We are having a party in the slums of Maharashtra tonight, April 14. It's got everything that you can think of in a rollicking bash. There are DJs spinning awesome dance beats, remixing everything from matkajhatka numbers to lawanis with bits of angrezi lines thrown in and the adrenaline is rushing out in blaring pulses through huge black speakers. Our women have coloured their lips, dabbed their faces with powder, put flowers in their hair and turned out in the best dress from their trunks. If they look cheap, then you have noted correctly. The dresses and the make-up were bought in a low-end bazaar at places that hold defective dress sales. They had saved this dress from many temptations gone by just for this special day.
Our children too have been dolled up in even cheaper frilly synthetic dresses and the talcum powder stands out on their dark-skinned faces. As for our men, they have a bit of cheap liquor in their breath and are dying to let loose and dance like mad men. Our rowdy young boys were never really known for their decency and hence have thrown all care to the winds and are dancing like clowns while our young girls look at them coyly and giggle from some distance.
Many of our homes will be cooking beef; it's far cheaper than mutton and chicken so frankly we can't afford to care about your religious sentiments. In fact, if you look at us everything about is low on price, save the million-dollar smiles on our face today.
What's the occasion? It's the 14th of April and we are celebrating Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar's birthday.
I know you dislike us and everything we are doing. But today is our day and you must simply endure us. And why not, I say? We put up with everything you do every single day, and have been doing so from time immemorial, so save us that look for today. You turn up your pretty noses at the stench of our slums when you pass by. Have you ever realised that the stench is because we live beside a gutter that carries the shit out of your clean houses? Tonight, we dance free from the straitjackets of your decency – which we of all people know is bloody fake because remember we work in your homes silently and see all your dirt all the while.
Tonight, we dance because it's the birthday of the man who showed us clearly that we were human beings. He didn't simply rename us and soothe your guilt by being euphemistic. He actually told us we were humans who had the right to dream and the right to be happy. We know you find us dirty, ugly, ignorant and wretched. But he showed us we were dirty because you took away our clothes and our water, ugly and undeveloped because you took away our food and left us to eat the rotting things, ignorant because you wrote books in languages we did not know and you wouldn't let us be taught and we were wretched because slaves are always that. And from then on we worked at stopping to be dirty, ugly, ignorant and wretched. Of course, most of us are still all of that but that's because you have had a few centuries of head start and even now you'd do everything in your power to stop us — including buying some of us out.
We know we are dancing in the middle of the road and your car is held up in the traffic. Don't swear like you own the road! What makes you think the road belongs exclusively to you? Why should it? Because you drive home from glass covered buildings? Look around someday. For every car you drive, a score of us are walking by the side or have stuffed ourselves into buses and share autos. In fact, when the mud was dug and the tar as black as our skins was laid for your car to zoom smoothly, it was we who were here working in the sun and into the late night while you cursed the country's bad system in your imported style. Whether or not the road belongs to you is of little importance, the bigger truth is we belong to the road! Do you even know how many of us were born here? Or how many of us eat, sleep, love, have families and live out our entire lives here on the roads? And yet you think you have the right of way?
And by all means we will dance, drunk and ugly, on the road. We could never go to the places your spoilt brats go to do their drunk and ugly dancing, could we? What you pay as tip is what we spend for food for an entire day! Even otherwise, the only way we go into those places where your kids act out their orgies is when we stand in the toilets waiting to clean up after them. So we will dance on the road. Think of it, when we are drunk and dancing and out on the road, we merely hold up your car. But when you have done your drinking and dancing and are out on the roads, you bloody drive your cars onto us and smash us into the pavements. That should set the record straight about who is more dangerous when drunk.
Even though we know will be back to working for you tomorrow, underpaid, abused and putting up with your acting as though you carry the world on your shoulders, tonight we celebrate. Clearly, you have two options. Sit in your cars and curse us, or join The Party.
(The writer's email is siddharthyaroy@gmail.com)
Keywords: Dr. Ambedkar's birthday, caste, equality, discrimination
Roy's article is poignant. His sarcastic remarks will prick the conscience of the elites in India. The elites in India do not care for the dalits. They continue to ask the same old question raised by Cain 'Am I brother's keeper'? When will they keep their brothers?
Mr.Ambedkar was no doubt a great man who single handedly gave millions the hope to live and prosper in a society that deprived them of even the most basic needs. However i feel that it most conveniently forgotten that he was a learned man and that throughout his life he preached the philosophy that knowledge is the only true road to personal progress. There are many avenues that our constitution gives to the less privileged to enable them to study and prosper as successful members of our society. However it is quite evident that these measures have not proved as effective as they were originally intended. This is because only a fraction of the population that these measures were intended for are actually aware of them. The bulk of the masses are kept aloof by our so called 'Dalit savior politicians' so their votes can be swayed by cheap and communally sensitive statements made during elections.
