Critical Quest Dalit Movement after Dr. Babasaheb Amebedkar in India: Pitfalls, Challenges & Way Ahead Goldy M George The Centrality of the Context Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar has undeniably been the tallest person in the struggles of oppressed people, particularly the Dalits in the post-modern India. Indisputably he was the first one to provide a broader intellectual canvas to the struggle of the thitherto broken people. One cannot ever make any undue claim to the profound resistance put forward by predecessors and the contemporaries, which laid the contextual edifice of Dr. Ambedkar argument. Any thesis that stands to thrive the basic humanist principles of Justice, Freedom, Equality, Liberty, Justice and Peace needs consistent study, reframing, evaluation and modification. In this sense it would be the victory of Babasaheb and the principles he laid forth in annihilating caste and thereby evolving the process of secular social democracy engagement where sharing of material and ideological-cultural-spiritual values would run as the core standard of every single aspect of engagement. Ideally the key feature of the Dalit movement should have aimed at annihilation of caste at the primary level, establishment of secular or rational social democracy as the secondary stage and ensuring the value sharing mechanism as the third and major objective. While dealing with the question of the movement of ex-untouchables, it is essential to address the present context in its complexities, rather the crisis that has and is crippling India and how is it affecting the people at the lowest rung. This would automatically draw our attention to the core question. Without this it would be problematical to be in a strategic position to discuss or debate the relevance of Dalits as a people, the present challenges, cope up mechanisms, identification of friends and foes, reconstruction and what strategies should it adopt to attain these goals. It would also present a wider picture of the nation as a whole and its complexes from the abyss, with caste as the core functional aspect. Today all crises in the world had expanded to unpredictable magnitude with severe implication and utter insinuation. Essentially one needs to discuss all aspects including ideology, politics and practise of egalitarianism, since it holds the key to set the basics and background of any secular social democratic revolution in the country. The exuntouchables while belonging to a broader class of rejected and abandoned people by the classics of Brahimincal Hinduism; it also had the additional disability of being have-nots. Economically, most of them are still the poorest of poor. A minuscule minority has managed to escape poverty limits and to locate itself on to a continuum ranging up to a reasonable level of prosperity, yet they suffer the historically superimposed of social oppression. The main factor that has catalysed this upward mobility is the reservation policy – despite whatever flaws and errors – with provided the basic opportunity to enter the modern sectors of education, employment, economy and politics. In social terms the social oppression varies from the crudest variety of untouchability, discrimination, exclusion, marginalisation and alienation – practiced across the entire rural areas of India, to it’s sophisticated manifestations urban areas including the corporate world. Although statistics indicate to have made a significant progress on almost all parameters during the past seven postindependence decades, the relative gap between the Dalits and non-Dalits seems to have remained the same or rather deteriorated (George, 2006B). Understanding the historical context and position is indispensable not only for positioning and strategising the Dalit movement but also to delineate the modern testicles of the continuity of caste system in post-modern era. In a broader overview, popular organised Dalit struggles cannot be traced before the British period. This is also due to the fact that the mystified Indian history and its historian’s haven’t provided much of information on any such organised resistance to caste oppression. From this viewpoint one cannot arrive at a shortcut conclusion there was no organised resistance to the caste hierarchy of the Brahminical religion. The important question is whether the ones in the lowest rug accepted it as their destiny or if it was a forced fate superimposed in the classical style of Roman slavery through sanctions of religions (George, 2006B). One is that the entire thesis of Hinduism as rightly pointed and argued by Babasaheb is banking the four-fold system of eternal domination viz. Varnashram which further developed into sub-class called caste. Subscribing to this argument, if a prudent and thorough exploration of the transformation of varna into caste is done one could find the expression and emergence of new theory of “purity of blood”, which is by and large the antidotes used even today by the protagonists of caste (George, 2006B). The extraordinary success of this contrivance of social stratification is as much attributable to its own design that effectively ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 3 ● September 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com 5 obviated coalescence of the oppressed castes and facilitated establishment and maintenance of the ideological hegemony as to its purported divine origination. None could ordinarily raise a question as it meant incurring divine wrath and consequent ruination of the prospects of getting a better birth in their next life. Thus the caste system held society in a metaphysical engagement and at the same time in physical alienation with itself (Teltumbde, 2006). Since, this superstructure was pivoted on the religio - ideological foundation, the manifestation of resistance to the caste system always used the metaphysical toolkit that contrived its arguments into the religious form. Right from the early revolts like Buddhism and Jainism down to the Bhakti movement in the medieval age, one finds articulation of opposition to the caste system materialising in a