BABU KANSHI RAM – A Tribute

The birth anniversary of Babu Kanshi Ram (March 15, 1934) falls on March 15. I write this as a tribute to Babu Kanshi Ram, a great leader of men and a man of vision. With a scientific temper as trained scientist Babu Kanshi Ram, rightly called as Manyawar, was a missionary of the cause of the down trodden and under privileged of India. After Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, he was the flag bearer of the rights of the neglected and discriminated sections of the society. In his life time, it is a matter of satisfaction that he succeeded in bringing about a sense of unity and purpose in the lives of dalits of India. Babu Kanshi Ram enthused a much needed awareness in the minds of economically and socially crushed people single handedly. It was a difficult job but he did it with élan. Babu Kanshi Ram succeeded in making his presence felt at the political landscape of India. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which graduated through the torturous journey of BAMCEF, DS4 under the able leadership of Babu Kanshi Ram not only registered its good presence in the Parliament of India but also succeeded in capturing power, under the stewardship of Kumar Maywati, in the largest state of UP, not once but four times. It was not a small fete. Babu Kanshi Ram’s premature departure (died in October 2006) from the scene was a great blow to the poor and neglected people of India.

While on the birth anniversary of Babu Kanshi Ram, I pay my humble tribute to the memory of the great leader, I wish the dalits and the backwards of India would stand up and carry forward the legacy of Babu Kanshi Ram in getting and ensuring their due share in the powers structures of India. Only then the soul of Babuji will rest in peace.

हर दर्दमंद दिल को रोना मेरा रुला दे, बेहोश जो पड़ें हैं शायद उन्हें जगा दे ! 

SATGURU RAVIDASS DHAM BOOTAN MANDI JALANDHAR

On the eve of Gurupurab, the Prakash Utsav of Guru Ravidass (February 25, 2013), I intend to write on the historical place – SatGuru Ravidass Dham Bootan Mandi Jalandhar with which my cherished memories are associated as a kid, a primary student, my formative years of youth before I graduated into adult life and above all being a small and humble son of an ordinary family belonging to Bootan Mandi. After about 40 years long diplomatic career, I am back to my roots in Jalandhar and wish to pick up the threads to integrate with the family and the society at large. SatGuru Ravidass Dham is said to be the nerve centre of the activities related and pertaining to the dalit community around particularly in the doaba region and foreign countries where the followers of Guru Ravidass live in considerable strength. The Prakash Utsav of Guru Ravidass is being celebrated with traditional and dedicated fervor in Bootan Mandi since long even before the advent of Ad-dharam Mandal in 1926. By now, over the years, Guru Ravidass Gurupurab has attained the status of a big social and spiritual event in the city of Jalandhar and rightly so. Before I come to the subject, I take this opportunity to greet and congratulate the followers of the great Guru Ravidass and particularly my fellow Bootan Mandians on the Gurupurab Guru Ravidass .

