Insight October 2004

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EXPERIE,NCE VOL I No 2

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a MAGAZINE

of the AMBEDKAR

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II II II

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Editorial

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EXPRESSION

STUDY CIRCLE

OCT 2004

"ARE WE HINDUS" Page 3 Dalit youth at a cross road Page 6 Iyothee Thassar: Reclaiming History for Brahminical hegemony . Page 9 Knowing Ambeqkar, seeking an identity Page 12 "Everyone has to convert" Page 14 Ambedkar Jayanti Samaroh Page 17 Towards an emancipatory politics Page 19 Letters with insight Page 21 _11~lll-'~

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For submission of articles please contact Anoop Kumar, 122, Periyar, Shamuel Tharu 205 Chandrabhaga, Ashokan, English Journalism IIMe, Pratap, 234, Narmada, Sweta, 04, Tapti, Shaweta Anand, NGO M,magemenL lamia Millia Islamia. Or [email protected] . Articles should be legibly written and may be returned with suggestions for change. The magazine will be available for sale with the hostel representatives of ASC. Single issue: Rs 10 Annual patron subscription (12 issues) Rs 150 Art: Pratap Editorial Collective: Rajneesh, Rajesh, lomo, Anoop, Kshirod, Ashokan FOR PRIVATE CIRCULA TIO:\" ONLY ;J..

ARE WE HINDU'S? Are we Hindus? What IS Hinduism? What is the relationship between Hinduism and the caste system? What is

birth. We can never question what Tulsidas has said about· us or what Rama did to Sambukha. Krishna, himself says in the Gita. that the 13rah Il1in ism? essence of dharma is to uphold the varna/caste system. Vie have also to The time has come for us to except that Ekalavya was wrong in grapple with such questions. We his efforts to perfect archery. h~l\'\: been constantly told that we How can we worship Saraswati \\'hen arc part of a glorious, tolerant we were denied education throughout religion called Hinduism which history? How can we bow before has a five Lakshmi when the INSIGHT EDITORIAL fruits of our labour thousand year old history. But is this true? were taken away and religious Are wc really a part of this shastras maintain that sudras (OBCs) religion. If it is so then it is the and chandalas (SC/ST) don't have the \\'orst religion which teaches its right to enjoy property or wealth? adherents to hate their own If we are not part of this religion, then religious brothers and sisters. it becomes logical why \ve undergo There is no other example of any such exploitation and suffer such other religion which hatred and discrimination. Then it discriminates among its own becomes very clear that this religion lollowcrs. was created to give religious sanctity We have to undcrstand a very to the caste system, which was simple thing. For a follower of cunningly devised to expropriate the Islam. the Quran is a sacred text, fruits of labour of the productive similarly for a Christian, the masses. Bible is a source of reverence to If this is the case then it becomes god. Therefore, if we consider apparent that Hinduism is the ourselves as Hindus we have to acceptable mask given to the caste treat Brahininical religious texts system by an exploitative like the Vedas, Puranas and the Brahminical caste. Manusmriti as sacred. We have " This then raises the question, if the to believe that caste was created Brahmins were powerful enough to by almighty Brahma and we are maintain a caste syst~m, why did they lowest of the lowly: born to serve have to give it the disguise of the upper casks. We will always Hinduism. The answer is simple. rcmain untouchables, polluted by Hinduism was created as a reaction to

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the colonial British empire. With Hindu festivals, and Hinduism the coming of oolonialism, the became the religion of subcontinent. Brahmins and upper castes The orientalists did the rest. Not realised that their age old having access to any information hierarchy was being threatened. except that which Was given to them One of the main reasons why the by their Brahminical collaborators, Hindu princes were unable to the Orientalists were blind to the 110nwithstand the attacks by the Brahminical sides of Indian cuiture. British was because their armies They "discovered" Hinduism's only consisted of a few castes. "glorious" past and then related all The Princes could not command the other cultural traditions in idea to the loyalties of the Dalits and the. this Brahminical superstructure. tribals. ,-------------, The creation of Hinduism This fact lead to the How can we that subsumed the caste realisation by the worship system within itsclf wa~ Brahminical upper Saraswati when an added boon to the castes that there was we were denied Brahmins. This allowed a need to rc-form education them to prevent any Brahminism into throughout colonial intervention into Hinduism. The history. the practices of the caste system as it now became purpose of this project is clear. The upper castes an "internal" "rellgious" matter. This needed to create an artificial also lead to the creation of the reform majority so that they could movement that tried to show that demand concessions on par with I-{induism was trying to modernise. the Muslim elite. The British But what it was in effect doing was a were also involved in the public relations exercise. For none of Hinduisation project. The British· the really cruel and discriminatory used the already established practices of Brahminism were exploitative caste order to their touched. benefit as they knew that the Wi~hthe arrival on the pblitical scene Brahmins would shift their of Tilak and Gandhi, this exercise is allegianccs to whomsoe'ver was no longer hidden. Hindusih1 was now in power: Be it the Mughals or be openly used as a' meth~d to mobilize it the British. the masses (SC/ST/OBCs) against the Brahmins used misinformed British~ But when. the masses began European orientalists like Max to resist their inclusion into the Muller to create the myth of the "Hindu" fold,' Brahminical double "Hindu", Ovemight, Brahminical speak became a common tactic. texts became Hindu texts, Gandhi is a good example of this Brahminical festivals became double speak. Gandhi himself upheld

