and
there started stinking in the news
the
burning lawns of the Marathwada University campus.
the
green vidyasaplings,
the
shrubs of knowledge planted around the pustatakalaya
were
uprooted and thrown into the air.
like
the pestered bees,
the
encircling smoke soon reached the maharwada,
the
untouchable bastis of Maharashtra.
like
the glow-worms,
the
sparks of the winged flames
flew
onto the grass-roofs of the poor colonies.
every
hut became a bon-fire,
baking
the dark, innocent faces of dalit children
shooting
like a bunch or crackers
bursting
the bellies!
their
trees slashed to the ground,
their
mud-houses razed.
each
untouchable ghetto became a small Nagasaki.
they
say,
it
all happened with the ominous name of Ambedkar!
he
had made them smell the roots of the tree of knowledge,
the
Vidya .
they
alleged
he
ate that slice of encyclopedia-liver
stealthily
from the savarnaSahadevas.
to
commemorate his academic genius
that
unshackled the untouchables,
his
name was to be branded upon the tomb of
Marathwada
Uuniversity
like
the Cross that conquered !
the
caste-conscious students,
the
savarna statesmen,
the
communal clergy
jointly
ignited the pleasing precincts of the venerable Vidyapeeth.
the
uniform Resolution of the State was shattered threadbare.
like
the crafty fox hidden behind the fence,
they
basked in the burning heat of the harijan flesh.
o,why
do you run away hiding your tail between your legs,
dropping
the stones into the pure and serene waters
of
this great vishwa vidyapeeth ?
why
do you disappear with sucha vandal’s laugh,
reducing
the august academy into ashes?
to
anoint your holy foreheads with the untouchable ashes?
i
remember the ancient ashramas of Nalanda and Taxashila,
where
the State was the obedient and humble servant
at
the feet of the guru, the symbol of knowledge.
Marathwada
University, are you a mallashala,
a
gymkhana of the mighty Marathas?
is
it the battle-field for caste-arrogant Kunbis ?
no,
it is a cradle of the golden future of India,
leading
it to the light in these times of abject anarchy.
and
each student is an angel :
pure and chaste like the blue swans and white
lilies
In
the lake of paradise!
it
is rightly said
Ambedkar
is the name of an extra ordinary academician,
And
a great missionary of humanity:
he
gave light to this ‘area of darkness’.
and
lo, you killed the trees of knowledge and light
and
celebrated the jubilee of Marathwada Uuniversity !
a legend prevails among dalits—
that
there twinkles an anonymous star
between
the assembly of your saptarishis !
they
know : Ambedkar is the name of that Enlightenment,
the
sun inextinguishable.
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