The Holy Cow

Subhendu Sarkar

The cow is now the most important politico-religious icon in India. The self-proclaimed custodians of Hinduism and their political representatives in power are desperate to impose ban on cow-slaughter and beef-eating. As a result, there have been incidents of violence not only in a relatively unknown town like Dadri but also on the floors of State Assembly. More-over, efforts are on to raise it to the status of national animal. For the right-wing Hindu nationalists, the cow is the new fulcrum of communal agenda (as it was Ram Janmabhoomi in the 1990s).

Of course, the fracas surrounding the cow has been in existence for ages. The Hindu traditionalists have considered the cow 'holy' and beef-eating a 'sin'. On the other hand, attempts have also been made to prove, on the basis of scriptural evidences, that the animal was, after all, not always sacred and beef-eating had been a regular habit among the Hindus in the past. Even men like Rammohun Roy and Swami Vivekananda came forward to argue that beef-eating and Hinduism were not always incompatible. But the issue continued to plague Hindu India as, since the nineteenth century onwards, beef-eating became a serious bone of contention between the liberals and the conservatives.

Modern scholars, however, have approached the problem in another way. They not only confined themselves to cite a plethora of literary and historical data to uncover the past but also provide logical explanations as to why the practice of beef-eating, after a certain time, became unacceptable to the Hindus. But despite such efforts not much seems to have changed as regards the issue of the 'holy cow'. The principal reason for this is, of course, a vested interest that seeks to help a few remain socially and politically powerful. In fact, it is this politics of 'identity' that has been at work since the time when the Brahmins discouraged eating beef. It is also known as communalism.

The early Aryans who came to India were semi-nomadic people with a dominantly pastoral economy. Cattle were the chief form of wealth for which they even fought inter-tribal wars. It is, therefore, natural that cattle (the most valued possession) would be sacrificed to propitiate supernatural powers. The Rigveda abounds in references to the flesh of animals (including the cow) being offered to various gods. This continued even during later Vedic centuries. Not only that, killing of the cow and eating its flesh on occasions like birth, upanayana (initiation ceremony), marriage, sraddha (rites for the ancestors) and entertaining guests (Panini uses the term yoghna for a guest) were quite regular in ancient times. The much-respected priests and sages (most notably Yajnavalkya) were also fond of beef. The Brahmanical lawgivers like Manu, Brihaspati and Parashara found killing of the cow and beef-eating a minor sin at the most, not major (upapataka, not mahapataka). Besides, the medical treatises of Caraka (first-second century) and Susruta (third-fourth century) unequivocally prescribe the flesh of the cow and other animals to cure various ailments. Epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana too bear testimony to the fact that eating beef was widespread among the Brahmins.

Dietary preferences of the later Vedic people, however, gradually changed with time. The growing importance of agriculture (agrarian economy gained predominance with the diffusion of iron technology in particular) necessitated protection of cattle. Therefore, recommendations against animal sacrifice were laid down in the later scriptures. Further, the new social order that thrived on the varna system created a class-divided society from which the Brahmins and the kshatriyas benefited at the cost of the vaisyas and the shudras. Again, deforestation and the subjugation of the indigenous tribes formed the basis of the early kingdoms. It is natural that opposition to such a system would become inevitable.

Jainism and Buddhism advocated an ideology which looked back to the days of tribal collectives when equality prevailed among the brethren and private property was non-existent. Therefore, the thrust on asceticism and non-injury (ahimsa) of all kinds. The new economic reality (plough agriculture and animal husbandry) which created surplus like never before and the growing popularity of an ideology that threatened the yajna-centric Vedic religion forced the Brahmins to think about a new strategy. In order to establish supremacy over Buddhism which had achieved state recognition by the time and regain their lost power and prestige both in royal court and among the masses, the Brahmins initiated image worship and building temples as an answer to building stupas and setting up images of the Buddha. Moreover, to score yet another point over Buddhism, Brahmanism began to discourage the yajna as a form of worship and the sacrifice of the cow and promote vegetarianism. Advocating the sacredness of the cow and its products (pancagavya) was also a part of this stratagem.

But the truth is that in spite of the Brahmanical ruling on the pardonable offense of cow-killing and beef-eating such practices continued till about the twelfth century. Buddhism, being more practical than Jainism, accommodated dietary practices of the regions to which it spread. The so-called Untouchables (Dalits) among the Hindus too carried on eating flesh of the dead cow (they were the worst victims of the class-divided Hindu society).

However, the need to establish 'Hindu identity' became all the more important with the advent and spread of Islam since the medieval times. But it was particularly during the British period that it consolidated as a socio-political force. Many Brahmanical dictums were re-introduced as a part of the Hindu revivalist programme. This, at the same time, created a sharp division among the conservatives and the liberals. Brought up on the foundations of Western liberalism and guided by rationalism, it was first the intelligentsia of Bengal who revolted against such senselessness that came to pass for Hinduism. The initial reaction of adopting Christianity gradually gave way to an approach towards social and religious reforms which later culminated into secular nationalist ideology. Of course, Hindu elements were initially exploited to rouse and spread nationalist ideology which somehow alienated the Muslims who, as a result, played into the hands of the British imperialists who were eager to divide and rule. It was indeed difficult for many patriots to anticipate, in the face of the need of the hour, the future course of Indian politics. The divisive forces of communal politics (both Hindu and Muslim) would remain a permanent bane of India, even after the Partition.

But why would there be any need to re-assert 'Hindu identity' now? What purpose would it serve to the ruling party and its stooges? It is a fact that they have secured power through a mathematical miracle by getting a little more than thirty percent of the total votes cast. For the Hindutva forces to stay secured in power and to bring the rest of the Hindu population under its sway they have no option but to unabashedly play the communal card.

And thanks to the ignorance of the Indian masses, the cow is certainly the icon they are clinging on to for smooth sailing. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) [or its earlier avatar Jan Sangh] had always banked on the communal ideology. And the post-1992 success has certainly strengthened their belief. The point is: shall these Hindutva people be given a free rein to make India a Hindu rashtra by radically altering the essence of the Constitution? Will the progressive forces that have fought for long against obscurantism and bigotry to help make India a unique country whose basis is plurality be cowed into silence? But, every fascist epoch had to end. The history has always favoured the progressives.

