Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Friday, 9 July 2021
Dr. BR Ambedkar: Memoirs of S.P. Shukla
Dr. BR Ambedkar: Memoirs of S.P. Shukla
(Sh. S.P. Shukla I.A.S.(Retd) former Commerce Secretary, Finance Secretary (Govt. of India) and Ambassador to GATT in Geneva)
Dear Darapuriji,
Thank you for forwarding to me the charming piece of Dr. Bhagwan Das about his initial encounters with Dr. Ambedkar. The account has such endearing aura about both the persons.
As I read it, memories welled up and I recalled the first opportunity I had of seeing Dr. Ambedkar at close quarters and even putting a question or two to him.
It was in 1952. The locale was Kolhapur. I was a young lad of 18 years of age, coming from a family of modest means. Like many of my generation, we were politically precocious for our age.
Dr. Ambedkar was the chief guest at the annual social
event of that year of our college: the Rajaram College, a reputed government
college of vintage in the Bombay province.
The principal of the college invited the chief guest to an informal,
private, small dinner at his house. Possibly, he had ascertained the chief
guest' s preference for a quiet dinner with a few selected young invitees.
The invitees happened to be all young Rajaramians: Khashaba Jadhav, who
had won a bronze medal for freestyle bantamweight wrestling at the Olympics
Games in Helsinki that very year. Then there was a young girl, Miss Sabnis who
was a promising stage actress in the local amateur Marathi theater. The third
was myself, chosen probably because I had topped the Pune University Intermediate
Arts examination results in that year.
I would not dilate on the trepidation and expectation that I
experienced before the event. Not only because of the impending event of
meeting a living legend at close quarters. But equally, worrying about not possessing
a decent dress for the occasion. Nor did we have ready cash at home to buy new
clothes. It is a different story how my brother thought out a stratagem of
visiting a ready- made garments shop confidently and borrowing a smart bush
shirt for trial on returnable basis, if it did not fit or meet our fancy! There
were no trial rooms then in the garment shops in our place.
The shop-owner fell to our ruse and I had a smart bush shirt to wear for
the dinner! Mind you, a bush shirt was a trendy impressive wear for a young man
those days in mufassil Maharashtra.
That done, I bicycled to the Principal 's bungalow, a few kilometers
away in a posh residential area in the outskirts of the town. Fortunately,
bicycles were available on hire @ four annas overnight!
Dr Ambedkar's car drove into the porch and we all stood
behind the Principal and his daughter who was the hostess. I still remember
vividly the big, imposing frame of Dr Ambedkar slowly alighting from the car
with a thick walking stick in hand and Maisaheb accompanying him quietly.
We three were almost tongue tied to say anything. The
Principal introduced his daughter and then the three of us, the young guests,
one by one. And as we took seat after him in a quiet awe, the Chief Guest
turned to Khashaba Jadhav and asked him, " So, you won the Olympic medal
for wrestling. Tell me what is your daily diet? What is special about it? What
do you take for protein and vitamin supplement? " Khashaba was a genius in
wrestling. But conversation and that too, in chiseled English, with that
imposing giant of a man: that was not his cup of tea. Embarrassed at his
discomfiture, Khashaba shifted in his chair. I was sitting next to him. I took
courage and whispered in Khashaba's hearing in Marathi what the question was
about. Khashaba felt relieved. He responded in simple, unadorned, matter-of-
fact style what he ate, which went something like: " This, eh, Jwari roti,
Bhaat, Sabji, Chicken, Rassa ..." Dr. Ambedkar put him at ease
saying"Oh, that is nice. You have indeed done very well! "
Then the talk turned to the hostess- daughter. He asked her what did she
do. She told she was a qualified librarian. He asked her about new arrivals in
her library. I forget the conversation but remember that a number of
publishers' names came up of which I had no idea.
After dinner, we were all more at ease. And he turned to the young girl invitee and asked her about her roles and interest. And as she mustered courage and words giving him a response, he suddenly said: "The problem with our people is that they have no culture to speak of." When, on the spur of the moment, I tried to register a hesitant, polite question mark: " But, Sir ...? he burst out: "Go and look at our villages. Do you see any work of art? Do the people who are well -off and can afford, care for art? They are philistine in their mental makeup. Go and see the local moneylender's or a shopkeeper’s or a lawyer's place: all you will find is a crudely drawn Swastika and the greedy prayer:" Shubh Laabh "!
Not even
a scenery photo frame there. Or you will see those garishly coloured
temples and crude pictures on walls Those who could encourage works of art are
totally uncultured. ..." He went on. He mentioned about the Japanese
villages and some countries of Europe and hanging flowerpots in every balcony.
And the colourful Buddhist monasteries...And we listened spellbound.
