What Shridharpant Tilak’s lifelong crusade against caste says about the social justice movement

“Maintaining societal inequality is in the self-interest of the Brahmin priestly class.”

This headline in a special edition of a Marathi newspaper called Satyavadi in 1928 reflected how anti-Brahminical sentiments were gaining popularity through the writings of non-Brahmin and Dalit writers in the early 20th century Maharashtra.

But, as this article demonstrated, these views were also echoed by some notable Brahmin writers. That piece was written by Shridharpant Tilak, the youngest son of freedom hero and noted conservative Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Shirdharpant Tilak was one of a clutch of Chitpavan Brahmin writers who had become close allies of the emerging group of non-Brahmin writers in the mid-1920s. His story is an example of how the complex dynamic in the early 20th century Maharashtra as supporters of Brahminism faced off against those crusading against the ideology.

Instead of pitting Brahmins and non-Brahmins as eternal foes, the reimagining of caste and religion in this period allows us to explore the complex intermeshing of ideologies and personalities.

By the time Shirdharpant Tilak wrote his Satyavadi article, he had already gained a reputation for his social reformist activities. His stature as an anti-caste public speaker was growing.

He began his article by mentioning the heroic exploits of the French revolution. Tellingly, he rearranged the order of the principle of Liberty, Equality...

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