Tag Archives: Dr Ambedkar

March 20, 2016 · 12:11 pm

Poem on Mahad Satyagraha

Mahad Satyagraha Haat

In the motionless alleys

Outside the village gates

You came and thundered

Everyone started

Brushed of the dust and woke up

You walked forward

Holding flaming urn

All the merchants of darkness were fear struck

You kept on walking

With everyone following

You stopped at the bank of the pond

And gave us life …

‘Haat’ in Marathi means ‘hands’.

Poem is written by Arjun Dangle, one of the founding members of the Dalit Panther Party.

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Filed under Caste Discrimination, Casteism, Dalit, Dr B R Ambedkar, Equal Rights, Poems

Tagged as Dalit Revolt, Dr Ambedkar, Mahad Satyagraha, Mahad Satyagraha Poem

March 20, 2016 · 9:10 am

Mahad Satyagraha – Times when Untouchables revolted

[Excerpt from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s writings ‘Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability’, Chapter 2, titled – ‘The Revolt of the Untouchables]

The movement of the Untouchables against the injustice of the Hindu Social Order has a long history behind it, especially in Maharashtra. This history falls into two stages. The first stage was marked by petitions and protests. The second stage is marked by open revolt in the form of direct action against the Hindu Established Order. This change of attitude was due to two circumstances. In the first place it was due to the realisation that the petitions and protests had failed to move the Hindus. In the second place Governments had declared that all public utilities and public institutions are open to all citizens including the Untouchables. The right to wear any kind of clothes or ornaments are some of the rights which the British Indian Law gives to the Untouchables along with the rest. To these were added the rights to the use of public utilities and institutions, such as wells, schools, buses, trams. Railways, Public offices, etc., were now put beyond the pale of doubt. But owing to the opposition of the Hindus the Untouchables cannot make any use of them. It is to meet the situation, the Untouchables decided to change the methods and to direct action to redress their wrongs. This change took place about 1920.

Read also – 20th March in Dalit History – Mahad Satyagraha

Of such attempts at direct action only few can be mentioned so as to give an idea of the revolt of the Untouchables against the Hindu Social Order. Of the attempts made to vindicate the right to use the public roads, it is enough to mention one, most noteworthy attempt in this behalf was that made by the Untouchables of Travencore State in 1924 to obtain the use of the roads which skirted the temple at Vaikorn. These roads were public roads maintained by the State for the use of everybody, but on account of their proximity to the temple building, the Untouchables were not allowed to use certain sections, which skirted the temple too closely. Ultimately as a result of Satyagraha, the temple compound was enlarged and the road was realigned so that there the Untouchables even if they used it were no longer within the polluting distance of the temple.

Watch also – Mahad Satyagraha – A clip from Babasaheb Ambedkar’s movie

Of the attempts made to vindicate the right to take water from the public watering places, it is enough to mention the case of the Chawdar Tank.

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Filed under Caste Discrimination, Casteism, Dalit, Dr B R Ambedkar, Today in Dalit History

Tagged as Dalit Revolt, dalits, Dr Ambedkar, Dr Ambedkar at Mahad, Dr. Ambedkar Statue at Mahad, Mahad Satyagraha

March 20, 2016 · 7:20 am

Mahad Satyagraha – A clip from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Movie

20th March is the day of dignity for entire dalits of India. This is the day, we broke the religious boundaries and touched the water. Water was mere reason, it was the fight for self respect, the passion of proving ourselves, the war for water, the struggle for existence, the fire of revolution, and finally we step forward towards our rights on 20th March 1927. Lets celebrate the 82nd anniversary of war of water.

Hindus:

Hindus & Hinduism have a cruel history on the pages of India, they have been practicing the Hindu culture, where kindness was far away from this religion. All Hindus not only Brahmins, but also Maratha, Vaani, Teli, Kunabhi everybody from higher caste used to exploit Dalits (Untouchables).

Ban On Water:

Can you imagine how horrible is that a community was banned to have a drinking water from public lake or dam. My God! It was bloody behaviour of all Hindus (Not only Brahmins) to banned the Dalits from drinking water. These Hindus used to go for bathing, laundry, washing in the lake water, but Dalits were not allowed to take a drinking water from any lake, well, or any public water source. This is not the story of couple of days or centuries, this is the story of millions of years. Still you can see the same situation in rural area of India, the Komati Samaaj staying in Sironcha, they still follow this kind of belief.

Read also – 20th March in Dalit History – Mahad Satyagraha

Statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at Chavdar Tale Mahad

Chavdar Tale (Tasty Lake):

March 20, 1927 the day Dalits finally touched the water of Chavdar Tale with the association of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar at Mahad in the Raigad district of the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The main organizer of this movement was R B More, introduced Dr. Ambedkar and his other colleagues like Anantrao Chitre, Bapu Sahasrabuddhe and Sitaram Shivtarkar. On 19th March 1927 Dr. Ambedkar gave an erupting kind of speech. People just went with electrifying energy and flame out with the intention to throw out the slavery of thousands of year. On the next day 20th March 1927 In this satyagraha, thousands of Dalits for the first time drank water from the lake that for centuries had been set aside only for caste Hindus.

