Struggles of the Dalit Movement in Anand Patwardhan’s Documentary “Jai Bhim Comrade”

The Caste system has aroused much controversy than any other feature of India’s society. Every day, Dalits are butchered, assaulted, abused, raped, lynched, shot or openly mutilated without considering any consequences of the offenders. The deaths of pregnant women who are not able to pay the bribes at government hospitals, some boys with eyes raised completely out for falling in love with a girl of a superior caste, and horrid stories of employees boiled to death because of spewing out arguments with the boss are continuously reported in mainstream newspapers. After years of democracy, the social structure stands to practice the caste system disregarding abolishment laws. Every international or national effort to abolish caste differentiation and segregation has been proven ineffective. The caste system of India is a deeply inculcated social problem requiring immense commitment domestically and internationally in understanding what has stopped the measures to get rid of this ancient system and what measures are needed to complete elimination of the system.

Discuss the voice of the film from the Critical Social Science paradigm. What the story told through the voice/lens of the oppressed or the powerful?

In India, Dalits are what used to be called the "untouchables." The term Dalit means the "broken people." Symbolic-interaction theory would focus on the way language shapes the identity of all Indians, to give rise to an underclass like the Dalit. Systems of oppression stem from the embedding of symbols into the individual and collective psyche. Therefore, symbolic-interaction theory explains why the oppression of the Dalit continues even though the caste system has been officially and legally abolished. A symbolic-interactionist would also point out that the organization of the Dalit into a formal organization with a name has a powerful impact due to the interaction between symbols (language) and social institutions. Symbolic-interactionism would also explain why the leaders of the Dalit civil rights movement understand the importance of raising awareness via education. It is important to shift the discourse when discussing matters of political oppression. The discourse will impact reality. Moreover, religion also provides the core symbols that shape worldview. If Hinduism has a highly structured, hierarchical cosmology, a Hindu culture will organize its manifest institutions around this symbolic reality.

Throughout modern history, Britain’s exponential growth inevitably affected the future of many nations in the contemporary world- in particular, the culturally intertwined state of India. Even in the initial stages of colonisation, India was forcefully occupied by the British East India Company; however, it was not until 1858 that a dictatorship was officially announced and the nation was forced to regard England as 'the true homeland'. Amidst societal unease and a growing discontent with the British rulers by the poor peasants, India's emancipation seemed inevitable in order for the nation to truly progress. In effect, a revolutionary leader spawned; Mohandas Gandhi. His great philosophical mind held innovative ideas which were instrumental in the achievement of Indian Independence- with his thoughtful ideologies and beliefs paving the way for oppressed Indians to ultimately unite against British imperialism. Consequently, this resulted in the monumental Satyagraha campaign that triumphed successfully against the British authorities.

Applebee, Arthur N. “Gandhi's - Civil Disobedience.” The Language of Literature, McDougal Littell, Evanston, IL, 2000, pp. 377–377.

Firstly, the caste system reflects the inequality of Indian society. Although religion in India is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices, majority of Indian population follow Hinduism. Therefore, the dominance of Hinduism beliefs is common in India. There is a belief in caste system, as Brood said, “a system of hierarchical social organization”1. Hindu society is divided into four main classes; the priestly class, the warrior and administrator class, the producer class who is farmers and merchants and the servant class. The remaining group of people who is “outcastes” is called “untouchables” or dalit. Brodd recognizes “dalits continue to suffer terrible oppression, especially in rural communities in India”. I still could not imagine how terrible this bottom class suffers until reading Max Bearak article. All sufferings of Rohith Vemula, from the hardships of growing up poor, interactions with society in caste to scholarship revoke and suicide, happened tragically because he was born in a dalit family. This is the

When Sripathi’s sacred caste system is opposed by one of his own, he struggles to cope with the consequences. Firstly, when hearing the

George Orwell’s essay titled A Hanging is an anecdote that recalls his experience of the hanging of a Hindu man in Burma. This piece was published in 1931, four years after he completed his time in the British Imperial Police Force. Orwell is able to exploit his anger that he has against capital punishment through various literary strategies in this essay. To start off the essay he uses fine details like “a sodden morning” and “a sickly light, like yellow tinfoil” to describe a particular morning of a hanging. Because this is something he actually experienced himself, he was able to be on point with his imagery and descriptions.

