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From villains to heroes

From villains to heroes

Author: Dnyanesh Jathar
Publication: The Week
Date: February 16, 2003
 
Introduction: Berad-Ramoshis now have a written history of their war exploits

Sunita Tanaji Naik always had a tough time telling Berad-Ramoshi children stories about their community. The teacher at a balwadi in a hamlet in Sangli district of Maharashtra could at best recount that a certain Bahirji Naik from the community served as Chhatrapati Shivaji's intelligence chief. And someone called Umaji Naik led an uprising against the British in the first half of the 1800s in Pune district. History did not record their brave deeds; instead it made them history sheeters: the British declared the Berad-Ramoshis a criminal tribe.

"Ours is a journey from first-class warriors to criminals, courtesy the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871," says Lakshaman Chavan, a teacher in Vasgade village. "Did you know that almost every fort of Shivaji had a settlement of Berad-Ramoshi warriors at its foothills? And that 50 Ramoshis captured Fort Purandhar near Pune defeating the Mughals?"

Awareness about one's history plays a large role in the process of Emancipation and empowerment, says Chavan, who collaborated with history scholar Dr Ajay Dandekar to piece together the history of the Berad-Ramoshi community. The result was a book titled Jhunjharak (The Dawn), published by the Social Science Centre of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and facilitated by Lokparishad, an NGO which runs five balwadis for Berad-Ramoshi children in Sangli district.

"The idea behind the book was to help Berad-Ramoshis live in dignity," says Dr Rudolph Heredia, director of the Social Science Centre. 'The book will be taught in the balwadis meant for the children of the community in Sangli district."

The recently released book has 14 stories circulating among the Berad-Ramoshis, who live mostly in south Maharashtra and in Karnataka where they are known as Beydurs.

One of the most interesting stories in the book concerns the disarming of the Berads of Halgali, near Mudhol in Karnataka, in November 1857. During the first war of Independence, the British made it mandatory for people to surrender their arms. Lt-Col. G.B. Settunkar was entrusted with the task of implementing the order in south Maharashtra and north Karnataka. The Berads from Halgali village in Mudhol refused to surrender their arms. Settunkar and his colleagues marched to Halgali. For almost two days the entire village fought along with the Berads and stopped the army from entering the village. As a last resort, the army set ablaze the village by throwing in fireballs but the Berads did not give up. In the end, 19 of them were captured by the British and killed.

"Ramappa Manwade, a Ramoshi who took part in the Quit India Movement, retold the story," says Dandekar. Along with Chavan, he traced the Berad-Ramoshi king to Shorapur in Gulburga district of Karnataka. Shorapur kingdom was founded in 1636 by Gaddipida Nayak. The British annexed it in 1858, after king Venkatappa Nayak was found dead in mysterious circumstances. "The British said that it was a suicide, but we believe that he was shot dead," Kirit Krishnammachari, rajguru of the present head Veer Venkatappa Naik, told Dandekar.

The book opens with the story of the Battle of Wagengere (Wakinkheda, as it is known now in Maharashtra) in February 1705. It was the last battle of Aurangzeb and it is believed that the families of Maratha generals, who were fighting the Mughals since the death of Shivaji in 1680, were sheltered by the king of Beydur, Venkatappa Naik IV.

"The brave Naiks surrendered only after they learnt that the families of the Marathas were given a safe passage out of the Wakinkheda fort," says Dandekar. 'The royal family still preserves a letter written by Aurangzeb to the king of Shorapur in 1658 when he took over the reins of the Mughal empire."

The main objective of the book, says Dandekar, is to make Ramoshi children aware of the positive contribution of the community. "We want them to know their history as it will affirm their identity and propel them towards empowerment."
 


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