Time to blend Gandhi and Ambedkar-06 August 2010

Time to blend Gandhi and Ambedkar

Ashish Tripathi

06 August 2010, 12:00 AM IST



Amid a flurry of reports last week of upper-caste children boycotting midday meals (MDM) cooked by dalits in schools in over two dozen villages, the news of an upper-caste being burnt alive by dalits in Ghaziabad over a petty dispute came as a shocker. The boycotts forced the state government, headed by dalit chief minister Mayawati, to soften its pro-dalit agenda and relax the rule of 30% mandatory reservation in the appointment of cooks in 1.36 lakh primary schools covered by MDM in UP. It would be too early to call the Ghaziabad incident a prelude to caste wars in UP as Bihar has been witnessing such cases for decades, but it did indicate that dalits will not remain silent any more over upper-caste exploitation. The dalits' retaliation was over alleged humiliation of their women by the deceased hailing from the Thakur community. The deceased reportedly got upset when pigs reared by dalit families entered his house.

Government officials say local politics led to the MDM boycott as panchayat elections are round the corner. Aspirants for the post of pradhan are instigating people for political gains. A study by Ambedkar Mahasabha reveals that at many place the children who took part in the boycott belonged to the other backward classes and subcastes among dalits. National Crime Record Bureau data shows that crimes against dalits are on the rise in rural UP. In cities, dalits working in the government sector claim that they are looked down upon as 'quota wale log' and denied challenging assignments. At the same time, the complaints of misuse of the SC/ST Act are also rising. A section of dalits in the Mayawati administration are resorting to reverse discrimination. Creation of 'class within caste' among dalits has added another dimension. Beneficiaries of the quota system are found to be discriminating against their brethren from low financial status or lower subcastes.

The above facts make it clear that caste conflicts are acquiring dangerous propositions in UP, no matter how rosy Mayawati's transformation from "bahujan" to "sarvsamaj" may appear on paper. Such a situation would have definitely not pleased Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, had he been alive. Neither would he have liked a government led by a dalit compromising on dalit welfare, nor would he have approved of Ghaziabad dalits behaving savagely as upper castes have been doing for ages. Ambedkar would have also been pained to see his theory "the key to dalit emancipation is political power" being proved wrong by those who claim themselves to be his followers. He would have realised the harsh reality that the seat of power moulded by corruption, greed, hypocrisy and opportunism does not change its shape. Instead, the person has to fit into the seat. All this would have made Babasaheb join hands with Bapu for a struggle against violence and caste politics.

This is no wild imagination but the need of the hour. Gandhi-Ambedkar differences on the caste system and the approach to tackle the menace have been debated for long. But now we must blend them. While Ambedkar sought legal remedies along with political power for uplift of dalits, Gandhi wished to eradicate the curse by pricking the conscience of upper castes. He described untouchability as a crime against God and humans. He wanted upper castes to willingly accept dalits as equals. He felt that a law imposed from the top would invite a backlash dividing the caste-ridden Hindu society further. He advocated upper castes cleaning their own toilets and machines to do other menial jobs done by dalits. He believed that no government can provide employment to every citizen, considering India's huge population, hence caste-based vocations such as weaving and shoemaking should continue as they provided self-employment.

There are also a few common factors in the lives of the two great men. Chunnibhai Vaidya, a Gandhian, has proved with facts and figures that Gandhi's assassination was not due to the country's partition as publicised by Hindu extremists. The real reason was that he became a thorn in the flesh of orthodox Hindus because of his campaign against untouchability. Five attempts on Gandhi's life were made between 1933 to 1948 before extremists succeeded in January 1948. Bapu advocated equal rights for women. So did Babasaheb. Ambedkar tried to bring revolutionary reforms in Hindu society through Hindu Code Bill which had provision of divorce and granted right to property to daughters and widows in the family. But his efforts were blocked and he was forced to resign as law minister from Nehru's cabinet in 1951 by the Hindu hardliners. The saddest part was that they reduced Ambedkar to a 'dalit leader', whereas he was a national leader.

The Congress leadership's acceptance of Ambedkar as chairman of the Constitution drafting committee and then law minister was only a public posturing. The same Congress leadership used Gandhi for mass support but also mocked at his principles of non-violence, satyagraha and village economy. Gandhi has mentioned in his writings how his ideas were scoffed at within the Congress. This made him retire from active politics in 1934 to devote himself to a movement against untouchability. But Bapu could not do away with his motherly affection for the Congress (then an organisation and not a family-owned party). Gandhi's grandson, Kanu Bhai, in a recent interview to TOI had said that calculative Congress leaders used Bapu to capture political power. Ambedkar's famous 22 vows after he adopted Buddhism included a simple life as preached by the Buddha. Gandhi's ideals of ahimsa and self-purification were inspired by Buddhism. Both Gandhi and Ambedkar could have easily occupied political power by compromising on their ideals. But they preferred struggle over 'kursi'.

The MDM scheme provided appointment of women as cooks whose wards are also studying in the school presuming that a mother will take all possible care while cooking for children. Preference was given to widows and women deserted by their husbands. Such women are the most oppressed among the oppressed. The decision to scrap the dalit quota has hit women the most. Applying Ambedkar's approach, the quota should be restored and those opposing be put behind bars. Using Gandhi's approach people should be convinced that what matters in cooking is hygiene, not caste. And, nobody can deny a mother the divine right to feed children. In Ghaziabad, dalits who killed a Thakur should be arrested and tried in court. And, if dalits are being exploited and humiliated, corrective measures according to the law and social action should be taken because as long as discrimination exits, the threat of violence will continue.

India has a long tradition of social reforms through spiritualism. Nanak, Kabir, Chaitanya, Gyaneshwar, Eknath, Ramanuja, Tukaram, Ramananda, Swami Vivekanada, Swami Dayanand, irrespective of their caste, rejected all caste-based discrimination and were of the view that there is no place for the caste system in Hinduism. Lord Budha himself was born as a kshatriya price but renounced the world to serve the humanity. Saints in the Indian tradition do not have any religion or caste. This category, I feel, is suitable for Gandhi and Ambedkar. The dalits today do not require the brand of 'fly-by-night' upper caste politicians or power hungry dalit leaders who claim to be Ambedkarite but lead an ostentatious lifestyle, whereas the oppressed continue to live in abject poverty. The need is of a leader who could serve dalits selflessly and inspire upper castes to join his/her endeavour. We don't need caste-based icons. All Indians, and not dalits alone, should be proud of Jyotiba Phule, Savitri Bai Phule, Narayan Guru, Shahuji Maharaj.

The general tendency is to blame politicians for casteism and communalism. But the fact is that no matter how politically correct we (the privileged classes who are educated enough to distinguish between right and wrong motives) try to sound, most of us have biases. It's everywhere -- rural, urban, illiterate, educated, government/private sector and educational institutions. The bias could be based on caste, class, communal, linguistic, regional or gender. It's we who allow politicians to cash in on it. And it's the educated ones who mostly use caste and communal tools to serve their vested interests. In textbooks, we are taught that all men are born equal. But the reality is that in India inequality is tagged the day a child is conceived. Most children learn first lessons on caste/faith at home. Or else how can one explain that children, hardly 4-5 years old, who don't know how to spell their names, boycott meals cooked by dalits?

The real untouchables should be the corrupt and criminals, but today they are considered to be assets. Politicians use untouchability (caste) to grab votes but there are no untouchables in politics. They can shake hands with anybody for power. Why can't the true followers of Ambedkar and Gandhi come together to keep such politicians out of power and serve the poor?