Gandhi’s 1946 Bhangi colony visit staged a sanitized set-piece.

Evidence

Gandhi’s attentiveness towards the Balmikis, his greatly publicised visits to ‘Bhangi colonies’, paid dividends, despite the fact that he treated them with condescension and contempt. When he stayed in one such colony in 1946: half the residents were moved out before his visit and the shacks of the residents torn down and neat little huts constructed in their place. The entrances and windows of the huts were screened with matting, and during the length of Gandhi’s visit, were kept sprinkled with water to provide a cooling effect. The local temple was white-washed and new brick paths were laid. In an interview with Margaret Bourke-White, a photo-journalist for Life magazine, one of the men in charge of Gandhi’s visit, Dinanath Tiang of the Birla Company, explained the improvements in the untouchable colony, “We have cared for Gandhiji’s comfort for the last twenty years.” — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 310

Categorization

• XREF: Gandhi’s staged visits parallel Veblenesque ‘conspicuous charity’; connects to reader’s theme of performative reform.