Editor-in-Chief: Prem Kumar Chumber Contact: 510-219-8920 Fax: 916-238-1393 E-mail: Ambedkartimes@gmail.com Editors: Takshila & Kabir Chumber

VOL- 5 ISSUE- 9 July 16-31, 2013 www.ambedkartimes.com www.ambedkartimes.org

NEW MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE OF SRI GURURAVIDASS TEMPLE, PITTSBURG (CALIFORNIA)

Historic Centennial Celebration of Ambedkar’s Journey to Columbia University

Pittsburg (O. P. Balley & Ramesh Suman)- The newManagement Committee of Sri Guru RavidassSabha, Pittsburg (California) was selected on July21st, 2013. The new members were chosen withthe help of a panel of four members Sh. O. P. Balley,Sh. Shashi Kant Paul, Sh. Sohan Singh Damria andMrs. Gina Bhatia.

This is the first time in the history of all SriGuru Ravidass Temples in California that a woman(Mrs. Debo Bains) has been chosen to be the chair-person. This is a matter of pride for the whole com-munity and a distinct honor for the entirewomanhood, providing a spirit of encouragement,inspiration to the future generations. The Presidentand the Treasurer from 2012 committee remain atthe same positions.

The list of all the Board of Directors of SriGuru Ravidass Sabha, Pittsburg (California) as fol-low: Abhishek Paul, Ajay Kumar, Baksho Jaggi, Bal-bir Paul Bagha, Bhupinder Goldi, Debo Bains, Dilbag

Singh, Faqira Mehmi, Gurnam Rattu, Gyan Rattu,Gyan Suman, Harmesh Bangar, Jagtar Bhatia,Kewal Jakhu, Kulwant Kaur Banga, Major SinghBhatia, Narinder Chahal, Nirmal Rattu, Prem LalSaroya, Ram Kumar Thind, Rani Narabut, SalinderBhatia, Santokh Madhar, Surinder Rattu & Vijay Paul.

Debo Bains (Chairperson) & Harmesh Ban-gar (Vice Chairman).

Executive committee: Salinder Bhatia (Pres-ident), Nirmal Rattu (Vice President), Surinder Rattu(Vice President), Abhishek Paul (General Secre-tary), Kewal Jakhu (Assistant Secretary), GyanSuman (Treasurer), Kulwant Kaur Banga (AssistantTreasurer),

The advisory board members were also se-lected on the same day (Sunday) July 21st, 2013.The members are Sh. O. P. Balley, Sh. Shashi KantPaul, Sh. Sohan Singh Damria, Mrs. Gina Bhatia,and Sh. Hem Chand Rattu.

In a corner ofLehman Library atthe School of In-ternational andPublic Affairs ofColumbia Univer-sity sits a statelybronze statue ofone of the mostprominent intellec-

tual giants ofIndia who laiddown the foun-

dation of modern democratic country.Dr. Ambedkar was the father of the

Indian constitution, jurist, politicalleader, philosopher, anthropologist,historian, orator, economist, editor,prolific writer and one of the champi-ons of human rights who transformedthe lives of millions of people in SouthAsia. He was born into an Untouch-able caste which was considered tobe so inferior that their mere touchpolluted others. Untouchables wereprohibited to acquire education andwere not allowed to do any profitableprofession. They were forced to domenial jobs and serve others.

During early 20th century, it

was not possible for a child of an Un-touchable to have even a dream toget higher education in a foreign land.It was a coincidence that Ambedkarcame into the attention of the ruler ofa princely state where a liberalminded ruler was ruling. Maharaja ofBaroda had a genuine concern aboutthe down trodden people andadopted a policy to relieve them oftheir sufferings. Following his policyof uplifting of the oppressed, hegranted a scholarship of £11.50 permonth for three years to Ambedkarfor his studies in the Columbia Uni-

versity. At that time Maharaja didn’thave even a slightest inkling thatyoung Ambedkar would become oneof the principle law makers of thecountry and turn out to be the iconfor the neglected and suppressedpeople all over the World. He earnedhis MA in 1915 and PhD in 1927from the Columbia University.

