-wage labour. Among Dalit communities, young men below 18 are disproportionately affected, forced to prioritize work over education, sometimes engaging in menial jobs like scavenging or sewage work before and after school, which significantly disrupts their studies.
Discrimination faced by Children of Manual Scavengers and Sanitation Workers during Education:
In August of 2023, tragedy struck when 9-year-old Dalit student, Indra Meghwal, lost his life after being brutally beaten by his school principal for the simple act of drinking water from a pot designated for upper-caste individuals. This horrific incident sheds light on the inhuman treatment Dalit children endure in educational institutions.
According to the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), women employed as garbage collectors in the Pune Municipality have expressed deep concerns about their children facing discrimination in private schools. In these institutions, children of sanitation workers often encounter systematic discrimination, including inadequate attention and substandard teaching quality, ultimately leading to demotion and eventual dropout as they are compelled to seek refuge in government schools.
Despite the Right to Education (RTE) Act's mandate of 25% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS), there remains a significant underrepresentation of Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC), and girls due to financial constraints. This disparity underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to ensure equitable access to quality education for all children, irrespective of their socio-economic background or caste identity.
The Ambedkar Centre for Action and Research (ACAR) conducted a comprehensive study on schools catering to the children of sanitation workers in Maharashtra, uncovering significant disparities and challenges faced by these marginalized communities.
While some schools exist in Pune, Nagpur, and Mumbai specifically catering to these children, several remain closed in parts of the state. These schools, such as the "Safai Kamgaranchi Shaskiya School Middle School Pune," often bear names that reflect the occupation of the students' parents, contrasting sharply with other schools across the country.
As a result, some children feel reluctant to disclose the name of their school due to the prevalent caste-based discrimination and the fear of social exclusion.
ACAR's study, focused primarily on municipal corporation schools in Pune, highlighted that a staggering 90-95% of students come from economically weaker sections, with only a small 5% representing middle-class families. Of particular concern is the frequent absence of adolescent girls, especially from the Vadar Community, during menstruation due to inadequate facilities and societal taboos surrounding menstruation.
Furthermore, the study revealed that 50% of students drop out after completing the 7th standard, citing various factors such as the distance to government schools and the increasing financial burden of education. Many adolescents are compelled to seek employment in garages and workshops upon leaving school, underscoring the pressing need for comprehensive support and interventions to address these systemic challenges faced by marginalized communities in accessing quality education.
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