– Kanshi Ram
The Oppressed Indian was a monthly journal started by Kanshi Ram in April 1979. We have reproduced an excerpt from the editorial written by him for the inaugural issue. The logic of the initiative and the problems it sought to alleviate constitute the editorial and make for illuminating reading.
Editors (Media Broadsheet)
Having a news service run by ourselves was the urgent need felt by Kanshi Ram. This was because the existing media was reporting on was happening in a casual manner, especially on atrocities, inhuman insults and injuries while the educated among us were groping in darkness without being fully informed.
Manohar Atey,
Editor of the compilation, Editorials of Kanshi Ram.
The backward classes (SC, ST, OBC) constitute more than 2/3 of India’s population and the conventional minorities another 17.2%. Even amongst the backward classes the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes form the hard core of India’s backwardness. All these people of the backward and minority communities, who form about 85% of India’s population, have little share in the news service of the nation. News regarding them or pertaining to their pressing problems appear in the press in a casual manner. Youth, students, farmers, workers, educated employees, and even leaders of these communities keep groping in the dark and struggling without being fully informed.
Atrocities on the oppressed
The scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes are subjected to such inhuman insults, injuries and atrocities that one is inclined to feel that they have taken birth in this land just to endure them. It is a well-known, recognized and admitted fact that whatever appears in the press is only a tip of the iceberg and the bulk remains hidden beneath the cool, cold and calculated designs of the establishment and the ruling classes.
The compiled figures of such atrocities during the Nehru and Indira era are simply shocking. The nature and gravity of the crimes committed on these helpless and oppressed Indians throughout the length and breadth of the country is so well-known by now that it needs no new mention. The instances and the gravity of crimes committed against the oppressed Indians during the last two years of the Janata Raj indicate that the Janata Raj is bent upon surpassing the 30 years Congress score within 3 years. Looking at the instances from Belchi in the North to Belapuram in the South, the ‘quota’ for the scheduled caste appears to have been already completed. Bihar has become a burning and boiling pot for the tribals. Past performance of the caste Hindus in committing murder and rape on the helpless tribals in the Purnea district of Bihar has already paled into insignificance by the current happenings in Santhal Parganas. Insult to injury has been added by the mass rapes committed on tribal women by the Central Reserve Police and Bihar Military Police at Beldiha Village on Dec. 31st, 1978. In the past such outrages were the pressure of the feudal lords and the Mahajans who are the chief exploiters in the tribal areas.
The caste Hindu monopoly of the press gives only sketchy news about the outrages and the atrocities committed on the oppressed Indians. The aftermath and the actions taken, if any, are not given publicity by the caste Hindu press. The real fact is that in most of the cases the offenders are lightly penalized or go scot free. This could be remedied by a vigilant and up to date news service armed and operated by the oppressed Indians themselves creating proper public opinion.
Insults to the Elitists
Even the elitist’s among the untouchables are not spared. They keep on undergoing various forms of insults and humiliations on their day to day otherwise affluent life. The following two incidents from Gujarat will prove the points:
A caste Hindu woman at Jamnagar refused to get operated when she came to know that the surgeon who was to operate on her was an untouchable. She was actually brought to the operation theatre. Even then she preferred to invite death rather than be touched by an untouchable. Narrating this incident the then Gujarat Governor Shriman Narayan said that a highly qualified Harijan Youth was refused a job in a college in Ahmedabad after being selected when the authorities came to know his community.
Nothing is known about what happened later to these highly qualified untouchables. What action, if any, was taken against those who violate the Untouchability Offences Act as narrated by Governor? Possibly and most likely these highly qualified—and highly offended—untouchables kept suffering in isolation. But a news service owned and operated by the oppressed Indians would have helped them to maintain wider touch with other such highly qualified and humiliated untouchables. Thereby their common efforts could have been a great help in redressing their grievances, in punishing the offenders and as a by-product, shaping the future of the untouchables.
Untouchables’ effort and News Black out
Members of the oppressed and the exploited community are making efforts to fight injustice and to improve their lot almost all over the country. But all these efforts are blacked out by the caste Hindu press. Whatever efforts we make in Delhi are not normally known to our brethren at such close places as Agra or Ambala—not to speak of distant places in all corners of the country.
On December 6th, 1968, a widely attended Adi Andhra Convention was called at Hyderabad. But news was so heavily blacked out that we came to know about it a few years later—and that too though a pamphlet produced by the oppressed Indians themselves. In that Adi Andhra Convention, a call was given for an All India Conference of SC, ST communities to be held either at Hyderabad or at New Delhi. But the people outside Hyderabad did not know about that call and the proposed (and much needed) conference never materialised.
During 1964-65, the people of backward communities across India agitated through the Republican Party of India to express their grievances and get their due. Even though more than 3 lakh people courted arrest the caste Hindu press gave little news.
Shri Elia Perumal and many others are making strenuous efforts in the South to secure justice for the oppressed Indians. But their work is getting very little publicity. Shri Perumal got enough publicity when govt. appointed a committee and made him a chairman of that committee, but after the release of that report, Shri Perumal’s efforts are completely blacked out because the report exposed the Caste Hindus and their Governments–-both at the Centre and the States.
