Gangu Teli


Gangu Teli or Ganga Teli is an apocryphal oil-presser from India. He appears in the proverb Kahaan Raja Bhoj, Kahaan Gangu Teli, which is used to compare an important or high-status person to an ordinary or low-status person.

Proverb

Many Indian languages feature the proverb comparing Bhoja and Gangu Teli. Besides "Gangu" and "Ganga", several variants of the name of the Teli appear in different languages and dialects. For example, Bhojva, Bhunjva Doontha, Kāngla, Kangda, Ganglo, Gangva, Gangaram, and Ganga.
Variations of the phrase include :
  • Hindi-Urdu: Kahān Rājā Bhoj, kahān Gaṃgū Telī
  • Awadhi: Kahān Rājā Bhoj au kahān Bhojvā Telī
  • Bhojpuri: Kahān Rājā Bhoj, kahān Bhojvā Telī
  • Bundeli: Kahān Rājā Bhoj, kahān Ḍoonṭha Telī
  • Braj: Kahān Rājā Bhoj, kahān Kanglā Telī
  • Rajasthani: Kathe Rājā Bhoj, Kathe Gāṃglo Telī
  • Kumaoni: Kān Rājā Bhoj, Kān Gaṃgva Telī
  • Bengali: Kothāy Rāja Bhoj, Kothāy Gaṃgārām Telī
  • Marathi: Kuthe Bhoj Rājā, Kuthe Gaṃgā Telī
  • Haryanvi: Kitt Rājā Bhoj, Kitt Kāngḍā Telī
  • Garhwali: Kakh Rājā Bhoj, Kahh Bandar Chor
  • Kauravi: Kahān Rājā Bhoj, Kahān Gaṃgū Telli
  • Bagheli: Kahān Rājā Bhoj, Kahān Bhunjvā Telī
  • Punjabi: Kithe Rājā Bhoj, Kithe Gaṃgū Telī
In Kashmiri, the proverb changed into "Yetih Raja Bhoj, Tatih Ganga Teli", equivalent of the Hindi "Jahān Rājā Bhoj, Vahān Gaṃgā Telī".
In Telugu language, the equivalent phrase is Nakka ekkada, nagalokam ekkada?.

Legends

According to scholar P.K. Gode, in Marathi language, the source of the proverb seems to be the Sanskrit-language text Kalpa-druma-kalika, a commentary on the Jain text Kalpa-sutra. The commentary is of uncertain date, but Gode dates its extant manuscript to earlier than 1650 CE, based on appearance. The Kalpa-druma-kalika narrates the story of Bhoja and Ganga-Teli as follows:
According to Gode, the antiquity of the proverb in Hindi and other north Indian languages is uncertain, and possibly other Jain texts contained a similar story.
Maive Stokes, in Indian Fairy Tales, records a story titled Raja Harichand's Punishment. In this story, a divine punishment forces king Harichand and his queen to go into exile as destitutes. While wandering, they go to their friend Ganga Teli, who had provided them with a comfortable stay during their earlier visit. However, this time, because of their poor appearance, Ganga Teli provides them with unpleasant rooms and bad food. Next, they go to their other friend, king Bhoj, who treats them well.
Ganga Datt Upreti, in Proverbs and Folklore of Kumaun and Garhwal, records another story about the origin of the proverb: Ganga and Bhoja were rival kings. Bhoja subjugated Ganga, seized his kingdom, had his limbs cut off. An oilman found Ganga, had him healed, and employed him. After the oilman's death, Ganga inherited his house and business. Even after becoming a handicapped oilman, Ganga continued to oppose Bhoja, inviting ridicule from people who declared that Gangu teli is not worthy of being compared to king Bhoja.
Historian Kashinath Krishna Lele, in The Paramāras of Dhār and Mālwā, suggested that the proverb referred to the Paramara king Bhoja's military success against "Gangeya of Telangana", the Telangana region being subordinate to the Kalachuri king Gangeya. Historian R. Nath similarly connects the proverb to Bhoja's success against "Gangeya of Telingana".
Maharashtra-Vaksampradaya, a dictionary of Marathi proverbs, states that Gangu in the proverb refers to the Kalyani Chalukya king Tailapa II and Bhoj refers to the Paramara king Munja, the uncle of Bhoja. P.K. Gode finds this explanation unsatisfactory, noting that while Tailapa II had killed Munja in the late 10th century, it is not clear if "Gangaraja" was an epithet of Tailapa or how Munja can be identified with his nephew Bhoja. Y. R. Date and C. G. Karve, the editors of the dictionary, do not cite any source for the explanation. Some other historians, such as K. M. Munshi and K. N. Seth, similarly speculate that the proverb may have originated as an allusion to the military successes of Bhoja against Gangeya and the Kalyani Chalukyas who controlled the Telangana region, "Teli" being a corrupt form of "Telangana".
Ambedkarite author S. Anand states that according to "official history", when king Bhoj faced a problem during the construction of the Panhala Fort, a priest suggested a double human sacrifice - of a mother and her newborn child - as the solution. Gangu Teli is said to have 'volunteered' to sacrifice his wife Jakkubai and their newborn. Anand states that the fort has a small tomb for Jakkubai. He identifies king Bhoj as the "eleventh-century ruler of the Malwa region", but the Panhala fort was actually built by the Shilahara king Bhoja II.

Casteist connotations

Several modern interpreters consider the phrase as casteist, since the Teli community historically held a low status in the traditional caste hierarchy. Sumit Rajak, a research scholar at the Jadavpur University, cites the phrase as an example of Bollywood "bashing the low-caste communities". In Sagina, the song Sala Main to Saab Ban Gaya features a line Kaisa Raja Bhoj bana hain mera Gangu Teli. Dulhe Raja features a song containing the lines Chachundar ke sar pe na bhaye chameli / Kahaan Raja Bhoj aur kahan Gangu Teli. According to Rajak, the proverb "aptly indicates
how in Indian society it is seemingly imperative, or rather normative, to compare a person of lower quality with a low-caste group." The Vidarbha Teli Samaj Mahasangh, an organization of the Teli caste, protested against the Dulhe Raja song, stating that it hurt the sentiments of the Teli community.
In 2013, Indian National Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad referred to the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as Gangu Teli. The Bharatiya Janata Party criticized Azad's remarks as casteist and derogatory.
Referring to the Panhala fort legend, the Punjabi Dalit-Naxalite Sant Ram Udasi and his daughter Iqbal Singh have portrayed Gangu Teli as an unwilling victim, coerced and brutalized by the monstrous king Bhoj.