Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Emergence of Dalit … 29, 2020.pdf · 2020. 1. 29. · VOL- 11 ISSUE- 37-46 January 29, 2020 Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Emergence of

Editor-in-Chief: Prem Kumar Chumber Contact: 001-916-947-8920 Fax: 916-238-1393 E-mail: [email protected]

VOL- 11 ISSUE- 37-46 January 29, 2020 www.ambedkartimes.com www.ambedkartimes.org

Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Emergence of Dalit ConsciousnessMooknayak Anniversary Day (31 January)

Bahut Bahut Mubarak!! Long Live Babasaheb's Caravan!!

Since India’s independence the surgeof Dalit literature has continued tocover divergent aspects of the histor-ically neglected domains of the so-called lower castes. In almost allstates in the country various Dalit or-ganisations have their own newspa-pers and journals focusing on thesocial, cultural, economic and politi-cal concerns of their respective com-munities in particular and the overallconditions of the downtrodden in thecountry at large. The credit for sucha wide spread of the written wordgoes to Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambed-kar and the rich journalistic legacy heleft behind for his caravan to moveon. The newspapers that Dr. Ambed-kar started during his life-long strug-gle for the emancipation andempowerment of the lower castesmade enormous contribution in theform of inculcating critical thinkingamong the different strata of the so-cially excluded economically margin-alized and politically neglectedDalit-Bahujan samaj. Unfortunatelymostof the contemporary Dalit writ-ings on Ambedkar and Dalit politicshardly focus on the rich heritage ofthe newspapers established by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, which at a time playeda significant role in building Dalitconsciousness and Dalit movementin the different parts of the countryand at the national level.The news-

papers founded and nurtured by Dr.Ambedkar are sources of enormous-materialthat can throw immenselight on the evolution and the growthof Dalit political consciousness andactivism in India.Unlike his variousvolumes of booksin English, he pub-lished his newspa-pers in Marathi.Historically speak-ing, the traditionof bringing outDalit newspapersgoes back toSa tyashodhak -Movement startedby Jotirao Phule inMaharashtra in thelate 19th centurywith the establish-ment of the firstDalit newspapernamed DinBandhu. Thoughsome other prominent Dalit leaderssuch as ShivramJanba Kamble andKisanFagujiBansodefounded newspa-pers primarily dedicated to Dalitcause before the arrival of Dr.Ambedkar, but they could not stirthe docile mind of the centuries oldsocially excluded sections of the In-dian society.

It was with the entry of Dr.B. R. Ambedkar in the realm of jour-nalism that a new era had dawned inthe emerging history of Dalit con-sciousness. Mooknayak - voice of

the voiceless – was the first Marathifortnightly that Dr. Ambedkarlaunched on January 31, 1920. Itran for three years before beingclosed. Later, he went on to found

three more news-papers –B a h i s h k r u tB h a ra t ( 1927 -1929 ) , J ana ta(1930-56), andPrabuddha Bharat(1956). He wasdeeply convincedthat if Dalits wereto rise on theirown feet, theymust have theirdistinct newspa-pers managedand run by theirown efforts. Inthe editorial ofthe inauguralissue of Mook-nayak’s Dr.

Ambedkar wrote that “There is nobetter source than the newspaper tosuggest the remedy against the in-justice that is being done to our peo-ple in the present and will be done inthe future, and also to discuss theways and means for our progress inthe future.” In the same editorial, hewrote, “The Hindu society is just likea tower which has several storieswithout a ladder or entrance. Theman who is born in the lower storeycannot enter the upper story how-ever worthy he may be and the man

who is born in the upper storey can-not be driven out into the lowerstorey however unworthy he may be… The alienation produced by theabsence of inter-dining and inter-caste marriages has fostered thefeelings of touchables and untouch-ables so much that these touchableand untouchable castes, though apart of Hindu society, are in realityliving in worlds apart.”What DrAmbedkar wrote hundred years agoremains a bitter truth even today.Theupper caste rich houses monopolizemedia in India. News concerning thelives of Dalits are hardly carried innational newspapers. If at all somecoverage was given, it remainedhighly prejudiced.

It was to overcome such a bi-ased state-of-the-affairs in main-stream journalism that BabasahebDr. B. R. Ambedkar emphasized onthe urgent need of havingdistinctDalit Media Centres. He was of thefirm view that only separate Dalitjournalism could give a befitting replyto the blatant lies of the tormentorsof the lower castes and empowerthem to fight injustice valorously.

