Less than two months before he died (mahaparinirvana) Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, along with lakhs of his followers, converted to Buddhism at a grand ceremony held in Nagpur on October 14, the day of the Hindu festival of Dussehra. The venue may have been chosen to challenge the RSS in its headquarters on a day the mother of saffron outfits considers most auspicious for its annual event. However, that is not as important as what followed.
Nearly half a million Dalits present in the diksha ceremony were administered 22 vows by Baba Sahib in the presence of his second wife, Savita Ambedkar. These vows included:
(a) I shall not recognise Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh as Gods, nor shall I worship them.
(b) I shall not recognise Rama and Krishna as Gods, nor shall I worship them.
(c) I shall not recognise Gauri and Ganpati as Gods nor shall I worship them.
(d) I do not consider Buddha as the incarnation of Vishnu.
(e) I shall not do anything that is detrimental to Buddhism.
(f) I believe that all human beings are equal.
(g) I hereby reject my old religion, Hinduism which is detrimental to the prosperity of humankind and which discriminates between man and man and which treats me as inferior.
Over a decade earlier; at a public meeting held on April 26, 1942 (the year Congress launched the Quit India Movement), Dr Ambedkar (then in Viceroy’s executive council) stated categorically: “I stand today absolutely convinced that for the depressed classes there can be no equality among the Hindus because on inequality rests the foundation of Hinduism.”
Ambedkar had still not decided to which religion he would convert. But he had made up his mind to leave the Hindu fold. He, therefore, declared: “We no longer want to be part of Hindu society. What then are we to do? We shall decide that at a suitable time. For the moment, I only want to make it clear that we cannot be part of the Hindu society in any circumstances.”
But Ambedkar had made up his mind to renounce Hindu religion much earlier. On May 3, 1936, he had declared: “Recently horrible atrocities have been committed on the untouchables by the touchable Hindus in Jodhpur and Gujarat. The atrocious slavery will come to an end only if we leave this religion, there is no other way.”
Ambedkar was highly critical of the Hindu scriptures, including the Bhagvad Gita: “One great reason for the downfall of the Hindu society and the perpetuation of its degraded position is the injuction of Krishna that whenever in difficulties they should look out for his avatar to redeem them from the slouch of despondency. That has made the Hindu community helpless in face of calamity. I don’t want you to follow this ruinous teaching. I don’t want you to be dependent on any single personality for your salvation. Your salvation must lie in your own hands, through your own efforts.”
According to his biographer Narendra Jadhav (now a nominated member of Rajya Sabha), Dr Ambedkar was no hero worshipper, did not want his followers to do it either for he was deeply conscious of the evils of hero worship did not want his followers to do it either for he was deeply conscious of the evils of hero worship and the havoc it has caused down the centuries. That is why the iconic leader said: “Over regards for leaders saps self-confidence of the masses, leaves them helpless when left leaderless in hour of trial or when led by unscrupulous leaders.”
These prophetic words were uttered by Baba Sahib 75 years ago. No amount of hero worshipping of the greatest Dalit icon after Iindependence, who has surpassed the stature of all other leaders from weaker sections, including his senior in Pt Nehru’s Cabinet, Jagjivan Ram, is going to fetch Dalit votes for any casteist or communal party. For such parties asking votes in the name of Ambedkar is nothing but height of hypocrisy.
As India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who stood strongly for a casteless India, took many steps to make the all-pervasive caste discrimination illegal and punishable by law. No two leader of post-independence India had more convergent view on the evils of caste system than Nehru and Ambedkar. Dalits, if properly guided and educated, may, therefore, ultimately, through their lot with the Congress and other secular parties. But it is bound to be a long drawn process as truth takes time to establish.
The writer, an ex-Army officer, is a former member of the National Commission for Minorities
