Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) Railway porters
in their trademark red uniform, Hindu holy men
in saffron robes,
social activists, large numbers from the middle
class...all joined hands here as spiritual guru
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar launched a campaign to
end centuries of discrimination against Dalits.
Leaders of several social groups from within
the Hindu community, the Dalits included, were
among the 4,000 who gathered at the open air
theatre in Pragati Maidan here Friday evening
and took a pledge to end the caste divide that
Ravi Shankar warned would harm India's progress
in the long run.
A seven-point action plan that Ravi Shankar
unveiled at the meeting and which the thousands
of men and women accepted with their right hands
outstretched included an immediate end to the
ban on the entry of Dalits into Hindu temples
in parts of India.
The other aspects of the "action plan"
are ending the practice of keeping separate
utensils for the use of Dalits in eateries and
also providing religious and spiritual education
to Dalit children.
"The anger of the past should not engulf
us and divide the country. The fear and communication
gap between communities is what is keeping us
apart," he said in a brief address, first
in English and then in Hindi. "We must
accept the reality and reconcile the differences.
"What we have started today will resonate
across the country and unite the people. When
leaders come together and take a vow, the people
will follow them," he added. "My main
concern is how to bring people together."
The organisers pointed out that months of
painstaking hard work had gone into the conference,
with Ravi Shankar - whose Art of Living Foundation
has millions of followers across the world -
reaching out to the leaders and activists of
a wide variety of social groups in the Hindu
fold.
Present at the "Truth and Reconciliation
Conference" were representatives of the
Bhumihar, Valmiki, Brahmin, Dalit, Gujjar, Vanniar,
Kayastha, Kshatriya, Kurmi, Mahar, Majhabi,
Marwari, Meena, Mushar, Paswan, Raigar, Rajput,
Thakur, Thevar, Pasi, Mala, Vaish, Valmiki,
Verma and Yadav communities.
Ravi Shankar pointed out that many were unaware
that Dalits had contributed immensely in the
development of Hindu scriptures.
"Historically, many of the revered rishis
were Dalits. The authors of the Ramayana and
Mahabharata, Maharishis Valmiki and Vyas respectively,
were Dalits. The narrator of the Puranas, Soot
Maharishi, was a Dalit...We need to make the
people realise that discrimination is not sanctioned
by religion."
Despite legislation making discrimination
against Dalits a crime, the offence continues
in large parts of India. Many young Dalits have
today joined the ranks of Maoists in sheer disgust,
convinced that mainstream India does not care
for them.
Speaker after speaker at the conference praised
Ravi Shankar for his initiative and promised
to spread the "action plan" in their
areas of influence.
But Udit Raj, a civil servant-turned-social
activist, cautioned that it would need more
than a public pledge to end caste discrimination.
"The fact is that the Dalit community
to which I belong has no representation in the
capital market, in the share market. There is
hardly any Dalit among the leading journalists
in this country. Can I forget all that?"
he
said, describing the state of a community that
for centuries was considered "untouchable"
by high caste Hindus and made to do demeaning
work.
"The wound goes very deep," Udit
Raj said. "The media calls me a Dalit leader.
Why? Do they call Atal Bihari Vajpayee a Brahmin
leader? Do they call L.K. Advani a Sindhi leader?
"India cannot be a superpower unless
caste discrimination does not end. I see so
many (middle class) volunteers from the so-called
upper castes here. But will they attend my rallies
too? They won't." He quickly added: "But
this is the beginning."
