Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram: similar, yet different

Two outstanding leaders of the Dalit movement, Bhimrao Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, may have fought for the same things but could not have been more different.

One was trained in Columbia University while the other was born in a tiny village of Punjab and trained in Pune Dalit Politics. As a successful propagator of Ambedkar’s ideology, Kanshi Ram turned a stoical critic of the Maharashtrian Dalit movement. As a student of the Western knowledge tradition, Ambedkar derived most of his ideological ingredients by looking at Dalits in the context of history while Kanshi Ram explored his political arguments in favour of Dalits using the interesting mixture of both historical and mythical context.

So are Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram comparable? Maybe yes. And maybe no.

Here I am not comparing Ambedkar with Kanshi Ram but trying to analyse two experiments, which are sometimes linked, overlapping and interactive.

Movements and mobilizations for Dalit emancipation: Ambedkar initiated the Dalit movements in western India and Kanshi Ram led the Bahujan movement in north and central India.

The Bahujan movement, as reflected in the formation of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and its remarkable success in previous elections in Uttar Pradesh, is most of the time understood as merely an extension of Ambedkar’s ideas and politics. We usually do not pay attention to the underlying variations and difference of perceptions, visions and strategies in the ideas and political actions of Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. During the 1980s, when Kanshi Ram was sowing the seeds of BSP politics in Uttar Pradesh, he too associated himself with Ambedkar’s articulation. Both were of the view that political power is the master key through which one can open all the doors of progress and recognition, and to achieve this, it was very important for the Dalits to unite.

In his speeches, Kanshi Ram always asserted that the sapling of Dalit politics originated in Maharashtra but it grew and was nurtured in the soil of Uttar Pradesh. Ambedkar called the politics of emancipation of marginalized groups the Dalit movement while Kanshi Ram preferred to term it the Bahujan movement. He usually avoided using the word Dalit and said that Dalits have to give up their attitude of crying, begging and demanding. He said they have to become very strong and emancipate themselves from the vicious circle of Dalitness so that they could be charitable to others instead of demanding charity.

Ambedkar tried to provide an ethical context to the politics of Dalit liberation; for him morality was more important for the attainment of political goals. However, Kanshi Ram, in his political experiment, did not pay much heed to the means of acquiring a political regime but laid more emphasis on the end-the attainment of political power. For him the end justified the means.

He provided a practical form to Dalit politics in Indian society. But this practical form of Dalit politics is not like those of upper caste dominant parties such as the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It is associated with the weakening of these dominant forces by the subversive use of the tools of Brahminical and hegemonic politics.

When the BSP was forming a government in alliance with the BJP, someone put forth his view before Kanshi Ram that this was sheer opportunism. Kanshi Ram is said to have quickly replied: If the Brahmins can become influential by making use of this opportunism then there is nothing wrong if the Dalits use this opportunism to empower themselves. While Ambedkar based his Dalit politics on ethical and moral values, Kanshi Ram’s way of Dalit politics was practical and pragmatic in approach. He believed in using instruments of dominant groups which had been applied for centuries to oppress the marginalized.

Strategically and politically, there is a great similarity between Ambedkar’s and Kanshi Ram’s thoughts on politics. Both of them thought that the Dalits should organize themselves into such a political power that the influential political groups fail to get absolute majority. In that situation they would come to the Dalits for support.

The major difference in perceptions and visions of both the Dalit ideologues may be observed in their views of caste and emancipatory political actions. Ambedkar wanted the annihilation of caste. However, Bahujan politics, which Kanshi Ram developed in Uttar Pradesh, was different from Ambedkar’s concept and was based on awakening the Dalits towards the restoration of their caste identity and self-esteem. Kanshi Ram said: In 1962-63, when I got the opportunity to read Ambedkar’s book Annihilation of Caste, then I also felt that it is perhaps possible to eradicate casteism from the society. But later on when I studied the caste system and its behaviour in depth, gradually there was a modification in my thoughts. I have not only gained knowledge about caste from the books but from my personal life too. After understanding its functions in Indian society, I have stopped thinking about the annihilation of caste.

For the eradication of caste, Kanshi Ram believed in the strategy that the Dalits should use their caste as a tool for their emancipation. He felt that as long as a casteless society was not formed, caste would have to be used to dethrone Brahminism. Kanshi Ram’s idea regarding Ambedkar’s demand for a separate state for Dalits was also different. He wanted the Dalits to attain a respectable and glorious position in mainstream society and that they should not be treated as a separate entity.

