Christian Ambedkar
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
The limitation of worshipping one’s religion while not using it to spread the poison of indiscrimination sentence is broadly a simple perspective of what this great personality wanted to convey to the people of his nation. While other people did not want change to occur in the old customs, which was dehumanizing to the Dalits, he stood up on behalf of the Dalits and fought for them for the years they had spent being oppressed and cornered by their own people. His profound interest and passion for philosophy helped him mold the developments that he curated for the sake of his people.
He not only allowed the entertainment industry to ponder over what’s happening in world but rather allowed people to discuss and debate on the farther political matters which is mostly out of their reach in the reality. He brought out certain matters which transformed the entertainment industry:especially the film industry to something more profound;something that not only provides simple films but allows you to gain insight into the deep world and it’s analytics and policitics in a rather enjoyable way.
Radical mindset:
Him being a radical, always pressed for Purna Swaraj in the freedom struggle and gender equality, which showed his dedication towards his motherland, his loyalty, honesty, the essence of patriotism and diligence.
His key role:
He played a pivotal role in drafting the Indian Constitution, which no large political group has ever questioned, which is an unusual achievement for any Constitution.
A vignette of his life:
Educational qualifications:
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was born on 14th April 1891 in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. His father’s name was Ramji Sakpal, and he was a subhedar in the British army and his mother’s name was Bhimabhai Sakpal. The government ensured that there were special schools to provide quality education to the children of all the army personnel; this allowed Dr.Ambedkar to enhance his knowledge. However, after his father’s retirement, his family settled in Maharashtra, where he was enrolled in a local school where he experienced extreme discrimination.
Yet through his sheer passion and hard work, he was able to avail scholarships to further pursue his studies. Once he passed his matriculation exam around 1907, he went to Elphinstone College, which was affiliated with the University of Bombay. He was the first to do so from the Mahar caste in accordance with him. After finishing at Elphinstone College and getting his first degree (B.A.) from the University of Bombay, Dr.Ambedkar went overseas for higher studies. He first went to Columbia University in America, where he earned a Master’s degree and a PhD, mostly studying economics.
Then, he moved to London, England. There, he earned another Master’s degree and a Doctorate from the London School of Economics, again focusing on economics. At the same time, he also studied law in London and became a qualified lawyer (a Barrister).
Mooknayak (Newspaper):
During this course, he also launched the newspaper “Mooknayak”, which meant “voice of the voiceless”. This beautifully captured how the Dalits or the oppressed were not allowed to be a part of anything and were excluded even though they had done nothing that could be considered evil, and now they had the chance to express it and make the necessary people acknowledge the atrocities committed by them and at last live a life of peace. Another notable work by him is how he was the only individual to attend all three round table conferences for the sake of arguing for the deserving rights of the victims of the venom of discrimination.
His view on the term “Harijan”:
The term “Harijan” introduced by mahatma gandhi in the 1930s for the Dalits made Dr.Ambedkar provide controversial statements. He believed that giving the name which meant “children of god” to a section of the society that was segregated and treated unfairly wouldn’t address the root cause of the problem but rather just cover it up and make it more difficult to uncover the issue.
His commitments towards his nation:
Later he was appointed as the first Law Minister of independent India and then subsequently elected to the Constituent Assembly, the body responsible for drafting the constitution. As a key figure, he was appointed to chair the Drafting Committee, which was tasked with creating the final draft of the Indian Constitution. Having lost his wife and four children, he never showed a moment of despair while serving for the nation, which earned him immense respect. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died on December 6, 1956. This day is known as Mahaparinirvan Din which translates to “Great Passing Away”.
An analysed study of his contributions:
Drafting Committee:
Dr.Ambedkar studied the constitutions written by other country leaders and keenly analyzed the context, thus curating the perfect outline for India. Once it was drafted, it was put forth to the Constituent Assembly, where it was tediously and meticulously discussed and debated article by article.
Due to his salient role in the formation of the Indian Constitution, he came to be known as “The architect of the Indian Constitution”.
Work for Dalits:
As he and his brother were the only Dalits in their school they had to bring sacks from their home so that they could sit on them and study, other than this they had to drink water which was poured into their hands by a peon from a container, at times when the peon wasn’t there they’d have to remain thirsty the entire day. This was the extent of the magnitude of casteism in those times.
Dr.Ambedkar knew through his experience the feeling that such an act given to his other peers who were also Dalits or the oppressed would make them deprived,this made him work towards the annihilation of casteism through various measures tirelessly. Through the passage of time,his ideologies gradually progressed which ensured that the dalits were rightfully restored their rights. He along with 300,000 dalits on October 14,1956 converted to Buddhism for the cause of representing the unjust scenarios they’d had to experience in the past years of their struggle to live a basic life.
