Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year – 2022

 

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year – 2022

I completed 71 years of the journey of my life – Yeh Jo Hai Zindgi Thodi Khatti Thodi Meethi – in December, 2021. Life continues, so far so good. We are saying Good-Bye to the Year 2021 and Hi to the New Year, 2022.  Before I do the usual stock taking exercise to close the year, I take this opportunity to wish my readers, friends and fellow countrymen all the best and Happy New year. May God bless us with further happiness and prosperity and to live with a sense of fraternity and harmony in the society at large?

The Year 2021, to my mind, remained a difficult year not only for India but for the world at large primarily due to Covid Pandemic and resultant economic slowdown and also tensions pertaining to geo-political developments all around. India being a prominent stakeholder in the world order, it was natural to get affected and live with the situation as best as was possible. PM Narendra Modi’s Government and also Governments of the States of India, it was a matter of satisfaction, did their best to meet the challenges before the country in spite of many odds, both obvious and also self created.  

On the internal front, with mixed outcome of failures and success as termed it by the Hindustan Times on December 27 “2021: For India, a year of mixed fortunes”, we reminded on track generally, in spite of difficult situations. Against the onslaughts of the pandemic, we could surge ahead in the much needed vaccination of our people. Though late the government responded to the Kisan Andolan and

succeeded in pacifying the farmers finally by withdrawing the alleged ‘black agricultural laws’ resulting in ending the avoidable standoff between the farmers and the government. The internal security situation with regard to Naxals, Khalistanis, separatists in the J&K and other sensitive areas of the country, by and large, remained satisfactory. Developmental agenda, particularly upgrading of national highways, it appeared, was given much needed priority. The economic activity was restored in the aftermath of pandemic. On the other hand, our failures in responding to the challenges were also too many to list; price rise, inflation, unemployment, corruption, religious fundamentalism resulting in intolerance and giving rise to fissiparous tendencies, constitutional morality, fears and insecurity among the minorities and the socially undermined segments of the society, remained glaring. Parliament could not function properly due to uncalled for and avoidable disruptions. The Government and the Opposition remained at logger head which was not a good sign for a parliamentary democracy. Yet another gratifying aspect was that our players did well at the Japan Olympics in 2021, in this regard, perhaps we have arrived but we are yet to reach. We are to remain alert and responsive in addressing these issues and have a fresh look on the warnings given by our founding fathers particularly father of the constitution Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar.  Babasaheb gave the following three warnings in his last speech in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949:-

‘If we wish to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, what must we do?

The first thing in my judgment we must do is to hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. It means we must abandon the bloody methods of revolution. It means that we must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. When there was no way left for constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods. But where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us.

The second thing we must do is to observe the caution which John Stuart Mill has given to all who are interested in the maintenance of democracy, namely, not “to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man, or to trust him with power which enable him to subvert their institutions”. There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered life-long services to the country. But there are limits to gratefulness. As has been well said by the Irish Patriot Daniel O’Connell, no man can be grateful at the cost of his honour, no woman can be grateful at the cost of her chastity and no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty. This caution is far more necessary in the case of India than in the case of any other country. For in India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.

The third thing we must do is not to be content with mere political democracy. We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well. Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy.’

On the external front, let me remind my readers that in diplomacy it is said that external policy is an extension of internal situation. First of all, therefore, we need to set our house in order. Our immediate neighbors, China and Pakistan kept us on toes in one way or the other. We cannot afford to lower our guard and must prepare ourselves to secure our borders and watch our interests both militarily and diplomatically. The emerging situation in Afghanistan remained yet another big irritation and worry. The security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, primarily on account of China’s increasing profile, kept us engaged with the other stake holders. Our

Diplomacy at work

security interests and energy supplies from Central Asia and Iran, our extended neighborhood, obviously, kept us alive to further strengthen our relations with these countries. India being a large country, with an independent outlook, cannot afford to be a camp follower. We are to balance our dealings and approaches with the big powers like Russia and the USA. It is a matter of gratification that India’s foreign policy remained responsive and effective in watching and promoting
our national and international interests under the dynamic leadership of EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar and our diplomatic machinery. International engagement in the wake of Covid pandemic, kept us alert to deal with the situation in cooperation with the international community.  We could deliver, so far so good, to keep India’s flag high.

At Ambedkar Museum and Memorial at Pune

As regards my own, I kept my self busy in reading and writing in my own humble way and wrote 52 blogs in the year 2021 on matters of interest and concern to the community and the society at large. It remained a matter of great satisfaction for me that most of the blogs got critical acclaim from discerning readers. My friend Prem Chumber, Editor-in-Chief of the esteemed Ambedkar Times and Desh Doaba, two weeklies being published from California in the US, was very supportive in carrying my blogs in the Ambedkar Times. I must say a big THANK YOU to Prem Chumber ji and wish all the best for further success in the years to come. With regard to my reading to educate myself, over the year, I read some good books and reviewed them in my blogs. It was a satisfying exercise. With regard to my social and community responsibilities and activities, on April 14, the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar, I was invited by the Vidya Dham to their function to commemorate the greatest son of India in the contemporary times as Guest of Honour and also as the Chief Guest at the function arranged by the Jalandhar Regional Passport Office. In July, Atmanirbhar Global Chamber of Commerce and Industry, headed by my friends Ambassador Anil Trigunayat as and Anil Mehta, honoured me by appointing   as a Senior Adviser to the apex chamber. In August, I visited Pune on the invitation of Social Studies Foundation to deliver a lecture on the theme ‘Silent Contributors to
the development and progress of modern India’ and to release the special issue of the ‘Unheard Voices’. The Pune visit provided me an opportunity to visit the esteemed Symbiosis University and pay obeisance to Babasaheb Ambedkar at the Museium and Memorial named after the worthy son
of India and rightly called “Prerna Bhoomi’ thoughtfully hosted by the Symbiosis University. It was an added honour to hoist the Tri-colour, as the Guest of Honour at prestigious Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics on the Independence Day on August 15. In September, I spoke at a Webinar arranged by the Civil Services Mentor and my friend, Ahsanul Haq on the theme – Career Opportunities and the IFS which was attended by more than 150 civil services aspirants from India and abroad. Released book 'Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar - Jiwan Te Chintan' along with Hon'ble Governor of Punjab, Banwari Lal Purohit. Various online web- TV outfits like Dalit Dastak, Punjab Grand, Navi Raah, Doordarshan, All India Radio, and The Print among others invited me for interviews and talks on matters of interest and concern to the people. I found this exposure very useful and beneficial. Though the GOI is blissfully silent on the proposal of April 14, birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar as International Day of Equality under the aegis of the UN yet I did not lose hope and kept on reminding the EAM and PM and also other stake holders on the proposal resting with MEA since June, 2015 and resolve to keep pursuing the proposal, keeping in line with the poetic message of Allma Iqbal:

हर दर्दमंद दिल को रोना मेरा रुला दे ;

बेहोश जो पड़ें हैं शायद  उन्हें  जगा दे.

