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Friday 13 May 2011

Anna Hazare is anti-Dalit, says CM Mayawati


Lucknow: Social activist Anna Hazare has laid bare his anti-Dalit mindset by not including even one member from the community on the anti-graft Lokpal Bill drafting committee, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said on Friday.

Addressing a special function to mark the completion of four years of her government here, she said: "Just as the Congress-led central government displayed its anti-Dalit approach by not caring to include a Dalit in the Lokpal Bill draft committee, so did Anna Hazare, by not bothering to have a Dalit on his civil society panel, which reflects his anti-Dalit mindset."

According to her, "the exclusion of Dalits from the draft committee as a whole is a betrayal of the entire Dalit population of this country.”

The chief minister said "While I welcome the various anti-corruption movements across the country, I am intrigued about the intent behind Anna Hazare's move to use Uttar Pradesh as a launch pad for his movement.”

"Even though Anna Hazare belongs to Maharastra, where there is no dearth of scams, and likewise, there are scams in several other states too, yet he launched his anti-corruption campaign in UP, where not a single scam has taken place.”

She said "It appears that some people in Anna Hazare's civil society were politically motivated and they had chosen UP as a battleground for their campaign only under the influence of certain political groups.”

"No wonder, the much hyped anti-corruption campaign is fast getting reduced to an anti-Dalit exercise.”


http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/UP-anna-hazare-is-anti-dalit-says-cm-mayawati-2101403.html

Monday 9 May 2011

Dalits & ‘emancipatory’ Sikhism




Rajesh Deol

Mushrooming Deras in Punjab is symptomatic of religious assertion from the margins


The attack at Vienna on two preachers of a religious sect, Dera Sachkhand, and its angry reverberation on the streets of Punjab last week has once again highlighted the growing tensions among mainstream Sikhs and a growing tribe of sants and babas with committed armies of devotees.

The sect head, Sant Niranjan Dass who had gone to Vienna for delivering a sermon, survived the attack orchestrated by a group of radical Sikhs in a Ravidass gurdwara, while his deputy, Sant Rama Nand, succumbed to his injuries.

In a spontaneous outpouring of their wrath, dalit devotees in Punjab went about burning trains and buses, blocked rail and road traffic and destroyed several crores of government property over two days of uncontrolled frenzy. Five major Punjab cities were put under curfew and the Army had to be called at several places, including at Jalandhar where the headquarter of the Dera Sachkhand is located.

On the face of it, the venting of ire by the predominantly dalit followers of the sect on government property and transport system in Punjab made little sense especially since the incident took place in far-off Vienna. However, a scrape through the surface reveals a complex web of fault lines enmeshed in caste, economics and social status of a community kept on fringes for long where religion played only a superficial role in the eruption of emotions.

The Dera Sachkhand, which draws a huge following among the dalits, has over the years become a symbol of dalit religious assertion. The attack on the sect preachers was seen by the devotees as an affront to their religious freedom and social assertion. The community has set up its own temples/gurdwaras in Punjab and abroad, primarily for the reason that the upper caste Sikhs, mainly Jats, have invariably controlled gurdwaras and never allowed any say to dalits in the management of gurdwaras within and outside Punjab. An economically resurgent dalit community with the help of its large diaspora has set up nearly 75 gurdwaras abroad, including in the UK, USA, Canada and Austria besides hundreds in Punjab and other states.

Dera culture

The mushrooming of deras In Punjab, said to be over 8,000 big and small deras, is symptomatic of this social divide between caste Sikhs and the dalits and backward classes. Contrary to the beliefs of the Sikh gurus who had agitated against the caste system in Hinduism to form a separate religion 500 years ago, the caste system ironically dominates the social and religious life in Punjab. Revolting against the discrimination based on caste in Punjabi society, dalit and backward classes have set up their own gurdwaras in major villages in Punjab. Many of them follow the Sikh tenets and bow before the Granth Sahib while also going to different deras for spiritual fulfillment.
The growing financial clout of the dalit community in Punjab, nearly 30 per cent of whose three crore population constitutes the dalits (the highest density of dalits in any state in India), has often caused heartburn among caste Sikhs which often leads to tensions in villages.

Another contentious issue relates to financials. The setting up of separate gurdwaras by the dalits has meant split in the lucrative income to gurdwaras which is one of the reasons for simmering tensions between mainstream Sikhs and the deras. The top Sikh shrines management body, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), and the Sikh clergy while dissuading Sikhs from visiting the deras, regards deras as the greatest threat to the Sikh religion, though it is secretly worried about the weening away of large chunk of donations to the deras.

Some of the deras like Radha Soami, Dera Sacha Sauda, Dera Sachkhand, Dera Baba Bhaniarewala enjoy huge following of devotees. Interestingly, deras preach secularism and attract Hindus and Sikhs alike and in some cases Muslims and Christians have also become their devotees. The espousal of social issues by many deras like fight against dowry and female infanticide and culture of liquor and drugs has also made them popular.

 Core issue


Apparently, the provocation for the Vienna attack on the sect preachers was the non-observance of Sikh rehat maryada (religious code of conduct) in the Ravidass gurdwara. Sikh radicals had been warning the sect against the practice of keeping the Sikh holy scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, at the Ravidass gurdwaras where the sect head would let his devotees touch his feet.

The Sikhs regard the Granth Sahib as their guru and regard idolatry and the concept of a living guru practised by the deras as blasphemous.

In fact, this perception is at the core of tensions among the mainstream Sikhs and thousands of Deras in Punjab which are headed by sants and babas.  Interestingly, the deras headed by these sants and babas have their own religious tenets and symbols but they also take spiritual inspiration from the Guru Granth Sahib.

The tendency of certain Dera heads to follow the Sikh gurus in dress, mannerisms or teachings has outraged the Sikh community in Punjab and has often led to violent clashes.

The most infamous of such instances was the Dera Sacha Sauda based at Sirsa in Haryana, though majority of its devotees are based in Punjab. Sikhs in Punjab hit the streets two years ago  when the Dera head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, allegedly wore a dress resembling the one worn by the Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Sikhs protested violently and ransacked branches of the Dera in Punjab forcing the dera to discontinue its discourses in Punjab.

In another instance, Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarewala proclaimed himself the descendant of guru Gobind Singh and wrote his own scripture. It caused outrage among Sikhs in Punjab.

Interestingly, deras and politicians thrive on each other in Punjab. While deras use politicians’ patronage to attract devotees, the politicians woo dera heads with an eye on their large army of devotees whom they regard as captive vote banks.

Dera Sacha Sauda played an influential role in Punjab assembly elections in 2007 when it supported the Congress in Malwa belt, which led to huge gains for the party in the Akali bastion. However, some deras like Radha Soami at Beas, the biggest dera in Punjab in terms of followers, assiduously avoid declaring support for any political party.

'Distribute land to landless Dalits'


Dalit leaders to participate in the protest meet to be held today
'Distribute land to landless Dalits'
N R Pura, August 1, DHNS:

The day and night protest, which was started by the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti in front of the Tahislidar's Office in N R Pura continued on Sunday.

The Samiti members demand that all encroached land belonging to Dalits should be reclaimed and land should be distributed to landless Dalits.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, DSS District Organising Convener Vasantha Kumar said that 12 acres out of 49 acres of land bearing survey number 19 in Balekoppa village in the taluk was sanctioned for Pourakarmikas in 1984. The Samiti has no intention of vacating those Pourakarmikas from the land. Instead, let the authorities distribute the remaining land to Dalits, he added.

The ‘Akrama - Sakrama’ scheme under Form 50-53 came into existence in 1991. Those Pourakarmikas were cultivating the land even before 1991. However, the MLA is providing erroneous information regarding the issue, he alleged. The day and night protest has no political backing. The downtrodden section of the society have become scapegoats due to the fight between political parties. Though Dalits are holding day and night protest, none of the people’s representatives or political leaders visited the spot atleast for the sake of formality, he lamented.

Protest meet today

Kumar said that a protest meet will be organised in front of the Taluk Office on August 2.
A protest rally will commence from Bastimata. Dalit leaders from all taluks in the district and from the State committee will participate in the protest. The day and night protest will continue till Deputy Commissioner visit the spot to listen their grievance, he added.

Alternative land

“Alternative land with all facilities will be provided to Dalits, if the DSS come forward for a dialogue after stopping the protest,” said MLA D N Jeevaraj.

Addressing a press conference, Jeevaraj alleged that a JD(S) leader, who was a Zilla Panchayat member from Janatha Party in 1984, was responsible for the issue. “The land in Balekoppa village, where poor families were residing even before 1984, was sanctioned for Pourakarmikas without considering the facts. It is ironic that the JD(S) leaders, who created the problem themselves are supporting the protestors,” he added.
Those 22 poor families, who were settled in Balekoppa village, will not be vacated from their land at any cost. Those families have already submitted Forms 50-53 under Akrama - Sakrama scheme, he added.

The Revenue Department as well as the Survey Department have submitted reports to the government stating that Pourakarmikas are not residing in the land. Moreover, there is no boundary marks with regard to land sanctioned to Dalits, he said. “Though six Pourakarmika families had agreed to accept alternative land, JD(S) is trying to misguide Dalits. Alternative land and all basic facilities will be provided to Dalits, if they put an end to their protest. Cases under Section 107 of IPC were registered in view of law and order situation and there is no other intention in it. JD(S) will be responsible if any untoward incident takes place,” Jeevaraj asserted.

‘Political parties dividing Dalits’


DSS convener calls for struggle against acquisition of farm lands by government
‘Political parties dividing Dalits’
Kolar, Dec 24, DH News Service:

The state convener of Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti Venkatagiriyayya called upon farmers to wage a struggle against acquisition of agricultural lands by the government.

new light: State convener of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti Venkatagiriyayya inaugurating a convention organised to mark the death anniversary of B R Ambedkar in Kolar on Thursday. dh photo“These are the times of registering cases against farmers who stage a peaceful dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Hence, a struggle on a larger scale is imperative to redress issues such as acquisition of agricultural lands. The problems of farmers will not be addressed by toned-down protests,” he said at a convention organised to mark the death anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar here on Thursday.

