After the controversy over dropping of a key line mentioning ‘shudra’ from Jyotiba Phule’s renowned work ‘Shetkaryacha Asud’, the builders have now pulled down the entire couplet from the memorial.
A memorial of social reformers Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule was inaugurated in Nasik four days ago by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
Phule, a renowned social reformer in Maharashtra who worked tirelessly for the emancipation of women and lower castes, is a relevant social force in the political narrative in the State. Ahead of the Assembly elections, the memorial has brought forth political fissures in the State.
The 18-foot bronze statue of the couple included an inscription from Phule’s famous work ‘Shetkaryacha Asud’ (The Whip of a Farmer). The original lines read – “Vidyevina mati geli. Mati vina niti geli. Niti vina gati geli. Gati vina vitta gele. Vittavina shudra khachle. Evdhe anartha eka avidyeni kele”. When translated, it means, “Without knowledge, wisdom was lost, without wisdom righteousness was lost. Without righteousness, progress was lost. Without progress, wealth was lost. Without wealth, the Shudra suffered. So much disaster was caused by the lack of knowledge.”
But the line on Shudra was absent from the inscription at the memorial. Instead, it allegedly read, “Vidyevina mati geli. Mati vina niti geli. Niti vina gati geli. Gati vina vitta khachle. Evdhe anartha eka avidyeni kele.” On Tuesday, the entire couplet was pulled down.
“Some background work was incomplete. So, we have pulled down everything. The work was going on during continuous rainfall. The look of the background was supposed to be different. It was an oversight, an unintentional mistake. Not just that line, some other words were omitted too by the workers by mistake. Now, we will complete the work and will then put back the entire inscription,” said Sameer Bhujbal, the nephew of regional strongman Chhagan Bhujbal, who conceived the project.
Nasik Municipal Commissioner Ashok Karangkar was unavailable for comments as his phone was switched off.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Communist Party of India (CPI) gave a memorandum to the corporation seeking the appointment of an inquiry committee in the matter.
“This is an effort to wash off Bahujan history,” said Talha Sheikh, Nasik City secretary, CPI. “When you edit that line of the ‘akhanda’ (entire, unbroken text), you are wiping away the entire context of deprivation, of casteism. Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule’s work was for the shudra, the ati-shudra, for women. The point of that line is the realisation that we could not study because of the injustice of the caste system. That was entirely negated when the line was taken away. This is towing the RSS line, which speaks of ‘samarasata’, and not ‘samata’. Phule’s thought is for ‘samata’ or equality,” he said.
He alleged that it was done purposely and was not an inadvertent mistake. “This is not an oversight, it has been done deliberately. But it is good that prompt action has been taken. The Nasik Municipal Corporation has spent ₹4.3 crore on this grand memorial. It should now appoint a committee to probe who was at fault and should initiate disciplinary action against the responsible officials. Also, Chhagan Bhujbal should spend from his own pocket for the changes now,” he said.
The trio of ‘Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar’ continues to be the bedrock of political parties who claim to adhere to progressive ideologies. Their names and work are quoted for appealing to the SC, ST, Muslim vote banks in the State.
Published - October 01, 2024 10:49 pm IST
