Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom that we have lost in Knowledge?
Where is the Knowledge we have lost in information? ~T.S.Eliot: The Rock
Abraham Lincoln said, “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.” Various philosophers, political scientists and writers have given numerous definitions of democracy. A relentless champion of human rights and staunch believer in democracy, Dr B.R. Ambedkar said, “Democracy is not a form of government, but a form of Social Organization.”
Dr Ambedkar believed that in democracy revolutionary changes in the economic and social life of the people are brought about without bloodshed. The conditions for that are as follows: (1) there should not be glaring inequalities in society i.e. privilege for one class; (2) the existence of an opposition; (3) equality in law and administration: (4) observance of constitutional morality: (5) no tyranny of the majority: (6) moral order of society: (7) public conscience.”
Addressing the Constituent Assembly, he suggested certain devices essential to maintain democracy: “(i) Constitutional methods (ii) not to lay liberties at the feet of a great man (iii) make political democracy a social democracy.”
Dr Ambedkar firmly believed that political democracy cannot succeed without social and economic democracy. In his talk given on the Voice of America he argued that “democracy could not be equated either with republic or parliamentary form of government. The roots of democracy lay not in the form of government, parliamentary or otherwise. A democracy is a mode of associated living. The roots of democracy are to be searched in social relationship, in terms of the associated life between the people who form the society.”
Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of Lok-Sabha said: - What does an Empowered India mean to me? Can it mean differently to different people? Can there be a convergence of understanding on empowerment of a society like ours?
Even after 58 years of freedom, India still lives in different centuries. On the one hand, is the India of the affluent, of those who have had the benefit of modern education and are intellectually and materially empowered and on the other is the India of those who live under conditions of poverty, deprivation, squalor, illiteracy, ignorance, intolerance and prejudices? We have not yet achieved the desired result of the full empowerment of the socially backward sections. Caste based social stratifications is a reality we still have to reckon with. Similarly, gender-based discrimination is yet another major social issue we have to address.
Chaterjee said that “Nearly 400 million of our citizens continue to live below poverty line. The freedom that we talk about and all achievement… have no meaning for all those… who still live unsure of their next square meal.”
Empowering India “Bring into the mainstream all those kept out”? It involves the establishment of a social-political order in which no discrimination takes place on the basis of race, caste, creed or sex and where all citizens enjoy equal opportunities and at least an acceptable minimum quality of living.
An empowered India will be known for its inclusive and modern social order. In such an India, the state would be total dissociated from the shackles of religious orthodoxy and use its power only to positively intervene in addressing the socially dangerous and outdated customs and traditions and for brining about social harmony and socio-political and economic stability.(The New Indian Express: August 20, 2005,Somnath Chaterjee).
Human life is incomplete and impossible without cultural identity, which is the essence of human dignity. In the past people lived together in community. They had genuine feeling of love, caring, sharing and co-operation towards their fellow beings. Their life was also influenced by the natural factors like blowing wind, flowing water, songs of birds, voice of animals and other natural phenomena. Thus, they developed the use of a combination of various sounds to signify different things. In a course of time, this could have led to the evolution of language and music. During this period consciously or unconsciously, a life style and culture evolved in ways that were unique to each little community.
In India there are approximately 280 million Dalits. This means that nearly 28% of the population is Dalit. It also means that in a country, where everybody is supposed to have equal rights and opportunities, one out of 4 persons is condemned to be Untouchable.
Dalits are traditionally employed as sweepers and cremation ground attendants. They keep "unclean" animals like pigs and are subjected to every conceivable form of discrimination. But their leaders enjoy considerable political clout because, in an effort to redress the injustice of ages, India's Constitution lavishes generous privileges on them.
Politics provides the worst example of distorted good intentions. Hundreds of reserved seats in state legislatures and the federal Parliament have made Dalits the target for lobbying and taught them the value of bargaining. Though the best-known Dalit politician, Jagjivan Ram, a prime ministerial contender in 1979, wisely acknowledged that permanent privileges would make people think of Dalits as "a community of incompetent and inferior people," he did not refuse them.
