The Namantar Shahid Smarak (English: Name Change Martyrdom Memorial) is a large memorial sculpture dedicated to those who died in the Namantar Andolan.[1] In 2013, 19 years after the movement's success, the city government of Nagpur erected the monument in memory of the valour and the sacrifice of the Dalit martyrs.[1] The memorial was built by contractor Sunil Sharma on 2,225 m2 of land at a cost of ₹1.58 crore (approximately US$259,000).[1]
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The Dalits of India were on the bottom of the Indian caste system for millennia. In Hinduism, there are four varnas (classes) and in that system, the Dalits are below the lowest of them.[2] Dalits were considered polluted and this pollution was considered contagious.[3] They worked in jobs which were considered ritually impure, they were not allowed to enter Hindu temples, they had to draw their water from separate wells and they had to live outside of villages.[2] Untouchability was outlawed in 1950,[4] but despite the laws, discrimination continues today.[5][6]
In the early 20th century, one of the first Dalits to earn a college education was B. R. Ambedkar.[4] Fighting discrimination, he attended Elphinstone College in Bombay,[7] earned a master's degree from Columbia University in the United States and then earned a doctoral degree from the London School of Economics.[8] The British Raj made education more available to Untouchables but discrimination continued. Ambedkar established hostels, schools and colleges which were open to Dalits.[9] As part of the movement surrounding the independence of India from Britain, major social changes took place and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was appointed to lead the committee to draft a new constitution for India. He proposed, and the new country passed into law, a wide range of civil liberties, including the legal abolition of untouchability.[10][11]
Many Indian universities were renamed after people like Ambedkar and those changes were welcomed with few arguments.[12] The Dalit community in the state of Maharashtra proposed to rename Marathwada University in honour of Ambedkar.[1][13][14] The chief minister, the legislature, and university leaders approved the change,[15] but a storm of opposition arose among Hindus.[vague] On 27 July 1978 riots began and the name change was stopped.[12][15] The riots affected 25,000 Dalits[16] and at least 27 were killed,[1] five by the police.[17] The Namantar Andolan (Name Change Movement) continued for 16 years before the university was renamed Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.[12]
Many organisations and political parties proposed the idea for a memorial late in the 1990s and worked for 12 years to see a memorial realized. In 2010, the government of Nagpur announced the decision to build the memorial.[18] An initial proposed design unveiled in April 2011 was not considered acceptable because it did not represent the history of the Namantar Andolan. Many suggestions were given for the memorial's design.[19] The final design was completed by sculptor Uday Gajbhiye.[1]
Because many Dalits had converted to Buddhism with B.R. Ambedkar, the choice of Buddha Jayanti (Buddha's Birthday) to inaugurate the monument was auspicious. Jogendra Kawade, the leader of the Namantar Long March, was present that day and he said:
A nation stands after sacrifice and laying lives for a nation's cause. The fight for naming Marathwada University after Dr Ambedkar was not a single person's fight but was a movement launched with massive support of people which bore the fruits after 16 years of continuous struggle. The Indora Bridge 10 which inspired thousands of Bhim Sainiks to launch the long march which witnessed bloody sacrifice by the Bhim Sainiks, now, stands as Shahid Smarak in a glorious and magnificent way fittingly saluting the sacrifice of Bhim Sainiks, ... This Memorial would continue to inspire the present and future generations as well.[1]
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The memorial is located at Indora Bridge 10 on Kamptee Road, Nagpur.[1] The location was selected because it is the site where Avinash Dongre, a child protesting in support of the Namantar Andolan, was shot in the head by police on 4 August 1978.[20][21] Four others - Dilip Ramteke, Abdul Sattar, Roshan Borkar and Ratan Mendhe - also lost their lives nearby.[20] The memorial has a total of 27 sculptures of Bhim Sainiks (Soldiers of Bhim)[1] who died during the event, who are shown in the act of their struggle.[22][vague] There are also 27 plaques with the name of each person,[18] and the memorial also has a monolith to pay homage to the martyrs.
