Gorvika Rao
In the Name of Baba Saheb- Keeping the Struggles Alive! Notes from Ambedkarite Delhi
In the Name of Baba Saheb- Keeping the Struggles Alive! Notes from Ambedkarite Delhi
Gorvika Rao
Photo by Gorvika Rao
Photo by Gorvika Rao
Photo by Gorvika Rao
Gorvika Rao is a Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Miranda House, Delhi University, India. She is recipient of Asia Art Archive and Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation grant 2023-24. With this grant she is working on the Ambedkarite movement in Delhi in the 1970s through Dalit little magazines.
Gorvika Rao is a Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Miranda House, Delhi University, India. She is recipient of Asia Art Archive and Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation grant 2023-24. With this grant she is working on the Ambedkarite movement in Delhi in the 1970s through Dalit little magazines.
Gorvika Rao is a Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Miranda House, Delhi University, India. She is recipient of Asia Art Archive and Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation grant 2023-24. With this grant she is working on the Ambedkarite movement in Delhi in the 1970s through Dalit little magazines.
I was raised in a large household, where my paternal family, as Ravidasis, upheld and lived by the principles of Ambedkar. In our house, there was a large photo of Ambedkar, and for a long time, I thought it was a picture of my grandfather, since there was no photo of my real grandfather. My late uncle Ashok Kumar was one of the founding members of BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities Employee Federation) with Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. My family, originally from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, migrated to Delhi in the 19th century and settled in Pahari Dheeraj, a part of Sadar Bazaar. In the 1930s, they were forced to move from Sadar Bazaar to the outskirts of Delhi due to the construction of New Delhi also known as Lutyens' Delhi), and made to settle in Dev Nagar, Karol Bagh area, which in the next few years saw the settlement of Jatavs from different parts of UP.
My mother’s side migrated from a village around Dadri, UP to Delhi around 1964. My maternal grandfather Sukh Pal Singh (S. P. Singh), born in 1937 was one of the first educated Dalits amongst many of the surrounding villages. During his posting in the Defence services in Kanpur around 1960-1961, he was introduced to Ambedkar, an experience that reshaped his life and influenced the paths of many others. He was transferred to Delhi in 1964 from where his journey in the city as an Ambedkarite activist began.
I was introduced to Ambedkar Jayanti by my hard-core Ambedkarite mother’s family. My first visit to parliament and Ambedkar Bhawan on Ambedkar Jayanti was as a six month old baby. My grandfather was an important part of the Ambedkarite movement in Delhi in the 1960s-70s. His contribution as a poet, activist and part of the Buddhist Society of India had been exemplary.
Writing a narrative is never easy, especially when it is personal. However, sometimes we need to be objective without losing the subjectivity of our marginality. This photo essay strives to balance the objectivity of my work as an academician and the subjectivity of carrying a rich Dalit history. Personal is always political and gets proved when you realise your memories and history are entangled with your community, city and nation. My understanding and memory of Ambedkar Jayanti is incomplete without the intervention of memories of my mother and activism of my grandfather.
Growing up as a Dalit is a constant struggle, despite societal narratives about privilege of class, or access to reservations. From an early age, I was forced to confront my identity, with the constant echoes of inferiority, compelling me to question my very existence. Yet, being raised in a household and community that endured and resisted oppression gave me the strength to fight my own battles. My family’s steadfast faith in Ambedkar became a source of hope—something I could never find in religion.
This photo essay should be seen as an attempt to understand, trace and re-write a narrative which is being erased slowly through the minds and spaces of the city and nation. The images I have chosen connect material history of objects like photographs, diaries, magazines, etc with the public history of claiming spaces - in the form of statues, Jaloos/procession, rallies etc as an assertion of a marginal identity. Through these images, I narrate the struggles, sacrifices, protests and resistances of Dalit community towards claiming Ambedkar Jayanti as an important festival of Dalits.