The forums of AmbedkarTimes (www.ambedkartimes.com )and Desh Doaba(www.deshdoaba.com ) sincerelypay its obeisance to Babasaheb Dr.B. R. Ambedkar on the auspiciousday of 31 January 2020, the hun-dredth anniversary of the launch ofMooknayak newspaper!

Editor-in-Chiefof the es-teemed Desh-Doaba andthe AmbedkarTimes, Prem-C h u m b e r ,brought to mynotice, an ob-scure facet ofB a b a s a h e -bAmbedkar’spersona, hislove and

recognition of the intent and efficacy ofmedia and press in generating publicawareness and debate which are essen-tial for the larger interests of a healthypolity and society.The mention was inview of the forthcoming anniversary ofBabasaheb’s first media outfit “TheMooknayak” – Leader of the Dumb,fallingon January 31. The Mooknayak wasstarted in January, 1920 by the visionary

leader. I thought of writing this piece witha view to touch upon the cursory infor-

mation available on the journalistic fervorof BabasahebAmbedkar, not as an expert

but as a layman. It goes without saying that Dr. Ambedkarwas one of the best read intellectuals ofhis times and remains so even today. Hisliberal education and interaction in thedeveloped countries of both Europe andthe Americas helped in fully recognizingthe potent role of media and press toshape and set a meaningful public dis-course particularly with regard to hisagenda and vision to address the amelio-ration of socially and economicallyweaker sections of the society based onthe lofty ideals of equality, liberty andjustice. The first step in this regard camewith the launch of the Mooknayak onJanuary 31, 1920 on his return fromabroad. This endeavor could not last longand was closed after about three years.The reasons were obvious – lack of finan-cial resources and Babasaheb’s on andoff educational pursuits abroad. Later, hefounded three more newspapers –

Continued on page 2

Journalistic Legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar

Ramesh ChanderAmbassador - I.F.S. (Retired)

Prem K. ChumberEditor-In-Chief:

www.ambedkartimes.com

91-99885-10940

www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 2V0l-11 Issue-37-46 January 29, 2020

Heartiest Congratulations on “MOOKNAYAK”‘s 100th AnniversaryMooknayak Anniversary Day (31 January) Mooknayak - Beginning of the thundering of Dalit Voice long live!!

Maharishi Valmik Sabha USA, Yuba City (CA)sQfn 84/86 prsI aYvinAU, XUbf istI, kYlyPornIaf 95991

(prsI aYvinAU qy gfrzn hfeIvy dy kfrnr `qy)

BahishkrutBharat (1927-1929), Janata(1930-56), and Prabuddha Bharat(1956). He was directly involved in theeditorial management of the first twonewspapers, Mooknayak and BahishkritBharat. From 1930 onwards, he dele-gated the task to his most important col-leagues, such as, DevraoNaik, B.R.Kadrekar, G.N. Sahastrabuddhe, R.D.Bhandare, and B.C. Kamble. Interestingly,just to register that Babasaheb’s ap-proach to addresss the ills of the societywas not narrow; DevraoNaik, B.R.Kadrekar and G.N.Sahastrabuddh werenot Dalits.

The newspapers associated withAmbedkar are repositories of vast infor-mation on the history of Dalit political ac-tivism which was, unfortunately,completely ignored by his opponents andBabasaheb’s contribution to free and fairjournalism never got due appreciation.S.N. Sahu who was the Press Secretaryto President K.R. Narayanan rightly wrotein an article in the Tribune “His journalism

was the journalism of regeneration andreconstruction to unchain the exploitedand uplift the excluded. The very titlesof the newspapers he established testifyto his passion and ardour for journalismfor social justice and regeneration. Thetitles, such as the Mooknayak (Leader ofthe Dumb), Bahiskrit Bharat (ExcludedIndia), Samata (Equality), PrabuddhaBharat (Enlightened India) and Janata(People) brought out his vision and thecontent of his editorials flowed from hisaction which aimed at progressive socialtransformation”.

