S.P. Singh, Takiapur, Danapur, PO Digha, Patna- 800 012: Please refer to your Editorial of June 16, 1996. You have used words like Shudras, Dalits, BC, SC, ST, Bahujan, Minorities. Dalit and BC are new words. Dalit is used by SC (classes) to remove the stigma attached to the word ‘Harijan’ (bastard) coined by M.K. Gandhi. Dalits are untouchables no doubt, but they are untouchables of various grades, belonging to many different-vocations, having no social relations with each other. A washerman is also untouchable, so also a weaver, a tail (oil-pressor), Kurmi (cultivator). A Musher is also untouchable because he rears pigs. So, all these great variety of untouchables do not belong to one single class and they maintain touch ability among themselves. Pariahs of South India were, it appears, a whole tribe who were captured by the brahmins and made to work in their fields. They equally hated the Brahmins and felt no hesitation in snatching girls from the brahmins. The Namo-Shudras of Bengal hated Brahmins so much that they were called Chanda’s. You have rightly declared Deve Gowda a Shudra. | am very happy that you have called the Marathas, Patels, Reddy’s and Kamas also as Shudras. The story of coronation of Shivaji is a great link in our forgotten history. Marathas, Patels, and Reddy’s and Kamas are not in the reservation category. They were also once ruling castes. V.P. Singh and Arjun Singh are Rajput’s no doubt. Some Chamars of UP, Rajasthan and Gujarat were also once ruling chiefs in Rajasthan. So, Rajput is only a status caste. Patels of Gujarat have gone up. Rajput’s have come down and are in the reservation category. The Brahmins themselves are not a single caste. People of many other castes have already become Brahmins. The Dusads (Paswan) belong to the ruling family of Kauravas and so are many varieties of Kurmis. The Brahminical Social Order (BSO) has to go. The word Aryan and Hindu must go away from India’s dictionary. My “Mul Niwases Kurmi Sabha” passed a resolution on 13-9- 1992 that we are not Hindus, we are not Aryans. | invite all Moniliasis to throw away these two words. We are all Bahujan’s – 99% of Musselman’s are of Indian origin. They are all blood relations. Hinduisms a myth. Force Kanshi Ram to join hands with United Front and then bury the Congress and BJP ——— in a single grave. When Islam could not unite the people of India into a monolithic whole, no other religion can do it.
D.B.R.V Prasad, no 23/V, Income Tax Colony, GB block, Sector I, Salt Lake City, Calcutta-700 091: With ref. to your Editorial, “India graduates from Brahmin Raj to Shudra Raj”, (DV June 16, 1 996) is a true picture of our current federal polity. It is our duty to sustain this transitional phase. The “communication” by Ranjan Prasad Yadav, “Bahujan’s must be grateful to DV: Send Editor to Rajya Sabha”, is probably the best item in the June 16 issue. There is no second opinion about the fact that our Editor should be sent to Rajya Sabha. In this liberalized atmosphere can’t another attempt be made to shift DV from Bangalore to Delhi? This may pave the way for realizing the dream of “Madid Centre” also. Yadav is one of our Bahujan’s, but all Bahujan’s share the feeling that our Editor should be in* the Rajya Sabha. But how to realize it? If all our Dalit MPs can be persuaded to take up our demand our Editor will be there in Rajya Sabha tomorrow. But how to persuade our own MPs? This IS a question for which an answer has to be found.
R.N. Arya, 117/256, Gita Nagar, Kanpur-208025: [t is clear now that there would be three main contestants in the coming UP Assembly elections – BJP which won 52 of the 85 Lok Sabha seats claims that it was winner in 242 of the 425 Assembly constituencies. It had polled 33.43% votes. SP-JD-Left alliance came next with 18 seats and 26 % votes. BSP which had contested all the 85 seats and sought to garner the upper caste and Muslim votes by putting up 20 upper caste and 20 Muslim candidates, of which only one Muslim candidate won, namely Azmi, who had been a long-time leader of Janata Dal. BSP polled 20.4% votes and yet won only 6 seats of which only 2 were reserved seats. Out of 18 reserved seats in UP, 14 were won by BJP. Since BSP vowed that it considered Mulayam- Singh as its main enemy, it was clear from the beginning that a straight contest between BJP and the United Front was not possible. There still remained about 20% votes polled by others which could help one or the other non-BJP contestants. Indira Congress has already cast its lot with the UF with 3.03% votes polled by it. This has brought the total possible support to UF in UP to about 29.11 %. The breakaway group of Janata Dal, led by Asprey Varma, also contested the Lok Sabha elections, but won no seats. It is, however, likely that it polled as many votes as the JD. This group has now re-formed self as Progressive Janata Dal. We can hope that having failed to win any seats in the Lok Sabha elections, some of this group will return to the UF. This group has sought alliance with BSP in the Last elections but had been “betrayed”.
