Dalit Society - Cultural
Transformation and Guru Ravidassji
Centre
of Indian Languages of Jawaharlal Nehru University
organized and hosted a two day Interdisciplinary
International Seminar on Guru Ravidassji at JNU On
February 23-24, 20015.
Though I am not an authority on the
subject yet the organizers, particularly the Convener of
the Conference Dr. Rajesh Paswan, was kind enough to
invite me as an observer. As such, I attended the
opening plenary session and also participated in the
first technical session of the Seminar on February 23.
Both the functions were very well organized and
attended. I take this opportunity to thank and
congratulate Dr. Rajesh Paswan and his colleagues at the
Centre of Indian Languages particularly Dr. Ram Chander
for the excellent arrangements and hospitality.
The opening plenary was inaugurated by
Shri Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh International who was
one of the co-sponsors of the Seminar. The theme of his
speech was the Motivational Message of Guru Ravidass and
the Sulabh Movement. He said that to fight the problem
of caste system and establishment of healthy and
harmonious social order, there was no better remedy than
the path shown by the great visionary Guru Ravidass. The
session was chaired by Dr. Vaishna Narang, Dean of
Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies Centre of the
JNU. Some of the renowned intellectuals and academics
namely Prof T.V. Kattimani, Vice Chancellor of Indira
Gandhi National Tribal University, Dr. Chander Bhan
Prasad, Prof. Vivek Kumar, Prof. Chauthiram Yadav, Shri
Sunil Sardar spoke with convincing and impressive voices
and underlined the importance and relevance of Guru
Ravidassji’s message and philosophy to meet the
challenges of the 21st century. I was very
much impressed by the scholarly presentations of Prof
Vivek Kumar of JNU and Prof. Chauthiram Yadav of BHU.
The first technical session of the
Seminar on the afternoon of February 23 was chaired by
Shri Rajesh Bagha, Chairman of Punjab SC Commission and
conducted by a young intellectual Dr. Manoj Kumar. The
theme of the session was Guru Ravidass: Diverse
Dimensions. It was a very well attended session by the
cross sections of students and teaching community. The
speakers namely Shri Sriram Arsh, Prof K.P. Singh of
USA, Dr. Sneh Thakur of Canada, Dr. Rahul Dipankar of
USA, Prof. Chandra Sadayat, Shri F.C. Mall spoke on
different facets of Guru Ravidass and his philosophy
from academic and intellectual perspectives. I spoke as
a layman and a humble follower of the great Guru on the
theme: The Concept of Begumpura with particular
reference to the lofty idea of an ideal state or welfare
state in the contemporary times. Prof. Chandra Sadayat
of NCERT said that it was gratifying that, of late, the
compositions of Guru Ravidass were included in the
school syllabus. Shri Sriram Arsh in his scholarly
speech said that Guru Ravidass was not only a pioneer of
the Bhakti Movement but also a great revolutionary to
transform the society. Dr. Ram Chander of JNU gave the
Vote of Thanks and summed up the proceedings of the
session with utmost competence and flare.
The Seminar was a befitting tribute to
Guru Ravidassji in the month of his Prakash Utsav on
February 3, 2015.
By Ramesh Chander -
A retired
Indian
diplomat
