Lessons from Ambedkar

Paper: GS I & GS-II, Paper I (Essay)

Topic: Indian Constitution, Modern Indian History from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present significant events, personalities, issues.

For Prelims: About Bhimrao Ambedkar and his contribution in Modern Indian History.

For Mains: Personalities associated with Modern Indian History.

In News: To pay homage to Babasaheb Ambedkar on his 63rd Death Anniversary (on 6 December) the Mahaparinirvan Diwas is assumed.

About Dalit

• Dalit, meaning “broken/scattered” in Sanskritand Hindi, is a term mostly used for the ethnic groups in India and Nepal that have been kept repressed (often termed backward castes).
• Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varnasystem of Hinduism and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama.
• Dalits now profess various religious beliefs, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity and various folk religions.
• The 2011 Census of Indiarecorded their numbers at over 200 million people, representing 16 % of India’s population.
• The term Dalits was in use as a translation for the British Rajcensus classification of Depressed Classes prior to 1935.
• It was popularized by the economist and reformer  R. Ambedkar(1891–1956), who included all depressed people irrespective of their caste into the definition of Dalits.
  • Hence the first group he made was called the “Labour Party” and included as its members all people of the society who were kept depressed, including women, small scale farmers and people from backward castes.
  • Ambedkar himself was a Mahar, and in the 1970s the use of the word “Dalit” was invigorated when it was adopted by the Dalit Panthersactivist group.
  • Gradually, political parties used it to gain mileage.
• New leaders like Kanhaiya Kumarsubscribe to this definition of “Dalits”, thus a Brahmin marginal farmer trying to eke out a living, but unable to do so also falls in the “Dalit” category.
• India’s National Commission for Scheduled Castesconsiders official use of Dalit as a label to be “unconstitutional” because modern legislation prefers Scheduled Castes; however, some sources say that Dalit has encompassed more communities than the official term of Scheduled Castes and is sometimes used to refer to all of India’s oppressed peoples. A similar all-encompassing situation prevails in Nepal.
• Similar communities are found throughout the rest of South Asia, in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and are part of the global Indian diaspora.

Contribution of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in emancipation of Dalit

Ambedkar was a valiant fighter for the cause of the Dalits. His strategies to achieve the goal of empowering Dalits shifted with changing contexts but the goal always remained the same attaining equality with caste Hindus in all spheres of life.

Through Separate electorate (Communal Award)(Gandhi Ji Vs Ambedkar)

• It was in pursuit of this goal that in the early 1930s he advocated a separate electorate for the Dalits. This demand was accepted by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in his Communal Award of 1932, which granted Dalits 18% of the total seats in the Central legislature and 71 seats in the Provincial legislatures to be elected exclusively by Dalits.
• However, Ambedkar’s success was short-lived because of Mahatma Gandhi’s fast unto death against a separate electorate for Dalits, which he saw as a British ploy to divide Hindu society.
• Ambedkar gave up his demand in return for an increased number of seats reserved for Dalits but elected by the general Hindu population.
• Not successful: However, Ambedkar regretted his decision because he soon realised that given the disparity in the number of eligible voters between caste Hindus and Dalits as well as the huge disparity in their socio-economic status, very few of the elected Dalits would be able to genuinely represent Dalit interests.
• Both Gandhi and Ambedkar abhorred untouchability, but the terms they used to describe the “untouchables” demonstrated the wide gulf in their approaches to the issue.
• Gandhi called them “Harijan” (God’s children) in order to persuade caste Hindus to stop discriminating against them.
• For Ambedkar, this was a patronizing term and he used the nomenclature Dalit both to describe the reality of oppression and to galvanize his people to challenge and change the status quo.

In the second half of the 1930s Ambedkar considered the Muslim League a potential ally:

• He concluded that if Muslims and Dalits acted jointly, they could balance the political clout of caste Hindus.
• However, he was disillusioned after the Muslim League’s Lahore Resolution of March 1940 demanding a separate Muslim majority state.
• He felt this undercut Dalit interests in two ways. First, if the Muslim League succeeded in gaining Pakistan, it would drastically reduce the Muslims’ heft in Indian politics and allow caste Hindus a free hand in running the country.
• Second, even if the bid for Pakistan failed, the Muslim League’s demand for parity in representation with the Hindus effectively marginalised all other groups, especially the Dalits.

After Independence Ambedkar made his peace with the Congress leadership:

• He thought it would enhance Dalits’ rights from within the power structure.
• He became Law Minister and Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee.
• He resigned from the Cabinet in 1951 when his draft of the Hindu Code Bill was stalled in Parliament because conservative Hindu members opposed it.

