Saffronizing Ambedkar to serve Hindutva Ideology
If Hitler were alive, would you be amused
if he had laid a floral wreath at the Auschwitz ?
Well, facts are sometimes stranger than fiction. And that is why don’t be
surprised to learn that on April 14 of this year, Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, who heads the BJP party – a Hindutvadi fascist party, laid the foundation
stone of Dr. Ambedkar International Center in New Delhi. Vinay Katiyar, the former head of
Bajrang Dal and who now who heads BJP in UP, has been declaring that Ambedkar
was a great supporter of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra.
In recent months, Hindutvadi forces
inside India
seem to be hijacking Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s image claiming him to be one of
theirs. Such claims are amusing some but confusing many people. After all, Dr
Ambedkar - a rights leader – was well-known for his relentless fight against
the Hindu caste system inside India .
He was at loggerheads
with the Hindu fundamentalists, esp. the Hindu Mahasabha – the forerunner of
the RSS and the BJP – led then by V.D. Savarkar.
Ambedkar exposed Hindutvadi ideologue Savarkar's authoritarian intent by
saying, "Mr. Savarkar wants the Hindu nation to be the dominant nation and
the Muslim nation to be the subservient nation under it." Suffice it to
say that the legacy of Ambedkar and Hindu fundamentalism is irreconcilably
hostile to each other.
"Inequality
is the soul of Hinduism," wrote Ambedkar. He characterized the oppressive
caste system as the tyranny of Hinduism and renounced Hinduism. He said, “I was
born a Hindu, but will not die a Hindu.” He also said, “At the root of the
Hindu social system lies Dharma as prescribed in Manusmriti. Such being the
case, I do not think it possible to abolish inequality in the Hindu society
unless the existing foundation of the Smriti religion is removed and a better
one laid in its place. I, however, despair of the Hindu society being able to
reconstruct on such a better foundation.”
It is
relevant to note here that while both K.B. Hedgewar and M.S. Golwalkar, the founders
of the RSS, upheld Manu and thus rationalized the caste system inherent to the
Hindu religion, Dr. Ambedkar even burnt copies of the Manusmruti through a
campaign "Manu Smruti Dahan Din" on December 25, 1927.
In his lifetime, in the undivided India , Ambedkar had also opposed the Congress
Party of Gandhi and famously said, “The Congress cannot expect any sane person who knows
anything about conditions in India
to agree to the government of the country being placed in the hands of the
Hindu majority, simply because it is a majority. The Congress chooses to forget
that Hinduism is a political ideology of the same character as the fascist or
Nazi ideology and is thoroughly anti-democratic. If Hinduism is let loose—which
is what Hindu majority means—it will prove a menace to the growth of others who
are outside Hinduism and are opposed to Hinduism. This is not the point of view
of Muslims alone. It is also the point of view of the Depressed Classes and
also of the non-Brahmins.” (Writings & Speeches, Volume 17, Part One; Dr
B.R. Ambedkar and his Egalitarian Revolution—Struggle for Human Rights; Dr
Ambedkar Foundation, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of
India)
Dr.
Ambedkar was opposed to Mahatma Gandhi’s views on the uplift of the untouchables
within the fold of Hinduism. It is not surprising that BJP and its patron RSS
have been exploiting such anti-Gandhi views to influence the Dalit (Untouchable,
Scheduled and Depressed Class) community. [Lest we forget, Mohandas Gandhi was
killed by Nathuram Godse, a close confidant of V.D. Savarkar and fanatic
believer in Hindutva.] RSS, which once
recruited only from amongst the highest caste Brahmins, have been reaching out
to recruit amongst the Other Backward Class (OBC) and Shudra communities. The
OBC youth were taken to Hanuman Vyamshalas and not schools. Instead of books,
trishuls were distributed among them, and they became their henchmen and
executioners against Muslims. They are also used to attack churches and
mosques. It is a clever ploy since Brahminical Hinduism with its highly racist worldviews
cannot grow and needs new recruits to grow in a democracy.
