Political parties today are letting ambedkar down

Political parties today are letting ambedkar down

Political parties acknowledge Babasaheb in perfunctory ways on special days associated with him mostly because Dalits, who revere him, constitute an influential votebank. But neither BJP nor AAP has lived up to what it says on Ambedkar in the Rajendra Pal.

The controversy over AAP minister Rajendra Pal Gautam’s presence at a Dalit conversion rally in Delhi last week and his resignation in the aftermath reveal the double speak of political parties who invoke Babasaheb Ambedkar’s ideals and claim him as their icon. Gautam got into trouble after the BJP released a video clip that revealed his presence at the meet where hundreds of Dalits embraced Buddhism. The BJP accused Gautam of speaking against Hindu gods and demanded that he be sacked from the Kejriwal government. On Sunday, Gautam resigned from the Delhi cabinet.

In his letter of resignation, Gautam said he was quitting the ministry to shield the party and the chief minister from the attack of the BJP. However, his exit as social welfare minister was foretold after his party refused to stand by him. Gautam had said he attended the meeting in his individual capacity. Attendees at the conversion rally recited the 22 vows formulated by Babasaheb, including one that asks new converts to Buddhism to pledge that they will not henceforth worship Hindu gods. The vows are an essential part of the Ambedkarite path to liberation, which includes adoption of the way of the Buddhist Dhamma. Since the BJP and AAP claim to be guided and inspired by Ambedkar and pay loud obeisance to him, they must clarify where they stand on his liberal vision that respects the right of the individual to leave and adopt any faith, which he also enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The fact is that political parties acknowledge Ambedkar in perfunctory ways on special days associated with him mostly because Dalits, who revere him, constitute an influential votebank. Beyond such acts of tokenism, parties, be it AAP or BJP, refuse to follow or practise Ambedkar’s radical worldview that privileges the agency and dignity of the individual and rejects all forms of oppression. This, perhaps, explains why Dalits continue to face caste-based exclusion and violence despite a Constitution that upholds the principles of equality and fraternity.

The targeting of Gautam must also be seen in the context of the political campaign in Gujarat, where assembly elections are due later this year. Both the BJP and AAP are squaring off in the state over their commitment to “Hindu” causes. The BJP wants to frame Gautam’s presence at the Dalit rally as evidence of the AAP’s “animosity” towards Hindus whereas the AAP fears that a public defence of Gautam could be a ruse for shifting the poll debate to issues of religious identity. Whatever their reasons, in the present controversy, neither party has lived up to what it says on Ambedkar.