Dr. Ambedkar - A visionary whose vision India failed to follow

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was the first Law and Justice Minister of independent India. However, this description is not enough to describe the greatness of this man. He was not only a scholar, a very well-read and informed person, but also a social reformer, and is known for his legendary work in the area of the equal rights movement for untouchables (known as Dalits) of India. Dr. Ambedkar was a born Dalit, so he knew firsthand what it meant to live as a Dalit person in Indian society. His education and intelligence gave him a unique perspective towards the social and political environment of Indian society of that time. He used his experience and knowledge to fight for equal rights for all people who were struggling because of years of discriminatory traditions. He used each and every platform available to him to highlight the issue of untouchability and even fought with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi for their political rights. Many books and articles that he wrote about the religion or the social condition of untouchables or about the Indian constitution are very informative. Anyone interested in any of these subjects or interested in knowing more about Dr. Ambedkar should read his books and articles or listen to his speeches. Without reading his work it is not possible to understand the greatness of this scholar, political leader, and greatest social reformer of India.

He was also a chairman of the constitution drafting committee, even though the constitution was drafted with the help of various scholars who served as members of that committee, Dr. Ambedkar is given credit for various constitutional provisions as he was the chairman of the committee. He wrote extensively about his vision related to social reforms in India, which were necessary to bring required social change for the upliftment of socially backward sections of society. If we look at the current political and social environment of India then we can see that there is definitely some social change that he envisioned. We should credit him for initiating it, but still, there is a lot of work that is required to implement the social reforms that he envisioned as Indian society still suffers from evils like casteism and gender discrimination. He fought against both these evils, but sadly people claiming his legacy are indifferent towards his ideals. The worst part is all current political parties and their leaders are only interested in using his image as a political tool to garner votes or appease a certain section of society, but none of them are really interested in implementing his real vision. Even political parties who claim to represent backward sections of society are not totally honest to implement the vision and ideas of this man whose name they use as if they own him. There is no doubt that the political class of India has failed to grasp the real essence of social reforms that Ambedkar imagined. Maybe they all are doing this purposely, as they all are busy using his name and image to suit their political gains. Even the social class for which he fought till the end of his life failed to understand his message. Most of them worship him like God, without following his message. Most Indians failed to follow his vision. People like Ambedkar or for that matter any visionary personality should not be converted into a demigod. It is the worst thing their supporters can do to them. Whenever people do this, they create a cult, where the person is worshipped but not studied or critically analyzed and this results in the tragic end of all good ideas of that person. Tragically this is happening in India with people like Dr. Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, and others.

For me, Dr. Ambedkar was a great scholar and social reformer. He was an expert in many fields like economics, constitutional matters, religious studies, etc. I learned many things by reading his articles which are now available online. I hope people look at his work and study about him rather than garlanding his photos and erecting his statues. Symbols have their own place and importance in any society, but mere symbolism without any substantial action is useless. Understanding his ideas and discussing them objectively will be the greatest tribute to this scholar. I am sure he would have loved to see his ideas being used rather than his images or statues. So, let's discuss the issues that he raised, let's debate about them, and try to find solutions rather than making him and his ideas a political weapon.

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Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar - Most used but least understood political and social icon of India

April 14th, 2015 was the 124th birth anniversary of one of the great thinkers of modern India, Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, also known as Babasaheb. I don't think I need to introduce him to anyone from India, but for others who don't know him, he is considered a great political and social leader who started an awareness campaign and mass movement among suppressed classes of India (mostly Dalits) for their equal rights and social upliftment, especially his work to eradicate the social evil of untouchability. His contribution towards the social upliftment of the suppressed classes of Indian society is more than any other leader of his time. His name and image are used by almost all political parties in India to reap political benefits, but hardly do they bother to read his books, understand his views, and follow his advice. Even political parties who claim to carry on his legacy lack the clarity of thought and level of his thinking that he displayed almost six to seven decades back.

Babasaheb was a Maharashtrian and because I was born and went to school in that state, I was introduced to him at a very early age as there were lessons about him in our school textbooks. I was impressed by his writings and personality in my teenage years mainly because of his rebellious nature. He was not scared to take on well-established traditions, customs, or ideas. He challenged them not just out of emotional rage but argued rationally, with logic, and by producing a lot of evidence to support his argument, which is a very rare thing even today in our political class. Rarely do we see such a spirit of scholarship and rational thinking now not only in a political class but across the board. I think he was one of the greatest thinkers that India ever produced who was way ahead of his times. Unfortunately, his teachings and thoughts didn't get the importance that they deserved in Indian social and political circles, maybe because even his so-called followers were not willing to accept many things that he wrote or said. His name and his image are reduced to tokenism to show empathy and sympathy towards a particular class of Indian society. No doubt that Babasaheb cared a lot about the situation of Dalits in Indian society, he was against casteism and the practice of untouchability which was rampant during that time (unfortunately, it still exists in one form or another). He fought really hard for their rights but to brand him only as a Dalit leader is a gross injustice to the intellect and scholarship of this great man. His scholarly work covers various aspects of social and political life, he was a very well-read and well-educated person. One should read his books and articles to understand how well-read he was and how much research he did to question many discriminatory practices that were socially accepted back then. Sadly, after his death, there was a big leadership vacuum and there was no capable leader of his caliber to fill that vacuum. That vacuum was filled by many political parties who claimed to be caretakers of the suppressed classes of Indian society, they used this class as a vote bank for years, but none of them matched the intellect and conviction of Babasaheb. There is no doubt that the policy of reservation and other social welfare schemes has brought some change in the social and economic status of these communities but still lot more work needs to be done.

If you roam around India, you will see many statues of Dr. Ambedkar and many streets named after him. His name is well known, and he is used by all political parties to exploit political gains. I feel Ambedkar's name is used more than Gandhi's name for political gains. Even though he is one of the most used political icons in Indian politics, he is least understood. When I look at the reason why they ignore his writings or messages, I find it is not because he was not very clear about what he thought about Hinduism, casteism, or reservation, but because it is very inconvenient for them to follow his advice. Even his so-called followers don't care to read his books and follow most of the things recommended by him. It is ironic to see that despite being one of the most used political icons in India his teachings are least followed. I hope people who take his name day and night and all political parties who claim to carry on his legacy at least make some serious efforts to read his writings and reflect on them. If they really care about Babasaheb, then they should show courage to discuss all the issues raised by him openly, they should dare to question the things which he dared to question. Many things that he questioned are still in practice, celebrating his birth anniversary is a great thing, and tokenism has its own importance in our society and culture, but if we really want to honor this great man, then we need to discuss and debate all issues which he raised in his books and articles. If we can remove the evil of casteism from Indian society, it will be a real tribute to this man.

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[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._R._Ambedkar
2. प्राइम टाइम : बाबा साहब अंबेडकर का लोक रूप