Also, we have come to point where we are admitting students in our most prestigious educational institutions at lesser merit than the rest of the applicants. We have thus actually lowered the bar for such students to get in instead of making them capable of being at par with everybody. But will this really help?? Will the special sets reserved for the under privileged really help them to come up and grow out of their age old restraints?? I dont think so, by giving special concessions we are actually driving in the fact that the under-privileged can succeed only when given a special(some may call unfair) advantage over the competition. I dont think this is the way any person with self respect and dignity will want to succeed in life. As for the 14th of April processions, any educated person no matter what cast or creed he belongs to will justify the total contempt for civilized behavior exhibited during these processions. Justifying such behavior by giving excuses that glorify the economic and social divides in our society is another form of making sure that the under-privileged stay where they are and blame the current society for all of their problems...this way we make sure that people who really want to prove themselves on merit and abilities have to tag along the line lead by a few lazy but powerful individuals who do not want people to grow cause then they wont have huge vote banks to sway by selling cheap excuses.
Good write up by Roy! Keep it up. And kudos to Hindu for getting this out. Hope to read more like this soon!
Reminds one of kancha illaih's anger in why I am not a hindu.
I was not surprised, but was amused to read the letters in the letters to the Editor columns that were critical of the essay 'Ambedkar Party' in respect of the 'way of celebrating' Dr Ambedkar's birthday. One of them even went to the extent of saying that '...it is certainly not the way Dr. Ambedkar would have liked his birth anniversary to be celebrated.' But the society could continue to behave the way Dr Ambedkar would not have liked it to! Tens of thousands of people at the lowest strata continue to be deployed in manual scavenging. Day in and day out, dalits are subjected to physical, emotional and mental torture. Dalit women are faced with unexplainable kind of sexual harassment in some corner or the other in the country every hour. No issues at all for the elitist mindset that has learnt to levy the blame for women's enslavement on the women, the social status of the dalits on their fate, etc.,
The utter casteist perspective is beset in the RNA and DNA of the people it seems. Hence the restlessness, intemperance and the aversion exhibited on the growing assertiveness of the hitherto oppressed sections of the society. The idea of the author of the open page article must have been to provoke a discussion on the undying phenomenon of untouchability which however eludes those who find fault with the presentation.Siddharthya Swapan Roy's assertive tone demands passionate reading and dispassionate rereading of the casteist practices going on for centuries in our Nation. His essay instantly reminded me Khairlanji and Thinniyam episodes that continue to haunt our conscience as telling examples of outright injustice to Dalits. We witness very customary and ritualistic remembrance of Dr.Ambedkar every 14th April and 6th December, his birth and death anniversaries respectively, by the socio-political system and witness gruesome and daring attacks against Dalits, physical, emotional and mental - day in and day out. It is not a cult or blunt iconisation that Dr Ambedkar's name evokes instant energisation to mass of oppressed people, it is intertwined into their blood that boils at every instance of undergoing subjugation and humiliation. The modern civil society cannot be burdened with this any longer and progressive outlook shall prevail sooner than later.
I am just amazed by the article!It is so much in your face that it compels every reader to pause and think it over. For years I have been witnessing all these processions ...sometimes on screen, some other time as a part anxiously waiting traffic. I always believed that 'they' too have right to express themselves so let them be!But used to wonder, not always, at times.. how blaring music and drunk dancing will realise Ambedkar's dream of a nation with equality and social justice. Thanks for making it understandable.
Although I Agree that the middle and rich class of this land have been very very unfair and their behaviour is still pathetic towards some so called lower castes, I simply do not get why a drunken party and celebrations which amount to nothing are justifiable! This is akin to justifying corruption and crime by average citizens simply because our dear politicians are indulging in the same activities... I sincerely do not think that a man like Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, who is no doubt one of the most intelligent and far-sighted men this country has produced, but I do not think that Dr Ambedkar would have been what he is if he would have drank and danced on the roads! I also do not think that public functions which waste money on fireworks and concerts has anything to do with the identity or rights of the lower castes... why not initiate better, more long-lasting activities on the birth anniversary of this stalwart instead of wasting it on parties? Although I say this in context to the Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations now, I would like to extend this advice to every mindless celebration, for upper, lower and middle classes... spend this time and money on something better! follow Dr Ambedkar's ideals, work on their upliftment.... and this is something which the leaders of these communities should do!
Finally, I agree that human minds and hearts will bear anger towards people who have oppressed their predecessors, however, partying and blocking their cars is hardly a way of protest, beat them at their own game and pull yourself up! become equal to them as much as you can, and if one Dr Ambedkar was within you, there must be many others who have that calibre..The article is, I believe a venting of emotions against an age-old tradition, however, justifying a jingoistic celebration, without thinking ahead of how to bring up the community, is hardly something one can call prudent and visionary! a good set of words, but carrying and expressing at best, a short-sighted vision of resisting oppression and injustice!
