By Kartik Lokhande
‘Bharat Ratna’ Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar is in news again in his 125th birth anniversary year. In
the anniversary celebrations, the political parties have found an ‘opportunity’
to ‘claim’ the legacy of the icon. However, this raises an all important
question: Have we, as a nation, understood Dr B R Ambedkar in correct
perspective and tried to understand his legacy? The answer, sadly, is not very
positive.
Dr Ambedkar was a man of rare
merit. Among the giants of the time, he must be remembered for spirit of learning,
bringing scholarship in the realm of politics, modern outlook, using knowledge
of world laws to gift his country with the Constitution of India, openness of
mind for studied debate and dialogue, firm commitment to the cause of uplift of
downtrodden, strong support for annihilation of caste, political awakening of
masses, and vision for economy. Of course, these are broader things. There are
a lot many things that one should remember when one talks about legacy of the
icon. Let us take a look at how have we, as a nation, lived by the legacy of
this great man.
Though born in a poor family, Bhimrao
Ramji Ambedkar did not get bogged down by the circumstances. In fact, he was
determined to change the circumstances through his own efforts. It was the spirit
of learning that made him a scholar-politician. Sadly, today, none of the
people who claim to be his political heirs and followers matches the titan’s
stature as far as level of learning and scholarship is concerned. The
scholarship of most of Dr Ambedkar’s present-day followers is restricted to
merely quoting and re-quoting his writings and speeches in their ‘intellectual’
exercises. Whatever most of them add to these quotes from the great man’s treasure
of writings and speeches, only creates a sense of alienation about Dr Ambedkar
among the other sections of the society.
Dr Ambedkar was a man with modern
outlook. Many related ‘modern outlook’ to his image in suit-boot and books
only. But, it was not the case. His modern outlook was reflected in encouraging
healthy debate on various issues. He acknowledged virtues of his political
rivals and also criticised fearlessly their vices. He was a strong supporter of
democracy, not only as a system of governance, but also in society. In his
celebrated work ‘Riddles in Hinduism’, Dr Ambedkar states, “A Government for
the people can be had only where the attitude of each individual is democratic which
means that each individual is prepared to give him the same liberty which he claims
for himself. This democratic attitude of mind is the result of socialization of
the individual in a democratic society. Democratic society is therefore a
prerequisite of a democratic Government.” This displays his modern, democratic
outlook. Unfortunately, political set-up of free India and political leaders
with petty political goals overlooked this aspect and focused more on running
the Governments than building up a democratic society.
A legal luminary, Dr B R Ambedkar
headed the committee that gave the citizens of free India her greatest gift –
the Constitution of India. He used his immense knowledge of world laws, written
and practiced constitutional laws of the world, legal systems of the British
era, to contribute wholeheartedly to the process of framing the Constitution of
India. However, the politicians claiming the legacy of this titan, twisted the basic
structure of the Constitution to suit their political needs. Though the
Constitution has a provision for amendment, it was not supposed to be used too
often to suit political needs of the Governments of the day.
The great son of India was not
only a well polished thinker, but also a mass leader. He championed the cause
of uplift of the downtrodden. He brought among them political awakening. Sadly,
in the name of following him, many confined his intellect and stature to that
of an icon of Dalits only. Congress party committed the sin of reinforcing this
image over the years of its rule. In ensuring that he did not get elected from
Bombay City North constituency in the first general elections to the Lok Sabha in
1951, it sowed the seeds of Dr Ambedkar’s alienation from ‘other’ sections of
the society,. Later also, Congress continued claiming that it was espousing the
cause of this great leader through lip-service and extending reservations only,
and not following the ‘legacy’ in true sense.
Congress and its factions extended
hand of friendship to Republican Party leaders, only to divide and weaken Republican
movement. Even the leaders of Republican Party, without the merit of Dr B R Ambedkar,
resorted to mere sloganeering and getting more and more confined to caste
politics. This is very sad, considering that the visionary leader had talked of
‘annihilation of caste’. In his seminal work titled ‘Annihilation of Caste’, Dr
Ambedkar stated, “Caste has killed public spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense
of public charity. Caste has made public opinion impossible. Virtue has become
caste-ridden. There is no sympathy for the deserving. There is no appreciation
for the meritorious. There is no charity to the needy. Suffering as such calls
for no response. There is charity, but it begins with caste and ends with
caste. There is sympathy, but not for men of other castes.”
As a result of using Dr Ambedkar
to further caste-based political goals, the notions of orthodox among the Hindus
or so-called right-wingers got strengthened. This led to political and social polarisation.
Over the years, this polarisation only widened. Of course, not all have fallen
prey to this. But, the number of admirers of Dr Ambedkar’s intellect, vision, ideals,
and scholarship is very little compared to slogan-shouters on both sides of the
divide.
In all these processes, the true
legacy of Dr B R Ambedkar stands forgotten, either ignorantly or purposely. The
claim to legacy has been confined to mere worship of idol, which he firmly opposed;
and lack of courage and determination to practice the ideals propounded by him.
Sad, isn’t it?
(01-06-15)
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