Begumpura sahar ko nau, dukhu-andohu nahi tihi thau
Naa taswees khiraju na malu, khaufun khata na tarsu juwalu
Ab mohi khoob batan geh pai, uhaan khairi sada mere bhai
Kaimu-daimu sada patisaahi, dom na som ek so aahi
Abadanu sada masehur, unha gani basehi mamur
Tiu tiu sail karhijiu bhaive, mahram mahal na ko atkawai
Keh ‘ravidas’ khalaas chmara, jo hum sahari su mitu hamara
[The regal realm with the sorrowless name
they call it Begumpura city, a place with no pain,
no taxes or cares, none owns property there,
no wrongdoing, worry, terror, or torture.
Oh my brother, I’ve come to take it as my own,
my distant home, where everything is right …
They do this or that, they walk where they wish,
they stroll through fabled palaces unchallenged.
Oh, says Ravidas, a tanner now set free,
those who walk beside me are my friends]
The Blue Dawn and the National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW) are delighted to invite you all for India’s first national conference on mental health through an explicit anti-caste, Ambedkarite, and social justice lens.
The Conference is envisioned as a space of collective strength and joy that honours the Ambedkarite feminist movement, which has been building a city of Begumpura, for us to experience a world free of prejudices.
We invite you all, to join us for these two-days of celebration marking Phule-Ambedkar Jayanthi. Over two days, practitioners, activists, social workers, artists, performers, scholars, and researchers will be coming together to critically reframe mental health from lived realities of caste, gender, labour, and exclusion. The conference seeks to reclaim mental health as a question of dignity, justice, and collective care.
The programme will include art exhibitions by Ambedkarite artists, film screenings, panel discussions, music and performances, and cultural–academic engagements rooted in the tradition of Ambedkarite jalsas.
A central moment of the conference will be the felicitation of 30 women leaders and institutions from the anti-caste movement, marking 30 years of the National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW). These women and institutions represent decades of courage, organising, and transformative leadership that have shaped the Dalit struggles in India and beyond.
Together, these spaces will honour our histories, our resistance, and the leaders who continue to guide our movements.
Come, Join us 🌸
Watch this space for more information. Registrations will open soon!
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