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THANKING YOU ALL ON
THE FOUNDATION DAY OF AMBEDKARTIMES.COM
Prem Kumar Chumber
Editor-in-Chief www.ambedkartimes.com

Ambedkartimes.com completed 14 years on August 4th, 2020 of its uninterrupted publication. Dedicated to the missionary spirit of Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia, Babasaheb Dr. B R. Ambedkar and Babu Kanshi Ram, this e-paper was established with an intended purpose to provide quality space to Punjabi diaspora in general and Dalit Samaj in particular, while reporting events relating to their success stories and the struggle that they have to put in to make their lives meaningful and also to contribute to the growth of economy and the socio-cultural setup in their host country during the parvash. As you know very well that to launch a paper and to sustain it for all these years could not have been possible but for your candid support and encouragement. To bring out a paper regularly on its scheduled time, needs constant attention and muti-tasked intervention that at times really becomes cumbersome for a person like me who has been serving on job work with long hours. One’s busy and long hour work life apart, it needs your full involvement to make it reach at its designated stalls on time. Let me share with you that quite often I had to remain awake for whole night to make the paper ready for its timely release. For that our inspiration is our saviors to whom we have dedicated this paper. They dedicated their whole life for the attainment of democratic and respectful life rights for the socially marginalized sections of the society. On my part, this is a smallest effort in that direction. I am confident that with support and enthusiasm, we will be able to continue it for long time to come!

Once again let me put on record my sincere thanks for your standing with me to make this endeavor a big success.

Remembering Chhatrapati Shahu Ji
Maharaj on his Birth anniversary

Prem K. Chumber
Editor-In-Chief: www.ambedkartimes.com

Ambedkar Times Weekly Newspaper congratulates all of its esteemed readers, contributors and supporters on the Birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj. We are reproducing a letter written by him to Lord Sydenham, former governor of the Bombay Presidency, in September 1918, for communal (caste) representation in the legislative councils, elected by separate electorates, and in the colonial state services. Also reproducing herewith two more articles published in FORWARD Press entitled: “Shahu Ji Maharaj: The Saviour King of the Backwards and Dalits” authored by Siddharth and translated by Amrish Herdenia (May 5, 2018) and “Shahu: A Crucial Link between Phule and Ambedkar” written by Lalitha Dhara (November 25, 2016) with thanks and due acknowledgements.

Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj was one of the earliest pioneer-saviours of the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes who, for the first time in the history of the country, implemented 50 percent of reservation for the Dalits and Backward Classes in government jobs and education institutions. He also facilitated the entry of the lower castes in the temples. He was of the firm view that a handful of the upper-castes of his state had monopolized all the offices of profit. All the shrines in the temples within his state, as elsewhere in rest of the country, were also monopolized by Brahmin priests. He saw to it that at least fifty per cent of the shrines were to be looked after by the priests belonging to lower castes. He wanted that the lower castes should get best of the education, so that they could compete with their counterparts from the upper castes effectively. To make this a reality, he made the primary education compulsory for the lower castes in his Kingdom of the Kolhapur state.

The seminal contribution made by Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj was not limited to education and government jobs. He made concerted efforts to liberate the lower castes from the all pervasive hegemony of the Brahminical priestly class structures of socio-economic dominations by empowering them to stand on their own sources of livelihood so that they need not to depend on the evil and oppressive systems of Balutdari and Vatandari. He paved the way for the inclusion of reservation in the constitution of Independent India drafted under the Chairmanship of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to whom Shahu Ji Maharaj encouraged and supported to come forward to cut the shackles of the centuries old slavery of the lower castes. “Ambedkar Times” Weekly Newspaper (www.ambedkartimes.com) fondly remembers and pays its deepest regards to Revered Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj on his birth anniversary!!

United States of America:
A Vision of Freedom and Dream of Prosperity
Prem K. Chumber
Editor-In-Chief: Ambedkar Times

4th of July embodies a vision of freedom and dream of prosperity. Every person in the world irrespective of her/his religion, class, creed and faith aspires to come and live in America! This great nation is an abode of liberty, equality and fraternity that provides opportunities to live with dignity. It instills faith and courage to come forward to live and let others live with love and peace with one-self and the humanity. Since the end of World War II, the USA has never looked back and remained steadfast in its mission to reconstruct peaceful world order and to help attain freedom of thought, liberty and equality everywhere on the globe. Name any continent, region or a country where this largest democratic nation in the world has not left its mark of encouragement and initiatives for realizing ones dream and aspirations. One of the largest and oldest democratic countries in the world, the USA has always shown its greatest interest in allowing free flow of thoughts, ideas and letting people live the way they want to be. It has remained first in the fields of science, technology, art, and sports. What led it to achieve all this is perhaps the freedom of thought and action guaranteed by its constitution and effective governance system.
Ambedkar Times and Desh Doaba Weekly Newspapers congratulate all on this auspicious day of freedom and independence. Read always: www.ambedkartimes.com

Genealogy of ‘Educate, Agitate, Organise’

The Watchwords of ‘Educate, Agitate, Organise’ remained central to various scholarly endeavours of revolutionary ideals and visions that aimed at inculcating awareness among downtrodden and the enslaved to help them come out of their self-imposed inhibitions to not to put resistance to their heartless tormentors. Mr Neeraj Paul in his engaging article in the current issue of Ambedkar Times (pp. 1-5) has done a commendable research on the origin of these famous watchwords, which became iconic slogan of the mission of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar dedicated to his life-long struggle for the annihilation of caste from the soil of India. The earliest reference that he found was traced to The ‘Chenango Semi-weekly Telegraph’ dated 4 July 1877,  wherein it was mentioned in a somewhat different sequence as “agitate,” “organise” and “educate’. Its proper mention was found in same sequence as referred to in the title in the announcement of the General Conference of the Socialist League held at London on July 5, 1885. Since then these iconic watchwords came to be repeatedly put into use at different intervals of revolutionary movements and radical scholarly circles from the time of Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci in 1919 to the History of the Indian National Congress penned in 1935. Ambedkar Times congratulates Mr Paul for his deep research on the genealogy of   ‘Educate, Agitate, Organise’.