Problems today that exist for Dalit:

Although he died a frustrated man, Ambedkar’s devotion to the cause of Dalit empowerment has continued to galvanize Dalits until today.

• Dalit awakening is represented in student activism on university campuses as well as through the emergence of Dalit-based parties.
• However, there are three major problems that continue to bedevil Dalit activism.
  • First, intra-Dalit differences based on sub-castes allows forces opposed to Dalit empowerment to divide Dalits and deny them the clout that they can wield in the Indian polity.
  • Second, interpersonal rivalry among Dalit politicians leads to the same result.
  • Third, the inability of the Dalit leadership to stick with their non-Dalit allies, especially in times of political adversity, makes them appear as unreliable political partners.

Government efforts to tackle the issue of Dalit

• In 1997, India elected its first Dalit President,  R. Narayanan.
• Many social organizations have promoted better conditions for Dalits through education, healthcare, and employment.
• Nonetheless, while caste-based discrimination was prohibited and untouchability abolished by the Constitution of India, such practices are still widespread.
• To prevent harassment, assault, discrimination and similar acts against these groups, the Government of Indiaenacted the Prevention of Atrocities Act, also called the SC/ST Act, on 31 March 1995.
• In accordance with the order of the Bombay High Court, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B Ministry) of the Government of India issued an advisory to all media channels in September 2018, asking them to use “Scheduled Castes” instead of the word “Dalit”.

Way Forward

The most important lesson to learn from Ambedkar’s repeated exhortations is that unless they remain united, the Dalits will be denied their due share of political power.

Additional Information

Communal Award:

• The Communal Award was made by the British prime ministerRamsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932 granting separate electorates in India for the Forward Caste, Scheduled Caste, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans and Depressed Classes (now known as the Scheduled Caste) etc.
• The Award favoured the minorities over the Hindus causing consternation and eliciting anger from Gandhi.
• From the fastness of Yeravda Jail, he made contact with the Cabinet in London declaring on 4 January 1933 an open fast until death.
• This was favoured by Ambedkar but when Mahatma Gandhiopposed the proposal it resulted in the Poona Pact.
• The reason behind the introduction of this ‘Award’ was that Ramsay MacDonald considered himself as ‘a friend of the Indians’ and thus wanted to resolve the issues in India.
• The ‘Communal Award’ was announced after the failure of the Second of the Round Table Conferences (India). The ‘award’ attracted severe criticism from Mahatma Gandhi.
• That, in turn, influenced the Government of India Act, 1935, which introduced the reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes, now renamed as Scheduled Castes.
• From soon after its independencein 1947, India introduced a reservation system to enhance the ability of Dalits to have political representation and to obtain government jobs and education.

Poona Pact:

• ThePoona Pact refers to an agreement between  R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi on behalf of depressed classes and caste Hindu leaders on the reservation of electoral seats for the depressed classes in the legislature of British India government.
• Contrary to popular belief, Mahatma Gandhiwas not involved in signing the pact.
• It was made on 26 September 1932 at Yerwada Central Jailin Poona, India.
• It was signed by B.R Ambedkar on behalf of the depressed classes and Madan Mohan Malviya on behalf of the Caste Hindus as a means to end the fast that Gandhi was undertaking in jail as a protest against the decision by British prime minister Ramsay MacDonaldto give separate electorates to depressed classes for the election of members of provincial legislative assemblies in British India.
• They finally agreed upon 148 electoral seats.

About Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar

• Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956), popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian jurist, economist, politicianand social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination towards the untouchables (Dalits), while also supporting the rights of women and labour.
• He was independent India’s first law and justice minister, the architect of the Constitution of India, and a founding fatherof the Republic of India.
• In Indiaand elsewhere, he was often called Babasaheb, meaning “respected father” in Marathi.
• Ambedkar was a prolific student earning doctoratesin economics from both Columbia University and the London School of Economics and gained a reputation as a scholar for his research in law, economics, and political science.
• In his early career, he was an economist, professor, and lawyer.
• His later life was marked by his political activities; he became involved in campaigning and negotiations for India’s independence, publishing journals, advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing significantly to the establishment of the state of India.
• In 1956, he converted to Buddhisminitiating mass conversions of Dalits. He died six months shortly after conversion.
• In 1990, the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred upon Ambedkar. Ambedkar’s legacy includes numerous memorials and depictions in popular culture.