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.