Vested interests
Congress, BJP and JD(S), which declared construction of “Swabhimana Karnataka”as their sole objective are now working against the purpose. The sole purpose of the principal political parties is to create a rift in Dalit classes. False cases are being registered against Dalits who demand their legitimate rights.

Vested interests of the caste system are raising their ugly head once again and attempts are being made to suppress the Dalit classes which stand against exploitation. “None of the political parties is ready to check this sort of oppression. On account of this, several organised struggles have not succeeded in heralding a change,” he observed.

The political parties succeeded in fuelling dissidence in Dalit organisation by offering prime posts to leaders. Those in the vanguard of the Dalit movement who raised their voice against exploitation became mute spectators. Reports submitted by several committees on atrocities on Dalit have been neglected by ruling establishments.

Farmers neglected
While the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has declared a grant of Rs 70 crore to Rashtrottana Parishat which propagates the Manu philosophy, S M Krishna, during his tenure as the chief minister waived off a whopping sum of Rs 300 crore which should have paid by arrack contractors as tax. However, no benefit has accrued to the farmers by these measures.

Even as Dalits were becoming aware of the reservation, the governments hesitated to implement reservation in private sector. The services of the people who secured job by furnishing false caste certificates have been regularised. While Constitution provides 18 pc reservation, only 9 pc is made available. “Dalits have been cheated by denying the facility guaranteed under the Constitution,” he alleged.

District convener of Dallit Sangharsha Samiti Sulikunte Ramesh, lecturer K Srinivasa and others were present on the occasion.

Plan panel suggests VC fund for Dalit entrepreneurs


New Delhi, Jan 3, (PTI):

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today asked 'Dalit' entrepreneurs to set up a venture capital fund to finance business projects of the society's weaker sections.

The suggestion for a dedicated VC fund was made by Ahluwalia to a delegation of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), official sources said. According to them, he has informed the DICCI delegation that the government might consider picking up some stake in the fund.

The meeting with the DICCI delegation was part of the Plan panel's consultation process for formulating the 'Approach' to the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17). Later, Ahluwalia told reporters that the Planning Commission has received a number of suggestions from the DICCI delegates for improving the schemes meant for Dalits.

DICCI has demanded that the government should increase the share of products made by Dalits in its procurement to encourage more entrepreneurs. They also wanted that financial institutions should relax collateral norms for financing their projects. The delegation pleaded for involving Dalits at all levels of policy making for better understanding of their plight.

‘Pejawar seer should accept a dalit as his disciple’


Udupi, Nov 16, DHNS:

State Backward Classes Commission former chairman Dr C S Dwarakanath, taking exception to the call of Pejawar seer to Dalits to take ‘Vaishnava Deekshe’ said that the ‘open invitation’ seems more like a politico-religious conspiracy.

Speaking after inaugurating ‘Dalita-Shudra Swabhimana’ convention on ‘Madhwa parampare Vs Krishna Kanaka parampare’ here at Narayanguru Sabha Bhavan on Tuesday, he said that the seer does not want Dalits to be brought in to the folds of Hinduism.

“He pretends to give religious identity to Dalits but if he is true from heart then he should accept a Dalit as his disciple and also allow Dalits to be present near the sanctum sanctorum of the temple,” Dwarakanath said

Will the Pejawar seer accept our invitation for ‘sahabhojana?’ he questioned
He said “Krishna mutt belongs to all. The recent decision of the government of handing over Krishna temple to Ashta mutts was taken only due to the pressure from Pejawar seer on Higher Education Minister Dr V S Acharya,” he added.

‘Atrocities against dalits haven’t stopped’


Mysore, April 5, DHNS

Expressing disappointment at group clashes that occurred at Alagudu in T Narsipur Taluk recently, MLA V Srinivasa Prasad bemoaned that atrocities against Dalits hadn’t stopped as yet.

He was speaking at the 104th birth anniversary celebrations of Babu Jagjivanram organised jointly by the Babu Jagjivanram Research and Extension Centre and Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe Special Unit at the EMMRC auditorium, here on Tuesday.

Questioning the crime committed by dalits at Alagudu, Prasad bewailed that dalits were treated in the most inhuman manner. He said that even though we are in the 21st century, dalits are still ill-treated.

He said that Babu Jagjivanram had immense concern about marginalised sections of the society. Commending the late leader for his administrative skills, Prasad said that Jagjivanram had performed exceedingly well in his duties during his tenure at various ministries.

Prasad said: “It is very important for the University of Mysore to translate the work of Babu Jagjivanram into Kannada.” He commended the  Babu Jagjivanram Research and Extension Centre for bringing out a book on the challenges faced by the caste system in the country.

Addressing the audience, litterateur Prof De Javaregowda said that all mutts in the State are keeping the caste system alive for their personal interests.

He said that even now the country is facing problems such as casteism and untouchability. Mentioning that the oppressed classes should be given education, he warned the audience against falling into the trap of a few seers who visited Dalit localities, but avoided eating at the houses of people belonging to the caste classified as ‘lower’ according to them.

Prasad released the book ‘Challenges of the caste system in India’, written by Prof T Y Bhoothaiaya and Prof Gowramma.

Prasaranga Director Prof C Naganna, former vice chancellor Prof O Anantharamaiah, former MLA C Ramesh, Vice Chancellor Prof V G Talawar, Registrar (Evaluation) B Ramu and centre Director Prof Myla Halli Revanna and others were present.

Dalit writings far and few between: Krishna


Mysore, Jan 19, DHNS:

The Bandaya literature (literature of rebellion) is disappearing these days and most of the people are becoming ‘Navabrahmins’ (neo-brahmins), said former Legislative Assembly speaker M Krishna.

Former Assembly speaker M Krishna releasing a book on Dalit writer Late G Venkataiah in Mysore recently. District Youth Congress Rural Unit President Dr B J Vijayakumar, critic Banjagere Jayaprakash, KSOU VC Prof K S Rangappa and author Dr P Chandrashekar are also seen. Dh photoFormer Assembly speaker M Krishna releasing a book on Dalit writer Late G Venkataiah in Mysore recently. District Youth Congress Rural Unit President Dr B J Vijayakumar, critic Banjagere Jayaprakash, KSOU VC Prof K S Rangappa and author Dr P Chandrashekar are also seen. Dh photoHe was speaking at the release of a book written by Dr P Chandrashekar on ‘First generation Dalit writer Late G Venkataiah’s life and literature’ here recently.

Despite the increasing corruption, inequality and discrimination that is prevalent in the society, Why are people still being so silent and putting up with every thing these days? he questioned.

He urged for the people to work towards reducing unequality and discrimination in the society.

Taking a dig at Pejawar Mutt Seer Vishveshwatheertha, Krishna said that he came to visit a certain community to resolve the differences, but he didn’t even drink one glass of milk from any of the homes he visited. That creates a doubt in the mind of the people about his real intentions, Krishna added.

Commenting on Venkataiah, Krishna said that the former would have become a better writer if he had mingled with other litterateurs.

Even though Venkataiah didn’t have any guidance, he looked at the various problems facing the society and used literature to point it out to people.

Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) Vice Chancellor Prof K S Rangappa and District Youth Congress Committee President Dr B J Vijayakumar were present.

Setbacks to dalit movements worry writer


Chikkaballapur, April 20, DHNS :

Dalit movements have suffered setbacks in the last few years, due to people who have lost the spirit to raise their voice against injustice, lamented writer Shivasundar.

Delivering a lecture at a programme organised to mark the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar at the Government First Grade College in the city on Wednesday.

“This has adversely affected the efforts that champion the cause of dalits’ welfare,” he added.
Constitution expert B R Ambedkar wanted a society of equality. But as years passed, nothing came as he expected. “The haves became more rich while the plight of have-nots remained unchanged,” he added.
“There was a time when people would protest even when a hotel hiked the price on its menu. But today, corruption is so widespread that nothing affects people, even the price rise,” he observed.
He further said that Ambedkar does not belong to dalit community alone, instead, he fought for equality and justice for everybody.
People must inculcate values from Ambedkar to realise the society, he dreamt, he said.
College principal Prof b V Krishnappa, dalit leaders K C Rajakanth and others were present.

Journalism in India in 1943

Journalism in India was once a profession. It has now become a trade. It has no more moral function than the manufacture of soap. It does not regard itself as the responsible adviser of the Public. To give the news uncoloured by any motive, to present a certain view of public policy which it believes to be for the good of the community, to correct and chastise without fear all those, no matter how high, who have chosen a wrong or a barren path, is not regarded by journalism in India its first or foremost duty. To accept a hero and worship him has become its principal duty. Under it, news gives place to sensation, reasoned opinion to unreasoning passion, appeal to the minds of responsible people to appeal to the emotions of the irresponsible. 

Lord Salisbury spoke of the Northcliffe journalism as written by office-boys for office-boys. Indian journalism is all that plus something more. It is written by drum-boys to glorify their heroes. Never has the interest of country been sacrificed so senselessly for the propagation of hero-worship. Never has hero-worship become so blind as we see it in India today. There are, I am glad to say, honourable exceptions. But they are too few and their voice is never heard.

SECTION VIII, Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah. Vol-I, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writing and Speeches

Brahminization of Indians

Saffronization, Hinduization Or Brahminization?

By Dr. K. Jamanadas

Countercurrents.org

These days everybody talks of "Hindutva", they say Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. What are these concepts? What is the difference? Why this difference? These are questions the Bahujans, SC/ST and religious minorities should ponder over. All these acrobatics in phraseology, are they not just to maintain supremacy of Brahmins? Ranjit Pardeshi has discussed all such issues.

Instead of Hinduization, the other word some times used is 'saffronization''. May be due to RSS flag being of saffron color, this word came in vogue to suggest the effect of Sangh. But even this word conceals the concept of the Sangh. After all, saffron is the color of many other flags not necessarily of RSS ideology. Even the color of robes of Buddhist monks could be saffron. Therefore, neither Safronization nor Hinduization denotes the true concepts the R.S.S. The proper word must be Brahminization.

RSS attempts to reverse the ideology of Phule Ambedkar
Inequality in Hinduism is well known, we do not need to refer to 'shastras' to learn about that. All of the suffering masses know it. To combat this inequality, Mahatma Phule suggested 'satya dharma' and Ambedkar accepted Buddhism as the alternative. Phule and Ambedkar's alternative to Hinduism was based on anti-women-slavery, analysis of Brahmin religion, equality for all, anti caste, anti-brahmin shastras and ignoring idea of god.