Works Cited

Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad. Religion and Society. Delhi: Aakar, 2013

Jha, D N, The Myth of the Holy Cow. New Delhi: Navayana, 2015

Early India. A Concise History (From the Beginning to the Twelfth Century). New Delhi: Manohar, 2014

Kosambi, Dharmananda, Bhagaban Buddha (in Bangla). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2001

Sharma, R S, Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India (in Bangla). Trans. Gautam Niyogi. Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 1998.

This essay was first published in Frontier [Vol. 48, No. 21, Nov 29 - Dec 5, 2015] and is reproduced here with the permission of the author.

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Worshipping Gods in the times of Elections

Ram Puniyani

Arun Shourie, who was part of NDA, a fellow traveler and an ideologue of BJP wrote several books, many of them against minorities and dalits in particular. One of these which was strongly protested against by large sections of people, dalits in particular, was his “Worshipping False Gods”. In this book he expressed the mind set of RSS-BJP politics towards Ambedkar. In this long bulky volume he was heavily critical of Ambedkar’s ideology, his agitations for democratic values and his struggles for social justice. Now a decade and half later on one side many a dalit leaders, Ramvilas Paswan, Udit Raj, Ramdas Athwaley are vying to sit in the lap of the politics of BJP for apparently their own  personal gains on one side and on the other the BJP’s Prime Ministerial Candidate Narendra Modi is going miles to woo the sections of dalits. It is another matter that while doing this in his usual trade mark style he has no qualms about misrepresenting the events, speaking lies and putting the blame of all that has not taken place to his political adversaries.

This 14^th April (2014), on the occasion of Ambedkar Anniversary, one saw the Prime Ministerial aspirant wearing the blue jacket and offering flowers to the architect of India’s Constitution. He bowed in front of the portrait of Babasaheb and said that it is due to Babasaheb that people like him have come up in the society. Lets note that Modi despite belonging to RSS combine, which does not project the caste as such, is projecting his caste prominently in UP and Bihar. RSS is opposed to disturbing the prevalent status quo of caste hierarchy. Modi’s postures show the impact of caste politics and its recognition by ideologies which generally have been condemning the politics in the name of caste. They are using the same card when it has come to the present elections. One only has to say that even the person coming from the low caste dalit can adopt ideology which is against the interest of that caste. Just opposite to that even individual from upper caste can also work for the goals of annihilation of the caste and social justice. Many of the supporters of Ambedkar were from upper castes. Modi’s flaunting his caste in UP and Bihar is under the pressure of electoral compulsions, while his politics as exhibited in Gujarat and the ideology of RSS, his parent organization, has nothing whatsoever aimed at achieving social justice in any sense of the word.

While he is tom toming about his caste, what has been the condition of Dalits and Adivasis in Gujarat during the last decade or so? Most of the policies implemented by him are totally committed to the interest of the Corporate. The schemes initiated by Central Government, which aim at the benefit of this section of society, have been put on the backburner in Gujarat. Modi, in violation of Planning Commission's directives, had not held a single meeting for the Sub-Plans for SCs and STs that seek proportionate spending for the welfare of the two communities. In Gujarat 27,900 posts for SC/STs were vacant and they could not be filled because of a prevalence of the reservation policy in this state according to which it is compulsory that a vacancy in a district be filled locally only. For example in the city and district of Ahmadabad, from where Narendra Modi has been elected to Assembly, as many as 3,125 SC students have not been given their SC scholarship till day. Independent surveys show that untouchability and denial of entry to dalits in temples was widespread in 1,600 villages of Gujarat. 

Dalits from different parts of the city came together on together on 13^th April 2014 and spoke against the "much-touted development model of the Gujarat government." (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Modis-development-model-ignores-dalit-rights-Dalits/articleshow/33785414.cms) They pointed out that the Gujarat government had failed to provide a proper model for transformation of dalit lives.

As per their memorandum drafted by the agitating dalits "Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been propagating a lopsided development model which largely ignores dalit rights. The government has given land to industries instead of dalits who deserve it more… we have demanded land for dalits, tribals and OBCs under the Land Sealing Act. We have also sought for an official ban on manual scavenging and an end to the policy of giving jobs on contract," It is interesting to note that Modi has been defending the manual scavenging work as a spiritual experience for the Valmikis in his book Karmayoga. This book seems to have been withdrawn after the ciriticsm was aired by many activists.  One also notes that in Gujarat the conviction rate in atrocity cases is just 4%. Though there is a provision for special courts in every district, the government has not set up such courts that would help expedite disposal of the cases.

Additionally in tune with his spreading of falsehoods on regular basis, Modi went on to say that Congress Government has ignored Babsaheb, and it was BJP Government which gave him Bharat Ratna. One knows the audience is not very critical in public meetings and so there is no protest when such blatant lies are dished out. This lie of his not much attracted the media attention. We know that the first BJP Government was formed in Center for 13 days in 1996. Dr. Ambedkar was conferred posthumous Bharat Ratna in 1990 by V P Singh Government. It was during V.P. Singh’s tenure that the portrait of Babasaheb was also unveiled in the Parliament. It was this Government which implemented Mandal Commission and also honored Dr. Ambedkar. As such BJP, Modi’s party has never been comfortable with the values which Ambedkar stands for. The values of Indian Constitution, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity the core values of Indian Nationalism. Modi recently said that he was born as Hindu and he is a nationalist so he stands for Hindu nationalism. Ambedkar was the staunchest critique of Hindu nationalism. Right from the beginning of its formation RSS stood for upholding Manusmriti and was opposed to even the efforts which went to bring in Indian Constitution.

As per the issues related to social justice, dalits human rights the major focus of human rights activists has been critical of Gandhi and Congress, which has lots of merit. But at the same time the politics which is totally opposed to the values of Dr. Ambedkar is the politics of Hindu nationalism. This is the real opponent of social justice, and it has not much been taken up for critique by dalit activists-intellectuals. And that is the politics of Hindu nationalism, the politics of RSS to which Modi belongs. The very measures for affirmative action, the implementation of Mandal Commission and the like were opposed either directly or subtly by RSS-BJP-Modi politics. Demands of electoral politics makes strange demands, one starts making public postures and makes statements which are polar opposite to their core ideology and manifest actions. That’s ‘Ambedkar-worshipping’ Modi for you! 

