The Growing Relevance of Babasaheb
The ever-increasing modernity (it is much debatable as
to what constitutes modernity) and ‘technical education’ has been making the
millennial aloof from engage with the political and social founders of modern
India. In the era of fast-moving lives combined with consumeristic capitalism
where many of the mainstream arguments like caste, gender and class
inequalities are past things and withered away from present-day society have
taken dominance. As per these arguments,
these inequalities are no longer visible in society. We have moved to merit
oriented approach in society which is characterized by equality. Henceforth,
engaging with the thoughts of founders of modern India like Gandhi, Nehru, and
Ambedkar is not necessary. Especially, Ambedkar whose language was/is with the
oppressed, who spoke the language of ‘rights’. Do these arguments hold any
truth? The answer is a clear no. Let’s examine the same.
If we could dare to see rural hinterlands with their
caste male elitists holding on the power, if we could read ‘everybody loves a
good draught’ book, if we could dare to acknowledge the separate resident
settlements in urban areas (Agraharas, Ambedkar Nagar, Basaveshwara Nagar), if
we could see daily matrimonials based on caste in newspapers, if we could
understand the daily news in print and visual media the atrocities committed
against low caste, women and other oppressed communities, we would confirm that
discrimination and inequality are very much social realities, they are
ubiquitous and play in very subtle ways. For instance, renting a home only to
vegetarians, allowing dining based on birth identity, and endogamy within
closed communities. Babasaheb has answers to these realities which we are
living through. Hence, it is important to engage with Babasaheb’s ideals and
Philosophy to ‘annihilate’ discrimination.
Babasaheb Ambedkar the pioneer of modern India was
born on 1891 April 14 in Mahar (untouchable) community in today’s Maharashtra.
Babasaheb encountered a plethora of discrimination. He is the one who attained
the highest education at the time which no untouchable dreamt of achieving it.
As a social reformer, he fought in various ways for the rights of people. His
stubbornness while accepting Poona pact, Mahad Satyagraha, conversion into
Buddhism and through constitutional means. Babasaheb was an erudite reader,
practitioner, and principal architect of the Indian Constitution.
In the constituency assembly debates he says, “We must
make our political democracy a social democracy as well, social democracy means
a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as a way of
life”. Because he believed that unless social democracy (which is in people's
psyche and which is through deeper empathy) political democracy doesn’t bring
the desired change. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the importance of
social change because people's attitudes change very slowly. If we look at the
constituent assembly debate Babasaheb raises the same issues which are about
equality, fraternity and liberty which are central to the deepening of
democracy, which are we pretty much concerned about in contemporary India. In
the debate, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar put some concerns about India as a
nation-state. He argues, if we do not leave the caste and gender creed from our
social and psychological sense we cannot be claimed as a nation-state, in his
words “Will Indians place their country above their creed or will they place creed
above country?
Self-respect is another ideal which Ambedkar strongly
proposed. He said “Man is mortal. Everyone has to die some day or the other.
But one must resolve to lay down one's life in enriching the noble ideals of
self-respect and in bettering one's human life... Nothing is more disgraceful
for a brave man than to live life devoid of self-respect.” Self-respect is
paramount important for Ambedkar because self-respect instils a sense of
confidence to participate in democratic processes. If one loses her
self-respect it is bound to lead to slavery. In today’s society, we witness
many people devoid of self-respect. Economically and socially poor people are
being subjected to addressed without respect and ironically the very educated
are more into such practices.
The recent incident in Ramnagara tells us that as we
envisaged in our constitution have not agreed to the tenet of fellowship. We
still see people as ‘other’, the other is not making us get to unite and strive
for national progress. Babasaheb divulges that “without fraternity, equality
and liberty will be no deeper than a coat of paint.” The statement essentially
tells the vitality of fraternity. Once we believe that people are our ‘family’
then equality and liberty will be established. Fraternity is to be cultivated
in Indian society as it possesses enormous diversity, in a homogenous community
fraternity is naturally cultivated among people but in heterogenous society
like ours, there should be deliberate efforts have to beinitiated so that
fraternity is established.
In conclusion, Babasaheb is a light for the people who
are buried under the dark house called discrimination and oppression. He is the
ray of hope for both the oppressed and oppressors. in Ananya Bajpayee's words
in her book ‘Righteous Republic’ “Ambedkar was far more systematic than Gandhi
as a self-taught student of different religions in India, far more thorough
than Nehru as an amateur historian of India, far more imaginative and
conflicted than the talented Tagores in his attempt to identify and construct
an acceptable past for the emerging nation.
In the era of ‘self-regulated market-oriented capitalism and assertive
religious nationalism, where discrimination and inequalities are reproduced and
reinvented, we need as the actor Vira Sathidar rightly asserted ‘we really need
one more radical Ambedkar to annihilate the caste’.
