Why Dalit People in Maharashtra Celebrate Babu Hardas Each Year

On January 15, while the Nagpur Corporation election was underway, a public gathering was held in an adjacent tehsil to reflect on the vibrant legacy of a prominent twentieth-century leader from the town who was a key figure in the early phases of the Ambedkarite movement: Babu L.N. Hardas.

The Nagpur region, once a stronghold of Ambedkar’s mass movement, was where the oppressed castes, the former untouchables, undertook their religious revolution in the early-twentieth century. Babu Hardas, closely associated with that movement, worked for the uplift of the 'depressed castes' in ways that have ingrained him in public memory. He lived a brief 35 years, but is remembered to this day for organising beedi and mill workers and Dalits and women in the Nagpur region.

Over the decades, the once-vibrant struggle of the Dalits lost some of its political influence, first under the influence of the Congress party, and later the saffron party. Yet the collective memory of those days filled with upheavals and resilient demands for change have not been erased. Even now, the cultural festivals and events associated with Ambedkar's anti-caste movement and its prominent figures – once integral to the political imagination of the region – carry both historical weight and present-day meaning.

How individuals commemorate their century-old leaders and how their celebratory methods have evolved tellingly reflects the struggles and activism of the 1920s from which these events have evolved. For instance, in the past, the struggle confronted the then emerging right-wing forces. Today, such a nuanced and clear-eyed understanding of this historical trajectory, and its continued relevance, survives mainly within the realm of working-class public gatherings. (This is an aspect of Dalit assertion that is still under-explored in academic works.)

The sociologist Gail Omvedt had aptly noted the necessity of documenting the history of the leaders who contributed to Ambedkar’s struggle. Indeed, Hardas Jayanti, also known as Babu Hardas Mela, has become a focal point of recalling that resilience and collective awareness. Thousands of activists, families and monks gather to pay homage to him as a symbol of social justice every year – an event that has been organised for the past 86 years on the banks of the Kanan river, where his last rites were performed.

That his commemoration has lasted for nearly a century also speaks to the many transitions in the Ambedkarite movement. This annual event, held the day after Makar Sankranti, is organised by the Samata Sainik Dal, established by Dr Ambedkar. Despite significant challenges from the state, people also constructed a tomb, through public contributions, as a physical memory of his life and contribution.

"Jai Bhim", an expression that arose from challenging Brahminical dominance, was always more than a greeting to the follower of Ambedkar. For anti-caste groups, it symbolises a celebration of Ambedkar's role in establishing the universal principles of liberty, equality and fraternity, and his struggle for social justice. What few outside the movement know is that this eponym emerged in the speech that Babu Hardas delivered, at the Akhila Bharatiya Dalit Sammelan in Kamptee, 1932, where Ambedkar was the chief guest.

Hardas Mela represents transformative power, where people immerse themselves and become empathetic towards one another. Photo arranged by the authors.

In 1938, at a public gathering in Makranpur, Aurangabad, Hardas used the slogan ‘Jai Bhim’ to address the Samta Sainik Dal (SSD). It was meant as a counter to existing greetings. (At the time, ‘Jai Hind’ was not yet in common use.) From this programme onwards, Jai Bhim became the symbolic reflection of the anti-caste movement in every corner of India.

Hardas Mela represents the transformative power of public immersion in being empathetic towards one another. Babu Hardas's demise on January 12, 1939, left Ambedkar internally fragile, and he had said, "My right hand has gone."

Babu Hardas's contribution

To strengthen the anti-caste movement in the Central Provinces and Berar (which had its capital in Nagpur and covered most of present-day Central India), Babu Hardas organised programmes such as akada, lehjim and dramas to unite castes, fight superstition and promote education. Like Ambedkar, he believed education was a crucial instrument for social transformation. He set up three night schools in Kamptee, a cantonement town in Nagpur district, and established reading rooms with enlightening literature. He started skill-training programme for women and wrote poems and plays such as ‘ Veer Balak’ to generate anti-caste consciousness among the Dalit communities. He learned Sanskrit to develop an understanding for the Brahminical order.

