[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t was sometime in October 1991 that sitting on the lawns of Lokayat, the place Dr Mulk Raj Anand used to stay in Delhi, reading morning papers that day, a letter to the Editor column of The Hindustan Times, attracted me. I read the letter in three columns writing about the media and the casteism in it. The sender of the letter was Vontibettu Thimmappa Rajshekar Shetty commonly known as VT Rajashekar, Editor of Dalit Voice magazine. Those were the days when the letters column of some of the dailies used to be extremely informative and many big names would write it. I noted down the address and wrote a letter to VT Rajashekar also popularly known among his friends and readers as VT or VTR. Surprisingly, his answer came in the form of a few copies of the magazine along with his note. This was the beginning of a relationship that I nurtured with VT Rajashekar till his demise.

Interestingly, Dalit Voice started its journey in 1981 and Dr Mulk Raj Anand, the author who wrote Untouchables in 1927, was the first one to support it. He encouraged VT and his name used to appear as patron of the magazine in the beginning. Unfortunately, the events in Punjab in the early 1980s, resulting in Operation Blue Star and subsequently the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi were the turning point for both VT and MRA. Mulk Raj Anand spoke against terrorism unquestionably while VT somehow got hugely influenced by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. VT Rajashekar condemned Operation Blue Star and considered Bhindranwale as a great leader and perhaps an ‘emancipator’ of Dalits.

Rajshekar informed me about his connection with Dr Mulk Raj Anand. “I was dismissed from the Indian Express and became big news all over India. Anand read it somewhere. He said, I read about you, I am coming to meet you.”

“Then he came, and I showed him all my books. He appreciated and suggested, you must start a paper. I’ll give the name ‘Dalit Voice’. He also proposed to give some initial (seed) money. He was also ready to contribute with some articles. So, Dalit Voice started,” mentioned the editor. Rajshekar says that their difference over Punjab was not ‘intellectual’ but Mulk Raj Anand’s blind admiration for Indira Gandhi.

VT Rajashekar was courageous and had a very wide understanding of the movements in different parts of the world. It is he who started the Dalit connection with the Black Movement in the United States and the issue of African Americans. All this happened at the time when Dalit Bahujan movements were confined to their political battlefield but Rajshekar broadened our horizon of thinking. Thinkers like Runako Rashidi would continue to write in Dalit voice supporting the close association with both movements.

Dalit Voice became a platform for all those who were looking for alternative media. He made us believe in ourselves. He was the reason, I can say it firmly, young voices like me, actually got attracted to alternative voices and decided to get away from all that is known as ‘mainstream’ media. There was no dearth of words and idioms in his vocabulary. The most fascinating part of Dalit Voice was the ‘Reader’s column’ which provided names and contact details of the letter writers. It made people contact each other. At the time, when there was no internet or email had not become part of common usage, the Dalit Voice letters column linked us with one another. Once your letter is published in the magazine, rest assured, that several people will contact you or phone you. It became like a family where people would respect each other and would share their thoughts. I never say any other magazine or journal linking its readers network that powerfully.

Interestingly, VT ensured that all those who wrote a ‘letter to the editor’, get a copy of Dalit Voice by post with a personal note about the ‘article’ or ‘letter’ published, giving page number. At the time, when the media rarely entertained the Ambedkarite voices or anti-caste forces, getting published in Dalit Voice gave us more confidence. It was not the ‘quality’ that mattered but we felt encouraged by the fact that we became a part of the family that VT was developing. His vision was extremely broad which included all oppressed nationalities including SC-ST-OBC-Minorities. I used to get emails and phone calls from readers in different parts of the country. So, apart from giving the readers a political understanding of the current crisis built up by the Brahmin Bania elite class, Rajashekar ensured that the readers were in touch with each other. This quality of him was rare. Any letter that he wrote me or call that he made to me was added with a few contracts, asking me to meet the person and vice versa. That way, he built up a powerful network of Ambedkarite Periyarist Bahujan intellectuals the world over. It was through the pages of Dalit Voice that I came to know about VT Hirekar, Bishop Azariah, Henry Thyagaraj, Dr Velu Annamalai, Runako Rashidi and many other powerful voices.

