From Servitude to Freedom – A Book Review

 

From Servitude to Freedom – A Book Review

Some years ago, one of my friends, Ambassador Bal Anand forwarded a book in PDF format: From Servitude to Freedom - Autobiographical and Philosophical Reelections – authored by one of my remote acquaintances in Delhi in 1970s, Master Khushi Ram, then an Under Secretary in the UPSC. I heard about Master Khushi Ram from one of my mentors and relations, Mama Shiv Ram who

Master Khushi Ram

was his contemporary as US/DS in the Ministry of Agriculture. But I don’t recall any personal meeting with Khushi Ram ji then. Later on my return to my native place, Bootan Mandi in Jalandhar, after retirement from a long diplomatic career, I learnt that Master Khushi Ram, who had migrated to Canada, was the uncle (Tayaji) of my friends C.L. Chumber (Late) in Jalandhar and Prem Chumber, Chief Editor of the Ambedkar Times and the Desh Doaba being published from California in the USA. I had a cursory look at the book at the first instance and appreciated the effort of Master Khushi Ram ji for sharing his experiences, thoughts and reflections with wider audience in India and abroad. The provocation to pick up the threads came from my friend Ambassador Zile Singh in Canada, some weeks ago, who shared with me his piece on Master Khushi Ram on his hitting the century of his facinting life and happily still kicking fit. I forwarded that congratulatory prose to my friend Prem Chumber, nephew of Master Khushi Ram. The other day, Prem Chumber telephoned to say that he was planning to felicitate his Tayaji Master Khushi Ram on attaining 100 years by dedicating an issue of the Ambedkar Times as a mark of respect and regard to him and invited me to write something to celebrate the occasion befittingly. I thought of attempting a review of Master Khushi Ram’s autobiographical and philosophical reflections in the book “From Servitude to Freedom”. I hope it would be interest to many of us.

Writing in the introduction – Why this Autobiography?, the author is not shy about his humble origin and frankly says, “Whether from the point of view of material possessions or of intellectual attainments, of social prestige or of spiritual status, my case is one of ascent from powerlessness to empowerment, from ignorance to knowledge, from subservience to personal autonomy, both practically and philosophically. However, the progress has been more by chance than design. I am amazed at the "turning points" I had in my life “. The book has been, and rightly so, dedicated to his gracious wife Bhagwanti, a life partner through thick and thin. The book has been thoughtfully divided into two parts – i) Details of his childhood, education, career, social responsibilities and other aspects of life and ii) Philosophy of life. Khushi Ram ji frankly wrote that there were too many turning points in the journey of his life. These turning points make an interesting reading. For me it was all the more so as we belong to the same vicinity in Jalandhar and reading the names of villages like Sainabad, birth place of the author, Sarih Shankar, Kang Jagir, Thablke, Ram Nagar, Jandusingha and Bootan Mandi etc. gave me a feeling of closeness with the author. I had already written that Khushi Ram’s nephews happened to be my friends. Yet a couple of more bonds came to light – we are the proud alumni of DAV College Jalandhar and the author had been to my native place, Bootan Mandi.  But his experience was not pleasant. He writes, “In1960s, I attended the marriage of Ratan, son of my wife's sister. It was at Butamandi, a part of Jalandhar city. It is a center of wholesale leather business as well as of tanning industry. It was hot summer day and the bad smell arising out of tanning sites was so awful that I felt intensely suffocated. I walked to the main road with difficulty and hired a rickshaw to get away for fresh air. I came back only when the marriage ceremony was over. I know people make more money from tanning than from shoe making or weaving and also that one gets used to had smell after being a part of it for some time, yet I am not able to reconcile to such a style of life. What is their reward for doing this arduous job for the nation? Humiliation and poverty.” Obviously, these remarks are not very charitable, prime facie. Permit me to add that Bootan Mandi led the economic emancipation of dalits of Punjab. It has been the undeclared capital of the community for launching and spearheading the political and social empowerment of dalits. Babasaheb Ambedkar visited and stayed at Bootan Mandi in 1951. It would be surprising to know that most of the leather business which the dalits of Bootan Mandi and its surroundings were doing has been taken over by the so called upper castes. Perhaps they smell money.