The RSS activists equate the Phule Ambedkar's ideas with the Renaissance in Hindu religion,which they claim was brought about by people like Swami Vivekananda and Arbindo etc. During early years of his struggle against Hinduism, Ambedkar DID say that Hindu religion needs reforms. On the basis of that RSS now claims that Ambedkar was also a 'Reformer of Hindu religion'. As a matter of fact, Ramesh Patrange, in his 'Dr. Hedgewar aani Dr. Ambedkar' gives an editorial in 'Bahishkrut Bharat' dated 21st December, 1928 as a whole appendix. In that editorial Dr. Ambedkar had narrated the ill effects of caste system and observed that if you have to avoid the destruction of Hindu religion, you must get rid of Caste System. This perhaps in the eyes of RSS is 'Reformer of Hindu religion' and doing same work as Dr. Hedgewar. Thousand and one times Dr. Ambedkar had said that we - the Dalits - are not interested in reforming Hinduism, but the RSS has got selective amnesia about Ambedkar's teachings and they never project such quotes of Ambedkar. This is one aspect of Hinduization. It is note worthy that RSS never refers to Ambedkar's criticism on Brahminism. They always call it reform of 'Hindu' religion and not Brahmin religion.

The other aspect of Hinduization is whatever Ambedkar said about Islam to show the differences from Brahminism is construed to wrongly project Ambedkar as having anti-Islamic convictions.

It must be remembered in both these examples it is the preservation of vested interest of higher castes that is involved. But it is projected as interests of whole 'Hindu' religion and 'Hindu' people. What Samarasata Manch is doing is the glorification of 'Hindu' identity and propagation of hate of 'Muslim' identity, and their real interest is welfare of higher castes. This internal aspect of Samarasata is always concealed. What they show is just an external aspect like religion, religious symbols, mandir masjid etc.

Because of the concealment of inner real aspects of so called Safronization or Hinduization, the criticism against it is limited to external symbolism and thus RSS succeeds in their politics. They can now take political advantages by limiting the discussion to 'Hindu vs. Buddhists' or 'Hindu vs. Secularists' or 'Hindu vs. Muslims', and never 'Hindu vs. Brahmins', which should be the real contradiction and which was brought forward by Phule, Shahu, Periyar and Ambedkar. It is the duty of Ambedkarite movement -- a movement for transformation of society -- to project these contradictions.

Internal aims are concealed

Because of the projection of only external aspects in contradiction, the RSS can depict religious minorities or secularists as enemies of the majority Hindu 'Nation'. For example, the upper castes, to safeguard their interests with the capitalists or feudal landlords, involve the lower class / caste 'Hindus' in conflict with the anti-Muslim politics. They declare the leftists both Dalit as well as non-Dalit as 'Appeasers of Muslims', and thus gain the sympathy of majority of 'Hindus' And the Dalits or Non-Dalit Lower castes and even the Muslims do not realize the game-plan of RSS and remain divided against their real enemy.

Babari Masjid -- Ram janma bumi contradictions

What is the real contradiction in "Babari masjid Ram janma bhumi" conflict? It appears externally as religious conflict for religious symbolism between the symbols of Hindus and those of Muslims. But is it really so? The real internal conflict is the caste conflict. How many lower caste non-dalits (OBCs) realize this? When V. P. Singh tried to implement Mandal Commission recommendations for the benefit of OBCs, the RSS started the Rathyatra to scuttle this movement. Everybody will remember the words of Bajpai that time, 'because they started Mandal, we started Kamandal', which he said in an open interview. (Dharmayug, 90, q/b Pardeshi p. 15)

Phule denigrated

Second example can be cited of Gangal and Behre criticizing Mahatma Phule as 'foul smelling dirt' about ten years ago. This was the reaction of the conservative upper caste middle class elitists against the Bahujan castes. When protests were made against this by the people in movements against caste, Senior leader of RSS, Gopinath Munde opposed this stand with the backing of second third level workers of lower castes like Dhangar, Mali, Vanjari and other OBCs, under the Brahminic leadership of the Sangh.

Conflict of Riddles misrepresented

When Dr. Ambedkar wrote the Riddles of Rama and Krishna, he utilized the symbolism of Rama and Krishna to represent the Brahminical social order of Chaturvarnya with 'Brahmin' supremacy and not as the symbol caste of Kshatriyas. The movements of transformation, failed to bring forward this aspect of Ambedkar to the 'Hindu' masses and therefore it became easy for RSS to project Ambedkar's writings as an attack on 'Hindu' gods and goddesses, and they succeeded in organizing huge masses of 'Hindu' OBCs against the Dalit Buddhist organizations, with consequent aftermath.

All these are the examples of Brahminization, but are purposefully and wrongly termed and projected as Hinduization or saffronization, thereby shifting the emphasis The real concept that must be projected is that of Brahminization and not Hinduization or Safronization It is absolutely necessary to bring forward the contradictions among the Bahujans and Upper Caste Hindus. Otherwise, it becomes easy for the Sangh forces to bring the common masses under the name of 'Hindu religion' and utilize them against those who want social transformation. The forces acting in Hinduization are not the 'Hindu' Bahujans, but the Brahminic 'Alpajans'. This can be brought forward only by the concept of Brahminization. For that purpose it is necessary to preserve the ideals and idols of our great dignitaries like Phule, Shahu, Periyar Ambedkar etc.

Polarization of society

It must be understood that it is always beneficial for the RSS and the makers of the caste to divide and achieve the polarization of society in two warring groups - 'Hindu' and 'non-Hindu'. The elite Brahmins can then maintain their upper caste grip over the lower caste 'Hindus',-- the Bahujans --, in the guise of expressing the glorification of Hindu identity as opposed to that of Christians, Buddhists and Muslims. This provides them good opportunity for the purpose. Chatrapati Shivaji who was a 'kulvaadi-bhushan' (pride of lower caste kulvaadis), as described by Mahatma Phule,as he came from peasants shudra caste, and rose to power by his own merit and valor. He is now wrongly projected by the Brahminic historians as 'go-brahmin-pratipalak' (protector of cows and Brahmins), which he never was, as proved by Shejwalkar by examining the original letters of Shivaji. It was not Shivaji who called himself 'go-brahman-pratipalak', but it were the Brahmins who called him so, when they approached him for favors. In the coronation seal also it is mentioned 'kshatriya kulvantas' and not 'go-brahmin-pratipalak' The kingdom he established was egalitarian but the Brahmin historians call him founder of 'hindu paatshahi'. They also project it was a kingdom of "Shree", some times they projected Ramdas as Shivaji's guru. Enough has been written to disprove these imaginary stories. Shivaji was never against the Muslims, but they project him as enemy of Muslims and use his name as a symbol for opposing the Muslim identity and instigate the lower caste Bahujans against the Muslims during riots.

Hindus did not exist before Muslim Rule

Before the non-Brahmin castes, the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were included within the purview of 'Hindu' identity, there was a conflct and struggle between 'brahmins' and 'non-brahmins' in the religion, culture, philosophy, history and the society itself. When there were 'varnas' and not castes, the thumb of Eklavya was cut by Dronachaya to preserve the varna supremacy of Arjuna, in the name of 'guru-daxina' for the education NOT imparted by him. This grave injustice was glorified in the name of great 'guru-bhakti' (devotion to guru). This shows the tendency of Brahminization during those days.

During the Satvahana times in early centuries of Christian era in Maharashtra, there existed a process of Brahminization by assimilating on lower status, of lower castes into same religious stream but it was always seen that the social grading among the various castes was maintained without any change. The author of Dnyankosha - the great Ketkar, explains this. It must be understood the concept Hinduization is not historical. There were no 'Hindus' before the Muslims came and the concept of 'Hindu' came in existence during Turk Moghul era, and not before. Hence, the concept of Hindu can not be used for guidance as a historical tool for transformation of society.

There was an ideological struggle between the Buddhists and the Vedantis, the basis of which was contradictions in Varnas - the Brahmins against the non-Brahmins. But the RSS Brahmin scholars can analyze this as "Hindu Vedantism" against "Non-Hindu Buddhism", and the defiant language of the today's Buddhists can be labeled as "anti-Hindu" and can lead to riots. This is because in the name of 'Hindutva', the Bahujans can be appealed to and organized by causing confusion amongst them on the exploitation of caste - exploitation by the upper castes can be concealed.

Brahminization in ancient times

About the 'Social organization and expansive acts done by Brahmins', Ketkar explains the activities of Brahmins during Vedic period. The aim behind these activities was to maintain the supremacy of Brahmins. It was nothing but Brahminization. The strategy applied during those days and techniques of cheating and deception used that time are still being used by RSS today in a refined manner. These techniques could be summarized as follows:

1. They relate the old stories with the ancestors of original inhabitants and pretend that their religion was same as that of Brahmins. This technique was used during Vedic times. Today, it is being used to show that the Ambedkar's Buddhism is same as old Brahminized Buddhism and aver that Ambedkar's Buddhism is just a part of Hinduism. This is done through various conferences, where even Dalai Lama and Guru Goenka participate.

2. During Vedic times, they performed yajnyas like 'vratya-stoma' etc. to make the ineligible people eligible for yajnyas. Today, they admit ineligible Dalit Buddhists scholars in Samarasta movement and provide them posts, property and prestige in Social organizations, Literary Organizations, Journalism, Universities, Governmental Institutions and the like and use them as propagators of RSS ideology.

3. It was necessary during Vedic times to create a false history and to label the various alien nationalities as prodigal sons and proclaim them to be the progeny of some Brahmin 'rishi' on some non-Brahmin woman. Middle ages saw the corruption of history in formulating origins of great non-brahmin saints, like Raidas and Kabir Today the rebellious Phule is 'accommodated' as son of "Hindu Ishwara', Phule's 'Nirmik' is projected as god, and Dr. Ambedkar as 'a reformer of Hindu India'. These are the new strategies applied these days.

