Namantar Andolan

Namantar Andolan (English: Name Change Movement) was a Dalit and Navayana Buddhist movement to change the name of Marathwada University, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University. It achieved a measure of success in 1994, when the compromise name of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University was accepted. The movement was notable for the violence against Dalits and Navayana Buddhists.
Namantar means name change and andolan means social movement. The Namantar Andolan was a 16-year-long Dalit campaign to rename Marathwada University in recognition of B. R. Ambedkar, the jurist, politician and social reformer who had proposed that untouchability should be made illegal.
Non-Dalit student groups initially supported the demand to have the university renamed but did so less for reasons of dogma than for the pragmatic desire to bring the Dalit, mostly Mahar (now Buddhists), students into the general fold. Dalit students traditionally showed no interest in supporting such causes as lower fees and cheaper textbooks, but they constituted around 26 percent of the student population and anticipated quid pro quo. A march involving Dalit and non-Dalit students was organised, with the intent of petitioning the council of the university for the change. The procession met with another, headed by Gangadhar Gade, a Dalit Panther leader, who launched a tirade of abuse at the non-Dalit contingent as he asserted the right of the Dalits to take all the credit for the change in name. This alienated the non-Dalit students and, according to Dipankar Gupta, "the division was caused not so much by Hindu caste prejudices and reticence to support the renaming of the University, but rather by the splittist and sectarian position taken by Gadhe", who might also be concerned that any alliance between Dalits and non-Dalits could affect the potency of the Panthers. Among left-wing organisations, only the Students' Federation of India and Yukrant continued to support the campaign.
In 1977, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Vasantdada Patil, promised that the renaming would occur, and in July 1978, the Maharashtra Legislature approved it. Uttara Shastree notes that the campaign at this time reflected the desire of neo-Buddhists for an improved image and position in society, as a significant part of which they called on the symbolic ideas of Ambedkar, that had preceded his rise to prominence. The University Executive Body passed a resolution to rename the university and this series of decisions was the catalyst for rioting, which began on 27 July 1978 and lasted several weeks.
Commentators such as Gail Omvedt believe that the violence was a caste war based on hatred; whilst others, such as Gupta, believe that the causes were more varied. Both Omvedt and Gupta noted that the violence was aimed at the Mahars (now Buddhists) and did not extend to other Dalit groups, while Gupta also notes that it was concentrated in the three districts of Marathwada — Aurangabad, Nanded and Parbhani — where Dalit registrations in schools and colleges were particularly high, and economic competition was the most fierce. In particular, the centres of the unrest were urban areas, where the impact of Mahar aspirations would most deeply affect the employment, social, and economic roles which Hindu castes considered to be their preserve. Troubles were largely absent from the other two districts, Beed and Osmanabad, and the spill of problems into rural areas generally was patchy. These issues of geographic and demographic targeting, according to Gupta, indicate that the real causes of the violence were more subtle than war between caste Hindu and Dalit. There were also instances of violent acts taking place under the pretext of the riots elsewhere but in fact to settle very local and personal scores unrelated to the broader causes. In contradiction to these views, Y. C. Damle maintains that the violence "specially affected the Scheduled Caste people in the villages although the agitation for renaming the Marathwada University after Dr. Ambedkar was spearheaded by Dalit Panthers and such leaders mainly in urban centres. In giving a call for agitation, hardly any effort was made to protect the villages or villagers."
Riots affected 1,200 villages in Marathwada, impacting on 25,000 Marathi Buddhist and Hindu Dalits and causing thousands of them to seek safety in jungles. The terrorised Dalits did not return to their villages, despite starvation. This violence was allegedly organised by members of the Maratha community and took many forms, including killings, burning of houses and huts, pillaging of Dalit colonies, forcing Dalits out of villages, polluting drinking water wells, destruction of cattle, and refusal to employ. This continued for 67 days. According to the Yukrant leader, attacks on Dalit were collective and pre-planned. In many villages, Dalit colonies were burned. The burning houses in Marathwada region affected 900 Dalit households. Upper caste rioters demolished essential household items that the Dalit possessed. They even burned the fodder stocks owned by Dalits. The bridges and culverts were intentionally broken or damaged to paralyse the military and police aid in villages during the time of the attacks. Upper caste mobs attacked government property including government hospitals, railway stations, gram panchayat offices, state transport buses, District Council-operated school buildings, the telephone system and the government go downs. ₹30 crore worth property was damaged. The Marathwada region was under siege of violence for over two years. The Dalits were wrecked economically and psychologically. Many Dalit protesters were physically injured and nineteen died including five protesters who lost their lives during the police repression.
