Dalit Panthers

Dalit Panthers
Dalit Panthers
Founder	Namdeo Dhasal; J. V. Pawar;
Founded	9 July 1972
Ideology	Dalit socialism; Anti-casteism; Buddhism; Marxism
	Politics of India; Political parties; Elections;

The Dalit Panthers is a social organisation that seeks to combat

Buddhist

activists.

Formation and influence

The backdrop for the formation of the Dalit Panthers was set by various socio-political developments in Maharashtra. The first non-Congress state governments were established in 1967, and global youth political movements gained momentum. The Yuvak Kranti Dal had been formed in Maharashtra, and a mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism occurred in 1956. The period also witnessed a significant land rights movement led by Dadasaheb Gaikwad and an extension of reservation benefits to converted Buddhists in the late 1960s.^[4]

Litterateur

Mahars as its social base.^[8]

The Dalit Panthers were largely inspired by the

African-Americans, during the civil rights movement in the United States, which occurred in the mid-20th century.^[2]^[5] Because of this, they adopted Black Panther's organisational structure and strategies, as well as were influenced by African-American literature.^[3] During the first public meeting of Dalit Panthers', Pawar invited writer Raja Dhale to give a speech after being impressed by an opinion piece of Dhale ("Black Independence Day") about unfair laws towards Dalits. Dhale's speech was lauded, and Pawar invited him to join the Panthers, which he immediately agreed.^[2] After that, Dhale, Dhasal, and Pawar took the role of organisation's president, defence minister and general secretary respectively.^[3]

Worli riots

Prior to the foundation of the Dalit Panthers,

Roza Deshpande of the CPI.^[2]

In the same year, the organisation was attacked by civilians, mostly Shiv Sena's supporters,

lathi charge and arrested 19 persons.^[11] Five days later, police arrested four important leaders of the Dalit Panthers during a march against police brutality and partisan attitude against Scheduled Caste persons on a BDD Chawl violence case.^[11] During what become known as the Worli riots, Bhagwat Jadhav, a member of the Dalit Panthers, was killed by a grinding stone thrown from an apartment at the rally.^[6]

The organisation's heyday lasted until 1977.[2]

Ideology

The Dalit Panthers advocated for and practised radical politics, fusing the ideology of

Buddhists, which caused divergences that led to the dissolution of the organisation.^[2]

Despite its name and of being generally accepted as a party of the Scheduled Castes of Maharashtra, the organisation did not seek to be an only-Dalit movement; instead, they used of the term "Dalit" to refer to all lower-caste communities and poor among the caste Hindus.

Left groups in Bombay and Poona and their disgust of the RPI.^[7] As part of this radicalism, they attacked Hindu deities and popular heroes like Shivaji and campaigned for election boycott.^[2]^[7] Instead of focusing on the traditional parliamentary arena, they aimed to create an independent mass-based political movement through demonstrations, sit-ins, and strikes.^[8]

Comprising working-class individuals, the Panthers garnered support by addressing popular unrest through literature, such as Daya Pawar's 'Kondwada' and J V Pawar's 'Nakebandi.'^[4]

Martyrdom and Dissolution

In 1974, the Worli riots erupted following an event featuring Dhasal and Dhale as speakers. Police repression and attacks by Shiv Sainiks led to the first Dalit Panther martyrs, Bhagwat Jadhav and Ramesh Deorukhkar's death. The movement faced internal challenges during the Emergency when Dhasal expressed support for Indira Gandhi, leading to a crisis within the Panthers.^[13]

After the 1976 Nagpur conference, Raja Dhale and J V Pawar departed to form the 'Mass Movement,' marking the second stage of the Panthers.

Post-1976, a new generation of leaders, including Arun Kamble and Ramdas Athawale, took charge, renaming the movement the 'Bharatiya Dalit Panthers.' They played a crucial role in expanding the Panthers' influence to every village, supporting movements like Naamantar for renaming Marathwada University after Ambedkar.

In 1988, Athawale became a minister, and the Panthers were officially dissolved. Subsequent attempts to form a united Republican Party were short-lived.^[4]

Legacy

The Dalit Panthers prompted a debate on what should be the ideological focus of the struggle of the down-trodden of Indian society: Buddhism or Marxism and caste or class.^[8]

Although their political impact is source of controversy, the Dalit Panthers' impact in the literary and cultural area is more clear.^[8] They led a renaissance in Marathi literature and art,^[5] and created a new Dalit literature of protest that expanded the frontiers of traditional Marathi works.^[8] Their works introduced a multi-caste perspective that seek to depict the fears and hopes of all Indian exploited segments, conceiving the idea of an Indian "proletariat".^[8] Opposing what was perceived as "bourgeois" literature, the Panthers used the patois of the Dalit suburban people to represent those who lived in the ghetto.^[8] Ultimately, literary critics recognised their innovative and independent style of expressing the hitherto mute masses.^[8]

The Black Panther Party acknowledged and supported the Dalit Panthers through the Black Panther newspaper, which circulated worldwide on a weekly basis from 1967 to 1980.^{[citation needed]}

Pawar commented that no organisation fully continued their legacy or replaced the Dalit Panthers' spot as a radical group. He said, "I cannot think of anyone who could replace us, as many end up compromising on their idealism in quest for power in politics. But, the movement for a new radicalism is waiting to be born".^[2]

Notes

^ ^a ^b There are different recordings on the day of the foundation. Mamta Rajawat in Encyclopedia of Dalits in India states it was established in April 1972,^[1] while Mid-Day's Prutha Bhosle affirms it was on 29 May 1972,^[2] and Sebastian Maria Michael, author of Dalits in Modern India: Vision and Values, states it occurred on 9 July 1972.^[3]
^ Several sources state that Raja Dhale was among its founders,^[3]^[6] but Pawar himself have told that Dhale was invited to him some time after the establishment.^[2]
^ A commentator on Economic and Political Weekly in 1974 analised that their radicalism was more formal than real as their political influence was limited to Mahars, which made them a "fourth faction of the RPI".^[7]