Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC Students

 

Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC Students

These days Punjab Government is in the news for two wrong reasons – faulty utilization of amounts sent by the central government for post matric scholarships scheme and denial of reservation in recruitment of law officers. It is just a coincident that Punjab Government and National Commission for Schedule Caste are

engaged or involved with each other in both the cases – NCSC, a statutory authority who is mandated and expected to be the watch dog of the rights of SCs headed by a Punjabi himself, Vijay Sampla and Punjab Government of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which boasts of the flag bearer of the legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar with huge mandate of SC communities having 29 MLAs out of 34 reserved seats in the Assembly. It might seem paradoxical but the problem is real which requires immediate attention and solution.

First the scholarship issue; Post Matric Scholarship scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme by the Central Government and it is implemented through State Governments and UT Administrations. The Scheme provides financial assistance to the Scheduled Caste students studying at post matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education. The amount of scholarship is 2,50,000/- per annum. Income certificate of the parents/guardian of the beneficiary student is required to be taken once only i.e. at the time of admission to courses which are continuing for more than one year. The income certificate shall be issued by the Authority as decided by the State Government.

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of the Government of India has explained the Objectives and Scope of the Post Matric Scholarship for the beneit of SC Students:-

Objective
1.1 The objective of the scheme is to appreciably increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio of SC students in higher education with a focus on those from the poorest households, by providing financial assistance at post-matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education.
Scope
2.1 These scholarships are available for studies in India only and the awardees are selected by the State Government/Union Territory to which the applicant actually belongs (i.e. the State/UT in which permanently settled or domiciled, as per the terms of domicile decided by the State).
2.2 This is applicable to all the students who are currently beneficiaries of the scheme as well as fresh admissions.

The Punjab problem - The scholarship scheme in Punjab has been marred by poor implementation and the delay in the release of the scholarship amount had become a major political issue in the last assembly elections in February, 2022. Now the new AAP Government was expected to set the matter in order but failed. NCSC has taken up the matter with Punjab Government.
The matter came up for discussion in the last session of the Punjab Assembly and the Times of India reported on June 29, 2022, “The disbursal of post-matric scholarship for SC students amounting to Rs 1,563.77 crore is pending for three years — 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 — due to the central government withholding its share for want of

utilization certificates and failure on part of Punjab government to get the scheme audited.”The opposition MLAs raised the subject in the Assembly. The Governments, obviously, seems to on back foot on the issue. Chairman of NCSC, Vijay Sampla, speaking to the media informed that NCSC had taken a suo-motu cognizance of the issue on getting complaints from students on non-payment of scholarships. He added that because these difficulties more than 2 lakh SC students were forced to drop out during the period 2017-2020. Though the Central Government had given the money, an amount of 2000 crores, to Punjab Government yet the money was not paid to the colleges. Hon’ble Governor of Punjab, Banwari Lal Purohit has also written to CM Bhagwant Mann on the issue and has asked for a report. Responding to the matter, CM Bhagwant Mann clarified and informed that he had ordered a comprehensive probe into the alleged irregularities in the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme that surfaced in the previous Congress government. The matter rests at that.

I have no information as to what is the situation of Post Matric Scholarship Scheme in other States, particularly the BJP ruled States. But it is evident that it is bad as far as Punjab is concerned. Without going into the political motivations and considerations, the crux of

the matter is that SC students and the poor parents are the direct sufferers of this slugfest between the governments and also the students and the colleges. The very objectives of the Scheme are defeated. Some of anti-reservation elements in the society who generally shout from the roof-tops should speak out and get the scholarships to the SC students as they always tend to give the argument for education and not reservations to SCs. Why are they blissfully silent now?