We may, thus, tentatively assume that UF would have the support of 30% or so. Having failed to garner upper caste votes by putting up upper caste candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, the BSP has now settled to accept the B team of Manu wadis, namely the Congress, as its partner, with its 8.14% support. This alliance has not been fully accepted by the upper castes in the Congress. So, the Congress may lose some of its upper caste votes to BJP and some to the UF, say one percent to each. Adding the remaining 6.14% to 20.6% of BSP, we come to the figure of 26.75%. The figure of BJP and UF will go up to 34.5% and 31%: Consequently 4 we will have a three-cornered contest: BJP 34.5%, UF 31% and BSP-Congress 26.5%. These figures may slightly change with the intervention of independents who, however, may not be as many now as before. leis clear from the analysis that the three contestants in the coming elections would not be as unequal as in the Lok Sabha elections with 33.4, 26, and 20.6% support. BJP claims to have won in 242 Assembly seats. A loss of 35 to 40 expected wins would reduce BJP to the single largest party but keep it out of power. It may even go down to 170 that it had won in 1993 elections. We may put the UF seats to 150 and the Congress-BSP alliance to 125 seats. If BJP wins more seats, the Congress -BSP alliance may win less. In this situation the role of the BSP-Congress alliance will be crucial. Most likely, this alliance will not support the UF to form the govt. So, the UF may be obliged to support the BSP-Congress alliance to form the govt. in the alternative, the BJP may support the BSP-Congress to keep the UF out of power. This analysis is based on the fact that support to ail the three groups is very much committed and there is little likelihood of any change. That this is so is clear from the caste composition of their bases. The caste composition is as follows (in percentage):
We may credit 7% uppercase support to Cong. (T) and rebel JD. The Congress may lose some upper caste support. BSP may gain from this alliance but it cannot now fume against Manu wad and Manu wadi parties. |t cannot now condemn Brahmins, Banias and Thakurs as enemies of the Dalits. BSP has betrayed the cause of the Dalits.
A.L. Ukay, Asst. Engr., ATPS, Chachai Dist. Shadadol- 484220: This has ref. to the Letter of Dr. Yadaiah (DV June 1, 1996) who has shown his preference to Islam. Islam may be good for the ‘plus condition of mind and body’ to Dr. Yadaiah but never to us because we are the followers of Dr. Ambedkar. We Dalits cannot compromise on the basic thinking of our emancipator. He gave us Buddhism and hence it is our duty to follow him without questioning. But everybody has the right to differ. But one cannot call himself an Ambedkarite and at the same time differ from the central core of Ambedkar’s. Can Ambedkar’s be defined without Buddhism? Buddhism is the essence of Ambedkar’s. Without Buddhism, Ambedkar’s is nothing.
R.H. Das, Talbagicha, Dist. Midnapur, WB-721306: It appears that Kanshi Ram is again proceeding to Brahminism perhaps to fight the United Front Govt. and especially the fake communist leaders guided by the Bengali Bhadralok. Why did Janata-Dal leaders ignore Ram and keep him out before the Parliament election? Therefore, the UF must. Join BSP Cong alliance in UP to fight against fascism, Nazism and Brahminism.
T.R. Azad, Jammu, J&K: Despite Islam coming to Kashmir, Hindu caste system continues to remain supreme. In an article in the Daily Excelsior, a local English daily, of June 30, 1996, Amit Kushari, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary in the J&K State Govt., says that casteism is prevalent even among the Muslims in Kashmir. There are some Muslims who get angry when we point out caste among Muslims. But such of them should know that “lower castes”, who got converted to egalitarian Muslim society are still subjected to caste discrimination. This is a clear proof of Brahminism in Muslim society.
M.K. Antony, A- 74, MRA, SGPGIMS, Raebareli Road, Lucknow, UP- 226014: | am a regular reader of DV for the past 12 years. Now having come to Lucknow, | would like to form a “DV Readers Forum” here. | do not know if such a thing is existing here. Please send me the addresses of the subscribe of DV from Lucknow so that | can contact them personally.
