Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia After His Return from the Province

Weekly Editor-in-Chief: Prem Kumar Chumber Contact: 001-916-947-8920 Fax: 916-238-1393 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] VOL- 13 ISSUE- 13 June 9, 2021 California (USA) www.ambedkartimes.com www.deshdoaba.com Preserving the Legacy of Ad Dharm Movement Prem Kumar Chumber Mugowal and laid the foundation of the Ad Dharm ported Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar during his tie Editor-in-Chief: movement amidst various sub-communities of the with Mr. M.K. Gandhi on the issue of separate elec - Ambedkar Times & Desh Doaba toral communal award at the London Round Table Ad Dharm movement brought Dalit consciousness Conferences, won seven out of eight reserved as - in the undivided vast province of Punjab at a time sembly seats in the Punjab Pradesh Provincial As - when varied political organisations (Singh Sabhas, sembly elections in 1937, and all seats in 1946 Arya Samajis, Muslim League, Ahmadiyya’s, Chris - Punjab Assembly elections. In 1946, Babu Mangu tian missionary societies) representing mainstream Ram Mugowalia got elected from the reserved as - communities, in the regions were making con - sembly seat of Hoshiarpur. The Ad Dharm move - certed efforts to strengthen their numerical ment, under the stewardship of Babu Mangu Ram strength for gaining some political space in the Mugowalia, made many petitions to the British promised devolution of political power in the form government from time to time for the upliftment of of limited electoral provisions. Though Scheduled the lower castes. Despite stiff opposition from the Castes, then addressed as Depressed classes, con - mainstream communities, the Ad Dharm movement stituted a significant part of the total population of was able a carve a niche for itself and acquired a the Punjab province, they did not have their own significant political space for the hitherto for neg - exclusive political organisation like that of the other lected segment of the lower castes. mainstream communities in the province. It was for Though after India’s independence, the Ad this reason that all other community based organ - Dharm movement got confined to socio-spiritual isations were making best of their efforts to win domain of the lower castes, its legacy became a maximum number of Scheduled Castes towards rich heritage of the Schedules Castes in the state. their fold. All of them were asserting their claimson Mangu Ram Jaspal, namesake of Babu Mangu Ram Scheduled Castes them to include them in the re - Mugowalia, Mark Juergensmeyer, C.L. Chumber, ligions of their respective communities. In fact, it Ronki Ram, Balbir Madhopuri among others played was for the first time in 1920s that the leaders of a significant role in documenting the history of Ad different communities realised to consolidate the Dharm movement and preserving its legacy. It is numerical strength of their respective communi - matter of great pride for us to put on records that tiesas a potent factor for the acquisition of some Ambedkar Times (English) and Desh Doaba share in the British system of governance. It was (Punjabi) Weeklies have been making earnest precisely during this very time that the historic Ad Scheduled Castes. Within a short period of five efforts since their inception in 2006 and 2012 Dharm movement took roots in Punjab. years, Ad Dharm movement became a household respectively for the wider dissemination of the in - The Ad Dharm movement was founded by organization of the majority of the lower castes in formation about the rich heritage of this historic Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia after his return from the province. It had its own Newspaper (Adi Scheduled Caste movement across the world. abroad in 1925. He along with the efforts of Vas - Danka), well-organized headquater (Ad Dharm Ambedkar Times and Desh Doaba forum fondly ant Rai, Thakur Chand and Swami Shudranand Mandal) at Jalandhar, separate religion (Ad Dharm) remember the historic days of June 11-12, 1926 called a mega conference at his native village of duly recognised by the British government, sup - – the foundation day of the Ad Dharm Movement! www.ambedkartimes.com V0l-13 2 Issue-13 www.deshdoaba.com June 9, 2021 On the 95th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Ad Dharm Movement (June 11-12) Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia: Pioneer of the Ad Dharm Movement At present Scheduled Castes in East the herculean task of ferrying I wrote about all this to my leader who were Punjab constitute one-third of the weapons to India for an armed rebel - Lala Hardyal Ji, saying that until and legally de - total state population – largest in lion against the British rule. But SS unless this disease is cured, Hindus - barred along comparison to their counterparts in all Maverick , the ship that was bought tan could not be liberated. Hence, in with other other states and UTs in India. How - to transport weapons was caught in accordance with his orders, a pro - non-agricul - ever, their share in the agriculture route and destiny took Mangu Ram gramme