Two brothers who were studying at school went to see their father. They alighted at the
Masur Railway Station, engaged a cart and continued their journey. They went some
distance; then the cart driver came to know that they belonged the Mahar cast. He at once
stopped the cart and raised one end of it; the poor boys tumbled down and fell on the
ground. He shouted at them and scolded them as he pleased.
It was afternoon. The boys were thirsty. They begged for water but no one would give
them a drop. Hours passed. Still no one gave them water. They were not allowed even to go
near tanks and wells.
The younger brothers name was Bhimrao Ambedkar. A few days passed. One day Bhim
felt unbearable thirst. He drank water from a well. Someone noticed it. A few people
gathered and beat the boy mercilessly.
The boy had to get his hair cut. Even a barber who used to cut the hair of a buffalo
would not touch the boys hair.
On another day, the boy was going to school. It was raining heavily. He took shelter
near the wall of a house. The lade of the house saw this. She was very angry. She pushed
him into the rain. The boy fell into the muddy water. All his books fell into the water
too.
In this way, again and again, the young boy was humiliated. His mind became a volcano
of bitter feelings.
Why did the people ill-treat the boy in this way?
The boy had not committed any sin. But he was born in the Mahar cast. It was the belief
of many Hindu that this cast is low and those born in this cast should not be touched by
people of the other castes. Like the people of the Mahar caste, people of many other
castes are called untouchables and have suffered injustice for hundreds of
years.