Dr. Ambedkar had asked his followers that the chariot of his movement, if could not be taken forward, must not be allowed to slip backward. Everybody in the movement knows this. But at the same time everybody believes that what he is doing is right and helps to push the chariot forward. The problem comes when he thinks that others are trying to push it backwards. That is why he opposes all others. And says he alone is right. Unfortunately, whom he considered as “others” number many more than his own supporters. This is the cause of fracturing of Ambedkarite movement in India and especially in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra ignored Kanshi Ram: Dr. Ambedkar, during his conversion at Nagpur had talked of future action to his followers at a meeting in Shyam Hotel. Entry was with passes. I had the privilege of attending that meeting being a student worker.
In that meeting, Dr. Ambedkar, perhaps for the first time speaking in Hindi advised his workers to develop a mindset to work with other castes in tandem. That was the idea behind the formation of RPI.
Unfortunately, that advice was not followed the formation of the new party. As a result, the party remained a one-caste party. When there was the rise of Kanshi Ram in North India, people in Maharashtra ignored him. They wanted the Sun to rise, there is no doubt about that, but they wanted the Sun to rise after hearing their cock. As the Sun rose in UP without hearing the voice of the cock from Maharashtra, the people from Maharashtra pretended that there is no Sun rise. That gave rise to fractured politics in the region.
Mixing politics & religion defeats both: I am writing not on political situation in Maharashtra but its religious situation. Earlier, RPI meetings used to start with Budha Vandana. And religious discourses were addressed by political leaders. May be it was necessary at that time. Later, it dawned that religious movement must be kept away from the political movement. When non-RPI people wanted to adopt Budhism but still keep working in their previous political party, RPI felt disadvantaged. When non-Budhists wanted to join RPI, they were labeled by their own caste men as Untouchables. BSP did not bother about it in Maharashtra. If the religious and political movements are not kept separate neither grows and both suffer. In spite of this, some people keep saying that RPI and Budhism are two wheels of the same chariot of Ambedkar’s movement. Here lies the danger. They must both work independently. Dr. Ambedkar’s chariot has multiple wheels, not only two — religious and political. There are others too, they being cultural, educational, economic, co-operative and many more. All must work in cooperation no doubt, but still be entirely independent .
New entrants to Budhism: A “religious revolution” is being planned in Maharashtra by embracing Budhism by people from castes other than Mahars. Many other castes are preparing to be Budhists. Many castes like Matangs are conducting conversion ceremonies in various places. The old Budhists Ambedkarites have welcomed the new entrants.
One such noted new entrant is Laxman Mane, whose autobiography Upara (Outsider) is important in Marathi Dalit literature and is perhaps the earliest of writings which brought to the attention of the world the woes of VJNT (Vimukta Jati — ex-criminal tribes and nomadic tribes). He is well known in Maharashtra as a prominent leader of VJNT and a noted thinker, literary figure, and is a senior leader in their community but imbibed with Ambedkarite ideas.
Walking skeletons: He embraced Budhism on Oct. 2 last year at Nagpur. That has encouraged conversion to Budhism. He was to tour the state from April 14, 2007 from Chandrapur passing through all the districts of Maharashtra culminating in Bombay at a massive conversion ceremony on May 27, 2007. How many will convert? Expected to be in lakhs.
Mazrie (56), youngest winner of the Sahitya Akademy Award, says that the Adivasis are already following Budha. Hence it is a home-coming.
However, he is associated with Sharad Pawar’s NC and made chief of the Govt. Nomadic Tribal Welfare Board. He works with Ms. Supriya Sule, Pawar’s daughter. Ramdas Athawale, the Man Friday of Sharad Pawar, is helping him.
Even the “most educated” of Indian society hardly knows the plight of India’s nomads who suffer from total deprivation, neglect and dire poverty. Their literacy percentage is a mere 0.06%. Reduced to mere walking skeletons .
Religious unity first: There are about 600 million denotified and nomadic citizens in India. They have no house, no ration cards. On top of that, they are dubbed criminals, and when any crime takes place, they are the first suspects. They have been victims of a hugely discriminatory law, the Criminal Tribes Act, subsequently replaced by the Habitual Offenders Act.
Let all of us welcome these neglected “creatures” to Budhism and Ambedkarism. Many more castes are getting ready. The progress of Budhism depends upon how well and how fast we can assimilate them by matrimonial alliances.
Ignore tenets of various forms of Budhism and various intricacies of religion which only divide us. Also ignore political views of new entrants. We want religious unity first. Social and cultural unity, for which we will have to struggle, will follow. We must ignore political unity. This is what I feel .
