Abstract

For a correct understanding of the phenomenon of caste and untouchability, an understanding of the specificities of a region is of critical importance. Though caste is prevalent throughout the country, it has never been monolithic and unilinear in its practice. Every region has its specific and unique characteristics that closely impact its socio-political and economic structures. This paper is a modest attempt to explore the regional specificities of the north Indian state of Punjab and their impact upon the phenomenon of caste and untouchability in the region.

This paper intends to map the complex nature of caste hierarchy and Dalit identity in different regions in the state of East Punjab . East Punjab , in fact, is an apt case for such a study in the context of understanding politics in ‘regions within region’ in India . Before partition (1947), Punjab occupied vast territory lying between the rivers Sindh (now in Pakistan ) and Yamuna ( India ). The Punjab that independent India inherited in 1947 was a much smaller state than the one that became a part of the sovereign state of Pakistan . The pre-partition Punjab was literally meant the land of the five rivers. It included a large tract of landmass on the vast space of the northwestern hemisphere of South Asia that constituted a common climatic zone and offered its inhabitants a natural cycle of agrarian seasons with their bounties and calamities. Over the millennia, the identity or identities of this vital region have been articulated and rearticulated time and again to meet the changing ecological contours, socio-geographic settings, and economic and cultural needs of its people. Notwithstanding the partition and fissures that Punjab has suffered, it survives in the memory and imagination of its people more as a cultural-linguistic zone than as a politico-geographic territory. There can hardly be a Punjabi, whether living in his ancestral land of five rivers on the either side of the border or settled far beyond, who does not retain strong sense of his/her cultural and historical roots. At the same time one rarely finds a place in the whole region of Punjab where s/he is not reminded of his clan and caste across the religions. So much so that caste titles survived even in conversion – forced or otherwise.

Located in the above context, the unified/original Punjab emerged as a region in the northwestern hemisphere of the South Asia with distinct cultural identities competing with one another for the domination of ‘political’ in the region. However, the unified/original Punjab gave way to two separate and artificially carved regions within distinct boundaries of newly emerged sovereign states of India and Pakistan on August 15, 1947 . The partition of the larger region of Punjab was not merely a geographic event; it deeply transformed the ethnic posture of the newly created regions on the both sides of the border. The Indian Punjab was further truncated into three states – Punjab , Haryana and Himachal Pradesh – on the basis of language on November 1, 1966 . It was in the reorganized Punjab that the Sikhs found themselves in majority for the first time in the history of India . The Scheduled castes (both Sikhs and Hindus), popularly known as Dalits, became the second largest group in the state with a highest percentage of the total population of Punjab in comparison to their counterpart in the rest of the states in the country. Moreover, the reorganized and truncated Punjab failed to emerge as a unified socio-cultural and linguistic region. The current east Punjab region is divided into three distinct cultural zones: Majha, Malwa and Doaba. The rivers mark the boundaries of these three distinct regions. Over time, each region has come to acquire a specific social set-up, economic structure and cultural pattern that turn Punjab Politics into a most complex as well as an interesting case for the critical exploration of the phenomenon of caste hierarchy and Dalit identity in the region.

It is in this context that caste hierarchies and Dalit identity in East Punjab assume critical importance. Dalits in Punjab constitute almost one third of the total population of the state, largest proportion of the Scheduled Castes population in the regional states of India (28.85 percent, Census of India 2001), with a lowest share in the agricultural land in the state in the country (2.5 percent). Less than five percent of them are cultivators. Why they have been so severely deprived of land in the state? How it affects the patterns of caste hierarchies in Punjab? What avenues are available to the Dalits in the state to assert for their human rights? These are some of the basic issues, this paper intends to lake up critically. This enormous gap between their strength in terms of numbers and the share in the land of the state assumes further importance in the wake of the ensuing significant sudden increase in their population as Mahatam, Rai Sikh – another downtrodden community – has recently been included in the Scheduled Castes list of the Indian constitution [(f) in part XIV] wide Constitution (Scheduled Castes) order (Amendment) Act, 2007, No 31 dated 29 th August, 2007 (Punjab Government Gazette, Regd. No. CHD/0092/2006-2008, No. 45, November 9, 2007).

Region and Caste

For a correct understanding of the phenomenon of caste and untouchability, specificities of a region hold critical importance. Though caste is prevalent throughout the country, it has never been monolithic and unilinear in its practice. Every region has its specific and unique characteristics that closely impact its socio-political and economic structures. In this section an attempt is made to explore the regional specificities of the north Indian state of Punjab and their impact upon the phenomenon of caste and untouchability in the region.

The phenomenon of untouchability was never considered so strong in Punjab as in many other parts of the country (Ibbetson1883, rpt. 1970:15). Punjab has generally been known as a “notable exception” to the widely prevalent view of caste and untouchability in India . But it does not mean that untouchability is alien to this part of the country. Dalits were never spared of social oppression and economic deprivations in Punjab . The repeated references to and loud condemnations of caste based discriminations in the teachings of the Sufi saints and the Sikh Gurus in the region is a case in point. The social reform movements led by the Arya Samaj, Singh Sabha and Chief Khalsa Dewan further vindicated the presence of the institution of caste in the social set up of Punjab. Moreover, the roots of caste hierarchy were so well entrenched in the society that the reformatory measures undertaken by various social reforms movements failed to weed them out. However, what distinguished it from the other parts of India is the material factor of the caste based discriminations in Punjab as against the over all-dominating pattern of purity-pollution syndrome.

Another feature that distinguished Punjab from the rest of the regions in the country was the phenomenon of widespread landlessness among the Dalits and the absolute monopoly of the Jats (a dominant peasant caste) on the agricultural land in the state. The Punjab Land Alienation Act (1901) favoured the agricultural communities (mainly Jats) against the non-agricultural castes as it deprived the latter including dalits the right to purchase the land. Since Punjab happened to be primarily an agricultural state, the ownership of land assumed significant importance in determining social status. Nowhere in India , are Dalits so extensively deprived of agricultural land as in the case of Punjab . Despite their highest proportion in the country, less than 5 percent of them were cultivators (lowest in India , 1991 census). They shared only 4.82 percent of the number of operational holdings and 2.34 percent of the total area under cultivation (1991 census). Consequently, till recently the landlessness rendered a large majority of them (60 percent, 1991 census) into agricultural laborers and made them subservient to the landowners, who invariably happen to be Sikh Jats. However, a significant change has taken place over the last few decades. Dalits have entered into a number of professions, which were traditionally considered as the mainstay of the artisan castes (Ram 2004a: 5-6). This has led to a sharp decline in the share of Dalits in the agricultural work force in the state, which in itself has come down from 24 per cent in 1991 to 16 percent in 2001 (Singh 2005:3).

The hold of the Jats on the land was so strong that the lower castes were even denied the access to village common land (shamlaat). In fact, Dalits were never considered a part of villages, as their residences were located outside the main premises of the villages. So much so that the land on which the Dalit houses were built also considered to be belonged to the Jats (Virdi 2003: 2 &11). This kept the Dalits always afraid lest the Jat landowners ordered them to vacate the land. The abysmally low share of the Dalits in the land seems to be the major cause of their hardships and social exclusion. It is also an indication of the historical denial of rights to them (Thorat 2006:2432). The slightest sign of protest by the Dalits for the betterment of their living conditions often provoked the Jats to impose social boycott on them.

The patterns of domination by the Jats and that of the subordination of the Dalits also distinguished Punjab from rest of the country in a significant way. In Punjab the scale of social measurement differs from that of the other parts of the country. The social measurement scale in Punjab is not based on the purity/pollution principle of Brahminical orthodoxy. Instead, it is based on the hold of land, martial strength, and allegiance to Sikhism, a comparatively new religion that openly challenged the rituals and dogmatic traditions of Hinduism and Islam. Unlike the system of caste hierarchy in rest of the country, the top down rank grading of Brahmin (priest), Kshatriya (soldier), Vaishya (trader) and Shudra (menial worker) carries no meaning in Punjab. In Punjab Brahmin is not placed on the top of the caste hierarchy. The Sikh Jats, who otherwise have been Shudra as per the Varna system, considered themselves socially superior to the Brahmins (Ibbetson1883, rpt. 1970:2; and Several 1976:10; Tandon 1961: 77). In fact, Jats in the contemporary Punjab have replaced Brahmins in terms of domination. The ideological undercurrents of social domination based on the principles of purity/pollution, and wisdom failed to hold ground in Punjab due to various historical reasons (Ibbetson1883, rpt. 1970:1-87; Puri 2004a: 1). Interestingly, the phenomenon of the domination in Punjab clubbed together different sources of power (social, economic, political, religious, and numerical). These sources, in turn, are invariably concentrated in the community of Jats. In other words, multiple identities coalesced in the Jats that make them a dominant community of Punjab. They are Jats by caste, Sikhs by religion, and landowners by their hold on cultivation. All these different identities reinforce each other and thus strengthened the position of the Jat community in the state.

Yet another factor that further strengthened the domination of the Jats in the state of Punjab was their numerical preponderance in the Sikh religion. Their large-scale entry into Sikh religion had not only rescued them from the labyrinth of their lower status in the Hindu society, it also turned them into a powerful community within Sikhism. According to the records of 1881 Census, 66 percent of those who returned as Sikhs were Jats. The second largest community within Sikhism was that of the Tarkhans/Ramgarhias (the carpenter caste) who just constituted 6.5 percent of the total Sikhs in Punjab. Next to the Ramgarhias were the Chamars/Ramdasias with 5.6 percent, followed by the Chuhras/Mazhabis who were 2.6 percent. If clubbed together these two outcaste groups (Ramdasias and Mazhabis) becomes the second largest group (8.2 percent) of Sikhs within Sikhism. Thus the numerical prepondrance of the Jats within Sikhism combined with their martial and self-willed nature, and monopoly on the land ‘elevated them well above their humble origins’.

Such a combination and reinforcement of multiple identities and their concentration in the community of Jats is, however, conspicuous by its absence among the Dalits. Dalits in Punjab have been categorized into 39 castes (Punjab Government Gazette, Regd. No. CHD/0092/2006-2008, No. 45, November 9, 2007). Out of these 39 castes more than 80 percent of the total Scheduled Castes population belongs to two major caste groupings of Chamars (leather working castes) and Chuhra (sweepers). These two caste groups consist of four castes – Mazhabi (30.7%), Chamar (25.8%), Ad-Dharmi (15.9%), and Balmiki (11.1%). The Chamar caste group includes: Ad-Dharmi, Jatia Chamar, Rehgar, Raigar, Ramdasias, and Ravidasias. The Chuhra caste group clubs together Balmiki, Bhangi and Mazhabi castes. The Chamar caste group is largely confined to the Doaba sub-region of the Punjab (comprising Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, and Nawan Shahr districts lying between two rivers, Beas and Sutlej). And the Chuhra caste group is mainly concentrated in the smaller Majha region and the much bigger Malwa region of the state. At the district level, Mazhabis are largely concentrated in Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Faridkot, Mansa, and Bhatinda districts of Punjab. Apart from their heavy concentration in the Doaba sub-region of Punjab, Chamars are also numerous in Gurdaspur, Rupnagar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur districts. Among the Chamar caste group, Ad-Dharmis far outnumber other SCs in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts in rural as well as urban settings. Mazhabis in the Chuhra caste group outnumber other SCs in Faridkot and Ferozepur districts (for more details see Gosal 2004: 26-39). Though, traditionally they have been condemned as polluted and impure because of their occupational contact with animal carcass and hides, Chamars are basically chandravanshi by clan and are also considered as the highest caste among the SCs in Punjab (Deep 2001:7). Thus Dalits in Punjab are scattered in multi-identities that weaken their collective strength and unity. Under the influence of Sikhism, while Jats of Punjab have enhanced their social status and achieved spiritual coherence, the same could not happen in the case of Dalits who remained divided in different religious orders. Dalits are found in almost all the popular religions in Punjab. Their presence in Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity not only proves the presence of the institution of caste in all these religions, but also weaken the chances of solidarity among them.

The subjugation of the Dalits got further deepened during the course of green revolution in Punjab. The process of green revolution transformed the traditional subsistence character of the agriculture into commercial and mechanical farming. The market oriented agriculture pattern in the post 1960’s phase favoured the landowners, which further marginalized the dalits and widened the already existing divisions between them and the dominant peasant caste in Punjab. Interestingly, it was also during this phase of market-oriented agriculture that a new middle class of educated Dalits emerged in Punjab. The advent of this new class among the Dalits coupled with the rise of the Ambedkarite movement in the region led to the formation of Dalit consciousness in the state.

The emergence of the Dalit consciousness induced the Dalit agricultural laborers to ask for higher wages in the rural settings of Punjab , especially in its Doaba sub-region. The Dalit struggle for higher wages often employed pressure tactics of refusal to work unless the landowners increase the wages. In fact, it was during this very phase of transition in the agrarian economy of Punjab that the process of Dalit immigration to Europe , North America , and the Gulf got streamlined. However, it may be pointed that the emergence of the process of Dalit immigration from Punjab coincided with the phenomenon of the influx of migrant labour from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh into Punjab . The influx of migrant labour has further sharpened the contradiction between the dominant peasant castes and the landless Dalits in that it provided the former cheaper labour compared to the local ones. Moreover, the changed cropping system under the green revolution patterns of agriculture squeezed the extant of farm labour to a few peak periods – paddy transplantation, paddy harvesting-cum-threshing, and wheat harvesting. The traditional agriculture system, capable of providing almost round the year regular work, was changed into a commercial agriculture set-up that did not offer more than 75 days work annually (based on fieldwork, see also Singh 2001:5). In turn, they have to seek employment in other sectors for the rest of the year.

Thus, the Dalit labourers, sandwiched between the influxes of cheap migrant labour on the one hand and mechanized farming on the other, began to look for job in different sectors other than the agriculture. The alternative job opportunities reduced the dependence of the Dalits on landowners. The social mobility of the new middle class Dalits coupled with their relative emancipation from the economic dependence on the landowners led to the emergence of Dalit assertion in Punjab. The sustainability of this assertion drew strength from the politicization of caste on the one hand and from the failure of the asymmetrical caste structures to accommodate Dalits into its social space as equal citizen, on the other (Judge 2006:11). This new form of Dalit assertion and its recent exhibition in the form of Jat-Dalit clashes in the villages of Punjab demands a serious enquiry.

Yet another feature that distinguished the Dalits of Punjab from their counterparts in other parts of the country is their community wise heavy concentration in some pockets of the state. The Ad Dharmi and Chamar of the Chamar caste group are not only numerically preponderent in the Doaba sub-region of Punjab, they also happened to be the most resourceful caste in comparison to the all other castes among the SCs of Punjab. Chamars and Ad Dharmis of this sub-region are ahead of the all other Dalit castes in almost all spheres. “Ad Dharmi Chamars are on the top of virtually every parameter – education, urbanisation, jobs, occupational change, cultural advancement, political mobilization, etc.” (Puri 2004:4). The famous Ad Dharm movement of the 1920s also emerged in this very region of Punjab. In the early 1930s, some of Ad Dharmi Chamars established a prosperous leather-business town (Boota Mandi) in the outskirts of Jalandhar city. Ad Dharmi Chamars of the Boota Mandi were among the early supporters of the Ad Dharm movement. Seth Kishen Dass, a leather business tycoon of the Boota Mandi, who won the 1937 Assembly election from Jalandhar constituency in Punjab, financed the headquarters building of the Ad Dharm Mandal in jalandhar city (Ram 2004). Nowadays, this building houses Guru Ravidass High school and Sewing Centre. It is again from this caste group of the sub-region that maximum emigration took place to Europe, North America, and the Middle East. The Ad Dharmis abroad have not only excelled in business and skilled labour professions, they also established a strong networking of social organizations, International Dalit Conferences, Ravidass Sabhas and Ravidass Gurdwaras throughout Europe and North America.

Caste in Punjab

Caste discrimination in Punjab is unique in comparison to its observance in other parts of the country. The Brahminical tradition of social stratification, as discussed above, has never been so effective there. The word Brahmin did not carry a sacerdotal connotation in Punjab. It was used, rather, derogatorily. Though the down play of the Brahminism in Punjab, earlier by Islam and latter on by the hegemonic hold of the dominant caste’s cultural patterns, might have diminished the purity-pollution practices of Hinduism to the benefits of Dalits (Saberwal 1973:256), but it failed to improve the socio-economic conditioned of the Dalits in the state. The centre of power in Punjab revolves around the axle of land. Much of the land is owned by the Sikh Jats. Although Scheduled Castes in Punjab constitute high proportion of the population in comparison to the all India average of 16.3 per cent their share in ownership of land is negligible. Their being landless forced them to depend on the land-owning castes in the absence of alternative jobs in the agrarian economy of rural Punjab in the pre green revolution phase. Since cultivation required the services of the Dalits in its various operations, it was not feasible to strictly follow the system of untouchability based on the principle of purity-pollution. It does not mean that the Dalits were not discriminated in Punjab. They were very much discriminated. However, the context of their discrimination was different from that of the many other parts of India . The practice of untouchability in Punjab was based the scheme of keeping the Dalits bereft of land ownership and political power in the state. Dalits were forced to confine to their lowest status in the villages of Punjab, lest they dare to ask for a share in the power structures (Puri 2003: 2698). In other words, despite the absence of the purity-pollution syndrome, the presence of the deep asymmetrical structure of power in the agrarian village economy of Punjab has subordinated the Dalits to the land-owning upper castes (Jodhka 2002: 1815).

The rural Punjab like the rest of the country is divided into upper caste and Dalit settlements. Dalit settlements are located, invariably, on the side towards which the dirt of the village flowed. Dalits were not allowed to build pucca (concrete) houses because the land on which they lived did not belong to them. In the villages, Dalits were often involved in what has been traditionally considered unclean occupations - carrying and skinning dead animals, scavenging and working as attached labourer – Siris. Now a day, such type of work, is performed on non-jajmani basis. In Malwa region, there are many dalits who still have been working as Siris. According to a latest study of 26 villages in Malwa region, 21 had dalits working as Siris (Jodhka 2002: 1816). Another study found six Jats working as Siris with other Jats in a village in the district of Sangrur (Singh 2001:3). However, the situation is entirely different in the Doaba region of Punjab where the majority of the Dalits have dissociated themselves from such types of menial works. Although Dalit had interactions with Jat-Sikhs, being agricultural labourers and siris, they used to keep their own tumblers and plates to take meals or tea or water from the upper caste Sikhs. As Singh has observed:

The upper caste Sikhs is a separate identity and like the upper caste Hindus they also follow the ideology of a graded human society. … The Sikhs may take food with the dalit-Sikhs in Gurdwaras, but they have no bond of fraternity with them (2002:333).

To quote Singh again, “the impact of Hinduism and caste is visible on the adherence of Guru Nanak and they monopolised Sikhism and could not accord an equal social status to the lower caste Sikhs in Punjab” (Ibid.). Dalit Sikhs in Punjab are cremated on separate cremation grounds along with their counterparts in the Hindu religion. Even in some villages the land meant for the cremation grounds in the Shamlat (common land under the control of Panchayats) have been grabbed by the upper castes. In recent case some persons belonging to the dominant caste in village Todder Majra of the Mohali district of Punjab grabbed the cremation ground land of the Dalits in the village (Desh Sevak, 2 January 2005). This shows that the social position of the Dalit Sikhs in Punjab is no better than their counterparts elsewhere within Hinduism in the country.

Dalits Sikhs did not get equal treatment in the Gurudwaras of the upper caste Sikhs. “Mazhabis were forbidden to enter the Golden Temple for worship; their offering of karah prasad was not accepted and the Sikhs denied them access to public well and other utilities” (Pratap Singh 1933: 146-47, 156-57 cited in Puri 2003: 2697). Dalit Sikhs were not allowed to go beyond the fourth step in the Golden Temple and the members of the four-fold varnas were instructed not to mix with them (Oberoi cited in Ibid). Evidence of untouchability against the dalit Sikhs is vividly reflected in a number of Gurmatas (resolutions) adopted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee from 1926-1933 (Ibid.). Although removal of untouchability figured in the Singh Sabha movement, no strenuous effort was made in that direction. “It was not surprising. For the Jats, who composed 70 % of the Akalis, and other high castes, caste equality or removal of untouchability was contrary to their disposition for social domination and hierarchy” (Ibid.). This has forced the dalit Sikhs to establish separate Gurdwaras, which in turn has further led to the strengthening of the already existing caste divisions among the Sikhs (Ibid: 2700; Jodhka 2002: 1818; Muktsar 1999 and 2003). Moreover the observance of caste prejudices against the dalit Sikhs has compelled them to ‘search for alternative cultural spaces’ in a large number of deras, sects, and dargahs of Muslim Pirs and other saints (Puri 2003: 2700). There is a general impression that Dalits constitute a very large majority of the follwings of the various Dears in Punjab.

Deras: Respite from Caste

The fast mobilization of Dalits towards the mushrooming growth of divergent Deras in Punjab is closely related to the social structure of the state. The pressure of social structures was so intense that even conversion from Hinduism to other mainstream religions in the state failed to rescue the Dalits from the curse of untouchability. It is at this juncture that Deras of various nomenclatures cropped up in Punjab to offer a new space free from the constraints of caste hierarchy and oppression. Moreover, another factor that made these Deras more accessible to Dalits was the absence of the constraint to change their religion. One can be follower of a Dera without compromising with his religion. However, what one has to observe rather strictly were certain moral and ethical codes devoid of any sort of ritual paraphernalia. In fact these Deras have emerged as a source of right remedy to cure the wounded psyche of Dalits (Rajshekar 2004:3). One of such Deras is situated at village Ballan in the Jalandhar district of Doaba Punjab. This Dera of Sant Sarwan Dass, popularly known as Dera Ballan, has become a paragon of Ravidass movement in Northwest India . It has been playing a leading role in promoting cultural transformation and generating social consciousness among the Dalit of the region. The dera has a library on its premises, publishes a tri-lingual weekly (Begumpura Shaher), distributes free Dalit literature, honors Dalit scholars, runs a model school, and a hospital for the service and uplift of the downtrodden. It played a pivotal role in constituting and disseminating new religious and ritual practices for Dalits in Punjab. All this helped significantly in the formation of a separate Dalit identity in the state. The saints of Ballan developed their own religious symbols, flags, prayers, dress, salutations and rituals of worship. Of all the major contributions that the Dera Ballan made, the construction of a mammoth Temple of Shri Guru Ravidass ’s Birthplace at Seer Goverdhanpur in the vicinity of Varanasi city is the most significant. This temple has acquired, perhaps, the same importance for the Dalits as the Mecca for Muslims and the Golden Temple for Sikhs. Recently, the NRI followers the Dera from Europe and North America donated 15 Kg. Pure Gold for the purpose of making a palanquin of Guru Ravidass, which the Saints of Dera Ballan carried in the form of a mammoth procession from the premises of the Dera to Sri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan Temple at Seer Govardhanpur (Varanasi). The procession started from Dera Ballan on February 16 and reached Varanasi in the evening of February 20 th 2008 (based on personal communication with one of the participants in the procession; see also Rozana Spokesman, February 17, 2008). What I want to articulate in this section is the following: first, for the low castes such Deras happened to be a respectable place for some sort of respite from the ordeal of caste based discriminations. Secondly, they (Deras) provide them the much sought after social identity which turns them into ‘some body’ from the abyss of ‘no body’.

