AMBEDKAR-NEHRU CARTOON

An old cartoon of 1949 vintage by Shankar Pillai on the slow pace of making the Indian constitution reproduced in the textbook of NCERT rocked the Indian parliament on May 11. The politician followers of Ambedkar decry the cartoon as an insult to the leader and his contribution.  The intelligentsia on the other side terms it as an attack on the freedom of speech and liberty.  Given the sensibilities of the issue, particularly the vote bank aspect, the Government is cautious. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal apologized and Leader of the House and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee intervened to pacify the Members of Parliament.  It is both unfortunate and heartening, to my mind.

It is unfortunate that we are becoming excessively intolerant which is not good for the society at large. Only the Dalit politicians taking up the issue tends to confine Ambedkar as a Dalit icon alone which is not correct. Ambedkar was a national leader of India.  Ambedkar himself was a liberal democrat. He was against the blind following of charismatic leaders.  Obviously any attempt to belittle Ambedkar and his service to the nation will be countered and rightly so.. It is heartening that the relevance and potency of Ambedkar is as good today as it was before and will remain so in the years to come. The uproar in the parliament on the cartoon is demonstrative of the reality on ground.

The NCERT textbook for the students of Higher Secondary under the chapter “ Indian Constitution at Work” says that the cartoon notes the ‘snail’s pace’ at which the constitution was made and asks the students what they think were the reasons the making of it taking so long.  It is not difficult to find the answers. In fact Dr. Ambedkar himself had provided those answers in his historic speech, one of the best speeches of modern India, delivered on November 29, 1949 in the Constituent Assembly before the constitution was finally passed.  Ambedkar provided details of the sittings and work done. He gave comparative information in this regard on the constitutions of other countries and asked “Is there any justification for this complaint?” and asserted “Having regard to these facts the charge of dialatoriness seems to me quite unfounded and this Assembly may well congratulate itself for having accomplished so formidable a task in so short a time.” The redeeming factor which is also a tribute to Ambedkar is that the Constitution is working and working well. In his intervention , Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee tried to assuage the sentiments of leaders by saying the cartoon was totally wrong and Ambedkar was “Ved Vyas of Indian Constitution without whose tireless efforts the biggest Magna Carta of socio economic transformation would not have been possible to achieve in a record time of three years.” The matter may rest there.

BUDDHA JAYANTI – BUDDHA PURNIMA

Buddha Jayanti – Buddha Purnima fell and was celebrated on May 6. My friends at the Buddha Vihar at Sidharath Nagar (Bootan Mandi) at Jallandhar special Ram Lal Kainth and Darshan Bodhi had invited me to be the Guest Speaker at a function to observe the Day at the Vihar. I accepted the invitation in principle but could not make it as I had to come to Delhi/Gurgaon on some urgent personal engagement. I felt sorry and my hosts were also disappointed.  I shall catch up with them in due course on my return to Jalandhar. 

But yet another opportunity was in store for me. The followers of Dr. Ambedkar in and around Gurgaon under the aegis of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Sabha headed by Dharambir celebrated the day at the Ambedkar Bhawan in Sector 4 of Gurgaon. My friend Paramjit Saroya was aware of my presence in Gurgaon and on his suggestion the Sabha invited me to be the Chief Guest at the function which I gladly accepted. I was doubly happy as my daughter Vaishali was also born on the solemn day of Buddha Purnima in 1975.  It was a well-organized programme, started a little late in the evening, attended by a well-meaning and disciplined audience.  A missionary musical group of Rajaram from Rohtak regaled the attentive audience with numbers dedicated to Ambedkar and Buddha and their mission.  A well-educated, professional veterinary doctor, Bhikshu (Bhante) from a Vihar in Palwal was the chief guest speaker. He spoke well and with conviction.  I am no authority either on Ambedkar or on Buddha. But my abiding interest and ardent wish to follow Ambedkar keep me alive to the relevant situation and concern. I based my brief speech, on the contents of D.C. Ahir’s book “Ambedkar and his legacy” as to how Buddhism was different from Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.  Ambedkar’s immense contribution in reviving Buddhism in India was recalled. The function was concluded with a nicely done and arranged Preeti Bhoj (Langar).