We do not maintain separate lists of Lucknow readers. But the publication of Brother Antony’s Leffer will help our readers for directly contact him. UP readership of English and Hinar Dl//s growing but not for the extent we desire. Hindi belt is the heart of Brahminism ana only an effective Dalit leadership can break this heart. DV Readers Forum fs a step Towards thar-EDITOR.
M.G. Mathew, Post Box 55, Perumbavoor, Kerala- 683542: | am writing a book, “Secular India and Hindutva ®, regarding the suppression of backward communities by Hindu nazis. It calls for Manushyatva instead of Hindutva. The Malayalam version of this book is serially appearing in Indian News from Ernakulam. The right to conversion is a fundamental right of the citizen. It is the duty of the state to guarantee the freedom of conversion to every citizen. If Dalits want govt. aid, they must produce a certificate that they are Hindus. Why religion should be taken as a criterion to distribute govt. aid? In some states as soon as a Dalit embraces Christianity, all his rights as a Dalit citizen are taken away. He loses all the special considerations ‘such as constitutional reservations. Conversion to Christianity or any other religion does not change his economic status. If a “poor” Christian embraces Hinduism, he is given all sorts of financial and other aids. That means the govt. itself is inducing conversion of “poor” Christians to Hinduism. _This must be stopped.
N.G. Kamble, 529 A. Hanuman Nagar, Nagpur- 440009: It is high time to tell our Bahujan’s that they are not Hindus and to repeat the slogan “Tell the slave he is a slave and he will revolt.” Hinduism has been imposed on us by the Brahmins to enslave us. Bahujan’s have started taking shelter under the shadow of democracy and secularism to disown Hinduism in social life whereas in domestic life they observe Hinduism scrupulously. Due to this dual and dubious attitude no real social revolution can be brought out. So, the time has come to clearly determine, demarcate, declare and accept the religious way of life which is based on equality, liberty and fraternity. For this, we have to discover our own glorious cultures which were destroyed by the Brahmins at the time of invading Jambu- -Dwipa between 1550 BC to 1450 BC and 185 BC through regicide by the Brahmin Pushyamitra Sunga with a sole motive of enslaving the indigenous people of this land. We have to declare that our ancestors were not Hindus and Hinduism was forcibly imposed upon us by the Brahmins for their personal gain. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar stated in a speech delivered ‘in Bombay on May 31, 1936: –
“It cannot be denied that our ancestors followed the ancient religion but | cannot say that they remained bound to Hinduism voluntarily. The ‘Chatur varna’ system prevailed in this country for a fairly long time. In this system, the Brahmins were enjoined to learn, Kshatriyas to fight, Vaishyas to earn prosperity and the Shudras to serve all of them. This way of life was the rule of the day. In those days, the Shudras could not acquire learning, prosperity, food and decent clothing. Your ancestors were thus forced to live in abject poverty and with no right to bear arms. In those circumstances no man with any sense can say that they accepted that religion voluntarily. -Here it is also necessary to consider whether it was possible for your ancestors to revolt against this religion. Had it been possible for them to revolt and still they had not done so, then alone it could justifiably be said that they had accepted the religion willingly. But if we try to look into the then prevalent conditions, it will be clear that our ancestors were compelled to live in that religion. Thus, Hindu religion is the religion of our ancestors, but it was the worst type of slavery that was thrust upon them. Our ancestors had no means to fight this slavery and, therefore, they could not revolt. They were compelled to live in that religion. No body can force this type of slavery upon the present generation. We have all sorts of freedom. If the present generation does not avail of such freedom and free itself from the clutches of Hinduism, they are sure to be dubbed as cowardly, mean and slavish people devoid of self-respect.” (Thus Spake Ambedkar-Bhagwan Das.vol.4 p. 42- 43).
And the only answer to their challenge is to clearly disown Hinduism and accept our original religion. There is need to arrange seminars on the movement to discard Hinduism in toto. | have written a book, “Magas Warg, Dalit, Adivasi Hindu Nehit,” in Marathi giving the historical background and the way-out. Those wanting to translate this into their regional language, will get the permission if the book is priced cheap.