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Contemporary Dalit Politics and Ambedkar’s Goal of Caste Annihilation

Ram Puniyani

On 28^th Feb (2014) Ramvilas Paswan of Loktantantrik Jan Party joined the NDA alliance. Same Paswan had left the NDA twelve years ago with the beginning of Gujarat carnage, saying that with the violence in Gujarat he cannot be part of NDA. This time his son formulated the face saver when he said that Modi has received clean chit in the Gujarat carnage. Few days ago another dalit leader Udit Raj directly joined BJP, with the assurance of being given a ticket for forthcoming elections. In Maharashtra, Ramdas Athwaley of Republican Party of India had become part of NDA, and succeeded in being nominated for Rajya Sabha, Upper house of Parliament. There are many others dalits in the fold of BJP directly or in alliance with BJP to be in NDA, for pre poll alliance.  Most of these leaders claim to be working on the path shown by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Ambedkar was committed to annihilation of caste and was totally opposed to the concept of Hindu nationalism, as propounded by RSS-BJP.

During freedom struggle when three types of nationalisms were in vogue, Indian Nationalism, Muslim Nationalism and Hindu nationalism, majority of the people of India supported and followed the path of Indian nationalism. Majority Hindus were for Indian nationalism, majority of Muslims were also for Indian nationalism. It was the elite, the landlord, Kings who began communal streams and were later joined in by a section of affluent upper castes of those religions. The British manipulation kept fuelling the fire of religious nationalism. Muslim nationalism turned in separatist direction and their demand for Pakistan came to the forefront. Hindu nationalists accepted the religion based nationalism but denied the demand of Pakistan on the ground that this had been a Hindu nation from times immemorial. This whole formulation of Hindu nation from ancient times is an invalid concept, as the very concept of nation, Nation state is a modern concepts. So in the revised edition of his book, ‘Partition of India’, Dr. Ambedkar opposed the formation of Pakistan on the following ground that formation of Pakistan may pave the way for Hindu Raj and “If Hindu Raj becomes a reality then it would be greatest menace to this country. Whatever may Hindus say, actually it does not make a difference that Hinduism is a danger to Independence, Equality and Brotherhood. Thus it is an enemy of democracy. We should make all out efforts to stop Hindu Raj from becoming a reality.” (Pakistan or Partition of India, Page 358). Here what Ambedkar is referring to Hinduism is Brahmanical Hinduism, the ideological ground of Hindutva, the agenda of RSS combine.

Ambedkar did lay the foundations of dalit movement, and went on to form Scheduled Caste Federation (SCF) in due course; before conceptualizing the Republican Party of India. This SCF in 1951, on the eve of First General elections in 1952; which was to begin the process of adult suffrage, forged an alliance with Praja Socialist Party (PSP) led by Jaya Prakash Narayan. The manifesto of SCF ruled out “alliance with any reactionary party such as Hindu Mahasabha and Jan Sangh (Previous avatar of BJP) (quoted from Gopal Guru EPW Feb 16, 1991, citing Ambedkar Letters to Gaikwad, page 280-296). He was the one who could see the long term agenda of Jan Sangh-Hindu Mahasabha of Hindu Rashtra, the concept totally opposed to secular democratic India. His basic motto was ‘educate, organize and struggle’, for caste annihilation and for the values of substantive Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. He was aware that this process; educate and organize to struggle; is possible only in a democratic set up, so alliance with Hindutva political outfits was ruled out of hand.

Today what is happening? From last several years a new dalit leadership has emerged, which on one hand represents a faction of this group and on the other has also personal-family electoral ambitions. So in short term they, for their personal benefits have been sitting in the laps of communal parties. Namdeo Dhasal, the great poet went with Shiv Sena, which had created hell with the publication of Amdekar’s ‘Riddles of Hinduism’. Ramdas Athwaley is again with the communal forces who have given him the Rajya Sabha seat. Udit Raj has also embraced the party of Hindu raj and Ramvilas Paswan, guided more by personal political ambitions, rather than the long term benefit of the downtrodden, has shamelessly allied with BJP. In the short term these dalit politicians may benefit but at the same time they will strengthen the politics of Hindutva-Hindu raj, the system of inherent hierarchy of caste and gender.

A single example will tell us about the approach of BJP towards the dalit question. Recently a book penned by BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has been withdrawn, Karma Yoga. Modi in his book wrote “I do not believe that they (Valmiki’s) have been doing this job just to sustain their livelihood. Had this been so, they would not have continued with this type of job generation after generation…At some point of time, somebody must have got the enlightenment that it is their (Valmikis’) duty to work for the happiness of the entire society and the Gods; that they have to do this job bestowed upon them by Gods; and that this job of cleaning up should continue as an internal spiritual activity for centuries. This should have continued generation after generation. It is impossible to believe that their ancestors did not have the choice of adopting any other work or business.” (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQS8yMDA3LzExLzI0I0FyMDA3MDA%3D&)

On the same issue of scavenging, Dr. Ambedkar makes scathing critique of the social order where a section of people have to do such demeaning and humiliating jobs. While claims are made about the development and ‘concern for all communities’ the conditions of dalits in Gujarat are abysmal, temple entry is opposed at places, there is low rate of conviction for anti dalit atrocities, there is prevalence of manual scavenging still prevalent and this receives glorification from Modi. There is denial of access for water to the main sump at places. Cases of intimidation of dalits wanting to convert to Buddhism have been reported from Gujarat. These are few of the phenomenon prevalent in the Laboratory of Hindu rashtra, Gujarat. What should one say of leadership of dalits who compromise the values of Dr. Ambedkar, the values of long term goals of social justice and annihilation of caste for their short term greed for electoral power for their own self? There is a need for introspection by these leaders and their followers about the opportunism and lack of principles of such people in the positions of leadership of the communities.