Purification of Chavdar Tale (Tasty Lake) :

After the water of lake was drank by Dalits, all Hindus from entire India raised the voice against Dr. Ambedkar and even many Hindus threatened him to kill. The Hindus came to foolish conclusion that the water of Chavdar lake had been polluted by the touch of Dalits. They threw the water purification program, and you will be shock by hearing that ‘Urine of Cow had been drizzled in the entire water to purify the water of lake’

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Filed under Caste Discrimination, Casteism, Dalits Ask Dalits Demand, Documentary, Dr B R Ambedkar, Equal Rights

Tagged as Chavdar Tale, Dalit History, dalits, Dr Ambedkar, Dr Ambedkar Statue, Mahad Satyagraha

March 19, 2016 · 6:00 am

‘Quotes by Saheb Kanshi Ram Ji

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Filed under Behan Mayawati, BSP, Dr B R Ambedkar, Quotes, Saheb Kanshi Ram

Tagged as Bahujan Samaj Party, Behan Mayawati, BSP, Dalit, Dr Ambedkar, Quotes of Saheb Kanshi Ram, Saheb Kanshi Ram

March 16, 2016 · 10:56 am

Buddhists are far ahead of Hindu Dalits

Written by S Darapuri

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, on 31st May, 1936, in his address to a public meeting at Dadar (Bombay) on the subject of “why go for conversion?” said, “I should like to impress this thing on your minds very clearly that religion is for man and not man for religion. If you want to organize yourself, change your religion. If you want to gain self respect change your religion. If you want to create a society which ensures cooperation, and brotherhood change your religion.

If you want to achieve power, change your religion. If you want equality, change your religion. If you want independence, change your religion. If you want to make this world happy in which you live, change your religion.” On 14th October, 1956 after converting to Buddhism at Nagpur Dr. Ambedkar remarked,” Today I have got a new birth.”

Now let us see as to what extent the objectives and gains of Buddhist conversion as outlined by Dr. Ambedkar have been achieved or have accrued to the new converts known as Buddhists.

First of all it will be proper to see the strength of the Buddhists gained so far. As per the figures of 2001 census report the total population of Buddhists in India stands at 79.55 lacs which is 0.8 percent of the total population of India. It includes a small number of traditional Buddhists. Maharashtra state has the largest Buddhist population of 58.38 lacs followed by Karnatka (3.93 lacs) and Uttar Pardesh (3.02 lacs).

The rate of growth of Buddhist population during 1991-2001has been 24.56 percent which can be said to be quite encouraging. These statistics also show that Buddhist population has surpassed the Jain population.

Now when we look into the qualitative changes in the lives of Buddhists vis-à-vis the Hindu Dalits we find that they are far ahead on many scores. As per 2001 census repot comparison of Buddhists and Hindu Dalits on the following scores indicates a significant improvement in the lives of Buddhist:-

1. Sex Ratio: The sex ratio of female and male among Buddhists is 953 per thousand as compared with 936 of Hindu Dalits. It indicates that the position of women in Buddhist families is far better than that of Hindu Dalits. It is quite in accordance with the high status of women in Buddhist society. This ratio is higher than Hindus (931), Muslims (936), Sikhs (893) and Jains (940).

2. Sex Ratio of Children (0-6 years): According to 2001 census report the sex ratio of girls and boys among Buddhists is 942 as compared with 938 of Hindu Dalits. This sex ratio is much higher than Hindus (925), Sikhs (786), and Jains (870). It shows that girls enjoy better care and protection among Buddhists as compared with Hindu Dalit families.

3. Literacy Rate: Literacy rate of Buddhists is 72.7 percent which is much higher than that of Hindu Dalits (54.70 percent). This rate is also much higher than that of Hindus (65.1), Muslims (59.1) and Sikhs (69.4).It shows that Buddhists are more literate than Hindu Dalits.

4. Literacy RateFemale : The literacy rate of Buddhist women is 61.7 percent as compared with 41.9 percent of Hindu Dalit women. This rate is also higher than that of Hindus (53.2) and Muslims (50.1). It is in accordance with the status of women in Buddhist society. It shows that females among Buddhists are getting more educated than Hindu Dalit females.

5. Work Participation Rate: This rate for Buddhists is 40.6 percent which is higher than 40.4 percent for Hindu Dalits. This rate is also higher than that of Hindus (40.4), Muslims (31.3) Christians (39.3), Sikhs (31.7), and Jains (32.7).It indicates that Buddhists are more employed than Hindu Dalits.

