dr. ambedkar's message for social justice was not limited to his own community, those considered 'untouchable" in india. his vision was of the freedom and dignity of all people, a truly international message. as proof of the power and timelessness of this message, there is a growing jai bhim movement among the gypsy community in hungary, buddhists who feel more connected to the tbmsg buddhist movement in india than with western buddhism.

our friend from india, ashwin jangam, visited hungary in 2007 and is there again now. below is an excerpt from his 2007 journal about his first visit. we'll be crossing paths with ashwin next week in northeast hungary and will report back about that meeting. sadhu ashwin. sadhu janos and tibor, the pioneers of this important human rights work in hungary, following in the footsteps of dr. ambedkar, creating new dharmic pathways . jai bhim!

"Ashwin Jangam’s Diary (2007)

"I was invited by Derdak Tibor and Orsos Janos in Hungary to see the Gypsy people and their life.I Stayed in my friend Orosos Janos house.Derdak Tibor and Orsos Janos want to make strong relation with the T.B.M.S.G.Buddhist community. So that they have invited me there to see the same problems they have which we Dalit people was experience 75 years ago.T.B.M.S.G. is Buddhist Ambedkarites movement. Orsos Janos want to establised like this organisation in hungary for the Roma/Gypsy people. Orsos Janos is the founder president of “Jaibhim Network”.Derdak Tibor and Orsos Janos work together for the Gypsy poor people to uplift their living standard.

Living with Gypsy Family
"In Hungary, I lived with the Gypsy family about 2 & 1/2 month.This family name is Orsos Family. This family is of my friend Janos.In this familys members are so lovely and kind with me. we could say that this family is combilne family like indian family. They also work together and feel happy life. In this home have his mother who is very much kind and his friend Derdak Tibor who is white hungarian man. In the world it is very rare to discover that one white hungarian living in the Gypsies house. Janos and Tibor are very good and best friends.
And i was also the member of this beautiful and big family. In every morning Janos mother make breakfast for me. She dont know really how to make vegetarian food but she tried to make it for me. All time she thinking of me how could she make the different vegetarian food for me. She dont know the english language but by the body language she try to asked me what is my need.

Gypsy Villages
"In Hungary, I saw most of the Gypsies are without schooling,good housing and any kind of social security. Gypsy people lived segregated from Hungarian white peoples society. The professional life of Gypsy people are different than the rest of the Hungarian people life. These people dont have work/business. I have seen Gypsy/Roma families in villages like Manfa,Hidas,Alsszenmarton,Sajokaza,orsovadaz. Family plays a large role in their life.

"Roma/Gypsy language is quite similar with the India language.In indian Marathi,Hindi aek,don,tin,char,panch,aakh,kale baal.In english one,two,three,four,five,eye,black hair.In roma/gypsy language aeki,doei,three,star,panch,aakh,kale baal.So these Roma/Gypsy like words are very simmiler and easy for me to understand than hungarian language.Sometime Tibor,Janos,and Boda peter teached me about similarities of words.They come here form our indian family because their language,skin colour and family life style is same like indian people.

Gypsy People
"Unemployment is another major problems in gypsy people due to the lack of education. sometime they have employmebt in entatainment, farm work, shop cleaner. I did not find there a single gypsy man who have good business/work.In hungary,G ypsy people have the nationality of Hungary so they called as Hungarian Gypsy. If they went to search the job in cities like Budapest or Pecs then they need to keep their identity card to show the police that they have nationality and they are not criminals.These people looks different than Hungarian white people,it is easy to differentiate between them.

"Once I and my friend Janos Orsos was travalling in Budapest by city bus.We was waiting for the city bus at the Bus stop,after sometime police car come near to us and asked us`show the identity card`. policemen did not asked other white people over there but they asked us because of diferent skin colour. Janos told me if he want to come in Budapest or like this cities then he should have to keep his identity card to show policemen to ensure that he is not belongs to criminal. Every time police and white people discriminate. He told if he travelled from the bus,no one like to sit near to him. So that they called themselves the untouchables of Hungary.

