Gail Omvedt – First Ambedkarite Women Writer – Who preferred India as Her Home – a book by Mohandass Namishray

 

Gail Omvedt – First Ambedkarite Women Writer – Who preferred India as Her Home – a book by Mohandass Namishray

On one fine morning a month ago, I got a telephone call from Mohandass Namishray and he informed me about his recent book - Gail Omvedt – First Ambedkarite Women Writer – Who preferred India as Her Home, done and suggested that it would be good if I could read and write about the book. As I did not know Mohandass ji and nor I had seen or read the book, I enquired as to how come he

knew that I was engaged in this kind of intellectual pursuits. Mohandass ji informed that he did so on a reference from Dawarka Bharti, his friend in the literary fraternity, whose books I ventured to review in my blogs. I felt pampered but quickly realizing my humble entity in the realm of literature and academia, said that I was no scholar or academic of any sort and added that I would be happy to get and read the book on Gail Omvedt, a scholar and intellectual and also a social activist of international repute. On a kind advice from the author, Apollo Publishers and Distributors sent me the book in hand.

Frankly, I did not know or read much about Gail Omvedt in spite of the fact that she was an institution herself particularly with regard to the issues of caste, equality, gender etc. which are dear to me as an ordinary citizen of India as a humble Ambedkarite. Thanks Mohandass ji for cajoling me to educate myself about the work, thought and mission of one of the renowned scholar of Buddha, Ambedkar and Phule school of thought, Gail Omvedt. The book is a bouquet of essays and tributes paid to the great scholar, Gail Omvedt, by erudite scholars and her associates, one may say, as obituaries, after her death in August, 2021 at the age of 80. It also includes some interviews of her which tend to provide the flavor of her actual take on many of the issues concerning the Indian society;

Mohandass Namishray

particularly the marginalized sections, and the humanity at large. In his note, the publisher has rightly said, “The book is an attempt to highlight the Gail Omvedt’s historical efforts from Jyotirao Phule, Manguram, Periyar Ramaswami, Dr. Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and other political and social leaders of Bahujan Samaj.” The book is a befitting tribute to the lady of sterling worth which the author has rightly dedicated “Devoted to the memory of Gail Omvedt”. Mohan Dass Namishray, a contemporary and associate of Gail Omvedt, is himself a scholar, journalist, writer, translator and social activist of his own standing in the literary and academic circles of India. Besides biographical notes and interviews, the compiler and editor of the book, Mohandass ji, has thoughtfully accommodated thought provoking articles of Gail Omvedt herself for the benefit of the readers viz: The Role of Women (Page 38), The Hindutva Bomb (Page 55), Views of Gail about Devdassis (page 80) and Gail Omvedt: Dalit Vision, inter alia. The title of the book “Gail Omvedt – First Ambedkarite Woman Writer” has been fully justified by Dr. Denzil Fernandes SJ, Executive Director of Indian Social Institute in the Foreword in which he wrote, “Omvedt was deeply influenced by the life and works of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, India’s greatest social reformer, scholar and the father of India’s post-independence constitution.” Gail Omvedt was a scholar and visionary of her own standing who tended to transform or evolve herself from Marxism to

Ambedkarism. She not only researched and wrote extensively on various social issues pertaining to the socially depressed and oppressed segments of the Indian society namely; Caste from Buddha to Ambedkar and Beyond, Cultural Revolt in a Colonial Society, The Non-Brahmin Movement in Western India. Savitaribai Phule and Jyotirao Phule, the iconic couplem social reformers, were the subject matter of her research for Ph.D. Her study and the book - Seeking Begumpura, was a treatise to high light the role and contribution of Kabir, Ravidas, Tukaram, Namdev, Chokhamela, all pioneers of the lofty ideals of equality and brotherhood, to the Bhakti Movement of 15^th century. Commenting on ‘Seeking Begumpura’ Ashok Kumar in his essay (page 128) has noted, “It was a study of the socio-economic perspective of the leading anti-caste intellectuals over the five centuries.” Gail Omvedt adorned a number of academic Chairs on Babasaheb Ambedkar namely; Dr. Ambedkar Chair of Social Change and Development of IGNOU in Delhi, Dr. Ambedkar Chair at National Institute of Social Work at Bhubneswar among others. The anecdote narrated (page 139-40) in the book, when Gail as denied entry to Puri Jagannath Temple, in spite of the fact that she explained to the temple authorities that she was a Christian but now on marrying a Hindu, she had become a Hindu tells very poorly on the social and spiritual norms of the Indian society even after 75 years of independence. Gail was dead against caste and graded inequality in the society and rightly so.

Gail Omvedt (August 2, 1941 – August 25, 2021) fell in love with India and married one of her academic and intellectual associates, Bharat Patankar of Kasegaon in Sangli district of Maharashtra and later became a naturalized citizen of India which explains the title “who preferred India as her home”. As I said that I did not know much about Gail but now I feel that it was nice of Mohandass ji to introduce to me a contemporary legend, Gail Omvedt. The author of the book has rightly assessed and commented (page 9), “If Gail had been willing to compromise and kowtow a little to Gandhi’s thought, and she would have been the darling of academics, enjoying the fruits of her labours in terms of fame and acceptance. It is a testimony to her intellectual honesty that she chose to stay true to her convictions and kept her allegiance the marginalized – dalits, adivasis and the rural poor working classes till the end.” Let me conclude this piece, which may be seen as an untraditional review, with a poetic expression of Allama Iqbal on the rare personalities who made a difference:

                  hazāroñ saal nargis apnī be-nūrī pe rotī hai                 

baḌī mushkil se hotā hai chaman meñ dīda-var paidā