Mooknayak (Marathi: मूकनायक; lit. "the Leader of Voiceless" or "The Hero of the Dumb") was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

fortnightly-Newspaper founded by

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

in 1920. The newspaper aimed to reveal the pain and rebellion of society. The first issue of Mooknayak was published on 31 January 1920. This paper was published from Mumbai. An educated youth of

Mahar Mahar is one of the Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century. As of 2017 the Mahar caste w ...

caste named Pandurang Nandram Bhatkar edited this Newspaper. Because Ambedkar was working as a professor in Sydenham College. Therefore, he could not work as an editor openly. So he appointed Gyandev Dhruvanath Gholap as the manager of Mooknayak. Ambedkar himself wrote the foreword in the first issue titled 'Manogat'. He also wrote articles in the next thirteen issues. Chhatrapati Rajarshi

Shahu of Kolhapur Shahu (also known as Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu, Shahu IV, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj) (26 June 1874 – 6 May 1922) of the Bhonsle dynasty of Marathas was a Raja (reign. 1894 – 1900) and the first Maharaja (1900–1922) of the Indian princ ...

had given financial assistance of Rs 2,500 for Mooknayak. Ambedkar published Mooknayak in the

language, Because

Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...

was the common language or folk language of that time and B. R. Ambedkar's area of work was

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. Also at that time the

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

people of Maharashtra were not very educated, they could only understand

. The main objective of this

Newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

was to raise the voice of

, poor and oppressed people to the government and other public. For that,

in his writings highlighted the injustice being done to the excluded untouchable community and suggested some measures to the then

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

for the upliftment of that community. He always felt that for the salvation or development of the untouchables, it was necessary for the untouchables to acquire

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

power and educational knowledge. On 5 July 1920, Ambedkar left for London for further education. Then from 31 July 1920, the post of editor of Mooknayak came to Dnyaneshwar Dhruvanath Gholap. Currently 19 issues of Mooknayak are available.

Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

wrote ideologically in it. Mooknayak created awareness that the untouchables should create a stronger position in the political sphere as well as in the social and religious spheres. 'Mooknayak' newspaper had various thoughts, current affairs, excerpts from selected letters, Kshem, Samachar, Kushal question, and Shela Pagot. Mooknayak closed in April 1923.

First Issue

Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

said, "For any movement to succeed, it must have a newspaper. A movement without a newspaper is like a wingless party." This newspaper created awareness among the untouchables and made them aware of their rights. The following verses of Sant

Tukaram Tukaram (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam, also known as Tuka, Tukobaraya and Tukoba, was a Hindu Marathi saint of the Warkari sampradaya in Dehu village, Maharashtra in the 17th century. He was a '' bhakt'' of the god Vithoba, also kn ...

were printed on it as titles to explain the mission policy of Mooknayak. :: ''काय करून आता धरुनिया भीड , '' :: ''निःशक हे तोड वाजविले , , १, , '' :: ''नव्हे जगी कोण मुकियाचा जाण , '' :: ''सार्थक लाजोनी नव्हे हित , , २, , ''

References

{{reflist B. R. Ambedkar Dalit Marathi-language newspapers Newspapers published in Mumbai Abolitionist newspapers Biweekly journals Newspapers established in 1920