Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in,” wrote poet Robert Frost. His profound observation defines the relationship between Sharad Gaikwad and Sudhir Dhawale. They are not related; they did not know each other until 2004, when the politics of protest brought them together. Yet when Sudhir had nowhere to go, it was Sharad who rented a room for his friend to reside in. 

It was from this room that the Pune Police arrested Sudhir on June 6, 2018, and booked him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence. This room still doubles up as the office of their organisation—Republican Panthers Caste Annihilation Movement, one of the many small Dalit outfits hoping to realise Dr B R Ambedkar’s dream of annihilating the caste system.