A Workshop with Children of Harijans: Understanding Social Equality in India

Dalit, also known as untouchable, is a name for people belonging to the lowest stratum castes in India according to the Harijan caste system. They were traditionally sweepers, washermen, leatherworkers, and those whose occupation was to kill animals. They were often neglected by the society and deprived of many human rights and social equality in India since the whole caste system took place. But what most of us don’t understand is that our lives would be nearly impossible without the contribution of these people and their hard work.

The Harijan Caste System

So who are Harijans? The term ‘Harijans’ or ‘children of God’, was coined by Narshinh Mehta, a Gujarati poet-saint, to refer to all devotees of Lord Krishna irrespective of caste, class, or sex. Mahatma Gandhi, notably an admirer of Mehta’s work, first used the word in the context of identifying Dalits in 1933. Although they were recognized as Harijans, many people never considered them a part of our society and were ruthless towards them. It’s sad to see these people face constant humiliation on a daily basis. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi always had the vision of Swachh Bharat where he wanted to see the country hygienic and litter free. But do you think it is possible without the Harijans? We cannot think. It is because of them that our way of living is so much easier. It is because of sweepers, we have clean streets. It is because of washermen and washerwomen that we get to wear clean clothes every day. And there is much more to mention that the list will never end. And that is why we should be thankful to them and appreciate the hard work they put for us because social equality in India would mean nothing without them getting their proper rights.

Workshop With Dalit Children

Now that we have the core idea about Harijans, I’m going to share my first experience with them. I recently partook in a workshop organised by the Balmiki Sangeet Vidyalay where we were supposed to teach the children belonging to the lower caste about our art and culture through folk songs and folk dance. The whole group was divided into eight teams who were supposed to go to the slum areas and teach children there. Our team was allotted in the Fatasil area of Guwahati, and our first aim was to go there every day for a whole week to teach the children “Mati Akhora”, “Akhomiya Bhortal” and “Vande Mataram Nritya”.

Beginning Apprhensions

The first day I was a bit nervous not knowing what the outcome would be if the children are going to accept us? How would they feel about us or what would their behaviour be towards us. However, I was excited knowing that I would be able to meet so many young minds who do not get the opportunity to prove their skills and talents. I was happy and honoured to be a part of something whose solemn intention and promise was to spread knowledge and work for Dalit rights in India. And the most priceless thing one can do in life is to spread love, kindness, humanity and knowledge. So keeping all the negative thoughts aside, we marched there.

On the very first day, we had around fifty children of different cultures who were so eager and passionate to learn something. And to my surprise most of the children were so decent, loving and well mannered. Of course, wherever you go, you meet a bunch of people. And likewise, we also met a few kids who were a bit out of control, but with time and patience we handled the situation properly. We did take strict actions at time, but our aim was to show them how much we love and accept them.

The Changes Made During the Workshop

As the days went by and we reached the end of the week, we were so impressed with the outcome. Those children were so intelligent and quick learners. We taught them the importance of discipline in life and how each and every one of them is born with a purpose. I also taught them value of “Om Chant” and how it helps to purify one’s soul and energy. To make the workshop more cheerful and lively, we played several games like “Musical Chair” and “Pahar-Pani” after the dance practice. And we used to wrap up the day with refreshments and some quick selfies. Every day was with great energy, and the vibe was immaculate.

We organized our first performance at Alok Bhawan for the kids of Fatasil slum area. The kids belonging to the other slum areas had their own performances at their own locations. To our surprise, each and every one of them performed so beautifully and made our hearts fill with pride. Finally the hard work paid off, and we were undeniably happy with the results. After the performance and quick refreshments, we went to their basti and witnessed the Sai Baba Puja which was celebrated by their people. It was a big and colourful event and everybody dressed up beautifully. From kids to elderly people, everybody came looking their best wearing new clothes and shoes. Sweets and snacks were being distributed everywhere. There was dance and music, and the environment was so lively. While coming back home, I thought to myself one thing. I have noticed throughout the course of events that when you go to visit these people in their homes, they treat you like God, which made me so emotional for some unknown reason. They make you feel so valued and worthy as a human being even when they themselves do not receive Dalit rights in India. And that got into my head as I drove home silently with my thoughts.

Realisation of the Dalit equation in India

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and slowly but gradually we were coming to the end of a huge workshop. We held several dance classes and dance performances at various locations like school grounds, college premises, temples and even streets, near the railway tracks, not caring about anything and only focusing on the goal. We could see a transition in the children, not only in the perspective of their dance performances but in their overall character. At first, the kids used to come in improper dress codes, greet the teachers casually with a hello, and passed comments whenever they got a chance. But with time they started greeting the teachers with ‘namaste’, and sometimes even touched our feet to show respect. Most of them started wearing proper clothes and even guided the rest who were a bit rebellious towards the teachers. They also got better with academics and started having a positive attitude towards people. Eventually, the things started taking a positive turn.

