Biography of Dr. B.R Ambedkar: The Messiah of the Depressed Classes

Biography of Dr. B.R Ambedkar: The Messiah of the Depressed Classes

Introduction:

Dr. Ambedkar is renowned as a political leader, as a great jurist and as one of the framers of the Indian Constitution. But above all he is remembered for his unrelenting fight to abolish untouchability. He was the social prophet of the Untouchables.

Development of Thought:

Himself, belonging to the Mahar caste- an untouchable Maharashtrian community- Ambedkar had experienced at first hand the agonies, anguishes, frustration and humiliation of this degrading Hindu Brahminical social structure.

Nobody can be opposed to his view that for the untouchable, the liberation from the degrading humiliations imposed by Hinduism was a matter of more urgent necessity than even the political liberation from the alien British rule. It did not make him any less a patriot or a nationalist.

His conversion to Buddhism shows that he contemplated a future for the untouchables somewhat in separation from the broad stream of the Hindu society. Gandhi did not want to disrupt the organic structure of the Hindu society.

But Ambedkar wanted the separation of the Untouchables from the Hindu society and hence demanded a separate electorate. A brilliant and highly educated, he was one of the chief framers of the Constitution of free India which granted equal rights to all citizens and abolished the inhuman practice of untouchability.

Conclusion:

Ambedkar deserves the credit for having highlighted one of the most sensitive social problems, which if not tackled would have eventually led to the doom of Hindu society and the Indian political system.

Bhimrao Ramjee Ambedkar (1891 – December 7, 1956), was one of the greatest jurists, lawyers and political leaders of modern India. As a postgraduate student, he had done advanced studies in the field of economics. He was a student at the Columbia University in the City of New York and at the London School of Economics.

He also studied economics at Bonn. His works on the Indian Rupee as well as on Provincial Finance and Currency are notable.

As one of the prime architects of the text of the Indian Constitution and as an outspoken militant champion of the aspiration and claims to equality of the so-called Untouchables, Ambedkar won undying recognition. He had experienced the agonies, anguishes, frustration and humiliation of being born in the Mahar caste, which is an Untouchable Maharashtra community.

His books on Indian sociology touching upon the problems of the Shudras, the Untouchables etc., breathe a note of deep realism and are also characterized by bitter denunciations of the old lawgivers, some of whom like Manu, poured forth words of contempt and bitterness against the suppressed sections of the Hindu society.

Ambedkar’s rise to eminence was facilitated by various social and political forces. His advanced studies in the USA were financed from scholarship funds provided by the Maharaja of Baroda.

The British imperialism with all its political faults must be given the credit for having directly and indirectly promoted the movements of social reform in India. Ambedkar’s stand against the Congress was, to some extent, successful because the British also helped him by recognizing his leadership.

Ambedkar was merciless in his denunciations of the pettiness, perversities and the hypocrisies of Brahmanism which, to him, was a wicked and mischievous agent of the social exploitation of the backward and untouchable sections of the Hindu society.

Ambedkar, ultimately found solace in the teachings of Buddha. He regarded Buddhism as a moral and tolerant alternative to Marxism and his followers feel pride in glorifying him as a Bodhisattva of the twentieth century.

As a sociological historian, Ambedkar did not accept the hypothesis of an Aryan invasion of India. Ambedkar has forcefully put forward the view that the Shudras were not dark-skinned aboriginals enslaved or subordinated by the Aryan invaders but they too were Aryans who belongs to the Kshyatriya solar dynasty.

The subordinate status of the Shudras was brought about by a bloody battle between Sudras, the Shudra king, and Vasistha. Due to social vicissitudes and changes of fortune, they became degraded from their Kshatriya status.

According to Ambedkar, the Hindu scheme of social structure based on the four Varnas or Chaturvarna breeds inequality and has been the parent of the caste-system and untouchability which are merely forms of inequality. He felt that the problems of the Untouchables could not be solved by mere linking and palliatives. They demanded a radical social solution.

