Editor-in-Chief: Prem Kumar Chumber Contact: 001-916-947-8920 Fax: 916-238-1393 E-mail: chumbermedia@yahoo.com Editors: Takshila & Kabir Chumber

VOL - 7 ISSUE - 3 March 26, 2015 www.ambedkartimes.com www.ambedkartimes.org

Prem K. ChumberEditor-In-Chief: AMBEDKAR TIMESAmbedkartimes.com pays tribute toShaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha and hisShaheed associates: ShaheedBakhshish Singh Gilwali, ShaheedHarnam Singh Sialkoti, ShaheedJagat Singh Sursingh, Shaheed SurainSingh Chota, Shaheed Suren SinghVudha Gilwali, and Shaheed Vishnu

Ganesh Pingley, on their martyrdomanniversary. Ambedkartimes. comalso congratulates Indo-AmericanHeritage Forum Fresno for makingarrangements for organizing 15thMela (festival) in the memories ofShaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha and hisShaheed associates on their martyr-dom anniversary at Regency PalaceColumbus (Fresno) on March 29,

2015 (Sunday) from 12 o’ noon to 7pm. The meeting of Indo-AmericanHeritage Forum for this programmewas organized under the headship ofS. Gurdip Singh Gholian. Eminentscholars and renowned public speak-ers will present their views on this oc-casion and famous folk singers willenlighten the audience through theirsongs of shahadat. Children will pres-

ent Giddha and Bhangra. Mr. JatinderSingh Pannu, world famous PunjabiJournalist, columnist and Editor ofRozana Nawan Zamana will be thechief-guest. As told by the organizersof this programme, a book based onthe hand written material of famousGadhri Baba Jawala Singh Thatianand edited by h. Charnji Lal will be re-leased during the Mela.

Weekly

I wrote about the SPEED in my earlierblogs. It is gratifying to note thatSPEED has become stronger andkicking over the years. It has openedyet another computer centre and ca-reer coaching cen-tre, the fourth in arow, at the presti-gious AmbedkarBhawan at NakodarRoad Jalandhar.SPEED’s PresidentDr. Ram Lubhaya,IPS (Retired) andGeneral SecretaryJanak Chauhan de-serve all apprecia-tion and support intheir unstinted en-deavours to carryforward the agendaof socio-economicupliftment of thesociety at large anddalit community inparticular. I wishthem GOD SPEEDand all success.

The 4thComputer/CareerCoaching Centrewas inaugurated on March 15, 2015at a well organized function atAmbedkar Bhawan. I was also invitedto participate and benefit. Thought-fully, a seminar on the theme “OurEducation System and Social Jus-tice” was held which was very wellattended by the intelligentsia fromcross sections of the society. ChiefParliamentary Secretary and MLAPawan Tinu was the chief guest atthe function. He spoke with convic-

tion and said that he would only behappy if could do something good inraising the educational facilities forthe poor and needy and granted Ru-pees One Lakh from his discretionary

fund for the newly opened ComputerCentre by the SPEED in cooperationwith Ambedkar Bhawan Trust. Repre-senting the Ambedkar Bhawan Trust,Lahori Ram Balley said that it wassatisfying to note that the educatedlot of the community under the aegisof SPEED was rallying together forthe betterment of the society as de-sired and wished by BabasahebAmbedkar. Prof. K.K. Ghai was themain speaker at the function. He said

that he was proud to see that manyof his students were present at thefunction and added that individualjustice was the pre-requisite of socialjustice. He added that it was gratify-

ing to note thathis students ex-celled in life anddid individual jus-tice to them-selves and werenow contributingpositively to-wards social jus-tice. Trustees ofA m b e d k a rBhawan Trust, Dr.Ram Lal Jassi andDr. G.C. Kaul alsospoke and en-dorsed the effortsof SPEED. In mybrief speech, Icomplementedthe SPEED by in-troducing mysmall effort instarting JalandharSchool of Careersand Opportunitieswith a view to

reach out to the needy students ofthe area by providing them affordableeducational and counseling facilities.Patron of SPEED, Prof Baldev Narangin his valedictory address underlinedthe need for unity and fraternity toward off the increasing artificial divi-sions even among the dalits. He en-thralled the audience with hisclassical recital of a unity song –‘Chajj Kar lai’ which was much appreciated.