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Struggle to eradicate Caste: Hidden Agenda of Samajik Samrasta

Ram Puniyani

Caste is a phenomenon deeply entrenched in Indian society and the struggle against it began in the late 19th century. Despite the social movements, initiated around the ideas of Phule, Ambedkar, Periyar and many such legendary figures, it continues to pervade in the Indian society like a malignant cancer, refusing to die easily. There are two set of streams which are addressing the caste, though from opposing angels. One is through the social movements and struggles which revolve around the concept of social justice, which was also an integral part of India’s freedom struggle and has been enshrined in Indian Constitution as a major goal of Indian society and state. The other stream which addressed caste was to retain it in a newer form, in a more subtle form. According to this stream caste, Varna is what has given Hindu society its stability over centuries. The later ideology keeping in tune with times has modified its language and the term ‘social harmony’, has been coined as a new and attractive label to maintain graded hierarchy in Hindu society. The latter efforts began with the streams which were opposing Indian nationalism; the one’s which espoused the cause of Hindu nationalism.

From this stream of Hindu Nationalism emerged Hindu Mahasbah in 1915 and later RSS in 1925. These streams aimed to work towards the goal of Hindu Nation. RSS to achieve its goal floated an organization called Samajik Samrasta Manch. Recently Narendra Modi, currently projecting himself as the one devoted to the issue of development, has come out with a book on Samajik Samrasta. In this book he poses himself to be working for the cause of dalits and says, “The shilanyas – on November 9, 1989 – for a grand Ram temple was performed not by some religious head or mahant, but by a Dalit from Bihar. It was not just for the cause of laying the foundation for the Ram temple, but social harmony itself. It was a signal for cultural revolution,”

Narendra Modi

Many a dalit scholars had pointed that Babri demolition was planned on 6th December as it happens to be the death anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar. They opined that the politics for Hindu nationalism, wants to co-opt and subjugate dalits at the same time, so such a planning. The concept of Samajik Samrasta stands for a harmony between the castes, and not for its abolition. Ambedkar was for annihilation of caste, the Samrasta program, while sounding for harmony is a subtle program to bring about Hindu unity, retaining its inner caste-varna differences, and to launch its onslaught against the minorities, Muslims and Christians, as a ‘unified’ Hindu community.

It was in the direction of caste annihilation that Ambedkar initiated his agitation of Chavdar Mandir, where he agitated for access to public drinking water for the dalits. It was for this goal that he also asked for the right to temple entry through Kalaram Mandir agitation. Parallel to this when he realized the obstacles to his path that he burnt Mnusmirti and declared that since this holy book has provisions of slavery of dalits and women, and he stands to oppose this. Same Ambedkar as the chief architect of Indian Constitution went on to ensure incorporation of provisions for the dalits and abolition of caste. At social level the movements for land rights, the movement for economic justice was also core to Ambekar’s thought and he went to form Independent Labor Party, to look after their economic rights. Here the caste-class dynamics got proper synthetic expression as Ambedkar was clear that caste is a division of labourers.

The RSS politics on the other hand, stood totally opposed to the struggle for rights, for the issues of dalits and workers and so brought up identity issues, Cow protection, Ram Temple, Ram Setu and the like. RSS- Modi agenda is aimed at bringing in dalits to Hindu fold through these identity issues. For these goals, apart from Samajik Samrasta, they also started Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams which again harped around the identity of Adivasis, projecting them to be Hindus and trying to bring them into Hindu fold. While the agenda of Ambedkar and Phule, the struggle around material-social issues of dalits, struggle for dignity and rights, remains incomplete, the opposing agenda of identity has come up in the society in a serious way. The very rise of this identity politics has been a throw back to the process of social transformation of caste and gender. This identity politics asserted itself mainly from 1980s, to begin with in opposing the reservations for dalits and than of OBCs. Simultaneously the efforts to co-opt dalits, went up leading to strengthening of this Samajik Samrasta manch and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. Through these forums the process of social engineering has gone on and it has operated at multiple levels. Along with this there is also a process of Sanskritzation, where a section of dalit-Adivais, try to emulate the upper caste.

The most ghastly part of the process has been the Gujarat violence, where a section of dalits and adivasis was cleverly manipulated to attack the Muslim minority. To think that by giving the privilege of ‘Shilanyas’ to a dalit, the caste problems will be solved is an illusion. Rather it is precisely a move contrary to their interests. Dalit-Adivasi issues are related to hunger, survival, education and employment. All this requires a powerful affirmative action from the state and a mass movement of these sections to ensure that state does it. The delusions of Samrasta are a mechanism to bypass the core issues of these deprived sections of society, a way to further the agenda of status quo at social and economic level. Dalit Adivasi struggles for land, dignity and rights has to associate it with other deprived sections, whatever be their religion, to achieve their goals. To get trapped in one or other identity is a regressive thing being engineered by the likes of Modi to perpetuate the graded inequality of the society and is supplementary to the anti-minority agenda on which the likes of Modi thrive.

The difference between the Ambedkar approach to dalit issues and the one of RSS-Modi are polar opposites. Ambedkar called for annihilation of caste, RSS-Modi talk of caste harmony. Ambedkar went on to burn Hindu holy book: Manu Smriti and became the architect of Indian Constitution. RSS ideologue K.Sudarshan in year 2000 said that Indian constitution is based on western values, meaning the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are western, so it should be replaced by the one based on Hindu holy book. Modi’s attempt is to further what Sudarshan said, reflecting their agenda at social level.  

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Identity to the Fore

Ram Puniyani

Parliament was rocked (May 2012) with the discussion on the alleged insult of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar in the cartoon in NCERT text book for standard XI.  The MHRD Minister immediately declared the withdrawal of the book and asked for review of all books for which a committee has been appointed. This is yet another instance where the intent and meaning of the said cartoon has not only been misrepresented but also the hype has been associated with the alleged insult of Dr. Ambedkar. Interestingly this cartoon appears in the book, which is part of a series, brought out by NCERT, which can easily be rated as of being of very high standard, being very lively and incorporating the core issues related to the politics of the country.

The cartoon by one of the foremost Indian cartoonist, Shankar Pillai, shows Dr. Ambedkar sitting on a snail and prodding it to go faster. Behind the snail Pundit Nehru is standing prodding the snail to move faster. The whip in the hands of Nehru, in no way is directed against Ambedkar, but is directed against snail. Ambedkar is in command of the snail, which is depicted as the process of making of Indian Constitution. The reading of the cartoon, put extremely creatively in the book, is to show the slow pace of the constitution making process. In what way this is against Ambedkar, defies the logic in toto. The dalit leaders who have raised the issue, Ramdas Athawaley, and later supported by Mayawati and others needed to think more on the lines, as to why Constitution making process was at snail’s pace rather than picking up a totally misreading of the point and making it an emotional issue.

