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

VOL - 11 ISSUE - 17-22 August 14, 2019 www.ambedkartimes.com www.ambedkartimes.org

Weekly

Tughlaqabad, New Delhiand Dalit Protests

Prem K. ChumberEditor:

Ambedkar Times & Desh DoabaThe demolition of the historic Sri Guru Ravi-

dass Temple at Guru Ravidass Marg, Tughlaqabadarea of New Delhi has generated deep protests inPunjab. The protests were not only organized bythe Ravidass Naam Leva Sangat but also joined byanother biggest community among the Dalits ofPunjab named Valmikies. Though born in Present

day Uttar Pradesh, GuruRavidass is revered widelyin Punjab, a state with ahighest number of Sched-uled Castes populations incomparison to rest of thestates in the union ofIndia. This is not only firsttime that an incident ofsuch a socio-religiousmagnitude has raised all

pervasive protest throughout Punjab. The murderof Sant Rama Nand ji at Sri Guru Ravidass Templeat Vienna had also triggered wide violent protestsin Punjab. Teachings of Guru Ravidass occupy cen-tral place in the historic Ad Dharam movement ofpre-partition Punjab. The founder of the AdDharam movement, Babu Mangu Ram Mugowaliawhen asked by Prof Mark Juergensmeyer during hisresearch in Punjab in the late 1970s about the con-tribution of the Ad Dharam movement towards theformation of Dalit consciousness among its follow-ers, he proudly put on record that this very move-ment had given the Scheduled Castes of Punjabtheir Rehbar/Guru who was the pioneer among therestoration of the long lost dignity and self-respectof these historically neglected people. Guru Ravi-dass and his socio religious teachings became therallying point for the unity and struggle of thedowntrodden and the so called low caste people.These people once became conscious of theirrights, the centuries of the denial of such rights tothem by the dominant social forces, and the voiceof protest by their Guru at a time when even todream of these rights was considered as blas-phemy, how can they tolerate any insult or attackon the proud legacy of Sri Guru Ravidass Ji and therelated sacred places dedicated to his fond mem-ory. It is in this context that the demolition of SriGuru Ravidass Temple at New Delhi and the quickand sharp reaction in Punjab needs to be understood.

Supreme Council Sri Guru Ravidass Sabhas, USA Condemns theDemolition of Sri Guru Ravidass Temple Tuglaqabad New Delhi

Supreme Council Sri Guru Ravidass Sabhas, USA subm itt ed a memo-randum to Indian Consulate office inSan Francis co (California) USA urg-ing the restoration of centuries oldSri Guru Ravidass Temple inTuglaqabad New Delhi which was demolished unde r the order of theSupreme Court of India.

Mr. O. P. Bal ley, General Secretary of Supreme Council SriGuru Ravidass Sabhas, USA joinedby th e representatives of Sri GuruRavidass Sabhas: Pittsburg, Bay Area, Sacramento, Yuba City, Fresno,Selma &Dr. B.R. Ambedkar EducationAid Socie ty Fremont, California,Ambedkar Times Forum (Group of

Media) USA and Dr. Ambed kar Cul-tural Reform Society Fresno (Califor-nia) presented the Memorandum inperson to the Consulate General SanFrancisco (California) in a peacefulenvironment in the presence ofabout fifty members of the Commu-nity attending the occasion.

The following prominent members of th e Community expressed their feelings of resentmenton this unfortunate incident hurtingthe very core of the religious senti-ments of millions of followers of SriGuru Ravidass Ji all over the world.O. P. Balley, Ramesh Su man, ShashiK. Paul, Kashmiri Bhatia, JoginderSingh Delhiwale, Paramji tBhutta , Ke

wal Bolina, Hans Raj Kajla & PremKumar Chumber from Sacramento(California), Ram Murti S aroay, Vinod Kumar Chumber, Ajaib SinghSunda, Tarlochan Singh, AmandeepSingh, Ram Lubhaya& Ram Dhanfrom Bay Area (California), KaramSingh Bang ar, Ratta n Pal Jas si,Amar Daroch, Malkiat Singh Bangarfrom Fresno, Kewal S indhu & Hiswife from Vallejo (C alifornia). Mr.Prem Chumber Editor-In-ChiefAmbedkar Times and Desh Doabaweekly newspapers also covered theentire event as a professional jour-nalist.