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Virdi, S. L. (2003). “Bharat De Dalitan Di Asseem Dastan Da Dastavej” (Punjabi), Begum Pura Shaher, August 11. pp. 2-11.

_____. (2003a).”Punjab Che Zimindaran Atey Dalitan Vichkar Takrar Dalit Chetna Da Prateek” (Punjabi), Begum Pura Shaher, August 18, pp. 6-7.

Yadav, Y. (1999). “Electoral politics in the Time of Change: India’s Third Electoral System, 1989-99”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 35, Nos. 34-35, August 21-27/28-September 3, pp.2393-99.

Dalits is a “politically correct” nomenclature for the ex-untouchables who traditionally have been placed at the lowest rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy and were contemptuously called by different names like Shudras, Atishudras, Achhuts, Antyajas, Chandalas Pariahs, Dheds, Panchamas, Avarnas, Namashudras, Adi-Dravida, Ad Dharmis, Mazhabis, Harijans, Depressed Classes and Scheduled Castes.It is a broad term that incorporates the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and the Backward Castes. However, in the current political discourse, it is mainly confined to the Scheduled Castes and covers only those Dalits who are classified as Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists but excludes Muslim and Christian Dalits.

However, the main concern of these movements was to transform the attitudes of the individuals rather than striking hard on the asymmetrical structures of the society (Grewal 1994: 116). The socio-religious movements had never taken up the issue of disproportionate landholdings that has been the crucial cause of social inequalities and economic deprivations of the Dalits in the state. Whatever small impact the saints and the socio-religious movements were able to bring in the minds of the people faded away with the passage of time.

Social boycott, a form of social exclusion, involves a ban on the entry of the Dalits in the fields /agricultural lands of the Jats. Social boycott involves severe deprivations of the landless Dalits who are dependent on the lands of the Jats for fuel, fodder and even to answer the call of the nature. The Jat landowners used to employ social boycott, during the wheat harvesting seasons in the early 1970s, as a weapon of suppression against the landless agricultural labourers who demanded hike in their wages. Nowadays, it is being used in the villages of Punjab by the Jats against the agitating Dalits who ask for equal participation in the formal and informal institutions of power at the local level. In the words of Judge, “It is the means to remind them that despite their improved conditions, they continue to be low caste” (Judge 2006:12).

The rise of militancy in Sikhism in the sixteenth century was generally attributed to the martial nature of the Jats (Habib 1996:100; see also Mcleod 1996:12) The ranks and leadership of the Khalsa from this period onwards were deeply predominated by the Jats so much so that the history of the Sikh religion that follows came to be known as “the history of the Jat section of the Sikh community” (Pettigrew 1978:26). For counter arguments on this theme see: Singh (ed.) 1986, especially the sixth part; and Singh 1985). In the rural areas of Punjab, one often heard a Jat saying that he would survive even if cut half when suggested to take medicine in case of sickness.

Dalits have separate Gurdwaras in about 10,000 villages out of a total of 12, 780 villages in Punjab (Dalit Voice, Vol. 22, No. 17 September 1-15, 2003, p. 20). A survey of 116 villages in one Tehsil of Amritsar district showed that dalits had separate Gurdwaras in 68 villages (Puri 2003: 2700). Yet another field-study of 51 villages selected from the three sub-regions of Punjab found that dalits had separate Gurdwaras in as many as 41 villages (Jodhka 2002:1818) ; see also Muktsar 1999; and Muktsar 2003: 21-22.

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Caste in Punjab :Looking for Regional Specificities Ronki Ram (Dr.) Department of Political Science, Panjab University Chandigarh

The paper aims at mapping the complex nature of caste hierarchy and Dalit identity in different regions in the state of Punjab , which it suggests is an apt case for such a study. Thinking of Punjab as a geographic entity, one is reminded of the processes of reteritorrialization it has undergone in the recent past. Undivided Punjab in colonial India occupied a vast territory lying between the two rivers namely Sindh (now in Pakistan ) and Yamuna ( India ). The truncated Punjab that an independent India inherited in 1947 was much smaller in terms of territory and people than the one that became a part of Pakistan .

The communal bloodbath that followed the partition witnessed the emergence of two separate and artificially carved territorial regional states with hostile boundaries. The partition was not merely a geographic event; it deeply transformed the ethnic posture of the newly created regions on the both sides of the border. The Indian Punjab underwent further reterritorialization as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were carved out as separate linguist regional states.

It was in the reorganized post-1966 PunjabiSuba that the Sikhs found themselves in majority for the first time in the history of India . The Scheduled castes (both Sikhs and Hindus), popularly known as Dalits, became the second largest group in the state with a highest percentage of the total population of Punjab in comparison to their counterpart in the rest of the states in the country. Ironically, the reorganized and truncated Punjab failed to emerge as a unified socio-cultural and linguistic region. Indian Punjab as of now is divided into three distinct cultural regions: Majha, Malwa and Doaba (for electoral politics pattern in these regions see: Kumar 2007: 269-70). The rivers mark the boundaries of these three distinct regions. Over time, each region has come to acquire a specific social set-up, economic structure and cultural pattern that turn Punjab study into a most complex as well as an interesting case for the critical exploration of the phenomenon of caste hierarchy and Dalit identity.

It is in this context that caste hierarchies and Dalit identity in Punjab assume critical importance. While Dalits in Punjab constitute almost one third of the total population of the state, largest proportion of the Scheduled Castes population in the regional states of India (28.85 percent, Census of India 2001), ironically they are left with the lowest share in the agricultural land in the state in the country (2.5 percent). Less than five percent of them are cultivators. Why they have been so severely deprived of land in the state with an agrarian economy? How does it affect the patterns of caste hierarchies in Punjab ? Which avenues are available to the Dalits in the state to assert for their human rights? These are some of the research questions that this paper intends to lake up. The enormous gap between their numerical strength and the meager share in the land of the state assumes further importance in the wake of the ensuing significant sudden increase in their population as Mahatam, Rai Sikh – another downtrodden community – has recently been included in the Scheduled Castes list of the Indian constitution (Constitution (Scheduled Castes) order (Amendment) Act, 2007, No 31 dated 29 th August, 2007 (Punjab Government Gazette, Regd. No. CHD/0092/2006-2008, No. 45, November 9, 2007 ).

For a correct understanding of the phenomenon of caste and untouchability, an understanding of the specificities of a region is of critical importance. Though caste is prevalent throughout the country, it has never been monolithic and unilinear in its practice. Every region has its specific and unique characteristics that closely impact its socio-political and economic structures. In this section, an attempt is made to explore the regional specificities of the north Indian state of Punjab and their impact upon the phenomenon of caste and untouchability in the region.

T he phenomenon of untouchability was never considered so strong in Punjab as in many other parts of the country (Ibbetson1883, rpt. 1970:15). Punjab has generally been known as a “notable exception” to the dominant view of caste and untouchability in India . But it does not mean that untouchability is alien to this part of the country. Dalits were never spared of social oppression and economic deprivations in Punjab . The repeated references to and loud condemnations of caste based discriminations in the teachings of the Sufi Sants and the Sikh Gurus in the region is a case in point. The social reform movements led by the Arya Samaj, Singh Sabha and Chief Khalsa Dewan further vindicated the presence of the institution of caste in the social set up of Punjab. Moreover, the roots of caste hierarchy were so well entrenched in the society that the reformatory measures undertaken by various social reforms movements failed to weed them out. However, what distinguished it from the other parts of India is the material factor of the caste based discriminations in Punjab as against the over all-dominating pattern of purity-pollution syndrome.

Another feature that distinguished Punjab from the rest of the regions in the country was the phenomenon of widespread landlessness among the Dalits and the absolute monopoly of the Jats (a dominant peasant caste) on the agricultural land in the state. The Punjab Land Alienation Act (1901) favoured the agricultural communities (mainly Jats) against the non -agricultural castes as it deprived the latter including dalits the right to purchase land. Since Punjab happened to be primarily an agricultural state, the ownership of land assumed significant importance in determining social status. Nowhere in India , are Dalits so extensively deprived of agricultural land as in the case of Punjab . Despite their highest proportion in the country, less than 5 percent of them were cultivators (lowest in India , 1991 census). They shared only 4.82 percent of the number of operational holdings and 2.34 percent of the total area under cultivation (1991 census). Consequently, till recently the landlessness rendered a large majority of them (60 percent, 1991 census) into agricultural laborers and made them subservient to the landowners, who invariably happen to be Sikh Jats. However, a significant change has taken place over the last few decades. Dalits have entered into a number of professions, which were traditionally considered as the mainstay of the artisan castes (Ram 2004a: 5-6). This has led to a sharp decline in the share of Dalits in the agricultural work force in the state, which in itself has come down from 24 per cent in 1991 to 16 percent in 2001 (Singh 2005:3).

The hold of the Jats on the land was so strong that the lower castes were even denied the access to village common land (shamlaat). In fact, Dalits were never considered a part of villages, as their residences were located outside the main premises of the villages. So much so that the land on which the Dalit houses were built also considered to be belonged to the Jats (Virdi 2003: 2 &11). This kept the Dalits always afraid lest the Jat landowners ordered them to vacate the land. The abysmally low share of the Dalits in the land seems to be the major cause of their hardships and social exclusion. It is also an indication of the historical denial of political and economic rights to them (Thorat 2006:2432). The slightest sign of protest by the Dalits for the betterment of their living conditions has often provoked the Jats to impose social boycott on them.

The patterns of domination by the Jats and that of the subordination of the Dalits also distinguish Punjab from rest of the country in a significant way. In Punjab the scale of social measurement differs from that of the other parts of the country. The social measurement scale in Punjab is not based on the purity/pollution principle of Brahminical orthodoxy. Instead, it is based on the hold of land, martial strength, and allegiance to Sikhism, a comparatively new religion that openly challenged the rituals and dogmatic traditions of Hinduism and Islam. Unlike the system of caste hierarchy in rest of the country, the top down rank grading of Brahmin (priest), Kshatriya (soldier), Vaishya (trader) and Shudra (menian worker) carries no meaning in Punjab. In Punjab Brahmin is not placed on the top of the caste hierarchy. The Sikh Jats, who otherwise have been Shudra as per the Varna system, have considered themselves socially superior to the Brahmins (Ibbetson1883, rpt. 1970:2; and Saberwal 1976:10; Tandon 1961: 77). In fact, Jats in the contemporary Punjab have replaced Brahmins in terms of domination. The ideological undercurrents of social domination based on the principles of purity/pollution, and wisdom failed to hold ground in Punjab due to various historical reasons (Ibbetson1883, rpt. 1970:1-87; Puri 2004a: 1). Interestingly, the phenomenon of the domination of Jat Sikhs in Punjab is a combined outcome of their numerical, economic, and religious as well as political preponderance. Jats significantly hold multiple identities, as they are Jats by caste, Sikhs by religion, and landowners by their hold on cultivation. All these different identities reinforce each other and thus strengthen the position of the Jat community in the state.

Historically, the factor that has strengthened the domination of the Jats in the state of Punjab has been their numerical preponderance in the Sikh religion. Their large-scale entry into Sikh religion not only rescued them from the labyrinth of their lower status in the Hindu society; it also turned them into a powerful community within Sikhism. According to the records of 1881 Census, 66 percent of those who converted to Sikhism were Jats. The second largest community within Sikhism was that of the Tarkhans/Ramgarhias (the carpenter caste) who just constituted 6.5 percent of the total Sikh population in Punjab . Next to the Ramgarhias were the Chamars/Ramdasias with 5.6 percent, followed by the Chuhras/Mazhabis who were 2.6 percent. If clubbed together these two outcaste groups (Ramdasias and Mazhabis) becomes the second largest group (8.2 percent) of Sikhs within Sikhism. Thus the numerical dominance of the Jats within Sikhism combined with their martial and self-willed nature, and monopoly on the land ‘elevated them well above their humble origins’.

Such a combination and reinforcement of multiple identities and their concentration in the community as is with the case of the Jats is, however, conspicuous by its absence among the Dalits. Dalits in Punjab have been categorized into 39 castes (Punjab Government Gazette, Regd. No. CHD/0092/2006-2008, No. 45, November 9, 2007 ). Out of these 39 castes more than 80 percent of the total Scheduled Castes population belongs to two major caste groupings of Chamars (leather working castes) and Chuhra (sweepers). These two caste groups consist of four castes – Mazhabi (30.7%), Chamar (25.8%), Ad-Dharmi (15.9%), and Balmiki (11.1%). The Chamar caste group includes: Ad-Dharmi, Jatia Chamar, Rehgar, Raigar, Ramdasias, and Ravidasias. The Chuhra caste group clubs together Balmiki, Bhangi and Mazhabi castes. The Chamar caste group is largely confined to the Doaba sub-region of the Punjab (comprising Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, and Nawan Shahr districts lying between two rivers, Beas and Sutlej ). And the Chuhra caste group is mainly concentrated in the smaller Majha region and the much bigger Malwa region of the state. At the district level, Mazhabis are largely concentrated in Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Amritsar , Faridkot, Mansa, and Bhatinda districts of Punjab . Apart from their heavy concentration in the Doaba sub-region of Punjab , Chamars are also numerically strong in Gurdaspur, Rupnagar, Ludhiana , Patiala and Sangrur districts. Among the Chamar caste group, Ad-Dharmis far outnumber other SCs in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts in rural as well as urban settings. Mazhabis in the Chuhra caste group outnumber other SCs in Faridkot and Ferozepur districts (for more details see Gosal 2004: 26-39). Though, traditionally they have been condemned as polluted and impure because of their occupational contact with animal carcass and hides, Chamars are basically chandravanshi by clan and are also considered as the highest caste among the SCs in Punjab (Deep 2001:7). Thus Dalits in Punjab are scattered in multi-identities that weaken their collective strength and unity. Under the influence of Sikhism, while Jats of Punjab have enhanced their social status and achieved spiritual coherence, the same could not happen in the case of Dalits who remained divided within different religious orders. Dalits are found in almost all the popular religions in Punjab . Their presence in Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity not only proves the presence of the institution of caste in all these religions, but also weaken the chances of solidarity among them.

The subjugation of the Dalits got further deepened during the course of capital-intensive green revolution that ushered in post-1966 Punjab . The process of green revolution transformed the traditional subsistence character of the agriculture into commercial and mechanical farming. The market oriented agriculture pattern favoured the landowners, which further marginalized the landless dalits and widened the already existing divisions between them and the dominant peasant caste in Punjab . Interestingly, it was also during this phase of market-oriented agriculture that a new middle class of educated Dalits emerged in Punjab being the beneficiary of the affrmative policies of the government. The advent of this new class among the Dalits coupled with the rise of the Ambedkarite movement in the region led to the formation of Dalit consciousness in the state.

The emergence of the Dalit consciousness induced the Dalit agricultural labourers to ask for higher wages in the rural settings of Punjab , especially in its Doaba sub-region. The Dalit struggle for higher wages often employed pressure tactics of refusal to work unless the landowners increased the wages. In fact, it was during this very phase of transition in the agrarian economy of Punjab that the process of Dalit immigration to Europe , North America , and the Gulf got streamlined. The process of Dalit immigration from Punjab also coincided with the phenomenon of the influx of migrant labour from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh into Punjab that further sharpened the contradiction between the dominant peasant castes and the landless Dalits. The migrant labour was much cheaper and was vulnerable to explotation. Moreover, the changed cropping system under the green revolution patterns of agriculture squeezed the extant of farm labour to a few peak periods – paddy transplantation, paddy harvesting-cum-threshing, and wheat harvesting. The traditional agriculture system, capable of providing almost round the year regular work, was changed into a commercial agriculture set-up that did not offer more than 75 days work annually (Singh 2001:5). So now they had to perforce seek employment in other sectors for the rest of the year.

It was inevitable under the circumstances that Dalit labourers, sandwitched between the influxes of cheap migrant labour on the one hand and mechanized farming on the other, would begin to look for job in different sectors other than the agriculture. The alternative job opportunities reduced the dependence of the Dalits on landowners. The social mobility of the new middle class Dalits, coupled with their relative emancipation from the economic dependence on the landowners led to the emergence of Dalit assertion in Punjab . The sustainability of this assertion drew strength from the politicization of caste on the one hand and from the failure of the asymmetrical caste structures to accommodate Dalits into its social space as equal citizen, on the other (Judge 2006:11). This new form of Dalit assertion and its recent exhibition in the form of Jat-Dalit clashes in the villages of Punjab is of critical importance for the understanding of the emergent political sociology and economy of recent Punjab .

Yet another feature that has distinguished the Dalits of Punjab from their counterparts in other parts of the country is their community wise heavy concentration in some regions of the state. The Ad Dharmi and Chamar of the Chamar caste group are not only numerically preponderent in the Doaba region of Punjab , they also happen to be the most resourceful caste in comparison to the all other castes among the SCs of Punjab. ‘Ad Dharmi Chamars are on the top of virtually every parameter – education, urbanisation, jobs, occupational change, cultural advancement, political mobilization’ (Puri 2004:4). The famous Ad Dharm movement of the 1920s also emerged in this very region of Punjab . In the early 1930s, some of Ad Dharmi Chamars established a prosperous leather-business town (Boota Mandi) in the outskirts of Jalandhar city. Ad Dharmi Chamars of the Boota Mandi were among the early supporters of the Ad Dharm movement. Seth Kishen Dass, a leather business tycoon of the Boota Mandi, who won the 1937 Assembly election from Jalandhar constituency in Punjab , financed the headquarters building of the Ad Dharm Mandal in Jalandhar city (Ram 2004). Nowadays, this building houses Guru Ravidass High school and Sewing Centre. It is again from this caste group of the sub-region that maximum emigration took place to Europe , North America , and the Middle East . The Ad Dharmis abroad have not only excelled in business and skilled labour professions, they also established a strong networking of social organizations, International Dalit Conferences, Ravidass Sabhas and Ravidass Gurdwaras throughout Europe and North America .

Caste discrimination in Punjab is unique in comparison to its observance in other parts of the country. The Brahminical tradition of social stratification, as discussed above, has never been so effective there. The word Brahmin did not carry a sacerdotal connotation in Punjab . It was used, rather, derogatorily. Though the down play of the Brahminism in Punjab, earlier by Islam and latter on by the hegemonic hold of the dominant caste’s cultural patterns, might have diminished the purity-pollution practices of Hinduism to the benefits of Dalits (Saberwal 1973:256), but it failed to improve the socio-economic conditioned of the Dalits in the state. The centre of power in Punjab revolves around the axle of land. Much of the land is owned by the Sikh Jats. Although Scheduled Castes in Punjab constitute high proportion of the population in comparison to the all India average of 16.3 per cent their share in ownership of land is negligible. Their being landless forced them to depend on the land-owning castes in the absence of alternative jobs in the agrarian economy of rural Punjab in the pre green revolution phase. Since cultivation required the services of the Dalits in its various operations, it was not feasible to strictly follow the system of untouchability based on the principle of purity-pollution. It does not mean that the Dalits were not discriminated in Punjab . They were very much discriminated. However, the context of their discrimination was different from that of the many other parts of India . The practice of untouchability in Punjab was based the scheme of keeping the Dalits bereft of land ownership and political power in the state. Dalits were forced to confine to their lowest status in the villages of Punjab , lest they dare to ask for a share in the power structures (Puri 2003: 2698). In other words, despite the absence of the purity-pollution syndrome, the presence of the deep asymmetrical structure of power in the agrarian village economy of Punjab has subordinated the Dalits to the land-owning upper castes (Jodhka 2002: 1815).

The rural Punjab like the rest of the country is divided into upper caste and Dalit settlements. Dalit settlements are located, invariably, on the side towards which the dirt of the village flowed. Dalits were not allowed to build pucca (concrete) houses because the land on which they lived did not belong to them. In the villages, Dalits were often involved in what has been traditionally considered unclean occupations - carrying and skinning dead animals, scavenging and working as attached labourer-Siris. Such type of work is now performed on non-jajmani basis. In Malwa region, there are many dalits who still have been working as Siris. According to a latest study of 26 villages in Malwa region, 21 had dalits working as Siris (Jodhka 2002: 1816). Another study found six Jats working as Siris with other Jats in a village in the district of Sangrur (Singh 2001:3). The situation, however, is entirely different in the Doaba region of Punjab where the majority of the Dalits have dissociated themselves from such types of menial works. Although Dalit had interactions with Jat-Sikhs, being agricultural labourers and siris, they used to keep their own tumblers and plates to take meals or tea or water from the upper caste Sikhs. As Manjit Singh has observed: ‘the upper castes Sikhs are a separate identity and like the upper caste Hindus they also follow the ideology of a graded human society…The Sikhs may take food with the dalit-Sikhs in Gurdwaras, but they have no bond of fraternity with them’ (2002:333). To quote Singh again, “the impact of Hinduism and caste is visible on the adherents of Guru Nanak and they monopolised Sikhism and could not accord an equal social status to the lower caste Sikhs in Punjab ” (Ibid.). Dalit Sikhs in Punjab are cremated on separate cremation grounds along with their counterparts in the Hindu religion. Even in some villages the land meant for the cremation grounds in the Shamlat (common land under the control of Panchayats) have been grabbed by the upper castes. In recent case some persons belonging to the dominant caste in village Todder Majra of the Mohali district of Punjab grabbed the cremation ground land of the Dalits in the village (Desh Sevak, 2 January 2005 ). This shows that the social position of the Dalit Sikhs in Punjab is no better than their counterparts elsewhere within Hinduism in the country.

Dalits Sikhs did not get equal treatment in the Gurudwaras of the upper caste Sikhs. “Mazhabis were forbidden to enter the Golden Temple for worship; their offering of karah prasad was not accepted and the Sikhs denied them access to public well and other utilities” (Singh 1933: 146-47, 156-57 cited in Puri 2003: 2697). Dalit Sikhs were not allowed to go beyond the fourth step in the Golden Temple and the members of the four-fold varnas were instructed not to mix with them. Evidence of untouchability against the dalit Sikhs is vividly reflected in a number of Gurmatas (resolutions) adopted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee from 1926-1933. Although removal of untouchability figured in the Singh Sabha movement, no strenuous effort was made in that direction, which can be attributed to the fact that the Jats, who composed 70 per cent of the Akalis, and other high castes, were not inclined to remove untouchability. The continuation of caste-based discrimination has forced the dalit Sikhs to establish separate Gurdwaras, which in turn has further led to the strengthening of the already existing caste divisions among the Sikhs (Oberoi: 2700; Jodhka 2002: 1818; Muktsar 1999 and 2003). The observance of caste prejudices against the dalit Sikhs moreover has compelled them to ‘search for alternative cultural spaces’ in a large number of deras, sects, and dargahs of Muslim Pirs and other saints (Puri 2003: 2700). Dalits constitute a very large majority of the follwers of the various Dears in Punjab .

