Savitribai Phule

 अंग्रेजी मैया का दूध पियो, वही पोसती है शूद्रों को' - Few poems by the women liberator and first lady teacher of India: Savitribai Phule

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Golwalkar Mission of Hindu Rashtra

Letter for Savitribai Phule to Jyotirao Phule

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The letter was written in 1856, Savitribai speaks about the core issue: education and its transformative possibilities in a society where learning, had for centuries been the monopoly of the Brahmins; who, in turn, used this exclusive privilege to enclave, demoralize and oppress. Away at her parental home to recuperate from an illness, Savitri describes in the letter a conversation with her brother, who is uncomfortable with the couple’s radicalism. October 1856 The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jyotiba, Savitri salutes you! After so many vicissitudes, now it seems my health has been fully restored. My brother worked so hard and nursed me so well through my sickness. His service and devotion shows how loving he really is! I will come to Pune as soon as I get perfectly well. Please do not worry about me. I know my absence causes Fatima so much trouble but I am sure she will understand and won’t grumble.  As we were talking one day, my brother said, “You and your husband have rightly...
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Dalits Participation in the 1857 Revolt: Mythical Narratives

The Dalits of northern India have an emotional link with the 1857 War of Independence for they believe that it was initiated by them. They claim that the Soldier Revolt by the mostly Dalit Indian soldiers in the British Army that took place in Barrackpore in 1857, snowballed into the War of Independence. In the Majhauwa village of Azamgarh district of UP there are four cemented stones shich are called Shahid Baba by the villagers. The Dalits of this village worship these stones with red powder for their future happiness. On enquiring about the history of these stones, the village school master said that four Chamars of this village laid down their lives during the 1857 rebellion. These four men started appearing in the dreams of the villagers and conveying messages saying that if they prayed to these four martyrs they would all prosper. Since then they have been incarnated as gods in the eyes of the villagers and pray them for happiness and prosperity. These are examples which show how...
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Matadin Bhangi: A Dalit hero of 1857 Revolt

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  Matadin Bhangi was one of the Dalit heroes of 1857 Revolt who is seen as the one to have inspired the 1857 War of Independence and not Mangal Pandey that the elite history claims. The narrative for Matadin Bhangi published by D C Dinkar in “Swatantra Sangram Mein Achhuton Ka Yogdan” (1990) is given in the following words:  "There was a factory in Barrackpore where cartridges were manufactured. Many of the workers of this factory belonged to the untouchable communities. One day one of the workers felt thirsty. He asked a soldier for a mug of water. That soldier was Mangal Pandey. Mangal Pandey, a Brahmin, refused him water because the worker was an untouchable. This was very humiliating for the worker. He retaliated to the Brahmin soldier saying, “ Bara awa hai Brahaman ka beta. Jin kartuson ka tum upayog karat ho, unpar gaaye or suar ki charbi lagawal jaat hai, jinhe tum apan daatun se torkar banduk mein bharat ho. O samay tomhar jati aur dharam kahan jawat. Dhikkar tumhare ...
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