Kabir Initiative
Continuing its thrust towards closer involvement with the non-school going community, the Dewas centre began interacting with a very old network of Kabir bhajan mandalis in the Malwa region, mostly comprising dalit agricultural workers. The centre organised a broad forum of about 50 of these mandalis, called the Kabir Vichar Manch, with the objective of spreading rationalist and scientific ideas and values among its members (1992). Several troupes subsequently travelled widely over the entire Hindi belt, especially Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi, performing to large audiences. Simultaneously, a discussion forum called the Ambedkar Vichar Manch was established in collaboration with the Ambedkar Institute of Social Sciences, Mhow (1993).
One important outcome of this interaction was a local history project sponsored by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) of documenting various versions of Kabir bhajans sung across the region. Some of these were collected and published in booklet form (1994).
Bhajan Sankalan - Part 1, Sankalankarta Ramprasad Golawariya
Bhajan Sankalan - Part 2, Sankalankarta Abhinav Choudhary
Bhajan Diary - Shri Ambaram Ji Malviya
मालवा की कबीर भजन मण्डलियाँ - पुस्तिका
CASTE, CLASS & SECT - A Study of the Balahis in Malwa Circa 1940-94