Dalit Art in Delhi: SAVI SAVARKARs Art in Delhi Exhibit

SAVI Savarkar's art work is full of life, an insightful and thoughtful expression of Dalits by a Dalit himself.

He is the rarest of young talents from India whose art work can't be matched by yet another upcoming artists of India. It all sounds and looks like this is the beginning of his art work, if the beginning has so much of extraordinary display to offer to us, the future contributions and creativity of Savi is something his art speaks for itself.

Savi Savarkar is GSS&H's The artist & Great Scholar of the month of Dec 2008. Let us congradulate and support Savi's work.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

The grinding miseries that are ailing humanity? By Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi

In this insightful message to the world Buddhists, Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi one of the most scholarly and revered American Buddhist monk discusses the sufferings of Humanity world wide, he also points to the role of Buddhists in reaching out to the needy and socially, morally  and economically oppressed and suppressed, this is exactly what our great Buddha himself taught and practiced,

if we can eliminate the suffering from innocent and underprevileged humans around the globe, lot more better humanity can be build around us, this is not anything new in Buddhists society, Buddha did this 3500 years ago, but, the Buddha's Dhamma should not be sabotaged by the few elite or educated or one who can afford to take it for introvert purposes, after all such great tool as eliminating one's suffering must be shared with others, then to others and then to others ultimately taking the Dhamma to as many as possible.

What a great thoughts Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi brings to us so often as we need, just like a glowing light in the darkness of this era we live with so much sufferings.

While you are reading this great piece of information, do not forget to read our great P.P.LakshmanJi's remarks and vision about today's Buddhists (look at the left side bar in this blog for PPL's remarks). Lakshmanji is another scholarly writer and a revered Buddhists within our Dalit Brotherhood/sisterhood who often enlightens us.

A challenge to Buddhists
By Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi

Each morning, I check out a number of Internet news reports and commentaries on websites ranging from the BBC to Trutbout. Reading about current events strongly reinforces for me the acuity of the Buddha's words: "The world is grounded upon suffering."

Almost daily I am awed by the enormity of the suffering that assails human beings on every continent, and even more so by the hard truth that so much of this suffering springs not from the vicissitudes of impersonal nature but from the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion raging in the human heart.

Seeing the immensity of the world's anguish has raised in my mind questions about the future prospects for Buddhism in the West. I've been struck by how seldom the theme of global suffering - the palpable suffering of real human beings - is thematically explored in the Buddhist journals and teachings with which I am acquainted.

It seems to me that we Western Buddhists tend to dwell in a cognitive space that defines the first noble truth largely against the background of our middle-class lifestyles: as the gnawing of discontent; the ennui of over-satiation; the pain of unfulfilling relationships; or, with a bow to Buddhist theory, as bondage to the round of rebirths. Too often, I feel, our focus on these aspects of dukkha has made us oblivious to the vast, catastrophic suffering that daily overwhelms three-fourths of the world's population.

An exception to this tendency may be found with the Engaged Buddhist movement. I believe this is a face of Buddhism that has great promise, but from my superficial readings in this area I am struck by two things.

First, while some Engaged Buddhist seek fresh perspectives from the Dharma, for many Buddhism simply provides spiritual practices to use while simultaneously espousing socio-political causes not much different from those of the mainstream Left. Second, Engaged Buddhism still remains tangential to the hard core of Western interest in Buddhism, which has fastened upon the Dharma principally as a path to inner peace and self-realisation.

If Buddhism in the West becomes solely a means to pursue personal spiritual growth, I am apprehensive it may evolve in a one-sided way and thus fulfil only half its potential. Attracting the affluent and the educated, it will provide a congenial home for the intellectual and cultural elite, but it risks turning the quest for enlightenment into a private journey that, in the face of the immense suffering which daily hounds countless human lives, can present only a resigned quietism.

It is true that Buddhist meditation practice requires seclusion and inwardly focused depth. But, I ask myself, wouldn't the embodiment of Dharma in the world be more complete by also reaching out and addressing the grinding miseries that are ailing humanity?

I know we engage in lofty meditations on kindness and compassion and espouse beautiful ideals of love and peace. But note that we pursue them largely as inward subjective experiences geared towards personal transformation.

Too seldom does this type of compassion roll up its sleeves and step into the field. Too rarely does it translate into pragmatic programs of effective action realistically designed to diminish the actual sufferings of those battered by natural calamities or societal deprivation.

American Jewish World Service doesn't aspire to convert people to Judaism but to express Judaism's commitment to social justice by alleviating "poverty, hunger, and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion, or nationality."

Why doesn't Buddhism have anything like that? Surely we can find a supporting framework for this in Buddhist doctrine, ethical ideals, archetypes, legends, and historical precedents.

I recognise that many individual Buddhists are actively engaged in social service and that a few larger Buddhist organisations work tirelessly to relieve human suffering around the globe. Their selfless dedication fully deserves our appreciation. Unfortunately, however, their appeal has as yet been limited

Buddhist teachers often say that the most effective way we can help protect the world is by purifying our own minds, or that before we engage in compassionate action we must attain realization of selflessness or emptiness.

There may be some truth in such statements, but I think it is a partial truth. In these critical times, we also have an obligation to aid those immersed in the world who live on the brink of destitution and despair.

The Buddha's mission, the reason for his arising in the world, was to free beings from suffering by uprooting the evil roots of greed, hatred, and delusion. These sinister roots don't exist only in our own minds.

Today they have acquired a collective dimension and spread out over whole countries and continents. To help free beings from suffering today therefore requires that we counter the systemic embodiments of greed, hatred, and delusion.

In each historical period, the Dharma finds new means to unfold its potentials in ways precisely linked to that era's distinctive historical conditions.

I believe that our own era provides the appropriate historical stage for the transcendent truth of the Dharma to bend back upon the world and engage human suffering at multiple levels - even the lowest, harshest, and most degrading levels - not in mere contemplation but in effective, relief-granting action illuminated by its own world transcending goal.

A special challenge facing Buddhism in our age is to stand up as an advocate for justice in the world, a voice of conscience for those victims of social, economic, and political injustice who cannot stand up and speak for themselves.