Image 1: My Grandfather, S.P.Singh (Third from the left) / Parliament, 14th April, 1973 (Image 1)
Image 1: The unwavering struggle of Dalits in the late 1950s-60s resulted in the installation of Ambedkar’s statue in 1967. This led to the celebration of 14th April as Ambedkar Jayanti and Parliament becoming a sacred space of the annual visit. The above image is from the grounds of the parliament in front of Ambedkar's statue clicked on 14th April, 1973. The image has other very important activists of the Ambedkarite struggle in Delhi. Kunwar Sen Baudh (fifth from the left) and Bhagwan Das (second from the right). Two of my relatives are also part of this picture Tek Chand (third from the right) and Vijay Priya Gautam, my maternal uncle (sitting on the ground). Buses were arranged early in the morning from different parts of Delhi to transport people to Parliament. Despite the scorching heat, Ambedkarites travelled great distances without basic provisions like food or water to pay homage to Baba Saheb on his birthday and to keep the struggle alive.
Image 2: Front cover of the Dhamma Darpan, Hindi quarterly Dalit magazine (issue 3) (pilot edition)
Image 3: Index of the Dhamma Darpan, Hindi quarterly Dalit magazine (issue 3) (pilot edition)
Image 2-3: During the 1970s, the Dalit intellectuals of Delhi realized that print was a powerful tool of knowledge production. Dhamma Darpan, founded by prominent leaders of the movement in Delhi, acted as the mouthpiece of the Dalit community and soon attracted a lot of subscribers from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra. The literary content in the magazines consisted of creative writing in the form of short stories & poems, writings of Ambedkar, analytical pieces on Ambedkar’s writings, news reports about atrocities on Dalits, discussion on current politics, information on Buddhism and reports on the spread of Buddhism in the form of construction of Buddh Vihars, conversions, celebration of Buddhist festivals etc. It constructed an alternate religious framework through the creation of Buddhist rituals, ceremonies, festivals and pilgrimages. The magazine produced Dalit narratives which gave birth to a new language and vocabulary of protest and dissent.
Dhamma Darpan was launched in October 1976 and has continued, with some breaks in between, till today. A few pilot editions of the magazine were published from January 1975 to April 1976. The above issue has a poem titled “14th April” written by my grandfather. Sadly, the poem cannot be reproduced as the page is lost.
Image 4: My Mother, Prem Lata / Parliament, 14th April, 1979
Image 4: I was nine years old when my grandfather passed away in November 1991 at the age of 52. Even though I was aware of his importance in our community, I wasn’t mature enough to understand the political importance of his struggle. My memory of him is of endless meetings at his house with the people of the samaj and his busy-ness around organising multiple programs at different Buddh Vihars and Ambedkar Bhawan around the year.
Over the years, I have got to know my grandfather and his work through my mother and grandmother. He was a poet and essayist who wrote for Dhamma Darpan and Smarikas. Smarikas were the special editions published annually to celebrate Baba Saheb’s birthday. Most of his poetry was not published but was written specially for Jayanti, Jalsa and rallies. My mother was the constant companion of my grandfather as the editor and singer of these songs. She sung her first song “Mar jayegay, Kat jayegay, Ho jayegay balidaan, Baba Saheb kay beton ko samjhon na tum nadaan”(We may die, we may be cut down, we may sacrifice ourselves, but never consider Baba Saheb's children to be naïve), when she was 11 years old at Ambedkar Bhawan on 14th April, 1969 (The song was written specifically for Jayanti and is not documented).
Image 5: Dhamma Darpan / Issue 8, July- September, 1978
Image 6: Index Dhamma Darpan / Issue 8, July- September, 1978
Image 4-5: The eighth issue of Dhamma Darpan magazine documented two significant events in Dalit history. The book cover painted and designed by Shanti Swaroop Shaant/Bauddh (founder of Samyak Prakashan, one of the first Dalit publishing houses in Delhi) showcased the long-term demand of the Ambedkarites for 14th April to be declared a public holiday. The second was the incident related to the use of public spaces for the celebration of 14th April. The incident highlighted the violent disruption of the Jaloos by upper-caste groups in the Rawatpara area of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on April 14th, 1978. The physical violence by the savarnas, in collusion with the State, sparked protests by lakhs of Dalits on April 28th and May 1st, 1978. During these protests, a young boy named Ashok Babu was killed, an event that triggered a major uproar within the Dalit community.
Image 7: Jaloos, My Grandmother, Shanti Devi and grandfather, S.P. Singh / Seelampur, 1986 (6th and 7th from the left)
Image 8: My grandfather, S.P. Singh (third from the left, front line)
Image 7 and 8: To continue the celebrations of Ambedkar Jayanti, a Jaloos on the first Sunday following 14th April was started by my grandfather in 1978 from Buddh Vihar, New Seelampur to Buddh Vihar, Bihari Colony. The Jaloos continues to this day, with some minor changes in the location.
