Seminar On Dalit Panthers Movement

Submitted to: Rev.PG Abraham Submitted by: Jinson John

Etymology

The word “Dalit,” from the Marathi for “broken” or “crushed,” has come to replace “untouchable” as the most common label
for the more than 160 million people who live at the bottom of the caste hierarchy in India and other parts of South Asia. . The
very name Dalit Panther is a Dalit emancipation social organization. They took on the title "Panthers" as they were to fight for
Dalit rights like panthers.

Dalit panthers

Dalit Panther is a Dalit emancipation social organization, founded by Namdev Dhasal in 1972 in Mumbai. Many dalit activists
joined this organization, but Namdev Dhasal, Raja Dhale and Arun Kamble were the original leaders of Dalit Panther.

Dalit Panther is inspired by Black Panther Party, a revolutionary movement amongst African-Americans, which emerged in
the United States in the 1960's.The idea of forming the Dalit Panthers came from Namdeo Dhasal and the organizational name
was borrowed from the 'Black Panther' Movement of the USA. The members were young men belonging to Neo-Buddhists
and Scheduled Castes.Most of the leaders were literary figures whose age ranged between 20 to 30 and academic
qualifications ranged from Non-matric to M.A.

The Dalit Panther movement was a radical departure from earlier Dalit movements. Its initial thrust on militancy through the
use of rustic arms and threats, gave the movement a revolutionary identity. The Dalit panthers , which saw its heyday in 1970s
and through the 80s, is now most active in Tamilnadu and in Maharashtra states.

Historical background of dalit panthers movement

The dominant Maratha caste, in Maharashtra had tightened its grip on important economic centers in rural agriculture – such
as land development, banks, marketing federation, sugar factories – in the name of the co-operative movement. The movement
was backed by the State.

This changed economic picture brought further misery to the dalits in the villages. The rich farmers and the bureaucracy
controlled by them initiated a series of atrocities on the dalits. Untouchables, landless dalit labourers fell prey to these
atrocities. So did the worker in the dalit movement, who raised his voice against them.

In cities and towns, the numbers of unemployed youth were increasing as a result of the capitalist system.With the spread of
education in the rural areas, there began to develop a class of educated dalit youth, who had hitherto been kept away from the
local economic and political system. Their association with workers of the leftist movements in rural areas gave them the
ability to understand the entire system.

Factors that led to the rise of dalit panthers movement

In order to understand the emergence and need for the Dalit Panther Movement, it’s best to trace back to the early 1950s and
look at the mass conversions from Hinduism to Buddhism that were going on at the time. Caste discrimination was particularly
prevalent in India in early 20th century, which prevented the “Untouchables” from using public water tanks, entering Hindu
temples, sitting in classrooms with Caste Hindus, seeking dignified employment, and having social contact with higher castes.
Many thought that this discrimination was rooted in the hierarchical ideology of Hinduism, and that caste was therefore a
direct result of this religion. The first significant attempt of escaping this hierarchical social structure, and a way of resisting
caste discrimination at the time, was led by B.R Ambedkar in what we know to be the Dalit Buddhist Movement (also known
as the Neo-Buddhist Movement): a socio-political movement by Dalits in India in which Hindus converted to Buddhism as a
method of resistance.

• “He wanted Untouchables to reject the Hindu social order without forfeiting their Indian Cultural Heritage, and he saw
in Buddhism a rational and moral ethic that would challenge the obscurant elements of Hinduism and provide a philosophy of
action for Untouchables.”

• Ambedkar therefore radically re-interpreted Buddhism, and the movement rejected Hinduism, challenged the caste
system and promoted the rights of the Dalit Community. Although scholars have since debated whether conversion was a
successful way of escaping caste – as every religion has its own ideological ideas around caste despite the anti-caste
discourses, this was still a significant factor in the history of the Dalit Panthers and how they came into being.

• Fast forward 20 years, and these Dalit’s who had converted to Buddhism, became writers in what scholars have named
the Little Magazine Movement, which challenged the monopoly of high-caste Hindu’s and brought anti-establishment
literature to the masses through Marathi literary magazines. These writers created a new language through which Dalit
resistance to power and oppression could become a public discourse, and established a trend for Dalit politics in which
virtually ever Dalit who could write, did so before becoming an activist. The Dalit Panthers, who were formally established in
1972, were rooted in this little Magazine Movement and were deeply inspired by the Black Panther Movement of America.
Their militant literature, community service and political struggle were something that the Dalit’s were familiar with, and so a
lot of their movement was inspired by their Civil Rights struggle.

