Monday 25 December 2023

Dr. Ambedkar had burnt Manusmriti: Why?

 

                Dr. Ambedkar had burnt Manusmriti: Why?

          -S R Darapuri, National President, All India Peoples Front


Today is 25th December. This is a very important day for Dalits as “Manusmriti Dahan Diwas.” It is also celebrated as "Equality Day". On this day in 1927, on the great struggle of "Mahad Talab", Dr. Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar openly burnt Manusmriti. This was a very important event in the struggle of Dalits against Brahminism. Hence it is remembered with pride.

To thwart Dr. Ambedkar's program of burning Manu Smriti, the upper castes had decided that they should not get any place for this, but a Muslim named Fatte Khan had made available his personal land for this work. They had also banned the agitators from getting food and other essential items locally. Therefore, all the items had to be brought from outside. The volunteers participating in the movement had to take an oath on five things on this occasion:-

1. I do not believe in birth based Chaturvarna.

2. I do not believe in caste discrimination.

3. I believe that casteism is a stain on Hindu religion and I will try to end it.

4. Assuming that there is no high or low, at least I will not accept any restriction in eating and drinking among Hindus.

5. I believe that Dalits have equal rights in temples, ponds, and other facilities.

Dr. Ambedkar came by Padmavati boat from Dasgaon port because he was afraid that the buses might refuse to take him and he might be attacked on the way.

Some people later said that Dr. Ambedkar had taken the decision of burning Manusmriti at the very last moment because the program of drinking water from c pond had to be cancelled due to the court order and the persuasion of the Collector. This is not correct because an altar for burning Manusmriti was already made in front of the meeting pandal. Six men were busy preparing it for two days. A pit which was 6 inches deep and one and a half feet square was dug in which sandalwood was kept. Four poles were set on its four sides on which three banners were hung on which it was written: -

1. Manusmriti burning site

2. Untouchability should be destroyed and

3. Bury Brahminism

On December 25, 1927, at 9 o'clock, Manusmriti was torn page by page and burnt by Dr. Ambedkar, Sahastrabuddhe and other 6 Dalit sadhus.

There was only a single photo of Gandhiji in the pandal. From this it appears that Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit leaders had not yet become disillusioned with Gandhiji.

Babas
aheb's historic speech was given in the meeting. The main points of that speech were as follows: -

We must explain why we have been prevented from drinking water from this pond.” He explained Chaturvarna and declared that our struggle is to destroy Chaturvarna and this is the first step in our struggle for equality. He compared this meeting with that of January 24, 1789, when Louis XVI had called a meeting of the public representatives of France. In this meeting the king and queen were killed, upper class people were harassed and some were even killed. The rest fled and the property of the rich people was confiscated, starting a 15-yearlong civil war. People have not understood the importance of this revolution.” He explained in detail about the French Revolution. “This revolution was not only the beginning of the prosperity of the people of France, it brought revolution in the whole of Europe and the world”.

After that he said that “our aim is not only to end untouchability but also to end Chaturvarna at its root.” He further said how the Patricians had fooled the Plebeians in the name of religion. He had challenged and said that the main reason for untouchability is the ban on inter-caste marriages which we must break.

 He appealed to the upper castes to allow this "social revolution" to take place peacefully, to reject the scriptures and to accept the principle of justice. He assured them of complete calm from his side. Four resolutions were passed in the assembly and equality was declared. After this Manusmriti was burnt as mentioned above.

There was a strong reaction to this in the Brahminical media. One newspaper called him "Bhim Asur". Dr. Ambedkar justified the burning of Manusmriti in many articles. He ridiculed those people and said “They have not read Manusmriti” and said that “we will never accept it.” Drawing the attention of those people towards the atrocities on Dalits, he said that those people are following Manu Smriti who say that it is not in practice, why do you give importance to it. He further asked, “If this If it has become ancient, then why do you have any objection to someone burning it?" Those who were saying that what would Dalits get by burning Manusmriti, on this he asked on the contrary, "What did Gandhiji get by burning foreign clothes? What was gained by burning "Gyan Prakash" which had published about the marriage of Khan and Malini? What was achieved by burning Miss Mayo's book "Mother India" in New York? What was achieved by boycotting the "Simon Commission" formed to implement political reforms? All these were ways of registering protest. Similarly, our action was also against Manusmriti.”

He further declared that “If unfortunately, Brahminism does not end by burning Manu Smriti, then we will have to either burn the people suffering from Brahminism or leave Hinduism.” Ultimately Babasaheb had to abandon Hinduism and adopt the path of Buddhism. Manusmriti continues to be practiced in the same manner even today. At present, the terror of cultural fascism is being spread by the R.S.S. for the establishment of Hindu nation in the country. This poses a huge threat to the secular concept of the country. In such a situation, Dalits will have to celebrate Manusmriti Dahan Diwas until Chaturvarna ends.

