Namantar Andolan (English: Name Change Movement) was a Dalit and Navayana Buddhist movement to change the name of Marathwada University, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University. It achieved a measure of success in 1994, when the compromise name of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University was accepted. The movement was notable for the violence against Dalits and Navayana Buddhists.
Background Namantar means name change and andolan means social movement. The Namantar Andolan was a 16-year-long Dalit campaign to rename Marathwada University in recognition of B. R. Ambedkar, the jurist, politician and social reformer who had proposed that untouchability should be made illegal.
Non-Dalit student groups initially supported the demand to have the university renamed but did so less for reasons of dogma than for the pragmatic desire to bring the Dalit, mostly Mahar (now Buddhists), students into the general fold. Dalit students traditionally showed no interest in supporting such causes as lower fees and cheaper textbooks, but they constituted around 26 percent of the student population and anticipated quid pro quo. A march involving Dalit and non-Dalit students was organised, with the intent of petitioning the council of the university for the change. The procession met with another, headed by Gangadhar Gade, a Dalit Panthers leader, who launched a tirade of abuse at the non-Dalit contingent as he asserted the right of the Dalits to take all the credit for the change in name. This alienated the non-Dalit students and, according to Dipankar Gupta, "the division was caused not so much by Hindu caste prejudices and reticence to support the renaming of the University, but rather by the splittist and sectarian position taken by Gadhe", who might also be concerned that any alliance between Dalits and non-Dalits could affect the potency of the Panthers. Among left-wing organisations, only the Students' Federation of India and Yukrant continued to support the campaign.
In 1977, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Vasantdada Patil, promised that the renaming would occur, and in July 1978, the Maharashtra Legislature approved it. Uttara Shastree notes that the campaign at this time reflected the desire of neo-Buddhists for an improved image and position in society, as a significant part of which they called on the symbolic ideas of Ambedkar, that had preceded his rise to prominence. The University Executive Body passed a resolution to rename the university and this series of decisions was the catalyst for rioting, which began on 27 July 1978 and lasted several weeks.
Commentators such as Gail Omvedt believe that the violence was a caste war based on hatred; whilst others, such as Gupta, believe that the causes were more varied. Both Omvedt and Gupta noted that the violence was aimed at the Mahars (now Buddhists) and did not extend to other Dalit groups, while Gupta also notes that it was concentrated in the three districts of Marathwada — Aurangabad, Nanded and Parbhani — where Dalit registrations in schools and colleges were particularly high, and economic competition was the most fierce. In particular, the centres of the unrest were urban areas, where the impact of Mahar aspirations would most deeply affect the employment, social, and economic roles which Hindu castes considered to be their preserve. Troubles were largely absent from the other two districts, Beed and Osmanabad, and the spill of problems into rural areas generally was patchy. These issues of geographic and demographic targeting, according to Gupta, indicate that the real causes of the violence were more subtle than war between caste Hindu and Dalit. There were also instances of violent acts taking place under the pretext of the riots elsewhere but in fact to settle very local and personal scores unrelated to the broader causes. In contradiction to these views, Y. C. Damle maintains that the violence "specially affected the Scheduled Caste people in the villages although the agitation for renaming the Marathwada University after B. R. Ambedkar was spearheaded by Dalit Panthers and such leaders mainly in urban centres. In giving a call for agitation, hardly any effort was made to protect the villages or villagers."
Attacks Riots affected 1,200 villages in Marathwada, impacting on 25,000 Marathi Buddhists and Hindu Dalits and causing thousands of them to seek safety in jungles. The terrorised Dalits did not return to their villages, despite starvation. This violence was allegedly organised by members of the Maratha community and took many forms, including killings, burning of houses and huts, pillaging of Dalit colonies, forcing Dalits out of villages, polluting drinking water wells, destruction of cattle, and refusal to employ. This continued for 67 days. According to the Yukrant leader, attacks on Dalit were collective and pre-planned. In many villages, Dalit colonies were burned. The burning houses in Marathwada region affected 900 Dalit households. Upper caste rioters demolished essential household items that the Dalit possessed. They even burned the fodder stocks owned by Dalits. The bridges and culverts were intentionally broken or damaged to paralyse the military and police aid in villages during the time of the attacks. Upper caste mobs attacked government property including government hospitals, railway stations, gram panchayat offices, state transport buses, district council operated school buildings, the telephone system and the government go downs. 30 crore worth property was damaged. The Marathwada region was under siege of violence for over two years. The Dalits were wrecked economically and psychologically. Many Dalit protesters were physically injured and nineteen died including five protesters who lost their lives during the police repression.
