In the complex socio-political landscape of Goa, the Bahujan communities—historically marginalized groups encompassing lower-caste Hindus such as the Kshatriya Maratha Samaj, Gomantak Maratha Samaj, Naik Bhandaris, Kshatriya Komarpant Maratha, and Gaud Maratha—have navigated their identity and aspirations through a unique interplay of caste, language, and regional politics. Between the 1960s and 1987, their alignment with Marathi and, at times, support for Goa’s merger with Maharashtra, emerged as a strategic response to Brahminical hegemony embedded in the push for Nagari-scripted Konkani as Goa’s official language.
By applying the frameworks of intersectionality and Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction, this article explores how the Bahujan choice for Marathi and Maharashtra was not a rejection of Goan identity but a resistant rearticulation of it, rooted in their lived experiences of marginalization and their quest for social mobility.
Intersectionality: Mapping Bahujan Marginalization in Goa
Intersectionality, as theorized by Kimberlé Crenshaw, emphasizes how overlapping social identities—such as caste, gender, class, and religion—create compounded forms of oppression and shape lived experiences. In Goa, the Bahujan Samaj, comprising lower-caste groups, faced systemic exclusion within a social hierarchy dominated by upper-caste Brahmins, particularly the Saraswat community. The imposition of Nagari Konkani as the sole official language in 1987, championed by pro-Konkani forces, was perceived by Bahujans as a tool to entrench Brahminical dominance. This linguistic agenda marginalized not only the Roman-scripted Konkani used by Goan Catholics but also the Marathi language, which had deep historical roots in Goa and was widely embraced by Bahujan communities.
For Bahujans, caste oppression intersected with linguistic exclusion. The pro-Nagari Konkani movement, led predominantly by Saraswat Brahmins, framed the Roman script as “Western” and thus unfit for official recognition, implicitly urging Goan Catholics to assimilate into an upper-caste Hindu cultural framework. This agenda sidelined the Bahujan Hindus, who saw Marathi—a language associated with the 17th-century Maratha power and lower-caste mobilization—as a cultural resource to contest Brahminical hierarchy.
The choice of Marathi was not merely linguistic but a political act, shaped by the intersection of caste identity and historical marginalization. As Parag Parobo notes, the Maratha identity became a “cultural resource through which lower castes imagined a modern identity” to challenge Brahmin dominance in Goa.
Moreover, the Bahujan alignment with Marathi was a response to economic and social realities. English, increasingly dominant in globalized economies, offered upward mobility, but the Marathi leadership’s resistance to English-medium education risked limiting Bahujan access to these opportunities. The Bahujan preference for Marathi, therefore, was pragmatic—a means to preserve their cultural identity while potentially serving as a bridge to learning English, unlike the exclusionary Nagari Konkani, which aligned with upper-caste interests.
Derrida’s Deconstruction: Unraveling the Goa-Maharashtra Binary
Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction challenges binary oppositions, revealing their instability and interdependence. In the context of Goa, the binary of “Goa” versus “Maharashtra” or “Konkani” versus “Marathi” is often framed as a clash of regional and linguistic identities. However, deconstructing this binary shows that the Bahujan choice for Marathi and even support for merger with Maharashtra was not a negation of Goan identity but a rearticulation of it, destabilizing the hegemonic politics that equates Goan-ness with upper castes
.Derrida’s approach involves exposing the “trace”—the lingering presence of the excluded “other” within a dominant concept. In Goa, the dominant narrative constructs “Goan identity” as tied to Konkani, particularly in the Nagari script, marginalizing Marathi as a “Maharashtrian import.” Yet, Marathi has a centuries-long presence in Goa, used in public spheres and by Bahujan communities as a carrier of Goan ethos alongside Konkani and Portuguese.
The Bahujan embrace of Marathi reveals the trace of their marginalized identity within the Goan cultural fabric, challenging the Brahminical monopoly over defining “Goan-ness.”The merger debates (1961–1967) further illustrate this deconstruction. The demand for Goa’s merger with Maharashtra, supported by some Bahujans, was not a wholesale rejection of Goa but a strategic alignment with a Maratha identity that symbolized resistance to Brahminical hegemony.
The Maratha attacks of Goa in the 17th century had already seeded a cultural imaginary of lower-caste empowerment, which Bahujans leveraged to contest Saraswat dominance. By advocating for Marathi and, at times, merger, Bahujans were not choosing Maharashtra over Goa but redefining Goa as a space where their caste identity and linguistic preference could coexist with regional belonging.
This destabilizes the binary of regional loyalty, showing that Bahujan identity politics transcended simplistic territorial allegiance.
The Bahujan Choice: A Resistant Rearticulation of Goan Identity
The Bahujan alignment with Marathi was a form of resistance against the “triple alienation” of caste, class, and linguistic exclusion, as articulated by Dalit feminists in broader Indian contexts. Intersectionality highlights how Bahujans, marginalized by caste and class, used Marathi to assert agency within a socio-political system that sought to erase their voice. The Marathi language, tied to the historical Maratha identity, offered a counter-narrative to the Brahminical imposition of Nagari Konkani, which was seen as a tool to assimilate Goan Catholics and marginalize Bahujan Hindus.
Deconstruction further reveals that the Bahujan choice was not a fixed or homogenous stance. The Marathi movement in Goa, while initially driven by Bahujan interests, later saw upper-caste leadership with ties to right-wing groups like the RSS and VHP, which diluted its anti-Brahminical edge. This shift underscores the fluidity of identity politics, where the “center” (Bahujan agency) and “margin” (upper-caste co-optation) are in constant negotiation.
The Bahujan support for Marathi, therefore, was not a monolithic endorsement of Maharashtra but a context-specific strategy to carve out a space for their identity within Goa.Moreover, the Bahujan vision for Marathi was forward-looking. Unlike the anti-English stance of some Marathi leaders, Bahujans saw Marathi as a potential gateway to English education, aligning with global opportunities while preserving their cultural roots.
This pragmatic approach reflects what Derrida calls “différance”—a deferral and difference in meaning—where the choice of Marathi simultaneously affirmed Goan identity and opened pathways to broader socio-economic mobility.
Conclusion:
Reimagining Goan Identity Through Bahujan AgencyThe Bahujan embrace of Marathi and occasional support for merger with Maharashtra was not a departure from Goan identity but a resistant rearticulation of it, shaped by the intersecting oppressions of caste and linguistic exclusion. Intersectionality illuminates how Bahujans navigated their marginalization, choosing Marathi as a tool to challenge Brahminical hegemony.
Derrida’s deconstruction destabilizes the Goa-Maharashtra binary, revealing the Bahujan choice as a dynamic negotiation of identity that included both regional belonging and caste-based resistance.Today, the Bahujan struggle in Goa calls for a reimagined linguistic policy that grants equal status to Marathi and Romi Konkani alongside Nagari Konkani, reflecting the state’s diverse ethos. By centering Bahujan voices, Goa can move toward a more inclusive identity that honors its complex history and resists the homogenizing narratives of upper-caste dominance. The Bahujan story in Goa is a testament to the power of marginalized communities to redefine belonging, not through assimilation, but through the persistent assertion of their lived realities
.References
Marathi and the Hindu Bahujans – The Al-Zulaij Collective
Deconstructing Gender and Intersectional Identities – CBGA India
The Goan EveryDay: Marathi and the Hindu Bahujans
