By Karthika Jayakumar
Today, 25th August 2023, marks the second death anniversary of American-born, Indian sociologist, and social activist, Gail Omvedt who is known for her prolific and widely cited writings on the anti-caste movement, Dalit struggles, and women’s rights in India.
Born on 2nd August 1941, she passed away in 2021 at the age of 80, in her village Kasegaon in the Sangli district of Maharashtra, leaving behind a rich legacy that continues to champion the cause of India’s most marginalised.
Early life
Gail was born into an immigrant family of Scandinavian origin settled in Minneapolis, USA, and her father worked as a lawyer for Native Americans in Minnesota for several years. After graduating from Carleton College in Minnesota, she received a Fulbright scholarship in 1963 to study rural communities in India.
She went on to the University of California, Berkeley, where she was active in political protests and earned a master’s degree and then a PhD in Sociology. She returned to India in 1970 to continue her research for her dissertation on the caste system.
Omvedt becomes Indian citizen
Omvedt eventually became an Indian citizen in 1983, some years after her marriage to Dr Bharat Patankar, whom she met at a protest march in Maharashtra. She also established the Shramik Mukti Dal (Toilers’ Liberation League) with her husband, an organisation that launched some of the largest organised mass movements against injustices experienced by workers in rural India. Her connection to the country was both profoundly academic and personal.
Omvedt’s work on caste
Despite being a white woman from the US, her understanding of the functioning of the caste system in India was nuanced and truly remarkable. As an ally, she shed light on the intricacies of caste oppression and amplified the voice of the oppressed to advocate for an egalitarian idea of social justice, unlike most caste Hindu scholars who are accused of often appropriating movements for growing their own social capital.
Her PhD thesis was on the non-Brahmin movement in Maharashtra, inspired by Jyotiba Phule and his Satyashodhak Samaj, titled, ‘Cultural Revolt in a Colonial Society: The Non-Brahmin Movement in Western India’. This is particularly significant as much of Phule’s work was ignored till the 1970s by Anglophone scholars. She learned to speak impeccable Marathi as well and did extensive fieldwork across Maharashtra, thereby not restricting herself to simply being a scholar within a university set-up.
Inspired by Buddha, Ambedkar
Her scholarship and activism sought inspiration from varied ideologues such as Buddha, Karl Marx, Kabir, Ravidas, Jyotiba Phule, Periyar, and Babasaheb Ambedkar to battle all forms of oppression. Gail’s scholarly accounts rejected both the Gandhian traditionalist views which imagined a village-esque utopia of a ‘Ram Rajya’ and Nehru’s Brahmanic socialism. Instead, she offered a sharp commentary based on the tireless efforts of subaltern visionaries primarily Ambedkar.
She picked up on ideals central to Ambedkar’s struggle and wrote the book, ‘Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste’ wherein she presented the trajectory of Buddhism’s history in India spanning a period of two millennia. She also wrote a short biography of Ambedkar titled ‘Ambedkar: Towards an Enlightened India’, and an introduction to caste titled ‘Understanding Caste: From Buddha to Ambedkar and Beyond’.
In her book, ‘Seeking Begumpura: The Social Vision of Anticaste Intellectuals’, Gail introduces figures that are important to the anti-caste movements across India, from Bhakti saint Ravidas to Tamizh social activist EV Ramasamy Periyar.
At the time of her death, Ruth Manorama, the head of the nonprofit group National Federation of Dalit Women, told The New York Times, “She took me to areas unknown and introduced me to Dalit movements new for me. She was the motivator, influencer, a terrific organizer and a scholar with no preconceived notions of her subject”.
“For those studying the caste system and identity politics in India, Ms Omvedt was a key archivist, chronicler, and interpreter”, added Manorama.
Her fierce and unflinching commitment to the movement that encapsulated working class struggles, caste and gender discrimination, and even environmental issues, inspires the coming generations to bring together both theoretical discourses and praxis for social change.