Prem Kumar Chumber
Editor-in-Chief: Ambedkar Times & Desh Doaba

On India’s Independence Day
DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Prem K. Chumber
Editor-in-Chief: www.ambedkartimes.com

Democracy and social justice are interrelated social processes. The one is incomplete in the absence of the other. Democracy offers freedom space to realize equality and experience fraternity. Equality and fraternity are the two essential ingredients of social justice, which achieves its true form with the addition of liberty. Thus the trinity of liberty, equality and fraternity constitutes the essence of social justice and the institution of democracy provides the requisite realm for its realization. Though many scholars’ boasts of ancient origins of democracy in India but it would be prudent to argue that democracy achieves its roots in the real sense of the term with the adoption of the constitution in independent India. Bodhisattva Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Chairman of Constitutional Drafting Committee, worked very hard to incorporate various provisions for the realization of social justice in the Indian society. He was of the firm views that if social and economic parity remains an elusive to the multitude of poor and historically socially excluded people in the country, then the very purpose of having parliamentary democracy would not be served efficiently. He reiterated the seminal point during his engaging discussions at various important forums within and outside the Indian parliament that for social justice to prevail in the country, India needs effective participation of the downtrodden in all the different spheres of the society.

The demand for social justice was also raised at various platforms during the freedom struggle movement in colonial India. Ad-Movements in North and South India, Justice Party in South India, Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia from Punjab, Swami Achhuta Nand Ji from Uttar Pradesh, Baba Ghasi Das Ji from Madhya Pradesh, Sri Narayana Guru from Kerala raised a consistent campaign for the prevalence of social justice in the Indian society. Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia presented a number of resolutions to the British Government for the removal of untouchability and special provisions for the inclusion of socially excluded sections of the society in the public realm of power and social domain.

Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia joined hands with Bodhisattva Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar in his struggle for equal rights for the socially excluded people of India. When Dr. Ambedkar spreaded its movement into the political agile lands of Punjab with the formation of Punjab chapter of Scheduled Castes Federation, there was a tremendous response from the grassroots. That was precisely the contributions of Ad Dharm movement which laid the foundation stone of social justice campaign in the Punjab state in the mid-1920s. But the irony of the matter is that even after more than seven decades of India’s independence, Dalits in the country are still subjected to various types of atrocities and social discriminations. Though the Indian state, while making the optimum use of various anti untouchability clauses of the constitution, is doing its best to bridle the monster of caste, but still is more needed to be done at the social level where the people should come forward to internalize the values of liberty, equality and fraternity in order to realize the true sense of democracy and social justice.

Educate, Agitate and Organize

My final words of advice to you are Educate, Agitate and Organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can lose our battle.
The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or
for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality? 

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Tribute to Sh. R. C. Sanger

Ambedkar Times and Desh Doaba Weekly Newspapers Forum sends its heartfelt condolences to the family, relatives, friends and missionary circles of Sh. R.C. Sanger – Chairman, Ambedkar Bhawan Trust, former General Secretary, Ambedkar Mission Society Punjab (Reg.), who passed away on June 27, 2020 at his Surya Enclave residence in Jalandhar. He devoted his entire life working for the mission of Babasaheb Dr B. R. Ambedkar. His passing away has created an irreparable void in the Ambedkarite and Buddhist circles of Punjab.  Sh. R.C. Sanger was a well-read missionary who motivated a large number of persons, especially youth, to work for the downtrodden in the light of the teachings of Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. He was one of the founder members of the Ambedkar Mission Society established in 1968. He was often seen actively involved in the missionary task, especially for the emancipation and empowerment of the Valmiki Samaj. He made special efforts to educate and organize the youth of his community and encouraged them to struggle for their rights. He took voluntary retirement to regularly work for the lowest of the low and remained active in the organization of the Safai Karamcharis Union of Muncipal Corporation. For spreading awareness among his people, he also launched a News Paper named ‘Jago Atey Jagde Rho’. He was an erudite scholar, who had a deep knowledge of Veds, Yog Vashisht, and Valmiki Ramanaya, in addition to Buddhism and Ambedkarite literature. He was also a well-known orator and writer. He would be deeply remembered for his deep devotion to the mission and self-less service to the Samaj.

In a personal note, I have had the honor to accompany Sh, R.C Sanger to visit the Sanghol Buddhist Stupa on February 24, 1985 along with Sarvashri: Kartar Chand, Tirlok Chand Sofi-Pind, Sagli Ram Boota Mandi, C. L. Chumber, Ram Lal Das, Prem Kumar Chumber, Dharam Paul Mehmi (Alawalpur), Surinder Chackoki, Narinder Bodh, Renewed Poet Pritam Ramdaspuri, Chaman Sampla of Sofi-Pind, Sukhdev Raj Ashok, Darshan Bodhi, Parkash Chand Jassal and some more.

Prem Kumar Chumber (Editor-in-Chief)
Ambedkar Times & Desh Doaba Weekly Newspapers