Gurudwara built sometime in 1930s, where SatGuru Ravidass Dham now stands, was a prominent place in the history of dalit community in the area. It was a magnificent building of the time. The Bootan Mandi’s prominents under the stewardship of Seth Khushi Ram and supported by others including Seth Mathra Dass, Seth Kartar Chand, Seth Mool Raj, with a view to provide primary education facilities to the children of Bootan Mandi and the adjoining localities, established a primary school at the Gurudwara premises sometime in early 1950s. Later the school was handed over to the Government but maintenance and upkeep of the building remained the responsibility of the Gurudwara Management. I remember in the mid 1960s, when I was actively involved in the community matters as an upcoming youngman, we under took the major renovation of the Gurudwara under the leadership of Hardial Banger, Manohar Mahey, Sat Paul Mahey, Prem Shant,Hans Raj Banchi, Darshan Bodhi and many more. Pritam Ramdaspuri, Seth Durga Dass, inter alia, stood by us as seniors and supporters. We even started a small library and a reading room at the premises. I recall, how with great efforts, we could manage to get 5 daily papers free of cost from the Jalandhar Municipal Committee through the Committee Member from Bhargo Camp Bhagat Budda Mal. A Youngman whose was Chaman Lal, if I remember correctly, was a great help in the day to day affairs of the library particularly its upkeep. Along with these allied activities, the Gurudwara premises were the venue of Gurupurab celebrations every successive year. For almost a week before the Guru Ravidass Gurupurab, the place will become the centre of spiritual discourse and recital of guruvani in the hazuri (presence) of Shri Guru Granth Sahib under the hands of Swami Lalji Dass and his dedicated followers. Our finances used to be small and meager but personal devotion of all dedicated young men involved in the process kept us going. The hard work of the young band of dedicated workers made the activities and events under the banner Guru Ravidass Youth Club increasing established and recognized by the society at large. I recall my submission of annual report of the Club in writing at the Gurupurab Kavi Darbar in 1969 as General Secretary of the Club. Prem Shant was a great help in the matter. We started publishing a souvenir ‘Guru Sandesh’ on the Gurupurab. We got printed greeting cards and sold to wish each other on the Gurupurab. We used to motivate the daily newspapers of Jalandhar and supply the requisite material to them for the Special Supplements on the occasion. We tried our every best to enlarge the scope and relevance of the Sobha Yatra (called Jalloos earlier) by engaging the public at large and decorate the entire route of the Yatra which was not an easy task in the 1960s. To cut the story short, let me say with satisfaction that things were put on rail in the right direction. I left the scene in March 1970 in pursuit of my career and bread and butter. Our successors along with some of my old associates did a good job in the following years but could not keep the tempo of the activities. The procedural content like the annual report, souvenir, and special supplements became things of the past. It was not good for the system and the institution. It is a matter of regret. A dedicated team under the leadership of Seth Ram Lal Mahey, I was told, contributed a great deal particularly in constructing new buildings for the primary and high schools in the vicinity of the Gurudwara (now Dham) and handed over these buildings to the Government. Frankly I did not like it. It would have been better, to my mind, if we run the schools as private institutions like many other communities do and provide not only quality education to our children at affordable costs but also inculcate the mission and philosophy of the great Guru Ravidass in the minds of coming generations. We have certainly arrived but were yet to reach our destination.

With the blessings of Guru Ravidassji and sheer hard work of some of the young men of Bootan Mandi like Seth Sat Paul, Surinder Mahey, Hussan Mahey, Kamal Mahey, Harish Mahey, with their seniors like Seth Ram Paul Mahey, Ram Saran Mahey, Seth Bhagwan Dass around,  progressed and established themselves in their leather business. The finances of the social and community activities improved considerably. They floated yet another outfit, to replace the erstwhile Club, in the name of Guru Ravidass Welfare Society in the early 1980s. The name was further changed around early 1990s, in view of the educational aspects particularly the schools mentioned earlier. The Society was converted into Guru Ravidass Educational and Charitable Trust, the current parent body of the Satguru Ravidass Dham. So far so good. The community got economic and financial muscle on one hand and political strength on the other. Surinder Mahey, a young man of Bootan Mandi, became the Mayor of Jalandhar city in around 2002. It was a big attainment and rightly so. While doing a good job as the Mayor of Jalandhar, Surinder Mahey also paid little more and focused attention to the development and improvement of Bootan Mandi which was a slum area. He planned and developed a good park and named it after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.  He took yet another important work in his hands that is the construction of Satguru Ravidass Dham at the site of the historic gurudwara under the aegis of Satguru Ravidass Dham Management Committee. It was, of course, an ambitious but prestigious project which needed huge investments. Bootan Mandi being the hub of community activities, everybody, I understand, appreciated and joined hands to do the project. The young entrepreneurs of Bootan Mandi rallied around Surinder Mahey for the completion of the Dham including generous support from the dalit community living in foreign lands. My brothers, Krishan Lal and Paramjit, humbly but fully engaged and identified themselves these activities. Paramjit remained for a long time one of the Trustees and Member of the Guru Ravidass Educational and Charitable Trust and Satguru Ravidass Dham Management Committee and also the General Secretary of the Trust for a couple of terms. With the due financial and political support under the leadership of Surinder Mahey, the Dham project progressed satisfactorily for a few years. Obviously, authority entails responsibility. The power tends to inflate ego. In the process, as I understand Surinder Mahey, may be unintentionally, ruffled feathers of some of his associates and kith and kin in the extended family. As his term as Mayor of the city came to close in around 2008, the opponents who were lying low, started exerting themselves with or without reason. Some of them started opposing and confronting the authority of Surinder to settle their personal scores pertaining to family matters most of the time. The spoils office came to surface and over took the situation. Those who enjoyed the power when Surinder Mahey was the Mayor started drifting away for personal reasons.  With the support of political rivals of Surinder Mahey, the so called aggrieved faction hijacked the agenda for their limited purposes.  It was unfortunate for the Dham project, progress of which is almost stalled by now. Unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse under the current Management of the Dham. Nobody is ready to see reason. The saner sense is missing holding the whole community to ransom. I am absolutely pained to write this. It is rightly said:  लह्मों की गलती से, सदिओं ने सज्जा पाई !