It was also a fact that many of their views were extremely difficult to digest but he remained categorical and unapologetic about them. He felt that Sikhs were wronged in Punjab and he wrote about it. He had a very wide Muslim readership apart from Ambedkarites the world over. Many people felt that he was the platform for the BSP and BAMSCEF supporters but the fact was Dalit Voice was truly a platform where you got to hear all kinds of voices involved in different political struggles. He was sharp and will bring a new angle to the issues. He was openly opposed to the violent methods of Naxalites and others and has been critical of them and warned the Dalits to be careful of them.

The problem with his ideological rigidity was the philosophy of ‘enemy’s enemy is a friend’. He wanted all the forces of justice to fight Brahmanism in India. Many Ambedkarites did not like the language he used and he had lots of trouble because of his political position. His passport was confiscated as soon as he landed at the airport from Libya and in 1986 he was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act. He got released later.
During a conversation, he informed me that the passport was confiscated after he returned from Libya where he had a meeting with Libyan leader Col Gaddafi. He had gone to participate in the World Black Conference there where he got an opportunity to speak. He told me, ‘I was given 3 minutes to speak, as everyone was given 3 minutes, I prepared my thoughts and spoke. It was televised, which I did not see. There was a standing ovation. Then I came back to my room, had my lunch and was taking a rest when somebody knocked on the door. I opened it and a man at the door who looked like an Indian said he was the Press Trust of India chief Tripoli. He said, “I saw your speech on TV, live TV speech. I said, thank you very much.  Then he said, “You have criticized India!” “Can you criticize India abroad?” I asked, “who said that we should not criticize India outside the country?”. He then added, ‘It is an intellectual discussion! We can criticise even God! We criticize God also! Any criticism is very important to go forward. I told him I was the chief reporter. Afterwards, his stay at the Indian Express became difficult and finally, he was dismissed from there. He fought his case and won the court.

The most impressive part of VT Rajashekar and Dalit Voice was that it was professionally edited and all through since the beginning, there was rarely any occasion where it missed publication. We all used to think that it must have a big office in Bengaluru with many staff but later found out that Dalit Voice was purely a one-man show. He had a typist cum all-in-one assistant but every other technical work like editing etc was done by him only. Imagine, one man bringing out a journal for nearly 30 years. It was not a hugely funded magazine but it became known the world over.

It was not that people did not criticise him for the language that he wrote or the ‘conspiracy theories’ that he would unravel in the magazine. He was blamed for living a ‘luxurious’ lifestyle and many more things. The fact was that one might not have agreed with his ‘theories’ but he was honest to his commitments and for the cause of the empowerment of Dalit Bahujans. It was the only magazine which brought writings from all parts of India as well as the African writings of resistance. Those were the times when magazines were there but most of the contents were limited to regions and mostly to Baba Saheb Ambedkar. It was Dalit voice where we not only got an introduction to the important work of Periyar as well as Shyam Sundar, a great leader from Hyderabad who founded Bhim Sena but we came to know about many other regional icons.

VTR knew the power of media and he wanted to start a media house which could function as a platform for the Bahujan forces in the country. He was close to Late Kanshiram and later tried the idea to start a journal in Delhi but as he said politicians would not take the issue seriously. According to him, only Lalu Yadav was serious in that matter however things could not materialise.