Let me make a couple of observations which may be interest to the readers of my blog. After my retirement about a year before, I attended and spoke at many such functions pertaining to Guru Ravidass and Dr. Ambedkar in and around Jalandhar. I was given to understand and somehow I also felt that the community audiences and the organizers were comparatively good and better placed in Jalandhar which has a good concentration of, both economically and educationally, community.  My participation at the Gurgaon function was the first.  It was a good education for me. The function was nicely conducted by the Master of Ceremonies.  The audiences were nicely seated on clean white covered chairs. The audience was attentive and participatory. The musical group of Rajaram was applauded and rewarded (mostly by hundred rupee notes), liberal monetary contributions were made to the Sabha for the function, the preeti  bhoj was well prepared and nicely served. I was awakened from the wrong notion that the dalits of Punjab were ahead of their brethren in Haryana. May God bring them more success and prosperity?

AMBEDKAR JAYANTI (April 14)

The birthday of Dr. Baba Sahib Ambedkarfalls on April 14. The followers of Ambedkar and other concerned observe theday with all solemnity and enthusiasm throughout India and abroad not only onApril 14 but also continue to do so in the following weeks. It only shows that Ambedkar is held in high esteem and rightly so. It began with the Face book. It
was full of tributes to Ambedkar on April 14 and day after by his followers.
Many government agencies remembered him through the print media and organized functions,
as usual. I also participated in a few functions and paid my respects to the memory
of the great leader and greeted the participants in these functions.
Guru Ravidass Mandir and Dham at Khurla
Kingra (near my residence in Jalandhar) invited me to be the chief speaker at a
function in the evening of April 14. The newly appointed Chief Parliamentary
Secretary in the Punjab Government Pawan Tinu was the Chief Guest at the
function. It was a well organized function at the local level. I found that the
audience was well meaning and full of reverence to Baba Sahib. The Indian sweet
( Ladoos) were distributed to celebrate the occasion. The next day, April 15, I
was the Chief Guest at a function organized by Dr. Ambedkar Sports, Education
and Welfare Association of village Johal, a progressive village in the area. My
NRI friend from Glasgow (Scotland) Sucha Bagha is the chief Patron of the
Association. He was instrumental in inviting me to the function which was
presided over by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Pawan Tinu. Many prominent
personalities including Rajesh Bagha, Chairman of SC and ST Commission of
Punjab, RPS Pawar, IAS (Retired) who is an active follower of Dr. Ambedkar and
is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ambedkar Bhawan at Nakodar Road
Jalandhar and Dr. Gian Chand Kaul former Head of the Punjabi Department of DAV
college Jalandhar also spoke at the function. The missionary and well acclaimed
poet Sohan Saijal and highly spirited singer Balwinder Bitoo regaled the
audience with befitting compositions. The highlight of the function was the
awards and recognition of the upcoming talent in the community in the field of
education like Dr. Harblas Heera and others by the Association. It is a
praiseworthy and appreciable activity. On April 16, I was invited as the lead
speaker at the function organized by SBI employees to celebrate the Ambedkar
Jayanti at the main branch of the State Bank of India at Jalandhar. It was a
very well organized function by the educated and well placed followers of the
great leader Dr. Ambedkar lead by Deputy General Manager of the SBI Pushpinder
Kaur, a highly talented officer and motivated member of the community. The poor
students from some local schools were given school bags by the employees
association. The Ladoos were distributed and the cake was cut to celebrate the
birthday of Ambedkar. I have at hand yet another invitation to speak at a
function to mark the Jayanti on April 22 at village Chukhiara (near Kathar). The process goes on.
I have deliberately not mentioned about
the speeches made at these functions. These were usual as required on such an
occasion. The crux remains that Dr. Ambedkar’s life and mission and also
thought and philosophy is as potent today as it was before and it will remain
so in the years to come. But I would like to make a couple of observations:
·
I
felt that Ambedkar is increasingly becoming the leader of the dalits alone. It
is not correct. Ambedkar did a lot for the dalits and the under privileged, it
is true. But his contribution to the nation building and making of the India of
day was no less. The non dalit communities shall understand this and rectify
the situation. It would be good for the county and the society at large.
·
There
is a considerable enthusiasm and sense of oneness among the dalit communities.
But something is lacking. I think the leadership, both political and spiritual,
is direction less. The younger generation have good energy but it requires to
be channelized and transmitted otherwise it would go waste. It is some food for
thought for the educated dalits.

