DR. AMBEDKAR’S BIRTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Begampura cultural Society, Sacramento (California) celebrating 121st birth anniversary of Baba Sahib Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 5:30 pm to 11:00pm, ELK GROVE EVENT CENTER, 8434 BRADSHAW ROAD, ELK GROVE, CA 95624
For more information, please call to Ph: 916-904-4475, Ph: 916-715-3441 Ramesh, Ph: 916-796-5003 Banga
Begampura Cultural Society of Sacramento
Posted on May 15, 2012

NOVEMBER 2012 TO BE CELEBRATED AS MONTH OF SIKH AWARENESS AND APPRECIATION Dr. Onkar S. Bindra (osbindra@sbcglobal.net) Sacramento, May 17, 2012. The California State Assembly today had about 20 Sikhs in the gallery. The occasion was the consideration of the Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR97) introduced by Assemblyman Henry Perea on Feb.2, 2012 in response to a request made to him by Pashaura Singh Dhillon on behalf of the Sikh Council of Central California, Fresno, during their celebration of Guru Nanak’s Parkash Utsav (birthday) at the Caruthers Gurdwara on October 19, 2011.

Besides Mr. Dhillon, they included Charanjit Singh Batth, the Raisin King of California, and a dozen of his friends including Kartar S. Sidhu, Bhupinder S. Aujla, Harvey Singh, M.S. Sandhawalia, Inder S. Batth, Jaswant S. Sidhu, and Gurdip S. Nijjer. Those joining from Sacramento area included Nirmal Singh, Gurjatinder S. Randhawa, Editor Punjab Mail USA, Prem K. Chumber, Editor of Ambedkar Times (English), and Desh Doaba (Punjabi).

“Please join me in declaring November 2012 as California Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month”, announced Assemblyman Dan Logue, representing Assemblyman Perea, who could not be present owing to his mother’s serious illness. Assemblyman Logue added the following.
“Every year on the first Sunday of November, Sikh Americans celebrate the coronation of their scriptures. Among the celebrations are Sikh parades, the largest of which is held in Yuba City, which is famous worldwide.

Californians of Sikh heritage deserve to be recognized for their significant contributions to our state. They came here around 100 years ago and have made their mark in agriculture, trucking, medicine, and technology. The Sikh religion comes from the Punjab region of South Asia. It is monotheistic and shares beliefs with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Sikhs have often faced persecution for their beliefs. Even recently in the United States, Sikhs have been subjected to hostility and discrimination. Please join me in honoring this great people and the contributions they have made to our state and our nation.”

Immediately thereafter, five Assembly Members, namely Roger Dickinson, Warren T. Fururtani, Jim Nielsen, Chris Norby and Bob Wieckowski, stood up one by one spontaneously and paid glowing tributes to the Sikh Californians through their extempore short speeches. The resolution was passed without any opposition.

Then Mr. Logue recognized the presence on the house floor, of Amarpreet (Ruby) Dhaliwal, San Joaquin Mayor, who came especially for the event. Finally, he recognized Mr. Nirmal Singh, whose 21-year old only son, Cpl. Gurpreet Singh of U.S. Marines, died last year serving this country in Afghanistan. Responding, Nirmal Singh stood up. All in the Assembly Chamber and its gallery gave him a standing ovation through a thunderous applause for the sacrifice made by this Sikh family of Antelope.

It may be noted that nearly all the Assembly Members (They total 80) chose to become coauthors of this popular and highly desirable resolution, authored by Henry Perea. Only eight did not, because they were apparently not present at the time of voting.
Posted on May 17, 2012

A row over a cartoon depicting Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the chief Architect of the Indian Constitution, riding a snail and Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country, standing behind him, brandishing a whip rocked the Indian Parliament. The message it symbolizes in the text alongside suggests that Dr. Ambedkar was slow on completing the draft of the constitution and Jawaharlal Nehru pressing hard on him to do the job quickly. The cartoon was sketched by renowned cartoonist Shankar in 1949, and has been part of the NCERT book since 2006.

Opposition Members of Parliament stalled the proceedings in the both houses of the parliament on May 11, 2012, emphasizing on the ‘disrespectful’ message of the cartoon. Interacting with the reporters outside the parliament Kumari Mayawati, Dalit politician, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house) said, “This is an insult on Indian democracy. The government should intervene and take strong action against those who are involved in this”. She continued, “If it fails to do so, we will wait for two to three days or else our party (BSP) will not allow the House to run”. Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, President of the Lok Janshakti Party, condemned the inclusion of the cartoon in the textbook as “highly deplorable”.