All the teachers and the associates started visiting these children’s homes to build a connection with the parents and guardians and to become a part of the community. When we first started calling the children to join the workshop, some parents were a bit skeptical about sending their children because they were scared if something bad would happen to the children or if someone would try to hurt them or even sell them. And this is quite understandable with the environment they come from and the crimes they face. Anybody would be scared in that situation. And that is the reason our senior Basistha Bujarbaruah asked us to build a relationship with the parents. We followed his direction and started visiting the slum areas. We were so overwhelmed with the response and with all the love and respect that was showered to us from the very beginning. They treated us so nicely, offered us food and drinks, and we talked about various topics about the welfare of the people, especially the children of their society, their education and their health. The people were really sociable, and were extremely warm and friendly towards us. After several meet ups, we made committees with their people for a smooth flow of events.

Final Event of the Workshop with Dalits

Then came the final event which was the highlight of the whole workshop. The whole workshop and the main event was organised by Dr. Hedgewar Smarak Samitee and was named “Khomotaar Sondere Jibonor Joygaan” which means celebrating life with equality. It was held at Sonaram field on 4th December 2022 to honour Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his ‘punyatithi’, who worked tirelessly his whole life for Dalit rights in India. The hon’ble chief minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sharma came as the chief guest and graced the event with his presence along with various dignitary guests such as Ram Dutta Chakradhar, Saha Sarkaryabah of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), noted Assamese writer and journalist Anuradha Sarma Pujari, Sattradhikar Noni Gopal Devgoswami of Dakshin Pat Sattra, Sattradhikar Janardan Devgoswami of Uttar Kamalabari Sattra, Sattradhikar Nigamananda Adhikari of Chamaria Sattra, Sattradhikar Rajiblochan Sant of Sualkuchi Iswarhati Sattra and many other respected personalities.

All the children came dressed in the traditional Bhortaal attire, Assamese Bihu attire, Bhojpuri attire, Telugu attire, Punjabi attire and the rest in the Vande Mataram nritya attire. All the girls came looking pretty with their make-ups, and with white flowers in the hair. The boys carried the ‘gamosa’ with their attire. Everyone looked beautiful, and they were so excited and happy to be recognized in front of a huge audience.

All the guests were so happy and thrilled to witness something so big yet so noble. The Chief Minister also appreciated the Hedgewar trust which has been working for education, health and reforms in various underdeveloped localities of Northeast India, including Dalit rights in India. Ram Dutta addressed the gathering, and talked about how Bharat used to be a great nation in the past and how every Indian should work to make the country greatest in the world. Speaking about Babasaheb Ambedkar’s mission to help every Bharatiya to get equal rights and facilities, he pointed out that martyr Bhagat Singh wanted to take food from the hand of a sanitation worker before he was hanged. Also, Anuradha Sarma Pujari commented that there is no inequality in nature where the trees and animals survive with harmony. She questioned, “Then, why human beings differentiate with their birth?” She also remarked that Babasaheb scripted the Indian Constitution in the best way in the world. At the beginning, distinguished personalities paid floral tributes to the portrait of Ambedkar. The welcoming address was delivered by the organizing committee’s president Ram Singh, and gratitude was shown to Shiva Basfor.

A splendid performance was done by hundreds of sanitation workers’ children who mesmerised thousands of audience, where 200 pupils performed ‘Bhortaal Nritya’ and 500 participated to perform ‘Vande Mataram Nritya’. They all performed beautifully and it was a magical view. Finally, the hard work of six whole months paid off. All the sweat, sorrows, fatigues, labour from the last six months somehow vanished from us. It was a vision to see all the children of Harijan Basti performing folk dance together, and it was finally happening.

Conclusion

The whole area was filled with mixed emotions. It was a wholly new experience for me as well as the children. Even though we were happy and relieved to see the kids perform gracefully, we were also sad about the fact that it was over and we won’t be able to see each other so soon. There is no word that can explain the connection that I made with the kids within such a short span of time. It was nothing but pure love. The hardest part was the goodbye. They were the causes of some tears, some happiness and so much of gratitude. We all shared our numbers, and made promises to see each other soon.

The above experience was an eye opener in the shortcomings of social equality in India. It is quite evident that unless the Dalits get their due from society, social equality in India will be only on paper.