This, in my view, is a deeply moral challenge marking a watershed in the modern expression of Buddhism. I believe it also points in a direction that Buddhism should take if it is to share in the Buddha's ongoing mission to humanity.

E-Salute to Father of India Dr.Ambedkar by Vijay Mane

Here is a E-Salute to our great Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, the father of India and the emancipator of the Indians from hindu religious stupidity and oppression.

Pay Tribute to  Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on 52nd Mahaparinivan Diwas

 

E Salute to the father of the Supreme Constitution of india.

 

E Salute to the visionery who laid the foundation of Freedom, Liberty, Justice and Fraternity

 

E Salute to the great warrior and the emanicipator who fought against caste system and liberated six thousand castes from the Bramhnial manifold.

 

E Salute to the most intelligent person who have laid down the foundation for the policy which have designed for the underpriviledged people in this country.

 

E Salute to the great leader who created the committment, passion, dedication among his follower.

 

JAIBHIM

 

Vijay Mane

Buddhism’s Revival in India in the 20th Century

Vinay Lal writes about the revival of Buddhism in India and the untiring torch bearers of the Buddhism in India and Tamil Nadu.

Buddhism’s Revival in India in the 20^th Century

Vinay Lal

The disappearance of Buddhism from the land of its birth, a gradual process that extended from the latter part of the 1^st millennium AD until about 1200-1300 AD, is a phenomenon that has been commented upon quite often.  [See the related article on this web site.]  Another part of this story is surely the revival of Buddhism, a reawakening with which the name of B. R. Ambedkar is indelibly linked.  Indeed, the story of modern-day Indian Buddhism  generally commences with Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism in 1956, a mere couple of months before his death.  By the early 1990s, there were an estimated 7 - 10 million Buddhists in India, the bulk of them in the western state of Maharashtra.

However, the narrative of Buddhism’s revival in India can more accurately be traced back to the 19^th century, and a more complex account of it would have to take stock of various Dravidian, anti-Brahminical, and self-respect movements that, in various ways, impinged on the fortunes of Buddhism in India from the late nineteenth century onwards.  The names of reformers such as Jotiba Phule (1826-1890) and much later E. V. Ramaswami ‘Periyar’ (1879-1973) are, of course, well-known, but one can also point to other tendencies.  Mahima Dharma, or the “religion” founded by Mahima Gosain [previously known as Mukunda Das] in Orissa in 1862, stood for the rejection of caste and idol worship, and Gosain embraced such Buddhist practices as begging for cooked food.  Gosain’s teachings were spread through many followers, none as famous as the blind adivasi poet, Bhima Bhoi, whose bhajans popularized Mahima Gosain’s teachings. 

Ambedkar’s closest forerunner may well have been Pandit Iyothee Thaas, a Tamil Siddha physician (1845-1914) who not only urged the Untouchables (as they were then known) to view themselves as non-Hindus, as casteless Dravidians, but also set another example for them by taking diksha at the hands of a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka.  Thaas went on to found the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras.

Various other trajectories fed into Buddhism’s revival, among them the arrival in India in 1891 of David Hewavitarne, more well-known as Angarika Dharmapala.   The restoration of Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, was undertaken at his behest, and Dharmapala also founded the Maha Bodhi Society.  Before Ambedkar’s conversion in 1956 and the advent of what we might call Dalit Buddhism, the Maha Bodhi Society, which also wrested control of Bodh Gaya from the hands of its Hindu managers, would become the custodian of Buddhism’s fortunes. Dharmapala’s visit to India coincided with a spurt of scholarly interest in Buddhism among Indologists, including such famous ones as the Sanskritist R. G. Bhandarkar, and something of what might be called an antiquarian and spiritual interest in Buddhism among intellectuals and truth seekers in the West.  In 1881, the Pali Text Society had been founded, and authoritative versions of Buddhist texts soon came to be published and disseminated under its auspices.  One convert to Buddhism in India who was to acquire considerable fame in later years was Dharmanand Kosambi, who was born in Goa in 1876 and was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1902.  Though his fame has been eclipsed by that of his son, D. D. Kosambi, the most eminent Indian Marxist historian of his generation,

 

Dharmanand Kosambi authored one of the most popular biographies of Buddha, Bhagwan Buddha (1940, and still in print from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan).

 

Ultimately, however, Buddhism’s revival owes the most to Ambedkar’s alienation from Hinduism and his embrace of Buddhism, which by no means seemed inevitable to him even when he had emphatically denounced Hinduism, in October 1956.  That story has been taken up in great detail by Ambedkar’s biographers and is now part of Dalit lore; and consequently it will not be rehearsed now at any length. It is worth recalling that as late as 1929, when a group of Dalits threatened to convert to Islam or Christianity, Ambedkar did not really see Buddhism as a viable alternative for low-caste Hindus.  As he then wrote, “No particular effect will be felt on the bullying of the so-called upper castes by becoming Buddhist or Arya Samajist, so we see no meaning in following this path.  To successfully confront the domination of Hindus, we should become Christians or Muslims and win the support of a powerful community and with this erase the mark of Untouchability.”   Ambedkar was fully conversant with the problem that in India the tendency to view Buddhism as an off-shoot of Hinduism meant that converts to Buddhism would be treated with something like indifference, and that they would not be able to escape the liabilities of low-caste Hinduism.  Upper-caste Hindus were not likely to perceive conversion to Buddhism as anything of a threat.  By the mid-1930s, however, Ambedkar had certainly come around to the view that he could not remain within the fold of Hinduism.  As he was to declare on 13 October 1935, “Unfortunately, I was born a Hindu.  It was beyond my power to prevent that, but I solemnly assure you that I will not die a Hindu.”  He only took the final plunge in October 1956.  Perhaps not coincidentally, or not without its own symbolic politics, Ambedkar’s conversion, accompanied by the conversion of thousands of his followers, took place at a large field in the city of Nagpur, a place associated with the rise of Hindu nationalist sentiments.  The field where Ambedkar converted would be sanctified as “Diksha Bhoomi”, the field or earth of vow-taking.