Cartoonist Shankar at Work
Courtesy:
http://cartoonacademy.blogspot.in/

On the same issue some youth rampaged the office of Prof Suhas Palshikar, who has been the advisor of NCERT committee, which went into the making of this book. What a paradox, the person who drafted a Constitution giving us freedom of thought and expression, in his name the same freedom of expression is being throttled. The cartoon was made in late forties, when Ambedkar and Nehru both were very much there, and surely both must have mused at the cartoon and realized their helplessness in pushing the speed of Constitution making rather than penalizing the legendary cartoonist Shankar.

Final issue of Shankar's Weekly

The whole episode raises multiple questions.  None of these relates to the plight of dalits and Indian constitution. One recalls that just a decade ago NDA Government led by BJP had undertaken the exercise to ‘review’ the Constitution on the grounds that it needs to change. That time dalits stood in unison and saw the designs of BJP, the political arm of RSS, to change the secular democratic structure of constitution and to replace it with one based on Hindu holy books as desired by the RSS in its pursuance of its agenda of Hindu Rashtra, was thwarted. A decade later we need to be more concerned about the threat to the values of Indian Constitution rather than focus on an emotive issue related to the same.

 The Hindu's response to the Cartoon Controversy

Why was the Constitution making process slow? Is it because Dr. Ambedkar wanted it to be slow? Not in the least. It was slow despite the best efforts of Dr. Ambedkar and despite full support from Nehru, because the opposition to this process was prevalent all around. RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar articulated the opposition to this process by saying that we don’t need a new Constitution as we already have the 'glorious' constitution in the form of Manusmriti.

RK Laxman on the protest against Hindu Code Bill

One recalls here that the chief architect of Indian Constitution Dr. Ambedkar had burnt Manusmiriti on the grounds that it has provisions of slavery of Shudras and women. The process of Constitution making was slow because communal orthodox forces were not for the social change which the Constitution envisaged. Those following the values of Ambedkar need to focus more on the fact that the forces which were making the process slow have become stronger today and are posing an obstacle to the issues of social justice even today. Social justice was the major plank for Dr. Ambedkar and even while introducing the draft of Constitution in the Constituent assembly he pointed out that with this Constitution we are entering the era of ‘One Man One Vote’, i.e. political democracy, but the social democracy seems to be still a goal not very easy to achieve.

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India Untouched - A Documentary

[It is a widely held belief among the ruling, upper caste circles that the question of caste is no more an issue in India. We have chanced upon a documentary that unmasks this myth articulated by the very same people who practise casteism in a myriad of ways . This documentary is directed by Stalin, an activist film maker based in Ahmadabad. The text below is taken from Youtube where this documentary is uploaded]

"This Documentary is to those who claim that, "India has moved on, there is nothing called untouchability or cast-ism in India today". This is to show them the picture they failed to see till now, to remove the curtain of their eyes.

Those who claim that their should not be special rights for those belonging to backward castes..and they should be for poors.."This is how the 'Higher Castes' treat a Schedule Caste/Scheduled Tribe no matter what his financial state is". You talk about equality and a fight with equal stature..where is that equal stature now? If those rights are not fair, which are meant for them to lift them up from their low status, to give them a right to stand at 'equal' within a society, then is it fair that those so called "Savarnas..Higher Caste" are pushing them back in a deeper pit of backwardness, of social negligence, underdeveloped, poverty, and a state from where no one even gives a damn what will happen to that particular group of society...Is that Fair? Is it human?"

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Politics through Food Habits

Ram Puniyani

In the middle of April 2012 Osmania University (OU) witnessed an unusual violence on the issue of eating beef. A section of dalit students’ were demanding that University Hostels should have beef on the menu. They also organized a beef festival in which a large number of students ate beef biryani. The festivity was not to last long as the ABVP, the student wing of RSS, created rampage, a student was knifed, a bus was torched and ruckus was created in the university. The Vice Chancellor of OU knelt to the aggressive cow protectors and said that beef will not be introduced in the menu.

Just a month ago the in the Kurmaguda area of Hyderabad a group of youth associated with Hindu communal group were arrested for throwing beef inside a Hanuman temple, who later spread the word that Muslims have defiled our temple and turned their guns against the hapless minority, torched few buses. A little while ago the ruling BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had introduced a bill prohibiting the consumption of beef in the state. Other BJP ruled states in one form or the other are introducing legislations, which prohibit the slaughter of cow.

The place where Muslims were butchered mercilessly under the Chief mastership of Modi the ‘care of cow’ has gone one step up and state has opened centers for cataract and dental surgery of the Mother Cow. The goal of the Hindu state of Gujarat under Modi is to open more such centers so that Mother cow does not have to travel more than three kilometers for accessing these services, this while innumerable victims of Gujarat carnage, are yet to recover from the trauma of the carnage, aided by the apathy of state.

So far most of these legislations and the accompanying propaganda have been directed primarily against Muslim minority, which is demonized as the butchers and eaters of ‘our holy cow’. The OU episode shows the other side of the agenda of cow politics. While there had been cases of murders of dalits on the pretext of skinning a dead cow (Jhajjar, Haryana) and VHP defending the act saying that cow is too holy to spare the dalits. Still primarily it is the Muslim community which has been the target of propaganda emanating from RSS- Combine stable.

With dalits, the other target of RSS combine, the issue is not just of identity. It is related to the livelihood and food habits of dalits-Adivasis. The cow as a symbol of RSS combine has been in the fore since the rise of communal politics during the British rule. As such the cow has been in the forefront of communal battles of upper castes in India earlier also. The Brahmanical reaction to rise of Buddhism was countered by putting forward the symbol of cow. Some Dalit scholars hold that cow was cleverly chosen and one of the reasons cow stole a march over the equally useful buffalo was its color. It is not a coincidence that the dark skinned people have faced the wrath of the elite in one form or the other.

A file photo of supporters eating beef biryani
at the beef festival in Osmania University -
Image Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle

The scholars of Vedic India Prof D.N.Jha, Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane and champion of social justice Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, all have pointed out that cow was verily eaten during Vedic period. With the rise of agricultural society, and need for preserving cattle wealth; the religions-ideologies promoting non-violence in the form of Jainism and Buddhism came up and campaigned against senseless sacrifice of cow in Vedic yagnas (sacrificial ritual).  

