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Hindutva, Constitution and Dr Ambedkar

Hindutva, Constitution and Dr Ambedkar

Author: Ramesh Patange
Publication: Organiser
Date: January 23, 1994

"Here I do not enter into the merits of the Constitution. However good and faultless a constitution may be, but if those who implement it are incompetent and useless, that constitution results in an evil. Similarly however defective a constitution may be, but if its executors are good the same constitution results in the good of the people", such was the view expressed by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar while replying to the discussion on the Constitution on November 26, 1949. How prophetic onus his statement! The, Congress rulers during the last 40 years have made a travesty of the Constitution. They needlessly amended the original charter several times to perpetuate their single-party rule. Actually the Congress rulers have no moral right to speak on the sanctity of the Constitution.

Challenge to Congress

In recent years the Congress has been facing a formidable challenge from the protagonists of Hindutva. It must be noted that the Hindutva challenge is to the Congress, and not to the Constitution, the judiciary or the democratic system. But a systematic Goebellsian propaganda blitzkrieg is conducted by the Congress and those whose vested interests lie in perpetuating the Congress rule and the Congress culture to present Hindutva as the worst challenge to the Constitution. The vilification campaign is joined by all those who have an eye on the main chance, and the Congress party is the highest bidder. The Congress hangers-on have formed a Constitution Preservation committee as a part of this anti-Hindu propaganda campaign. Anything is grist for their propaganda mill. No falsehood or abuse is too base or too mean for them. They have no compunction to use shady methods. They argue: 1) The Sangh Parivar is out to scrap the Indian Constitution. 2) Its aim is to establish the system propounded by Manu. 3) If elected to power, Bharatiya Janata Party will rescind all legal provisions giving certain social rights to the dalits. 4) The dalits will again be dumped in the traditional ditch of untouchability and all the disabilities associated with it. The source of this offensive of falsehoods is fat from any love for the Constitution. The whole business springs from the single-point programme of perpetuation of the Congress rule, the sole host of these parasites. Political propaganda should be matched on a political plane.

Yet there is enough occasion to have a hard look at the issue in dispute, "Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Constitution and Hindutva". Let us first consider Hindutva.

Hindutva is, these days, being discussed from various angles. The dominant being the accusation that Hindutva is none else than the abuse of Hindutva for political mileage by Sangh Parivar. Even the courts of law have taken the stand that Hindutva is a religious concept. And following this elections of several Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies have been declared void. But Hindutva is not a mere religious concept. At least the Sangh Parivar does not subscribe to this view. Hindutva is a concept that is related to nationhood. The part "Hindu" in the word "Hindutva" is not used to denote a group of people following any particular way of worship. The late V.D. Savarkar has defined the word "Hindu" as "the one whose. country, India, spreads between the two seas and who regards it as his fatherland and sacred land".

(A sindhusindhuparyanta yasya Bharatabhumika pitribhuh punyabhushchaiva sa vai Hinduritismritah.)

In this interpretation Hindu is not defined as having faith in the Vedas, the Bhagavadgita and the Manusmriti. This deserves to be closely noted.

Guruji's thought

RSS has not defined Hindu, and Hindutva. But what the Sangh understands by these words has been amply clarified. Sangh believes Hindu to be a way of life. Guruji has stated regarding this way of life: "We have perceived the entire society as a body. It is the great social person (virat samajapurush). All men are indeed limbs and organs of the great social corpus spiritualis. Society as a mammoth humanoid body and the eternal undying spirit that dwells in that body and this realization is the specific and unique aspect of the Indian spiritual thinking. All existent objects, including all human beings are parts of that eternal existence. And that is the fount of the basic unity. Since the eternal spirit inform everyone in equal measure, the social system should be so organised as to make everyone happy. A social order where all will have equal self-interest."

Shri Guruji calls these "the principles of Hindu way of life". He further says: "The ever present principle of Hindu life, that one truth pervades in all, is the ultimate truth. That alone is the link that joins all. The self-same truth appears in diverse forms. Therefore it is our natural duty to create all manner of scope for all to lead their life according their diverse tastes". (Dishabodh)

It should be, noted that Shri Guruji does not define Hindu-Hindutva in religious terms. He does not link Hindutva with any specific method of worship. It should be appreciated that he sheds light on the fact that the substance of Hindutva relates to the wellbeing of mankind. The Sarsanghchalak Shri Balasaheb Deoras while addressing the Maharashtra State-level camp at Tuljai declared: "The Sangh goal is to create an egalitarian society free from exploitation."