 

Thursday 30 November 2023

Dr. Ambedkar's reaction to the assassination of Gandhiji

 

Dr. Ambedkar's reaction to the assassination of Gandhiji

“On January 30, 1948, at 5-10 in the evening, a Hindu assassin (Nathu Ram Godse) youth killed Gandhiji by firing three bullets into his chest. In a moment the news of his murder echoed in the sky. I went to the top floor. Babasaheb was sleeping. I gently lifted him up and said, “Babasaheb Gandhiji has been murdered.” Babasaheb remained speechless for five minutes and then said, “Even his enemies would not want such a brutal killing of him.” What a bitter truth in his statement. For three days, Babasaheb kept talking about Gandhiji's personality, obstruction in the rights of untouchables, his false policies." - Devi Dayal’s book, Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar's Dincharya (Daily Life of Dr. Ambedkar), page 9-10

Apart from this, Dr. Ambedkar went to see the dead body of Gandhiji at Birla House on 31st January and he was very disturbed to see it. The next day Dr. Ambedkar also participated in the funeral procession for a short distance. On the same day he went to the cremation site at Rajghat.

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Friday 17 November 2023

The Truth about Modi Government celebrating ‘Tribal Pride Day’

 

The Truth about Modi Government celebrating ‘Tribal Pride Day’

- SR Darapuri, National President All India Peoples Front

Today the Modi government is celebrating ‘Tribal Pride Day’ across the country in the name of ‘Virsa Munda Jayanti.’ According to an article published by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda in a newspaper, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's respect and unwavering love for the Tribal society and its culture that he has named the birth anniversary of Lord Virsa Munda as 'Tribal Pride Day'. By announcing the celebration, the respect of the Tribal society has been increased in the entire country. Today, this is the third year when our country is celebrating ‘Tribal Pride Day’ with full respect, honour, and enthusiasm. The article further states that 'Tribal Pride Day' is a proof of the government's commitment towards the welfare and empowerment of these marginalized groups. Through various policies, programs and laws, the Central Government aims to uplift the Tribal society and remove historical injustice. The article also talks about further strengthening the rights of the Tribal community through the Forest Rights Act, PESA and other laws.

Let us see what is the truth of the above claims of Modi government regarding Tribal people? Especially when the Modi government has made a Tribal woman, Mrs. Draupadi Murmu, the President of India to influence the Tribals. This can be seen from the following brief discussion: -

1. Landlessness, joblessness, and poverty among Tribals:

According to 2011 census, 35.65% Tribals in the country are landless and only 8% of them are employed in government and private sector. Among Tribals, 44.7% families are below the poverty line with a monthly income of only Rs 816. 79% of Tribal families fall in the extremely deprived category. From this you can imagine how landless, unemployed and victims of poverty the Tribal society is in the country. It is also noteworthy that even after the arrival of Modi government at the Centre since 2014, there has been no improvement in the condition of the Tribals because no concrete efforts have been made by this government for the welfare and empowerment of the Tribals. On the contrary, they have been deprived of land.

2. Failure of the Forest Rights Act made to give land rights to Tribals:

  In 2006, the then UPA government had enacted the Forest Rights Act to give land rights to the Tribals, which came into force in 2008. The main objective of this Act was to give the Tribals and Forest Dwellers the right to ownership of the land under their control so that they can live permanently at one place and earn their living by farming on the land received under this Act. Unfortunately, due to the anti-Tribal and anti-Dalit mentality of the government machinery, this law was not implemented honestly due to which the Tribals/Forest Dwellers could not get ownership rights of the land. The state governments did not show the desired level of will power and interest in this. As a result, Tripura, Kerala, and Orissa were the only three states in the entire country where land was allotted to Tribals under this Act. The credit for this goes to the Communist government of Tripura and Kerala and the activism of Tribal organizations and Patnaik government in Orissa.

Instead of strictly implementing the Forest Rights Act, the Modi government formed at the Centre in 2014 has worked to thwart it because it is committed to handing over land in Tribal areas to the corporates for mining. This is the reason that in 2019, when the hearing of the PIL started in the Supreme Court filed by the Wildlife Trust organization to remove the illegal encroachment on the forest land and vacate it and hand it over to the Forest Department, there was no one from the Modi government to present the side of the Tribals. Government lawyer did not appear. It was also said in this petition that apart from illegal encroachment on forest land, the land whose claims have been cancelled under the Forest Rights Act should also be vacated because in the eyes of the law, that too is illegal encroachment. The result of this was that the Supreme Court passed an ex-party order in which all the states were ordered to vacate all the land with cancelled claims under the Forest Rights Act and submit the compliance report to the Forest Department by July 24, 2019. The number of Tribal families affected by this order of the Supreme Court is approximately 20 lakhs in the entire country, of which Uttar Pradesh also has 74,700 families. Against this order of the Supreme Court, our party All India People's Front, along with some other organizations, filed an appeal against the said order, in which we appealed to the Supreme Court against the order of eviction from the land having cancelled forest rights claims. requested a stay and direct all states to re-examine all claims, which the Supreme Court accepted. At present, due to the same order, the eviction of Tribals and c is on hold. It is extremely regrettable that the work of re-examining these claims is going on at a very slow pace in BJP ruled states, which exposes the claims of Tribal love of the Modi government.