- O. P. BalleyGeneral Secretary

All pictures credit: Prem K. Chumber Ambedkar Times Read more www.ambedkartimes.com

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TO: -1. Honorable President of India2. Honorable Prime Minister of India3. Honorable Chief Minister of DelhiThrough Consulate General of India, San Francisco, CAReg:-Restoration of Image and status

Sri Guru Ravidass TempleTughlaqabad, New Delhi

Dear Sir,It is extremely distressing and deplorable to

learn that in pursuance of the orders of the SupremeCourt of India, the old historical temple in the name ofGuru Ravidass Ji located in Tuglaqabad, Delhi has beendemolished by Delhi Development Authority controlledby Delhi Administration.

This temple was being managed by Guru Ravidass Jayanti Samaroh Samity, Tuglaqabad, Delhi andthe site was a adorable reminiscence of an historic visitby Guru Ravidass Ji in the 15th century during the ruleof Sikander Lodhi, the then emperor of India.

As per the traditional beliefs passed on fromgeneration to generation, Sikander Lodhi who was sodeeply impressed and enlightened with the saintly andspiritual wisdom of Guru Ravidass Ji that he embellishedhim with a rare title of Rajguru of his kingdom. He alsogifted a large tract of land to this divinely inspiredprophet for the purpose of preaching his vision and phi-losophy to promote humanitarianism and internationalbrotherhood.

This temple, as it stood before its demolition,was inaugurated by Babu Jagjivan Ram, former DeputyPrime Minister of India, in 1959 and this land also figuresin the old revenue records showing its possession by thevillagers of Tuglaqabad who were the followers of GuruRavidass Ji.

The process of acquisition and demolition of thisholy temple was initiated by DDA and no attempts weremade by Government of India to avoid this unfortunatedecision, resulting in the dismemberment of this sacredsite. It has hurted the very core of the religious senti-ments of millions of Guru Ravidass Ji's followers in Indiaand abroad. It looks so ironical and hurtful to note thatevery possible effort is underway to build a Shri Ramtemple in Ajodhya while an existing temple so deeplyconnected to the holy memories of Guru Ravidass Ji inTuglaqabad, has been thrown out of existence.

India, as we all are proud of, is deeply en-trenched in the concept of respecting and creating anegalitarian and a secular society, as envisioned by SriGuru Ravidass Ji, Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar andBabu Mangu Ram Muggowalia founder of Ad-Dharammovement, but this recent decision which speaks of authoritarianism, is very disturbing and a complete de-parture from the very foundations on which this countrywas built.

This unfortunate decision has sent wide-spreadwaves of dismay, disappointment and discontentmentamong the entire Ravidassia community all over the world.

We fully support and stand with a spirit of unification behind any effort to restore the tarnishedimage and the sanctity of this holy temple.

We, therefore, respectfully and fervently requestthe honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi to re-store peace and harmony over the world by interveningpersonally in this crucial and sensitive matter and as-suage the religious feelings so badly hurt amongst thefollowers of Guru Ravidass Ji, by restoring this religiousproperty to its original image and sanctity.

This organization is a representative body of following six temples functioning under the name of GuruRavidass Ji and this memorandum is being sent with theirconcurrence and approval.1. Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Pittsburg CA. 2. Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Sacramento, CA 3. Sri Guru Ravidass Temple Yuba City, CA 4. Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Bay Area, CA 5. Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Fresno, CA 6 Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Selma, CAIn addition: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Education Aid Society Fremont, CA, Ambedkar Times Forum (Group of Media) USAand Dr. Ambedkar Cultural Reform society are also supporting this Memorandum.

