હરિજન

Gujarati

Etymology

હરિ (hari) +‎ જન (jan), literally “Children of God”. Coined by Narsinh Mehta, a Gujarati Bhakti poet in the 15th century and popularized by Mahatma Gandhi as an alternative to the term Dalit.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

હરિજન • (harijan) m

  1. (derogatory, now proscribed) Harijan
  2. (literally) devotee of Vishnu

Usage notes

Now considered offensive to Dalits, as the term is considered patronising, ignorant, and seeking to assimilate them into Hindu nationalism.

References

  1. ^ Ramabadran, Sudharshan, Paswan, Guru (2021) Makers of Modern Dalit History, Penguin Random House India, →ISBN, page xv
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