BOOK REVIEW

Name of the book- Dr Ambedkar life and mission Author- Dhananjay Keer Dr Ambedkar life and mission by Dhananjay Keer is a thought provoking book. It is a well researched book depicting the life of Dr. Ambedkar and his struggle or revolt against the well established Hindu system. So many historical misdeeds and truths have been unearthed by the learned author. Although the social conditions prevailing during Dr. Ambedkars life-time are almost extinguished but still the caste system is fully operational even today. It seems that the caste system is engrained in our minds but its grip is already loosened. The author in the book has represented a horrible picture of untouchable- they were born untouchables, they lived as untouchables and they died as untouchables., but it is men like Dr. Ambedkar who changed this outlook and took India to a brighter and better future. The cracks in caste system are already visible under the impact of industrialization, modernisation, globalization and westernisation. However it is still firmly held in rural area and rooted in Hindu society. The distinguished author names lord Buddha, Kabir, Chaitnya, Eknath, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Tukaram who tried their best to rock this system to its foundations, for the time being but gradually the caste system survived in one form or another. Author quotes Kabirs famous lines. Jat pant puchhe na koi Har ko bhaje so harka hoi It is astonishing to read that Dr. Ambedkar, an untouchable is a Columbia university-PhD, London school of economics graduate. This was possible due to kind help rendered by maharaja of Baroda. The maharaja had made a firm determination to uplift depressed classes who were treated worse than animals. Author has tried to present the clash of ideology and thinking among Gandhi ji, Ambedkar and Savarkar. Gandhi ji a social reformer believed in caste system and Varna while Savarkar and Ambedkar are social revolutionaries. A reformer rebuilds the old structure whereas a revolutionary blows-up the old buildings and builds a new one. Dr. Ambedkar told his followers that the liberty was never received as a gift but it always came through struggle and strife. Things are not achieved by means of begging but by relentless struggle. It was his firm conviction that untouchability closes all the doors of prosperity, vision, progress and self respect. There is a chapter in the book titled as war with Gandhi. It gives detail arguments between Ambedkar and Gandhi. The points raised by Ambedkar regarding social structure seem to be quiet rational. At one point Ambedkar says: How can I call this land my own homeland and this religion my own where we are treated worse than cats and dogs, wherein we cannot get water to drink. These remarks reflect the agony of pain since ages. That was the time when whoever spoke against Gandhi was labelled as traitor. It was Ambedkar who dared to challenge him and thus electrified the entire scene of the country. It will be fit to mention here that almost entire media was against Dr. Ambedkar. He invited a havoc of media and as such become the most hated man in India. Congress stood like a firm rock behind Gandhi but Dr. Ambedkar hardly bothered about criticism levelled

against him. His one point programme was to liberate his fellow brothers from clutches of Hindu tyranny since ages. The book gives in-detail about how and under what circumstances Poona Pact was signed and its impact on the coming years. Poona pact vibrated the whole country. In fact it can be said that Dr. Ambedkar was writing new pages of Indian History. No saint, Shankaracharya or any other political force including Gandhi could convince Dr. Ambedkar the merits of Hindu religion and particularly its norms, values and rituals. It seems that he was totally fed up with the existing Hindu social structure. Then came the thunderbolt from Dr. Ambedkar- after examining in detail the pros and cons of Hinduism, he decided to leave it. He said that though he was born as Hindu untouchable but would not die as a Hindu. Muslims, Sikhs, Christianity, Parsees etc tried their best to attract him towards their fold but all in vain. Gandhi ji made a last attempt to pursue him to abandon his plan. Ambedkar in clear cut terms tells him that he did not believe in the honesty of Hindu Social reformer who say something and do something. In 1936, Ambedkar launched a new political party named as Labour Party. He declared that Congress was ruled and funded by capitalists. The author narrates that there was a huge gap between the ideology of Congress and Ambedkar. Congress was what Gandhiji said or in other words, congress was the voice of Gandhi. Dr. Ambedkars views have been put forward by the author with all vigour and vitality. They reflect a deep sense of honesty on the part of Ambedkar. At one place, Ambedkar says, Whenever there is any conflict of interests between the country and the untouchables, the untouchables interests will take precedence over the interests of the country. How forceful and fearless his arguments were! He further added that they could not make history who forgets history. The book tells us that although he was in favour of political independence of the country but he was more concerned in whose hands that Swaraj would go. He emphasized that the depressed classes should not believe in what congress leaders say regarding the removal of poverty and untouchability. He suggested the remedy to them also and that was to capture the political power in their hands. That would bring some sort of salvation in their life. The author compares Dr. Ambedkar with Manu and names him as a modern Manu. He was made chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution. In the broad sense, he was the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution, a new Manu. Meanwhile, the news of partition of India was very much in the air. A wave of great disturbance swept the country. Ambedkar had proposed partition with complete transfer of population of the Muslims and Hindus but the Congress leaders opposed with all might this idea. Finally, India got Independence on 15th of August, 1947. On 26th January, 1950, the constitution of India came into force. His last speech in the Constituent Assembly is remarkable. I quote On January 26th, 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic life, we will have inequality. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest moment, or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this assembly has so laboriously built up. How true his words stand in todays scenario of the country! In the last phase of his life, Ambedkar was attracted towards Buddhism. In his opinion, Buddhism was a part of Indian tradition and culture. On October 14, 1956, in a very big and grand function held

in Nagpur, he along with his three Lakh followers embraced Buddhism. He received congratulatory messages from the leaders and monks all over the world. Dr. Ambedkar died a natural death on 6th December, 1956. In a nutshell, he was a great son of India- a jurist and a social reformer. His name would figure prominently in the annals of Indian History.