INTRODUCTION:

The Jatavas of Agra were lying in a low caste (Untouchable Community) whose traditional occupation was leather working or it can be said that they were the landless labourers who gave their manpower to the leather industry mostly in Agra. According to some writers, they were at the bottom of the caste hierarchy which was polluting to the upper castes and therefore, was the objects of discrimination; and because of that low caste rank, they had remained on the whole, illiterate, poor, and virtually powerless.

The Untouchables was called one of the “Scheduled Castes” because of a special relationship, they had with the government. A Scheduled Caste was one whose name appears on a list first issued by the British government in the year of 1935.¹

The word Chamar is derived from the carmakara, charmakrit, padukara, padukrit, which means leather workers. Shoes were made of leather which manufactured from the hides and skin of dead or slaughtered animals which were mentioned in the Brahmans, in the Manu code and the older law books, in the Mahabharata, in the Ramayana, and in the Vishnu Purana. To that latter class belonged the common labourers and those who, on account of the disgusting aspects of their work and life, were deemed to be unclean and untouchable.² The unpleasant and evil-smelling occupation of leather tanning relevant them to the peripheries of respectable society or even that they were part of a race conquered by Ancient Aryans.³ Many of the mythical accounts of Chamar origins were mentioned in the Ancient literature. Through these sources, it is proved that the position of the Chamars in India was very low indeed. The traditional occupation assigned to them were tanning hides, making shoes and removing the carcasses of dead animals, which they eat. Since leather was a polluting of foods, the Chamar who engages in such acts, and by association all other Chamars, becomes polluted. Because of this pollution Chamars, more often than not, were forced to live on the periphery of a village or in separate hamlets.⁴

Quotes a proverb about the Chamars, who were “supposed” to be dark in complexion, while the uppers castes were “supposed” to be fair in complexion,

Karia Brahman, gora Chamar

Inke sath na utariye paar

If the Brahman be black, if the Chamar be fair,

Let the wise beware if cross the river be dare.

The Chamars were most numerous in North India, especially in the states of U.P., Punjab, and Bihar. The Census of 1901 showed them to be numerically the largest group of castes in the former North-western Provinces and Oudh, while the Brahmans ranked second.⁵ There were numerous castes of Chamars; the census of 1891 listed 1156 of them.⁶ The Jatavas was one of these castes or endogamous groups of Chamars, but they tend to consider themselves separate from and higher than other Chamar castes.⁷ The Jatavas were found largely in the western part of the U.P. and northward up into Punjab state. They were sometimes known as Jatiya, Jatua, or Jadav, but the name Jatav is current in Agra City. Some say that their name is derived from the word Jat, meaning camel driver; others that their name connects them with the Jat caste. It is sometimes said that they were descendants from the marriage of Jats with Chamars.⁸ One of the writers was noted that the Jatavas of Gorakhpur District was served by Gaur Brahmans for priestly services and that, therefore given them a high status.⁹ The Jatiya could reasonably claim to be the highest of all the sub-castes of Chamars.¹⁰

There were in Agra City Corporation 71, 404 Chamars, of whom almost all were Jatavas. According to India Census Commission 1963, the 2262 Buddhists were almost converted into Jatavas, who cannot be listed as Scheduled Castes. According to Census of 1961, the total population of Agra City was 4, 62, 020 in which about 16 percent or one-sixth, was the Jatavas population. As members of the Scheduled Castes, the Jatavas were often called Harijans, a name given to all Untouchables by Gandhi. Literally, the word Harijans means “Childs of God”.¹¹

Ambedkar’s relation with Jatavs:

Ambedkar related to Jatavs who were landless laborers and hereditary leather workers of Agra with historical contacts, structural position, and cultural continuities. Ambedkar fight at the Round Table Conferences was known at least to the literate Jatavs. A telegram was sent from Agra to London in the name of the Agra Jatavs supporting Ambedkar as their leader and as representative of their views. These Jatavs were rejected Gandhi’s claim to be their leader in that Round Table Conference. This support grew to the point that a unit of the Scheduled Castes Federation was formed in Agra in 1942. A result of this conflict was that from the time of the Round Table Conferences until Gandhi’s death, Ambedkar considered the Mahatma an enemy, not a liberator, of the Untouchables.¹² Ambedkar once wrote about the Untouchables in 1946:

“To the Untouchables, Hinduisms is a veritable chamber of horrors. The sanctity and infallibility of the Vedas, smritis, and shastras, the iron law caste, the heartless law of karma and the senseless law of status by birth are to the Untouchables veritable instruments of torture which Hinduism has forgotten against the Untouchables. These very instruments which have mutilated blasted and blighted the lives of the Untouchables are to be found intact and untarnished in the bosom of Gandhism”¹³

There were some points which have supported Ambedkar against Gandhi are as given below:

1. Agra city had a communication network of railways, post, telegraph, and newspapers. With these opportunities, Agra had urbanities and the Jatavs had access to information about Ambedkar and his movement not readily available in villages.

2. Literate Jatavs could avail itself of this information as well as evaluate the contents in Agra.

3. Jatavs of Agra had already achieved a degree of independence and freedom of action which permitted them to do much as they liked.