Dr. Ambedkar expounded the theory of both social and political resistance because his main enemy was the caste based Hindu feudalism. During this period, die caste Hindus did not enjoy political power because the Indian state was controlled by the British imperialists.

Though the British were also the enemy of the Untouchables, like caste Hindus, the Britishers were not directly involved in oppressing the lower castes. Therefore, it was possible to wage a struggle against tic caste system without antagonizing the government.

The caste Hindu formed an over whelming majority of the society. Therefore, Dr. Ambedkar pointed out that resistance against the society was more difficult than the struggle against the government because the former enjoyed popular support. On the other hand, the government of the depressed classes was opposed by the majority of caste Hindus.

According to Dr. Ambedkar, the depressed classes had to wage a struggle against the caste Hindus and not against the government. But if the British government supported the caste Hindus then it would be a struggle against the government also. Dr. Ambedkar pointed out that Brahmins were always ahead in demanding political rights because they were enjoying privileges in a social order.

They would stand to gain by any future grant of political According to him the leaders were, in fact, leading sectarian movements them ‘national. But in reality they wanted to further their own interests. Acc to Dr. Ambedkar, in the present situation, protection of “Brahmanya’ mea maintenance of their political hegemony.

Dr. Ambedkar was of the opinion that the ‘Satyashodak’ movement Mahatma Phule was launched to establish a society based on principles of equality and justice.

He was proud to claim that he himself was a ‘Satyashodak admitted that non-Brahmin movement, which was an offshoot of Staysail movement was socially more progressive than the Tilakite tradition.

But a time, the non-Brahmins too became the enemies of the untouchables though criticized Brahmins for the same. Therefore, the depressed classes had to resistance against Brahmins, non-Brahmins and the stooges of caste Hindus among the Untouchables.

He argued that he had launched the struggle against hegemony and caste system and it was not aimed against any particular caste community.

Those Brahmins who were willing to renounce caste conscious and wanted to take part in ‘Satyagraha’ like Mahad should be allowed to do so because every social reformer was bound to be the enemy of his own caste.

Therefore, he wrote “Brahmins are not our enemies, but those people who moved by ‘Brahmanya’ are our enemies. Hence, a Brahmin shorn of his caste consciousness is closer to us than a non-Brahmin with caste consciousness.

Thus, the resistance movement launched against untouchability was essential self-respect movement, aimed at securing basic human rights to untouchables.

Though Dr. Ambedkar didn’t completely approve Mahatma Gandhi’s theory of ‘Satyagraha’ he, used the term Satyagraha for his movements. He held that struggle against injustice was the basic tenet of this movement. He maintains that the struggle against injustice should be begun by those who suffered m due to injustice.

‘Satyagraha’ was one of the means to fight injustice. It enjoyed moral sanction because it was inhuman to treat a fellow human being as untouchable. It was morally-degrading for caste Hindus also.

He claimed that is definition of ‘Satyagraha’ was based on Bhagavad Gita which taught the people that even if their own people were depriving them basic rights, the people should not hesitate to wage struggle against them.

The movement against untouchability was the movement for well-being of the people because it sought to give the untouchables their basic human rights. It al sought to liberate caste Hindus from their fallen morality.

Dr. Ambedkar made it clear that there could be different methods and forms of ‘Satyagraha’ and one need not follow the method made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. He differed from Gandhi on the question of non-violence.

He held that Gandhi’s ideas on non-violence were not logical because ultimately the moral worth of Satyagraha was not determined by the means it pursued but it was determined by the ends it sought to achieve; if the end was morally justified, one could be always flexible in the employment of means.

The character of means was determined by ends. Dr. Ambedkar was of the opinion that if the end of a cause was not based on truth and justice, a Satyagraha launched in its favour, even if pursued by noble means was worthless. He called it Duragraha. Therefore, violence or non-violence did not change the moral character of the cause.