BABU KANSHI RAM - A TRIBUTE

Today March 15 is the birth anniversary of Babu Kanshi Ram (March 1934 – October 2006), a visionary leader of the dalits in the contemporary times after Baba Sahib Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Babu Kanshi Ram was a legendary personality, in the socio-political firmament of India during his life time and will remain so in the years to come. The dalits, rightly and sincerely, address him out of reverence, as Manyawar, Sahib, Babuji, etc. If the social media organs like the Face Book are any indication of the standing of the person, I think Babu Kanshi Ram has a definite space and place in the emerging dalit consciousness. It is a biggest and befitting tribute to the memory of Babu Kanshi Ram.
Babu Kanshi Ram belonged to an ordinary and simple family of district Ropar in Punjab. After graduating in science he joined one of the established governmental scientific laboratories to earn his bread and butter. He had no political inclination in the early formative years of his life but it seems that he must be fully alive to the socio-political ground realities. These ground realities did not allow him to continue with his job. Babu Kanshi Ram revolted, studied and analyzed Mahatma Phule and Dr. Ambedkar and also Lord Buddha and jumped into the public life to cajole the fellow dalits to stand up and ask for their due share n the power structures of India. His commitment and involvement was total. He sacrificed the comforts of life to inculcate the sense of self esteem and shed the feeling of inferiority complex among the dalits. He voluntarily undertook and said “I will never get married, I will never acquire any property, I will never visit my home, and I will devote and dedicate the rest of my life to achieve the goals of Phule-Ambedkar movement “. From 1965 onwards to 1978, he worked tirelessly to gear the dalit community for the bigger things to capture political power. In 1978 he launched his first organization: Backward and Minority Communities' Employees' Federation, popularly known as BAMCEF. Three years later, he founded another organization: DS-4 (Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti). And finally on 14 April 1984 ( birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar) , Babu Kanshi announced the formation of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to realize and achieve the goal set out by Dr. Ambedkar , "Understand our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to become the rulers of this country. Write this goal on the walls of your houses so that you will never forget. Our struggle is not for the few jobs and concessions but we have a larger goal to achieve. That goal is to become the rulers of the land." Babu Kanshi Ram left no stone unturned and within a few years made the BSP a force to reckon with. Babu Kanshi Ram reiterated this goal at the International Dalit Conference and said “We must become the rulers instead of being ruled”.
All said, it is matter of regret that Babu Kanshi Ram arrived but could not reach. The caravan was to be carried forwarded by the followers and dalit masses. It appears that the forces of ‘ divide and rule’ are gaining upper hand. The leaders made and supported by Kanshi Ram himself have gone berserk. The time and the tribulations may correct the course in due time. But the legacy of Babu Kanshi Ram will remain. His mission and vision is as good as today as it was before and it will remain so till the dalits don’t get their due space and share in the social, economic and political structures of India. In a poetic parlance, Babu Kanshi Ram’s message to dalits is:

तुम अस्मां में भी सुराख़ कर सकते हो;
जरा जोर से जूता उछालो तो सही !

THE DALIT CHETNA - A Point of View

ThePrakash Utsab (Birth Anniversary) of Guru Ravidassji fell on February 7 which
was celebrated by the followers of the great Guru with gaiety and solemnity.
The celebrations continue depending on the time and schedule of the various organizations
to pay homage and tributes to Guru Ravidassji. In other words, the dalit chetna
is getting demonstrated. The dalit followers and rightly gladly so are
interested increasingly in associating themselves with the Guru who was the
fore-bearer of the flag of revolt and change against the uncivilized and
inhuman treatment of the poor masses of the lower strata of the society. I
would like to mention about the two such events and celebrations in which I
participated.

