Asserting Secularism
and Global Equity Through Ambedkar
Human
Survival Requires Secular Values, Not Machismo Fundamentalism
by Dr. Moses Seenarine
(Photo:
Martin Luther King lll at the Quest For Equity conference with
Congress VP Rahul Gandhi, Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, and Chief
Minister of Karnataka. Credit: GOK)
(This articles was published on Medium on 08/07/2017)
(This articles was published on Medium on 08/07/2017)
The conference,
“Reclaiming Social Justice, Revisiting Ambedkar,” held from 21-23
July, 2017 in Banglauru, Karnataka, was historic in many ways. First,
it was the first international conference that brought together
hundreds of scholars from all across India and the world to focus on
the life, thoughts and influence of one of the greatest minds of the
20th century – Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar (14th
April 1891 to 6th December 1956). Although hardly known
outside of India, B. R. Ambedkar is a distinguished leader in the
history of South Asia, and a pivotal figure in the global quest for
equity and freedom for the oppressed.
In an age of rapacious
economic neoliberalism and rampant, machismo nationalism, Ambedkar's
trenchant demand for equality, and his ardent call for freedom,
equity and fraternity, have never been more relevant. Climate change
in South Asia will necessitate cooperation with India's traditional
rivals, China and Pakistan, and blindly following parochial,
belligerent Hindu-based regimes may prove disastrous for hundreds of
millions of climate refugees due to environmental disaster, land
degradation, and uninhabitable conditions. India needs to remain
democratic and cooperative with its neighbors to mitigate this
unprecedented crisis and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar offers a way forward.
As the chief architect of
India's Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar was a scholar par excellence, a
philosopher, visionary, and emancipator of over 200 million
'Untouchables' or Dalits oppressed globally under hierarchical
Hinduism. Born in an out-casted group considered ritually polluting
to Hindus, Bhim Rao led a number of social movements to secure human
rights for women, workers, the poor, and the depressed sections of
society. Dr. Ambedkar is a towering symbol in the struggle for social
justice globally, and stands as the South Asian equivalent to
Sojourner Truth, Fredrick Douglas, W. E. B. Du Boise, Marcus H.
Garvey, and Martin Luther King in the USA. The Indian Constitution is
a testament to his vision of a civilized society with its numerous
protections for the disadvantaged.
The
Bengaluru Declaration issued at the conference was framed from input
provided by the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar International Conference. The
Declaration contains a broad set of recommendations to address a wide
range of issues facing the poor. Although written for India, the 41
proposals could be adopted to improve the lives of Women across the
globe, People of Color, minorities, and populations in the Global
South.
Secondly, the conference
offered a bold secular alternative to the ecocidal religiosity and
genocidal militarism currently sweeping the world. To mitigate the
impending effects of abrupt climate change, humans will need to
become more secular, that is, learn to believe in ourselves, behave
in a responsible way to others, and act as if we belong to a global
community. Survival and adaptation to the deepening ecological crisis
requires us to have unbiased perception, clear thinking, an open
mind, and acute awareness of our local surroundings and conditions
across the globe. At its core, to be secular is to maintain a
naturalistic worldview in which belief in anything is always
proportioned to the evidence available, and no leader exemplifies
these values and qualities as much as Bhim Rao.
In a seminal undelivered
speech to reformist Hindus, later published as the Annihilation of
Caste, Dr. Ambedkar argued, “An ideal society should be mobile,
should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one
part to other parts. In an ideal society there should be many
interests consciously communicated and shared. There should be varied
and free points of contact with other modes of association. In other
words there should be social endosmosis. This is fraternity, which is
only another name for democracy. Democracy is not merely a form of
Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint
communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and
reverence towards fellowmen (and women).”
Speaking on the opening
night, Martin Luther King III presented a clear-headed, secular
analysis of politics in India and the USA, and deconstructed the
cunning appeal of cultural fundamentalism under which social
intolerance is stroked. The son of the famous civil rights leader
observed that the “Trump and Modi administrations have unleashed a
ferocious animosity in both countries” and highlighted various mob
and racially-based atrocities against females, African Americans, and
Dalits. He concluded that both populist leaders, “have limited
regard for the poor and the underprivileged.” Martin Luther King
III's keynote speech linking the struggle against caste and race is
an important contribution to Pan-Africanism and in theorizing the
Global South, and should be read by activists worldwide.
The most anticipated
speaker of the opening night also hinted to the dangers of religious
ideology and narrow-minded nationalism. In his address to the packed
auditorium, the current vice-president of India's Congress Party,
Rahul Gandhi, warned against distortion of the truth and
glorification the past to guide the present. Taking a principled,
secular position on caste and religious issues, Rahul observed,
“There have been good and bad sides to India, and we need to accept
it and change it.”
Like King III, the
grandson of the famous Indira Gandhi cited numerous examples of Hindu
intolerance and their growing violence against Dalits and Muslims.
Commenting on the systemic denial of caste-and religious based
oppression, Rahul Gandhi stated, “The Modi government is trying to
wipe out history and create a perfect India, thereby strangling the
reality of Vermulas and Akhlaqs” - men who died as a result of
religious bigotry.
Thirdly, the conference
presented valuable insights into Ambedkar's global relevance as
speakers connected his writings and activism on caste, religious and
cultural oppression to the histories of enslavement, bonded labor,
gender construction, labor, migration and other social issues. B. R.
Ambedkar's legal prescriptions for women, the poor and disadvantaged,
including safeguards for political representation, education and
employment reservation was compared to affirmative action policies
for women and minorities in the Caribbean, Nepal, Northern Ireland,
Pacific Islands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, UK and USA.
The successful
non-discriminatory safeguards implemented in Northern Ireland can be
applied elsewhere, and similarly, lessons can be learned from the
political shortcomings of Sri Lanka's affirmative action polices
after the civil war. Moreover, the conference showed that Ambedkar's
stringent opposition to female oppression under traditional culture
and his prescriptions for women's equality are applicable worldwide.
Given the significance
that Bhim Rao placed on female representation in all spheres, it was
disappointing that the list of keynote speakers on the opening night
did not contain a single female. The token female on the dais, a
regional actress whose sole role was to dutifully introduce the
eleven men on stage. Her marginality is symbolic of the far road that
lies ahead for caste, race, sex and class-based inequality, but
Ambedkar's guidance can help us achieve faster and safer passage to a
more equitable and rewarding future.