Babu Mangu Ram and Emancipation of the Dalits
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Weekly Editor-in-Chief: Prem Kumar Chumber Contact: 001-916-947-8920 Fax: 916-238-1393 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] VOL- 12 ISSUE- 44 January 13, 2021 California (USA) www.ambedkartimes.com www.deshdoaba.com Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia Ji and Babu Mangu Ram and Emancipation of the Dalits Babu Mangoo Ram Mugowalia, a renewed revolu - justice we expect from the Birth of Dalit Movement in Punjab tionary and founder of the Ad Dharm movement in those who are the butch - Prem K. Chumber Editor-In-Chief: Punjab whose birth anniversary falls on 14th Jan - ers of Adi race. Time has Desh Doaba & Ambedkar Times uary 1886, sets a clear agenda for the emancipa - come, be cautious, now Punjab has the distinction of being the only state tion and uplift of the Dalits. The agenda was: to the Government listens to in India where caste based social exclusion was di - restore the lost indigenous religion of the sons of appeals. With the support the soils in order to provide them with a sense of of sympathetic Govern - luted because of the long spell of Muslin rule on self-respect and dignity. The method to achieve this ment, come together to the one hand and the most appealing egalitarian agenda was: cultural transformation and spiritual save the race. Send mem - regeneration. Mangoo Ram was not in favour of bers to the Councils so Prof (Dr.) Ronki Ram philosophy of Sikh faith and its grassroots impact Dean (Faculty of Arts), embracing any other existing religion including Bud - that our Qaum is strength - on transformation of the life of downtrodden, on Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chair Professor, dhism. He was in favour of strengthening the Ad ened again. British rule Panjab University, Chandigarh (India) the other. However, caste and its resultant social Dharm (the original) religion of the indigenous, pre should remain forever. E-mail: <[email protected]> Mob: +91-9878682160 negativities never ceased to torment the major sec - Aryan people of India. His views on Hindu religion Make prayer before God. tion of the society. Caste discriminations in Punjab were very clear. He was of the opinion that since Except for this Government, no one is sympathetic Dalits were not born Hindu where is the need to towards us. Never consider us Hindus at all, re - were/are more material in nature than social as in leave that religion member that our other parts of India. Prejudice takes precedence and to embrace religion is Ad over pollution in Punjab. However, absence of pol - some other one. Dharm. lution does not mean that Brahminism social order Mangoo Ram Mu - The way, gowalia was of the leaders of Ad is alien to it. On the contrary, it thrives under new the opinion that Dharm chose to re - structures of social subordination entrenched in the pre Aryan store dignity and material deprivation of Dalits in the state. Material people/the sons of freedom to the un - the soil/Achhuts touchables was to depravation of the downtrodden in the state was had their own in - completely detach reinforced by the customary laws of Razat-Namaas dependent religion them from Hin - and the Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900. that was forced duism and to con - Along with many other non-agricultural castes, into oblivion under solidate them into the cruel and op - their own ancient Scheduled Castes people were historically deprived pressive rule of religion - Ad Dharm the right to own land. This restriction made them the alien Aryan. - of which they had absolutely landless. It was because of this legal re - He thought it ap - become oblivious propriate to em - during the age-old striction that when Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia power Dalits by domination by the Ji after his return to Punjab from USA asked his fa - carving out a sep - ‘alien Hindus’. In ther to buy some land to evade social oppressions arate Dalit identity fact, the task of at the hands of landlords that he came to know on the basis of the revival of their their original in - ancient religion that social subordination of the Scheduled Castes digenous religious was not an easy people was also rooted in the law of the land. This strength (Ad one by virtue of the has led him to organize his fellow beings to form a Dharm). fact that during a In the long period of per - movement for the emancipation and empowerment poster announcing secution at the of downtrodden what eventually termed as Ad the first annual hands of the Savar - Dharm Movement. This movement was the first of meeting of Ad