SEPTEMBER 5 AS TEACHERS’ DAY – THE DALIT CRITIQUE

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18/04/2023, 05:36

September 5 as Teachers’ Day – The Dalit Critique: Abhay Kumar | KAFILA – COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006

KAFILA – COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006 CULTURE, DEBATES, EDUCATION

September 5 as Teachers’ Day – The Dalit Critique: Abhay Kumar 18/08/2014 | NIVEDITA MENON | 15 COMMENTS Guest post by ABHAY KUMAR While the schools and educational institutions of the country have been observing September 5 as Teachers’ Day since 1962, on the birth anniversary of the first Vice-President and second President of independent India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975), a section of Dalits, mostly students, activists and intellectu‐ als at public universities, are increasingly denouncing its observance. They contend that the birthday of Radhakrishnan, a Brahmin, should no longer be held as Teachers’ Day because he had made no contribu‐ tion to the educational uplift of lower castes and classes. Instead they exhort people to observe National Teachers’ Day on January 3, the birth anniversary of the nineteenth century social reformer, and teacher from backward caste, Savitribai Phule (1831-1897).

According to the biographer of Savitribai Phule, M. G. Mali (Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule, 2005), she was taught by her husband in a school run under the shade of a mango tree. Access to education enabled her to become aware about egalitarian movements at global level as she managed to read the biography of Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846), who fought for liberation of the Black. Later when she became a teacher, it was vehemently opposed by reactionary Brahmins who pelted stone and threw dung on her in order to “save” orthodox Hindu religion. When frustrated Brahmins were unable to deter the zeal of Phules about imparting education, they succeeded in reasoning with her father-in-law, Govinda Rao, to force them to leave home. She preferred eviction with her husband from home to giving up her mission on education. Despite the opposition, they continued to persuade parents to send their daughters to schools. As a result of their hard work, 18 schools were opened from 1848 to 1852. Her dedication to spread education, particular‐