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the Gita as the most authentic and sacred of all Hindu text, and as mentioned above the Gita upholds the caste system as divine and yet Gandhi makes public statements claiming the caste system to be bad. The I)rahminical order today has made Gandhi himself divine. It has also assimilated the double speak of Gandhi into the social and political practices of our country. On paper, every citizen in this country is equal. But the truth is elsewhere. On paper, temples are open to all. But the truth is elsewhere. On paper. marriage i~ a secular act. But the truth is elsewhere. The truth is in the fact that-the state has been a party to the spread of this double speak. After independence, this double speak became the official state religion. It was promoted through the creation of national holidays, the concretising of history in textbooks, the "official"

publication of such castie~t and antiDalit texts like the Ramyana and the Maitabharat. The first gen'::ration of literate Dalits took the notion of Hindu through the education provided by the state. They didn't resist the Hindu identity because for the first time the state \\BS opening the door of schools and jobs for them. They realised very well that a confrontationist mode will be harmful. But this is no longer the case. The Daht community owes its self confidence to the patience of the first generation of liberated Dalits in free India. The time has come to ask questions and challenge without fear.

dominance

Take the example of yourself. Ask your grandmother did she celebrate kar\'([choll/h? Did she havc the time, leisure (or even thc education?) to read and repeat thc Gita? Ask your father how he learnt he was a Hindu? Ask him where he found the stories of the epics. In public knowledge? Or on state-owned

TV?

Glor"yto those who would keep on their struggle for the liberation of the enslaved in spite of the heavy odds carping humiliations, ~torms and dangers till the downtrodden secure their human rights Blessed are those ~ho are awakened to their duty to those who devote their time, talents and their all to the annihilation of slavery Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar

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Dalit youth at a cross ro·ad By Kshirod MA (CPS) The debate is going on ... SC, it is constituted by the "It's been 50 years of free India. Constitution, Dalit is not Harijan, this J\1l the facilities given to SCs and sinful name is given by Gandhi. Da]it STs must bc stopped otherwise it is nG~homogenous in nature. But they wi II cause great s(;cial tension in are autonomous in character. It has an India." autonomous analytical and Dalits arc shouting slogans: ideological background. "Reservation is OLlrfundamental Dalit youth are unaware of this. So, to right. We arc not begging for it." get a right vision we have to study in Bankrupted intellectuals busy in a systematic manner three categories, namelv, Puranic or writim: for the nation':'s sake and The Communist histortcal, political and barking at each other Party of India religious. in thei; caves. had passed a Daiit culture is modern. Giant politicians are resolution in its but we can not forget our

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getting the polit-bu~eau in history. The past is our 1~42: The. experience, present is our opportunity to play dirtv games with the MuslIm League IS infrastructure and we are pcoi)l;s' sentiments. a political party extracting . knowledge ]t is a pity that no and the Sched~le from the past and present systematical analysis Caste FederatIOn to create social harmony. is done about Dalits' a communal Historical perspectives: social, cultural and party" We, the mool nivasis of eco-political prospects. Dalit India are living .as second-class youth of India are at a crossroad. citizens now. We have lost our satta They are searching for their (power), and India that is Bharat identity. Who are they? Are they became the Aryabhumi Bharat! Hindu or not? If yes, what is the History is shown that Aryan's came ground reality in thIs social from the Volga to the Ganga. The order? If not, then are they Indus Valley civilization had existed Muslim or Christian? Dalit is not many years before the Aryan merely a community, but it is a" migration. The coins of the Indus symbol which represents an ideal civilization were marked with trees, culture of our glorious past. It is snakes, bulls etc. This strongly not simply named by a political indicates that it was not influenced by act, it has emerged from a sOl:io- Aryan culture because Aryans cuHur"l revolution. Dalit is not (Hindus) believe inpratima puja (god b ,/ "

and goddess in the worshipe,rs pose a great threat, andsei up Gandhi own image) but Dalits (non- as the tranakarta (saviour) of aryans) were nature lovers. But lmtouchables. I want to ask them, th~ upper easte intelligentsia why in 1932 did Gandhi discriminate began to claim that Indus while promoting separate electorate Ci\"ilization is Aryan civilization. to Muslims and denying separate But it is not only a claim they electorates to Dalits? In 1917, the made on history. The rootless Congress passed a resolution to Aryans came to our motherland, .. remove untouehablity only to they became masters, they suppress the Achuthistan ·and separate hijacked our culture and labeled electorate demand. Bal Gangadhar it .llyohhulJ1i 8110ral. Dalits have Tilak was one step ahead. He stated: been ensla\"(~d for centuries. Why should felli, la11llidia, Loosing ,'{\WI salla. bhumi satta blacksmiths. potters go to and ral salla. Parliament? They should do their Political P"ospccts: Dalit youth tradition job at their level best. is in dilemma. Now-a-days two The Communist Party of India had passed a resolution in its national parties. the BJP and the Congress playa It is shameful po lit-bureau in 1942: major role in India. Most that the "The Muslim League is a of the Dalits have . gurudakshina political party and the recognised that the BJP festival Schedule Caste is a deadly anti-Dalit observed by Federation a communal party. But the Hindus to party". These clearly misconception remains uphold the show the brahrninical that the Congress is pro"thumbtendencies of comrades Dalit and large numbers cutter" Guru who were ready to of Dalits still owe legacy negotiate with the minorities but were afraid political allegiance to L- __ -'the Congress. But neither to deal with caste as it would question Congress nor BJP are pro-Dalil. their own hegemonistic identities. Till Both Manuwadi parties are two today Marxism has been used by the sides of the same coin. The BJP so-called "upper-caste" intelligentsia is a black snake in green grass as a liberal mask to deny the Dalit and the Congress is a green snake movement its space. in green grass. Before In early 1980s the BSP emerged as a Independence neither Gandhi .nor Dalit party. But it has diverted from the Congress had a special socio-cultural phenomena and has agenda for the Dalits. Gandhi been accused by many of being neoused to write articles for Dalits in bfahminical. This political situation Harijan magazine. Gandhians·· where all the political parties seem to