The above comparative study of the status and conditions of Buddhists indicates that they are far ahead of Hindu Dalits on various parameters e.g. sex ratio, girl and boy (0-6 years) sex ratio, literacy, women literacy and work participation rate. It is definitely the result of change of religion which has liberated them from the bondage of caste and inferiority complex.

Apart from the above various studies have also shown that Dalits who have followed Dr. Ambedkar and got converted to Buddhism have progressed in all the fields of life as compared with Hindu Dalits. Buddhists have changed their occupations by leaving low paid and dirty professions. Better education has opened for them new opportunities for advancement. They give more importance to the education of their children resulting in higher rate of literacy.

They are more self respecting and assertive in their rights. They have become self makers, self dependent and competitive. They have grown intellectually. Their women and children enjoy better status in family and society. They have become enlightened and are saved from religious exploitation and bigotry. Thus Buddhism has definitely liberated them spiritually and materially.

This study shows that Buddhism is really a liberating philosophy for Dalits. The Buddhists have made more progress than Hindu Dalits. They should become good Buddhists and should become role models for Hindu Dalits.

Source – Buddhist channel

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March 15, 2016 · 3:18 am

“The Oppressed Indian”, a monthly journal was started by Saheb Kanshi Ram

“The Oppressed Indian”, a monthly journal was started by Saheb Kanshi Ram in April 1979, after the relaunch BAMCEF in 1978, which in his own words was “a vigilant and up to date news service armed and operated by the oppressed Indians themselves creating proper public opinion.” Kanshi Ram himself used to write the editorials. For the editorial of the inaugural issue he wrote

~ “All these people of the backward and minority communities, who form about 85% of India’s population, have little share in the news service of the nation. News regarding them or pertaining to their pressing problems appear in the press in a casual manner. Youth, students, farmers, workers, educated employees, and even leaders of these communities keep groping in the dark and struggling without being fully informed…The caste Hindu monopoly of the press gives only sketchy news about the outrages and the atrocities committed on the oppressed Indians. The aftermath and the actions taken, if any, are not given publicity by the caste Hindu press….Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar realized the importance of our own news service to ventilate the grievances of our people and to create public opinion in favour of speedy redress. He realized this some 60 years ago when there were no literate persons amongst the untouchables….”

Saheb Kanshi Ram, following the Phule Ambedkarite organisational philosophy understood the need of parallel media for Bahujan Mass Movement. Before “The Oppressed Indian” he had published ‘The Untouchable India’ in 1972. In 1984, He started “Bahujan Times”, a daily in Marathi, Hindi and English. Then there were more monthlies like Bahujan Sahitya, Economic Upsurge, Arthik Utthan, Shramik Sahitya etc and weeklies like Bahujan Sangathak, Bahujan Nayak. In the same inaugural issue of “The Oppressed Indian”, Kansi Ram concluded the editorial with saying “Publication of the Oppressed Indian, a monthly news magazine is just beginning. The task ahead is challenging!”

Today on the occasion of the Bahujan Nayak’s 83rd birth anniversary, sharing some images of the front covers of “The Oppressed Indian” issues, featuring the formation of Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS 4), it’s political engagements, Issue on Phoolan Devi, significance of Independence for the oppressed Indians etc. Mr Shashikant Humane, renowned Dalit writer and activist from Maharashtra, was subscriber of the journal. I am grateful to him for exposing me to these old issues from his archive. Thanks to my friend Abhiyan Humane.

Source – Pinak Banik Facebook post

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Tagged as Bahujan Samaj Party, BAMCEF, BSP, dalits, Dr Ambedkar, DS4, Saheb Kanshi Ram, The Oppressed Indian

March 7, 2016 · 10:35 pm

What Dr. Ambedkar said about Communism and Communist Parties

Dr. Ambedkar on Communist Party

The Communist Party was originally in the hands of some Brahmin boys – Dange and others. They have been trying to win over the Maratha community and the Scheduled Castes. But they have made no headway in Maharashtra. Why ? Because they are mostly a bunch of Brahmin boys. The Russians made a great mistake to entrust the Communist movement in India to them. Either the Russians didn’t want Communism in India – they wanted only drummer boys – or they didn’t understand.

BAWS Vol-17 Part-1, Page-425, Dr B.R. Ambedkar

Dr Ambedkar on Communism

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar said that his party would not in any case align with the Communist Party “for the plain reason that I do not believe in Communism,”

BAWS Vol-17 Part-1, Page-406, Dr B.R. Ambedkar

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Lal Salam, Comrade! Dalit has a few questions..

Communism, as it is, is a sugar coated poisonous pill. Beware! – E. V. R. Periyar

1952, CPI founding member – “spoil your votes but don’t vote Dr. Ambedkar”, Dr Ambedkar lost election

What Dr Ambedkar said about Communists & Socialists criticizing the Constitution of India