Remembering Babasaheb

Dr. KS Raghavan

Today (April 14) we observe the Birth Anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar. He will be long remembered for his efforts to uplift the downtrodden. More importantly, he will be remembered for his strong condemnation of the caste system which is a part and parcel of Hinduism.

You will find below a few of his comments and observations on the subject. These observations have withstood the test of time. If anything, they are even more relevant today than about eighty years back. Thanks to our politicians and the Vote Bank politics the caste system has taken stronger roots.

In Hinduism, conscience, reason, and independent thinking have no scope for development.

Indians today are governed by different ideologies. Their political ideal set in the Preamble of the Constitution affirms a life of liberty, equality and fraternity. Their social ideal embodied in their religion denies them.

Caste is not just a division of labour; it is a division of labourers.

Religion must mainly be a matter of principles only. It cannot be a matter of rules. The moment it degenerates into rules, it ceases to be a religion, as it kills responsibility which is an essence of the true religious act.

So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.

The sovereignty of scriptures of all religions must come to an end if we want to have a united integrated modern India.

I was born a Hindu because I had no control over this, but I shall not die a Hindu.

The foregoing quotes are just a few of his sayings. But I feel that they are enough to inspire those who are progressive minded and wish to see positive change in our social and political structure.

13-Apr-2014

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