“Noble is your aim and sublime and glorious is your mission.
Blessed are those who are awakened to their duty to those among
whom they are born. Glory to those who devote their time, talents
and their all to the amelioration of slavery. Glory to those who would
reap their struggle for the liberation of the enslaved in spite of heavy
odds, carpine humiliation, storms and dangers till the downtrodden
secure their Human Rights.” -Dr.B.R.Ambedkar.
Fifty three years ago India got Independence, still Dalits (the untouchables) lack basic needs for their survival, which includes drinking water, food, shelter and the right to live as human beings in society. A Dalit is not allowed to drink water from public wells; their shadow is supposed to pollute the so-called upper castes. Hindu social order has made life of Dalit miserable in every sense of the term. The Hindu Dharmashastra (scripture) gives sanction to the evil caste system and the practice of Untochability. This has continued for centuries.
Dalit leadership has the moral responsibility to aggressively seek policies for the uplift of the Dalit community. Reservations alone cannot possibly help all Dalits. Focus must shift to problems of land reforms, right to work and credit.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the liberator of millions of downtrodden in India, made abolition of caste system and untouchability a mission of his life. Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi should be born again to end the abominable evil of caste. As he himself had said:
If I do not want to attain moksha, I do not want to be reborn. But if I were to be reborn, I should be born an untouchable… not as a Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya or Shudra, but as an Atishudra, a Bhangi.
The Arya Samaj in 1923 and the Harijan Sevak Sangh in 1932 had a plan of action for the Bhangis, which did not help much. For rehabilitation of scavengers, millions were allocated over five decades to implement rehabilitation schemes, which have obviously gone down the drain. Most of this money pocketed by upper castes.
In an attempt to bestow dignity, Gandhi renamed them harijan or “Children of God” These Dalits comprise about 15 per cent of India’s population, but unfortunately they are scattered and carry minimal electoral influence. For them little has changed.
Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism perhaps the least dogmatic or hierarchic of world religions. Buddha’s vision was a casteless society. Dr. Ambedkar’s response to Gandhi was that he wanted to treat the symptom, not the cause of the disease – how can untouchability be abolished without addressing the Hindu caste and the dharma system, which is at the root of it. Dr. Ambedkar said:
Buddhism can serve not only this country, India, but the whole world at this juncture in the world affairs; Buddhism is indispensable for world peace you must pledge today that you, the followers of Buddha, will not only work to liberate yourself, but will try to elevate your country and the world in general.
Gandhi wanted the higher castes to change their hearts; Dr. Ambedkar felt suffering of untouchables has continued for over 2000 years, with many Hindu saints having come and gone, without any change in their social status. Ambedkar wanted to legally empower Dalits.
Article 17 of the Indian Constitution is the Untouchability Abolition Act. With caste stratification spread wide and routinely accepted, if implemented, half of India’s population could be in jail.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was himself not happy with the Constitution. If 95 per cent of Dalits have been left behind, the problem, in part at least, lay with the Constitution, too. Instead of being defensive, while preserving the gains from reservations, efforts should be made to amend the Constitution in order to deal with problems of landlessness and unemployment. The poor Dalit has no bird in the hand to lose.
Party discipline and whips restricted Dalit Members of the Indian Parliament. They were more interested in keeping their party leadership in good humor so they could get the party ticket (nomination) in the next election. As Dr. Ambedkar once commented,
Dalit representatives elected from reserved seats open their mouths in the Parliament only when they have to yawn.
Dr. Ambedkar transcends time. The man some “intellectuals” found unfit for the “ best of the 20th Century” was recognized as a crusader for women’s rights by a glossy women’s magazine. The life, ideals and spirit of Dr. Ambedkar will mould future generations. He might not be the media’s man of the second millennium. He may yet be the man of the third millennium. Watch him!
Many people know about the Poona pact (1932), which will remain a landmark in the Christian calendar and haunt Dalits for generation. The Poona pact made Dalit leadership toothless but saved Gandhi from a sure death.
Emancipation and empowerment of Dalits is possible only through education. The present Dalit leadership, unlike Spartacus or Ambedkar, is suffering from intellectual bankruptcy. It fails to criticize the ruling classes or follow Ambedkar’s philosophical and ideological roots. Nearly 60 to 70 per cent of India’s wealth belongs to Dalits. It is their blood and sweat. But they are the principle victims of the system.