Later, I made bold to ask him which country was the best in his
eyes. He did not respond for a moment. The hostess tried to elicit a response:"
Do you think America is the best country in the world?" He shot
back:" America? They do not have a history. They are just growing
up." She persisted:" Then, is it Britain?" "No."
He said categorically: "Look what they have done to us."
Russia, was a categorical and firm "No". And thus, it seemed there
was no country he could really recommend. But he was clear about the wretched
present of our existence and the enormous challenge it presented.
The hostess noticed that the chief guest was showing signs of tiredness.
And soon the evening ended with usual pleasantries. And our dinner party with
the giant among men was over.
What I could never forget was his vigour and verve and
forthrightness and his taking us youngsters seriously.
Two years later, I moved to Bombay for my MA. I had to support myself. I did tuitions. Which stood me in good stead.
Although
my results in MA were good, I could not land a lecturer's job straightaway. A
vacancy was available in a tutor's post in the Siddharth College in the Fort
area near Flora Fountain.
I applied and was appointed straightaway. That gave me my sustenance in
that big city. But I considered myself lucky that it was a job in a prestigious
college associated with Dr. Ambedkar who had possibly continued his stewardship
of the Peoples Education Society which was running the Siddharth College.
I had heard from senior colleagues in the staff room that it did happen
once in a while that Dr. Ambedkar visited the College. I was hoping and praying
that it may happen, just once, while I was still working in that College.
And it did not take more than a few weeks before my prayer was answered. I was taking my tutorial of the first-year students and a lightening news spread that Dr. Ambedkar had indeed paid a visit and was there in person in the staff room. I was just one among many staff members who had literally dropped their task midway and rushed across the corridors to see the great man from close quarters in the staff room.
This time I was not so lucky as in Kolhapur. I could just secure a standing place in a row of young staff members lining up in the open space between the walls and the chairs around the huge round table. I could see Principal Karnik and some other senior professors occupying places near the central chair in which Dr. Ambedkar sat. By his side was Maisahib (Dr. Savita Ambedkar). His walking stick was popping up beside his chair.
Already some serious conversation was on. For Dr. Ambedkar, it was nothing new that when he was amongst teachers and scholars, questions would be asked and the gathering would be all ears to listen to him. When I had entered, I heard him talking about PurushSukta. His words were like flying sparks. I do not recollect the sentences. But I remember the spellbinding power of his indictment.
A little while later, maybe, after tea intervening, the atmosphere felt lighter. I think it was Principal Karnik who diverted the discussion to new books and the library of the Society. Many of the books in the library, I was told by colleagues, had been donated by Dr. Ambedkar.
The talk soon turned to new arrivals. And Dr. Ambedkar
said: " He had not found time to visit his favourite bookshop,
Taraporewalla. Some senior member ventured to pay a respectful compliment to
Dr. Ambedkar’s own library. Dr. Ambedkar responded with a mock seriousness:
"Oh. It was not very difficult. You know, I used to visit Taraporewala once
in a while, journey through the bookshelves, pick-up the books I fancied and
get them deposited in my car. And then the books entered my library. It was
pretty simple. " And he added with a smile, " You know, Taraporewalla
is a gentleman. He never reminded me about payment." And as the impact of
his quip sank in, he added wryly:" You know, then I fought a case or two
in the Bombay High Court which earned me a good sum. And my account with
Taraporewala was settled! ".
A couple of months later, the luck smiled on me and I got a
full lectureship in DE Society ' s Bombay College. The pay had almost doubled.
I was happy at that. But leaving Siddharth College meant forgoing the rare and
invaluable chance of seeing Dr. Ambedkar from nearby.
It was only months later that the news of his passing away struck us in the staff room of the Bombay College. We organised a condolence meeting. Many spoke. I could not muster equanimity to speak. His imposing figure, his profound scholarship , his spitfire exclamations, his palpable greatness -- all gathered before my misty eyes. And all I could do was to treasure my personal memories close to my heart.
And the treasure is everlasting!
Warmly,
S.P. Shukla
Thursday, 7 May 2020
How to be a Good Buddhist? Bhagwan Das
How to be a Good Buddhist?
-Bhagwan Das
- 
I have borrowed
nothing excepting title from Liu Shao Chi, the famous Chinese leader and author of the book ‘How to be
a good Communist?’ which converted thousands to Communism. Besides the ‘Communist Manifesto’ and the ‘Das Kapital’ perhaps
the Emile Burns ‘What is Marxism’ is perhaps another world famous book which
appealed to the educated people and explained Communism and clarified doubts.
Sydney Webbs ‘World Communism’ has its own place in the Communist Literature of
the world. But for common people I think no other book can surpass Liu Shao
Chi’s ‘How to be a good Communist?’