Pacifying the charged emotions, Pranab Mukerjee, Finance Minister, said that it was with the consistent efforts of Dr. Ambedkar that the constitution of independent India was framed within “a short time of three years”. Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister, later apologized, and said he had already directed NCERT to remove the cartoon on April 26 this year.

The protest over the cartoon in the Parliament also led to the resignation of the advisors of the office of NERT, Suhas Palshikar (former head of the department of Political Science in the University of Pune) and Yogendra Yadav (psephologist). A day after their resignation, two to three people, allegedly belonging to a new organization named the Republican Panthers Party of India, attacked the office of the Suhas Palshikar. During the attack they shouted slogans in the name of Dr. Ambedkar. Two of the attackers were arrested by the police. Mr. Palshikar, however, was not hurt in the attack. He did not want to initiate action against the perpetrators but wanted action against those who he thought instigated the attack.

Mr. Yogendra Yadav commenting on the cartoon row said, “I personally do not think that that cartoon denigrates Dr. Ambedkar. He himself did not think it did so. Any cartoon or any piece of art must be understood by keeping in mind that you can’t take a Xerox copy of one particular thing and say, is it good or is it bad. First you have to understand the symbolism of it, if you start to take all piece of art literally, then you would have to ban, then you would have to ban all poetry in this country, all the art forms, and cartoons in this country”. Zoya Hasan, a Political Scientist of Jawaharlal Nehru University, considered the row as “an unnecessary controversy … It is a classic case of construct hurt and invented controversy … The government must allow for more public debate on this issue”.

Beyond symbolism or the contents of the controversy, what is more important is the presence of caste in contemporary India. It is in this context that one has to look at the whole cartoon row that rocked the parliament. The advisors of the NCERT are not oblivious of the presence of caste in Indian society and its continuous impact on the day-to-day lives of Dalits. It is also well know to every body, at least in India, especially to those who do social science in the country, that 2012 is not 1949– when the cartoon in question was sketched. Now Dalits have come of age. They want no more further to be pushed aside. In a caste ridden society like India, one needs to exercise restrain in making symbolic use of cartoon or poetry because in a fragmented social domain every symbol or verse carries tons of meaning both pejorative or otherwise. For the good of democracy and social harmony one should not only restrain but also design new symbols and poetry free of caste intents and discriminatory hidden messages.
Posted on May 15, 2012

We are writing this letter on behalf of the Supreme Council, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabhas, USA in regard to the situation arising out of the inclusion of “Ambedkar- Nehru” cartoon in Indian text-books wherein Dr. Ambedkar has been shown and likened to a slow -moving snail in the drafting of the constitution of India and Pt. Nehru, the then prime minister of India, whipping him to hurry up.

Undoubtedly It might have provided some kind of personal entertainment for those responsible for including this cartoon in the political science text- books for Grade XI, but they have ignored the fact that it has belittled and mocked the illustrious contributions and historically acclaimed image of Baba Sahib, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, not only as the architect of the constitution of free India by doing the formidable task of drafting it single-handedly but also as the crusader and emancipator of the socially , economically and politically down-trodden sections of Indian society. They also perhaps failed to recognize a permanent imprint left on the minds of the young readers of text-books about the distorted image of “Bharat Rattan” Babasaheb. (The Jewel of India).
Why this situation has been allowed to linger on so long needs a thorough investigation and those responsible should be brought to justice.
We also support and appreciate the cross-section opinions in Indian parliament as well as the world and local media including “Ambedkar Times” for their vehement condemnation of the entire episode.

Let the condemnation of “Manusmriti” which has founded and deepened the roots of caste system in India become the curricula in the educational institutions in India so that the damage it has been doing to the society for centuries is exposed to the future guardians of the nation.

Posted on May 16, 2012

An old cartoon of 1949 vintage by Shankar Pillai on the slow pace of making the Indian constitution reproduced in the textbook of NCERT rocked the Indian parliament on May 11. The politician followers of Ambedkar decry the cartoon as an insult to the leader and his contribution. The intelligentsia on the other side terms it as an attack on the freedom of speech and liberty. Given the sensibilities of the issue, particularly the vote bank aspect, the Government is cautious. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal apologized and Leader of the House and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee intervened to pacify the Members of Parliament. It is both unfortunate and heartening, to my mind.

It is unfortunate that we are becoming excessively intolerant which is not good for the society at large. Only the Dalit politicians taking up the issue tends to confine Ambedkar as a Dalit icon alone which is not correct. Ambedkar was a national leader of India. Ambedkar himself was a liberal democrat. He was against the blind following of charismatic leaders. Obviously any attempt to belittle Ambedkar and his service to the nation will be countered and rightly so.. It is heartening that the relevance and potency of Ambedkar is as good today as it was before and will remain so in the years to come. The uproar in the parliament on the cartoon is demonstrative of the reality on ground.