TheSocial Awareness Forum of Punjab held its Annual Family Day function atPhagwara on February 25. The Day was dedicated to the memory of Guru
Ravidassji. I was the Guest Speaker at the function on the theme ‘Relevance of
the Sant Andolan in the present scenario ‘. It was a well organized and well attended
function which was presided over by the President of the Social Awareness ForumJagdish Chander Virdi, Engineer at one of the Punjab Government Departments atLudhiana and the Chief Guest at the function was Sodhi Mall, Additional
Director of Factories in the Government of Punjab. I found both Jagdish Virdi
and Sodhi Mall gentlemen to the core and amicable personalities fully involved
in the community matters while delivering positively at their respective
important Government positions which they are holding. Being a faceless
diplomat throughout my career, I don’t know whether I could do justice to the
theme of the speech but I enjoyed my presence and inter action at the function.
It turned out to be some fresh air in the routine of such functions. The
present members of the Forum introduced themselves with their families. The
introduction set the mood and direction of the function. The audience comprised
of ‘ who is who “ of the dalit community in and
around Phagwara which included doctors, engineers, bankers, teachers,
retired senior officers, businessmen, recognized state and nation level players
and young and upcoming students. Both President of the Forum Virdi and Chief
Guest Mall spoke informally and briefly unlike the general trend of sticking to
the mike. The young students were honored with souvenirs by the Forum like in
the previous years. I was informed that the Social Awareness Forum apart from providing
the glue and platform to the educated sections of the community to get-together
is also providing medical and financial help to the needy. The second session
of the event was informal and enjoyable from the cultural point of view. The
young lady artist besides singing the spiritual and devotional numbers also did
well in providing a good cultural interlude. Col. Shankar Singh and Dr. Balkar
Chand recited poetry and entertained the audience. It was a good change from
the routine format of the function. The flow of snacks throughout the function
was unhindered and the dinner was good with warm hospitality by the organizers.
I must say that the function was a success and helped in generating much needed
awareness and fresh air - a healthy trend. My congratulations to the Social
Awareness Forum. We need more such organizations.

Thesecond function I attended was the one organized by the Guru Ravidass Sabha of
Deol Nagar in Jalandhar on February 26 to celebrate the Gurupurab of the great
Guru. It was a good and clean function with the kirtan darbar of high rendition
and a well prepared langar. I could see and feel the air of harmony and
brotherhood flowing freely among the residents of Doel Nagar without any
superfluous feeling of caste and creed. The jaikaras of JO BOLE SO NIHAL and JO
BOLE SO NIRBHAY succeeded in clearing the air. It was the real tribute to the
memory of Guru Ravidassji. My congratulations and thanks to President of the
Sabha Malkiat Singh and other organizers who very kindly provided me an opportunity
to speak and pay my humble tribute to the great Guru Ravidassji.

The dalit Chetna is emerging and shall find a due space and place in the society at
large.

THE VALENTINE DAY

THE DAY OF LOVE AND RESPECT

Today February 14 is the Valentine Day, the day of expressing love to each other particularly to the dear ones and the kith and kin. I don’t know the importance of the Day from historical perspective but I like the day and its celebration. In my personal life, I am not too enthusiastic a man to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and religious festivals but I do like these celebrations as I think one shall deny pleasure and happiness particularly when it involves the society at large. The life, these days is becoming tension ridden by the each passing day. All of us must try and bring in more occasions for cheer and relaxation. I see and value the Valentine’s Day from this point of view. I don’t confine the Day only to expressing love and romantic feelings by the young people. It is a Day, I think, for universal love and wellness. Keeping this in view, I simply tend to convey my wife, Children and other close relations and friends all the best wishes on the day and do nothing more. But again if there is an occasion created and initiated by someone else, I would gladly join and enjoy.

All said and done, I will keep and maintain throughout my life the cherished memories of the Valentine’s Day in 2001 in Tokyo (Japan). I was posted in the Embassy of India Tokyo. I got seriously sick while in office in the afternoon of February 12 with a head stroke (brain hemorrhage). My senior and junior colleagues immediately came to my rescue and got me shifted to the hospital. I was kept in the ICU and the competent doctors and hospitable staff nurses could succeed in plugging the leak without ant surgical operation. On February 14, the Valentine’s Day, I was shifted to my allotted room in the VIP ward. My wife was with me as my daughter Vaishali and son Rupesh had gone to Stockholm (Sweden) to be with my elder son Naresh. The whole Embassy stood by us at this unforeseen emergency. But the climax was yet to come. In the evening after the close of the Embassy, the entire local Japanese staff including 10-15 young ladies came to see me with boxes of chocolates to wish me HAPPY VALENTINE. They came, they sat, they sung, they shared and they CONQURED. I, with my wife Vidya, was overwhelmed by the gesture and VALENTINE LOVE of my Japanese colleagues. God bless them. With God’s grace and the wishes of my friends and dear ones, I stood on my feet again and accomplished greater heights in diplomatic career and retired happily in December 2010.