religio-ideological idiom. This trend in fact extends well down to modern times that mark a new awakening of the oppressed castes and the birth of the contemporary Dalit movement. All anti-caste movements thus, from the beginning to the present, invariably appear engaged in religious or metaphysical confrontation with Brahminism, either in terms of its denouncement or of adoption of some other religion (Teltumbde, 2006). It is under the above mentioned circumstances and juncture; I place the investigation on the pitfalls, challenges and ways ahead of the Dalit movement. Untouchables in British India Down the line of history the British colonisers aligned with the Indian rulers as well as mercantile class through its imperial and bourgeois liberal ethos coupled with the imperatives of their ruling strategy marked the creation of space for setting up subaltern identities, particularly in terms of caste and religion. Initially the British rule delivered nothing different to the untouchables as the early British association was confined to the courts of kings. Until they confronted with each other with correspondingly led to institutional changes (judiciary, civil administration, commodity, markets), cultural changes (modernity, western mode of living, English education, exposure to western treasure of knowledge and scholarship), economic changes (zamindari and ryotwari systems in place of jajmani-balutedari), and social changes. The development opportunities that these changes created gave an impetus to the lower castes and also came into conflict with traditional social relations, which still shackled them through caste bondage. This could be termed as the second phase of emergence of autonomous Dalit movement in pre-Ambedkar phase (George, 2006B). This second phase is crucial as it marked a difference from the single out previous metaphysical. While dealing with Brahminical hegemony, the autonomous Dalit movement of course perceived an ally in the backward castes. The anti-Brahmin movement launched by the original visionary genius like Ayyotitasha, Sri Narayana Guru, Phule, Ayyankali, Baba Manguram, and others attains key space; which went beyond the rhetoric of metaphysical religious engagement to the level of physical and material struggles for land rights, labour rights, social dignity, temple entry movements, educational space, movement against slavery and bondage and upward mobility. Dr. Ambedkar was much influenced by Mahatama Phule in Maharashtra. In spite of the difference in time period marking out different transitory phases in the history; differences in dispositions, equipment and social backgrounds between Phule and Ambedkar, one finds essential similarities in their characterisation of the social structure and the movements they launched and led. British rule was considered positive by both Phule and Ambedkar for the introduction of modernity into the waning Hindu society but concurrently has exposed its; both rejected the claims of nationalists that India was a nation; both had no faith in the Indian National Congress; both came to characterise and oppose it similarly; both declared their vehement opposition to Brahminism but still did not hate Brahmins; both were rationalist; both had hated the blood sucking class of priests, landlords, moneylenders and capitalists and sought to organise their victims; both emphasised the importance of education in the scheme of liberation of Dalits and backward castes; and so on and so forth (Teltumbde, 2006). Howsoever underestimated or grossly overlooked the contradictions between the Shudra backward castes and the non-caste Dalits may be in the village setting where precisely the caste problem is to be confronted, the Shudra castes came to share the mantle of Brahminism in relation to Dalits. This is basically strengthened by the economic contradictions between these farmer castes and the Dalits who are the farm labourers dependent on them. This legacy of Manu could neither be overcome by the powerful non-Brahmin movement of Mahatma Phule, who had certainly shown how to bring them together during his life time; nor by the Dalit movement despite its significant investment for bringing about a broad unity of all the labouring people during Ambedkar's time. The Post-Ambedkar period The post-Ambedkar Dalit movement had witnessed several ups and downs. On one side a categorical ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 3 ● September 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com 6 awakening among the Dalits had grown beyond all imagination and on the other it has somewhere stagnant after Dr. Ambedkar mainly due to ideological disposition. The post-Ambedkar phase can be broadly divided into three phases – rise and fall of the Republican Party, emergence of the Dalit Panthers and thirdly the growing assertion of Dalits for political power and their consequent refusal to remain satisfied merely with education and job opportunities arising out of the policy of reservation. While the first two phases were confined to Maharashtra, interestingly the third one hardly had any role of Maharashtra – it was mostly outside the state of Maharashtra. The factors that unfolded these phases depended much on the orientation guiding them. In Maharashtra except the strong efforts of Dadasaheb Gaikwad and some instant initiatives by Dalit Panthers, the Dalit movement almost failed to address the material aspect and life of Dalits. This perhaps was the key contributor to why the Congress party as a whole gained immense strength in the 60s and 70s within Maharashtra ensuring Dalits as their natural vote banks, despite the overarching legacy of Amebdkar. The fall of these movements marked the entry of the pettybourgeoisie outlook to the centre stage of perspective and the middle class cultural norm governing the leadership life-style married with splits and schism and a complete detachment from the real mass. There is no denial of the fact that the Dalit movement in the post-Ambedkar phase has gained immense potential and stridden several step ahead in the real democratisation of the Indian society with the rejection