On the 13th of April 1919 a man named Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer commanded 50 British Indian army soldiers to kill a Crowd of nonviolent protesters, along with Baisakhi pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. This group of people included women, men and even children. This was an unexpected attack that killed over 1000

An event that has relation to war today is the tension in the northern region of India, Punjab, where the Sikh holy book was ripped up and thrown. Many Sikhs gathered in a peaceful protest, trying to bring to justice the people who were responsible, but the police ended up shooting and killing two peaceful protestors. Simran Jeet Singh, is one of the authors, who writes on this topic. He takes up this topic, because it represents part of the unjust that happened to Sikhs in 1984 where they were killed and murdered in the thousands by the Indian government. Singh says, “I was born in the United States in the summer of 1984, during the height of the anti- Sikh violence in Punjab” (Singh 1). He goes on to say how he feels the pain of his Sikh brothers and sisters who were killed in the year 1984, for their religious beliefs. Background about Singh shows us the importance of mediated narratives, as they show that Singh is trying to raise awareness about the issues going on in Punjab in an attempt to try to avoid the destruction that happened in 1984. Another one of these authors is Nirmala Ganapathy, who is part of The Straits Times. She takes up the same interest as Singh, as she works to raise awareness on the issues affecting her homeland of India. She writes about why Sikhs have been blocking major roads in India and the influence this has. Her curiosity is what has

This article from The Times starts off with a call for Gandhi’s arrest. The reason for this calling is due to the events that transpired on February twelfth, when twenty-one royal police officers lost their lives in the line of duty near Gorakhpur due to a riot that broke out in response to the mass civil disobedience movement that was taking place at the time. It then lists reasons for the suspension of mass civil disobedience. It then goes into Gandhi’s career. It says that Gandhi’s character and judgment has been marked by steady deterioration. It lists some basic facts about Gandhi’s life so far, birth, parents, and early history, before jumping into the reasons for the steady deterioration, the Rowlatt Act. Following this satyagraha, and

The researcher understood the specific theme chosen and was a bit au-fait with the topic, because she had a keen interest in Gandhi and all his work. In an age where violence is on the increase Gandhi’s message of non-violence is needed. It is the researchers hope that this IA will reach a wide cross section of people and will effect a change. Gandhi’s views on issues like untouchability are deeply dealt with. Never anywhere Gandhi’s views about untouchability were effectively heard. But, in this book they were dealt in detail with lots of arguments and convincing proofs of why untouchability is sin. Even his co-living with the untouchables and the resistance he faced for that is discussed. His views on religion, nationality, his movements like civil-disobedience, are also clearly shown. Even his opinions on many religions were discussed in deep; a striking

Apart from the political criticism, a humanistic reading of the text reveals the social bias around the social politics, i.e. caste system. It bares the sad plight of the lower caste, even in the political system supported by the proletarian values. What Roy implies is that the Marxist party in Kerala worked from within the communal divides, never challenging them. Velutha is a member of the party. Yet he does not get help from the party leader Comrade Pilliai. Pilliai’s double standard distances him

What is it like to be discriminated against? What would it be like to have almost all equal rights and liberties taken away just because one is born among a certain race, or there is a different way of living within a specific group of people? This feeling of discrimination is one that no individual wants to feel. For the Hindu people, formerly known as “The Untouchables,” this was what they had to live with. The Untouchables, now called the Dalits, are the most oppressed community in India and have been denied civic and human rights throughout the decades.

The caste system is a larger instigator for racial violence on the basis of emotion. Conflicts arise due to feelings of superiority, pleasure, triumph and angst (Law, 2010). Intragroup violence and racial conflicts are common as status groups try to achieve or defend their position. When Dalits have sought to gain status, have resisted daily humiliations of vindicated socially constitutionally granted rights, they have been met with large resistance. “Hit back”, the Dalit Panther logo would suggest that treatment by institutions is unsatisfactory when dealing with Dalit atrocities, favouring the Brahmin and encouraging racialisation (Gorringe, 2010).