We have Gandhi..'the father of the nation' on one side and on the other side, Ambedkar..'the father of indian constitution'. Both have contributed immensely to the nation especially in the case of upliftment of dalits and yet both have different ideologies fot the same issue.There has always been debates on gandhian idea of a human society and ambedkar's revolutionary idea of social justice at all cost.
Among those who contributed to the social advancements of harijans, Gandhi and Ambedkar were the most important. Gandhi, who came from a cast of vaishya status,approached the problem from the standpoint of an uppercaste hindu who wanted to eliminate untouchability from the society , while Ambedkar identified himself with the struggle against the exploitation of supposed lowercaste. He was convinced that the problem was a part of hinduism and was enshrined in its sacred scriptures. Gandhi may be seen as coming from the dominant section of hindu society, believed that a change of heart on the part of the caste hindus could revitalise hinduism and permit the development of a varna system where all sections would be equal while Ambedkar mainly represented mahars and for him untouchability and hinduism were inextricably interwoven.
Through calling untouchables Harijan (children of God) Gandhi attempted to give them a new self-res[pect. For Ambedkar, equality did not stop with all varnas bieng equal. When he advocated equality, he referred to equality in the economic, political, and social spheres. He was largely responsible for creating reservations for untouchables in the civil society, legislature and higher education. But more importantly his major contribution was to have emphasised action from below : that political organisation was indispensible to securing justice and basic human rights. While Ambedkar sought legal remedies along with political power for upliftment of dalits, Gandhi wished to eradicate the problem by pricking the conscience of the upper castes. He felt that law imposed from the top woud invite backlash dividing tthe caste-ridden society even more. He advocated uppercastes cleaning their own toilets. He believed that no government can provide emplyment to every citizen, considering the huge population of India. Hence caste based vocations such as weaving and shoemaking should continue as they provided self-employment.
Ambedkar was clear that, as hindus , the untouchables could not hope to be treated as equals with the rest. He therefore advocated another identity through conversion to Buddhism.
Among those who contributed to the social advancements of harijans, Gandhi and Ambedkar were the most important. Gandhi, who came from a cast of vaishya status,approached the problem from the standpoint of an uppercaste hindu who wanted to eliminate untouchability from the society , while Ambedkar identified himself with the struggle against the exploitation of supposed lowercaste. He was convinced that the problem was a part of hinduism and was enshrined in its sacred scriptures. Gandhi may be seen as coming from the dominant section of hindu society, believed that a change of heart on the part of the caste hindus could revitalise hinduism and permit the development of a varna system where all sections would be equal while Ambedkar mainly represented mahars and for him untouchability and hinduism were inextricably interwoven.
Through calling untouchables Harijan (children of God) Gandhi attempted to give them a new self-res[pect. For Ambedkar, equality did not stop with all varnas bieng equal. When he advocated equality, he referred to equality in the economic, political, and social spheres. He was largely responsible for creating reservations for untouchables in the civil society, legislature and higher education. But more importantly his major contribution was to have emphasised action from below : that political organisation was indispensible to securing justice and basic human rights. While Ambedkar sought legal remedies along with political power for upliftment of dalits, Gandhi wished to eradicate the problem by pricking the conscience of the upper castes. He felt that law imposed from the top woud invite backlash dividing tthe caste-ridden society even more. He advocated uppercastes cleaning their own toilets. He believed that no government can provide emplyment to every citizen, considering the huge population of India. Hence caste based vocations such as weaving and shoemaking should continue as they provided self-employment.
Ambedkar was clear that, as hindus , the untouchables could not hope to be treated as equals with the rest. He therefore advocated another identity through conversion to Buddhism.
Do you have any supporting evidence for the " conversion to buddhism " statement ?
ReplyDeleteyes..he converted to buddhism on 14th oct,1956 at Deekshabhoomi, nagpur. before doing that he wrote many books like:sidhartha gautam, campaign on conversion,what the buddha taught,religion and dhamma, etc.
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