Editor-in-Chief: Prem Kumar Chumber Contact: 001-916-947-8920 Fax: 916-238-1393 E-mail: chumbermedia@yahoo.com Editors: Takshila & Kabir Chumber

VOL - 9 ISSUE - 30-43 December, 27 2017 www.ambedkartimes.com www.ambedkartimes.org

Sri GuruR a v i d a s sS a b h a( S G R S ) ,Bedford andthe Federa-tion ofA m b e d -karites andBuddhist Or-ganisationsU K( FABOUK )jointly organ-ised a pri-vate viewing

of the exhibition on Dalit and Adi-vasi struggle ‘Behind the Indian

Boom: Inequality and Resistanceat the Heart of EconomicGrowth’ on Saturday, 18 Novem-ber, 2017 from 6-8pm at the

Brunei Gallery at SOAS Univer-sity of London in Russell Square.Sri Guru Ravidass Sabhaarranged a coach so that morepeople from Bedford had an op-portunity to view this great exhi-bition.

‘Behind the Indian Boom’is based on the programme of re-search on Inequality and Povertyin the Department of Anthropol-ogy, London School of Econom-ics led by Dr Alpa Shah and DrJens Lerche. In the exhibition,there are more than 200 photo-graphs and six video installations- and the issues covered are vast- from the Khairlanji massacre of

Dalits, the recent Una cow beat-ings, the death of Rohit Vemula,the Dalit women tea workersstrike in Kerala, to how Dalits and

Adivasis are incorporated aslabour on the bottom rungs ofthe work hierarchies. In the mid-dle of the exhibition, there is ahuge sculpture of Eklavya’s handwith a bleeding thumb. First itwas erected on the HyderabadCentral University Campus afterRohit Vemula’s suicide in 2016.Whole of the exhibition is mov-ing, thought provoking and verywell presented. The pictures andfilms are taken by researchers,local activists and journalists. Avery powerful message is sentout about caste and the contem-porary situation of Dalits and Adi-vasis in India.

In her short talk, Dr AlpaShah explained that despiteIndia’s significant economic (Continued on next Page)

Weekly

Photographic Exhibition on Dalit and Adivasi struggleBabasaheb Dr Ambedkar, Constitution and Social Democracy

Prem K. ChumberEditor-in-Chief: www.ambedkartimes.com

Arun KumarBedford

Babasaheb Dr B.R. Ambedkar devoted his whole life toeradicate social injustice and annihilate insidious systemof caste from the social structure of Indian society. Headopted legal and constitutional way for achieving hissocietal goals. Acquiring education and disseminationof information and knowledge among his people madehim famous not only in India but also in whole world.He is now known as one of few most adorable scholarsin the world. His contribution to Social Democracy isseminal. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity constitute thecore of Social Democracy. He was of the firm opinionthat without establishing Social Democracy at the basethe Political Democracy remains surfacial. In order tomake liberty, equality and fraternity as the cardinal prin-ciples of Social Democracy, Babasaheb Dr Ambedkarenshrined them in the Constitution of IndependentIndia, of which he was the Chief-Architect. The consti-tution is a living document of ever evolving democracyin India. It guarantees special provisions for the distrib-utive justice under the state affirmative action for thesocial emancipation and economic and political empow-erment of downtrodden. In fact, the very inclusion ofspecial provision for the uplift of the Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in the Constitution laidthe foundations of social democracy in IndependentIndia. It is for this reason that the grassroots supportfor the maintenance of the constitution remained as amost vigilant guard against the dilution of its socialdemocracy contents. It is for such a brilliant contribu-tions towards the deepening of social democracy inIndia that Babasaheb Dr B.R. Ambedkar is known world-wide in the image of Construction in one hand and sym-bol of raised finger of the other hand for the coming upof the downtrodden in Independent India. Ambedkar-times.Com pays floral tributes to Bodhisattva BharatRatan Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on hisPrinirvan Divas. Posted at www.ambedkartimes.com

Bodycams for Sacramento County Sheriff’s DepartmentBy County Supervisor

Sue FrostIt is a difficult time to be

a police officer in the UnitedStates. While it may or may notbe fair, incidents across thecountry have left many peoplefeeling deeply negative towardshow officers handle difficult sit-uations. In response, many de-partments are equipping theirofficers with body cameras. Ibring this up because it was re-cently announced that theSacramento County Sheriff willsoon be conducting research toidentify possible vendors to sup-ply the department with body

cameras for officers to wear. In a day and age where trans-parency, accountability, andbuilding trust are more importantthan ever for departmentsacross the country, I applaud ourSheriff for seriously looking atimplementing this emergingtechnology. I have three mainreasons for supporting bodycameras.