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ly among subalterns is self-evident from a few lines of her poem. ‘All gets lost without knowledge… We be‐ come animal without wisdom…So learn and break the chains of caste….Throw away the Brahman’s scrip‐ tures fast.’   Though it has been claimed that the celebration of Savitribai Phule’s birth day as Teachers Day has been held since the 1970s by the radical Dalit Panther, the intensified campaigns, particularly at public universi‐ ties, have been observed in the last few years. In what follows, I will mainly discuss such activism at India’s two prestigious universities, Hyderabad Central Universities (HCU) and Jawaharlal Nehru Universities (JNU) where the assertions of Dalit politics are felt  much stronger than many other places. Bahujan Student Front (BSF), a Dalit organisation active at Hyderabad Central University since its forma‐ tion in 2007, has been celebrating the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule as Teachers’ Day for a few years. In its last year’s pamphlet, the BSF offered justification for this. ‘Education was denied to the Bahujan Samaj under the barbaric brahmanical reign; despite this, Savitribai Phule made radical efforts to enlighten the mulnivasis of India by taking up education as the weapon for emancipation.’ As Dalit ideology views Brahminism as a primary contradiction and education as one of the most important means for liberation, it opposes the observance of Teachers’ Day on the birth anniversary of a Brahmin, who is alleged to have been an apologist of Hinduism / Brahminism as a scholar of comparative religion. Similarly, S. Swaroop Sirapangi, a student of HCU with Dalit-Bahujan ideological persuasion, posted a pamphlet in 2012 on his blog that Savitribai Phule, unlike Radhakrishnan, deserved to be recognised as real educator, for she, along with her husband Jyotiba Phule, was in the forefront of spreading education, partic‐ ularly for women and lower castes as early as the middle of nineteenth century. ‘As Brahmins never im‐ parted education to others, especially to the subaltern, Savitri Bai Phule and her husband Jyotiba Phule were instrumental in taking a revolutionary step to educate the subaltern sections.’ A web portal ‘Dalit Muslims Voice’ also supports Dalits’ demand. It, thus, praises Savitribai Phule as “a radical exponent of mass and female education”, “champion of women’s liberation”, “pioneer in engaged poetry”, “courageous mass leader” fighting against “upper caste atrocities”. It is to be noted that Pasmanda Muslims, Dalit and backward caste Muslims, allege that they face exploitation and humiliation at the hands of upper caste Ashraf Muslims.  As a result they have forged an alliance with lower castes of Hindus and other religious communities. In JNU too, similar campaigns have been launched by United Dalits Students Forum (UDSF) by organizing seminars, holding public meetings and taking out political processions. Over the years, the traditionallystrong left students’ organisations of JNU, which have been alleged to have ignored Dalit-Bahujan icons till recently, have now no hesitation in wearing Phule’s badge on their sleeves. In short, while smashing Brahmin gods, the Dalits are simultaneously inventing their own icons. To understand this phenomenon, let me draw on the work of social historian Badri Narayan (Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India:  Culture, Identity and Politics, 2006). According to him, Dalits’ identity his‐ tory attempts to iconize Dalit heroes and heroine. The purpose of this exercise is to challenge the hegemony of the upper castes in the sphere of culture and civil society. The inventions of new icons like Phule, Udadevi, Jhalkaribai, Avantibai, Pannadhai, Mahaviridevi are meant for enthusing Dalits to become “mili‐ tant” to fight against the oppression and exploitation of the upper castes. As he puts it, ‘In contemporary times, as Dalits narratives are being rewritten and recreated to awaken the oppressed Dalit communities.’ (p. 158.) Dalits’ Bitter Experience with Teachers Dalits were denied access to education till a few centuries ago in Indian society. Under the colonial condi‐ tion, a number of social reform movements were led by subaltern radicals who propagated the idea of equality in a highly stratified society. As the colonial government gradually introduced education for mass‐ es, some Dalits were able to enter schools. But unlike the experience of upper caste students, who often glo‐ rified teachers and placed them higher than gods, Dalits, on the other hand, had an experience of mistreat‐ ment, discrimination and humiliation at schools. There is a significant amount of work on the colonial peri‐ https://kafila.online/2014/08/18/september-5-as-teachers-day-the-dalit-critique-abhay-kumar/

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od which shows such inhumanly treatment of Dalit students. Most of Dalit autobiographies, written in post-colonial period, also reflect on this grim reality. For example, Arvind Malagatti’s Government Brahmana (2007) recalls with pain how he was abused as “bastard” and was forced to undergo severe punishment. But most shockingly, the teacher inflicted pain on him without touching his body. “But we untouchable lot never had the good fortune of receiving slaps from his hands,” says the young Malagatti (p. 14). The experi‐ ence of Namdeo Nimgade (In the Tiger’s Shadow: The Autobiography of An Ambedkarite, 2010) is not less painful. ‘The headmaster admitted me under the strict condition that I, being untouchable, must never en‐ ter with a handful of other untouchables on the hot veranda and listen to lessons through a window”, rues Nimgade. (p. 27) These examples show the bitter experience of Dalit students with their upper caste teachers. As a result, Dalits nourish a negative image of upper caste and Brahminical teachers. The denunciation of Radhakrishnan as an educator for nation is informed by this very sociological and historical experiences of Dalits. Instead, the invention of the icon of a backward caste woman Savitribai may be viewed as a sign of the intensification of the process of Dalitisation of public culture. Abhay Kumar ([email protected]) is pursuing PhD at Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.       SAVITRIBAI PHULE TEACHERS' DAY