Nearby, there is a mini-theater for plays and discussions and a library with materials related to the history of the Namantar Andolan.[22]
Plaque at the entrance gate
Bhim Sainiks with B. R. Ambedkar in the background
Giving aid to a fallen comrade
The martyrs of Namantar Andolan:[23]
- Suhasini Bansod (सुहासिनी बनसोड)
- Govind Bhurewar (गोविंद भुरेवार)
- Bhalchandra Borkar (भालचंद्र बोरकर)
- Roshan Borkar (रोशन बोरकर)
- Avinash Dongre (अविनाश डोंगरे)
- Narayan Gaikwad (नारायण गायकवाड)
- Shabbir Ali Kajal Hussain (शब्बीर अली काजल हुसैन)
- Chandar Kamble (चंदर कांबळे)
- Pochiram Kamble (पोचिराम कांबळे)
- Domaji Kuttarmare (डोमाजी कुत्तरमारे)
- Janardan Mawale (जनार्दन मवाळे)
- Janardan Mhaske (जनार्दन मस्के)
- Ratan Mendhe (रतन मेंढे)
- Kailas Pandit (कैलास पंडित)
- Ratan Pardeshi (रतन परदेशी)
- Dilip Ramteke (दिलीप रामटेके)
- Dyneshwar Sakhare (ज्ञानेश्वर साखरे)
- Abdul Sattar (अब्दुल सत्तार)
- Pratibha Tayade (प्रतिभा तायडे)
- Diwakar Thorat (दिवाकर थोरात)
- Gautam Waghmare (गौतम वाघमारे)
- Manoj Waghmare (मनोज वाघमारे)
- Shila Waghmare (शीला वाघमारे)
Jaffrelot, Christophe (2009). "Introduction" (PDF). Dr. Ambedkar's Strategies Against Untouchability and the Caste System. Working Paper Series. Vol. III. Indian Institute of Dalit Studies. pp. 3, 9–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2013. Gupta, Dipankar (May 1979). "Understanding the Marathwada Riots: A Repudiation of Eclectic Marxism". Social Scientist. 7 (10): 3–22. doi:10.2307/3516774. JSTOR 3516774. (subscription required) Damle, Y. B. (January–June 1994). "Holocaust in Marathwad: 1978" (PDF). ICSSR Research Abstracts Quarterly. XXIII (1 & 2). Indian Council of Social Science and Research. Retrieved 11 August 2013. Samiti, Atyachar Virodh (12 May 1979). "The Marathwada Riots: A Report". Economic and Political Weekly. 14 (19): 845–852. JSTOR 4367590. (subscription required) सकाळ वृत्तसेवा (23 December 2010). "संत्रानगरीत साकारणार "नामांतर शहीदस्मारक'". Sakal (in Marathi). Nagpur. The Sakal Group. Retrieved 21 October 2013. नागपूर - नामांतर चळवळीतील 27 हुतात्म्यांची नावे याठिकाणी ब्लॅक ग्रेनाइटवर कोरण्यात येणार आहेत.....मराठवाडा विद्यापीठाच्या नामांतर चळवळीत प्राणाची आहुती देणाऱ्या हुतात्म्यांच्या स्मृती सदैव तेवत ठेवण्याच्या उद्देशाने महापालिकेच्या वतीने संत्रानगरीत "नामांतर शहीदस्मारक' उभारण्यात येणार आहे, अशी माहिती स्थायी समिती अध्यक्ष संदीप जोशी यांनी आज पत्रपरिषदेत दिली……1977 ते 1994 या कालावधीत मराठवाडा विद्यापीठाच्या नामांतरासाठी महाराष्ट्रात अनेक आंदोलने, मोर्चे काढण्यात आलेत….10 ते 12 वर्षांपासून नामांतर शहीद स्मारकाची विविध पातळ्यांवर मागणी सुरू होती. विविध संघटना व पक्षांनी ही मागणी लावून धरली होती. अखेर यावर्षी त्याला हिरवी झेंडी मिळाली." English translation: "Nagpur - 27 names of the martyrs of Namantar Movement will be carved on Black Granite at this place. ... To keep the memory of the martyrs sacrifice of Namanatar Andolan Marathwada University, Municipal Corporation of Orange city (Nagpur) is erecting "Namantar Shahid Smarak" (Namantar Martyrdom Memorial), this information was given by Samiti President Sandeep Joshi in the press conference today. ... In 1977 to 1994, for renaming Marathwada University many movements, protest marches were laid. ... Since 10 to 12 years 'Namantar Shahid Smarak' was demanded at various levels. Many organizations and political parties raised this demand. Finally this year it (the demand) was green signalled.