The concept of Hindutva does not imply total trust in a single scripture, neither does it strictly adhere to a single religious regimen. It does not reserve all its faith for one Prophet, nor does it profess to tailor society to the measurements given by a religious tome. Deoras has elaborated the thoughts on social system intended in Hindutva in his book Hindu Organisation and Social Equality where he says: "Untouchability should be eradicated from our society permanently, It must go lock, stock and barrel. The Hindutva of the Sangh does not accept the sense of high and low based on caste. So there is no question of Sangh justifying the present caste inequality."

The Hindutva of the RSS-is not based on any religious sect, so it has no room for religious hatred against any sect. Guruji says: "There is a deliberate attempt to create confusion around the word Hindu. Some are driven by their selfish motives to describe Hindus as opposed to Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains and dalits.

They do not do this after any serious study of the issue. The Hindu thinking and the Hindu way of life have been in the world even before Islam and Christianity were yet to emerge. How could Hindus be against a religion that was not in existence, either Islam or Christianity? Sikhs, Jains, etc. are indeed under the general conceptual umbrella of Hinduism. To oppose them is a indulge in suicidal attempt to cut one's limbs. The term Hindu is never used to oppose or discriminate against any sect. The term is a positive one and could never be construed to mean anything negative.

Constitutional idealism

While discussing the Constitution, one has to bear in mind this wider meaning of the term Hindutva. Our Constitution has three types of idealism. The political idealism, social idealism and economic idealism. The blend of these three ideals becomes the national idealism. The Constitution explains to us the objectives to be kept always before our eyes in the context of individual-society relationship.

The freedom struggle was not at all limited to political freedom only. India aimed at three kinds of freedom. The political freedom was to be followed by social and economic freedoms. The great leaders at the helm of the freedom struggle had mainly the Hindu society before, their vision. The Muslim community did not fully participate in the freedom struggle. Muslim leaders were without any big following. There was hardly any Muslim League representative in the Constituent Assembly. The kind of political freedom the leaders in the freedom struggle had envisaged is reflected in the Constitution in the form of the fundamental rights. This freedom was not demanded by the Muslims. Because their overwhelming majority had demanded a separate land for Muslims. And the factor of social freedom in the struggle for the freedom of the country was a hundred-per-cent Hindu social reform movement. Untouchability, social inequality, traditional superstition, injustice to women, child-marriage, widow remarriage an so on and so forth were all issues of social reforms in Hindu society. The incursion of social justice in the Constitution is the outcome of these agitations for social reforms. The demand for the country's liberation from the foreign economic yoke and all-out efforts for gaining that were the activities of Hindus. Though the Parsis like Jamshedji Tata and Dadabhoy Naoroji were at the forefront of the country's economic liberation they were different only in their manner of worship. They were in fact a factor in the all-round movement for economic emancipation carried out by Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Lalchand Hirachand in their own way. The economic ideal enshrined in the Constitution is the fruit of their efforts.

Because the ideals of political, social and economic liberaties are enshrined in the Constitution the responsibility for their fulfillment devolves on the government machinery and the citizens are granted some of these liberties in the form of the fundamental rights. All these are intended to achieve the goal of highest interests and welfare of the people, and therefore Hindutva cannot have any quarrel with these.

The ideals cherished by the founding fathers of the Constitution are clearly indicated in the preamble which (before the 42nd amendment) says,

Preamble

WE, THE PEOPLE OF India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPILIBLIC and to secure to all citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity', and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation.

The noble ideals included in the Constitution, if viewed uninhibited by political considerations and those of Hindutva, would appear to have no contradictions. Hindutva does not deny individual liberty, equality and fraternity. It also does not deprive anyone of his freedom of worship. The founding fathers of our Constitution felt that such ideals must be enshrined in our Constitution, because they were deeply impressed by Indian traditions in social thought. In this context Dr Ambedkar's interpretation is very significant. He says: "I have not borrowed liberty, equality and fraternity from the French Revolution. I have learnt them from the teachings of Lord Buddha. To allow every person to adopt a way of worship dictated by his conscience is in the best of Hindu tradition. It is not in the Hindu tradition to oppress anyone only because he happens to worship his lord in a different manner. This has been beautifully expressed in the Mahimnastotra which says: "O Lord, you are the destination of all people reaching you by various ways, straight or crooked according to their taste as waters of various rivers flowing whichever way reach the sea." The Constitution also merely paraphrases the contents of this stotra (praise to Lord).

