[Buddha-l] India: dalits and tribals in thousands head to Mumbaifor conversion to Buddhism

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

Blumenthal, James schreef:
>
> Joanna wrote,
>
> >Gandhi, a Hindu, tried
> >to overcome this lowest liability by impressing on his followers that if
> >they
> >wanted to stay at his ashram, they must clean their own toilets--yet he
> >never got involved in a movement per se to end social untouchability as
> >did Ambedkar, who came from a dalit caste and started the conversions
> >to Buddhism movement.
>
> >Joanna
>
> True, in fact, Gandhi was not considered by Ambedkar to be a friend of 
> untouchables.  They parted ways and never really reconciled when at 
> one of the planning meetings for a future independent Indian 
> government, Ambedkar (author of the Indian constitution) argued that 
> untouchables, like Muslims, should have reserved seats in the 
> legislature to insure the protection of their rights.  Gandhi began 
> one his infamous fasts to prevent this from happening.  His view was 
> that they were Hindus and already represented.  Gandhi was trying to 
> keep India unified and prevent the inevitable factionalization of the 
> people.  Ambedkar saw the caste system as a larger enemy of the 
> untouchables than the Brittish had ever been.  Gandhi eventually gave 
> up his fast and they came to a compromise, but their friendship never 
> healed over this one.
>
> Jim Blumenthal
>
>
Gandhi was too much trying to be a good Hindu and a good Indian. Being 
an excellent actor he got more credit then he deserved. In South-India 
Periyar (Ramaswami Naiker) was the one who stood up for the Dalits 
against the Brahmins and that was something Gandhi never dared to do. 
And that again made Gandhi more popular.
Naming someone a child of God, a Harijan, is a good way of belitteling 
him, of repressive toleration.

-- 


Erik


www.xs4all.nl/~jehms
weblog http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/pub/blogs/blog.php?uid=2950
products: http://stores.lulu.com/jehmsstudio