I am around for the last two years and this Gurupurab is the third successive year of witnessing a sorry state of affairs. We are a divided lot. I was told that Shri Avinash Chander, Chief Parliamentary Secretary of Punjab who also belonged to Bootan Mandi tried to bring the barring factions of Surinder Mahey and Seth Sat Paul Mall together to celebrate the Gurupurab to begin with and revive the neglected Dham project in due course. Surinder Mahey, I understand, was willing to come down in the larger interest of the Dham and the community but Seth Paul Mall could not gather courage and bring along his close associates to agree to some sort of settlement and compromise. The sincere approach is lacking, I feel. The leaders are more interested in settling their personal scores totally ignoring the common agenda of the community.The status quo ante, with displaced egos, stands to the detriment of the community interests. Some so called ‘Well Wishers’ wrote to me an anonymous letter and urged me to refrain from associating myself with Surinder Mahey. It is their assumed notion that I along with my brothers tend to support Surinder Mahey as against the wishes of the other faction. This assumption is baseless and ill founded. I refute it vehemently. I along with my brothers stand for the community and the Dham and not with any faction who so ever they may be. Let me make it clear. The ‘Well Wishers” also wrote that I should do something to bridge the gap between the two groups. With a view to register my sincerity of purpose, I immediately got in touch with prominent and eminent members of both the groups and suggested my ideas of bringing them along and strengthening the hands of Shri Avinash Chander in his efforts towards unity. But I am sorry to say with a heavy heart that my friends in Seth Sat Paul group did not respond positively and tried to downplay the issue and friends in the other group were at least open to sitting on the table and coming together with dignity and respect. It is a hopeless situation. The high pedestal of Bootan Mandi is slipping from under its feet. Some of the short sighted sons of Bootan Mandi itself are responsible for this situation which is unfortunate and unacceptable . May Guru Ravidass help us and show light. I close with a poetic expression –

आ गैर्रिअत  के परदे इक बार फिर उठा दें,

बिश्डों को फिर मिला दें नक्शे दुई मिटा दें!

सुंनी पड़ी हुई है मुद्दत से दिल की बस्ती,

आ इक नया रविअलय इस देश में बना दें !

WE the PEOPLE of INDIA

The text of the Preamble of the Indian constitution reads:

“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

 JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY, of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, DO HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”

The constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.  The January 26 became the Republic Day of India. Let us look back with some sense of introspection and consider whether we have lived up to the lofty ideals of the Preamble of the constitution of the Republic India. It is a mixed bag, to my mind, of good and bad.

The Good – we are prevailing as a sovereign country and are a dignified member of the comity of nations. We are the largest democracy of the world. The words ‘Socialist and Secular’ were added to the preamble were added on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee later sometime in the early 70s. It could be anybody’s guess or opinion whether we are socialist and secular? The redeeming factor is that the constitution is working. If, somehow, polarization of political forces on the basis of ideology and programme happens, Indian democracy would be the most vibrant and successful.

The Bad – Could we secure for ourselves Justice, Liberty and Equality and promote Fraternity, as visualized by the founding fathers? The answer, most probably, is in the negative. The justice is delayed, costly, lopsided and hard to find. The liberty is discriminatory. The Media is totally commercialized. The intellectual class is self-centered. The Equality is yet to come by in the caste ridden society. We have failed to promote fraternity in the society at large. Communal strife is getting strengthened. Religious bigotry is gaining support. But it is satisfactory to note that we still swear to uphold the constitution. Many positive things have happened and much is underway.Anyway, we have come a long way but still we have to go a long way. We need to work and strive in unison.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rightly said in his last speech in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949 and I quote “….. I shall not therefore enter into the merits of the Constitution. Because I feel, however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot. The working of a Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution. The Constitution can provide only the organs of State such as the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. The factors on which the working of those organs of the State depends are the people and the political parties they will set up as their instruments to carry out their wishes and their politics. “

We the people of India must consider and realize this if we want to see India succeed and prosper. It seems that the constitution has not failed us. And we must not fail the constitution

Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia - A Tribute

 

The birth anniversary of Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia (1886-1980) falls on January 14. I write this to pay my humble tributes to the memory of the great son of the country particularly of the dalit community. Babu Mangu Ram’s sterling role in the freedom movement of India as a Gadrite leader is well known and documented.  He was an Indian patriot to the core in the Gadar Movement in the US and other countries. Later on coming back to India in 1925, he engaged himself fully in the fight against social and economic degradation of the dalit community at the hands of the caste ridden Indian society. It was a daunting task. But Babu Mangu Ram was a crusader.