Social justice

The social ideals of our Constitution are as important as the political ones. There was dual slavery in our country. One political and the other social. Under the social slavery it was mainly the scheduled castes which were trampled under the injustices by higher castes. They had no political or social rights. Their lowest state in society was determined by their birth. Great savants raised a relentless revolt against this social slavery prevalent in the Hindu society. Sages like Maharshi Dayanand, social reformers like Mahatma Phule, political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Swatantrya Veer Savarkar ceaselessly agitated against this social slavery. Ambedkar fought the final battle against the Hindu society. The strugglers reflected in our Constitution.

"I entered the Constituent Assembly safeguard the interests of the dalits", said Dr Ambedkar while explaining his purpose in joining the Constituent Assembly. He further stated: "I did not go there to draft the Constitution. But that responsibility crane upon me for certain reasons. It is a matter of pride for me to have been associated with the architects of the Constitution." Dr Ambedkar's is the lion's share in clearly defining the social and economic ideals in our Constitution. Article 17 of the Constitution eradicates untouchability. Article 15 guarantees that no discrimination would be allowed on the basis of religion race, caste, gender or domicile. Article 16 guarantees that the State will grant equal opportunities to all citizens. And the same Article 16 makes provision for reservations for the backward people.

Political democracy

This is a special feature of our Constitution. All adults enjoy the right to vote. All votes are of equal weightage. This right of the citizens is very important and this has invested the common man with full control on the State power. With the ballot-power the Constitution itself grants to the majority of the citizens the power to rule. To extend the right to select their rulers to the common people is politically a revolutionary measure. Politicians playing caste-card organise their parties on various caste-lines and try to acquire majority. The Ahirs, the Jats, the Rajputs, the Yadavs, the dalits and the Muslims are yoked together to present what is named as Bahujan Samaj. But this is an election strategy. Some others try to garner castes other than the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas and the Kayasthas, and try to present them as Bahujan Samaj.

But Hindutva is opposed to such fissiparous business of strengthening divisive caste sentiments through politician means because a very narrow sentiment is detrimental to national unity. The political organisation of the Indian society should be undertaken on the basis of the wide and comprehensive content of Hindutva explained at the beginning of this article. If caste is conceived as the basis of political activity the hallowed social ideals in the Constitution would be gathering dust in the statute. The protagonists of Hindutva in the widest ken of the term-aspire to bring a Hindu-again in the wide connotation-rule in the country. The adult franchise granted in the Constitution is bound to result in the majority rule, i.e., Hindu rule. No one can change this foregone conclusion. The limited demand of the Hindutva protagonists is that those politicians who play caste politics, who foster communal division for their politician ends and who deny the just share of the national life to the dalits and the backward sections of society should not be allowed to usurp power by fomenting fissiparous, communal and caste passions. Hindutvists are not opposed to the principle of political democracy consecrated in the Constitution. Their objection and opposition is to the policies of implementing the democracy promoted by political parties with their eye on the main chance without any compunction regarding national interests.

Economic Justice

Our Constitution has vowed to render economic justice to all citizens. The directive principles laid down in the Constitution have recorded the economic goals to be achieved by the States. Article 36 to 51 comprise such directive principles, Two of them are relevant for the purpose of our discussion here. Article 38 enjoins on the State to establish a social system which will ensure social, political and economic justice to its citizens. Article 39 directs the State to formulate policies of distribution of physical means which will result in the greatest good of all and will provide adequate means of livelihood to all its citizens, men and women. The principle of equal remuneration for equal work should be implemented. The States should not allow centralisation of wealth and the means of-production which harm the society. A part from these, there are other directives which have extensively discussed the responsibilities of the States regarding adult education, unemployment, children, women, etc, and how the States should execute these responsibilities. The administrators and the government are guided by these directive principles to achieve, the goals included in the preamble of the Constitution. Dr Ambedkar in commenting on this says: "These directive principles are not mere decorative pieces showing noble sentiments. The executive and the judiciary should keep those principles in their minds while taking any decisions in future."

