The Central government has announced a special tourist circuit encompassing five key sites associated with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, including his birthplace Mhow, Delhi where he died, and London where he studied. Dalit scholars and Ambedkarites, however, argue that the five spots or the “Panchateerths” do not do justice to Ambedkar’s “real legacy” and have been chosen to just fit into a “localised and nationalistic” narrative of the government.
According to Ambedkar scholars, there are a host of other sites like Raigarh district of Maharashtra where Dr. Ambedkar led the Mahad Satyagraha, Pune where he held the first negotiations with Mahatma Gandhi in Yerwada jail on a separate electorate for depressed classes, and Sri Lanka where he attended a Buddhist conclave that is said to have influenced him to convert to Buddhism.
“This is a local and nationalistic perspective. They want people to see their version,” said Ashok Bharti, Founder and Chairperson of NACDOR (National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations).
