Gandhi’s term Harijan was paternalistic and derived from devotional sources

Evidence

After the Poona Pact, Gandhi directed all his energy and passion towards the eradication of untouchability. For a start, he rebaptised Untouchables and gave them a patronising name: Harijans. ‘Hari’ is the name for a male deity in Hinduism, ‘jan’ is people. So Harijans are People of God, though in order to infantilise them even further, in translation they are referred to as ‘Children of God’. In this way, Gandhi anchored Untouchables firmly to the Hindu faith. He founded a new newspaper called Harijan. He started the Harijan Sevak Sangh (Harijan Service Society), which he insisted would be manned only by privileged-caste Hindus who had to do penance for their past sins against Untouchables. Ambedkar saw all this as the Congress’s plan to “kill Untouchables by kindness”. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 399 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Gandhi consistently insulted Untouchables and denied them political self-organization; Gandhi’s renaming of Untouchables as Harijans re-anchored them to the Hindu faith. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 399

Related

• Gandhi’s renaming of Untouchables as Harijans re-anchored them to the Hindu faith. (similarity 0.95)
• Gandhi launched the Harijan Sevak Sangh after his Poona Pact fallout with Ambedkar. (similarity 0.86)
• Gandhi consistently insulted Untouchables and denied them political self-organization (similarity 0.83)
• Gandhi framed Untouchables as politically immature needing Hindu service, not enfranchisement (similarity 0.81)
• Gandhi saw Untouchables only as victims, not agents needing awakening (similarity 0.81)
• Hindu revivalists proselytised Untouchables to retain them in subordination. (similarity 0.80)
• Gandhi’s anti-untouchability campaign functioned as symbolic theater, not lasting cure. (similarity 0.79)
• Gandhi sought abolition of untouchability but retention of the caste system (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Gandhi’s renaming of Untouchables as Harijans re-anchored them to the Hindu faith. #expands (0.80) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 399
• Gandhi consistently insulted Untouchables and denied them political self-organization #expands (0.60)