Image 9: Me, my brother and my mother, Prem Lata / Ambedkar Bhawan, 25th January, 1989
Image 9: In Delhi, the celebration of Ambedkar Jayanti is associated with two places, Parliament House and Ambedkar Bhawan. In the morning, homage is paid to Baba Saheb’s statue at the parliament. A grand procession/Jaloos starts from Red fort in the afternoon and ends at Ambedkar Bhawan in the late evening. It is followed by a program consisting of songs and speeches at Ambedkar Bhawan. My mother was one of the singers of these songs written by my grandfather. I was unable to procure any photograph of Ambedkar Jayanti at Ambedkar Bhawan from this time. The above photograph is of a program titled “Geeton Bhari Shaam, Baba Saheb Kay Naam” (An evening of songs, in the name of Baba Saheb) held on 25th January, 1989 organized by Shanti Swaroop Bauddh.
Image 10: A page from my mother’s diary.
Image 10: This is one of the famous songs written by my grandfather, edited and sung by my mother Prem Lata. My core memory of Ambedkar Jayanti has been to witness my mother singing the “Bhim Vandana” (as it is called) and being ecstatic about seeing her name on different pamphlets, calendars and books. This song was published in a 1973 edition of the book titled Baudh-Mahila Geet Manjari (Anthology of Buddhist Women's Songs) by a publishing house called ‘Baudh Dharma Prachar Mandal’ (Buddhist Promotion Committee), run under the auspices of Panchsheel Buddh Vihar, New Seelampur, Delhi. The later editions of the book with few changes were published by Samyak Prakashan. The song today can also be heard on different Dalit/Bahujan channels sung by various singers (often without credit).
A popular quote, often misattributed to Winston Churchill, says, “History is written by the victors.” In India, history is altered, edited, and even manufactured by the dominant castes. Despite the constant propagation of these hegemonic narratives through books, schools, colleges, and media, Dalits never forgot their true history. Before I explored the atrocities against Dalits through academics, I grew up listening to stories of Ravidas from my paternal grandmother and the struggles of Baba Saheb from my maternal grandfather, starting at the age of four or five. Tales of discrimination and resistance were a constant part of the conversations within my community, where political participation, rallies, and Jaloos were a regular part of daily life.
As I grew up, without any school or college curriculum addressing the history of Ambedkar or caste, I remained unaware of the existence—or even the necessity—of a recorded, documented Dalit history. However, Dalits were actively writing and documenting their oppression through pamphlets, magazines, and booklets. In this essay, I have sought to acknowledge and bring attention to the struggles of Dalits, which have been excluded from mainstream Indian history.
Acknowledgements: Aside from my mother, Prem Lata who has been helping me document this history, I would like to thank all my grandfathers (Nana Jis) who have been (and still are) a very important part of the Ambedkarite struggle in Delhi. Professor H. C. Joshi shared his archives and memories with me through a documented interview. Kunwar Sen Bauddh gave a very important interview and shared his photographs. I would like to specially thank Bhagwan Das, who passed away early this year but not before nudging me in the right direction of our history. Archiving of the Hindi Dalit magazine Dhamma Darpan is part of the research grant received under ‘Archiving Histories of Ideas, Art, and Visual Culture, 2023’ sponsored by Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation and Asia Art Archive in India.
All photographs are from the personal collection. Pictures of magazines are from the personal collection of Professor H.C. Joshi. Copyrights of the magazines are with The Buddhist Society of India, Delhi (required permission was taken from the Society for publication).
I was raised in a large household, where my paternal family, as Ravidasis, upheld and lived by the principles of Ambedkar. In our house, there was a large photo of Ambedkar, and for a long time, I thought it was a picture of my grandfather, since there was no photo of my real grandfather. My late uncle Ashok Kumar was one of the founding members of BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities Employee Federation) with Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. My family, originally from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, migrated to Delhi in the 19th century and settled in Pahari Dheeraj, a part of Sadar Bazaar. In the 1930s, they were forced to move from Sadar Bazaar to the outskirts of Delhi due to the construction of New Delhi also known as Lutyens' Delhi), and made to settle in Dev Nagar, Karol Bagh area, which in the next few years saw the settlement of Jatavs from different parts of UP.
