9. Ramswaroop Verma
Ramswaroop Verma (1923-1998) was the founder of Arjak Sangh, a Lucknow based humanist organisation, which stresses social equality and is strongly opposed to Brahminism. Verma did not believe in the existence of God or soul. Besides, he was a strong opponent of fatalism and the doctrine of karma. Verma campaigned vigorously against Brahminism and untouchability. According to him, Brahminism is rooted in the doctrine of rebirth, and it is not possible to eradicate it without attacking the doctrine of rebirth and fatalism.
Brahminism, says Verma, is like a tree. The doctrine of rebirth is its root, and fatalism is its stem. Varna-vyavastha is like its branches, on which caste-system grows like leaves. The distinction of high and low are flowers of this tree, whereas exploitation is its fruit. Instead of attacking rebirth, fatalism and varna--vyavastha, the reformist movements, according to Verma, concentrated on removing leaves, flowers and fruits only. Verma strongly asserts that Brahminism cannot be reformed; it has to be negated totally.
Biography
Ramswaroop Verma was born on 22 August 1923, in Gaurikaran village of Kanpur district in U.P. His father's name was Vanshgopal and his mother's name was Sukhia. Verma's father was an agriculturist. Verma, who was an intelligent student, had his school education in village schools. Verma was married to Siyadulari as a student, but his wife died soon. Verma's married life lasted only two years. He did not marry a second time in spite of pressure from family members.
Verma did his M.A. (Hindi) from Allahabad University in 1949. He secured first position in the first class in the University. He did his Law Graduation from Agra University, again securing first position in the first class. He registered himself as an advocate but he did not start practicing. He also qualified in the written examination of the Indian Administrative Services, but did not appear in the interview. By now, he was convinced that an administrator has to work within limitations. He wanted to serve the society as a free citizen. He came in contact of Acharya Narendra Dev and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and, subsequently became a member of the Socialist Party. He was elected to the U.P. Assembly several times. In 1967, he became Finance Minister of U.P. in the coalition government headed by Charan Singh.
After being active in party-politics for a long time, Ramswaroop Verma concluded that it was not possible to achieve political and economic equality without a social and cultural revolution. Consequently, he founded Arjak Sangh on 1 June 1968 for achieving this aim.
In 1972, Verma, who had left the Socialist Party by now, founded a new political party named Samaj Dal. He also started publishing Arjak Saptahik, a Hindi weekly of which he was the chief editor. In a parallel development Jagdeo Prasad, a socialist leader of Bihar, established a political party named Soshit Dal and started publishing and editing a Hindi weekly titled Soshit Saptahik. These two parties had similar policies and in 1972 itself they merged to form Soshit Samaj Dal with Ramswaroop Verma as the chairperson and Jagdeo Prasad as a general secretary. Both these leaders were champions of the rights of backward classes.
Verma was influenced and inspired by Ambedkar among others. In April 1978, Arjak Sangh took up a programme of publicly burning Ramcharit Manas (Ramayana) and Manusmriti at several places in U.P. and Bihar.
Though Verma was active in party politics, he is best known as a thinker, writer and the founder of Arjak Sangh. He kept working for Arjak Sangh through his articles, books and lectures. He died in Lucknow on 19 August 1998.
Publications
Ramswaroop Verma wrote and spoke almost exclusively in Hindi. Manavwadi Prashnotri (Humanist Question-Answers), Kranti Kyon aur Kaise? (Revolution: Why and How?), Brahmanwad banam Manavwad (Brahmanism versus Humanism), Manusmriti Rashtra ka Kalank (Manusmriti a National Shame), Niradar kaise mite? (How to remove Disrespect?) and Achuton ki Samasya aur Samadhan (The Problem of Untouchables and its Solution) are some of his main books. The basic principles, programmes and the bylaws of Arjak Sangh are contained in a Hindi document titled Arjak Sangh Siddhanta Vaktavya - Vidhan - Karyakram (Arjak Sangh: Statement of Principles – Statute – Programme).