In 1926, Babu Mangu Ram initiated and established Ad-dharam Movement to provide the dalit a social and spiritual identity of their own. He started publishing a periodical called Adi-Danka to enlighten and cajole the dalit masses to stand up and fight for their rights. The effort was a great success with the help and joining hands with the other leaders of the community like Master Gurbanta Singh, Seth Kishan Dass, Seth Sunder Dass, and Sant Ram. Gopal Singh Khalsa, inter alia. The Ad-dharam Movement, as my father told me, did a great job, under the leadership of Babu Mangu Ram, during the Round Table Conferences in the early 30s in supporting Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as the sole leader of the dalits of India to represent them in the Conferenes and other fora for the interests of the dalits. With these efforts. Ad-dharam was duly recognized as a different entity in the 1931 census. Dr. Ambedkar’s struggle with the help of the leaders like Babu Mangu Ram resulted in the Communal Awards of the British Government to recognize and ensure separate electorates for the dalits in 1932 which was formally accepted and introduced as the Poona Pact between Ambedkar and Gandhi. Some vested interests tried to create unnecessary controversy about the presumptive differences between Dr. Ambedkar and Babu Mangu Ram on the decisions of the Poona Pact and the agenda of the Ad-dharam Movement. But the prevailing political and social atmosphere in the country left no other option both for Dr. Ambedkar and Babu Mangu Ram to accept the ground realities. Babu Mangu Ram continued to accept Dr. Ambedkar as his leader and respected him accordingly.  The Ad-dharam Movement gained strength particularly in the doaba region of Punjab. Babu Mangu Ram along with others got elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly before independence in 1947.  In the wake of changing political and social scenario, the Movement which was by then converted into a political outfit as Ad-dharam Mandal, fizzled out somewhat. Most of the associates of Babu Mangu Ram either joined the Congress Party or the Scheduled Castes Federation and later the Republican Party.  But the relevance and role of Ad-dhram Movement and the Mandal would remain a historical fact that it played an immensely important role in establishing a separate and distinct identity for the dalits which was a much called for need of the times.

Babu Mangu Ram was a visionary and a leader of the first rate. He contributed immensely to freedom movement of India as a Gadrite leader and also to the emancipation of the dalit community.

हजारों साल नर्गिस अपनी बेनूरी पे रोती है;

बड़ी मुश्किल से होता है चमन में दीदावर पैदा !

AMBEDKAR BHAWAN AT NAKODAR ROAD JALANDHAR - ORAL HISTORY

 

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, you may be surprised to know, was not as acceptable even in the late 60s as he is today. The Congress Party and its opposition to Ambedkar were vehement and telling. But at the same time Dr. Ambedkar’s influence among the dalits was taking roots slowly but steadily in Punjab. Republican Party was at the vanguard under the leadership of Duni Chand Shahpuri, Piara Ram Dhanowali, Charan Dass Nidhadak, Lahori Ram Balley and others. The Bheem Patrika edited by Lahori Ram Balley was the mouth piece of the Republican Party and the followers of Ambedkar. The finances were scarce and tight. No Government patronage was available to the name and memory of Ambedkar.  Ambedkar’s followers under the flag of Republican Party planned and brought up the idea of Ambedkar Bhawan at Nakodar Road, Jalandhar in the early 60s. A fairly good plot of land situated between Abadpura and Bootan Mandi, the localities which are mostly inhabited by dalits, were purchased.  It is a co-incident that it is located at the large chunk of open land where Dr. Ambedkar addressed a mammoth public meeting in October 1952. The promoters could not get enough financial back up and the project remained a piece of land only till the early70s. But the name of Ambedkar has its latent force. A follower of Ambedkar and a resident of Abadpura whose name, if I remember correctly, was Ram Prakash, died under detention in a strong agitation of the Republican Party against the Congress Government in 1964. It was decided to cremate him at the plot of land acquired for the Ambedkar Bhawan.  The place became a venue of regular public meetings and get-togethers of the followers of Ambedkar particularly the functions arranged by the Republican Party. I personally heard, in my younger days, the national leaders of the Party like Dadasaheb B.K. Gaikwad, B.D. Khobragade, B.P. Maurya and others speaking at the venue on different occasions. But the health of the project was not very healthy.