In 1928 – the year he met Ambedkar – Babu Hardas established a union for bidi workers and promoted the recruitment of Dalits in the police. To create a devoted, disciplined cadre for social change, he established the SSD, and organised a unit for it at Kamptee. Hardas Jayanti, in which tributes are paid to him and Dr Ambedkar through long rallies, bhajans, qawwalis, speeches and cultural programmes, are often organised by the SSD.

Performing these rituals for more than 80 years as a tribute to anti-caste leaders has forged a robust bond among the dalits, not only against the historical injustice but also in acquiring the material resources and standing up against caste-based violence. Such events are also a source of socio-psychological relief, allowing people to assert the anti-caste ideology and inspire plans for a casteless society in the future.

Individuals can strive to lose their personal identity when they march for unified action and develop an emotional attachment towards social justice. Durkheim's concept of the collective consciousness comes to mind, where slogans like Jai Bhim can become a force to question social injustice. The collecive chant of 'Jai Bhim' is certainly an immersive method that helps shape a binding social force against caste oppression.

The four-day Hardas Mela serves as a symbolic assertion against injustice and inequality. Thousands gather under pandals to listen to lectures and performances. Youth rallies proceed alongside activists, monks and families. People purchase anti-caste literature from stalls. The event offers a transformative moment in which to move from collective pain, experienced as Dalits, towards collective empowerment.

A participant this year, whom these authors met, noted that Babu Hardas taught the Dalits to be committed towards the anti-caste movement and hold empathy for sufferers, an earlier iteration of what we know as 'paying it back to society'. For participants, challenging and understanding caste hierarchies in everyday life is part of the process to establish equality, which is essential for developing an enlightened vision of India.

The celebration of anti-caste leaders keeps their ideas alive through shared memory and rational tradition. Photo arranged by the authors.

This mela then invokes among participants a single-minded emotional connection and devotion towards their leader, and an opportunity to reiterate the significance and importance in their lives of the anti-caste movement's ideals. The white and blue flags and safas (scarves) people carry reveal the intensity of the attendees' feelings at the Hardas Mela. Along with the sounds of drums, theatre and the loud protests against injustice, people reiterate the idea that they are not individuals, struggling and suffering alone, but a part of a community. The 'Jai Bhim! Jai Bhim! slogan rises from every corner of the mela.

Such actions generate a 'moral force' that can transform individual identity into a collective one, breaking the culture of silence within Dalit communities. Participants from older generations narrate incidents and details about Hardas's life, such as the 1931 Round Table Conference he attended, his dedication to women's emancipation, the activities at the night schools he organised, and the shift from material to cultural identity. The youth fosters a sense of belonging and self-respect from the sharing of these memories. One participant said that Dalit history was excluded from mainstream knowledge-production, especially of history, where Brahmanical hegemony refuses to accept a counter-narrative.

Change in methods

This is the hallmark of an emancipatory cultural programme, where visitors can experience a transition from the traditional framework of the mela. Veteran activists emphasised that the traditional methods of mobilising individuals, through Qawwalis, for instance, were no longer integral to the mela. Nor do they believe that the new generation, while it does participate in the celebration, engages deeply enough with its historical context.

The history of Babu Hardas may not be fully comprehended by some followers, yet the aspect of the assembly and commemoration that is intrinsically linked to identity remains pertinent.

The Hardas Mela represents a transformative power, where people immerse themselves in an experience to form and reform deeper connections between themselves, their past and their futures. There is an organic solidarity to singing songs, uttering cries of Jai Bhim and sharing memories that form strong bonds of unity and confidence. The event generates hope and purpose. It demostrates the continuing power of Hardas's educational vision, and re-emphasises that organising brings protection to those who are oppressed.

Jai Bhim is not merely a greeting but a shared identity and self-respect that keeps reminding them of Ambedkar's unfinished project of annihilation of caste. The celebration of anti-caste leaders keeps such ideas alive through shared memory and rational tradition.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.