सकाळ वृत्तसेवा (12 April 2011). "स्मारकावर नामांतर आंदोलनाचे प्रतीक अंकित असावे". Sakal (in Marathi). Nagpur. The Sakal Group. Retrieved 21 October 2013. नामांतर आंदोलनातील शहीद स्मारकाची प्रतिकृती तयार झाली. परंतु, या प्रतिकृतीकडे बघितल्यास नामांतर चळवळीचा कोणताही इतिहास या स्मारकातून पुढे येत नाही. औरंगाबादेतील डॉ. आंबेडकर मराठवाडा विद्यापीठाचे प्रवेशद्वार शहीद स्मारकाच्या प्रतिकृतीमध्ये अंकित केल्यास नामांतर आंदोलनाचा इतिहास जिवंत होईल. यातून चळवळीला प्रेरणा मिळेल, असा आशावाद यावेळी रिपब्लिकन मुव्हमेंटचे नरेश वहाणे यांनी व्यक्त केला. तर, दिलीप पाटील यांनी महापालिकेने आंबेडकरी चळवळीचा सन्मान करीत नामांतर आंदोलनाच्या लढ्याचा इतिहास स्मारकावर अंकित करावा, अशी मागणी केली. निळू भगत यांनी नामांतर आंदोलनातील इतिहासाचा लढा स्वतःच्या चित्रकृतीतून सादर केला." English translation: "The Namantar Andolan Shahid Smarak replica is complete. But, this replica of the memorial does not tell any history of the Namantar Andolan. Aurangabad's Dr Ambedkar Marathwada University's entrance gate replica if infused in the replica can make the history alive. This may inspire the movement; the optimism was expressed by Republican movements Naresh Vahane. Dilip Patil, while expressing his respect for the Dalit movement he demanded to carve history of the Namantar Andolan on memorial. Nilu Bhagat presented the sketch of Namanta Andolan.
Kewal, Jeevantare (27 May 2013). "महापालिकेला नामांतर शहीद सूर्यांकुरांच्या रक्ताचा विसर". Sakal (in Marathi). Nagpur. The Sakal Group. Retrieved 6 August 2013. 4 ऑगस्ट 1978 रोजी पेटलेल्या आंदोलनात इंदोऱ्यासहित उपराजधीतील सर्वच वस्त्यांमध्ये आंबेडकरी निखाऱ्यांनीही पेट घेतला. याच दिवशी पुकारलेल्या नामांतराच्या एल्गारात "दहा नंबर' पुलाजवळ "डॉ. बाबासाहेब आंबेडकर की जय' ही घोषणा देणारा चिमकुला अविनाश डोंगरे रस्त्यावर आला आणि त्याच्या दिशेने आलेल्या एका गोळीने त्याचे डोके छेदताच तो जमिनीवर कोसळला. अविनाशने अखेरचा श्वास घेतला. अविनाश डोंगरे याच्यासहित उपराजधानीतील दिलीप रामटेके, अब्दुल सत्तार, रोशन बोरकर, रतन मेंढे अशा पाच आंबेडकरी कार्यकर्त्यांनी दीक्षाभूमीची माती कपाळाला लावून नामांतर आंदोलनात जिवाची आहुती दिली." English translation: "On August 4, 1978 the Andolan was burning at Indora and along with Indora all the Dalit habitations in sub-capital (Nagpur) were burning in the same fire. On the same day the Namantar voice was raised near "10 number Bridge" 'Victory of Ambedkar'(a slogan) was cried out by a child Avinash Dongre came onto the road and one bullet came in his direction, was struck in the head by a bullet; he fell to the ground. That was Avinash's last breath. Along with Avinash Dongre, in the sub-capital (several other) Ambedkar workers, Dilip Ramteke, Abdul Sattar, Roshan Borkar, Ratan Mendhe (these five) sacrificed their lives on the soil of Deekhabhoomi during Namnatar Andolan.