First, the video collectedby body cameras help juriespaint an accurate picture ofwhat happened in an incident.Whether that comes in the formof helping convict more crimi-nals, or proving the innocence of

the ac-cused, soci-ety is betteroff for it. Itwill alsop r o v i d eclarity incases ofsuspectedpolice mis-conduct, ascorrupt po-lice officers will be more likely tobe caught, and the honorableones will be more likely to be exonerated.

Speaking of police (Continued on next Page)

Sue Frost

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(Continued from first Page)growth, Dalits and Adivasis remain atthe bottom of the social and eco-nomic structure. The benefits of thisgrowth didn’t trickle down to the bot-tom rung of the society. On the nameof development, the Adivasis are los-ing their land, the main resource oftheir livelihood and becoming landlesslabourers.

Dr Jen Lerche, Department ofDevelopment Studies, SOAS, Univer-sity of London said that though someadvances have been made in reduc-tion of poverty but income and

wealth inequality has increased sub-stantially.

Adivasis and Dalits are thepeople who have gained the leastfrom the economic growth. Theyhave become a source of cheaplabour from which much of the Indianeconomy benefits.

Arun Kumar from FABO UKpointed out that the Government ofIndia very successfully have beenable to sweep the issue caste dis-crimination under the carpet and notmany people outside India are awareof the precarious conditions of Dalits

and Adivasis. This exhibition will definitely

help to educate the academics andhuman rights activists and hopefullythey would support our struggle toeradicate caste discrimination. PirthiRandhawa from SGRS termed the ex-hibition an eye opener and felt satis-faction that the academics are takinginterest in this issue.

He thanked Dr Alpa Shah andDr Jens Lerche for organising the ex-hibition. In her concluding remarks,Dr Shah told that the exhibitionwould be open till 16 December,

2017 from Tuesday to Saturday from10.30 to 1700 and also all would bewelcome for a ‘one day conference’on Saturday, 9 December, 2017 inwhich a number of Dalit and Adivasiacademics would be participating.

She thanked Arun Kumar, C.Gautam from FABO UK andJaswinder Kumar, President, SGRS,Bedford for making arrangements forthe private viewing. She especiallyappreciated Jaswinder Kumar and histeam for arranging a coach and trav-elling from Bedford to view the exhibition.

Photographic Exhibition on Dalit and Adivasi struggle

Bodycams for Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department(Continued from first Page)

misconduct, my second reason forsupporting body cameras is that itcauses improved behavior by every-one involved. Officers tend to be onbetter behavior when they know theyare being watched, and the likelihoodof citizens acting aggressively to-wards officers also diminishes. It also

allows officers to review their ownfootage and improve how they handletheir interactions. Speaking person-ally, the first time I was interviewedon TV I cringed a little as I evaluatedmy performance, but it served as agreat learning opportunity and helpedme improve.

My third reason is because it

quantifiably reduces complaints andrelated expenses, as departmentsacross the country are seeing positiveresults. In one study performed bythe Rialto police department, it wasfound that there was a 60% reduc-tion in use of force incidents and an88% reduction in the number of citi-zen complaints.

I also believe these camerascould present a fantastic opportunityfor the Sheriff’s Department to givethe public a good idea of what the av-erage day is like for an officer and po-tentially highlight the everyday goodthat officers do for our community.

But while there are numerousproven benefits to recording police in-terventions, there are also potentialpitfalls, and this makes the careful ap-proach the Sheriff is taking all themore important.

Like all new technology, thereare large upfront costs associatedwith the cameras. This cost takesthe form of the physical cost of thecameras themselves, and also thecost of storing the evidence and pub-lic records requests.

While agencies certainly savetime collecting and managing digitalphotographic evidence - video evi-dence requires an investment in ei-ther cloud-based storage systems orphysical storage hardware, both ofwhich are expensive.

I have concerns about per-

sonal privacy while officers are in pri-vate residences and how evidencethat could impact the outcome of atrial would be managed. There’s alsothe problem of doing too much toofast, as when you have been doingthe same job for twenty or moreyears, it can be a challenge to sud-denly change procedures.