My mother’s side migrated from a village around Dadri, UP to Delhi around 1964. My maternal grandfather Sukh Pal Singh (S. P. Singh), born in 1937 was one of the first educated Dalits amongst many of the surrounding villages. During his posting in the Defence services in Kanpur around 1960-1961, he was introduced to Ambedkar, an experience that reshaped his life and influenced the paths of many others. He was transferred to Delhi in 1964 from where his journey in the city as an Ambedkarite activist began.
I was introduced to Ambedkar Jayanti by my hard-core Ambedkarite mother’s family. My first visit to parliament and Ambedkar Bhawan on Ambedkar Jayanti was as a six month old baby. My grandfather was an important part of the Ambedkarite movement in Delhi in the 1960s-70s. His contribution as a poet, activist and part of the Buddhist Society of India had been exemplary.
Writing a narrative is never easy, especially when it is personal. However, sometimes we need to be objective without losing the subjectivity of our marginality. This photo essay strives to balance the objectivity of my work as an academician and the subjectivity of carrying a rich Dalit history. Personal is always political and gets proved when you realise your memories and history are entangled with your community, city and nation. My understanding and memory of Ambedkar Jayanti is incomplete without the intervention of memories of my mother and activism of my grandfather.
Growing up as a Dalit is a constant struggle, despite societal narratives about privilege of class, or access to reservations. From an early age, I was forced to confront my identity, with the constant echoes of inferiority, compelling me to question my very existence. Yet, being raised in a household and community that endured and resisted oppression gave me the strength to fight my own battles. My family’s steadfast faith in Ambedkar became a source of hope—something I could never find in religion.
This photo essay should be seen as an attempt to understand, trace and re-write a narrative which is being erased slowly through the minds and spaces of the city and nation. The images I have chosen connect material history of objects like photographs, diaries, magazines, etc with the public history of claiming spaces - in the form of statues, Jaloos/procession, rallies etc as an assertion of a marginal identity. Through these images, I narrate the struggles, sacrifices, protests and resistances of Dalit community towards claiming Ambedkar Jayanti as an important festival of Dalits.
Image 1: My Grandfather, S.P.Singh (Third from the left) / Parliament, 14th April, 1973 (Image 1)
Image 1: The unwavering struggle of Dalits in the late 1950s-60s resulted in the installation of Ambedkar’s statue in 1967. This led to the celebration of 14th April as Ambedkar Jayanti and Parliament becoming a sacred space of the annual visit. The above image is from the grounds of the parliament in front of Ambedkar's statue clicked on 14th April, 1973. The image has other very important activists of the Ambedkarite struggle in Delhi. Kunwar Sen Baudh (fifth from the left) and Bhagwan Das (second from the right). Two of my relatives are also part of this picture Tek Chand (third from the right) and Vijay Priya Gautam, my maternal uncle (sitting on the ground). Buses were arranged early in the morning from different parts of Delhi to transport people to Parliament. Despite the scorching heat, Ambedkarites travelled great distances without basic provisions like food or water to pay homage to Baba Saheb on his birthday and to keep the struggle alive.
Image 2: Front cover of the Dhamma Darpan, Hindi quarterly Dalit magazine (issue 3) (pilot edition)
Image 3: Index of the Dhamma Darpan, Hindi quarterly Dalit magazine (issue 3) (pilot edition)
Image 2-3: During the 1970s, the Dalit intellectuals of Delhi realized that print was a powerful tool of knowledge production. Dhamma Darpan, founded by prominent leaders of the movement in Delhi, acted as the mouthpiece of the Dalit community and soon attracted a lot of subscribers from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra. The literary content in the magazines consisted of creative writing in the form of short stories & poems, writings of Ambedkar, analytical pieces on Ambedkar’s writings, news reports about atrocities on Dalits, discussion on current politics, information on Buddhism and reports on the spread of Buddhism in the form of construction of Buddh Vihars, conversions, celebration of Buddhist festivals etc. It constructed an alternate religious framework through the creation of Buddhist rituals, ceremonies, festivals and pilgrimages. The magazine produced Dalit narratives which gave birth to a new language and vocabulary of protest and dissent.
Dhamma Darpan was launched in October 1976 and has continued, with some breaks in between, till today. A few pilot editions of the magazine were published from January 1975 to April 1976. The above issue has a poem titled “14th April” written by my grandfather. Sadly, the poem cannot be reproduced as the page is lost.
