United Dalit Students’ Forum JNU (UDSF-JNU)
Remembering Babasaheb on his 61st Mahaparinivan Diwas 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956
On this Mahaparinirvan day when we remember Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, we must not forget the dreams of an egalitarian society which Babasaheb envisioned. In the present day Indian society we witness crimes which vehemently victimize Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim and Bahujan communities. Such atrocities on targeted communities are nothing but the ways in which Brahminical forces are stretching their arms to re-establish the hegemony which it had enjoyed for centuries. It is time for us to understand that the egalitarian revolution which Babasaheb dreamt about is not merely words written in the constitution but the true spirit in which it has to be implemented. The atrocities which Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim and Bahujan communities are facing, be it institutional murder of Rohith Vemula, enforced disappearance of Najeeb Ahmed, rape of Dalit women, communal, casteist attacks on Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, Bahujan are all reflections of the Brahminical forces winning over the principle of justice and fraternity which the Constitution of India enshrines.
The way in which the present fascist government has responded to the atrocities on targeted communities is shameful and condemnable. The present regime has become nothing but a mouthpiece of right-wing Brahmanical forces. This is evident right from Rohith’s institutional murder where the government not only tried to hide the evidences but played politics over Rohith’s identity itself. The rape of Jisha and Delta Meghwal were taken up only when the voice of the Dalit community came together to protest. Cow vigilantism has tormented both Muslims and Dalits. The dominant cultural politics of food fascism that killed Mohammad Akhlaq tell us that man or his community are reduced to what he eats. The entire Una episode reflects on how a Dalit life is rendered valueless in front of cow carcasses.
The October 14, 2016 incident which enforced Najeeb Ahmed to disappear reflects the insensitivity of the government and the police under its control in which Muslim lives are made vulnerable.
It is unfortunate that even after decades of Babri Masjid demolition; justice has not been delivered to uphold the Fundamental Right to Freedom of Religion. The Right to Equality (Article 14) which prohibits the courts of law against discrimination of any religion, caste, creed etc., seems like a distant dream as it has failed to deliver justice to the religious minorities especially in protecting their places of worship like Mosques.
The saddening element on the Mahaparinirvan diwas of Babasaheb Ambedkar, who had a vision of casteless, egalitarian society standing together with the spirit of fraternity, is marked by the brutish history of communal politics. The Hindutva politics that demolished Babri Masjid needs to be dismantled to reclaim the Constitution that shall live up to Babasaheb’s aspirations of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
United Dalit Students’ Forum, JNU appeals to the oppressed sections to join the struggle against the brahminism in uprooting the caste system. It is time that we join ranks with Babasaheb in carrying forward his legacy that envisages a “Vision of A New Social Order- Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”.
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