Arjak Sangh
The aim of Arjak Sangh, as mentioned in its bylaws, is to organize all communities, which believe in the superiority of physical labour, and to work for their social, economic and cultural advancement. The membership of the organization is open only for those born in communities engaged in physical labour. A community or caste in which at least ninety five per cent of men and women earn their livelihood by physical labour is regarded as “a community engaged in physical labour” or "Arjak". This means that persons born in Brahmin and other upper castes are not entitled to become members of Arjak Sangh. Thus, Arjak Sangh is a backward class organization.
In his preface to the basic document of Arjak Sangh, Verma has greatly emphasized "conscious human equality". According to Verma, human equality is something that comes naturally to human beings. In a healthy society, everyone will respect one another. This is what Verma means by "conscious equality".
Verma comes down very heavily on Brahminism for sanctioning inequality. According to him, Brahminism, which is based on the doctrines of rebirth and fatalism, sanctions slavery and inequality. Therefore, it can never liberate the masses. The aim of Arjak Sangh, according to Verma, is to liberate the large majority of poor Indians, who are denied respect, from the stranglehold of Brahminism, and to work for their happiness and prosperity by promoting egalitarian humanism
Basic Principles
The first basic principle of Arjak Sangh is to treat physical labour as superior to mental labour. According to the document, mental labour can be helpful in producing something but it cannot achieve anything without physical labour. On the other hand, physical labour can produce things in a natural way. The upper castes of India have looked down upon physical labour. Brahmins, for example, who live by begging, do not feel ashamed in doing so. On the other hand, they look down upon Bhangis (Sweepers) who do hard and socially useful physical labour. The sections of society, which shun physical labour, created the caste system to sustain themselves. The Arjak Sangh, says the document, wants to establish the dignity of physical labour and to destroy the caste system. The Arjak Sangh wants complete social equality including gender equality.
The basic document of the Arjak Sangh also emphasizes the economic advancement of the arjaks and contains a detailed programme for it. It envisages a cultural revolution to liberate the arjaks from the doctrines of rebirth and fatalism, which, according to it, has blunted their revolutionary consciousness. Further, the document wants arjaks to ignore the religious distinctions among them. Arjak Sangh, it says, will use the feeling of human welfare inherent in the basic principles of all religions to foil all attempts by non-arjaks to divide arjaks along religions lines. According to the document, Arjak Sangh regards religion (dharma) as that which leads to the conservation and prosperity of human society. Thus, in the view of Arjak Sangh, all religions are same as long as they try for the prosperity of human society. In this sense, no religion can propagate inequality in human society, because it will cease to be a religion if it does so. Arjak Sangh, declares the document, will view religions in this broad sense and try to bring harmony among them because arjaks of all religions are facing similar poverty and misery.
Programs of Arjak Sangh
The programme section of the basic document of the Arjak Sangh contains eight resolutions adopted by two conferences of the U.P. chapter of the Arjak Sangh held in 1971 and 1972. According to Ramswaroop Verma, the programs of Arjak Sangh are meant to translate the basic principles of the Arjak Sangh into practice. Every member and worker of the Arjak Sangh must act on them in order to destroy the inequality based Brahminist culture and replace it with a humanist culture based on equality. Verma wants a varna-less and classless society in which all human beings treat others as equal in practise.
Boycott of Brahmin Priests
According to the first resolution in the programme section of the basic document, the arjaks must reject all beliefs and practises, which encourage social inequality and economic exploitation. The doctrines of rebirth and fatalism are rejected as false and harmful. Therefore, according to the resolution, there is no need of the services of Brahmin priests at the time of marriage and death. Marriage has nothing to do with alleged "previous" or "future" lives. It is a contract between woman and man to live together. Similarly, the rituals after death, presided by Brahmin priests, are based on the doctrine of rebirth and are, therefore, meaningless. The arjaks must reject all Brahmin rituals like religious discourses, pilgrimage etc., which are based on the false doctrine of rebirth. The arjaks must also discard janeu (the "sacred" thread), which is not to be treated as a sign of superiority but as a symbol of slavery. The resolution also opposes the practice of touching of feet of Brahmins and others as a form of greeting. Similarly, the second resolution opposes the practice of making lower caste people sit on floor and distorting their names while addressing them. It emphasizes equality in every sphere of life including greeting, addressing and entertaining one another.