was formulated in 1926 for ture castes land in the state is lowest. Less than into the Philippines,where he spent the awakening and upliftment of the fromowning five percent of them are small time the next twelve years of his prime life Achhut qaum (untouchable commu - agriculture cultivators. Though in terms of ad - incognito.Finally, hereached his native nity) of India” (Kaumi Udarian 1986: land under ministrative set up they are enumer - village in 1925, to the surprise of all, 23-24). Consequently, he decided to the Land Ronki Ram as everyone already knew the news dedicate rest of his life for the eman - Alienation Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chair Professor ated along with other caste of Political Science communities in the census records of of his alleged hanging. cipation and empowerment of his fel - Act of 1900. Panjab University, Chandigarh the villages in East Punjab, actually Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia low so-called low-caste people. He Moreover, [email protected] Visiting Professor, Centre for Sikh they live in segregated Dalit settle - is to the Punjab what Mahatma Jyoti - established an elementary school in under the and Panjabi Studies, ments situated in the periphery of rao Phule is to Maharashtra, and just his native village for the lower caste local cus - University of Wolverhampton, UK mainstream villages. The segregated as the Maha - children of tomary law, Schedule Castes’ peripheries are con - rashtra Dalit those self-same popularly known as ‘rayit-nammas’, temptuously called Chamarlees in movement socially ex - the lower castes were alsodeprived of Doaba, Thathees in Malwa, and owes its origin cluded sections ownership rights on the residential Vehras in Majha: the three distinct to Mahatma of the society plot of their houses in the segregated spatial-cultural regions of the state. Jyotirao Phule, that later came neighbourhoods. They were not al - Nevertheless, Scheduled Castes in the Punjab to be desig - lowed to build pucca houses in these East Punjab, like all other communi - Dalit move - nated Sched - separate Dalit localities. They were ties, are Punjabi first and their religion ment is simi - uled Castes only permitted to build mud/thatched and caste anddomiciliary location - larly indebted (SCs) under the houses and in return were supposed scome later. Like all other integral to Babu Government of to perform some begar (forced labour segments of the syncretic Punjabi Mangu Ram India (Sched - without wages) in the agriculture qaum, Scheduled Castesare too val - Mugowalia. If uled Castes) farms of the legal owners of their res - orous and well known for their praise - Mahatma Jy - order, 1936, idential plots. worthy role during the fights of the otirao Phule which con - Another important task to - Khalsa armies ofGuru Gobind Singh was influ - tained a list (or wards the material empowerment of against the regimes of injustice and enced by the schedule) of the lower castes that was undertaken social oppression. To live with dignity writings of castes through - by the Ad Dharm movement was spe - prompted them in the second half of Thomas Paine, out the British- cial legal provision of education and 1920s, to organise themselves under the famous administered government employment reservation the Ad Dharm movement (11-12 English-born provinces. Fol - for the lower castes under the state June, 1926), the maiden Dalit move - American po - lowing into the affirmative action. Like the ment of pre-partition Punjab. The Ad litical activist, footsteps of his Satyashodak Samaj movement in Ma - Dharm movement was parallel butin - theorist, revolutionary harashtra, the Ad Dharm movement dependent of various other contem - philosopher Ghadarite lead - soon became a household name porary Adi/Dalit movements (briefly and revolution - ership in the among the Dalits of Punjab. It was for discussed below)emerged almost at ary of the United States of the first time in the forgotten history the same time in the South India. nineteenth Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia America, he as - of the lower castes in the state that Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia century, Babu pired to both a golden opportunity knocked at their (January 14, 1886 – April 22, 1980) Mangu Ram Mugowalia learnt his les - fight against the caste-based social doors to get them united on a com - was the precursor of the Ad Dharm sons of equality and freedom from evil of untouchability and to replace it mon and distinct platform under the movement. He belonged to a Dalit the proclaimed democratic and liberal with an all-encompassing social free - leadership of their fellow-travellers to family of leather workers of village values of the United States of Amer - dom, as well as to join the fight to fight for the most sought after goal Mugowal indistrict Hoshiarpur.His fa - ica wherein he came into contact, free the subjugated India and return of dignified life and to collectively ther wanted him to educate so that during his sojourn, with the revolu - to it its political freedom.

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