Image 4: My Mother, Prem Lata / Parliament, 14th April, 1979
Image 4: I was nine years old when my grandfather passed away in November 1991 at the age of 52. Even though I was aware of his importance in our community, I wasn’t mature enough to understand the political importance of his struggle. My memory of him is of endless meetings at his house with the people of the samaj and his busy-ness around organising multiple programs at different Buddh Vihars and Ambedkar Bhawan around the year.
Over the years, I have got to know my grandfather and his work through my mother and grandmother. He was a poet and essayist who wrote for Dhamma Darpan and Smarikas. Smarikas were the special editions published annually to celebrate Baba Saheb’s birthday. Most of his poetry was not published but was written specially for Jayanti, Jalsa and rallies. My mother was the constant companion of my grandfather as the editor and singer of these songs. She sung her first song “Mar jayegay, Kat jayegay, Ho jayegay balidaan, Baba Saheb kay beton ko samjhon na tum nadaan”(We may die, we may be cut down, we may sacrifice ourselves, but never consider Baba Saheb's children to be naïve), when she was 11 years old at Ambedkar Bhawan on 14th April, 1969 (The song was written specifically for Jayanti and is not documented).
Image 5: Dhamma Darpan / Issue 8, July- September, 1978
Image 6: Index Dhamma Darpan / Issue 8, July- September, 1978
Image 4-5: The eighth issue of Dhamma Darpan magazine documented two significant events in Dalit history. The book cover painted and designed by Shanti Swaroop Shaant/Bauddh (founder of Samyak Prakashan, one of the first Dalit publishing houses in Delhi) showcased the long-term demand of the Ambedkarites for 14th April to be declared a public holiday. The second was the incident related to the use of public spaces for the celebration of 14th April. The incident highlighted the violent disruption of the Jaloos by upper-caste groups in the Rawatpara area of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on April 14th, 1978. The physical violence by the savarnas, in collusion with the State, sparked protests by lakhs of Dalits on April 28th and May 1st, 1978. During these protests, a young boy named Ashok Babu was killed, an event that triggered a major uproar within the Dalit community.
Image 7: Jaloos, My Grandmother, Shanti Devi and grandfather, S.P. Singh / Seelampur, 1986 (6th and 7th from the left)
Image 8: My grandfather, S.P. Singh (third from the left, front line)
Image 7 and 8: To continue the celebrations of Ambedkar Jayanti, a Jaloos on the first Sunday following 14th April was started by my grandfather in 1978 from Buddh Vihar, New Seelampur to Buddh Vihar, Bihari Colony. The Jaloos continues to this day, with some minor changes in the location.
Image 9: Me, my brother and my mother, Prem Lata / Ambedkar Bhawan, 25th January, 1989
Image 9: In Delhi, the celebration of Ambedkar Jayanti is associated with two places, Parliament House and Ambedkar Bhawan. In the morning, homage is paid to Baba Saheb’s statue at the parliament. A grand procession/Jaloos starts from Red fort in the afternoon and ends at Ambedkar Bhawan in the late evening. It is followed by a program consisting of songs and speeches at Ambedkar Bhawan. My mother was one of the singers of these songs written by my grandfather. I was unable to procure any photograph of Ambedkar Jayanti at Ambedkar Bhawan from this time. The above photograph is of a program titled “Geeton Bhari Shaam, Baba Saheb Kay Naam” (An evening of songs, in the name of Baba Saheb) held on 25th January, 1989 organized by Shanti Swaroop Bauddh.
Image 10: A page from my mother’s diary.
Image 10: This is one of the famous songs written by my grandfather, edited and sung by my mother Prem Lata. My core memory of Ambedkar Jayanti has been to witness my mother singing the “Bhim Vandana” (as it is called) and being ecstatic about seeing her name on different pamphlets, calendars and books. This song was published in a 1973 edition of the book titled Baudh-Mahila Geet Manjari (Anthology of Buddhist Women's Songs) by a publishing house called ‘Baudh Dharma Prachar Mandal’ (Buddhist Promotion Committee), run under the auspices of Panchsheel Buddh Vihar, New Seelampur, Delhi. The later editions of the book with few changes were published by Samyak Prakashan. The song today can also be heard on different Dalit/Bahujan channels sung by various singers (often without credit).
