While I was reading Rajmohan Gandhi's "The Good Boatman", I came across a chapter fully dedicated to discuss M K Gandhi's view on the caste system and untouchability, his struggle to "purify" Hindu society, his fast in the Yeravada Jail against granting separate electorates for untouchables - a demand that Dr B.R Ambedkar raised and firmly stood for, the subsequent Poona Pact and so on. As a novice to Gandhi's teachings and based on what we learnt as kids, as far as caste system and untouchability were concerned, the only name that quickly came to mind was Ambedkar's. Whatever I had read about Ambedkar not only made him a hero but it also had a great impact on how I viewed the Hindu society. As a kid, it was appalling to learn about how the "untouchables" had to suffer in the hands of upper-caste Hindus. The "glorious past" of Hinduism claimed by many always appeared to be an attempt to cover-up all those disgusting practices some of which continue to exist (think river Ganga). That one chapter in Rajmohan Gandhi's book made me realize how important an issue was untouchability and oppression to M K Gandhi too. The next step was to find out a book written by a modern writer who digs deeper into the views and struggles of both these great men. As a part of this search, I half-halfheartedly asked Ramachandra Guha, an eminent historian, on twitter, to suggest a book, barely hoping that I would get a reply. To my astonishment, Guha did reply immediately, asking me to read D.R Nagaraj's "The Flaming Feet".
Late D R Nagaraj, who unfortunately passed away at the age of 44, was a well-known Dalit writer, thinker and activist. In this brilliant book, with Gandhi and Ambedkar as the protagonists, he writes about the history of Dalit movement in India, the shape it took eventually, the dos and don'ts of the movement in his view and so on. One point he sticks to throughout the book is that the Dalit movement, while trying to erase the painful past and to break away from the traditional Hindu customs, has been possibly erasing their rich cultural memory. He argues that the Dalits too need a cultural memory of their own. Nagaraj emphasizes on recreating the worlds of Dalits' Gods and Goddesses without giving any room for self-pity. He also reviews the works of writers like U R Ananthamurthy, Shivarama Karantha, Devanuru Mahadeva, Siddalingaiah who have been stimulative in their own ways to the Dalit movement.
As someone who started reading this book to study Gandhi and Ambedkar, the chapter I loved the most is the one in which the imagined voices of the protagonists are heard. Nagaraj comes up with two imaginary soliloquies where Gandhi and Ambedkar look at their country from heaven after its 50 years of independence and with their epic clash at the background, acknowledge each other for their respective capabilities and beliefs.
Being an upper-caste Hindu himself, Gandhi had to deal with the "outsider" tag in his fight against untouchability. Adding to this struggle, was his reluctance to abolish caste system and his theory of varnas. Gandhi believed in the purification of Hindu society. He stressed on the "conversion of hearts" of upper caste Hindus. While Nagaraj does appreciate this, he argues that in Gandhi's proposed method, the Dalits were mere subjects. Being a Dalit himself, Nagaraj has an understandable urge to be an agent of change rather than living, again, at the mercy of upper-caste Hindus. Nagaraj believes that Ambedkar did address this issue. Ambedkar's approach was to completely break away from the traditional world of oppression and create a separate identity for Dalits by fighting for their rights, to an extent that he even desired separate electorates for Dalits. Clearly, in Ambedkar's world, Dalits were and had to be agents of change. However, interestingly, Nagaraj argues that while Ambedkar's method laid the required foundation for mobilization of Dalits, their participation in Indian democracy and for securing their rights, the Dalits' achievements in this regard are fragile. Nagaraj appears to have realized that the upliftment of Dalits shall attain meaning eventually only through Gandhi's method of "conversion of hearts" of upper-caste Hindus.
Astonishingly, the reader of this book doesn't have to worry about Nagaraj being a Dalit himself. Like I mentioned earlier, there's no room for self-pity in the book. The fact that Nagaraj was a Dalit activist and a researcher helps the book in more ways than one. For anyone interested in Dalit movement and like me, in understanding Gandhi and Ambedkar in the context of caste system and Dalit upliftment, this book is a treat.
Late D R Nagaraj, who unfortunately passed away at the age of 44, was a well-known Dalit writer, thinker and activist. In this brilliant book, with Gandhi and Ambedkar as the protagonists, he writes about the history of Dalit movement in India, the shape it took eventually, the dos and don'ts of the movement in his view and so on. One point he sticks to throughout the book is that the Dalit movement, while trying to erase the painful past and to break away from the traditional Hindu customs, has been possibly erasing their rich cultural memory. He argues that the Dalits too need a cultural memory of their own. Nagaraj emphasizes on recreating the worlds of Dalits' Gods and Goddesses without giving any room for self-pity. He also reviews the works of writers like U R Ananthamurthy, Shivarama Karantha, Devanuru Mahadeva, Siddalingaiah who have been stimulative in their own ways to the Dalit movement.
As someone who started reading this book to study Gandhi and Ambedkar, the chapter I loved the most is the one in which the imagined voices of the protagonists are heard. Nagaraj comes up with two imaginary soliloquies where Gandhi and Ambedkar look at their country from heaven after its 50 years of independence and with their epic clash at the background, acknowledge each other for their respective capabilities and beliefs.
Being an upper-caste Hindu himself, Gandhi had to deal with the "outsider" tag in his fight against untouchability. Adding to this struggle, was his reluctance to abolish caste system and his theory of varnas. Gandhi believed in the purification of Hindu society. He stressed on the "conversion of hearts" of upper caste Hindus. While Nagaraj does appreciate this, he argues that in Gandhi's proposed method, the Dalits were mere subjects. Being a Dalit himself, Nagaraj has an understandable urge to be an agent of change rather than living, again, at the mercy of upper-caste Hindus. Nagaraj believes that Ambedkar did address this issue. Ambedkar's approach was to completely break away from the traditional world of oppression and create a separate identity for Dalits by fighting for their rights, to an extent that he even desired separate electorates for Dalits. Clearly, in Ambedkar's world, Dalits were and had to be agents of change. However, interestingly, Nagaraj argues that while Ambedkar's method laid the required foundation for mobilization of Dalits, their participation in Indian democracy and for securing their rights, the Dalits' achievements in this regard are fragile. Nagaraj appears to have realized that the upliftment of Dalits shall attain meaning eventually only through Gandhi's method of "conversion of hearts" of upper-caste Hindus.
Astonishingly, the reader of this book doesn't have to worry about Nagaraj being a Dalit himself. Like I mentioned earlier, there's no room for self-pity in the book. The fact that Nagaraj was a Dalit activist and a researcher helps the book in more ways than one. For anyone interested in Dalit movement and like me, in understanding Gandhi and Ambedkar in the context of caste system and Dalit upliftment, this book is a treat.
