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."