WHAT IS SWARAJ? RETHINKING ‘SELF-RULE’ IN THE NEW INDIA

[In early stages of his career as a leader of anti-caste and so-called “non-Brahmin” movements among the Dalits of Maharashtra, Mr. Ambedkar, too, led mass actions based on the principle of passive resistance. Thus, he mobilized Untouchables to peacefully try to enter Hindu temples reserved for upper castes, and to drink water from common sources like tanks and wells where upper-caste prejudice prevented Untouchables from drawing water.] 

By Ananya Vajpeyi

Bhimrao Ambedkar in an undated 
Image courtesy: Columbia University

Passionate and combative reader response to my essay, “The Grammar of Anarchy” published here on Sept. 17, makes one thing clear: Not only does the Anna Hazare movement of this past summer evoke strong reactions among readers, but the diverse legacies of founding figures like Mohandas Gandhi and Bhimrao Ambedkar, and the meaning of a defining text like the Constitution of India, also continue to matter deeply to the way in which Indians conceive of their political life well over six decades after independence from British rule.

Like any historical account, the narrative about where Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Ambedkar respectively stood on the question of non-cooperation, civil disobedience, non-violent resistance and forms of protest like the hunger strike is not a simple story of a conflict between the radicalism of the Mahatma and the constitutionalism of Babasaheb, as Mr. Ambedkar was known, although Mr. Ambedkar’s speech of November 25, 1949, would seem to suggest that.

In early stages of his career as a leader of anti-caste and so-called “non-Brahmin” movements among the Dalits of Maharashtra, Mr. Ambedkar, too, led mass actions based on the principle of passive resistance. Thus, he mobilized Untouchables to peacefully try to enter Hindu temples reserved for upper castes, and to drink water from common sources like tanks and wells where upper-caste prejudice prevented Untouchables from drawing water.

However, over time Mr. Ambedkar and other leaders like E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, commonly known as Periyar, from southern India concluded that actions such as these looked too much like lower castes asking to be treated as equals. In Dalit politics by the late 1920s, the idea of “self-respect” had displaced an earlier practice of seeking recognition from what were viewed as disdainful, bigoted and arrogant upper castes. Mr. Ambedkar increasingly distanced himself from Hinduism altogether, so deeply did he question the caste system. Toward the end of his life in 1956 he formally converted to Buddhism and took with him nearly 400,000 former Untouchables, thoroughly rejecting the Hindu social order that had for centuries refused to allow them a space of dignity and equality.

Mr. Gandhi’s stance on Untouchability was also extremely complicated. It combined his commitment to respecting the inalienable dignity of all human beings, his desire to purify Hinduism by purging it of caste discrimination, his struggle to cleanse his own conscience of every last shred of unthinking prejudice, and his belief in the fundamental dignity of labor – famously exemplified by his insistence that all inhabitants of the Gandhian “ashram” (cooperative space of life and work) clean toilets and remove human waste from communal areas, regardless of caste rules that stipulated some groups as being too “pure” for such tasks and others as so “polluted” as to have to clean up everyone else’s mess.

However, when the British government proposed separate electorates for Untouchables, Mr. Gandhi perceived a threat to the unity and thereby the political efficacy of the Hindu community, and protested by going on a fast-unto-death. His stubbornness was such that even Mr. Ambedkar had to capitulate and agree to the “Poona Pact” of 1932, whereby Untouchables would not be accorded a separate electoral status and Mr. Gandhi’s life would be saved – or, seen differently – his moral intransigence recognized as paramount in the realm of norms and values that permeated India’s anti-colonial politics.

Mr. Gandhi referred to the Untouchable as “Harijan,” which means “God’s Creature.” The rival word that eventually evolved through Mr. Ambedkar’s politics and triumphed into common usage today is “Dalit,” which means “Crushed.” The morality inherent in each term is clear – the Gandhian idea being humane compassion, the Ambedkarite idea, righteous anger. As the great contemporary social theorist D.R. Nagaraj put it, these terms capture the conflict between “self-purification” and “self-respect”, where Mr. Gandhi’s was the upper-caste self and Mr. Ambedkar’s the Dalit self.

