It's really a tragic news. 2009/12/21 ranju radha <[email protected]>
> > City > > Senior Dalit leader found dead in lake > > Dalit Panthers of India founder member Arun Kamble, who was also a Marathi > professor at Mumbai University, dropped a hint he’d commit suicide in a > speech he gave hours before he went missing > > *By Dipti Sonawala and Vinay Dalvi* > *Posted On Monday, December 21, 2009 at 02:30:43 AM* > > This is my last speech,” said Professor Arun Kamble, while concluding his > speech during the Dr B R Ambedkar International Mission and Tenth > International Convention on December 14. No one understood what he was > trying to say at the time. > However, as Kamble’s body was found in Hyderabad’s Hussain Sagar Lake on > Sunday afternoon, his friends and followers were devastated as they joined > the dots. > > Kamble – who is suspected to have committed suicide – was the founder > member of the Dalit Panthers of India, a people’s movement and political > party, and was a professor of Marathi at the University of Mumbai. He is > survived by a wife and two sons. > > The 56-year-old, who was in Hyderabad for the convention, was put up at > Alekhya Residency. Around 4 am on December 14, a security guard happened to > notice that Kamble – who was on his way out of the hotel – dropped his > mobile. The guard handed over the damaged phone to him, and Kamble left. > There had been no trace of him since. > > A missing complaint was filed by his colleagues at the Saifabad Police > Station. Their agonising wait for news ended six days later, as his > decomposed body was found floating in the lake. > > They were able to identify him only by his clothes. > > Hari Narke, author and research personnel in Mahatma Phule literature, who > was Kamble’s roommate at the hotel, says he looked depressed and tired > throughout the convention. “I even asked him if I should call a doctor, but > he refused, saying he was already on a medication.” > > In hindsight, says Narke, there were several signs something was terribly > wrong: “On the first day of the convention, December 12, we were surprised > he did not come out of his room all day, not even to attend the convention. > The next day, he did attend, as he was to give a talk on socio-economic, > literary and cultural philosophy of Dr B R Ambedkar. > > However, though he was expected to speak for an hour, he barely spoke for > five minutes. Initially, we thought he was tired, and none of us realised > the last line he spoke: > > ‘This is my last speech’. When I woke up on the morning of December 14, I > found that Kamble sir was missing and informed the others.” > > Kasi Krishna, a Dalit Panthers activist, said, “I met Kamble sir after > almost 10 years at the convention, but he looked very tired and upset. I > tried talking to him, but he was reserved. We are all shocked; we have lost > a true intellectual.” > > R Shridhar, police inspector of the Ramgopal Peth Police Station, said, > “The body was taken to Gandhi Hospital in Musheerabad for a post-mortem. > After preliminary investigations, it appears to be a suicide, but we are > awaiting the report. We will handover the body to relatives on Monday when > they reach the city,” said Shridhar. > > *Who was Arun Kamble?* > > Arun Krushnaji Kamble, born March 14, 1953, was a senior activist of the > Dalit Panthers in the 1970s and later formed the Bharatiya Dalit Panthers or > Dalit Panthers of India. Kamble was active during the movement to demand > renaming of Marathwada University after Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. He is known > for his books on Ramayana (in which he wrote about the cultural conflicts), > Ambedkar’s conversion and the Dalit movement. He had also been associated > with V P Singh and had joined > > the Janata Dal; he was once the Janata Dal state general secretary. > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Our Media" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<our-media%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/our-media?hl=en. > > > > -- > Ranjit > > > > -- > " The so called caste-hindus are bitterly opposed to the depressed class > using a public tank not because they really believe that the water will be > thereby spoiled or will evaporate but because they are afraid of losing > their superiority of caste and of equality being established between the > former and the latter. We are resorting to this satyagraha not becasue we > believe that the water of this particular tank has any exceptional > qualities, but to establish our natural rights as citizens and human > beings." > > - Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahad Satyagraha Conference, December 25th , 1927 > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Green Youth Movement" group. > To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<greenyouth%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