BabasahebAmbedkar was one ofthe votaries of free and far media. Hestipulated all the lofty ideals of freedomof thought and expression in the consti-tution of India. But later he realized thatthe media was increasingly becoming atool of the rich and powerful and be-moaned “Corporate control of media wasthe bane of our times” and said “Journal-ism in India was once a profession. It hasnow become a trade. It has not more

moral function than the manufacture ofsoap. It does not regard itself as the re-sponsible adviser of the public." It is amatter of regret that media in India is in-creasingly succumbing to the dictates ofthe money bags and vested politicalforces. The journalistic legacy of Babasa-hebAmbedkar is a potent one to addressthe socio-economic issues to transformand reform the society. To prove this Iquote from one of his articles publishedin the Mooknayak and as quoted by DrB.P. Mahesh Chandra Guru is professor inthe Department of Communication andJournalism, University of Mysore “It wasnot enough for India to be an independ-ent country. She must guarantee equalstatus in matters religious, social, eco-nomic and political, to all classes, offeringevery man an opportunity to rise in thescale of life and creating conditionsfavourable to his advancement. There didnot exist such a despicable man who,continued the voice in the article, wouldobject to the statement that if the Brah-

mins were justified in their attack uponand opposition to the unjust power of theBritish government, the depressedclasses would be justified a hundredtimes more in their opposition to the ruleof the Brahmins in case the transfer ofpower took place. The article assertedthat if the protection of the British werewithdrawn, those who condescended tolook at the untouchables would trampleupon them. In another article Ambedkarwrote that the Swaraj in which therewere no fundamental rights guaranteedfor the depressed classes would not be aSwaraj but a new form of slavery.”Unfor-tunately, these issues are still alive andrequired to be addressed head on bothby the society and polity. With this, I conclude with the hope thatBabasaheb’s potent legacy would ulti-mately prevail and set the desired stan-dards for the Indian media to be a freeand fair organ as the fourth estate of thedemocratic edifice so laboriously stipu-lated and visualized by our forefathers.

Journalistic Legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar


Heartiest Congratulations on “MOOKNAYAK”‘s 100th AnniversaryMooknayak Anniversary Day (31 January)

Mooknayak - Beginning of the thundering of Dalit Voice long live!!

Supreme Council of Sri Guru Ravidass Sabhas, USAMOOKNAYAK (Voice of the Voiceless)Journalistic Legacy of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar(Birth Centenary) CongratulationsAfter taking a break from hisacademic attainments in USAand England, Babasaheb Dr.B.R. Ambedkar had to returnto India in 1920 to fulfil hiscommitments to serve in thestate of Maharaja of Baroda,who had financed his schol-arship for studies abroad. In-stead of being greeted backin his native land he had toface a hostile environment ina stratified society divided byprejudices driven by caste af-filiations. Babasaheb, thougheducationally equipped andprepared to express his men-tal frustrations through hiswritings by starting to publisha Newspaper, could not do sobecause of his financial hur-dles and hostile environment.It was through the generoushelp of Maharaja Shahu ofKolhapur who supported so-cial transformation thatBabasaheb could start aweekly paper in Marathi -"MOOKNAYAK" ( Voice of theVoiceless) on January 31st.1920.Inspite of initial block-ades caused by other con-

temporary publishers belong-ing to do called higher casteHindu Nationalists,Dr.Ambedkar demonstratedhis journalistic acumen andcapabilities through his edito-rials for awakening Dalit con-sciousness against the rigidcaste divisions.

In MOOKNAYAK Dr.Ambedkar argued that a soci-ety which forecloses opportu-nities to individuals tointermix with one anotherwas very detrimental to na-tional unity and integration. Itthus created a new platformto translate Dalit grievancesinto an effective, political andorganizational language.Mooknayak and BahishkrutBharat played an importantrole focussed on mobilizingDalits in India, especially inMaharashtra.

Though Dr. Ambed-kar's stint as an Editor of"MOOKNAYAK" was shortlived because of financialhardships as well as Babasa-heb's departure to completehis unfinished education in

London School of Economicsand Gray's Inn in England, yetit definitely helped him to riseto National prominence as aDalit leader and played an im-portant role in setting thetone of new thinking andawareness, oriented towardsmass activism among thesuppressed sections of soci-ety.

On January 31st,2020we are arriving at an historicdate commemorating thecentenary of "MOOK-NAYAK" which madeBabasaheb a mouth-piece of his struggle forsocial liberation.

On behalf ofSupreme Council of SriGuru RavidassSabhas,USA we conveyour congratulations tothe entire community ofBabasaheb's followersfor celebrating the com-pletion of 1st centenaryof "MOOKNAYAK".

This commemora-tion bears a special sig-nificance especially

when Manuwadithinkers inIndian subcontinent are againgetting active to undo whatBabasaheb labored so hard allhis life to accomplish for IN-DEPENDENT, SOVEREIGNand SECULAR INDIA.