Much of the violence occurred in Nanded district. Examples include:
Violence also occurred in Parbhani district. Examples include:
Examples of violence in Aurangabad district included:
Examples of violence in Beed district included:
Examples of violence in Osmanabad district included:
Example of violence in Hingoli district included:
Examples of violence in Nashik district included:
Examples of violence in Nagpur included:
In Jalgot Village, Fauzdar Bhurevar was beaten and then burned alive by a mob at a police outpost. Violence was reported in Pune. Demonstrators in Mumbai teargassed. Statues of Ambedkar and Buddha through the region were also damaged or destroyed.
The regional press played a biased role during the violence. The Marathi Newspaper, Prajawani and Godatir Samachar, opposed the Namantar "by giving wide publicity to the riots in the cities and suppressing news in the rural areas." According to Aurangabad daily, Marathwada the Namantar was a cultural violation for Marathwada existence. The press did not publish about rural violence news. They did not report the declarations by the Republican Party of India and Dalit Panther. The front page of a famous Marathi newspaper published a notice for upper caste Hindus to support the agitation. Similarly, people were urged through letters, flyers, and hand-outs to join the agitation. The Parliamentary Committee advised to reinforce the police intelligence with radio communication, telephones, and motor vehicles in talukas. But the media intensified on allegations that the PCR Act was being misused. Bhalchandra Nemade commented "All Marathi newspapers are communal and they thrive on the so-called 'freedom of press' to serve their own aims." The chief minister of Maharashtra admitted the one-sided role of the press.
Shiv Sena, the Hindutva political party, initially declared itself opposed to the Namantar. During the agitation, the supporters of Bal Thackeray burnt homes of the Dalits. People were physically harmed, including by attacks with swords. Interviewers explained that the attackers were from the Maratha community, who also burned Dalit properties in Nanded district. Supporters of the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWP) and Indian National Congress were involved in these burnings. In the same area, there were allegations of two women raped and three children killed, but no legal action instigated. According to Gopal Guru:
But later in 2011, Bal Thackeray cleared that he never opposed the Namantar. He said in an interview that:
Many Dalits were harassed by the police as they continued to campaign for the change. The police allegedly reacted by adopting tactics such as delay and suppression of evidence. In a few villages, Hindu police patils and sarpanchs of all riot-affected villages teamed up with rich Hindu caste landowners to attack Dalit's poor peasants and agricultural labourers. The police joined the mob in a violent way. The District Collector of Nanded was from Dalit community, and was powerless when his assistant officers refused his commands. In Akola Village, the police intentionally refused to lodge complains during violence against upper caste Hindus. In Nanded City, the curfew was enforced during agitation. The sons of the resident Deputy Collector, Home Inspector and Circle Inspector took part in the riot. During restriction timings, the Dalit homeguards interrupted them. A complaint was registered contrary to the homeguards. The complaints lodged by the Dalits were taken cold-bloodedly by the police. A Parliamentary Committee concluded that the police were "mere spectators to the incidents" during the atrocities.
After the riots, many landlords refused to employ Dalits, even at public places such as hotels. They discriminated against them. Rioters created a silent boycott. Because of fearful environment the Dalits migrated to the cities, and did not return to their villages. Dalit-grown crops got set on fire. In 1985, in the Wakod village of Sillod taluka, the standing crops owned by Dalits on their land were ploughed up by the Sarpanch himself. A few college teachers and academicians formed a samiti to rehabilitate Dalit victims to restore harmony to the community. Muslims of Marathwada opposed the bandhs declared by Shiv Sena. They did not close their commercial establishments to show their support for Namantar. The Parliamentary Committee revealed that humanitarian aid provided to help Dalits was not sufficient to recover the losses. Moreover, Samiti observed the corruption in it.
Sooner after the atrocities, authorities brought around 3000 individuals into the police custody, but victims reported that very few went into the court, and the remaining cases weren't much faster. Even natives pressured to dismiss all cases. The parliamentary committee advised "an automatic judicial inquiry in all cases of large-scale arson and looting involved Dalits". But, the judicial inquiry was opposed by the Maharashtra government.
On 4 August 1978, Jogendra Kawade led a march from Deekshabhoomi to the District magistrate's office in Nagpur to rename the university. On the same day, there was a meeting in Aakashwani Chowk that was attended by a large student crowd. Following, the people were going back home zestfully. The provoked violence started when some anti-social elements pelted stones at transportation links. The police opened fire to overcome turbulence. After this incident, the Long March was declared. Dalit protestors from Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu reached to Nagpur.
The violence caused the Dalits to suspend their campaign for a while, but when a new incumbent as Chief Minister, Sharad Pawar, found various reasons to postpone the renaming, the reaction was the organisation of a Long March and instigating the Namantar Andolan. The march was inspired by the Chinese Long March and intended to end symbolically with convergence in Aurangabad on 6 December 1979, on Ambedkar's death anniversary. According to Omvedt, "Long March was organised by very factionalised committees that included the Dalit Panthers, smaller Dalit organisations, the Republican Party factions, socialist individuals and groups, and the Communist parties." The protest march was led by Jogendra Kawade and caused the arrest of thousands of protesters as well as prominent leaders. According to Kawade "this was the fight for the protection of democracy and humanism".