According to Dr. Ambedkar even Gandhi himself said that he advocated the cause of non-violence because he held that whenever there was no unanimity of opinion about truth, violence should be avoided.

Dr. Ambedkar held that as long as it was possible to pursue the cause with the help of non-violence it should be pursued, but if it became unavoidable to follow violence, it should be followed because the vindication of the cause was more important.

According to Dr. Ambedkar, the two important methods of Satyagraha were resistance and boycott. Resistance to injustice was necessary to secure basic human rights. The true import of the use of the word was that the untouchables should tight against injustice perpetrated by thoughtless and superstitious Hindus.

The people should resist untouchability in speech and action. He maintained that the privileged people did not give up their ideas because their self-interest was involved in it.

They would be forced to change them when their vital interests were endangered. Mere conciliation would not help because the caste Hindus understood the language of strength. Hence, the depressed classes should resist all the unjust and oppressive practices by disobeying them.

Along with resistance he asked the people to follow the method of boycott. Boycott meant boycotting all the functions that the community performed for caste Hindus. He made it clear that methods of boycott and resistance were the methods of Lokamanya Tilak and what he did in politics the depressed classes sought to do in social affairs.

Their cause was nobler than that of Tilak because the oppressive measures of the state touched one among a hundred persons but the oppression perpetrated by the religious authorities touched one and all of the oppressed communities.

He knew that boycott was a-double edged weapon as it cut both ways, hence when the depressed classes had to face boycott, they would suffer more but the other side would also suffer.

It was not easy for the untouchables to follow methods of boycott or resistance as their financial condition was not good. It was the considered opinion of Dr. Ambedkar that it was a blessing in disguise that the root cause of slavery of Mahars was their economic dependence on the villagers.

Hence, Mahars should give up their traditional profession and take up new jobs available in the city. He exhorted the Mahars to abandon their watans as due to watan only, the Mahar had lost his freedom and self-respect. To reform watan system, a Mahar should be appointed as a government servant and he should get the salary for his work.

He should be freed from the exploitation of caste Hindus. He was of the opinion that the Mahar should follow the example of the American Negrces and try to be financially self-dependent.

He demanded that the vacant lands of the forest departments should be utilized to establish the settlements of Mahars and other untouchables so that they could live a free and self-dependent life and would not be the slaves of the caste Hindus.

In 1927-28 the rift between the Hindus and Muslims widened and Muslim separatism was growing. As a consequence the Hindu communalism was also growing. There was a cultural struggle between Hindus and Muslims and it was natural that caste. Hindus should expect some support from the depressed classes.

Dr. Ambedkar made it clear that as long as caste Hindus did not give rights to the depressed classes, they should not support them and should follow the policy of strict neutrality. Along with conversion, he advised the untouchables to move the League of Nations to put forth their grievance.

Dr. Ambedkar recognized the fact that the social resistance of the depressed classes would automatically get converted into political resistance because the government was also involved in it. Hence, Satyagraha was logically aimed at the British government who did not give human rights to the untouchables and tried to please Brahmins.

He recognized that the depressed classes had to fight on two fronts against caste Hindus as well as against the British government. The Congress party was established in 1885 and since then it had been championing the cause of political reforms.

It had not done anything for the untouchable though all the time the Congress leaders were appeasing Muslims. According to 1909 and 1919 political reforms, the separate electorates were granted to Muslims but not to the depressed classes. The Nehru Committee’s report was silent on the rights of the depressed classes.

Dr. Ambedkar launched a scathing attack on the Nehru report and called it the chicanery of Brahmins who wanted to status quo by keeping lower and upper classes at their respective positions. The Committee was more interested in pampering Muslims than in giving just rights to the backward classes.

He argued that the committee did so because if Muslims were given concessions, the country would lose but ‘Brahmanya’ would gain. But if the backward classes were given concessions, the country would be saved but ‘Brahmanya’ would lose. Therefore, he made it categorically clear that the Nehru committee’s report was dangerous to the country.