I have travelled
through almost all parts of India and wherever I go young men put questions
about Buddhism? Why did Babasaheb Ambedkar choose Buddhism? ‘Can religion be
the panacea of ills?’ ‘Why are the young Buddhists in Buddhist countries
turning to Communism?
What does Buddhism mean to us?’ ‘What must we follow as Buddhists?’ Many more
difficult questions are put and repeated at different places. I am not going to
answer all or any one of these questions in this paper. I am simply trying to
explain, as best as l can, how to be a Buddhist? I am not following the pattern
adopted by Liu Shao Chi but putting it in my
own manner keeping in view the circumstances in which we are placed in India.
To start with we
must clearly understand that Buddha was the greatest religious teacher in the
real sense of the word. He was a teacher and not a prophet, messiah, ‘son of
god’ or’ ‘incarnation born to liberate
the erring masses’ or ‘to save deteriorating ‘dharma’. He was not a ‘yogi’ who could create a
following by working miracles and curing the sick. He was a teacher of morality
and adopted education as his weapon for ameliorating the suffering masses. He
did not promise salvation or a comfortable place in heaven nor freedom from
rebirth. His teaching was more earthly and easy to understand. The only
difficulty was practising his religion. ‘Panch Sheel’, ‘Four Noble Truths’ and ‘Ashtang Marg’ contain the essence
of his teachings. You may and may not read the Dhammapada; you may not be
conversant with ‘Tripitaka’; you may or
may not be able to recite thc Suttas in Pali, if you know the meanings of Panch
Sheel, understand the significance of Four Noble Truths and follow ‘Eightfold
Path’, it is sufficient to make you religious and a ‘man’ in the real sense of
the word Buddha wanted man to be a ‘man’ and not merely a ‘biped’ interested
only in eating, drinking or procreating.
“Buddha,” to use
the words of Tanaka Devi, famous author of ‘Seven Courses of Civilisation’
‘‘was not a Buddhist; nor for that matter was Christ a Christian and Mohammed a
Mohammaden. It was the followers who made them Buddhist, Christian and
Mohammedan.
In most cases it was the politician and warrior who killed the spirit of
religion and began to worship the shell for his own purpose. He exploited
religion for his own advantage. Religion gradually became the hand-maid of
politician and warrior. It is the ignorant who becomes the most fanatic fighter
in defence of religion and political creed. It is at the same time strength and
the greatest weakness of any ideology. A small minority of people are seriously
interested in religious theory. Majority of the people are never seriously
interested in religion or any political theory. They lack the will and the
competence to comprehend. Instead of elevating themselves they try to bring the
level of the religion down to their feet. What they cannot understand or find
difficult to practice they discard. They accept and practice what is easy to
comprehend and follow and give them pleasure. Religions which have chalked out
an easy path for the masses become more popular than those which demand study,
practice, sacrifice and knowledge.
The easiest to
follow is Hinduism. To use the words of Eliot, “it is a jungle.” You are free
to believe or disbelieve anything. What is required is conformity with rituals
and customs, caste and ceremonies and willingness to call him a Hindu. Among
the organized religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam some semblance of
discipline is maintained. But majority of the Christians and Moslems do not
care for their religions. Like the followers of other religions they also
believe that merely following of age old customs is the religion. Most of the
troubles have been created by religions and religious leaders themselves. We do
not know whether Christ said so or not but Christian books say that ‘no man can
enter the kingdom excepting through me.’ Krishna of the Bhagwat Gita said, ‘‘I
am God. Come to me and follow and do anything in my name and I shall save you.”
He claimed to be God, the saviour.
A good Christian
is one who believes in the word of God as embedded in the Bible, has faith in
Lord Jesus Christ and accepts him as his saviour. A person may be very moral
but if he does not believe in the Bible and does not accept Lord Jesus Christ
as his saviour, he is not considered a good Christian. Similarly, a good
Mohammedan is one who believes in God as well as in the
Koran,
accepts Prophet Mohammed as last Prophet sent by God with his message, prays
five times a day, visits Mecca. For a Hindu to be a good Hindu there are no
commandments to follow and no hard and fast rules. He may be an atheist or
agnostic, he may be idolatrous, theist or an iconoclast; he may or may not
believe in any book, scripture, religious teaching or philosophy, he can be a
Hindu perhaps a good one, too, if he belongs to a caste and follows dictates of
his caste. He has to believe in caste system.
On the other
hand, a good Buddhist is not one who recites the Suttas correctly, burns
candles and joss sticks before the image of the Buddha, goes on pilgrimage to
the sacred places like Sarnath, Shravasti, Gaya and Kusinara; bows reverently
before the Bhikshus, occasionally gives
‘Dana’, and sleeps with the satisfaction that he has done his duty towards
Dhamma.