4. Ketkar explains that during the process of Brahminiation, two principles were adhered to.

One - it should be on mass scale, and Two - the relative status of various caste groups must be maintained in new caste situation and Brahmin supremacy not being jeopardized. Today this has been transformed making a vote bank in elections, to control the reservation policy for preservation of upper caste interests, to accommodate the awakened Bahujans' identity in the 'hindutva' at a lower status. While doing all these, to maintain the Brahmin supremacy, is the real challenge for the RSS.

Only the names of Hedgewar, Golwalkar, Deoras, Sawarkar etc. were in the scriptures of Sangh in the past. They had now to add M. Gandhi, Phule, Ambedkar etc. Some share in prestige, power, property has to be given to upwardly mobile people from among the lower castes, but the main principle of 'not disturbing the social order of status of caste' is still rigidly observed. As they have to establish the relation of original inhabitants with their religion, now they started telling a false imaginary story that Ambedkar visited the 'shakha' of RSS and found many untouchable volunteers there. Ketkar had said that in olden times such imaginary stories served a great cause of Brahminization, as some castes like 'Andhra' etc. were called 'Vishwamitra-putra'. So Sangh is now telling us such imaginary stories. But even then, they do not disclose the vested interests of their ruling upper castes in this imaginary unification with lower castes.

‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರು ಯಾರು?

ಮಂಗಳವಾರ - ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್-14-2010

ಭಾರತದ ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಪುಟಗಳನ್ನು ತೆರೆಯು ತ್ತಾ ಹೋದಂತೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣು ವುದು ಮೂರೇ ಮೂರು ಜನಾಂಗ. 1.ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರು 2.ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನರು 3.ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷರು. ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನರು ಮತ್ತು ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷರು ಕೇವಲ ಧಾಳಿಕೋರರಾಗಿ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರೆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರು ಎಲ್ಲ ರಾಜರ, ರಾಜವಂಶಗಳ ಮಾರ್ಗದರ್ಶಕರಾಗಿ, ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅವರೇ ರಾಜರುಗಳಾಗಿ ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆ ಇಡೀ ಭಾರತದ ವಾರಸುದಾರರಾಗಿ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಹಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಇಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಬೃಹತ್ ಭಾರತ ಮತ್ತದರ ಸುಮಾರು ಐದು ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಕೇವಲ 3% ಜನರಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸೀಮಿತವಾದುದೇ? ಮತ್ತು ಇನ್ನುಳಿದ 97% ಜನರಿಗೆ ಈ ಭಾರತ ಮತ್ತದರ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ದಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದೇ ಸ್ಥಾನವಿರಲಿಲ್ಲವೇ? ಖಂಡಿತ ಸುಳ್ಳು. ಬರೆದವರು ‘‘ಅವರು’’ ಮಾತ್ರ ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಈ ದೇಶದ ಇತಿಹಾಸವನ್ನು ಅವರಿಗೆ ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ಯಾಗುವ ಹಾಗೆ, ಅವರ ಮೂಗಿನ ನೇರಕ್ಕೆ, ಆ ಮೂಗಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ಇರುವ ನಾಮದ ನೇರಕ್ಕೆ ಬರೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅಷ್ಟೆ.

ದುರಂತವೆಂದರೆ ಅಂತಹ ಏಕಪಕ್ಷೀಯ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆಯ, ಧಗಾಕೋರ ಕಥೆ ಯನ್ನು ಶೂದ್ರ ಮತ್ತು ಅಸ್ಪಶ್ಯ ಸಮುದಾಯಗ ಳಾದ ನಾವು ನಮ್ಮ ಇತಿಹಾಸವೆಂದು ಓದುತ್ತಿ ದ್ದೇವೆ. ಹಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ ‘‘ನಮ್ಮದಲ್ಲದ’’ ಆ ನಮ್ಮ ಇತಿ ಹಾಸದಿಂದ ನಮಗೇನು ಧಕ್ಕುತ್ತದೆ? ಇನ್ನೇನು ಧಕ್ಕುತ್ತದೆ? ನಮ್ಮ ಆ ಅಸ್ಪಶ್ಯ ಸಮುದಾಯವನ್ನು ನಾವೆ ‘ಹೊಲಸು’ ‘ಕಸ’ ಎಂದು ಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ಅಥವಾ ಹಾಗೆ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಜಾತಿಯನ್ನು ನಾವೇ ಮರೆಮಾಚುತ್ತಾ ಸದಾ ಕೀಳರಿಮೆಯಿಂದ ನರಳಬೇಕು.


ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನವನ್ನು ಬದಿಗೊತ್ತಿ ಸದಾ ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರ ಜೀತ ಗಾರರಾಗಲು ನಾವು ಸಿದ್ಧರಿರಬೇಕು. ಇದೇ ಈ ದೇಶದ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರಚಿತ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಈ ದೇಶದ ಅಸ್ಪಶ್ಯರಿಗೆ ನೀಡಿರುವ ಮಹಾನ್ ಕೊಡುಗೆ! ಇರಲಿ, ಇದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಯಾಕೆ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಾಯಿ ತೆಂದರೆ ಕಳೆದ ನವೆಂಬರ್ 4ರಂದು ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಯೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಯ ಸಂಪಾದಕರು ತಮ್ಮ ‘‘ನೂರೆಂಟು ಮಾತು’’ ಎಂಬ ಅಂಕಣ ಬರಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಾ ‘‘ಆದುನಿಕ ಭಾರತವನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಯಕರು ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ’’ ಎಂದು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ!


ಅರೆ, 6ಕೋಟಿ ಜನಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಇರುವ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ದಲಿತರೇ ಸುಮಾರು 1ಕೋಟಿಗೂ ಮಿಕ್ಕಿ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರೆಂಬ ಆ ಬೃಹತ್ ಜನ ಸಮುದಾ ಯ ಸುಮಾರು 60 ರಿಂದ 70ಲಕ್ಷದಷ್ಟಿದೆ. ಇಂತಹ ಬೃಹತ್ ಜನಸಮುದಾಯವನ್ನು ತಾನು ಅವಮಾನಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆಂದು ಆ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಿಗೆ ಅನಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲವೇ? ಅದ್ಹೇಗೆ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ? ಅವರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ‘ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ’ ಎಂದರೆ ಕಸ ಎಂದರ್ಥ! ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಸಂಪಾದಕರ ಈ ಕೃತ್ಯದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಬಹುಜನ ಸಮಾಜ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಮುಖಂಡರು ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಕೆ.ಆರ್.ಪೋಲಿಸ್ ಠಾಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನವೆಂಬರ್ 11ರಂದು ಜಾತಿ ನಿಂದನೆ ದೂರು ದಾಖಲಿಸಿದಾಗ ಆ ಠಾಣೆಯ ಇನ್ಸ್ ಪೆಕ್ಟರ್ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್ ಎಂಬವರು ದಿನಾಂಕ 29-11-2010 ರಂದು ನೀಡಿದ ಹಿಂಬರಹದ ವಿವರಣೆ ಏನು ಗೊತ್ತೆ? ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ ಎಂಬ ಪದವನ್ನು ಕಸಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮನಾಗಿ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿ ಬರೆಯಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ತಪ್ಪೇನಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು!


ಹೇಗಿದೆ ನೋಡಿ ಇವರ ವರಸೆ! ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ ಎಂದರೆ ಕಸವಂತೆ! ಇನ್ನೊಂದಿಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ಹೀಗೆ ಮುಂದುವರಿದರೆ ಹೊಲಗೇರಿಯನ್ನು ಬರಿ ಕಸ ಎಂದಲ್ಲ ಕಾಲಕಸ ಎಂದು ಹಿಂಬರಹ ನೀಡ ಲೂ ಇವರು ಹಿಂಜರಿಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ! ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ ಯೇನೊ ಕಸ ಸರಿ. ಹಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣಕೇರಿ, ಒಕ್ಕಲಗೇರಿ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಕೇರಿಗಳೆಲ್ಲಾ ಏನು? ವೇಶ್ಯಾಗೃಹಗಳೇ? ಇದನ್ನು ಓದಿದರೆ ಕೆಲವರಿಗೆ ಆಘಾತವಾಗಬಹುದು. ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಯೇನೆಂದರೆ ಅಂತಹದ್ದೆ ಆಘಾತ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ ಸಮುದಾ ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ಸಣ್ಣ ಪರಿಜ್ಞಾನ ‘ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ’ ಎಂದು ಬರೆದ ಆ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಿಗೆ ಇರುವುದು ಬೇಡವೇ? ಅಥವಾ ಅವರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಶೋಷಿತರೇನು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದಿದ್ದಾದರೆಯೇ? ಏನು ಹೇಳಿದರೂ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನಲಿಕ್ಕೆ?


ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ಶೋಷಿತ ಸಮುದಾಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹೀಗೆ ಕೀಳಾಗಿ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸುವ ಇಂತಹ ಚಾಳಿ ಇದಿಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸೀಮಿತವಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಸಿನಿಮಾ, ನಾಟಕ, ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಇಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಆಗಾಗ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಕೆಲದಿನಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ‘ಈ ಟೀವಿ’ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಸಾರವಾಗುವ ‘‘ಮನೆ ಯೊಂದು ಮೂರು ಬಾಗಿಲು’’ ಎಂಬ ಧಾರಾವಾಹಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ಧಾರವಾಹಿಯ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಪಾತ್ರ ಧಾರಿಯೊಬ್ಬರು ಆ ಧಾರಾವಾಹಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಖಳ ಪಾತ್ರಧಾರಿಯೊಬ್ಬರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಾ ಕುಟುಂಬದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೀಗೆಯೇ ಒಂದಿಬ್ಬರು ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡು ಇಡೀ ಕುಟುಂಬವನ್ನು ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂದರು!


ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಉದಾಹರಣೆ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ ದಿವಂಗತ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಕವಿ ಗೋವಿಂದ ಪೈಯವರು ತಮ್ಮ ‘‘ಹೊಲೆಯರು ಯಾರು?’’ ಎಂಬ ಕವನ ದಲ್ಲಿ ‘‘ಇಬ್ಬರಾಡುವ ಮಾತು ಕದ್ದು ಕೇಳುವವ ಹೊಲೆಯ, ಹೊಲಸು ತಿಂಬವ ಹೊಲೆಯ....’’ ಹೀಗೆ ಹೊಲೆಯರು ಯಾರು ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ವರ್ಣಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಪರೋಕ್ಷವಾಗಿ ಹೊಲೆಯರೇ ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡುವವರು ಎಂದು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದರು! ದುರಂತವೆಂದರೆ ಈ ಪದ್ಯವನ್ನು ಪಠ್ಯ ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಠ್ಯವಾಗಿಯೂ ಕೂಡ ಅಳವಡಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು!


ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರನ್ನು ಕೀಳಾಗಿ ಕಾಣುವ ಪರಿಪಾಠ ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೇ ನಿಲ್ಲುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಪುರಂದರದಾಸರ ಕೀರ್ತನೆ ನೋಡಿ. ದಾಸ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಕೂಡ ಅಂತಹ ಚಾಳಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಬೆಳೆದುಬಂದಿತ್ತೆಂಬುದಕ್ಕೆ.
ಹೊಲೆಯ ಬಂದಾನೆಂದು ಒಳಗೆ ದೇವರ ಮಾಡಿ ಘಣಘಣ ಘಂಟೆ ಬಾರಿಸುತ
ತನುವಿನ ಕೋಪ ಹೊಲೆಯಲ್ಲವೇನಯ್ಯ
ಮನಸಿನ ವಂಚನೆ ಹೊಲೆಯಲ್ಲವೇನಯ್ಯ
ಇಂಥಾ ಹೊರಗಿದ್ದ ಹೊಲೆಯನ್ನೆ ಒಳಗೆ ತುಂಬಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡು
ಇದಕ್ಕೇನು ಮದ್ದು ಶ್ರೀ ಪುರಂದರವಿಠಲ
ಹೀಗೆ ಸಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ ಎಂಬ ಪದವನ್ನು ಬೇಕಾಬಿಟ್ಟಿ ಯಾಗಿ ಬಳಸುವ ಚಾಳಿ.


ವಾಸ್ತವವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ ‘ಹೊಲ ಗೇರಿ’ ಎಂದರೆ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರು ವಾಸಿಸುವ ಕೇರಿ ಅಥವಾ ಬೀದಿ ಎಂದರ್ಥ. ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ ಅದು ಕಸ ಹೇಗಾಗುತ್ತದೆ? ಅದನ್ನು ಕಸ ಎನ್ನುವುದಾದರೆ ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ ಎಂಬ ಆ ಇಡೀ ಬೀದಿ ಅಥವಾ ಕೇರಿಯೇ ಕಸಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮ ಎಂದು ಅರ್ಥ! ಒಂದು ಸಮುದಾಯವನ್ನು ಜೀತಗಾರಿಕೆಗೆ ತಳ್ಳಲು, ನಿರಂತರ ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಗುಲಾಮಗಿರಿಗೆ ನೂಕಲು ಇದಿಷ್ಟು ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಕು.

ಸಿಂಪಲ್, ಆ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಹೆಸರಿನ ಅರ್ಥವನ್ನು ಕೀಳು ಎಂದು ಬಿಂಬಿಸುವುದು. ಹೊಲಸು ಎಂದು ತುಚ್ಛೀಕರಿಸುವುದು! ತನ್ಮೂ ಲಕ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯೇ ಕೀಳರಿಮೆ ಹುಟ್ಟುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುವುದು! ಇನ್ನು ಆ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ತಲೆ ಎತ್ತಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಬಾಳಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣವಾದದ ಇಂತಹ ಕ್ರೂರ ಹುನ್ನಾರ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ದಿಗ್ಭ್ರಮೆ ಗೊಳಿಸುವಂತಹದ್ದು!


ಹಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರಿಂದ ಕಸ, ಹೊಲಸು ಎಂದು ಕರೆಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಹೊಲಗೇರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಿಸುವ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಇತಿ ಹಾಸ ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಹೀನವಾದುದೇ? ಖಂಡಿತ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಹೀನದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಒತ್ತಟ್ಟಿಗಿರಲಿ, ವಾಸ್ತವ ವೆಂದರೆ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರು ಈ ದೇಶದ ಮೂಲ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವರು.

‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ ಎಂದರೆ ‘‘ಹೊಲದ ಒಡೆಯ’’ ಎಂದರ್ಥವೇ ಹೊರತು ಹೊಲಸು ತಿಂದವ ಎಂದಲ್ಲ! ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ ಎಂಬ ಪದದ ಮೂಲ ‘ಹೊಲ’ವೇ ಹೊರತು ಹೊಲಸು ಎಂದಲ್ಲ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಯಾಗಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಗೆಜೆಟಿಯರ್ (vol 3, Castes and tribes in mysore) ನಲ್ಲಿ Holeya means owner of land ಎಂದಿದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ 1901 ರ ಜನಗಣತಿ ವರದಿ ಹೀಗೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತದೆ, HOLA is the canarese name for a dry crop field and HOLEYA means man of such field! ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ ಎಂದರೆ ಹೊಲಸು ಹೇಗಾಗುತ್ತದೆ?


ಸ್ವತಃ ಬಾಬಾಸಾಹೇಬ್ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್‌ರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಮಾದಿಗ, ಹೊಲೆಯ, ಸಮಗಾರ, ಚಮ್ಮಾರ, ಛಲವಾದಿ, ಮಹಾರ್, ಮಾಲ, ಪರಯ್ಯಾ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಅಸ್ಪಶ್ಯ ಸಮುದಾಯಗಳು ಪುರಾತನ ನಾಗವಂಶಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿದವರು. ಸುಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ಸಿಂಧೂ ನದಿಯ ನಾಗರಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿದವರು ಇದೇ ನಾಗ ಜನರು. ನಾಗ ಜನರು ವಾಸಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳನ್ನು ‘‘ನಗರ’’ಗಳೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.


‘‘ನಾಗಜನರ’’ ಸುಂದರ ಜೀವನ ಶೈಲಿಯೇ ‘‘ನಾಗರಿಕತೆ’’ ಎನಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿತ್ತು ಮತ್ತು ನಗರ ವಾಸಿ ನಾಗ ಜನರನ್ನು ‘‘ನಾಗರಿಕ’’ ಎನ್ನಲಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ವಸ್ತುಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ, ಅಂದರೆ ನಾಗರಿಕತೆಯ ಮೂಲವಾರಸುದಾರ ರಾದ ನಾಗಜನರು ಆಧುನಿಕ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರಾಗಿ ರುವಾಗ ಅವರು ‘‘ಕಸ’’ ಅಥವಾ ‘‘ಹೊಲಸು’’ ಹೇಗಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ?


ಹಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರು ನಾಗವಂಶಸ್ಥರಾದ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರನ್ನು ಹಾಗೆ ಕೀಳಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಲು ಕಾರಣವಾದರೂ ಏನು? ಖ್ಯಾತ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ವಾದಿ ಎಂ. ಗೋಪಿನಾಥ್‌ರವರು ತಮ್ಮ ‘‘ನಾಗ ಲೋಕ’’ ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೀಗೆ ವಿವರಣೆ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅದೇನೆಂದರೆ ಕ್ರಿ,ಪೂ.2000ನೆ ವರ್ಷದ ಸುಮಾರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಳಿ ತೊನ್ನಿನಂತೆ ತೊಗಲು ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದ ಆರ್ಯರು ಎಂಬ ಅಲೆ ಮಾರಿ ತಂಡವೊಂದು ನಾಗಮಂಡಲ (ಭಾರತ) ಕ್ಕೆ ದನಕಾಯುತ್ತಾ ಅನ್ನ, ನೀರು ಹುಡುಕಿಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದಿತು.


ಆ ಆರ್ಯರೇ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣ, ಬನಿಯಾಗಳ ಪೂರ್ವಿಕರು. ನಾಗ ಜನಾಂಗದ ಅಸುರ, ರಾಕ್ಷಸ, ದಾನವ ರಾಜರುಗಳು ಮಹಾ ಕರುಣಾಮಯಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರು ಆ ಪರದೇಶಿ ಆರ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಅನ್ನ ನೀರು ನೀಡಿದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ ತಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತಂಗುವುದಕ್ಕೂ ಅವಕಾಶ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಟ್ಟರು. ಭೂಮಿಯ ಒಡೆಯರಾದ ನಾಗ ಜನಾಂಗದವರು ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರವಾಗಿ ಬದುಕಲು ಆರ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಭೂಮಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ, ಹಿಂದು ಮುಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸದೆ ಅಪರಿಚಿತ ಆರ್ಯರಿಗೆ ದಯೆ ತೋರಿಸಿದರು!


ಹೀಗೆ ನಾಗ ಜನಾಂಗದವರಿಂದ ಭೂಮಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬದುಕುವ ಹಕ್ಕು ಪಡೆದ ಆರ್ಯರು ನಾಗ ಜನಾಂಗದ ರಾಜರುಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಹುಳಿಹಿಂಡಿ, ಅವರು ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಕಚ್ಚಾಡುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು, ಅಂತಹ ಕಚ್ಚಾಡುವಿಕೆಯ ಲಾಭ ಪಡೆದು ಇಡಿ ನಾಗಮಂಡಲವನ್ನು ಆಕ್ರಮಿ ಸಿದ್ದು ಮತ್ತು ನಾಗಜನಾಂಗದ ಹಲವಾರು ಕುಲಗಳನ್ನು ಸಣ್ಣ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಜಾತಿಗಳಾಗಿ ವಿಂಗಡಿಸಿ ಜಾತಿ ಎಂಬ ವಿಷದ ಬೀಜವ ಬಿತ್ತಿದ್ದು ಈಗ ಇತಿಹಾಸ.


ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ನಾಗವಂಶದ ರಾಜರುಗಳನ್ನು ಅಸುರ ಎಂದರೆ ಸುರೆಯನ್ನು ಕುಡಿಯದವ, ರಾಕ್ಷಸ ಎಂದರೆ ರಕ್ಷಿಸುವವ, ದಾನವ ಎಂದರೆ ದಾನ ನೀಡುವವ ಎನ್ನಲಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಆರ್ಯರು ಆ ಪದಗಳಿಗೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಕಥೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಅವರನ್ನು ಕ್ರೂರಿಗಳು ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಚಾರ ಮಾಡಿ ದರು ಮತ್ತು ಅವರನ್ನು ಮೋಸದಿಂದ ಕೊಂದ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಎಂದು ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡರು! ಶಾಂತಿ ಸೌಹಾರ್ದತೆಯ ನಾಡಾಗಿದ್ದ ನಾಗ ಮಂಡಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಬಲಿ ಯಜ್ಞ ಯಾಗಾದಿ ಗಳು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾದವು. ದನ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಾ ಬಂದ ಆರ್ಯರು ದನದ ಮಾಂಸ ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಿದ್ದದ್ದು ಈ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲೇ! ಅನೈತಿಕತೆ, ಅರಾಜಕತೆ ಈ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ತಾಂಡವವಾಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.


ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಆದರೂ ನಾಗಜನಾಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಆ ಸಾತ್ವಿ ಕತೆ, ಹೋರಾಟದ ಕೆಚ್ಚು ಮಾಯವಾಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಸಂಧರ್ಭಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಕ್ರಿ.ಪೂ. 584 ರಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಗಜನಾಂಗದ ಶಾಕ್ಯ ಕುಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಗವಾನ್ ಗೌತಮಬುದ್ಧ ಜನಿಸಿದ್ದು. ಬುದ್ಧನ ನಂತರ ಆರ್ಯರ ಪ್ರಭಾವ ತುಸು ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಯಿತು. ನಾಗ ಜನಾಂಗದ ಪಾರುಪತ್ಯ ಮತ್ತೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿತು. ಮುಂದೆ ಸಿಸುನಾಗ ವಂಶಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿದ ಚಂದ್ರ ಗುಪ್ತ ಮೌರ್ಯನು ಮೌರ್ಯ ಸಂತತಿ ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಿ ದ್ದು, ಆ ಸಂತತಿಯ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಸಾಮ್ರಾ ಟ ಅಶೋಕನು ಬೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮವನ್ನು ಜಗತ್ತಿನಾದ್ಯಂತ ಹರಡಿದ್ದು ನಾಗಜನರ ಪಾಬಲ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರಬಲ ಉದಾಹರಣೆ.


ಆದರೆ ಕ್ರಿ.ಪೂ. 185ರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೌರ್ಯ ವಂಶದ ಕೊನೆಯ ದೊರೆ ಬೃಹದ್ರಥ ಮೌರ್ಯನನ್ನು ಶುಂಗ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನಾದ ಪುಷ್ಯಮಿತ್ರ ಶುಂಗನು ಸಂಚು ಮಾಡಿ ಕೊಂದು ಆ ಮೂಲಕ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರ ಆಳ್ವಿಕೆಗೆ ಅಡಿಗಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟದ್ದು ಭಾರತದ ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಬಹುದೊಡ್ಡ ದುರಂತ. ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಅಸ್ಪಶರ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಬೌದ್ಧ ಭಿಕ್ಷುಗಳ ತಲೆ ಕಡಿಸಿ, ಸುಮತಿ ಭಾರ್ಗವನೆಂಬ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನಿಂದ ಕುಖ್ಯಾತ ‘‘ಮನುಸ್ಮತಿ’’ ಬರೆಸಿದ್ದು ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲೇ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ.


ಮುಂದೆ ಕ್ರಿ.ಶ.4ನೆ ಶತಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮುದ್ರಗುಪ್ತನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮ ಮತ್ತು ಬೌದ್ಧ ಭಿಕ್ಕುಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲದ ದಬ್ಬಾಳಿಕೆ ನಡೆಸಿ, ಆ ಧರ್ಮದ ಅನುಯಾಯಿ ಗಳಾದ ನಾಗಜನಾಂಗದವರನ್ನು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಬಹಿಷ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳಪಡಿಸಿ ಅಸ್ಪಶರನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಲಾಯಿತು. ತನ್ಮೂಲಕ ನಾಗ ಜನಾಂಗವೆಂಬ ಮೂಲ ಬೌದ್ಧರನ್ನು ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಮೂಲೆಗೆ ತಳ್ಳಲಾಯಿತು.


ಒಂದಂತು ನಿಜ, ಒಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜರಾಗಿ, ಬೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮವೆಂಬ ಪ್ರಬಲ ಧರ್ಮದ ಸ್ಥಾಪನೆಗೆ ಕಾರಣರಾಗಿ ಹಾಲಿ ಅಸ್ಪಶರಾಗಿರುವ ಹೊಲೆಯರ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಇಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಭವ್ಯವಾಗಿರಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಅವರು ‘‘ಕಸ’’ ಅಥವಾ ‘‘ಹೊಲಸು’’ ಹೇಗಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ? ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ಅಸ್ಪಶರ ಈ ಭವ್ಯ ಇತಿಹಾಸವನ್ನು ಹೆಕ್ಕಿ ತೆಗೆದದ್ದು ನಾಗ ಜನಾಂಗದ ಆಧುನಿಕ ಯುಗದ ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಯಾದ ಬಾಬಾಸಾಹೇಬ್ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್. ತಮ್ಮ ‘‘ಅಸ್ಪಶ್ಯರು ಯಾರು?’’ ಎಂಬ ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ‘‘ಅನಾರ್ಯರಾದ ನಾಗರಿಗೂ, ಅರ್ಯರಿಗೂ ಭೀಕರ ಶತ್ರುತ್ವವಿತ್ತು. ನಾವು(ಅಸ್ಪಶರು) ಅನಾರ್ಯರಾದ ನಾಗವಂಶದ ಪೀಳಿಗೆಯವರಾಗಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ಇದೇ ನಾಗ ಜನರೇ ಜಗತ್ತಿನಾದ್ಯಂತ ಬೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮವನ್ನು ಹರಡಿದವರು’’ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ.


ಅಸ್ಪಶ ಜಾತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಭಾರತ ದಾದ್ಯಂತ ‘ಆದಿಕರ್ನಾಟಕ’, ‘ಆದಿಆಂಧ್ರ’, ‘ಆದಿಕೇರಳ’ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದರ ಅರ್ಥವಾದರೂ ಏನು? ಆ ಜನರು ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಮೂಲನಿವಾಸಿಗಳೆಂದೇ ಹೊರತು ಬೇರೇನಲ್ಲ! ಕಡೆಯದಾಗಿ ಬಾಬಾಸಾಹೇಬ್ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. "I am proud of my caste mahar, in which I was born'' . ಅಂದರೆ ‘‘ನಾನು ಜನಿಸಿದ ಮಹಾರ್ ಜಾತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನಾನು ಹೆಮ್ಮೆ ಪಡುತ್ತೇನೆ’’ ಈ ನಿಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಬಾಸಾಹೇಬರ ಅನು ಯಾಯಿಗಳಾದ ನಾವು (‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ರು) ಕೂಡ ‘‘ನಾವು ಜನಿಸಿದ ‘ಹೊಲೆಯ’ ಜಾತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ನಾವು ಹೆಮ್ಮೆ ಪಡುತ್ತೇವೆ’’ ಎಂದು ಘಂಟಾಘೋಷವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತೇವೆ.

ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಬಾಬಾಸಾಹೇಬರ ಅಂತಹ ಆತ್ಮವಿಶ್ವಾಸ ತುಂಬಿದ ಮಾತುಗಳ ಅನುಕರಣೆಯಷ್ಟೆ ಅಸ್ಪಶರಾದ ನಮಗೆ ನವ ಚೈತನ್ಯ ತುಂಬಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ. ‘ಹೊಲಸು’ ‘ಕಸ’ ಎಂಬ ಗೊಡ್ಡು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣ್ಯವಲ್ಲ. 

ಬುಧವಾರ - ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್-15-2010
By: H B Raghothama
Chamarajanagar
___
Courtesy : Varthabharathi


Have not Hindus committed treason against their country in the interests of their caste?


The effect of caste on the ethics of the Hindus is simply deplorable. Caste has killed public spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense of public charity. Caste has made public opinion impossible. A Hindu’s public is his caste. His responsibility is only to his caste. His loyalty is restricted only to his caste. Virtue has become caste-ridden and morality has become, caste-bound. There is no sympathy to the deserving. There is no appreciation of the meritorious. There is no charity to the needy. Suffering as such calls for no response. There is charity but it begins with the caste and ends with the caste. There is sympathy but not for men of other caste. Would a Hindu acknowledge and follow the leadership of a great and good man? The case of a Mahatma apart, the answer must be that he will follow a leader if he is a man of his caste. A Brahmin will follow a leader only if he is a Brahmin, a Kayastha if he is a Kayastha and so on. The capacity to appreciate merits in a man apart from his caste does not exist in a Hindu. There is appreciation of virtue but only when the man is a fellow caste-man. The whole morality is as bad as tribal morality. My caste-man, right or wrong; my caste-man, good or bad. It is not a case of standing by virtue and not standing by vice. It is a case of standing or not standing by the caste. Have not Hindus committed treason against their country in the interests of their caste?

Hindu Morality is Caste Morality

The effect of caste on the ethics of the Hindus is simply deplorable. Caste has killed public spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense of public charity. Caste has made public opinion impossible. A Hindu’s public is his caste. His responsibility is only to his caste. His loyalty is restricted only to his caste. Virtue has become caste-ridden and morality has become, caste-bound. There is no sympathy to the deserving. There is no appreciation of the meritorious. There is no charity to the needy. Suffering as such calls for no response. There is charity but it begins with the caste and ends with the caste. There is sympathy but not for men of other caste. Would a Hindu acknowledge and follow the leadership of a great and good man? The case of a Mahatma apart, the answer must be that he will follow a leader if he is a man of his caste. A Brahmin will follow a leader only if he is a Brahmin, a Kayastha if he is a Kayastha and so on. The capacity to appreciate merits in a man apart from his caste does not exist in a Hindu. There is appreciation of virtue but only when the man is a fellow caste-man. The whole morality is as bad as tribal morality. My caste-man, right or wrong; my caste-man, good or bad. It is not a case of standing by virtue and not standing by vice. It is a case of standing or not standing by the caste. Have not Hindus committed treason against their country in the interests of their caste?