 

Though Buddhism has gained adherents over the last five decades, Indian Buddhists are still relatively miniscule in numbers.  Buddhism’s presence in India is, of course, another matter, with the landscape in many parts of the country still dotted with remains of Buddhist monasteries, Buddhist sculptural art, and other reminders of the supreme presence that Buddhism once occupied in Indian life.  The hill regions of north-east India, Uttaraanchal, and Himachal Pradesh, as well as Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir are other areas where sizable Buddhist communities are found.  Japanese tourists arriving in India to take the Buddhist pilgrimage route are writing yet another chapter of the history of Indian Buddhism, as are, in more profound ways, Tibetan Buddhists.  There is a sizable population of Tibetan Buddhists, over 150,000 people, in India; and the Dalai Lama heads the Tibetan government in exile at the hill station of Dharmashala.  In the 12^th and 13^th centuries, as Buddhism was pushed further east and north, it eventually made its way to Tibet and found refuge in the mountainous retreats of that country.  It is, thus, perfectly apposite that Buddhism should now have come back to India from Tibet to nourish the soil on which it once grew.

HTML Version: Posted:  24 February 2006

8th Century BC, Nandanar & Cast System in Tamil Nadu?: Kings Looted lands from Dalits to give it to the nomadic,landless Brahmins, Read further...!

S.Viswanatahan from Tamil Nadu is a well known and reputed writer, at times his writings are scholarly in his expression and style. 

The following review article written by him is about one of the most revered, powerful spiritual saint  with an astonished performance of crusade against brahminism and casteism during 8th century, the greatest of all saints Saint Nandanar or Thirunaalaippovar, a Tamil Dalit (what?, a dalit at 8th century?, isn't this amazing how barbaric Indias and Tamilians even at this early century). Yes, Nandanar belongs to erstwhile pariyar community, they were untouchables who were chased out to their lands and belongings to the outskirts for living (Caste Segregation, that we can see even today in every single village in India). After almost several centuries gone by, Tamil Nadu is still full of riddles of hinduism the caste animosity and atrocity against dalits, they are predominently segregated in almost all the villages?. 


REVIEW ARTICLE

Dalit struggle and a legend

S. VISWANATHAN

The Legend of Nandan: Nandan Kathai by Indira Parthasarathy, translated from the Tamil by C.T. Indra; Oxford University Press; pages 82, Rs.195.

DALITS, who constitute a little over one-sixth of India's one billion people, have for generations been at the very bottom of the social ladder. They are kept outside, and subservient to, the four-tier hierarchical caste structure sanctified by Varnasrama Dharma.

HISTORIANS relate the segregation of a section of people in Tamil Nadu as "outcastes" and "untouchables" to the process of Aryanisation of southern India. Dalit isolation grew in intensity in pace with this process. "The Aryanisation of the South was doubtless a slow process spread over several centuries. Beginning probably about 1000 B.C., it had reached its completion before the time of Katyayana, the grammarian of the 4th century B.C., who mentions the names of the Tamil countries of the extreme south." (K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India)

In his Slavery in the Tamil Country: A Historical Overview, historian S. Manickam observes: "It is difficult to say when the institution of slavery originated in the South. Perhaps the conquest of southern India by the Aryans and the consequent fusion between them and the inhabitants of the land could have been the possible cause of the birth of Caste System and the institution of slavery which is closely allied with the former."

The "Pulaiyars'', the "Paraiars" and the "Pallars" are some of the large Dalit communities. Many historians have shown that large sections of original inhabitants (the Pallars and the Paraiars, for instance) were alienated from their land. Manickam contends that the Aryanisation process reached its peak during the period of Imperial Cholas under state patronage and this led to a form of slavery, mainly associated with land. The distribution of land as gift to Brahmins by the kings during the Pallava and Chola periods brought about changes in land relations. Brahmins, who were until then mostly advisers andpurohits to the king, became landowners in several places.

Nandan, in a way, has been the symbol of the Dalit aspiration for liberation since the 8th century. The evolution of the story of Nandan, from a brief reference to his inner piety by the Tamil Saivite seer and poet Sundarar, one of the 63 nayanmaars of the Saivite order, ("chemmaiye Thirunaalaippovaarkkum adiyen") to Indira Parthasarathy's Nandan Kathai, through several re-interpretations is interesting.

Read this whole review, the life story of Saint Nandanar is a model of model for inspiration and humanity, though there are several controversial stories, he is the probably the first known Tamil Dalit during 8th century to fought against caste system and single handedly crushed the upper castes and high and mighty procrastinators of religious stupidity of those years.

Dalit Atrocity in India Continues:- Human Rights abuse by hindus

Here is a list of Dalit atrocity compiled by K.Samu, this is just a tiny fraction of the thousands and unaccounted number of human rights abuse and dalit atrocity committed by hindus in the name of caste system, if you go over the list of these atrocities, you will find it how widespread and dangerous the hindus practices and treatment of other humans in India.

Again, let me warn you about the list, this is in no way a complete list or even contemplates to be a majority of such atrocities, it is just a fraction of it, all over India, there is such a rampant amount of atrocity goes on unnoticed, unattended and uncontroled by the local, central or any govt authorities, who are all  including govt officials who are believers of such filth as caste system.

DALIT ATROCITIES - 2007

(JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2007)

Compiled By

K. SAMU

Human Rights Documentation,

Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi, India

Govt asks private firms to account for SC/ST staff (2)

New Delhi : Private organisations, entrepreneurs and companies may find themselves in aquandary, as Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DPP) has asked them to list detailsof SC/ST employees in their annual audit reports for 2006-07. The annual reports of a companywould be treated as 'incomplete' if they do not state the number of SC/ST employees in theorganisations. The new initiative comes in the wake of a crucial meeting of the Co-Ordination Committee on Affirmative Action (CCAA) chaired by Dr Ajay Dua, secretary, DPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, on November 2006. Dr Dua, also member-convener of CCAA, had met

Industry representatives to decide the future course of action to implement affirmative actions forthe disadvantaged groups of the society. "The idea to mention details of SC/ST employees in theannual report of the companies came from Dr Dua. The Industry would try its best to compilesuch details. It remains to be seen if we could force the people to disclose their caste identities.We feel disclosure of such information should be voluntarily, and not mandatory," an industrysource said. According to him, Jamshed J Irani, director, Tata Sons, and chairman of 

CIIASSOCHAM

taskforce on affirmative action, expressed reservation over the idea in the meeting of industry players and Government officials, stating that "such an exercise should be left to the individual companies to decide". To begin with, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the nodal agency for implementation of quota in private sector through affirmative action, has asked Industry players to "incorporate the data of SCs/STs recruited from January 2007 onwards in the annual report of 2006-07".

