Keeping up with UP: Dalit women take the lead in Ambedkarite movement

Dalit women were at the centre stage of politically non-aligned programmes, especially in Uttar Pradesh, on Bhimrao Ambedkar’s birth anniversary

On April 14, the annual spotlight remained on processions and politics marking the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar, the head of the Constitution’s drafting committee who championed Dalit rights. More profound and politically significant Dalit women-led programmes across states, demanding equality with dignity, have virtually gone unnoticed.

Floral tributes being offered to Ambedkar on his birth anniversary. (PTI)

Until some years back, men dominated the stage and speeches in northern India on April 14, unlike Maharashtra, and the neighbouring states, where Dalit women have been at the forefront of the Ambedkarite movement. This year, Dalit women were at the centre stage of politically non-aligned programmes, especially in Uttar Pradesh, where elections are less than a year away. Women took out candlelight processions, garlanded statues, and addressed conferences on Ambedkar and their Constitutional rights. Pamphlets were distributed. The events will be held throughout the month.

In places like Maharashtra’s Yavatmal, Dalit women celebrated their empowerment and cultural pride with flash mobs and performances.

Sanghapali Aruna, the executive director of Project Mukti, which works for marginalised communities, said a perceptible shift is visible on April 14, which has primarily become a day to spread awareness and reflect on the journey for empowerment and equity, besides cultural identity and pride. She recalled her childhood and said men outnumbered women everywhere on Ambedkar Jayanti.

Women Ambedkarites have increased their participation through plays, satires, and parodies on stage and social media. Groups, big and small, have dedicated cadres trained to carry forward the mission. They support survivors of caste-based sexual violence, run education centres, etc. Women Ambedkarites document the history of Dalit women’s organisations and literature.

Manjula Pradeep, who is from Ahmedabad and has trained thousands of Dalit women with leadership skills, said it is difficult to provide numbers, but they are all working for the mission in their respective areas. Her campaign revolves around “Untouchability—Speak Out, Educate, Unite and Agitate.”

From policy advocacy, legal aid, to equality labs, Mahila Mandals, Ambedkar Bhawans, and clubs, are spreading awareness by narrating the history of Dalit icons through plays, music, and satire.

For Rakhi Rawan, who is from Sikra Khurdai village in Uttar Pradesh’s Modi Nagar, Ambedkar’s mission is a year-round affair. “We have to bring women out of this trap of superstition and discriminatory structure of Manuvad [caste-based inequalities]...this is possible by educating women about the rights granted to them by Ambedkar.”

Rawan said they owe their existence to Ambedkar. To her, what matters is the expansion of his mission. It does not matter if she has 20 listeners or 100. Despite resistance from the family in the initial years, Rawan travelled across states and has, over the last decade, enrolled 40,000 for this mission. Rawan said the processions on Ambedkar Jayanti should showcase his contribution to their emancipation.

Many Ambedkarite women are also at the forefront of publishing and distributing booklets to educate Dalits about their icons. A silent literary revolution, which continues today, preceded the emergence of Dalit leaders like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati.

Dalit literature has been the backbone of the Ambedkar movement in places such as Maharashtra. Women have been writing about caste discrimination and struggles for their rights since the early 1950s.

Sumedha Bodh of the National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasis Organisations noted it was after Mayawati came to power that research was done on the contribution of Dalit women freedom fighters like Uda Devi Pasi, Jhalkari Bai, Mahaviri Devi, and Avanti Bai Lodhi, and books were published. Similarly, the larger community came to know about social reformer Savitribhai Devi Phule only after a book on her, written in Marathi, was translated into Hindi.

Bodh said Ambedkarites are setting up their own YouTube channels, newspapers, and magazines, in which women are actively contributing, to fight discrimination. Soon, they will set up a bank to encourage entrepreneurship.

Some of these women are associated with the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation and the BSP. Just as women have been pivotal to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s success, they have been the backbone of the BSP in Uttar Pradesh. Inspired by the meteoric rise of Mayawati, many women adopted her style and remain loyal to her, underscoring why she should not be written off despite erosion in BSP’s support base.