SPEED – Society for Poor’s Education and Economic Development

AMBEDKAR TIMES PAYS TRIBUTE TO SHAHEEDS

KARTAR SINGH SARABHA AND HIS SHAHEED ASSOCIATES

SUPREME COUNCILCONGRATULATES

AMBEDKAR TIMES TEAMRespected Mr. Chumber,

On behalf of Supreme Council,Shri Guru Ravidass Sabhas,USA, Itake this opportunity to convey ourhearty congratulations on the occa-sion of entering the 7th year of

AmbedkarT i m e sand for itsrecent ex-p a n s i o ninto aw e e k l ynewspa-per. I, being

a regularreader ofyour es-t e e m e dpub l i ca -tion, canp r o u d l y

acknowledge that your hard work,sustained efforts and perseverancehave always been a propelling force inthis arduous journey.

We are immensely delighted tonote that your role as a professionaljournalist has played a very vital rolein perpetuating the inspiring legacy ofBharat Rattan Babasaheb, Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, for the emancipation ofthe disadvantaged sections of Indiansociety. Please keep up the good work.

With best wishesO. P. Balley

General Secretary (Supreme Council,Shri Guru Ravidass Sabhas, USA)

O. P. Balley

www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 2V0l-7 Issue - 3 March 26, 2015

THE BUDDHA AND HIS DHAMMAUNPUBLISHED PREFACE

April 6, 1956 [Text provided by Eleanor Zelliot, as prepared by Vasant Moon]

A question is always asked tome: how I happen[ed] to take such [a]high degree of education. Anotherquestion is being asked: why I am in-clined towards Buddhism. Thesequestions are asked because I wasborn in a community known in Indiaas the "Untouchables." This prefaceis not the place for answering thefirst question. But this preface maybe the place for answering the sec-ond question.

The direct answer to thisquestion is that I regard the Buddha'sDhamma to be the best. No religioncan be compared to it. If a modernman who knws science must have areligion, the only religion he can haveis the Religion of the Buddha. Thisconviction has grown in me afterthirty-five years of close study of allreligions.

How I was led to study Bud-dhism is another story. It may be in-teresting for the reader to know. Thisis how it happened.

My father was a military offi-cer, but at the same time a very reli-gious person. He brought me upunder a strict discipline. From myearly age I found certain contradic-tions in my father's religious way oflife. He was a Kabirpanthi, though hisfather was Ramanandi. As such, hedid not believe in Murti Puja (Idol Wor-ship), and yet he performed GanapatiPuja--of course for our sake, but I didnot like it. He read the books of hisPanth. At the same time, he com-pelled me and my elder brother toread every day before going to bed aportion of [the] Mahabharata and Ra-mayana to my sisters and other per-sons who assembled at my father'shouse to hear the Katha. This wenton for a long number of years.

The year I passed the EnglishFourth Standard Examination, mycommunity people wanted to cele-brate the occasion by holding a publicmeeting to congratulate me. Com-pared to the state of education inother communities, this was hardlyan occasion for celebration. But itwas felt by the organisers that I wasthe first boy in my community toreach this stage; they thought that Ihad reached a great height. They

went to my father to ask for his per-mission. My father flatly refused, say-ing that such a thing would inflatethe boy's head; after all, he has onlypassed an examination and donenothing more. Those who wanted tocelebrate the event were greatly dis-appointed. They, however, did notgive way. They went to DadaKeluskar, a personal friend of my fa-ther, and asked him to intervene. Heagreed. After a little argumentation,my father yielded, and the meetingwas held. Dada Keluskar presided. Hewas a literary person of his time. Atthe end of his address he gave me asa gift a copy of his book on the lifeof the Buddha, which he had writtenfor the Baroda Sayajirao Oriental Se-ries. I read the book with great inter-est, and was greatly impressed andmoved by it.