The Centre has also fixed March 2007 as the

deadline for the industry to collect data to assess the share of SC/ST in the private sector jobs.

The cut-off date for compiling the information is January 1, 2007. Since the private sector in the

country employs around 8 million people in the country, the SC/ST should account for over 17.6

lakh in the total jobs against 22.2 per cent quota norm earmarked for them………(Pioneer 3/1/06)

`Dalits, tribals launguishing in jails' (2)

BERHAMPUR: Ninety-two innocent dalits and tribals are languishing in Orissa jails being falsely

termed as naxal supporters, alleged the State unit of the CPI-Maoist party. In press note signed

by Sunil, secretary of the Orissa unit, the Maoists alleged that these prisoners were being treatedinhumanly in the jails. According to them 29 such prisoners were lodged at Berhampur circle jail,26 at Sambalpur jail, 23 at Malkangiri jail, three at Paralakhemundi jail, two at R. Udaygiri sub-jail,three at Rayagada jail, and six at Rourkela jail. According to them, a cancer patient named Natha Pradhan from Jajpur area arrested in the name of his alleged naxal connections was also fighting for his life inside the jail. The Maoists said the atrocities on dalits and tribals living in remote areas of the State had increased during the tenure of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The Naveen Patnaik Government has joined hands with the fundamentalist BJP to be in power but was hand in hand with the Congress to continue atrocities. (The Hindu 4/1/07)

Here is the link to the full list: Dalit Atrocity 2007

Scholarly and Revolutionary Writings of Jatirao Phule

Blog: Scholars without Borders Review on Jotirao Phule's Writings:
This blog run by individual writers, scholars and academicians from JNU university write about various issues and topics in India. The following is the review about Great Revolutionary, humanitaian and Abolishnists of Caste system and hinduism of India. Read further......!Selected Writings of Jotirao Phule Author/Editor : G P Deshpande, ed.

"Jotirao Phule (1827-1890) was India's first systematic theorist of caste,
and the most radical 19th-century opponent of it,

• who desired nothing less than
  a complete smashing up of
  its oppressive
  structure.

This volume makes available
for the first time all his most important prose writings in English.

India-Independent? from What?.:-

Will India ever get Independence from Myths, discrimination, filth
and poverty, corruption and looting the poor, lawlessness and injustices?. The answer is probably the most difficult one?.
Here is a thought provoking article by a human rights
activist.

An eye-opener for India

15 August, 2008 - 11:36.

• India

• Babu Gogineni (1)  In an illustrated article on the occasion of India's Independence Day, Babu Gogineni highlights the superstitious obstacles to India's progress and warns of the dangers of departing from the path of reason.

India's 'Progress'

India as a country has today in her 61st year of existence found a place
on the world's radar - dazzling many with the explosive economic growth nearing
that of China's, creating the world's largest pool of persons with technical
training, producing food that can sustain a billion citizens even if there were
no rains for one year, and even managing to get an agreement with the Nuclear
Suppliers Group, while remaining outside the ambit of the Nuclear Non
Proliferation Treaty!

The Warning Bells
The warning bells have been sounded. Increasing rituals.
Greater role for astrologers in private and even public life. Continuing news of human sacrifice from the rural areas, and of lynching of suspected witches. Reinforced caste identities, neglect of
the weak and the helpless ... 

the list is endless. India, despite all the tall
claims of becoming a modern nation is doing nothing about the ever increasing superstition amongst her people and their leaders, nor about the rapidly disappearing human values. This neglect of the scientific temper will prove to be a costly affair for the nation.
Babu Gogineni is IHEU's International Director

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No Academic Dignity or Scholarly approach to Education in India: Brahminism & Casteism is destroying the future of India?

Educational Instituitions in India is filled with unexplainable level of discrimination, bias, favoritism, goondaism and utter non-sense of hindu people. There is no place of sc/st's, because they are the object of the highest discrimination ever on this planet!?.

These innocent Sc/St's are perpetrated in every single aspects of their life in India by the casteistic people, no matter whether it is a Brahmin or a ignorant backward/most backward sect , they are all slaves of Brahmins even in this modern era that means they all practice discrimination period.

This is mainly because of the believes they were taught in the past several centuries, mostly Mythical and lunatic believes of hinduism. While the caste discrimination in other walsk of life is rampant in India, the

academic discriminations are much more prevalent and dangerouly practiced by brahmins and other Indians without a shame. Sujch caste perpetration is much more common and in full swing in AIIMS, JNU, IISc, IITs, IIMs and almost all the educational/higher educational instituitions.

Here is a petition and the background history of discrimination of Sc/St
in instituitions:

SIGN THE PETITION: Academia in India is an Institution of Brahminism & Terrorism, so much Academic Atrocity in India go off the Hook??
Sign the Petition ......

SC/ST students at AIIMS face discrimination'

AgenciesPosted online: Sunday, May 06, 2007 at 1353 hours ISTNew Delhi, May 6: SC/ST students at AIIMS face discrimination at all levels right from consultation with teachers, during examinations and even in hostels, a committee probing discrimination at the institute said slamming authorities for not recognising the gravity of the social divide.

“..and now disclosure of discrimination by IIT in Chennai…”

DALITS NOT WELCOME IN IIT MADRAS http://www.tehelka.com/story_main31.asp?filename=Ne160607Dalits_not.asp
There are only a handful of Dalit students and faculty members at the elite institute, but they face widespread discrimination and harassment
PC Vinoj Kumar Chennai

All the noise against extending reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in centrally-funded institutions might be a little irrelevant given that an institute like IIT Madras has parted with only a fraction of the 22.5 percent quota for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs).

