workingclasshistory:

On this day, 20 March 1927, during a conference of the Kolaba District Depressed Classes in Mahad, India, a procession of 2,500 Dalits (sometimes known as “untouchables”) led by Dalit social reformer BR Ambedkar, marched through the main streets of Mahad towards a public water tank to assert their right to access it like other members of the community.
Ambedkar, and then others, drank from the water tank before leaving. In response to this peaceful protest, a mob of caste Hindus attacked the Dalits at the end of their conference.
“Untouchability” was outlawed by the 1955 Indian constitution, however, ingrained discrimination against Dalits continues.
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