Periyar Lalai Singh Yadav: A great hero of the Bahujan tradition

The credit goes to Lalai Singh Yadav, the pioneer of Dravidian movement, social revolutionary Periyar EV Ramasamy Nayakar’s book Sachi Ramayana in Hindi for the first time. As soon as he got Periyar’s true Ramayana translated into Hindi, a storm arose in North India. In 1968 itself, Lalai Singh got ‘The Ramayana: A True Reading’ translated into Hindi and published it under the name ‘Sachhi Ramayana’.
By Dalit Dastak News
Uproar over publication of true Ramayana by Hindus and ban and confiscation by the government
As soon as the true Ramayana was published, it created such a buzz that the so-called protectors of Hinduism took to the streets to protest against it. Under pressure, the then Uttar Pradesh government seized the book on December 8, 1969, on the charge of inciting religious sentiments. The matter went to the Allahabad High Court.
The counsel for the state government told the court that this book attacks the sacred sentiments of the vast Hindu population of the state and the author of this book has defamed the great avatars of Shri Ram and divine characters like Sita and Janak, whose Hindus Let’s worship. That’s why it is necessary to ban this book.
Lalai Singh Yadav’s victory in the High Court
Lalai Singh Yadav’s advocate Banwari Lal Yadav strongly advocated in favor of ‘true Ramayana’. On January 19, 1971, the court quashed the order of confiscation and directed the government to return all the confiscated books and pay three hundred rupees as litigation cost to the appellant Lalai Singh.
Lalai Singh Yadav’s victory in the Supreme Court
After this, the Uttar Pradesh government appealed against the decision of the Allahabad High Court in the Supreme Court. The hearing was conducted by a three-judge bench, headed by Justice VR Krishna Iyer, and comprising PN Bhagwati and Syed Murtaza Fazal Ali. The decision on this matter came in the Supreme Court on 16 September 1976 by the name ‘Uttar Pradesh vs. Lalai Singh Yadav’. The decision was in favor of the publisher of the book. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Allahabad High Court and dismissed the appeal of the state government.
Lalai Singh renounced Hinduism and became a Buddhist.
Periyar Lalai Singh became the hero of Dalit-backwards after winning the case in favor of true Ramayana in Allahabad High Court and Supreme Court. Lalai Singh Yadav had converted to Buddhism in 1967 after renouncing Hinduism. After adopting Buddhism, he removed the word Yadav from his name. His deep anti-caste consciousness was working behind the removal of the word Yadav. He was fighting for a casteless society.
Ashoka Library started
Periyar Lalai Singh Yadav discovered the Bahujan heroes of history. Buddhist Bahujan King Ashoka was included in his ideal personalities. He established a publishing house named ‘Ashoka Library’ and set up his own printing press, which was named ‘Sasta Press’.
Playwriting
He wrote five plays- (1) Angulimal Natak, (2) Shambuk Vadh, (3) Saint Maya Balidan, (4) Eklavya, and (5) Nag Yagya Natak. He also wrote three books in prose – (1) Religious dacoity on the oppressed, (2) Political dacoity on the oppressed, and (3) How to end social inequality?
Kanwal Bharti writes about his plays and his contribution to literature that this literature was the literature of a new ideological revolution parallel to Hindi literature, which changed the thinking of the downtrodden classes on Hindu heroes and Hindu culture. This was a new discourse, which was lacking in Hindi literature. This literature of Lalai Singh created rebellious consciousness among the Bahujans against Brahminism and reawakened the Shraman culture and ideology in them.
Lalai Singh, known as Periyar of North India
He got the title of Periyar in Tamil Nadu, the birthplace and workplace of Periyar. Later he became famous in Hindi belt as Periyar of North India. Periyar Lalai Singh, the hero of the Bahujans, was born on 1 September 1921 in Kathara village near Jhinjhak railway station in Kanpur. Like other Bahujan heroes, his life is also full of struggles. He joined the Armed Police Force of Gwalior as a constable in 1933, but was dismissed after two years for supporting Congress Swaraj, which was a crime under British rule. He appealed and in appeal he was reinstated. In 1946, he established the ‘Non-Gazetted Mulajimaan Police and Army Association’ in Gwalior itself, and became its president unanimously.
Through this union, he raised the problems of the policemen and fought for them with the higher authorities. When Indians in America formed the ‘Gadar Party’ under the leadership of Lala Hardayal, the book ‘Soldier of the War’ was written to connect the soldiers of the Indian Army with the freedom movement. Lalai Singh wrote the book ‘Sipahi Ki Tabahi’ in 1946 on the lines of the same, which was not printed, but it was typed and distributed among the soldiers. But as soon as the Inspector General of the Army came to know about this book, he confiscated it by his special order. ‘Sipahi Ki Tabahi’ was a book written in conversational style. Had it been published, it would have been compared to Mahatma Jotiba Phule’s ‘Kisan Ka Koda’ and ‘Achhooton Ki Kaifiyat’ books today.
Jagannath Aditya has quoted some excerpts from ‘Sipahi Ki Tabahi’ in his book, in which there is a dialogue between the soldier and his wife on the plight of the house. In the end it is written- ‘In fact, the unseen imagination of the priests, Mullahs-clerics-priests, the name of heaven and hell is completely false. This is the arrangement of the true hell of the soldier’s house, seen by the eyes and passed on by everyone. The reason for this hellish arrangement is the mismanagement of the Scindia government. So it has to be reversed in every condition, it has to be finished. ‘Let the people rule the people’, then all our demands will be accepted.
Sentenced to five years in prison by the British Government
A year later, Lalai Singh organized a strike in the Gwalior police and army, as a result of which he was arrested on 29 March 1947. The trial went on, and he was sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment. He was in jail for 9 months, and when India became independent, after the merger of Gwalior State with the Republic of India, he was released from jail on 12 January 1948.
After being released from government service in 1950, he devoted himself completely to the emancipation of Bahujan Samaj. He had deeply realized that without the end of Brahminism, the liberation of Bahujans cannot happen. As a social worker, writer and publisher, he devoted his entire life to the cause of the end of Brahminism and the emancipation of the Bahujans. He took his last leave on 7 February 1993.
Dalit Dastak News is a monthly magazine, YouTube channel, website, news app and publication (Das Publication). Since 2012, Dalit Dastak has been continuously raising the voice of marginalized people through various mediums of communication. Its editor and publisher is Ashok Das (Editor & Publisher Ashok Das), who has joined Harvard University of America as a speaker.
Courtesy : Dalit Dastak
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