The NCERT textbook for the students of Higher Secondary under the chapter “ Indian Constitution at Work” says that the cartoon notes the ‘snail’s pace’ at which the constitution was made and asks the students what they think were the reasons the making of it taking so long. It is not difficult to find the answers. In fact Dr. Ambedkar himself had provided those answers in his historic speech, one of the best speeches of modern India, delivered on November 29, 1949 in the Constituent Assembly before the constitution was finally passed. Ambedkar provided details of the sittings and work done. He gave comparative information in this regard on the constitutions of other countries and asked “Is there any justification for this complaint?” and asserted “Having regard to these facts the charge of dialatoriness seems to me quite unfounded and this Assembly may well congratulate itself for having accomplished so formidable a task in so short a time.” The redeeming factor which is also a tribute to Ambedkar is that the Constitution is working and working well. In his intervention, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee tried to assuage the sentiments of leaders by saying the cartoon was totally wrong and Ambedkar was “Ved Vyas of Indian Constitution without whose tireless efforts the biggest MagnaCarta of socio economic transformation would not have been possible to achieve in a record time of three years.” The matter may rest there.
Posted on May 13, 2012

BUDDHA JAYANTI – BUDDHA PURNIMA   Ramesh Chander Ambassador IFS (Retired) Buddha Jayanti – Buddha Purnima fell and was celebrated on May 6. My friends at the Buddha Vihar at Sidharath Nagar (Bootan Mandi) at Jalandhar special Ram Lal Kainth and Darshan Bodhi had invited me to be the Guest Speaker at a function to observe the Day at the Vihar. I accepted the invitation in principle but could not make it as I had to come to Delhi/Gurgaon on some urgent personal engagement. I felt sorry and my hosts were also disappointed. I shall catch up with them in due course on my return to Jalandhar.

But yet another opportunity was in store for me. The followers of Dr. Ambedkar in and around Gurgaon under the aegis of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Sabha headed by Dharambir celebrated the day at the Ambedkar Bhawan in Sector 4 of Gurgaon. My friend Paramjit Saroya was aware of my presence in Gurgaon and on his suggestion the Sabha invited me to be the Chief Guest at the function which I gladly accepted. I was doubly happy as my daughter Vaishali was also born on the solemn day of Buddha Purnima in 1975. It was a well-organized programme, started a little late in the evening, attended by a well-meaning and disciplined audience. A missionary musical group of Rajaram from Rohtak regaled the attentive audience with numbers dedicated to Ambedkar and Buddha and their mission. A well-educated, professional veterinary doctor, Bhikshu (Bhante) from a Vihar in Palwal was the chief guest speaker. He spoke well and with conviction. I am no authority either on Ambedkar or on Buddha. But my abiding interest and ardent wish to follow Ambedkar keep me alive to the relevant situation and concern. I based my brief speech, on the contents of D.C. Ahir’s book “Ambedkar and his legacy” as to how Buddhism was different from Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Ambedkar’s immense contribution in reviving Buddhism in India was recalled. The function was concluded with a nicely done and arranged Preeti Bhoj (Langar).

Let me make a couple of observations which may be interest to the readers of my blog. After my retirement about a year before, I attended and spoke at many such functions pertaining to Guru Ravidass and Dr. Ambedkar in and around Jalandhar. I was given to understand and somehow I also felt that the community audiences and the organizers were comparatively good and better placed in Jalandhar which has a good concentration of, both economically and educationally, community. My participation at the Gurgaon function was the first. It was a good education for me. The function was nicely conducted by the Master of Ceremonies. The audiences were nicely seated on clean white covered chairs. The audience was attentive and participatory. The musical group of Rajaram was applauded and rewarded (mostly by hundred rupee notes), liberal monetary contributions were made to the Sabha for the function, the preeti bhoj was well prepared and nicely served. I was awakened from the wrong notion that the dalits of Punjab were ahead of their brethren in Haryana. May God bring them more success and prosperity?
Posted on May 10, 2012

EDUCATE, AGITATE AND ORGANIZE

Kindly refer to Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s own words: "My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side, I do not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual.......”Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, Third Edition, 1971, Page 351). Kindly see also: “Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches Vol. 1 (Education Department, Govt. of Maharashtra, 1979)" Specially the Chapter on Communal Deadlock and a way to solve it.