FYI. An informed and interesting comment. Sukla
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Atul Kumar [email protected] [arkitectindia]" <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 11 May 2015 00:04:59 +0530 Subject: [Arkitect India] Comparing Gandhi and Ambedkar To: [email protected] I think there is very little logic in comparing the two .Gandhi's ' foremost goal was India's independence while Ambedkar's was fighting the injustice done to the depressed classes and to get them their due place in the society .Thus , while Gandhi and the other Congressmen were in prison since 1942 for their call to the British rulers to 'quit India' ,Ambedkar was a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from 1942 to 1946 .He was of the firm opinion that the lot of the depressed classes would be worse in an independent India , and therefore, he was not for independence at least at that point of time.Should he be condemned as a traitor as were the Communists for supporting the British?He was not a traitor , but did not want the .British to quit India because he felt it was detrimental to his primary goal of securing justice to the depressed classes.Gandhi and the leaders of the freedom movement were fully conscious of this fact . It was the appreciation of his position , which made them include Ambedkar as the Law Minister in the Nehru Government.It was again the Congress government , which entrusted him with the responsibility of heading the committee tasked to draft the constitution , and again it was the Congress dominated Constituent Assembly which adopted our Constitution. He was given the great responsibility because there was an identity of views between the Congress and Ambedkar .Had Gandhi been hostile to Ambedkar , he would not have been inducted in the Nehru government .It would be childish to suggest that he was inducted due to helplessness because there was nobody else to do the job . Gandhi and Ambedkar can be discussed together only in the limited context of their respective contribution to the plight of the depressed.In this context , it has to be borne in mind that the approaches of the two could not be identical. Ambedkar could afford to be contortionist without jeopardizing his goal which Gandhi could not.Gandhi's primary goal was to win India's freedom for which it was imperative for him to unite and not divide the people of the country.Thus, he fought the eveil of untouchability by trying to change the mindset of the upper caste Hindus by using various means characteristic of reformers. The most important difference between the two which makes a comparison illogical is the crucial fact that unlike Ambedkar Gandhi was a leader with many dimensions .It is for this reason that while Gandhi is revered all over the world , Jinnah , who considered himself Gandhi's rival of equal stature ,is not mentioned outside Pakistan. Ambedkar's greatness lies in what he achieved ,and his achievement is immense .It is not necessary to indulge in Gandhi bashing to prove it. prabhakar sinha is the Naitonal Presedent of P.U.C.L. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
