In Praise Of Bapurao Tajne...

For embarrassing the ‘upper’ castes in his village by digging his own well. The Dalit labourer from a village in drought-hit Vidarbha resolved never to face insults after his wife was denied access to the village well by their savarna neighbours. Tajne rushed off to the nearest town, bought himself some tools, and started digging. He toiled alone for six hours every day on the well, apart from working as a labourer, and despite facing ridicule from his own family, did not stop till he found water—after 40 days. What he found was enough water to supply all the Dalits in the area. Tajne says he wants to maintain peace in the ­village but he felt so angry at his wife being insulted in public that he undertook his Herculean task. The district administration has now felicitated him for being ‘a face of determination and strong willpower’. Now it falls on others to dig deep.