Let me share a few more line on the Japanese way of celebration of Valentine Day. Japanese women give presents (mainly chocolates) to their men. Traditionally, Japanese ladies are too shy to express their love. The Valentine day is thought to be a great day to express their love and regard. Men respond back by exchanging gifts a month later that is on March 14 and express their love. It is called the White Day. There is a difference between the romantic love and obligatory love and regard to bosses, elders etc. The second kind of chocolate gift is called Giri Choko on the Valentine day. In my case too, it was a GIRI CHOKO by my Japanese colleagues when I was confined to the hospital bed. It was a great day for me.

I take this opportunity and convey my greetings and all the good wishes to all my relations and friends and also my colleagues with whom I have had the chance to interact and work.

Let us exchange love and respect for each other.

GURU RAVIDASS PRAKASH UTSAV

Guru Ravidass Prakash Utsav was celebrated with the desired enthusiasm throughout India and abroad by the followers of the great Guru Ravidassji. on February 7. The day is an annual event of note not only at Bootan Mandi in Jalandhar but also throughout in Doaba region where the dalit followers of Guru Ravidass are concentrated and are well placed for the last 80 years or so. For the successive second year, I am in Jalandhar and observed the celebrations first hand.

The Shoba Yatra and the Nagar Kirtan were taken out in the city with all pomp and show on February 6. It was a sea of humanity at loose. The Yatra was joined by all the local dalit organisations and forums in and around Jalandhar city. The entire route of the Yatra was given a festive look with buntings and flags and was punctuated by the podiums with DJs and loud speakers playing glaring music singing the praises of the Guru and spirited numbers like " Hun Sare Kar Lao Eka Beguampura Vasauna aan " etc. It looked as if the whole city has come to streets. It is to be noted with appreciation that the entire route was spread out with Langars of lunch, fruits, sweets, water, tea and other food stuff to serve the moving caravan of the great Yatra. I am happy to observe that for last about 25 years the workers of Soccer International ( a big local company dealing in supports goods) under the stewardship of my younger brother Krishan arrange a big Langar near the Lovely Sweets on Nakodar Road and extend warm welcome to all the participating groups in the Yatra. It is good and healthy tradition. The strength of the community was at show. The energy and awareness which has come, of late, to the fore was clearly demonstrated. But the flip side of the great show was lack of discipline both on the side of the participants, organisers and also the authorities. The followers of the great Guru should consider this and set an example of order and discipline. It will add to their credit and raise their status. Almost all the vernacular dailies carried out the stories and photos of the Yatra and rightly so.

On the Gurupurab day that is February 7, Kirtan Darbars were arranged in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib and the newly established Amritvani followed by Langars in the day time. The entire Bootan Mandi area right from the Wadala Chowk to Abadpura was turned into a great Mela in a total festive mood. From the late evening to the late mid-night, a number of functions were held to sing and promote the mission and philosophy of Guru Ravidass. These functions were well attended where important and known singers performed in the presence of leaders including sitting and former MPs. MLAs, senior Bureaucats etc. The message was clearly emerging. The dalit community is awakened. It is bubbling with energy. It looks for avenues to find its due space and place in the society. As poet Iqbal put it " jara si nam ho to yeh mitti badi jerkhez hai saki ". But unfortunately, the leadership is torn and divided. They are doing a disservice to the whole community on account of their selfish and vested interests. In Bootan Mandi, a few self appointed and self styled Seths with narrow agenda and family fueds are holding the entire society to ransom. They must learn forthwith and stop. The caravan will go on with or without these short sighted individuals. Let us unite for the good of the society as I said in my speech in one of functions on February 7 at Bootan Mandi ' Tum hi tum ho to kya tum ho; Hum hi hum hain to kya hum hain ".

PS; I was one of the Panelists on a discussion on the Jalandhar Doordarshan on the topic " Relevence of the Vani of Guru Ravidass in the contemporary times' telecasted on February 7.