Left: Rahul Balley, Mr & Mrs Harjinder Mall, Mr LR Balley, Mr Paramjit Kainth and Mr BR Bhardwaj
By – Rahul Balley, Senior Journalist and Media Columnist
Ambedkarites International Co-ordination Society (AICS) Canada and Ambedkar International Mission(AIM) organized three days(1,2,3 Feb 2019) Ist Dr. B.R. Ambedkar International Conference at Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall, Jalandhar(Punjab) under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Mr. Harjinder and Mrs. Chanchal Mall currently living in Calgary, Canada. Paramjit Kainth, an executive member of the AICS also participated in the conference. The theme of the conference was: Youth and Women Empowerment: Development and Equality.
Former Chief Justice of India, Government of India Shri KG Balakrishnan was the Chief Guest at the said conference.
The conference was graced by a Buddhist monk Sangha who began the conference with Buddha Vandana. The lighting of the lamp ceremony was attended by NRI participants
Mr. Paramjit Kainth, an executive member of AICS, Canada apprised the participants about the aims and objectives of AICS is to spread the mission of Baba Saheb Ambedkar throughout the world. Our focus to spread education among the children of weaker sections of the society; for that, we have been supporting poor and needy children in the state of Punjab to enhance their education career, he said.
On the second of the conference Mrs. Chanchal Mall, addressed the women session starting with Buddha Vandana. In her address, she said, “I am a little bit upset to know that Dalit women are not taking the active role in the Dalit movement. There is a need to educate girl child to promote education especially among the weaker sections of the society. Dalit women should come forward to take the leading role in spreading the message of Boddhisattva Baba Sahib Ambedkar from door to door; remember one thing all Dalits men and women can attain spiritual salvation only in the social philosophy of Baba Sahib Dr. BR Ambedkar, there is no icon of Dalits other than Baba Saheb Ambedkar; there is no religion except Buddhism, she said.
Mr. Anand Balley, an executive member of AICS could not participate due to professional engagements. His message for the success of the conference was delivered electronically to the participants.
In his speech, Shri L. R. Balley, Editor Bheem Patrika, a veteran Dalit activists and a staunch Buddhist and Trustee of Ambedkar Bhawan Trust, Jalandhar who has the blessings of Tathagata Gautama Buddha to meet and work with Boddhisattva Baba Sahib Dr BR Ambedkar said: “I congratulate Mr Harjinder and Mrs. Chanchal Mall and Mr. Paramjit Kainth, the team of AICS to organize such an important international conference in the state of Punjab. They deserve huge appreciation for their hard-work This conference has stirred the minds of the people and has revived the Dalit movement in the state of Punjab.
Prof. GC Kaul, Social Activist & trustee of Ambedkar Bhawan Trust, Jalandhar said, “This first conference delivered a clear and loud message to the respective governments that no one shall be allowed to play with the constitution of India. The organizers emphasized the quality education of children belonging to the marginalized sections of the society. This step on the part of the AICS and AIM is appreciated hugely to educate the people of India to fight for their rights which are enshrined in the Constitution of India.
Mr. Sandeep Tamsande, IPS currently posted in Kohima, Nagaland said, “Education is the only powerful tool with the help of which children of the weaker sections of the society can uplift themselves socially and economically. While narrating his own life story he said, “I belong to a poor family but I became an IPS because of Baba Saheb Ambedkar`s constitution”. Every Dalit parent must send his or her child to the school, he said. He also offered his voluntary services to promote education among the Dalit children in any part of the country.
Dr. Vaishali S.T. Pradhan, Principal Milind College of Arts, Aurangabad, it is very important to educate women in rural areas. The active involvement of youths especially from the weaker sections of the society should be increased, she said.
Dr. A.S Chahal, Associate Professor of Law, currently teaching Law subject at the Kurukshetra University, Haryana, the constitution of India is a supreme document. Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar enshrined the ideals of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity in the constitution of India to make India a secular country. Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar`s social and economic vision is to annihilate the caste system and remove economic disparity. There is an urgent need to promote the philosophy of Baba Saheb to protect the constitution of India as well the country, he said.
Mr. Jai Birdi, Founder of Chetna Association, Canada, the coordination among the various Dalit groups needs to be strengthened to consolidate Dalit presence. Baba Saheb Ambedkar emphasized on social democracy: liberty, equality & fraternity, there is a need to brace up social engineering to fulfill the mission of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, he said.
Mr. Hardev Sahai, a staunch Ambedkarite & Buddhist currently living in New York, Dalits must promote Ambedkar & Buddhist literature to spread the message of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Dalits must stop watching TV serial spreading superstition and fallacy, he said.
Mr. K.P Choudhary, Secretary General, Federation of SC/ST Employees Organisation, Dalits must not miss the train to achieve the target of mission 2019 by making Behn Mayawati the Prime Minister of India, he said.
Mr. S.L. Gindha, Chairman of Boddhisattva Ambedkar Public Sr. Sec School, Phoolpur(Dahnal), district Jalandhar and a founder member of Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Society, England & Dr. Ambedkar Centre, Southall, England, today our children are not getting quality of education. It is depressing to note that children are passed up to 9th standard without conducting exams. I believe this is a pre-mediated foul strategy of the Brahminical mindset to keep the Dalit children illiterate. There is a need to open up more school to educate Dalit children. I welcome honest and dedicated people to get associated with our school to fulfill the dream of Baba Saheb Ambedkar i.e. Educate, he said.
Mr. Pinder Pal currently living in USA, Chairman, Prabbudh Bharat Foundation, Punjab, Despite Punjab having 35 percent Scheduled Caste population, atrocities against the Dalit women are increasing day by day. There is a need to work at the grass root level to spread the message of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and unite the Dalits under one platform to achieve political power. Under the banner of Prabbudh Bharat Foundation, our team has been conducting exam on the life and philosophy of Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar to generate awareness among the Dalit youths about Dr. Ambedkar. Our foundation also selects the best and financial aid award to encourage the children, he said.
Mrs. Sumitri Devi, mother of Mr. Khusvinder from England spoke about the current situation of Dalit women in India. The government of India should strengthen the laws to protect poor Dalit women, she said.
Mr. Hemant Sutey of Ambedkar International Mission (AIM) spoke about the AIM and Late Shri Raju Kamble, founder of AIM.
The conference passed three resolutions: (1) to implement IV part of the constitution of India (2) to conduct exams after 5th standard and impart quality of education especially in the government school where the majority of the children of weaker sections of the society study (3) to start M.Phil/PhD scholarship for the Scheduled Caste students who desire to go abroad for studies.
The team of the Punjab Unit of AICS: Inderjit Kumar, Deepak Rasulpuri, Gurpreet Lalli, Harjinder Sonu, Rahul Balley, BR Bhardwaj, Varinder Kumar, advocate Bhati, All India Samata Sainik Dal, Punjab Unit & the team. The trustees of Dr. Ambedkar Bhawan Trust, Jalandhar extended huge support to the conference. A team of students studying law under Inderjit Kumar, Law faculty deserve huge appreciation for their contribution to the conference. There was huge moral support from Dalit Diaspora residing in England, Germany, Spain, Greece, USA, Canada, Kuwait, Dubai, Japan, and Malaysia.
The conference was covered by Budha TV, Kanshi TV, Jai Bheem TV, GNN New Delhi, Bhujan News Panchkula, National Dastak, New Delhi, Fan Ambedkar TV, Ambedkar Channel Ludhiana, and Valmiki TV Ludhiana.
A souvenir was also released during the conference. Special and appreciation Awards were distributed among the speakers. The Conference was a great success.