3. Violation of forest rights of Tribals by Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act-2023:

  By this amendment many types of land have been taken out of the scope of the Forest Conservation Act -1980. With this, it will be possible to build zoos, entertainment places and Safaris in the forest land. Similarly, land can be acquired for defence works up to 100 kilometers near the border of China and Pakistan. Similarly, the condition of taking prior permission of Gram Sabha for converting forest land for non-forest purpose has been removed. This will lead to a huge reduction in forest land which is not in the interest of the Tribals. Through the new amendment, the work of reforestation can also be given to private individuals and organizations including corporates. This will lead to violation of the community rights of Tribals and Forest Dwellers on forest. This amendment brought by Modi government is an attack on the interests of Tribals/Forest Dwellers.

4. Tribal existence in crisis:

RSS and BJP call the Tribals (Adivasi) as Forest Dwellers (Vanvasi) instead of Tribals and run their organization under the name of Forest Dwellers. There is a deep trick of RSS behind this. Everyone knows that there are different communities living in our country who have their own religions and different identities. The tribals, who are called Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution, are also a separate community, which has its own religion, its own gods and goddesses and a distinct culture. They have different geographical areas and have different identities.

Even in our Constitution, these geographical areas have been called Tribal Areas and there is a provision for a separate administrative system for them. Under this system, the administrative system of these areas is not under the Chief Minister of the state but directly under the Governor and the President of India, for whose assistance there is a Tribal Area Council which has a separate structure. There are also Schedules 5 and 6 of the Constitution to protect their rights.

In these areas, instead of the normal Panchayat Raj system at the village level, there is a special Gram Panchayat system called Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996) i.e., PESA and this is the traditional Gram Panchayat system for village swaraj. In this, the Panchayat has the right over all the natural resources/minerals in the Panchayat and the profit from them can be spent only on the development of the village. But this is a conspiracy of the governments of different political parties under which this system has been implemented only in some Tribal Areas.

Apart from this, it is also noteworthy that Dalits and Tribals have been listed as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in our Constitution. Apart from political reservation, they have been given reservation in government services and education. Even in our census, they are counted separately by sub-caste.

Apart from this, Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu Inheritance Law also do not apply to the Tribals. For these reasons, the Tribal community has its own separate religion, separate gods and goddesses, separate rituals, and separate culture. The Tribals have been demanding the name of their religion “Sarna” in the Census but Modi government is not agreeing to it. As such the Tribals are listed as Hindus or as Others.

Due to the reasons mentioned above, the RSS calls the Tribals as Vanavasis (Forest dwellers) instead of Adivasi because calling them tribal would force them to consider themselves as Aryans and the Tribals as non-Aryans (indigenous people). This will destroy the Hindutva model of RSS which talks about Integralism. That is why RSS is continuously engaged in Hinduizing the Tribals. In this it has also got success in some areas which is used to attack and harass non-Hindus. It is also a fact that Christian missionaries have also Christianized some Tribals, but they have not used them to attack non-Christian people.

The main aim of RSS is to bring the Tribals into the model of Hindutva by calling them forest dwellers instead of tribals and by Hinduizing them and using them to suppress non-Hindus. Along with this, wrong laws have been made to stop their religious conversion, whereas our Constitution gives the right to religious freedom to all citizens.

In many states, Tribals who were Christians are being forcibly made to return home and converted into Hindus. Here, RSS has started Hinduisation of Tribal children (slogan of Jai Shri Ram and establishment of Ram as a deity) by establishing single teacher schools in Tribal areas. Apart from this, RSS has already been Hinduizing Tribal children by running many Vanvasi Ashrams. This process has become even faster with the establishment of BJP governments in most of the states of the country.

Thus, RSS is trying to deny the existence of Tribals by declaring them as Forest Dwellers. This is a threat not only to the Tribals but to the diversity of the entire country. Therefore, the Tribals will have to understand this trick of RSS and foil the conspiracy to erase their identity.

It is clear from the above discussion that Modi government's tribal love is just an illusion and it has no interest in the welfare and empowerment of the Tribals. It adopts various tactics like celebrating Tribal Pride Day just to get their votes.

Dr. Ambedkar had burnt Manusmriti: Why?

                  Dr. Ambedkar had burnt Manusmriti: Why?           - S R Darapuri, National President, All India Peoples Front Today...