MY FRIEND – MALKIAT SINGH

I have been writing about the dalit contemporary heroes in my blog. Today, I will write about yet another hero, my friend Malkiat Singh of villager Balan in Jalandhar.  Malkiat is also an alumnus of DAV College Jalandhar like me. I came to know Malkiat quite late through my friend Ram Lal Kainth who did his Master’s in Political Science along with Malkiat. Malkiat also happened to be the neighbor of my brother in law (husband of my sister Kamla) DC Kumar in their village Balan (famous for Dera Sachkhand Balan).  Malkiat belonged to an ordinary but enlightened family. His parents must be the real Karamjogis who made their children study and work hard, in spite of considerable socio-economic difficulties, and get settled in life in a dignified way.

Malkiat did his MA in Political Science from DAV College, Jalandhar in early 70s. His teachers, Prof. KC Mohindru and Prof. KK Ghai, who were my teachers also, later in personal conversations spoke very high of Malkiat as an intelligent student and were proud of him. With total dedication and hard work, Malkiat passed the Indian Civil Services examination and became an IPS officer in 1975-76 in the UP Cadre. During his long service as a police officer, Malkiat manned and occupied important positions in the UP police establishment. He rose to highest position in his career and worked as Additional DGP of the State under the stewardship of Chief Minister Mayawati. He earned good reputation and goodwill in his career. On retirement in around year 2010, he was selected and appointed to yet another coveted constitutional position as Chairman of UP Public Service Commission. It was an additional feather in his cap. Now on completion of his assignment at the Commission, Malkiat is back to his roots in Jalandhar to be with the society. I wish him all the very best in the years to come.

The immediate provocation for writing this piece is that Malkiat Singh invited me on the death anniversary of his father Shri Munshi Ram on August 27 at Balan. It was an honour for me. They observe the occasion as an annual ritual to honour and recognize good students of the village Balan and nearby villages under the aegis of Shri Munshi Ram Charitable Trust which the family has floated in the memory of their father. The Trust is doing a good job which is appreciated not only by the beneficiary young students but also by the community at large. I take this opportunity to congratulate Malkiat Singh, his brother Master Bhagat Ram and other Trustees of Shri Munshi Ram Charitable Trust and wish them further success in their appreciable efforts to encourage the students of the rural areas to complete their educational careers with flying colours.

अपना मुकदर आप बनाते हैं अहले दिल;

हम वोह नहीं जिने जमाना बना गया !   

GREETINGS ON THE INDEPENDENCE DAY – AUGUST 15

 

TODAY, August 15, we are celebrating the Independence Day of India. My greetings to all my fellow citizens and friends on this happy occasion.

India has come a long way since 1947. We are a nation of 1.25 billion people. Demographically, India is one of youngest countries. India is the largest democracy of the world. It is one of the fastest growing economies. India is one of the largest reservoirs of skilled and semi-skilled manpower. But India is still poor and under developed. We are still to go a long way. The divisive forces are at work and are gaining strength. We are a divided lot on the basis of caste and religion. We are one of the top corrupt nations. The economy is in dis-array. Political parties do not have any national agenda. India is surrounded by hostile neighbours.

India Today, in one of its latest issues has termed India as “World’s only RDC” and said “There are LDCs (Less Developed Countries) and there are UDCs (Under Developed Countries) But India is an RDC, a Refusing to Develop Country, thanks to its politicians. India today has further informed that in 1982, India’s per capita income was 39% higher than China’s. By 2012, India’s per capita income had reduced to just 24% of China’s. An average Chinese is 3 times richer than an Indian; he was 28% poorer than an Indian in 1982. It is a matter of shame and concern.

Let the Independence Day be an occasion for introspection. We have definitely gone wrong on the way. Before we get derailed, we need to remind ourselves of the warning Dr. B.R. Ambedkar gave in the Constituent Assembly. He said “Independence is no doubt a matter of joy. But let us not forget this independence has thrown on us great responsibilities. By independence, we have lost the excuse of blaming the British for anything going wrong. If hereafter things go wrong, we will have nobody to blame but ourselves”

Indian Telegram Service

Indian Telegram service was discontinued on July 14, 2013 after its 163 years long and valuable contribution to the communication facilities in India. The service was started in 1850 on experimental basis and was opened to public in 1950.  Telegram Service (TAR) proved its efficacy and utility along with the postal service. It is a matter of satisfaction that Post & Telegraph Services really served the far flung rural and hilly areas of India through a well spread and well managed net work of post offices and postmen.  Dakia or Dak Babu enjoyed a well deserved place in the official hierarchy of rural India.