In the mid 80s, fortunately, some new dedicated senior retired officers like G.S. Bal, R.C. Paul, Surinder Ajnat, Nasib Chand and many more, came forward and associated themselves with Ambedkar Bhawan under the aegis of Ambedkar Mission society and Ambedkar Bhawan Trust. Lahori Ram Balley provided them all help and continues till today actively engaged with the project. The second lot of dedicated followers of Ambedkar like G.C. Kaul, Tarsem Sagar, Ram Lal Jassi, Barkha Ram, and Chanan Ram took over and successfully tried to raise the much needed funds to build a reasonably good building by involving various political personalities including PM Inder Gujral and others. It was a right approach as such projects required support of the establishment in addition to the public. It is matter of gratification to note that now there is fairly good and functional building and facilities at the venue. Ambedkar Bhawan could become a nerve centre of the community activities and also for the mission and philosophy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Over the last one year, I attended two impressive functions at the Bhawan to pay tributes to the memory of Dr. Ambedkar on December 6, 2011 and December 6, 2012 on the Parinirvan Diwas ( death anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar respectively. At the first function, MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee provided a good sum of grant for the project out of the MP; s fund. It was an appreciable gesture. More needs to be done. This year on December 6, renowned scholar Kancha Illiaha was the chief guest and lead speaker. He spoke with conviction and paid glowing tributes to Dr. Ambedkar, the greatest son of India since independence. Lahori Ram Balley and R.P.S. Pawar who is the current chairman of the Ambedkar Bhawan Trust, inter alia, spoke at the function which was fairly well attended. Ambedkar deserves wider recognition which is coming but slowly in the caste ridden and discriminatory social order. 

I wish the Ambedkar Bhawan Trust all success in the years to come.

 

 

BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR - A TRIBUTE

Today, December 6, is the death anniversary (Priinirvan Diwas) of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), the greatest son of the contemporary India.  The dalits and other down trodden people consider Ambedkar their messiah and savior in the caste ridden society at large. But for Ambedkar and his struggle, it was difficult for the large chunk of the Indian society to live and lead honourable life.  He fought and fought single handedly for the just social and economic order.  Ambedkar fought and got political rights for the dalits not only from the British rulers before independence in 1947 but also tried his level best to get these rights secured and insured in the constitution of India of which he was the chief architect.  Babasaheb was a crusader for the social change in India with a view to strengthen India and not for anything else.  He was a nationalist and a patriot of the highest order.  He was an Indian to the core.  Though he was opposed to Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party yet he joined hands with the main stream of the polity and society for the larger good of the society and the country.  Some people think that it was magnanimity of Congress leadership to invite Ambedkar to draft the Indian constitution but the fact is that he got the job of making the constitution by his own right and to the good fortune of India.  Otherwise, India might not be the India of today.  The last speech Ambedkar made in the Constituent Assembly on November 24, 1949 before the constitution was adopted and passed finally is one of finest speeches of the contemporary India. It is worth reading.  I quote from the compilation of the book ‘Greatest Speeches of Modern India’ edited by Rudrangshu Mukherjee “His tone was jubilant yet somber and reflective. The warning he gave – place of popular protest in a democracy, the blind following of charismatic leaders and the limitations of only a political democracy – retain their relevance, perhaps more today than in 1949.” It is the befittest tribute to the memory of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

हजारों साल नर्गिस अपने बेनूरी पे रोती है;

बड़ी मुश्किल से होता है चमन में दीदावर पैदा !

 