SC students should not suffer that should be our approach. Some years before in 2016, I gave a solution to the problem in my open letter as an Aam Aadmi dated November 28, 2016 for consideration of the AAP leadership.  I quote from the Non-paper which I submitted in this regard, “The governments, both central and of state, should open an “ESCROW Account” in one of the public sector banks. On getting the requisite information and data from the schools and colleges, routed through the competent Education Department authorities of the state government, should transfer, twice in a year, the due and requisite amounts in the ESCROW Account maintained for the purpose along with documentation pertaining to the scholarship. The school and colleges will claim and get the due amounts from the concerned

At a school in Jalandhar

bank. It should be done in a time bound manner failing which the schools and colleges will be entitled to claim an interest of 10% on the amounts due. It will end the blame game. The poor students will be saved from harassment and highhandedness by the educational institutions.” The problem remains. Subsequently, some months ago speaking at a meeting arranged by one of the BJP/RSS affiliated outfits in Chandigarh on the issue of Post Matric Scholarships to SC Students, in the presence of BJP leaders Avinash Chander, Rajesh Bagha and social activists like Varinder Garg and Paramjit Kainth, I reiterated the suggestion on ESCROW Account as it would save the interests of the SC students on hand and those of the educational institutes on the other. What is an Escrow Account? - An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties,

At Sant Baba Bhag Singh University

with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacting parties. I know full well that SC students are not interested in politics involved in the issue but in their education pursuits as stipulated in the Scope of the Scheme. Let us hope the concerned authorities sit and find out a real and effective way out rather than hankering after ‘brownie point’.

The second point, denial of reservation in the appointment of law officers by the Government of Punjab, also involves NCSC. NCSC advised Punjab Government to provide reservations as per the existing rules and arrangements. In its own wisdom, said to be on the
advice of Advocate General Anmol Rattan Sidhu, decided to challenge the decision and direction of NCSC in this regard in the High Court. Whether there should be reservation for SCs or no depends on decisions and matching legislation?  Let us leave it at that. But the basic question of constitutional and political morality of both the Punjab Government and its Advocate General remains not only to uphold the constitutional arrangements but also personal honesty and integrity. Both the Government and the Advocate General have miserably failed on this account. The AAP Government claims to be the flag bearers of Babasaheb Ambedkar and benefactors of SCs with 35 % share in the Punjab demography. They should have sorted out the matter with NCSC and other authorities but their decision to take the matter to the court on the ground that reservation cannot be given to maintain the so called ‘efficiency and merit’. It is a shameful argument bereft of any constitutional and

With Chief Justice of India

social norms. SCs can become judges of the Supreme Court, High Court and senior positions in lower courts without reservation but they cannot be appointed as the Law Officers of a State. Obviously, dalits are upset and are up-in-arms. Better sense prevailed and Punjab Government decided to take back its appeal in the court. Advocate General Anmol Rattan Sidhu should have been sacked unceremoniously but to save face he has been shown the door. He has resigned because of so called ‘personal reasons’. Frankly, Anmol Rattan Sidhu should be booked under the relevant provisions including Act on atrocities against SCs as the uncalled for and irrelevant thinking of ‘efficiency and merit’ was willful to hurt the interests and sentiments of SCs and was clearly ultra vires to the letter and spirit of the constitution. Punjab Government should have been careful in dealing with sensitive matters. They may ignore this caution at their own peril. Reservation to SCs is no charity but a solemn pledge to raise the social standards of dalits as an ‘affirmative action’ stipulated in the Constitution of India.

 

                   

President of India – Droupadi Murmu

 