Religion
According to the third resolution, any principle, which is detrimental to the interest of the society, is not to be treated as religion. Only such principles, which help in welfare of human society, are to be regarded as religion. Any illogical doctrine that is not based on facts ought to be rejected. Everyone, says the resolution, should have the freedom to choose his or her religion after thoughtful consideration. The compulsion of belonging to the religion of parents is illogical. It encourages intolerance and dogmatism. Every person should have the right of choosing and declaring his religion after attaining adulthood. A person should also have the freedom of not adopting any religion if he or she wants to do so. In such a case, the person should be treated as belonging to Human religion (Manav Dharma). Such an approach towards religion, according to the resolution, will encourage human equality and religious tolerance, and help in evolving human rationality.
Education
The fourth and the fifth resolutions deal with education. They declare that Brahminism is opposed to the Indian Constitution, which emphasizes human equality. They demand removal of all Brahminical ideas - rebirth, fatalism, caste system, the distinction of high and low and miracles - from school textbooks. They maintain that such education goes against scientific knowledge and encourages superstitions. Education should encourage scientific thinking and human equality. In other words, the Brahminical education should be replaced with Humanist Education. The resolution strongly condemns the prevalence of untouchability and the distinction of high and low in schools. It strongly emphasizes that it must be compulsory for all to treat one another as equals in schools. Any teacher or student violating this principle should be punished.
Humanist Marriage
The sixth resolution outlines a simple Arjak method of marriage and calls upon arjaks to adopt it in order to develop a humanist culture. The Arjak marriage is to be solemnized in a simple ceremony without any priests or religious rituals. It consists of signing a written oath of allegiance by the bride and the bridegroom and exchange of garlands. The resolution opposes dowry and excessive show of wealth in the marriage ceremony. It emphasizes simplicity so that the difference between the rich and the poor does not become obvious at the time of marriage.
Humanist Funeral
The seventh resolution emphasizes that the dead body of the deceased should be disposed in a hygienic manner. All Brahminical rituals should be discarded and a simple condolence meeting should be organized in the memory of the dead person.
Humanist Festivals
According to Arjak Sangh, the Brahminical festivals strengthen false beliefs like rebirth and fatalism and encourage caste, inequality and untouchability. The eighth resolution calls upon arjaks to give up celebrating Brahminical festival and gives a list of eleven Humanist festivals designed to strengthen the feeling of human equality and welfare. In addition to India's Republic Day (26 January) and the Independence Day (15 August), the list includes days associated with lives of Buddha, Jyotirao Phule, Periyar, Ambedkar, Sardar Patel and Jagdeo Prasad.
Revolution: Why and How?
Ramswaroop Verma's Hindi book Kranti Kyon aur Kaise? (Revolution: Why and How?) contains some of his important articles published in Arjak Saptahik, a Hindi weekly edited by him. The first article in the collection, written in 1969, outlines Verma's concept of revolution.
According to Verma, "revolution" means "re-evaluation of established human values from the point of view of human welfare". When the traditional values of life do not serve the welfare of the majority of the population (Bahujan), but become an instrument for preserving the interest of an entrenched minority, it becomes essential to re-evaluate these values, keeping in view the interest and happiness of the majority.
According to Verma, human life may be divided into social, economic, cultural and political aspects. In all these aspects of human life, traditional values have become a source of misery. Therefore, for achieving social progress it has become essential to re-evaluate them.
