Nitin Dravid P R
Just four days after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s 134th birth anniversary, as the nation awaits the commencement of the 18th Lok Sabha elections, the only focal point for the existing predicaments and the survival of the largest democracy is to revisit and resurrect the idea of radical democracy as envisioned by the father of our constitution.
The very expression ‘democratic form of government’ is gradually eroding from our consciousness, and the population of this country is compelled to appropriate themselves according to the idea of democracy as conceived by a microscopic unit’s popularized fantasy or the gaze of an average citizen is consistently distracted by a panoply of political events including ED, IT raids and arrests of political leaders, multiple-party leaders’ road shows, star-studded campaigns, exclusive media projection of prominent candidatures to pompous manifestos of various political parties which regulate the citizens to view the elections with a festive enthusiasm rather than a responsibility to choose a government that could progressively shape the instrumentalities of the state.
We can look at this another way, building on the contrast observed by Ambedkar concerning the two different views of democracy. The first view of democracy is synonymous with adult suffrage and periodic elections, while the second refers to democracy as a form of the organization of society, as he proposed an organized society based on the principles of ‘liberty, equality, fraternity, justice, and compassion’.
Although democracy has been defined by various thinkers at diverse temporal intervals—writers of political science, philosophers, social scientists, and so on—the most remembered definition of democracy is Lincoln’s: “A government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Ambedkar also refers to this idea of democracy but develops the conception of democracy with its roots in the Indian social milieu. Drawing parallels from Lincoln’s allusion to the American Civil War as an impediment to standing together against a foreign enemy, his prognosis that the deep cleavages between the classes in our society will be the most significant obstacles to the success of democracy stands more accurate for the contemporary experience.
According to Ambedkar, a good government meant good laws and administration. Let us now return to his impression concerning the factors intermeshing the notions of democracy, government, and society. He often emphasized that the idea of government cannot be alienated from society, argued that it is impossible to form a democratic government sans a democratic society, and strongly advocated for an egalitarian environment to foster law enforcers, without which he articulated that the government is bound to be undemocratic—a government of the governing class.
Furthermore, Ambedkar asserted the dire need for an ethical temperament to be developed in our society where every individual is convinced to treat every other individual as their equal and is prepared to give them the same liberty that they claim for themselves and noted that it is on fraternity—Maitree—a term he borrows from the Buddha, that the concepts of liberty and equality would sustain.
Finally, what is of utmost concern for the present scenario is Ambedkar’s vision of abolishing the stark social and economic inequalities to achieve political democracy, as he defines democracy as “a form and a method of government whereby revolutionary changes in the economic and social life of the people are brought about without bloodshed.” Even though his concept of the constitution—a constitution that would dislodge the governing class from its position—was not well received by the constituent assembly, it is crucial to comprehend that it is still the same constitution that stands as a simmering ray of hope to safeguard the economic and social rights of the downtrodden.
As we are flooded with the narrative of entering into a new India, after seventy-five years of having a constitution for ourselves, when India commences its journey to become a global leader, undergoing a major geo-political repositioning based on the policies of inculcating nationalistic fervor, and building stronger strategic ties with a broad array of international communities, it is imperative to remember this great man’s contribution in consolidating the amorphous identity of the oppressed and the under-privileged in transforming the political landscape of the nation, reject the modern methods of oppression, and form a democratic government through an associated mode of living, where in Ambedkar’s words, “There must not be a class which has got all the privileges and a class which has got all the burdens to carry.”
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Nitin Dravid P R completed his bachelor’s in French Language, Literature and Culture studies and master’s in Linguistics from JNU. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in Linguistics at EFLU, Hyderabad. His fields of interest include Linguistics, Politics, Art and Culture.
