Today,
December 6, is the death anniversary (Parinirvan Diwas) of Babasaheb B.R.
Ambedkar (April 14, 1891 – December 6, 1956), the greatest son of India in
contemporary times. It is a matter of gratification to note that as time passes,
the relevance of Ambedkar becomes more pronounced both in the realm of India as
a nation and also Indians as a society. He was a visionary in the true sense.
Ambedkar may have been an iconic dalit leader but he belongs to the whole
nation rather than just the dalits.
I
would like to bring one point of Dr. Ambedkar’s thinking into focus. The
political life in India is increasingly getting dirty and criminalized. It is a
matter of concern and worry to all.
Ambedkar while commenting on the qualifications of a Member of
Parliament said “The education can hardly be the sole qualification for
membership of parliament. If I may use the words of Buddha he said that man
required two things, one is Gyan and the other is Sheel. Gyan without Sheel is
very dangerous. It must be accompanied by Sheel by which we mean character,
moral courage, ability to be independent of any kind of temptation and truthful
to ones ideals. I am very keen to see that no member enters this august
assembly who does not possess Sheel in an adequate degree” One may easily see
the relevance of Ambedkar in the light of present day’s requirement of
cleansing politics in India. Our social and political activists like Anna
Hazare should take some clue from Ambedkar’s thoughts in spearheading their
struggle for a clean administration.
India
is yet to pay its debt of gratitude to Babasaheb Ambedkar in full measure. Some
of the foreign organizations have started doing so. According to media reports,
which did not get much attention in India, recently Columbia University of the
USA, in celebrating its 250th anniversary, has issued a list of 100 personalities
worldwide who were the alumni of the University and made their mark in shaping
the destiny of millions in their own
countries and otherwise. The name of Ambedkar tops the list and rightly so. Dr.
Ambedkar studied at Columbia University from 1913-1915. It is a great tribute
to India and its greatest son.
On his Punya Tithi, I bow to the proud son of India, Dr. Ambedkar.When we look back at the life and times of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, we will see that he is a story of unmatched determination, an unbreakable commitment towards social justice and the courage to overcome every obstacle in pursuit of fulfilling the goal. In light of the latest house listing and Housing Census 2011 data will continue to embarrass the government for its failure to eliminate manual scavenging. One of the figures captured in this Census data on
ReplyDeletehouseholds lists 8 lakh people engaged in clearing night soil by hand. It is ironical that as the nation paid tribute to Dr. Ambedkar for his efforts to uplift the Dalits, little progress has been noticed in issues dearer to his heart.
thanks mohit. you are right that manual scavenging is a disgrace and below human dignity. it shall stop forthwith.
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