Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was an Indian social activist, businessman, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including eradication of untouchability and the caste system and for his efforts in educating women and oppressed caste people. He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women's education in India. Phule started his first school for girls in 1848 in Pune at Tatyasaheb Bhide's residence or Bhidewada. He, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj to attain equal rights for people from lower castes. People from all religions and castes could become a part of this association which worked for the upliftment of the oppressed classes. Phule is regarded as an important figure in the social reform movement in Maharashtra.The honorific Mahātmā, was first applied to him in 1888 at a special program honoring him in Mumbai..
Mahar, meaning "original inhabitants of Maharashtra", is an Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century. As of 2017 the Mahar caste was designated as a Scheduled Caste in 16 Indian states.
Gail Omvedt was an American-born Indian sociologist and human rights activist. She was a prolific writer and published numerous books on the anti-caste movement, Dalit politics, and women's struggles in India. Omvedt was involved in Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental, farmers' and women's movements, especially with rural women.
The Battle of Koregaon was fought on 1 January 1818 between the British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy, at Koregaon Bhima.
Arun Krushnaji Kamble was an Indian Marathi language writer, professor, Politician, and Dalit activist. Arun Kamble, President and one of the founding members of Dalit Panthers of India, worked as a Head of Marathi department at University of Mumbai. He was the National General Secretary of Janata Dal. He took many major decisions in favour of Dalit, Backward Class and Minorities.
Baburao Ramji Bagul (1930–2008) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India; a pioneer of modern literature in Marathi and an important figure in the Indian short story during the late 20th century, when it experienced a radical departure from the past, with the advent of Dalit writers such as him.
Hari Narke is an Indian scholar, author and orator. He is serving as professor and Head of Mahatma Phule Chair, in the University of Pune.
Anand Teltumbde is an Indian scholar, writer, and civil rights activist who is a management professor at the Goa Institute of Management. He has written extensively about the caste system in India and has advocated for the rights of Dalits. He is also a longtime critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and was imprisoned in 2020 along with other activists and intellectuals who were critical of the government. His arrest has been condemned by other academics and human rights organizations, and legal experts have said that the charges against him appear to be fabricated.
Koregaon Bhima is a panchayat village and census town in the state of Maharashtra, India, on the left (north) bank of the Bhima River. Administratively, Koregaon Bhima is under Shirur Taluka of Pune District in Maharashtra. There is only the single town of Koregaon Bhima in the Koregaon Bhima gram panchayat. The town of Koregaon Bhima is 10 km along the SH 60 motorway southwest of the village of Shikrapur, and 28 km by road northeast of the city of Pune. It is the site of the Battle of Koregaon fought on 1 January 1818.
Eleanor Zelliot was an American writer, professor of Carleton College and specialist on the India, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, women of Asia, Untouchables, and social movements.
Bharat Patankar is a leading activist of the left wing of Shramik Mukti Dal and of the peasant movement in Maharashtra. Bharat Patankar is an activist who has worked for almost 40 years in movements of workers, farmers, dam evictees, agricultural labourers, the drought eradication movement, alternative cultural movement, women's liberation movement, anti-SEZ and coal-based power plant movement based on alternative energy proposals, rights of farmers on windmills, and radical anti-caste movements. He was married to writer and activist, Gail Omvedt until her death in 2021.
The 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence refers to violence during an annual celebratory gathering on 1 January 2018 at Bhima Koregaon to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The violence and stone pelting by crowd on the gathering resulted in death of a 28-year old youth and injury to five others. The annual celebration, also called Elgar Parishad convention, was organised by retired justices B. G. Kolse Patil and P. B. Sawant. Justice Sawant stated that the term "Elgar" meant loud invitation or loud declaration.
Sidhnak Mahar Inamdar, also known as Sidhnak Mahar, was an Indian soldier of the Mahar Regiment. He belonged to the Mahar caste. He is popularly known for the Battle of Koregaon.
The Elgaar Parishad was an event held on 31 December 2017 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima. It was organised by a coalition of 260 non-profit organisations at Pune's Shaniwar Wada Fort, and had approximately 35,000 people in attendance. The program consisted of a number of cultural performances, speeches and slogans.
Sambhaji Bhide is a Hindutva activist from Maharashtra. Bhide, a native of Sangli district, was a full-time worker for the Hindu-nationalist organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, before leaving to form his own organisation, the Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, in the late 1980s. The organisation claimed to spread the teachings of Shivaji and his son Sambhaji.
The Battle of Bhima Koregaon: An Unending Journey is a 2017 documentary by Indian filmmaker Somnath Waghmare. It explored the role of 500 Mahar dalit soldiers of the East India Company in the Battle of Koregaon on 1 January 1818 against Peshwa rulers. It talks about dalit assertion on 1 January taking place every year. The 50 minute documentary was released in April 2017.
Bhim Sena or Bheem Sena or Akhil Bhartiya Bhim Sena, abbreviated as ABBS, lit."All India Ambedkar Army", is an Ambedkarite social organization working for rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and religious minorities in India currently under national president, Nawab Satpal Tanwar. It works for protecting the Indian Constitution and reservation. The organisation is named after B. R. Ambedkar. Seema Chauhan is PRO of Bhim Sena.
Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian econonist, polymath, barrister, social reformer, human-rights advocate, and the architect of Indian Constitution. Ambedkarism includes the principles of Navayana and liberty, equality and fraternity along with democratic socialism and constitutionalism. An Ambedkarite is one who follows the philosophy of Ambedkar.
Malvika Raj is an Indian artist and fashion designer. She works in the Madhubani style of art. As a Dalit, she has used art to express her experiences with caste-based discrimination in India, and uses traditional techniques to express themes relating to Dalit identity and the Buddhist religion.
