UP govt adds 'Ramji' to BR Ambedkar's name: BJP won't succeed in hijacking Babasaheb for caste politics, say experts

UP govt adds 'Ramji' to BR Ambedkar's name: BJP won't succeed in hijacking Babasaheb for caste politics, say experts

 Sulekha Nair Apr 02, 2018 18:55:14 IST

The Uttar Pradesh government has tried to usurp Babasaheb Ambedkar as a Hindu icon, by highlighting his father's name, Ramji. The Yogi Adityanath-led dispensation has decided to introduce Ambedkar's middle name 'Ramji' in all references to him in state's official correspondence and records.

Ambedkar, revered and loved by the Dalit community for giving the ostracised and marginalised community in India a special status, cannot be 'bought' over by upper caste Hindus for narrow political gains, say academics, scholars and politicians.

What irks many when asked about the Uttar Pradesh government's insistence on highlighting Ambedkar's father's name is why such an issue is being raised today, 71 years after Independence, when caste issues continue to boil over at the slightest pretext across the country. Recall the recent statement by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to his counterpart in Karnataka, Siddharamaih, challenging him to ban beef"if he was a Hindu" or the Bhima-Koregaon violence and the subsequent protests in Maharashtra that created a furore in Parliament as well. So much so that Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify his stand on the issue.

Some experts refrained from giving their names but expressed their views anonymously. An academic from Delhi said it 'baffled' him how anyone thought calling Ambedkar by his father's name would change anything.

"Have we solved all the issues in the country or in Uttar Pradesh for that matter? People can see through this selective picking up of icons to further politicians' agenda," he added.

"Buddhism does not believe in one way of worship. So, if some people want to highlight one part of Ambedkar's name, it is alright. It won't diminish his iconic status in the hearts and minds of the people who hold him dear," said Professor Mahesh Deokar, head, department of Sanskrit and Pali, Pune University. Ambedkar's followers are mostly Buddhists.

However, some experts like Yogesh Maitreya, a poet and translator and the founder of Panther's Paw Publication, an anti-caste publishing house, is surprised by BJP's 'tried-and-failed' political methods.

The government tries and hijacks Ambedkar when they want to, he said. "Showing gratitude to Ambedkar when Modi became the prime minister to changing the syllabus in schools to rewrite history. Now, Ambedkar is being used to play the 'Ram' placard," he added.

He said he was waiting for the day when the government would focus on the 'real' issues affecting the scheduled castes like the 'Bhima-Koregaon incident, atrocities on men and women and student scholarship issues (remember Rohith Vemula, Kanhaiyalal)'.

"People want security. They are not overly interested in the highlighting of a name of their icon, which is being done for narrow political gains in Uttar Pradesh," Maitreya said.

Concurring with Maitreya, veteran Dalit leader JV Pawar and vice-president of the Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh (BBMS), said the move by the Adityanath government is clear: To fix Uttar Pradesh's vote bank. For this, Pawar said, Adityanath was willing to tell a lie. "Ambedkar was important during pre-Independence and continues to be held in high respect by his followers and scholars alike. The Uttar Pradesh government is indulging in lies," he said.

Pawar pointed out that Adityanath's claim that as per Constitution exhibit number eight, the signature of BR Ambedkar reads Bhimji Ramji Ambedkar is false. “The exhibit serial number 24 segment is well-known and is signed as BR Ambedkar and Bhi Ra Ambedkar in Devanagari," he explained.

What is curious about this highlighting of Ambedkar's name is that it is being changed only in Uttar Pradesh. 'Ramji' was the name of Ambedkar's father and as per practice in Maharashtra, father's name is used as the middle name by his son.

Pawar asks why is that only in UP, the BJP wants the name to be mentioned as so and not pan-India. “There are so many problems in UP. A Dalit youth was brutally beaten with sticks and kicked around by a group of three men in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, after being forced to chant Jai Mata Di. Should these not be the issues the government should focus upon?" he asks.

However, Ambedkar’s relatives and those heading political parties are clear that this 'political' game by Adityanath and the BJP will fail. "The BJP has lost its ground in Uttar Pradesh and wants to revive the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. They are using Ambedkar's name for it," said Dr Prakash Ambedkar, national leader of the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh and grandson of Ambedkar.

"The BJP wants to create an impression in the minds of the people that Ambedkar's family had a personality with the name Ram in his name. This is just a political game. Like post-Independence, politicians tried to restrict Ambedkar's image as a Dalit leader. But Ambedkar faced all kinds of atrocities and emerged victorious. When people read his writings and books, they found out for themselves that he was fighting for humanitarian issues and not just the Dalit issue. He has written his name in all documents using the name Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar but all his visiting cards and signature (are signed) as BR Ambedkar. This issue being raked up by the politicians does not impact the community. It is also known that no one in India is addressed by his middle name," he said.

Prakash recalled that when Modi became the prime minister, he had called attention to the fact that the Constitution was written by his grandfather Ambedkar. The prime minister also remarked that it was because of leaders like Ambedkar that a person like him could be elected to the highest office in the country.

However, the prime minister soon forgot about this, alleged Prakash, who also said that Modi has become a leader of the Vedic Hindu group Manuwad. Prakash is concerned that statements of politicians from the ruling party have exposed a fault line in UP's caste entrenched politics which doesn't augur well for the already fragmented society.

It is a tall order for Modi and the BJP to divide the country along caste lines, said experts. "Modi and the BJP won't succeed, though they are trying to make the country like either Iraq or Syria. People will choose harmony, peace and prosperity by following the Constitution instead of playing into the hands of politicians who are trying to use them for narrow, political gains," they said.

https://www.firstpost.com/politics/modi-yogi-adityanath-and-the-bjp-will-not-succeed-in-hijacking-ambedkar-for-caste-politics-4415163.html