ORAL HISTORY - Ambedkar's Visit to Jalandhar in 1951

I have come back to my roots in Jalandhar after 35 years long diplomatic service in the Indian Foreign Service.  I would like to share some oral history of the place called Bootan Mandi, my native place. Bootan Mandi, a neglected slum about 40 years before ( now a much better place), remained a hub of dalit social and political awakening as it was the centre of leather business owned by the Dalits (Chamars) of the region even before independence in 1947. The dalits of the Doaba region of Punjab, led by Seth Sunder Dass and Seth Kishan Dass of Bootan Mandi fully supported the Ad-dharam Movement under the stewardship of Babu Mangoo Ram and also the struggle of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for the emancipation of dalits. Later In terms of political polarization, Seth Sunder Dass developed leanings towards the Congress Party and Seth Kishan dass remained a staunch follower and supporter of the outfits floated by Ambedkar, Scheduled Caste Federation and Republican Party. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had established himself as an undisputed leader of dalits in the process of his unstinted struggle for the rights of dalits and also in the political landscape of the country in his capacity as the chief framer and architect of the constitution of India. His political and social agenda and mission differed from that of Nehru and the Congress Party.  He parted company and resigned from the Cabinet of Nehru in October 1951, basically on irreconcilable differences on the Hindu Code Bill and inter alia issues of foreign policy and economic development. It was the political scenario, in the dalit constituencies, in the mid 40s and early 50s.

Dr. Ambedkar came to Jalandhar, after his resignation from the Government, in September, 1951. It turned out to be a historical visit. I grew up in Bootan Mandi and heard a lot about the visit of Ambedkar from my father who was personally involved in the bandovast of the visit in a small way. My personal on and off chat with Pritam Ramdasspuri (nephew of Seth Kishan Dass and a poet and activist of standing), who drove Dr. Ambedkar from the Raja Sanshi airport in Amritsar to Jalandhar, gave me the graphic glimpses of the visit. Pritam Ramdasspuri told me that it was unique experience. Right from the airport in Amritsar to Jalandhar, thousands and thousands of people were lined up en route to see and welcome Dr. Ambedkar. The administration was caught unaware of this unprecedented visit. The journey which was to take about two hours generally took seven hours. The private carcade had to stop at various places and long queues of people made to pass by to see Ambedkar. The organizers, including Pritam Ramdasspuri, carried private arms (pistols and revolvers) for providing physical security to their leader particularly in the wake of assassination of Pakistani PM Liaquat Ali Khan. Ambedkar decided to enjoy the homely hospitality of Seth Kishan Dass and stayed with the family in Seth’s appointed place popularly called “Kishan Dass da Chobara” at Bootan Mandi which is still the residence of Seth Kishan Dass’s son Seth Mool Raj and grandson Avinash Chander who is the Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the Punjab Government.. Ambedkar especially asked for the Punjabi delicacy Sarson da Saag and Makki di Roti and relished it in a homely setting. He met leaders of the community and impressed them with his charming and friendly persona.

Ambedkar addressed a huge, 6-7 lakh audience, public meeting in Bootan Mandi on October 27. My father told me that no such assembly of devoted dalits was witnessed in Jalandhar before.  Seth Sundar Dass was invited to join the organizers,  in spite of different political leanings. He presented a bag full of thousands of Rupees, on behalf of the community, in honour of Dr. Ambedkar.  Dr. Ambedkar was over-whelmed by the reception and honour he received and rightly so. He invited Seth Sunder Dass to speak but he humbly refused as he felt that it would not be possible for him to speak in the exalted presence of Dr. Ambedkar.  As a rare gesture of honour, a particular chair was brought from Kartarpur which belonged to the Sikh gurus. Ambedkar was inclined to sit on the chair but was made to sit by the followers as he was the uncrowned king of the community. The community poets like Gurdass Ram Alam enlivened the gathering by his poem “Aj koun ayia savere savere; wada shor hunda gariban de dere”. Pritam Ramdasspuri welcomed the great leader and recited his poem “ Hindostan ko hastie Ambedkar per naaz hai”.  Dr. Ambedkar responded with a spirited speech and said that he did not know our people in Punjab particularly in the Doaba region were so involved and dedicated in the caravan otherwise he would have come here much before and many a times. The informed sources told me that dalit leaders of the Congress Party like Master Gurbanta Singh and Prithvi Singh Azad were opposed to Ambedkar and threatened to hold black flags on his visit to Punjab. The local media covered the event. Mahasha Krishan of the Urdu Pratap wrote an editorial and commented that the dalit leader was made sit on the special chair pertaining to the Gurus.

On October 28, Ambedkar delivered a lecture at the DAV College on the theme “the future of Parliamentary Democracy in India” which was a thought provoking exercise. The intelligentsia headed by Principal Suraj Bhan appreciated the lecture and the impressive style and manner in which it was delivered. I vividly remember that during my college days in DAV College itself in 1968-69, in one of Paper Reading Declamation Contest on the Parliamentary Democracy, I intensively quoted from the same lecture of Dr. Ambedkar which got due notice and was appreciated. The lecture till date remains as valid and prophetic as it was before.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has a considerable following in Punjab and rightly so.