Across the globe, like never before, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s 131st birthday (April 14) was celebrated in diverse forms. To honour him and other anti-caste icons such as Jyotirao Phule, Canada’s British Columbia province has declared April as ‘Dalit History Month’. In the federal State of Colorado and Michigan in the United States it is ‘Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Equity Day’. In India, the Government of India has directed public institutions to formally celebrate Ambedkar’s birthday. The Uttar Pradesh government celebrated this day as “Day of Social Harmony”. The Tamil Nadu government has declared it a “Day of Equality”. At the same time, attempts are also being made to (mis)appropriate Ambedkar by parties, organisations and individuals of various ideological persuasions for their own interests without making any effort to embody Ambedkar’s principles of socio-cultural justice and economic fairness.
Celebration needs substance
A critical examination of these celebrations, at least in India, reveals that these are primarily a celebration of Ambedkar’s zeal, mainly keeping electoral gains in mind. This maybe important but it does not do justice to Ambedkar’s grand emancipatory vision of democracy. Most of these celebrations have not only been oblivious of Ambedkar’s anti-caste and anti-patriarchal vision but also seem to be deliberately ignoring his world-view on economic equality, fairness and justice. The existing economic system pursued by the political parties at the Centre and State levels is mostly antagonistic to the model envisioned by Ambedkar. It would be worthy to revisit some of the salient features of his works on economic democracy to draw lessons for today. As Labour Minister (Member) of the Viceroy’s Council (1942-1946) and through his writings such as States and Minorities (1947), Ambedkar clearly laid out his vision regarding the substance of political economy.