of political dominated by Brahminical values (George, 2005). The impressive emergence of BSP under Kanshiram in the national politics underlines this major chunk of the third phase. Kanshiram laid the foundation for this through forming All India Backward and Minority Castes Employees Federation (BAMCEF) in 1973 at first and later the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangarsh Samiti, popularly known as DS-4 in 1981 (Singh, 2010). The success achieved by BSP has certainly encouraged the emergence of similar experiments in different parts of the country (George, 2005). The emergence of Vidudalai Chiruthaigal Katchi as the largest Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Thirumavalavan in recent years and another party called Puthiya Tamilagam under Dr Krishnaswami are quite inspirational and instilled new rays of hope against caste oppression. Dalit Samrakshana Samiti in Karnataka could also be seen as an emergent movement, despite the limitation of the time-space factor. The efforts to revive the Republican Party in Maharashtra – despite all its multiple factions – could also be seen as efforts with certain political goals in place. There are similar efforts in other states too. All these developments had certainly been a marker in the quest for attaining political mobility and space. However one could also observe that these formations from parties to social movements of the oppressed, poor and marginalised has failed to mobilise the larger societal social consciousness to bring more social equilibrium for the Dalits. Dr. Ambedkar has left with a mission to be continued with specific objectives and goals of building an India, which he often referred to as ‘Prabuddha Bharat’. Thus the Dalit movements seem to have not only lost their momentum as a movement, but also has shifted from its core agenda to a more populist agenda which sweeping shift in their slogans and languages. Land Question and Power Dynamics – the missed line by Dalits Movements Parallel to these developments there is another aspect that somehow consciously or unconsciously slipped away from the Dalit-Bahujan movement in the national political scenario after independence. During the post-independence period the imperatives of electoral politics provided the motive force for the consolidation of the middle castes. Thus a majority of the Shudra castes – who were marginal or small farmers or artisans labouring in the jajmani-balutedari (client-patron) system – attained crucial and critical room for affirming themselves (George, 2006B). These castes received disproportionate benefits from the policies and programmes implemented during this period. The most significant have been the land reforms that sought to restore the lands to tenants and later the green revolution that channelled significant investments into agriculture and raised its productivity. The former could not reach real tenants who in most cases were Dalits because the government machinery would not know that there operated a layered tenancy in villages as a Dalit tenant could not be dealt with by the high caste landlord directly. So, by default, it recognised the intermediaries as the legal tenants who invariably belonged to these farmer castes. Many of the benami transfers also went to them, as they were the confidants of the former landlords. The green revolution, as numerous studies concluded, clearly benefited the bigger farmers who again belonged to these castes. The empowerment of a section from these Shudra castes impelled them to create a formidable constituency for themselves in nexus with the capitalist class and wielded significant political power. The contradiction between them and the Brahmins that impelled the ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 3 ● September 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com 7 non-Brahmin movements during the colonial times were overcome in this process, which enabled them to assume the hegemonic role in the rural setting (Teltumbde, 2006). Omvedt and Patankar (1979) points to the development of two parallel hierarchies in development of caste system in India. One hierarchy developed in the domain of agrarian relations ranging from landlords to independent peasants to tenant-cultivator to field servants. The last category comprised the untouchables – a form of semi-slavery. The entire land policy evolved in the colonial period and during the freedom struggle was focussed on the ideology of ‘land to the tiller’, which excluded the lowest hierarchy in the agrarian system i.e. the untouchable field servants. In the pre-1947 phase, the castes under this generic Shudra caste-group were not well off economically and equal socially. Many of them, the artisan and service castes, were as poor as Dalits and continue at various rungs in the caste hierarchy. However, they could be bracketed together socially in caste terms as one entity for the reason that they were economically farmers since many of these groups held land in the new set of arrangements. The caste divisions between them were really imperceptible in hierarchical terms, though social engagements are still limited (George, 2006B). In relations to Dalits – however they were placed socially and culturally clearly apart as the caste Hindus – their superiority perception in relation to the increasingly assertive Dalits was deliberately worked up by the powerful elements in villages, which thwarted any possibility of their making common base and agenda with Dalits. All these Shudra castes came to pose as a single block in opposition to Dalits for mainly two reasons. One, their superiority in the caste hierarchy to Dalits lent them power over them to extract more and more economic surplus and two, the assertiveness of the majority Dalit caste induced by their political consciousness (through the Dalit movement) and economic betterment (through reservation policy) made them vulnerable and defensive (George, 2006B). These dynamics achieved two things for the rural rich. One, it obfuscated their exploitative relations with their own caste fellows and two; it provided them the requisite mass base