Very nice article. Good job. Meanwhile for those of you who question reservations in education and jobs for the Dalits. What do they have to say about the 100% reservations to Brahmins with respect to education to prepare them to be priests and also the job of priesthood. From Birth to death and beyond dakshinas are given day in and day out and the only eligible person to receive them are the Brahmins! And this is so not just in India. It is so anywhere a Hindu temple exists. In India Supreme court outrageously said only Brahmins can be priests but I wonder what would happen if a fair employment law suite is brought against them in countries like US and UK.
A very fine article. A good eye opener for the people who are still day- dreaming that casteism was centuries ago in this country. Just we should ask oneself that how many intercaste marriages are accepted easily around us or how many people will say that intercaste marriage is totally accepted in our family. It’s very much still in our mind. and many a times shows off in our words and deeds.
This article makes for wonderful reading. Roy shows sensitivity to the emotions of the people living in the slums and gives them the respect which I think should be given to everybody irrespective of their monetary condition. But he does all of this in a language that is outspoken and irreverent. The contrast makes the article a wonderful piece. Thanks to 'The Hindu' for getting such a piece out!
Those who play politics of caste have no interest in welfare of poor people even within their caste. Such propaganda is often used by elites to fool poor people and gain votes so that they could get or maintain seats reserved for their children and themselves.They asked for reservations so that Dalits could be uplifted but its mainly elite section within Dalits that get advantage of such policies and poor dalit remains where he was at the time of Independence. 'Your' children take advantage of reservations to enter into colleges and get into jobs with minimal studies, they play with i-pods,i-pads (and what not) in the colleges whereas a poor guy ,no matter whether he is a dalit or or belongs to so-called 'upper-caste' stands at the gates of the colleges dreaming and studying hard to get in. This propaganda is similar to Nazi anti-semitic propaganda and deserves worst criticism.Nazis targetted Jews this article targets the so-called 'upper-castes'. A nation can only progress if there is a feeling of unity and we all forget about artificial divisions of caste,etc. but unfortunately some people with vested interests don't want this to happen and want common people to remember their 'caste' so that they could play divisive politics.This article is a part of such attempt.
Nicely written article. But what I find particularly amusing is how this is written in the language of the 'upper classes'. You have written this article in the first person but I wonder how many people would have taken this seriously had it been written by an actual slum dweller? This is a very interesting mutual admiration society. People of the 'upper classes' write about the 'lower classes' (in first person, here!) and other people of the same 'upper class' educated enough (English education, of course!) to read the article admire the political understanding (which is taught and learnt in English almost exclusively) and the writing style of the writer. This is irony at its best.
I'm Graham from Sweden and am a doing my doctorate in Dalit literature. I was sent this link by a friend from Chennai. I must say I'm very impressed by the openness with which Roy has voiced his support for the celebrations of the Dalit people during Dr Ambedkar's birthday. His style of writing is similar to other famous Dalit writers in which they use a certain amount of aggressiveness in speaking for their people. It is good to know that the style is still being used.This is great reading. Thanks!
Graham Stenor
The author of 'Worshipping False Gods' will not be amused! But this sort of style also reveals sarcasm, and difficulty of the elites to stomach visibility of the opposite views!
Wonderful article. Excepting for such more. So outspoken and honest in words - clearly expressed slum dwellers emotions. Thanks Roy. Keep going.
Very frank and commendable article. Roy has done a good job; Though depicting the wild, brash and joyous attitude of the slum dwellers is true, however I wish he could have also written about how some of the educated Buddhists celebrate Dr. Ambedkar jayanti in an intellectual manner. The article perceives that all Ambedkarites are slum dwellers.
Hey Roy: Too good man. Sunetra has put it right. I do not want to add anything more to it. However if more of such articles come to show that indeed it is the human being that matters and not the caste or creet one carries. Now that Buddhists are declared a minority, it is important that the lower in the caste system of the Hindus break out of these shackles, soon or Hinduisim gives up the caste system. More over more and more Buddhists now will be denying THE RESERVATIONS; 1 - Since they have enabled themselves so that reservations are no longer required, 2 - let others who have still not been able to enable themselves continue for some more time.
This was reiterated by Adv Prakash Ambedkar at an open conference held in Mumbai few days ago.But this is also a fitting reply.
An honest article and so well written,read something so full of reality.Good job Mr Roy!!
Fantastic article by Roy. It has been a long time since I had read something so outspoken and frank in defence of the slum dwellers. He has rightly expressed his anger against the superiority which the rich people express over the slum dwellers.
I am glad to know that we still have amongst us writers who are wiling to hold the pen for the other side. Of course that is not to say that others do not, especially since The Hindu has a great tradition of being frank and honest, but every new article is welcome. There are never too many! I hope we read more from Roy soon.
This ought to be read around the world. Thank you for a fine article.
A Very Good Article! Enjoyed reading it thoroughly!
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