The current communal politics has twin agenda. At surface it wants to subjugate the minorities and is using the emotive issues to create a mass hysteria against minorities. Lord Ram and Cow are the major tools of communal political mobilization. While the supporters of RSS combine generously donate for the welfare of cow, it is the dalits who practically take care of the grazing and other needs of Holy mother. Last some time a pressure is being built up culturally and politically that beef eating communities give up this integral part of their habit.

The food patterns are changing under intense propaganda still as of now the consumption of beef in India is higher than that of mutton and chicken put together. Its export is also a major business. The RSS combine on one side aims to subjugate the Minorities and on the other wants to maintain the status quo of social relationship of caste and gender. These are subtle and overt maneuvers implemented through political and cultural conduits. Attitude of communal politics to dalits has been a complex one. The anti dalit violence of 1980 against reservation, the anti OBC violence of 1986 against promotion of OBCs in jobs, and its strengthening of Kamandal politics (Rath Yatra and the Babri demolition) in response to Mandal were a part of this.

At another level the strategy is to co-opt dalits into Hindutva fold. From middle of decades of 1980s RSS has activated Samajik Samrasta Manch (Social Harmony Forum) which has been mobilizing dalits around that. The Gurus like Sri Sri Ravishanker have been saying that there should be harmony between upper and lower caste, while he keeps quiet about the prevalent social injustice in various forms. The aim of the communal politics is to maintain the status quo of caste and gender.

Through Samajik Samrasta Manch the message of undermining caste atrocities and social injustice is actively propagated. Supplementing this is the cultural assertion and imposition of elite norms on the whole society. Food habits are a part of culture and for large sections of dalits and Adiviasis beef had been an integral part of their food. Incidentally there is a vigorous campaign to promote vegetarianism and denigrate non vegetarian food practices.

While the large section of dalits is struggling for social and economic justice, a section of dalits is undergoing the process of sanskritization as well. It is in this light that the symbols of dalit assertion in the matters of food habits and cultural expressions are being attacked openly. The compromised state apparatus is not able to stand up to this onslaught of communal politics to preserve the social and democratic rights of dalits and other marginalized sections of society, be it the matters of their physical security, questions of equity and food habits. It is a blatant attempt to manipulate culture, to impose elite norms, through influencing the food habits, which are so much cultural in their nature.

It seems Mother Cow may be the major emotive weapon to be used for the politics deriving its legitimacy from Hindu religions’ identity. Interestingly it reveals the twin goals of this politics. At surface it is to reduce the minorities to a status of second class citizen and at deeper level to subjugate dalits at social, political and cultural level.

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Made Snana: Extraordinary Claims Need Extraordinary Evidence

Narendra Nayak

Loosely translated into English, Made Snana means taking bath on leftovers but a detailed one would mean rolling over the leaves on which others have eaten and discarded. .Again, a lengthier one would be lower caste people rolling on the leaves on which Brahmins have eaten! This has been taking place since hundreds of years if some are to be believed. Again, if some others are to be believed, it is a time honored tradition which has sanction of 'scriptures'. This happens in quite a few places and as a child I have observed the same when I used to go to temples with my mother. But, I am told that it was and is still an affair which happens between people of the same caste that is GSBs performing this act on leaves on which the members of their own community have eaten. But, what happened at the Kukke Subrahamanya Temple is something totally different. Here the scheduled tribe people performed this act on leaves on which Shivalli Brahmins have partaken food. This again brings to the fore many issues which have to be discussed in detail. 

Rationalists and  other progressive activists in Bangalore staged a protest
against Made Snana on December 3, 2011

This temple is, to put it mildly, not as popular as the one nearby at Dharmasthala. The latter being owned by a Jain has drawn more people particularly from the other side of the Western Ghats and subsequently has higher collections. The owner of this temple has been also running many capitation fee colleges and businesses. In order to compete with it, the management of the Subrahmanya Temple has been trying its best to get publicity. Its speciality is providing solutions for naga dosha which in loose translation means problems due to cobra or serpent trouble! These problems could be anything from sterility to skin diseases. Once diagnosed the performance of proper prescribed rituals could result in relief from the associated problems. So, any one going there could be diagnosed with that. Since the dosha or the fault can carry on to several generations it could be said that your grandfather or great grandfather could have performed some act which would have caused harm or angered some serpent. So, that could be set right by performing some rituals which could expiate these sins and hence relieve the victim of the associated problems.

One usually sees a large number of people alighting from the train from Bangalore to Mangalore at the Subrahmanya road railway station which is the nearest one to this temple. So, the whole place thrives on the business of ridding people of the sarpa dosha! As already said it has been competing for popularity with the temple of Manjunatha at Dharmasthala which is paradoxically a Hindu temple owned by a Jain! Though the latter is far ahead in popularity, the former cannot be blamed for not trying its best! In fact they have provided 'relief' from the serpent affliction to quite a few VVIPs like Sachin Tendulkar, Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachan to name a few. But despite all these the former remains far ahead in terms of popularity (in other words collection of cash).

So, the word has gone around that the ritual of rolling over the leaves on which Brahmins have eaten can cure a number of skin diseases and also other things like bestowing children on sterile couples. But, if one goes by the history of such practices, it looks more like a rite for the downtrodden to perform to demonstrate their loyalty to the upper castes who have partaken food on these leaves. In this temple which is run by Shivalli Brahmins, their community is served separately and the others have to eat outside like all such places.

Surendra Rao of Samudaya speaks at the protest meet in front of Town Hall, Bangalore

There are instances where people have been forcibly evicted from the places reserved for this community! It has been done not just to the supposedly lower castes but even to Gowda Saraswath Brahmins who though call themselves so are held in low esteem by these so called upper castes! So, behind these practices lies a simmering cauldron of caste politics. In fact these castes like Koragas have been subjected to inhuman practices like what was called as Ajalu. They were served meals on leaves on which Brahmins have eaten along with a clipping of a nail or hair, dancing before the procession of deities etc, which have now been banned. These things were done ostensibly to transfer the 'bad luck' caused by some inauspicious combination of planets to these people!