I began to ask why my fatherdid not introduce us to the Buddhist

literature. After this, I was determinedto ask my father this question. Oneday I did. I asked my father why heinsisted upon our reading the Mahab-harata and Ramayana, which re-counted the greatness of theBrahmins and the Kshatriyas and re-peated the stories of the degradationof the Shudras and the Untouchables.My father did not like the question.He merely said, "You must not asksuch silly questions. You are onlyboys; you must do as you are told."My father was a Roman Patriarch,and exercised most extensive PatriaPretestas over his children. I alonecould take a little liberty with him,and that was because my mother haddied in my childhood, leaving me tothe care of my auntie.

So after some time, I askedagain the same question. This timemy father had evidently prepared him-self for a reply. He said, "The reasonwhy I ask you to read the Mahab-harata and Ramayana is this: we be-long to the Untouchables, and you arelikely to develop an inferiority com-plex, which is natural. The value of[the] Mahabharata and Ramayana liesin removing this inferiority complex.See Drona and Karna--they were

small men, but to what heights theyrose! Look at Valmiki--he was a Koli,but he became the author of [the] Ra-mayana. It is for removing this inferi-ority complex that I ask you to readthe Mahabharata and Ramayana."

I could see that there wassome force in my father's argument.But I was not satisfied. I told my fa-ther that I did not like any of the fig-ures in [the] Mahabharata. I said, "Ido not like Bhishma and Drona, norKrishna. Bhishma and Drona werehypocrites. They said one thing anddid quite the opposite. Krishna be-lieved in fraud. His life is nothing buta series of frauds. Equal dislike I havefor Rama. Examine his conduct in theSarupnakha [=Shurpanakha] episode[and] in the Vali Sugriva episode, andhis beastly behaviour towards Sita."My father was silent, and made noreply. He knew that there was a re-volt.

This is how I turned to theBuddha, with the help of the bookgiven to me by Dada Keluskar. It wasnot with an empty mind that I wentto the Buddha at that early age. I hada background, and in reading the Bud-dhist Lore I could always compareand contrast. This is the origin of myinterest in the Buddha and HisDhamma.

The urge to write this bookhas a different origin. In 1951 the Ed-itor of the Mahabodhi Society's Jour-nal of Calcutta asked me to write anarticle for the Vaishak Number. In thatarticle I argued that the Buddha's Re-ligion was the only religion which asociety awakened by science couldaccept, and without which it wouldperish. I also pointed out that for themodern world Buddhism was the onlyreligion which it must have to save it-self. That Buddhism makes [a] slowadvance is due to the fact that its lit-erature is so vast that no one canread the whole of it. That it has nosuch thing as a bible, as the Chris-tians have, is its greatest handicap.On the publication of this article, I re-ceived many calls, written and oral,to write such a book. It is in responseto these calls that I have undertaken

the task. To disarm all criticism I would

like to make it clear that I claim nooriginality for the book. It is a compi-lation and assembly plant. The mate-rial has been gathered from variousbooks. I would particularly like tomention Ashvaghosha'sBuddhavita[=Buddhacharita], whose poetry noone can excel. In the narrative of cer-tain events I have even borrowed hislanguage.

The only originality that I canclaim in [=is] the order of presenta-tion of the topics, in which I havetried to introduce simplicity and clar-ity. There are certain matters whichgive headache[s] to the student ofBuddhism. I have dealt with them inthe Introduction.

It remains for me to expressmy gratitude to those who have beenhelpful to me. I am very grateful toMr. Nanak Chand Rattua of VillageSakrulli and Mr. Parkash Chand of Vil-lage NangalKhurd in the district ofHoshiarpur (Punjab) for the burdenthey have taken upon themselves totype out the manuscript. They havedone it several times. Shri NanakChand Rattu took special pains andput in very hard labour in accomplish-ing this great task. He did the wholework of typing etc. very willingly andwithout caring for his health and[=or] any sort of remuneration. BothMr. Nanak Chand Rattu and Mr.Parkash Chand did their job as atoken of their greatest love and affec-tion towards me. Their labours canhardly be repaid. I am very muchgrateful to them.

When I took up the task ofcomposing the book I was ill, and [I]am still ill. During these five yearsthere were many ups and downs inmy health.