• They called themselves ‘Dalit’ meaning downtrodden or ground down, because it was a casteless term that both
acknowledged and challenged their history of class oppression; and ‘Panthers’ because they were supposed to fight for their
rights like Panthers, and not get suppressed by the strength and might of their oppressors. The movement was characterised in
the beginning as Buddhist and vaguely socialist but as having no specific political ideology. As the Panthers become better
organized and more popular, they went beyond the criticism of caste and addressed issues of economics, gender and class.

Dalit panthers manifesto

The Dalit Panthers, embellishing the concept of dalits emancipation in their manifesto emphasized that a complete revolution
was needed. ‘We do not want a little place in the brahmin alley. We want the rule of the whole land, we are not looking at
persons but at systems and change of heart, liberal education etc, will not end out state of exploitation. When we gather a
revolutionary mass, rouse the people out of the struggle, the giant mass will become tidal wave’ The Dalit Panthers recognized
the contribution of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.The dalits of Maharashtra got acquainted with the
Panthers and the discontent of several years began to explode.

Who is a dalit?

Members of scheduled castes and tribes, Neo-Buddhists, the working people, the landless and poor peasants, women and all
those who are being exploited politically, economically and in the name of religion.

Who are our friends?

I) Revolutionary parties set to break down the caste system and class rule. Left parties that are left in a true sense

2) All other sections of society that are suffering due to the economic and political oppression.

Who are our enemies?

I) Power, wealth, price.

2) Landlords, capitalists, money-lenders and their lackeys.

3) Those parties who indulge in religious or casteist politics, and the government which depends on them.

Burning questions before dalits today

I) Food, clothing, shelter

2) Employment, land, untouchability

3) Social and physical injustice

The struggle for the emancipation of the dalits needs a complete revolution. Partial change is impossible. We do not want it
either. We want a complete and total revolutionary change. Even if we want to move out of the present state of social
degradation alone, we will have to exercise our power in economic, political, cultural fields as well. We will not be satisfied
easily now. We do not want a little place in the brahmin alley. We want to rule the whole country. We are not looking at
persons but at a system. Change of heart, liberal education, etc. will not end our state of exploitation. When we gather a
revolutionary mass, rouse the people, out of the struggle of this giant mass will come the tidal wave of revolutions. Legalistic
appeals, requests, demands for concessions, elections, satyagraha - out of these, society will never change. Our ideas of social
revolution and rebellion will be too strong for such paper-made vehicles of protest. They will sprout in the soil flower in the
mind and then will come forward with full force with the help of steel-strong means

Programmes and aims of dalit panthers

1) More than 80 per cent of India's population lives in the villages. Of those, landless peasants are 35 per cent, and 33 per cent
of all landless agricultural labourers belong to scheduled castes. (Those Dalit poor peasants who do own pieces ofland, own a
negligible amount). The question oflandlessness ofthedalit peasants must be resolved.

2) Landless peasants must immediately get excess land through the application of the Land Ceiling Act. Waste and jungle
land must likewise be distributed.

3) Feudal survivals are still to be found in the villages. Due to this, dalits are cruelly oppressed and exploited. Landlords and
rich peasants get social prestige along with wealth. Due to this, the atrocities on dalits have grown endemic. This system has
clamped itself on the dalit's chest, affecting every part of his life, from day to day living to the deeper economic questions.
This system must be destroyed.

4) The wages oflandless labourers must be increased

5) Dalits must be allowed to draw water from public wells.

6) Dalits must live, not outside the village in a separate settlement, but in the village itself.

7) All means of production must belong to the dalits.

8) Exploitation by private capital must cease.

9) Social, cultural and economic exploitation must be removed and socialism must be built in India. Misleading
nationalization must give away to a true introduction of socialism.

10) All dalits must be assured of daily wages.

11) Unemployed dalits must be given unemployment benefits.

12) All dalits must be given free education, medical facilities, housing and good quality cheap grains.

13) When giving employment in educational institutions, the requirements to declare one's caste and religion must be
immediately removed.

14) The government must stop giving grants to religious institutions immediately and the wealth of religious places must be
used for the benefit of dalits.

15) Religious and casteist literature must be banned.

16) The division in the army along caste lines must be ended.

17) Black marketeers; hoarders, money-lenders and all those exploiting the people economically must be destroyed.

18) The prices of essential commodities must be refunded. We will build the organization of workers, dalits, landless, poor
peasants through all city factories, in all villages. We will hit back against all injustice perpetrated on Dalits.

Leadership of the Dalit Panthers:

When the Dalit Panthers was founded in 1972, the initial leaders were Dhasal and J.V. Pawar. The organisation of the
movement was hierarchical, however resided in some form of group or joint leadership. The main four leaders were Dhasal,
Dhale, Mahatekar and Sangare. Due to ideological differences, each competed for leadership of the movement, with both
Dhasal and Dhale causing the majority of the infighting. With a lack of organisational strategy and structure of decision
making, the movement was mainly kept together through a commitment to Ambedkarite ideology (some in so far as pleasing
the Neo-Buddhists).