B.K. Ghatak, New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party has become a national party. The Election Commission will declare this soon. BSP secured 4.5% vote in J&K and fulfilled the main criteria to become a national party. Other States are UP (20.60%), MP (6.5%), and Punjab (21%) which has already given the party more than 4% vote long back. The latest bonus has come from J&K. In Jammu constituency, BSP secured 54, 000 votes. Therefore, it is a very exciting news for BSP supporters. All Kanshiram and Mayawati-baiters may give up their bad habits and come under the blue flag to become the rulers of this country. This is the only party which has come to this position from grassroot level.
Sher Singh, IAS, 32-247/1 Minto Park, Alipore, Calcutta- 27: Babasaheb Ambedkar must be turning in his grave at the latest developments in UP, where the BSP is trying to revive the Congress on its deathbed. Genuine Ambedkarite must be hanging their heads in shame. Having read the book, What Gandhi and Congress have done to Untouchables, by Dr. Ambedkar, this alliance with Congress is only an attempt to halt the Caravan of Babasaheb.
S.R. Guptrishi, Secretary, Federation of All-India SC/ST Emp! P&T Dept., UP circle: This concerns the fraud on Dalits in P&T, where the constitutional reservation is not at all implemented. SC/ST are the protected children of the Indian Constitution. Article 46 provides for special care to these people. But the policy of reservation in promotion has been blatantly flouted by the Telecom Dept. despite several clear instructions to this effect. | want to highlight a glaring example of mine through DV to make the people know how reservation in promotion is denied in our dept. | was appointed on 5-10-62 as time scale clerk. In Nov 1983, a time-bound promotion was introduced without giving any additional benefits in reservation and promotion by the Telecom Dept. Our Federation filed a case in the Supreme court (vide, W.P No. 1003/1005) in 1984, which decided the case on 29-8-88. The Dept. then ordered reservation in promotion to SC/ST taking the excuse of cutoff date as 29-8-88. My promotion was upheld with effect from 1-11-83 after completion of 21 years. Of unblemished service. While a non-SC/ST candidate could get this time-bound promotion in 16 years, | had to wait for 21 years. In Oct 1990, a second time promotion was introduced and | was given that promotion after 28 years of service, but non-Dalits got this promotion after 26 years. This is how the Telecom Dept. treats SC/ST. | approached the CAT, Allahabad, (O. A. No. 1002 of 1993) seeking 18 annual increments and promotions for the post of personal officer. The case was dismissed in 1995 on the ground that it was time barred. Against this judgment, | went to the Supreme Court (No.14800 of 95) which dismissed the case without giving any reason. Now the post of Chief Section Supervisor is being denied to me, but Ram Singh much junior to me receives Rs. 2,450 but | get Rs. 2,050 a month. He got the promotion weft from 24-10-90 but | was denied the promotion despite Supreme Court verdict. Is it not intellectual dishonesty?
M. Gopinath, Bangalore: At a Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti celebration on June 16, 1996, here in which our Editor was the chief guest, a Dalit IAS Officer, |. Devendran, came out with the following quotations of Babasaheb which | have never read anywhere before. Babasaheb addressing Dalits is reported to have said:
“Why did you not perish in the pre-natal stage itself?” ”
| have not been able to fulfill my mission.
| wanted to do more and make them a governing class.” ” | would have succeeded but my own people deceived me.”
Devendran said that these statements were made by Babasaheb at exclusive Dalit meetings and with great pain in his heart. He also assured our Editor to provide the source. Elderly leaders closely associated with Babasaheb have told me that Babasaheb used to be very “harsh” with opportunist Dalit employees. But | never came across such harsh words in his published writings. | request our readers to provide us the details of the above quotations and enlighten me. Why Babasaheb was so furious? Is it because our “educated” and employed brothers getting fat salaries had let down the community?
In the whole of Karnataka, we have only one Dalit 1AS officer who is a subscriber of Dalit Voice. A/ the Dalit IAS officers know about DV and some read it stealthily but none has the courage to subscribe for DV. How can such cowards and slaves carry forward the Caravan of Babasaheb? Like Babasaheb, we 700 are deeply worried- EDITOR.
Mrs. Surinder Kaur, Calcutta: My husband, Sher Sing, IAS, has filed an FIR against N. Krishnamurthi, IAS (retd.) Chief Secretary, on 25.6.96. He had suspended my husband on false charges on 25.4.94. He has been charged with committing a criminal offence of atrocity against a member of SC community.
