Every one of us is familiar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s childhood story of bringing a baby crocodile home after bathing in a pond. We have talked about how courageous he has been since his childhood and how it still reflects in his decisions as Prime Minister. We have witnessed discussions and debates about the comic book Bal Narendra based on the biographical stories of Modi ji including young Modi helping his father in running his tea stall at Vadnagar Railway station. But we haven’t talked enough about his fight for social justice and women empowerment in his childhood through his play Peelu Phool.
The play, Peelu Phool is based on the plight of a Dalit woman living in a village with her son. When her son fell ill, she took him to vaidyas and local Tantriks for treatment, but no one was ready to treat him considering their status as untouchables.
When the mother lost all hope, someone suggested to her that her son’s illness would be cured if he touches the yellow flowers offered to gods in the village temple.
She decided to go to the Village temple, but the priest refused to grant her permission to enter the temple because they were untouchables. She begged him to give her a yellow flower from under the deity’s feet so that his son could be saved. She didn’t give up even as the priest kept shouting at her and asking her to leave.
At the end of the play, the priest eventually relented and gave her a flower.
This way the play Peelu Phool draws to an end on a message. In the eyes of God, no one is superior, nor is anyone inferior. For Him, all are equal.
It’s said Modi wrote the play after seeing a woman being denied entry into a temple citing her being untouchable. Deeply anguished over the injustice meted out to the mother and son, Young Modi decided to create awareness against the scourge of untouchability in society. The play and the message it conveys are still fresh in the minds of the residents of the city of Vadnagar.