My personal encounter with the telegram service is not much. I recall my father telling me that he in his younger days sent telegrams, as advised by the Ad-dharam Mandal, to the British Government at the time of Round Table Conferences in London in 1931-32 expressing support to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar that he was the leader and representative of the dalits and not Gandhi. My further introduction to the telegram service was incidental. On the letter heads of one of the leather companies of Seth Khushi Ram and Seth Hans Raj of Bootan Mandi, I found “INSAF” as the telegraphic address of the company. It must be early 60s when I was a young student. I did not understand the meaning and purpose of it. Later I came to know that the established companies and individuals register short but catchy words as their telegraphic address to save expenses on sending and receiving telegrams. It made lot of sense. In January 1971, my grandfather expired and I had to come to Jalandhar from Delhi on un-planned leave. Later when I intended to extend my leave, I got a telegram from the Ministry of External Affairs, my employer advising that “JOIN DUTY IMMEDIATELY”. During my long diplomatic service, I found TAR word very sacrosanct. The coded communications between the Embassies and the Headquarters at MEA in New Delhi is called TAR in general parlance. It is an important tool of diplomatic communication.

The modern modes of communications like telephone, E-mail, SMS etc. has made life easy and communicative. But the romance and charm of TAR will remain. It was a harbinger of good and bad for a long time.

Suhani gets 4

 

Suhani, our grand-daughter (daughter of Rupesh & Sulekha) celebrated her birthday yesterday, the June 23. She became four. Though Suhani’s tummy was somewhat up-set yet she was excited to have the cake and eat it too. She wanted a special cake, shaped as the cartoon character Doraemon. We arranged a small dinner party at home with close extended family members. It was a wonderful evening. Sukhdev (my brother-in-law – Sandu Bhai) helped us getting made some special dishes by the competent cooks of the PAP. Sunny (son of my brother Pammi who is a budding vocalist) engaged the young crowd in karaoke singing.  It made the party all the more enjoyable. I recall that we celebrated Suhani’s first birth anniversary in Minsk (Belarus) in 2010 at the Taj, the only Indian Restaurant in the City. She is older by one more year but cuter and charming too. It is rightly said ‘one gets more interested in the interest than the capital.’ (Mool nalo biaj piara). God bless her.

I generally don’t take the initiative to celebrate birthdays particularly my own and that of my wife Vidya. But I do believe in celebrations with a view to bring in some cheer to the hassled life. The famous TV personality Oprah Winfrey has rightly said “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”  I pray that Suhani grows up as a good child as “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."

Some Introspection & Some Relections

I am sitting (without much work) in my office at Jalandhar School of Careers & Opportunities. Some introspection and some reflections of the last two weeks have over-powered my mind. My daughter Vaishali was with us in Jalandhar with her two lovely daughters Komal & Tania during their summer vacations. It was a wonderful time. It was all the more good for Suhani, my granddaughter who will be 4 on June 23, who along with her parents my son Rupesh and daughter-in-law Sulekha, had shifted to Jalandhar from Gurgaon to live with us. The girls enjoyed their swimming at Suhani’s school – Cambridge International early in the mornings. Over the recent years, I have found that Komal & Tania were always willing and eager to come to Jalandhar and spend their holidays with us. I think Vaishali has given them a good sense of belonging. We are lucky to have such a good and caring daughter.