At the age of 22, he left Bom-bay on 15th June, 1913 for highereducation and landed foot on the soilof USA in the third week of July,1913. He joined Political Science

Continued on page 4

Arun Kumar

The Indian Buddhist Society of Canada(Vancouver) deplores and condemns theterrorist attack on the holiest shrine ofworldwide Buddhist community located

at Bodh Gaya (Bihar state, India)It is strange the terrorists were able to plant 13bombs at various places in the complex, both in-side the main temple and its surroundings. In factone bomb was placed near the statue at theheight of 20 feet, obviously with help of a ladder,and nobody, neither of the security staff nor themonks,accosted the perpetrator.

The whole accident has taken place be-cause nobody, neither the district administration,nor the state administration, nor the governmentof India, nor the local Buddhist managementlooking after the day- to- day working of the tem-ple, have ever felt concerned about the safety ofthe temple complex in spite of suspicion ex-pressed by security organisations of the stateand the central governments for sometimes past.This is the direct result of the management oftemple not being in the hands of dedicated Bud-dhist organization exclusively. The Hindus andgovernment hold a big share in the administrationof complex but do not seem to worry about itssafety. Even the security cameras installed therehave given a hazy picture of people scanned atthat time.

Now that the government of India hastaken over the investigation into the matter (stategovernment has shamelessly washed their handof any responsibility), this Society requests thatthe culprits should be located and punished, evenif it takes long time. They should also install ad-equate security arrangement at other Buddhistholy places like Sanchi, Sarnath and Kushinagar etc.

www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 2V0l-5 Issue-9 July 16-31, 2013

INDIA MARKET

5202 Elkhorn Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95842

kÈmIr isMG hIrf gurpfl bSgVWe have the largest collection of

indian, fijian and pakistani grocery,

music, fabric, artificial jewelery and

sweets.Fresh vegitable are available

here. We do take EBT card.

WE ACCEPT

FOOD STAMPS

For more information

Call Us :

916-338-5511

New location address

1265 Pleasant Grove Blvd.# 100 Roseville, California 95747

sfzI nvIN lukyÈn jldI hI KuWlx jf rhI hY

www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 3V0l-5 Issue-9 July 16-31, 2013

BAZAARINDIA

Jai Ram Gaught Harjit Gaught (Happy)

Indian, Pakistani & Fijjian Groceries

WE ACCEPT FOOD STAMPSRENT DVDS & BUY CLOTHES ENJOY YOUR DAY WITH HOPES

EVERY SATURDAY & SUNDAY SPECIAL DISCOUNT ON GROCERIESCall to Happy- Cell : (209) 594-8473 Ph: (209) 478-0285 Fax : (209) 477-3206

We are open 7 DAYS A WEEK TIME : 9:00 A.M. TO 8:30 P.M.

Email: indiabazaar08@yahoo.com304 E HAMMER LANE # 12, STOCKTON CA, 95210

sfzy kol eyarlfeIn itktF vI AuplbwD hn.

sfzy iewQy hr iksm dIaF kfrF dI murMmq aqy irpyarqoN ielfvf kfrF dy pyNt df kMm qswlIbKÈ kIqf jFdf hY.

purfxIaF kfrF KrIdx aqy to-trwk df Kfs pRbMD hY.

AAA AUTO &BODY WORKS INC.

Prop: Jasbir Singh Takhar510-755-2132

1421 Industrial PKWY West#F Hayward, CA 94544510- 733- 2222

Free Eximates Free Towing

We Do Complete Engine Transmission, Body andPaint Work We Sell Used Cars at a Good Price

6 www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 4V0l-5 Issue-9 July 16-31, 2013

Historic Centennial Celebration of Ambedkar’s Journey to Columbia UniversityDepartment of Columbia Universityas a Post Graduate student. Arrivingin this country, he breathed a fresh airof freedom after choking with preju-dice since his childhood. He found anew sense of independence where onthe basis of his caste; nobody di-rected him what to do or not to do.On contrary, he had to face discrimi-nation at every juncture in his owncountry. He struggled to overcome re-buff and prejudice to acquire educa-tion. He found that there was nosuch thing in America. Everythingwas different. He didn’t have to sitseparate from others. There were noseparate utensils for drinking water.Nobody asked his caste. New foundfreedom gave him an opportunity todevelop his personality by making in-tellectual connections which shapedhis rest of life. Had he not come toColumbia University, the Indian nationwould have deprived of this demo-cratic constitution and the Untouch-ables would have remainedUntouchables with no rights.

