EMULATING DR. AMBEDKAR:
THINK, SPEAK, WRITE AND ARGUE LIKE BABASAHEB
Most of us would not hesitate to presume that the thinking language of Dr. Ambedkar was English. Besides his towering intellect and eminent leadership, his mastery in English was an important force wielding which he was able to win rights for the Depressed Classes (i.e the Unmarriageables). ‘Emulating Dr. Ambedkar’ is an attempt to celebrate his command over this vocabulary-rich beautiful language which is dominant as ever in the international discourses.
In this compilation drawn from Volume 1, 5 and 9 of ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches’ (BAWS), even some simple sentences have been accommodated in order to enable the readers to hunt and equip themselves with the writing style of the learned Doctor. We need to consciously seek the alternate words preferred by Babasaheb in the place of mundane substitutes that we routinely use. It is desired that the readers not only imbibe the manner of usage of words so typical of Doctor but also draw lessons from his arguing style and submission of statements.
The remarks made by him while submitting his own arguments or while destroying the contention of his opponents are especially noteworthy. These remarks, on many instance, illuminates the structure and the nature of arguments made by him and others. Dr. Ambedkar also had the trait to alarm the audience or readers if his speeches or writings happened to be too long or tiring or straightforward or even harsh.
How he had used idioms and phrases is undoubtedly astounding. Some of his own phrases should be rightly construed as a warning or advice to the Unmarriageables. Though there is a separate book series titled ‘Mastering Babasaheb: Essential Thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar’ that has been made available to the readers, a glimpse of his thoughts are scattered in this compilation too.
Collection of words used by the Doctor is presented on the back cover of the book itself and in it there is a miniscule addition of words used by others but quoted in BAWS. This has been included to enable the readers to engage with BAWS effectively.
It is earnestly desired that this compilation would inspire the Unmarriageables not only to acquire mastery in English but to also inculcate it as their thinking language. .................... |
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MASTERING BABASAHEB:
ESSENTIAL THOUGHTS OF DR. AMBEDKAR A grand desire led to compiling ‘Mastering Babasaheb’. This book is intended to embrace not just the colossal admiration for Babasaheb but also the indomitable thoughts of the same learned Doctor. It is to make the people turn the entire pages of ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches’ (BAWS). To turn the pages first; to understand his thoughts next; and eventually to embrace his path after self-contemplation.
The first 17 Volumes of BAWS comes down to 13,930 (approx.) pages in total. The count includes the cover, frontispiece, endpaper, and text. With a daily reading of 40 pages one can complete the collected works of Babasaheb in 1 year. It means taking 6 to 10 minutes to flip each page and a dedicated reading of 4 to 6.5 hours accordingly.
This book series is essentially for those who are staggered by the aforesaid calculations. A middle path of condensing BAWS and at the same time ensuring that the Compendium does not leaves out any of his essential thoughts was followed.
It is possible to limit the selected writings and speeches of Babasaheb to a single book. Such attempts have already been effectively accomplished by many. But still such compilations have compelled the editors to leave out the corpus of high standard of arguments placed by Dr. Ambedkar on various subjects. Hence, it was decided not to pick and choose among his best. Rather a stern approach of sequencing all his thoughts and arguments as it appears in each Volume of BAWS was employed and this had inevitably led to a book series. However, intrusion can be found in one aspect and that is shuffling the order of the 17 Volumes while compiling. This had been done keeping one eye on the precedence while presenting his works and the other eye on the theme. As a result, this volume which is the first of ‘Mastering Babasaheb’ is a compilation of Volume 1, 5 and 9 of BAWS respectively.
It should be borne in mind that the polemical tone that can be traced in Volume 9 is founded upon adequate arguments and hard to be successfully refuted if one goes through the Volume completely.
While ‘Mastering Babasaheb’ would acquaint the readers with the complete works of Dr. Ambedkar it is earnestly hoped that this compilation would hold the people and lead them to that grand desire of turning the entire pages of ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches’- to turn the pages first; to understand his thoughts next; and eventually to embrace his path after self-contemplation. .................... |
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SOCIAL TORIES AND POLITICAL RADICALS
AN EXPOSITION OF OUR PATRIOTS Dr. Ambedkar in his written statement before the Southborough Committee made the following submission:
“… it must never be forgotten that the Congress is largely composed of men who are by design political Radicals and social Tories. Their chant is that the social and the political are two distinct things having no bearing on each other. To them the social and the political are two suits and can be worn one at a time as the season demands. Such a psychology has to be laughed at because it is too interested to be seriously taken into consideration either for acceptance or for rejection. As it pays to believe in it, it will die a hard death.”
‘Social Tories and Political Radicals’ is a compilation of selected extracts from Volume 9, 5 and 1 of BAWS (Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches) casting lights on the attitude of the Indian leaders towards the Untouchables and the problems of caste.