In general one can say that being a Brahmin means that you are more privileged. This can imply having a good education and, accordingly, a more powerful position in the society. Being born as a Dalit you will be less well off and because of less education you will have a less good job. In daily life there are a lot of consequences of being a Dalit.
Dalits are poor, deprived and socially backward. Poor means that they do not have access to enough food, health care, housing and/or clothing (which means that their physiological and safety needs are not fulfilled). They also do not have access to education and employment. With deprived we would like to underline the injustice they face in every days life. Officially, everybody in India has the same rights and duties, but the practice is different. Social backwardness, lack of access to food, education and health care keeps them in bondage of the upper castes.
Nevertheless, in the recent past the Dalit society has also thrown up powerful leaders, like Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. He was one of the most powerful personalities to stand for the rights of Dalits.
Dr Ambedkar attached great importance to constitutional morality in the working of the Constitution. He endorsed the view of the Greek historian Grote, that constitutional morality required ‘‘a paramount reverence for the forms of the Constitution, enforcing obedience to authority acting under and within these forms’’. He stressed that diffusion of constitutional morality should be ‘‘not merely among the majority of any community but throughout the whole — since even any powerful and obstinate minority may render the working of a free institution impracticable without being strong enough to conquer ascendancy’’.
Dr Ambedkar then posed the question: ‘‘Can we presume such a diffusion of constitutional morality?’’ His frank answer was, ‘‘Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it.’’
"Reservations are only a gate pass after that, everyone is equal and has to slog to prove himself. We all Dalits faced opposition at every step and had to work doubly hard to prove you. Believe me, most Dalits work with sincerity and commitment.” I wish to add poignantly that caste discrimination is a “Genetic Disorder” most Indians have...
It is a unique feature of Indian history that this fact has always been appreciated by the country's great rulers, going back to Emperor Asoka in the pre-Christian period and Emperor Akbar in the Middle Ages.
They realised that social peace was only possible if all the communities were allowed to pursue their own traditions without let or hindrance. This ideal of mutual accommodation and respect is encouraged and practiced even today, ensuring the prevalence of social harmony in a country comprising 4,635 communities, speaking in 325 languages and dialects, and which is the birthplace of four religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism - and home to three others - Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism.
The poor accepted the Gospel and become Christian in India. So 85% of all Christian in India are Dalits and Tribal. Once they were the slaves. The Indian slave system is the longest and largest in world history. When the Slavery Abolition Act of 1843 legally abolished the slave trade and slave system in India, Dr. Smith, the great historian estimated 20 million slaves in India at that time. Slaves were bought, sold, gifted, hired and abducted. As a result of evangelization several accepted Jesus Christ and they were called Dalit Christians. Others were merely called Dalits. Today the Dalits want to escape from Hindu slavery. They are among the outreached people groups. They want to become Christian in order to escape Hindu slavery.
The reason for the success of India's multicultural society is that there is no glass ceiling. Everyone, whatever his religion or language, can aspire to the topmost position. Thus, India today has a Muslim president, a Sikh prime minister, a Sikh chief of the army staff, and a Christian as the president of the ruling Congress party. Effective reservation in government and public sector today is hardly 15% of which 10% is in the category of attendants, drivers, watchmen, clerks, etc. Only 5% are in the higher echelons of services like IAS and IPS. Can this percentage of reservations be responsible for the decline of effectiveness?
Today’s UPA government got 80 Secretary’s Post in New Delhi one SC and one ST holding a post as Secretary of Union Government, as per my reading goes in last 59 years not even 10 IAS officers being appointed to Secretary post in Union Government or Chief Secy. in State? In politics though 22% MLAs and MPs are from our lot, portfolios like Home, Finance, Industry, Commerce, Power, Revenue, Commercial taxes, excise, transport, irrigation, and H.R.D. and Communication are still the privilege of the Upper Castes. What we can achieve?
My fear is that when the State, the Central Government and the PSUs in the country could not achieve even 22% reservation in the last 59 years, how would affirmative action help? I wish to inform you that it is urgent need to revamp the administrative reforms and most of the government agencies in the county. “Reservations per se are not the Solution. The focus should be on high-quality education for all.”