to claim political power. One shouldn’t conceal or mask the historical blunder of the Communist movement in its incapacity to analyse the caste system which led to the unambiguous failure to interpret the established traditional working class sections of India. This also had done a lot of damage to the Dalit movement and at large frozen the working class either. Beyond the definite splitting up of Dalits it also botched in addressing the questions of bringing the new class along with Dalit with the class movement. Obliterating the class structure in India could only begin with the annihilation of caste (Teltumbde, 2006) that was completely forgotten by the communists. Any question of caste annihilation cannot happen without thrashing the power structure, which has its roots in the land holding patterns that emerged in the post independence period. The historical alienation of Dalit movement from Communist – who otherwise could had been their natural ally – for whatsoever reasons, juxtaposed from composing any alliance at this facade either. This new class of landed people emerged as the political class, who in return completely dismissed any question of Dalit land rights, nor did the emergent Dalit movements felt the necessary need of taking up the land question at the national level seriously. Thus the Ambedkar’s project of annihilation of caste remains as a distant dream of all those who claimed to be the vanguards of the new society creation. Hindutva Fascism & Dalits Movements Another aspect that the Dalit movement in the postAmbedkar era failed to address is that of the direct challenges of communal fascism. Communal Fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties. It emphasizes a myth of national or racial or puritan rebirth after a period of decline or destruction. To this end, fascism calls for a “spiritual revolution” against signs of moral decay such as individualism and materialism, and seeks to purge “alien” forces and groups that threaten the organic community. Fascism tends to celebrate masculinity, youth, mystical unity, and the regenerative power of violence. Often, but not always, it promotes racial superiority doctrines, ethnic persecution, imperialist expansion, and genocide. At the same time, fascists may embrace a form of internationalism based on either racial or ideological solidarity across national boundaries. Usually fascism espouses open male supremacy, though sometimes it may also promote female solidarity and new opportunities for women of the privileged nation or race (George, 2006A). Fascism's approach to politics is both populist – in that it seeks to activate “the people” as a whole against perceived oppressors or enemies – and elitist – in that it treats the people's will as embodied in a select group, or often one supreme leader, from whom authority proceeds downward. Fascism seeks to organise a cadre-led mass movement in a drive to seize state power. It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 3 ● September 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com 8 ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organisations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition, although the scale of violence varies widely (George, 2006A). The present phase of fascism is a more organised and systematic attempt to continue the caste-class legacy. It started with the emergence of Hindu Chauvinism and Cultural Nationalism under the leadership of RSS led camp. This camp learnt various things from different sectors. They learnt the skills in organising and mobilising from Communist parties, mastered the management techniques from Churches & Christian institutions, the one-man dictator model of Adolph Hitler and the also the methods of maintaining private militia. In nutshell, the wholesome exercise was to sustain and strengthen the same old ideology of purity of the three upper varnas and Shudras and Panchamas as impure and pollutants. A twin strategy of dictating the Dalits and non-Hindu communities is the present form of communal fascism in India. Current mode of communal polity coupled with sustained casteism apparently speaks of this truth (George, 2006B). Communal-fascism has built philanthropic and religious institutions like Saraswati Sishu Mandir, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Sanghs, Deen Dayal Shodh Sansthan, Sanskriti Bihar, Vikas Bharit, Gayatri Pariwar, Brahmakumari Samaj, etc. are some of the strategies adopted to create inroads among the Dalits & Adivasis. Expansion of fascism has so far and is disintegrating the Dalit-Adivasi ideology, theology, and identity and intimidated their very existence. Apparently this ruptures the community, deteriorates the noble notions of sharing, caring and co-operation, expansion of patriarchy and battered the inkling of community ownership over resources and all remaining symbols of common property (George, 2006A). Another strategy applied is the steady and systematic capturing of the community panchayats and organisations. The best example of this is Gujarat where the communal fascists have got their stranglehold and successfully executed the carnage against the Muslims by communalising Dalits and Adivasis. Two crucial incidences in the Dalit history of India would remain as irremovable scars – one being the demolition of Babri Mazjit and the second the post Godra genocide of Muslim. Regretfully no Dalit organisation had a strong stand against either of these. Dalits chosen to be the foot soldiers of the Hindutva forces against Muslims indeed surprised many. The very same Brahmins, Banias and Patidars who constitute the Hindutva command today sparked off the 1981 anti-reservations riots against Dalits. 