The notion of separate electorates for Mr. Gandhi came out of the British policy of divide and rule – the same that would ultimately sever Hindus and Muslims as separate political identities and partition the British Raj into India and Pakistan in 1947. For Mr. Ambedkar, without state protection and safeguarded political representation, weak groups like Untouchables would never gain an equal footing in hierarchical India. Mr. Gandhi’s long fast that broke the back of the first phase of Untouchable protest in the early 1930s remains seared in the memory of Indian caste politics even today. Anna Hazare’s fasting is at once a reminder and a trigger of old political emotions that we as a nation have yet to fully process.

These same emotions bubble up in the subtle politics of nomenclature. In India it is customary to refer to Mr. Gandhi as “Mahatma” meaning “Great Soul”, or “Bapu” meaning “Father”, or “Gandhi ji” meaning “Respected Gandhi”. Similarly Mr. Ambedkar is “Babasaheb” or “Dr. Ambedkar” – the former emphasizing his stature as an elder of the social life of Maharashtra, the latter, his unparalleled symbolic cachet as a Dalit leader with a doctoral degree, as well as other markers of self-respect, such as erudition, high educational qualifications, cosmopolitanism and modernity. Indeed, titles, modes of address, and terms of endearment continue to be important ways to express political emotion in Indian public life, from the time of the founding fathers to the present: “Anna” — which means “Elder Brother” — has been adopted by Kisan Baburao Hazare, the social activist who led this summer’s wave of protests against corruption.

Lastly, the Anna Hazare phenomenon, arising as it did in the summer of 2011, must be read against two separate global developments: one, the widespread corruption scandals affecting countries from Britain and Italy to India itself, and two, popular movements for democracy all across the Middle East from Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt in late January to all-out war in Libya and Syria even today. Everywhere citizens seem to want better government, probity in public office, honest leaders and a state that cares for rather than oppresses its people. Although they already live in the world’s largest democracy, Indians, too, are in the mood for the change they can believe in.

Ananya Vajpeyi has been teaching at the University of Massachusetts in Boston since 2007. In 2011-2012 she is visiting at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. Her book, Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations of Modern India is forthcoming from Harvard University Press.
@ The New York Times

MAHARANI GAYATRI DEVI – ANICON FOR MODERN WOMEN

[As a young lady, Gayatri Devi had everything that a vernal damsel desires for- a charming life, including multiple fans and followers, an influential Indian monarch swooning over beauty, opulent lifestyle in the palaces of Jaipur, lavish upbringing at Cooch Behar and quality education imparted by the legendary poet, Rabindranath Tagore at Gurukul, West Bengal. She often took the Jaipur Dakota Plane to Delhi, just to get her hair done. However, her life was not just restricted to delicate French Chiffon saris, classy pearl necklaces, regal blue diamonds and trendy hairstyles. It was a complete transformation from a pioneer in Indian fashion to a duteous princess, committed lover, doting mother, consecrated politician, dedicated ruler and a struggling prisoner.]

By Richa Chaturvedi

When I was 15, like all other teens of my age, I was beauty conscious and figure-freak. Struggling with a bulky figure and sun tanned features, I often cursed my luck that why wasn’t I as appealing and gorgeous as some other girls. I spent hours and hours, facing the mirror, trying to enhance my complexion using vapid cosmetics. One day when I was finally demoralized and discouraged, my mother advised me, “Beauty doesn’t lie in your face, your appearance or, the outfits that you put on, it is a light that germinates and maturates within your heart”. Being nescient to this thought, I wasted several years, searching for the factual definition of beauty until I came across the inspiring ‘Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur’ – Maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmataof Jaipur.