15 thoughts on “September 5 as Teachers’ Day – The Dalit Critique: Abhay Kumar” 1. Priyanka Chakrabarty says: 18/08/2014 AT 3:23 PM Very interesting article…But instead of always bringing the caste aspect all the time, wish to see some article where the human effort is revered more than anything else and the inhuman caste bias may be by any caste to be degraded without mentioning the caste. there are extreme good and learned people among all castes be it Dalits or Brahmins. All the immensely respectful. But directly condemning one caste or the other is criticizing the whole caste and that is bias. One Brahmin and many Brahmins might do some inhuman act but this cannot be sentenced to all the people within their caste group. One Dalit and many Dalit might do some inhuman act but this cannot be sentenced to all the people within their caste group. Kudos to Savitribai Phule..it is felt that she had transgressed all the caste bias and she had actually made effort for human upliftment… 2. vartika3007 says: 18/08/2014 AT 7:40 PM I totally agree with the fact that Phules should be recognized for their splendid work toward education but I don’t really agree with the fact that Radhakrishanan has not contributed much towards education. He was a great philosopher and has earned the prestige instead of coming from a poor family. His birth‐ day is celebrated as teacher’s day not only because he comes from a Brahmin family. And I think substi‐ tuting Phules with Radhakrishnan further complicates the problem on the basis of caste and religion in our society. I agree with the fact that Dalits has been exploited by the upper castes but the solution is not in back lashing but in making them so strong that they could be not exploited further. We should stop highlighting everything on the basis of caste and religion and come up with real solutions. 3. rajnath t says: 18/08/2014 AT 9:10 PM The aspect of being a woman and a liberator should be stressed. It is true without colonialism,bad as it was, some understanding of equality came to INDIA. At least the fact that everyone is a human be‐ ing.well Radhakrishan no doubt was a scholar but bhramnical as he was, he was also out of touch with https://kafila.online/2014/08/18/september-5-as-teachers-day-the-dalit-critique-abhay-kumar/

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reality and one has to read his writings on democracy wherein he says that India has always been de‐ mocratic. One would like to ask for whome? 4. Aakash says: 18/08/2014 AT 10:07 PM saying that “They contend that the birthday of Radhakrishnan, a Brahmin, should no longer be held as Teachers’ Day..” and “Instead they exhort people to observe National Teachers’ Day on January 3, the birth anniversary of the nineteenth century social reformer, and teacher from backward caste, Savitribai Phule (1831-1897).” (in the firest para) is downgrading sawitribai fule’s contribution. sawitribai wanted education for all girls without any caste difference. people want to observe techers day on her name not because of her belonging to a backward caste, but for her contribution to women education and for breaking bhramin hegemony in this sector. so this is not required to mention her caste all the time. 5. R Radhakrishnan says: 19/08/2014 AT 11:38 AM As a former student of JNU, I am disappointed to note that JNU is being used as a brand for promoting vested agendas. The tragedy is Phules’ contribution is also relegated to caste politics in the state of Maharashtra, where I am presently based. The renaming of the university of Pune was more of a sym‐ bolic exercise, before the elections. The question is when will Dalits be accorded equal respect and seen as agents for themselves ? The article once again relegates Dalits to the status of foot soldiers, as the au‐ thor out of his own willful ignorance has clubbed up SC, St, OBCs and minorities together, through the poster of Bahujan students. The Dalits who had embraced Christianity and Islam continue to face ha‐ rassment at the hands of their so called upper caste fellow believers. In Tamilnad, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states, the Dalits are forced to be at the service of the new non brahmanical elite called OBCs. In Hyderabad, virulent pentecostal christian groups have made inroads giving fodder to Hindu com‐ munal groups. Late President S Radhakrishnan was teaching in a University and not in a Brahmin pathshala, as the ignorant notes of the author seems to suggest. He is known for Now by this logic is Mr Abhay Kumar, who is ironically pursuing PhD at CHS, suggesting that respect‐ ed scholars like Professors who are not Dalits like CP Bhambri, Pannikar, Sudha Pai, Diapankar Gupta, Niraja Gopal, Kalim Bahadur, Susan Vishwanathan, Zoya Hassan, Gurpreet Mahajan, Balvir Arora, Rajiv Bhargava, who had taught many generations to confront inequality and oppression, be debarred from teaching or their contribution to education be dismissed with contempt in JNU?? Please work sincerely and honestly towards giving all the icons like Phule, Ambedkar or periyar due recognition, instead of reducing them to the status of caste icons, instead of expressing mock anger with contrived passions. In this context one must note the significance of the Bahujan movement under Mayawati, its ability to negotiate with the existing power structures and asserting for an equal space in representation and governance. The article rather very conveniently ignores the appropriation of pro‐ gressive Dalit, socialist and justice movements and social justice icons like Ambedkar by upper caste/class elites, towards whom the a sense of servitude is displayed in the media and other institutions. 1. Sadashiv Marji says: 25/08/2015 AT 8:50 PM I agree with you that there is a tendency among the researchers of distorting the facts that Phule, Periyar, Ambedkar’s views on caste and untouchability have been totally mistakened and they try to see them in isolation. They lack holistic approach to study indian social system in which the contri‐ butions made by the intellectuals like the deo-Phule,Periyar and Ambedkar have been treated as sec‐ tarian and they have been iconized wrongly as the leaders of Dalit Bahujans. As far as the treatment meted to the untouchables in the contemporary society, it is worst than the animals by the fellow OBC’s and the so-called backward classes. The atrocities have been perpetrat‐ ed on Dalits obviously not by the upper castes but by the new generation of backward classes who have taken the advantages of changing power equations in rural india due to the reservations and economic development. Further it is evident in the recent past incidents of atrocities and heinous crimes perpetrated on the Dalits by the middle castes. It is also true that the OBC’s have never treat Dalits as their allies. During Mandal Commission agitations it was Dalits who have stood by the https://kafila.online/2014/08/18/september-5-as-teachers-day-the-dalit-critique-abhay-kumar/