But these issues should besolvable. It seems clear that body-cams for our Sheriff’s could beworthwhile if we implement themcarefully, and based on initial resultsfrom other agencies who are usingbodycams, they can potentially addclarity and save money in the long run.

Before ending, I wanted to in-vite you to participate in my commu-nity survey by going towww.bit.ly/FrostSurveyand answer-ing a few questions. Filling out thesurvey helps me understand whatyou want me to fight for. Thank youfor reading – and as always, if youwant to contact me, call me at 916-874-5491 or e-mail me at Supervisor-Frost@saccounty.net.

Sue Frost represents the 4thDistrict, which includes all or part ofthe communities of Citrus Heights,Folsom, Orangevale, Antelope, RioLinda, Elverta, Gold River, RanchoMurieta, North Highlands,Carmichael, Foothill Farms and Fair Oaks.

Ramakrishna Bhupathi, Vice President of Ambedkar International Center(USA), visited Chennai, India on December 27, 2017 to meet, Pa Ranjith,the young director who rose to world fame with his super hit film “KAA-BALI” starring super star Rajinikanth.

Pa Ranjith whole heartedly met Ramakrishna Bhupathi & BhanuPrasad! It was inspiring to see the apartment of Pa Ranjith which he usesas his office having a library full of books including Babasaheb Ambedkar’sbooks. Babasaheb’s & Buddha’s beautiful pictures were all around the office!

It seems Pa Ranjith even mentioned to Ramakrishna that he will tryto show Ambedkar International Center, USA if & when he shoots for anymovie in USA!

- Sandeep Chohan

We need to become ruling class if we want to form a casteless societyKanshi RamJi said – In 1936 Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was invited by the“Jat Pat Todak Mandal, Lahore” to present his essay on the subject of caste.But the organizers of the conference did not allow Babasaheb to presentthe essay. Later on, Babasaheb published the essay in a form of book titledas “Annihilation of Caste”. When I first read this book in 1962-63, I feltthat annihilation of caste is certainly possible. But later on, when I startedthinking deeply and began to study the subject of castes, caste system andbehavioral patterns associated with the caste system, my understanding ofcaste began to change. My study of Caste is not merely based on readingbooks but it has emanated from my real life experience with the castes.There are millions of people who leave their villages and migrate to metrocities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and other big cities. These people do notbring anything else with them; the only thing they bring with them is theircaste. They leave behind in their villages their small huts, a small plot ofland, etc. But they cannot leave behind their caste in the village; the casteinvariably accompanies them to the cities where they begin to stay in dirtyshanties along the side of railway tracks and nallahs. If the caste is so dearto the people then how can we annihilate the caste? Therefore I havestopped thinking in the direction of the annihilation of caste.

5 www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 3V0l-9 Issue - 30-43 December 27, 2017

BABASAHEB DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR, BUDDHISM AND DALIT EMANCIPATION

Prem K. ChumberEditor-in-Chief:

www.ambedkartimes.comBabasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambed-

kar converted to Buddhism at the his-toric public ceremony in Nagpur onOctober 14, 1956. The decision toembrace Buddhism by Dr. Ambedkarwas not at all a sudden attempt. Ittook him more than two decades(from Yeola Conference, October 13,1935, where he took the vow that‘even though I am a Hindu born, I willnot die a Hindu’, to the historic Nag-pur conversion ceremony, October14, 1956, the day he embraced Bud-dhism with thousands of his follow-ers) to translate his vow forconversion into reality. He decided toembrace Buddhism after thoroughlyexhausting all possible ways of re-forming Hinduism from within and ex-ploring the possibility of conversionto Christianity, Sikhism, and Islam forovercoming the oppressive structuresof Brahminical social order (BSO) inIndia. Converting to Buddhism, infact, was a unique and meticulouslycalculated move. It was a uniquemove in the sense that though therehave been many instances of individ-ual conversions to Buddhism, the realcredit for systematically organizingcollective conversion to Buddhism ona mass scale in India, beyond doubt,goes to Dr. Ambedkar. The historicconversion ceremony at Nagpur as-sumed further importance with thepublication of The Buddha and his

Dhamma shortly after the demise ofBabasaheb on December 6, 1956.