 On the side of introspection, I can very well say that we (me and my wife Vidya) remained ordinary parents which could not do much for our children. Nevertheless, our children have been caring and attached particularly our daughter Vaishali. We both are happy in the advancing years of our life. As regards some reflections, I must say with some sense of satisfaction and pride that Vaishali has been very kind to us. Every time she is in Jalandhar, she ensures to that our kitchen is redone, fans are cleaned, and bath rooms are spruced up. At her own house, she has good and enough domestic help to do all this and need not do these odd jobs herself. But at our small flat we don’t have much help. Vaishali tend to do all by herself. I appreciate this not as a good help to us but as a good quality in these days of superfluous living. God bless her. JP her husband is equally good. In spite of his busy schedule in his business as the CEO of Rothenberg (India) Ltd, he came to pick up Vaishali and their daughters. We relished a good bottle of Chilean white wine to unwind ourselves. They went to Chandigarh for touristic urges on the way back to Faridabad. We miss them here. More say Suhani who since yesterday repeatedly remember Shelly Bhua and Komal & Tania by murmuring that she wants to go to Chandigarh too. Vaishali is in demand. Amen!

 

BUDDHA PURNIMA

 

Today, May 25, is Buddha Purnima – the birthday, nirvana (enlightenment) and parinirvana (death) of Gautam Budh, an apostle of peace and well-being. I congratulate my fellow citizens on the occasion and extend greetings and all the best wishes for peace and harmony in the years to come.

It is a matter of co-incident and gratification that my daughter Vaishali was born on May 25 on the Budh Purnima day in 1975. We named her Vaishali, the capital city of the State of Maghda which was said to be the first democratic state in the Buddhist tradition. Today is her birth anniversary and has fallen on the auspicious Budh Purnima.  May Lord Buddha bless her with all happiness and prosperity?

I don’t believe in rituals as preached by Gautam Budh. I do believe in three basic things propounded by him to salvage our lives – Let us company the wise (Buddham), Let us do right (Dhamma) and Let us be social (Sangha). I think it is more than enough. I don’t know what I am but I am a Buddhist by mind. It is for sure.

Buddham saranam gachchhaami
Dhammam saranam gachchhaami
Sangham saranam gachchhaami

SHAHEED SANT RAMA NAND – A TRIBUTE

 

Today, May 25, is the death anniversary of Sant Ramanand of Dera Sachkhand Ballan. He was assassinated by fundamentalists in a mindless and tragic shoot out in Vienna in May, 2009. The dalits consider him a Shaheed of the community and rightly so. Sant Rama Nand was the leading light of Dera Sachkhand Ballan which was increasingly becoming the nerve centre of the dalit community in the recent years. He was instrumental in adopting the agenda of social and educational upliftment and awakening among the dalit youth while spreading the lofty philosophy of oneness and equality of Guru Ravidassji. He attainted the position of reverence and acceptability in the community with his relentless efforts to provide a sense of confidence. It was not a small job. Sant Rama Nand will be remembered for his sterling contribution in this regard.

In the aftermath of Sant Rama Nand’s death, it was felt that the dalit community will understand and get united. The immediate fall out of the Shaheedi of the Sant was an outburst of pent up feelings of the community against the treatment and high handedness of the upper castes against the poor dalits. The dalit community clearly demonstrated that they were in no mood to tolerate any longer the snobbish and unbecoming behavior of the so called Thekedars of the society. But this reality was short lived. Alas!

The leadership could not rise to the challenge. The opposite social and political forces succeeded in their nefarious agenda in dividing the community. It was unfortunate, to my mind, Dera Sachkhand Ballan which enjoyed unprecedented support and following, could not lead from the front to channelize the energy of the community. The Dera got bogged down in matters which added to further confusion. The issue of granth ‘Amritvani’ as counter to ‘Shri Gurugranth Sahib’ and establishment of ‘Ravidassia Dharam’ as counter to Sikhism, to my mind, are the two acts of the Dera which were taken without debate and thought. Though the Dera and the proponents of Amritvani and Ravidassia Dharam would not admit that these two steps were taken as ‘counter’ measures to establish separate identity of the dalits yet the reality remains and speaks loud and clear. These steps proved counterproductive. The community got divided. The Deras got divided. The unity got shattered. It is confusion all around. It seems that we are traveling in a rudderless ship. I am writing this with a heavy heart with all humility and have no intention to hurt the feelings of anyone. My humble request is to kindly sit and ponder over the existing sorry state of affairs of the community, with a view to find out some way out. Otherwise, things would get more difficult in the years to come.

The soul of Sant Rama Nand may not be in peace. He wanted unity. He strived for a strong and enlightened community. Let us think and shed false ego and work for much needed unity and sense of purpose. Today is Budh Purnima also. May Lord Buddha guide us in choosing the right path.