According to information provided by the institute’s deputy registrar, Dr K. Panchalan, in September 2005, Dalits accounted for only 11.9 percent of the number of students. They were even fewer in the higher courses — 2.3 percent in ms (Research) and 5.8 percent in Ph.D. Out of a total of 4,687 students, Dalits made up only 559.

*Brahminical forces are once again at their oppressive best in AIIMS. Constitutional violation, caste discrimination and atrocities on Dalits and other backward section are rampant in AIIMS. Kindly have a look at the number of jobs given to the SC/ST/OBCs at AIIMS, the premier medical institute of this country .
*Senior Resident Doctors*

• AIIMS: Teaching Discrimination
  
• Chances are if you are a Schedule Caste/Tribe student studying or practicing in India’s premier medical institute, AIIMS in New Delhi, none of your fellow student or doctor will work with you and you will have to live in a ghetto, you will not be able to play a certain sport and each and every day, you will be reminded again and again that you belongs to an inferior class in the society.
  

Bauddhacharya S. Sajivan Nath: Scholarly Activist in the Path laid by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

Here is a story of suffering of a man in the hands of casteistic Brahmins and other Indians, who came up in life against all truamatic experiences of caste violence and atrocity. His abilities to shattered the casteistist by following Dr.Ambedkar's work and teachings brought out lots of talents and services out of Mr.Bauddhacharya S.Sajivan Nath.

From his website:
Bauddhacharya S. Sajivan Nath

Bauddhacharya S. Sajivan Nath was born on November 19, 1941 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father served the British Army as a fourth-class employee. He graduated from the University of Allahabad, Allahabad. He was fortunate not only in obtaining college level education but also gaining sufficient exposure in the area of sports, especially football. His penchant for playing football enabled him to represent his team at school, college, district and state levels. Thus, the British rule provided him with the required impetus, necessary for boosting his overall personality.

After completing his studies, he got a job as a storekeeper in the Military Engineering Services in Allahabad. During his service, he underwent ruthless caste-based discriminations. Every moment he was made to realize that he was a Dalit and was treated as an outcaste. For instance, whenever he or the other people of his community went to market to buy anything, the upper caste baniya or the shopkeeper either threw things at them or wrapped the articles in some old newspaper before handing over to them in order to avoid physical touch. Humiliated, the people of his community paid money by placing it on some shelf or plank, from where the baniya picked it up. In his office, he often entered into heated argument or debate with the upper caste co-workers regarding the ascribed lifestyle and status of Dalits in the Indian society. Exclusivity, so obvious and so sacrosanct in the eyes of the upper castes, was tormenting to him. He came to think, “If humiliation be the governing principle in an organization, then why serve it; why not to protest against it”?

Humiliation to him could be minimized, if not overcome, by abandoning the job. “But what about the others in the society who are living perpetually under this horrendous neglect and insult”? These thoughts tormented Bauddhacharya for many months, culminating in his resignation from the job.

It was his first major protest against a society that reduces man to the level of slavery. It was a step which few of his status could have dared to take. The traumatic effects of such experiences and others pushed him to take up the cause of Dalits and their sufferings. He wanted emancipation of Dalits from the hegemony of Brahmanism. He knew that it was a Herculean task, but then acquiescence would lead to moral inertia.

A missionary zeal enthused him to draw the attention of the society to the ill treatment meted out to the downtrodden and to express their urge for uplift and empowerment. During this period, he undertook an intensive study of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s autobiography and works. While reading, about the silent suffering, torture, and discrimination, he was emotionally absorbed and burst out in tears. He vowed to use his learning for the liberation of Dalit communities. He initially began writing for ‘Allahabad Kesari’. However, he failed to get the expected response from the readers. With his limited resources but indefatigable courage, he set-up a publication unit ‘Milan Prakashan’, in 1969 at Allahabad.

Since then, he has been in publishing a fortnightly newspaper ‘Dalit Kesari’, which has come to be recognized as the most widely read all over India.Being an ardent follower of Ambedkar, he extensively popularized his ideals for the Dalit awakening. He presents Ambedkar as a role model for the Dalit masses. He expresses their protests, yearnings and dreams through his poems, songs and essays. He portrays the atrocities that Dalits undergo in their day-to-day life, attacking vehemently Brahman vayavastha (Brahman system) for imposition of thevarna system at the cost of shraman tradition. 

According to him, the latter system accords equal value to all who put in labour (i.e. lower castes) and consume with ethical dignity as opposed to those who are parasitic on the fruits of the labour of others (upper castes). Last 36 years have witnessed his assiduous attempt to undertake various kinds of writings which include articles, poems, and small booklets like ‘Bhangi Ki Jivan Gatha’; ‘Bodhisatva-Babasaheb Ambedkar; ‘Manavta Ki Azadi Ka Mahaparva: Ambedkar Jayanti’; Mahaparva: Ambedkar Jayanti; Nagvanshi Hela Ki Khani Hela Ki Jabani; 1875 Ki Kranti Ka Janak- Nagvanshi Bhangi Matadeen Hela’.

His advancing age has failed to reduce his dedication to the world of writing and social activism. Some of his booklets are under publication and there are many themes which he thinks of explore in his writings. The Ambedkar in him has not made him overlook the social critique of Brahmanism by such non-Dalit scholars as Rahul Sankrityayan. He has been honoured by various academic institutions, notably like, Bhartiya Boddhaya Mahasabha, Allahabad; Mrigdawan Mahavihaar, Sarnath (Varanasi); Maharastra Dalit Sahitya Academy; Bhartiya Dalit Sahitya Academy, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh Dalit Sahitya Academy.

His writings continue to ignite the consciousness of Dalits to assert for their identity and dignity. The printing press established by him has effectively served the purpose for which it was bought. This is a great solace to a man dedicated to the cause of Dalits.