Most of the leaders were well educated but lacked experience when it came to organising a political movement. With the Dalit
Panthers seemingly radical position shown within the 1973 manifesto, Dhale had indicated his dismay over its publication.
Dhale argued that the manifesto was not a representation of the Panthers’ ideology but was simply published without the
consensus of the working committee. This divergent nature of the Dalit Panthers arguably led to its initial split and potentially
its demise.

Positions within the movement included the President (Raja Dhale), Vice-president (Vithal Sathe), Secretary (J.V. Pawar),
Treasurer (Avinash Mahatekar), Defence Minister (Namdeo Dhasal), Minister for Communication (Thorat), Public Minister
(Uddhav Salve), and a position for the women’s wing (Jayavanta Jagdhane).

Division within the movement:

In 1974 (two years after the movements conception) the Dalit Panthers split its organisation due to the political differences of
both Dhale and Dhasal. With Dhasal having allegiances with the communists, Dhale found the potential infiltration of
communists disturbing, as they would try to alter the ideological composition of the organisation. As a result of this split,
Dhale took the majority of the members (due to many holding Amberdkar as the bastion of the caste movement) and Dhasal
making his own movement of more radical members. These new organisations had later undergone their own splits, creating
four new movements: Mass Movement (led by Raja Dhale), Maharastra Dalit Panthers (led by Arun Kamble), Dalit Panthers
(led by Sangare and Mahatekar) and the Dalit Panthers (led by Namdeo Dhasal).

Successes of the Dalit Panthers:

Although the Dalit Panther movement quickly disbanded after it started, it is still a solid organization that had many successes,
especially during establishment. The rise of the Dalit Panther movement started in 1972 in Maharashtra. The most important
factor responsible for the rise of the Dalit Panther movement was the repression and terror the oppressed Scheduled Castes
continued to receive while living in rural areas. Dalit youth demonstrated resilience in that the lowest castes were not going to
accept indignities without protest (Paswan and Jaideva, 2002). They organized protests in objection towards caste Hindus who
have done them injustice and object their degraded status. Recognising that the protective discrimination policy does not
benefit them, they built this organisation on the premise of protecting each other, whether male or female. Their biggest
success is the strong sense of community and connection they have towards each other. Reflecting Ambedkar’s concern for
gender equality, they have also paid attention to women issues and consistently protected their female counterparts. When
Dalit women experienced incidents of abuse, rape or kidnapping by police or outsiders, Dalit men have intervened to help
women in their times of need. “Shabirs”, also referred to as study circles, are also held to empower women in which they learn
to confront bureaucratic authority (Contursi, 1993). Even after the original Dalit Panther organisation split in 1974, it
continued under different leadership, exemplifying the power of its influence. More recently in 1988, nearly 10,000 people
took part in a protest from different regions of Maharashtra (Paswan and Jaideva, 2002).

Failures of the Dalit Panthers:

Despite the successes of the Dalit Panther movement, the organisation became unstable with split opinions and lacked
organisational resources to bring together more oppressed and caste Hindus. Raja Dhale, the elected President, and Namdeo
Dhasal, the elected Defence Minister, failed to provide proper leadership and execute their ideas towards a better future. Their
manifesto emphasised the significance of issues pertinent to all Dalits which brought them closer together. However, no
serious attempts were made to comprehend and then tackle the problems, especially in the cases of Dalits living in villages
(Paswan and Jaideva, 2002). To sustain the movement, this organisation needed more order in executing their aims and
supporting their slogans. No serious efforts were made towards Dhale and Dhasal’s joint actions, therefore, this movement was
not able to launch at a national level. But most importantly, this organisation needed leaders who agreed on crucial
standpoints. The rift between Dhale and Dhasal is the main reason why the Dalit Panther movement split in 1974. They were
split between Buddhism/Ambedkar and Marxism perspectives on how to run the organisation (Paswan and Jaideva, 2002).
Due to these differences, there was not proper leadership and this movement failed to move in the right direction.

Conclusion

The Dalit Panthers emerged to fill the vacuum created in Dalit politics resulting from B.R. Ambedkar's Republican Party of
India splitting into factions. The Dalit Panthers led to a renaissance in Marathi literature and arts. They advocated for and
practised radical politics, fusing the ideologies of Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule and Karl Marx. Crucially, the Dalit Panthers
helped invigorate the use of the term Dalit to refer to lower-caste communities. This manifesto, issued in 1973, combines the
Ambedkarite spirit with a broader Marxist framework and heralds the rise of autonomous Dalit perspective in post-
Independence India..