Keeping the fire alive

Places associated with Ambedkar have preserved his memory and message

- DNYANESH JATHAR

Mangaon. This tiny village in Kolhapur district does not exist on the maps of Maharashtra. Ask Google Maps where Mangaon is, and it will take you to Mangaon of Raigad district. Only when you type "Mangaon (Kolhapur)" would Google show you the Mangaon where B.R. Ambedkar entered public life by organising a conference of untouchables in March 1920.

Shyamrao Kamble, 80, of Mangaon has inherited memories of the conference. "My father was six years old then. My grandfather told him stories of it as he was growing up. My father told us the stories as we were growing up," he said.

A thousand dalits from nearby villages attended the two-day conference, which drew a total of 20,000 people. Shahu Maharaj, king of Kolhapur and famed social reformer, attended it on the second day and said dalits had found a true leader. "Ambedkar will not only lead you, but also become one of the brightest leaders in India," he said.

According to Jaysinghrao Pawar, an authority on Maratha and Kolhapur history, it was Baroda king Sayajirao Gaekwad who had told Shahu Maharaj about Ambedkar. "It was then that Shahu Maharaj decided to send Dattoba Powar (a cobbler who became the first dalit chairman of Kolhapur municipality) to invite Ambedkar to Kolhapur to discuss the problems faced by dalits," said Pawar.

At Kolhapur, Ambedkar was taken to the palace in a horse-drawn buggy to meet the king. During their meeting, Shahu Maharaj and Ambedkar felt that a meeting of dalits should be organised. The king said Ambedkar should address the gathering.

"Shahu Maharaj never liked to be in the limelight," said Pawar. "He rightly gave the credit of the Mangaon conference to Ambedkar. Had it been anyone else in Shahu Maharaj's place, he would have become president of the conference to claim credit. But Shahu Maharaj made Ambedkar the president."