Dr. Ambedkar discovered inconversion to Buddhism the most de-sired and reliable way of overcomingthe centuries-old system of social ex-clusion. Ac-cording toBabasaheb, thecentral thesisof the Buddhistphilosophy re-volves aroundtwo majorproblems: thefirst problemwas that therewas sufferingin the worldand the secondwas how to re-move this suf-fering andmake mankindhappy. Sincecaste andcaste basedsocial exclusiondehumanizesthe Dalits,Babasaheb un-derlined the urgency of caste annihi-lation. It is in this context thatconversion to Buddhism becomesmeaningful. Another aspect that un-derlines the importance of conversionto Buddhism encourages strategic al-liance between the non-Brahminical/Shudras/ Bahujan Samaj/ artisans and

the Dalit/Ati Shudras sections of theIndian society and calls for theirunited front against the oppressiveand hegemonic structures of Brah-minical social order. Forging unityamong the victims of the ‘varna

order’ in turnaimed at re-claiming Indiaon the basis ofthe neo-Bud-dhist identity.The very factthat Dr.A m b e d k a rfounded threepolitical parties(the Independ-ent LabourParty, All IndiaS c h e d u l e dCastes Federa-tion and theR e p u b l i c a nParty of India),and the leadingrole that heplayed in draft-ing the Consti-tution ofi ndependent

India, vindicated his active involve-ment in the polity and society of thecountry even after denouncing Hin-duism publicly in1935 and later onembracing Buddhism in 1956.

Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkarused to emphasize on the applicationof scientific approach to solve the

question of caste and social exclu-sion. His movement also became verypopular in Punjab. He visited Punjabthrice. It was during his last visit inOctober 27-29, 1951 that he spokeat length to his people in Punjababout his approach and ways of Dalitempowerment. He deliveredspeeches at Jalandhar, Ludhiana andPatiala and also addressed the stu-dents of D.A.V. College Jalandhar.Though the people of Punjab werewell impressed by his great move-ment but they could not follow himso closely in relation to conversion toBuddhism.

Late D. C. Ahir, a renownedAmbedkarite Buddhist and world re-puted scholar of Buddhism, was ofthe opinion that due to deep faith ofScheduled Castes population of Pun-jab, especially of the Doaba region, inthe teachings and spirituality ofSaheb Shri Guru Ravidass Ji, Bud-dhism could not become so popularin this state. Another possible reasonbehind the deep popularity of theteachings of Saheb Shri Guru Ravi-dass in Punjab could be the concertedefforts of Babu Mangu Ram Mu-gowalia and the mass appeal of hisfamous Ad Dharm movement. Thepopularity of Ad Dharm can be knownfrom the fact that some of the schol-ars of late started advocating that theprinciples of “Ad Dharm” are also fol-lowed in Buddhism. (Posted onwww.ambedkartimes.comOctober14, 2017)

Chandigarh, December 30 – The Na-tional Scheduled Castes Alliance, asocio-political organization for the de-velopment and upliftment of theScheduled Castes community, todayappreciated the sanction of Rs 100for development of religious and her-itage memorials in Punjab.

President of the Alliance,Paramjit Singh Kainth praised the ef-forts to develop and maintain the me-morials of importance in Punjab’ssocio-religious culture. Memorials likeFatehgarh Sahib, Chamkaur Sahib,Khatkar Kalan etc. are a part of theinitiative.

Kainth said “Such efforts areworth praising but something thathas been constantly ignored by thegovernment is that many such memo-rials of importance for the ScheduledCastes community have been left un-finished or not maintained regularlyby the State Government. A memoriallike Minar-E-Begumpura at Shri Khu-ralgarh Sahib has been lying unfin-

ished by the State Government; thisplace has immediate importance for

the Scheduled Castes community be-cause Shri Guru Ravidass visited theplace. Foundation stone laid down in2016, the memorial has been com-pletely ignored by the Government.”He said “We appreciate every effortof the Government to work for thedevelopment. The memorial at Shri

Khuralgarh Sahib, started by the ini-tiative of the previous government

has been sidelined completely by thecurrent Captain Amrinder led Con-gress Government. This memorial hasa great value to the Scheduled Castescommunity and it is a matter of pres-tige for the community.”

“The Government has beenapprehensive about Scheduled

Castes issues in the State as of latebut this attitude of the government isnot one that will be in the best inter-est of the State. Scheduled Castescommunity comprises of approxi-mately 40% population of the Stateand the Government has been igno-rant and careless addressing the is-sues of such large group.” Kainthsaid.