During VP Singh’s tenure in 1990, he shifted to Delhi but after the massive anti-Mandal protest, he returned to Bangalore. He was a member of the National Committee of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Centenary Celebration Committee formed by the government at that time. His close friend and member of Dalit voice, Dalit Ezhilmalai became a Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. VT came back to Delhi at that time but could not stay for long. Later, he informed me that he was not satisfied with his friends associated with the BJP and became corrupt.
Slowly, the new generation of Bahujan leaders were taking shape in the Universities and colleges. A number of the Dalit organizations flourished. Civil society and NGOs too grew up. Dalits and OBCs too have had many political parties. VT Rajashekar never used Dalit Voice in criticizing any Dalit Bahujan leader unless he was seen as working against the community’s interests. He tried to bring them together but in politics, you can’t do that. Political leaders want unquestioned loyalty. Political leaders can’t support independent media because they are habitual of propaganda and ‘chamchas’ roaming around them and publishing the stories of their visits, inaugurations and speeches hence any independent intellectual is not wanted by them. VT was loved by all but politicians realized that he would become a burden for them politically as the ideas that he was pursuing would only be detrimental to their politics where they need devotees and not political activists and intellectuals.

Secondly, most of them only wanted a propaganda paper for them and VT was too independent to bow to any political leadership. He was a man of spine and deep convictions hence did not compromise.

He reflected on it during a conversation with me at his house in Mangalore.

VBR: Do you think that the absence of truly strong intellectualism among our communities in our country has hurt the democratic movements? A people who don’t surrender in front of the power?

VTR: Intellectualism is not a readymade packet which is purchased from a shop. It has to be nourished like a plant, it has to grow. Now this intellectualism is to be nourished in the sociology department, literature department etc. I have given all my books to St. Xavier College here in Mangalore. After one year of donating all the books, I went there to see how they were being used. The librarian came in and said sir, “You have given the books. From that day we have properly arranged the books and put them in a lock. Until today we have not opened.”

VBR: So that means, we don’t want our students to read the dissenting notes or books…

VTR: Not that we don’t want. The students are not interested. Students are interested in passing exams. They want to pass the examinations. This is not the case in other parts of the world. I have gone to Sweden and many places around the world. Libraries are packed, bookstores are packed. But here, nobody is interested in books. Gone intellectuals !! You see. Money, money, money. Christian churches, in terms of scholars, have the biggest colleges in the country. They are not interested.

VBR:  As you have been writing against the Hindutva fanaticism or communalism which can only be countered by Dalit intellectual tradition but still, we are unable to do that.

VTR: Unable because you see, to hit a King Kong, you must have the strength. You have not grown at all. Have we got any person of stature or intellectuals? Babasaheb Ambedkar was number one an intellectual than a political leader. Shyam Sundar was an intellectual, an honest intellectual. You see Lalu Prasad Yadav is interesting. He is a fighter. He knows he is into some drama; he knows it but beyond them nothing today.

VTR was deeply disappointed by Lalu Yadav’s inability to support his media initiative. He did not have much faith in others. Slowly, Dalit Voice became a victim of its contradictions. His caste theory did not help much. In the new era or what can be safely called the Post Mandal era, the issue of identities that he raised ultimately became detrimental to him. There was a time when no none ever dared to question who he was but the time came when people started asking about his caste and slowly came to know that he belonged to Shetty i.e. powerful Bunt community in South Karnataka. The fight for power and connection with power elites divide people and then the identity issue is used to settle scores. Dalit Voice initially was termed as a magazine of BSP-Ambedkarite people and frankly speaking it is the Ambedkarite initially who supported it wholeheartedly. Slowly, it started changing the track and a time came when people started questioning whether it was Dalit voice or Muslim voice and that too he was accused of promoting extremist and radical Islamic writings. He refused to address the issue of the contradiction between Dalits and OBCs as well as between Muslims and Dalits. Frankly, there were powerbrokers everywhere and they used the caste card more for their interests.

