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Water and Caste: Part One - History of Mahad Satyagraha

Part one of this series has been conceptualised, scripted, and hosted by Swati Kamble, an anti-caste intersectional feminist researcher-activist. Her research broadly focuses on human rights and social justice movements, decolonisation, and intersectionality. In Part one, Swati guides us through the history of Mahad Satyagraha, the march for equality, dignity, and access to water, led by anti-caste leader and statesman, Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on 20th March 1927.This history is mired in the history of untouchability and caste apartheid as the foundational characteristics of the caste system. Strict endogamy and prohibition of social interaction sustained various historical practices and some that continue well into the 21st century such as prohibiting the former ‘untouchables’ (caste oppressed) from drawing water from a public water source. There is also a strong history of resistance and many milestones, including from 1869, when revolutionaries Jyotirao and Savitri Phule opened their private wells for ‘untouchable’ communities. What precipitated the march to the Chavdar tank in Mahad in 1927 was the following. On August 4, 1923, the Bombay Legislative Council adopted a resolution by S.K Bole, which recommended that ‘untouchables’ be given access to all public water bodies. The Mahad Municipality, which was then part of the erstwhile Bombay presidency reaffirmed this in 1924 but this law was not implemented due to upper class protest. Swati then provides the backdrop in which water and caste overlap and entwine, through forms of social control, flouting of legal norms and continuing caste atrocities. She introduces us to her grandfather, who followed a caste occupation, one of the many inhumane traditions that caste oppressed communities were tied to, called potraj. He joined the Mahad march and that changed his life forever, and by extension hers, setting her on course for the work she does for social justice. Two conversations underpin this story, one with advocate Disha Wadekar who provides legal and historical perspectives on how the Mahad Satyagraha influenced the anti-caste movement and played a pivotal role in the making of the Indian Constitution. Disha expertly leads us through the denial of water, access to public spaces, resources or the commons, and how the framing of Articles 15 and 17 of the Constitution was grounded in the people’s struggle to have equal access to water. She also takes us through the events preceding the Mahad Satyagraha and the anti-caste march to implement already codified laws, then speaks eloquently on the Southborough Franchise Committee (1918-1919), Government of India Acts and the Second Round Table conference (1931) to discuss constitutional reforms and how the rights to equal citizenship were core concerns. Disha emphasises that civilizational struggles around water are about power relations, and that citizenship is not an abstract idea, but is crucial to reclaiming human dignity for those deemed untouchable and posited as lower classes. The second conversation is with Hira Kanoje, or Grandma Hira as Swati calls her. Swati grew up listening to Hira’s fierce speeches delivered on the birth anniversaries of anti-caste revolutionaries at the labourers’ colony in Mumbai where they both lived, as neighbours. In this moving conversation, Hira ajji narrates her experiences as a young child who experienced untouchability but defiantly fought against it. Whether it was by drinking water from a forbidden pot at school or sneakily entering a village temple, she and her cousins were silent revolutionaries, whose stories remain undocumented. By including her narrative, we seek to honour her, and the unsung feminists and anti-caste activists like her. This story was produced for us by Vaaka Media. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram, as well as on their website. For this story, we commissioned Shrujana N Shridhar to create original artwork for us.