Dalits stand up against ‘anti-Brahmin’ book

http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/201106072011060700531413150288ba9/Dalits-stand-up-against-%E2%80%98antiBrahmin%E2%80%99-book.html

Five prominent Dalits have filed a police complaint against
Puroshottam Khedekar’s book, saying it is ‘anti-constitutional and
derogatory to Brahmins’

Devidas Deshpande

June 07, 2011

While Brahmins are still contemplating legal action against
Puroshottam Khedekar’s controversial book, prominent Dalits across the
city who had filed a complaint with the police on May 18, are now
demanding that it should be turned into a first information report
(FIR). However, the police are sitting pretty and have done nothing
about the complaint.

The cover of Khedekar’s controversial book
The controversy surrounding Khedekar’s book Shivrayanchya Badnamichi
Kendre has been going on for a while. Last week, a meeting was
organised by the Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Mahasangh in the city to
condemn the book.

The speakers included veteran Sanskrit scholar Vasant Gadgil. Govind
Kulkarni, president of the organisation, told Pune Mirror, “This time,
we are asking the governor to act in this regard.

There is no use approaching the government because they are
hand-in-glove with Maratha organisations. At the time of Dadoji
Konddev’s statue removal, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had
promised to meet us, but till date, he has done nothing.

Kulkarni added that the community members are also thinking about
approaching the High Court to ban the book, but it depends on the
stand taken by the Governor. A delegation of the organisation will
meet the Governor, present him with a set of Khedekar’s books and ask
him to take action.

“Khedekar has written some 30 books with content against our
community. We ignored them, thinking that this is a lunatic tendency.
However, it is now turning into a Goebbels’ pattern — to turn lies
into truth,” he added.

While Brahmins are yet to take that final decision of filing a
complaint, five Dalits, including academicians and activists,
registered a complaint with then Joint Police Commissioner Ashok
Dhiware against Khedekar, who is president of Maratha Seva Sangh and
his book.

Professor Hari Narke, head of the Mahatma Jotiba Phule chair at the
University of Pune and Sanjay Sonawani, author of 62 books in Marathi,
are among those who signed the application. They are joined by Dalit
activists Madhukar Ramteke, Sham Satpute and Bhupal Patwardhan.

According to them, Khedekar has made certain obscene and malicious
observations in his new book and even exhorted his followers to carry
out systematic riots in the state. The complaint says, ‘Khedekar has
in his book appealed to his organisation members to carry out
systematic riots against Brahmins. This is anti-constitutional.

In the same book,he has written about Brahmin women in the most
derogatory language. All this deserves stringent legal action.’
Surekha Lokhande, leader of the Republican Party of India, even met
Home Minister R R Patil to take action against the book.

The complaint has been gathering dust in the police files. It is yet
to be turned into an FIR which will prompt the police to take action
against the book. A case under section 66 (A) of Information
Technology Act, 2000 was registered by the police immediately.
Meanwhile, Dhiware has been transferred as the Director, Criminal
Investigation Department.

Speaking to Pune Mirror, Sonawani said, “It is strange that the police
is not taking any action. I don’t know what kind of pressure has
forced them to turn a blind eye to the issue.” Narke said, “I raised
this issue on April 1 this year in the presence of Khedekar at a
function in Balgandharv Rangmandir. It has been over three months
since then but the police has done nothing. This inaction surprises
me.”

Meanwhile, the same police department acted swiftly in registering a
case against a Facebook user for allegedly defaming deputy CM Ajit
Pawar on the social networking website.

According to a complaint filed by a Nationalist Congress Party worker,
Arvind Gore, the user, Amit Jadhav, has posted a blackened picture of
Pawar on the social networking site, asking fellow users to post
abuses about him. A lot of obscene comments are being posted.

According to Sangita Alphonso Shinde, inspector, Pune Police Cyber
Cell, the police have asked for user information from Facebook to
trace the culprit.

► Khedekar has, in his book, appealed to his organisation to carry
out systematic riots against Brahmins. This is anti-constitutional. He
has also written about Brahmin women in most derogatory language, the
complaint states.

► It is strange that the police is not taking any action. I don’t
know what kind of pressure has forced them to turn a blind eye to the
issue.

– Sanjay Sonawani, dalit author

Laine-baiter Maratha author pens book to bash Brahmins

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_laine-baiter-maratha-author-pens-book-to-bash-brahmins_1546409

Published: Sunday, May 22, 2011, 23:28 IST
By Sudhir Suryawanshi | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Five years ago, Maratha Seva Sangh president Purushottam Khedekar
stirred up quite a storm over US research scholar James Laine’s book
on Maratha warrior Shivaji and made the state government ban it.
However, as he planned to expose what he calls the seeds of Shivaji’s
defamation, he seems to have left Laine far behind as he has made some
sweeping and obnoxious comments about Brahmins and their women.

In his book Shivrayanchya Badnamichi Kendre, published last month,
Khedekar has even said that non-Brahmins must take revenge on Brahmins
by fanning caste-based riots. His comments on Brahmin men and women
and their sexual habits have caused a stir in the hornet’s nest and
even liberals have been unable to digest them.

MD Ramteke, an Ambedkarite, has written a blog condemning Khedekar’s
malicious writing. “We should keep a distance from Khedekar and his
movement against Brahmins. Dr Babasaheb never stooped to this level.
If we continue to associate with him, it will malign our image. The
government should ban the book and the organisation,” he stated in his
blog.

In his comment, Dr Hari Narake, a Phule-Ambedkar historian, said:
“This is abusive language, not used by intellectuals. This will only
help the opponents of our cause.”

Khedekar, however, does not regret his remarks and language. “What I
have written is the truth. I need not produce any proof or evidence to
anyone. If people have any doubts, they should first raise objections
to traditional books like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, in which
false information has been inserted. Why don’t you ask for proofs from
them? Even the Sanatan Prabhat indulges in false writing,” he said.

The state government, led mostly by Maratha politicians, has so far
been silent on Khedekar. It was the organisation led by Khedekar’s son
that was behind the vandalising of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute in Pune six years ago. They have also been instrumental in
removing the statue of Dadoji Konddeofrom Lal Mahal in Pune.