Odd as it may sound, through its
Hindutvadi programs, the BJP in recent years has been able to make much headway
amongst the Dalit voters. In the last general election, the proportion of Dalits voting for the
BJP rose to 24 per cent from 11 per cent in 2009. That is a huge jump in just
five years, from 1 in 9 to 1 in 4! Obviously, the fascist Hindutvadi forces are
winning, and it is an ominous sign for the entire South
Asia .
It will
be a great injustice to Ambedkar and his legacy to parade him as a supporter of
Hindutva. In fact, throughout his life he was a great opponent to the politics
of Hindutva. Those who are now in the business of rewriting, or more correctly
guillotining history need to be told what Dr. Ambedkar felt. He said, “If Hindu
Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this
country no matter what the Hindus say. Hinduism is a menace to liberty,
equality and fraternity. On that account it is incompatible with democracy.
Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.” According to him the pet slogan of
Hindutva—Hindustan for Hindus—is not merely
arrogant but is arrant nonsense.
Sadly, in
today’s India Hindutvadi majoritarianism is manifesting itself virulently. It
is banning the slaughter of bulls, old buffaloes and cows (Maharashtra and
Haryana); attacking churches (Delhi , West Bengal
and now Uttar Pradesh); and hounding Muslims out of “Hindu” areas through
intimidation (as in Bhavnagar in Gujarat ). As noted by eminent journalist Praful Bidwai,
hate speech has become the new norm in Indian politics. Chronic inaction
against Hindutvadi criminals has created a culture of impunity for
anti-minority atrocities. That's the message from the just-delivered Hashimpura
verdict - on the gruesome killing of 42 Muslims in 1987 in Uttar Pradesh by the
Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel. The state took nine years to
file a charge-sheet. The accused were never arrested despite 23 non-bailable
warrants. They were all acquitted. As Outlook magazine (April 6) has revealed,
the massacre was an act of revenge by an army officer whose brother, an RSS
member, was killed in a communal clash. The government knew all this, but did
nothing.
A day
after Hashimpura, the PAC joined a mob in killing 72 Muslims in Maliana next
door. This trial hasn't even crossed the first stage—despite 800 dates. Only
three of 35 prosecution witnesses were examined in 28 years.
These
terrible failures of the justice delivery system have encouraged uniformed
personnel to brutalize citizens in places like Muslim-majority Kashmir state of
India .
The latest episode in Nalgonda (Telangana), in which five Muslim men under-trials
were killed, falls in the same category. According to Mr. Bidwai, the state
won't bring the culprits to book unless public-spirited citizens and political
parties intervene.
What Dr.
Ambedkar had feared about the Hindu Raj is coming to fruition in India .
With
Narendra Modi in power, the BJP and the Sangha Parivar claim that India is for
Hindus, and it is a Hindu Rashtra. They also claim that they are the true protectors
of the Dalit. But facts belie their assertions. In the state of Gujarat , their model state, Dalits are not allowed near
common water. They are given different glasses. In Modi’s India today, according
to National Crime Records Bureau, a crime is committed against a Dalit by a
non-Dalit every 16 minutes. Every day more than four Dalit women are raped by
upper caste. Every week 13 Dalits are murdered and six are kidnapped. And as it
has been for decades, only 10 percent of the rapes against the Dalit women are
reported in India .
Hindutvadi
forces have never been friends of the Dalit community because by doctrine and
practice they are opposed to true emancipation of the downtrodden untouchables.
But in a democracy, they need the Dalits
for political expediency. It is not difficult to understand why they are now in
the business of hijacking Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy – the much revered figure
within the Dalit community – claiming him as one of their own. Their ideology
and politics, however, remains the opposite of Dr. Ambedkar's. He had nothing
but disdain for Hindutva, with its narrow faith-based definition of nationhood,
as opposed to citizenship cutting across ethnic-religious identities.
To defeat
the Hindutvadi forces, the truth must be told loud and clear so that the Dalit
and OBCs are not fooled by cunning and conniving zealots of the Hindutva. Dr. Ram Puniyani of the
Center for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) has recently done an
excellent job in compiling various essays on Dr. Ambedkar. This e-digest “Ambedkar’s Appropriation by
Hindutvadi Ideology” is very timely to arrest a miscarriage of Dr. Ambedkar’s
image. I recommend this e-digest wholeheartedly for keen observers of Indian
politics.
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