In the year of 1940s, when Ambedkar was Labour member, they asked for and received his help in getting a higher priority rating for railroad shipments of their shoes during the Second World War. He is believed to be, and indeed was, the architect of the Constitution, which abolishes their Untouchability and grants them full citizenship and the franchise.¹⁴ an informant notes:

“Dr. Ambedkar was a great man because he was honest and possessed integrity. He had reached samadhi. He was all for his people and only for that. Some say he was popular because he got jobs for us or because he fought for us, but the real secret is that he was all for us with all his being”¹⁵

Ambedkar was an Untouchable, and the Jatavs occupied in common, and which Gandhi did not share. There was a general assumption in Agra that only an Untouchable could really understand and achieve empathy with other Untouchables and there was the often heard phrase that he is “one of our men”.¹⁶

Ambedkar was a revolutionary. He led the fight against Untouchability, Hinduism, and the Brahman caste, so hated by the Jatavs. Not only was his interpretation of Gandhism, the Poona Pact, and Hinduism accepted by the Jatavs of Agra, but also he gave them a counter-ideology. Thus the Jatavs, who were striving for mobility and who could easily become revolutionaries themselves.¹⁷

Ambedkar came to Agra and made some speeches in 1946 and again in 1956. He was known by sight to the mass of Agra Jatavs, who felt they had experienced his charismatic view (Darshana). The arrival of Ambedkar in 1956 was not noticed by the Scheduled Caste alone but other communities also. Agra city has been a staunch center of Ambedkarite Movement from good old days. Dr. Ambedkar paid a last visit of his life to Agra city on the 18^th March 1956. During this visit, he addressed highly to the masses, the leaders, the landless laborers, his followers, the Buddhist monks, the government employees, the students and the youths.

Most of his speeches, the researchers highlight the speech of masses, leaders and landless laborers:

“For the past 30 years, I am struggling to secure political rights for you people. I have got for you reserved seats in parliament and in state assemblies. I have got for you proper provision for the education of your children. Today, we can progress. It is now your duty to continue the struggle untidily for removal of educational, economic and social inequality. For this purpose, you will have to be prepared for all sorts of sacrifices and even to shed your blood.

If someone invites you to his place, you may go willingly. But you must not go there by putting your own hut on fire. If that king quarrels with you some days and drives you out of his place, where will you go? If you want to sell out yourselves you may do so nut at the cost of destroying your organization. I do not have any dangers from others, but I feel danger from our own people.

I am more worried for the landless laborers of the villages. I could not do much for them. I cannot bear their sufferings and plights. The main reasons for their sufferings are that they do not have land. Therefore, they are victims Humiliations and struggles for it. If the government puts any hurdle in it. I will lead these people and will also give a legal battle for them, but I shall try to secure land for the landless.”¹⁸

Ambedkar had also highlight attention on the policies of the industries. He had stated about the structure of industries that must be organized and would benefit all the communities of the Indian society. Ambedkar thinks that the agriculture sector must be nationalized by the state government but the industries should be nationalized completely. In the views of Ambedkar, state socialism meant the nationalized of agriculture and industry in the restricted areas. Ambedkar wanted a permanent economic structure of state socialism. Ambedkar wanted the key industries should only be owned and run by the state and the industries which are not the key industries, but which are basic, should be owned by the state and should be run by the state or corporation established by the Indian government. The government's industries can play an important role in promoting equitable distribution of wealth for every community’s people in the Indian society, in respect of this; the private industries cannot perform this work. The government industries can think for the welfare of the people, especially the depressed people but not by the private sector. Therefore, Ambedkar insisted to establish the key industries under the state control and also suggested that the insurance sector should be owned and run by the state only for providing the security to the people. In this regard, Ambedkar made the speech in the respect to the economic structure of state socialism.¹⁹

“The way out seems to retain parliamentary democracy and to prescribe state socialism by the law of the constitution so that it will be beyond the reach of a parliamentary majority to suspend amends or abrogate it. It is only by this that one can achieve the triple objects, namely, to establish socialism, retain parliamentary democracy and avoid dictatorship.”²⁰

CONCLUSION:

In respects of these speeches, we can conclude that Ambedkar had done many of work on the economic perspective. He worked for the Jatavs of Agra and many of depressed classes. He also made a lot of speeches with regard to the economy, labor, industries, etc. That’s why; the depressed classes had selected Ambedkar as a leader and in the present day, Ambedkar is the ideal for many of the communities of Indian society.

REFERENCES:

1. Lynch, O. M.The politics of untouchability: social mobility and social change in a city of India. New York: Columbia University Press. 1969. p. 23.

2. Briggs, G. W. The Chamars. Association Press. 1920. p. 13.

3. Ibid, p. 17.

4. Lynch, O. M. Op. Cit., p. 29.

5. Census of India. 1901. vol. 16 N.W.P. & Oudh Part 1.

6. Briggs, G. W. Op. Cit. 1920. p. 21.

7. Lynch, O. M. Op. Cit. p. 30.

8. Ibid. Also see, Briggs, G. W. Op. Cit. 1920. p. 23, and also see, Crooke, W. The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh (Vol. 3). Office of the superintendent of government printing. 1896. p. 173.

9. Lynch, O. M. Op. Cit. p. 30.

10. Briggs, G. W. Op. Cit. 1920. p. 22.

11. Census of India. 1961 vol. 1 India Part 2-B. Economic Tables (General population).

12. Lynch, O. M. Op. Cit. p. 133-137-138.

13. Ibid. p. 133.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Alladi Veerabhadra Rao. Gandhi’s Concept of Satyagraha. Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2018; 9(1): 24-28.

17. Abhinav Kumar. Dr. Ambedkar’s Unfinished Crusade: The Annihilation of Caste. Research J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 6(2): April-June, 2015, 80-84.

18. (Extracted from Speech delivered by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on his visit to Agra city on 18^th March 1956) – Speech compiled by Mr. Daya Shankar of Agra.

19. Yadava, J.S. Jatavs of Agra: Study in Social Mobility. Economics and Political Weekly. vol.5, 1970. January.

20. Extracted speech from Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and speeches, vol. I, Government of Maharashtra Publication, Mumbai.

Received on 10.08.2018 Modified on 11.09.2018

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2018; 9(4): 799-802.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2018.00134.1