During his years in the Colum-bia University, Dr. Ambedkar formedmany of his ideas about equality andsocial justice under the guidance ofProfessor John Dewey, a reputedscholar whose ideas about democ-racy and education helped to shapeAmerican democracy and educationsystem. It is Dewey’s impact onAmbedkar that explains his faith inConstitutional democracy, which inturn is one of the main reasons forthe stability of the Indian political sys-tem. Without Ambedkar, it is difficultto imagine that long history of the op-pression of the untouchables couldhave been so easily contained in theworkings of a democracy. He alsoworked under Professors Seligman,Clark, Seager, Moor, Mitchell, Chad-wick, Sinkortell, Giddings and Gold-enweiser. He admired his teacherswho had great influence on the mak-ing of his personality. In one of the in-terviews he gave to the New YorkTimes on November 30, 1932, hestated “The best friends I have had inmy life were some of my classmatesat Columbia and great professors,John Dewey, James Shotwell, EdwinSeligman and James Harvey Robinson”1.

Education at Columbia Uni-versity changed him in many ways.Dr. Vivek Kumar explains, “Being atColumbia, Babasaheb Ambedkarlearned to read Indian history with analternative perspective. He analysedeach and every institution of Indiansociety and showed how exploitivethey were in their functioning be-cause of which ex Untouchableswere denied every Human right.” Hefurther states, “Because of his train-ing at Columbia, he launched first-so-cial movement, then educational,then political, movements for consti-tutional and then the religious move-ment with conversion to Buddhism in

1956”2.US democracy had a pro-

found effect on Ambedkar. In hisclosing address to the ConstituentAssembly of India on November 26,1949, he quoted extensively USdemocracy and its founding father,Thomas Jefferson. In the Constitu-tion of India, he enshrined the princi-ple of ‘Checks and balances’,judiciary and declared India as a re-public based on the US constitution.The idea of liberalism he acquiredfrom his alma mater, Columbia Uni-versity and was often termed as a‘classical liberal’. Because of his con-tribution to the Indian constitution, hewas rightly honoured as the chairmanof the Drafting Committee for India'sconstitution, a kind of Indian Jeffer-son. During his stay in Columbia, hebecame interested in matters ofAfrican American politics and culture.He studied about slave trade in US.He saw blacks enduring the samemental and physical tortures inflictedupon Untouchables. After discoveringblack liberation struggles in the USA.Ambedkar was inspired and mouldedto devote his life for the emancipationof the Untouchables of India. He en-countered American civil rights move-ments and saw strong parallelsbetween the plights of blacks and Un-touchables. Quotations from the writ-ings of black civil rights leadersreflect his deep study in the blackcivil rights movement. In his book,‘What Congress and Gandhi done tothe Untouchables?’ he gave refer-ences widely from HerbertAptheker’s ‘The Negroes in the civilWar’. Aptheker was an important fig-ure and one of the best known pro-fessors of black history. In 1946,writing to W.E.B. Du Bois, a promi-nent leader of the ‘Negro movement’,Ambedkar requested him for help toraise the question of Untouchables inthe United Nations. In his letter hesays, “I have been a student of theNegro problem and have read yourwritings throughout. There is somuch similarity between the positionof the Untouchables in India and ofthe position of the Negros in Americathat the study of the latter is not onlynatural but necessary.

I was very much interested toread that the Negros of America havefiled a petition to the UNO. The Un-touchables of India are thinking of fol-lowing suit. Will you be so good as tosecure for me two or three copies ofthis representation by the Negros andsend them to my address?”3

Even the black historianscouldn’t ignore Ambedkar’s move-ment. One of the pioneering profes-sors of black history, C. VannWoodward was greatly impressed byAmbedkar. In his autobiography(Thinking back: Perils of Writing his-tory), Woodward said that Ambed-kar’s description of the oppression ofuntouchables encouraged him to

write about the oppression of blacks.He narrates an encounter withAmbedkar:

“A new extraordinary foreignperspective came my way during thesecond World War, while I was onduty as a naval officer in India. Witha letter of introduction in hand, Isought out Dr. Bheem Ramji Ambed-kar, acclaimed leader of India’s millionof Untouchables and later a figure offirst importance in Indian constitu-tional history.

