Only a week earlier, Anjali's mother, Shailaja Joshi had been working for Captain Brent, translating decrees and legal notices of the British Raj. She also typed letters of rejection for mercy for people whose sons had been arresting fighting for independence from Britain. But she inexplicably quit her job. Now as Captain Brent is escorting them back to his house, they encounter Anjali's mother. Captain Brent's accusations are interrupted by Mrs. Misha's pleas that he pardon her son who is sentenced to hang for burning down a municipal building. However, Captain Brent is more concerned with Anjali's act of vandalism and he refuses Mrs. Misha's request. Even though it is evident that Anjali and Irfaan are responsible, Anjali's mother is furious at his treatment of Mrs. Misha and refuses to accept the British officer's accusations instead taking Anjali and Irfaan home.
Later Anjali along with her mother, Baba, Uncle Chachaji and their maid, Jamuna listen to a rebroadcast of Mahatma Gandhi's August 8, 1942 "Quit India" speech. The Indian people want the British to leave India with Gandhi is urging a nonviolence form of resistance called ahimsa. Each family is requested to send one person to the fight for independence. As it turns out, this is why Anjali's mother has quit working - she will be the "freedom fighter" from their family as Anjali's father must work to support them.Immediately Anjali's life begins to change. One day after school she arrives home to discover her parents burning all their foreign-made clothing. Anjali is also made to burn all of her beautiful ghagra-cholis, which makes her both sad and angry at her mother. Instead of wearing British-made exquisite clothing, Anjali and her family will wear Indian-made cotton clothing called khadi. And if that isn't enough, Anjali's mother shows up at school the next day to teach her classmates how to spin cloth. At first Anjali is ashamed but then when her mother pricks her finger she steps up to help.
At home, Anjali meets Mohan, a boy only a few years older than her and from the Untouchable caste, who cleans their backyard toilet waste each day. Untouchables are the lowest caste and are not allowed to enter temples for fear of "polluting" them. People believe they make everything they touch unclean and so they are shunned. When Chachaji chases Mohan away, Anjali's mother decides to clean their toilet. "We should be thanking them for cleaning up this mess. Why are they dirty for cleaning it? It's our mess, isn't it?" Chachaji is against the Quit India movement and the movement to change things in Indian society because he believes people will get hurt or die.
Anjali and her mother attend a meeting of fifty freedom fighters, both Hindu and Muslim, men and women, held in the Khadi Shop which makes homespun cotton clothes from Indian cotton. At the meeting Anjali's mother announces that they will be teaching the children living in the Untouchable basti following the Diwali festival. The leader of the meeting, Keshavji Parmar who is from the Untouchable caste strongly approves.
During their Diwali celebrations, Anjali and her family are joined by her Muslim friend, Irfaan who loves to eat badam barfi. Anjali's mother decides to take a tray of badam barfi to Mohan's basti to offer to the people in celebration of Diwali. Unfortunately this does not go over very well as the people are reluctant to take the food and Mohan is offended by Anjali's use of Gandhi's term "Harijan" to describe the Untouchables. He tells Anjali that the Untouchables prefer the term "Dalit" which was what Dr. Ambedkar had named them. The Monday after Diwali, Paro and the other children in the basti have their first day of school. Keshavji meets Anjali and her mother at the basti but Anjali is even more surprised to see her school teacher there too.
In an effort to understand the experience the Dalit experience and to break from the caste system Anjali's mother decides to start cleaning their own outhouse. Mohan points out that he will not be able to support himself if she does his work, but Shailaja is determined to continue. Although Anjali finds the task repulsive she does help her mother. However their efforts to overcome the prejudices of the caste system results in Anjali's neighbours and classmates shunning and taunting her.
The Dalit children, Paro, Rohit, Urmila, Jyoti and Vijayuain continue to learn at the basti school, making good progress. In a confrontation with a vegetable vendor who objects to the presence of the Dalit children outside their basti, Anjali has the idea to integrate her school, bringing in the Dalit children. With the help of her mother and Masterji, they began working to achieve this. However, many of their friends and neighbours are not happy about this nor their work with the Dalit. They threaten to withdraw their children from Masterji's school and Anjali is taunted by her classmates. This challenge turns out to be the beginning of many Anjali and her family must face when rioting between Muslims and Hindus begins, their home is vandalized and Anjali's mother is arrested. Anjali must decide if independence and social reform are worth the sacrifices her family finds themselves making.
Discussion
Ahimsa is the fruit of fourteen years work for author Supriya Kelkar. Although the village of Navrangpur is fictional as are the characters of Keshavji and Anjali, the character of Shailaja Joshi was inspired by the life of her great-grandmother, Anasuyabai Kale, who worked with Mahatma Gandhi, and who was imprisoned for civil disobedience. After India gained its independence from Britain, Kale was elected to two terms as a Congresswoman.
In Ahimsa, Kelkar explores the efforts of the freedom fighters to gain India's independence from Great Britain and to also undertake social reforms within Indian society. This is done through the characters Anjali and her mother, Shailaja. The freedom fighters believed that one way to unite the people of India as they fought for independence from the British was to work towards overcoming prejudices in Indian society due to the caste system. This struggle to overcome the day-to-day prejudices dominates the story.