Sunram Hembram, 111/232 New AG Colony, Neapoli, Bhubaneswar-751012: Indian culture and Vedic civilization are two different things. The last got an effective stepping stone from existing non-Aryan (tribal) civilization. So, the entire Indian civilization is Just an offshoot of the Harappan civilization. So, the Harappan civilization has totally been erased is a baseless commentary. -Who were those Harappans? What were their religious faith and practices. From the excavation, it did prove that this Harappan culture was one of world’s most advanced civilizations. In fact, the world culture had been influenced so much by the Harappan civilization. The Harappan custom is being observed in today’s tribal society. It is found that the Harappan buried the dead with bones of birds. Today, we see the disposal of dead body in the same manner in the tribal society. Particularly Santhal society. They bury the dead like the Harappans by placing the head towards south. Santhals sleep at night with their head towards south. No other community in India follows this custom other than the Santhals. Today, they also burn the chicken along with the dead body. That means tribals are ‘‘Harappans. Butin Assam, these original inhabitants are being driven out.
Abhijit Roy, 931, Jowpur Rd, Calcutta-74: This concerns the answer given by you in DV June 16 (p. 16) to Mrs. Prabha, a BSP leader. You strongly advocated an alliance between BSP and SP to defeat BJP. But BSP leader Mayawati said in India Today (June 1996 p.53): “l am not bothered even if the devil himself runs the state but there is no question of the BSP joining hands with the SP”. The upper castes have succeeded in dividing the “lower castes” as the British did in the past. Despite all your efforts, SC/BC/Muslim unity is not taking shape. That means BJP will come to power in UP and Mayawati, Kanshi Ram and Mulayam Singh Yadav have to own the responsibility.
A. Xavier, Dept. of English, St. Mary’s Hr. Sec. School, Dindigul-6240 01: | have been renting a house for over three decades belonging to an upper caste and suffered great humiliation. The culmination of all these insults and humiliation resulted in violence. | could not help teaching the upper caste landlord a violent lesson. | made up my mind not to rent any more but to own a house of my own, though it would be a humble one. So, | am building a house. The Indian church always remains and tries to maintain the tyranny of the upper caste converts. It sheds its crocodile tears for the Dalits out of its self-love and not out of love for the Dalits. It is the question of its survival. Again, Dalits have become its target people. So, Jesus the Dalit. This is my immediate reaction seeing the title of the book ‘advertised in DV July 1, 1996 p.24.
Dwarika Prasad, 26,0NGC Flats, Mitha-Nagar Rd, Mulund(E), Bombay-81: Since last eight months | am passing through a cold war in my department. | have been transferred to Assam. | was relieved on 31.5.96 and | went on leave. | asked the ONGC management to defer my transfer by a year. it is needless to add that DV has transformed my thoughts to a great extent.
Dr. V.K. Muthu, Lecturer, Public Health, Gandhi gram Rural Institute, Gandhigram-624 302: Is Panchayat Raj system-a boon or a bane? Since the dawn of civilization, different societies have been experimenting with different types of governance. The success or failure of different systems of governance is determined by the overall socio-cultural aspects of the constituent members of the societies concerned. The talk of the day in India is the Panchayat Raj system of governance which is described as a grassroot level administration. The socio-cultural scenario seen in our country is squarely responsible for the debacle of our political system. Infect, any system is likely to fail in this condition. Our society is sharply divided on caste, religion and language lines. Sociologists are of the opinion that co-operation for common good is not possible under such a society. Programmers implemented will miserably fail due to lack of community support. The harmful effects of caste are compounded by the materialistic pursuit. Such a social scenario is not conducive to orderly existence, peace and progress. In such a situation, it is highly doubtful whether a mere change of system of governance, without any concrete proposals to change the social system can make any tangible impact on the situation. The education system is defective. It is grabbed mostly by the greedy and that the so-called educated people misuse their educational qualifications for their selfish ends.” The educated people even get alienated from fellow citizens instead of becoming the engine of social change. So, literacy without concomitant attitudinal change (real educational process) is not going to make any difference in the performance of the Panchayat Raj system. When people become civilized governance becomes smooth because social obligation is the hallmark of a civilized society. So, the need of the hour is to give top priority to social change through mass movements.