An empowered India bereft of the respect for women, values of civilised existence and morality will collapse in the face of the disaffection and discontent of those who have suffered for centuries. Day in and day out we take pride in claiming that India has a 5000-year-old civilization. But the way the Dalits and those suppressed are being treated by the people who wield power and authority speaks volumes for the degradation of our moral structure and civilized standards.
Dr B R Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution, had said that political equality devoid of economic and social equality will bring about contradictions in our democratic set-up which if not rectified will lead to its doom. In the dark cloud of inequality and social injustice the silver lining represented by the assertion of the hitherto suppressed and exploited sections for their rights inspire confidence for their future empowerment. (The constitution's author, a U.S.-trained lawyer, B.R. Ambedkar, was himself a Dalit whom an enlightened Maharajah of Baroda sent to school. But he had to sit outside the classroom and listen to lessons through a window.)
The interesting essays include one by Pradeep P. Gokhale that gives an account of Ambedkar’s efforts to reconstruct Buddhism in light of secular rationality and sacred rationality. Ambedkar’s 21-year pilgrimage to Buddhism is traced by Christopher S. Queen. Ambedkar was influenced by his teacher, John Dewey’s ideas on social improvement, democratic skills and his faith "in the power of human leaders and communities to solve their own problems without divine intervention".
Uma Chakravarti, while giving the basic ideas of Buddhism, Brahmanism and the caste system exposes a lacuna in Buddhism that does not deal seriously with the question of gender-based inequality. Another informative paper is by G. Aloysis that explains the concept of rebirth in Tamil Buddhism as well as in Brahmanical traditions.
Ambedkar’s proclamation that he would not die a Hindu led him onto a journey—a search for a religion for the Dalits, which would emphasize on equality, righteousness, non-violence and compassion. Maren Bellwinkle-Schempp’s essay traces the rise of centers where Buddhism evolved. Besides Ambedkar, Schempp attempts to show the efforts of Acharya Ishvardatt Medharthi in developing the cause of the Dalits in Kanpur.
Ambedkar’s Challenge
Given the way Buddhism is evolving in the West, with its strong emphasis upon meditation and psychology, Ambedkar’s perspective is very provocative. Many of us are drawn to Buddhism because it offers peace—inner peace and world peace. We would like to be more un-perturb-able, loving, compassionate and joyful, rather than the crusading radicals some of us were in the sixties. If Buddhism has to do with stilling the fires of passion, then mettá bhávaná [the cultivation of loving kindness] is probably the best and highest practice for engaged Buddhism in the traditional mold—achieving peace and then projecting that peace to others. If this attainment of peace has some ripples in the world, great; but the world is really not the primary concern of a traditional Buddhist. It is rather training the monkey mind to settle down.
But it may be worth looking closely at Ambedkar’s idea that Buddhism is something we receive and then have to work with. Buddhist teachings invite us to take responsibility for ourselves, and this is being interpreted in engaged Buddhist circles as taking responsibility for the entire Sangha, the larger community, and ultimately, our eco-system on this planet Earth. Ambedkar’s approach tells us that if we spend too much time in personal meditation practice, and in retreat from the world of social relationship, we will be irresponsible to our community. So we need to get off the cushion, get out of the house, get out there and start to educate, agitate and organize. This is a collectivist notion of Sangha as people working together for a society of justice, wherein our Buddhist practice becomes the engaged activity of social change.
Dr. Ambedkar is one of the most famous Indians of the last century. Father of the Indian Constitution and one of the greatest Indian intellectuals and political agitators, Dr. Ambedkar was born into an “Untouchable” Caste. After 2000 Years of Man’s anti-human laws when India needed a new lawgiver, she turned to one who was born an “Untouchable”. On October 14, 1956 in Nagpur, Central India, Dr. Ambedkar, along with half a million other Dalits, converted to Buddhism- Dr.Ambedkar’s interpretation of Buddhism is a modern and humanistic one. Such is the intensity of the problem and the yearning for dignity.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had said Tuesday July 31st 1956; 46 years back at his residence 26 Alipur Road, New Delhi at 05-50P.M. to his Personal secretary Mr. Nanak Chand Rattu…Tell my people Nanak Chand. “You people do not know what is troubling me and what makes me so sad. The first worry to my mind is that I have not been able to fulfill my life's mission. I wanted to see my people a governing class in my lifetime, sharing the political power in terms of equality with other communities. I am now almost crippled and prostrate with illness. Whatever I have been able to achieve is being enjoyed by the educated few, who with their deceitful performances have proved to be the worthless lot, with no sympathies for their downtrodden brethren.