President of India – Droupadi Murmu

President Elect Droupadi Murmu

The wheel has come full circle. Droupadi Murmu, a worthy tribal lady and a symbol of the marginalized sections of the society, has been declared as the President Elect on July 21 and would take the solemn oath of office on July 25 to be the Mahamahim of Bharat, the first citizen of India and the symbol of the nation. Why I say that the
wheel has come full circle in the 75th anniversary of our freedom and the year of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’? – Mahatma Gandhi desired to make a lady of the depressed and oppressed segments of the country to be the first President of India in 1947 itself as written by the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Raj Mohan Gandhi in his book 'Why Gandhi Still Matters: An Appraisal of the Mahatma's Legacy'. According to the book, the proposal for a Dalit as the first President was sparked off by the death of a "talented" young Dalit from Andhra Pradesh, Chakrayya, who was living with Gandhi at Sevagram Ashram from its inception. Mahatma Gandhi said on 2 June 1947 at a Prayer meeting that he wanted to make Chakrayya the President of India but that was not to be. Again on June 27, 1947 at a public meeting Mahatma reiterated his wish and said, ‘If I have my way, the President of Indian Republic will be a chaste and brave Bhangi girl.” He sounded his associates like Nehru, Patel and others but they turned it down by terming it as a “radial suggestion” as written by Raj Mohan Gandhi. Babasaheb Ambedkar termed the exalted position of the President of India as ‘He represents the nation but does not rule the nation’. Ambedkar was also a protagonist of women power and desired them to be around in building the county and reforming the society. He said, “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved. Unity is meaningless without the accompaniment of women. Education is fruitless without educated women and agitation is incomplete without the strength of women.” Droupadi Murmu’s elevation to Raisina Hill from a remote village Rairangpur in Orisha is remarkable in a sense that it a big stride towards the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar. Nalin Mehta in an article ‘A new social evolution dawns on the Republic’ in the Hindustan Times of July 22 rightly said, “A woman tribal as President is a logical step forward and a major milestone in Indian politics.” “We the people of India” have made it and India remains on track. It is a matter of gratification to note. Congratulations.

With President KR Narayanan in Beijing (China)

 Over the years, philosophers, scholars, politicians, statesmen, diplomats, scientists from Rajendra Prasad to Ram Nath Kovind representing various religions, different ideological belief, both the gender, diversified socio-economic and cultural backgrounds adorned the high office of the President of India – The Mahamahim of India that is Bharat. It is my pleasure and honour to add here that during the course of my diplomatic career, I have had the opportunity to see, meet and interact with some of the Mahamahims – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma, Giani Zail Singh, K.R.Narayanan, Pratibha Patil, APJ Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind - and I cherish those moments and memories. I wrote this, not long ago, on June 18, 2022 in one of my blogs. I also commented in one of my Facebook entries that on coming to know the candidature of Droupadi Murmu, her opponent, Yashwant Sinha should have withdrawn from the contest in all magnanimity and pragmatic arithmetic having registered the opposition’s principled opposition to the ruling dispensation. Perhaps we are yet to learn the finer nuances of parliamentary democracy and conduct ourselves with ‘constitutional morality’ the much need attribute of good politics.

President Elect, Droupadi Murmu, 64, is fully qualified and competent to adorn the high office of Mahamahim, the President of India. He is a University Graduate with a wide spread experience – Teacher, Councilor, MLA, Minister in Orisha, Governor of Jharkhand and occupied various positions of authority and responsibility in the BJP. As the youngest President of India, she will be the second lady occupant of the majestic Rashtrapati after Pratibha Patil and will be the third dignitary from the weaker sections of the society to reach the heights of the Raisina Hills in the Luyten’s Delhi, the seat of power of India, in toe of K.R. Narayanan and Ram Nath Kovind. I feel good by adding that I have had the honour to know and interact with the Mahamahims, Narayanan and Kovind. President K.R. Narayanan was my boss as Ambassador of

Kamla and Kumar at Rashtrapati Bhawan

India to China in 1977-78 and President Ram Nath Kovind and her gracious wife Savita are the family friends of my sister Kamla and brother-n-law (Behnoi) Kumar and as such Savita Behn and her daughter honoured us by joining at the marriage of my daughter Vaishali at Jalandhar in December, 2001 and my son Rupesh attended the marriage reception of the scion of the first family of India when Kovind Sahib was an MP. Subsequently President Ram Nath Kovind Sahib visited our family home in Jalandhar as an MP and Head of the

President at our family home in Jalandhar

SC Morcha of BJP in mid 2010s. It is a matter of satisfaction that both Narayanan Sahib and Kovind Sahib did full justice to the highest job of the country under trying circumstances during their respective tenures. I am confident that the President Elect, Droupadi Murmu would prove herself and bring further laurels to the office of the President of India. PM Narendra Modi while congratulating her rightly said, “India scripts history…a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President.”

