'Mean'rashtra

Land of Shivaji, land of Ambedkar. The very land of the father of our constitution is now burning. Following the tasteless act of the beheading of an Ambedkar statue in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, there has been a unimaginable surge in communal rife in Maharashtra. Specifically strange considering that the place of the inciting event and place of subsequent riots are separated on the map by a distance of over 1000 km. Many believe that it is a politically motivated exercise to garner the crucial support of the Dalit votebank and some consider this to be the the outcome of bottled up anger and frustration of that community over previous discriminatory incidents. Either way, this exposed the worsening situation in Maharashtra, the incapable and fickle government, the unrest among sections of the population. It is hard for me to believe that Pimpri, one of the most peaceful areas in Pune, was struck by mobs of stone-pelting and shop-burning. Shops, schools, offices remained closed for at least a day in most places in Pune. Who gained anything out of all this? Who pays for all that damage, loss of property and disruption of the civic system?

What Babasaheb Ambedkar said repeatedly in his writings and speeches was: "We must shape our course ourselves and by ourselves... Political power cannot be a panacea for the ills of the Depressed Classes. Their salvation lies in their social elevation. They must cleanse their evil habits. They must improve their bad ways of living.... They must be educated....” I fail to see even an iota of effective education in anyone connected with this whole incident. Neither the ones who desecrated the statue, nor the ones who rose up in retaliation to burn trains and buses nor the politicians who watched silently mired in their own factionist goals. I wonder how many how of them even know any intricate details of the life and teachings of Ambedkar. Is it surprising that even as we talk of India becoming a super-power, only 6% of the Indian population graduates from school (Rajinder Sachar committee report)? Its common knowledge who the people involved in these revolts and mob activities are: jobless persons, those who have no fruitful ways to channelize their energies and who take this as the only opportunity to be heard. They have no vision for themselves; definitely none for their community or their nation. Apt and ironic to quote one of Babasaheb Ambedkar's bête noire, Mahatma Gandhi who said: 'An eye for an eye will make the whole world go blind.'