Strongman farmer Mahendra Singh Tikait had to apologise and then surrender for what his family first termed casual colloquialisms. Aaja Nachle still plays on the radio but without the offensive reference to mochis aspiring to be sonaars. To several of us, this fuss over name-calling and phrases may appear a bit over the top. But for about 160 million Indians, savouring the delight of being just about equal to everyone else, each of these offensive caste names and pejoratives is the reminder of an era, of a time best forgotten.

You don’t need to tap on legendary Dalit writer Namdeo Dhasal’s door to know why these terms are so important sometimes, especially if you are not a high caste Hindu (or a Muslim or Christian for that matter — try getting a high caste Muslim to marry into a lower caste). The story goes that in 1977, a young woman keen on becoming a bureaucrat was spotted at a debating competition by the emerging Dalit leader Kanshi Ram. He took her under his wings and the exercise resulted in Mayawati first taking oath as India’s youngest-ever chief minister (at the age of 39) in 1995. What is interesting is that the young lady at that debate in 1977 was making a case for why “Harijan” was an entirely inappropriate word and should be dropped immediately as a reference to Scheduled Castes.

The journey from caste names referring to the life of misery they were condemned to, such as chamar and bhangi (unconstitutional) to “untouchables” (again unconstitutional) and then “Harijans” (now out of use), is in itself a story. The Mahatma’s recognition of the problem of the so-called lower castes, especially those who at one point were required to wear bells or not look at upper caste residents if caught on the same street, and his insisting that they be referred to as “God’s people” (Harijan) was a huge leap of faith. And history.

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