The prejudices against certain castes are so ingrained that even Anjali and her mother hold them and must unlearn them. For example when Shailaja picks up Mohan's broom, "Anjali's stomach grew queasy." Anjali worries that her mother will become ill, but Shailaja tells her "We have always told you that people are people, regardless of their religion or caste." Shailaja then goes on to explain to her daughter how the caste system came to be. "See, our leaders divided people into castes thousands of years ago to ensure that everyone did the work that was needed for the society to function. The unfortunate Untouchables got stuck with the dirty work. Over the years, the Untouchables got a terrible stigma attached to them for no fault of their own...This irrational fear of people, calling them Untouchable, that is probably all there just to keep the status quo." Shailaja tells Anjali that this is wrong and that if Indians don't see one another as equals they cannot blame the British who see themselves as better.
Despite Anjali and her mother's efforts to integrate the Untouchables in their community, the old prejudices prove difficult to overcome. Uncle Chachaji refuses to eat a ladoo Anjali gives him, saying he won't eat anything that is going to the Dalits even though the dessert has never been touched by the Dalits. The vegetable vendor is furious when a toy belonging to a Dalit child lands in his cart, screaming that his eggplants are ruined yet he doesn't realize that it is their waste that fertilizes the gardens that grow the vegetables. Anjali's neighbours upon learning that the Dalit children will attend their school at first refuse to send their children and then reluctantly agree only if the Dalits will sit at the back of the classroom.
Anjali recognizes that in order to change others she must change herself first. After reluctantly helping her mother clean their family outhouse, Anjali examines her own feelings. "Why was she ashamed to clean up after herself? Why did she feel embarrassed doing something that Gandhiji had been trying to teach the country about for so long? Something that would free countless people and improvy hygiene for so many, saving them from dying from preventable illnessess? Why did she feel humiliated helping her mother with such a great idea? And worst of all, why was she so okay with letting Mohan hold the wagon and continue to be isolated and considered unclean?...She had to change her own attitude before someone like Suman would change hers."
Anjali not only has to fight prejudices between Hindus but also the prejudice that exists between the two cultures that make up India: Hindu and Muslim. The Hindu-Muslim rioting places a strain on the friendship between Anjali and Irfaan and for a time their friendship breaks down. Anjali's mother tells her "Hindus are the grass. Muslims are the water. Mother India needs both to survive...If you give her just one...she will still need the other."
Kelkar has created a strong, determined and resilient heroine in Anjali. At first Anjali isn't interested in becoming involved in the fight against the British. She can't understand why her mother has quit her good paying job and she's very upset when her mother burns all her beautiful ghagra-cholis. However as Anjali is encouraged to consider what is happening in her village and her country she begins to really notice the world around her. "For the first time, Anjali also noticed how many children stood in the streets, homeless and hungry and her smile disappeared. The kids were sweeping the roads, carrying garbage, sitting on corners, holding their naked infant siblings, begging for money..." This makes her want to work for a better society, where everyone is treated with dignity.
Because Anjali comes from the privileged Brahmin caste she believes that change can come about immediately. But she soon discovers that changing the way people view their world takes time. For example when Anjali attempts to include the Dalits into her school she encounters strong resistance. Instead she must compromise - the Dalits can attend but must sit at the back. In the end, nine Dalit students and seven children from other castes attend a makeshift school after their building is vandalized. Anjali recognizes that this is a small but important change.
Anjali perseveres even though her mother is in jail, her school has been closed and the vandalized, and she has lost her two best friends, Mohan and Irfaan. Instead, Anjali is determined to fight on especially after she sees her mother fasting in jail. "...But now that I see you here...I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep fighting for what you started. One way or another. I'm going to continue your work." Anjali is severely tested when a protest against the British burning of the Khadi Shop turns violent and Captain Brent's life is endangered. Despite Captain Brent refusing to pardon her mother, Anjali does the right thing and intervenes to saves his life. Her act of mercy begets another act of mercy that saves her mother. While the novel ends on a positive note, the reality is that many of the prejudices that existed in 1942, still remain a problem today in Indian society. This is particularly true for the Untouchable caste and women.
Ahimsa incorporates many themes to explore; tolerance, prejudice, identity, social activism and acceptance are just a few. Ahimsa provides the opportunity for young people to think about how they treat those who are different and what they can do to be more accepting of others, making it an outstanding novel for younger readers. There are also references to several important historical figures; Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar who was a Dalit and who crafted India's constitution. Kelkar includes an extensive Author's Note at the back of the novel which fills in the details of India's struggle for independence from Britain.
To learn more about the inspiration behind the novel check out Supriya Kelkar's website. India achieved independence in 1947, but it was partitioned into two countries, India which was predominantly Hindu and Pakistan which was predominantly Muslim.
Book Details:
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar
New York: TU Books, An Imprint of Lee and Low Books Inc. 2017
302 pp
Amazing book this was. Loved it!
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