Uplifting of women:
Dr. Ambedkar’s 1917 paper “Caste in India” highlighted how casteism and gender inequality were closely interconnected,he pressed that sati,child marriage and other issues be ended for the greater good. He also talked of the significance of education for women and how it molded them independent personalities. An supportive evidence of this would be the establishment of the Siddharth college in Mumbai with a 40 percent reservation for women by him.
Another set of changes bought in by him was the introduction of maternity benefits,equal salary and the limitation of working hours for women. He was also supportive of women for them to be engaged in political activities as he believed that it would give them a sense of confidence which further allowed them to break from the shackles of oppression the society had put on them since ages. He also publicly burnt the book Manusmriti in 1927 to oppose its negetive perspective and aspects about women and the lower castes.
His ideas on Indian economy:
The theories provided by Dr.Ambedkar for the development of the Indian economy before the independence of India are applicable even today. He was the first to interpret that casteism could indirectly have an impact on the economy,he believed that caste system functioned actively in the consumption,production,allocation,distribution and utilization of resources. But these were solely carried by the upper castes which gradually made some dalits inculcate in themselves that they were not to live a just life,whereas some others struggled to get a quality education. His initial hypothesis was a foundation which was laid for the construction of his later postulation which gradually developed into firm-statements. This was one of the major cause or factors of him being led to wanting to annihilate the caste system.
His impact on the nation:
Challenged the oppressed to reach for greater heights:
Inspired and motivated by Dr.Ambedkar,the dalits started to enter temples and other previously restricted places and refused to do the demeaning work that was forced by the upper castes. They began circulating these ideas and made an attempt to comprehend how they would have to plan to achieve an equal and dignified life for themselves.
Understanding the need for education:
Following his call “Educate, Agitate, Organize,” many from the lower communities came to the realization of getting an education,this allowed them to facilitate growth and live a respectable life. His words played an extremely influential role in the lives of Indians. One evidence that could be presented would be the increase of the literacy rate in the Scheduled castes. The figures like those from the 1961 Census (around 10%) when compared to the 2011 Census (around 66%) show the encouragement and Dr.Ambedkar’s effect on the people.
Utilization of reservations:
Dr.Ambedkar bought about the awareness of reservations for the lower castes which was the only key missing component. After this people sought to increase their income leading to a better lifestyle than what they’d experienced before. They applied for government jobs,went for elections and educational seats,most of which benefited them to foster their talents into fields of specialized studies.
An outlook on Dr.Ambedkar’s Speeches and interviews:
His speech on unity:
His famous speech which was based on unity addressed one of the core underlying issues which was regarding the need to starting the struggle rather than moving on with it. He sought to make people comprehend the difficulty in organizing marches that will ultimately lead us to freedom rather than carrying on with it. His philosophical insights allowed Indians to critically veiw their position and move towards an independent India.
- His speech at the parliament:
In his other speech at the parliament in 1949 he openly talked about how he came into the Committee for the sole goal of safeguarding the rights of the dalits and preserving their liberty and that he had not anticipated he would be presented with greater responsibilities,which summed up in a few phrases would be having to carry the weight of being the chairman of the drafting committee,yet he didn’t consider this as a burden but rather a boon.
He also humbly states how the credit given to him doesn’t entirely belong to him but rather to Sir benegal Narsing Rau CIE, the constitutional advisor to the Constituent Assembly who had prepared a rough draft of the constitution. He also expresses how the greater share goes to S. N Mukherjee,the chief draftsman of the constitution. He talked about the significance of equality,liberty and fraternity and how they are codependent on each other for a just and harmonious nation. He later goes on about how the people of the nation were going to enter a life of contradictions.
He states how in the political realm equality shall persist for the namesake or not and how One man,One vote,One value is insisted whereas in the social and economic realm, inequality would exist and people are denied and will deny One man,One vote,One value. He elaborated how the people who experienced such suffering of being denied the basic human rights shall withhold only for much longer and later launch campaigns and rebellions which would crush the political democracy created by the Constituent Assembly scrupulously round the clock.
His interview with BBC:
He correctly predicted what India would look like in the next 70 years. In an interview with BBC he clearly stated that democracy shall not work in India unless the social structure could be altered. What he said almost a century before,still holds true in the current politics. This accurate guess some may believe may have come from his 32 degree(s) which represent his in-depth knowledge but the in reality,this combined with his experience of the discriminative regime allowed him to formulate his ideas and plans.
