Ma’Osmaimaat, PO Box 170242, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA: With voices and hearts in harmony, the African-American women of Ma’Osmaimaat bid you greetings. We are an African – American Womens’ Spiritual Organisation that is rooted in human community. We are devoted to the holistic well-being of our African sisters around the globe. We extend our hearts, minds, and hands to embrace and offer our assistance and support, by way of exchanging ideas, resources, action and commitment. We would like to establish and build dialogue with the Black Untouchables of India in hopes of learning how we may assist one another and perhaps jointly build a base of socio- economic empowerment. We would like to hear your ideas and present ideas to you, on how we might assist our African sisters on a global scale. We look forward to hearing from you with hopes that this letter will establish this dialogue and international sisterhood.
Dr. John Webster, 53 – Oswegatchie Road, Waterford, CT 06385, USA: Hope you have received a copy of my book, The Dalit Christians: A History. You will find yourself quoted and the Dalit Voice referred to in it in several places. I plan to be in Bangalore in early October and would like very much to meet you again. I am to participate in an institute for church historians on Oct. 9-15.
James Garret, President, GEM, Garrett Export Management International Trade Specialist PO Box 928, Temple Hills, Maryland 20757, USA: We are presently promoting a hydroponic agricultural tool called the “Vegetron”. We would like the Dalits to be the first in India to get this device. Hydroponics is not a new agricultural concept. I learn India has been using hydroponics for years. However, the “Vegetron” is the latest technology and allows for a very stable environment for plant growth. I am trying to offer the Dalit a means toward self-sufficiency. I am aware of their struggle and to wish to help. This hydroponic system will allow them to provide for themselves vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. They can meet their nutritional and economic needs in a grand fashion with the “Vegetron”.
Aditi Sharma, Campaigns Officer, Survival for Tribal Peoples, Survival International, 310-Edgware Road, London W2 1DY ., UK: I am writing to ask if anybody would like to receive Survival’s Urgent Action Bulletins in Hindi. We want to set up a data base of NGOs and individuals working with tribals who would like to receive our Hindi bulletins.
G.B. Singh, 112 – Auburn Dr, Waynesville, Missouri 65583, USA: Recently I came across a small booklet, Apartheid in India, and a copy of Dalit Voice. I read it and read it again. I was impressed with the quality of information put out by you. To bring freedom to the oppressed of India, the help of the western people is a must. They need information from groups such as yours as to what persecution “low caste” and other minorities in India go through. One very important advice. Somehow, if you can provide unimpeded access to your publications to the westerners, it will help a lot for your cause. Have a central location in US or some other place where people in the West can get access to your publications by means of subscriptions. I give lectures on India and Hinduism in US. Many of my participants have shown interest in your literature. If I can help in any way within my capacity, please let me know.
You may contact our Dalit brother at Houston, phone 713 – 550 7580 – EDITOR.
MMS Salahudeen, Doha, Qatar: Distressed to hear that Abdul Nasir Madani was attacked and he lost the right leg. Blood-sucking nazi cruelty is going boyond limits. However, Madani has become more popular than before. His audio cassettes, speeches should be translated into many Indian languages so that Muslims of India would understand the evil conspiracy of nazis. All Muslim localities should organise Islamic Service Society to defend themselves. Like the ISS, every “minority community” should form its own ISS to protect themselves from nazis. The work of the ISS is very much needed as long as the nazi parties remain in India. These parties are anti-national. They are the only reason for the backwardness of our country. They are destroying the country in the name of their fake religion and creating violence everywhere. These are the people responsible for our failure at the Barcelona Olympics. How can we get Gold when we have anti- nationals like Bal Thackeray whose followers dug up the Wankhede Stadium pitch?
Pon. Muthuswamy, Coimbatore: I am getting the doubt that the Tamil lyer, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, is the zionist agent in India. His statements and behaviour confirm this. His anti-Tamil Tigers actions strengthen this. His efforts to protect the neogi brahmin by promoting defections prove it. Muslims must keep a special watch on his moves. His secret connections with India’s nazi party, American CIA and zionists must be exposed by DV.
T. Ravi, 10B – Balamanilllam, Court Road, Salem – 636 007: Here is a report on the sorrowful and painful incident of Aug. 16, 92. When Dalits were taking a big procession under the Tiruchirappally – based “Annal Ambedkar llaingar Munnani”, a group of Vanniyars brutally attacked our people in a nearby village, Gajzalnaickenpatti, 6 km. away. We are sorry that the Vanniyars do not know the history neither they realise the political atmosphere in the country nor are they conscious, of their position in the nazi Hindu social setup. Though the Vanniyars are oppressed, they are attacking the equally oppressed Dalits.