The rapid mobilization of Dalits evidenced in the form of mushrooming growth of divergent Deras in Punjab clearly reflects on the prevalence of the assymetrical social structure in the state. The pressure of assymetrical social structures was so intense that even conversion from Hinduism to other maintream religions in the state failed to rescue the Dalits from the curse of untouchability. It is at this juncture that Deras of various nomenclatures cropped up in Punjab to offer a new space free from the constraints of caste hierarchy and oppression. Moreover, another factor that made these Deras more accessible to Dalits was the absense of the constraint to change their religion. One can be follower of a Dera without compromising with his religion. The deras essentially expect a follower to observe rather strictly certain moral and ethical codes devoid of any sort of ritual paraphernalia. In fact these Deras have emerged as a source of right remedy to cure the wounded psyche of Dalits (Rajshekar 2004:3). In geographical terms Deras in Punjab defy regional disparities. Each region in Punjab is thickly spotted with Deras of various nomenclatures. Since these Deras are organised around pristine tradtions of syncretic religion in the state, they provide respectable space to Dalits who are not subjected to social exclusion neither within the precincts of the Deras nor among the community life of their followers. Whether the egalitarian life patterns within these Deras across the regions in Punjab or the emerging communitarian social behaviour among their large following would facilitate in the emergence of a viable unity among the various Dalit castes in the state could be raised only as a hypothetical question.

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Virdi, S. L. (2003). “Bharat De Dalitan Di Asseem Dastan Da Dastavej” (Punjabi), Begum Pura Shaher, August 11. pp. 2-11.   

Dalits is a “politically correct” nomenclature for the ex-untouchables who traditionally have been placed at the lowest rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy and were contemptuously called by different names like Shudras, Atishudras, Achhuts, Antyajas, Chandalas Pariahs, Dheds, Panchamas, Avarnas, Namashudras, Adi-Dravida, Ad Dharmis, Mazhabis, Harijans, Depressed Classes and Scheduled Castes.It is a broad term that incorporates the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and the Backward Castes. However, in the current political discourse, it is mainly confined to the Scheduled Castes and covers only those Dalits who are classified as Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists but excludes Muslim and Christian Dalits.

However, the main concern of these movements was to transform the attitudes of the individuals rather than striking hard on the asymmetrical structures of the society (Grewal 1994: 116). The socio-religious movements had never taken up the issue of disproportionate landholdings that has been the crucial cause of social inequalities and economic deprivations of the Dalits in the state. Whatever small impact the saints and the socio-religious movements were able to bring in the minds of the people faded away with the passage of time.

Social boycott, a form of social exclusion, involves a ban on the entry of the Dalits in the fields /agricultural lands of the Jats. Social boycott involves severe deprivations of the landless Dalits who are dependent on the lands of the Jats for fuel, fodder and even to answer the call of the nature. The Jat landowners used to employ social boycott, during the wheat harvesting seasons in the early 1970s, as a weapon of suppression against the landless agricultural labourers who demanded hike in their wages. Nowadays, it is being used in the villages of Punjab by the Jats against the agitating Dalits who ask for equal participation in the formal and informal institutions of power at the local level. In the words of Judge, “It is the means to remind them that despite their improved conditions, they continue to be low caste” (Judge 2006:12).

The rise of militancy in Sikhism in the sixteenth century was generally attributed to the martial nature of the Jats (Habib 1996:100; see also Mcleod 1996:12) The ranks and leadership of the Khalsa from this period onwards were deeply predominated by the Jats so much so that the history of the Sikh religion that follows came to be known as “the history of the Jat section of the Sikh community” (Pettigrew 1978:26). For counter arguments on this theme see: Singh (ed.) 1986, especially the sixth part; and Singh 1985). In the rural areas of Punjab , one often heard a Jat saying that he would survive even if cut half when suggested to take medicine in case of sickness.

Dalits have separate Gurdwaras in about 10,000 villages out of a total of 12, 780 villages in Punjab (Dalit Voice, Vol. 22, No. 17 September 1-15, 2003, p. 20). A survey of 116 villages in one Tehsil of Amritsar district showed that dalits had separate Gurdwaras in 68 villages (Puri 2003: 2700). Yet another field-study of 51 villages selected from the three sub-regions of Punjab found that dalits had separate Gurdwaras in as many as 41 villages (Jodhka 2002:1818) ; see also Muktsar 1999; and Muktsar 2003: 21-22.

One of such Deras is situated at village Ballan in the Jalandhar district of Doaba Punjab. This Dera of Sant Sarwan Dass, popularly known as Dera Ballan, has become a paragon of Ravidass movement in Northwest India . It has been playing a leading role in promoting cultural transformation and generating social consciousness among the Dalit of the region. The dera has a library on its premises, publishes a tri-lingual weekly (Begumpura Shaher), distributes free Dalit literature, honours Dalit scholars, runs a model school, and a hospital for the service and uplift of the downtrodden. It has played a pivotal role in constituting and disseminating new religious and ritual practices for Dalits in Punjab . The saints of Ballan have developed their own religious symbols, flags, prayers, dress, salutations and rituals of worship. Of all the major contributions that the Dera Ballan made, the construction of a mammoth Temple of Shri Guru Ravidass ’s Birthplace at Seer Goverdhanpur in the vicinity of holy city of Varanasi is significant. The temple has acquired, perhaps, the same importance for the Dalits as the Golden Temple for the Sikhs.

Posted on May 07, 2009

Babu Mangoo Ram, a renouned revolutionary and founder of the Ad Dharm movement in Punjab was born at Mugowal, a village in the district of Hoshiarpur, on 14th January 1886 . His forefathers were practising the occupation of tanning raw hides. However, his father, Harnam Dass, had abandoned the traditional caste-based occupation of tanning and preparing hides, and taken up the profession of selling the tanned leather on commercial basis. Since the leather trade required the knowledge of English language to read the sale orders, he was eager to have Mangoo Ram receive education to free him from the begar (forced labour), which he had to do in lieu of English orders read for him by the upper caste literates. Initially, Mangoo Ram was taught by a village Sadhu (Saint), then after studying at different schools he joined a high school at Bajwara, a town few miles away from his home. Being a chamar, he had to sit separately from the other upper caste students. In fact, he used to take a gunny bag from his home for sitting in a segregated place outside the classroom. In 1905 Mangoo Ram left the high school to help his father in leather trade. For three years he helped his father develop leather trade into a thriving business. However, in 1909 he left for America to follow into the footsteps of his peer group in the Doaba region.

Interestingly enough even in America Mangoo Ram had to work on the farms of a Punjabi Zamindar who had settled in California . In other words, even in America he had to experience the same relations of production as back home in India . How a shudra immigrant worker, who works on the land of an Indian upper caste landlord settled abroad, feels and experiences work conditions and its resultant relations of production is an altogether a separate question. However, while in California , Mangoo Ram came in close contact with the Ghadar Movement - a radical organisation aimed at liberating India from the British rule through armed insurrection. In fact, he participated in the weapon smuggling mission of the organisation. He was arrested and given the capital punishment but was saved from the death sentence by a chance as someone else in his name was executed. The news of his supposed death reached his village. According to the tradition of his community, his widow, named Piari married his elder brother. Mangoo Ram, on reaching India , remarried and had four sons from his second wife named Bishno.

After his return from abroad where he spent as many as sixteen years, Mangoo Ram did not find any change in Indian society that was still infested with the disease of untouchability. He said

While living abroad, said Mangoo Ram, I had forgotten about the hierarchy of high and low, and untouchability; and under this very wrong impression returned home in December 1925. The same misery of high and low, and untouchability, which I had left behind to go abroad, started afflicting again. I wrote about all this to my leader Lala Hardyal Ji that until and unless this disease is cured Hindustan could not be liberated. In accordance with his orders, a program was formulated in 1926 for the awakening and upliftment of Achhut qaum (untouchable community) of India .

Having settled in his native village, he opened up a school for the lower caste children in the village. Initially, the school was opened up, temporarily in the garden of Risaldar Dhanpat Rai , a landlord of his village. Later on, Lamberdar Beeru Ram Sangha, another landlord of the same village, donated half-acre land for the purpose of formally opening up the school. The school had five teachers including Mangoo Ram. One of the teachers of the school was a Muslim, Walhi Mohammad and one was Brahmin, who was later on converted into a Shudra. The conversion ceremony comprised of an earthen pot (Douri), which contained water mingled with sugar balls (Patasha) and stirred with leather cutting tool (Rambi). Thus the prepared sweet water considered as holy was given to Brahmins to baptize them into Shudras (Interview with Chatter Sain, 27 April 2001 ). Now a days, the school land has been declared as Shamlat (common land), and no remnants of the building exist except the old dilapidated structure of the well meant for drinking water in the school. It was in that school that the first official meeting of the Ad Dharm movement was held on June 11-12, 1926 . There is another version about the school that traced its origin to the support provided by the Arya Samaj. However, given his close association with the Ghadar movement in California , Mangoo Ram’s relationships with the Arya Samaj was not as close as that of Vasant Rai, Thakur Chand and Swami Shudranand. Moreover, his personal experience of being treated as an equal in America , particularly by his fellow Ghadarites, inculcated in him an intense desire and inspiration for equality and social justice. This led him to lay the foundation of the Ad Dharm movement to streamline the struggle against untouchability. Soon he emerged as a folk-hero of the dalits who started rallying around him, particularly in the dalit concentrated areas of the Doaba region. However, after a while the Ad Dharm organisation got factionalised resulting in a split in 1929 into two groups: one headed by Vasant Rai and the other by Mangoo Ram. There emerged two independent organisations: the Ad Dharm Mandal with its office in Jalandhar was headed by Mangoo Ram and the All Indian Ad Dharm Mandal with its headquarters in Lyalpur was headed by Vasant Rai. The All India Ad Dharm Mandal got disbanded and merged with the organisation led by Dr Ambedkar in 1933 and after some years the same fate fell on Ad Dharm of Mangoo Ram, who closed the office of the Ad Dharm Mandal and changed its name to Ravidass Mandal. However, close associates of the Ad Dharm movement contested this observation. They said that Ad Dharm Mandal was not changed into Ravidass Mandal. In fact, later on, Ravidass School was opened up in the premises of the Ad Dharm Mandal building. So it was Ravidass School , which merely came to occupy the space of the Ad Dharm Mandal building rather than its being taken over by Ravidass Mandal. (Interviews with: late Chanan Lal Manak, Jalandhar, May 29, 2001 ; K.C. Shenmar I.G. (P) Pb. (retd.) Chandigarh , April 28, 2001 ).

The Vasant Rai group of the Ad Dharm Mandal was thoroughly soaked into the ideology of the Arya Samaj. In fact this group was lured back by the Arya Samaj. Although the Arya Samaj dominated section of Ad Dharm Mandal withdrew itself from the Mangoo Ram’s group in 1929, the latter played an active part in the politics of Punjab for a period of two decades from 1926 to 1952.

Mangoo Ram set a clear agenda for the emancipation of the Dalits and their upliftment . The agenda was: restore their lost indigenous religion and provide them with a sense of self-respect and dignity. The method to achieve this agenda was: cultural transformation and spiritual regeneration. Mangoo Ram was not in favour of embracing any other existing religion. He was in favour of strengthening the Adi (the original) religion of the indigenous people of this country. His views on Hindu religion were very clear. He was of the opinion that since Dalits were not born Hindu where is the need to leave that religion and to embrace some other one. Mangoo Ram thought it appropriate to empower Dalits by carving out a separate Dalit identity on the basis of their indigenous religious strength (Ad Dharm).

In the poster announcing the first annual meeting of Ad Dharm Movement, Mangoo Ram devoted the entire space to the hardships faced by the untouchables at the hands of the caste Hindus. He also made an appeal to the Achhuts to come together to chalk out a program for their liberation and upliftment while addressing the Chamars, Chuhras, Sansis, Bhanjhras, Bhils etc. as brothers, he said,

We are the real inhabitants of this country and our religion is Ad Dharm. Hindu Qaum came from outside to deprive us of our country and enslave us. At one time we reigned over ‘Hind’. We are the progeny of kings; Hindus came down from Iran to Hind and destroyed our qaum. They deprived us of our property and rendered us nomadic. They razed down our forts and houses, and destroyed our history. We are seven Crores in numbers and are registered as Hindus in this country. Liberate the Adi race by separating these seven crores. They (Hindus) became lord and call us ‘others’. Our seven crore number enjoy no share at all. We reposed faith in Hindus and thus suffered a lot. Hindus turned out to be callous. Centuries ago Hindus suppressed us sever all ties with them. What justice we expect from those who are the butchers of Adi race. Time has come, be cautious, now the Government listens to appeals. With the support of sympathetic Government, come together to save the race. Send members to the Councils so that our qaum is strengthened again. British rule should remain forever. Make prayer before God. Except for this Government, no one is sympathetic towards us. Never consider us Hindus at all, remember that our religion is Ad Dharm.

The way, the leaders of Ad Dharm chose to restore dignity and freedom to the untouchables was to completely detach them from Hinduism and to consolidate them into their own ancient religion - Ad Dharm - of which they had become oblivious during the age-old domination by the ‘alien Hindus’. In fact, the task of the revival of their ancient religion was not an easy one by virtue of the fact that during a long period of persecution at the hands of the Savarnas, the untouchables had forgotten their Gurus and other religious symbols. In fact they were never allowed to nurture an aspiration to have their own independent religion. They were condemned as profane and were declared unfit to have their own theology. Thus to revive Ad Dharm was tantamount to developing an altogether a new religion for the Achhuts. Mangoo Ram’s appeal that the Dalits were the real inhabitants of this land made an enormous psychological impact on the untouchables who were treated as, even inferior to animals in Indian society. The appeal inspired them to come out of their slumber and fight for their freedom and liberty. The Ad Dharm provided a theological podium to sustain and reinforce the new Dalit identity. For centuries, they were bereft of any identity and remained in the appendage of the hierarchically graded Hindu society.

Before 1920’s, especially before the rise of Ad Dharm movement, the untouchables in Punjab hardly envisaged the idea of seeking a separate identity. The growing communal politics and resultant unrest within Punjab in the 1920’s coupled with the emergence of Dalit organisations in different parts of the country, offered them a good opportunity to carve out such an identity. In the pre-partition Punjab , untouchables constituted one-fourth of the total population. Since scheduled castes did not have their separate religion, they were being counted as Hindus. In a system of communal representation, Muslim leaders were thinking that the Achhuts, who were never considered as equal by the caste Hindus, should be separated from them and equally divided between the Hindus and Muslims.

It was not only Muslims who alone had such an approach, even the Sikhs, Christians, and Hindus also wanted to absorb them into their respective religion for political benefits. In the absence of any other alternative open to them, a large number of the Achhuts of Punjab converted into Christianity (especially the chuhras of Sialkot and Gurdaspur), Sikhism (in Sialkot and Gurdaspur), and Islam ( Rawalpindi , Multan and Lahore division).

Consequently, the Hindus in the province had been reduced from 43.8% in 1881 to 30.2% in 1931 while the Sikhs increased from 8.2% to 14.3% and the Muslims from 40.6% to about 52% and in the British territory the population of the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Muslims in 1931 was 26.80%, 12.99% and 56.4% respectively (Census of India, 1931, Vol. xvii, Punjab Part i, p. 291).

Obviously, it alarmed the Arya Samaj to put an end to the conversions of Achhuts lest it turned out as a political suicide for Hindus. Lala Lajpat Rai’s “Achhut Udhar Mandal” at Lahore , Swami Ganesh Dutt’s “Antyaj Udhar Mandal” at Lahore and Lala Devi Chand’s “Dayanad Dalit Udhar Mandal” at Hoshiarpur came up in response to these conversions. As a matter of fact, the Arya Samaj started Shuddhi campaign to bring the converted Achhuts back into the Hindu-fold. This also brought the Arya Samaj into confrontation with the Sikhs and the Muslims. “In a famous incident in 1900, Sikhs rebelled at the Arya Samaj’s practice of publicly shaving lower caste Sikhs and offering them Shuddhi”.

It was at this stage that Ad Dharm entered into the volatile territories of communal politics in Punjab . The emancipatory project launched by Mangoo Ram inspired the lower castes to make efforts for their upliftment. Ad Dharm posited emphasis on the social equality of the Dalits and stressed on creating social and cultural awakening amog them. Ad Dharm movement aimed at securing a distinct identity for the dalits, independent both of the Hindu and Sikh religions. Sikhs and Hindus treated the dalits discriminately. But at times of counting their strategic strength they project the dalits as if they belonged to them. The central motif of the Ad Dharm movement was to highlight that untouchables constitute a qaum (Community), a distinct religious community similar to those of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, and that the qaum had existed from time immemorial On this account the Ad Dharm movement resembles the other Adi movements, which consider the low castes as the original inhabitants of India who had been subjugated by the Aryans. The Aryans, they allege came from outside and established their rule and made them subservient to them. The Ad Dharm movement aimed at making the dalits realise that they have three powers: Communal pride (Qaumiat), Religion (Mazhab) and Organisation (Majlis). All these three powers of the untouchables were lying buried under the burden of untouchability. Mangoo Ram, the founder of Ad Dharm movement exhorted the untouchables to come forward to assert for their rights through building on these three main sources of their power.

During the 1931 census, Ad Dharm movement succeeded in registering a large number of low castes in Punjab as Ad Dharmis separate from Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. In the 1931 Punjab census, a total of 418,789 persons reported themselves as Ad Dharmis almost equal to that of the Christian population of the region. Since the center of the Ad Dharm movement was in Doaba region, nearly eighty percent of the lower castes of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts reported themselves as Ad Dharmis (ibid.:77). It was for the first time in the history of lower castes that they had come forward to officially declare themselves as separate and independent of the Hindu, Sikh and Muslim religions. This was, perhaps, the beginning of the dalit assertion in North India . It got further impetus in the first election that took place in 1937 after the promulgation of the Government of India Act of 1935. Ad Dharm Mandal contested election in all the eight reserved seats and won all except one. In the 1945-46, Punjab Legislative Assembly elections on the eve of independence Ad Dharm also registered its presence by contesting in alliance with the Unionist Party. Mangoo Ram, the founder of Ad Dharm was one of the elected candidates.

Ad Dharm movement was instrumental not only in helping the lower castes to get registered as a distinct religion in the 1931 census and providing them the platform to enter into the State Legislature, it also went a long way in bringing a cultural transformation in their life. In fact, Ad Dharm movement, as has been mentioned above, aimed at facilitating a cultural transformation in the life of lower castes that, under the impact of the centuries old system of degradation, had actually internalised a sense of being low and polluted. Mangoo Ram wanted to liberate them from such a state of mind and also to inculcate in them the feeling of dignity and self respect whereby they could start thinking about them as equal to the so-called twice-born people. Report of the Ad Dharm Mandal, 1926-1931 lists a number of moral principles and duties, which the followers of the Ad Dharm are required to adhere to for creating spiritual regeneration and cultural transformation in their lives. Among the most important moral principles and the duties mentioned in the report are:

The basic principles listed in the Report are: (1) The essential teachings of the Ad Dharm will always be the same: no one can change them. They can stay alive and persist only through the help of a guru. (2) Every man and woman belongs to the faith, but they may not know it. To live without a guru is a sin. (3) A guru should be someone who truly and rightly knows the teachings of the previous masters. He should be able to distinguish between falsehood and truth. He should be able to bring peace and love within the community. (4) Everyone should be instructed by the lives of previous masters; progress comes from following the masters’ examples. The practices of previous masters should not be abandoned. This leads to progress. (5) There should not be any discrimination in regard to eating with other castes. (6) Ad Dharmis should abstain from theft, fraud, lies, dishonesty, looking at someone else’s wife with bad intentions, using anything which brings intoxication, gambling, and usurping other persons’ property or belongings. All of these things are against the law of nature and therefore the law of Ad Dharm. (7) Every Ad Dharmi has the duty to teach his children current knowledge and also to teach them to be obedient to the present king. (8) Every Ad Dharmi should read the Ad Prakash and act upon it. This is a foremost duty. (9) Ad Dharm does not believe in the caste system or any inferiority or superiority of this sort. (10) To learn and seek knowledge, and to learn and seek progress is compulsory for every man and woman.

The twelve duties mentioned in the Report are as follows: (1) To publicize and propagate Ad Dharm. (2) To take pride in Ad Dharm. (3) To promote the use of name of the community and to use the red mark, which is its sign. (4) Ad Dharmis should try to retrieve any property of fellow Ad Dharmi that has been usurped. (5) We should distinguish among Hindus, Ad Dharmis, and other communities of India . (6) Those books, which have created the problem of untouchability and led to discrimination - books such as the Laws of Manu and other Shastras – should be completely boycotted and abandoned. (7) We should celebrate the festivals of our gurus and follow our faith to the utmost. (8) Abandon idolatry. (9) Receive education for ourselves and others in the brotherhood. (10) Boycott those who curse us as “untouchables” or discriminate against us. (11) Bring all demands of Ad Dharmis before the government. (12) Abandon expensive marriage and practice of child marriage.

