Zee JLF | Ambedkar, his legacy seize the moment

Day two of ZeeJLF, which coincided with Republic Day — the day the Indian Constitution came into effect, fittingly began with a session on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of the Constitution.

What was the legacy of Ambedkar today, especially his role in shaping the Constitution, and the direction it gave to the nation; the reservation policy; the bid to bring in social, economic and political equality — these were the subjects of the discussion among a heavyweight panel, comprising Christophe Jaffrelot, French-origin political scientist, newspaper columnist and writer of several books on Ambedkar, caste and politics in contemporary India; former UGC chairman Sukhadeo Thorat: Chintan Chandrachud, a lawyer who has written a book on the history of the Constitution; and Manoranjan Byapari, an eminent Dalit writer from Bengal.

Chadrachud felt that Ambedkar's biggest contribution lay in Article 32, which gives citizens the right to approach the Supreme Court to enforce the fundamental rights; and in the lengthy and detailed nature of the Constitution. The Indian Constitution he said had been amended around a hundred times, far less than the number in many countries like Mexico.

"Ambedkar felt that political democracy would have no meaning without economic and social democracy," Thorat said. "Without the latter," he added, "poverty would eat away all the equalities." He also highlighted Ambedkar's contribution in almost every important national debate that rose in India between 1920 and 1956, the year he died. "Labour laws, water and power policy, the Hindu code Bill, the reorganisation of states, and Pakistan — he wrote on all these," Thorat said.

Jaffrelot, joining debate with the critics of reservation, said, "Where are the Dalits in the media and private sector, where reservations don't apply? Nowhere." Pointing out that Ambedkar had formed a political party, the Republican Party of India, the same year that he converted to Buddhism, Jaffrelot said, "He clearly felt that party politics and conversion had to go together. Ambedkar was a liberal who believed in non-violence but many of his followers have lost hope and turned to Naxalism. I feel this is an India that Ambedkar would not have recognised."

"Political parties have tended to use Dalits and Muslims and women like the jackal in the fairy tale who pulled out a single crocodile to fool his audience. All our political parties, including the Communist parties, have upper caste leaders at the top," said Byapari, making an impassioned speech towards the end of the session. "Even the educated members among the Scheduled Castes and Tribes haven't done anything for the uplift of their brethren, as Ambedkar had envisioned."