Dr. Ambedkar deliberately decided to appear before the Simon Commission when it was boycotted by most of the political parties. He demanded separate electorate for untouchables because he argued that due to the caste prejudice of Hindus no untouchable would get elected from the general constituency.

Repaying to the bitter criticism. Dr. Ambedkar pointed out that caste Hindus and depressed classes were two separate entities and even if culturally they were one for all practical purposes, they were separate.

Hence, there was nothing wrong if they chose to be politically separate. He was of the view that the depressed classes should chart out their own path.

Dr. Ambedkar made it clear that there should be equal political participation in the new Constitution, and the depressed classes must have a share in the political power. They could get representation through separate electorate because it would be extremely difficult for the self-respecting untouchable to get elected from a mixed constituency.

In mixed constituency a stooge of caste Hindus would get elected and the cause of the self-respect movement of the depressed classes would be defeated. For him, winning basic human rights for the depressed classes was more important than securing certain political rights.

Dr. Ambedkar did not support the national movements launched by Gandhi, therefore, he was often criticism. But Dr. Ambedkar’s priorities were clear as he gave more importance to the removal of untouchability. He held that Britishers were equally responsible for the sorry state of affairs of the untouchables.

The British government did not concede the rights of the depressed classes because it was afraid of caste Hindus. He pointed out that the untouchables were equally interested in securing Swaraj but they did not want repetition of the old Swaraj.

They wanted to establish Swaraj in which human dignity and human rights of all the people would be respected. Even the untouchables wanted to fight against the British government but due to their peculiar situation, they could not do so.

He wrote, “the untouchables are caught in a cruel dilemma as they have to fight on two fronts: they do not have the strength to fight against-both caste Hindus and the government.

We will have to first start struggle against the caste Hindus who have denied basic human rights to the depressed classes. Till then, we have to cease fire against the government”.

Britishers had physically enslaved them and Brahmins had mentally enslaved them. The Britishers sucked economic wealth of the country and the Brahmins sucked self-respect and honor of the people.

There were three main aims of Dr. Ambedkar’s social movements, first, he wanted to create awakening in the minds of the people, secondly, he wanted to make the depressed classes militant and aggressive and thirdly, he sought to pressurize the government and caste Hindus to get his demands granted.

He withdrew his Mahad movement and made it clear that the aim of the movement was not limited to the opening of chavdar tank to the depressed classes.

The main purpose of the movement was to make the people conscious of their rights and to generate such energy and spirit in their minds that they would be capable of undertaking many more battles of this kind in future.

Dr. Ambedkar realized that mere social resistance-would not solve the problem hence he decided to politicize the issue after 1930. He increasingly got involved in Indian politics and claimed that his was the politics of emancipation. He thought that acquisition of political power was equally important.

Dr. Ambedkar realized that the social problems could not be solved at the social level alone because it was in the interest of caste Hindus to deny the basic human rights to untouchables. Therefore, the problem of the depressed had to be taken to the political arena.

He studied the political situation in the 4th and 5th decades of this century and came to the conclusion that in the among the British rulers, the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority untouchables could play a balancing role. Thus it was a classical pressure polities which he asked his followers to correctly understand.

He was sure that policy was bound to deliver revolutionary results. During this period, the political scene was greatly fragmented and every awakened community was trying to push forth its own demands at the cost of others. There was considerable blood between Hindus and Muslims.

He made it amply clear in the round table conference that he also stood Swaraj for the country because he was no less a patriot. But he wanted British government to see that proper constitutional protection was given to depressed classes.

He pointed out that British bureaucracy would not be position to solve the problems of depressed classes because it was negligent their demands and the fear of violent reaction of the caste Hindus was its m consideration.

While implementing some policies, he said that he wanted government, which at the risk of rebellion and resistance from the caste Hindus would go forth and implement the radical policies.

Dr. Ambedkar was critical of the Congress party and Gandhi for neglect the interests of the untouchables; hence, he decided to work outside the Congress party. In the process lie developed his political strategy which aimed at security political power to the untouchables.