Khushi Ram was a brilliant and hardworking student in spite of inherent problems of poverty and deprivation which we all, belonging to the weaker segments of the society, faced in our formative years.  One of the turning points in the life of the author was when his services as a teacher were terminated in flimsy grounds that he was instigating the poor hapless workers and generating animosity in the society. Like many of us, the author also faced caste discrimination both in schools and college and also during his long civil service..  Khushi Ram ji surmises on the position then and now and writes, “In Canada where I am now living, I see my two grandchildren growing up. The way they are treated at home and at school, the facilities they enjoy at school and at home just make me wonder how I survived in those difficult times. “

Khushi Ram ji’s career progression in the UPSC, Ministry of Commerce, Office of the Commissioner for SCs, deputation to UP for administrative and judicial positions and also his post retirement engagements with public sector Banks remained satisfactory and good. It was not a small fete in the face of numerous social and functional hurdles. After retirement, the author migrated to Canada along with his wife to take leave of the social discrimination back home. They have done well and are happy as it is evident from his own admission, “Three of us (I, my wife and my son, Harsh) migrated to Canada in December 1986, without any assets. Today we

100th Birthday celebrations of Master Khushi Ram

five (myself, my son, his wife and two children) have a two-story house with a bedroom for each of us, kitchen, living room and a garage, and still two one-bedroom suites for spare use. We have very comfortable life and still able to save for the future. “. It duly justifies the title of the book – From Servitude to Freedom. Khushi Ram is Khush (happy) at 100 and is totally contented as I feel. I wish him all the best in the years to come.

With a sense of gratitude, he wrote in his autobiography and rightly so, “But for Dr. Ambedkar, I would have died long back as a poor grass cutter. He made education within reach of people like me, got government jobs reserved for them.” Khushi Ram seems an ardent Ambedkarite who closely follows Babasaheb Ambedkar even in his spiritual or religious pursuits and writes, “What is the alternative? It is Buddhism as interpreted in secular terms from the basic teachings of Lord Buddha. It gives us an honorable identity already known nationally and internationally. I now feel that the teachings of Lord Buddha satisfy my head and heart. Now I am proud of my Buddhist heritage.” At the climax of his noble life, he is totally committed to do something good and says, “I have written down my Will wherein I have donated my body to the University of British Columbia for their use in the laboratory. I have also kept apart a large portion of my assets for charities and for help to my poor relatives.”

The second chapter of the book is an essay on philosophical thoughts of the author. Since these deep thoughts often go over my head, I would not venture to write more on this and simply quote from the book which conveys all, “I am neither a philosopher nor a practitioner of any new ideology. There are lots of books on philosophy of life by learned scholars. I am writing this essay for people of my background and stature. Different people will have different philosophy of life due to their temperament, their circumstances and their stock of knowledge, etc. So it is not necessary for the readers to agree with my philosophy of life.”

All said and done, I may conclude with some of my off the cuff observations. Khushi Ram ji made a cursory reference to his younger brother, Punjab Rai, in the book and did not tell how he fared in life. Chief Editor of the Ambedkr Times and the Desh Doaba, Prem Chumber son of Punjab Rai told me that their father was the first MA of the area and that too in Economics, if my memory does not fail me, like Khushi Ram himself who was the first Matriculate and first BA of their village. Panjab Rai was working as a Gazetted officer in Delhi and died comparatively young. Secondly, there are many typographic mistakes, which may be ignored as printer’s devil, in the book like Punjab Rai has been spelt at one place as ‘Anjab Rai”, Bootan Mandi as “Butamandi” among others.

I wish more and more senior people of the community follow suit and write about their lives for the benefit of the younger generation and take this opportunity to thank and wish Master Khushi Ram ji continued good health and further prosperity in the years to come.

Apna Muqadar Aap Banate Hain Ehle-dil;

Hum Who Nahin Jinhen Zamana Bana Gya.