Maharashtra govt to commemorate historic Mangaon convention

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government would commemorate the centenary of the historic Mangaon conference.

On March 20 and 21, 1920, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of the princely state of Kolhapur, one of the legendary democrats and social reformed, declared Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar as "the true leader of the oppressed classes in India". In fact, Dr Ambedkar presided over the conference while Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj was the chief guest.

To commemorate the historic day, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government would hold a conference on March 21 in Mangaon, located some 20 kilometres off the Kolhapur town.

"We have decided to celebrate the day in a big way," state's social justice minister Dhananjay Munde of the NCP said.

Earlier this week, a high-level meeting was also held in Mantralaya, the state secretariat, to discuss the issue. A committee, headed Congress leader and Minister of State for Home Satej Patil, who is the guardian minister of Kolhapur district, has been set up to oversee the preparations.

The 1920 Mangaon Conference is a landmark event in the untouchables' struggle for self-respect and their search for dignity. Back then, there were three major caste groups in the village — Jains, Marathas, and Dalits. The Dalits of Mangaon village faced caste discrimination and violence, but as they were aware of their social rights in the face of this inhuman discrimination and untouchability, they planned to organize a conference and invite Dr Ambedkar. They also approached Shahu Maharaj and requested him to join the conference. Before Dr Ambedkar became politically active, Shahu Maharaj had already started an anti-caste and social justice movement in Kolhapur state.