The magazine was running under a difficult circumstance. A few committed people like one Dr Siddhu in Delhi, tried to bring Dalit Voice in Hindi too but it was not successful. He thought that the Hindi heartland would accept him but it did not happen. He had a sizable fan following in Punjab but not that much in Uttar Pradesh except those who were comfortable in the English language. Moreover, in the Hindi heartland, the Manu-stream media was compelled to give space to Dalit Bahujan Voices but Ambedkarites like advocate Bhagwan Das, VT Rajashekar or LR Balley would not find space in the media. The new age Ambedkarites were soft and working in link with this mainstream media. A new narrative was building up. Many of the young generations people in north India can only speak about Om Prakash Valmiki and other Hindu poets and writers who they got to read in the daily newspapers but sadly very few people are aware of the work of Advocate Bhagwan Das, LR Balley or VT Rajshekar.  It reflects that we modern Ambedkarites are learning Ambedkarism from Brahmanical media or those who are getting published in the Brahmanical media. Rajshekar and his brand of honest intellectuals did not compromise on that front and never tried to get into the media they criticized so vehemently.

Despite all their shortcomings, he had a huge fan following. I found that when along with Ambedkarite activist Rajani Tilak, we organized an event to celebrate Twenty-Five Years Celebrations of Dalit Voice in Delhi. VTR was keen that there should be a programme in Delhi but no one was coming forward to support it as it needed resources. One day, I informed him that I could think of organizing a one-day programme in Delhi because despite all my reservations, I respected VTR a lot and there was a personal relationship hence I felt it was our duty to do it. VTR wanted a space in the New Delhi area where those coming from outside Delhi would find it easier to reach by 10 am. I was worried whether we would be able to get so many people in Delhi. It was difficult to get the places so I ultimately zeroed in on the Gandhi Peace Foundation located near ITO. Many of the ‘followers’ of VTR resented when this information was announced at Dalit Voice about the Delhi programme, My response to them was that we had hired the place and there is nothing wrong in organizing an event. However, it was very difficult to control VT and many times he could also be a source of deep discomfort.

On the day, when the Delhi Voice Conference was organized, we all reached on time. As we reached the main hall of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, VT became aggressive. He realized the photograph of Gandhi in the front and back and that would have made things problematic for him so he said we need to cover the photograph of Gandhi so that he is not seen with the photograph of Gandhi any more. It was an embarrassing situation for me but thanks to Gandhi Peace Foundation friends they did not create obstacles and provided cloth sheets to cover all the photographs of Gandhi. After that, VTR asked me to anchor the event while he sat on the dais along with Rajani Tilak. Local people from Delhi and NCR had started coming in. By 1130, the hall was over-packed. There was a large number of people coming from Punjab. He noticed who were the people coming from. He had invited several people from Embassies and was keen on speaking with them.

Anyway, the programme showed his popularity among the Ambedkarite Dalit Bahujan political activists. It went on till late in the evening and he was responding to each question raised by the readers. The point I want to make is that he was a professional journalist and knew his target audience. His sharp and witty language was a toast for many. North Indians were not habitual of that kind of language except for some time in the BSP meetings but after the party came to power they became more cautious and all that ‘Tilak Taraju Talwar’ aggression vaporized as the party understood power politics. After BSP’s ascendency to power in Uttar Pradesh a positive thing happened the activists were asked to do away with abusing languages which many of them had become habitual of. Chief Minister Mayawati herself became extra cautious when speaking to the people and that is why even today, most people realise that despite all her drawbacks, she has been the most reasonable leader who speaks with great caution. The GPF meeting made me realise the limitations of VTR and his inability to handle criticism or dissenting viewpoints. Also, he was becoming more and more a ‘preacher’ rather than a journalist. All the articles in Dalit Voice would pass through his edit and most of the time people would realise the original article is substantially changed to make it suit the language of Dalit Voice. Most of the time, he wanted the North Indian leaders to listen to him but they never bothered and his dream to start a media center could never materialize.