The fifty-six commandments included in the Report are: (1) Each Ad Dharmi should know everything about the faith. (2) For the betterment and salvation of one’s body – physical and spiritual – one should recite the word soham. (3) Each Ad Dharmi should remember Guru Dev for half an hour each morning or evening. (4) When Ad Dharmis meet, their greeting should be “jai Guru Dev.” (5) We should be true followers of the founders, Rishi Valmiki, Guru Ravi Das, Maharaj Kabir, and Bhagwan Sat Guru Nam Dev. (6) a guru is necessary, one who knows about previous gurus and has all the capabilities of being a guru. (7) The wife of a guru should be regarded as one’s mother, the guru’s daughter as one’s sister. (8) Devotion to one’s wife should be a part of one’s faith, for therein lies salvation. (9) Every Ad Dharmi should abstain from theft, fraud, lies, dishonesty, and usurping the property of others. (11) One should not cause someone else heartache. There is no worse sin than this. (12) Every Ad Dharmi should enthusiastically participate in Ad Dharmi festivals and rituals. (13) There should be equally great happiness at the birth of both boys and girls. (14) After the age of five, every boy and girl should be given proper religious teaching. (15) Extravagant expenses at weddings are useless. Every marriage should be conducted according to rituals of our tradition. (16) Ad Dharmis should marry only Ad Dharmis. To marry someone outside Ad Dharm is not legal, but if someone does marry an outsider, he or she should be brought into the faith. (17) All Ad Dharmis, both men and women, should be obedient to their parents. (18) After the death of both parents it is the duty of each Ad Dharmi to cook food and distribute it among the poor. (19) The dead should be cremated, except for those under the age of five, who should be buried. (20) Ad Dharmis do not follow any other law except their own. (21) In the Ad Dharm faith only one marriage is allowed, but a husband may marry after the death of his wife. Also, if the first wife does not bear children, the husband may take another wife, provided he has the consent of the first wife. If this happens, the first wife remains a legal wife, with all the rights she had before. (22) Ad Dharmis should marry their children to the Ad Dharmis of the surrounding areas. (23) A girl should be more than twelve years old at the time of the marriage. The boy should be four years older than the girl. (24) It is illegal to receive money for a bride; on the other hand, there should not be a dowry. Those who sell their daughters commit a very great sin. (25) Offerings and sacrifices for prayers should be given only to those holy men who are Ad Dharmi and who have shown themselves to follow Ad Dharmi principles religiously. (26) It is necessary for each Ad Dharmi to provide primary education to both boys and girls. (27) The girls should be educated especially in household work such as sewing and needlework. (28) Young girls and boys should not be sent out to cut grass and gather wood. (29) It is the duty of parents not to allow young widowed daughters to remain in their household, because a young widowed daughter is a cause of disgrace. (30) If an Ad Dharmi widow with children wants to hold a commemoration of her deceased husband, but cannot afford it, then the Ad Dharm Mandal of Jullundur and its members will help her. (31) It is not good to cry and beat oneself at a death or funeral. To do so is to anger Guru Dev. (32) Among the Ad Dharmis sons and daughters should receive an equal inheritance. (33) To eat the meat of a dead animal or bird is against the law of Ad Dharm. (34) To use wine or any other intoxicants is a sin, except in the case of sickness. (35) It is legal to eat food offered at noon – Ad Dharm marriages, but the food should be decent, and not leftovers. (36) Cleanliness is important. It guaranteed good health. (37) It is forbidden to practice idolatry and worship statues, and one should not believe in magic, ghosts, or anything of the sort. (38) All Ad Dharmis should forget notions of caste and untouchability and work toward the unity of all people in the world. (39) Each Ad Dharmi should help a fellow Ad Dharmi in need. (40) One Ad Dharmi must not work at a place where another Ad Dharmi works until the first Ad Dharmi has been paid his wages. (41) If Ad Dharmis enter into a dispute with one another, they should attempt to come to some agreement by themselves or within the community. If no agreement is accomplished, they should refer the case to the Ad Dharm Mandal, Jullundur , and the Executive Committee will take action. (42) Ad Dharmis should open shops and business in every village. (43) Every Ad Dharmi should be a missionary for the faith. (44) Ad Dharmis should call themselves such and register in the census as “Ad Dharmi”. (45) A Red turban on the head is mandatory, for it is the color of our ancestors. (46) Every Ad Dharmi should work hard for the progress and peace of the community. (47) Ad Dharmis hould organize themselves into cadres called martyrdom cells. They should work hard on the Ad Dharm’s projects. (48) Each Ad Dharmis hould separate himself form Hindus, Sikhs, and members of other religions. (49) Each Ad Dharmi should be a good citizen, a patriot loyal to the present government, and should follow the law of the land. (50) Ad Dharmis have the obligation to consider the Ad Dharm Mandal of Punjab , city of Jullundur , as their rightful representative, and to recognize that the programs of the AD Dharm are for their benefit. (51) It is the duty of every Ad Dharmi to trust the Ad Dharm Mandal of jullundur , and to share its work. (52) All local branches of the Ad Dharm should be certified by the Ad Dharm Mandal of Jullundur , and those, which are not certified, should not be considered genuine. (53) All Ad Dharmis should save their fellow Ad Dharmis from fraud and selfishness on the part of other communities. If such a situation arises, the Mandal should be informed. (54) Each Ad Dharmi should report any difficulty concerning the community to the Mandal in Jullundur . (55) Ad Dharmis should subscribe to the qaum’s newspaper, Adi Danka. They should receive it regularly, read it regularly, a nd help support it regularly. (56) Anyone violating the laws of the Ad Dharm or of the guru, or who insults these laws in one way or another, will be liable to punishment, even the greatest punishment – being banished from the community.

The main emphasis of these commandments, principles and duties, in the opinion of Babu Mangoo Ram, was to strengthen the social, cultural and religious life of the Dalits so that it could help them build Dalit Solidarity and empowerment .

Posted on January 17, 2009

DR. RONKI RAM’S ARTICLE “GURU RAVIDASS AND DERA SACH KHAND BALLAN”

Dear All,
You will be happy to know that the current issue of Journal of Asian Studies [JAS]<November 2008> carried my article on Guru Ravidass and Dera Sach Khand Ballan.

The Journal of Asian Studies (JAS) has played a defining role in the field of Asian studies for over 65 years. JAS publishes the very best empirical and multidisciplinary work on Asia, spanning the arts, history, literature, the social sciences, and cultural studies. Experts around the world turn to this quarterly journal for the latest in-depth scholarship on Asia's past and present, for its extensive book reviews, and for its state-of-the-field essays on established and emerging topics. With coverage reaching from South and Southeast Asia to China, Inner Asia, and Northeast Asia, JAS welcomes broad comparative and transnational studies as well as essays emanating from fine-grained historical, cultural, political, or literary research and interpretation. The journal also publishes clusters of papers representing new and vibrant discussions on specific themes and issues.

Published Quarterly, Published for the Association for Asian Studies.

With regards,
Ronki Ram, Chairperson,
Dept. of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh. +919872861290.

Posted on November 12, 2008

MESSAGE ON

HUMAN RIGHTS OF DALITS IN INDIA

Message to be read at the meeting on Human Rights in India: The Issue of the Castes namely of the “Untouchable”, organized by the Indian Educational Mission Society in cooperation with the Centre for European Constitutional Law – The Mistocles and Dimitris Tsatsos Foundation, April 6, 2008, at Hotel Athens (Greece).

Untouchables were known by different names in different parts of the country. They were called Shudras, Atishudras, Chandalas, Antyajas, Pariahs, Dheds, Panchamas, Avarnas, Namashudras, Asprusthas, Ad Dharmis, Depressed Classes, Harijans, and Scheduled Castes. The hierarchical and repressive structure of Indian (Hindu) society came into existence during the period of manusmriti about three thousand years ago. The manusmriti set the tone of social discrimination based on birth. This, in turn led to social exclusion, economic degradation and political isolation of the Untouchables now popularly known as Dalits. Dalits are the poor, neglected and downtrodden lot. Their social disabilities were specific, severe and numerous. Their touch, shadow or even voice was considered by the caste Hindus to be polluting. They were not allowed to keep certain domestic animals, use certain metals for ornaments, eat a particular type of food, use a particular type of footwear, wear a particular type of dress and were forced to live in the outskirts of the villages towards which the wind blew and dirt flowed. Their houses were dirty, dingy and unhygienic where poverty and squalor loomed large. They were denied the use of public wells. The doors of the Hindu temples were closed for them and their children were not allowed into the schools attended by the children of caste Hindu. Barbers and washermen refused their services to them lest they lose their business from the upper castes. Public services were closed to them. They followed menial hereditary occupations such as those of street sweeping, manual scavenging, shoemaking and carcasses removing.

Dalit is not an administrative term. But nevertheless, it includes those who are designated as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in the constitution of the country. However, in common political discourse, the term Dalit is mainly referred to Scheduled Castes only. In other words, Scheduled Castes is a ‘politically correct’ nomenclature for the socially excluded lot in the society. The British officials in Government of India Act, 1935, used the term Scheduled Caste for the first time. Prior to this, the ex Untouchables were known as Depressed Classes. Mahatma Gandhi gave them the name Harijans meaning children of God. Gandhi himself did not coin the name. He borrowed the name from a Bhakti movement saint of the 17 th century Narsinh Mehta. The name Harijan became popular during 1931 amid conflicts between Gandhi and Ambedkar on the issue of guarantying communal political representation to the Dalits. Gandhi took this move as a step towards the disintegration of Hindu society. By terming the Untouchables as Harijans, Gandhi tried to persuade caste Hindus to shed their prejudices against the achchutas i.e. Untouchables. The purpose to adopt this new nomenclature of Harijan for the Untouchables was to induce change in the heart and behavior of the Hindus towards Untouchables. At the same time, it was hoped that this new name would be accepted by the Untouchables who would too try to cultivate the virtues that it connotes. To quote Gandhi “…probably, Antyaja brethren would lovingly accept that name and try to cultivate the virtues which it connotes… may the Antyaja become Harijan both in name and nature” [Gandhi, M. K. (1971), Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 47 (Delhi: Publication Division), pp.244-5]. The term Harijan got further recognition as an emancipatory nomenclature in the formation of Harijan Sewak Sangh, an organisation established for the purpose of upliftment of the Dalits under the aegis of the Congress. A weekly ‘Harijan’ was also started by Gandhi to provide voice for the cause of the downtrodden. However, Ambedkar did not find any substance in the change of name for the redressal of the structural hindrances that stood menacingly in the way of the their all around amelioration. To him it did not make any difference whether the downtrodden were called achchuta or Harijan, ‘as the new nomenclature did not change their status in the social order’ [Shah, Ghanshyam (2001), “Introduction: Dalit Politics”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), p.21].

The term Dalit was used by no less a person than Ambedkar in his fortnightly called Bahishkrit Bharat [Guru, Gopal (2001), “The Language of Dalit–Bahujan Political Discourse”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), p, 100]. Though Ambedkar did not popularize the term Dalit for Untouchables, his thoughts and actions have contributed to its growth and popularity. The word Dalit is a common usage in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and many other Indian languages, denoting the poor and oppressed persons. It also refers to those who have been broken, ground down by those above them in a deliberate way [Shah, Ghanshyam (2001), “Dalit Movements and The Search for Identity”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), pp. 195-196]. “It includes all the oppressed and exploited sections of society. It does not confine itself merely to economic exploitation in terms of appropriation of surplus. It also relates to suppression of culture – way of life and value system – and, more importantly, the denial of dignity. It has essentially emerged as a political category. For some, it connotes an ideology for fundamental change in the social structure and relationships” (Shah, Ghanshyam (2001), “Introduction: Dalit Politics”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), p.22]. The word Dalit indicates struggle for an egalitarian order and provides the concept of pride to the politically active Dalits. The word Dalit gained currency through the writings of Marathi writers in the early 1970s. “Dalit writers who have popularised the word have expressed their notion of Dalit identity in their essays, poems, dramas, autobiographies, novels and short stories. They have reconstructed their past and their view of the present. They have expressed their anger, protest and aspiration” (Shah, “Introduction: Dalit Politics” 2001: 22).

Thus, “Dalit” is a by-product of the Ambedkar movement and indicates a political and social awareness. Ambedkar adopted a different approach and philosophy for the emancipation of Scheduled Castes. He wanted to liberate the Dalits by building an egalitarian social order that he believed was not possible within the fold of Hinduism whose very structure was hierarchical which relegated the Dalits to the bottom on the Brahminical rank scale. Initially, he tried to seek emancipation of the Dalits by bringing transformation within the structure of Hinduism through his efforts for opening the temples for the Dalits and multi-caste dinners. However, Ambedkar came to realise soon that such an approach would not bring the desired result for the amelioration of the inhuman condition of the Dalits. He asserted that the Dalits should come forward and fight for their own cause. He gave them the mantra – educate, agitate, organise. He did not have faith in the charitable spirit of the caste Hindus towards the Untouchables as it had failed to bring any change in the oppressive Hindu social order.

Since then the ex-Untouchables have entered very forcefully in to the political arena and public debate in Indian democracy. They have their own political parties, social organizations, community halls, religious places/centers, and some educational institutions. After a long struggle, under the able leadership of Dr. Ambedkar, they have also earned some respectable space in the governance of the country (constitutional affirmative action). Many of them were successful in ventures abroad. They have settled in Europe, North America, Middle East as well as Far East in Asia. Now, it is impossible to ignore them at all. However, much is yet to be done. Many of them are still severely deprived of and enjoy no say in the local structures of powers. Their basic civic and inalienable human rights are often violated openly. They still stand at the lowest rank on many modern standardized indicators of development and socio-economic growth and inclusion.

I hope and wish that the Sunday ( April 6, 2008) “ Athens Meeting” would contribute significantly towards the empowerment of the ex-Untouchables of India and sharpen the emerging worldwide debate on the burning question of ‘Dalits Human Rights in India’. My heartiest congratulations to all the organizers of this ‘historic meet’ in Athens, the holy land of the birth of Enlightenment, Democracy and Peace. This meet would also go a long way in strengthening the forces of peace and Human Rights the world over. Once again, my heartiest congratulations to all the Indo-Greek Dalit brothers and the entire staff of the Indian Educational Mission Society and The Centre for European Constitutional Law.

Re-posted on www.ambedkartimes.com (April 14, 2008)

Mohan Lal Phillauria from Chandigarh

Chandigarh:- Dr. Ronki Ram Chairman and Head of the Political Science Department Punjab University Chandigarh was elected president of the Teachers association [PUTA] of the Punjab university Chandigarh on 20.08.2008. Dr. Ronki Ram has defeated Dr. Manjit Singh the sitting President. Dr. Manjit Singh is the head of the Sociology Department of the Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Dr. Ronki Ram is an eminent scholar dedicated to the Ambedkar Philosophy. He has always struggled for the upliftment of the Dalit society in  India. Dr. Ronki Ram is widely traveled. Earlier also he remained President of the Punjab University Teachers Association [PUTA] for two terms. He is very popular among the teachers fraternity in the Punjab University Campus. His priority always is Education for masses and poors.

Posted on August 21, 2008

Social Democracy with Ambedkar:
Market, Caste and Dalits in the Age of Globalisation

Dr. Ronki Ram
Chairman, Dept of Political Science, Panjab University , Chandigarh

Social democracy occupies centre stage in the philosophy of Bharat Rattan Baba Sahib Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. It constitutes the core and heart of his struggle against graded inequality in India . Social democracy expands the meaning of freedom – political liberation from the foreign rule – by incorporating in its fold also the less talked about freedom from internal colonialism – the centuries old Hindu system of caste based social exclusion. This is what distinguished Dr. Ambedkar from the rest of the mainstream Indian freedom fighters who were struggling mainly for the liberation of the country from the alien rule of the British Empire . The anti-imperial stance of the mainstream Indian freedom struggle failed to draw attention to the perennial issue of the denial of social justice and freedom of a large number of downtrodden – condemned as Untouchables – who were sandwiched between British colonialism, on the one hand, and the Hindu system of internal colonialism, on the other. The Untouchables were, thus, doubly oppressed. They had no hope for any relief whatsoever from the Hindu social order as it was based on the doctrine of inequality in every sphere of life. Since the Hindu social order is inherently based on caste as a primary unit of society, it does not respect the liberal principles of individual merit and justice. The rights that an individual enjoy are not given to him on the basis of his personal merit. On the contrary they are given to him because of the status of his particular caste in the Hindu caste hierarchy (Thorat 2002). And in the Hindu caste hierarchy where “a sense of ascending scale of respect and descending scale of discrimination” is the code of the conduct, it does not matter whether those who found themselves at the bottom of the hierarchy enjoy some human rights or not (Ramaswamy 2001). The social conditions of the untouchables remained almost the same even during the British rule. They failed to get any relief from the liberal minded British rulers also, who left caste untouched to avoid unrest within the Hindu society. “In some ways they [the British rulers] even reinforced it, finding Brahmins useful as an army of clerks and administrators who served the British Empire faithfully”, argued Mari Marcel Thekaekara (Thekaekara 2005).

The Political freedom of India would remain incomplete until and unless the deprivations and sufferings of the large numbers of ex-Untouchable people are removed thoroughly by annihilating the internal colonial system of caste based social exclusion. In other words, the political freedom from British colonialism would remain incomplete, unless it is followed by a complete freedom from the all-pervasive and well-entrenched structures of the internal colonialism. In the opinion of Dr. Ambedkar: “Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy” (Three Historical Addresses 1999:53). And the roots of social democracy are to be searched in the fabric of social relationship built around vigorous interactions among all the members of a society (Chand 2005). Since the Hindu society is intensely rooted in the pre modern system of caste based social hierarchies, social democracy seems to be a distant dream in India . Caste based social hierarchies are so well entrenched in India that they do not only divide the Hindu society in terms of caste cleavages, but also afflict even those who have converted to various other religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism and Islam – in the name of the utopia of castelessness. Untouchability splits people into distinct and seamless geographical settings. It blocks the channels of effective communication among different castes especially between the upper and the lower castes by erecting permanent barriers of social exclusion. It is a nefarious system/mechanism of ghettoising a large number people into the periphery of a mainstream social realm. Despite its practice being declared a criminal offence in the Constitution of independent India, first under the Protection of Civil Rights [Anti-Untouchability] Act of 1955 and later on under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, it continues to exist even today in the form of separate Scheduled Castes settlements in the country, especially in the rural sector where most people still live (Rajagopal 2007). The spatial segregation of the ex-untouchables has become a formidable hurdle in the realisation of social democracy in India . Untouchability, by its very nature, negates the very possibility of the rise of an egalitarian social order. It inculcates a sense of complete alienation among those who have been condemned to live separately as ‘outcastes’ away from the mainland habitations of the upper castes. These so-called outcastes who remained silent victims of the system of Untouchability for a pretty long time, continued to be deprived of education, basic human rights, equal social status, equal opportunities in the field of art and culture, and science and technology even after India gained independence. The denial of human rights to Dalit people in the country is a blot on the face of Indian democracy. Democracy and Untouchability cannot go together. They are mutually incompatible. Democracy is premised on principles of freedom, equality and fraternity. On the contrary, Untouchability thrives amidst inequality and denial of human rights to those who were pushed into the periphery of the mainstream social system. Since social equality and freedom are inseparable, political democracy without social democracy is farce. In the absence of social democracy, the socially excluded sections of the society would be finding it difficult to participate effectively in the process of the political democracy. Untouchability prohibits the lowest of the low from actively engaging in the operations of the public-social realm. It squeezed the ‘public’ or the ‘social’ into ‘public’ or the ‘social’ of the privileged few (the savarnas/dvijas [upper castes]). It means elevation of some (a few) and degradation of others (the multitudes). It also showers some with immense wealth as against many who in spite of working hard has to live a life of abject poverty (Yurlova 2004: 84). The social exclusion and economic deprivation of the downtrodden preclude the deepening of the democracy by abetting the anti people moves of the oppressive structures of power.

In the broader paradigm of democracy, inclusive social relationship (social democracy) constitutes the core of political democracy. Political democracy can survive and flourish only amidst egalitarian social relations – free from caste based social hierarchies. Dr. Ambedkar defines social democracy as “a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. These principles … are not to be treated as separate items in a trinity. They form a union of trinity in the sense that to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy” (Three Historical Addresses 1999:53). Frozen in the centuries old stratified structure of the Hindu social order, the principles of equality and fraternity are yet to find a clear expression and a significant space in the political democracy of independent India. Social life in India is still governed by the principle of birth-based graded inequality that elevates some [upper castes] and degrades others [Dalits]. The lack of fraternity [feeling of common brotherhood], further deepened social contradictions in the social realm of the country. In fact, it is repulsion rather than fraternity that underlined the social structure of the Indian society. Repulsion is one of three main agencies (the other two are hierarchy and hereditary occupation) of caste that determine the exclusionary boundaries of Indian structures (Bougle 1971). The principle of repulsion, thus, geared caste towards mutual antagonism within the society that ultimately squeezed the required space for the deepening of social democracy. In the views of Dr. Ambedkar:

In fact, it makes isolation of one caste from another a virtue. There is isolation in the class system. But it does not make isolation virtue nor does it prohibit social intercourse. The class system, it is true produces groups, but they are not akin to caste groups. The groups in the class system are only non-social while the castes in the caste systems are in their relations definitely and positively anti-social [http://www.ambedkar.org/Babasaheb/Commandments_of_Baba_Saheb.htm]

Social exclusion and repulsion are, thus, the bedrock of Dalit atrocities in India . Atrocities against Dalits (social boycott, kidnapping, murder, abduction, bonded labour, intimidation, rape, honour killings and residential segregation) continue to exist even after sixty years of independence. More so despite constitutional safeguards, and various legislative measures. In the opinion of Christine Moliner, a French anthropologist who visited the 4 th World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai in January 2004, “The Indian state has in recent years often proved itself unable or unwilling to protect Dalit; indeed, state representatives – police especially – are frequently accused of active participation in anti-Dalit violence” (Moliner 2004: 2; see also: Mungekar 2006:2). The all-pervading reach of caste is so well entrenched that even the state machinery is not left untouched. How the state in India can save itself remain the implication of the caste factor when caste constitutes the very core of the society? Since caste thrives on mutual repulsion and completely rejects the principle of fraternity, it becomes anti-national and affects the machinery of the state by making public opinion impossible (Mungekar 2006:1). It introduces separation in the society, and generates jealousy and antipathy among its inmates divided on caste lines. In his famous address in the Constituent assembly on the completion of the Draft Constitution ( 25 November 1949 ), Baba Sahib sounded a grave warning:

On the 26 th January 1950 , we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this Assembly has so labouriously built up [Three Historical Addresses 1999:53-54].