At some stages my conditionhad become so critical that doctorstalked of me as a dying flame. Thesuccessful rekindling of this dyingflame is due to the medical skill of mywife and Dr. Malvankar. They alonehave helped me to complete thework. I am also thankful to Mr. M. B.Chitnis, who took [a] special interestin correcting [the] proof and to go[=in going] through the whole book.

I may mention that this is oneof the three books which will form aset for the proper understanding ofBuddhism. The other books are: (i)Buddha and Karl Marx; and (ii) Revo-lution and Counter-Revolution in An-cient India. They are written out inparts. I hope to publish them soon.

B. R. Ambedkar 26 Alipur Road, Delhi

6-4-56Source Courtesy:

Columbia UniversityWebsite Link: http:// www.columbia.

edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/

00_pref_unpub.htmlhttp://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_bu

ddha/index.html

5 www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 3V0l-7 Issue-3 March 26, 2015

Whereas respectfulappreciation is dueto Dr. NarinderSingh Kapany , forthe achievementsthe Sikh Foundation,Palo Alto has madein the field of Sikheducation under hisstewardship, and

whereas I am looking forward toattending the "Conference on SikhEducation in the 21st Century", inmemory of Mr. M.S. Kohli, at theStanford University on March 28,2015, this is to share the results andstatus of educational activities I havebeen involved in, often with the sup-port of local and out-of-town friendsand acquaintances, Sikhs and non-Sikhs. The situation is as follows.1. CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY:(a) Punjabi is being taught sincespring of 2001, without interruption,to meet the graduation requirementsof foreign language. (b) "Sikh Ameri-cans and Globalization", an ethnicstudies course, is taught every yearfor the last 8 years.2. INCLUSION OF SIKHISM IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION: ACR 20(LOGUE, 2014) recognized the needfor inclusion of Sikhism in world reli-gions, Eastern religions, Asian andSouth Asian courses at all post-sec-ondary educational institutions, suchas UC, CSU and community collegesystems, and advises the concernedacademic governing bodies, deans,

and department chairs to include Sikhculture and faith in their institution'sworld religions, Eastern religions,Asian and South Asian courses, 3. ADOPTION OF MODESTO MODELOF TEAHCING WORD GEOGRAPHY-WORLD RELIGIONS: ACR 154 (Gray,2014) acknowledged and applaudedthe Modesto City School District'sinitiative andachievements inteaching theunique World Ge-ography-WorldReligions class (Itincludes Sikhism)as a grade 9 re-quired course forthe last 15 years,and recom-mended that theclass be consid-ered for adoptionby other school districts in the state. 4. CORRECTIONS TO 7TH GRADEHISTORY TEXTBOOK. (a). StateBoard of Education (SBE)asked thepublisher to reprint a 7th grade his-tory book, "Age of Voyages : 1350-1600", without an unacceptableimage of Guru Nanak. The publishercomplied and replaced the copies ofthe faulty book already sold toschools. See www.sikhpioneers.org.(b) As requested, the publisher alsoissued a correction - "DEV” for incor-rect word, "DEVI".5. SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTIONMATERIALS APPROVED BY CALI-

FORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCA-TION: "The Sikh Next Door" of Lo-hgarh Sikh Foundation, "The Boywith Long Hair" of the Sikh Founda-tion, "Cultural Safari" of Kaur Foun-dation, and PBS Videos of KVIE TVstation of Sacramento: "Meet theSikhs", and "Sikhs in America" .6. CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR

HISTORY-SO-CIAL SCIENCEFOR K-12THG R A D E S(F ramework ) :(a) During 2008-2009, someSikh items (Boywith Long Hair;CongressmanDalip S. Saund,Bhagat S. Thindvs. SupremeCourt, Cheema

vs. Thompson, Guru Nanak as a re-former, and Sikhism in 9th grade elec-tive "Survey of World Religions" etc.)were included in the 2010 DraftFramework. Before this, even theword "Sikh" was not found in theFramework. Unfortunately, work onthe Framework was suspended, as abudget measure in 2009. (b) It tookthree years and much effort beforethe SBE was authorized to resumethe work of completing the revisionof the Framework, through Senate Bill1540 (Hancock, 2012). The work isnow expected to be completed in 2016.