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representing similar ideas has Religion i3 nothing but a drug which resulted in a situation where dictates human beings surrender wayward youth are searching +or before injustice, exploitation, slavery a path in a dense socio-economic and mass manslaughter. Dalits and political fog. zealously SUPPOli the causes of Religious ideologies: From the Muslims and Christians but they arc puranic age we have witnessed not coming in support of the Dalit guru Dronacharya cutting the movement. Their only intention is to thumb of Ekalavya. It is convert people into their religion by shameful that the gurudakshina lady-paddy-hen-pen (tl:at is, by very festival observed by Hindus to non-religious means). Like Hinduism. uphold the "thumb-cutter" Guru Christianity and Islam are based on legacy. Now the thumb cutter blind belief and are most unscientific. have become throat-cutters in Especially now, Clu'istianity posses India. Kama was not allowed to the greatest danger to the Dalit fight with Arjuna because he was movement. the son of a charioteer. Dalit haw to bring out a clear and Pre-Ambedkarite movement concrete vision. We should learn started from the Bakthi from our history what factors made movement. It had an agenda to the Dalit movement a failure again carry out spiritual reform within and again. Dalit movement should be the social order. Then the ,in no party but remain in the political conversion movement started. process. The socio-cultural and ecoDalits converted to Buddhism, political movement should go hand in Sikhism and Christianity. hand. Christianity was able to maintain ,We need to read more philosophy of the conversional flow Ambedkar, Phule', Periyar, Kabir and successfully. The existing Buddha and must maintain religious scenario is such that most often neutrality. Dalit concepts should not Dalits are being converted into by materialistic, it should be more Christianity. They are taking it as' soientific informed by' an ethical an alternative but it, is fake. value ...

You must abolish your slavery yourselves. Do not depend for its abolition upon god ora superman. Remember that itis 110tenough that a people are numerically in the .majority. They must be always watchful, strong and selfrespecting to attain and maintain success. We must shape our course ourselves and by o~rselves. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar g

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Reclaiming History frorn Brahminical hegemony Iyothee Thassar was a leading Madras Mahajan Sabha was a group Dalit intellectual and leader who of English educated upper caste played a big role in constructing professionals, who were trying to Dalit consciousness before organise into a lobby to extract Babasaheb emerged. Fifty years concessions from the British before Babasaheb took diksha of government. For this they had 1O give Buddhism, .....•.................................... ~ the impression Thassar had ~ IYOTHEE THASSAR ~ that ~hey we:e already started a : : engagmg m (1845-1914) ~ social reform in massive social: and intellectual order to convince movement based on a Buddhist the British about their social use. In understanding of the repressive .. nature of the Brahmin social order. His influence on the Dalit movement . in general .and Babasaheb in particular has been of an inspirational and political nature. Born in the th~n .Madras Presidency in 1845, Thassar was a practitioner of Siddha medicine andwas a Tamil savant. Angered by the practice of untouchability, Thassar's first reaction was to try and democratize or reform Brahrninical Hinduism. But as the following incident shows he was trying to. diange a rock into· . gold. In 1892, on invitation,. Iyothee Thassar participated in the annual conference of the Ma-dras Mahajan Sabha as' a representative of the Parayar community (then untouchable).

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their 1892 meeting, Thassar said "We have heard that God and Temple are common for all castes of the world. if that is so why are the people of our community not allowed to enter Vishnu or, Shiv temples. By so allowing them won't they prosper through mutual love and won't the religion also be strengthened." Immediately all the upper caste Hindu delegates stood up and started shouting that they (the pW'ayars) should not be allowed into temples. One delegate from Tanjavur, stood up and explained, "For untouchables we have gods like Maduraiveeran, Katteri and Karuppannan: and gods like Shiva or Vishnu do not belong to you." The reaction of the upper caste Hindus was swift, unanimous and unwavering. Rejection however did not have the desired effect of subduing the Dalits. Under the new

circumstances it only servcit to 1. The struggle c:gainst the social radicalise them. Iyothee Thassar irrationalities of Brahmin ism set out to think of the reasons 2. The struggle against casteism and behind such a vociferous and regionalism almost violent resistance from 3. Rediscovery of the original and or the Brahminical castes. casteless TamillDarvidian This lead to a sustained Buddhist identity investigation into history, culture 4. Construction of a rational religious and literature. This brought him philosophy and practice, and to the conclusion that ,.-----------, 5. A re-interpretation of the the violent behaviour The violent subcontinent's religioof the Brahminical behaviour of the cultural history. people towards the Brahmincal To promote his ideas he Dalits was not because of any meaningful notion of