They have surpassed my imagination; they live for themselves and their personal gains. Not one of them is prepared to do the social work. They are treading the path of their ruination. I now wanted to divert my attention towards the vast illiterate masses in the villages that continue to suffer and remained almost unchanged economically. But life seems short.…My lieutenants, in whom I had full faith and confidence to run the movement, are fighting among themselves for leadership and power, unmindful of the heavy responsibility that is going to fall upon them… Any how I have done a lot in spite of the abuses hurled at me from all sides and I will continue to do so till my death.”
So saying, with tears rolling down his cheeks, he looked at me and I had also no alternative but to look at him with tears in my eyes. …And with a pained expression on his countenance whispered: “Take courage, don't get upset. Life is to come to an end one day or the other.”
After a little pause, wiping his tears, raising his hand a little above his glowing eyes, he said: “Tell my people Nanak Chand: Whatever I have done, I have been able to do after passing through crushing miseries and endless troubles all my life fighting with my opponents. With great difficulty, I have brought this caravan where it is seen today. Let the Caravan march on and further on despite the hurdles, pitfalls and difficulties that may come in its way. If my people, my lieutenants are not able to take the caravan ahead, they should leave it where it is seen today, but in no circumstances should they allow the Caravan to go back?” (Last Few Years of Br.Ambedkar”page92By. Nanak Chand Rattu) www.ambedkar.org/adb and www.ambedkar.net -Mr. Yogesh Varhade, President-ACJP).
No Equality in Hinduism
Such a living example of inequality is not to be found anywhere in the world. Not at anytime in the history of mankind can we find such inequality, which is more intense than untouchability... I think, you have been thrust into this condition because you have continued to be Hindus. Those of you who have become Muslims, are treated by the Hindus neither as Untouchables nor as unequals. The same can be said of those who have become Christians...
That God is all pervading is a principle of science and not of religion, because religion has a direct relation with the behavior of man. Hindus can be ranked among those cruel people whose utterances and acts are two poles apart. They have this Ram on their tongues and a knife under their armpits. They speak like saints but act like butchers...
Thus we are not low in the eyes of the Hindus alone, but we are the lowest in the whole of India, because of the treatment given to us by the Hindus. If you have to get rid of this same shameful condition, if you have to cleanse this filth and make use of this precious life; there is only one way and that is to throw off the shackles of Hindu religion and the Hindu society in which you are bound.
The taste of a thing can be changed. But the poison cannot be made amrit. To talk of annihilating castes is like talking of changing the poison into amrit. In short, so long as we remain in a religion, which teaches a man to treat another man like a leper, the sense of discrimination on account of caste, which is deeply rooted in our minds, can not go. For annihilating caste and untouchables, change of religion is the only antidote.
Untouchables are not Hindus
What is there in conversion, which can be called novel? Really speaking what sort of social relations have you with the caste Hindus at present? You are as separate from the Hindus as Muslims and Christians are. So is their relation with you. Your society and that of the Hindus are two distinct groups. By conversion, nobody can say or feel that one society has been split up. You will remain as separate from the Hindus as you are today. Nothing new will happen on account of this conversion. If this is true, then why should people be afraid of conversion? At least, I do not find any reason for such a fear...!.
The violence and bigotry traditionally inflicted by high-caste Hindus on members of their own faith, the low-caste Shudras, has no parallel in any other religion. Nor is Hinduism particularly welcoming to outside influences. We need only recall that until recently Hindus considered all foreigners to be mleccha, inherently unclean, and regarded those who ventured to foreign lands - as Mahatma Gandhi famously did when he left for England to study law in 1888 - as having polluted themselves.
