MAHAD SATYAGRAHA 15
III
No. H/3447
dated 22nd December 1927.
“To, The D. S. P., Kolaba, Alibag.
Sir,
Reference. —Para 868 of the B. S. A. current.
In this connection a meeting of the Depressed Classes was held on the night of 21st instant when Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Bar-at-Law presided over an audience of about 250 people. The President, Sambhaji Santoji Waghmare, Nimandarkar, Kholwadekar and Junnarkar made speeches advising the people to join the Satyagraha Movement which is coming off on the 25th instant at Mahad in connection with the prohibition against the Untouchables’ use of the water tank.
I have & c.
(Sd.) D. C. P., S. B.
22nd December 1927.” [1]
“Meantime, the Mahad Municipality revoked on August 4,
1927, its resolution of 1924 under which it had declared the Chawdar Tank open to the Depressed Classes. Dr. Ambedkar accepted the challenge and on September 11, at a public meeting in Damodar Hall, Bombay, a committee was formed to devise ways and means to make the struggle for re-establishing the right of the Depressed Classes to the Mahad Tank a success, and to fix the dates and details. Four days afterwards the committee met at Dr. Ambedkar’s office and announced December 25 and 26, 1927, as the dates for offering the satyagraha.
The day of the proposed Conference and the satyagraha at Mahad was drawing near. Mahad began to stir again. The opponents of the struggle held a meeting on November 27, 1927, at the Veereshwar Temple to formulate a plan to flout the attempts of Dr. Ambedkar and the Depressed Classes to take water from
1 : Source Material, Vol. I, Pp. 13-14.