It was disappointing that due to the Covid pandemic difficulties, neither we nor my children in Sweden and Canada could see and see each other for the last two years. Hopefully, the New Year brings in good times and life goes on as usual. But the matter of concern and worry remains with yet another wave of Omicron which is feared to knock us down again. I am not a pessimistic but we need to on our guards. The governments and concerned bodies like the Election Commission should not be oblivious of the resultant fall out of forthcoming state elections scheduled for early next year in spreading the pandemic by huge public gatherings and rallies which tend to throw all norms and protocols to the wind as happened last year during the West Bengal other elections. The second worry which I may share here, which requires serious consideration and thinking, is successively dwindling ‘constitutional morality’ in governance both on the part of political class and also the so called ‘steel frame’, the bureaucracy. Babasaheb Ambedkar rightly said in the speech referred to in the preceding paras, “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. We would ignore this reality at our own peril. It is a matter

Cheers and Happy New Year

of gratification that in spite of all failures and difficulties, we are on rails. It was possible only because of the Constitution of India so laboriously framed by our forefathers, particularly Babasaheb Ambedkar. Let us take a solemn pledge on the close of the Year 2021 and ushering in the New Year, 2022 that ‘We Would Not Fail Our Founding Fathers. With this, I once again greet my fellow countrymen and international fraternity and wish them Happy New Year, 2022.

 

Ambedkar Government College Bootan Mandi Jalandhar

 

 Ambedkar Government College Bootan Mandi Jalandhar

I wrote about Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Government College in my blog on September 1, 2021 which may be seen at: https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2021/09/ambedkar-college-at-

bootan-mandi.html since then many positive developments has given, much desired and planned, lift to the building and academic kick-start. It was a matter of great satisfaction. Thanks to MLA of the area Sushil Rinku, Government of Punjab, PWD Department for the civil works and the faculty of the college headed by the current Principal Balwinder Singh and his predecessor Principal Sarbjit Singh.

Today, December 17, Babasaheb Bhim Rao College, a much desired and needed institute to cater to the educational needs of the young students of the area, was formally dedicated to the greatest son of India Babasaheb Ambedkar as a befitting tribute and rightly so. The occasion was scheduled to be graced by Hon’ble CM of Punjab

Sardar Charanjit Singh Channi during his short visit to Jalandhar. But, unfortunately, he could not make it to the college function due to exigencies of work and weather and had to leave for Chandigarh from another function nearby the college. He deputed his Minister of Education Sardar Pargat Singh to do the honors. Though it was a disappointment to the stake holders viz.the college administration, PWD and the people of Bootan Mandi who were excited to receive the Hon’ble CM at the solemn occasion. The people’s representatives; MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh and MLA Sushil Rinku were present at the event along with prominent residents of the area namely; Manohar Mahey, Ramesh Warriku,

Ram Murti, Surinderbir  Singh, Harish Mahey, Paramjit Mahey and Sat Paul Mahey, Iqbal Bhatia, Sama Masih, Jagdish Mahey from Bootan Mandi and Dr. Gian Kaul, Baldev Raj, Sohan Lal and Harmesh Jassal from Ambedkar Bhawan Trust and also Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar Ghanshyam Thori and Social and Educational Activist Ambassador Ramesh Chander among others.

After the formal closing of the function, I, along with Paramjit Mahey, briefly met Principal Balwinder Singh and senior faculty members to get briefing and feedback on the college and its functioning as a matter of common interest in continuation of my earlier visit in September, 2021. It was gratifying to know that the college, in its first academic year, was doing well with more than280 students. It was yet another satisfying factor to know that girl students out-numbered the boys. Principal and the senior members of the facility were not very humble in underlining the fact, of which they were proud, that 15 member strong faculty was ‘as good as that of any good college in the area’. On enquiring about the co-curricular activities, it was informed that the college was fully geared to host and undertake these activities and added that just recently, the Constitution Day of India was observed and celebrated on November 26 in which a large of students voluntarily participated with great inputs on the makers and making of the constitution led by no else but Babasaheb Ambedkar in whose memory the college has been named. Responding to this, I commented humbly that we shall see to it that the college soon becomes a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the area to justify the name of the college and wished the college all success in the days to come.

Meri Jiwan Yatra – An Autobiography of Ambassador Bal Anand - Book Review

 

Meri Jiwan Yatra – An Autobiography of Ambassador Bal Anand  - Book Review

Ambassador Bal Anand, my senior colleague in the IFS and a friend, guide and philosopher in my day to day life, was kind enough to send me his recently launched autobiography in Punjabi language – Meri Jiwan Yatra: Simriti Di Sarswati (A River of Memories). I could not resist the temptation of reading this book of 436 pages immediately in a couple of days, as against my normal routine of going slow in reading books. Here I am ready to offer my hearty

congratulations to Ambassador Bal Anand for giving a succinct account of his journey from a remote village in the Malwa region of Punjab to the capital city of Delhi (now NCR – Greater Noida or Gautam Budh Nagar in the IFS Villas where we have had the pleasure of be their neighbors) passing through the distinct milestones spread over the capitals of the world. I don’t know whether I should call it a book review or a humble note of appreciation for a marvelous account of a rich and contented life of a good man. While reading the book, I did not remain a reader alone but felt a part of the narration right from our days at DAV College in Jalandhar in the mid 1960s, as I am also a humble alumnus of the College which the author has mentioned at page 95 and given a photo of our participation at a function in the College, to the corridors of power in the South Block in New Delhi during our diplomatic careers in the Ministry of External Affairs. The places and names mentioned in the narration recalled my own cherished memories of good old days.

The author has rightly said in the preamble of the book that it was very difficult to write about oneself. It is more so for controversial bigwigs. Bal Anand Sahib is the son of the soil who possesses a harmonious personality and as such, it seems, he did not find much difficulty in telling his story. Meri Jiwan Yatra clearly demonstrates that the author has a great sense of history and an eye for details.

