Today is the Death anniversary of Dr. BR. Ambedkar. Amid all the confusion that is there today in the political space regarding caste, caste census and the so called "Unifying" Hindutva idea of "बटेंगे तो काटेंगे, एक रहेंगे तो नेक रहेंगे".
So, I thought it is a good time to discuss one of the most interesting debates of Constitutional assembly of Independent India between Two parliamentarians, BG Kher and BR Ambedkar.
BG Kher was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of Bombay (1937–1939, 1946–1947) and the first chief minister (then called Premier) of Bombay State (1947–1952). He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 1954. A lawyer, solicitor and social worker by choice and politician by necessity, Kher was often described as "Sajjan", good and gentle. Kher was a scholar, an accomplished orator, and a man with no pretensions.
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So, the point of the debate was again on the diverging point of view of how a part of the whole [Dalits in the Hindu fold] can be considered a different section altogether and given benefits. Basically, if we consider the doctrine of equal protection of law, The state should justify a reasonable regarding the division howsoever made in the population.
BG Kher's argument was the same. To which Dr. BR Ambedkar said the memorable and once in a history phrase, "I am not part of the whole, I never was. I am a part apart!"
And then he goes on to explain the difference.
The nature of outcasts in Indian Caste System is actually philosophically really engaging.
The difference between A part of the whole and a part apart is the difference between how upper castes discover each other and how Dalits get discovered by upper castes.
Historically marginalized sections all around the world had this peculiar nature. They were always treated as a part apart.
When Blacks in America were Ghettoized, they were not externalized in totality. They were sort of included to get excluded. It is like, you want someone precisely to mistreat.
A part apart is the situation where you are kept in precisely to take it apart in every possible distribution of resource, social occasion, to every political representation.
This was the point of Ambedkar.
Yes, Dalits belong to the Hindu fold. But not in the same way in which a Baniya, a Brahmin or a Rajput belongs to the Hindu fold. It belongs respectfully to the Hindu fold.
The point raised by Dalit thinkers today against the Batenge katenge point raised by the Hindu right wing is that It was never one to be divided. It was always divided. To say a group one, when its many is already trespassing the diversity and identity of millions of Dalits in the country.
The kinds of otherization that communities do in order to marginalize differs for different bases, Religion, castes, gender etc. I will write it in a separate blog in detail. We will develop this analysis of different natures of otherizations.
A tribute blog this was to Dr. Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar's point of Annihilation of caste was much more radical point when seen together with A part apart point. Ambedkar points annihilation but not on the exchange for the identity but for enhancing accessibility of material resources and social respect.
In a nutshell, A Shudra should remain a Shudra in identity but that identity is be as hollow as a Brahmin, that is the castes should remain an indicator of historical injustice, but the dark disrespectful and oppressive connotation should get annihilated.
Ambedkar's dream is not just a lawyer's dream, it is not just a constitutionalist's dream, but it is a Political Philosopher's dream. To remove the inherent Otherization present in Hinduism.
These Slogans like Batenge to katenge, actually dodges the questions of economic and social marginalization and even wishes to remove the tag of Shudra from Shudra but keep the marginalizations associated with it. This kind of annihilation of caste is actually, hiding of caste but saving the oppression.
When we talk about reforms in Islam, we talk about changing Quran and its ethos to the core and to take away the powers of maulanas to control Islamic institutions.
To talk of annihilation of caste is to talk about demolition of hierarchical structure of Hindu brahmin supremacy and the Brahmin capture of resources and power. I will talk about Power structure of Brahmins in caste system in some other blog.
In a nutshell, This was my tribute to baba Saheb on his death anniversary.
Long live revolution. Jai Bheem!
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