Small booklets leaving big imprint on Dalit psycheNachiketa Narayan in Allahabad December 18, 2005 22:44 IST
While the emergence of backward classes as a social and political force has been made possible by the efforts of their leaders, credit also goes to the Dalit literature to complement the efforts by infusing a sense of dignity in these sections, says a study.

Great King Ravana- and Scholarly Buddhist approach of his Kingdom?

This blogger pays tribute the greatest Asian king and Sri Lankan King Ravana, it is fascinating to note that Ravana was considered to be the greatest physician even in the days were no formal science or medicine existed?.

He is said to be one of the greatest physicians who ever existed, and even authored the book Arka Prakashaya.

The Bisajjya Grantha and Nadi Shasthra mentions that King Ravana and his grandfather Pulasthi Muni had graced the world-famous medical conferences held in those ancient days in Janasthan Pura near Pakistan. In Sri Lankan folk tales, it is said that king Ravana treated both Rama and Lakshmana with his own hand when they were badly injured on the battlefield.

• http://chathuranga.blogspot.com/2008/05/maha-ravana.html
  

Ravana- A University of California (UCLA) Scholarly Article on This Greatest Personality of the World

Ravana

Ravana appears in the Ramayana as the demon-king of Lanka and the principal antagonist of Rama. In all versions of the Ramayana, he is vanquished and killed by Rama in a ferocious battle where both are compelled to call upon all the resources at their command, including the most awesome weapons.

Thus is Sita, who had been abducted by Ravana, restored to her husband. If Rama stands forth as a shining example of the virtuous ruler, Ravana is, in the common imagination, the very sign of evil. In Hindi, for instance, a man who behaves wickedly is described as behaving like Ravana, and the effigies of Ravana that are burnt at Dusshera mark the triumph of good over evil.

There are Indian traditions, however, where Ravana is not only vindicated as a figure of immense moral and physical strength, but where he appears as the chief protagonist of the Ramayana. His immense penance, learning, and devotion to Brahma earned him the latter’s gratitude.

Brahma conferred on Ravana the boon of near invulnerability, making him immune from destruction by gods or (other) demons; he also acquired the capacity to change his form, and in the Ramayana he is described as having ten heads and twenty arms. He was endowed with the strength of moving the seas and splitting the tops of mountains. Ravana’s body bore all the marks of one who had fought the devas: the thunderbolt of Indra, the tusks of Indra’s elephant Airavata, and the discus of Vishnu had all scarred him.

If Ravana had a fatal flaw, it was doubtless his hubris. When Brahma conferred on him a boon, and Ravana asked that the devas should be unable to inflict harm on him, he did not think it worthwhile to ask for protection from men or animals. Consequently, Vishnu had to incarnate himself as a human being, Rama, and it is an army of monkeys, led by Hanuman, which assists Rama in liberating Sita from Ravana’s clutches and vanquishing him. Ravana’s hubris extends so far that at first he refuses to take Rama seriously, since he thinks that the idea that any human being could pose a threat to him is utterly contemptible.

When Rama and Ravana meet in battle, it is characteristic of Ravana that he flaunts his prowess, and speaks arrogantly of crushing Rama to bits; Rama, meanwhile, simply goes about his task. When Rama sends his final weapon, the "Brahmasthra", hurtling towards Ravana, he aims it at his heart. Though Ravana had sought invincibility, and could replace his head or arms with another set, he had not thought of safeguarding his heart. Perhaps in recognition of the fact that he had nearly met his match, or that Ravana was a Brahmin by birth, well-versed in the Vedas and prolific in his knowledge of Sanskrit, Rama ordered that the funeral arrangements for Ravana be those befitting his grandeur.

No one who has read the Ramayana can have failed to wonder why Ravana, who lusted after Sita and kept her in captivity for years, did not violat her. He repeatedly urged her to become his wife, and on more than one occasion threatened to put an end to her life; but she was just as persisting in refusing his advances. Devout readers are prone to the interpretation that Sita’s purity made her inviolable. Yet Ravana had the advantage of strength, and she was his captive. The Ramayana itself suggests a number of other readings. It is said that one of Ravana’s wives dissuaded him from violating Sita.

Ravana is himself said to have been incapacitated by a curse to the effect that if he made any attempt to molest her, he would be reduced to ashes. And it is even possible to argue that, having kidnapped her, Ravana wished to have Sita for himself only if she gave her consent; to do otherwise was to abandon the badge of honor that he, the mightiest of the asuras or demons, carried. What is remarkable is his extraordinary discipline and tapasya: right beside him, subject to his overwhelming power, was a woman for whom he had a burning desire, and yet he restrained himself. Would being burnt to ashes have been so high a price to pay for so unimaginable a good?

Certainly some interpreters, such as the nineteenth-century Bengali writer, Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873), have been inclined to the view that Ravana displayed the qualities of masculinity, honor, consistency, reliability, and justice to a greater extent than did Rama.

How could Rama, a hero of an earlier, pastoral, village republic commend himself to the attention of moderns, and what was so particularly noble about a hero who, having allowed himself to be exiled, showed himself incapable of protecting his own wife? If the welfare of the nation had been entrusted in the past to inept and feminine leaders like Rama, and these supposed heroes were still held up for emulation, was it any surprise that

India had come under British rule? Though the character of Ravana may seem like a closed book, there is sufficient plurality in Indian traditions that even Ravana is capable of some recuperation.

Dr.Ambedkar & RSS: Yet Another Scholarly Article by Dr.Ram Puniyani

Ambedkar and RSS

Ram Puniyani

When RSS Sarsanghchalak said that Ambedkar supported RSS ideology (16th Oct. 2005), it was not for the first time that a political movement was trying to fabricate lies to co-opt a major thinker and political leader of totally opposite views, for its’ selfish interests.

Mr. Sudarshan was trying to buttress the RSS ideology of opposition to reservations by saying that Ambedkar did not support reservations as they are for political purposes. One recalls that reservations were part of the protective affirmative clauses for the weaker sections. The only point was that as per his scheme of things reservations will be for ten years by which time the social disabilities would be overcome and reservations will not be needed.