The first Chapter is devoted to the early years and his family. One can easily make it that father, Vaid Hardial Nand Singh and uncle Shankar Anand ji had a great influence in shaping the persona of the author. I envy Bal Anand Sahib on the fact that he knows all the minor details of his family so clearly. He has even given the poetic rendering of advice (traditionally called Shikhya in Punjabi) read at the marriage ceremony of his auntie (Bhuaji), Surjit Kaur in March, 1952. The details of Mela Lohri Da in the village and a befitting souvenir published by the author in 2018-19 in this regards shows the ‘sense of belonging’ of the author with his native place and the family, a well established and dignified lot. On page 57 concluding the Chapter, Bal Anand Sahib humbly says and rightly so, “Mein Sochda Han Ki Mein Apne Nek Bajurgan Te Pind Da Nam Ucha Kita” on asking a hypothetic question as to what did he do for the village.  The second Chapter pertains to the author’s education and learning pursuits as the scion of the awakened family of a remote village.  Bal Anand Sahib remained a good student throughout from primary to university. He remembers each detail of his schools, teachers and fellow students – hats off to this great attribute of the author. He even remembered a Persian couplet which his teacher in class 7 used to recite – Ilam Hi Nikla Ilam Se Baghi; Akal Hi Nikli Akal Ki Dushman. It was good to note that Bal Anand Sahib used to go for public rallies/meetings in the vicinity of his native place even when he was a student in the high school. The same was true for me also. This trait paid us good dividends in later years. The incident of his speaking on All India Radio in a school broadcast in 1957 and getting a small honorarium very well testifies that the author was fully involved in current events as a good student. The NDA anecdote (page 75) is interesting – failed in OLQ (Officer Like Qualities). The Army’s loss was the gain of IFS. The details of author’s college/university education make an interesting reading – his going for the Humanities rather than Science for becoming a doctor or engineer in spite of good marks in the Matriculation – his stint at DAV College Jalandhar in early 1960s kindled my own memories of food of the mess of Lajpat Rai Hotel, the college Magazine Ravi etc. and also Harbhalab Sangeet Mela and also encounter with Jagjit Singh Anand after listening to RSS’s Sarsanghchalak Guru Golwalkar along with his father.  Some sweet and sour experiences in the Government College Ludhiana is a sad a commentary on our social system and morality. Students with socially marginalized and economically poor students are treated badly. Bal Anand Sahib, like a complete gentleman, is still discreet in registering his pent up feelings. The gratifying aspect of the exercise was that Bal Anand was fully qualified with a Masters Degree to be on the teaching faculty of a college. The next chapter indicates the sense of satisfaction to have an important prefix to the author’s name as ‘Prof. Bal Anand’ with his job at the prestigious DAV College Jalandhar as a lecturer of English. The narration reminded me of Principal B.S. Behl, an educational administrator of standing, Prof. U.R. Dada, Prof. K.K. Ghai, Principal Jagdish Joshi among others.

At the Alumni Meet at DAV College Jalandhar

The conversation with Prof. V.P. Malhotra about the work ethics with reference to Principal Behl on page 95 is really revealing of human mind. Bal Anand Sahib’s teaching stints at Government College Bathinda and Government College Karamsar proved to be stepping stones in the run up the Civil Services Examination which culminated in breaking the ceiling in 1969 first in the IPS and in 1971 in the IFS. Keeping with his personality and God fearing aptitude, the author humbly concludes this chapter and says, “Mere Te Rab Dian Ania Meharbania Kiven Hoian; Oh Aap Hi Janda Hai”.

The life took a full circle. Bal Anand Sahib was firmly rooted in the elite civil service IFS and joined the LBSNAA at Mussoorie in July, 1971. The narration of his undergoing training with various offices and wings of the government and JNU and also attachment with the various divisions of the MEA makes an interesting reading. Since I was already working in the MEA since March, 1970, Bal Anand Sahib’s presence in the corridors of power in the South Block reminded me of my own humble association with those moments. The author’s brief observatory remarks on some of the senior bosses are interesting. Akbar Khaleeli’s remarks about Bal Anand Sahib are most telling and apt, “You are too good to be a Punjab.” and advised “Don’t waste your goodness on those who don’t deserve it.”

The most eligible bachelor, Bal Anand IFS was ready to get married and was excited to search a suitable match as he puts in his own words “Te Baat Ban Jaye Sade Bhole Panchian Di Bhi”. Baat Ban Hi Gai – with Aradhana daughter of a senior functionary of the Ministry of Railways, Nand Lal Ramdassia and they tied the knot in August, 1973. Babu Jagjivan Ram, a senior Minister in the GOI participated in the marriage and blessed the couple.  