“MLA’s and MP’s of theScheduled Castes community havebeen careless in their actions also andthey are not doing anything to protectthe interests and issues relating tothe community. The State Govern-ment has still not even elected theChairman and members of the StateScheduled Castes Commission andalso recent cases of assault, rape,murder of people relating to the com-munity are yet to be solved and injus-tice is being met out to the victims.”National Scheduled Castes Alliance

+91-94640-00500, +91-94634-00909

Minar-E-Begumpura at Shri Khuralgarh SahibNeed to complete and maintain memorials related to Scheduled Castes Community too – NSCARs 100 crore for development of memorials appreciated– Kainth

Prem K. Chumber at the Minar-E-Begampura construction areaduring his Punjab visit in May 2017

The 14thOct, 1956 is a historicallysignificant day in the life of the mil-lions of Dalits living in the globalworld. On this day, Bharat Ratna Dr.BhimRao Ambedkar, a great constitu-tionalist, educationists, economists,and sociologist converted to Bud-dhism with more than 6, 00,000 Dal-its at Dakshaboomi, Nagpur in thestate of Maharashtra. Buddhism rec-ognizes no caste but equality.

Dr Ambedkar was completelyconvinced with the philosophy ofBuddhism which is based on NO-GOD, NO Rebirth theory. Dr Ambed-kar reached this decision afterstudying profoundly all the ancientand modern text books of dominantreligions of the world.In the contextof India Dr. Ambedkar re-jected Hindu religiousscriptures like the Vedas,the Upanishads and theEpics according to whichobserving Untouchabilityand committing atrocitieson the so called Dalits inthe name of religion isconsidered even in an ageof science and technol-ogy, a birth right of theupper caste Brahmins.

A m b e d k a r ` sviews on Brahminism:“The religion which re-gards the recognition ofman`s self-respect as sinis not a religion but aSICKNESS. The religionwhich allows one totouch a foul animal butnot a man is not religionbut MADNESS. The reli-gion which says that oneclass may not acquirewealth, may not take uparms, is not a religion but a mockeryof man`s life. The religion whichteaches that the unlearned should re-main unlearned, that the poor shouldremain poor, is not a religion but aPUNISHMENT”.

“Hinduism in which he wasborn is full of superstition, bigotry, in-tolerance, narrow-mindedness andchauvinism”, Dr Ambedkar con-cluded. Dr Ambedkar suffered bru-tally at the hands of the upper casteprominent Brahmin political leaders,academicians who always felt pridein erecting unsurmountable obstaclesin his path all the time. Mr. M. K.Gandhi, a Brahmin Baniawas one ofthem. The decision to covert to Bud-dhism was a well-thought decision byDr Ambedkar. Before conversion, itwas always in his mind to safeguardthe interests of the millions of the so-cially and economically depressed i.ethe so called ̀ Dalits`. He said: “I willput an end to my life with a bullet”.This eternal vow taken by him was tofight for removal of untouchability. Hesucceeded in achieving this noblecause. By his dedicated efforts un-touchability was abolished under theconstitution of free India and the de-pressed classes got all civil and polit-ical rights enjoined by others which,since centuries were denied to them.The vow was fulfilled, the dream re-

alized, and the ambition materialized.The bondage ended. He said, he didit- Great Baba Saheb! We the Dalitsof the world bow our head in respectto this courageous fighter. Why Buddhism:

Buddhism took birth in Indiaand it was known as a Buddhistcountry. Brahmins attacked andspread false lies against Buddhismand corrupted the minds of the mil-lions of innocent people with the con-cept of GOD, superstitious, beliefs,rituals and ceremonies, feats, festi-vals, pilgrimages but Buddhism doesnot believe in GOD or anything likeso. Brahmins believes that Buddhismis a threat to their livelihood. Marketeconomy of Hindu temples in the

world recognizes Buddhism an obsta-cle in the path of their loot & plunder.Buddhism is based on the scientificand rational teachings to follow forthe betterment of the human beings.Dr. Ambedkar, an ardent fighter forthe human rights for the millions ofthe down-trodden advised them toembrace Buddhism if to obtain self-respect and human dignity in a casteridden society.

In the words of Nietzsche:“Buddhism is a hundred times morerealistic that other religions. It has theinheritance of a cool and objectiveposing of problems. It arrives after aphilosophical development lastinghundreds of years the concept of“GOD” is already abolished the timeit arrives. Prayer is excluded, as is as-ceticism; no categorical imperatives;no coercion at all, not even within themonastic community-----it demandsno struggle against those who thinkdifferently its teaching resists nothingso impressively as the feeling of re-vengefulness, animosity and resentment”.