Who could have foreseen that the machinery already in place for implementation of the government policies would partly sabotage the implementation of reservation policy in such a way so that the desired goals would not be achieved?

No society can be democratic and strive to go in egalitarian direction unless the victims of centuries old discrimination are given special protection and nobody conceptualized it better than Dr. Ambedkar.

Sudarshan’s assertion that Ambedkar drafted a Western constitution under the pressure of Congress, insults Dr. Ambedkar in a deeper way. He was not the one to buckle under pressure. He had the values and ideas of his own, and the example of this was when he resigned from the Cabinet because Hindu Code Bill drafted by him did not pass through and also because he was side tracked in other matters of policy and planning. It’s a comment which is derogatory to the thinker and leader who did all possible to ensure that he stands for his values and ideas rather than compromises for the sake of power and pelf.

At the same time Sudarshan seems to be promoting his own postulate that Indian constitution, is based on Western values and should be replaced by the one based on Hindu holy books. It is in that direction that BJP led NDA coalition appointed the constitution review committee, which of course was a dismal failure, thanks to the opposition of RSS formulation by most of the people of this country. Ambedkar did not buckle under any body’s pressure while drafting the constitution as he was committed to the democratic values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity (community), the one’s which have been enshrined in this book.

Also it was the constituent assembly, a reasonably accurate representative body of Indian people, which guided the constitution and not the Western influence. One can go on to say that the constitution itself was one of the major contributions of Babasaheb.

Sudarshan also asserts that Dr. Ambedkar stuck to Hindu culture while embracing Buddhism. Nothing could be farther from truth. By no stretch of imagination one can call all the tendencies prevailing in India as Hindu. The dominant tradition, which passes off as Hinduism is Brahmanism. Dr. Ambedkar called Hinduism as Brahminic theology and went on to say that he was born a Hindu that was not in his hands, but surely he will not die a Hindu. Buddhism is not a part of Hindu culture. The central part of dominant Hinduism is caste system, while Buddhism stands for social equality.

As per Ambedkar the clash between Braminic Hinduism and Buddhism is the major part of Indian history. In his understanding of Indian History he divides it into three parts. Part one Revolution, i.e. coming in of Buddhism to oppose Brahmanic caste and gender hierarchy. This is followed by counterrevolution, during which the Brahmanism attacks Buddhism at ideological level through Shankaracharya and at the social and political level by the onslaughts of kings like Pushmitra Shunga and Shashak. It is due to this that Buddhism, became extinct from India till Dr. Ambedkar brought it back.

• He chose this religion, while rejecting Hinduism, mainly because its values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity (Community). To present him as supporter of RSS and RSS ideology is a clever deceit, a political move, to win over sections of Dalits to RSS-Hindutva politics.
  

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Ram Puniyani is a Professor at IIT Mumbai and is associated with EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai .

Ram Puniyani's Scholarly Article: More Than 300 Versions of the Story of Rama?, what kind of a God or a Lord is Rama??

BJP, RSS, VHP and ABVP: Put together, these hindu fundamentalist organizations without any doubts is the grand scale MAD house of this modern world, there is no such a madhouse of fundamentalists in this entire globe like the hindus.

• Look at the entire nation of India, the amount of lawlessness and violence and ask the basic question of what is happening to India. 
• 
  
• Where is this all terrible events and tragedies come from, the straight forward answer is in the open space, most of the violence in India stems from the fundamentalists either muslim or hindus, but the hindus in the name of owning the nation in the name of hindusim is causing much more damages in the recent years than the wars of ancient times.

  These organizations attack churches, christians, muslims, Buddhists and create a chaos among dalits and they attack sikhs or whoever is raising voice against their ill conceived and pathological varna ideology, the next thing is to attack.

  These RSS people create chaos in the name of hindusism, constantly they create and maintain certain amount of barbarism in India, but yet, the Indian government cannot ban these and terroristic organizations.
  

The current ruling government is a weak, mean and useless government's of all in the history of India.

The congress cannot even understand the rampant lawlessness and fundamentalists attacks on the very freedom of India.

As long as these terrorist organizations are allowed to continue in India, chaos will multiply and one day this beautiful nation will be destroyed by these fundamentalists of hindu organizations!.

Here is a very authentic, informative and nice article about the Riddles of hindu's beliefs and how many Rama's are there in in the mythology, go read it, it is written by Ram Puniyani, a scholarly approach can be sensed while reading this article. Thanks to Ram Puniyani like genuine Indians who wants to tell this world about the truths of real India and about the hindu mafia of RSS and BJP.

Many Ramas: Many Ramayanas
There are more than 300 versions of the story of Lord Rama

The recent (Feb. 2008) rampage by ABVP activists in Delhi University protesting against the introduction of Ramanujan’s essay “Three Hundred Ramayanas”, as the reading text, was not the first such act of political vandalism around Lord Rama’s story. This essay by the much acclaimed scholar, A.K. Ramanujan is part of his “The Collected Essays of A.K.Ramanujan (Oxford1999).

Earlier in the aftermath of Babri demolition a Sahmat exhibition on different versions of Ramayana was attacked by RSS combine’s goons

. This was done on the pretext that one of the panels based on Jataka (Buddhist version) showed Ram and Sita as brother and sister, and it is an insult to their faith. Ramanujan’s essay also talks of different versions and presents five of them as an example.

Photo: Rama and Lakshmana attended by Hanuman in the forest, detail of relief inspired by the Ramayana, from Nacna Kuthara, Madhya Pradesh, 5th century CE.