A popular quote, often misattributed to Winston Churchill, says, “History is written by the victors.” In India, history is altered, edited, and even manufactured by the dominant castes. Despite the constant propagation of these hegemonic narratives through books, schools, colleges, and media, Dalits never forgot their true history. Before I explored the atrocities against Dalits through academics, I grew up listening to stories of Ravidas from my paternal grandmother and the struggles of Baba Saheb from my maternal grandfather, starting at the age of four or five. Tales of discrimination and resistance were a constant part of the conversations within my community, where political participation, rallies, and Jaloos were a regular part of daily life.
As I grew up, without any school or college curriculum addressing the history of Ambedkar or caste, I remained unaware of the existence—or even the necessity—of a recorded, documented Dalit history. However, Dalits were actively writing and documenting their oppression through pamphlets, magazines, and booklets. In this essay, I have sought to acknowledge and bring attention to the struggles of Dalits, which have been excluded from mainstream Indian history.
Acknowledgements: Aside from my mother, Prem Lata who has been helping me document this history, I would like to thank all my grandfathers (Nana Jis) who have been (and still are) a very important part of the Ambedkarite struggle in Delhi. Professor H. C. Joshi shared his archives and memories with me through a documented interview. Kunwar Sen Bauddh gave a very important interview and shared his photographs. I would like to specially thank Bhagwan Das, who passed away early this year but not before nudging me in the right direction of our history. Archiving of the Hindi Dalit magazine Dhamma Darpan is part of the research grant received under ‘Archiving Histories of Ideas, Art, and Visual Culture, 2023’ sponsored by Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation and Asia Art Archive in India.
All photographs are from the personal collection. Pictures of magazines are from the personal collection of Professor H.C. Joshi. Copyrights of the magazines are with The Buddhist Society of India, Delhi (required permission was taken from the Society for publication).
I was raised in a large household, where my paternal family, as Ravidasis, upheld and lived by the principles of Ambedkar. In our house, there was a large photo of Ambedkar, and for a long time, I thought it was a picture of my grandfather, since there was no photo of my real grandfather. My late uncle Ashok Kumar was one of the founding members of BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities Employee Federation) with Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. My family, originally from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, migrated to Delhi in the 19th century and settled in Pahari Dheeraj, a part of Sadar Bazaar. In the 1930s, they were forced to move from Sadar Bazaar to the outskirts of Delhi due to the construction of New Delhi also known as Lutyens' Delhi), and made to settle in Dev Nagar, Karol Bagh area, which in the next few years saw the settlement of Jatavs from different parts of UP.
My mother’s side migrated from a village around Dadri, UP to Delhi around 1964. My maternal grandfather Sukh Pal Singh (S. P. Singh), born in 1937 was one of the first educated Dalits amongst many of the surrounding villages. During his posting in the Defence services in Kanpur around 1960-1961, he was introduced to Ambedkar, an experience that reshaped his life and influenced the paths of many others. He was transferred to Delhi in 1964 from where his journey in the city as an Ambedkarite activist began.
I was introduced to Ambedkar Jayanti by my hard-core Ambedkarite mother’s family. My first visit to parliament and Ambedkar Bhawan on Ambedkar Jayanti was as a six month old baby. My grandfather was an important part of the Ambedkarite movement in Delhi in the 1960s-70s. His contribution as a poet, activist and part of the Buddhist Society of India had been exemplary.
Writing a narrative is never easy, especially when it is personal. However, sometimes we need to be objective without losing the subjectivity of our marginality. This photo essay strives to balance the objectivity of my work as an academician and the subjectivity of carrying a rich Dalit history. Personal is always political and gets proved when you realise your memories and history are entangled with your community, city and nation. My understanding and memory of Ambedkar Jayanti is incomplete without the intervention of memories of my mother and activism of my grandfather.
Growing up as a Dalit is a constant struggle, despite societal narratives about privilege of class, or access to reservations. From an early age, I was forced to confront my identity, with the constant echoes of inferiority, compelling me to question my very existence. Yet, being raised in a household and community that endured and resisted oppression gave me the strength to fight my own battles. My family’s steadfast faith in Ambedkar became a source of hope—something I could never find in religion.