T.N. Arivarasu, 64, Housing Unit, Chikkana College Rd., Tirupur, TN: | am a teacher belonging to a Backward Caste. | get inspiration only from DV. So, it has become my sacred book. Your sentences are stimulating the lazy fellows. Those who fell asleep on hearing the Brahmin Mantras are whipped up and forced to wake up. This is DV. | read your Editorials again and again. ” Small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events but great minds discuss ideas.” You also said ” India is not a nation but a group of nations”.
S.S. Gautam, “Chandan Sadan”, C-236A Hardevpuri, Delhi-110093: | am sending a Supreme Court document given to me by S. Subbanna, one of your esteemed subscribers here, for the benefit of your SC/ST govt. employee-readers. The court has upheld the inter se seniority of SC/ST employes as against non-reserved candidates. It is from the AIR 1996 report No. 351, arising from the civil appeal No. 7608 of 1995- dated 3-8-1995. P.S. Ghalaut, appellant- vs Haryana Govt. The appellant is a no reserved candidate and the third respondent, Dr. Nitya Anand, a reserved candidate, was selected by the PSC as lecturer in Haryana Medical Service. The appellant’s contention is he is senior to Dr. Anand who was made senior. The Court rejected his plea saying that Dr. Anand as a reserved candidate gets the seniority. The above judgment copy is printed in AIR. The judgement was delivered by Justice K. Ramaswamy and Justice K.S. Paripurnan.
B.V. Mahadevappa, Dept. of Economics, Gulbarga University, Gulbarga: Brahminical toilet papers of Karnataka-have reported “thunderous response” to R.K. Hegde’s tour of north Karnataka. | was present at his two most important “mass meetings”. The Hubli meeting was attended by chaddi boys (RSS) of the Hindu nazi party. And at Guibarga it was mainly a Lingayat upper caste show. Lingayat’s are angry with Prime minister Deve Gowda because he gave the Gulbarga Lok Sabha seat to a Muslim and got him elected breaking the decades-old Lingayat monopoly. There were hardly any Dalit, Muslim or Backward Castes in Hegde’s “tremendous response” meeting. To put it in your words, the Brahminical toilet papers which keep alive this notorious Vaidik, converts a donkey into a Derby horse and a race horse into a donkey, unless we have our own “Media Centre”, we can’t break this Vaidik manipulation. (DV July 1, 1996 p.8: “A stinking dead body at last cremated”).
N.G. Das,17, Datta bad Rd., Salt Lake, Calcutta- 700064: | strongly oppose the proposal to send you. to Rajya Sabha as made by Ranjan Prasad Yadav (DV June 16, 1996 p.5). If you go to the Rajya Sabha, DV will fall down 20 fathoms below the sea level and the progress so far, we have made will face a deadlock. If you leave the Editorship of DV not to speak of a membership of Rajya Sabha, the Delhi authorities will give you a more lucrative post just to get rid of you from DV and see the dead body of DV. So, | ask my friends not to insist on you to accept any such post in-Delhi. You will be remembered by the whole Bahujan Samaj (over 85% of the population) and abroad if you die on the chair of DV.
This is not the first fame that efforts are being made 1o pull us info politics. Chief Minister Deva rag/ Ur’s nominated us for the Karnataka Legislative Council in the 1980s but we outrightly reflected the offer. Devaraj Ur’s was Karnataka’s greatest CM and a champion of Backward Castes and he had a personal liking for us. When he stepped down and formed his own party, he wanted us to go for Rajya Sabha, we escaped again. This is the Third time the old proposal is revived, the argument this fine is that the changed political situation with political power passing away from the Brahmana Raj /o Shudra Raj. needs our presence /in Delhi. But we have been felling our friends that at no cost DV will be stopped. They say that our going row Rajya Sabha will strengthen DV and help launch major ‘Media Centre” from Delhi/. – EDITOR.
Subash Kumar, 240-C, Pocket-A, Mayur Vihar Phase-Il, Delhi-91: This has ref. to S.R. Biswas’ letter (DV June 1,1996) wherein he stressed on “capturing political power.” |t is true that Babasaheb said that “political power is the master key of all locks” but Babasaheb also said that “any political revolution must precede social revolution.” In Tamil Nadu, we captured political power but we could not retain it longer because our social movement was not there. So, if we want to capture political power forever, we will have to make the social movement strong first and only after that political movement comes.