It seems that the Indian state have accorded some concern to his prophetic warning. Independent India opted for a mixed economy model of development and introduced the system of reservation for the downtrodden in government jobs, education institutions and legislature. Legal provisions for reducing the enormous gap between the rich/upper and the poor/lower castes have been incorporated in the law book of the land. The preamble of the constitution clearly spells out the objectives of securing “to all its citizens JUSTICE, social, economic and political” as well as “EQUALITY of status and of opportunity”. However it is the very spirit of this legal system that has fallen victim to the processes of globalisation in India . Baba Sahib’s vision of social equality and fraternity seems to have been eclipsed in the free market economy system of the post 1990 Globalising India. In the paradigm of free market economy, the primordial institution of caste does not feel alien at all. Market and caste go very well in the age of globalisation. If democracy and untouchability are incompatible; then caste and market are easily soluble common particles. Market thrives on capital. Since capital has traditionally been accumulated by the upper castes that have established themselves as the main business-houses in India , market feels very much comfortable with them. It welcomes them in its fold with enormous opportunities and hefty profits – the main incentive of the free market economy. It ignores the ex-untouchables who lack in capital. In the traditional Hindu social system, the ex-untouchables were kept at distance from the capital through the mechanism of purity-pollution principle. They were not allowed to acquire capital by denying land and property rights. They were not allowed to have land, possess precious metals and keep certain kind of animal (Ambedkar??). On the contrary, they were employed to help generate capital for the incumbents of the higher echelon on the scale of caste hierarchy. It is in this context that the dialectics of inverse relationship between democracy and untouchability and the complimentarity between market and caste assumes an utmost importance for the understanding of the impact of globalisation on the life of the Dalits in India . Market and caste reinforce each other. Whereas, democracy and untouchability weaken each other. Democracy finds stalled in the face of Untouchability. Since Untouchability favours the privileged few at the cost of the multitude of downtrodden, the social structures of difference/domination on which it stands do not allow true democracy to emerge. In the tug of war between democracy and untouchability, the forces of the free market economy side with the latter (untouchability). They strengthen the hands of caste by making it almost impossible for the ex-untouchables to participate in the game of finance capital. Market runs on capital through the vehicle of profit. Since capital mostly lies with the upper castes, it is only they who matter the most in the malls of the market. It is only they also to whom the market has been transforming into million and billionaires. There is hardly anyone from the ex-untouchables in India who have joined the elite club of the billionaires. Thus market favours only the upper castes. In other words, it accentuates the gulf between the poor and the rich. Since poor and lower castes are co-terminus, a market further marginalizes the lower castes buy preventing them from entering into its business operations. It is in this context that free market economy and liberal democracy become incompatible. The capital starved lower castes are not welcome in the field of free market economy. Thus free market economy by virtue of its anti poor and anti lower caste stance has ultimately become a hurdle in the way of liberal democracy in India .

I)This paper attempts to explore, how the process of globalisation has affected the lives of the marginalised, who had, hitherto, been looking towards the state for some support to stand on their own feet. Since the very logic of globalisation is based on the notion that welfare state is a hindrance in the way of the global free market economy, it ceased to support the marginalized. This has further deepened the marginalisation and exclusion of the downtrodden and has severely limited the possibilities of their possible emancipation under the aegis of the welfare state system. It is in this context that the process of globalisation and the principles of social democracy come into an open clash.

Globalisation is based on the principle of complete freedom of the market. Within the paradigm of globalisation, state is just reduced into a sort of security mechanism to protect its citizens from internal disruption and external onslaught. It is not supposed to care for the social and economic interests of its citizens. It is argued that the social and material interests of the citizens would be better served if they were lift free to flourish in the market ‘prompted by the profit motive to supply essential services’. The Neoliberal argument goes further by highlighting the point that the interests of the individuals are best served by maximum market freedom and minimum intervention by the state. Thus globalisation robs the state of its welfare functions. On the contrary, the principle of social democracy called upon state to play a positive role for the protection as well as promotion of the interests of the downtrodden. It expects that state need not to confine itself only to military security; it is also expected to function as a harbinger for social and economic justice and transformation. It is in this context that the extended contractarian tradition of the welfare state comes into head-on-collision with the process of globalisation.

Globalisation is often paraded as a custodian of enormous opportunities. But what such ‘opportunities’ are and whom they benefit is a question that directly concerns the Dalits. In an existential asymmetrical world, the world where, in fact, we actually live, such opportunities open many doors for the haves. Whereas the interests of the have-nots are often neglected, a large majority of who happens to be low castes, socially excluded, tribal, women, and other vulnerable sections of the society. The much-hyped Special Economic Zones [SEZs] and the consequent process of forced displacement have further affected these marginalisated sections of the society (Kumar 2007, see also, Sarma 2007). This has led to the perpetuation and deepening of the social and economic inequalities, which in turn further isolate the principle of fraternity. Talhan, Meham, Dulina, Gohana, Saalwan, Chakwada and Khairlanji are some of the recent prominent instances of the mauling of the principle of fraternity in different parts of India . Dalit atrocities bluntly negate what Dr. Ambedkar called “associated life between the people” of a given society. It cuts the roots of social democracy by targeting the downtrodden and precluding them to enter into the mainstream.

The term ‘Dalit’ is used in this paper, as a social category that incorporates the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and the Backward Castes – constitutional categories referring to socially and/as well as economically excluded sections of the society. However, in the current political discourse, the term Dalit is mainly confined to the Scheduled Castes. More precisely, it covers only those Scheduled Castes who are classified as Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists but excludes Muslim and Christian Dalits. Scheduled Tribes, Backward Castes and the other poor of the upper castes fall in the category of economically deprived sections of the society. Scheduled Castes belong to the Dalit category that incorporates socially deprived sections of the society who are not only socially excluded merely on the basis of birth but are also segregated geographically. Historically, Dalits have been deprived of social, economic and political rights including the right to education and employment. They were subjected to forced and customary undignified labour, precisely because of their low birth. Dalit is the “politically correct” nomenclature for the ex-untouchables who traditionally have been placed at the lowest rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy and were contemptuously called by different names like Shudras, Atishudras, Achhuts, Antyajas, Chandalas, Pariahs, Dheds, Panchamas, Avarnas, Namashudras, Adi-Dravida, Ad Dharmis, Mazhabis, Harijans, Depressed Classes and Scheduled Castes. They were forced to live on the outskirts of the villages towards which the wind blew and sewage flowed. Their houses were dirty, dingy, dark, and unhygienic where poverty and squalor loomed large.

II) How globalisation process impacts the above-mentioned categories of peoples and what sort of space they occupy within the domain of market is what this section deals with. Before India enters into the realm of neoliberal economy in the beginning of 1990, Dalits happened to be the beneficiaries of the state’s affirmative action that had brought some improvements in their lives by making special provisions to provide them education, employment, respectable wages, access to land, water, health, housing and other resources. However, this welfarist stance of the Indian state gave way to a new system of free market economy and the minimum intervention by the state. One of the main concerns of this new paradigm is to facilitate the process of the roll back of the welfare state and to allow the market forces to operation in an unrestrained manner in the domain of international trade. This pro-market stance of the process of economic globalisation has led to the widening of the gap between the privileged few and the large mass of the marginalized section of the society. The further Marginalisation of the already marginalized people widens the stretch of inequity in the society (Kumar 2007). Dalit labourers, daily wage workers and workers in the informal sector among them suffer the most. In other words, globalisation process severely affects some categories of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who are deprived of jobs, and face great difficulties in accessing housing, drinking water, food, healthcare, education, and employment. Thus the way globalisation affects the life of a Scheduled Caste worker differs significantly from that of the non-Scheduled Caste one. In a caste-based graded social hierarchy where lower social status and economic backwardness seems to be coterminous, social rank plays an important role in determining one's economic status.

Globalisation process has further aggravated this vicious interrelationship between social and economic backwardness. The logic of economic globalisation favours the rich, who can invest and multiply capital. The favoured rich are mostly found among the so-called traditional ‘upper castes’ that have monopolised land and other economic resources in the country. It has made them prominent in the newly carved out vast private space of the open market. In other words, it has led to an alliance between the forces of the market and the upper castes – much to the disadvantage of the marginalised and the lower castes. In other words in the open market system of the neo-liberal economy capital and caste have joined hands against labour and the principle of state social welfare.

III) Globalisation has been projected as a 20 th century wonder, which contains immense potentialities for the elimination of poverty, hunger and disease. The European Commission in its Annual Economic Report for 1997 defined globalisation “as the process by which markets and production in different countries are becoming increasingly interdependent due to the dynamics of trade in goods and services and flows of capital and technology. It is not a new phenomenon but the continuation of developments that have been in train for some considerable time” (European Commission 1997: 45). In this context, it is primarily associated with ‘a process of intensifying worldwide economic integration’. However, this political-economy-centric view of globalisation when juxtaposed with the one grounded within the wider social science literature presents a more complex picture. It is also projected as an era of universalisation and intensification of transnational flows of images, people, commodities and capital. Though the process of globalisation is often referred to interchangeably with the notions of liberalisation, internationalisation, universalisation, modernisation, westernisation, Americanisation, de-territorialisation, or supra-territorialisation, none of these terms, argues Scholte, captures its distinctive features (Scholte 2000; see also McGrew 2005: 209; Scott 1997:5; Abdelal and Segal 2007).

Looked at through the prisms of political economy, cultural theory, political analysis, international relations, and urban sociology, globalisation resonates differently in the different contexts. Globalisation needs to be understood as a multi-dimensional, rather than singular process, and free from the disciplinary boundaries of a particular field. Equally important is to rescue it from the prevailing myths and rhetoric about its inevitability and irresistibility (Abdelal and Segal 2007: 103-114). Globalisation is not a new phenomenon, as it is claimed widely. In effect, it is the replication of the political and economic imperialism of the 19 th century (Singh 2006:681-751). Moreover, in the 19 th century the world was more integrated than is the case today. Equally important is to critically analyse the objectives of the process of globalisation. The process of globalisation is not something that has come into operation on its own as a beneficial God gifted natural source. As perceptively argued by Anthony Giddens “Globalisation is not a force of nature. It is made by human beings and their endeavours” (Giddens 2007). It is, perhaps, a well planned and well regulated project aimed at building a uniformed global market for the benefit of a limited number of individuals/corporations. Its sole aim is to accumulate capital, which by its very logic creates dens of poverty, disease and squalor in the periphery, and wealth in the core of the globalising world. In order to comprehend such diabolic posture of the phenomenon of globalisation, it needs to be distinguished as an ideology and as a paradigm.

As an ideology, globalisation creates a sense of false consciousness in the periphery. It makes its appearance as beneficial through various popularly projected images (Klein 2000). At the same time, it also builds up the logic to subdue any opposition to its upward surgence. It emphasises that poverty and low economic growth were the results of keeping oneself out of the reach of globalisation. As a paradigm, globalisation provides an epistemological outlook for the understanding of the world. This epistemological outlook has assigned the prefix N ewto the already existing asymmetrical world. The fact, however, is that it is not the existential world that has really become new or newly ordered under the spill of globalisation. What the paradigm of globalisation was able to do under the prefix New is that it has succeeded in projecting the same old world as new in a particular way that favours capital over labour. This paradigm of presenting the old world in the form of something new emanates from a perspective, held by the privileged few, to scan the uneven structures of the existing world in such a manner as to project them as ‘new’, ‘ordered’, ‘global’, interdependent’, and ‘homogeneous. Such a paradigmatic approach in looking at the so-called changing trajectories of the world has more to do with the ‘concrete processes’ of economy and politics rather than with its projected abstract realities. However, in the domain of political economy, it is not always essential to stick to apparent realities. On the contrary, the projected realities have usually been taken as given, realities that favour capital and the metropolis and deprive labour and the periphery. Such realities in fact are not generally acceptable realities at all. It is so because they emboss the fabricated and artificial homogeneous world on the real and the existing asymmetrical world.

This is another way of subjugating the marginalized, the ‘other’. The marginalised are subjugated through the mirage of the promised /imagined new world. The imagined world has been made more real than the actual real world is. The real world is not the one where we live, but the one we have been told about. The panacea to all our maladies, we are told, lies in getting assimilated quickly into this New world –the globalising one. It is also said that poverty, failure of the state, and ethnic insurgencies in the developing countries and elsewhere are not the outcome of the specific factors grounded in their colonial structures or in their own current specific domestic/external situations, but because of their refusal to open themselves to the currents of the global market.

Contrary to the repetitive claims, the post-Cold War world is very much the same intransient world of power games and shrewd diplomacy. The so-called New world is the old place where one has to move cautiously in the given hard-core choices, and in an environment of no permanent friends and foes. How does one then understand the United States’ support to the non-democratic Sheikhdom in the Middle East and to the authoritarian states of South East Asia, whereas United States, itself, stands for democracy not only within but internationally also. Democracy as a value is not as important as its use for the promotion of national interests. Any democratic process that helps raise genuine political aspirations, finds no support from the West if such a process is likely to adversely affect the status of the West. Thus, in order to qualify for a democratic status one needs to fulfill the expectations of the West. It does not matter much even if you are a despot or a dictator provided you do not create any difficulties for the West. Given a choice between democracy and promotion of national interest, the latter gets a priority over the former. That is what the law of power politics advocates. It needs to be taken with a pinch of salt that free trade is the most important natural torchbearer of the 21 st century. The moot point is who does the process of globalisation favour? How does globalisation operate in an unequal and anarchic world? What safeguards, if any, are available to the ex-colonial societies and the marginalised to defend themselves against the system of domination, embedded in the logic of a world structured on the principles of power politics? In fact, the process of globalisation empowers the advanced capitalist states and their citizens to dominate the rest of humanity more aggressively. It affirms the right of the capital to move around the globe but restricts the freedom of labour. It is in this context that we need to take up the issue of the process of globalisation in the context of the marginalised in the periphery. Rampant violence, narcotic terrorism, mounting debts, political apathy and indolence, subordination to market, controlled print and electronic media, ecological devastation, rolling back the State, nepotism, corruption, the ever increasing rise in the internal civil strife leading to mass killings, and exodus are a few issues of crucial concern relating to the marginalised in the periphery.

IV) The system of globalisation is not accountable to the people whom it affects. Since the state, which draws sustenance and legitimacy from the citizens in the geographically determined boundaries, begins fading in the face of the surging forces of globalisation, it often finds excuses to exempt itself from its legal responsibility towards the betterment of its populace, especially the marginalised. Public policy, based on the state supported social protection, gave way to deregulation, privatisation, cuts in state’s social welfare schemes (e.g. Public Distribution System [PDS] in India ), restrictions on labour unions, flexible labour markets, strict laws and quotas restricting immigration to the countries of the North. Such anti-people policies are not only encountered by the people of the developing world, the political establishments in the countries of the developed world equally adhere to them.

Such anti-labour policies do not only characterise the governments in Europe and the United States , but also the governments and left-of-centre parties in Japan , and Australia have been talking the same language. Furthermore, through the international financial mechanism of the Multilateral Economic Organisations (MEOs) like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), these anti-labour policies are extended to the domestic realms of the developing countries (Ibid). The most startling case of non-accountability on the part of the forces of globalisation is the callousness on the part of the Union Carbide with regard to the victims of the Bhopal Gas tragedy.

The question of justice, of late, has come up as the most important contentious issue of globalisation. Some of the leading exponents of the process of globalising have now started echoing the concern that “… in its failure to deliver a more just global economic order, globalisation may hold within it the seeds of its own demise”. If the contemporary process of globalisation sincerely aims at strengthening the need for strong governance, then contrary to the pro-capital policies of its neo-liberal lobbying centres of London and Washington, it has to remove all “barriers to the movement of people in search of work” and to make stringent efforts towards the formation of “a single market for both capital and labour”.

To manage the crisis of globalisation, efforts are now being made, since the second half of 1997, to politically legitimise, democratise and socialise the process of globalisation. Is it feasible, at least theoretically, to socialise the process of globalisation? To socialise globalisation seems to be tantamount to saying to socialise the capital. However, capital by its very nature intrinsically defies any such attempts. It is basically based on the process of capital generation through the appropriation of surplus values generated by the labourers. And, the grammar of capitalism tells us that a surplus value is the value of labour that is denied to a labourer. Thus, the capital and the utopia of its equal distribution are basically antithetical to each other. According to the Human Development Report 1997 published by United Nations Development Programme,

The greatest benefits of globalisation have been garnered by a fortunate few. A rising tide of wealth is supposed to lift all boats, but some are more seaworthy than others. The yachts and ocean liners are rising in response to new opportunities, but many rafts and rowboats are taking on water- and some are sinking. The ratio of global trade to Gross Domestic Product has been rising over the past decade, but it has been falling for 44 developing countries, with more than a billion people. The least developed countries, with 10 per cent of the world's people, have only 0.3 per cent of world trade – half their share of two decades ago.

The metaphor of the rising tide lifting all boats fails to take off when applied in the context of the effect of the globalisation on the developing countries. In the developing world the tides of the neo-liberal economy had ended up knocking over some of the smaller boats. “It has increased the divide between the rich and the poor countries and further widened the gap between the rich and the poor in the Third World countries. The number of poor in Africa has doubled”, said Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz in a lecture on Making Globalisation Work in Chennai recently (The Hindu, January 5, 2007). According to the 1999 version of the Human Development Report, the income gap ratio between the 20 per cent of the world's population in the richest countries and the 20 per cent in the poorest grew from 30:1 in 1960 to 60:1 in 1990 and 74:1 in 1995. The poorest 20 per cent of the world's population accounts for only one per cent of the total global Gross Domestic Product and 40 per cent of the world's population lives in absolute poverty. The number of people with income of less than $ 1 a day increased by almost 100 million to 1.3 billion between 1987 and 1993. In the past 18 years, the per capita income has declined in more than 100 countries. In a large number of countries, life expectancy is still 40 years. The external debt burden of the developing countries totals $2.2 trillion, according to 1999 estimates. Of this, two-thirds is public debt. The net material worth of the world's 200 richest persons increased from $ 440 billion to more than one trillion in just four years: 1994-1998. The above statistics shows that the global spread of capital failed to reduce the contradictions between the poor and the rich nations.

The exploitative and inequitable stance of globalisation became factually clear in the last few years. The Washington Consensus (WC) based neo-liberal project of globalisation came under severe attack on its durability in the wake of the financial crisis that hit Asia in the second half of 1997 and soon spread to Latin America and Russia in early 1998. Another factor that accounted amongst the significant sources of backlash against the unbridled nature of globalisation project was the failure of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to establish the multilateral argument on investment. ‘The battle of Seattle ’ was yet another factor that jostled globalisation from its very roots. Along with these events of crisis revelation of globalisation, another factor which affected the ever surging march of globalisation is “the development of a perception that global liberalisation brings with it increased inequality”. The above cited events and perceptions led to the lowering of the image of globalisation from its status of inevitability to its self-demise. This also led to the end of the orthodox Washington Consensus backed model of globalisation, based on economic liberalisation that dominated the period between 1980 and 1990, and resulted in the emergence of a ‘Post Washington Consensus’.

The Post Washington Consensus is a response to the challenges to the process of globalisation. It aims at rectifying the pitfalls of economic liberalisation by introducing the system of global governance. The project of globalisation of 1980s and the early 1990s did not have any place for ethics. It was based on purely the free market principle of profit and maximising self-interest. “The idea is that capitalism, left to itself, can recover from any crisis and any public intervention can only make things worse. Thus any public actions are nothing but distortions of the system which must be minimised”. The Post Washington Consensus model has been trying to bring ethical dimensions into the theory of globalisation. The attempt on the part of Post Washington Consensus to bring ethical content into the theory of globalisation was not merely a tactical move to forestall the simmering revolt against economic liberalisation. The Post Washington Consensus, thus, distinguished itself from the Washington Consensus by the concepts of civil society, social capital, capacity building, governance and transparency, a new international economic architecture, institution building and safety-nets as against the Washington Consensus mantras of liberalisation, deregularisation and privatisation.

The immediate question is whether the Post Washington Consensus would make some efforts for setting an agenda to help the marginalised. Is it possible that the mere chanting of the names of civil society, social capital, and governance etc. can facilitate the change for the betterment of the neglected lot of the society? The Post Washington Consensus fails to chart out the parameters through which the marginals can be brought into the purview of the civil society, which, as in the case of India , has still not become inclusive in its character and scope. How can capital translate the higher statuses into instruments of improvement for the downtrodden when their own kith and kin feel shy and fearful to openly divulge their caste identity in the highly inequitable hierarchical structures of the Indian society? Nothing concrete can be expected for removing the tears from the hapless faces until and unless something can be done in the form of structural transformation for dismantling the market based system of domination on one hand, and the varna (literally colour; it refers to traditional four-fold occupational division within the Hindu social order) based system of social hierarchy on the other. In fact, for India the crisis is not only confined to the forces emanating from the sphere of the market. It is equally severe, perhaps more, as far as its caste based social order is concerned. The market and the caste when combined make a deadly concoction for the crisis managers to tackle effectively.

In the absence of an egalitarian alternative to the structures of domination, the human face of globalisation based on global governance makes no difference for the marginalised who continue to be afflicted in the gas chambers of gender, caste and class. The market has failed to liberate them. Moreover, it has further pinned them down. They are not welcomed in the sphere of market as equal partners of profit. In other words, the market too practices untouchability, albeit in a different form. They feel alienated in their own world of creation. How strong can the global market be, in the long run? It will not survive until and unless the question of the marginals is addressed amicably. In fact, the question of equitable distribution of resources is closely related with the issue of the immediate and amicable redressal of the cause of the marginals and the socially excluded. They need not be provided with only cheap articles of provision of minimal use as have been popularly done in some Indian states. What seems to be essential is to empower them, to enhance their buying capacity in the real sense of the term, to dismantle the structures of economic and social dominations, and to remove the stresses of globalisation. “If we are not concerned of the stresses of globalisation, ideological counter-currents will emerge. Globalisation is not a bed of roses. There is a need to be watchful, always,” warned Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Tong-Boon Yeo at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit in Bangalore (The Hindu, March 19, 2007 ). In other words, a balance needs to be created between the forces of market and the principles of social justice. It is in this context that Baba Sahib Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s warning, as referred to in the beginning of the paper, assumed significant importance. The globalisation process has been compelling India to bind up as early as possible its social and economic justice project aims at empowering the Dalits. In other words, before social democracy could take firm roots in India , the state started rolling back from its commitment to facilitate the process of emancipation and empowerment of the downtrodden classes.

V) Globalisation, thus, poses a serious challenge to the formation of social democracy in India . It deepens the perennial evil of social exclusion through its much advertised project of new economic reforms, which in effect is less about ‘reforms, and more about ‘exclusion’. It has led the closer of various industrial units in the public sector that “played havoc with the employment scenario of the populace as a whole and of the Dalits in particular” (Puniyani 2002) This, in turn, has increased unemployment and poverty on the one hand, and widens the hiatus between the rich/upper castes and the poor/lower castes on the other. In the first decade of the new economic reforms in India , the ratio of both unemployment and poverty increased from 28 per cent in 1989 to 48 per cent in 1992. Since Dalits constitute the bulk of the poor and unemployed, they have suffered the most. Their chances of acquiring jobs in the high-tech industry at home as well as in the multinational corporations have been getting curtailed since the beginning of the process of globalisation in India . The system of primary and elementary education in the rural and urban settings has been subverted almost totally. Since, majority of the rich upper caste send their wards to the private/convent/public schools, government schools have been reduced into dysfunctional centres of learning for the poor Dalits. It is simply out of the reach of the matriculates of such neglected government schools, where hardly any infrastructure and teachers are available, to be able to compete for admission in the country’s prestigious Information Technology (IT) or management schools. Moreover, since the background of a majority of Dalit undergraduates is in Arts and Humanities, it becomes difficult for them to meet the job requirements of the multinational corporations. Even if some of the Dalits aspire to compete in the technology driven new job market, it would be, perhaps, out of their reach to acquire the requisite qualifications at exorbitant rates from the various engineering and management institutes. It is precisely due to these reasons that Dalits are rarely to be found in the prestigious management schools all over the country. Of course, to prove this point factually one has to conduct a detailed survey of the caste wise ratio of the intake in such institutions.

