This weekend the Indo Canadian community is celebrating the 641st birth anniversary of Ravidas, a revolutionary saint who stood against caste-based oppression and taught his disciples to work for the establishment of an egalitarian society.

Ravidas was born in Varanasi, India, into the family of a shoemaker. The brutal caste system in India treated people who made or repaired shoes with contempt. They were seen as "untouchables" by the arrogant priest class which had established the caste system. Ravidas therefore faced social discrimination from an early age.

As he grew, Ravidas’s parents started noticing extra ordinary qualities in him. He was drawn into spirituality and mysticism. Since people of his caste were not allowed to pray or even enter a temple, he was frequently discouraged by the priests from chanting hymns.

Fearing that their son might renounce a social life, his parents got him married. But this did not change the course of his life. He divided his time in prayers and working as a cobbler. The legend goes that he was so passionate about helping others and spending time with ascetics that his parents advised him to separate himself from them and start living independently. He agreed and began living on his own with his wife.  

He was brave and instead of feeling ashamed of his so-called “lower status”, he openly acknowledged being a cobbler. This was a radical act at a time when the caste system did not allow people of his Dalit community to walk with their heads high.

Often people who were treated as untouchables tried to hide their caste to avoid being shamed and harassed. Ravidas might have acquired this trait from his mother, who also believed that they were no less than others, as they earned their livelihood through hard work without taking alms from anyone. 

While working as a shoemaker, Ravidas recited hymns that encouraged people to denounce the caste system and make the world free of miseries. He gave his followers a dream of Begampura (a land without sorrows), a spiritual version of utopia. 

He also questioned blind faith and rituals, and educated the masses against following them.

Thanks to the simple and straightforward language of his hymns, he became popular among the working people who had trouble connecting with Sanskrit—the language of the Hindu scriptures. Thus, he defiantly walked into territory that was reserved by the priest class for itself.

He even attracted individuals from well to do and royal families, who started inviting him for feasts. Obviously, this enraged most Hindu priests who began protesting against his presence among them.

They still considered him untouchable, despite his intellect qualities, and only because of his caste. Another reason behind their opposition to Ravidas was that through his teachings, he exposed exploitation of the people by priests. And with his increasing popularity, priests began losing their business of making money through the performance of rituals. 

A princess named Meera was so attracted to Ravidas’s teachings that she became his disciple. It is believed that her family tried to poison her for crossing social barriers by accepting Ravidas as her spiritual guide.  

Meanwhile, priests tried to have him charged for blasphemy and even complained to the rulers by citing the Hindu religious code, which barred people like Ravidas from practising religion. But Ravidas remained steadfast and convinced everyone with courage and conviction that a person could not be considered untouchable because of one’s caste. It was only the bad deed that made one untouchable and that even a person born outside the priest class had a right to pray. 

Ravidas left behind a legacy of Dalit assertion and a message of universal love and honest living.

Today, his followers have a significant presence in countries like Canada and the United States. In Burnaby, there is a Sikh temple named after him and efforts continue to keep his story alive. But what's important is to recognize that caste-based discrimination, both in India and within the Indian diaspora, continues to exist.

Dalits continue to be denied entry to different temples and right to privileges that are supposedly reserved for people of the “upper caste” groups. Defiance often results in violence and persecution.

Under the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India, attacks on Dalits have grown. In response on April 1, Dalit activists gathered in Surrey's Holland Park to protest against attempts to dilute a law that was enacted to prevent atrocities on Dalits in India.

Dalits feel that the act—aimed at stopping hate crimes against their community—is being watered down through the courts under a BJP administration that wants to turn India into a Hindu theocracy. A BJP government that also believes in a brutal caste system that ostracizes Dalits. 

Even in the Sikh community, Dalits continue to face discrimination. This is in spite of Sikhism being a modern and progressive religion. Its holy scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib, contains the hymns of Ravidas.

Still, Dalits are frequently discriminated against in Punjab, the homeland of the Sikhs. Even here in Canada, they are treated as “others” within the Sikh community. There have even been reports of Dalits being abused and humiliated in the Lower Mainland by the members of “upper caste” groups.

The founders of the Sri Guru Ravidas Sikh Temple feel that most people from “upper caste” Sikhs stay away from their annual parades and even avoid booking their temple for occasions such as marriages.   

As long as the war continues against the caste system and socioeconomic inequalities across the world, Ravidas will always be relevant.