S.R. Talukdar, BHEL, New Delhi: This is with ref. to Ram Charan Ram’s article on BSP-Congress alliance (DV July1, 1996). Ram has advocated a BSPSP alliance. But no well-wisher of BSP will accept this. Those who suggest it are seeking the survival of Mulayam Singh. Defeating BJP is only an excuse used by them. Even without SP’s support BSP will defeat BJP in the coming UP Assembly elections. Mulayam’s left brain is controlled by M.K. Gandhi and the right by Dr. Lohia. There is not a single grain of Ambedkar’s in him. His only positive factor is that he belongs to the Yadava community which is part of the Bahujan Samaj. Except this he has no other quality.
Dr. N. Suresh, PG student, Dept. of ortho. surgery, MCH, Calicut, Kerala: This is in response to Miss Samata Deshmane’s article and our editor’s response to it (DV May 16). | agree about the male domination in Dalit movement. In the book, God is Black, the Nigerian Black, thinker, Naiwa Osahan, he says: “We believe in the absolute equality of the African woman with the African man, and that any attempt to undermine her full participation in all aspects of Pan- Africanism is a direct threat to the freedom of ail African people. Any attempt on the part of anyone, African or non-African, to take that should be dealt with swiftly and decisively, or until there is not one single African left on the face of the earth. (p.9). | thank Sister Samatha and our Editor for highlighting this. We have formed a ‘Dalit Students Movement’ in our campus and it is headed by a lady student. A community will get liberated only when the women of that community get liberated. Dalit or Black culture should set the example to the world.
Dr. (Mrs.) Manjula B. Chin choli, Lecturer, History Dept., Guibarga University, Gulbarga-585 106: Il am sending my Ph.D. thesis, “Depressed classes in Hyderabad Karnataka under the Nizams.” Dr. (Mrs.) Praveen Rukshana was my research guide for the thesis covering 206 typed pages. It was submitted in 1989 and reveals the tremendous efforts made by the Nizam of Hyderabad to uplift the Untouchable of his princely Muslim state. (DV May 1, 1996 p.5: ” AP Dalit leader’s tribute to Nizam for liberating Dalits”, M.R Krishna, ex-Union Deputy Minister). Untouchability was rampant and they faced all sorts of Hindu persecution. To rescue the hapless untouchables, the Muslim rulers took several steps to liberate them through reservations, proportional representation. Venkat Rao, Shyam Sunder were the leaders of Untouchables who held high positions under the Nizam who treated our people as his own children. Please consider the publication of my thesis.
Ramakanth Athavale, Dept. of English, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University, Aurangabad (MS): | have been a reader of Dalit Voice for five years and have come to regard our Editor, V.T. Rajshekar, as a Prophet. But my worry is that | have not so far seen my hero. | have read a dozen of his books and religiously study Dalit Voice from page to page but my dream to see him and talk remains unfulfilled. Why not DV readers in and around Aurangabad and Marathwada in general invite him? That will give an opportunity for all to see him and interact.
The Editor is neither a film actor a sports star or a charismatic figure o see and admire. What is important is not seeing him but studying his literature through DV and his books. /DEAs go first and the person who produces such ideas will follow. So, what is important is that readers in your area must first study Babasaheb’s’ thoughts of which the Editor is a creature. Hero worship is dangerous. Brahminical forces encourage hero workshopping because it blocks flow of thought. Once Babasaheb thoughts start shaking the society, the Editor will come even uninvited. Stop This craze for invite the Editor and see him. There is nothing big about his person. He is a product of Babasaheb’s burning thoughts-EDITOR.
Shakeel Suleman, Auto links, 351/3 Sheikh Memon St., Bombay-400 002: | shudder to think what would have happened to me if Islam did not come to my rescue. | feel much, much superior to these idol worshippers in clarity of thought, in my way of living, free from superstition and confusion of mind. Like me thousands of other Muslims were once upon a time Dalits till they got converted to Islam. How fortunate we were to get out of this Brahminical gas chamber. Don’t you consider us as your elder brothers? We freed ourselves from the Bania-Brahmin bondage by just following the true God. However, hard these Brahminical forces try, they cannot impose their Hindu cult on us. We have formed a totally new identity. Hence their strongest hatred against us. The upper castes are very cunning, they can deceive the Dalits and attract them in the name of religion but they can do nothing with a Muslim. They used Dalits to fight Muslims in many communal riots and Babri Masjid destruction. So many Dalit votes have gone to-the Hindu Nazi parties under various misleading alignments. Dalits changed their religion to Buddhism but it was they who destroyed your Viharas, leaving no strong foundation of your religion for you to have a strong base. No doubt Dalits feel totally lost and your nearest ally and brother is the Muslim. So, you turn towards us and we towards you for unity. Remember one thing. We were like you till we embraced Islam. We were like you before we took this step in the right direction. Quite a few Islamic scholars are of the opinion that even Budha was a Prophet of God. Prophet Mohammed, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, David etc. Even Budha prayed to the Almighty. So where is the difference between you and us? The Brahminical Social Order (BSO) destroyed most of your religious houses leaving you in a helpless situation. They are trying the same on our mosques. Let history not repeat itself. If you join hands with us together, we can change history. And BSO will run away from India itself. This reminds me of a beautiful Surah which means like this: –
He picks the people from the dust (the oppressed) and makes them sit on your head. (This is told to the people who are the oppressor).