He received me cordially athis home in New Delhi and plied withquestions about the black ‘untouch-ables’ of America and how theirplight compared with that of his ownpeople. He also took the time to opento me the panorama of an ancientWorld of Indian segregation by casteand to show me how it appeared toits victims.”

Dr. Ambedkar is a symbol ofsocial change. He has inspired many people to fight against social injus-tice. No Indian university recognisedAmbedkar’s services to the nation,democracy, constitution and to theprotection of human rights. In 1952,Columbia University became the firstand perhaps the only university whichbestowed upon him an honorary de-gree of Doctor of Law in its Bi-Cen-tennial Celebrations SpecialConvocation for his service as “agreat social reformer and a valiant up-holder of human rights”. In 1995, abronze bust of Ambedkar was giftedto the Lehman library of ColumbiaUniversity by the Federation ofAmbedkarite and Buddhist Organisa-tions of the United Kingdom (FABO, UK).

The University authoritiesgladly accepted this present and thebust was installed in the Lehman Li-brary at the School of Internationaland Public Affairs. Prof. E. ValentineDaniel, director of the Southern AsianInstitute, said in a statement “Dr.Ambedkar was Columbia's most re-markable international alumnus. Heachieved his greatness not becauseof any affirmative action, but againstunspeakable odds and prejudices.”Followers of Ambedkar from numer-ous countries participated in thefunction. Late Savita Ambedkar wifeof Dr. Ambedkar especially camefrom India to attend the function. Adelegation of the members of FABO,UK was also present.

Columbia University com-pleted 250 years of its establishmentin 2004. To commemorate this event,a committee of scholars was formedto enlist 100 pioneering students whomade extra ordinary contribution tothe society. It is a matter of pride thatDr. Ambedkar was also chosen andincluded in elite list of those states-men who helped changing the historyof mankind. To continue Ambedkar’slegacy, the Government of India has

gifted to endow the Dr. B.R. Ambed-kar Chair in Indian constitutional Lawat the Columbia Law School whichwill present a series of lectures ex-ploring significant influences ofAmbedkar on Indian society. The for-mal announcement was made on 1stApril, 2010 by Meera Shankar, India’sambassador to the US. The lectureseries will help to understand Dr.Ambedkar’s views on democracy,constitution, the problem of Dalitsand his contribution to the humanrights and equal justice.

Millions of Dalits face atroci-ties on the basis of their birth. Eventhe Indian Prime Minister, ManmohanSingh became the first leader of hiscountry to compare the condition ofDalits with that of black SouthAfricans under apartheid. On 27thDecember, 2006, he declared, “Dalitshave faced a unique discrimination inour society that is fundamentally dif-ferent from the problems of minoritygroups in general. The only parallel tothe practice of untouchability wasapartheid"4. Apartheid in SouthAfrica is abolished and caste baseddiscrimination in India needs to bedismantled. Let us get together andwork to eradicate this evil and set upa society based on Dr. Ambedkar’sdream of equality, liberty, fraternityand equal justice.

World renowned institutessuch as Columbia University, LondonSchool of Economics and SimonFrazer University, Vancouver have ac-cepted Dr. Ambedkar as the mostprominent democrat who believed inbringing change through democraticmeans. India has still to accept andrecognise his contribution as a nationbuilder and protector of basic humanrights. It is also a time that Indiansgive same respect and status toAmbedkar as is given to MartinLuther King in America and to NelsonMandela in South Africa.

1. Seldon Charles A. ‘Prince and Out-cast at Dinner in London’, New YorkTimes, November 30, 1932

2. Dr. Vivek Kumar, New Way to Read History of Buddhist and Ambedkarite MovementCelebrating Centenary of BabasahebAmbedkar’s Journey to ColumbiaUniversity Barcelona, SpainAmbedkar Times, http://www.ambedkartimes.com/vivek_kumar.htm#special3. Letter from Daniel Immerwahar toMangesh Dahiwale-On B.R. Ambed-kar and Black connectionshttp://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/daniel-immerwahr/Ambedkar.pdf4. Indian Leader Liken caste systemto apartheid regime.The Guardian, dated 28th December,2006http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/dec/28/india.mainsection