20 years should not be too long a period for the collective memory of the victims to be effaced in favour of the perpetrators of crime. The riots were a part of their protest against the reservation system that gave Dalits access to medical and engineering colleges. They were based on falsehood and blatant lies even then as any of the riots thereafter and the recent carnages are. It led to riots in which Dalits were targeted in 18 of Gujarat's 19 districts. The backlash was so harsh and widespread that it marked a watershed in the Dalit consciousness. The violence of 1981 riots achieved in one shot what they could not do over many years. It is significant to remember that during these riots the Muslims had sheltered Dalits at many places. Dalits faced the wrath of same Brahmins, Banias and Patidars combine again in 1985 although this time their agitation was against the hike in job quotas for the OBCs in government and educational institutions. Ironically the Dalits upheld the reservations for the OBCs under the Mandal Commission and bore the wrath of the higher castes but the actual beneficiaries continued not only to be with the higher castes but also against Dalits (Teltumbde, 2004). Resultant is the perpetual assurance of control over these communities plus a bonus of sustaining casteism. Expansion of caste fascism has so far and is disintegrating the Dalit ideology, theology, and identity and intimidated their very existence. Apparently this ruptures the community, deteriorates the noble notions of sharing, caring and co-operation, expansion of patriarchy and battered the inkling of community ownership over resources. Let us not forget Ambedkar was the greatest fighter against religious fascism and historical caste fascism. To be continued in next issue……… ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 3 ● September 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com 9 Critical Quest Dalit Movement After Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar In India: Pitfalls, Challenges & Way Ahead Goldy M George ……continued from September 2013 issue. Globalisation – The Bypassed Threat Dalit movement neither understood the politics of globalisation not address it in any form. Rather than entering the debate in a critical way from the subaltern perspective, it remained passive to the process of globalisation, and many times joined the sustaining party. Globalisation in India marked through Economic Reforms launched in July 1991 in India were in nature of a crisis management response to the economic and political crises that erupted in early 1990s. The blue print for the Reforms was provided by the combination of macro-economic stabilisation and structural adjustment programme of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank respectively, which had been adopted by many countries before in similar situations. As such Globalisation is not a new phenomena or process. The fundamental attribute of globalisation, then and now, is the increasing degree of openness in most countries. The openness is not simply confined to trade flows, investment flows and financial flows; it also extends to flows of services, technology, information, ideas and persons across national boundaries. There can be no doubt, however, that trade, investment and finance constitute the cutting edge of globalisation. The pasts two decades have witnessed an explosive growth in international finance, so much so that, in terms of magnitude, trade and investment and now dwarfed by finance (Singh, 1998). The political stability or instability has a direct bearing on the process, pace and intensity of the globalisation and reforms, which admittedly have been slow and inadequate (Tripathi, 2009). This had quantitative and qualitative adversities on food security, employment, inflation, poverty alleviation schemes as well as social security. For example reservation in the educational institutions and the financial assistance in the form of scholarships and freeships had gone out of context, with the advent of education as an industry. Without education, all constitutional safeguards including the reservation in services would be futile. The Reforms have already resulted in freezing the grants to many institutions and in stagnating, if not lowering, the expenditure on education. The free market ethos has entered the educational sphere in a big way. Commercialisation of education is no more a mere rhetoric; it is now the established fact. Commercial institutions offering specialised education signifying the essential input from utilitarian viewpoint have come up in a big way from cities to small towns (Teltumbde, 1996). It is the same way that the employment sector had its impact due to the thus called ‘economic reforms’. Howsoever, unsatisfactory the results of the implementation of reservation in employment may be, its importance from the Dalit viewpoint cannot be under emphasised. As could be evidenced by the organised private sector, where it would be difficult to find a Dalit employee (save of course in scavenging and lowliest jobs), without reservations Dalits would have been totally doomed. The importance of reservations thus could only be assessed in relation to situations where they do not exist. Whatever be their defects and deficiencies, they have given certain economic means of livelihood and some social prestige to the sons and daughters of over 1.5 million landless labourers. Whether they get real power or not, over 50,000 Dalits could enter the sphere of bureaucratic authority with the help of reservations. Besides these tangible benefits promised by the policy, it has instilled a hope in Dalit community. This hope predominantly manifests in the form of spread of education among them. Their emotional bond with the nation and its Constitution despite heaps of injustice and ignominy they bear every moment of their life may also be significantly attributable to the Reservation Policy (Teltumbde, 1996). Any pragmatic and progressive movement cannot stand on the selective criticism of a few religious texts or political ideologies and conveniently keeping quiet on other questions. A movement cannot be built on superfluous philosophy of negativism. It has to provide its own alternative to the people. Dalits have their own distinct identity and culture and those claiming to provide them an alternative God really misquote Dr. Ambedkar and kill their revolutionary spirit, as is the suggestion by many Dalit. Dr. Ambedkar’s popularity among the Dalits is not due to the corrupt Dalits who use all tactics