Babasaheb Dr. B.R.Ambedkar and his guided movement for liberation
On the 14th of April every year, the followers of Babasaheb all over the world will celebrate the Jayanti with joy and festivity. It is well-known fact that Babasaheb Dr.B.R.Ambedkar was against hero worship and blind faith in any individual.
Nonetheless, history tells every great liberator becomes iconic after the demise to keep the values alive.
Dr. Ambedkar himself taught that one can learn from the Mahapurush in history. He celebrated the Buddha Jayanti and the birthdays of great saints who fought against social evils. But he discouraged celebrating his own Birthday.
Then why should we celebrate his Jayanti?
None of us can match Babasaheb and the great giant for humanity like him, and he is a rare occurrence as mythical, as a liberator who comes once in an eon on the planet earth. He has the right to say what needs to be done and what needs to be left behind. This is because he has the wisdom to see through time and space and guide the human race in the right direction.
Thus, it is natural for his followers to express their love and faith for their emancipator by celebrating his Jayanti.
Why?
It is precisely to keep his memories alive and pass on the values to the next generations. The pages of Dr. Ambedkar’s life are profound and eventful. Human history has not seen such a liberator who walked on the path all alone without support; at the same time, he did not claim any divinity besides humanity, to attract any masses towards him. Unlike Gandhi, he used the notion of Dharma/Dhamma only to educate people in self-respect and dignity to ignite a flame of liberation in them. He used the notion of religion to bind people together in Fraternity and not to divide them into the hierarchy.
Every day of Babasaheb’s life is utilized well for moving towards the path of freedom. His writings and speeches are proof of what he lived for.
His methods of interpretation and analytical reading into every text were unusual and unique. Even in the history of a religious revolution, leaders clung to conventions that history followed. But Dr. Ambedkar is the only example who exhibited that: by reading History, History can be re-created; by studying economics new economics for all can be created; by reading politics, politics can be changed; by reading sacred texts, sacredness can be changed; by reading religions, religion can be changed; by realizing the dynamics of mind, a mind can be changed.
What Makes Dr. Ambedkar Unique?
Dr. Ambedkar clearly expressed that “Ours is a battle not for wealth; nor for power, ours is a battle for freedom; for reclamation of human personality.” Unlike Marx, he did not treat humans as “economic creatures “. In his thinking, a man needs food for the body and also for the mind. Cultivation of the mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence, and that’s the test. His ideas are liberating in essence. But it is only possible by engaging with his teaching, however important we give to his festive Jayanti.
Why Jayanti?
Few questions need to be understood.
Why oppressed can’t be united?
Why are oppressors, in spite of differences, able to work together?
To reflect on the first question, the oppressed have nothing in exchange to share besides pain and burden. The cementing factor is pain and not pleasure or power. Thus, a tiny opportunity has a tremendous possibility of vulnerability or gullibility in the mind of the oppressed. Because there is a quest to come out of pain and burden.
In the case of oppressors, in spite of differences, they cannot divide themselves at the cost of their privileged position and power. Their exchange would always be on the condition of maintaining a privileged position and power. The compromises and exchange must conclude with pleasure and position. Thus the cementing would be strong as no one wants to sacrifice or be generous to others. It is a selfish ideal at an individual or community level that oppressors cherish.
What is the way out?
It is only possible by enlarging the ripples of movement that are set for liberation. An individual like Ambedkar set the path for thousands of years for people to follow, take inspiration from, and light the lamp of liberation. This is possible only for giants like Dr. Ambedkar.
But what are the options left for his followers?
It’s nothing but keeping alive his movement. A well-guided unified movement is only the solution. As mentioned above the cementing factor among oppressors is weak but the cementing factor can only become strong by the quest for liberation. When humanity would get exhausted by the wounds of hatred, people will look at nothing but the movement of love, that’s what the great gift Dr. Ambedkar has given to the human race. This alternative must not die and should prevail for the sake of human welfare.
He worked day and night to build a road to freedom. He attained wisdom through his own efforts so that others can be benefited from his sacrifices. He became a pole star to guide the lost ship of humanity in the waves of inhumane practices.
What would make him successful is not merely propagation and celebration, but cultivating what he cultivated. Collective and unified efforts and strengthening the cement of liberation are the way forward.
The 14th of April is the birth of a holy, peaceful, and human revolution. But after Ambedkar that can only be lived in his movement and values, he cultivated for everyone for the sake of humanity to sustain peacefully.
(Dr. Santosh Raut is an Ambedkarite-Buddhist ideologue; an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aesthetic and Philosophy, The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad, He is the Director (Hon), Nagarjuna Institute Nagaloka, Nagpur. He is Founder-Member of Buddha Festival, Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, and an Expert Member, Buddhavanam Project, Hyderabad, Government of Telangana. He holds a Ph.D. in Buddhist Aesthetics from JNU, New Delhi)