Sukumar Pal, Indian Social Institute, 10 – Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 3 : The enactment of the 65th amendment of the Constitution in May, 1990, received the president’s Assent on June 7th 1990 as National Commission for Schedule castes and Scheduled tribes. While it is giving full power and status of independent functioning, its finance allocations and power to appoint its own personal has so far been the major handicapped. Therefore, it is necessary to give authorisation of appropriations for its expenditure direct from parliament in the budgetary provision of its own, and not as part of any ministry’s grants. It must have full power to appoint its own officers and staff. With transfer of some of the officers and staff under its own control, and also abolishing a large number of vacant post in earlier commission, without ascertaining the views of the new commission is forcing to cripple its own functioning. The matter must be raised before parliament for early enactment of a supple mentary legislation spelling out necessary provisions for independent functioning of the new Commission. 073
Syed Shahabuddin, M.P, 14 -Janpath, New Delhi – 110 001: With ref. (DV. Sept 1, p.21) to the proposal that the parliament session should begin with Vande Mataram, I have already taken up the matter with leaders of various parties. However, I would suggest that you should address your dissent and protest directly to the Speaker, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, the Prime Minister as well as the Leaders of various Parties in Parliament.
Prof. Abul Qasem, 28/7B, C.N. Roy Road, Calcutta – 39: Harish Mondal’s suggestion in DV (Aug. 16) to organise a meeting of DV readers in Calcutta with you (also to celebrate your 60th birthday) is interesting. I am applying my mind to this question and hopeful of a positive outcome. (Phone 409168).
Tayeedul Islam, ST Hostel, 19- Dargah Road, Calcutta – 17: I am a regular reader of DV for the past 5 years. I agree with 90% of your views. I differ on few points. I congratulate you for setting up the ‘Anti-Zionist Front’ and proposing to hold its first national convention in Bangalore. I am asking my friends to participate in the proposed conference.
T.N. Arivarasu, Teacher, 64 – Housing unit, College Road, Tirupur, TN – 638 602: Social justice is more important in a vertical society than economic or political justice, said Dr. Ambedkar. Marx said: “A country not only divided between Mohammedan and Hindu but between tribe and tribe between caste and caste. The feudal division of India, the ethnic diversity of its population, the religious and caste antagonism among the people and the perfidy of most of the local feudal gentry”. That means Marx knew well about our caste society. Some DV readers have found fault with Dr. Ambedkar. They ask why Dr. Ambedkar wrote the Constitution of India? Why did he accept that work? They raise so many doubts. The existence of caste and race has prevented class consciousness. That is the reason for the absence of class-consciousness in India, said the Editor of DV. We study all these thoughts and that is why we get many doubts. So many contradictory ideas are coming from our readers. We wish to clear our doubts. Hence we want to meet you.
Bikash Kusum Roy, 140 – Aswani Dutt Road, New Barrackpore, WB – 743 276: Please consider alloting one or two pages of DV for matrimonial advts. If you say yes it will help inter-state matrimonial relationship among Dalits throughout India to help them come closer. Newspaper reports said 100 brides and grooms were made life mates by Marwadi Jain organisations. But I have never heard of saw such things among Dalit organisations. DV can do the noble job. One handsome IT engineer (age 30) serving under the WB Govt. as Asst. Engineer wants a bride below 25 years. preferably a doctor of any State but Dalit.
V. Prasanna Kumar, Indira Gandhi National Open University Regional Centre, Hyderabad: This is to voice my solidarity with your effort to enlighten the persecuted nationalities. The articles in DV are very spirited. I express my desire to become a partner in this movement.
A. Pramanik, convener, Forum Against Casteism, Canara Bank, 25-Princep St. Calcutta – 72: We formed this organisation a year and a half ago. We conducted two seminars on caste in trade unions and the new economic policy. We need your journal which is doing a good service to the movement with its penetrating analysis of the past and present happenings of our society.
Madhavan K ., Trivandrum: I was so impressed with your words when you said: “The Hindu nazis of Kerala might be today rejoicing that they have cut one leg of ISS (Islamic Sevak Sangh) chief Abdul Nasser Madani. But they must know that the one-legged Madani will prove more dangerous than the Madani with two legs. The war has just begun. SC/ST/BCs of Kerala must join this human rights war to liberate Kerala from nazis. If the Muslim League leadership joins in this war well and good. If it doesn’t it will die a natural death. The Students Islamic Movement must fully make use of the sharpening contradictions in Kerala.