This photo essay should be seen as an attempt to understand, trace and re-write a narrative which is being erased slowly through the minds and spaces of the city and nation. The images I have chosen connect material history of objects like photographs, diaries, magazines, etc with the public history of claiming spaces - in the form of statues, Jaloos/procession, rallies etc as an assertion of a marginal identity. Through these images, I narrate the struggles, sacrifices, protests and resistances of Dalit community towards claiming Ambedkar Jayanti as an important festival of Dalits.
Image 1: My Grandfather, S.P.Singh (Third from the left) / Parliament, 14th April, 1973 (Image 1)
Image 1: The unwavering struggle of Dalits in the late 1950s-60s resulted in the installation of Ambedkar’s statue in 1967. This led to the celebration of 14th April as Ambedkar Jayanti and Parliament becoming a sacred space of the annual visit. The above image is from the grounds of the parliament in front of Ambedkar's statue clicked on 14th April, 1973. The image has other very important activists of the Ambedkarite struggle in Delhi. Kunwar Sen Baudh (fifth from the left) and Bhagwan Das (second from the right). Two of my relatives are also part of this picture Tek Chand (third from the right) and Vijay Priya Gautam, my maternal uncle (sitting on the ground). Buses were arranged early in the morning from different parts of Delhi to transport people to Parliament. Despite the scorching heat, Ambedkarites travelled great distances without basic provisions like food or water to pay homage to Baba Saheb on his birthday and to keep the struggle alive.
Image 2: Front cover of the Dhamma Darpan, Hindi quarterly Dalit magazine (issue 3) (pilot edition)
Image 3: Index of the Dhamma Darpan, Hindi quarterly Dalit magazine (issue 3) (pilot edition)
Image 2-3: During the 1970s, the Dalit intellectuals of Delhi realized that print was a powerful tool of knowledge production. Dhamma Darpan, founded by prominent leaders of the movement in Delhi, acted as the mouthpiece of the Dalit community and soon attracted a lot of subscribers from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra. The literary content in the magazines consisted of creative writing in the form of short stories & poems, writings of Ambedkar, analytical pieces on Ambedkar’s writings, news reports about atrocities on Dalits, discussion on current politics, information on Buddhism and reports on the spread of Buddhism in the form of construction of Buddh Vihars, conversions, celebration of Buddhist festivals etc. It constructed an alternate religious framework through the creation of Buddhist rituals, ceremonies, festivals and pilgrimages. The magazine produced Dalit narratives which gave birth to a new language and vocabulary of protest and dissent.
Dhamma Darpan was launched in October 1976 and has continued, with some breaks in between, till today. A few pilot editions of the magazine were published from January 1975 to April 1976. The above issue has a poem titled “14th April” written by my grandfather. Sadly, the poem cannot be reproduced as the page is lost.
Image 4: My Mother, Prem Lata / Parliament, 14th April, 1979
Image 4: I was nine years old when my grandfather passed away in November 1991 at the age of 52. Even though I was aware of his importance in our community, I wasn’t mature enough to understand the political importance of his struggle. My memory of him is of endless meetings at his house with the people of the samaj and his busy-ness around organising multiple programs at different Buddh Vihars and Ambedkar Bhawan around the year.
Over the years, I have got to know my grandfather and his work through my mother and grandmother. He was a poet and essayist who wrote for Dhamma Darpan and Smarikas. Smarikas were the special editions published annually to celebrate Baba Saheb’s birthday. Most of his poetry was not published but was written specially for Jayanti, Jalsa and rallies. My mother was the constant companion of my grandfather as the editor and singer of these songs. She sung her first song “Mar jayegay, Kat jayegay, Ho jayegay balidaan, Baba Saheb kay beton ko samjhon na tum nadaan”(We may die, we may be cut down, we may sacrifice ourselves, but never consider Baba Saheb's children to be naïve), when she was 11 years old at Ambedkar Bhawan on 14th April, 1969 (The song was written specifically for Jayanti and is not documented).
Image 5: Dhamma Darpan / Issue 8, July- September, 1978
Image 6: Index Dhamma Darpan / Issue 8, July- September, 1978
Image 4-5: The eighth issue of Dhamma Darpan magazine documented two significant events in Dalit history. The book cover painted and designed by Shanti Swaroop Shaant/Bauddh (founder of Samyak Prakashan, one of the first Dalit publishing houses in Delhi) showcased the long-term demand of the Ambedkarites for 14th April to be declared a public holiday. The second was the incident related to the use of public spaces for the celebration of 14th April. The incident highlighted the violent disruption of the Jaloos by upper-caste groups in the Rawatpara area of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on April 14th, 1978. The physical violence by the savarnas, in collusion with the State, sparked protests by lakhs of Dalits on April 28th and May 1st, 1978. During these protests, a young boy named Ashok Babu was killed, an event that triggered a major uproar within the Dalit community.