He talks about how the endless speeches given by political figures would result in nothing and rather taking real action such a launching a programme and working towards it would only bear a fruitful outcome. He insists that at the end of the day people want food on their table and their interests to be valued. He talks about some sort of communism as an alternative and yet we can also be presented with a contradictory statement where Dr.Ambedkar did not support the communists,but these were for the better reasons. The communist party in India at that period was concentrated with Brahmins due to which his thoughts were inclined towards an idea where if they were to impose rules and laws it would ultimately lead to dictatorship.
Dr.Ambedkar’s conversion: A deeper insight
Prelude:
Many people question about why Dr.Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, when veiwed from his shoes,he was discriminated from his childhood due to the prevailing caste systems in the Hindu religion,he believed that the segregation was deep-rooted and that it consisted of extremely orthodox personalities.
The Varna system:
His outlook on the varna system was such that he considered it to belittle and disrespect dalits at all times. Looking from a rational perspective,anybody who was wounded and offended by the toxins of this would convert to another religion even if it provided controversy for them. This solely comes from his veiw and experience as a vulnerable child. He kept his respect and gave his tolerance towards all his religions and had only given his opinions openly for the sake of making people grasp the concept or subject on how to tackle such prejudice.
He was clear in his understanding that he did not want to practice a dharma or religion which had the inculcation of caste system in it. His choice of conversion however wasn’t solely based on this fact alone,his past trauma related with the religion he had been practicing forced him to take a different path to put his beliefs and spiritual essence in.
He considered the varna system as a threat or obstruction in the path towards freedom. He came to a conclusion that conversion was the only solution for the oppressed dalits.
His passion towards the betterment of dalits:
He once stated in one of his many inspiring speeches,”Convert yourselves,Convert forgetting organized,convert for becoming strong,convert for securing equality,convert for getting liberty,convert so that your domestic life should be happy,why do you remain in a religion that does not treat you as a human being? Why do you remain in a religion which prohibits you from entering temples? Why do you remain in a religion that prohibits you from securing drinking water from the public well? Why do you remain in a religion which comes in your way of getting a job? Why do you remain in a religion which insults you at every step? A religion which man’s human behaviour with man is prohibited is nota religion but a display of faux.
A religion which does not recognize a m an as man is not a religion but a disease. A religion in which the touch of animals is premitted but the touch of human beings is prohibited is not a religion but a mockery. A religion which procludes some classes from education forbids them to accumulate wealth and bear arms is not a religion but a mockery of human beings. A religion that compels the ignorant to be ignorant and the poor to be poor is not a religion but a punishment” This excerpt from his saying tells us about how solid and determined he was rather than frustrated. He talks about how castes do prevail in religions other than Hinduism but cannot be compared with the system of Hinduism itself.
Conclusion:
In synthesized diction Dr.Ambedkar faced severe caste discrimination within Hinduism from a young age. This led to his apprehension of the Varna system as a peril to the dalits due to which he refused to practice a religion with the caste system which further led to his conversion from Hinduism to buddhism as he concluded it as the final way out from the fetters of suppression and marginalization.
When taken a look at the bhakti movement in India or the social gospel movement in Christianity it is clearly found that attempts at changing the prevailing systems have been made,yet due to certain conservative people which constitutes the majority had been acting as an barrier for the complete eradication of inequality. When this is compared to incident when Dr.Ambedkar and other dalits converted to buddhism a transparent answer can be seen,to take mass action they would have to protest to great extent but being at the verge of extreme despair due to their way of living for centuries made them resort to conversion at last.
But then again it raises two essential and major questions;
How does the analyzed ideologies of the experiences of dalits who converted to Buddhism contrast with of those dalits who wanted change in the existing Hinduism’s Varna system?
This particular question leads us to a rather reflective and introspective resolution. Those who wanted reform in the existing system might have had a mindset where their thoughts would be such that a struggle for centuries which didn’t yield any result would still need to be pursued for the justice they deserved,this was what they would have worked for. Whereas on the other hand,the dalits who converted to Buddhism would have wanted to end the struggle as they would have developed veiwpoints where they knew they would only achieve their desired idea of equality after an exceptionally long period of mass agitation. To them conversion was a much peaceful and a more reasonable remedy.
This abstract theory further leads us to the next question:
Did the conversion completely obliterate the past coercion inflicted on them? Though a complex topic,the answer to this is plain and straightforward,it doesn’t erase their trauma from before but rather establishes or sets up a positive future for them and their upcoming generations and allows them to have inner-peace and contentment for some for the time being. The word “some” here signifies that only certain people are able to escape from the undulating abuse experienced. This is the core reason why Dr.Ambedkar always urged and emphasized the sooner caste inequality is exterminated,the better.
By: Rithika Kannan
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