Exploring opportunities for Ambedkarite Movement in America
During Y2K (1/1/2000), I saw a lot of Ambedkarite action taking place in America, as far as I remember. There was “www.ambedkar.org” work being done and then Dalit E-Forum was created. Many more initiatives were taking place by ambedkarites in America. Assuming that many more ambedkarites were doing a lot of work in silos much before Y2K, we can safely assume that the Ambedkarite movement in America at least 20 years old.
Veterans like Mr. Raju Kambleji, Mr. V.K. Chaudharyji and many more dedicated their lives for the Ambedkarite movement in America and many are still doing a lot individually or as part of NGOs.
When we look around in October 2019, we see much of the work in America to be focused on the following areas:
Along with areas mentioned above like Financial Support, Cultural Activities, Women Empowerment & Education Support, there are many who from time to time participate in raising voice against atrocities committed in India in form of protests in front of UN, White House etc or by submitting petitions to various international bodies or organizations or Senators.
When one looks around to understand the current situation in India, one wonders why it is so difficult to implement the Constitution of India in its true letter and spirit. There seem to be no respite to the growing atrocities or insincerity in implementation of SC/ST Act or the Reservations or addressing the issue of growing NPAs & Scams including EVM scam and numerous other scams, lack of focus on quality education & healthcare for all etc.
It seems like a system is working behind the scenes 24×7 to keep the historically oppressed communities (SC, ST, OBC and Minorities) restricted to the bottom 2 levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Basic Needs) – Physiological & Safety needs ONLY.
If one tries to do root cause analysis & applies the pareto’s principle to identify 20% causes for 80% of current problems of oppressed, one can see that the very statutory bodies which are created to protect the oppressed are being misused to deny justice. All these bodies seem to be completely under the control of the manuvadi system: The Bar Council of India (BCI), The Medical Council of India (MCI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other similar agencies, Planning Commission of India (Niti Aayog), Press Council of India (PCI), various Trade Unions and Labour organizations, various reputed NGOs, various Religious & Social Institutions etc. Since these are all run or controlled by manuvadi system, we will have to create our own strength in parallel so that all the statutory bodies can be gradually taken over for welfare of all by forcing them to implement the Constitution of India. Parallel bodies for following need to be built at minimum:
In Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar writings & speeches volume 17, part 2, page 445-452, Babasaheb says, there can be no two opinions that if movement is to succeed, it must have at its command three things, (1) a Central headquarter, (2) a well-trained body of devoted workers, and (3) financial stability. Only with these means the movement can be placed on a sound and permanent footing.
Of these three, the establishment of a Social Centre as Central Headquarter must be regarded as the most fundamental. For once a Social Centre is established it will help to co-ordinate all social activities necessary for keeping up the movement, under the scheme which I have framed. It will also provide income to meet the expenditure for running the social activities and maintain a body of devoted workers on full time salary basis.
In USA, progress has been made on point (1) suggested by Babasaheb. Ambedkar International Center (AIC) has purchased a 13.2 acre land 20 miles from White House which is fully paid off. Ambedkarites in America are making all efforts to raise funds to build a Central Headquarters there for USA.
. On Point (2), work is in progress to create well-trained pool of devoted workers who can work 24×7 in India but are driven from USA in a sort of Global Delivery Model with weekly S.M.A.R.T goals assigned to them. Already one full timer is supporting in that mode for AIC and if more funding is received, there is a plan to have dedicated full-timer for every state of India and then at district level. With just $150 per month contribution, we can have one well-trained dedicated full-time worker supporting the movement.
Using the model suggested by Babasaheb, once solid foundation is set, work can be made to create the parallel orgs mentioned above. Ambedkarites in America can network with like-minded orgs like BAMCEF, Samata Sainik Dal, SWAEROES, Bhim Army and many others who are already building organizations like Indian Medical Professional Association (IMPA), Indian Lawyers Association (ILA), Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Morcha, Rashtriya Mulnivasi Bahujan Karmchari Sangh, BahujanWood, Dalit Dastak, Samaantara Bharat TV etc.
While one works for the movement, one can note that it is important to quickly react to few pressing issues like atrocity etc but it is important to understand ACTION is more important than REACTION. Below is why?
It is great to see that all ambedkarites in America across religions, regions, castes, class, languages are united in any major activity that is undertaken. It is important to remember that All for One and One for All is the Ambedkarite Way!