nas, the untouch - its kind that became suddenly popular because of Dharm Move - ables had forgotten ment, Mangoo their Gurus and its grassroots appeals. Babu Mangu Ram Mu - Ram devoted the other religious gowalia Ji devoted his entire life for the cause of entire space to symbols. In fact total transformation of his country and the socio- the hardships they were never al - economic and political uplift of his people who faced by the un - lowed to nurture an touchables at the aspiration to have were relegated to the periphery since centuries. He hands of the caste their own inde - exhorted his people to come over a common plat - Hindus. He also made an appeal to the Achhuts to pendent religion. They were condemned as profane form to challenge the forces that subjugated the come together to chalk out a program for their lib - and were declared unfit to have their own theology. eration and upliftment while addressing the Thus to revive Ad Dharm was tantamount to devel - Dalits. He waged a long battle and finally able to Chamars, Chuhras, Sansis, Bhanjhras, Bhils etc. as oping an altogether a new religion for the Achhuts. unite many communities among the Scheduled brothers, he said, We are the real inhabitants of this Mangoo Ram’s appeal that the Dalits were the real Castes to work for their upward social mobility. country and our religion is Ad Dharm. Hindu Qaum inhabitants of this land made an enormous psycho - Scheduled Castes of Punjab, particularly of the came from outside to deprive us of our country and logical impact on the untouchables who were enslave us. At one time we reigned over ‘Hind’. We treated as, even inferior to animals in Indian society. Doaba region, consider him the pioneer of Dalit are the progeny of kings; Hindus came down from The appeal inspired them to come out of their movement in the state that played a leading role in Iran to Hind and destroyed our Qaum. They de - slumber and fight for their freedom and liberty. The strengthening the mission of Dr B. R. Ambedkar prived us of our property and rendered us nomadic. Ad Dharm provided a theological podium to sustain They razed down our forts and houses, and de - and reinforce the new Dalit identity. For centuries, not only in Punjab but in the whole of the stroyed our history. We are seven Crores in num - they were bereft of any identity and remained in country.http://www.deshdoaba.com/&http://www. bers and are registered as Hindus in this country. the appendage of the hierarchically graded Hindu ambedkartimes.com/ congratulate all its contribu - Liberate the Adi race by separating these seven society. tors, readers, and well-wishers on this auspicious crores. They (Hindus) became lord and call us ‘oth - Ad Dharm movement was instrumental not ers’. Our seven crore number enjoy no share at all. only in helping the lower castes to get registered occasion on the 135th Birth Anniversary of Great We reposed faith in Hindus and thus suffered a lot. as a distinct religion in the 1931 census and pro - Freedom Fighter Baba Babu Mangu Ram Mu - Hindus turned out to be callous. Centuries ago Hin - viding them the platform to enter into the State gowalia Ji. dus suppressed us sever all ties with them. What (Contd. on next page) www.ambedkartimes.com V0l-12 2 Issue-44 www.deshdoaba.com January 13, 2021 Babu Mangoo Ram and Emancipation of the Dalits (Continue from page 1) publicize and propagate Ad Dharm. parents. (18) After the death of both Dharmi must not work at a place Legislature, it also went a long way in (2) To take pride in Ad Dharm. (3) To parents it is the duty of each Ad where another Ad Dharmi works until bringing a cultural transformation in promote the use of name of the com - Dharmi to cook food and distribute it the first Ad Dharmi has been paid his their life. In fact, Ad Dharm move - munity and to use the red mark, among the poor. (19) The dead wages. (41) If Ad Dharmis enter into ment, as has been mentioned above, which is its sign (4) Ad Dharmis should be cremated, except for those a dispute with one another, they aimed at facilitating a cultural trans - should try to retrieve any property of under the age of five, who should be should attempt to come to some formation in the life of lower castes fellow Ad Dharmi that has been buried. (20) Ad Dharmis do not follow agreement by themselves or within that, under the impact of the cen - usurped. (5) We should distinguish any other law except their own. (21) the community. If no agreement is ac - turies old system of degradation, had among Hindus, Ad Dharmis, and In the Ad Dharm faith only one mar - complished, they should refer the actually internalised a sense of being other communities of India .