to grab money and power but the poor Dalits who consider him as the liberator. There are many reasons for the same. Dr. Ambedkar is a uniting factor for Dalits. No doubt that he has become an icon of Dalits from North to South from Hindi heartland to the southern Tamil Nadu. However he himself was against ‘hero worship’ of any time. He believed in the exploration of knowledge on historical and scientific basis. This has to be a regular, rather on-going, process, which is only possible by addressing the problems of the oppressed and exploited masses. The undeniable fact is Dr. Ambedkar is mainly known among the working class Dalits. Re-reading Dr. Ambedkar In broader terms the Dalit movement failed to properly address many things. It is very essential at this juncture to re-investigate what Babasaheb had mentioned about the various different aspects, despite the limitation of time, space and ideological factors. Dr Ambedkar certainly was not dogmatic but pragmatic. He had rightly confronted the forces of casteism, fascism, communalism imperialism and capitalism. He believed that any system that promotes unequal human relationships should not thrive. Was Ambedkar non-radical? Did he ever not talk against imperialism? Did he not oppose capitalism? Did he not oppose Hindutva and communal forces? Did he fail to connect the intricacies of these aspects? To any extends if anyone grasped imperialism and empirism, its entire length, and breadth, and height, its capacity and volume it was Ambedkar. Notwithstanding the fact that as a true democrat, Ambedkar, far from being a stooge of the British imperialism – as maligned by some leftist and pseudo nationalist, was against imperialism of every hue. His sole crime was that he saw imperialism in its totality, as a rule of one society over the other. Otherwise it was understood in a stereotype model of rule of one nation over another. He was of the opinion that anything being enforced on others in social or political or economic is the core of imperialism. Let us examine these passages what he had to say on empire and empirism is like this, “The British have an Empire, so have the Hindus. For is not Hinduisma form of Imperialism and are not the Untouchables a subject race, owing their allegiance and their servitude to their Hindu masters? If Churchill must be asked to declare his war aims how could anybody avoid of asking Mr. Gandhi and the Hindus to declare their war aims.” Further he writes, “The sky-piercing slogan shouting ‘Down with Imperialism’ could entrench itself in India. The young leaders do not seem to understand if the foundation of Brahminism on which the superstructure of imperialism is erected, is itself weakened. The power and strength of imperialism lies in the weakness of the classes that are ruled by imperialism. The weakness of India is accumulated in the social structure of the Hindus. Or social norms and traditions are destructive of unity and supporter of division. That is why imperialism could strengthen its base here and it is still able to carry on.” Again he speaks, “if consciousness and reason can be insinuated into the resulting struggles they can only qualify, never abolish, the injustice. If injustice is to be abolished it must be resisted and when injustice proceeds from collective power, whether in the form of imperialism or class domination, it must be challenged by power. A class entrenched behind its established power can never by dislodged unless power is raised against it. That is the only way of stopping exploitation of the weak by strong” (BRAWS, 1990B). Yet another distorted and maligned confusion around Dr. Ambedkar remains that he was in favour of foreign rule or colonisation. This is one strategy applied by the Indian Communists (as guardians of caste system) thereby alienating the crude question of caste, and silently legitimising caste as if it will disappear with the larger class struggle. This happened the vice verse when the entire Dalit movement isolated from seriously studying or question of class struggle or anit-imperialistic agenda. None other than Dr. Ambedkar who while making a strategic use of the British rule as arbitrator between the Hindus and Dalits knew this reality as he repeatedly castigated it for having done nothing for the Dalits. In one of his editorials he wrote with a caption “What have British Lords done for you?” “Whatever desirable change may have come in our condition during the British rule has just happened in the course of time. We cannot be sure about whether the British government has made any special efforts for that. On the contrary, we are of the opinion that it is utterly futile to expect any emancipatory work for untouchables from the British rule.” He was fully aware, perhaps better than many swadeshi sloganeers of his times, of the exploitative character of the British imperialism and its social and economic importance. Dr. Ambedkar wrote three scholarly books on economics where he closely looks at the role of the British imperialism, its overall impact on the different sections of Indian society. The first one ‘Administration and Finance of the East India Company’, he had exposed how the East India Company exploited Indians during the long period of 1792 to 1858 and after its rule was abolished in 1858, how instead of removing the injustice, the British Crown increased it by loading the starving Indians with the huge debt, which was taken by the East India Company for its own consumption. The second was the ‘The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India’, which analysis the evolution of Centre-State financial relations in British India during the period, 1833 through 1921 (BRAWS, 1989). The third one is ‘The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution’. It is considered as magnum opus in economics. The essential colonial mechanism for exploitation gets succinctly exposed in Dr. Ambedkar’s conclusion, “apparently the immenseness of India’s contribution to England is as much astounding as the nothingness of England’s contribution to India” (BSAWS, 1989). The same language and fervour against British imperialism