SECTION IX Annihilation of Caste. Vol-I, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writing and Speeches

Disgusted with Hinduism! why ?

I like to assure the Mahatma that it is not the mere failure of the Hindus and Hinduism which has produced in me the feelings of disgust and contempt with which I am charged. I realize that the world is a very imperfect world and any one who wants to live in it must bear with its imperfections. But while I am. prepared to bear with the imperfections and shortcomings of the society in which I may be destined to labour, I feel I should not consent to live in a society which cherishes wrong ideals or a society which having right ideals will not consent to bring its social life in conformity with those ideals. If I am disgusted with Hindus and Hinduism it is because I am convinced that they cherish wrong ideals and live a wrong social life. My quarrel with Hindus and Hinduism is not over the imperfections of their social conduct. It is much more fundamental. It is over their ideals.

Appendix II A REPLY TO THE MAHATMA BY DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR. Annihilation of Caste. Vol-I, Dr. Ambedkar Writing and Speeches.

Sunday 8 May 2011

Can Democracy Be Moral?


By William Gairdner
The most fundmental principle of direct popular democracy is that even if the will of the people runs dead against a Member of Parliament’s personal conscience, he or she must express that will.
Such logic compels us to ask: So why not just pick a rep out of the phone book? For that matter, why pick anyone? Why don't the people just send a letter to a vote-counting parliamentary computer by overnight courier? The answer leads straight to a conflict between two irreconcilable views of truth under democracy.

For A Leader, Truth Is Permanent
Politicians who consider themselves leaders, rather than delegates, will take the classical conservative view, as outlined from ancients such as Plato to moderns such as T.S.Eliot. As distinct from their modern finger-in-the-wind counterparts, such conservatives believe that the greatest moral truths of life are absolute, permanent, and unchanging. There are enduring values that must be discovered through reflection and experience, and relied upon by wise leaders. Once discovered, and only then, the proper political and moral judgements can be made, unaffected by how many might vote this way, or that, on Monday or Tuesday. Moral truth, in other words, like 2+2=4, cannot be altered by voting.
For a Delegate, Truth Is A Matter of Popularity
The delegate, however, unlike the leader, sees himself as empowered to express the will of the people, which he equates with what is desirable, with the good. Soon, pleasing the masses at every opportunity by removing all restraints on their will becomes the highest priority (and - not incidentally - the reaping of a corresponding popularity). Technical methods such as electronic town halls facilitate such direct expressions of mass desire.
The key to understanding the role of the modern secular-liberal delegate, is his underlying assumption that there is no such thing as immutable truth - and probably should not be. For only if truth is relative can society be engineered toward perfection by way of continously updated "progressive" policies. That is why, instead of weighing values, the liberal prefers to count them. Unfortunately, this essentially democratic process - equating the good with sheer numbers - is the dark side of democracy, for it opens the door to democratic tyrants.
That's why Eliot said in 1934 that "the forces of deterioration are a large crawling mass, and the forces of development are half a dozen men." This was just before a large crawling mass of utopian collectivists marched over a darkened, and soon bloodied Europe. They had been directly and enthusiastically voted into power by well-educated, democratic majorities. Hitler fiercely defended his national socialism as "the truest democracy" (Berlin, January 30, 1937), and described himself as an "arch-democrat."
What is the answer to this conflict at the heart of democracy, and why do we see those with conservative, absolute-truth instincts, promoting liberal, relative-truth techniques?
Perhaps the answer is that we live in a time when our elected representatives, rather than attending to remote national matters such as defence, fiscal policy, and foreign affairs, are intruding into the most intimate and detailed aspects of local, private, business, and family life, and plundering the energies of the people through taxation and debt to do so. Therefore, direct democracy - a kind of bottom-up revolution against a top-down political system - seems the only solution to rid us of such tyranny.
In most practical matters, such as taxation levels, this is likely a safe device. But when it comes to moral matters, such as euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, homosexual incursions on the family, and so on, I rather think an elected representative has a duty first of all to make his conscience known before he is elected. After that, he should vote with his conscience - or resign. And for democracy itself, the notion that deeply moral choices ought to be shaped directly by the emotions of the moment - whether felt by one voter, or a million - is the route to self-destruction.
That is because as often as not, the correct moral choices both in life and politics require us (quite contrary to the dominant secular-liberal view), to choose not for, but against our own appetites and desires in the interests of a higher good. But there can be no higher good in a relativist world. That's why at such times, political power ends up dictating every outcome. The democratic dilemma will not be resolved until our civilization decides once again to think through these two conflicting notions of how democracy is to be moral.

Spiritual Democracy


Spiritual democracy together with spiritual secularism is the antidote to the malady we encounter - the crisis of morality. There is a downside to secularism if morality is treated like a fly in the political ointment to be taken out.

The pendulum had drifted towards the other extreme end of the continuum to lay all emphasis on the present life and total disregard for the ecclesiastical. The duality was the concomitant, which is expressed in the words of Christ: "My Kingdom is not of this world and Render Unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." God is banished from this world to dwell and remain supreme only in the world hereafter (God forbid). In his brilliant chapter 'Man without Values' in the book The Tower and the Abyss, Erich Kahler has pointed out the folly of secularisation, which, in essence has "pushed the divine farther and farther behind ever growing scientific technological and economic material, behind the manifold orders of intermediary causations and evolutionary processes... We no longer live our days in nearness to the divine; we do not sense its permanent presence in every form of nature as the ancients did...The divine has been banished into a far removed sphere of vagueness and silence. Such silence and absence of God have been bitterly felt by various modern minds, such as Rilke and Simone Weil, who were only too disposed to listen and respond to the voice of the divine."

Science has, unfortunately, given a new form of fatalism. When everything is determined, it robs an individual of the quintessential value of 'choice', which is not possible without some degree of 'free will'. Human beings do not enjoy absolute 'free will' as that is only in the domain of the divine, but its limited quantum makes one accountable for one's behaviour. Unlike animals, humans discriminate between what is right and what is wrong. It is here that the moral force - the conscience - enables one to make the right judgment in his thinking - as per the Cartesian axiom Cogito ergo volo. Secularism, to the extent that it takes the temporal world and provides the guidance for promoting the spirit of tolerance for diversity, accommodates all faiths and lends them dignity. Professor Hamilton Gibb describes Islamic society as a "fully rounded society on a religious basis which comprehends every aspect of human life". Iqbal, in his profound book Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, explains why duality between the 'sacred' and the 'profane', the spiritual and the temporal, the 'ecclesiastical' and the 'secular', the Church and the state, exists in Christianity and not in Islam: "In Europe Christianity was understood to be a purely monastic order which gradually developed into a vast church organisation. The protest of Luther was directed against this church organisation. ..If you begin with the conception of religion as complete other-worldliness, then what has happened to Christianity in Europe is perfectly natural...Islam does not bifurcate the unity of man into the irreconcilable duality of spirit and matter. In Islam God and the universe, spirit and matter, Church and State are organic to each other."

Secularism was wrongly attributed to Quaid-e-Azam by Justice Munir on the basis of his famous speech of August 11, 1947. I have not come across any statement by Quaid-e-Azam in which he mentioned the word 'secularism' to be the guiding principle of Pakistan. Of course the temporal aspect of secularism is inherent in Islam. R Smith in his book, Mohammedanism in Africa, has mentioned: "Islam has given to its Negro converts a status, dignity and self-reliance which are all too rarely found in the pagan or Christian fellow country-men. " R C Reddy remarks: "The age long problem of racial equality has not been solved by any system of religion or ethics except Mohammedanism. In every other polity or religion, reason, ethics and spiritual ideas have been broken on the rock of race and colour."

Just one letter that Quaid-e-Azam wrote to Mr Gandhi on January 21, 1940 will clear the notion of how 'secular' was he in the sense the West conceives it: "Today you deny that religion can be a main factor in determining a nation, but you yourself, when asked that what your motive in life was, whether it was religious, or racial and political, said - purely religious. The gamut of man's activities today constitutes an indivisible whole. You cannot divide social, economic, political and purely religious work into watertight compartment. I do not know any religion apart from human activity. It provides a moral basis to all other activities which they would otherwise lack, reducing life to a maze of sound and fury signifying nothing."

Rousseau, the great apostle of democracy has made a startling statement. "No state has ever been founded without a religious basis." About Islam he said: "Mohammed [PBUH] held very sane views and linked the political system well together and as long as the form of his government continued under the caliphs, who succeeded him, that government was indeed one and so far good."

To conclude, I would like to stress what Erich Kahler said: "When the individual is supposed to submit unconditionally to the will of the secular powers as instruments or substitutes of the supreme power, then the will of God is stripped of its actual influence on earth." Pakistan's destiny is towards harmonising the 'secular' and the 'spiritual', and discarding the theocratic notion of Islam.

