Brother D.K. Khaparde, Waman Meshram and friends, I am very happy to be present at this 14th national convention of the BAMCEF.
I want to tell you that in Dalit Voice, we have been not only supporters of BAMCEF but also great admirers of your leaders like D.K. Khaparde, Waman Meshram etc.
Recently, we made a small report out of Waman Meshram’s exposure of the People’s Education Society and how it was being swallowed by brahminical forces.
We like your bold, direct attack on brahmanvad. It needs lot of courage. And courage comes out of conviction, your deep commitment to Ambedkarvad which is also the uncompromising stand taken by Dalit Voice in the past 18 years.
CONVERT BAMCEF INTO TRADE UNION
I was here yesterday also, went round the whole convention cam- pus, listened to the speeches, observed your discipline. On behalf of Dalit Voice and its family worldwide, I have come all the way from Bangalore to pay our tributes to your marvelous organisational capacity. We need hundreds of Khapardes and thousands of Waman Meshrams. (cheers).
Because this oppressive 20th century, which we have described as “Gandhi Yug”, is coming to an end. The 21st century is only two years away. We have described the coming 21st century as the “Dr. Ambedkar Era”. (cheers)
BAMCEF must convert itself into a powerful trade union and a fighting force to expedite the exit of “Gandhi Yug and welcome, install and strengthen the “Dr. Ambedkar Era”.
Before I go into my subject I want to touch another important, if not the most important, point so dear to my heart.
BLACKOUT BY TOILET PAPERS
Your leaders told me yesterday that the existing brahminical papers, which in DV are described as toilet papers, have completely blacked out the news of your big convention. I also learn that a decision was taken in Bombay not to give any coverage to such a four-day convention, such a historic event.
I want to ask Brother Khaparde and his comrades: What right have you to demand publicity in this “Brahmin press”. The press doesn’t belong to you. Not only it doesn’t belong to you, but it is your enemy.
Our Enemy knows what it should do to fight us. But do we know what we should do to fight this enemy? No. (cheers).
BRAHMIN MIND CONTROL
I have worked in the Indian Express for 25 years in different parts of India and I know this “Brahmin press” in and out. It is a great tragedy that we have allowed this 3% Brahmins to control our minds.
Can’t we set up our own “Media Centre”? We have the experience, we have the expertise and also all- India contact. DV is 18 years old, published in different languages. We will keep all our experience, contacts and knowledge at your disposal.
“Dr. Ambedkar Era” cannot be in- augurated without a media of our own.
A cultural revolution alone can lead to political revolution. And such a revolution is not possible unless we have our own media.
I have come all the way from Bangalore to impress upon you this most important point. And your current national convention must discuss this subject and if your time permits I am ready to elaborate on this subject tomorrow morning.
Delegates gathered here must force your leadership to launch a powerful “Media Centre” in Delhi and we are ready to place ourselves at your disposal. Please accept our offer.
FORMULA TO FINISH BRAHMINISM
The third most important point pertains to the subject of this evening talk: “caste-based brahminical exploitation and how to fight it.”
I want to tell you that I have about 40 years of experience fighting these brahminical forces. Brahmins may be merely about 3% of India’s population but those directly under their religious influence come to 15% of our population. Their influence is growing. Bahujans that is SC/ST/BCs and Muslim, Christian, Sikhs put toether come to 85%. These figures are now fairly well known. Though we the non-Aryan forces are so huge in population and we are the producers of all wealth and our oppressors are merely consumers and manipulators, why we are not able to defeat them?
YEAR-LONG DEBATE IN DV
Forget about defeating them, why we can’t even make a dent upon them?
So, I have come here to share a very important formula that can easily finish this tiny 15% Aryan brahminical forces. What is this formula? What is this strategy?
There is no secret about it. There must be many readers of Dalit Voice present here and in DV we have been holding a Debate on this subject for the past over one year.
The subject is “caste identity” or “jati identity”.
The Debate has been going on right lines. It has been a great intellectual treat.
Please note that the jati among the Bahujans is not the jati of the Aryan brahminical Hindus. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s speech, Annihilation of Caste, was meant for Hindus and not non-Hindus.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CASTE & TRIBE
It was the Aryans who brought Hinduism to India. They only have the caste system, Chaturvarna. We are Bahujans, outside the caste and hence called outcastes. Our jatis are not castes but our ethnic identities.