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Central Government to implement the recommendations and unfortunately OBC’s have never sup‐ ported the causes of Dalits, be it the agitations against caste discriminations, untouchability, atroci‐ ties on women of Dalit communities etc., As you have raised the issue of non solidarity among the Dalits,OBC’s and converted muslims and christians is the main cause for looking at the so called reformers like Phule, Periyar and Ambedkar as the leaders of their own communities rather the leaders of the masses who have contributed for the development of the nation. This way iconization of the mass leaders like the deo is sheer negli‐ gence which cannot be pardoned. 6. Abhay Kumar says: 19/08/2014 AT 11:46 AM I completely agree with you, Aakash, that the contribution of Savitribai cannot be reduced to the fact that she was a backward caste woman. Similarly, I do not believe that Ambedkar was only the leader of Dalits. For me, his philosophy and actions aim at liberation of all. As I have used the term backward caste for Phule, which you have critiqued, I do not mean here that she has only worked for the lower castes or she is only the leader of a particular section. Rather, I used the term backward caste for Phule to show a contrast between two images of Radhakrishnan and Savitribai Phule. 7. Arjun Patel says: 19/08/2014 AT 12:33 PM 21 st century is the century of the Mulnivasi of India. I like the article. It is not in Hyderabad only but all over India the Mulnivasi movement is going on at faster speed. The upper castes are responsible as they have not given `enough’ space for the lower castes and that is why phenomenon of Kanshiram ans Mayawati emerged at every level and in coming days if they do not learn lesion from this they have to face the music. I like the assertion and do not feel bad about denouncing the `imposed leaders’ on the Mulnivasi. Nothing wrong in it, it is a historical process. Pl. does not reduce the movement by using the word Dalit. This category itself becomes hurdlers in spreading the movement among the various seg‐ ments of Mulnivasi including SCs, STs, OBCs and Minorities. Pl. always tries to use the concept called Mulnivasi. It will encompass all the groups which are exploited by the brahminical system. The Brahmans have not ruled over the bahujan since thousands of years but also ruined their culture. One has to dig out such heroes of Mulnivasis and highlighted. Mulnivasi culture can not be the culture of the Brahmans. Mulnivasi have to differentiate their culture than only they will liberate. Developed parallel culture and parallel organisations at every layer to fight against Brahmanism. If Brahmans have not recognised heroes of Mulnivasis, the Mulnivasi people project their heroes. One should not read this as casteism. Casteism starts with upper castes who have benefited by this since thousands of years and not the lower castes, who remained at the periphery of the system. But the pity is that the upper castes al‐ ways criticise every move of the lower castes as casteist. But do not care for that. That is their duty and they just perform it, nothing else. . Arjun Patel, Surat, Gujarat 8. Dharmaraj says: 21/08/2014 AT 2:12 AM To begin with, I just could not resist the desire to add on my comment because it is an issue which needs to be dabated. I see this article as one of such extensions. First, the language of this article is not very woven as a result of which it, unfortunately, turns into nothing but a reporting. There are few places where it is just mentioned that how dalits or backwards may recollect the futility of the celebration of the teacher’s day on 5th September. The article has been written in such a way that it gives diverse meanings which can be witnessed through the reading of above comments. As why it happened to be so needs to be carefully observed and understood. The answer, I think, is that Abhay actually has not made his position clear. It is not so that mere his position is not clear but he has not concluded his arguments in any favour as “why, according to which argument of Abhay, Savitribai Phule’s birthday should be celebrated as teachers day”. There is no substantial argument in it except the information that who be‐ longed to which caste and Phules struggled for education of suppressed castes or we must say for class too.