Thanking you

O.P. Balley (General Secretary)Ramesh Suman, Shashi K. Paul, Tavinder Kazla

Dated: August 13, 2019

SUPREME COUNCIL SRI GURU RAVIDASS SABHAS, USA2150, CRESTVIEW DRIVE, PITTSBURG, CALIFORNIA, USA

All pictures credit: Prem K. Chumber Ambedkar Times Read more www.ambedkartimes.com

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Dear All,I wrote anopen letter onAugust 11 onthe demolitionof Guru Ravi-dass Mandir atTughlakabad inDelhi as a cur-tain raiser ofthe protestsagainst thesaid demolition

by the followers of Guru Ravidass. Firstof all, as the situation unfolded itself, itis a matter of gratification to note thatthe demolition of the mandir of the

great guru has been taken seriously bythe community and by the wide politicaland social spectrum around except bysome narrow-minded and politicallymotivated voices who were found lack-ing in understanding the issue or theirpolitical constraints. Even some highlyplaced people, including a junior Minis-ter at the Center found faults with themanagement of the TughlakabadMandir and others who tended to raisethe banner of protest. The leadership ofBJP could not come around and standby the community as the mandir be-longed to Guru Ravidass, a nobody inthe caste hierarchy and the fact that thedecision makers in Delhi to demolishthe mandir were no others but their po-litical masters. The upper-caste Hinducommunity, in spite of the fact that thefollowers of Guru Ravidass are mostlyHindus, as usual, was found disinter-ested or even disdainful. The caste sys-tem which was an anathema to GuruRavidass and is unlawful and undesir-able under the constitution of India, itseems is still at work. It is unfortunate.I think the community will certainly takenote of this and respond in due course.CM of Punjab Captain Amrinder Singhtook due note of the situation and triedto assuage the ruffled feelings of thecommunity and promised to take up the

matter with the concerned authoritiesin Delhi. President of Akali Dal SukhbirBadal and the Sikh community at largenot only condemned the demolition butalso showed their willingness to take upthe matter with the concerned MinisterHardip Puri and PM Narendra Modi. Ithas also been reported that SGPC hascondemned the demolition of the tem-ple. Even the Punjab Chapter of theRSS came out with a statement and ex-pressed its displeasure on the said dem-olition at Tughlakabad. It would havebeen good if RSS should have taken astrong and clear stand on the issue andadvised the government to desist fromthe uncalled for and undesirable demo-

lition at Tughlakabad in persuasion oftheir professed agenda of “Samrasta”. Ithink, it is still a long way to go in shed-ding the inherit feeling of social discrim-ination. It is a matter of furthersatisfaction that the successful bandh,as I write at about 2 in the afternoon ofAugust 13, is by and large peaceful andconforms to the democratic norms ofprotest and disagreement except someviolent happenings at Mukerian inHoshiarpur. I take this opportunity toappreciate and congratulate the pro-testers - followers of Guru Ravidass andBabasaheb Ambedkar and their sup-porters from the society at large fortheir good conduct and praiseworthydemonstration as law-abiding citizens. Ifeel the Administration in Punjab wasalso fully geared and alert to ward offany untoward incident. I was told thatthe concerned law and order authoritiestook into confidence all the stake hold-ers including the Guru Ravidass Derasto manage and control the situation. Imust hasten to add that the govern-ment and the concerned authoritiesshould not take these positive signslightly in taking the decisions and undo-ing the damage of the said demolition.It may be a proverbial ‘lull before thestorm’, if the authorities fail to under-stand the issue and redress the griev-

ances of the community with regard tothe Tughlakabad Mandir of Guru Ravi-dass. It is a matter of great worry andconcern that the mainstream media hastotally ignored the issue in spite of thefact that the mandir was located in thecapital city of Delhi. Some days agowhen a small and nondescript mandirnear Jama Masjid in old Delhi was al-legedly desecrated, all the national TVchannels were making loud but uncalledfor noises and were falling on eachother to demonstrate their concern forthe secular character of the country andtheir soft attitude towards the majoritycommunity. This lopsided and discrimi-natory approach by an important pillar

of democracy tends to divide the soci-ety. The media must understand this.The earlier the better. The aggrievedsections of the society are in no moodany more to swallow this.