The Chapter 5 of the book pertains to the author’s initial postings abroad – Tehran (Iran), Persian as his compulsory language as required in the IFS, was his first regular posting which was full of interesting developments with regard to the evolving political situation with the rising profile of Ayatollah Khomeini in the later years of 1970s against Reza Shah Pahlavi’s regime. After the first difficult posting in a beautiful country, Bal Anand Sahib landed in yet another difficult station said to be a heaven on earth by some – Maldives, a string of islands in the Indian Ocean as he asked for a posting in the neighborhood on account of his social and family responsibilities back home. It is said, “Ministry’s ways are mysterious.” It is easy to reach Delhi from London and difficult from Male. It happened with me also. From Sana’a, I asked for a posting in neighborhood as my father was not keeping well. I was given Kandy in Sri Lanka and it took two days to reach Delhi when my father died in 1986 by hopping flights via Madras (Chennai).  Some candid comments on non-resident High Commissioner Thomas Abraham are revealing.  With not so good an experience, the author came back to Delhi in the MEA in December, 1978 as Deputy Secretary in the Southern Division. As usual, he has had the taste of the pie – to work with a known quarrelsome boss, interesting conversation between FS Ram Sathe and Australian Deputy Foreign Minister regarding Australian High Commissioner’s reported dispatch on the rumours of army coup in India (page 139) and interaction with a delegation of lawyers and law makers, which visited Vietnam, headed by Law Minister Shiv Shankar who had the habit of mouthing abuses (Galis) in Punjabi as mentioned by the author. But it is not surprising that there were many Punjabi politicians to do so as a matter of habit rather than bad intension. One such personality, whom I met, was Chaudhary Sunder Singh. The Chapter 6 starts with posting to Romania of Nicolae Ceausescu.  Avoiding the unattractive offers of posting to Syria and Brazil, Bal Anand Sahib was posted to Romania in October, 1982, a posting of his liking where he could relax a bit in spite of the fact that, it seems, he did not get considerate bosses to work with and learn from them as a mid-level diplomat. He came back to Delhi as Deputy Secretary and again had to work with yet another ‘quarrelsome’ boss in the MEA. The author does not hide his unpleasant experience and writes, “Hun Tak Tan Jime Videsh Seva De Unsukhamein Pehlu Hi Dekhe Si Asin.” A long stint of postings abroad starts from here. First Madrid (Spain) with a pleasant boss, Ambassador K.D. Sharma – the details in this regard are informative and interesting like; Ambassador Sharma marrying a local staff member of the Embassy and later ending his life with his own weapon,  Speaker Balram Jhakhar’s travails in finding vegetarian food in Madrid,  MP Vishawjit Singh, scion of the Kapurthala Royal family, marrying one of the IFS fraternity posted in Spain and one of the finest diplomats of India, Vijay Thakur and interesting details of PM Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Spain.  From Spain to Saudi Arabia, a country with religious tradition and modern living – the author seemed ill at ease with the social set up “Pakhand Dian Sabh Seema Ton Par.” The first designated Ambassador of India, Abdul Majid returned to India without presenting his Letter of Credence apologized to PM Jawaharlal Nehru, his friend and appointee perhaps because of these social contradictions. It is, of course, is an unusual tale in diplomacy. Yet another difficult posting, Islamabad (Pakistan) but consciously or otherwise, I think, most of the Indian diplomats would love to go there. Bal Anand Sahib was hoping to go somewhere as an HOM but was posted to Islamabad as Deputy High Commissioner in June 1992. The author held High Commissioner Satish Lamba in high esteem and rightly so. Some of the observations of the author are revealing like; the Head of Division dealing with Pakistan in MEA had different notions of friendly relations which did not conform to the Punjabi or say Pakistani psyche. This but I drive from the remarks of the author “Mainu Eh Bhi Japia Ki Pakistani Videsh Mantralya To Bhi Badhere Mainu Ane Mantralya Balon Savdhan Rehan Di Zaroorat Hovegi.” The events of Babri Masjid in December, 1992 and Pakistan’s continuing policy of cross border terrorism made things more difficult. In spite of all these irritants, Bal Anand could win the hearts of Pakistanis with his ‘easy demeanor, love of literature, unpretentious Punjabi behavior, in his own words “Sidha Sadha – Punjabi Bhra.” The quoted Pritam Singh, a renowned Poet to conclude the Pakistan posting: Suljhe To Yeh Taani Kaise Suljhe; Badde Akalmandon Ne Uljgai Hai”

It goes without saying that any diplomat in the IFS aspires to become HOM that Ambassador or High Commissioner to hold the flag of India abroad. The author graduated to become the Indian Ambassador to Panama, a beautiful country in Central America. It seems it was a nice place to relax after the tension ridden time in Pakistan. Since there were not any outstanding political or economic issues with India, the focus was on ‘cultural diplomacy’ which in any case remained the forte of the author with his added interest in cultural and literary matters.  It is surprising to note again some service colleagues played dirty and tried to hit below the belt. From Panama, Bal Anand Sahib reached Yerevan (Armenia) as India’s first resident Ambassador, a break away country from the erstwhile USSR, a beautiful place in the Caucasian region.  Before going to Yerevan, Bal Anand Sahib spent some weeks in the MEA on Consultation Duty. Though I had heard of Bal Anand Sahib quite a lot from my colleagues and friends yet we had not met so far in person. I was the Director of Central Asia Division dealing with Azerbaijan, an immediate hostile neighbor of Armenia on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.  The author has made a reference to the issue in the book (page 171). I do recall that both the designated Ambassadors Bal Anand and Dinkar Khullar, one of the finest diplomats of India who was to go the Baku (Ajerbaijan) were advised to synchronize their joining  in view of the sensitive issue of Nagorno –Karabakh. Azerbaijan was siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue because of our take on the Nagorono-Karabakh issue. We used to meet quite often those days for some ‘Gapchap’ in my

At our humble home in Jalandhar

office. I greatly benefited from Ambassador Bal Anand’s association which later culminated into family friendship. It is gratifying to note, unlike other places, Bal Anand Sahib could get good, competent and friendly colleagues in Armenia and such he could deliver to further strengthen bonds of friendship between India and Armenia particularly in the cultural and educational spheres. From Armenia, the author was posted to yet again a beautiful country, in his own words – Prithvi Da Savaragmai Tota, New Zealand, the last call of duty in the exciting diplomatic career of more than three decades.

The review is getting a bit longer, 2452 words, so far and I would not like to make it unduly lengthy. Bal Anand Sahib is leading a happy and contented life in the greens of IFS Villas in Gautam Budh Nagar in the NCR of Delhi where I happen to be his almost a neighbor. I have personally seen his large collection of books which were arranged in the basement of the Villa with easy access. He is keeping himself busy in his favorite pursuits of reading and writing.  His writings were regularly carried by a periodical “The Identity” published from Chandigarh under the banner “Capital Letter’. I am much impressed by the authors inherited trait of writing and preserving letters. I am happy to add here that I have had the honour of reviewing his two of the Punjabi books in my blog - The Sukh Sunehe and The Nave Nibandh. Bal Sahib’s book ‘Expressions of Freedom’ rightly dedicated to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, was well received in the intellectual circles. The concluding chapters present a free-wheeling narration of the author take on matters of common interest to ‘We the people of India’ with anecdotal inputs of a son of the soil and with a world-view of a seasoned diplomat. The nostalgic account of his native place and people around like Desh Bhagat Diwana (page 210) and impressive personality of Giani Zail Singh is informative and educative. The authors love for poetry and literature is laudable. The author was much impressed by film and literary personality Balraj Sahni and says philosophically “Dunia Doshtian Di Dastan Hai”. The Samriti Di Sarswati – Meri Jiwan Yatra concludes with an emotional note addressed to the author’s revered father on his death anniversary is really touching – in the words of Mirza Galib “Bahut Nikle Mere Arman Lekin Phir Bhi Kam Nikle”

I hope that this piece of mine will give an over-view of the autobiography of Ambassador Bal Anand particularly to the non-Punjabi knowing friends and readers. I conclude with a quote from the retirement speech of the author:

ਜਮੀਨ ਭੀ ਨਾਜ਼ ਸੇ ਰਖਤੀ ਹੈ ਆਸਮਾਂ ਪੈ  ਕਦਮ;

ਲੋਟ ਕੇ ਵਤਨ ਕੋ ਜਬ ਕੋਈ ਗਰੀਬ (ਡਿਪਲੋਮੈਟ) ਆਤਾ ਹੈ.