Bhayya Maheskumar, BE final year student, Tumkur: A shocking incident took place at the Sidhartha Institute of Technology here. About 60 students from Jammu are studying here. Of this, about 25 are Dalits. They are intelligent. But the upper caste Brahmin- Bania students from Kashmir are persecuting them. On July 30, there was a bloody clash between the two groups. One Dalit student, Rajkumar Alenge, was badly injured and hospitalised. Only then we ( Karnataka Dalit students) came to know that the victims were our own blood brothers. Following this attack, we the local Dalits supported the Jammu Dalit students and punished the ring leader, Hari Sharma, the Brahmin boy from Kashmir. The other two culprits are Baljit Singh and Sanjeev Suri. The Aryan upper castes daily insult the Dalit students saying “Who is financing you? Why should you come all the way from Kashmir to study engineering? What will the Chamaras, who have no brains, do by studying engineering?” We want your representative in Jammu to trace these students and effectively tackle them.
R. Arul, Chidambaram, TN-608 002: R. Elumalai wrote (DV May 16, 92): “Dead body of a Dalit near Kumbakonam was not allowed to pass through the Vanniar street”. And P.K. Rajan added (DV Aug. 1, 1992): “During Babasaheb’s birthday celebrations this April near Kalpakam, the intolerant Vanniars torched about 80 Dalit houses.” Yes. This is true. Vanniyars and Dalits both belong to the depressed class but they are fighting each other because of the brahminical brainwash. In Balachanthar papan’s anti-reservation film, Vaaname Illai (sky is the limit), one character asks a Mudaliar youth (BC): “Why were you born in a Mudaliar caste? If you had been born a Dalit, you would have got a job easily”. This is how the papans divide the Dalits and Vanniyars. All jobs are monopolised by the papans. Neither the Vanniyars (BCs) nor Dalits have any jobs but the papans brainwash the BCs saying that the Dalits get jobs through reservation. I belong to the Vanniyar jati. Vanniyars are mostly uneducated and poor like the Dalit.
They think that the Dalits gain only because of the reservations which are responsible for the Vanniyar unemployment. So, some poor uneducated Vanniyars naturally develop prejudice against Dalits. The papan press is doing this job of instigating Vanniyars against Dalit. papans and other upper castes oppress Vanniyars and the Vanniyars in turn try to oppress Dalits. Hatred is part of the caste system. Caste means hatred. But our militant Pattali Makkal Katchi is educating the Tamils (SC/ST, BCs, Muslims, Christians) that the sons of the soil as a whole are being oppressed because all jobs and properties are in Aryan upper caste hands. If we (SC/ ST,BCs,Muslims, Christians) join hands under the PMK we can recover our human rights. Lot of education is needed. Dr. Ramdoss and Dalit Ezhilmalai are doing it.
Mrs. Happy, Solan, Himachal Pradesh: Jats have been quoted as Huns (DV July 16,’92. p. 12) in a “Letter to Editor” by B. Bambiha, Faridkot. Whereas in the Sarita (July 11,92, p.180) they have been called normally Aryans’. Please throw more light on the subject. Can the Jats be included in our non-BSO comprising 85% of our populations?
Ujagar Singh Sandhu, Advocate, Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab: S.D. Sharma cannot be called a true representative constitutional head of the country as one-third voters of India did not vote in his favour. The tradition of upper caste domination has been allowed to perpetuate which is against the democratic ideology and the spint of the Constitution. There was a keen desire of the masses to give the opportunity of holding the President’s office by a person from the oppressed communities but the caste-concious politicians branded that desire as caste-based. On the other hand, this august office continues to be monopolised by the sheer minority upper castes. India’s slavery in the past centuries is attributed to the vice of casteism.
S.M. Pasha, 21- Barracks Road, Periamet, Madras – 3: The decision of the general purposes committee of the Lok Sabha to commence the proceedings of the House with the singing of the Vande Mataram is unfortunate as it resurrects a long-forgotten controversy (DV Sept. 1, p.21 “Vande Mataram will divide India”). In 1937, when the Congress, drunk with victory and having formed provincial ministries attempted to impose the singing of Vande Mataram on the Muslims, the latter opposed it tooth and nail. The Speaker of the then Madras Legislative Assembly, Bulusu Sambamurthi, started the session of the Assembly with this song. The Muslim representative from Guntur, Laljan, staged a walk-out and threatened to disrupt the working of the Assembly. It had its effect and the practice was stopped. Besides, the Working Committee of the Congress came out with a lengthy clarification on its stand on the singing of the Vande Mataram. Islam directs Muslims not to bow before any object or being and it is one of the cardinal articles of Islamic faith that Allah, the God Almighty, alone is the bestower of boons. In the Vande Mataram one has to declare that one bows to “mother” and that she is the giver of boons. Hence, it is un-Islamic for Muslims to sing the Vande Mataram. The country must take into consideration the religious sentiments of the Muslims or else there will be disaster as predicted by DV.
The nazis facing defeat from all fronts are desperately trying to break up India into pieces so that they can hold on to the cow belt (Aryavarta). But we, who will not allow India’s unity and integrity to be broken, have to resist the Aryan move via the “Vande Mataram”. – EDITOR.
