Pakistan Hindu Mandir Management Committee on Thursday marked the birth anniversary of the key social reformer of the subcontinent Baba Sahib Ambedkar to promote his legacy and continue his vision.
People from different walks of life participated and paid a great homage to Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar on his 131st birth anniversary. The first PhD holder in United India and a strong voice for vulnerable communities locally called Dalits, Dr. Ambedkar was also a key architect of the Indian constitution. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sono Khangarani pointed out that Dalits wanted a greater share in mainstream politics over upper-caste Hindus. Political parties are giving reserved minority seats in the assembly to upper-caste Hindus only. “But this is hardly representative as the population of the scheduled castes is much higher than that of the upper caste Hindus,” he added.
“There was a time when we used to hide our castes and used alternative surnames so that people could not discriminate based on caste. It’s a long journey and we are pledging to get equality and justice,” Dr Sono concluded. Chellaram Kewlani stressed that an estimated two million Dalits are living in Pakistan today. The gathering demanded that their shares in employment, scholarships, national resources, development schemes and parliament be raised based on their numbers, he said. President of Pakistan Hindu Mandir Management Committee Krishan Sharma said that Dr. Ambedkar was a staunch critic of the caste system and is credited with bringing various reforms to elevate the marginalised communities.
Sharma demanded United Nations and SAARC show their serious concern over the issue of 11 people belonging to the Bheel community in Jaipur, Rajasthan, who were found dead. He emphasised that the Umerkot and Tharparkar districts of Sindh had a majority population of Hindus, but their presence in Pakistan’s mainstream politics is just appreciated as ‘reserved’. Political parties should amend their manifestos to promote inclusivity and religious co-existence, he said.
