Go to villages, educate people about their rights: BSP leader Praveen Kumar to UoH students

Hyderabad: Former IPS officer and coordinator of Bahujan Samaj Party in Telangana RS Praveen Kumar urged the students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) to visit villages and educate people about their rights. He was speaking at the 131st Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations organized by the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) at the University of Hyderabad on Sunday.

He shared some of his experiences during the ongoing 300-day Bahujan Rajyadhikara Yatra launched on March 6. "Go to the villages and educate them, especially about voting rights and the exploitation that they are facing," he said.

Urging the students to form a solidarity network of all organizations working for the same cause, he said: "We are in for a great disaster if we don't raise our voices. We will be engulfed."

Praveen Kumar told the students to question and challenge the status quo. "Challenge the status quo even though you'll be rusticated but remember one thing, the rusticated ones change the society," he said. He said that his entry into politics has disturbed Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and that he has started raising slogans like Jai Bhim and is now garlanding Ambedkar statues in the city.

Caste system in universities

Speaking at the event, Bhangya Bhukia, professor at the Department of History, University of Hyderabad described how subtly the caste system works in university spaces. Recalling his days as a student at the University of Hyderabad, Prof. Bhukia said, "In 1993, as a student of this university, I felt everything was far for me. At one point, I also felt that this university was not meant for me. Many of my friends even left their courses in the first or second semesters. You can't see the caste system in universities, it works subtly."

Prof. Bhukia further explained how the Hindutva forces in the country today are trying to reinforce Hinduism again and that this is a dangerous situation as the entire caste system is rooted in Hinduism. "Religion is important in our individual lives. Unfortunately, it is being used for some wrong purposes these days," he said.

He also reiterated Ambedkar's saying that 'unless you kill or destroy Hinduism, you cannot remove casteism.'

Ambedkar is much more relevant now

Prof. PL Vishweshwara Rao, who teaches Journalism at Osmania University, said India had never gone through such a crisis in the last 75 years. "Ambedkar is much more relevant now because the entire concept of the Constitution is in danger," he said. Reading out certain Articles from the Constitution, he said the idea of India is all about plurality, and diversity, and today the entire spirit of Ambedkar is destroyed.

He mentioned how the universities in the country today do not have any academic freedom and are stopped from teaching about Ambedkar, Periyar, etc.

He further urged the UoH students to continue their agitation until equality is brought to classrooms.

Gaddam Jhansi, National Convenor of Dalit Sthree Shakthi, Prajwal Gaikwad, former Joint Secretary of ASA, and Iniyavan, President of ASA also spoke at the event.