According to Albert Einstein,a German Scientist, “If there is anyreligion that would cope with modernscientific needs it would be Bud-dhism”.

Buddha`s Teachings:Buddha exhorted to have

Right View (Sammaditthi). The Eight-fold Path: Right View, Right Intention,Right Speech, Right Action, RightLivelihood, Right Effort, Right Recol-lection, Right Concentration.

Buddha said:“In regard to thebody or to the mind, just throw themall together as Transient, Imperfectand Ownerless- aniccam (Transience),dukkham (Imperfection) and anatta(Ownerlessness). They are simplyconditions of Nature. They arise de-pending upon supporting factors,exist for a while and then cease.When there are appropriate condi-tions they arise again; having arisenthey exists for a while, then ceaseonce more. These things are not aself, a `being`, an `us` or a

`them`. There`s nobody there, sim-ply feelings. Happiness has no intrin-sic self, suffering has no intrinsic self.No self can be found, there are simplyelements of Nature which arise, existand cease. They go through this con-stant cycle of change”.

Buddha said: “Whatever youhave do not have it. Let it be there butdo not make it yours. You must un-derstand this `having` and `not hav-ing`, know the truth of them, do notflounder in suffering”.

Buddha said: “One is born tothis life to die”.

Buddha said: “Do not followyour moods. Do not quibble, Do notbe stubborn, Avoid malicious Acts”.Buddha said: “All Noble Ones haveconfidence in their own heart. Weshould be like this. Do not give upyour resolve. Be constantly alert.Study Constantly. Do not be heedless”.

Buddha said: “True peace isnot very far away, it lies right herewithin us”.

Buddha said: “Holding on toanger is like drinking poison and ex-pecting the other person to die”.

Buddha said: “Do dwell in thepast, do not dream of the future, con-centrate the mind on the present”.

Buddha said: “Health is thegreatest gift, contentment the great-

est wealth,faithfulness thebest relation-ship”.What is to be

Done:T h e

great GautamaBuddha hadgiven us a greatreligion to fol-low and prac-tice i.e. Buddhism. Buddhism is aworld religion. In a country like RussiaBuddhism flourished. We see manymore countries of the world are togoing to embrace Buddhism becauseit is the only religion which promotescientific and rational thinking. Scien-

tist like Albert Einstein ad-vocated for Buddhism. Ifsuch great people of theworld speak good for Bud-dhism then why not us.The objective of Dr.Ambedkar to bring theDalits into the fold of Bud-dhism was to take themout of the clutches ofBrahminism which deniesself-respect and dignity.Brahminism is not a wayof life but a web of lies.

It is unfortunate tosee that innocent and ig-norant Dalits still feel pridein the fold of Brahminism.They celebrate all Hindufestivals. They conductmarriage ceremonies ac-cording to the Hindu cus-toms and beliefs. Theyworship Hindu Gods andGoddesses. They go forHindu shrines for pilgrim-ages. They still visit fake

Hindu Babas and Matas to seekblessings. They still exchange socialmessages on the mobile phone withHindu Gods and Goddesses pictures.Please stop all this nonsense. Removeall pictures of Hindu Gods and God-desses from the walls of your home.

Dr Ambedkar did not sacrificehis life for such things. His dreamwas to gain self-respect and dignityfor you people. Let us follow sincerelywhat Dr Ambedkar asked us to do.Remember, our freedom lies in Bud-dhism. Our self-respect and dignitylies in Buddhism.

Remember if you are a Bud-dhist and Ambedkarite people willlook at you with respect. People seeyou as a rational man or womanhence become a Buddhist withoutwasting a day. Go to a Buddhist tem-ple and take your children and letthem learn Buddhist way of life. Joina Buddhist organization and con-tribute to the society. If you really dothis work honestly it would be a greattribute to the great son of India- Dr.Ambedkar.

Rahul Kumar is a PhD studentof Sociology at the Centre for theStudy of the Social Systems, Schoolof Social Sciences, Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, Delhi. India.

He can be contacted at rkbsorru@gmail.com

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The Historic Significance of 14th October, 1956

Rahul Kumar

Dr. Ambedkar and Savita Ambedkar as they arrive for 'Dhamma Deeksha' ceremony at Nagpur 14 October 1956