I would conclude this piece with a somewhat prognostic note. It goes without saying that these political and strategic gestures of political parties to give these ‘symbolic’ positions to the competent nominees from the weaker sections of the society go a long way in promoting the agenda of ‘affirmative action’ and ‘empowerment’ as visualized by our forefathers and rightly so. I was told by one of my friends, Prem Shant, a close confidant of Babu Kanshi Ram that in the mid 1990s, PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee offered the position of President of India to Kanshi Ram to succeed President Shankar Dayal Sharma but he turned down the gesture by saying that he was more interested in pursuing his agenda and mission to get due share in the political structures and corridors of power for the ‘Bahujans’ rather than comfortably sitting in the palatial Rashtrapati Bhawan. I Googled to

check the veracity of this anecdote and it was confirmed in a story in the Nav Bharat Times of March 22, 2022. Let us hope that a day would come when a dalit or a tribal would, too, occupy the coveted position in the South Block and 7 and reside at Lok Kalyan Marg (Race Course Road) with or without another Ambedkar or Kanshi Ram. It would be a big leap forward to transform our political democracy into a social and economic democracy as visualized by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Political wonders do happen.

Hearty congratulations to the President Elect Droupadi Murmu and all the best wishes to the outgoing President, Ram Nath Kovind and Savita Behn.

Postscript: Without comment -

Claim: B. R. Ambedkar said – “The day a tribal woman becomes the President of India (the highest office), the reservation should be abolished in the country”

Fact: No evidence was found on the internet to confirm that Ambedkar made that statement. He made no such comments either in the Constitutional Assembly debates or in his books. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.

 

Sri Lankan Crisis and India – An Overview

 

Sri Lankan Crisis and India – An Overview

India – Sri Lanka relations are rooted in shared history. Geography made both the countries ‘near abroad’ as ‘extended neighborhood’ - Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. Both the countries have democratic polity with composite culture and demography with;

India – Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and others and Sri-Lanka – Singhalese (Buddhists), Tamils (Hindus), Christians (both of Singhalese and Dravidian extraction), Muslims (Moors) among others. Both India and Sri Lanka got independence almost together in 1947-48. In spite of shared history and shared values, there have been occasions of concern and worry in the relations of both, since independence from the colonial rule, like unexplainable bitterness or family discord between brothers or friends – India as big with 1350 million and Sri Lanka with only 22 million people as a small a country. Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean with a land area of 25,000 square miles. The first matter of concern and worry arose from the Sri Lankan decision to de-franchise some of the Tamil migrants which resulted in ‘stateless’ status for lakhs of Tamil labour force working in the tea estates of Central region of Sri Lanka. It had a direct bearing on the socio-economic scene in the Southern states of India, particularly Tamil Nadu. India being a big neighbor showed magnanimity and agreed to list those ‘stateless’ Tamils and allow them to migrate them to India under the Srimovo-Shastri pact of 1964 signed between PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike and PM Lal Bahadur Shastri. India, as it is obvious and evident, always tried to consider and accommodate Sri Lankan concerns – socio-cultural on one hand and economic-political on the other. But the inimical forces in the periphery; Pakistan and China particularly always remained busy and engaged in fishing in the troubled waters – aspirations of Tamil minority, SAARC issues among others with a view to trouble and contain India. India always stood by Sri Lanka; be it development assistance, help and support in solving the ethnic conflict with Tamils, natural calamities like Tsunami, economic and commercial cooperation etc. In the process, India faced undue hostility and blame too as the internal politics of Sri Lanka needed to oppose the Indian role and motivation particularly with regard to the Tamil issues. India always, as a matter of policy, respected sovereignty and integrity of India while appreciating aspirations of Tamils of Sri Lanka to assuage and addressing the ruffled sentiments of Indian Tamils.

