SHRI GURU RAVIDASS SABHA VANCOUVER SHRI GURU RAVIDASS SABHA VANCOUVER (CANADA) REMEMBERED GHADRI BABA JI BABU MANGU RAM MUGOWALIA A GREAT FREEDOM FIGHTER & FOUNDER OF THE GLORIOUS “AD DHARM MOVEMENT IN PUNJAB” ON HIS 126TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia was the founder of the glorious Ad Dharm movement in Punjab. The Ad Dharm movement was the only movement of its kind in the Northwestern region of the country that aimed at securing a respectable place for the scheduled castes through cultural transformation and political assertion rather than seeking patronage from above. Another important feature of this movement was that it intended to bring social transformation and spiritual regeneration in the lives of the downtrodden. Although, this movement ceased to exist in its vehement form after the first general election in independent India, its emphasis on social transformation and political assertion against structures of social inequality and oppression continues to attract the Ad-Dharmis and other scheduled castes of Punjab even today.

Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia set a clear agenda for the emancipation of the Dalits and their upliftment. The agenda aimed at restoring their lost indigenous religion and provide them with a sense of self-respect and dignity. The method to achieve this agenda was based on cultural transformation and spiritual regeneration of the indigenous people contemptuously known as Ati-Shudras. Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia 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 for them to leave that religion and to embrace some other one. Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia thought it appropriate to empower Dalits by carving out a separate Dalit identity on the basis of their indigenous religious strength (Ad Dharm). In one of his interviews to Professor Mark Juergensmeyer, a reputed scholar of Ad Dharm movement, Babu Mangu Ram said proudly “we helped give them [Ad Dharmis] a better life and made them into a Qaum. We gave Gurus to believe in and something to hope for”. Thus the real contribution of Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia and the Ad Dharm movement was in forging a separate and independent Dalit identity in Punjab, which helped them reclaim their long lost original Adi religion and their forgotten heroes and gurus. All Ad Dharmis are indeed proud of for what Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia did for them and are sincerely indebted to him. We all remember him reverently on his birth anniversary.

PROF. CHAMAN LAL’S LECTURE DEDICATEDTO MARTYR SUKHDEV

Prof. Chaman Lal of Jawaharlal Nehru University was welcomed and honored in Surrey on May 15, the day that coincides with the birth anniversary of Martyr Sukhdev, who was also hanged along with Martyrs Bhagat Singh and Rajguru on March 23 for taking a stand against the British colonialism and invading India. The ceremony and discussions were hosted by Chetna Association of Canada, an organization with a mandate to increase awareness of social justice related issues. Along with members of this organization, other organizations including Indian Workers Association, Fraser Valley Peace Forum, Taraksheel Society of Canada, also came out to welcome and hear Dr. Lal’s views on Martyr Bhagat Singh and the contemporary Dalit issues.

During his talk, Dr. Lal made references to one of the prominent papers Shaheed Bhagat Singh had written: “The Untouchability Problem”. In this paper, Shaheed Bhagat Singh asserted the need for Dalit communities to unite together: “…ultimately the problem cannot be satisfactorily solved unless and until untouchable community themselves unite and organize”. Comparing the Dalit movement to other modern movements, Dr. Lal said these movements complement one another. He noted that the Dalit literature, for example, was a part of the same continuum as the Black literature, the women’s literature, and the progressive literature and he called all these as the “literature of the oppressed”.

When asked to explain the relevance of caste and class concepts in India, Dr. Lal acknowledged that the Indian socialist movements failed to realize the power of caste and its dominance in the Indian socio- political structure. Dr. Lal also noted that while an upper caste person could be just as poor as a Dalit, the Upper caste person will still enjoy his social status and he called this as a disease of the mind. Failure of the socialist leaders to address the caste issue led to fragmentation of the Indian society and Dr. Lal encouraged the Dalit leaders to not make similar mistakes but work together and increase the strength for the common good of the entire community.

On the issue of reservation in India, Dr. Lal noted that when the 27% reservation was added for the OBC’s (other backward castes) in India, the major backlash was faced by the scheduled castes or Dalit communities in India. Dr. Lal also reminded that Dr. Ambedkar’s goal was not reservation; it was to form a casteless society. According to Dr. Lal, this dream would be realized if Dalits, leftists, and other progressive movements started working together and understood each others’ distinct priorities and needs. In view of Dr. Lal, the Ramgarhia Society has now gained both the political and financial strength and this is one of the reasons why the Ramgarhia community is no longer the oppressed community and therefore it is important for the Dalit communities to also gain the financial and political strength.

Women activists and writers Surjeet Kalsey and Fauzia Rafique also attended the event and they were congratulated for their recent books “colors of the heart’ (by Surjeet Kalsey) and Skeena (by Fauzia Rafique. Kalsey expressed her disappointment at the lack of women’s participation and inclusion in this important event and challenged the organizers to be the change for all oppressions and the oppressed sectors.

Shehzad Khan of the Fraser Valley Peace Council noted that although the prevalence of caste is not high in Pakistan, the caste-identity and the caste based discrimination continues to be practiced in Pakistan and he encouraged for more coordination and collaboration by the oppressed sectors.

Others who shared their views and welcomed Dr. Lal included Surinder Ranga, Ajmer Rode, Ram Partap Kaler, Gurpreet Singh, Raghbir Singh ‘Sirjana’, Jai Birdi, and Gurmeet Singh ‘Sathi’. In the end, Dr. Lal presented his book on Guru Ravidass to the Chetna Association.

Sincerely,
Jai Birdi (Posted on May 31, 2011) PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR HOME PAGE