Ambedkar associated the emancipation of Dalits with their religious emancipation and because of this he quit the Hindu religion and embraced Buddhism on 14 October 1956. On the contrary, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati said religious emancipation is only possible through political liberation. They were willing to convert to Buddhism only when the Bahujans acquire power in the government. That is why in spite of using the symbols of Buddha in their politics, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati did not convert to Buddhism. One of the important reasons behind this was also that most of the rural Dalits of Uttar Pradesh are associated with medieval sects (Bhaktikaleen) such as the Ravidas Panth, Kabir Panth and Shiv Narayani. The people of these sects believe in creating a space for themselves while residing in the cultural milieu of Hindu society. They won’t be able to associate themselves with Buddhism. Somewhere Mayawati fears that this can spread discontentment among rural Dalits. Perhaps this is the reason why Mayawati says that without establishing Bahujan power in this country, religious conversion will only cause harm to the welfare of the Bahujans. The history of the political actions of Kanshi Ram suggests that he always took insights from marginalized people than from ideas and ideologies. He even learnt the tricks and tactics from the groups with whom he had to fight.

The late founder of the BSP said this best himself.

Ambedkar learnt from the books but I have learnt from my own life and people. He used to gather books, I tried to gather people.Published by HT Syndication with permission from HT Columnists. For more information on news feed please contact Sarabjit Jagirdar at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

crtsy :

http://mingkok.buddhistdoor.com/en/news/d/2507

Caste and the Census

Caste and the Census

May 23, 2010 By

Also published in Frontier and Forward “See no caste, hear no caste, speak no caste.”

The policy of the Indian elite towards the issue of caste has been that of the three monkeys: one of denial. It doesn’t exist; if it does it is not so bad; it should not be talked about, and those who do talk about it or try to act on it are the ones who are “casteist.” The entire onus is placed on the victims of the system trying to fight it. This has also guided the policy of the government of India. Now that the Census of 2011 is coming closer, with preparations getting well in hand, it is clear that once again there will be no question of caste identification, except for the broad and rather useless (for most purposes) categories of “Scheduled Caste” and “Scheduled Tribe.” The issue has been raised in the past, and quite frequently has met with a rather frantic response that this would lead to turmoil, dissension and bitter conflict. Yet for years the British government asked questions about caste in the Census; though the issue became politicized (with some groups seeking and proclaiming new identities) it led to no really serious problems. Again, the United States asks about race in each of its censuses; and while race in the U.S. is as contentious an issue as caste in India, it has led to no great problems. Gail Omvedt Gail Omvedt The fact is that to deal with an issue, one has to have information about it. Policies require understanding and analysis; pretending that caste doesn’t exist is perhaps the best way to perpetuate it. On one hand, there are numerous acts and regulations dealing with caste; on the other hand, there is a genuine dearth of information. There is no encouragement for studies of caste; indeed, the only sociology students who are at all encouraged to deal with the issue are an occasional student from subaltern caste background who is taught to write on his own people. But looking at the caste system as a system is not so often done. The National Sample Surveys, for example, have only recently started using the very broad (and often not very useful) categorization of “OBC”; but this pulls together a diverse and hierarchically broad group of castes or jatis into one overall category. And Brahmans – those who, as sociologist Satish Deshpande has argued, “ride incognito in our social system” – are never looked at; all the “upper” castes together are lumped in the “other” group. There is almost no solid statistical data available about them. And issues like intermarriage – all we can do is speculate, on the basis of scattered personal experience and matrimonial ads in the newspapers, about what percentage of marriages (95%? 99%?) are still within caste marriages. Yet it would be so simple to include a question about caste in the Census. Let it be a matter of self-identification ; people would be free to identify their caste as they like, or (if they wish), reply “no caste” or “mixed.” This itself would yield valuable data. I would guess that the number saying “no caste” would be less than one percent! Then, a committee at the state level could identify the broad categories within which the data can be summarized. This would hardly be a utopia. But it would provide a beginning for an honest attempt to deal with the issue, to gather data to deal with the issue. Caste has undoubtedly changed in modern India – though some extremely “feudal” and backward forms remain, such as the fact that cleaning human excrement is still done in so many places in India by members of particular dcastes. Even cases such as those of Chitralekha in “developed” and “left-progressive” Kerala show the degree to which many occupations are “reserved” by ongoing, brutally enforced tradition for members of particular caste groups. In other cases, most of the old forms of the jajmani system have vanished. Yet the correlation of caste and economic status remains strong. Education continues to be two-track and it is the children of the subaltern castes who suffer particularly from this. Another Census is going by without dealing with the harshest, most peculiar aspect of india’s social system. Let this be the last one.