 

 

 

Kewal Vig Awards – 2021

 

Kewal  Vig Awards – 2021

As usual every successive year, Kewal Awards are held on December 4 in the memory of Shri Kewal Vig, a journalist and social activist of his own standing and founder Editor of The Janta Sansar then in Urdu and now in Punjabi.  The Award has been instituted by Kewal Vig’s worthy son Jatinder Mohn Vig under the aegis of Kewal Vig Foundation.This year too a good and befitting function was held at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall in which it was an honour for me to participate as a Special Guest of honour. The AAP leader and former senior police functionary IPS Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh was the Chief Guest.

Like every year, many prominent personalities namely; IPS Dr. S.K. Kalia,  Sardar Chetan Singh Director of Department of Languages, Congress Party leader Sardar Satnam Singh Bitta among others also graced the occasion. This year the function was dedicated to two eminent literary personalities – i) Dr. S.S. Chhina, an eminent agro-scientist and writer and ii) Shri Lal Athouliwale, a renowned lyricist and writer. It may be added that Kewal Vig Foundation has conferred, in 29 years, Award to 57 prominent personalities from the literary circles. Kewal Vig Award was instituted in 1994 in the memory of Kewal Vig, a prominent journalist and editor of standing in Jalandhar.

The Chief Guest, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh and other speakers while paying rich tributes to Kewal Vig appreciated and thanked

Lighting of the Traditional Lamp

Jatinder Mohan Vig for undertaking the noble act of honouring the much deserving writers and media personalities. The function was inter-spread with interludes of poetry, ghazals, and songs by selected performers who regaled and entertained the audience fully. Lal Athouliwale’s famous song “Na Jamin Pardesh Othe Nahin Ma Labhani” stole the show. The Ghazals rendered by Surinder Gulson were impressive and made the evening. An integral part of the cultural life of Jalandhar, Gagandeep Sondhi steered the function very ably as Master of Ceremonies.

The bonus for me to sit through the function was the books kindly gifted to me at the function – i) The Vintage of Spirituality of Dr. Sarbjit Singh Chhina who was one of the Kewal Vig Awardees and ii) KafileWafawana De – a collection of Ghazals by Surjit Darshi. I will certainly read these and benefit.

Thanks a lot my friend Jatinder Mohan Vig for inviting me.

 

 

The Bits and Pieces – As I Please

 

The Bits and Pieces – As I Please

1.   Antim Ardas for Smt. Bishan Kaur Chumber

My friend Prem Chumber, Editor-in-Chief of the esteemed Weeklies, The Ambedkar Times and The Desh Doaba of California (USA) and the bereaved Chumber family lost their beloved mother Smt. Bishan Kaur Chumber on November 29. It was a matter of great loss not only for the family but for the entire community. The Antim Ardas for the departed soul was held at Guru Ravidass Gurdawara at Urban

Estate in Jalandhar on December 5 at a solemn ceremony of the Path of Shri Sukhmani Sahib and Sabad Kirtan of Guruwani at a well attended congregation. With the Ardas, some prominent persons, friends and relations of the family, paid wholesome tributes to Smt. Bishan Kaur for her grit and toil to bring up her sons, Chiranji Lal, Prem Kumar and Tarsem Lal, nicely with good education and made them successful in life but also gave them a much needed attribute to belong to the community and do good for the greater benefit of the society at large. Many prominent people namely; Prof. Ronki Ram of Panjab University, Dr. Kulwant Singh of KMG Hospital, Principal

Sardhanjali to Bibi Bishan Kaur

Tarsem Lal,  Harmesh Jassal of Ambedkar Bhawan Trust, Ambassador Ramesh Chander  among others paid glowing tributes to the gracious lady, Bibi Bishan Kaur. Tarsem Chumber while thanking the present friends and relations for joining at the Antim Ardas of his mother broke down and said with a choked voice that he was fortunate to be with the beloved mother in her last days.  Punjabi translation of the booklet ‘An Introduction to BAMCEF’ written by Manyawar Kanshi Ram was released at the occasion as a befitting tribute to the departed soul. As usual in the continuing efforts to generate awareness in the community by the Chumber family, the booklet has been translated into Punjabi and published by Prem Chumber, worthy son of Bibi Bishan Kaur, under the aegis of the Desh Doaba and the Ambedkar Times.

2.   Parinirvan Diwas of Babasaheb Ambedkar – December 6

As usual, every successive year, Prenirvan Diwas (death anniversary) of Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar on December 6, is observed in all solemnity at Ambedkar Bhawan at Nakodar Road (Ambedkar Marg) in Jalandhar. Over the years, Ambedkr Bhawan has become the nerve centre of activities pertaining to Babasaheb Ambedkar, Buddhism and all matters of concern and interest to the community and the society at large. This year 2021, the function was addressed by eminent speakers and paid rich tributes to the greatest son of India, inter alia, namely; staunch Ambedkarites Lahori Ram Balley and Dr. Ram Lal Jassi. It was informed that MLA Sushil Rinku, keeping with his promises to contribute towards further development of the historic site of Ambedkar Bhawan, managed to get Rs.40 lakh from the Government of Punjab for further development of Ambedkar Bhawan and honoured his commitment. This gesture was much appreciated by Dr. Gian Chand Kaul, General Secretary of Ambedkar Bhawan Trust and the public at large. Charan Dass Sandhu informed about the sudden and untimely death of a prominent social and community activist, Gurnam Singh Muktsari and the congregation kept a two minutes

silence in respect of the departed personality. I may register here with a sense of satisfaction that the stake holders at the Ambedkar Bhawan have done well in the development of the site and making it live and vibrant. But at the same time it is also true that much more needs to be done to make it a ‘Centre of Excellence’ as a befitting tribute to the memory of our icon, Babasaheb Ambedkar.

3.   Charan Choh Ganga – Khuralgarh

I have had written about the Charan Choh Ganga, a historic site pertaining to Guru Ravidass ji, earlier in my blogs. Yesterday, December 4, a bus load of followers, including my immediate family members, of the great Guru from Deol Nagar, visited the holy site. My two little grand-daughters were particularly excited to join the trip when I told them that the chief high priest of the historical place was no other but Sant Maharaj Satwinder Hira ji who had been to
our humble abode in Deol Nagar and earlier at Silver Residency and blessed the little ones. The group, led by younger brother Paramjit Mahey, from Deol Nagar which visited the site was much appreciative of the personal care taken by Sant Satwinder Hira ji, as

Paramjit Mahey thanking the Sants

always. Sant Hira is a dedicated spiritual and social leader associated with the holy site at Khuralgarh. I am confident that the community and the society at large would certainly gain from his untiring efforts to put the site not only on the map of India but also the whole world as a befitting tribute to the memory of the great Guru Ravidass ji.