"कोवळ्या भीमसैनिकाची 'डरकाळी' आजही स्मरणात". Sakal (in Marathi). Nagpur. The Sakal Group. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013. नामांतर झालेच पाहिजे...' ही "डरकाळी' फोडत धावत आलेला कोवळा भीमसैनिक अविनाश डोंगरे दहा नंबर पुलाजवळ पोलिसांच्या गोळीने "शहीद' होतो... तो दिवस 4 ऑगस्ट 1978." English translation: "Change the name ... uttering in a loud deep voice and running, child Bhimsainik Avinash Dongre near 10 number bridge (Indora Bridge) was martyred by police bullet. ... on August 4, 1978. [translator's note: Bhimsainik is an affectionate title used for Ambedkar followers and means Soldiers of Bhim (Ambedkar)]
"बहुप्रतिक्षित नामांतर शहीद स्मारकाचे आज लोकार्पण". Sakal (in Marathi). Nagpur. The Sakal Group. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013. डॉ. बाबासाहेब आंबेडकर मराठवाठा विद्यापीठ नामांतर आंदोलनात अनेक भीम सैनिक शहीद झाले. या आंदोलनातील शहीदाचे स्मारक तयार करणारी नागपूर महापालिका राज्यात पहिली आहे. येथे पोलिस व भीमसैनिक यांच्यातील संघर्षाची प्रतिकृती तयार करण्यात आली आहे. श्रद्धांजलीसाठी स्तंभ तयार करण्यात आला असून रोषणाईने सायंकाळी परिसर न्हाऊन निघत असल्याने अधिकच आकर्षक दिसत असल्याचे उपमहापौर संदीप जाधव यांनी सांगितले. येथे एक लहान थिएटर, लघुनाट्य तसेच चर्चासत्रासाठी खुले व्यासपीठ तयार करण्यात आले आहे. येथे असलेल्या वाचनालयात आंदोलनाचा संपूर्ण इतिहास नागरिकांसाठी उपलब्ध करून देण्यात आल्याचे जाधव यांनी सांगितले." English translation: "In Namantar Andolan of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University many Bhimsainiks became martyrs. Nagpur Municipal Corporation is the first municipal corporation to construct the Andolan martyr monument in the state. Here the struggle between Bhimsainiks and police has been created. The column has been created to pay homage. The lighting decorations created makes the premises attractive in the evening said Deputy Mayor Sandeep Jadhav. The movement history has been made available at the library for citizens near monument said Jadhav.
Kewal, Jeevantare (14 January 2011). "आंबेडकरी सूर्यांकुरांचे रक्त वाया गेलेले नाही!". Sakal (in Marathi). Nagpur. The Sakal Group. Retrieved 2 August 2013. नामातंर लढ्यातील शहीद: उत्तर नागपुरात दहा नंबरी पुलाजवळ "नामांतर झालेच पाहिज', अशी घोषणा देत चिमुकला अविनाश डोंगरे रस्त्यावर येताच त्याच्या डोक्यात बंदुकीची गोळी शिरली आणि तो जमिनीवर कोसळला; ही आठवण आजही ताजी आहे. तसेच राज्यभरातील दिलीप रामटेके, रोशन बोरकर, ज्ञानेश्वर साखरे, डोमाजी कुत्तरमारे, चंदर कांबळे, पोचिराम कांबळे, जनार्दन मवाळे, शब्बीर अली काजल हुसैन, गौतम वाघमारे, रतन मेंढे, सुहासिनी बनसोड, नारायण गायकवाड, अब्दुल सत्तार, दिवाकर थोरात, जनार्दन मस्के, भालचंद्र बोरकर, शीला वाघमारे, प्रतिभा तायडे, गोविंद भुरेवार, मनोज वाघमारे, कैलास पंडित, रतन परदेशी नामांतरासाठी शहीद झाले असल्याची माहिती समता सैनिक दलाचे केंद्रीय संघटक ऍड. विमलसूर्य चिमणकर यांनी दिली." English translation: - "Martyrs of Namantar struggle: In northern Nagpur near 10 Number bridge "Change the name" slogan was given by child Avinash Dongre, he came on the road, bullet entered in his head and he fell on the ground; the memory is still alive. Similarly, Dilip Ramteke, Roshan Borkar, Dyneshwar Sakahre, Domaji Kuttarmare, Chandar Kamble, Pochiram Kamble, Janadan Mawale, Shabbir Kajal Husain, Ratan Mendhe, Suhasini Bansod, Narayan Gaikwad, Abdual Sattar, Diwakar Thorat, Janardan Mhaske, Bhalchandra Borkar, Shila Waghmare, Pratibha Tayde, Govind Bhurewar, Manoj Waghmare, Kailas Pandit, Ratan Pardeshi from the (Maharashtra) state became martyr for Namantar, this information was given by Samata Sainik Dal's central constitutor, advocate Vimalsurya Chimankar.