I have shared this narrative not as an expert on Sri Lanka but as a humble functionary of Indian diplomatic machine who had seen some of the happening first hand when I was posted in Kandy, a beautiful hill resort of picturesque Sri Lanka in the latter half of 1980s. The main task of our Mission in Kandy was to implement Srimavo-Shastri Pact of 1964 to register and repatriate so called stateless Indian Tamils in the central region of Sri Lanka; Kandy, Matale, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Ratnapura etc. It was a difficult time in the hitherto friendly relations with Sri Lanka. Sinhalese-Tamil hostilities were occupying the peaks of beautiful Sri Lanka. Indian concern and involvement was obvious and perhaps unavoidable – India decided to send humanitarian assistance by boats in the wake of blockade of Jaffna and other northern districts to control the LTTE  by Sri Lanka by armed force – Indian humanitarian gesture was misunderstood and thwarted – India resorted to air-dropping of humanitarian assistance and there was expected hue and cry – we were advised to leave our residences and shift to hotels because of

security reasons – PM Rajiv Gandhi visited Colombo and signed agreement with  President J.R. Jayewardene for the deployment of the Indian armed forces - IPKF to control the deteriorating situation in the LTTE controlled areas in the northern region of Sri Lanka – PM Rajiv Gandhi was hit in the head by the butt of a gun in the Guard of Honour by a Sinhalese Sri Lankan soldier (Incidentally, I was an eye witness to this unfortunate happening as a part of the media handling team) – In the wake of curfew and internal violence, we were struck in Colombo for a couple of days -  on our request to the High Commissioner JN Dixit, he arranged our helicopter lift to Kandy with the help of Sri Lankan authorities -  there was a grenade/bomb attack on our office in Kandy by the terrorists in the bee hours of the night – on getting the information, I rushed to our office in my personal car without giving thought to the security considerations. Later, I was advised that I should not have done that as anything could have happened. The rest is history. There are numerous cherished memories of Kandy – The Kandy Lake where I had lessons for my driving license sandwiched by the majestic Dalada Maligawa (Buddha Vihara where the tooth relic of Lord Buddha is enshrined and the Office of the Assistant High Commission of India, the only diplomatic mission in Kandy at that time – Perahera; the annual event in Kandy when the Tooth Relic is taken out in a colourful procession on an elephant; traditionally by Raja, the elephant gifted by PM Jawaharlal Nehru. Raja was declared the national asset by the Sri Lankan Government. Incidentally, when Raja passed away sometimes in 1988-89, it fell on me to represent the High Commissioner and the Government of India to lay wreath on the dead body of Raja at the Dalada Maligawa – The serene and historical Peradeniya University offered heavenly fresh air and academic excellence. It is a matter of satisfaction to note that some of my senior colleagues, who were engaged, hands on, in diplomatic handling of the situation those days in Colombo, are adorning high offices and social status in India, are still around namely; EAM Dr. S. Jai Shankar, Minister Hardip Singh Puri, Ambassador Lakshi Puri among others and are fully engaged in helping Sri Lanka to come out of the current crisis. With this personal background, I come to the current crisis of Sri Lanka and role of India in helping our next door neighbour to overcome these difficulties and be a stable and vibrant partner in development.

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with enough natural agricultural sources, including tea and spices, to sustain. It is a touristic destination with excellent beaches and green hill resorts with friendly people to man and run the hospitality sector. Sri Lankans has an ‘Island culture’ of fun and frolic. Over the decades, the Tamil issue resulted in racial and ethnic problem. The alleged Sinhalese chauvinism to ill treat the minority Tamils tormented the successive governments and retarded socio-economic development of Sri Lanka. To cut the story short, of late, politically strong family of Gotabaya Rajapakse and his brother Malinda Rajapakse and other siblings succeeded in decimating the LTTE and Tamil rebellion in the Northern districts of the country with a heavy hand militarily in 2009. China, as usual, played a part with their ill designs to lessen the traditional Indian influence and say in the matter as a well meaning neighbour. Sri Lanka fell prey to these machinations. China succeeded, ostensibly, in making Sri Lanka a client state with its policy ‘debt for assets’. Chinese vested interests and ill advised ‘organic farming’ destroyed the ‘self reliance’ for food at the grass roots paralyzed the economy. The Covid pandemic resulted in losses in the tourism sector. The political greed and corruption further aggravated the situation which resulted in unprecedented economic shut down beginning 2019. The main economic sectors of the

