Neither the Congress nor the communists have any right to claim Ambedkar’s legacy, and caste is a reality that shapes identity in the Indian context, S Vadiraj, a former RSS Prachar Pramukh, said in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 28.
Vadiraj, who currently works for marginalised communities through the Social Harmony Forum, an RSS-affiliate, was speaking during a panel discussion titled “Media and the war on narratives” during the media conclave organised by the Vishwa Samvada Kendra (VSK). The VSK is the media wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the conclave was organised as a part of the RSS’ centenary.
This is the second such conclave organised by the VSK in Bengaluru after the first one in 2006 on the occasion of the birth centenary of the second sarsanghachalak MS Golwalkar. The conclave also saw participation from seven colleges, including media students of Surana College and Bangalore City University and Tumkur University. Eight-four journalists, mostly of them from Bengaluru, and a handful from Kolar, Mangaluru, participated in the conclave.
Vadiraj was replying to a question posed by moderator Rohinaksha Shirlalu, Assistant Professor of Central University Kalaburagi, on the Congress and communists’ claim to BR Ambedkar’s legacy.
Vadiraj said that while everyone “naturally had the right” to claim Ambedkar’s legacy, the Congress and communist could not possibly do so, because caste was not an issue they had engaged with.
“Babasaheb Ambedkar called the Congress a burning house and said that it was suicidal to join the Congress. He urged his followers not to join the party. Similarly, he called the communists a forest fire,” Vadiraj said.
“If people understood Babasaheb Ambedkar’s final words that he was firstly a Bharatiya, secondly a Bharatiya, and lastly, a Bharatiya, they would know that Ambedkar was a supporter of the nation and love for the nation. Leftists project Ambedkar, Buddha and Basavanna as atheist. But none of them were atheist. But communist thought is rooted in atheism, so they cannot claim to be inheritors of Ambedkar’s legacy.”
TNM could not independently verify the remarks that Vadiraj attributed to Ambedkar. However, Ambedkar was critical of the Congress over many issues, particularly MK Gandhi’s views on the Poona Pact of 1932. Gandhi launched a fast unto death against separate electorates for Dalits which he claimed would ‘divide’ Hindus. This forced Ambedkar to withdraw his demand for a separate electorate for Dalits which he saw as essential to ensure that Dalits would have access to political power.
Vadiraj said when it appeared that when it comes to questions of social justice, the leftists have the upper hand. “But there are two parts to this. One is thought, and the other is action,” Vadiraj said.
Leftists claim that they have done a lot to advance social justice, that they have introduced changes in villages or done something when they were in power. “But for so many years, they never engaged with caste or reservations. They never gave these issues any importance, they only talked about class struggle,” Vadiraj said.
He claimed that Dalits never got any representation in West Bengal, where the Left was in power for 30 years. “Dalits form 30% of the vote, but even after 30 years of Left rule, from day one in 1951, we are seeing the rule of a Mamata Banerjee, a Buddhadev Bhattacharya, a Jyoti Basu, or a Ray. During Congress rule, 80 of 280 legislators were Brahmin or Kshatriya. After the Left came to power, that number went up to 120. When it comes to action, they haven’t done much, but they’re rectifying it now,” Vadiraj claimed.
Vadiraj also said that the Congress never gave any importance either to Ambedkar or his thoughts. He claimed that Mallikarjun Kharge started his political career in 1970, around the time that the DSS movement started in Karnataka.
He said that it was only after the Maharashtra government brought out English translations of Ambedkar’s collected works that his ideas came to be known. “But Kharge simply joined the Congress, stayed in it for 50 years and it doesn’t seem to have questioned joining the party that Ambedkar called a burning house. But he did use Ambedkar’s name. Using his name and becoming his legatee are different things,” Vadiraj said.
Editor of Asianet Suvarna News Ajit Hanumakkanavar, who was also on the panel, asked whether people are “falling prey to the false narrative” that a community will prosper only when there is a legislator from that caste.
“There are so many castes that need to be uplifted, when will they all prosper? Now we have someone from the third gender, (there is an idea that) people of third gender will only prosper if there is an MLA from the third gender,” Ajit said.
Vadiraj countered Ajit, saying that caste definitely shaped identities. “In an Indian context, caste plays a role in the identity of a person. There are different opinions on how much. Some might think it is about 20-30%, while others might think that it is about 70-80%,” Vadiraj said.
Vadiraj said that in many districts in north Karnataka, except for the reserved seats, only prominent Lingayats could win a seat. “Why can’t anyone else win from these seats? Caste does have numerical strength. There are no MLAs from castes such as Madiwala, Kumbara, or other smaller castes. That is a reality. It is not just due to politics, but also due to the weakness in society.”
Citing the example of someone from the weaving caste from Mysuru getting elected to the first Lok Sabha, Vadiraj said, “Today, no party is in a position to give a ticket to someone from the weaving community. Is this a problem with our politics, or our society?”
On the question of whether or not the British had helped marginalised people get an education, Vadiraj said that it was true to an extent. However, he pointed out that everyone did have access to gurukuls, but it was not widespread nor was it available in all villages.
Referring to a pillar in Kollur, Ajit said that he had heard that it was adivasis who had built the pillar which was immune to rust. “So who had the monopoly on metallurgy? It was adivasis,” he said.
To a question on debates on themes such as the north-south divide, Aryan-Dravidian, Kannada-Hindi, federalism, Ajit said that at present, society has the strength to “defeat wrong narratives” as people can cross-check something on their own.
Referring to the recent allegations of illegal mass burials in Dharmasthala, Ajit said, “It was impossible to convince the majority of people there was a big conspiracy (against Dharmasthala), because we are very emotional people. When you say that there is systematic conspiracy (against Dharmasthala), people will ask ‘Don’t you have women in your family?’ We have no answer to that.”
The right-wing and BJP leaders have claimed that there was a conspiracy to “defame” Dharmasthala after a man named Chinnaiah, a Dalit person who used to work at the Dharmasthala temple, alleged that he had buried many bodies in Dharmasthala village illegally. He has since retracted many of his allegations and is now accused of perjury. However, many activists and civil society groups are demanding an investigation into several unsolved rapes and murders in Dharmasthala and have alleged that powerful people have ensured that the real culprits have not been brought to book.
Ajit also mentioned the hate speech bill that was recently passed by both houses of the legislature and is now awaiting the Governor’s assent. “The intention is good, but things will depend on implementation,” Ajit.
He cited several cases against him, including one in which he was accused of using Pakistan’s flag to represent Indian Muslims.
“In a country where so many gods are worshipped, there needs to be clarity on whether calling gods other than one’s own as false, is hate speech. People in this country are idol worshippers. Is calling the worship of idols a sin a hate speech? Is saying that this country was ruined by ghee-eaters and not cow-eaters hate speech? There are people in this country who’ve made speeches saying that Shiva who lives in Kailas had one girlfriend on his lap and another on his head. Is that hate speech under the law?” Ajit said.
The day-long conclave also saw panels on “Decolonising Bharatiya minds”, “Media: Bharatiya ethos, constitution, democracy”, and “Media: pursuit of truth, catalysing social transformation”.