Kumud Pawde (November 1938 - Present)

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Archiving Feminisms in South Asia

4 min readMay 23, 2019

The Dalit woman who became a Sanskrit teacher

Sanskrit, as a language, has traditionally been the preserve of elite castes. Brahmins, as the ruling classes, have long held a monopoly over the acquisition and practice of Vedic knowledge.

In sharp contrast, Dalits, who were known as the untouchable castes, have been humiliated and oppressed by the higher castes for many centuries. Not only were they denied access to education, but also to basic resources. The 20th Century has been marked by several protests against this discrimination. The emergence of Dalit literature is one of the many kinds of protest that mark the present landscape.

Then, for a Dalit woman belonging to the Mahar community to become a scholar of Sanskrit is as much an act of protest, as it is a step towards empowerment. Kumud Pawade’s story is that of the first Ambedkarite scholar of Sanskrit in post-independent India.

Kumud Somkuvar was born in a Phule-ite-Ambedkarite family of Nagpur on November 18th, 1938. The family belonged to the Mahar caste, historically oppressed as one of the lowest castes, but did not suffer from crippling poverty, unlike most of the community. Despite her family’s relative economic prosperity, Kumud faced relentless discrimination while growing up.

Video: Youtube/ Lokayat

Kumud, in her essays, has recounted an incident when, excluded from the thread ceremony of a brother of her classmate, she watched the ceremony from the outside. She was spotted by an upper-caste woman and asked to leave, but not before she retorted, “Can you see injuries on anyone just because I watched them?”

When Kumud was in the eighth standard, she discovered that Ambedkar was not allowed to study Sankrit. She resolved then to pursue the study of Sanskrit. Her parents, who were admirers of Ambedkar and Phule, encouraged Kumud, however she faced ridicule from neighbours and teachers alike, but she didn’t let that stop her. Post her matriculation, Kumud took up an M.A. in Sanskrit, from Morris College.

The decision to pursue an M.A. presented a mixed bag of experiences. On the one hand, Kumud writes that she was impressed by the fair-mindedness of the professors in her B.A. course, while on the other hand the Head of her department subjected her to sharp taunts during her post graduation.

Having passed her M.A. with Distinction, Kumud aspired to become a Sanskrit teacher but, despite her best efforts, could not secure a teaching position. Again, she faced stiff discrimination, eventually writing an appeal to Babu Jagjivan Ram detailing her account. The letter was forwarded to no less than the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, who expressed his astonishment at Kumud’s story and sent her an award of Rs. 250 and advice to meet with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

In her writings, Kumud details how these exchanges fortified her spirit and led her to believe she would finally obtain employment. Unfortunately, this would have to wait. The meeting with the Chief Minister, Yeshwanthrao Chavan was unproductive, filled with empty promises and advice to involve herself in further studies. Although Kumud did eventually pursue a second M.A. in English Literature while pursuing employment, the Chief Minister’s advice rankled, and she told him so.

She met her future husband, Moti Ram Pawde, at a missionary night school which was close to her house. Her husband was engaged in working to educate members of his community. However, when the time came for marriage, the couple faced much opposition. Even though both belonged to the scheduled castes, her husband’s status as a ‘kunbi’ was still relatively higher than that of her own ‘mahar’ identity. Kumud’s in-laws were reluctant to accept her into their family, but the couple married regardless of this.

In a cruel twist of irony, Kumud received an offer of employment just two months after she married and took on her husband’s surname. She joined a government college as an Assistant Lecturer, but lamented that it was her husband’s caste that was employed when she took the job. Her caste, which would be reflected in her maiden name, remained deprived.

Eventually, Kumud went on to teach at the very institution she studied in, going on to become a respected writer and activist in Maharashtra. Her work and writing focus centrally on her journey as a Dalit woman battling the discrimination of both, caste and gender.

References

Kumud Pawde (November 1938 - Present)

Written by Kriti Omprakash