country - tourism, tea export, apparel, textile, rice production and other agricultural products suffered huge set back. In addition to these economic sectors, overseas employment contributed highly in foreign exchange earnings but dried down because of job losses with 90% of expatriate Sri Lankans residing in Middle East. Both these economic contributors got hit badly and resulted in economic difficulties for the people. The subsequent economic hardships resulted in popular resentment and protests in 2022. PM Mahinda Rajpakse had to leave making way for Ranil Wickremesinghe. Towards the mid-July, 2022 the situation went out of control with protesters entering the Presidential Palace and residence of the PM. President Gotabaya Rajapakkse fled the country to Singapore via Maldives and resigned. The constitutional process to appoint the new President has started would be completed in a week’s time, hopefully.

What is the way out? Political stability with democratic credentials and economic recovery with the help of big neighbours like India is the only answer. Hopefully, the new dispensation in Sri Lanka would understand this. The ground reality is evident. One of the commentators on the Sri Lankan Crisis, Tamanna Salikuddin has rightly said, “The Rajapaksa regime claimed close relations with China but ultimately India was most helpful in the crisis. This year, India has sent over $3.8 billion to Sri Lanka, in the form of currency swaps, loans, food and fuel aid. Even before this week’s acute political disarray, India had pledged a comprehensive plan to increase economic and infrastructure ties between the two nations, a move seen as reassertion of its historic influence in Sri Lanka and as

a counter to growing Chinese influence. Other members of the QUAD alliance (the United States, Australia and Japan) have also announced various levels of support for the Sri Lankan economy. Last month at the G-7 Summit, President Biden announced $20 million of additional humanitarian assistance for Sri Lanka, bringing the total U.S. commitments in 2022 for economic and humanitarian assistance to $32 million. It is likely that the United States and other QUAD allies will increase their relief packages for Sri Lankans.”

India has taken a due note of the Si Lankan crisis, obviously and the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said, "We are aware of the many challenges that Sri Lanka and its people have been facing, and we have stood with the Sri Lankan people as they have tried to overcome this difficult period." Maintaining that India is Sri Lanka's closest neighbour, the MEA said India has extended ‘unprecedented’ support of over $3.8 billion for ‘ameliorating the serious economic situation in Sri Lanka. The spokesman further added, “We continue to follow closely the recent developments in Sri Lanka. India stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established institutions and constitutional framework,"  India cannot afford to be oblivious of the situation in its extended neighborhood. Apart from socio-economic fall out of the unrest in Sri Lanka there are not only security concerns for India but also economic interests. If the current situation in the island nation persists, it could cause a major disruption to the normal functioning of the Colombo Port. This would be detrimental to India's interest. The port handles over 30 per cent of India's container traffic and 60 per cent of its trans-shipment.

Let us hope the people of Sri Lanka who have proved themselves a democratic lot in the ongoing crisis would succeed in bringing normalcy back to the beautiful island nation. I fondly cherish the memories of our own living in Kandy, a citadel of Buddhist cultural and spiritual serenity.

Postscript: - “From Colombo, some lesson for South Asia – Nepotism and corruption bring ruin. Closed political systems produce bad policy choices. China’s economic engagement is predatory. Reckless economics will have consequences. And power is fragile.” – An article by Chanakya in the Hindustan Times of July 17, 2022.