The Long March began on a Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din from Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, an area populated by many Buddhists, towards Aurangabad, blessed by Bhadant Anand Kausalyan. Each day, protesters marched 30 kilometres to cover a distance of 470 kilometres in 18 days in the bitter cold. This was one of the most remarkable andolan in Indian history, after the 1927 Indian Independence movement due to Dalit women's active key role–they took part in the Jail Bharo Andolan with pride. At every village, masses of people joined the Long March. "This march was the world's third largest Long March." According to Yukrant leader, around 3 lakhs of people were expected to join the Long March to rename the university after Ambedkar's name. A small percentage reached to Aurangabd, but minimum 3 lakhs organized the mass protest – satyagraha, Jail Bharo Andolan, March. The protesters clashed with the police between 25 November to 6 December. Thousands of Long March activists walking from Nagpur, Udgir, and Satara were taken into custody at the boundaries of Marathwada. Thousands were arrested during the staygraha struggle at their towns and cities. During 6 December, Ambedkar's death anniversary, protesters were lathi charged and police fired shots on them. On the same day, Vidarbha bandh was observed. On 27 November, police stopped the protesters at Khadakpurna River Bridge in the afternoon. Thousands of protesters started a sit-in at the Khadakpurna River Bridge. They were lathi charged after 12 AM in their sleep. During the course, many ran away, and hundreds were arrested.
On 3 December, there was a protest by Dalit youths who burned buses. 4 of them died in clashes with the police at Nagpur. Police arrested around 12,000 demonstrators, who planned to march towards the university from Kranti Chowk, at Auragabad. Demonstrators of Dalit Panthers were arrested at Bhadkal Gate and at the university entrance. Leaders and activists arrested, physically harmed, lathi charged, shot with tear gas, and air firing to disperse the crowd. The intention of the state was to control and disperse demonstrators and keep them from anti Dalits, who formed the Namantar Virodhi Group (a group opposing renaming). Most of them were freed from jails on the same evening but few refused to leave the jails to continue satyagraha. The main agenda of this Long March was to battle against caste oppression.
The movement became a part of Dalit literature. According to Omvedt, "the upsurge, turmoil's and frustration of the long march campaign brought the movement to a new turning point. The readiness for action shown by Dalit masses provided a demonstration of their powerful urge for revolutionary change". During the Long March, men sung songs of martyrs. Women even joined children to boost this revolution. The andolan gradually turned out in Agra, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, where people protested marching. For 16 years, many meetings were held, people protested marching, and they were arrested many times.
Govindbhai Shroff was against renaming the university, but he requested people to accept the new name with non-violence. Concurrently, he pressed a requirement to withdraw the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act cases against non-Dalits, specifically the malafide ones. Tight security was deployed on the eve of the announcement with a few incidents reported in Parbhani and Amravati. The police imposed a curfew at Tuljapur and shots fired by the police were reported in Beed. After renaming the university, at least four Dalits were stabbed, Dalit property was set on fire and statues of Ambedkar dishonoured at Parbhani and Osmanabad. However, in Osmanabad district, at Kathi Savargaon, the renaming decision was welcomed with celebration by Maratha sarpanch in village. A similar case was reported in Lohara.
Marathwda region has a diverse cultural and historical background, so many names were suggested. Finally the "university was renamed as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University to pay homage to the work done by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar for the educational development of the Marathwada region." The university name was eventually altered on 14 January 1994. The chosen form — Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University — represents an expansion of the existing name (a Namvistar) rather than complete change (Namanatar). Sharad Pawar also announced that it would be a policy to encourage higher education for everyone, irrespective of caste, class, religion, and ethnicity. Moreover, the newly named university was developed with improved facilities in some departments to conceptualize the dream of Ambedkar, which was one of the important parameters for the university. At the same time, the university adopted the Ajanta arch, with elephants as its primary logo, reflecting the Buddhist cultural significance of the Ajanta Caves.
Every 14 January, the followers of Ambedkar throng the university. The political parties and organizations, based on Ambedkar's thinking, celebrate this day. Many people visit the university to celebrate the Namvistar Din, so political parties arrange their rallies traditionally. The university building and gate is decorated with lights. Many people visit the Buddhist caves on this occasion. Women greet each other by applying nil (indigo colour powder). This day is celebrated in other educational institutes other than Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University as well.
People come to the university gate to have Darśana, which resembles the Sanchi Stupa gate, and leave an offering as if the university were a place of pilgrimage. In 2013, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation erected the Namantar Shahid Smarak (Martyrdom Memorial) dedicated to Dalits who died in the movement at Nagpur.