CULTURAL REVOLUTION IN WESTERN INDIA 79 and his opponents, for he did not seek a place for any particular community in the Hindu hierarchy. Other Exponents of Non-Brahmanism But things were otherwise with the other exponents ofnon-Brah-manism. Perhaps the most important figure after Jyotiba in the movement was Shahu, the feudal prince of Kolhapur, a descendant of Shivaji. One could not imagine two more dissimilar personalities: Jyotiba, the common man who had loyalty only to the masses and who wanted to be the great leveller; the feudal prince, with his loyalty to the British, bis insensitiveness to the economic exploitation of the masses by the British, and his narrow understanding of the figj^t against Brahmanism. Gail Omvedt very correctly distinguishes the two viewpoints, the dilution of the original movement that starts with the emergence of Sh^thu. She "writes: "But while,the seeds of conflict were laid in Shahu's administration and the British were very clearly willing to w^er the groi^id, it was the Vedokta ceremony which caused the plant to blossom." The Mah^raj^. wanted to be recognised asakshatriya and considered himself entitled to Vedokta rights, while the priests were giving,hiin Pufwktfl rights, that is, treating him as a Shudra. The author correctly comments: "In reality, the Maharaj at this tipoe was a conservative one; he was concerned about insult to his purity of lineage, he was insisting on proper recognition as a Ksh^trlya. His initial position, in fact, was to state simply that the issue concerned .only himself, and not the other aristocratic Maratha families." This was worlds apart from the principles and vision of Jyotiba. Tilak, that doyen of bourgeois nationalism, was so progressive' c tlUt he^onridere^teit Vedekta rights might be awarded t^Shahu as the ^ChhatrapatT or Ring but not ^s a hereditary family right. ' ) Opportunism and the Dilution ^fj^tiba^s Principles The Maharaja promoted education among' the non-Brahmaia^s and opened common hostels to which all castes were admitted. He outrage soAi6 of ^te Maratha ^ardars by freely mixing with untouchables 1 and dining with them. The author pinpoints the real distance ^that separated the original from 'its? diluted ver&ion; < The hostels both eno