people towards the Dalits was not because of

started a weekly journal called "Tamilan". Through his movement Thassar

purity-pollution. It was because the Dalits were originally Buddhist. Using folk traditions,

any meaningful notion of puritypollution. It w~s because the Dalits were

moved on to a more generalised understanding of history and culture. He realised that what appears today as traditions in the

stories and memory originally realms of culture and he was able to retrace Buddhist. religion are not the genuine truth of histOl'y, they are the history of the .. i Dalits that had been distorted by instead a distorted picture. the dominant Bnihminical With this understanding he came culture. This understanding lead upon a crucial fact. It is commonly Thassar to form the Sakya recognised that the popular religious Buddhist society in 1898. The myths beliefs and practices and the movement spread very fast g~neral folk and oral traditions of the among the various districts of the su\bcontinent are seen as related to the Madras Presidency and also Sanskritic-Shasthraic-Brahminical spread overseas with the migrant culture. This is what leads us to think Tamil labourers. of local deities as distortions of Hindu The movement attempted a gods (for example.· Hanuman) and systematic and historical local myths as distortions of the deconstruction of the dominant sanskrit epics. Thassar new point of Hindu religious premises· and view led him to look at these local exclucivist cultural practices. The " traditions through the earlier and main aim of his movement morally universal truth of Buddhism. included: His research led him to re?lise that Co I j

the common factor between various local traditions of subcontinent was Brahminical but was in

c0mmitments.

the the not fact

The relevance of Iyothee Thassar today is crucial. There is a urgent need for people across India to follow Thassar's example and study the folklores and oral traditions of India and free these cultural mores and practices from the hegemony of Brahminism. For too long no\\' has Brahminism being usurping the unique and egalitarian cultures of this country and imposing on them their patriarchal and exploitative culture through distortion. To restore the non-Brahminical nature of these traditions is a

Buddhist. This understanding lead him to reeognise the links between local Indian folklore and the religious mythology of Bruma. Celyon (now Sri Lanka) and Tibet. According to him, the Dalits (then untouchables) had been foIlO\\('rs of the casteless and morally unified path of the Buddha. The Dalits became most shunned and hated because of their J3uddhist beliefs. In reality the Brahman-Dalit social standoJl must be seen as due to their contradictory

fundamental step in creating a crisis in Brahminism and denying their culture the right to claim our history and our present.

religio-ideological

The originator of Jai Bhim (in 1937) was Babu L. N. Hardas, a strong follower of Ambedkar, Chief Secretary of the Independent Labour Party and In-Charge of C.P and Berar. Hardas was not comfortable with "Jai Rama-pati" -- (p.·esumably a reference to Ambedkar) -- with which he was greeted. A Moulavi explained to him the meaning of Salam Alekum, a greeting among the Muslims. From this, he got the idea of Jai Bhim. It would be clear that Jai Bhim did not originate from Jai Hind. May be it is other way round. When Christians meet they shake hands and touch cheek to cheek -- jowl to jowl, when Muslims meet they embrace each other. Thus both have got culture of bodily contact promoting 'bhai chara' -- brotherhood. We Dalits seem to have emulated Hindu culture of saying Namaste and folding our own hands over the opposite person, as if tp suggest -- "Keep away from me". CI

Knowing Ambedkar, Seeking an Identity Reflections r.n the need for a sense of self By P,-abodhan

Pol MA (CIIS)

We arc living in the 21 st Century \vhere therl' is only onc medium to present and prove ourselves. That medium is competition. It has now become the only source of our sustenance. In this fierce

For 2.000 years Dalits were enslavcd and trcated \\orsc than animals. lv1ahatmd I)hule \\as the lirst pcrSl)!l to strike vehel11<:ntly against the cvil institution or caste. Later. :\mbeclLlI' led the mO\'emCI'L and illuminated it

battle many Dalits arc proving themselves and leading themselves to victory. But there

He \\as a person or immcnsc scholarly presence. He \\as the lirst Indian to receive the DSC rrom

are several l)roblcms t I) a "t'd I I en t·•.. ", IS · Londl)n School or faced b.,.· '. Fcon()1l1ics. \Vhen he cam'.: .. ma!1\ Dellit no t'an m f enol.vouth that thc\ arc i'd en t'tI Y b U t't'I IS back to India hc had much yet to ovcrcome t ,"f ~;cope to Iivc his Iilc' .. I a 00 or our . Todav. many Dalits d I t l.uxuriouslv '.' eve opmen .. ~ ... but he dIdn't are facll1g a problem I I HIS .,6 years 01 actIve regarding their identity and this public life was totally dedicated to the problem is psychologically cause or the dO\\'ntrodden. obstructing their day-tn-day lives I r there was no Daiit mO\emcnt led and careers. This in1eriority by Ambcdkar what would OLir complex is the direct result of condition be no\\'. It is a question that their background. It doesn't needs to be asked by every Dalit who essentially mean that they come is shy of his/her identity. from an economically poor Many Dalits perceive Dalit identity in background. They are many so- a negative \vay. They feel awkward called elite Dalits who always and inferior to be Dalits. This keep away from Ambedkar and inferiority complex occurs due to lack the Ambedkerite movement. of consciousness and this occurs due These Dalit youth (both the poor and so-called elite) have forgotten Ambedkar and his revolutionary work. Many Dalits' want to be Dalits only to extract concessions and reservation. but they have forgotten that it was because of Babasaheb that they ]lave access to these concessions.

to lack of exposure to Ambedkeritc thought. It is very clear that those Dalits who feel awkward about their Dalit identity are indirectly accepting the caste system because they are accepting inferiority vis-a-vis others on the basis of caste. It boosts our confidence with the knowledge Lilat we are not inferior /2.