‘Institutes like IITs and IIMs should be closed down’

Mandal is back. With the news that a crore a year has just become slightly less dear for the B-school grad, came the rider that it may soon become that much more difficult for a general category student to make it to IIMs, IITs or central universities.
[View large image]

The government is considering a proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats there for those applying under the OBC quota. There has been an instant uproar in the corporate sector and the student community. Most are sniffing political opportunism in the move.

But there is another side to the debate. In an exclusive interview to DNA, author of Why I am not a Hindu? and one of the country’s foremost Dalit intellectuals Kancha Ilaiah tells Daipayan Halder this was long overdue.

The Election Commission has, on Saturday, sought an explanation from HRD Minister Arjun Singh over the Centre’s proposal to reserve seats for OBCs in IITs, IIMs and all central universities, saying he has violated the model code of conduct before the Assembly polls. Do you see this as yet another instance of populism that has run riot?

Well, it is true that after L K Advani decided to go on yet another Bharat Yatra and that too before the assembly polls, the Congress needed a game plan to counter it. Hence, they decided to push for reservation. But there is nothing wrong, per se, in declaring a policy decision. The Constitution has already been amended for the purpose. Elections in the five states are a separate issue and should not be affected by a proposal that is yet to be implemented. The opposition to the proposal only exposes the casteist and racist mindset of those who are opposing it. Even the EC is not free from the malaise. Today or tomorrow, the government had to introduce reservation because that is what the Constitution says.

The IITs and IIMs are successful brands and have gained international recognition. If Mandal replaces merit, wouldn’t their brand equity suffer?

We should close down the IITs and the IIMs as they pander to the upper-caste economy of the country. Those who pass out from these institutes use their technical and managerial skills to earn dollars abroad. Are they using their skill sets to the benefit of the agro-based economy of the country? Tell me, with rising incomes of our B-school graduates are farmer suicide rates coming down? So what is the use of such education if it cannot be put to any use within the country or for the uplift of the majority of the population who live in villages?

But can this not lead to reverse discrimination? There is a lot of resentment for the quota candidates for what is often perceived as an unfair advantage that they have over others?

In the book, The Shape of the River, William (G) Bowen and Derek (Curtis) Bok argue for more racial diversity in the US’ student population. Today, because of affirmative action in the US, the entry of coloured people in the education, employment and political systems are being increasingly ensured and has benefited their society. There is no reverse discrimination there. In India, on the other hand, there is no democratic space for the SC/ST & OBCs. This move was long overdue.

But even the US policymakers are not in support of reservation. Can there not be any other form of affirmative action than caste-based reservations in jobs and educational institutions?

Reservation is absolutely essential. But there should also be other forms of affirmative action. Successive governments have failed to implement the constitutional promise of introducing free and compulsory education after independence. There should be mass English language primary schools for Dalits. There should also be reservation in the private sector. We will soon take to the streets to ensure that.

Finally, would the move benefit the OBC students themselves? There are examples galore of quota students dropping out of such schools of excellence as they cannot cope up with the pressure.

This is incorrect. When you say backward caste students are not good enough, you display a casteist bias. When I was the head of the political science department of Osmania University, a Dalit student had secured the highest marks.

Backward caste students are generally discriminated against in these premier institutes. Instead of providing them a leg-up, they are made to feel unwanted. Given a favourable condition and a fair chance, they can do as well as the others.

————-

Daipayan Halder
Sunday, April 9, 2006 23:26 IST
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_institutes-like-iits-and-iims-should-be-closed-down_1023204

Why I am not a Hindu: Kancha Ilaiah

(@Rupee News BLOG)

http://rupeenews.com/2009/11/12/why-i-am-not-a-hindu-kancha-ilaiah/

Kancha Ilaiah’s book ‘why I am not a Hindu’, should be made a textbook in all the colleges and universities all over the world. This is the most highly scholarly book on religion. Even Bertrand Russel’s book ‘Why I am not a christian’  is nothing in comparison because Bertrand russell was very superficial. Christianity is a great religion and Bertrand russel gives superficial reasons about why he is not a christian. Bertrand Rusel was also influenced by zionists. There is enough proof on that and we at Dalit Nation are doing research  and will be publishing a paper soon.