In the Brahminical culture for example, a person is regarded as high or low on basis of his or her birth. No qualities are needed for becoming a Brahmin. Being born in a Brahmin family is enough for being treated as a Brahmin. This system is further reinforced by the doctrine of rebirth and fatalism. It is claimed that those who performed "good deeds in past life" are born as Brahmin whereas those who performed "bad deeds" are born as Bhangi. Thus, this culture gave rise to the caste system, which leads to inequality in society. Similarly, the Brahminical culture treats women as inferior to men. A daughter is not as welcome as a son in most of the families. Therefore, it has become essential to re-evaluate this whole system from the point of view of human equality.
In the economic sphere, it is often propagated that God and fate have caused the difference between the rich and the poor. This contention, says Verma, needs to be questioned. Poverty is not a result of fate but of economic exploitation and bad economic system.
In the cultural sphere, it is noticed, says Verma, that the poor people keep fighting among themselves because of belonging to different religions, whereas the rich remain united in spite of belonging to different religious groups. It is obvious, says Verma, that rich people have made religion an instrument for misguiding and dividing the poor. According to Verma, religion should be confined to personal life and it should serve human interest instead of going against it.
Verma regards literature, along with religion, as a part of the cultural aspect of the society. According to Verma, literature must not remain dominated by the lives and problems of the rich. Instead, it should reflect and portray the lives and problems of the majority of the poor. Verma regards revolution in the sphere of literature as essential for cultural progress.
In the political sphere, Verma regrets the dominance of monarchical values in spite of the establishment of democracy in India. Dominance of upper varna and upper class people in various spheres of the government and administration goes against the democratic values. Thus, the conventional political values, too, need to be re- evaluated.
After emphasizing the need of re-evaluating conventional values in different aspects of life, Verma asserts that revolution is mental and it must cover the all the aspects of life. He exhorts the arjaks to understand the true nature of revolution and to work for its realization.
Rationality and Scientific Thinking
Verma has emphasized rationality and scientific thinking in his writings. According to him, reason alone distinguishes human beings from other animals. A human being devoid of rationality becomes worse than animals. According to Verma, religion is nothing but the use of rationality for promoting human welfare. Arjaks should use their rationality to find out what religion is. Human beings can protect their existence and make progress only by using their rationality. Otherwise, they are bound to be doomed.
Verma asserts that Brahminism, being based on illogical and senseless doctrine like rebirth, is bound to oppose scientific thinking. In Brahmin scriptures, gods and sage are made to propound different doctrines. It is further declared that it is the duty (dharma) of every human being to believe in what gods and sages have said. It is maintained that anyone who doubts the doctrines propounded by gods and sages will be doomed. Thus, Brahminism, which emphasizes believing, is bound to be opposed to scientific thinking, which emphasizes doubting and knowing. According to Verma, the Brahminists could treat arjaks as Shudras and untouchables for such a long period only because of absence of scientific thinking among the arjaks.
Humanism and Brahminism
Ramswaroop Verma's Manavwadi Prashnotri (Humanist Question-Answers) is an important work in which Verma has expounded his basic ideas in the form of questions and answers. In this work, Verma has defined humanism as the philosophy, "which shows the way to human equality, happiness and prosperity." According to Verma, humanism finds expression in the social sphere as castelessness and equality, in the economic sphere as socialism, in the cultural sphere as materialism and in the political sphere as democracy. Thus, Verma is a democratic socialist and a strong emphasis on social equality distinguishes his humanism from some other forms of humanism.
Verma, on the other hand, has defined Brahminism, as "the ideology of varna-vyavastha based on rebirth and fatalism". According to him, because this ideology has originated from Brahminist scriptures like Rig Veda, it is appropriately called Brahminism. According to Verma, humanism is based on equality whereas Brahminism is based on inequality.
God and Materialism
Verma did not believe in the existence of God. According to him, no one has seen God and the theists are not able to prove the existence of God by logical arguments. Since the existence of God cannot be proved, it is difficult to regard him as the creator of this world. The theists are, says Verma, not able to give any logical explanation of creation; therefore, they start opposing logic. The superstition of God will, according to Verma, die out with the growth of scientific thinking. Verma regards materialism and theism as two rival theories trying to explain the world. According to him, materialism seems to be based on much stronger logical foundations than theism.