I feel

due to any divine design but we were made inferior by vested interests.

Ambedkerite family about my identity. area that is the

The objective of the Dalit Illovement has always been equal social justice for all. Today. we have immensely benefited from a strong Dalit mO\'Clllent for social justice. The end of ulltouchability docs 11\1t ll1ean the end of the caste s\stem. We mc in the era of

Ambedkerite movement. My parcnts \vere \'cry influenced by the movement and decided to shed the

I came

heart

positJve from the of the

untouchable icientity imposed by the Hindu social order. They adoptee! Buddhism and became tme followers

sophisticated cask system where \\e arc s\stell1aticalh - and

of Babasaheh_ This step ensured that they paid attention to educate their children because they had Bahasaheb as their role model.

unkno\\ ingly suppressed Illciltal it \.

Buddhism created

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!\mb,-'dk,-'ritc thought lcach,-'s us to tackle and tight such problems. Many D,lIit youth might ha\"(' not faced caste ostracisation in life. This is not any reaSon to keep yourself away from i\mbedkerism

by caste

\\"c arc no mon~ untouchables but are proud Buddhists with a rich history and a bright future because

identity and or eOIllJllon

brotherhood among folk1\\ej's of Babasaheb ga\"C them the self and ambition to lead life that they were denied. Now we more untouchables

the and

respect a good earlier are no but arc

not able to rcalise the potential of the I11O\'el11cnt ha\c to hide their identity and cannot lead a respectable life. They li\e in illusion that some day Hindu society \\'ill accept them. They forget that the so-called Hindu society is based on exploitation and hatred towards them. This hatred and

future you are surely to be the target of casteism because you don't have the guts to stand up against it. [f you \vant to live a confident and happy life you have to knov,' Ambedkar and his

exploitation society. Babasaheb

teachings. The faster you run away from your identity. the slower will be your development and the closer you '.vill come to mcet humiliation. personal brought

gaH~ ;'n sense

proud Buddhists with a rich history and bright future. The fact is that those Dalits who arc

some\\here in the bollOI11 of your heart :-ou feci inferior to others; because SOl11c\\-here in the ncar

On my being

a

is the life blood of Hindu understood

this

fact

clearly and that is why he gave a call to leave Hinduism. That's the only ,,-ay out for the Dalits to build a prosperous and bright future for their progeny.

expenence of up 111 a 13

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"Everyone has to convert" An interview with G Alosiyus How important is the conversion religion. At the time, untouchables issue toady fOI" DaIits'! (Dalits) wcre also interested in Everyone HAS to convert. Dr integration. This is seen in the fact Ambedkar's convcrsion to that lots of temple entry Buddhism should bc secn as a movements lOok place. The larger attcmpt to come in terms violence against these efforts of with modernity. Modernity means integration by the upper castes \vas thc rise of egalitarian values and phenomenal. This led Dr subsequent empowerment of Ambedkar to convert. depressed societies, Modernity is What is the meaning of the test of fire of all pre-modern Buddhism? values. The Buddhism that Dr Ambedkar In the late 19th Century and early converted to is neither original. nor 20th Century many people in India did he take to any existing form of tried to reform their religion to Buddhism. In my opinion, the 22 make it democratized, Dr vows (see box) that he took on his Ambedkar, during the start of his initiation to Buddhism represent his mo\'emenL also tried to do so. understanding of Buddhism. Unlike There was too much resistance and others. Buddhism is not a religion. rejection of his effort and he was It is purification and deforced to find a separate religion mystification of all religion. The that would provide Dalits with a . Buddha himself says: "Don't democratic social and spiritual blindly accept my teachings. Verify space. them yourself' .. THIS is the Why should Dalits leave challenge of modernity. It also Hinduism? symbolized the empowem1ent of In the early 20th Century, people repressed people. by and large accepted Hinduism What has been the impact of because it was a territorial term, but conversion'? later political leaders such as Forty eight years after the death of Gandhi made this term communal Babasaheb, there is a feeling that and defined it as Sanathan dharma his last step, of converting to and gave it a spiritual and casteist Buddhism, has not produced the meaning. This lead to the problem desired results, In my opinion, this of integrating different is neither the failure of Ambedkar communities in one single sacred nor the failure of his movement. 1l{I I

He expected economic

large-scale social and transformation in

independent India. He hoped that such a transformation will bring a change in the Brahminical social outlook, but this \vas not tile casco There was a del iberate attcmpt to sabotage the onset o( modernity in India as it would threaten the control of the Brahminical castes over the social

and economic life of the country. This sabotage occurred through the denial of universal education. planned industrialization of social infrastructure.

and

A clear cxamplc of this 13uddhi 5t movcment

lack

is

thc in

Maharashtra. It was deliberately ghettoized by the Brahimineal ruling class. They portrayed the movement as inefticicnt and as a

THE 22 VOWS TAKEN BY BABASAHEB ON 14 OCTOBER 1956 I shall have no faith in Brahma.