Volume 9’s ‘What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables’ intended by Dr. Ambedkar as a complete compendium of information regarding the movement of the Untouchables for political safeguards predominates the extracts selected for this book. From this compendium, the parts dealing the prominent patriots and the Congress party are separated and compiled in this book while the essential thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar are presented in another book series titled ‘Mastering Babasaheb’.
Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, Lala Lajpat Rai, Rajagopalachari, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Dadabhai Naoroji, Budruddin Tyabji, W.C. Bannerjee, Surrendranath Bannerjee and M.C. Rajah are exclusively dealt with in this book. .................... |
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UNCASTE
UNDERSTANDING UNMARRIAGEABILITY: THE WAY FORWARD TO ANNIHILATE CASTE 'Uncaste' is the stellar outcome of the Author A.B. Karl Marx Siddharthar's 8 years of patient and persistent research on India's Caste System and the mystery of how it survives. The book is stellar not only in the sense of decoding the sustaining mechanism of Caste but also in constructing a clear pathway to annihilate it. Hence, what begins as a scholarly exposition passionately progresses in issuing a manifesto to perish the Caste System.
By completely tilting the perspective of the readers and compelling them to look at the caste system through the institution of marriage and family, 'Uncaste' succeeds in prickling the most progressive minds that deceive to be Casteless.
The stigma of Unmarriageability expounded by the Author glaringly challenges the intellectual acumen of the Sociologists and Scholars in rightly studying the system of Caste. Academicians are forced to enter into the bloated vacuum that they have so far bypassed in their study. And, Law-makers are cornered to bring in Abolition of Caste into the Constitution.
For the Young generation that yearns for an ideal society but casually overlooks the stains of discrimination that it makes, this book means a spearhead into their conscience.
Close to 80,000 words in total, two chapters of this book have already found its place in International Journals. .................... |
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SOCIAL TORIES AND POLITICAL RADICALS |
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IRUDHI ECHCHARIKKAI (TAMIL)
THE LAST WARNING Presented as ‘The Last Warning’, this book will undoubtedly force the present generation towards self-contemplation and self-criticism. They are sure to be amazed by the elderly Buddhists, Ambedkarites and Periyarists who are now octogenarian or nonagenarian but still alive and kicking, far better than their children and grandchildren.
The Author, Dr. M. Kanniappan completed his schooling while staying in the Buddhist Hostel during the 1920s and 30s. He began his career as a Teacher and served as the Head Master of various government schools before retiring in 1989.
Fortunate enough to be guided by the teachings of Buddha, Dr. Ambedkar and Periyar from his early days, he dedicated his life to spreading their messages and principles among the Depressed Classes.
This Book is a compendium of the intellectual dialogues that he, spanning for more than 50 years, presented to the masses in the language and forms receptive to them. It brings into life the stupendous work of a Man who relentlessly ignited the Ghettos- the Untouchable Colonies of Tamil Nadu as a Buddhist, Ambedkarist and Periyarist.
“ஆத்திக மூடர்களாய் வாழும் தன் மனைவி, பிள்ளைகள், பேத்திகள், பேரன்கள் மற்றும் இவர்களைப் போன்ற மனிதர்கள் படித்து சிந்திக்க…” என்பது இந்நூலை பற்றிய நூலாசிரியரின் குறிப்பு ஆகும்!
1920-30 களிலேயே பௌத்த விடுதியில் தங்கி தனது கல்வியை பயின்று ஆசிரியராக பணியில் அமர்ந்து 1989ல் தலைமை ஆசிரியராக ஓய்வு பெற்றவர் ஆசிரியர் டாக்டர்.மு. கன்னியப்பன் அவர்கள்.
இளம் வயதிலேயே புத்தர், டாக்டர் அம்பேத்கர் மற்றும் பெரியாரின் கோட்பாடுகளை நோக்கி பயணிக்க துவங்கி, 50 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு மேலாக தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட மக்களுக்கு மத்தியில் அறிவு பிரச்சாரம் செய்தவர் .
தான் வாழ்ந்த நாட்களில் பாமர மக்களுக்கு எளிதாக விளங்கும் வகையில் பகுத்தறிவு கருத்துக்களை சென்றடைய செய்தார். தெருத்தெருவாகவும், ஊர் ஊராகவும், கால் நடையாய் சென்று மேற்கொண்ட அப்பிரச்சாரங்களின் தொகுப்பே 'இறுதி எச்சரிக்கை' என்ற இந்நூல் .
80, 90 வயதினை கடந்தும் சிறுபிள்ளைகளின் உற்ச்சாகத்தில் சமூகப்பணிகளை ஆற்றிக்கொண்டிருக்கும் பௌத்தர்கள், அம்பேத்கர்வாதிகள் மற்றும் பெரியார்வாதிகளின் எண்ண ஓட்டங்களும், எழுத்தின் ஆழமும், பேச்சின் வசீகரமும் கண்டு இன்றைய இளைய தலைமுறை வியந்து தன்னைத்தானே சுய விமர்சனம் செய்துக்கொள்ளும் என்பதில் ஐயமில்லை. |
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