School Of Gypsy
"Tibor and Janos opened school in Alsoszentmarton, Tomor, Sajokaza. Little tiger school is in Alsoszentmarton. here are 1200 population of Gypsies.I n this year 1 saptember 2007 opened new school in tomor and Sajokaza.This school name is Dr.Ambedker school.This school running under the Jaibhim Network. Derdak Tibor is the director of the Dr.Ambedker school. Tibor and Janos goes different villages to search Gypsies children who dont have education or elder people who has left the school. They encourage them to start their studies of their school.

"1 to 2 percentage of gypsy people get education. Tibor told me why they opened school? His plan to send gypsy youngstars to universities and colleges.Village schools and Teachers dont send them even to secondary school education that is why Dr.Ambedkar ideology is needed for us. Educate, Organise and Agitate 'We went in very poor family in orsovadaz to serch students for the Dr.Ambedkar school. Now Dr.Ambedker school has 100 students in this year.Dr.Ambedkar school opened this year and have very good response of the students.'

"Janos and Tibor are worked and going on the foot step of Dr.Ambedkar. We Dalit people did not have housing,education and employment but Dr.Ambedkar shown us the way of education and given equal rights in constitution so now we get respect and eqality by non Dalit people.

"This small root of education which is planted by Janos Orsos and Derdak Tibor is growing now.In future Non gypsy people will be prepared to accept Roma/Gypsy people as they are,because of gypsies education."

Peter Tatchell has written a strongly-worded piece in The UK's Guardian newspaper about the Dalit community and the oppression of caste as a human rights issue. 

Read the article here yourself:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/17/india.humanrights

It is interesting, also, to read the comments posted. Many people wrote in their comments about caste oppression as "racism". Actually, caste and race are different. But what is essential is the recognition of hatred, discrimination, and violence perpetuated in the name of race or caste, or any other category created by humans. What is essential is a commitment to HUMAN rights. Dr. Ambedkar, who has inspired so many Dalit activists, made the point that his goal was not only to end caste discrimination. His goal was to end all discrimination. Jai Bhim.

Some of Tatchell's key points in the article are:

1. Human Rights Watch has condemned India's abuse of its Dalit people as a "hidden apartheid," comparable to the institutional discrimination of pre-democratic South Africa. According to a major Human Rights Watch report, Dalit people are still today seen by many Indians as sub-human and undeserving of basic rights. Shunned as inferiors and scoial outcasts, they suffer insults, violence, rape, discrimination and impoverishment.

2. Criticisms were voiced in a 2007 report by the UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination, which  reiterated that laws protecting Dalits were not strong enough and that existing laws were often not enforced.  Over 100,000 cases of rape, murder, arson and other abuses against Dalits are reported in India each year.

3. There has been a wave of mass demonstrations by Dalit people demanding justice and equal treatment, fighting back with strikes and boycotts. Shaken by this burgeoning protest movement, some Indian authorities are finally being pushed and pressured into action, albeit slowly and exceptionally.

4. The plight of the Dalits is well-known to the Indian government. In 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first serving Indian prime minister to acknowledge a parallel between the practice of "untouchability" and the abuses of apartheid. He condemned anti-Dalit casteism as a "blot on humanity", adding: "Even after 60 years of constitutional and legal protection and state support, there is still social discrimination against Dalits in many parts of our country."

5. If India wants to be an internationally respected world player, as it has every right to be, it needs to eradicate this blight on its national character. As long as the feudal caste system exists, India will never fulfill its potential, economically or ethically.

6. You can help the Dalit struggle for dignity and human rights by emailing the Indian High Commissioner in London, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee at hc.london@mea.gov.in
Urge him to press the Indian government for tougher laws and stronger law enforcement to protect the Dalit people, backed up with a mandatory education program to promote Dalit equality in all Indian schools, businesses, temples, mosques, government offices and police and judicial agencies.