Remember, we love the worship of one Almighty. We love you because you too pray to one Almighty. | believe that Budha was a Prophet of God. But Buddhism’s base was destroyed in India. But oar’s is a stronger base which they dare not destroy. | am a deeply religious person.
Dr. M. Ejaz Ali, Ghulam Sarwar Clinic, Bhikna Pahari, Patna-800006: Secularism is the basic feature of the Indian Constitution, says a recent decision of the Supreme Court. We accept it but it is *also a fact that secularism is essential for the integrity of the Indian Union. But in spite of the basic feature, is the Indian Constitution secular? Article 15(1) says that “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, ‘caste, sex and piece of birth” But the para third of article 341 says that “No member professing any religion other than Hindu shall be deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste.” Don’t you think that this is against the letter and spirit of secularism? Since 1956, nobody has raised this issue. Our great Dr. B.R. Ambedkar forcefully spoke against the para lull in the Presidential Order of Article 341 and had passed a resolution through a subcommittee on Feb. 13, 1947 to delete this para but when the final order came in 1950, this hated para was there, the reassort for which is not known. 1 believe our Dalit Voice is the one and the only spokesman of ail Dalits irrespective of religion. Our All-India Backward Muslim Morcha wants to keep the demand of Dalit-Muslims before you. In the list of Scheduled Castes in various states like Delhi, castes like Dhobi, Dome, Bhangi, Mehtar, Chamar, Pasi, Nat, Julana, Chita, Mukri, Khatik etc. are mentioned. These castes are also found among Muslims but they are not getting the same facilities as their “Hindu” counterpart, simply because of the religious restriction in Article 341; though their social, educational, economic and political status continues to be same even to this day- exactly like our “Hindu” Dalits before 1950. | expect the Dalit Voice to raise this issue in such a way that Dalit-Muslims of India could get rid of the feeling that they are punished for becoming Muslims or Christians at various stages of their life. o
Mrs. Kishwar Joonas, IDRAAK, Firdaus, 37th Road Khar West, Bombay-52: We have a communication from the US Consulate here asking us to seek grassroots comments from NGOs and social activists about the human rights issues, including matters concerning Muslims. You reply may be sent to: Andrew R. Young, Consul (Political/Economical), American Consulate General, 78 Bhulabhai Desai Rd., Bombay- 26, who has sent us a US Govt. report on human rights in India (1995). The report is tatted “India Section, Country reports on Human rights practices (1995)” compiled by US missions and submitted to the US Congress. The report says income distribution remained very unequal and 40% of the urban population and half of the rural population live below the poverty level. There continue to be significant human rights abuses, despite extensive constitutional and statutory safeguards. Many of these abuses are generated by intense social tensions, violent secessionist movements and the authorities’ attempts to repress them, and deficient police methods and training. These problems are acute in Kashmir, where the judicial system has been disrupted both by terrorist threats, including the assassination of judges and witnesses, and by judicial tolerance of the govt.’s heavy handed antimilitant tactics. Serious human rights abuses include: extrajudicial executions and other-political killings, torture, and excessive use of force by security forces and separatist militants, as well as kidnaping and extortion by militants, in Kashmir and Northeast India; torture, rape, and deaths of suspects in police custody throughout India; arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention in Kashmir and the Northeast: continued detention throughout the country of thousands arrested under special security legislation; long trial delays ; widespread interacts and communal violence; legal and societal discrimination as well as extensive violence, both societal and by police and other agents of government, against women; discrimination and violence against Indigenous people; and widespread exploitation of indentured, bonded, and child laborers.