Buddhism, unlike other religions does not believe in God, his prophets,
incarnations, salvation, hell and heaven, redemption and forgiveness, prayers,
fasts, sacrifices meaningless rituals.
Buddhism is not
the faith. It is a religion of morality and practice. Buddha at no time claimed
to be omniscient nor gave under importance to his own teachings. “Everything
changes,” he said, “for change is the law of nature.” He laid down a criterion
for judging his teachings. He also laid down certain principles. He exhorted
people not to accept anything on faith. His religion was for the good of many
and for the good of all. His religion was not the end in itself but only an aid
to elevate oneself. Likening the ‘Dhamma’ to a boat, he said that the boat’s place was in water and
the purpose was to carry the passengers across the river. He despised those who
carried the boat over their heads.
‘Trisharna’,
‘Panch Sheel’ and ‘Ashtang Marg’ were the important pillars of his
religious teachings. They are simple to recite but difficult to comprehend and
translate into action. Yet they were not the ‘commandments’ but only teaching
willingly accepted. Violation was not visited by curses and scourges. Bad
deeds, born of evil thoughts led to suffering. Good deeds invariably led to
good results. We cannot remove the pain caused by evil deeds nor can we efface
the evil effects of sinful deeds. At best we can minimize the effects of evil
deeds by doing good deeds in abundance. If each one of us thinks good of our
neighbours and do good, the result would be good and happiness all around. Mind
not body commands. Mind has to be controlled and cultivated. Mind controls the
body. Body does not control the mind. Knowledge alone is not considered enough.
It is the right action with right intention which matters most.
There are
millions of nominal Christians, Mohammedans, Sikhs, Shintoist, Taoists, Zoroastrians and Confucius. Likewise,
there are millions of nominal Buddhists who have inherited their religion like
the property of their ancestors or parents. They may not always be good
representatives of their religions.
A good Buddhist
is one who is striving to attain a higher standard of culture, is truthful,
honest, upright courageous, compassionate and tolerant. He must have a very
high standard of morality. He must try to elevate himself as well as those
around him. No man can be truly great in isolation. Buddhism is opposed to
individualism. A good Buddhist cannot be selfish. He cannot be dogmatic. He is a rational person with compassion and
loving kindness for all.
One can be a
good Buddhist if one reads the books of the Dhamma and ponders over the
truth imparted by the Buddha. He must learn to meditate and assimilate the
noble teachings of the Buddha. He must earnestly try to translate those noble
and lofty principles into everyday life.
He must remain vigilant and not accept everything written in books on
faith. He must judge whether it is good for his self as well for the many.
It is good at
the beginning, good in the middle and good at the end.
Deeds speak
louder than the words. One must always be guarded in his thoughts, deeds
and words. When in doubt one should always flash the torch of Dhamma and see whether the
particular act would be in accord with the teachings of the Dhamma.
A good Buddhist
must always remain vigilant and avoid such acts as are likely to bring bad name
to the Dhamma, his teacher Lord Buddha and the Sangha.
Religious
societies are judged by their practices and not through their professions.
If we do not
keep only the interest of all ‘self’ in mind but work for the betterment and
happiness of many, keeping the ideal of removing the suffering of all living
beings through service and loving kindness we can make this place a true heaven
much better and more real than what the imagination of poets and philosophers
have created or presented in their poems and books. This should be the ideal of
a good Buddhist. Whoever works for attaining this ideal through right means in
accord with the teaching of the Buddha is a really good Buddhist.
Source: Bheem Patrika: Dec,
1973, Vol. 2.
(Late
Sh. Bhagwan Das was a true Ambedkarite. He gave the slogan “Dalits
of the World Unite!” He
was a crusader for internationalization of the issue of Untouchability. He
presented this issue including that of Burakumins of Japan in the UNO in 1983.
He worked as Assistant to Dr. BR Ambedkar for good time. He compiled and edited
“Thus Spoke Ambedkar” in four volumes in
the seventies.)
Monday, 2 March 2020
Dalit Liberation: The Manufactured Feminism – Sanya Darapuri
Dalit Liberation: The Manufactured Feminism – Sanya Darapuri: The Manufactured Feminism – Sanya Darapuri
Monday, 23 September 2019
B.R. Ambedkar, Partition and the Internationalisation of Untouchability, 1939–1947 (forthcoming) | Jesús F. Cháirez-Garza - Academia.edu
B.R. Ambedkar, Partition and the Internationalisation of Untouchability, 1939–1947 (forthcoming) | Jesús F. Cháirez-Garza - Academia.edu: This blog has been created to bring before the readers the true picture of Dalit Liberation Movement (political,social,religious,economic and cultural) as prevailing in India today. We also aim to project the true philosophy of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, the true liberator of Dalits(Untouchables) of India.
Sunday, 8 September 2019
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