All such efforts of the oppressed Indians made throughout the length and breadth of the country would have resulted in a solid organization, but the blacking out of the news keeps them isolated and in the dark. An efficient news service owned and operated by the oppressed Indians would have removed such darkness and ended isolation.
[….]Persecution of the Minorities
A few days ago the Congress, Cong (I) and AIADMK members walked out of the Lok Sabha in protest against the persecution of Minorities. Every now and then we have been hearing through pamphlets and leaflets, about the persecution of Christians in Arunachal Pradesh. The alleged demolition of churches and other places of worship over there, the murder of a priest in a cathedral, ransacking of a convent, looting, beating and alleged raping of the nuns and sisters in Bihar, this is the shocking news regarding the plight of Christians in India. The Scheduled Castes who have converted to Christianity have lost all their privileges. As if this was not enough the Tyagi Bill has been introduced in the parliament. The Bill, if passed, may become a permanent source of harassment of Christian priests. Rightly, the Christians have come in the streets everywhere in protest against the bill. On 29th March, 1979 more than one lakh Christians in Bombay protested against the Bill.
The plight of the Muslims, the largest minority, is still worse. The recent holocaust at Aligarh is an eye opener. Here again an alert and independent press of our own is necessary to expose the designs and actions of the offenders.
Let the co-sufferers come together to put an end to their suffering.
To resist the outrages and atrocities committed on the scheduled castes and tribes and to project their pressing problems, these peoples are struggling to build their own media in a small measure for news circulation among their own people. The minorities are also having their own media to project their own problems among their own people. Thus both the backward and the minority communities keep suffering and struggling in isolation. They do no have much appreciation of each other’s problems. The logic of the situation demands that they must learn to understand each other’s problems and co-operate with each other to put an end to their sufferings. Thus building of a common and combined news service of their own is a must for them. The earlier it is accomplished the better for all of them.
[….]Foreigners know us only through caste Hindu press
In this fast moving and shrinking world, the advanced countries take keen interest in the affairs of developing and underdeveloped countries. They view us as a next door neighbor and contribute to our development. Normally, aid comes to ameliorate the sufferings of the downtrodden. But our common experience is that foreign aid is rarely utilised for the needs of those it was meant for. Aid apart, foreigners do not know our complex caste-ridden social structure. It is quite essential that the world knows and understands us properly. Our own new service is essential for this purpose as well.
Ambedkarite Effort
Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar realized the importance of our own news service to ventilate the grievances of our people and to create public opinion in favour of speedy redress. He realized this some 60 years ago when there were no literate persons amongst the untouchables. At that time in 1920, he started a fortnightly and rightly named it ‘Mooknayak’, i.e., leader of the dumb. He started then ‘Bahishkrit Bharat’ (Untouchable India) in 1927, ‘Janata’ (The People) in 1930 and ‘Prabudha Bharat’ (Awakened India) in 1955. All these efforts indicate how he kept moving with the times starting from Mooknayak and advancing to Prabudha Bharat. And now we reached a stage where we should be in search of ‘Mooknayak’ again. What a mighty fall!
Need and Opportunity
All the instances indicated above suggest the pressing and immediate need for our own news service. As a result of this conscious or unconscious realization, many people make small efforts to fulfill the need. But the need is so much that all small efforts prove to be of no avail. It is like offering a loaf of bread to an awfully hungry person. Thus, a magazine here and a tabloid there will not do when the need is for a well planned broad-based and evenly spread network of news service though out the length and breadth of the country. Besides, the nature of the news should not be merely of the reporting and informative type. It must be of a constructive and probing type of news service.
Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar realised this about 50 years ago and to fulfill this great need he issued an appeal for massive donations as long back as November, 1931, when there were very limited opportunities. Today the need remains same, but the opportunities have multiplied manifold. 50 years ago there was hardly any education amongst the oppressed Indians. Today there are 4 lakh students in the colleges and more than 20 lakh educated are already gainfully employed in the public services. Emergence of this oppressed elite offers opportunities of our own readership, high class journalistic ability and above all our own capability to find the truth. It should be quite gratifying to know that about 2 lakh oppressed Indian employees are in a four figure salary bracket and another 10 lakhs average Rs.500 per month. What is to be done is availing of these vast opportunities. 50 years ago nobody was willing to co-operate with the untouchables and the tribals had not left their jungles. Today some sections of OBC and almost all minorities appear to be anxious with the oppressed Indians. This is an added opportunity.
The Oppressed Indian, the Beginning
Publication of the Oppressed Indian, a monthly news magazine is just beginning. The task ahead is challenging! Both the need and the opportunities have inspired us to accept this challenge and jump into the field of news service. With the co-operation of well wishers and like minded friends, we are sure to make a success of the challenging job we have undertaken. We sincerely hope to spread the network of the new service throughout the length and breadth of our vast country within two years.
This editorial is excerpted and abbreviated from Manohar Atey, ed. The Editorials of Kanshi Ram, (New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Press, 1997)