 

International Day of Equality – An Open Letter to CMs of Indian States

 

International Day of Equality – An Open Letter to CMs of Indian States

I wrote to EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar on July 25, 2021 about two month before the UNGA, 2021 about the proposal on International Day of Equality. But, unfortunately, nothing much has moved as far as the GOI is concerned. The blissful silence on the part of the government of PM Narendra Modi on the issue of honouring the greatest son of India, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is rather baffling and is not
understandable.  Over the year, much has happen abroad to own and honour the Indian icon. And also the initiative taken by the Government of Tamil Nadu to celebrate April 14 as International Day of Equality this year has set the ball rolling. Some of the details of the initiatives taken by the City/State Administrations in Canada, USA, and UK are listed in my blog for information and ready reference: http://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2022/04/as-i-please-is-it-my-obsession-with.html

Not that the GOI is oblivious of the desirability and importance of the proposal on International Day of Equality to honour the Indian icon Babasaheb Ambedkar on one hand and to strengthen India’s ‘Soft Diplomacy’ as GOI has done many positive and praiseworthy things to give a befitting honour to the leader in recent years. We

have made it clear that our proposal is not ‘agitative’ in character but is a harmonious and persuasive suggestion. With this brief explanation and view to remind the GOI and solicit wider support, we have decided to write an Open Letter’ to the Hon’ble CMs of all Indian States with the request to kindly consider and urge the GOI to take an early decision on the proposal International Day of Equality so that a diplomatic demarche could be made in the run up to the forthcoming UNGA in September, 2022. An early and positive decision in this regard will add to the celebrations of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

 The text of the Open Letter to CMs of Indian States is given below: –

इक तर्जे तगाफुल है सो वह उनको मुबारक;

इक अर्जे तमन्ना है वह हम करते रहेंगे।  

Text of the Open Letter dated July 7, 2022to CMs of Indian States –

July 7, 2022

An Open Letter to CMs of Indian States

(International Day of Equality – April 14, Birthday of Dr.B.R. Ambedkar)

 

Hon’ble Chief Minister,

You may or may not have heard about the proposal on April 14, birthday of Dr.B.R. Ambedkar to be declared as International Day of Equality. In the run up to celebrations of 125^th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar by the Government of India in 2015, a proposal, in this regard, was made to the then EAM Sushma Swaraj in June, 2015 which was duly acknowledged by the UNES Division f the MEA in August, 2015. In November, 2015, Forum of SC and ST Members of Parliament under the leadership of Punjab Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal submitted the proposal to PM Narendra Modi in a Memorandum along with several important Ministers in a delegation. Accordingly, on the initiative of India, through its PR at the UN in New York, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 125^th birth anniversary was celebrated at the UN for the first time on April 13-14, 2016. Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal led the delegation to participate in the celebrations at the UN and in his speech duly took up the proposal on International Day of Equality at the function. On return, Speaker Atwal submitted a report in May, 2016 to PM Narendra Modi and informed him of the fact that the proposal was duly registered with the UN in his speech and urged the GOI to take up the proposal on International Day of Equality with the UN by making an official demarche through the diplomatic channels. Much water, since then, has flown in the Yamuna River in Delhi and the Hudson River in New York but the proposal is resting in the cup-boards of MEA. We have been reminding the EAMs, PMO, Other Ministers and stake holders, ever since, at regular intervals but, unfortunately, there is no response. GOI is blissfully silent and this willful silence is not understandable. My last letter dated July 25, 2021to EAM Dr. S, Jaishankar is attached for ready reference.

 

It is a matter of gratification that our approaches to the foreign entities, through cooperation and liaison with Indian associations and organizations, have taken due notes of the proposal on International Day of Equality in their respective countries and has declared April 14 as ‘Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Day of Equality’, over the recent years. Some of these details of these developments may be seen in my blog on the subject: http://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2022/04/as-i-please-is-it-my-obsession-with.html

 

Though the GOI is still unmoved yet it a matter of further satisfaction that some of the Indian states; particularly Tamil Nadu took a decision and celebrated April 14 as International Day of Equality in April, 2022 and urged the GOI to take necessary action to get the Day recognized under the aegis of UN to honour the Indian icon, Babasaheb Ambedkar. This gesture on the part of CM   of Tamil Nadu has prompted me to write again on the subject and solicit support and cooperation of all the States of India in this regard. I take the liberty of writing to the Hon’ble CMs of all the Indian States and urge the following with a view to honour the greatest son India and strengthen the footprint of India in the cultural diplomacy as ‘Soft Power diplomacy ‘as we did earlier in 2007-08 for October 2, birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, as International Day of Non-violence and in 2015-16 as International Day of Yoga:

 

i)                   Hon’ble CM may write to the Hon’ble PM on the proposal on April 14, birthday of Babasaheb Ambedkar as International Day of Equality and urge him to take an appropriate decision in this regard.

ii)                 Pass a Resolution in the Legislative Assembly of the State in support of the proposal on International Day of Equality and forward it to the Mahamahim Rashtrapati ji.