As per the details in the Wikipedia, Khuralgarh Sahib is one of the most prominent historical places of Ravidasia communities like Ad-Dharmi, Chamar, Ramdasia Sikhs, Jatavs and Mochis. It is situated at village Kharali, Garhshanker, Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. It is also called Tapo-Bhumi as Guru Ravidass ji spent about three years in the 16th century.

Punjab Government decided to develop the site as a spiritual and tourist attraction in the area and rightly so by erecting and establishing Minar-e-Begampura. It is a 151 feet high hallmark of Guru Ravidass Memorial at Shri Khuralgarh Sahib. This memorial is planned to have a spacious congregation hall having the capacity to accommodate 10000 people. Also there is state-of-the art auditorium equipped with all the modern audio-visual aids to showcase the life and works of Guru Ravidass and would accommodate nearly 500 pilgrims during any function or event. Guru Ravidass Memorial is built at 14.4 acre of land and is expected to be completed soon.

It may not be out of place to mention that Baba Banta Ram Ghera of Ad-dharam Movement was instrumental in searching and identifying the historical place in the mid 1990s with an active support of Dera Sachkhand Ballan and other stake holders. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the site of Charan Choh Ganga and related facilities

are fast coming up and being developed by a team of dedicated spiritual leaders like Sant Sarwan Dass ji of Ludhiana and others in consultation and cooperation of Sant Satwinder Hira under the aegis of All India Ad-dharam Movement. Sant Satwinder Hira also played an important role in the run up to solution of the issue of the demolished Guru Ravidass Mandir at Tuglakabad in Delhi.

 

November 26 – Constitution Day

 

November 26 – Constitution Day

We observe November 26 as the Constitution Day, the day on which our Constitution was finally “adopted, enacted and given to ourselves’ by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. The Constitution Day is an important milestone in the journey of India which “We the people of India” embarked on with Independence from the British colonial rule on 15 August, 1947 which is observed as the Independence Day. The new Constitution came into operation on January 26, 1950 which we observe as the Republic Day. Long seven

decades have passed ever since we had a robust constitutional frame work given to us by our founding fathers to redeem our pledge of ‘tryst with destiny’ as visualized by PM Jawaharlal Nehru in his Independence Day address to the nation on the midnight of August 14, 1947. The Objectives Resolution of the Constituent Assembly to make the constitution and above all the role and contribution of Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar as Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly could deliver in giving us one of the best constitutions of the world which met the challenges before the country like ‘India that is Bharat’ - a diversified and multi racial and multi-cultural society. It kept us on rails. It is a matter of great satisfaction that, with these constitutional arrangements, India has come a long way in its development and progress. One may say that It has arrived but still to reach. Still a long way to go in this interesting but challenging journey before we fully realize and redeem the solemn pledges which we voluntarily took on our Independence. It could be done ‘substantially’ in the words of PM Jawaharlal Nehru, if we could transform our ‘political democracy, stipulated in the constitution, into a social and economic democracy’ as rightly visualized by none other than the father of the Constitution of India, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.  

As I said that because of the constitution, India is on rails. But we cannot afford the luxury of lowering our guard as yet. Of late, fissiparous elements with divisive agenda appear to be raising their head which is posing a real danger to the very edifice – ‘sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic’ of our polity could come under threat. It would be a serious threat against which Babasaheb Ambedkar spoke very candidly in his last speech in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949 before the constitution was finally passed. He, referring to historical facts, said, “…not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people.”  In this context, he further said “Will history repeat itself? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will Indian place the country above their creed or will they place creed above country? I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever. This eventuality we must all resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood.”  Dr. Ambedkar was a visionary. His warnings, given 70 years ago, are as true and relevant as these were then, if we

look at the Kisan Andolan, many movements opposing the duly formulated administration through violence and unconstitutional means resulting in ‘Grammar of Anarchy’ as cautioned by him, “If we wish to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, what must we do? The first thing in my judgment we must do is to hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. It means we must abandon the bloody methods of revolution. It means that we must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. When there was no way left for constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods. But where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us.” I am not oblivious of the fact that I have succumbed to the temptation of quoting Dr. Ambedkar excessively to make my point. But it made my job easy as the utterances coming from the horse’s mouth are gems of wisdom which we would ignore at our own peril. The third thing he warned against was ‘hero worship’ in democracy and said, ““There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered life-long services to the country. But there are limits to gratefulness, as has been well said by the Irish Patriot Daniel O’Connell, no man can be grateful at the cost of his honour, no woman can be grateful at the cost of her chastity and no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty. This caution is far more necessary in the case of India than in the case of any other country. For in India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero- worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”

While we observe the Constitution Day, we must do self-introspection, keeping the above warnings of the chief architect of the constitution, if we intend to remain on track. My humble suggestion in this regard is that the epoch making November 25, 1949 speech of Babasaheb Ambedkar should be included in college curricula for students so that younger generation understands the constitution and challenges before the country. Our political parties and politicians should learn and understand the situation in its right perspective rather than pursuing narrow agendas for short term gains.

With this while I take this opportunity to greet my countrymen on the Constitution Day of India, I would recall the poetic warning of Allma Iqbal:

Chupa Kar Asteen Mein Bijliyan Rakhi Hain Gardoon Ne
Anadil Bagh Ke Ghafil Na Baithen Ashiyon Mein

(The sky has kept thunderbolts concealed up its sleeve
Garden’s nightingales should not slumber in their nests)

 

 

 

 

My pleasure to be at the Punjab Raj Bhawan at Chandigah

 

My pleasure to be at the Punjab Raj Bhawan at Chandigah

During the course of my functional duties in the IFS and Ministry of External Affairs, I have had several opportunities to be at the first

house of India – Rashtrapati Bhawan at New Delhi since 1974 till my retirement in 2010 and even thereafter with regard to some of my social and public activities. But I did not have an opportunity to see and visit Punjab Raj Bhawan at Chandigarh till November 17, 2021. The occasion was a solemn function to release the Punjabi edition of the book “Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar: Jiwan Te Chintan” – a collection of articles written by some prominent personalities and compiled by Hitesh Shanker for the RSS mouthpiece the Panchjanya and translated by Dr. Lakhvir Lezia and printed by Apna Sahatiya  of Jalandhar.  On approach and request by Scheduled Caste Ekta and Empowerment Forum (SCEEF) of which I happen to be the Chief Patron, Hon’ble Governor of Punjab Shri Banwarilal Purohit hosted the function and released the book in the presence of prominent members and office bearers and also the well wishers of the Forum namely; Dr. Varinder Garg, OSD to Hon’ble Minister of Health of India, Rajesh Bagha, a senior leader of the BJP, Former Chief Parliamentary Secretary of Punjab, Avinash Chander among others.