Hence, Dr. Ambedkar demanded the separate electorates for untouchables and “got them granted. The communal award was big shock to the caste Hindus. Gandhi went on a fast unto death against the award.

As a result, Dr. Ambedkar was forced to sign the Poona Pact with Gandhi that scrapped the separate electorates but made the provision for the reserved joint electorates. Thus Gandhi succeeded in keeping the untouchables in the Hindu fold and gave a larger share of seats to the depressed classes than the promised seats by the communal award.

After the Poona Pact however differences between Gandhi and Ambedkar grew. To fight the Congress party, a political party was essential because D Ambedkar recognized the fact that to attain his objectives everybody should have a political party.

For that purpose, he established his Independent Labour Part that stood for the unity of all the toiling masses. During this period, Dr. Ambedkar gave a remarkable class analysis and advocated the unity of all working class.

But when there was a need to establish an all India political party to safeguard the interests of the scheduled castes, he established a party. The Scheduled Caste Federation. The main aim of this political party was to safeguard the interests of the scheduled castes at the crucial juncture of transfer of power.

Dr. Ambedkar wanted social, political and economic rights of untouchables to be protected and for that purpose he put forward the following demands: All education facilities should be provided to depressed classes. Depressed classes should be given representation in the state and central legislative councils on the basis of their population, needs and importance.

Jobs in the state and Central government services should be reserved. They should be given representation in all the democratic bodies of the country.

Provision of separate electorate should be made for the depressed classes. Separate settlements should be established for the depressed classes and towards that end the government should establish settlement commission with the grant of Rs. 5 Crore.

Dr. Ambedkar knew that political resistance would continue after independence also because the mill owners, capitalists, landlords, and money lenders were bound to stay back to wring the necks of the people. The caste Hindus would not be willing to give equal treatment to the untouchables.

Therefore, he asked them to continue their resistance and deftly use their weapons of political power to bring about the development of the community. Though all the demands of Dr. Ambedkar were not conceded, some of his important demands were accepted.

Two of his major demands-establishment of separate electorate and the establishment of separate localities and settlements of the untouchables were not accepted.

Ambedkar was a key figure in the drafting of the Constitution of Independent India which has provided for complete equality before law and the equal protection of laws to all citizens, under Article 14 and in Article 17.

It has not only abolished untouchability but has made its practice, in any form, an offence punishable under law. This has gone a very long way in giving a constitutional and legal foundation for the redemption of the sorrows and troubles of the Untouchables.

Dr. Ambedkar wanted to bring about a democratic revolution in the country by the process of inversion i.e., putting the social order upside down. He held that the Swaraj had not completely moved the wheel of democratic revolution. In fact, it had moved half way and it was the historical task of the depressed classes to completely revolve the wheel of democratic revolution.

Dr. Ambedkar was a social prophet of the Untouchables. He denounced the monstrous iniquities and outrageous calumnies which Brahminical Hinduism has heaped upon the untouchables and the bitterness of his fur Hinduism is apparent in his works.

There is no doubt that he was a patriot and would not be opposed to national integration. Nobody can be opposed to his view that for the Untouchables, the liberation from the degrading humiliation imposed by Hinduism was a matter of more urgent necessity than even the political liberation from the alien British rule.

Whatever might have been the origin of the caste-system, it has been the most unjust social order in actual practice. Hence Ambedkar deserves the for having made Hindus aware of the great tension-generating social problems which must be tackled, otherwise, they may eventually bring about the doom only of the Hindu society but of the total Indian political system as well, in order to clothe the fabric of modern political system with legitimacy.

It is essential people who have been suppressed for centuries are given their legal rights become equal citizens in all spheres of life.

In the history of modern Indian political thought, Ambedkar will have significant place because through his scholarly writings, speeches, leadership constructive work, he highlighted the political, economic and social problems the vast Untouchable community whose members may be now more than eight crores.