Much of the violence occurred in Nanded district. Examples include: Sonkhed village: The mob burned a Dalit residential area. Two women were raped and three children were killed. Sugaon village: Janardhan Mavde was killed. Bolsa and Izzatgaon villages: women were raped and tortured (one woman had her breast cut off). The elder son of the martyr Pochiram Kamble, Chandar Kamble, lost his life during the Andolan. Koklegaon: A Dalit teacher, local social activist, was tortured with his wife. Dalit habitations were set on fire.
Violence also occurred in Parbhani district. Examples include: Parbhani: Hindu students and youths destroyed the statue of Ambedkar at Bhim Nagar. Parbhani: On 17 July 1978, agitators stopped buses and trains and even cut the telephone lines. The police did not intervene, and after 30 July Dalit habitations were targeted. Adgaon Village: Dalits were threatened; cattle shed and agricultural equipments were torched. Samiti observed similar violent incidents (like Nanded district) in Koregaon, Kaulgaon, Nandgaon, Sodgaon, Halta, Cohgaon, Nandapur, and many other villages of Parbhani district.
Examples of violence in Aurangabad district included: Aurangabad: Non-Dalits destroyed public property by burning buses, blowing up bridges to paralyze the social life. Aurangabad: Many professors opposed renaming the university. On the other hand, prof. Desarda, a Marxist teacher, was beaten by Maratha students for supporting the Namantar. Akola Village: Mahajanrao Patil, a Lingayat, an upper caste Hindu, helped Dalits so he was beaten badly. Police did not react after his complaint. Kashinath Borde, neo-Buddhist police Patil, a flour mill owner, who officially reported complaints of harassment against Hindus was targeted. His bullock cart, household goods and house were burned.
Examples of violence in Beed district included: Ambajogai: : Followers of Sharad Pawar got assaulted.
Examples of violence in Osmanabad district included: Tuljapur: Dalit women were specifically attacked. Upper caste women helped in the torching of Dalit houses. Dalits were terrorised by damaging the road bridges, telephone lines and the roads connecting between Kalamb and Yermala. Dalits in Tuljapur, Savargaon, Bavi, Pthrud, and Wagholi attacked. A group of almost 900 violent upper caste youths attacked Dalits.
Example of violence in Hingoli district included: Basmath: After the attacks, the Tehsildar did not provide meals for the victims. Instead, he advised them to beg for it.
Examples of violence in Nashik district included: Nashik: The attempts were made to garland the statue of Shivaji with footwear, to criticize Neo-Buddhists and to activate riots. Vihit village: The statue of Ambedkar was damaged.
Examples of violence in Nagpur included: The police shot Avinash Dongre, a child, in his head when he was chanting the slogan Change the name at Indora Bridge 10. Along with Dongre, Dilip Ramteke, Abdul Sattar, Roshan Borkar and Ratan Mendhe sacrificed their lives in Namantar struggle at Nagpur. In Jalgot Village, Inspector Bhurevar was beaten and then burned alive by a mob at a police outpost. Violence was reported in Pune. Demonstrators in Mumbai teargassed. Statues of Ambedkar and the Buddha through the region were also damaged or destroyed.
Role of media, political parties and bureaucrats Media The regional press played a biased role during the violence. The Marathi Newspaper, Prajawani and Godatir Samachar, opposed the Namantar "by giving wide publicity to the riots in the cities and suppressing news in the rural areas." According to Aurangabad daily, Marathwada the Namantar was a cultural violation for Marathwada existence. The press did not publish about rural violence news. They did not report the declarations by the Republican Party of India and Dalit Panthers. The front page of a famous Marathi newspaper published a notice for upper caste Hindus to support the agitation. Similarly, people were urged through letters, flyers, and hand-outs to join the agitation. The Parliamentary Committee advised to reinforce the police intelligence with radio communication, telephones, and motor vehicles in talukas. But the media intensified on allegations that the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was being misused. Bhalchandra Nemade commented "All Marathi newspapers are communal and they thrive on the so-called 'freedom of the press' to serve their own aims." The chief minister of Maharashtra admitted the one-sided role of the press.
Political parties Shiv Sena, the Hindutva political party, initially declared itself opposed to the Namantar. During the agitation, the supporters of Bal Thackeray burnt homes of the Dalits. People were physically harmed, including by attacks with swords. Interviewers explained that the attackers were from the Maratha community, who also burned Dalit properties in Nanded district. Supporters of the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWP) and Indian National Congress were involved in these burnings. In the same area, there were allegations of two women raped and three children killed, but no legal action instigated. According to Gopal Guru:
But later in 2011, Bal Thackeray cleared that he never opposed the Namantar. He said in an interview that:
Bureaucrats