Prominent social and political activist Paramjit Kainth of National Scheduled Caste Alliance briefly explained the purpose and work of

Representatives of SCEEF honouring the Governor

SCEEF and welcomed the participants.  Prof. S.K. Deweshwer who supervised the translation work spoke and appreciated the initiative of Dr. Varinder Garg to get the book translated and released under the aegis of SCEEF and hoped that it would the wider audience in Punjab and beyond. Yet another eminent intellectual who also shared the dias, Padam Shri Dr. Digambar Behra, a distinguished professional in respiratory ailments also spoke and mentioned about the fact that Dr. Ambedkar was not only a constitutional expert or a jurist of caliber but also an economist and a social reformer of his own standing. He added that it will be wrong to consider him a dalit leader alone.  Hon’ble Governor Banwarilal Purohit, in his thoughtful remarks, was very candid in his assertions and termed Babasaheb Ambedkar as the ‘tallest man of the 20th century’ and referred the event of his

embracing Buddhism in October, 1956 at Diksha Bhoomi in Nagpur as a spiritual and cultural ‘Revolution’.  He also recalled Dr. Ambedkar’s warnings given in his last speech in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949 and said that we were to ward off the dangers of losing our independence once again, as feared by the visionary leader, Babasaheb Ambedkar, if we gave preference to our political creed over the national interests. I and I think the discerning audience too was much impressed by the sagacity and vision of the Hon’ble Governor Banwarilal Purohit. As the Chief Patron of SCEEF, the honour of giving the Vote of Thanks fell on me. While thanking the Hon’ble Governor for hosting the function at the Raj

Bhawan and encouraging SCEEF and making a thought provoking speech at the occasion and also the dedicated participants and stake holders, I said that India was India, in the face of challenging times, only because of the Constitution of India so laboriously framed by our forefathers under the stewardship Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar. It was a matter of great satisfaction that we could make good strides in the development and progress of India under the constitutional arrangements.  I further said that the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar was so potent that it had the potential of taking India to further heights in the years to come and added that, to my mind, there were three things which we must do. One, there was a greater need to ‘Recognize’ Ambedkar. It was a pity that the much needed recognition of the icon came late and that too half-heatedly. In this regard, I mentioned about the proposal to declare April 14, birthday of Babasaheb Ambedkar as International Day which was resting with the Government of India since June, 2015 and solicited support of Hon'ble Governor Banwarilal Purohit.  Second, it was time to ‘Reconcile’ the thinking of the mainstream of the society with that of the lofty vision of one of the greatest sons of India. There was an immediate and greater need to do that to bring about ‘Samrasta’ in the country and the society at large. Third, it would be good to ‘Appropriate” the legacy of Babasaheb by recognizing and reconciling and not by ‘Twisting’ for short term gains. It was all the more needed to meet the challenges of the future which could only be done with the cohesiveness in the society by pragmatic approaches and recited an Urdu couplet to make my point:

Zara Dekh Uss Ko Jo Kuch Ho Raha Hai, Hone Wala Hai
Dhara Kya Hai Bhala Ehd-e-Kuhan Ki Dastnon Mein

(Pay attention to what is happening and what is going to happen
What good there is in repeating the tales of the old glories?)

I concluded my brief remarks with Nazam of Allama Iqbal and wished to create an ideal society with the mantra of ‘Fraternity’:

Aa ġhairiyat ke parde ik baar phir uThā deñ

BichhḌoñ ko phir milā deñ naqsh-e-duī miTā deñ

Suunī paḌī huī hai muddat se dil kī bastī

Aa ik nayā shivāla is des meñ banā deñ

I also presented a copy of my book ‘The Bits and Pieces – Reminiscences and Reflections of a Novice’ to the Hon’ble Governor. A senior functionary of SCEEF, Advocate Mohit

Bhardwaj conducted the proceedings of the function ably as ‘Master of Ceremonies’. The function was concluded with the generous hospitality of the Raj Bhawan with hot snacks – Gulab Jamuns, Cocktail Smosas, Veg Cutlets served by the appropriately uniformed service staff of the ‘first house of the State of Punjab, the Raj Bhawan.

The Bits and Pieces – As I Please

 

The Bits and Pieces – As I Please

Mala Ke Teen Moti – I heard of a pamphlet issued by Pritam Ramdaspuri, a staunch Ambedkarite and a poet of standing and also one of my fellow BootanMandians but could not lay my hand to read it. Now my friend and a fellow BootanMandian, Ram Lal Dass has reissued - Mala Ke Teen Moti with his commentary as a critique and he thoughtfully sent me a copy of it. Mala Ke Teen Moti was first issued by Ambedkar Study Circle in December, 1980. Ram Lal Dass who has edited the piece  informed that Pritam Ramdasspuri was a

