“Untouchability is a crime against God and man”, said the Mahatma and the man who had translated these words into a veritable crusade was no less than a Mahatma either. He inspired a movement that has few parallels in history and conveyed a formidable
willpower to wipe out one of the most sinful evils of society, ‘Untouchability’ that had crippled human conscience, since perhaps the dawn of one of the oldest civilizations of mankind, ‘Hinduism’.
......and both of them possessed a charisma that could spellbind millions of people of the sub-continent and a ceaseless obsession to salvage the society mired in darkness of caste segregation and social discrimination. Both of them had chosen the weapon of Satyagrah in their fight for truth and emancipation. Both of them had met similar fate before declaring war on injustice and slavery; one of them had been thrown out of a moving train in South Africa and the other from a motel in Baroda, a town in Gujrat. History had different schemes for them …… but one purpose.
Early life and Education
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in the military cantonment of Mhow in the Central Provinces that would later become a part of present day Madhya Pradesh to Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai Murbadkar in a Marathi family. They belonged to the Hindu Mahar caste who were treated as untouchables and subjected to intense socio-economic discrimination.
His father served in the Indian Army at the Mhow cantonment and had received formal education in Marathi and English, and encouraged his children to learn and work hard at school.
Ambedkar lived a sheltered childhood on a military base in the late 19th century British India, not really comprehending being an undercaste. In school, he suffered untold humiliation from other students, yet overcame that to become the first graduate of his community.
Since untouchable children were denied education; it was one high caste teacher who noticed the spark of intellect in the boy and guided him, and eventually gave him his own name Ambedkar.
Later, his brilliance even impressed the Maharaja of Baroda, who gave him a scholarship to Columbia University where he encountered the Afro-American community in Harlem. The 14th Amendment to Constitution of United States Of America granting equality to all and the views of professors such as John Dewey, who was an American philosopher and education reformer fuelled the fire of a revolutionary in him and propelled him to campaign for human rights.
Born an untouchable in a caste ridden Hindu society, Amedkar had spent his childhood witnessing social discrimination and atrocities against the Dalits in its ugliest form. Defying all social norms, he left for studying in London School of Economics and Gray’s Inn of London, an achievement few untouchables could even dream of at the time. Returning to India, he dedicated his life to the welfare of the downtrodden - the Dalits. A fiery campaigner, he came into conflict with many leaders including Gandhi. Then played a pivotal role in the framing of the constitution of Independent India.
The Crusader of the downtrodden
He began the publication of the weekly Mooknayak (Leader of the Silent) in Mumbai In 1920. Ambedkar used this journal to hit at orthodox Hindu politicians and the perceived reluctance of the Indian political community to fight caste discrimination. His speech at a Depressed Classes Conference in Kolhapur impressed the local state ruler Shahu IV, who shocked orthodox society by dining with Ambekdar. He organized the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha to promote education and socio-economic uplifting of the depressed classes. In 1927, He decided to launch active movements against Untouchability. He began with public movements and marches to open up and share public drinking water resources, also for the right to enter Hindu temples. He led a Satyagraha to fight for the right of the untouchable community to draw water from the main water tank.
In his fight against injustice, he had to draw daggers with powerful leaders of his time. From 1930-1932, he represented the “untouchable population” at the three Round Table Conferences held in London which guaranteed a separate voting franchise to the undercaste from that of the Hindus in 1932.
However, Gandhiji stood against political separation and vowed to go on a fast in protest. He sought indivisible rights for untouchables as part of Hindu society, while Ambedkar wanted separate political rights and social reform. As Gandhi fasted, the Poona Pact was reached allowing general voting rights, and not a separate franchise for untouchables.
Ambedkar’s life reflected a larger canvas; his dedication to reform had an objective that cut across castes, creeds and beliefs. He championed for a moral social order against exploitation of people of all walks of life.
The Enlightened Soul
The egalitarian quest for social equality and justice led him to explore various beliefs. Buddha’s teachings and philosophy profoundly impressed him. He viewed Buddhism as a means to bringing about social change based on individual practice and service to society.
He showed the way to his community by embracing Buddhism at Nagpur, Maharashtra, in 1956.
The increasing bitterness caused by political issues took a heavy toll on him. He was a diabetic and remained bed-ridden for a long time. His health worsened as he furiously worked. Just three days after completing his final manuscript ‘The Buddha and His Dhamma’, he breathed his last on December 6, 1956 at his home in Delhi.
It is said great souls do not die, they just leave behind their mortal baggage and transcend for serving a higher purpose.
The world community has a lot to gain from studying his life and his conviction to bring about a social change for the dispossessed. The enlightened rediscover the objective of the soul and teach us the truth. It has been more than 2500 years since Buddha left this world, but scriptures tell us the Buddha is born again and again to lead us on to path of righteousness.
Was the Buddha reborn in him? Let us pause for a while and spare a thought.