It is known that there are hundreds of versions of Ramayana, Buddhist, Jain, Valmiki etc. Paula Richman in her book Many Ramayana’s (Oxford) describes several of these. And again there are different interpretations of the prevalent Valmiki Ramayana, many of which are not to the liking of those who are indulging in this hooliganism in the name of their faith. It is another matter that this intolerant attitude and aggression is done in the name of Hinduism, while asserting that Hinduism is tolerant and other religions are intolerant. It is a fascinating exercise to go through various tellings and interpretations of Ramayana’s. The RSS combine harps on the telling of Ramayana by Valmiki alone and that too its particular interpretation. Even the other renderings acceptable to this intolerant but currently dominant political force are not uniform. Valmiki, Tulsidas and later the one adopted by Rmanand Sagar for his serial Ramayana have their own subtle nuances, which are very different from each other. Ramayana has been rendered in many languages of Asia in particular. Ramanujan points out that the tellings of Ram story has been part of Balinese, Bengali, Kashmiri, Thai, Sinhala, Santhali Tamil, Tibetan and Pali amongst others. There are innumerable versions in Western languages also. The narrative in these is not matching. RSS combine takes Valmiki as the standard and others as diversions which are not acceptable to it for political reasons. The version of Ramayana it wants to impose has the caste and gender equations of pre-modern times so it is hung up upon only that version as the only one acceptable to it. Interestingly one can see the correlation between the class-caste aspirations of the narration-interpretation. In Buddhist Dasharath Jataka, Sita is projected both as sister and wife of Ram. As per this version Dashrath is King not of Ayodhya but of Varanasi. The marriage of sister and brother is part of the tradition of glorious Kshtriya clans who wanted to maintain their caste and clan purity. This Jataka tale shows Ram to be the follower of Buddha. Similarly Jain versions of Ramayana project Ram as the propagator of Jain values, especially as a follower of non-violence. What do both Buddhist and Jain versions have in common is that in these Ravan is not shown as a villain but a great spiritual soul dedicated to quest of knowledge, endowed with majestic commands over passions, a sage and a responsible ruler. Popular and prevalent “Women’s Ramayana Songs” of Telugu Brahmin Women, put together by Rangnayakamma, keep the women’s concern as the central theme. These songs present Sita as finally victorious over Ram and in these, Surpanakha succeeds in taking revenge over Ram. In Thai Ramkirti, or Ramkin (Ram’s story), there is a twist in the tale and Shurpanakh’s daughter decides to take revenge attributing her mothers mutilation primarily because of Sita. More interestingly here the focus is on Hanuman, who in this telling is neither devout nor celibate but quite a ladies man, looking into the bedrooms of Lanka. In Valmiki, Kampan and Tamil tellings Hanuman regards seeing another mans sleeping wife as a sin, but not in this Thai version. Incidentally he is a very popular Thai hero even today. Also like Jain Ramayana this Thai telling focuses on genealogy and adventures of Ravana and not of Ram. In recent times Jotiba Phule who stood more with the interests of Dalits and women, was amongst the first to interpret this mythological tale from the perspective of those subjugated by caste-varna-gender hierarchy. Phule points out that upper castes were descendents of conquering Indo-Europeans who overturned the original egalitarian society and forbade the conquered from studying texts. His mythology is woven around King Bali, who could invoke the image of peasant community. Needless to say his murder by Lord Ram from behind is condemned and is seen as an act of subjugation of lower castes by the upper castes. And Ram is seen as an avatar of Vishnu out to conquer India from the Rakshasas (those protecting their crops) for establishing the hegemony of upper caste values of caste and gender hierarchy. Dr. Ambedkar and Periyar’s commentaries are more an alternative reading of the Valmiki’s text rather then a separate version. There is a good deal of overlap in the interpretation of both. Dr. Ambedkar focuses his attention on the issues pertaining to Ram’s killing of Shambuk for violating the prevalent norm where a low caste has no right to do penance, tapasya. Like Phule he also castigates Lord Ram for murdering the popular folk king Bali. He questions Ram’s act of taking Sita’s agnipariksha, trial by fire, and his patriarchal attitude towards her. After defeating Ravan he tells Sita that he had done all this battle not to get her released for her own sake but to restore his honor, and his banishing her in response to the rumors about her chastity when she was pregnant comes for severest criticism from Ambedkar. Periyar is basically taking the same line but in his interpretation the North Indian upper caste onslaught-South Indian resistance becomes the central theme. Periyar the initiator of Self Respect Movement was the pioneer of caste and gender equality in Tamilnadu. In one of the movements, which is very less known, on the lines of Dr. Ambedkar burning Manusmriti, he planned to burn the photo of Ram, as for him Ram symbolized the imposition of upper caste norms in South India. This was a part of his campaign against caste Hinduism. Periyar also upheld Tamil identity. According to him the Ramayana story was a thinly disguised historical account of how caste ridden, Sanskritic, Upper caste North Indians led by Ram subjugated South Indians. He identifies Ravana as the monarch of ancient Dravidians, who abducted Sita, primarily to take revenge against the mutilation and insult of his sister Surpanakha. In his interpretation Ravana is practitioner of Bhakti, and is a virtuous man. The rampage by RSS combines’ ABVP can be understood also in the light of current cultural manipulation and cooption of Adivasis by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, another RSS progeny. This organization is at the core of anti-Christian attacks in the remote areas. In most of these Hanuman, as the loyal devotee of the Lord, is being projected as the idol of Adivaisis. This is done through distribution of Hanuman lockets etc. The symbolism of upper caste with Rama, and Adiviasis with Hanuman gives a political message given by RSS combine of the relationship of upper castes with Adivais. Similarly in these areas Shabri another destitute woman is being projected as the role model for Adiviasis. One shold also note that the telling of Ramayana in the Adivasi areas of Dangs, Gujarat, where Shabri Kumbh was held, is very different from the one prevalent in other parts of the country. The version of Ramayana to be upheld and projected by RSS combine is that of ‘Maharshi’ Ramanand Sagar’s tele-serial Ramayana, which went many steps further than some of the earlier one’s in glorifying norms of caste and gender hierarchy. As an example here Sita herself is keen to be banished to jungle by her ‘Lord and master’ to ensure that people don’t talk ill of Him. And currently this is the bottom line, and any deviation from such blind obeisance comes for severe reprimand from the RSS family. This selection of Ram and this version of Ramayana have more to do with political agenda than faith per se. And so this politics being doe in the name of tolerant Hinduism, can not tolerate the Many Rams: Many Ramayanas prevalent World over! © 2007 mynews.in

>>Other articles by Ram Puniyani