scholar of Urdu and Persian and knew the English language fairly as well. One of his Persian laced Nazam on Babasaheb Ambedkar which he had the honour to recite in front of the icon at a public rally on October 27, 1951 at Bootan Mandi in Jalandhar, as given and explained by Ram Lal Dass, was Pritam Ramdasspuri’s excellent recital in reverence to the leader – Hindostan Ko Hasti-e-Ambedkar Pe Naaz Hai. It is a sample to assess the acumen of Pritam Ramdasspuri Sahib as a literary person. I considered Ram Lal a hardcore zeolot, if not irrational, Buddhist (no offence is intended as Ram Lal is one of my close friends) but his assertions in the commentary made on the Mala Ke Teen Moti have set the position in its perspective. Pritam Ramdasspuri was an intellectual with a wide open approach to address the community matters. His thesis in Mala Ke Teen Moti is appreciable as he tended to reconcile the differing views of dalits on Babasaheb’s conversation to Buddhism. Some of the self seekers, with a view to save their own positions on both the sides (both followers of Guru Ravidass and neo-Buddhists), adopted rigid positions which are detrimental to the much needed unity not only among dalits but also societal fraternity visualized in the constitution of India. Mala Ke Teen Moti was an attempt to bridge the gap and provide cohesion and also momentum to the caravan of Babaseb Ambedkar by bringing Tathagat Budh, Satguru Ravidass and Babsaheb Dr. Ambedkar on one page, keeping with the crux of their thought and philosophy of bring about Equality, Liberty, Justice and Fraternity in the society. Ram Lal Dass has rightly concluded his analytical commentary by saying; Babasaheb revived Buddhism with a view to reform the society of the ills of the main-stream Hinduism and ‘One of the branches of Boddhism (Bodhibriksh) flourished in India as ‘Sant Sampardhya’ (Bhakti Movement) in which Guru Ravidass shined like the Sun. The crux of the teaching and path of all the three great personalities – Gautama Buddha, Guru Ravidass and Babasaheb Ambedkar was service of the humanity particularly of the depressed and oppressed segments of the society’. Let us hope the message of Pritam Ramdasspuri is understood in its right perspective and the oppressed and depressed that is dalits get united, sooner the better, to realize the lofty ideals of establishing a casteless society and equitable world order at large. By following Mala Ke Teen Moti, we can get and realize true freedom in the year of 75^th anniversary of India’s independence. Guru Ravidass rightly said in his Vani:

पराधीन का दीन क्या ? पराधीन बेदीन;

रविदास पराधीन को; सब ही समझे हीन।

 

Dalits of Punjab - a Divided House – Much has been written and more remains in the pipeline about the role, weight-age and importance of dalits in the politics, particularly electoral politics, of India. The position has come full circle of the affect and efficacy of the salient feature of populous and functional democracy – ‘One vote - one value’ as enshrined in the constitution of India. But the intended and desired dividend of this cardinal principle has been negated both by the vested machinations to keep dalits subjugated

and also by the gullibility of dalits themselves to fall prey to these machinations. It is true not only for Punjab alone but for the entire, caste ridden, country and the society at large in spite of the ‘empowering’ provisions of ‘reservations’ etc. But I will focus on Punjab alone in view of the forthcoming assembly elections likely to be held early next year, 2022.

Punjab has about 35% share in the Punjab demographic count of total population of about 3 crorers. It may be surprising to note that in the last 7 decades after the first general election held in 1952, no Scheduled Caste could become the Chief Minister of Punjab till recently in September, 2021 when Charanjit Singh Channi was cosmetically made the first CM that too by fluke to make some

CM Charanjit Singh at Dera Sachkhand BNallan

brownie points by the Congress Party in the wake of internal feuds to occupy the hot seat of power in Chandigarh by the Upper caste Hindus or Sikhs. Ambedkar’s vision to gain access to the corridors of power for dalits by constitutional and democratic means and Kanshi Ram’s pragmatic approach to demand a due share in the power structures under the doctrine of ‘Jis Ki Jitni Sankhya Bhari; Untni Uski Hissedari’ are getting roots, it seems, and ground situation is changing accordingly, slowly but steadily. All political parties are falling on each other to encash the cheques of power on the dalit vote bank – Congress Party has shown the way by appointing  Charanjit Singh Channi as CM though for a limited period in the run up to elections early in a few months time, SAD and BSP have joined hands with the promise to have a dalit as the Deputy CM, AAP too which already has a dalit,  Harpal Singh Cheema as Leader of the Opposition, will appoint a dalit as a Deputy CM, BJP has already announced that, if they come to power, they will have a dalit as CM. Let us watch what stance the newly floated party, Punjab Lok Congress of Captain Amrinder Singh, takes on the issue.  The scenario is changing and it must change as visualized by our leaders. Ghalib said, “Rang Layegi Hamari Fakamasti Ek Din”.

The disturbing factor is disunity and blurred vision of the current dalit leadership and political players. The opponents, let us be candid,  the proponent of status quo are exploiting the situation by practicing the Kautilya Neeti – Sham, Daam, Dand, Bhed -  to negate the dictum of ‘One Vote : One Value’ and engage dalits in the structures of power as equal partners. But the dictates of ‘real-politic’ may not permit it to happen. Dalits ought to do it themselves by getting united and standing up for their due presence in the corridors of power. We should not be oblivious of the fact that it is easier said than done. Punjab has 34 reserved seats in the 117 strong Assembly but they don’t have any voice as they are fragmented on party lines. No clear answer to address this question appears to be in sight as long as the political reservation is in place. It is a knotty issue. Political reservation has lost its purpose, to my mind. It may be abolished. The country, both the upper castes and dalits, would know as to where do they stand and where have we reached in bringing about social, economic and political cohesion in the society as stipulated in the constitution. Accordingly, political strategies would be made to meet the challenges of the future. The situation has come to such a pass that BSP, a party said to be of dalits with 35% share in the population, is playing a second fiddle to Akali Dal in Punjab. New political outfits claiming to be the flag bearers of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Manyawar Kanshi Ram, like Azad Samaj Party of Chandra Shekhar Azad among others, are further compounding the confusion. Dalits are a divided lot as Ad-dharmis, Buddhists, Mahazabis, Kabirpanthis, Balmikis even on spiritual and religious front. The situation has further resulted in more divisive tendencies by the influence of Ravidassia/Ad-dharmi/Chamar (this terminology has been used to explain the point and not for any other reason or motivation) spiritual Deras, Satsang Beas, Nirankaris, Insaan - Ram-Rahim-Singh, to name a few, where the core of their following comes from dalit communities.  It suits the main stream parties like Congress, Akalis and BJP to keep dalits divided. Obviously, these political parties and established social and cultural organizations, like RSS and SGPC, are under no pressure to re-visit the issue. Unfortunately, in-spite of much needed awakening, dalit leadership and the general masses are still blissfully silent. It is a real problem which is required to be addressed head-on to meet the challenges of the future. In this regard, the dalit civil society, intellectuals, academicians, community activists, students and the spiritual Deras, to my mind, need to come forward, act and deliver to unite dalits under one umbrella, the umbrella of Babasaheb Ambedkar, seek and solicit the cooperation of liberal elements in the main stream of the society to snatch reins of power from the vested interests in a true democratic spirit – One Vote: One Value. I am reminded of a poetic expression which I heard as a young student in 1960s:

 ਮੇਰੀ ਗੱਲ  ਸੁਣ  ਅਛੂਤ ਭਰਾਬਾ ਬੇ; ਇਕ ਦਰ  ਦਾ ਹੋਕੇ ਬਹਿਜਾ।