The reactions to this practice of made snana were diametrically opposite. The Dalit activists who opposed it were manhandled by the very people indignities against whom were being protested - malekudiyas who belong to scheduled tribe, attacked the Dalit activist Shivaram who was submitting a memorandum against this practice to the administrator of the temple and police were silent spectators to this outrage.

The volte face of the government on this issue of first banning the ritual and then permitting it left much to be desired. More strange were the attitudes of the ministers. Some of the Dalit ministers opposed the ritual while those like Dr.V.S.Acharya supported it! There are many strong reasons why the latter is supporting it. Firstly, it is a temple belonging to Shivally Brahmins the community to which he belongs. Then again there is a strong Hindutwa lobby supporting these primitive barbaric rituals which he wanted to please. He also puts forward many theories to support his contentions which deserve to be analysed in detail as Dr.V.S.Acharya is an MBBS graduate who has been trained to and is expected to follow evidence based, scientific system of medicine.

So, if he justifies such a practice on medical grounds as he did he owes a lot of explanations to the scientific community which should be forthcoming. In any scientific system of medicine any practice associated with the process of diagnosis or treatment should be subjected to proper scrutiny before being followed. So, statements like practicing made snana may cause formation of antibodies, have to be justified with proper evidence. The long winded explanation for this is that saliva may contain some bacteria, viruses or some such which could stimulate the production of antibodies and boost the immune system of those who roll on the leaves which have been used. Hahnemann, the father of Homoeopathy has been also quoted here. Well, if something has to be accepted for treatment on the basis of scientific system of medicine it should be supported by evidence. So, we should advocate clinical trials to validate these claims and these could be as follows:

1. Making Brahmins roll over leaves on which Dalits have eaten
2. Making Dalits roll over leaves on which Dalits have eaten
3. Making Dalits do the same on which Brahmins have eaten
4. And lastly, do it with Brahmins on leaves on which they have eaten and then compare the anti body levels.

As for his resort to Homeopathy, he should understand that it is not an indigenous system of medicine and that a number of double blind trials have shown that it does not work and it has been removed from the National Health Service in UK.

Again many other practices which have been now banned could have been given such justification like nude worship being needed to expose the skin to sunlight to get more vitamin D, child marriage helping to develop deeper bonds between the couples, widow burning being needed to protect them from misery, shaving their heads would protect them from lice etc. All these were well accepted practices at one time and have been now banned. If Dr.Acharya is a firm believer in this theory of antibodies being formed by this ritual he should start this practice himself and boost his own immune system too. Though one cannot agree with the arguments of those who oppose this- like it helps to spread diseases or transmits HIV virus, the practice has to be opposed if it is degrading a particular community that too one like the Malekudiyas who are a scheduled tribe. This system of performing the ritual on the leaves on which only one community have eaten is again violation of human rights of others who profess the same religion.

More to be condemned is the violence perpetrated on the activists who had gone to investigate the happenings. The perpetrators of this were honored as if they were heroes. These attempts to perpetuate the caste divide were supported by the victims themselves who allegedly threatened to stop their annual duty of decorating the temple chariot unless they were allowed to perform this degrading ritual of rolling over eaten leaves. This shows that either they must have been instigated or that their deep rooted superstitions must have scared them of the divine repercussions that would ensue if they ceased to perform this ritual. It is a pity that even during these times where science has progressed to the level of identifying the micro organisms which cause leprosy that there are those who still believe that it is caused by the curse of a serpent and doing meaningless rituals like this can cure it. It is worse that there are 'educated' people in positions of power who keep trotting out excuses for these without a shred of evidence. For those who argue that it is for us to disprove such claims we quote “extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence” and that what can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

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Deepti weds Sandesh

Prof Narendra Nayak with the couple after their wedding

Well this is not the cliched title of a wedding invitation but the narration of events that led to this wedding! For, Sandesh is a Pambada, a caste of dalits who are untouchables except when they get possessed by spirits- sorry not of those of the volatile kind but the local ones called as Bhoothas for which rituals called as Bhootha Kolas are performed and when they are done it is the members of this caste who dress themselves as those and perform the associated rituals! Any way the moment this costume is removed they become untouchables. Deepti belongs to a caste called as Kottaris and is studying for her masters in commerce while working at a mall. We have performed many intercaste, interreligious marriages but the maximum opposition has been when one of the couples is a dalit! 

As to be expected Deepti’s family was very much opposed this match and three days ago she fled home and started staying as a paying guest. Today it was a tearful shivering young woman who had come to meet me, worried about her fate and that of her beloved. That was because her family had arranged a match for her from her own caste, a young man who was a relative of the head of a most feared moral police of the Hindutwa right wing! She was scared that his goons were searching for her. In fact, all the documents needed for her marriage were kept at the place where she used to work and she was scared by the former colleagues who told her that a close watch was being kept on her locker by the minions of this man.

She had come to us for help with a middle aged lady whom we assumed was her relative- but it was not! She was Sandesh's mother who had come with her out of love for her will be daughter in law. By that time a number of progressive organisations had been intimated and also some very progressive minded journalists. While we tried to get her documents from the place where she used to work, some goons from there tried to follow her and then it was a ride straight to the office of the Commissioner of Police, Sri Seemanth Singh who had instructed his office to give all help for the couple. By the time we reached the office, only Deepti’s brothers were there and they informed the police that they had absolutely no objection to her marrying any one of her choice.

So, in the evening one progressive minded priest Jayaram Bhat performed their marriage in the presence of journalists and progressive minded organisations like DYFI, Samudaya, AIDWA, Insurance employees union and the Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association! For the last named, though religious marriages are not their cup of tea, under some circumstances, particularly when registration has to be done immediately this sort of ritual becomes necessary. In a state like Karnataka where self respect marriages are not recognised as common law marriages for registration purposes some sort of a formal drama becomes necessary for registration purposes and we are very happy that Sri Jayaram Bhat has been co-operating with us for the past two decades when it becomes a need.

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Behenji: The Pragmatist Politician

Ram Puniyani

With elections looming over Uttar Pradesh horizon, recently (Nov 2011) UP Chief Minister Mayawati declared that her cabinet has approved the proposal to divide the UP state into four smaller states. She declared that only a dalit-OBC Chief Minister should be able to solve the problems of dalit-OBCs. There is also the talk of giving reservations to Muslims in UP. All this has created a huge turmoil in political circles. Amongst the politicians who have succeeded at a fast pace during last couple of decades, Mayawati, the associate of late Kanshiram may be amongst the foremost of them. While she inherited the movement built by Kanshiram, she also showed her mettle to come to capture the seat of power in the challenging arena of politics. Her Prime Ministerial ambitions at the moment are not very vocal, though immediately after her getting the absolute majority in the previous UP assembly elections she projected the same as a ‘dalit ki beti’as Prime Minster (Daughter of a dalit).