Idol-Worship
Verma was strongly opposed to idol-worship. According to Verma, idol-worship is harmful for humanity. Verma enumerates several harmful effects of idol worship in his Manavwadi Prashnotri. Idol-worship, according to Verma, destroys rationality and makes human beings dependent on an imaginary gods. Human problems can be solved by using rationality, relying on one's own capability, diagnosing the right cause of the problems and removing them. False belief in idol-worship is not going to help in solving any problems. On the contrary, it encourages superstition and leads to wasteful expenditure in creation of temples, etc. Idol-worship, according to Verma, only helps the priests in exploiting the gullible idol-worshippers.
Miracles and Ghosts
As a materialist, Verma rejects the possibility of miracles. According to him, the behaviour of matter is governed by its own laws. Nothing can happen in this world violating these laws of matter. Therefore, miracles (effect without a cause) are impossible. Verma also rejects the belief in ghosts. According to him, a non-material thing like soul or ghost can simply not exist in the material world.
Soul, Rebirth and Fatalism
The main thrust of Verma's attack is on Brahminism, which he regards as the source of human inequality in the Indian society. Verma, as we have already noted, regards the doctrine of rebirth and fatalism as foundations of Brahminism. According to Verma, these false doctrines are used for justifying caste-based inequality, which do not have any rational basis.
In his Hindi booklet Atma, Punarjanm Mithya aur Manav Samta Kya, Kyon aur Kaise? (Soul and Rebirth are Falsehoods and Human Equality: What, Why and How?) Verma has criticized the concept of soul along with the doctrine of rebirth. According to Verma, the Brahminists assert the existence of soul but they are not able to tell us about the nature and function of soul. They are not clear about from where the soul comes and where it goes after the body is destroyed. Verma quotes Bhagavad-Gita, according to which "the soul can neither be cut by weapons, nor be burnt by fire, nor be drowned by water and nor be dried by air".
According to Verma, such a description of soul only proves its non-existence. Only a thing, which does not exist, can remain unaffected by weapons, fire, water and air. The Bhagavad-Gita, in fact, does not tell us anything about the nature and function of soul. There are no valid arguments for supporting the existence of soul. A non-material thing like soul cannot exist in the material world. According to Verma, since soul does not exist, there is no question of rebirth. Verma dismisses stories about rebirth as concoctions. Verma also rejects heaven and hell as imaginary entities.
Rational morality
Verma has rejected a morality based on false beliefs like God, soul, heaven, hell, sin, etc. According to him, a morality based on fear and temptation of these false ideas could only motivate ignorant human beings. An enlightened human being cannot be motivated or influenced by them. An enlightened human being can only be motivated by human compassion and by the idea of human welfare. According to Verma, human beings should use their rationality to find out what is right and what is wrong.
Religion
As mentioned earlier, according to Verma, "religion" can be best defined as "the use of rationality for promoting human welfare". In his Manavwadi Prashnotri (Humanist Question-Answers), he has considered some traditional Indian and western definitions of religion and rejected all of them in favour of his own definition.
Verma rejects the definition of "religion" as "that which brings progress in this life and leads to moksha after death" mainly because, according to him, moksha is an imaginary ideal. Life, he maintains, ends with death. Similarly, Verma rejects the definition of "religion" as "that which is written in the Vedas", because the Vedas, according to him, contain many falsehoods and are silent on many important issues.
The definition of "religion" as “that which deals with supernatural", too, is unacceptable to Verma. Firstly, says Verma, the "supernatural" does not exist and, therefore, it is useless to talk about it. Secondly, religion must provide guidance for human life, and this definition of religion does not take this fact into account. Thus, Verma concludes that his own definition of religion is the most satisfactory one.
Buddhism
Though Verma was influenced by Ambedkar and often refers to Ambedkar's writings in his works, he does not endorse Ambedkar's recommendation to embrace Buddhism. Verma recommends adoption of humanist culture and human religion instead.