could be found in all his subsequent writings, as he was clear that imperialism is a major component as a burden to freedom and advocated for self rule. But to his sense the self-rule of untouchables cannot be equated with the self-rule of the caste Hindus, since there already existed a nation within a nation. While comparing the bearings and pains of the Jews and Untouchables Babasaheb wrote, “It is generally agreed among the thoughtful part of humanity that there are three problems (1) Imperialism, (2) Racialism, (3) Anti-Semitism and (4) Free Traffic in that merchandise of death popularly called munitions. There is no doubt these are the plague glands in which nation’s cruelty to nation and man’s inhumanity to man have their origin. There is no doubt that these problems must be tackled in a new and a better world is to emerge from the ashes of this terrible and devastating war. What my fear is that the problem of the untouchables may be forgotten as it has been so far. That would indeed be a calamity. For all the ills which the untouchables are suffering if they are not as much advertised as those of the Jews, are not less real. Nor are the means and methods of suppression used by the ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 4 ● October 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com 6 Hindus against the untouchables less effective because they are less bloody than the ways which the Nazis have adopted against the Jews. The Anti-Semitism of the Nazis against the Jews is in no way different in ideology and in effect from the Sanatanism of the Hindus against the Untouchables” (BSAWS, 1990B). One need not forget the connective fact that anything that is imperialism is strongly connected with the economic mode of production by means of feudalism and capitalism. Ambedkar, in his struggle to establish a secular State, did not differentiate between flag-bearers of Hindutva and the Muslim League. He treated them as two faces of the same coin, which is bent on destroying India. He wrote: “Strange as it may appear, Mr Savarkar and Mr Jinnah, instead of being opposed to each other on the one nation versus two nations issue, are in complete agreement about it. Both not only agree but insist that there are two nations in India - one the Muslim nation and the other the Hindu nation” (BRAWS, 1990A). Secondly beyond any doubts, Dr. Ambedkar believed in secularism to his core, which he strongly manifested through his thorough study of religion and particularly Buddhism as a rational way of life. The flag-bearers of Hindutva, in their task of manufacturing history, have now left Babasaheb even. The RSS has presented him as a leader in league with Hedgewar and Golwalkar and as a defender for the cause of the Hindu Rashtra (Islam, 2003). Leaders of BJP have not given up any chance to declare Ambedkar as a supporter of Hindutva and the Hindu Rashtra. This is nothing but injustice to a man who had renounced Hinduism because of its repressive elements and converted to Buddhism. Throughout his life, Ambedkar opposed the communal politics of both the Muslim League and the Hindutva forces. His book, Pakistan or The Partition of India (1940), stands testimony to his opposition to the nefarious designs of communal elements. In fact, his ideas and warnings about Hindutva, as contained in the book, can even now work as bulwark in checking the resurgence of communal forces (BRAWS, 1990A). Ambedkar did not cut off words or fractured his spike when he wrote, “It must be said that Mr Savarkar's attitude is illogical, if not queer. Mr Savarkar admits that the Muslims are a separate nation. He concedes that they have a right to cultural autonomy. He allows them to have a national flag. Yet he opposes the demand of the Muslim nation for a separate national home. If he claims a national home for the Hindu nation, how can he refuse the claim of the Muslim nation for a national home?” (BRAWS, 1990A). Ambedkar writes, “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. The idea of Hindustan for Hindus is not merely arrogant but is arrant nonsense”. Dr. Ambedkar was of the firm opinion that Hindutva was nothing but a ploy by upper caste Hindus to maintain control over society and its resources. He wrote: “They have a trait of character which often leads the Hindus to disaster. This trait is formed by their acquisitive instinct and aversion to share with others the good things of life. They have a monopoly of education and wealth, and with wealth and education they have captured the State. To keep this monopoly to themselves has been the ambition and goal of their life. Charged with this selfish idea of class domination, they take every move to exclude the lower classes of Hindus from wealth, education and power. This attitude of keeping education, wealth and power as a close preserve for themselves and refusing to share it, which the high caste Hindus have developed in their relation with the lower classes of Hindus, is sought to be extended by them to the Muslims. They want to exclude the Muslims from place and power, as they have done to the lower class Hindus. This trait of the high caste Hindus is the key to the understanding of their politics” (BRAWS, 1990A). Ambedkar didn’t differ from exposing the communal character of the Muslims even. Blaming them for creating the demon of communalism, he says, “The Muslims are howling against the Hindu Mahasabha and its slogan of Hinduism and Hindu Raj. But who is responsible for this? Hindu Mahasabha and Hindu Raj are the inescapable nemesis which the Musalmans have brought upon themselves by having a Muslim League. It is action and counter action. One gives rise to the other. Not partition, but the abolition of the Muslim League.” He continues to write in the same page, which shows his true secularist character “forming mixed political parties based on an agreed program of social andeconomic regeneration, and thereby avoiding the danger of both Hindu Raj or Muslim Raj becoming a fact. Nor should the formation of a mixed party of Hindus and Muslims be difficult in India. There are many lower orders in the Hindu society whose