Dr Ambedkar on Democracy


MAINSTREAM, VOL XLV, NO 51

Shyam Chand

All over India the 51st death anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar is being observed on December 6, 2007. He was a genius par excellence—an economist a sociologist, a political scientist, a great historian, a legal luminary, a great constitutionalist and above all a great champion of the downtrodden.
Abraham Lincoln says: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.” Various philosophers, political scientists and writers have given numerous definitions of democracy. A relentless champion of human rights and staunch believer in democracy, Dr Ambedkar says: “Democracy is not a form of government, but a form of social organisation.”
Dr Ambedkar believed that in democracy revolutionary changes in the economic and social life of the people are brought about without bloodshed. The conditions for that are as follows: “(1) there should not be glaring inequalities in society, that is, privilege for one class; (2) the existence of an opposition; (3) equality in law and administration; (4) observance of constitutional morality; (5) no tyranny of the majority; (6) moral order of society: and (7) public conscience.”
Addressing the Constituent Assembly, he suggested certain devices essential to maintain democracy: “(i) constitutional methods: (ii) not to lay liberties at the feet of a great man: (iii) make a political democracy a social democracy.”
Dr Ambedkar firmly believed that political democracy cannot succeed without social and economic democracy. In his talk given on the Voice of America he argued that: “Democracy could not be equated with either republic or parliamentary form of government. The roots of democracy lay not in the form of government, parliamentary or otherwise. A democracy is a model of associated living. The roots of democracy are to be searched in social relationship, in terms of the associated life between the people who form the society.”
He was against coercive centralised institu-tional authority that Hobbesian Philosophy maintains. Associated life is consensual expression of shared experience, aspirations and values. If a small section of the society is allowed to manipulate the cultured symbols of the society that process becomes undemocratic and destructive.
For him political democracy is not an end in itself, but the most powerful means to achieve the social and economic ideals in society. State socialism within the framework of parliamentary democracy can defeat dictatorship. Fundamental rights without economic security are of no use to the have-nots. “Social and economic democracy are tissue and the fibre of a political democracy.”
In a multi-denominational society like India, the common denominator is secularism which is one of the pillars on which the superstructure of our democracy rests. It is a unifying force of our associated life. He says: “The conception of a secular state is derived from the liberal democratic tradition of the West. No institution which is maintained wholly out of state funds shall be used for the purpose of religious instruction irrespective of the question whether the religious instruction is given by the state or by any other body.” Participating in a debate in Parliament, he further emphasised: “It (secular state) does not mean that we shall not take into consideration the religious sentiments of the people. All that a secular state means that this Parliament shall not be competent to impose any particular religion upon the rest of the people. That is the only limitation that the Constitution recognises.”
Social unity can be achieved by coercive methods. For true democracy to flower and flourish, social union is must. For that he suggested safeguards for the minority. In democracy, minority does not become the victim of the tyranny of the majority. He suggested certain safeguards for the protection of the minority. “The State should guarantee to its citizens the liberty of conscience and the free exercise of his religion including the right to profess, to preach and to convert within limits compatible with public order and morality.”
A crusader against social and economic injustice and a great champion of human rights with a firm belief in democracy, he exhorted his audience at the All India Depressed Classes Conference: “It seems to me that there lies on us a very important duty to see that democracy does not vanish from the earth as the governing principle of human relationship. If we believe in it, we must both be true and loyal to it. We must not only be staunch in our faith in democracy, but we must resolve to see that whatever we do not help the enemies of democracy to uproot the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.” For that he exhorted the Dalits to defend and support democracy and secularism to safeguard their rights, life and liberty.

Dr Ambedkar laid much emphasis on the term moral and said: “The Declaration of Independence does not assert that all men are equal; it proclaims that they are created equal.” He further argued: “For the successful working of democracy there must not be glaring inequalities in the society. There must not be an oppressed class. There must not be a suppressed class.” In case of inequalities “State intervention is a must”. Right to treatment as an equal must precede the right to equal treatment as a state policy. Equality of opportunity is a misleading term. There should be opportunity for equality.
He emphasised on the need for liberty of movement, liberty of speech and liberty of action and political liberty to choose his government for securing “unalienable rights such as life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Political liberty is really a deduction from the principle of human personality and equality.” Liberty and equality exist together. One without the other is absurd. Commenting on failure of democracy in some countries, he said: “Parliamentary democracy developed a passion for liberty. It failed to realise the significance of equality and did not even endeavour to strike a balance between liberty and equality, with the result that liberty swallowed equality and has made democracy a name and a farce.”
He was against violence. A firm believer in the Buddhist doctrine of non-violence he asked his followers to ’agitate’ for their rights in a peaceful manner. Violence undermines the spirit of democracy. He would have been the first to denounce Naxalism.
Dr Ambedkar, like Tagore, was against the caste system. Tagore says : “Inhuman treatment meted out to the untouchables by Brahmins is lynching, facism, Ku Klux Klanism and the like.” (Rabindranath Tagore by Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson) both urged Gandhiji to work for abolition of the caste system without which democracy, after independence, would not flower and flourish. When Gandhiji declared “I would like to assure my Dalit friends…. That they may hold my life as a hostage for its due fulfillment”, Tagore was with Gandhiji. Tagore was also with Gandhiji when he signed ’Poona Pact’ with Dr Ambedkar.
At the time of adoption of the Constitution, Dr Ambedkar warned: “On 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequalities. In politics we will be recognising the principles of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one vote. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of our political democracy.”
The author is a former Minister of Haryana.

Jan Lokpal Bill : Anti-Democratic

  1. The bill is against democracy and gives all rights of investigation, prosecution and punishment to the Lokpal. Most importantly it is against the Constitution of India. 
  2. The Lokpal would be the ultimate authority if the bill is passed. He would be above Parliament and the Judiciary which challenges the basics of democracy.

No voice against Dalit Atrocity: by the Dalit politicians


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‘ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮ ನಾಯಕನೇ ಹೊರತು ರಾಜಕೀಯ ನಾಯಕನಲ್ಲ’

ಸೋಮವಾರ - ಮೇ -09-2011

ಹಾಸನ, ಮೇ 8: ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಒಬ್ಬ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮ ನಾಯಕನೇ ಹೊರತು ರಾಜಕೀಯ ನಾಯಕನಲ್ಲ. ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಸಾಧನೆಗೆ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಹೆಸರು ಬಳಕೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಅವರ ಹೆಸರಿಗೆ ಮಸಿ ಬಳಿಯುವ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಬೇಡಿ ಎಂದು ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಮಾಜಿ ಸಚಿವ ವಿ.ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್ ಪ್ರಸಾದ್ ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಹಾಸನದಲ್ಲಿ ದಲಿತ ಸಂಘಟನೆಗಳ, ನೌಕರರ ಮತ್ತು ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಒಕ್ಕೂಟ ಆಯೋಜಿಸಿದ್ದ ಬಾಬಾ ಸಾಹೇಬ್ ಡಾ.ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್‌ರ 120ನೆ ಜನ್ಮದಿನ ಮತ್ತು ದಲಿತರ ಐಕ್ಯತಾ ದಿನ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಶಯ ಭಾಷಣ ಮಾಡಿದ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್ ಪ್ರಸಾದ್, ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊ ಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ ಆತ್ಮಗೌರವ ತಂದುಕೊಂಡ ಮಹಾನ್ ಮಾನವತಾವಾದಿ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರತಿಪಾದಿಸಿದರು.

ಆದರೆ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಅವರ ಹೆಸರು ಬಳಕೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ರಾಜಕಾರಣ ಮಾಡಲು ಯಾರೊಬ್ಬರೂ ಮುಂದಾಗಬಾರದು. ಅವರನ್ನು ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕ ಗುರುವನ್ನಾಗಿ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿ, ತತ್ವಾದರ್ಶಗಳನ್ನು ಪಾಲಿಸಬೇಕೆಂದು ಕರೆ ನೀಡಿದರು.
ಅಸ್ಪಶ್ಯತೆಯ ನೋವನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸಿ ಛಲ ಬಿಡದೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಪಡೆದು ದಲಿತರ ಏಳಿಗೆಗೆ ಶ್ರಮಿಸಿ ದ್ದಲ್ಲದೇ ಪ್ರಪಂಚಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾದರಿಯಾದ ಸಂವಿಧಾನವನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರನ್ನು ದಲಿತರು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬ ಭಾರತೀಯನೂ ಸ್ಮರಿಸಬೇಕು ಎಂದರು.

ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಿ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಸ್ಫೂರ್ತಿಧಾಮದ ಮಹಾವನ ಬೌದ್ಧವಿಹಾರದ ಬಂತೆ ಬೋಧಿದತ್ತ, ದಲಿತರು ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕವಾಗಿ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ಆಗಬೇಕಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರತಿಪಾದಿಸಿದರು.

ಬಡತನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿರುವ ದಲಿತರು ಹಬ್ಬ -ಹರಿದಿನಗಳ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ರೂ. ವೆಚ್ಚ ಮಾಡಿ ಸಾಲಗಾರರಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಡಿವಾಣ ಹಾಕಿ ಬೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮದ ತತ್ವಗಳನ್ನು ಪಾಲಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿಯ ಬದುಕು ಸಾಗಿರುವಂತೆ ಕರೆ ನೀಡಿದರು.

ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷತೆಯನ್ನು ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಎಂಜಿನಿಯರ್ ಎನ್.ಎಚ್.ಕಾಂತರಾಜು ವಹಿಸಿ ದ್ದರು. ಶಾಸಕ ಎಚ್.ಕೆ.ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ದಲಿತ ಚಿಂತಕ ಪ್ರೊ.ಎಚ್.ಎಂ.ರುದ್ರಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ಡಾ.ಬಿ.ಆರ್.ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಸ್ತರಣಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಪ್ರೊ.ಜಿ.ಸೋಮಶೇಖರ್, ದಲಿತ ಮುಖಂಡರಾದ ಡಿ.ಸಿ.ಸಣ್ಣಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ಕೃಷ್ಣದಾಸ್, ಕೆ.ಈರಪ್ಪ, ಜಯರಾಂ, ಎಚ್.ಕೆ.ಸಂದೇಶ್, ಮಾದಿಗ ದಂಡೋರ ಸಮಿ ತಿಯ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ವಿಜಯಕುಮಾರ್, ವಕೀಲ ಕೆ.ಟಿ.ಮಂಜಯ್ಯ, ಅರೇಹಳ್ಳಿರಾಜು, ನಿರ್ವಾಣಯ್ಯ ಮತ್ತಿತರರು ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತರಿದ್ದರು.

ಇದಕ್ಕೂ ಮುನ್ನ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಭಾವಚಿತ್ರದೊಂದಿಗೆ ದಲಿತ ಸಂಘಟನೆಗಳ ಒಕ್ಕೂಟದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರು ನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ ನಡೆಸಿದರು. ಕಲಾ ತಂಡಗ ಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ ನಂತರ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿ ಕಾರಿ ಕಚೇರಿ ಆವರಣದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಪುತ್ಥಳಿಗೆ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಮಾಜಿ ಸಚಿವ ವಿ.ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಪ್ರಸಾದ್ ಮಾಲಾರ್ಪಣೆ ಮಾಡಿದರು.

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