The great political battler, embodiment of indomitable spirit, the glory of Bahujan society and popularly known as ‘Behanji’, Kumari Mayawati was born on January 15, 1956 in New Delhi. Her father was Prabhudas Dayal and the name of the mother was Ramrati Devi. The father used to work as ordinary clerk in the Post and Telegraph Department of the central government. The parents used to live in Badalpur village of UP before her birth. The family shifted to Delhi when Prabhudas Dayal got job in the P&T department. Prabhudas Dayal had a humble abode in J.J. Colony of Indrapuri area of Delhi. In that small home Mayawati lived with eight other siblings and the parents. The father did not lose heart to brood such a large family in that small space. He did everything to see it that his children were reasonably fed and received education. The life of hard struggle of the parents made deep impact on Mayawati. She learnt to face the challenges of the adverse situations and inherited disadvantages. In her autobiography Mayawati wrote about an incident she recalled :
“My maternal home is at Simrauli village located near Hapur. A small river called ‘Kaali’ flows by its side. One day I was passing by the side of that river with my parents and the maternal grandpa and grandma when a wolf passed by. It was a ferocious and a dangerous animal. My maternal grandpa warned me against the creature and advised me to stay away from or it would devour me. I shot back how it could eat me like that? I ran after the wolf. In a nearby field, some farmers were at work. They saw me running after the wolf. They screamed and ran towards me. They grabbed me and handed me to my parents and grand parents.”
In the same vain and context about bravery and responsibility to the family Mayawati reveals :
“I was about 10 years old and was studying in fifth or sixth standard when my fourth brother Subhash Kumar was born. He suffered from pneumonia as only a two day old infant. Incidentally my father had gone to Gaziabad in connection with a family matter. Being a government employee my father was entitled to CGHS medical facilities, but the related dispensary was situated in New Rajendra Nagar, 6-7 kms away from our house. My mother was not in a condition to take her new born to the dispensary. She was in a very sick condition.
In that situation and worsening condition of my brother made me decide that I must take him to the dispensary for medical attention. I took the dispensary card of my father and set out with my brother in my arms towards the facility on foot.
For my young age the distance was a long journey but I did not give up. I kept walking and somehow reached the dispensary after two hours. Seeing an infant in my lap the doctors and other staff of the dispensary appeared amazed. They immediately attended to my brother and gave some medicines and injection which proved life saving. Through same route I returned and reached home at about 9-10 p.m. at night.”
Mayawati recounts more incidents :
“There lived a person called Ghanshyam in the neighbourhood of our house in Indrapuri. He had been married for many years yet was childless. For being issueless other women of the area used to take his wife for being sick with dangerous disease or accursed due to orthodox mindset and blind faiths. They would avoid her and kept a distance, like an outcaste she was treated.
By the grace of God, after some years the couple was blessed with a child. On the day of the delivery, incidentally, I happened to be at home. Then I learnt that the wife of Ghanshyam was in labour pains and her husband had gone to office. The other women of the neighbourhood would not go to her help due to some old prejudices. I could not help going to her aid in neighbourly sympathy. As I was leaving my mother stopped me and advised not to go as I was yet unmarried and could incur some evil affect or contact some disease. Other women also gave similar warnings to deter me from going to her help. Ignoring the prejudices and the blind faiths’ I went to the woman and took her in an auto to Kapoor Hospital in Karolbagh. There she gave birth to a healthy child. Shortly later her husband Ghanshayam also arrived there. When the nurse tried to put the child in his arms he said I (Mayawati) must get that privilege first. He admitted without me his wife would have been dead and the baby as well.”
Truly remarkable was the grit and bravery displayed by a girl born in underprivileged class. All the members of the family loved Mayawati. Her father Prabhudas found little time to devote to his children yet the grand father Mangalsen had all the time in the world to talk to the children, understand them and play with them. Mayawati loved her grandpa very much and admired his qualities of impartiality and truthfulness. About it she wrote—”He was so impartial, truthful and progressive that the entire village appreciated it. The people used to come to him for advice on various matters. He used to arbitrate the disputes of the village folks.”
The relationship of Mayawati with her father had been tense. He wanted to marry a second wife. His first wife Ramrati had born him three daughters in succession and he wanted a son. He was hell bent on second wife for it. He used to persecute his wife for failing to produce him a son. That created strained atmosphere at home.
It was the old man Mangalsen who put his foot down and did not allow his son to marry second time. He told Prabhudas and the other clan members that his bloodline will be carried forward by his grand daughters who would be educated well and made worthy. About the treatment meted out to her Mayawati wrote :
“My father spent money to get my brothers educated in good schools but because I was a girl I was sent to a government school. I kept making progress by dint of my hard work and resolve. In the case of studies I always got better of my brothers.”
About the discrimination and social inequality she wrote :
“I got the better experience of social inequality at a very early age of my life. Whenever I used to go to my maternal village with my mother to meet my grandpa and grandma the upper caste people used to accost us as we would enter the village. We would be asked which caste block we were headed to—Jat block or Brahmin block or Thakur block or Untouchables block? When we used reveal our destination of Untouchables (Chamar) block the questioner would scowl his face unpleasantly.
That kind of behaviour used to shock me and I would ask my mother why the people acted in that manner? My mother would tell me how people are lined there in caste block and that had been a long tradition in the country. The people had been classified as upper castes or lower castes. So, I got revulsion for such discriminatory social system from the very childhood.”
On the young mind of Mayawati the thoughts of Dr. Bheemrao Ambedkar had made deep impression. Baba Saheb had started a campaign to eradicate the caste system from the society and Mayawati had been touched by it at her early age. Then a middle school student Mayawati asked her father if she fights against social injustice like Baba Saheb Ambedkar, would pepole admire her and respect her?
The father said, “Yes, you can become like Baba Saheb Ambedkar but for that first you must complete your middle, high school and college education. After that you will pass the test for Indian Administrative Service and become a collector. You must create an identity for yourself as an exceptional officer in society. Then you will able to fight for you and your community’s rights. It will gain you success and popularity.”
Mayawati took father’s advice seriously and achieving it became the aim of her life. She got down with resolve and dedication to prepare for the IAS examination to become a district collector to take over the administration and power of state. Her keenness and impatience was such that she wanted to know from her father if she could complete high school education before due time. It amazed her father. He enquired about it and learnt that a student could appear in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th examination at a time. This student of an ordinary government school was exceptionally talented and wanted to pass the IAS examination much before time.
During her college days Mayawati was a very shy girl. She would not take part in discussions with her classmates. She would not talk much and avoided mixing up with others. In 1975 she passed B.A. in third division. Then she took up B.Ed. and completed it from a Ghaziabad college affiliated to Meerut University. She came back to Delhi to do a law course. Her sole aim was to pass IAS examination and the law course was the last part of the preparation.