Endogamy has different functions under the Hindu caste system and our jati or Tribal identities. Our Bahujan jatis were once tribes now transformed into castes. Yet our ja tis retained our Tribal identity.
But this notion of identity gets transformed into one of purity of castes. There is no hierarchy or gradation among different tribes. On the other hand purity is a hierarchical relation. In other words, if one caste is pure the others are less pure or impure. Under the Tribal identity, inter-Tribal marriages are forbidden. But under the caste system, caste purity permits taking women from more pure castes but not giving women to less pure castes.
The great Tribal principle is separate but equal. But under the Hindu caste system, caste confers status, power, and power to oppress others, security. Higher the caste greater the power. Caste is the essence of Hinduism.
That means before the Aryans converted our jatis into castes, we were different Tribal units. India was exactly like today’s African continent with thousands of Tribal units.
BAHUJANS ASKED TO FORGET CASTES
As I have no time. I cannot elaborate this point. The Brahminical Social Order (BSO) has destroyed our Tribal identities and put them under their Hindu caste system and called themselves as the single largest religion of 85% Indians. This is false.
The Aryans (BSO) are asking to forget our caste identity to impose their Hindu identity on our non-Hindu people. Bahujans are not Hindus. Only the 15% Aryans are Hindus.. All the 85% Bahujans are Tribal identities and we must go back to our Tribal roots and strengthen it.
Both the Hindutvavadis and marxists are asking us to forget our jati identity because they want to strengthen their “Hindu unity” and their “Hindu nation”. Because only when “Hindu unity” is forged and “Hindu nation” is formed, the 3% Brahmins can cement their over- lordship on us reducing the Bahujans to perpetual slavery.
MARXIST SLOGAN
The marxists of India gave us a slogan: “Strengthen the nation by giving up your caste”. But we have reversed this slogan: “Strengthen every jati by giving up this nation.” India is not a “nation” but a country of thousands of “nations”.
CASTE AS NATION
What then is the nation? Babasaheb has elaborately de-scribed and defined what is a “nation and I have no time to go into it.
Our research into this subject, our experience, travel all over India and study have all convinced us that in India it is the caste that can be compared to a “nation”.
We have to destroy the notion of caste but strengthen the nation of caste.
HOW BRAHMINS BECAME RULERS
I know it is difficult for you to understand and digest what I say be- cause neither our media nor our leaders discuss it. And all of you have been brain-washed to demand annihilation of caste.
But the Brahmins have no difficulty to understand this point because they have become rulers of India only by strengthening their caste.
Suresh Kalmadi, who resigned yesterday from the Congress and Joined the BJP (Brahmana Jati Party) today, is a Brahmin from my town of Udupi in coastal Karnataka.
He is joining BJP to strengthen his jati. BJP itself is a party led by vaidiks aiming at establishing vaidik rule over India.
Every Brahmin leader knows this. Jayalalita, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Ramakrishna Hegde, Manohar Joshi, V.N. Gadgil, E.M.S. Namboodiripad whatever maybe their party. They all owe their allegiance to their jati.
Brahmins became rulers of India only by strengthening their jati.
HOW MARATHAS LOST RULERSHIP
Marathas became rulers by strengthening their jati. The Marathas lost their rulership in Maharashtra when they got enslaved to Brahmins.
I will conclude by giving you a comparison.
I have compared the different jatis of India to different links in a cycle chain.
INDIAN CYCLE NOT MOVING
In this cycle chain, which link is important? Every link is equally important. The strength of this chain depends upon its weakest link.
I have compared India to this cycle. The Indian cycle is not moving forward because in its chain only three or four links are well-oiled and well-maintained. All other links are neglected, rusted.
That is why this cycle of India is not moving. It is at a standstill.
The “jati identity” of all other jatis have been destroyed and thereby hinduised.
The entire wealth of India has gone into the hands of a mere 15% upper caste jatis. Because, they all strengthened their jatis. And at the same time, these upper caste jatis told us to forget our jatis, our identities.
