Jagjivan Ram, India’s most famous Untouchable leader after the death of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, has still some hopes of becoming the Prime Minister Therefore, he is waiting with bated breath even at this ripe age of past 70.
This is what he says in Sunday (Oct. 16) in which Ram presents a pathetic picture of a person who is as good as dead though living. Ram, a Harijan from Bihar was discovered by M. K. Gandhi and the Congress Party and groomed to fight Dr. Ambedkar, the greatest Indian after the Buddha. And as a stooge of the Hindus, Ram played his role very well and for these services he was amply rewarded. Ever since India became “independent” he was a Minister in the Govt. of India rising up to Dy. Prime Minister during the short lived Janata rule. Even now he is a Parliament Member living in New Delhi’s sprawling Krishna Menon Road bungalow.
The Hindus, who may be generous enough to throw bones and skin to their watch dogs waiting outside their feasting houses, for the first time snubbed him when he aspired for the country’s highest post of Prime Minister-reserved for the “holy Brahmin”. When the Janata Party fielded him for the Prime Ministership, even the RSS, the Janata stormtroopers, worked for Indira Gandhi and prevented the “holy land” being polluted by an Untouchable occupying the highest seat.
From then on Ram is in oblivion. No doubt very angry. For quite some time fretting and fuming. His election speeches openly attacked Brahmins. He even went to the extent of saying that Brahmins need not vote for him. Not only Brahmins did not vote for him, they managed to reject the Janata Party itself and brought back Mrs. Gandhi. That was the one and the only occasion that Ram revolted in his life against Brahmins who decided once for all that Ram could no longer be trusted. That was the end of his lackluster career.
No intellectually dishonest person will have the courage to fight the Ruling Class. Because Ambedkar had that rare intellectual calibre coupled with a sterling character, he got that courage. And courage comes out of conviction. And millions of Dalits and others are today enjoying the fruits of his labour. But the Ruling Class had long back discovered that Ram could be corrupted. It keeps a watch on every person who tries to dislodge it and uses four different deadly weapons, one after the other, to finish such rebels. The four weapons are saama (mediation), diana (bribery), bedha (character assassination or creating dissensions) and finally danda (punishment). Every person who challenges the Ruling Class has to face one or other of the four. Ambedkar did not yield to any of the first three and that is why he succeeded in rattling the Ruling Class. None after the Buddha had shaken the corrupt Hindu society as he did. Even after decades of his death (1956) Ambedkar is giving nightmares to many in the Ruling Class. And had he been allowed to live for some more years after his historic conversion to Buddhism, he would have succeeded in launching a Cultural Revolution which in turn would have paved the way for the destruction of the castes, meaning “classes” in Marxian terms. But, alas, the heartless Ruling Class killed him by using the last of its weapons-danda. Dalits suspect that Ambedkar did not die a natural death.
Ambedkar might have succumbed only to the last of the four weapons after the other three were tried one after the other. But many Dalits feel that Ram yeilded to the very first. And thus, to quote Charan Singh, became India’s richest politician. But what is the use of his vast wealth ? And his 35 years of Ministership ? His name will not go into history. Ambedkar was a Minister only for a couple of years. He had no wealth comparable to that of Ram He was not even in the ruling party like Ram But difference is Ram is living but Ambedkar is dead but alive in the hearts and homes of millions. He is the rising star of India. Ram is alive, living in a royal style. But who remembers him ? It is death while living. A shameless state. Ambedkar is the hope of millions of revolutionaries. Ram is already down and out. Thrown to the dust bin of history. His star never rose.
Ambedkar was a Dalit. Ram a Harijan (hated word, meaning children of god, coined by Gandhi to deceive the Dalits) stooging the Hindus. But Ram is not alone in this business of stooging. There are many other Harijan leaders working as the bonded laborer’s of different poli- tical parties, all led by high caste Hindus. These Hindu controlled parties including the communist parties, keep an eternal vigil on every promising Dalit and promptly recruit them and make them Harijans, meaning willing servants of the Hindus. After Ram was kicked out of the Congress Party, several other Harijans were elevated by Mrs. Gandhi but they did not last even two years. Ram alone could last for over 30 years because he is a brilliant guy. While we may criticize him for his intellectual corruption, which is the worst among the different varieties of corruption, we have to give him credit to his amazing abilities as an administrator,
parliamentarian, and speaker. Senicr officers and Army generals had spoken about this. During his 30 years as a Minister holding different portfolios, he was a success in each and every job. That is why he is able to survive so long while other Harijan leaders perished with in two years.
