“CLOSING DOWN DV” — A DEBATE

“CLOSING DOWN DV” — A DEBATE







Editor kept aloof from masses
 
JITENDRA JADHAV, FLAT NO.149, BLDG. NO.8, GIC STAFF QTRS., NEAR TATA POWER HOUSE, BORIVALI (E), BOMBAY - 400 066







I am DV member since one year. I feel it is my duty to share my views with a great Ambedkarite scholar like V.T. Rajshekar on “Closing down DV”. I have tried to find out the reasons behind the downfall of DV.


Various suggestions have been given by the DV members. All serious and intellectual members will remain with DV.


DV members are simply readers. At the most you have made them intellectuals through DV. They are not cadre-based or organized activists. So how can we expect from them a disciplined response?


Those who are only “educated” since 30 years, but not “organized”, are not ready to “agitate”, do not respond, do not react to any appeal that you made.


Our people don’t read even Mahatma Phule, Babasaheb, Periyar. How can we expect them to read your books for deeper study?


I don’t agree with your interpretation of Babasaheb and Kanshi Ram’s mass movement. There is vast difference between running a media and building mass movement. Various organizations and scholars pretend that they are the only Ambedkarites but they don’t have any programme, agenda, action plan, cadre-based organization to fulfil Babasaheb’s dream.


Politics is must: The Sangha established by Budha, Satya Shodhak Movement of Mahatma Phule, Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha, Independent Labour Party, All India Scheduled Caste Federation of Babasaheb, Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy’s Dravida Kazagham (DK), Kanshi Ram’s BAMCEF, DS4 and BSP are all mass movements fought for Bahujana, which did large-scale awakening and agitation for liberation of masses but VTR remained aloof from masses since last 30 years.


How can we discard politics from social and cultural life? Are they not co-related, and influence each other? Kanshi Ram did not jump into politics all of a sudden but it was a journey from the working class union to the social movement and to the political movement.


VTR no doubt provided an intellectual platform where the people can collectively analyse and articulate relevant issues and problems. But this forum is not united, organized to solve the problems or march towards the goal of Phule-Ambedkarite ideology of building Mulniwasi Bharat Rashtra. Yes, we have our media but where is the movement? After 30 years of work, you haven’t organized a single activist who will accompany you towards achieving the goal. They have just become a devotee and a devotee can’t be revolutionary.






Educated are unreliable: Masses respond only to charity (god) and mass leader (revolutionary), for their liberation. The words of intellectuals, scholars do not appeal them. A missionary never fails. Casteism is a mental slavery. The slave tries to defend and protect it. Bahujans out of their ignorance cling strengthen and preserve the very system which degrades them. The so-called educated people are not “socially educated”, hence they continue to be the same.






The Editor is aware of the history that the educated people are unreliable. Still you have wasted your 30 yeas in awakening these 3%. Why? Instead of that why didn’t you go direct to masses and start working for them?






Media centre: The Editor has been emphasizing on “media centre” in Delhi which is the only hope for revolution in India. Otherwise, you predicted there will be final “Sunset on the Dalit world”. Closing down DV and death of DV means the slow death of India. Ambedkarite movement is the movement of equality, liberty and fraternity against the inhuman system of inequality, injustice, discrimination based on the casteism (racism).






The magnitude of the problem is so serious that the efforts are highly inadequate. A media can definitely contribute in association with a nationwide Bahujan movement.






But how can only a print media bring about revolution? It is like thinking of winning a war on paper without fighting. What is needed is movement.


Dalit Voice is the fearless Ambedkarite journal which has national and international circulation. It should organize national and international Dalit intellectuals to fulfill Dr. Babasaheb’s mission. DV can be like the RSS, an ideologue and strategy-determining centre of power of Brahmins. We (DV family) can form such a centralized non-political organization to propagate Dr. Babasaheb’s mission of humanity, with a vision of forming Bahujan India.






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