Ambedkar Study Corner at D.A.V. College Library
D.A.V. College Jalandhar, my alma
mater, is a premier educational institution of the region for the last 100 years.
Today, October 28, yet another feather has been added to the cap of the college
library. The Lala Lajpat Rai Library has
established a separate enclosure, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Study Corner, for the
benefit of students and the faculty. It is a matter of all the more
satisfaction for me personally that one of my close friends and a fellow
BootanMandian, Ram Lal Dass, who is also an alumnus of D.A.V.
College, has
joined hands with the college to give shape and form to the study corner by
donating a rare collection of 101 books on the life, mission and thought of the
greatest son of India, Babasaheb Ambedkar along with relevant paraphernalia. At
a solemn function at the college library the study corner was declared open by
the Senior Vice Principal G.K. Sareen in the presence of distinguished guests.
The day was chosen by management particularly by Principal S.K. Arora in
consultation with Ram Lal Dass and our teacher, guide and philosopher who acted
as an interlocutor in this regard, Prof. K.K. Ghai. It was the day when Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar delivered a lecture on parliamentary democracy in India on
October 28, 1951 at D.A.V. College in Jalandhar. The lecture is, till today and will remain
so, a well documented treatise on the subject. Principal S.K. Arora, Prof. K.K.
Ghai, Ram Lal Dass and other concerned deserve all appreciation and applause
for this good activity and contribution not only to honour the icon Babasaheb
Ambedkar but also add to the already existing good facilities at the well
stocked and managed library under the control of Librarian Naveen Saini. I am
confident that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Study Corner will become a hub of academic and
intellectual intercourse for the larger good of students and researchers.
After the formal opening of the study
corner, a session on the life, philosophy and mission of Babasaheb was held for
the benefit of young students which were presided over by Principal Dr. S.K.
Arora. Dr. B.B. Sharma, HOD of Political Science Department of the College in
his welcome address underlined the importance of easy availability of source and
reference material to students and
teachers and added Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Study
Corner will fulfill the much needed requirement at the college library. Ram Lal
Dass spoke with emotion and conviction and expressed happiness that one of his
long cherished desires was fulfilled today as a humble tribute to the memory of
Babasaheb Ambedkar with a sense of gratitude to his alma mater. He spoke on the
multifaceted personality of Babasaheb and said that India was India because of
the thought and vision of the great leader. Prof. K.K. Ghai spoke with total
engagement and appreciated the gesture his worthy student Ram Lal Dass made in
establishing the study corner. He said that he was happy to see that so many of
his students and alumni of the college, who made a mark in their respective
careers, were sitting on the high table. It was a matter of pride for him
personally and the college. Another
distinguished alumnus of the college, IPS and retired ADGP and Chairman of UP
Public Service Commission, Malkit Singh recalled his close association with Ram
Lal Dass whom they used to call ‘Guru’ for his knowledge of alternative Indian
political thought involving Dr. Ambedkar and others which was not so common
those days. Paying glowing tributes to Babasaheb Ambedkar, Malkit Singh said
that the ongoing Swacch Bharat campaign was good but there was a need to start
a campaign to clean the mindset of the society for all-round development and
progress of the country. Retired IPS and ADGP of J&K Dr. Lubhaya Ram Jassi
spoke briefly and mentioned about the unfortunate sense of intolerance creeping
in the psyche of the society at large. I
also got an opportunity to address the gathering. Nostalgia came alive in me.
It was the same lecture theater where I read a paper on parliamentary democracy
way back in 1968-69 at a paper reading declamation contest and quoted
extensively from Babasaheb’s lecture of October 28, 1951. My naïve intension
was not to win or lose but to bring to light the lecture of which there was no
information and awareness in the college. It was gratifying to note that it was
not a futile exercise. I underlined the fact that Dr. Ambedkar was very fond of books and the college in cooperation with Ram Lal Dass did a good job by setting up a dedicated corner of his books. Quoting Lord Macaulay, “I would rather be poor in a college full of books than a King without the desire to read”, I said that the study corner was a befitting tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar. Bringing to focus the current political and social scenario in the country, I reminded the audience of the three warnings Dr. Ambedkar so thoughtfully gave in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949 i.e. use of constitutional means while pressing for socio-economic demands to avoid ‘Grammar of Anarchy”, shedding the tendency of Bhakti or Puja of political leadership to ward of our democracy from the fear of dictatorship and adviced to transform political democracy into social and economic democracy, the sooner the better. Dr. Dinesh Arora of Political Science Department, which did a yeoman’s job in facilitating Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Study Corner, ably conducted the session to make it a lively mix of ideas and thoughts propounded and generated at the function.
Generous hospitality with snacks and
tea was offered both at the office of the Principal and Department of Political
Science. These informal occasions provided us opportunity to unwind and
socialize.
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