Moreover, another way through which the process of globalisation has been affecting the lives of the Dalits rather more severely is the transformation of their traditional hereditary occupations into lucrative profit seeking competitive avenues where they find themselves incapable of competing with the so called upper castes who until very recently used to consider such professions as polluting. In other words, when the occupations of sewage disposal, scavenging and raw hides were performed in the Jajmani (hereditary system of asymmetrical reciprocity and patronage between landlords and occupational experts) set up, bereft of profit incentive, Dalits were condemned and forced to take them up. But when these same occupations became profit-generating businesses, Dalits find themselves at odd in their own tested fields. It is in this context that the process of globalisation perpetuates the system of caste and inequality albeit in a new form. Instead of liberating them, it further pins them down. Earlier they were excluded and were condemned as shudras because of their closeness to the sewages, now it exclude them by way of defeating them in the profit oriented open market system of the neo-liberal economy. In fact, this market is open only for those who have the capital to play the profit game on the chessboard of its unrestrained competition. In this new profit driven game of the process of globalisation, Dalits – normally starved of capital – stand disqualified.

Yet another way through which the process of globalisation severely affects the lives of the Dalits is the accentuation of the phenomenon of their exclusion from land. Significant parts of the vast majority of them who live in villages are landless labourers. Only a small number of them are cultivators with marginal holdings. The large-scale landlessness on the part of the Dalits led to their dependence on the upper caste land owning communities, which in turn deepened the caste based inequalities with the additional burden of asymmetrical class structures. The neo-liberal economic policies adopted under the regimes of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation widen the already existing caste and class divisions between the Dalits and the dominant castes, and further minimises the chances of the emergence of the feelings of brotherhood among the peoples of different communities.

The forces of neo-liberal economy affect the Dalits in a number of ways. It makes a lot of difference to be a poor, living in a developing world and also belonging to a low caste. For instance, in Punjab, a poor Scheduled Caste landless agricultural labourer is distinguished from a poor but dominant caste landless agricultural labourer (landless peasant labourer) by the fact that he, along with his being economically deprived of, also suffers from social exclusion. In the case of a Scheduled Caste landless agricultural worker, his being deprived of land is to a large extent related with his social rank. This, in turn, also gets reflected in his economic status. In a broader context, the landlessness of the Scheduled Caste community has serious implications on its economic life. It has generally been observed that during a clash over wages between an agriculturist on the one hand, and landless but dominant caste agricultural labourers and landless Scheduled Caste agricultural labourers on the other, the agriculturalist imposes social boycott on the landless Scheduled Caste agricultural labourers in order to deny them an access to his green fields for fodder as well as to answer the call of nature in a rural setting. This does not apply on an equal scale to the landless dominant caste agricultural labourers, who lag behind their peer group economically, but enjoy a similar status socially. It is generally observed, that the agricultural labourers belonging to higher castes treated their fellow labourers of Scheduled Castes as social untouchables.

Atrocities against Dalits have also increased many folds. “Murders, grievous hurt, rape and other crimes all show close to a three-fold rise during the last decade and half” (Puniyani 2002). While speaking in a seminar on Reservation In Privatisation organised by the Ambedkar Trust (Jalandhar) Late Suraj Bhan, the then Chairman of the National Sc and ST Commission, commented that more than 45,000 cases of atrocities against Dalits and downtrodden have been registered in India during the past one year alone. However, if the numbers of those cases, which were either suppressed or went unnoticed, are included, the total figure could easily go up to one hundred thousand (The Tribune September 5, 2005). During 2003-05 the number of such atrocities against Dalits was 69,216 (Mungekar 2006). Atrocities against the Dalits occurred despite the existence of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, enacted in 1989 especially to act as a deterrent against physical, caste-based violence. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in its report on the Prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Castes released in 2002 pointed out that there was “virtually no monitoring of the implementation of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act at any level” (Narrain 2006). This clearly shows how vulnerable Dalits are in the face of globalisation.

Thus globalisation has sharpened the already existing contradictions between political equality on the one hand and social and economic inequality on the other. Dalits are now no longer confined to the rural settings and engrossed in a patron-client social set up only. Some of them were able to overcome the social and economic barriers thrown in their ways by the Brahmanical Social Order (BSO). They were also the ones who came forward to articulate the interests of their brethren and to some extant succeeded in providing them with an alternative leadership. Dalits who have once tasted the fruit of political equality can no longer be denied for long of social and economic justice. They constitute a large majority of the total population of India . How can India surge upward if it fails to care for the interest of its 16.23 per cent Scheduled Castes population (Census of India 2001), which can promptly swell further if clubbed with the population of different categories of Backward Castes and Scheduled Tribes? No doubt, that the Indian constitution contains many provisions, thanks to Baba Sahib Ambedkar’s efforts, but how much is really done for their upliftment is not an unknown fact. To quote Baba Sahib “that political power in this country has too long been the monopoly of a few and the many are not only beasts of burden, but also beasts of prey. This monopoly has not merely deprived them of their chance of betterment, it has sapped them of what may be called the significance of life”. Even after 60 years since Baba Sahib echoed that majority of the Scheduled Castes are still landless. No systematic efforts were being made for the implementation of the land reforms. Even the provisions of minimum wages were never adhered to. Moreover, in the name of so-called development these downtrodden people were further deprived of whatever little they have. In the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the latest in the showrooms of no-liberal economic market, there exist no space for them. These fabulous zones are yet to be tamed to welcome the presence of an Aam Admi.

But the reality is that the Aam Admi is tired of being governed, and is impatient to govern himself. Whatever little space was available to him where he felt the existence of some hope for his upliftment seems to be being snatched away by the process of globalisation. His patience and ‘urge for self-realization’ can no longer be tested more. Articulating the urge of the downtrodden for self-realization in his famous address on the completion of the Draft Constitution in 1949 Baba Sahib Ambedkar reflected: “It would lead to a division of the house. That would indeed be a day of disaster…Therefore, the sooner room is made for the realization of their aspiration, the better for the few, the better for the country, the better for the maintenance of its independence and better for the continuance of its democratic structure. This can be done by the establishment of equality and fraternity in all spheres of life”. Similar views were expressed after 50 years by K. R. Narayanan, the President of India, in his address to the nation on January 25, 2000: “Beware of the fury of the patient and long suffering people” (cited in Puri 2006: 7). The benefits of globalisation are yet to reach these ‘patient and long suffering people’ who never shirk from hard work and toiling labour. But the free market driven forces advocate the concerns of the rich and resourceful only. This widens the gap between the rich and the poor. The widening gap coupled with the rolling back of the state lead to further resentment and alienation among the downtrodden that in turn put pressure on the practice of democracy in the country (Singh 2006). Baba Sahib Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was very well aware, much in advance, about the serious implications of the lopsided development for the growth of democracy in a caste ridden country like India . He therefore underlined the utmost relevance of social democracy for deepening of the roots of democratic institutions in India . For that matter the safer route goes via complete annihilation of caste and in that the role of the state is of great importance. If globalisation means pushing the state out, then the future of the project of deepening of democracy seems to be bleak. It is in this context that the role of the state becomes very crucial more so for the empowerment of Dalits and the forces of peace and democracy. Peace and democracy is not only an issue of domestic concern of India alone. It is intrinsically tied with the larger issue of peace and stability in the entire South Asian region. It is through the agency of social Justice at the domestic level that peace and stability in the vast and multicultural region of south Asia could be achieved rather more successfully. I am confident that Dr. Ambedkar Day Annual International Seminar 0n: “Social Justice in South Asian Nation-States leads to Regional Satability” organised by Sir Ganga Ram Heritage Foundation (SGRHF) of Lahore under the leadership of its dynamic Director (Dr.) Mujahid Mansoori of The Punjab University Lahore.

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Posted on www.ambedkartimes.com (July 02, 2008)