Image 7: Jaloos, My Grandmother, Shanti Devi and grandfather, S.P. Singh / Seelampur, 1986 (6th and 7th from the left)
Image 8: My grandfather, S.P. Singh (third from the left, front line)
Image 7 and 8: To continue the celebrations of Ambedkar Jayanti, a Jaloos on the first Sunday following 14th April was started by my grandfather in 1978 from Buddh Vihar, New Seelampur to Buddh Vihar, Bihari Colony. The Jaloos continues to this day, with some minor changes in the location.
Image 9: Me, my brother and my mother, Prem Lata / Ambedkar Bhawan, 25th January, 1989
Image 9: In Delhi, the celebration of Ambedkar Jayanti is associated with two places, Parliament House and Ambedkar Bhawan. In the morning, homage is paid to Baba Saheb’s statue at the parliament. A grand procession/Jaloos starts from Red fort in the afternoon and ends at Ambedkar Bhawan in the late evening. It is followed by a program consisting of songs and speeches at Ambedkar Bhawan. My mother was one of the singers of these songs written by my grandfather. I was unable to procure any photograph of Ambedkar Jayanti at Ambedkar Bhawan from this time. The above photograph is of a program titled “Geeton Bhari Shaam, Baba Saheb Kay Naam” (An evening of songs, in the name of Baba Saheb) held on 25th January, 1989 organized by Shanti Swaroop Bauddh.
Image 10: A page from my mother’s diary.
Image 10: This is one of the famous songs written by my grandfather, edited and sung by my mother Prem Lata. My core memory of Ambedkar Jayanti has been to witness my mother singing the “Bhim Vandana” (as it is called) and being ecstatic about seeing her name on different pamphlets, calendars and books. This song was published in a 1973 edition of the book titled Baudh-Mahila Geet Manjari (Anthology of Buddhist Women's Songs) by a publishing house called ‘Baudh Dharma Prachar Mandal’ (Buddhist Promotion Committee), run under the auspices of Panchsheel Buddh Vihar, New Seelampur, Delhi. The later editions of the book with few changes were published by Samyak Prakashan. The song today can also be heard on different Dalit/Bahujan channels sung by various singers (often without credit).
A popular quote, often misattributed to Winston Churchill, says, “History is written by the victors.” In India, history is altered, edited, and even manufactured by the dominant castes. Despite the constant propagation of these hegemonic narratives through books, schools, colleges, and media, Dalits never forgot their true history. Before I explored the atrocities against Dalits through academics, I grew up listening to stories of Ravidas from my paternal grandmother and the struggles of Baba Saheb from my maternal grandfather, starting at the age of four or five. Tales of discrimination and resistance were a constant part of the conversations within my community, where political participation, rallies, and Jaloos were a regular part of daily life.
As I grew up, without any school or college curriculum addressing the history of Ambedkar or caste, I remained unaware of the existence—or even the necessity—of a recorded, documented Dalit history. However, Dalits were actively writing and documenting their oppression through pamphlets, magazines, and booklets. In this essay, I have sought to acknowledge and bring attention to the struggles of Dalits, which have been excluded from mainstream Indian history.
Acknowledgements: Aside from my mother, Prem Lata who has been helping me document this history, I would like to thank all my grandfathers (Nana Jis) who have been (and still are) a very important part of the Ambedkarite struggle in Delhi. Professor H. C. Joshi shared his archives and memories with me through a documented interview. Kunwar Sen Bauddh gave a very important interview and shared his photographs. I would like to specially thank Bhagwan Das, who passed away early this year but not before nudging me in the right direction of our history. Archiving of the Hindi Dalit magazine Dhamma Darpan is part of the research grant received under ‘Archiving Histories of Ideas, Art, and Visual Culture, 2023’ sponsored by Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation and Asia Art Archive in India.
All photographs are from the personal collection. Pictures of magazines are from the personal collection of Professor H.C. Joshi. Copyrights of the magazines are with The Buddhist Society of India, Delhi (required permission was taken from the Society for publication).