economic, political and social needs are the same as those of the majority of the Muslims and they would be far more ready to make a common cause with the Muslims for achieving common ends than they would with the high caste of Hindus who have denied and deprived them of ordinary human rights for centuries” (BRAWS, 1990A). To Conclude Until now I attempted to discuss the post-Ambedkar Dalit situation at the national level, its connection with different spheres of socio-political development, its varied dimensions in relationship with the people, systems, ideologies, identities, religions, conversion, how effective it had been in building up a movement, particularly its successes, its failures, the ups and downs, and what are the areas that a genuine Dalit movement should be more active and progressive in future. In so far the agreement on which my framework is based is that no society or system could be categorically classified into incontrovertible blocks, in each society there always remains an invisible but closed propinquity. Though many claim follow Ambedkar, their integrity is also questionable while ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 4 ● October 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com 7 Against Inequality- Strategies to Empower the Marginalised”, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. making such claims and positions. We need a close study of Ambedkar, which normally many people never do. Ambedkar is beyond conversion. One needs to go beyond the dogmatism of Babasaheb and build-up on the values that he had been emphasising. His noble ideas of a secular, socialist, democratic India is still valid as the guiding principles in the creation of a new India. This means one needs to engage in a process to develop a counterculture, as alternative to the present one that could combat the growing trends of the combine of casteismfascism-globalisation-imperialism. Unless we consciously raise a sense of counter culture time and again, all these efforts will be futile and in vain. Hence a sense of alternative culture also needs to be understood in this process. There are elements of this counter culture still alive around us, mostly observed in the Dalit and Adivasi art forms. Since these art forms have all the principal elements of sustaining life, direct democracy, social engagement, egalitarianism and justice concerns it is suited in the attempt to develop a counter culture. The edifice of counter culture is based on the culture and art forms of those who had suffered a lot. It is the search for fullness of life and quest for justice in the dark world. Here values are not individual centric, rather is based on the common good of all. Their consciousness of prosperity is of higher degree and greater. It is linked with the prosperity of all in common. For instance this chorus from a Malayalam Dalit song reveals it apparently. It goes like this:Naadu Poliyuga, Nagaram Poliyuga! Ooru Poliyuga, Ulagam Poliyuga! Let my country be prosperous, let my city be prosperous, let my village be prosperous and thereby let the universe be prosperous. This had been the vision and mission of Ambedkar, which the current Ambedkarite and Dalit movement had lost in the discourse. References 1. B. R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches (1989) “The Administration and Finance of the East India Company”, in Vol. 6, Education Department, Govt. of Maharastra, Mumbai 2. B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches (1990A)“Pakistan or the Partition of India”, in Vol. 8, Education Department, Govt. of Maharastra, Mumbai 3. B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches (1990B)“Mr. Gandhi and the Emancipation of the Untouchables”, in Vol. 9, Education Department, Govt. of Maharastra, Mumbai 4. Bahishkrit Bharat (1929)March 15. 5. Das, Bhagwan, (1983) “Untouchability, Scheduled Castes and Nation Building” in Jose Kananaikil, (Ed.) “Scheduled Caste and Struggle 6. Gatade, Subhash (2004) “Inverting Dalit Consciousness: Hindutvaising the Dalits, Communalising the movement” in Goldy M. George Edited “Globalisation & Fascism… The Dalit Encounter”, Dalit Study Circle, Raipur 7. George, Goldy M. (2005) “Salam Bhimrao!” Editorial Column in Daily Deshbandhu December 6. 8. George, Goldy M. (2006A) “Fascism Versus Indigenous People”, http://www.countercurrents.org/dalitgeorge020906.htm accessed on August 10, 2013 9. George, Goldy M. (2006B) “The Future of Dalit Movement in India”, theme paper in the National Seminar on “How can we ‘Survive’ and ‘Succeed’ Ambedkarism in the 21st century?” from 18-21 November, Nagpur. 10. Islam, Shamsul (2003) “Ambedkar as Hindu”, The Hindustan Times, 15 April, 2003 11. Omvedt, Gail and Bharat Patankar (1979) “The Dalit Liberation Movement in Colonial Period”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 14, Nos: 7 & 8) 12. Singh, Kavaljit (1998) “A citizen’s Guide to the Globalisation of Finance”, Madhyam Books, Delhi & Documentation for Action Groups in Asia, Hong Kong. 13. Singh, Shyam (2010) “Dalit Movement and Emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh: Politics and Priorities”, Working Paper 242, The Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore. 14. Teltumbde, Anand (1996) “Impact of New Economic Reforms in India”, A Paper Presented in the Seminar on 'Economic Reforms and Dalits in India' Organised by the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, on November 8, 1996. 15. Teltumbde, Anand (2004) “Damning the Dalits for the Bania-Brahmin Crimes in Gujarat”, in Goldy M. George Edited “Globalisation & Fascism… The Dalit Encounter”, Dalit Study Circle, Raipur 16. Teltumbde, Anand (2005) “Anti-Imperialism and Annihilation of Caste”, Ramai Prakashan, Thane. 17. Teltumbde, Anand (2006) “Theorising The Dalit Movement: A viewpoint”, unpublished paper. 18. Tripathi, P. M. (2009) “Impact of Globalisation on Regional Development in Asia”, AVARD, http://www.angoc.ngo.ph/pdffiles/Impact-ofGlobalisation-on-Regional-Development -inAsia.pdf accessed on December 1, 2009 ● Year – 1 ● Issue – 4 ● October 2013 ● Buddhist Voice ● www.buddhistvoice.com Concluded. 8