Any civilization as ancient, accomplished and diverse as India's will have instances of argument, dissent and debate. This is something to be proud of. But to make such instances the principal contributing factor for the success of the democratic experiment in India, or for the triumph of secularism, is, I believe, to oversimplify things.
The real reason why the erstwhile "untouchables" or the poorest of the poor have the freedom to argue today is that the working of democracy - with all its inadequacies - has created a real shift in power to the deprived and dispossessed.( By: Pavan K. Varma.Reviews of Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian.)
Note what M.K. Gandhi said about the Caste. And how shamelessly he defended it “Caste has nothing to do with religion. Varna and Ashrama are institutions which have nothing to do with caste. The law of Varna teaches us that we have each one of us to earn our bread by following the ancestral calling. It defines not our rights but our duties. The callings of a Brahmin- spiritual leader-and a scavenger are equal and their due performance carries equal merit before God and at one time seems to have carried identical reward before man. Both were entitled to their livelihood...” The Harijan, July 2, 1936.
“I tell you, religion is for man and not man for religion. If you want to organize, consolidate and be successful in this world, change this religion, […] The religion that does not teach its followers to show humanity in dealing with its co-religionists is nothing but a display of a force. The religion that teaches its followers to suffer the touch of animals but not the touch of human beings is not a religion but a mockery. The religion that compels the ignorant to be ignorant and the poor to be poor is not a religion but a visitation!”----Dr. B.R Ambedkar.
“Our greatest enemy is poverty and not human beings, and if we want progress, we will have to fight poverty.” There was a need for people to understand that poverty was their common enemy and not their human beings. Our enemy is poverty. It is the root cause of our problems and should be the object of our fight.”-- Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
The condition of poverty is complex and should not be thought of as a simple problem with a simple solution. Race, gender, familial status, age, and place of residence are some but not all of the characteristics that enhance the risk of it.
Measuring poverty is difficult because poverty is a complex issue. The current measure for poverty does not take into account all of the related factors. The National Research Council (1995) describes how the poverty measure was developed and gives the limitations of the measure. The poverty measure was developed in the early 1960s as an indicator of the number and proportion of people with inadequate incomes for needed consumption of food, other goods, and services.
The poverty measure or poverty line does not accurately define family resources. Family resources are defined as cash receipts and do not reflect in kind benefits the family receives such as food stamps. Likewise, housing allowance and other subsidies received by families on assistance that represent economy.
Asia’s growing poor forget the success stories, 1.9 Billion are being left behind- And getting angry:-To an extent not fully appreciated outside the borders of Asia’s three most populous countries- China, Indonesia and India-poverty issues now drive their politics within. In those nations, the poor are demanding concrete actions.
India alone skews Asia’s poverty indexes sharply downward. It has the world’s largest population of abject poor (about 300 million Indian subsist on or below $1 per day).Mumbai’s Dharavi suburb is arguably the world’s largest slum. The countryside, home to 70 percent of India’s downtrodden, has existed unchanged for centuries. A third of rural villages lack ready access to water, Nationwide, 50 percent of children are undernourished, a higher ratio than in sub Saharan Africa.
Voters in India tossed out the Bharatiya Janta Party-led Government last two year in spite of the fact it had posted some of the highest growth rates since Independence. Clearly, the coalition’s “India Shining” campaign triggered a backlash from the economic have-nots.
“I’m sad that the majority of our countrymen are poor,” declared current Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh after taking office. He aims to boost foreign direct investment as a means to create millions of factory jobs, but his government has also initiated the controversial Employment Guarantee Scheme in which New Delhi plans to hire one member of every household in India( there are 50 million) to work a hundred days a year at $2 a day. When fully running, in five year, the program will cost an estimated $8 billion. (Courtesy Newsweek International, November 21, 2005.)
Mata Amritanandamayi, Spiritual Leader of India said, “There are two types of poverty-material poverty and poverty of love and compassion. If love and compassion are awakened, then the other kind of poverty will also be done away with.”