CASTE CONSCIOUSNESS
The point is these 15% jatis became rulers only because they had strong jati consciousness. Such a caste consciousness helped them to promote their respective jatis and they became rulers.
But the other 85% of the jatis, particularly the Dalit jatis, forgot their roots, their caste consciousness and became slaves.
RIDDLE OF RAMA & KRISHNA
When Babasaheb Ambedkar’s book, Riddle of Rama & Krishna, was published the upper castes made loud protests. Why? Because they said their “sentiment was hurt”.
What does it mean? It means they had strong “caste consciousness” and this “consciousness” provoked them to protest. But do we have the same caste consciousness? No.
Ravan was the ruler of whole India. He was a benevolent Dravidian ruler. But this Ravan is being burnt every year by the Hindus at a festival called “Ram Lila”. Our people, children of Ravan, take the lead in burning their own great ancestor.
Why? Because our “caste con- sciousness has been destroyed or rather, we allowed the upper castes to destroy our “caste consciousness”. We have become unconscious people. Our identity has been destroyed.
So, the slogan we have given in DV is “strengthen every jati, brahminism will be dead”. Strengthen every jati, Hinduism will be dead.
Please note that the Indian revolution leading to the establishment of “Dr. Ambedkar Era” can be and wiil be led by only Dalits and Ambedkarites.
BAMCEF is a leading Ambedkarite organisation and hence you have a great duty to correctly guide the country towards the coming “Dr. Ambedkar Era.”
And in your struggle, fight towards the Ambedkar Era, the most important weapon is “caste consciousness, caste identity and caste con-solidation”.
DALITS NOT ONE CASTE
Please note Dalits do not belong to one jati.
All of us may be victims of brahmanvad. All of us may be victims of untouchability but Dalits have different subcastes which are nothing but our Tribal identities.
As Ambedkarites, it is our duty to first recognise the existence of each subcaste.
SUBCASTE IS REAL CASTE
Subcaste is a misnomer. Actually subcaste is the real jati.
You take the ruling upper castes of each state. Who are they?
In Maharashtra, the ruling upper castes are Brahmins, Marathas and to some extent Kayasths.
In Gujarat, it is the Brahmins, Patels, Banias. In UP, it is the Brahmins, Thakurs, Banias, Kayasths. In Bengal, it is the Brahmins, Baidyas and Kayasths.
In Andhra Pradesh, it is Brahmins, Reddis and Khammas.
ROLE OF RELIGIOUS MUTTS
Brahmins are the single most powerful all-India caste groups.
How did the Brahmins achieve this position?
How did they all have one single name? Because of one single fac- tor: that is their religious mutts. The other jatis have no such mutts. It is these Shankar mutts and other Gowda Saraswat Mutts which gave them their jati solidarity.
The Brahmins too have hundreds of subcastes but they are all guided by their mutt chiefs. And all these mutts preach and practice “caste consciousness” and work for “caste consolidation”.
This is the secret of their strength.
We too can become powerful and rulers only if we follow this ex- ample set by the Brahmins.
But instead of doing that we are following what the Brahmins and their “Brahmin media” tell us.
They tell us to forget our caste and strengthen the “nation”. Which “nation”? “
Brahmin nation”. We have given a counter-slogan:
“strengthen every caste by forget- ting the nation.”
If you strengthen every caste, it is like strengthening every link in the cycle chain.
The cycle of “Indian nation” is not moving today because only 3 ог 4 links or jatis are strong and the rest are rusted.
If we strengthen every jati the cycle of this “nation” will move faster and run speedily towards the “Ambedkar Era”.
So, I have conveyed all the three messages for which I specially came and I request you to cooly ponder over the things and write to me if you have any doubts.
As Dalits and Ambedkarites, we are the leaders of revolution.
Of all the people in this country, we are its original inhabitants and love this country most. We Dalits are the greatest nationalists. Aryans are foreigners.
We are the only genuine nationalists and hence these anti-nationals have no right to give us lesson on nationalism.
So strengthen every caste and you will be strengthening the “nation”. If you refuse to heed this suggestion, you will continue to be slaves and Brahmins will be the rulers.
I thank the organisers for having invited me and given this opportunity to present this important thesis before this august gathering. Jai Bhim.