According to Verma, Brahminism is a culture without religion and Buddhism is a religion without culture. Buddha gave a humanist religion but did not give a humanist culture. As a result, the same Brahminist culture based on rebirth and fatalism continued in the society. The Brahminists declared Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu. People started treating Buddha as Bhagwan and the practise of worshipping his idols gained currency. His ideas took a back seat in the process.
According to Verma, Ambedkar was not a supporter of idol-worship. He had accepted Buddhism after making several changes in it. Those who worship idols of Buddha or Ambedkar and believe in ideas like soul, god, rebirth, fatalism, heaven and hell cannot be regarded as true followers of Ambedkar.
Though Verma regarded Buddhism, Islam and Christianity as better than Brahminism, he still did not favour adopting these religions. According to him, distortions have crept into all religions. When a great leader like Ambedkar could not reform Buddhism from within and practices like idol worship have crept among "followers" of Ambedkar as well, it is futile to make any attempts in that direction. It is best, concludes Verma, to adopt the humanist culture and the human religion.
Varna-Vyavastha
Verma criticizes Brahminist literature for declaring varna-vyavastha as divinely created. In Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna, who is regarded as a god, is made to say that he created the four varnas on the basis of quality (guna) and deeds (karma). In order to establish and maintain their superiority Brahmins have put appropriate words in the mouth of different gods like Krishna, Brahma, Vishnu, etc. Normally a gullible person will not dare to doubt the "words of god". However, Verma emphasizes that all these ideas must be examined logically. According to Verma, varna-vyavastha is a totally unscientific and inhuman system. It has been created by Brahmins to safeguard their own interests.
In his book Manusmriti Rashtra ka Kalank (Manusmriti a National Shame), Verma criticizes Manusmriti in very strong terms. He points out that according to article 51 A of the Indian Constitution, it is a fundamental duty of every Indian citizen "to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform". According to Verma, it is not possible to do so unless and until the influence of books like Manusmriti is negated. Manusmriti, according to Verma, propagates Brahminism instead of Humanism, superstition instead of scientific thinking and human inequality instead of human equality. The aim of Manusmriti is to ensure special respect and prosperity of a handful of Brahmins at the cost of majority of Indians. He criticizes Manusmriti for claiming that Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras have originated respectively from the mouth, hands, thighs and feet of the Brahma (the creator of this world). Describing this claim as the essence of Brahminism, Verma categorically rejects this as an illogical and baseless claim.
In light of his own definition of religion as "use of reason for human welfare", Verma refuses to recognize Manusmriti as a religious book. The book, he maintains, has been written by Brahmins to exploit majority of Indians. It declares Brahmins as "superior" and all others as "inferior". It spreads hatred against Shudras and Women, which is against the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (Section 153 A and 295 A). Similarly, it supports untouchability, which has been abolished by the Indian Constitution. Verma has quoted several pages from Manusmriti in his book to substantiate his analysis of the Manusmriti.
Untouchability
Most of the important writings of Ramswaroop Verma are against Brahminism. Thus, they are, by implication, also opposed to untouchability. However, his works Achuton ki Samasya aur Samadhan (The Problem of Untouchables and its Solution) and Niradar Kaise Mite? (How to remove Disrespect?) specifically deal with the problem of untouchability. According to Verma, untouchability is linked to the caste system and varna-vyavastha. Only a complete rejection of Brahminist culture and adoption of a Humanist culture can solve the problem of untouchability. Quoting from a book of Ambedkar, Verma criticizes Gandhi for, on the one hand, apparently opposing untouchability, and, on the other hand, supporting rebirth and varna-vyavastha.
According to Verma, the Humanist ideology rejects the false doctrine of soul and rebirth and accepts materialism and the idea of achieving happiness in the present life as its basic idea. Untouchables should get rid of the wrong notion that their miseries in the present life are because of their own "bad deeds in past lives". They should also not entertain the false hope of a better life in the non-existent next birth. They should give up useless activities like idol-worship, performing yajna and giving alms to Brahmins. Instead, they should use their reasoning power and work for a humanist revolution, which would lead to a society based on equality.