Why the 16-year campaign to rename Marathwada University after BR Ambedkar still matters

Standing on the Indora Bridge in Nagpur, one can catch a glimpse of the Namantar Shahid Smarak – a memorial to 27 Dalit activists who were killed during the 16-year Namantar Andolan that started in 1978 to have Marathwada University renamed after BR Ambedkar.

Not surprisingly, some members of the upper castes and land-owning feudal classes in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region opposed this demand for a gesture that would pay tribute to the architect of India’s Constitution for leading the struggle for equality and his efforts to democratise education.

Among them was Shiv Sena head Bal Thackrey. “Gharat nahi peeth ani magtay vidyapeeth,” he sneered. You don’t have a loaf of bread to eat, but you want a university.

Significant markers of the movement included the Long March in 1979, which set out from Nagpur for Aurangabad, 470 km away; the Jail Bharo Andolan to court arrest between 1978 and 1994; and several attacks on protestors by feudal-caste groups that opposed the name change. This movement also helped shape the course of a Dalit literature.

The struggle ended with a compromise on January 14, 1994, to rechristen the institution as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. To remember the sacrifices made by the Dalit protestors and to advance the effort to create an egalitarian society based on the principles of humanity, the struggle is commemorated across Maharashtra with key events in Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and Nagpur on that date each year.

The annual event offers hope and opportunities for Dalit politics by connecting with the idea of “true politics” that gives a voice to those who are marginalised, making them active participants instead of mere subjects who must conform to the dictates of the state and society. This true politics supports the discourse of natural rights, equality and intellectual freedom, empowering Dalits to express dissent.

Commemorations such as this one enable Dalits to gain a political education from their lives, rather than relying solely on theoretical models.

During the 16-year struggle, the opposition to the Namantar Andolan brought into the open the deep-rooted feudal and caste nexus that had permeated society and politics in Marathwada and Maharashtra in general. It also laid bare the “politics of humiliation” being practised by these groups, undermining the demand by Dalits for dignity and respect.

The Andolan was a response to these Brahmanical power structures. It was a “rejection of rejection”, as political scientist Gopal Guru has described the process.

The government and dominant groups have established a “mnemonic hegemony”, or the power to shape how history is told and which is sidelined. The Namantar Aandolan challenged the power of feudal caste groups to dictate history by asserting its own “mnemonic sovereignty”.

The justified demand to rename the university to Dr Ambedkar University reflected a fairer version of history that had been sidelined by the feudal upper-caste groups.

Dalit students began using the name “Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar University” in their official correspondence even before their demand was granted. They started their own journals and media platforms to communicate their version of events, avoiding mainstream media platforms that were biased in favour of the elite.

The Andolan employed creative methods of storytelling – for instance, using protest songs that shared its struggles and documented the violence perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. The Andolan’s Long March of 1979 made the fight against caste injustice visible. The movement revived the memories and spirit of the Dalit Panther, a militant organisation founded in 1972, inspired by the Black Panther movement in the US.

The Andolan, which began as the Namantar Andolan, culminated not with a name change but a name extension – a namvistaar. It revealed the state’s apathy towards Dalit claims for dignity, as well as the state’s tendency to protect the feudal caste-class nexus.

But there were crucial victories. The Andolan had encouraged solidarity between various Dalit sub-castes. For instance, Pochiram Kamble, who is commemorated in the Nagpur memorial, belonged to the Mang community in a struggle where Mahars (the sub-caste to which Ambedkar belonged) were in the majority.

Also commemorated on the memorial is Abdul Sattar, marking the shared history of hardship and oppression between Muslims and Dalits.

As a young person wondering whether Viksit Bharat has a place for Dalits or if the community is being used as pawns in Hindutva’s battle against minorities, January 14 is an opportunity to look back on a crucial campaign and try to understand the crucial lessons that Marathwada’s Namantran Andolan offers to navigate a course for Dalit true politics as it embraces the future.

Nikhil Sanjay-Rekha Adsule is a senior research scholar at IIT-Delhi. His X handle is @beingkhilji.