The Phule We Remember: As Remembered by Govind Bhau Patil Dumbare

(My father) late Bhau Patil was born in Otur in 1838. Annoyed by the incessant grumbling he left home in anger when he was fifteen. He was short-tempered and hence wouldn’t get along with anyone at home. After his arrival in Mumbai, he faced many difficulties but he never returned home owing to his stubborn nature. In a few days, he got a job with a grocery trader, and at night, he started with the study of the alphabets. His keen wit helped him pick up Marathi reading and writing in just two years. With the capital he had gathered over two years, he set up a small grocery shop; and soon afterwards, he got married. His spouse’s name was Gangubai. Gangubai — my mother. 

I was born in 1863 in Mumbai. When I was six years old my father left Mumbai and shifted to Otur where he was appointed for Patilki.^[1]Patil, a socio-legal position, was responsible for looking after the law and order, and revenue in a village. When I was about two or three, my father had a second marriage. Due to the conflict between my mother and stepmother, my father had to leave Mumbai. After working as Patil for two-three years in the village, he shifted to Gwalior for a job. Over there, he eventually got promoted to the rank of a Mamaledar (revenue officer of a taluka). After working in Gwalior for about ten years, he returned to Otur. 

In 1882, he went to Pune to meet Jotirao. He had previously heard of Jotirao’s fame while he was in Otur. Jotirao welcomed him warmly. He was touched by Jotirao’s courtesy, and with lifting of the Belbhandar^[2]Formal oath-taking practice of the Satyashodhak Samaj., he became a member of the Satyashodhak Samaj. My father was determined and fearless by nature.

He organised gatherings and established the Satyashodhak Samaj all over Thane, Pune, and Nashik districts. He would invite Jotirao to congregations. I would accompany my father at times on his travels, and very often, Jotirao would be with us. The first congregation dated (writer does not mention the date – Marathi Editor) was organised at Junnar. At that time, about fifteen thousand people participated from Konkan and the inlands. Jotirao delivered an emphatic speech on the occasion. The huge gathering made Jotirao quite happy. 

He was very happy with my father. In the congregation, he said:

“Now my work is done, my work has been taken up by Bhau Patil. He has lightened my burden very much. All young farmers should collectivize under the leadership of Bhau Patil, socially boycott Brahmins, and call for their sanction in villages — they will not come to their senses otherwise. I have laid the foundation for this journey of Satyashodhak Samaj, and I hope that Bhau Patil gets the credit for his work in it when this journey reaches its zenith. After you return to your villages, boycott the lot of Brahmins totally. Until they think of you as socially inferior, don’t allow them near wells and in public places. Do not allow them to perform your religious rituals. Maintain frugality in your economics, and let rich Savkars’ (moneylenders’) lands be forced to remain uncultivated. We all shall be equal in our wealth. Savkars are cruel monsters. They should also be boycotted socially in villages, just like the Brahmins. Brahmins and Savkars should not be able to find washermen, barbers or milk, vegetables, and they shouldn’t be able to find workers for their fields.” 

This is how fierce and forceful his speech was. The effect of this speech spread across villages, and in every corner people boycotted Brahmins and Savkars. People started performing marriage rituals by themselves, and the lands of Savkars started to remain uncultivated. The consequence of this was resounding in Konkan and the inlands. Jotirao had called for a boycott by the farmers against Savkars five or seven years earlier as well. But because of the Junnar conference and my father’s presence, unrest had spread far and wide. Savkars and Brahmins were livid with rage. 

The Brahmins who would demand twenty rupees as levy for performing wedding rituals, started to manage in 8 annas. Also, Brahmin moneylenders who would charge twenty times the basic tax as agricultural rent from farmers, started to give their land for cultivation against only the basic agricultural tax. This strike continued for three years. I was about eighteen years old at that time. When the farmers boycotted the Brahmins, their servants tortured farmers a great deal. Brahmin teachers deliberately refused to teach the farmers’ children. Therefore, my father and Jotirao requested the Director Saheb of the Education Department to appoint non-Brahmin teachers in every school. And my father opened a school in Otur where all the appointed teachers were non-Brahmins. At the same time, the Satya Samaj protest raged on in Junnar. The community of Mahadev Kolis from the Thane district joined the protest. Lack of education in their community was making it quite difficult to find priests for their rituals. Hence, the wedding ritual was simply performed by calling out ‘Har Har Mahadev’ followed by clapping. The social boycott of Brahmins continued for a long time in Otur. 

Baba commanded a great deal of respect amongst the sahebs. Even after departing for their homelands, they would send foreign correspondence to my father to enquire about the affairs here, and my father would respond with letters too. Many of these letters remain with me.

While traveling with Jotirao, my knowledge of the world broadened. He was tenacious, self-respecting and truthful. Baba and Jotirao used to wear white turbans, and a white flowing and pleated angarkhas.^[3]Men’s overcoats Jotirao used to carry a tall stick in his hands. He was a very loving person. Like my father, he too was not fond of any shortcomings. When Jotirao passed away, Baba was in Pune and was deeply saddened. Right up to the end, memories of Jotirao would make him sorrowful. My father and others would refer to Jotirao as ‘Tatya’. All over Junnar, people mourned Jotirao’s death. Jotirao would visit Otur from time to time, and he would give speeches on his visits. 

My father was an eyesore for the Brahmin officers —  two to three times they plotted conspiracies and filed lawsuits against him. Ambegaon’s Mahalkarni (police officer of a sub-division) jailed him for one month. In the end, truth prevailed and he was proved innocent. In this way, while striving for the welfare of the people, in 1901, on the occasion of Rangapanchami, by God’s command, he passed away at 12 pm. My father’s biography ends here. Soon after Jotirao, my father passed away too, and the Satyashodhak Samaj’s work in the Junnar area slowed down. 

Sincerely!

(Govind Bhau Patil Dumbare’s memory has been translated by Tanuja Harad, edited by Ninad Pawar and Rucha Satoor, and peer-reviewed by Suraj Thube.)