As a young lady, Gayatri Devi had everything that a vernal damsel desires for- a charming life, including multiple fans and followers, an influential Indian monarch swooning over beauty, opulent lifestyle in the palaces of Jaipur, lavish upbringing at Cooch Behar and quality education imparted by the legendary poet, Rabindranath Tagore at Gurukul, West Bengal. She often took the Jaipur Dakota Plane to Delhi, just to get her hair done. However, her life was not just restricted to delicate French Chiffon saris, classy pearl necklaces, regal blue diamonds and trendy hairstyles. It was a complete transformation from a pioneer in Indian fashion to a duteous princess, committed lover, doting mother, consecrated politician, dedicated ruler and a struggling prisoner.

The lady was truly cherished by the world for her unparalleled beauty. She had won 1, 27,000 votes in an online opinion poll organized by Beautifulpeople.com. Elected as the “Fourth most beautiful woman of the last century” by Eastern Voice and counted in the “Ten most beautiful queens of the world” by Vogue magazine, Gayatri Devi was the living example of unsoiled, unmatched, classical Indian Beauty. But, inside this stunning frame, she had a golden heart. Her life was an exciting journey including hardships, struggles and downsides as well.

9^th May, 1940 -  the princess married Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur and surpassed the conventional barriers of arranged marriage. Her love marriage was a cause of sensational gossip for years because princesses were said to married by parental diktat and, the king already had two wives by then.

15^th August 1947 – when the entire country was violently suffering the consequences of India-Pakistan partition, her husband- King Man Singh, made a statement “No Muslim shall ever leave Jaipur! They’re like the hair on my chest.” The Maharani kept up with this statement. Since then, she had been treating both Hindus and Muslims as her own kids, her own flesh and blood.

July 1962 – she was the first ever lady to have won the Lok Sabha seat by 1, 92,909 votes out of 2, 46,516 – A milestone in Indian history. And this was not over yet.

In an interview with Femina in 1968, Gayatri Devi quoted “There is no need to be puritanical in our approach to beauty. I find dumpiness inexcusable. I think that every woman owes it to herself to look pretty, and it is fundamental to her self-respect”. She was successful in curbing the Purdah system practiced by women in Rajasthan. This approach introduced several growth opportunities for women in orthodox Indian society.

July 1967 and 1971 – she kept winning her Lok Sabha elections repeatedly thereby, defeating the Indian National Congress in the process. This was a major cause of rivalry between Gayatri and her long-lost friend and schoolmate Indu (Indira Gandhi-the first female Prime Minister of India). Her privy privileges were dismissed by Gandhi in 1972. However, she was always there by Gandhi’s side, especially during the air accident of Sanjay Gandhi in 1980, thus keeping up with her friendship pledges from time to time.

June 1975 – following the Declaration of National Emergency, Gayatri Devi and her stepson were held prisoners in the Tihar Jail, Delhi; under the allegations of breaking Tax Laws.

6^th May, 1977 -  the former Rajmata made an attempt to fight for the rights of prostitutes, murderess, pickpockets and other prisoners who were leading an unhygienic life within the prison.

April 1999 – she humbly refused to participate in the Lok Sabha elections when she was nominated by the Cooch Behar Trinamool Congress; the reason being, she wanted to spend more time, in the company of the poor.

April 2003 -  the Maharani made a daring attempt to pay for the treatments of Ali Abbas (a kid of 12 years old) and other victims who were brought to London from Iraq, after the US/Britain invasions.

After the death of her husband in 1970 and her only son King Jagat Singh in 1977, the Maharani has been fighting as a loner. Her family issues were never a source of hindrance in fulfilling her duties as a queen and a politician. She had an untamed, immortal flame within her- a desire to uplift her subjects, a dream to make her people outshine in the world and a wish to contribute for the progress of her nation. This persistent flame was finally extinguished in 29^thJuly 2009, with the death of our Indian Heroine.

Her tale is an inspiration for women today, an exemplar of benevolence, fidelity, valor and sacrifice- prime qualities that define an Indian woman in true sense! In the words of Martin Buxbaum,

“Some people no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty- they merely move it from their faces, into their hearts…”

This quote summarizes the entire life of this Iron Lady. Today, I’ve been able to understand the actual meaning of being “beautiful”. And, I have got a new role model to follow!


@ Youth Ki Awaaz