Balram Sampla
Geopolitics
Geopolitics
(Asian independent) In 1855, Mukta Salve, wrote at age of 14, while she was a student at Phules school. It was originally published in a Marathi fortnightly Gyanodaya. It is regarded as first writing by a female dalit. It addresses the suffering of the Mang and Mahar communities.
Summary
(1) Religion and exclusion
Salve notes that Brahmans claim the Vedas as their exclusive property. If so, she argues, Dalits aren’t bound by them, which leaves them “without any religion.” She asks God to reveal a true religion and wishes that any faith privileging one group would vanish.
(2) Peshwa-era brutality
She describes severe persecution under Bajirao’s rule, including violence for simply walking past certain places, bans on education, and human sacrifice in building foundations. She says Dalits were treated as lower than animals.
(3) Everyday deprivation
She details poverty, lack of employment, women giving birth with no shelter or medical care, and children who endure abuse silently because they depend on Brahman households for leftover food. She also criticizes the Mahars for adopting caste attitudes toward the Mangs.
(4) British rule
She credits the British government with ending many of these practices, such as human sacrifice, beheadings, clothing restrictions, and excessive taxes, though untouchability persists in places.
(5) Education as the remedy
She notes that some Brahmans who support Dalit schools are themselves outcasted. She urges Mahars and Mangs to study hard, calling knowledge the cure for exploitation and superstition, while acknowledging that education alone doesn’t guarantee good conduct.
The written essay is valued both as a historical record of caste oppression and for the voice of a young Dalit girl speaking directly about it.
Source:
1.https://ruralindiaonline.org/library/resource/about-the-grief-of-mahar-and-mangs
2.https://www.forwardpress.in/2020/02/165-years-ago-first-female-dalit-writer-wrote-about-the-grief-of-the-mangs-and-the-mahars/