The Ruling Class is afraid of only those who challenge it intellectually. They will tolerate brilliant people only as long as they remain servants. The moment they challenge, they will be thrown out. This is what happened to Ram. Hindus want any number of servants. But if a servant aspires to be a master they start using one after other the four weapons. The problem with Ram is that despite equipped with all this intelligence, he is not intelligent enough to see that he will never, ever get the highest office. Will the Hindus ever make an Untouchable as the Prime Minister of this “holy land” ? When they can’t tolerate even a shudra like Lal Bahadur Shastri or Charan Singh, where is the chance for Ram ? How can such a person be called intelligent when he can’t understand this simple thing ?
We find a serious contradiction in Ram. And if he has not noticed it, let him do it even at this late stage. Ram says he is “proud to be a Hindu and my critics know that I will never change my religion what ever the indignities.” (Sunday, Oct. 16). He also says that Hindus despise him because he is an Untouchable. But he will remain an Untouchable as long as he is a Hindu. How stupid he must be not 10 understand this simple contradiction in him! The indignities that he suffers as an Untouchable are because of the fact he is a Hindu. In the same Sunday he also admits that the Hindus “would have treated me better if I had been a Muslim.” That means Ram knows that Hinduism does not believe in equality. In his book, Caste Challenge in India (Vision Books, 36-C Connaught Place, New Delhi-1 ,- 1980, pages 118, Rs. 50), he has clearly blamed Hinduism for the havoc of caste of which untouchability is a part. So we can’t say he is not aware of the horrors of Hinduism. But the very same Ram tells Sunday that he will not quit Hinduism. The poor oppressed Ram does not want to get rid of the values of the oppressor. What a tragedy ! If this is the case with such eminent persons like Ram, what about the dumb driven illiterate, village- dwelling Untouchables ? At least the Ramnad dt. (Tamil Nadu) Dalits came to know this and embraced Islam-several hundreds of them. ( Indian Express, Nov. 3, 1983)
What to do with such intellectually corrupt people ? The Ruling Class has corrupted hundreds of Dalits and made them Harijans. The best brains among Dalits are imprisoned in Govt. services & the worst brains have become Harijans as bonded labourers of political parties.
Even now it is not too late for Ram to jump into the Dalit liberation struggle which indeed is the beginning of India’s freedom movement. He can never become the Prime Minister as long as he is a Harijan. He has all the capacity to shake the Ruling Class even at this stage. He has the name, fame, the capacity and the money. If he wants to enter history, he can heed our SOS and jump into India’s freedom struggle, sharpen caste contradictions. He has everything but has he that intellectual honesty ? Harijans tell us without political power they can’t improve Untouchables. We also know this. But how will they get this power ? Power is not given but taken. Is it possible under the existing socio-economic structure to get political power ? Never.
The hope lies not in Harijans but in Dalits. Our appeal is addressed to the best brains and not to the worst brains. Those imprisoned in Govt. services must consider the lot of the millions of illiterate Dalits not benefitted by the reservations. This section is the genuine revolutionary class. Dalit Movement should be treated as the beginning of India’s Freedom Movement. India has not become free. The “‘Independence”‘ that India got (Aug. 15, 1947) was not for us. Dalits, persecuted minorities and OBCs comprising over 80% of India’s population are not yet free. Only the Gandhis, Birlas and their cousins got freedom to persecute us. As long as we are not free, how can India be free ? Therefore, Dalit movement that has begun all over India is the Freedom Movement. It may look disjointed, riven with rivalries, very much spilt, many a time leaderless. Doesn’t matter. Unity will come out of crisis. Therefore, we must create crisis, invite crisis. Help sharpen caste contradictions. When the existing corrupt leadership goes, a militant Dalit leadership will emerge. The biggest mistake of the Dalit movement is that it has not groomed enough women. In fact women are more revolutionary than men. Dalit movement if it has not made much head- way, it is because women have not become the vanguard of this movement.
Of all the “‘movements” in India, Dalit movement is the most important movement. Persecuted minorities have to join this. Because, their Enemy and our Enemy is the same. In every respect the problems of both are all the same. The OBCs are also the victims of the Ruling Class which has refused to accept the Mandal Commission Report. Hence all these people have to join hands in the Freedom Movement. Intellectuals among Dalits have a big role to play in this Freedom Movement. In each and every place they should start training freedom-fighters identifying our allies. The freedom struggle should succeed before the 20th century ends. The 21st century shall be the Ambedkar Era. Therefore, the leadership of this Freedom Movement has rightly gone to the country’s most revolutionary class, Dalits. There is no time to rest. The Dalit movement is the real Freedom Movement to free India from the socio – cultural economic bondage. If Ram has any life left, let him join this Freedom Movement