By the evening of today, it is amatter of satisfaction again, the firefighting to rectify the mistake and dam-age control has started in Delhi. TheSupreme Court has suo motto inter-vened and said that ‘it was a seriousmatter and nobody should try to takeshelter under the Supreme Court Or-ders for political convenience’. The Ad-ministration in Delhi – Lt. Governor,DDA, Police Commissioner were takingrecourse to justify the ill-conceived andill-motivated and faultily executed deci-sion in the name of the courts. Only onequestion in this regard will make theiraction hollow. The efficiency shown bythe Delhi Administration in implement-ing the so called order of the SupremeCourt in destroying the mandir was un-precedented. The order comes in theevening of August 9 and the mandir isdemolished in the morning of August10. The GOI through the Minister ofUrban development passed the bulk toDDA and Lt. Governor. Home Minister isblissfully ignorant of the happeningsand has no time to appreciate the sen-sitivities of the people who stood by

them and contributed considerably tocome back to power with an added ma-jority. No party – the Congress, theAkalis, the BJP, the BSP and others con-sidered it necessary to consider thematter and listen to the management ofthe Tughlakabad mandir and stand bythem while the parliament was in ses-sion. After the noises and the PunjabBandh of today, some of them havewoken from the slumber. A delegationof BJP, Akalis and their allies have metthe Ministers of Social Justice and Min-isters of Urban Development and urgedthem to reconsider the unjust action bythe Delhi Administration. Let us seewhat happens. I may add here my im-

mediate apprehension that someonemight suggest to allot a piece of landfor the purpose somewhere else andend the matter. It will be totally unfairand would amount to high-handedness.The traditional and historical characterof the Guru Ravidass Mandir at Tugh-lakabad should be maintained. The fol-lowers of Guru Ravidass should not fallprey to these machinations. Thereshould be no duplicity in dealing withsuch matters.

I conclude this open letter withthe hope that the Delhi Administrationunder the GOI will take due note ofthese things and address the issue withall seriousness and sincerity. The follow-ers of Guru Ravidass, on the otherhand, should register their protest anddemands with cool and pursue the mat-ter with democratic norms as responsi-ble citizens of the country. The incidentsof Mukerian should be not repeated totarnish the image of the great Guru ashe said:Keh Ravidass Khalas ChamaraJo Hum Sehri so Meet Hamara!With regards and Greetings on the In-dependence Day and Raksha Bandhan.

Yours truly,(Ramesh Chander)

Ambassador – IFS (Retired)Tele: 9988510940

Punjab Bandh - August 13Sri Guru Ravidass Mandir at Tughlakabad – An Open Letter

Ramesh ChanderAmbassadorIFS (Retired)

www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 4V0l-11 Issue - 17-22 August 14, 2019

REMEMBERING AD DHARM

Sacramento on August, 3rd, 2019. Thefollowing members attended the meetingwhich went through very successfully and harmoniously.O.P. Balley, Ramesh Suman,Shashi K. Paul, Ram MurtiSaroay, Vinod Kumar Chumber, Prem K. Chumber,Hans Raj Kajla, Tavinder Kazla,A.S Sunda, Sohan SinghDhunda, K.S. Sidhu, Jarnail Singh Badhan, Kashmiri Bhatia, Teja Virk &

Kewal Krishan Bolina. The meeting whichwas opened by Mr. O.P. Balley, General

Secretary of the Council focused aroundthe restoration of its status and image to

accomplish the lofty vision and idealswhich established this organization.