The economic ideals in the Constitution guide the States in their actions in the relevant field. In the present age the government field of action is not limited to maintaining peace and order. It will be seen that these ideals are but the concrete form of the Hindu directive principle":

Sarvepi sukhinah santu, sarve santu niramayah, sarve bhadrani pashyantu ma kashchit duhkhabhag bhavet - (Let all be happy and healthy. Let all see the vision of universal wellbeing. Let no one suffer miseries.) if liberty and equality are to materialise in the practical life of the people then economic justice should be granted to all without exception. All the rights enumerated in the Constitution are swallowed by the enormous dragon of poverty and destitution. Dr Ambedkar says: "On 26 January 1950, India will awake in political freedom, but in the social and economic field the darkness of inequality will persist. We must strive to remove this contradiction between political freedom and economic and social bondage, as soon as possible. If we do not succeed in removing this contradiction betimes, then those masses who are the victims of this contradiction will certainly raze to ground the lofty edifice of political democracy, the Constituent Assembly has so painstakingly and assiduously erected."

Hindutvists have never suggested that the State may deny economic equality-economic justice. On the contrary they have for so long been opposing those very policies that have impaired economic justice. Because the political policies so far carried out have denied this very economic justice to the masses, the rich have snowballed into affluent giants, the poor have been lowered into utter destitution. The directive principles have evaporated in their implementation. The State apparatus has installed and operated an economic machinery that diligently preserves the vested interests of a particular tiny but powerful group. The country is groaning under the unbearable load of foreign debt. Indigenous industries are facing insurmountable difficulties created by multi-nationals riding on the backs of the ruling coterie. The economic policies that help these multinationals to ascend the ruling backs are wrong. And so these policies should be opposed. Opposition to these policies cannot be construed to mean opposition to economic ideals enshrined in the Constitution.

Framework of Constitution

The Hindutva ideology is not in conflict with the framework of the Constitution that lays down the political, economic and social ideals and the ideals regarding freedom of worship. The foregoing discussion would have brought to light two reasons for this. One, the framework of Constitution upholds certain guiding principles and these principles are but a reflection of the noblest ideals held dear for centuries by Indian thinkers. And two, the Hindutva philosophy has already assimilated the ideals our Constitution so explicitly proclaims. Therefore the Hindutva protagonists have no warrant to wage a war against the lofty values they have cherished all their life.

Congress and Constitution

The malicious, mendacious and mean campaign to malign the Hindutva camp springs from causes that are far from the high plane of the directive principles. These are: One for the last several decades the Congress has been operating the Constitution for its narrow political ends. There is nowhere any proof of Congress efforts to bring into practice the noble values enshrined in our Constitution. Whenever their was imminent threat to the Congress hold on political power, the Congress has never flinched from abusing and wrongfully amending the Sections of the Constitution to save its rule from being overthrown. In 1969 the threat to Indira Gandhi's premiership was staring in the face. So she abused the economic ideal of the Constitution to nationalize the banks and abolish the privy purses of the native princes and shouted from the house-tops the fraudulent slogan of "Garibi Hatao". In 1975 she was again threatened with loss of her seat in the Lok Sabha; she took recourse to the Emergency, abrogated fundamental rights granted by the Constitution, amended the very preamble by interpolating the words "secular" and "socialist". The Constitution cannot slap any specific restricting ideology on the society. The State cannot be bound by such partisan ideology. Dr Ambedkar astutely skirted these two words but equally sagely incorporated the ideas of freedom of worship and economic justice. He intended to ensconce the soul of these ideas, whereas the late prime minister, Indira Gandhi wanted to use these words as catch-words to attract and abuse popular sentiments without granting anything of substance. For, the Congress programme for the last over four decades had nothing really secular or really socialistic. This travesty of the directive principles is a fradulent breach of the sanctity of the Constitution. The Hindutvists' present struggle is against the Congress. But how can the fight against the Congress be considered as a fight against Constitution? The, propaganda that the Hindutvists are opposed to the Constitution is politically motivated to save the Congress rule.

The Congress ploy of perpetuating its rule by telling its beads in Dr Ambedkar's name will fool nobody, and nobody should be fooled.
 


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