 

With these humble submissions kindly allow me to close this with an assertion that Ambedkar’s legacy is so potent that it may not be possible to ignore it for long. International community has already taken positive note of the proposal on International Day of Equality. It is a wakeup call to the GOI to rise to the occasion before it gets late. It will be much appreciated, if the Hon’ble CMs of respective States urge PM Narendra Modi take the proposal to the UN in the forthcoming UNGA in September, 2022. Obviously, it is time to take an appropriate decision now and instruct the diplomatic machinery to keep the ’Powder Dry’ for delivery in September, 2022 at the UN in New York.

 

With assurances of my highest consideration,

 

Yours truly,

                               

 (Ramesh Chander)

 Hon’ble CMs of All the States of India

 

Copy to: EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar, PR of India to UN, Secretary to President of India, Secretary to the President of India, Principal Secretary to PM

Attachment: -Text of the letter dated July 25, 2021 to EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar

July 25, 2021 

Dear Sir,

Ever since you have taken over as the EAM in May/June, 2019, I have been writing to you about the International Day of Equality, my last letter dated April 1, 2021 (copy enclosed for ready reference) refers. The proposal to declare April 14, birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, as International Day of Equality was first made in June, 2015 to your predecessor EAM Sushma Swaraj ever since the proposal is resting with the esteemed MEA.

I
thought of reminding you on the subject in the run up to the forthcoming UNGA in September, 2021. You would appreciate, Sir, Babasaheb Ambedkar is increasingly getting international recognition. It is surprising that our own government, which has taken many initiatives to honour one ofthe greatest sons of India otherwise, is taking time to consider the proposal and take a decision to make an appropriate demarche to the UN in this regard. I may inform, which you may already be aware, that the State of British Columbia in Canada proclaimed to declare April 14 as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Day of Equality in April, 2021. Some days ago in July, 2021 itself the Gray’s Inn in London has named and opened Ambedkar Room and unveiled his portrait to recognize Babasaheb. You may know that ‘Dr BR Ambedkar is the first person of the Indian origin and the very second jurist in the world to have a room dedicated to him at the Gray’s Inn. The Inn, previously had a room dedicated to Rose Heilbronn, England’s first woman queen counsel and judge’ as reported by the Tribune of July 22, 2021

I don’t feel any need to say much, Sir, as you very well know and understand how to go about and what to do to get declared April 14 as International day of Equality. There may not be more opportune time when India will occupy the Head Chair at the UNSC and UNGA -76 in September, 2021 will be presided over by Foreign Minister of our friend Maldives, Abdullah Shahid

I am confident that my submissions would find an urgent consideration and a favourable decision is taken to see that the proposal is sent and taken up at the UN appropriately. It would send a very positive political signal within the country and to the international community in under-pinning the ‘Soft Diplomacy of India’ to move towards establishing a just and equitable world order.

With personal regards,

 

Yours truly,

(Ramesh Chander)

Dr. S. Jaishankar,

Minister of External Affairs,

South Block, New Delhi

                 

Copy to:

1.     Shri Narendra Modi, PM of India, PMO, South Block, New Delhi

2.     Dr. Varinder Kumar, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, New Delhi

3.     Shri Ramdas Athawale, MOS, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, New Delhi

4.     Shri Som Parkash, MOS, Ministry of Industry and Trade, New Delhi

5.     Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi, MOS, MEA, New Delhi

6.     Shri Vijay Sampla, Chairman, National SC Commission, New Delhi

7.     Shri Dushyant Gautam, MP, New Delhi