With best wishes

O. P. BALLEYGeneral Secretary, Supreme Council of

Sri Guru Ravidass Sabhas,USA


Sangat De SewadarChairman

Jagtar BhatiaPresident

Shinder Paul NarabuGeneral Secretary

Dharam Pal ChonkriaTreasurer

Vinod Kumar

Heartiest Congratulations on “MOOKNAYAK”‘s 100th Anniversary

Mooknayak Anniversary Day (31 January) Mooknayak - Beginning of the thundering of Dalit Voice long live!!ADVISORY COMMITTEE

LEGAL COMMITTEEJagtar Bhatia (Chairman)

The New Committee appreciates the services of theprevious committee and the selection panel and islooking forward to continued support. Guidanceand cooperation of the entire Sangat who is the

backbone of our Gurughar. Thank you.Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Committee Members & more

Shinderpal Narabat (President) Dharampal Chonkaria (Gen. Secretary) Vinod Kumar (Treasurer) Balvir Chand Mal Jagdev Ram

Jaila Jaggi Salinder Bhatia Ajai Paul Ram

O.P. Balley Dr. Harmesh Kumar,

Shashi Paul



Mooknayak Anniversary Day (31 January) Mooknayak -

Beginning of the thundering of Dalit Voice long live!!

Sri Guru Ravidass Temple Yuba City (California)

1480 HAYNE AVENUE, YUBA CITY, CA 95993 (530-674-2564)

gurnfm isMG BMzfl (cyarmYn), pRÈoqm sUd (vfies cyarmYn), isMgfrf isMG rwlH (pRDfn),mihMdr isMG rwqU (vfies pRDfn), kuldIp isMG suMmn (jnrl skWqr), dlivMdr rwlH (vfies

jnrl sYktrI), jsivMdr isMG (vfies skwqr), rfm syvk BftIaf (muwK kYÈIar), jwspfl jwsl (vfies kYÈIar), gurdIp isMG hIrf (styj skwqr),

gurU Gr dysyvfdfr

sRI gurU rivdfs tYNpl XUbf istI (kYloPornIaf) dy ahudydfr aqy mYNbr



Mooknayak Anniversary Day (31 January) Mooknayak - Beginning of the thundering of Dalit Voice long live!!

Bheem International USAHeartiest Congratulations

on “MOOKNAYAK”‘s

100th Anniversary

Mooknayak Anniversary Day

(31 January)

S. Avtar Singh Dodd &

Dodd Family


Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Pittsburgh CAEx ChairpersonDebho BainsEx Treasurer

Heartiest Congratulations on

“MOOKNAYAK”‘s 100th Anniversary

Mooknayak Anniversary Day (31 January)

Mooknayak - Beginning of the thundering

of Dalit Voice long live!!

Avtar Singh Bains


smUh pRbMDk kmytIShri Guru Ravidass Sabha (CV) Fresno (California)

5025 S. Cherry Ave., Fresno (California) 93706

559-486-3091



DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR EDUCATIONAL AID SOCIETY, FREMONT (CALIFORNIA)

Ram SaroayBroker/Realtor

[email protected] License 031035

Phone : 510-490-8200 Fax : 510-490-8202

Email : [email protected]

Amrik Chand (CPA)

It is a matter of pride and pleasure to see the remarkable role

played by Dr. Ambedkar Education Aid Society, Fremont, Cal-

ifornia, USA. Ever since its inception about 30 years ago it has

successfully provided financial help to thousands of poor and

needy students who could not afford to pay for their school

and college education in India. The society also extends finan-

cial help to needy and helpless widows in India who are strug-

gling to raise their children in the absence of their spouse. The

society has made available to us a list of students who have

benefited from this financial help to reach their educational

goals in life.

The main idea behind the creation of this society was

the vision of Bharat Rattan Babasaheb Dr. B.R Ambedkar who

struggled his whole life to alleviate the sufferings of all the

down-trodden and economically disadvantaged people of

India. Babasaheb realized the importance of education which

is a window to the opportunity to create a distinct and a re-

spectable identity of our own. Ambedkar Education Aid society

is helping in that noble effort very successfully.

www.ambedkartimes.com conveys its hearty

congratulations and complements to the society for their

devoted and sustained efforts in this direction and we hope

that this will inspire the establishment of many more initiatives

like this in other parts of the world too to help fulfill the ideal

dream of Bharat Rattan Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar for the

liberation of the deprived and unprivileged sections of society

in India.

Editor: www.ambedkartimes.com

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Educational Aid Society Fremont (California)

Documents

Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Emergence of Dalit … 29, 2020.pdf · 2020. 1. 29. · VOL- 11 ISSUE- 37-46 January 29, 2020 Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Emergence of