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First, there is a need to take the social position instead of giving overviews of others. Second, there should be an argument given by the author which must be substantial except caste which is common knowledge. I say except caste or their struggle because all of us know about it for sure. Why the author needs to write on this issue again without having his own argument formed when there are many writ‐ ings and series regarding this ? Due to this reason, this article, in itself, is very problematic, the impact of which, thankfully, we can read above as how the debate got driven in a very different direction. Well, this is my personal opinion that Savitribai Phule’s birthday must be celebrated as ‘Teachers Day’. The reasons could be clear, only if I also write a piece. 1. R Radhakrishnan says: 21/08/2014 AT 5:53 PM I endorse the above mentioned comments of Mr Dharmaraj. The article simply fails to meet the ob‐ jective of presenting Savitri Bai Phule and S Radhakrishnan as binary opposites. Secondly there has been a lack of sincerity and efforts in deconstructing or even questioning the contribution of S Radhakrishnan. One can’t dismiss the contribution or credential of someone just on the grounds of his or her primordial identity, which the article if not the arguments intended to. 1. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma says: 24/08/2014 AT 1:57 AM I agree with what Dharmaraj has said that the article by Abhay is devoid of his position on the central issue.However,it’s entirely true that when we are judging someone like Radhakrishnan we cannot ignore the larger structural underpinnings of the vicious system of caste inequality.‐ Moreover,it’s also a fact that on humanistic grounds we need to critically assess that weather Radhakrishnan even faintly endeavoured to deconstruct the inequality and parochialism in the dissemination of education to an inclusive subject,dalits being it’s part.If not then questions will certainly be raised in the context of his being a teacher contributing to education.The efforts can‐ not be taken at face value and will certainly be judged in the different contexts as Dalit bahujans and others. 9. Akash says: 25/08/2014 AT 10:27 AM I don’t think we need to get worked up about cultural symbols like this. If you’re a caste Hindu, then let’s face it, you’ve been having a swell time with having your symbols used by the government. I don’t like mythmaking, but Bahujan groups have as much of a right to engage in it as we have in the past. Frankly, I think Shahu Maharaj did more than Phule though. 10. IndraNaik says: 14/09/2014 AT 8:17 PM Yes,it is better to celebrate Smt Savitri Pule,s birth on her actual birthday 3rd January, insteed of 5thSeptember 11. Ajit N. Gedam says: 02/09/2015 AT 3:09 PM AJIT GEDAM Yes, I agree to celebrate 3rd January as a “Teachers Day” because contribution to Literate woman by Smt. Savitribai phule. She had started first school for girls. Because of her contribution now Pune University is rename as “Savitribai phule Pune university” “Truth can never Die” May be future generation will celebrate 3rd January as a Teacher’s Day” a grand Salute to Smt. Savitribai Phule. 12. Pingback: September 5 as Teachers’ Day – The Dalit Critique – Abhay Kumar

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