What Dr. Ambedkar had done for the Backward
Castes?
-S. R. Darapuri, National President, All India People's Front
Dr. Ambedkar is often recognized as the saviour of Dalits, while he fought for
the rights of all downtrodden classes, Dalits and Backwards. But because of the
varna system, the backward castes that are Shudras consider themselves higher
on the social ladder than the untouchables (Dalits). According to one
definition, backward castes are Shudras and Dalit castes are extreme Shudras.
The only difference is that backward castes are considered touchable and Dalit
castes are considered untouchable. It is also a historical fact that due to
being touchable, the backward castes have been exploited more than the
untouchables in some areas. It is also worth mentioning that the backward
castes have been caught in the clutches of fanatical Hinduism while Dalits have
been continuously rebelling against Hinduism. Due to the illusion of social
superiority, the backward castes have been considering Dr. Ambedkar as the
leader of Dalits instead of their own leader. This is also because most of the
backward castes have been under the influence of upper caste Hindus and they
have been constantly misled about Dr. Ambedkar so that they do not establish
unity with the Dalits by being influenced by the ideology of Dr. Ambedkar and
do not create a big challenge for upper castes. Dalit and backward leaders are
also responsible to a great extent for this distance between backwards and
Dalits, who have been baking their bread by doing caste politics.
Now, if seen from the historical perspective, where Dr. Ambedkar struggled
throughout his life for the rights of the downtrodden castes, he also fought
continuously for the rights of the backward castes. This fact is confirmed by
the following facts: -
1. Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaikwad of
Baroda, who belonged to a backward caste, had a great contribution in Dr.
Ambedkar's higher education and he had given him a scholarship to study in
America.
2. Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj was the
second backward caste person who helped and contributed to Dr. Ambedkar.
3. Dr. Ambedkar had very good relations
with Ramaswamy Naicker, who was the leader of the non-Brahmin movement in South
India.
4. Dr. Ambedkar was greatly influenced
by the social ideology of backward caste social reformer Jyoti Rao Phule.
5. Dr. Ambedkar supported the movement
for the equality of Ezhavas, a backward caste, in Travancore (Kerala).
6. It was Dr. Ambedkar who advocated
reservation in government jobs for backward castes in the future constitution
of India before the Simon Commission in 1928.
7. Dr. Ambedkar, as the President of the
Constituent Assembly, had included the word "backward" in Article 15
(4) of the Constitution regarding reservation in government jobs, which later
became a base for reservation for socially and educationally backward castes.
8. With the efforts of Dr. Ambedkar, a
provision was made in Article 340 of the Constitution to establish a commission
to identify backward castes.
9. The political party that Dr. Ambedkar
formed in 1942 named Scheduled Castes Federation, it was mentioned in the
policy that the party would give priority to the alliance with the parties
representing the backward castes and tribes and if necessary, the party would
Will change its name to “Backward Classes Federation” to represent the backward
classes. Therefore, the party had also made an electoral alliance with the
Socialist Party at that time.
10. In 1951, when Dr. Ambedkar resigned
from the post of Law Minister regarding the Hindu Code Bill, he said, “I would
like to refer to another matter which is the reason for my dissatisfaction with
this government. It is about the treatment of backward castes and scheduled
castes by this government. I am sad that there is no protection for backward
castes in the Constitution. It has been left to the government order based on
the recommendations of the commission to be appointed by the President. It has
been more than a year since we passed the constitution but the government has
not even thought of appointing the commission.” From this you can guess how
concerned Dr. Ambedkar was about the welfare of the backward classes.
11. Addressing the students of Lucknow
University after resigning from the post of Law Minister, Dr. Ambedkar warned
about the neglect of the backward castes and said, “If they despair in their
efforts to achieve a status of equality “Scheduled Castes Federation” will give
preference to the communist system and the fate of the country will sink. It
can also be estimated from this how much Dr. Ambedkar was trying for the
benefit of the backward classes. He reiterated the point of neglecting the
interests of the backward classes in a big public meeting at Nare Park in
Bombay.
12. Due to the pressure created by Dr.
Ambedkar on the issue of backward castes, the Nehru government had to appoint
the first Backward Classes Commission in 1951 under the chairmanship of Kaka
Kalelkar. It is a different matter that the government did not accept the
recommendations of this commission, rather the chairman of the commission was
forced to give an opinion contrary to the recommendations of the commission for
caste basis of reservation.
13. Dr. Chhedi Lal Sathi, who was the
President of the Republican Party of India, Uttar Pradesh in the seventies,
told me that Babasaheb was very disappointed after resigning from the
ministerial post in 1951. At that time backward class leaders Ramlakhan
Chandapuri, S.D.Singh Chaurasia and others told him not to panic, we are all
with you. For this purpose, they organized a rally of backward classes in
Patna, in which a huge crowd had gathered. Babasaheb was very impressed by this
and again became active in the politics of Dalits and Backwards.
14. In this regard, Dr. Chhedi Lal Sathi
has written in his book "Situation of Dalits and Backward Castes", on
page 113 that “After coming back from Patna, Babasaheb dissolved the Scheduled
Castes Federation of India in consultation with his colleagues. After losing
the elections twice in 1952 and 1954, Babasaheb realized that the Scheduled
Castes were only 20% of the population and so long as they did not have the
support of 52% backward classes, he decided to form the Republican Party of
India in its place. If he does not get it, he will not be able to win the
election. Therefore; Babasaheb, in consultation with backward class leaders,
especially Shivdayal Singh Chaurasia, etc., decided to include 52% backward
class people and 12% population of Muslims, Christians and Sikhs in the
Republican Party of India apart from 20% Dalit class. More than a year was spent in drafting and
consulting the constitution of the Republican Party."
From this point of view, this rally of Patna was historic because in this the
foundation of unity of Dalits and OBCs was laid. Babasaheb announced the
dissolution of the Scheduled Castes Federation of India on October 15, 1956, in
Nagpur and the establishment of the Republican Party of India in its place.
From 1957 to 1967, based on the unity of these classes, the Republican Party of
India emerged as a major political force, but later the Congress, for which
this party became the biggest threat, took advantage of the weaknesses of the
Dalit leaders. Bought them and this party got divided into many pieces. A party
like the BSP that emerged later also destroyed this alliance.
15. In the last years of his life, Babasaheb
also established contact with the leader of backward classes, Ram Manohar Lohia
etc. to establish the unity of Dalits and Backwards and there was
correspondence between them. But unfortunately, Babasaheb died soon and that
alliance could not be formed.
It is clear from the above description that Dr. Ambedkar not only fought for
the interests of the Dalits but also for the interests of the backward classes
throughout his life. It was due to his efforts that provision for reservation
in government jobs for backward classes was made in the Constitution and due to
the pressure created by him, the first Backward Classes Commission was
constituted. Later the Mandal Commission was formed and the backward classes
got reservations in government jobs and education, for which the backward
classes should be indebted to Babasaheb.
Therefore, the backward class should accept Babasaheb's contribution for their
upliftment. There is a need to restore the unity of these classes in the
context of the new challenges of the present. It is also true that there are
some class contradictions between Dalits and OBCs and their unity cannot be
established without resolving them. It is well known that Dalits, extremely
backward (Hindus, Christians, and Muslims) are natural allies. This equation
can be based on common issues and not on caste alone, which can face
majoritarianism and Hindutva politics in the country.
