A story Gujarat forgot: Dalits and the Dakor temple movement

 

By Rajiv Shah 

The other day, I was talking with Martin Macwan, a well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader. He revealed to me an interesting chapter of the Gandhian movement in Gujarat — how Ravishankar Maharaj (1884–1984), a prominent Gandhian social reformer of the state, played a pivotal role in the struggle for temple entry for Dalits (then referred to as Harijans) in the late 1940s.

One of his most significant actions occurred at the Ranchhodraiji Temple in Dakor, which I have often visited with family and friends. Perhaps the most prominent Lord Krishna temple in Central Gujarat, its gates were closed to Dalits until Maharaj led a movement to open them to everyone, regardless of caste.

My research suggested that despite the passage of laws like the Bombay Harijan Temple Entry Act (1947), many orthodox priests and local "savarna" (upper-caste) groups resisted the entry of Dalits into the temple. At that time, Gujarat was part of Bombay State.

Known as "Barefoot Gandhi," Maharaj led the temple entry movement shortly after India gained independence. While no specific date is available for when he launched the Dalit temple movement, the temple was opened to Dalits on November 11, 1947 — but not before fierce resistance from the temple authorities.

Macwan told me that when Ravishankar Maharaj attempted to enter the Ranchhodraiji Temple in Dakor with a group of Dalits, they were met with violent opposition. Maharaj and the group were attacked and beaten by orthodox protesters who opposed their entry.

In characteristic Gandhian fashion, however, he did not retaliate. Instead, he went on a hunger strike to protest both the exclusion and the violence, acting within the framework of the Gandhian social reform agenda. His fast eventually moved the temple authorities to relent. True to his principles, he neither fought back nor sought police intervention against those responsible. He sat in protest and fasted to appeal to a "change of heart" among the temple's trustees and the local community.

Macwan also revealed that while Gandhi was a strong advocate for opening major temples to Dalits — frequently citing Dakor in his writings and speeches, including in Harijan — he had actually requested Ravishankar Maharaj not to force entry into the temple with Dalits. Maharaj, nonetheless, went ahead with the movement.

Macwan regretted that the incident remains little known in Gujarat. "I have written about it on my Facebook wall," he added.