India News | Ambedkar's Contribution to India Were 'downplayed', Says TN Guv
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Friday said the contributions of Bharat Ratna B R Ambedkar to India were downplayed by 'some' people and he was reduced to a 'caste' leader.
Chennai, Apr 14 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Friday said the contributions of Bharat Ratna B R Ambedkar to India were downplayed by 'some' people and he was reduced to a 'caste' leader.
Ambedkar was not appreciated for his contributions, but 'some' people felt that if a leader like Baba Saheb gets 'light', others would become 'less' important, Ravi said in his address at an event here to commemorate the birth anniversary of the stalwart.
"His (Ambedkar's) contribution what all he did, they were downplayed and he was reduced to a caste leader as if he was a scheduled caste leader," he said.
Praising Ambedkar as one of the greatest sons of India and an 'intellectual giant', Ravi said, "we all try to interpret him, understand him, according to our own understanding. Sometimes it looks like blind men trying to interpret an elephant. He was such a large personality."
"Unfortunately, the country after the British left, our people downplayed him and his contributions so much so that a person who dedicated his life, he wrote so much against the caste system. Our people have reduced him to a caste leader, very unfortunate.." the Governor said.
Ambedkar was such a personality that many leaders of his time felt threatened intellectually by the genius of this great man, he recalled.
"Ambedkar was such a great visionary and people all talk about Baba Saheb as he is fondly called giving us a great constitution," he said and noted that the beauty of the constitution was its solid framework offering so much flexibility.
Ravi recollected that during his tenure as an IPS officer in the North East, various 'insurgent' outfits backed by 'foreign powers' tried to come up with demands, including secession from India.
"We were looking for solutions within the Constitution of India because that (demand) is non-negotiable. The two things which are non-negotiable are territorial integrity of India and the constitutional framework that we have. Anything possible is only within this (framework)," he said.
"When we looked at it (constitutional framework), we were amazed at the provisions that he made into the constitution so that it caters to the needs of the future, the unforeseen future.."
As India's freedom struggle was gaining momentum, Ravi said the British promoted race theory and separated Muslims and Hindus, saying they were different and cannot co-exist.
Before the partition of India, the Britishers partioned Bengal on the lines of Muslims and Hindu and when the country resisted it, the Britishers played a 'master stroke' by offering to create a separate electorate for the 'downtrodden', he noted.
They separated Hindus and Muslims into two political constituencies and tried to divide the society into dalits and non-dalits, down trodden, schedule castes and others.
It was Sardar Vallabhai Patel who united the country after the departure of the British in 1947, he said and wondered what would have happened to India if the Britishers had succeeded in their attempts.
Referring to the 1932 Poona Act signed by Ambedkar and Gandhi, he said, "Baba Saheb told Mahatma Gandhi that we will stand together against the British design (on separate electorate for SC) and we will not let our society be divided," Ravi said.
"Now, we often, do not appreciate the contribution of such a great man (Ambedkar), because some people felt that if a leader like Baba Saheb gets light, others would become less important. So his contribution what all he did, they were downplayed and he was reduced to a caste leader as if he was a scheduled caste leader," he rued.
The governor urged the students to commit themselves to transforming India into what Ambedkar had dreamt of, a strong united country, a leader of the world, which leads the world in all aspects for the good of the humanity.
Born in 1891 in Maharashtra, Ambedkar rose from a humble background to become a leading voice of the marginalised people during the freedom struggle and is credited with introducing several social reforms.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)