When the editor first read Kancha Iliah, immediately we realised that this book is next only to Dr. Ambedkar’s ‘Annhilation of caste’. But it is also different because Kancha talks of his experiences as a Kuruma the shepherd caste. How the shepherds had so much knowledge of different ways to breed and look after sheep. The Brahmins know nothing of all this. Yet they rule the people. Since the editor is also from the weaver caste we can understand and sympathise with Kancha iliaiah.

How brahmins have taken away our gods is still a shame. When pocchamma’s festivals are celebrated how we dalits sacrifice and offer what we love to eat. We sacrifice buffalos and sprinkle the blood of the buffalos and cook them and eat them. We also drink toddy and sing and dance all night. Why should we dalits learn the classical music popularised by these brahmins. All their arts like bharatanatyan and classical music has only survived because of the Devadasis. The uncultured brahmins dont even know how to sing and dance properly and they call us uncultured. They offer bananas and coconuts to their gods but our gods need meat. Because our gods eat what we dalit bahujans eat. The barbaric brahmins wants to prevent us from sacrificing animals. They want to kill our culture. The brahmins dont know that they were also meat eaters 2000 years ago. They became vegetarian only to conquer Buddhists. The Buddhists were fooled by newly converted vegetarian Brahmins and thought that they are non violent and slowly Brahmins absorbed Buddhists. The Brahmins can go to any extent even change their diet to enjoy their monopoly. The brahmins have also influenced the christian missionaries to preach against animal sacrifice. Shame on them.

In Kancha’s childhood he never saw any Brahmin children in the fields. There were only his own caste people. Where were these brahmin children at that time. They were probably hiding in their houses eating food all the time and chanting the stupid mantras. The brahmins have no contact with nature. They dont touch mud and dont know anything about plants and animals. Still they call themselves intelligent. Kancha has clearly exposed the Brahmins with regards to sex education. The Brahmins never talk of sex in their homes. They act as if sex does not exist. The brahmin children have no clue about sex unlike we dalits. As dalits we are taught sex education in our houses but for Brahmin children they dont even know about birds and bees.

Brahmins also treat their own children as untouchable. Brahmin mothers dont touch their own children and brahmin mothers also dont love their children. What a horrible people these brahmins are. Kancha clearly exposes all these things. The world should know these things. How the brahmin treats women and widows are so inhuman. They just light a fire and burn the widows after the death of the husband. Why are they not booked for murder when they do this.

Kancha completely exposes the gods of the brahmins, even the godess of learning saraswathi is an illiterate. How come brahmins dont allow woment to study. Their gods are all violent rama who killed dalits like shambuka and the ravana. Krishna who was a master of deceit. Krishna also studied chanakya’s arthashastra and vatsyayana’s Kamasutra. He mastered them.

The brahmin gods are all symbols to destroy the oppressed. The brahmans say ‘aham brahmasmi’ which means everything belongs to me. Why should we give everything to brahmins our women, the products from the toil. The bagvad gita and upanishads are books which will put  mein kampf to shame. Bagvad Gita asks the upper caste pandavas to kill their cousins the lower caste kauravas. Kancha clearly exposes the hypocrisy of the Mahabharatha.

These books like Bhagavad Gita should be banned. Even people who discovered atom bomb were influenced by bhagwad gita. All of them were jews. Einstien and Opphenhiemer were influenced by bhagvad gita. They are extremely dangerous books and they used it to kill millions of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The Japanese should ask compensation from the Brahmins and Jews because it is they who created the destruction of the two cities.

The brahmin manu created the manusmrithi and without any political power the brahmins ruled us. Even when muslims and the british were ruling india the brahmins were ruling us. Surely they are extremely crafty. The most cunning people on earth. They dont own lands and they dont have power all they know is some mantras and then they mesmerize people and rule them. Kancha surely exposes all of them.

Their time is coming to an end. We dalit bahujans are now coming together and with sister mayavathi is now the chief minister of UP. She will be the prime minister of India in the next elections. We dalits should stop reading all the other nonsense these brahmins and their media talk about and read Kancha’s book. It will surely make you understand how evil the hindu religion is. Like Kancha we at Dalit Nation are also closely working with the Christian Missions. We should not waste the funds that we get for personal things but use them to destroy Hinduism. Because only then we can have peace and justice. How long can this atrocities continue.

This books should be read by everyone and it should be given the Nobel prize. But the Nobel prize is completely controlled by the zionists. The hypocrites will never give Nobel Prize to Kancha Ilaiah.

Kancha Ilaiah – Why I am not a Hindu

December 14, 2007 at 10:12 am · Filed under Ambedkar, Christians, dalit, kancha ilaiah ·Tagged dalit, kancha ilaiah, review, why i am not a hindu

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