New Vision

  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 is b

 Ganga Baba: Dalit  Hero of the 1857 Revolt   Ganga Baba, a dalit hero of the 1857 revolt, was born in the villages adjoining Bithoor in UP. The story goes like this: “Gangu Baba was a youth living in a nearby village. It was said that he was so strong that he could change the course of rivers and chop off the heads of mountains. He could fight against two tigers together. Gangu Baba was as kind as he was brave. If he saw a hungry person he would give him his own bread to eat. If he saw someone shivering in the cold he gave his own blanket to wrap. People also say that if he heard a deer crying at night he used to get so upset that he would go to the forest and break the bones of tigers. Although he was born in a low caste poor family, he commanded great respect in the village. Rich and influential landlords used to leave their chairs to embrace him”. Once Gangu Baba was returning from the forest with a dead tiger on his back, which he had killed unarmed single-handed. Just then Nana

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

 The popular Dalit narratives on 1857 by Dalit Scholars have been started in the 60’s however it was popularised in the 90’s with rise of BSP. These narratives comprise a retelling of the revolt of 1857, a pivotal episode in the history of Indian nationalism that marked the first attempt of Indian rebellion against British colonisation. These literature articulate an active participation and contribution of Dalits in the revolt of 1857 which has not been registered in the official histories. This comprises a revival of Dalit heroes and heroines extracted from folk narratives, oral histories, myths and legends which are shaped up in the literary format through these pamphlets. The absence of these heroes and heroines in the recorded history of Indian nationalism is etched out in these narratives followed with a glorification and celebration of their contribution. Commenting on the same Narayan argues that “The narratives of the 1857 Rebellion helped them not only to establish their own

  This movement had two main peculiarities. This movement was mainly the expression of poets belonging to Dalit and Backward castes and it had challenged Sanskrit, the language of the elites, through local languages. After sixth century B.C. it was the biggest challenge to the Brahmanical worldview. Varna system is the biggest pillar of Brahminical life philosophy. Birth based castes and caste based human classification and this whole system certified by scriptures and duly sanctioned by God are the tenets which establish Brahmanical worldview as the most unscientific, inhuman and backward philosophy. This philosophy was given a serious challenge during sixth century B.C. Buddha had almost destroyed it but it soon reappeared in old form crueler and more intolerant. It has amazing capacity to assimilate which not only helped it in saving its existence but it had no difficulty in assimilating Buddha symbols which includes Buddha himself. Its biggest power is its elasticity which is the o