News for www.ambedkartimes.com ‘s worthy writers, readers and well wishers News for www.ambedkartimes.com ‘s worthy writers, readers and well wishers: Dr. Ronki Ram, who is a Reader & Chairperson of department of political science, Panjab University Chandigarh and the person who has been writing for the English, Punjabi and Hindi newspapers and many other websites besides Ambedkartimes, is in Canada as of May 14th and will be visiting at the Ambedkartimes office in the United States on May 26 th, 2008. Prem Kumar Chumber (Editor) Posted on www.ambedkartimes.com (May 21, 2008) Curriculum Vitae Name: Ronki Ram Designation: Reader & Chairperson Institution: Department of political science, Panjab University , Chandigarh , India . Phones: (+91-172)-2541819, Res :( +91-172)-2541290, Cell :( +91) 9872861290, E-mail: ronkiram@yahoo.co.in Sex: Male, Marital Status: Married, Nationality: Indian, Languages known: English, Punjabi (Mother tongue) and Hindi. Academic Qualifications: PhD in International Studies (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1992), M Phil [1985] & MA in Political Science (Panjab University, Chandigarh, 1982), Advanced International Programme (Diploma) in Conflict Resolution (Uppsala University, Sweden 1993). Areas of Specialisation: Dalit Politics (special focus on Punjab ), International Relations Theory & Indian Political Thought.   Visits Abroad: Sweden , Estonia , Lithuania , the Netherlands , Canada , U.K. , and Pakistan . Member - Professional/Advisory/Editorial Boards: Member of the Board of Management of Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Mohali, sponsored by Ministry of HRD, (Department of Elementary Education and Literacy), Govt. of India, New Delhi. Member of the advisory Board of Human Rights Law Networking, Chandigarh . Member of Board of Finance, 2005-06, Panjab University , Chandigarh . Member of Organizing Committee of 10 th World Punjabi Conference, Chandigarh , May 28-30, 2004 . Life Member of North West Indian Sociological Association (NWISA). Member of Editorial Board of the Panjab University Research Journal (Arts). Honours and Awards: Chief Guest honour at the seminar on Bharat Ratan Baba Sahib Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Dalits and Globalisation, organized by Gramin Shikshan Vikas Sanghthan (GSVS) & National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR0, December 9, 2007 . Honoured at 7 th X-Mas celebrations, by National Christian League, Panjab University , Chandigarh , December 7, 2007 . Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Akademi conferred Bharat Rattan Dr. Ambedkar State Award at its 5 th State Conference of Dalit Writers, Mansa ( Punjab ), 16 September 2007 . Dr. Ambedkar Fellowship Sanman 2004 presented at 20 th National Dalit Sahitkar Sammelan organized by Bhartiya Dalit Sahit Academy, Delhi, 10-11 Dec. 2004. Chief Guest Honour at “Birthday Celebration of Babasaheb Ambedkar” organized by Ambedkar Mission Society, Sarmastpur, Jalandhar, 17 April 2004. Dr. Ambedkar Award (for outstanding and dedicated services to Dr. Ambedkar Mission) presented at International Dalit Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, and 16-18 May 2003 by Association for International Dalit Conference. Distinguished Guest honour at Birthday celebration of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, organized by Ambedkar Mission Society, Punjab (Regd.), Jalandhar, 14 April 2003. Appointments Reader in Political Science, P.U., Chandigarh from June 12, 2004 continuing. Lecturer in Political Science, P.U. Chandigarh from 25 March 1998 . Sr. lecturer w.e.f 25 th March 1999 . Lecturer in Gandhian Studies, Panjab University , Chandigarh , from June 12, 1995 to March 25, 1998 . Lecturer in Political Science, Goa University , Goa from Feb. 22, 1995 to June 10, 1995 Research Associate, SIS, CIPOD, JNU, New Delhi , July 21, 1992 to May 31,1995 . Senior Research Assistant, SIS, CIPOD, JNU, New Delhi , Jan. 20, 1992 to June 19, 1992 . Research Investigator, Punjab State Institute of Public Administration, Chandigarh , Nov. 4, 1985 to June 3, 1986 . Papers Published : International “Social Exclusion, Resistance and Deras: Exploring the Myth of Casteless Sikh Society in Punjab ”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.42, No.40, October 6-12, 2007 , pp.4066-74. “Capital versus Labour: Globalisation, Marginalised and Crisis of Governance”, Man & Development, Vol. XXIX, No. 2, June 2007, pp. 5-28 [included in Parliamentary Documentation Vol. 33, No.15, August 1-15, 2007]. “Untouchability in India with a Difference: Ad Dharm, Dalit Assertion and Caste Conflicts in Punjab ”, Asian Survey, ( Berkeley ) Vol.XLIV, No.6, November-December 2004 pp.895-912 [abstracted in Centre de Documentation Regards, Religion Compass Online, CSA Illumina]. Also included in the course POLS 298.3 Turmoil and Change: Politics in Modern India, Dept. of Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan , Canada , Summer Study/ Travel Program 2006. “Untouchability, Dalit Consciousness, and the Ad Dharm movement in Punjab ”, Contributions to Indian Sociology (sage) [n. s.], Vol.38, No.3, September-December 2004, pp.323-349 [one of “The 50 Most-Frequently Read Articles in Contributions to Indian Sociology during June –September 2007]. “The Dalit Sikhs”, Dalit International Newsletter ( Waterford USA ) Vol. 9, No.3 October 2004. “Limits of Untouchability, Dalit Assertion and Caste Violence in Punjab ”, in Harish K. Puri, ed., Dalits in Regional Context (Jaipur: Rawat, 2004), pp. 132-189. “Punjabi Dalit Parivas: Chetna Ate Sangharsh” (Punjabi Dalit Diaspora: Consciousness and Struggle), South-Asian Review (Prince George, B.C.), September 2006, pp. 22-25 & 29 [also serialized in Amritsar Timeswww.amritsartimes.com (California), August 2-8, August 9-15, and August 16-22, 2006; Nisot, October-December, 2006www.nisot.com (Canada); Hashia(Patiala), Vol.1, January-March 2008, pp.98-110. ]. National “Vishvikaran Noo Pachhere Mulkan Vich Samjhan Da Masla” (Understanding Globalisation in Under-developed Countries), in Bhim Inder Singh, ed., Vishvikaran: Vishleshan Ate Vivechan [Globalisation: Description and Analysis] (Jalandhar: Kuknus, 2006), pp. 62-69. “Ajoke Punjab wich Dalit Sathiti ate Chetna: Rajnitak Mulankan” (Dalit Position and Consciousness in Contemporary Punjab: Political Analysis), in Dhanwant Kaur and Jaswinder Kaur Maangat [eds.], Samkali Punjabi Samaj [Contemporary Punjabi Society], ( Patiala : Punjabi University Publication Bureau, 2006), pp. 51-55. “Afro-Asian Dialogue: Contesting Globalisation in the Periphery”, in Gopal Singh and Ramesh K. Chauhan (ed.), South Asia Today , ( New Delhi : Anamika: 2005). “Punjabi Quam, Dalit Mukti Ate Shaktikaran” (Punjabi Nationality, Dalit Emancipation and Empowerment), South Asian Review ( Prince George , B.C.) May 2005, pp. 7-12 [also published in Bhim Inder Singh, ed. Dalit Chintan: Marxi Pripekh (Marxist Perspective of Dalit Thought), (Jalandhar: Kukness Prakashan: 2005), pp. 50-63]. “Spiritual Regeneration, Guru Ravidass and Dera Sach Khand Ballan”, Begumpura Souvenir 2004 (Jalandhar: Dera Sach Khand Ballan, 2004), pp. 117-122 [also carried in two installments in Begumpura Shaher (Jalandhar), No. 7, June 14, 2004, p. 10 and No. 8, June 21, 2004, pp. 6-7]. “Role of Ad Dharmis: Chamar Protest in Punjab is linked to Talhan Caste Violence”. Dalit Voice, Vol. 23, No. 4, February 16-29, 2004 , pp. 11-12 [also carried in two installments in Begumpura Shaher, No. 48, March 29, 2004 , p. 9 and No. 49, April 5, 2004 , p. 9]. "From the Anarchy to Anarchy: State and Governance Problematique", the IndianJournal of Political Science, Vol. 62, No. 4, December 2001, pp. 520-531. "From Servitude To Assertion: Ambedkar's Subaltern Approach To Nationalism and Dalit Liberation", Social Sciences Research Journal, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2001, pp. 146-170 [also available in www.ambedkartimes.com and in abridged version at www.ambedkar.org ]. “Power v/s Dialogue: Gandhian Dialectic and Conflict Resolution”, Social Sciences Research Journal, vol. 7, Nos. 1 & 2, 1999, pp. 103-123. “What does Gandhi mean to the Youth?” Journal of Peace and Gandhian Studies, Vol. I, No. 2, January-March 1996, pp.75-78. Popular Articles in Weeklies and Newspapers “Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh atey Dalit Masley da Hal” [Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and Resolution of the Dalit Question], Begumpura Shaher, December 10, 2007 . “Punjabian dey Jaat-paati Maslayan”, Punjabi Tribune, November 11, 2007 . “A Conflict of New Assertions”, Tehelka, Vol. 4, Issue 27, July 8-14, 2007 [Cited in EPW, Vol.42, No.40, October 6-12, 2007 , p.4065]. “Catastrophe in Making: Religion, Deras, and Dalits in Punjab ”, World Sikh News, June 13-19, 2007 . “Babu Mangoo Ram and Emancipation of the Dalits - I”, World Sikh News, June 6-12, 2007 . “Babu Mangoo Ram and Emancipation of the Dalits - II”, World Sikh News, May 30-June5, 2007. “The Elephant and the Broken Pyramid: Mayawati’s Victory Promises a new Construct for our Democracy”, Tehelka, Vol. 4, Issue 21, May 27- June 2, 2007 . “Mayawati and the Second Socio-cultural Revolution in UP”, World Sikh News, May16-22, 2007. “Punjab Vich Daltan di Rajnitak Sathithi”, Punjabi Tribune, March 19, 2007 . “Guru Ravidass: Prophet of Dalit Consciousness”, World Sikh News ( California ), February 14-20, 2007 . Also carried in Voice of Buddha ( New Delhi ), February 16-29, 2008 . “Punjabi Parvasi Dalit Chetna”, Punjabi Tribune, September 13, 2006 . “Baba Sahib Ambedkar, Samajak Samanta atey Loktantar”, Punjabi Tribune, April 13, 2006 . “Punjabi Quam vich Dalit Bhrama de Puchch-parteet kyon Nahin”, Punjabi Tribune, July 27, 2004 . “Punjabi Boli Satta de Galiarian to duur duur Kyon”, Punjabi Tribune, July 26, 2004 .   Book Reviews: Sundeep Waslekar, A Handbook for Conflict Resolution in South Asia, Delhi: Konark Publications, 1996, Journal of Peace and Gandhian Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1, Oct.-Dec. 1997, pp. 94-7. Sardara Singh Mahil, Sansar Viopar Sangathan atye Zrai Sankant (World Trade Organisation and Agrarian Crisis), Jalandhar: Kuknus, 2005, Amritsar Times www.amritsartimes.com ( California ), February 21-27, 2007 . Gopal Guru (ed.), Atrophy in Dalit Politics, Mumbai: Vikas Adhyayan Kendra, 2005, The Book Review, Vol. XXXII, No. 1, January 2008, pp.25-27.   Citations in Journals/Books:   “Social Exclusion, Resistance and Deras: Exploring the Myth of Casteless Sikh Society in Punjab ”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.42, No.40, October 6-12, 2007 , pp.4066-74 [Cited in Seminar 581, January 2008, p. 54]. “A Conflict of New Assertions”, Tehelka, Vol. 4, Issue 27, July 8-14, 2007 [Citedin EPW, Vol.42, No.40, October 6-12, 2007 , p.4065]. “Untouchability in India with a Difference: Ad Dharm, Dalit Assertion and Caste Conflicts in Punjab”, Asian Survey, (Berkeley) Vol.XLIV, No.6, November-December 2004 pp.895-912 [cited in EPW, Vol. XLI, No. 24, June 17, 2006, p. 2479]. “Untouchability, Dalit Consciousness, and the Ad Dharm movement in Punjab ”, Contributions to Indian Sociology (sage) [n. s.], Vol.38, No.3, September-December 2004, pp.323-349. [Cited in EPW, October 27, 2007 , p.21; http://www.ediindia.org/Creed/data\Gurpreet%20Bal.htm (October 19. 2007), also one of the 50 Most-Frequently Read Articlesin Contributions to Indian Sociology continuously for the months of June –September 2007]. “The Dalit Sikhs”, Dalit International Newsletter ( Waterford USA ) Vol. 9, No.3 October 2004 [cited inhttp://www.ambedkartimes.com/raju_kamble.htm ( October 19, 2007 ). “Limits of Untouchability, Dalit Assertion and Caste Violence in Punjab ”, in Harish K. Puri, ed., Dalits in Regional Context (Jaipur: Rawat, 2004), pp. 132-189 [cited in Global Networks (Blackwell) Vol. 7, No. 3, July 2007, p. 331]. Paper presented on Dalit Assertion and Social Conflicts in Punjab, February 8-9, 2006, at Seminar on Politics in North-West India: Emerging Trends and Changing Patterns, organized by Department of correspondence Courses, Punjabi University, Patiala [cited in Diviner – A Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 2, Feb-July 2007, pp.128 & 134]. “Making Sense of Caste Violence in Talhan: A View from Within”, presented at Regional Seminar on Media and Communal Harmony in Multi-Cultural Society, organized by IDC, Chandigarh in association with Press Institute of India, New Delhi, Communication Management Foundation, New Delhi and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, New Delhi, September 27-28, 2003 [cited in John C.B. Webster, “The Dalit Sikhs: A History”, in Tony Ballantyne (ed), Textures of the Sikh Past (New Delhi: OUP, 2007), p. 148]. Paper presented on Reading Caste with Ambedkar, at Weekly Seminar, of the Dept. of Sociology, Panjab University , Chandigarh January 23, 2002 [cited in Indian Social Science Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, July-December 2005, p.117]. Paper presented on Untouchability and the question of Dalit Identity: A Critique of Ad Dharam Movement at National Seminar on Liberalistion, Dalits and the State, organized by the Department of Sociology, Panjab University , Chandigarh , May 3-4, 2001 [cited in EPW Vol. 37, No. 3, August 3-9, 2002 , p. 3245 ]. Papers Presented at Seminars/Conferences/Workshops: International “Punjabi Sabhiachar, Punjabi Bolie atey Punjabi Darshan”, presented at The First Panjab University World Punjabi Conference, Chandigarh , March 30-31, 2008 . “Punjabi Quam dae Jati ate Jamati Masley” presented at 3 rd World Punjabi Conference, organized by South Asian Review ( Prince George ), Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall, Jalandhar, Punjab , February 15-18, 2007 . “Punjabi Dalit Parivas: Chetna Ate Sangharsh” presented at 22 nd international Punjabi Development Conference, organized by the Department of Punjabi Languages, Punjabi University, Patiala, February 1-3, 2006. “Contemporary Society and Political Analysis” presented at 21 st International Punjabi Development Conference, organized by The Department of Punjabi Languages, Punjabi University , Patiala , March 10-12, 2005 . “Burden of Past and Vision of Equality: Political Sociology of Jat-Dalit Conflicts” presented at International Conference on Punjab Peasantry in Turmoil, organized by Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Punjabi University, Patiala, January 27-28, 2005 [also available at www.ambedkartimes.com] "Punjabi Nation and Dalit Emancipation" (Punjabi), presented at Second World Punjabi Conference, organized by the South Asian Review and Sahit Sabha, Prince George, Canada, June 28-July 1, 2003. "Contextualising Ad Dharm Movement (Punjab): Dalit Consciousness, Social Justice and Cultural Transformation", presented at International Dalit Conference, organized by Association for International Dalit Conference Inc., Vancouver, Canada, May 16-18, 2003. “Agenda for Conflict Resolution: Theoretical Dimensions”, paper presented at International Seminar on Violence in India: Prospect and Prognosis organized by Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh , January 18-20, 1998 . “Domestic Challenges to World Peace: Crumbling Borders between Domestic and International Politics”, paper presented at International Seminar on Geo-Politics of Peace, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, January 16-18, 1988. National Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Social Democracy, Globalisation and Dalits in India ”, presented at National seminar on Development Experience of Dalits in India : the Unresolved Issues in Democracy, Equality and Freedom, organized by Dept. of Sociology, Himachal Pradesh University , Shimla, March 28-29, 2008 (on March 29). “Regional Specificities, Caste Hierarchies Dalit Politics in Punjab ”, presented at National seminar on Socio-Economic & Political Transformation of Dalits and the State in India : A Geographical Appraisal, organized by Dept. of Geography, Panjab University , Chandigarh , March 17-18, 2008 (on March 17). “Punjab Vich Dalit Chetna de Sroot” [Sources of Dalit Consciousness in Punjab], presented at seminar on Dalit Chetna in Punjab, organized by Dalit Chetna Manch Punjab Regd., Mohali, January 20, 2008. “Self Versus Other: Morality in Public Life”, presented at national seminar on Morality and Public Life, organized by Department of Philosophy, Panjab University, Chandigarh, January, 17-18, 2008 (on 18 th January, also Chaired the fifth session the same day). “Right to Information Act 2005 and Good Governance”, presented at seminar on Right to Information, organized by The Political Science Department of S.G.G.S. Khalsa College, Mahilpur, January 11, 2008 . “Understanding Dalit Assertion in Punjab ”, presented at seminar on Ikyvi Saadi Vich Parvesh Kar Raeha Punjab: Samaj de Saravpakhi Vikas de Sandarab Vich, organized by Punjab Basha Academy and Punjab Academy of Social Sciences, Literature and Culture, Jalandhar, November 24-25, 2007 . “Understanding Dalit Assertion in North India ”, presented at seminar on Samkalin Bharatiya Sahitya Mein Samajik Nayaya Ki Avadharana: Vishesh Sandarbh Dalit Sahitya, organised by IIAS, Shimla, November 14-16, 2007 (also chaired the Sixth Session: Poetry, Fiction: Realism, Rebellion and Interrogation). “Status of Human Rights of Dalits in Punjab ”, presented at Workshop-cum-consultancy on Dalit Rights, organised by Human Rights Law Networking Chandigarh, October 28, 2007 . “Shaheed-e-Azam “Bhagat Singh and the Question of Untouchability”, presented at seminar on Bhagat Singh and his Legends, organised by the World Punjabi Centre, Punjabi University Patiala, October 22-23, 2007 . “Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Social Justice”, presented at seminar dedicated to the Birth Anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, organized by Dr. Ambedkar Chetna Society, Banga, April 29, 2007 . “Globalisation, Dalits and Labour”, presented at seminar on Labourer, Labour and Globalisation, organized by Dalit Chetna Manch Punjab (Regd), April 28, 2007 . “Social Exclusion and Dalits in Punjab ”, presented at National seminar on Social Exclusion, State and Globalisation, organized by Ambedkar Centre, Panjab University , Chandigarh , March 29-30, 2007 . “Human Rights and Dalit Consciousness in Punjab ”, presented at UGC sponsored National seminar on Human Rights and Duties Education, organized by Khalsa College Amritsar, March 23, 2007 . “ Situating Subordination in Regions within a Region: Dilemmas of Dalit Solidarity in East Punjab” presented at National seminar on Regions within Regions: Rethinking State Politics in India, organized by Dept. of Political Science, Panjab University, February 26-27, 2007. “Contesting Globalisation in the Periphery”, presented at seminar on Globalisation, Social Institutions and Values, organized by Dev Samaj College for Women, Chandigarh , February 3, 2007 . “Patterns of Dalit Population in Punjab”, presented at National seminar on Population, Environment and Development in the Northwestern India, organized by the Dept. of Geography, Panjab University, Chandigarh, February 1- 2, 2007. “Identity Formation Among the Dalits of Punjab : Some Critical Reflections”, presented at UGC sponsored National seminar on Participatory Democracy: New Context, New Challenges – Inclusion and Exclusion, organised by Dept. of Correspondence Studies, PU, Chandigarh , January 23-24, 2007 . “Ad Dharm Movement and Dalit Consciousness in Punjab ”, presented at a National seminar on India since the 1990s and Social Science Research, organised by ICSSR ( North-Western Regional Center ), PU, Chandigarh , January 18-19, 2007 . “Human Rights: Dalit Consciousness and Caste Conflicts in Punjab”, presented at UGC sponsored National seminar on Status of Human Rights in Punjab, organised by Lajpat Rai DAV College Jagraon, November 30 -December 1, 2006. “Human Rights: Dalit Consciousness and Caste Conflicts in Punjab”, presented at a UGC sponsored National seminar on Evolution of the Concept of Human Rights and Emerging Dimension of Human Rights, organised by Shri Guru Gobind Singh College, Chandigarh, November 29-30, 2006 (presented on 29 th November, 2006). “World Punjabi Conferences and Indo-Pak Cooperation”, presented at UGC sponsored seminar on Conflicts and Cooperation in South-Asia, organised by R.R.M.K. Arya Mahila Mahavidyala, Pathankot, November 25-26, 2006 (presented on 25 th November, 2006 ). “Critically Analyzing Human Rights: Trends and Dimensions”, presented at UGC Sponsored National Seminar on Human Rights, organized by SDSPM College for Women, Rayya (Amritsar), October 28,2006. “Spiritual Regeneration, Dalit Consciousness and Dera Sach Khand Ballan”, presented at Seminar on Pirs, Sants and Babas of Punjab: Their Role in Social, Religious and Political Spheres, organized by RSD College, Ferozepur City, March 4, 2006. “Human Rights, Civil Society and Democracy”, presented at Seminar on Is Terrorism a Threat to Indian Democracy? Organized by Department of Political Science, Guru Nank College , Muktsar, February 21-22, 2006 . “Contesting the ‘Essential’: Relocating Dalits in India’s Globality” presented at National Seminar on India’s Globality: Politics of Resistance, Recovery, Relocation and Reinvention, organized by Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh (UGC Special Assistance Program), February 9-10, 2006. “Dalit Assertion and Social Conflicts in Punjab” presented at Seminar on Politics in North-West India: Emerging Trends and Changing Patterns, organized by Department of correspondence Courses, Punjabi University, Patiala, February 8-9, 2006 (present on February 8, 2006) [cited in Diviner – A Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 2, Feb-July 2007, pp.128 & 134]. “Dalit Identity Formation in Punjab : Cultural Transformation, Spiritual regeneration and Political Assertion” presented at Seminar on Dalit Identitywith Special reference to Punjab , organized by Govt. college for Women, Ludhiana on January 18, 2006 . “Punjabi Sahit Sabhayachar Paripekh”, presented at Seminar on Vishav Vatavaran: Sambhal Ate Chunotiyan, organized by Samvedna, Chandigarh , December 16, 2005 . “Dalit Consciousness and Challenges of Democracy in India ”, presented at National Seminar on Democracy and Civil Society:Salient Issues for North Western India, organized by Dept. of Philosophy, Panjab University , Chandigarh , September 19-20, 2005 . “Dalit Manukh Da Bavikh Ate Jota Vitkara” presented at Seminar organized by Dalit Chetna Manch Punjab at Bakarpur, Mohali, May 8, 2005 . “Understanding Globalization in the Periphery”, presented at National Seminar on Globalization: Prospects and Challenges for India, organized by Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, Feb. 19, 2005 . “Myths, Worship and Syncretic Religion – A Study of Perceptions in Doaba Punjab, presented at the Weekly Research Seminar, organizedd by Department of Sociology, P. U. Chandigarh, February 2,2005 “Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Dalit Consciousness”, presented at Seminar on The Role of Sikhs ad Dalits in the Future of South-Asian Sub-Continent, organized by Department of Philosophy and Sikh Student Federation, January 19, 2005 . “Critically Analyzing Regionalism in the Context of Globalization”, presented at National Seminar on Regionalism – A threat to Indian Nation-state (in the context of North-western States), organized by Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana, November 29-30, 2004 (presented on 30 November). “Social Transformation and Empowerment of Dalits and Women at the Grass-root” presented at Workshop on The Empowerment of Dalits and Women through Reservation in Panchayati Raj Institution of North-west India, organized by Ambedkar Center , Department of Sociology, P. U. Chandigarh, November 29-30, 2004 (presented on 29 November). “Understanding Social Injustice in India ”, presented at Seminar on Justice to Weaker Section of the Society, organized by Chandigarh People’s Welfare Forum and Punjab and Haryana High Court Advocates’ Committee on Judicial Accountability, Chandigarh , November 6, 2004 . “Dalit Consciousness and Literature in Punjab ”, presented at National Seminar on Creativity and the State in Contemporary India, organized by IIAS, Shimla at India International Center , New Delhi , April 25-26, 2004 . “Dalit Assertion and Caste Conflicts in Punjab ”, presented at Workshop on Dalit Assertion and Emerging Politics in Punjab and Haryana, organized by Ambedkar Center and Department of Sociology, P.U., Chandigarh , March 19, 2004 . “Dalit Consciousness in Punjab: Spiritual Regeneration, Guru Ravidass and Dera Sach Khand Ballan”, presented at National Seminar on State Politics: Analysing the Emerging Trends, Organized by Department of Political Science, P.U., Chandigarh, March 17-18, 2004. “Human Rights in Punjab with Special Reference to the Dalits”, presented at National Seminar on Human Rights Today: India’s Quest for A New Moral Bedrock, organized by Department of philosophy, P.U., Chandigarh , February 19-20, 2004 . “Expanding Individual in Shrinking Familial Space: Dilemmas of Family in Contemporary India”, presented at National Seminar on Family in Contemporary India: Changes and Challenges, organized by Department of Sociology, P.U., Chandigarh, February 12-14, 2004. “Higher Education And the Downtrodden: Emancipation V/S Employment” presented at Seminar on Quality of Higher Education in India: The Challenge of Change, organized by Panjab University , Chandigarh , November 18-19, 2003 . “Dalit Sikhs and Dalit Consciousness in Punjab ”’ presented at the Weekly Research Seminar, organized by Department of Sociology, Chandigarh , November 5, 2003 “Making Sense of Caste Violence in Talhan: A View from Within”, presented at Regional Seminar on Media and Communal Harmony in Multi-Cultural Society, organized by IDC, Chandigarh in association with Press Institute of India, New Delhi, Communication Management Foundation, New Delhi and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, New Delhi, September 27-28, 2003 [cited in John C.B. Webster, “The Dalit Sikhs: A History”, in Tony Ballantyne (ed), Textures of the Sikh Past (New Delhi: OUP), p. 148]. “Globalization And Marginals: From Market to Governance”, presented at National Seminar on Globalization and The Underprivileged: Perceptions, Fears and Consequences, organized by Department of Sociology, Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, February 8-9, 2003. “Capital V/S Labour: Globalisation or ‘Workers of the World Unite’ ”, presented at Seminar on Globalisation and Political Economy of North-West India, organized by Department of Political Science, SGGS College , Chandigarh , December 6-7, 2002 . “Reading Caste with Ambedkar”, presented at Weekly Research Seminar, organized by Dept. of Sociology, Panjab University , Chandigarh , January 23, 2002 [cited in Indian Social Science Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, July-December 2005, p.117]. “Untouchability and the question of Dalit Identity: A Critique of Ad Dharam Movement”, presented at National Seminar on Liberalistion, Dalits and the State, organized by the Department of Sociology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, May 3-4, 2001 [cited in EPW Vol. 37, No. 3, August 3-9, 2002, p. 3245]. “Indian Renaissance, Dalit Consciousness and Politics of Situational Response”, paper presented at Seminar on Dalit Consciousness and Social Change in Punjab, sponsored by Department of Welfare of SCs and BCs, Punjab, organized by School of Punjabi Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Nov. 29-30, 1999. “Region-Religion Problematique” Paper Presented at National Seminar on Dynamics of Regional Politics in the States of North-West India, organized by the Deptt. of Political Science, Panjab University , Chandigarh on March 26-27,1998 . Urbanization, Urban Youth Conflicts and Conflict Resolution”, Paper presented at National Symposium on Youth in Urban Areas, organized by IDC, Chandigarh , February 3-5, 1997 . “Conflict Prevention and Resolution: Prospects for Peace” (co-authored), paper presented at Deptt. of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University , Sweden , May 21, 1993. Participation in Seminars/Conferences/Workshops : International International Seminar on Bhagat Singh and his Times organised by Indian Council of Historical Research in collaboration with the Institute of Punjab Studies , Chandigarh , September 27-29. 2007. International Conference on Exploring the Possibilities of Cooperation in Global Context organised by World Punjabi Centre, Punjabi University , Patiala , December 26-28, 2006 . 23 rd International Punjabi Development Conference organised by Dept. of Development of Punjabi Language, Punjabi University , Patiala , December 14-16, 2006 . International Conference on Contribution of Different Faiths and Communities for World Peace, organized by Christian Institute for Religious Studies, Baring Union Christian College, Batala, September 20, 2006. International Seminar on NGOs and Women’s Empowerment: Indian and Canadian Experiences, organized by Canadian Study Center and ICSSR, North-West Regional Center, Panjab University, Chandigarh, February 23-24, 2006. International Consultation on Identifying Peace Issues for Research in South Asia organized by Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh , December 5-7, 2005 . International Seminar on Creative Forms of Punjabi Culture, organized by Punjabi Academy, Delhi and DCC, P. U. Chandigarh, February 28-March 1, 2005. World Punjabi Conference, 2004 , organized by Punjabi University , Patiala , December 1-3, 2004 . Tenth World Punjabi Conference, Chandigarh, May 28-30, 2004, (Panelist in the panel discussion on Economic Cooperation, between the two Punjab: A Burning issue). World Punjabi Conference, organized by World Punjabi Congress Committee, Lahore, January 29-31, 2004. International seminar on Mid-West and Central Asia , organized by P.U., and IIAS, Shimla at Chandigarh , January 21-23, 2004 . International Seminar on the Life, Teachings and Philosophy of Sri Guru Ravidas Ji, organized by Sri Guru Ravidas Foundation, India , Panjab University , Chandigarh , August 16, 2003 . International Seminar on Science, Technology and Society, organized by Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh, January 29-31, 2003. Roundtable on Power Cycle Theory: War and Peace in South Asia, organized by Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, November 19-20, 2002. International Conference on Rethinking Boundaries: Geopolitics, Identities and Sustainability, organized by Center for the Study of Geopolitics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, February 21-26, 2000. International Seminar on Political Landscapeson the Threshold of 21 st Century and Emerging Patterns , organized by I.G.U. Commission on the World Political Map at Panjab University , Chandigarh , on December 13-15, 1999 . International Seminar on Globalizations and India organized by SIS, JNU, New Delhi , January 14-17, 1999 . International Round Table Conference on India and Hungary : Perspectives on the Changing World Order , Center for Russian, Central Asian and East European Studies, SIS, JNU, New Delhi , November 17-18, 1998 . National National seminar on The Other Side of Politics: People’s Movements in India, organised by Dept. of Political Science, Panjab University Chandigarh, March 14-14, 2008 (chaired a session on March14). National seminar on Indian Ideas of Freedom, organized by Dept. of Political Science (UGC Special Assistance Programme) Panjab University Chandigarh & ICSSR Northwest Regional Centre, February 21-23, 2008. National seminar on Person, Consciousness and Culture, organized by Department of Philosophy, Panjab University, Chandigarh, February 6-8, 2008. National seminar on Ideological and Cultural Significance of Guru Nanak Bani in the Present Scenario, organized by Guru Nanak Sikh Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh in collaboration with Harayana Punjabi Sahit Academy & ICSSR, Chandigarh, December 6, 2007. U.G.C. sponsored seminar on Consciousness, Culture and Creativity: Indian and Western Perspectives, organized by Department of Philosophy, Panjab University Chandigarh, December 4-5, 2007. Regional Workshop on Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, organized by Women’s Resource and Advocacy Centre, Chandigarh, November 22-23, 2007. Roundtable Discussion on Agrarian Crisis and Food Security of India, organized by IDC, Chandigarh, November 17, 2007. National seminar on The Contribution of the Udasis to Sikh History, organised by Gobind Sadan Institute for Advanced Studies in Comparative Religions, New Delhi, September 21, 2007. National seminar on Science and Spirituality in the Indian Context, organized by Dept. of Philosophy, Panjab University, Chandigarh, August 9-10, 2007. Seminar on India Envisioned by Ambedkar, organized by Ambedkar Social Justice Forum India (Regd), Chandigarh, March 24, 2007. National Seminar on Moral Goodness and Human Nature, organized by Dept. of Philosophy, Panjab University, Chandigarh, March 14-15, 2007. National seminar on Ideological & Cultural Perspective of Guru Arjan’s Bani, organized by Guru Nanak Sikh Studies, Panjab University, in collaboration with Punjabi Akademy, Delhi & ICSSR Northwestern Regional Centre Chandigarh, March 8-9, 2007. National Seminar on Foundations of Social Life in India: Cultural, Aesthetic and Religious, organised by Department of Philosophy, P.U., Chandigarh, December 6-8, 2006. Seminar on Impact of Globalization on the Landless Dalit Workers, organized by Punjab Khet Majdoor Union, Dehati Majdoor Sabha, Punjab and Pendo Majdoor Union (Mashal), on October 25, 2006. Seminar on Why Babasaheb Embraced Buddhism organised by Dr. Ambedkar Study Circle (Regd.), Chandigarh, October 14, 2006. National seminar on The Life, Teaching and Philosophy of Shri Guru Ravidass Ji, organised by Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha (Regd.), PGI, Chandigarh, September 15, 2006. Seminar on The present Economic Condition of Punjab and the Future of Dalits, organized by Dalit Chetna Manch, Punjab (Regd.) at Mohali, April 28, 2006. Seminar on Values from Different Perspectives, organized by Department of Philosophy, Panjab University, Chandigarh, March 27-28, 2006 (participated on March 27 th, 2006). Seminar on Life and Philosophy of Baba Saheb B. R. Ambedkar, organisd by Dr. Ambedkar Chetna Society, Banga, April 16, 2006. National Seminar on Technology and Society – Issues and Interface with Special Reference to India, organized by department of Sociology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, March 16-17, 2006. Workshop on Economic and Social Backwardness Among Sikhs, organized by Indian Social Institute and National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, New Delhi, February 17, 2006. Workshop on Dissemination on Punjab Human Development Report 2004, organized by Panjab University, Chandigarh, February 17-18, 2006 (participated on February 18, 2006). Seminar on The Role of Sufis in the Making of Medieval Punjab, organized by Dept. of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh, December 13-14, 2005. Conference on Samkali Sarokar: Samajik Sabhyacharak, Bhasha Ate Samaj-Vigyan Prasang Vich (Punjabi), organized by Punjab Academy of Social Sciences, Literature and Culture at Jalandhar, November 26-27, 2005. National Seminar on Life and Works of Maharishi Valmiki, organized by Panjab University, Chandigarh, October 13-15, 2005. National Seminar on Social transformation in North-Western India during the Twentieth Century, organized by Institute of Punjab Studies, Chandigarh, September 7-9, 2005. National Seminar on 400 year of Sri Guru Granth Sahib organized by Guru Nanak Sikh Studies, Panjab University , Chandigarh in collaboration with Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi , August 22-23, 2005 . (Participated on August 22, 2005 ). Social Scientists Meet on Emerging Problems of Social Sciences in the Context of Globalization organized by ICSSR (North – Western Regional Center ), Chandigarh , July 26, 2005 . Workshop on Measurement of Social Variables: Towards Standardization organized by Deptt. of Sociology and IASSI, New Delhi at Chandigarh , May 5-6, 2005. Workshop on Politics of Discourses on Secularism and Communalism: Implications for Research in History, organized by IDC, Chandigarh , April 21, 2005 . Seminar on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Philosophy and Dalit Liberation in India, organized by Deptt. of Sociology ( Ambedkar Center ) March 28, 2005 . National Seminar on Politics of Globalization, Identity and Development, organized by UGC Special Assistance Programme, Deptt. of Political Science P.U., Chandigarh , March 23-24, 2005 . Seminar on Comprehensive Security, organized by Delhi Policy Group and Panjab University, March 9, 2005. Seminar on The Role of Economy and Education in Social Equality in the Twenty-first Century, organized by the office of District Welfare Officer, Patiala, March 5, 2005. National Seminar on The Future of Rural Development in North-west India, organized by Department of Sociology, P. U. Chandigarh, February 24-25, 2005. A Seminar on Violence against Women in the State of Punjab, organized by Center for Women’s Studies and Development, P.U., Chandigarh , Feb. 7, 2005 . Seminar on Indo-Pak Relations, organized by Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak College for Girls, Muktsar, January 22. 2005. Regional Workshop on Autonomy of Higher Education Institutions, organized by Central Advisory Board of Education at P. U. Chandigarh, January 20-21, 2005. Seminar on Issues in Inter-Disciplinary Research: Special Context; Literature and Social Sciences, organized by ICSSR Chandigarh and Department of Hindi, P. U. Chandigarh, January 14-15, 2005. National Consultation on Police and Community Interface: Problematics and Remedies, organized by IDC, Chandigarh , December 12-13, 2004 . Seminar on Dalits’ Future, organized by Vigilant Brotherhood (International), December 4, 2004. National Seminar on 400 th Prakash Utsav of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, organized by Shri Guru Gobind Singh College , Chandigarh , November 6-7, 2004 , (participated on 7 th November). Seminar on Narrative Patterns of Contemporary Punjabi Novel, organized by Department of Evening, P. U. Chandigarh and International Center for Punjabi Studies at Chandigarh, October 31, 2004. Workshop on Social Empowerment through Information Technology organized by IDC Chandigarh, AMIC-India and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, New Delhi, at Chandigarh, September 22-23, 2004. Seminar on 400 years of Shri Guru Granth Sahib, organized by P. U. and ICSSR Chandigarh, September 21,2004. National Seminar on Sri Aurobindo’s Vision of the Future of Humanity, organized by Sri Aurobindo Society, Chandigarh, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and IIAS, Shimla, at Chandigarh, September 18-19, 2004. Seminar on Coalition Governments and Activities of Political Parties, organized by Punjab Academy of Social Sciences, Literature and Culture and Punjabi Bhasha Academy, Jalandhar at Chandigarh, April 18, 2004. Seminar on Rural Development, organized by Punjab Development Society and ICSSR North-Western Regional Center, P.U., Chandigarh, March 27-28, 2004. Seminar on Corruption and Quality of Governance, organized by Department of Public Administration, P.U., Chandigarh, March 13, 2004. Workshop on Impact of Special Component Plan on the Scheduled Castes in the State of Punjab-Measures for Effective Implementation, organized by Department of Sociology, P.U., Chandigarh and Department of Social Welfare, Govt. of Punjab, January 28-29, 2004. Workshop on Youth for Democracy, organized by Ambedkar Center, P.U., Chandigarh in collaboration with Indian Social Institute, New Delhi and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, New Delhi, October 30-31, 2003. Regional Seminar on Participatory Research and Agenda for Social Transformation, organized by PRIA, Haryana and Center for Women’s Studies and Development, P.U., Chandigarh, August 29-30, 2003. Seminar on Human Rights Awareness and Enforcement, organized by IGP, Ambala, Haryana, July 26, 2003. Symposium on the People of OBC Are Not Enemies, But Are Brothers of SC/ST and Minority Communities, organized by BAMCEF, Chandigarh , April 19, 2003 . Colloquium on Role of Youth In Building Bridges of Amity And Social Harmony, Organized by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Smriti, New Delhi and Yuvsatta, Chandigarh, April 13, 2003. Seminar on Marxwadi Sahit Aalochna Ate Samkali Sarokar, organized by Panjabi Sahitya Academy , Ludhiana , February 22-23, 2003 . Seminar on Rethinking Women: Culture, Literature and Media, organized by MCM DAV College for Women, Chandigarh , February 15, 2003 . Seminar on Dynamics of India's Security in the North Western Region: Challenges and Responses, organized by Center for Defense and National Security Studies, Panjab University, February 13-14, 2003. Symposium on Power, Violence and Society, organized by Punjab Academy of Social Sciences, Literature and Culture, and Punjabi Bhasha Academy, Jalandhar in collaboration with Indian Academy of Social Sciences, Allahabad, December 1, 2002 Seminar on Imperialist Globalization and Indian Response, organized by All India Peace and Solidarity Organization, Chandigarh, November 16, 2002. Seminar on Punjab Di Kisani Da Sankat (Crisis of Punjab Peasantry), organized by Punjab Academy of Social Sciences, Literature and Culture, Jalandhar, October 19-20, 2002. National Seminar on Science, Society, Values and Consciousness, organized by Panjab University, Chandigarh and Center for Studies in Civilizations, New Delhi, May 27-28, 2002. National Seminar on Democracy, Development and Discontent In South Asia, organized by Department of Political Science, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla on May 13-15, 2002. Seminar on Life and Philosophy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, organized by Ambedkar Institute, Mohali, April 29, 2002 . Seminar on History, Literature and Society: Treatment of Social Problems inPunjabi Fiction During the Twentieth Century, organized by Institute of Punjab Studies and Sheikh Baba Farid Chair, Panjab University, Chandigarh, April 19-21, 2002. Panel discussion on the Life, Mission and Works of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar , organized by Department of Laws, Panjab University , Chandigarh , March 30, 2002 . National Seminar on Rethinking Indian Foreign Policy, organized by Department of Political Science and Center for the Study of Geopolitics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, March 26, 2002. Seminar on Freedom From Socio-Cultural And economic Injustice, Organized by Department of political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, February 26-27, 2002. Seminar on Rethinking Indian Federalism with Special Reference to North-WesternRegion, organized by Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, January 28, 2002. Bhopal Conference on Charting a New Course for Dalits for the 21 st Century, organized by Madhya Pradesh Government, Bhopal, January 12-13, 2002. Seminar on Punjab Wich Dalit Varg Di Sathiti, organized by Shergill Memorial College , Mukandpur (Nawanshahr), October 12, 2001 . Workshop on Female Foeticide/Infanticide, organized by Center for Women Studies and Development, Panjab University, August 29-30, 2001. Seminar on Regional Dialogue on Dimensions of Violence: Culture, Society and State, organized by Department of Sociology, Panjab University , Chandigarh , April 11-12, 2001 . Colloquium on Women & Peace, Organized by The British Council and Center for Women’s Studies and Development, University of Delhi, March 17-19, 2001. Seminar on Autonomy Debate in Comparative Perspective: J & K and Punjab, Organized by Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, March 12, 2001. Regional Workshop on Gender and Law Enforcement, sponsored by National Commission for Women, organized by Center for Women Studies and Development, Panjab University , on February 23-24, 2001 . Seminar on Prevention and Detention of Corruption, Organized by State Vigilance Bureau, Haryana, December 18, 2000 . Seminar on Autonomy: A Shift in Federal Equations – New Parameters, Organized by Govt. College for Women, Ludhiana, November 25, 2000. National Seminar on Social Transformation of Indian Society: Post-Independence Era, Organized by Department of Sociology, P. U. Chandigarh, March 9-11, 2000 . National Seminar on Economic Development and Social Transformation in Northwest India, organized by Department of Sociology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, February 11-13, 1999. National Conference on Globalisation and National Security, organized by Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, February 3-5, 1999. National Seminar on Dalit and Backward Castes Mobilization in Contemporary North India, organized by Department of Political Science, P.U. Chandigarh, December 4-5, 1998. Consultation Workshop on Police Reforms and Human Rights, IDC, Chandigarh , November 5, 1998 . National Seminar on Culture, History and Time, Deptt. of Philosophy, P.U. Chandigarh, October 10-11, 1998 . Workshop on Militancy affected by Children in Punjab , organized by Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh , May 16,1998 . National Seminar on Elimination of Inequality with Reference to Caste System in India , Deptt. of Philosophy, P.U. Chandigarh, March 9 -10, 1998. National Seminar on Culture and Development, Department of Sociology, Panjab University , Chandigarh , February 26-28, 1998 . Seminar on Urban Governance in Punjab Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi , (organized in Chandigarh ) November 21-22, 1997 . Workshop on Inter-State Migrant Labour Deptt. of Sociology, Panjab University , Chandigarh , on September 26-28, 1997 . National Seminar on Modes of Conflict Resolution and Gandhian Thought, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi , February 5-7,1997 . National Seminar on Gandhi in India Today , Deptt. of Gandhian Studies, Panjab University , Chandigarh , October 1-3, 1996 . National Seminar on M.N. Roy and the National Idea organized by National Integration Chair, Punjabi University, Patiala, September 16-17, 1996. Seminar on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Weaker Sections organized by the Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, June 21, 1996. IPSA Regional Conference on Democratization in Asia , Deptt. of Political Science, Panjab University , Chandigarh , January 28-31, 1996 . National Youth Colloquium on Gandhi organized by Gandhi Samriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi , December 15-17, 1995 . Seminar on Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi's Ideas Today, Deptt. of Political Science, Kurukshetra University , November 3-4, 1995 . National Workshop on Women Development and Gender Justice organized by Institute of Development and Communication, Chandigarh , September 25-27, 1995 . Thematic Approaches in International Relations , organized by School of International Studies , JNU and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, November 28 to December 10, 1988 . National Seminar on Dalit and Backward Castes Mobilization in Contemporary North India, organized by Department of Political Science, P.U. Chandigarh, December 4-5, 1998. Annual Extension Lectures on Major Issues in Contemporary International Relations, School of International Studies, JNU, 1987. Special/extension lectures, /Keynote addresses/Presided over/Seminar organized Extension lecture on: Civil Society and Governance, at Lovely Institute of Law, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, April 21, 2008. Extension lecture on: Dr. Ambedkar, Market and Caste, at 117 th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, organized by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Society (Emp.) Garhshankar (Hoshiarpur), April 18, 2008. Extension lecture on: Dr. Ambedkar and Social Justice, at 117 th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, organized by Ambedkar Sena, Phagwara (Kapurthala), April 14, 2008 (during night). Extension lecture on: Dr. Ambedkar and Social Democracy in India, at Janam Diwas of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Ji, organized by Ambedkar Force Punjab, Hoshiarpur, April 14, 2008. Extension lecture on: Violence, Structural Violence and Human Rights in India, at Refresher course on “Human Rights and Gender Studies”, organized by Department of Gandhian Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, March 7, 2008 Extension lecture on: Understanding Human Rights: Theoretical Dimensions, at Refresher course on “Human Rights and Gender Studies”, organized by Department of Gandhian Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, March 5, 2008. Extension lecture on: Understanding Democracy in India, organized by Dept. of Political Science, S.D. College for Women, Moga, February 19, 2008. Keynote address on National seminar on: Relevance of the Philosophy of Guru Ravidass Ji Today, organized by the History Association, JC DAV College, Dasuya (Hoshiarpur), February 28, 2008. Extension lecture on: Thinking World Polity: A Holistic View, organized by Forum for Integration of Science & Spirituality, Lajpat Rai Bhawan, Chandigarh, November 18, 2007. Presided over Guru Vandan-Chatra Abhinandan, organised by Bharat Vikas Parishad (regd.) Mohali, 29 September 2007 . Extension lecture on: Exploring Peace amidst Anarchy: World Polity – Form and Feasibility, organised by Forum for Integration of Science & Spirituality, Lajpat Rai Bhawan, Chandigarh, September 23, 2007, 2007. Extension lecture on: Baba Sahib Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Education and Dalit Emancipation, organized by the Dr. Ambedkar Chetna Manch (Regd.), Dinanagar (Gurdaspur, Punjab), September 2, 2007. Extension lecture on: Polity for Co-existence, organized by Forum for Integration of Science & Spirituality, Lajpat Rai Bhawan, Chandigarh, March 18, 2007. Resource person on UGC sponsored four-day workshop on the theme: Status of Human Rights in Punjab, organized by Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon, March 10-13, 2007 [participated on March 13]. Keynote address on UGC sponsored seminar on: Regionalism in Indian Politics, organized by SDAM College, Dinanagar, March 10, 2007. Extension Lecture on: Rawls’s Theory of Justice, organized by the Political Science Association of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, March 3, 2007. Resource person on the panel on: Promoting the Underclass – True Democracy: Giving Voice to the Poor, Rule of Law and the access to Justice in the Forum on Enlightened Development: Making Capitalism Inclusive, organized by Gobind Sadan Institute Forum on Development and Civil Society, New Delhi, February 23-24, 2007. Extension Lecturer on: Understanding Conflicts: Computer and Social Sciences Interface at Refresher Course on Computer Science and Information Technology, organized by Department of Computer Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh, December 18, 2006. Presided over 26th Annual Prize Distribution Function of the Mai Malan Educational Trust, Piplanwala, Hoshiarpur, 26 November 2006. Resource person on: Presentation of Research Problem/Project, in Panel discussion on March 31, 2006, at Training Program on: Research Methodology, The Emerging Needs in Designing and Implementing Research Proposals in Social Sciences, organized by ICSSR North-West Regional Center, PU, Chandigarh, March 27-31, 2006. Extension Lecture on: Political Culture and Democracy, organized by DM College, Moga, November 30, 2005. Extension lecture on: Conceptualizing Human Rights, at Refresher Course on Human Rights and Gender Issues, organized by Dept. of Sociology, Political Science, and Center for Women Studies and Development in collaboration with the Academic Staff College, P.U., Chandigarh, September 21, 2005. Extension Lecture on: Gos – NGOs: Supplementary – Complementary Partnership, Current and Emerging Economic and Social Issues, organized by Society For Service to Voluntary Agencies (North)- Punjab, at Chandigarh, September 20, 2005. Extension Lecture on: Philosophical Foundations of Social Sciences Research, at One Day Training Programme-cum-Seminar in Social Sciences, organized by S.G.G.S. College, Sector 26, Chandigarh, August 30, 2005. Extension Lecture on: Philosophical Foundations of Social Sciences Research, at One Day Training Programme-cum-Seminar in Social Sciences, organized by Guru Nanak College for Girls, Muktsar, August 23, 2005. Extension Lecture on: English and Indian Liberalism, organized by Political Science Association, Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, February 26, 2005. Extension Lecture on: Vichar Parivartan hee Harr Taran Dee Parivartanan da Mool hai (Punjabi) organized by BAMCEF Punjab Unit on its 14 th Punjab State Conference, Jalandhar, July 25, 2004 Extension Lecture on World Punjabi Conferences: An Analysis, organized by Sahit Chintan, Chandigarh, June 6 2004. Extension Lecture on Understanding Non-Violence and Peace with Mahatma Gandhi at Campaign for Peace, organized by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi and Yuvsatta, Chandigarh, May 3, 2004. Extension Lecture on: Birthday Celebration of Babasaheb Ambedkar organized by Ambedkar Mission Society, Sarmastpur, Jalandhar, April 17, 2004. Extension Lecture on: Scarcity in Abundance: Sarvodaya and Conflict Resolution at Consultation on Conflict Resolution: Developing Skills and Strategies Through Peaceful Means”, organized by IDC, Chandigarh and Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala university, Sweden, at Mohali, January 17, 2004. Extension lecture on Intervention Methods: Early Warning to Crisis Intervention at Consultation on Conflict Resolution: Developing Skills and Strategies Through Peaceful Means, Organized by IDC, Chandigarh and Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden, at Mohali, January 16, 2004. Extension Lecture on: Dalit Consciousness and Social Justice at convention on “Dalit Concerns” organized by Dalit Dastan Virodhi Aandolan, Phillaur and National Dalit Forum, Hyderabad at Chandigarh, November 12-13, 2003. Extension Lecture on “Concept of Political Socialization in the Age of Globalization”, organized by Department of Political Science, SCD Govt. College, November 3, 2003. Extension lecture on: B.R. Ambedkar and His Political Ideas, organized by Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak National College, Doraha ( Ludhiana), October 28, 2003. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Lecture on: Politics of Poona Pact, organized by Dr. Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA), P.U., Chandigarh, September 24, 2003. Distinguished Guest lecture on Birthday celebration of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, organized by Ambedkar Mission Society, Punjab (Regd.), Jalandhar, April 14, 2003. Extension Lecture on: A Gandhian Approach to Conflict Resolution at Colloquium, Role of Youth in Peace Building organized by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi, Dean Foreign Students and Yuvasatta at Chandigarh, April 13, 2003. Keynote address on the occasion of United Nations Day celebration, October 24, 2002, DAV College, Chandigarh. Extension Lecture on: Modern Indian Political Thought with Special Reference to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, organized by Dept. of Political Science, Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, September 3, 2002. Organized a Seminar on Social Oppression and the Emancipation Project, sponsored by Social Welfare Department, Chandigarh Administration, February 27-28, 2001. Posted on www.ambedkartimes.com (May 21, 2008)

