Did you know that the 1818 battle of Koregaon, which has been the central issue behind protests and violence in Maharashtra for the last three days, was lauded by BR Ambedkar as an instance of courage and valour of the Mahar Dalits?
In the 200-year-old battle, the British Army comprising Dalit Mahars had defeated upper-caste Peshwas representing Marathi ruler Baji Rao Peshwa.
In a letter written to The Times of India, published on 18 June 1941, Ambedkar emphasised on the significant role played by the ‘Untouchables’, including the Mahars, in the British Army, as he unequivocally asserted:
...There can be no doubt that without the help of the untouchables the British would never have been able to conquer India.
By citing the battle of Koregaon and the role played by Mahars in it, Ambedkar argued for a greater inclusion of the ‘lower castes’ in the British Army in his letter.
By stressing on the "martial qualities" of the Mahars, Ambedkar wanted to convey to the British that the community's exclusion from the army is not the right thing to do. It is important to remember here that the British had started excluding the 'lower castes' from the army especially after 1857.
He pointed out how, despite the sacrifices of the Mahars in the battle of Koregaon, "the recruitment of the Mahars was stopped in 1892 all of a sudden." In the 20th century too, the Mahars were not given their due, Ambedkar said, with steps taken by the British Government "only adding insult to injury" of Mahars.
He narrated one instance as follows:
It was expected that the British Government, having re-enfranchised the Mahars for military purposes, would continue the Mahar battalion and add to it more Mahar battalions. But instead the British Government, on the excuse of economy, disbanded the Mahar battalion.
Ambedkar then went on to blame the exclusion of Mahars from the British Army on the "distinction between martial and non-marital classes."
One of the banalities of the British Government in India is this distinction between martial and non-martial classes. Nothing has been more disastrous. It is a pity that so great a catastrophe as the war was necessary to force the British Government to give up this senseless distinction.
At the end of his letter, Ambedkar does acknowledge the effort by the British Government, particularly the Governor of (then) Bombay, to raise a Mahar battalion on his insistence.
The Dalit activist signs off with a seemingly emotional appeal to the Mahars:
I appeal to the Mahars to take advantage of this opportunity (where a Mahar battalion has been raised); both for their sake as well as for the sake of the country, and I also appeal to the British Government to keep faith with the Mahars and not to disband them from the army after the war is over.
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