Dear All,
Jai Bheem and Namo Buddhaya,
The loss of my dear friend Rajkumar D Kamble (I call him mottu with love, for which he never objected me) is not only a loss for his family, for me and my family, as one of my best friends, but also a great loss for our society. He is fundamentally a staunch Ambedkarite and Buddhist and the motivating force for many of us to be socially conscious. He encouraged us to adopt the philosophy of “paying back to the society”.
We have been friends for the last 40 years. We met when I first joined Engineers India Limited (EIL) in 1978. He was the one who led me to work for BAMCEF, lead by Manyavar Kanshi Ram, and that is what gave me an opportunity to be closely associated with Kanshi Ram.
I knew he was very smart in identifying our persons from various states of India and organising them. As a result, I accepted the position of Secretary of Engineers India Limited (EIL) SC/ST Welfare Association. He himself tried to never hold any positions but remained a guide to all of us.
Today, I am recalling those days in the 1980s, roaming every part of Delhi to meet our people, for spreading BAMCEF ideology and organizing social activities without ever bothering about any of our own hardships. Because of our work we gathered a good number of like-minded persons, we formed a community, and due to that, we all become good friends, despite being from different states and speaking different languages.
Eventually, we left EIL and Delhi one by one and got employed in different countries. Our friendship continued even after that also. Many good old friends were working in Malaysia at one point in time. That was the year of 1994 when we celebrated Dr Ambedkar Jayanti at my house in Kuala Lumpur. On that day, RDK was instrumental in our founding of AIM, meaning – Dr Ambedkar International Mission. We all celebrated with families and kids the whole night till morning. It was a really a joyful day for all of us including our kids.
Later, he expanded AIM to other countries globally. He was also a key member in forming DIO – Dalit International Organisation.
When we were In Malaysia, there was a turmoil in one of the Malaysian political parties – called the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). Not everyone in the party could accept a Dalit person as the leader of the party and as a result, this strong Dalit leader who had bravely contended for the President post of the party was expelled from MIC. He was a capable leader and his name was MG Pandithan.
Having come to know this through newspapers, our beloved friend RDK and another friend, Vijay Hathmode, contacted Pandithan, and his close associate Panja Moorthy, who was also a Dalit. Raju motivated and encouraged them to form Dalit International Organization (DIO) stressing that moments like this were calls for international solidarity and international community-building. That is how DIO was found. Soon after, under the leadership of Pandithan, an International Conference was conducted in 1998 for the first time in the world history of Dalits.
In his efforts to awaken and organise Dalits around the world, he sacrificed a lot – not only of his own money, but also his family time, and health. For that, I would like to thank Bhabiji (Mrs.Nanda Kamble) and kids, Prachi and Choti, for sharing him with our society.
I can say so many things about him. However, I stop here.
Overall, Mr R D Kamble was a role model for his incredible
1. simplicity and humbleness
2. sacrifices
3. identifying and organising our people.
4. awakening and motivating our people without frustration.
5. tireless work towards spreading Ambedkarism and Buddhism.
6. politeness and never getting angry
7. never bothering what others were saying about him
8. avoid conflict with anybody and sorting out only through discussions
9. Paying Back to the Society
And so much more!
I am personally very much sad and I know that all his friends are in the same situation as me. His family members must be suffering so more than us. I wish them to be strong and have courage with the support of the Buddha, who emphasised Anitya – impermanence, the reality that nobody can escape from death.
RDK mingled in the universe and become basic elements. These basic elements are now joining with cosmic energy to form new lives and create more RDKs for this society.
We are with the bereaved family and ready to provide any support to them.
For RDK by RDK’S dearest friend,
Karuna
(A.Karunakaran)
Dear Kamble Uncle,
Jai Bhim and Namo Bhuddhaya.
I am mourning your loss today knowing I will be mourning you for a long time.
Uncle, you were a figure from our childhood. I have known you since I was born.
My Mom and Dad were both from small villages in Tamil Nadu. They were a part of a group of young Dalits from different parts of India, in Delhi, all figuring out what the entry into middle class looked like for them. They were politicized in college but as they moved to Delhi and then to Malaysia, people like you – uncle, wove together these transgenerationally network-less, coming from steep poverty, sometimes lonely and tentative Dalit families, in a new place, in a new class bracket, surrounded by savarna power and wealth. You wove them into a powerful, political community invested in “paying back” and taking the vision of Ambedkarism global.
You all were a group of young couples navigating politics and personal lives together. Those relationships, even when sometimes broken towards each other remained unshook, unbroken with respect to commitment to our people. Kamble uncle you were core to our community in those days. You held people together, you showed them there was more behind the mountains that seem to stand in their ways. You were there with suggestions and possibilities. Even when energy dwindled, you carved out new paths, led folks to meet leaders like Kanshi Ram and kept their energy and politics renewed and empowered continuously with an Ambedkarite vision.
When I came into the community here in the US, seeing you, Kamble uncle, felt like coming home again. It was such a pleasure. I knew that if you had inspired my family to work for our people, then in many ways, you have inspired me too, to continue on this path. You became one of the reasons then for my continued interest in working towards the well-being of our people.
In our time here together, we haven’t always agreed on how the paths to that well-being can look. We have had political and methodological differences. But I have always had a deep and unwavering warmth in my heart for you. I respected you and what you meant to my community, to your friends- my parents, and how many people you drew in and lives you changed.
I wish your family, your wife, and daughters – strength and love and solidarity. They are gifted with the same love, fight, and resilience our people all seem to have. I will strive to be there for them always.
Kamble uncle, Rest In Peace. The Karunakaran family misses you deeply and thanks to you for your incredible energy, friendship, life, and work.
As my Dad has said – you will become the elements of the universe, and renew this universe with material to build more beings like you – those that bring love and justice.
Yours lovingly,
Valli Karunakaran
#RIP #AMBEDKARISTS #POWER #COMMUNITY