MESSAGE ON

HUMAN RIGHTS OF DALITS IN INDIA

Message to be read at the meeting on Human Rights in India: The Issue of the Castes namely of the “Untouchable”, organized by the Indian Educational Mission Society in cooperation with the Centre for European Constitutional Law – The Mistocles and Dimitris Tsatsos Foundation, April 6, 2008, at Hotel Athens (Greece).

Dr. Ronki Ram,

Chairperson, Dept. of Political Science,

Panjab University , Chandigarh ( India ),

Email: ronkiram@yahoo.co.in Mobile : 91-987 286 1290

Untouchables were known by different names in different parts of the country. They were called Shudras, Atishudras, Chandalas, Antyajas, Pariahs, Dheds, Panchamas, Avarnas, Namashudras, Asprusthas, Ad Dharmis, Depressed Classes, Harijans, and Scheduled Castes. The hierarchical and repressive structure of Indian (Hindu) society came into existence during the period of manusmriti about three thousand years ago. The manusmriti set the tone of social discrimination based on birth. This, in turn led to social exclusion, economic degradation and political isolation of the Untouchables now popularly known as Dalits. Dalits are the poor, neglected and downtrodden lot. Their social disabilities were specific, severe and numerous. Their touch, shadow or even voice was considered by the caste Hindus to be polluting. They were not allowed to keep certain domestic animals, use certain metals for ornaments, eat a particular type of food, use a particular type of footwear, wear a particular type of dress and were forced to live in the outskirts of the villages towards which the wind blew and dirt flowed. Their houses were dirty, dingy and unhygienic where poverty and squalor loomed large. They were denied the use of public wells. The doors of the Hindu temples were closed for them and their children were not allowed into the schools attended by the children of caste Hindu. Barbers and washermen refused their services to them lest they lose their business from the upper castes. Public services were closed to them. They followed menial hereditary occupations such as those of street sweeping, manual scavenging, shoemaking and carcasses removing.

Dalit is not an administrative term. But nevertheless, it includes those who are designated as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in the constitution of the country. However, in common political discourse, the term Dalit is mainly referred to Scheduled Castes only. In other words, Scheduled Castes is a ‘politically correct’ nomenclature for the socially excluded lot in the society. The British officials in Government of India Act, 1935, used the term Scheduled Caste for the first time. Prior to this, the ex Untouchables were known as Depressed Classes. Mahatma Gandhi gave them the name Harijans meaning children of God. Gandhi himself did not coin the name. He borrowed the name from a Bhakti movement saint of the 17 th century Narsinh Mehta. The name Harijan became popular during 1931 amid conflicts between Gandhi and Ambedkar on the issue of guarantying communal political representation to the Dalits. Gandhi took this move as a step towards the disintegration of Hindu society. By terming the Untouchables as Harijans, Gandhi tried to persuade caste Hindus to shed their prejudices against the achchutas i.e. Untouchables. The purpose to adopt this new nomenclature of Harijan for the Untouchables was to induce change in the heart and behavior of the Hindus towards Untouchables. At the same time, it was hoped that this new name would be accepted by the Untouchables who would too try to cultivate the virtues that it connotes. To quote Gandhi “…probably, Antyaja brethren would lovingly accept that name and try to cultivate the virtues which it connotes… may the Antyaja become Harijan both in name and nature” [Gandhi, M. K. (1971), Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 47 (Delhi: Publication Division), pp.244-5]. The term Harijan got further recognition as an emancipatory nomenclature in the formation of Harijan Sewak Sangh, an organisation established for the purpose of upliftment of the Dalits under the aegis of the Congress. A weekly ‘Harijan’ was also started by Gandhi to provide voice for the cause of the downtrodden. However, Ambedkar did not find any substance in the change of name for the redressal of the structural hindrances that stood menacingly in the way of the their all around amelioration. To him it did not make any difference whether the downtrodden were called achchuta or Harijan, ‘as the new nomenclature did not change their status in the social order’ [Shah, Ghanshyam (2001), “Introduction: Dalit Politics”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), p.21].

The term Dalit was used by no less a person than Ambedkar in his fortnightly called Bahishkrit Bharat [Guru, Gopal (2001), “The Language of Dalit–Bahujan Political Discourse”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), p, 100]. Though Ambedkar did not popularize the term Dalit for Untouchables, his thoughts and actions have contributed to its growth and popularity. The word Dalit is a common usage in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and many other Indian languages, denoting the poor and oppressed persons. It also refers to those who have been broken, ground down by those above them in a deliberate way [Shah, Ghanshyam (2001), “Dalit Movements and The Search for Identity”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), pp. 195-196]. “It includes all the oppressed and exploited sections of society. It does not confine itself merely to economic exploitation in terms of appropriation of surplus. It also relates to suppression of culture – way of life and value system – and, more importantly, the denial of dignity. It has essentially emerged as a political category. For some, it connotes an ideology for fundamental change in the social structure and relationships” (Shah, Ghanshyam (2001), “Introduction: Dalit Politics”, in Ghanshyam Shah (ed.), Dalit Identity and Politics, ( New Delhi: Sage), p.22]. The word Dalit indicates struggle for an egalitarian order and provides the concept of pride to the politically active Dalits. The word Dalit gained currency through the writings of Marathi writers in the early 1970s. “Dalit writers who have popularised the word have expressed their notion of Dalit identity in their essays, poems, dramas, autobiographies, novels and short stories. They have reconstructed their past and their view of the present. They have expressed their anger, protest and aspiration” (Shah, “Introduction: Dalit Politics” 2001: 22).

Thus, “Dalit” is a by-product of the Ambedkar movement and indicates a political and social awareness. Ambedkar adopted a different approach and philosophy for the emancipation of Scheduled Castes. He wanted to liberate the Dalits by building an egalitarian social order that he believed was not possible within the fold of Hinduism whose very structure was hierarchical which relegated the Dalits to the bottom on the Brahminical rank scale. Initially, he tried to seek emancipation of the Dalits by bringing transformation within the structure of Hinduism through his efforts for opening the temples for the Dalits and multi-caste dinners. However, Ambedkar came to realise soon that such an approach would not bring the desired result for the amelioration of the inhuman condition of the Dalits. He asserted that the Dalits should come forward and fight for their own cause. He gave them the mantra – educate, agitate, organise. He did not have faith in the charitable spirit of the caste Hindus towards the Untouchables as it had failed to bring any change in the oppressive Hindu social order.

Since then the ex-Untouchables have entered very forcefully in to the political arena and public debate in Indian democracy. They have their own political parties, social organizations, community halls, religious places/centers, and some educational institutions. After a long struggle, under the able leadership of Dr. Ambedkar, they have also earned some respectable space in the governance of the country (constitutional affirmative action). Many of them were successful in ventures abroad. They have settled in Europe, North America, Middle East as well as Far East in Asia. Now, it is impossible to ignore them at all. However, much is yet to be done. Many of them are still severely deprived of and enjoy no say in the local structures of powers. Their basic civic and inalienable human rights are often violated openly. They still stand at the lowest rank on many modern standardized indicators of development and socio-economic growth and inclusion.

I hope and wish that the Sunday ( April 6, 2008) “ Athens Meeting” would contribute significantly towards the empowerment of the ex-Untouchables of India and sharpen the emerging worldwide debate on the burning question of ‘Dalits Human Rights in India’. My heartiest congratulations to all the organizers of this ‘historic meet’ in Athens, the holy land of the birth of Enlightenment, Democracy and Peace. This meet would also go a long way in strengthening the forces of peace and Human Rights the world over. Once again, my heartiest congratulations to all the Indo-Greek Dalit brothers and the entire staff of the Indian Educational Mission Society and The Centre for European Constitutional Law.

Posted on www.ambedkartimes.com (April 06, 2008)