7. BILLS DECLARING THE MONTHOF NOVEMBER AS SIKH-AMERICANAWARENESS AND APPRECIATIONMONTH: Assembly Concurrent Res-olutions were got passed in 2010(Logue), 2012(Perea), 2013(Wieck-owski) and 2014(Dickinson) declaringthe month of November of respectiveyears as Sikh-American Awareness &Appreciation month. 8. Sikh-American Awareness and Ap-preciation seminar was held on April9, 2011 at the Sikh Temple Sacra-mento with the support of Kaur Foun-dation, Sikh Coalition and local andout-of -town educationists.9. SIKH BANNER INSTALLED IN THEUUSS CHURCH: The Church of theUnitarian Universalist Society ofSacramento had hung banners of 18different religions in 1984, but lackeda Sikh banner. A Sikh banner wasfabricated and hung on January 27,2014. See page 12 of Indo-AmericanPunjabi Times of Feb. 5-11, 2014.

In closing it may be men-tioned that articles relating to theabove may be seen in www.Ambed-karTimes.com under "Guru" and "Dr.Bindra" ; www.deshdoaba.com ;www.punjabmailusa.com; The In-dian, 10-23 July 2013, page 7.

Besides being deeply involvedin the above, Prof. Bindra has been aregular guest speaker on "Introduc-tion to Sikhism" in HRS 140 at theCSUS, and at area colleges, schoolsand churches.

(osbindra@sbcglobal.net).

COMPLEMENT TO CONFERENCE ON SIKH EDUCATION

sfzy iewQy hr iksm dIaF kfrF dI murMmq aqy irpyarqoN ielfvf kfrF dy pyNt df kMm qswlIbKÈ kIqf jFdf hY.purfxIaF kfrF KrIdx aqy to-trwk df Kfs pRbMD hY.

Prop: Jasbir Singh Takhar HarmandeepSingh510-755-2132

1421 Industrial PKWY West#F Hayward, CA 94544510- 733- 2222

Free EstimatesFree Towing

We Do CompleteEngine Transmis-

sion, Body and PaintWork We Sell Used

Cars at a Good Price

Ph. 510-885-1212Fax. 510-885-1532

We are openseven days

11 AM to 10 PM

BUFFET LUNCH 11:00 AM To 3:00 PMmwCI dy pkOiVaF leI mÈhUr

Contact Us:

kytirMg dy mfihr, hPqy dy 7 idn AuplbWD

Dr O. S. Bindra

www.deshdoaba.comwww.ambedkartimes.com 4V0l-7 Issue- 3 March 26, 2015

BAZAARINDIA

Jai Ram Gaught Harjit Gaught (Happy)

Indian, Pakistani & Fijjian Groceries

WE ACCEPT FOOD STAMPS

RENT DVDS & BUY CLOTHES ENJOY YOUR DAY WITH HOPESEVERY SATURDAY & SUNDAY SPECIAL DISCOUNT ON GROCERIESCall to Happy- Cell : (209) 594-8473 Ph: (209) 478-0285 Fax : (209) 477-3206

We are open 7 DAYS A WEEK TIME : 9:00 A.M. TO 8:30 P.M.

Email: indiabazaar08@yahoo.com1304-E HAMMER LANE, Suite 12, STOCKTON CA, 95210

sfzy kol eyarlfeIn itktF vI AuplbwD hn.

qfËIaF sbËIaF aqygrosrI leI syvf df mOkf idE

Chaat PlateOnly for

Chaat Papdi. SamosaChaat. Pani Puri. DahiVada. Bhel Puri Chaat

916-786-76661265 Pleasant Grove Blvd. # 100 Roseville, CA 95747

We have the largest collection forIndian, Fijian & Pakistani Grocery

We accept EBT cards

Eyebrow Threading &Henna Tattoo (each hand)

Only for $ 5.00

(Regular $ 8.00)Walk In Welcome

Mon-Sat 10am to 7 pm

The Threading queenthreading & HEENA TATTOOS

Call for appointment(916) 297-0150, (916) 316-8199

916-338-55115203 Elkhorn Blvd.Sacramento, CA 95842

$2.99

Music, Fabric, ArtificialJewelry, Sweets, FreshVegetables & more

birMdr bSgVkÈmIr isMG hIrf