It was unanimously agreed tohold six meetings every year to keep up

the momentum of its activities. The dateswill be notified later. The meeting wasadjourned with thanks to all the participating members for their esteemedviews and positive input conducive to thefunctioning of this body, based on thepreachings enshrined in the holy pagesof Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

O.P. BalleyGeneral Secretary

Read morewww.ambedkartimes.com

Prem Kumar ChumberEditor: Ambedkar Times

Caste system based on the fourfold divi-sion of the Hindu society intoBrahmin, Kashtriya, Vaishya andShudra and the fifth avarna cate-gory of Ati-Shudras has led to se-rious denial of Human rights ofthe Scheduled Castes people var-iously nomenclatured as pan-chamas, achhuts, dheds, pariahs,Harijans and Dalits. These largenumber of avarna people whowere condemned to live in segre-gated localities in the periphery ofvillages throughout India withouthaving any rights on the naturalresources and the local structuresof power. They were forced toperform 'begar' hard manual laborwithout any remuneration. If themen folk had to work in the agri-cultural farms of the landlords,their women folk were pushedinto an equally hard work ofcleaning the cowsheds of the landlords.Scheduled Castes were not allowed toposses land, weapons, valuable metalsand milch castles. They were only allowedto keep the beasts of burden to assistthem in performing the hard manual laborwithout any payments in return.

Tathagat Gautam Buddha raiseda revolutionary voice against this cruelsystem of extreme denial of human rightsbased on low birth. He welcomed the Ati-Shudras into his Sanghas and treated

them equal without any prejudice what-soever. After a long gap and with the ad-vent of Sikh faith in Punjab, once again a

serious attempt was made to remove thedeadly caste boundaries from the Hindusociety while spreading the message ofunity of mankind. It was in Punjab, thesacred land of Gurus and Pirs that on June11-12, 1926 the first mammoth annualfunction of the Ad Dharm movement wasorganized in the native village of GhadriBabu Mangu Ram Mugowalia, the founderof the Ad Dharm in Punjab in 1925 afterhis return from USA where he reached in1909 and became one of the pioneers of

the Gadhar Movement. It was at thismammoth Ad Dharm conference wherehe publicly announced the launch of

tirade against the pernicious system ofuntouchability and the restoration of thelost glory of the indigenous people ofBharat.

Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia ex-horted his people to get organized andsay definitive no to caste discriminationand social segregation. He called upon hispeople to live with self-respect and dignityand started the movement for equalrights of the Dalits. He approached thethen British rulers to empower the De-

pressed Classes (at that time the termScheduled Castes was not coined nor theterm Harijan had come) while declaring

their separate religion of Ad Dharmat par with other mainstream reli-gions of the region. Consequentlythe British government declared AdDharm as a separate religion of theDalits in Punjab 1931. About 5 lacsAd Dharmis recorded themselvesunder this new religion category inthe Census of 1931. Under the ableand strong leadership of BabuMangu Ram Mugowalia, the AdDharm movement turned partycontested the 1937 PunjabProvince Assembly Elections andwon seven out of eight seats re-served for the Scheduled Castes.When Ambedkar movement for

the annihilation of caste took rootsin India, it was the solid ground-work prepared by the Ad Dharmmovement in Punjab which helpedraise a strong support structure for

Babasaheb Dr. B.R Ambedkar who visitedPunjab thrice during his life. The forumof Ambedkartimes.com takes immensepleasure and proud to congratulate all itsreaders, contributors and supporters onthe auspicious occasion of the anniversaryof the first mammoth conference of theAd Dharm movement held at village Mu-gowal near Mahilpur in DistrictHoshiarpuron 11-12 June 1926.

P. K. Chumber editor@ambedkartimes.com

SUPREME COUNCIL SRI GURU RAVIDASS SABHAS, USA

Ambedkar Times ForumStrongly Condemns

Ambedkar Times forum strongly condemns

the demolition of the historic Shri Guru Ravidass Temple

at Shri Guru Ravidass Marg in village Tughlaqabad New Delhi.Prem K. Chumber (Editor: Ambedkar Times)

Posted at www.ambedkartimes.com on August 10, 2019

Last meeting of the Council was held in Elk Grove