THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK-
Dr. Ramjilal, Social Scientist, Former Principal, Dyal Singh College, Karnal (Haryana – India)
[email protected]
The process of nation-building in every country is influenced by socio-economic, political, and religious structures. India is a vast country in which there are numerous diversities on the basis of religion, caste, language, region, and culture. These diversities strengthen the processes of Indian nationalism and Indian nation-building on the one hand and weaken them on the other. If the principle of unity in diversity is adopted, then a strong nation can be built on the basis of goodwill, harmony, and cooperation in such a diverse country. And if hatred and narrow-mindedness develop among them, then there can be obstacles in the process of nation-building.
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who was not only the architect of the Constitution and the father of the Constitution but was also a leading nation-builder, considered discrimination and inequality, blind devotion and hero worship in politics, bloody revolutions, non-cooperation movements, Satyagraha, economic inequality, Hindu Raj and Hindu nationalism, illiteracy, casteism, untouchability, etc. as destructive obstacles in the process of nation-building.
The history of casteism in India is thousands of years old. According to the Rigveda, there are four castes in India: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. Shudra caste means servant or untouchable. Shudra caste has been compared to the feet of a person’s body. Among these four castes, Brahmin has been placed at the highest position and Shudra at the lowest position. The thousands-year-old system gradually changed into various castes, sub-castes, gotras, religions, and sects. At present, the number of scheduled castes is 1108, the number of scheduled tribes is 730 (Census 2011), and the number of backward classes is 5013. (Dainik Tribune (Chandigarh). 27 February 2021. P. 8). Similarly, the terminology of ‘Shudra’ has also changed. Dr. Ambedkar was a staunch opponent of the Manuwadi and Brahminist Indian social systems.
Dr. Ambedkar wrote very clearly about ‘Hindu society’ in the editorial (31 January 1920) of the first issue of his first Marathi fortnightly newspaper Mooknayak (The Leader of Voiceless):
‘Hindu society emphasise is a tower, and each caste is a floor of this tower. It is worth noting that this tower does not have stairs; there is no way to go from one floor (caste) to another. Whoever is born in a particular caste dies in the same caste. No matter how capable a person from the lower caste is, it is not possible for him to enter the upper caste, and no matter how unworthy a person from the upper caste is, no one has the courage to push him to the lower caste”.
Dr. Ambedkar considered this Chaturvarna system to be destructive, violent, exploitative, and extremely dangerous. He said that this system developed conservatism, superstitions, and such traditions, which resulted in the exploitation of the working class. The protectors of this system have destroyed humanity by exploiting the common man, especially the Dalits, and enslaving people. The enslaved people kept getting their heads chopped off by their own weapons, kept doing slavery, kept producing crops by ploughing, and kept dying of hunger themselves. This system never gave time to convert the ploughshares into swords. They did not have any weapons or organisation. This system reduced the Dalits and the weak moribund and destroyed their power to revolt. Practised As a result, India never witnessed a social revolution like it did in European countries. Dr. Ambedkar believed that until a social revolution takes place in India, exploitation will not end despite many laws and provisions of the Constitution, and the Dalits and the working class (proletariat class) will continue to be exploited. In short, the Dalits and the exploited class, that is, the working class, were exploited, are exploited, and will continue to be exploited.
practised According to Dr. Ambedkar, ‘untouchability is worse than slavery’. Untouchability caused by casteism and the Varna system is considered inhuman, unscientific, immoral, divisive, and narrow. Untouchability is not only practised by the so-called upper castes but also exists among the Dalit castes. For example, throughout India, the Chamar caste considers the Valmiki caste to be inferior. In Uttar Pradesh, the Jatav (Chamar) considers itself superior to the Valmiki caste and the Valmiki to be superior to the Musahar caste. In Maharashtra, the Mhar caste considers itself superior to other Dalit castes. Similarly, the Valmiki caste considers itself superior to the Basod caste. Therefore, this hierarchical system exists even among the Dalits. This is what Dr. Ambedkar called ‘graded inequality’. We want to emphasise that due to untouchability and discrimination, the 1108 Dalit castes are not a ‘homogeneous group’.
Dr. Ambedkar considered casteism based on the Chaturvarna system to be harmful in the path of national unity, national integration, nation-building, and national development. Casteism based on the Varna system is a big obstacle in the integration of Indian society. National unity and integrity depend on the unity and integrity of the society. When society is divided on the basis of hierarchy in different castes, then unity can never be established in that society. Casteism is considered a big obstacle in the economic, social, and political development of India. When society is divided on the basis of high and low, then in such a situation, ‘Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Saath’ or self-reliance of the individual’ is a fantasy. Dr. Ambedkar, while opposing casteism and the Chaturvarna system, said in clear words that this system has not made anyone superior, nor is capable of making anyone superior. Economic ability does not come from casteism. Casteism has definitely done one thing: it has divided the Hindus and corrupted them’.
On 21 March 2023, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Government of India, Ajay Kumar, while answering Question No. 3443 on the basis of data collected by NCRB, said in the Lok Sabha that 42,793 cases of atrocities and violence against Dalit castes were registered in the police stations of India in 2018, 45,961 in 2019, 50,291 in 2020, and 50,900 in 2021. According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) ‘Crime in India’ report (year 2022), a total of 57,582 cases were registered in police stations for committing crimes against Scheduled Castes (SC); the continuous increase in incidents of atrocities against Dalit classes is a matter of concern. Even after 75 years of the implementation of the Constitution, people of the Dalit class have to suffer various types of violence. In short, according to the thinking of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, casteism based on the Chaturvarna system is the biggest obstacle in nation-building.
According to the thinking of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, casteism based on the Chaturvarna system is the biggest obstacle in nation-building. To end casteism, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar suggested that in order to become homogeneous among the Dalit castes, inter-caste marriages and inter-caste feasts should be organised. When the Dalits adopt this concept, then inter-caste marriages and inter-caste feasts should be organised among other castes as well. To establish unity among different castes, many politicians had also formed caste-breaking boards to break the caste system. But in practice, success was not achieved. At present, only about 5 percent of inter-caste marriages take place in India. Tired of the caste system, in order to eradicate casteism completely, he declared in 1936 regarding religious conversion that ‘though I am born a Hindu, I will not die as a Hindu’, and in the last phase of his life, on 14 October 1956, at Nagpur’s Deekshabhoomi, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar accepted Buddhism along with 3 lakh to 5 lakh of his followers. This is the first example of such a large number of religious conversions in a single day in the history of India.
In short, the Chaturvarna system and casteism are deeply ingrained in Hindu culture and Hinduism, which has turned Hindu society into a group of castes with their own selfish interests instead of an organised community. Dr. Ambedkar believes that true social reform and nation-building are impossible without abolishing the caste structure. Ultimately, the Chaturvarna system and casteism are anti-social and harmful for nation-building and social progress.
(This is the most important part of the detailed speech delivered on the topic ‘Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar: The Incomparable Builder of India’ at I.B. College, Panipat, on 24th February 2025. I express my gratitude to the principal, Dr. Shashi Prabha Malik and Vice principal, Dr. Kiran Sachdeva Madan (my former student), teaching staff and students.)