Vishnu and Mahesh

nor shall I worship

them.

•

• • • • • • • • •

• • • •

• • •

I shall h,l\"c no faith in Rama and Krishna

who alT helie'"ed to he

incarnation of Cod nor shall I worship them. I shall han no faith in 'Gauri', Ganapati and other gods and goddesses of Hindus nor shall I worship them. I do not helien in the incarnation of God. I do not and shall not belin"e that Lord Buddha was the incanJation of Vishnu. I helien tliis to be sheer madness and false propaganda. I shall not perform 'Shr-addha' nor shall I give 'pind-dan'. I shall not act in a manner violating the principles and teachings of the Buddha. I shall I shall I shall I shall I shall I shall them. I shall I shall I shall

not allow any ceremonies tc be performed by Brahmins. believe in the equality of man. endeavour to establish equality. follow the 'noble eightfold path' of the Buddha. follow the 'paramitas' prescribed by the Bnddha. have compassion and loving kindness for all living beings and protect not steal. not tell lies. not commit carnal sins.

I shall not take intoxicants like liquor, drugs etc. I shall endeavour to follow the noble eightfold path and practise compassion and loving kindness in every day life. I renounce Hinduism which is harmful for humanity and impedes the advancement and development of humanity because it is based on inequality, and adopt Buddhism as my religion. I firmly believe the Dhamma of the Buddha is the only true religion. I believe that I am having arc-birth. I solemnly declare and affirm that I shall hereafter lead my life according to the principles and teachings of the Buddha and his Dhamma. 15

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~()calmovement. lhe media and the upper castes made it appear that the mo\'ement \\as unable to address the issue or untouchability in a cOIl1prehensi\e manner. \\"hat is the future of the stJ'ategy or eonyersion'? ;-\0\\ the situcltion is different. Due

to the la\\ or numbers in denwcracy. tbey \\<1nt us. Still no one talks about equality, If at all they arc only willing to provide political equality. This means inclusion in the nation state but exclusion 11()m the nation. This makes the need ror c01i\ersion even

more important. The recent attempts by Hindutva forces to incorporate Dalits and adivasis into the Hindu rold_ only tt) play thc number game. makes very important for the Dalit to convert and reject llinuusim and make a clear political and social statement. G .,1/osiyus Nationa!is111

IS the author frithou{ Nation

of lIe

did his }\.lphil Fom JNU lIe worked as all activist for J 5 J'ears in Jlwrkhand as an activist hefhre {his, He is currentl\" compiling the Critic~ll Quest series on D(dit icons and ideologies,

THE TRUTH ABOUT ,JHA.1.JAR On 15 October 2002. 5 Dalits were massacred for allegedly skinning a li\'c CO\\, Till nm\ there have been no arrests. VHP activists \\'ho publicly claimed that the covis life is more precious than a Dalies lilC ha\e not 12\ en seen the inside of a courtroom forget a jail. The victims \\ere engaged in their traditional occupation of leather tanning for \\hich they had a government license. On the date of incident. they had loaded the truck with dead animal skin and were going towards Kamal which is known for leather trade and industry. Yirender's (a victim) father Ratan Singh said that the story of skinning of a dead cow is just a cover-up. "We have been doing leather tanning for three generations. There is no question ofthem skinning a cow by the side of the road." Dayachand's (a victim) father Budhram alleges th~1tas per his information, the police stopped the truck and asked them for a hefty bribe. When they refused to pay they were beaten up mercilessly and a case j-egisteredagainst them under the Cow Slaughter (Prevention) Act. Since one of them got seriously injured or pel'haps killed. the police spread the story that they were killing a cow. 1t is mentioned in the FIR lodged by the SHO that these 5 Dalits were attacked by a mob of around 4000-5000 who were returning back from Dusshera Fair. It is alleged that a group of people saw these 5 Dalits skinning a CO\vby the roadside and that is how infom1ation was passed nn 10 others that some Musiims are engaged in CO\\'killing. This:s a blatant case of murder in which the VEP used police murder to promote its cow nationalism. It?

I

1

Ambedkar Jayanti Samaroh An organisation,

a movement, a community

By Vinay Ambcdkar It's a pleasure ror me to write about a group which was running in illY villagc. ;\s Llr as ! know this group has not namcd itself. but it has earned a grcat namc ror itsclr bccause or thc work it has done. /3ut IIrst let mc tell you a Iittie about myself. I li\e in Khajuran or district Jaunpur in castern Uttar Pradcsh. Khaiuran is a middle sizcd villagc with about 2.000 people hall' or whom arc Dalits.