The fact is that the rise of BSP politics and different other Dalit Bahujan parties, usage of identity and religious symbols, growth of NGOs, growth of digital platforms and media, growth of new young dynamic Ambedkarites who could speak with power of their convictions and still ready to converse with those who disagree were the things, which in my opinion, resulted in declining readership.  While none can deny the important role VT played in strengthening the Dalit Bahujan movement by providing his platforms to diverse intellectuals, activists and leaders the world over, it is also a fact that the deeply centralized style of functioning left him alone at the end. Dalit Voice means VT and there was one who could take the responsibility to run the paper because he never nurtured any newcomer in the organization and a newcomer will only join if there is financial security. He was running it out of conviction and he would not have gone to people begging for money so the one-man show ran for nearly 35 years and it became difficult because of age too, to make its impact.

When I met him at his Mangalore house and inquired about Dalit Voice then he informed me that no printer was ready to print the magazine. The fact is that after Modi’s assuming power, all publishers and printers became extra cautious as they had to run business so none of them dared to print Dalit Voice. VT informed me that RSS people had threatened all the publishers so none could come to rescue him. He thought people elsewhere would support him but it is good that he shut the publication otherwise he would have faced numerous charges filed against him. In today’s politics every party, leader and intellectual cares for his connections and doesn’t want to hurt his/her business interest.

There are very few like VT Rajshekar who could speak powerfully and loudly to the Brahmanical elite of India. He was feared for that and that is the reason why no editor in what he termed as Brahmin Bania media would dare to publish his article and some advised him to take the ‘letters to editor’ route to propagate his ideas which he actually used.

The sad part is that no north Indian leader including Lalu Yadav or any one BAMSCEF or BSP even acknowledged anything about VT Rajashekar but the two tributes from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers reflected how much he was respected. Siddaramaiah said he was a voice for the human rights of the marginalized but MK Stalin paid the truly Periyarist tribute saying, ‘The passing away of Renowned journalist, writer and thinker VT Rajashekar marks the loss of a bold and uncompromising voice against caste oppression. Through Dalit Voice, he shaped intellectual discourse and amplified marginalized voices. His dedication to social justice and the fight against caste discrimination inspired generations. Heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.’

Two years back veteran Ambedkarite LR Balley passed away in Jalandhar. In an interview, I asked him who after Balley and he said that he is forming a trust to run it but he said an individual can not be replaced so there may be a person better than him or worse but not like him. VT Rajashekar too has left us with that dilemma as to who after VT Rajashekar. I read somewhere that his son got established with the help of some friend, a digital archive online but people like us who were associated with him never got any information. Frankly speaking, in the absence of families knowing anything about the individual working, the work is mostly demolished. They don’t know who the people are associated with but opt for ‘famous’ people who might never have been on the same platform.

Why does Dalit Voice have to suffer? It is not the loss of VT Rajashekar who lived his life gracefully but millions of young Dalit Bahujans who could have got connected and learned a few new things intellectually. The reason is that Dalit Bahujan intellectual discourses are great but it has not reached an institutional level and that is the reason why papers like Janta, Samta, Mooknayak, Bhim Patrika and now Dalit Voice enter into archives once their editors or publishers pass away. All his life VT Rajashekar spoke about this and everyone knew that a powerful media would have helped the Dalit Bahujan leadership, unfortunately, most of them feel they can get away with helping a few ‘pious’ Brahmins in the Bania media. The power of propaganda was known to Periyar and that is why Tamilnadu’s Dravidian movement remains a powerful organ in north India’s Bahujan leadership depended on Brahmanical media and till did it not have its own media institution, it might come to power but that would not empower Dalit Bahujan Communities but only the Brahmanical elite as VT Rajashekar would always say. In this new age of naked media dancing to the tone of Sethji Bhat ji classes as Jyoti Ba Phule said the powerful voice of VT Rajashekar will always be missed and remembered. He was a man of deep-rooted conviction who lived life on his terms and conditions and never compromised on that. A big salute to this towering intellectual and dedicated man to the cause of Oppressed and persecuted minorities the world over who taught us to speak with courage and confidence.