Many a times she has been in the news for the wrong reasons, ‘Taj Corridor’ case, her lavish spending on Ambedkar park and getting numerous statues not only of the past dalit icons like Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar, and Kanshiram but her own-self during last few years, have hogged media attention. Her major point of self proclamation is that all this expenditure she is doing is for the sake of dalits. What do dalits need at this point of time and in what proportion is an issue to be debated in a serious manner. Of late she has been also talking of reservation on the economic criterion rather than the caste one, and from the point of view of electoral arithmetic she has been wooing the Brahmins, through ‘Brahmin Bhaichara’ Sammelans (Gatherings for brotherhood with Brahmins).  Her major advisor has been Satish Mishra, who not only has succeeded in getting many of his close relatives to be given plum posts; but also a University has been named after his mother’s name. From her earlier slogan of Bahujan Samaj, she has tilted to the slogan of Sarvjan Samaj and from the shooing away of Brahmins and upper castes she has been aggressively campaigning to get them in her electoral fold. While she has undoubtedly given a sense of empowerment to dalit identity, identity assertions have really helped dalits live with better self respect and social dignity. While the atrocities against them have shown a down ward trend in UP, what is debatable is the equity issues, economic empowerment of dalits which have remained in the limbo despite her regime being in majority rule. How should a dalit leader handle power, what sort of equations are needed to balance between ‘equity issues’ and ‘identity issues’ is again a matter of delicate balance.

Dalits in India have gone through a long and painful struggle to strive for equality and dignity. The most profound contribution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, coming in the backdrop of Jotiba Phule laid the foundation of the movement of the down trodden. Ambedkar, the profound scholar contributed to all aspects of dalits’ social and political life. He led the struggles for rights of dalits, who till that time were deprived of education, were mostly landed slaves and were under the grip of clergy and kept on the margins of the society. Ambedkar led movements, Chavdar Talab, Kalaram Mandir and Manusmriti burning were the major rallying points for dalits. His formation of independent Labor Party, Schedule caste Federation and later the concept of Republican Party were the milestones in the organizing process of dalits. The concretization of Ambedkars’ values were actualized through his becoming the chairman of drafting committee of Indian Constitution. He tactfully handled many vexed issues related to overall efforts towards the social transformation of caste in particular. His major focus was: educate, organize and agitate for the rights of dalits.

The later period was marked by few agitations and more of political activity. The remarkable ones’ amongst these were the land reform movement of Dada Saheb Gaikwad and later the formation of Dalit Panthers by dalit youths, on the lines of Black panthers of US. Most of these movements later got fragmented and the plight of dalit politics became abysmal with the ruling parties trying their best and succeeding in wooing one or the other dalit politician. The electoral confusions were another dimension of their alliances, some of them tilted towards Congress, while some of them had no compunctions in allying with avowed HIndutva parties hailing Hindu Rashtra openly, allying with the forces eulogizing Manusmiriti and Hindu nation. Mayawati at one time not only allied with BJP in UP to come to power but also went on to campaign for Narendra Modi in elections in the aftermath of Godhra-Gujarat carnage.

Around the time when Dalit Panthers were agitating on the streets, Kanshiram began his political journey in a different way. His methods also ensured that the bane of dalit politics, ‘fragmentation into pieces’ of his movement will not take place. The dissenters were thrown out, and the dictates of the supreme leader, Kanshiram and later Mayawati prevailed. Kanshiram first started BAMCEF, which was an association of educated dalits, who believed in ‘pay back’ to the community. There understanding was that they have prospered due to the provision of reservations for dalits. They got jobs due to these provisions. From here the non-electoral DS4 (Dalit Shoshit Sangharsh Samiti) was formed. The focus for Kanshiram during all this period was cadre training and outlining the threat of Manuvaad, Brahmanvad the central threat to the interests of downtrodden. Later Kanshiram went in to form Bahujan Smaja Party and due course Maywati became his closest associate and she later succeeded him as Supreme leader once Kanshiram fell sick. The second major thrust of Kanshiram and later Mayawati was to come to power with whatever means and to try to implement their agenda.

The focus on capturing political power, the foundation of trained cadres was the hallmark of Kanshiram, BSP. During the course of political journey of BSP, Mayawati kept on rising up on the electoral ladders in UP. She struck an alliance with RSS progeny BJP. Here two contrasting forces stood face to face, Mayawati for the rights of dalits and BJP for the long term goal of Hindu Rashtra, based on Brahmanism. This alliance was like Mayawati reversing the Ambedkar’s burning of Manusmriti and openly associating with the followers of Manu. Later with coming to political power on her own, she openly changed the track. Initial days in BSP meetings, the slogan was ‘Tialk Taraju aur Talwar, Ehko Maro Jute Char’ (Beat the upper caste) now it has been substituted by ‘Brahman Shankh Bajyega Hathi Badhta Jayega’ (Brahmin will lead: Followers of BSP will march).

The Elephant, electoral slogan of BSP got recast, ‘Hathi Nahi Ganesh hai: Brahma Vishnu Mahesh hai’ (It is not elehant-Its Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh: Hindu Gods). The political ambition of power has strange logic of its own. Mayawati’s spending millions on elephant statues, and the statues of her own self smacks of identity politics taken to absurd limits. One concedes that dalits do need a space in social sphere, these statues must be giving them sense of dignity and belonging. The question is how much public spending can be allocated to the statues and how much should be spent for social welfare of dalits has to be rethought. The dalit politics has come to new crossroads. The core issues of dalits remain far from being solved in any substantive way. The problems of poverty, health, employment need a serious struggle, in case they are to be addressed. Can power, coming to power in this fashion, be the panacea for dalit issues? What happens to the Ambedkar’s teachings of ‘educate, unite and struggle’ is what needs to be taken up by those leading the dalit movement at various levels. Can just coming to power be goal in itself, is the question. 

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