BA (CRS/SL&CS) been working very hard \vith the group. They collect money from carl: in the morning to late in the night rrom \'illages near and I~lr. !3u\ collecting Illoncy was not the (1nl: thing th~lt drivcs thclll. The memhers makc people awarc for caste truths and un itc thcm so that the \\lwlc community can stand as one ullcler the nag that \\as kno\\"l1 as !\mb,:dJ..:ar Jayanti Samaroh. In my childhood days. my father \\as president llf thc ;\mbedkar JaY~lilli Samaroh committee. He llsed to

Although it may seem like my \illage is a typical Indian \'illage as imagined by Gandhi, it is different. The Dalits living here have completely discarded their Hindu identity and have gained in process self conJldence and political direction. The group J am going to talk about had a major role to play in this. This group celebrates its success in an annual festival on the 14th of April every year, on the occasion of "Masihaa" of Dalits Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar'sbirthday. For as long as I can remember, that is, since I have been in a

arrangc a weckly programmc in nearby villages. In the programmes, he and other members of the group would speak to cveryone: men, women. children and the aged and cxplain the work that was done by /)r. !\mbedkar for the emancipation of Dalits. These activities were eontinucd through out the year until Ambedkar Jayanti arrived. When the riay finally came, my father and the other members of the group were surprised to see that 500 or 600 people had Come from different villages and over great distances. Youth and women participated in large numbers. We began by

position to reflect about society. and people and know the world, my father. other family members and people from the village have

garlanding the statue of Dr Ambedkar and this was followed by many people talking about the Iile and works of Babasaheb.

/1

After this function, a change inspiration, Suman and his group go became evident within the Dalit from village to village perfomling. community. People stopped These performances attract large hiding their identity. Even the numbers of people from all upper-castes attitude and communities and castes. Suman has behavoiur underwent a used this platform to demolish habits considerable change. Even I had of idol worship and other Hindu not expected that a simple superstitions and promote display of such .. Ambedkerite thoughts. The solidarity would create I had not impact Suman has had is such far reaching expected that phenomenal. There is the changes. a simple rare house that still worships As word of this display of idols but mostly people have Samaroh spread people such \eft these backward from other places solidarity practices. began to become would create I Although Dalits 111 my involved in similar such far village have definitdy activities in their own reaching progressed in terms of self villages as they saw chanees confidence and self respect, the change that the '-------' poverty is still a major issue samaroh had brought about with to be tackled. Most of the Dalits till the community and in the so small strips of land. However, many called upper castes. people are slowly getting access to I have been witness to many e~ucation and have been proving more samorahs with many new themselves with excellence in which friends. It has been growing ever field they chose. larger every year and the impact. One of the things that sadden me it has had on my community in most is that it is only the Chamars particular and society in general who participate in activities that are has also been growing. trying to emancipate the community. The change that these samarohs Th~ other Dalits. such as the Dhobis brought about within the and the Pasis,' who are also as community has made our area·. exploited as the Chamars~ are not as very receptive to ideas of receptive to the process of change. emancipation. The story' of They have been stuck within the Chaitu Suman is good example restrictive structure of Hinduism, of this. Suman is a Dalit singer, which allows them neither growth nor dancer, and dramatist and orator. self confidence". This is not true of He can perform almost non-stop these castes as a whole but as far as I for seven or eight hours. Wit.h have been able to observe this is the cultural techniques and immense condition of the majority of them. // ((/

,------

Towards an emancipatory ,politics Dalits Christians in Indian civil society By Durang Basu Mullick MA (CSSS) There are Dalits who converted persecutors and killers from the to Christianity, but are excluded upper-castes. from the official list of scheduled No .wonder that Christian churches castes made out in the cannot speak up aloud, in the face of Government of India Schedule atrocities against Dalits in the wider Caste Order (1936). The term society. In recent years more and scheduled caste included a more Christian Dalits have been specification that no Indian involved as leaders of their local Christian shall be ,-----------, communities and have decreed to be a No wonder that become the main victims member of the Christian of caste carnages, police schedule caste. Thus churches cannot brutailities and tam.ets of for the first time a s~eak up aloud, government action. ~ relioious criterion was III the face of Dr Ambedkar had \\Titten intr~duced in a atrocities that the ~ervices rendered government document against ~alits in by the missions in the to distinguish the the ':Ider fields of education and schedule castes. society ,medical relief are beyond However, those Indian the reach of Dalit Christian who were converts Christians, they go mostly to benefit from the scheduled castes were the high-caste Hindus. 'The Indian subject to the same social Christians are either too poor or too dis,abilities they suffered before devoid of ambition to undertake the conversion. Christians Dalits are pm'sait of higher education. discriminated against in worship Dr Ambedkar was a sincere wellplaces, rituals, ceremonies wisher of Indian Christians, contrary relating to rites of passage, to what most Christians still believe: educational ii1stitutions and that he did not convert to Christianity hospitals and even in the because he despised that religion. cemeteries. Ambedkar would not convert to' a Upper-caste clergy have been Christianity which did not do away known to tacitly support caste with caste' among its followers and leaders and perpetrators';, of within its churches and which could crimes against Dalitsand not wipe away the observances of manipulate matters to prevent Hindu socio-religious practices. Dalit victims from registering. Anyone who is fair minded and police cases against their knows the unredeemed sufferings of III

Christian Dalits will appreci&te Dr Ambedkar's honesty. For hiin religion was more a social strategy and a political instrument to achieve the equality and humanity of Dalits in society. Dr AmbeJkar saw three reasons why the Christian untouchables have failed to raise a movement. Firstly. the lack of kinship between the educated class and the mass of lower class of Christians, which resulted in. untouchable Christians being leaderless and unable to mobilize for the redress of their wrongs. Sccondly, the faulty mental makeup of the converts and absence of any urge to break bonds since most of them converted without a positive discontent or dislike of the Hindu religious teachings with the result that Christianity becomes only an addendum to old faith. It did not become a substitute (they cherish both religions and observe them on occasions appropriate to each. Thirdly, the Christian church··

taught the Christians that. their fall was due to the original sin of Adam, instead of being taught that their fall is due to a wrong social and religious environment and that for their improvement they .must attack the environment and conquer it. So do Christians matter in India? According to Dr Ambedkar, they are the most educated and enlightened community in India, but have not been politically active as a community. The most obvious reason is their small number. But there must be other factors to account for this. Dr Ambedkar saw two reasons. One, the Indian Christians looked to the missions for their education, medical care and for most of th~ir petty needs. Not being totally dependent on the government they would not mobilize, agitate, educate· and organise their masses for effective political requirements. Secondly, the Indian Christians were a disjointed community and like all other Indians were divided by race, language and caste. Apart from havinK a common source of inspiration their religion has ho~been a:sufficientiy unifying force.

Christian DaHt Ideology FOI' we are both Dalits and Christians, we are both Indians and oppressed

Indians, we· are both human beings and Christian. beings, we are accountable to both: the author of our faith and to the state. We are responsible both to the community of Dalits and to the church and both to humanity and Christianity •. 1'his means both te~po~1 and spiritual, religious and political concerns converge in this ideology. The sum of such an ideological perspective emphasizes both the alienation and aspiration, the dilemmas and opportunities ofthe Christian Dalits. - DBM

I

/

I am so glad to see your obvious). I urge readers to question initiative. Can Insight not have a all that they have within rationally, column where reactions to the and not use 'imposed notions' (of articles published in the last past years) of any nature as means of edition can be given? For getting into groups for the sake of instance, I would like to social security. Giving loud comment on Ashokan Nambiar's 'naras'(common in JND) is a very article titled. 'Re-inwntiag the good tool for venting OJlt excessive selL exploring a new world'. It is energy (that's what I did a few a ycry simple article. straight times!) and most people should do it from the heart and to me. the sometime. but only after carefully most relevant. The understanding considering the issues which touch that one constantly has to them most on a day to day basis. Real intelligently undo the past issues to me are those which 25 a learning (of any form) to do erson you are afraid to confront justice to present LETTERS within. timcs is \"Cry true" WITH Shaweta Anand Similarly, I might INSIGHT .lamia Millia Islamia have taken my Punjabi lineage for granted all I congratulate Ambedkar Study my life. of course unwittingly, Centre in its efforts and commitment much like the writel who (after in dissemi~ating Ambedkar's ideas; it enough exposure to the reality of is only through widespread discussion an unjust society) chose to come·· that Ambedkar's relevance for the out of his shell. For that, he present can be more widely participated actively in casteunderstood and established. related discourses in his Many of my students "and I read uni\"ersity and subsequently Insight with much interest. When I realized that a lot had to be saw it and asked my students whether undone from his 'upper' caste it was possible to bring out something self-feeding self. Being on like this here, they only said one ~ampus, my first realizations of word: "impossible'!; pointing to how anything "political" were in the important it is for your team to carry form of the 'SFI ideology'. I got on the good ~work that you have my space/freedom in party begun through Insight to activities (that was very mainstreamize Ambedkar's ideas important to me because being a through circulation iri print medium. woman I find myself struggling So do continue with your efforts. for my freedo-!l1 Nikhila Haritsa EVERYWhERE, of course in Dept of English different fOffilS, both subtle and Pondicherry University 21

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Four DaIits students suspended inl\1how Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkari-.Iationa! Institute of Social Sciences is a reputed research institute of Madhya Pradesh and is located at the birth place of Dr. Ambedkar. On the night of 10/10/2004 at 9.30 pm four students (Ratnesh Kumar, Anand Kumar, Rakesh Chouhan and Sukhram Kakodia) of the Institute, were warned to return to their hostels by a security guard who claimed to be acting on the orders of the Registrar. On refusing to do so, they were confronted by the Registrar who was allegedly drunk and who hurled filthy abuses at them. This behaviour is apparently common behaviour with the Registrar, L.S,Solanki. Solanki is also infamous for imposing archaic rules such as banning boys from wearing shorts and lowering the girls hostel deadline. The students, fed up with his abusive behaviour tried to file a FIR against him. They approached two police stations but were tumed back. In the morning when they approached the acting Director General of the Institute Prof. A,L.Sharma, they were told that they had been accllsed of thrashing the Registrar and breaking his car windows. The registrar has filed a case against 11 boys and has suspended four students from the hostel. It is widely felt in Mhow that the Registrar is acting on the behalf of Prof. A.LSharma who is considered to be an.RSS sympathizer. Together they .have been vitiating the atmosphere of the Institute since ProfNandu Ram (currently Ambedkar Chair JNU) left the post of Director General. All four boys who were suspended are passionately involved in the Ambedkerite movement and this is only an attempt to

I

occurred in Hyderabad Central Unive:-:ity. It is our view that Brahminica! faculty can victimise new, In January 2002, acontinue, similar' incident hide behindthem. the Such police provocation only for so are long.notShould such provocation the ~t1pper"

community in India as they did in Hyderabad. lcastcs will get a taste of the perseverance and commitment .------.-

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/ of the Dalit student