There were three dauntlessly revolutionary yet extraordinary humane personalities born on this planet, who form the trinity of messiahs; of whom the reminiscence of one inevitably reminds the other two. Because of their deepest concern and most benevolent deeds for the amelioration of the condition of humanity as a whole, one stood out as the redeemer of the spiritually repressed whereas the second became the defender of the economically exploited and the third came to be known as the deliverer of the socially oppressed. They are Jesus Christ, Karl Marx and Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar, respectively.
Of all the injustices that pervade the whole humankind, there is one scourge, which Indians exclusively experience, is the de facto social inequality based on caste. Slavery was abolished by law in the 19th century British empire and America. The feudal system was wiped out in Russia by Marxist-Leninist ideology. Even though many political approaches, ranging from capitalism to communism and from socialism to conservatism, have emerged and reigned over different societies across the world, none seemed to work well to eliminate caste-oriented inequalities.
Economic Determinism
Economic equality may be the most sought-after humanistic ideology for the rest of the world but not primarily for India. Dr Ambedkar’s idea of reservations was aimed at assuring basic survival in a legally empowered manner. Associated with it was to educate and enlighten the downtrodden masses so as to deliver them from the bondage of ignorance. Economic equality helps survive alone but does not ensure a full-fledged life in essence. Life is a bigger canvas, encompassing liberty, freedom, fraternity, equity, fearlessness, etc, which are embedded in social equality.
An Example
Let us, for example, take the chemical process of ‘like dissolves like’, where polar molecules dissolve in polar molecules. But in the caste-ridden social set-up, there is no such easy feasibility of moving up on social ladder though there is upward mobility on economic ladder, because social conditions and economic criteria are like polar and non-polar systems that do not mix in normal circumstances.
Hence, for social equality, something more in addition to economic equality is required to be done. It involves the redistribution of social privileges in equitable terms, so as to keep all the citizens of India on equal footing in all parameters. But what is happening practically on the policymaking front is that it has no compatibility with societal diagnosis. The planners are agog with their economic models for treating societal illnesses. As a result, hydra effect as regards social divide, economic disparities and political inequality has been impacting the nation adversely to the extent of its fragility.
As the government’s measures are not sufficient and are not the right medicine for treating the social inequality-centred maladies, complications have been leading to further unanticipated negative effects due to the fact that economic development, as pointed out by an American sociologist, Mark Granovetter, will not be possible without judicious social relations. Consequently, social equality becomes all the more important and Dr Ambedkar’s law of 5 Rs makes the sole mantra for its attainment.
Five Rs
1. The first R, that is reservations (Constitutional), the brainchild of Dr Ambedkar, started operating during his times. This measure essentially aimed at creating an instant existential assistance mechanism for the lower castes along with provision for education. Unfortunately, as jobs are not adequately made available, the government’s efforts don’t seem to bring in the desired change in the lives of the downtrodden.
2. Next ‘R’ stands for reconstruction. Means of production and common resources such as land, capital, education, technical skills, entrepreneurial opportunities and partnership, which the people at the lowest rung of society have been deprived of since ages, need to be restored to them. After the abolition of slavery in America, President Abraham Lincoln executed various comprehensive programmes for the reconstruction of the lives of the blacks.
3. The objective of the third ‘R’, ie, reconciliation is that the lower castes must get integrated socially as well as emotionally into the Indian community at large without fears based on the caste system. The intent of reconciliation would be to sincerely emotionalise the perpetrators of caste-based fears and prejudices towards taking an honest note of their violations for expressing remorse. After apartheid was dismantled in South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was initiated with the motive of making the oppressors repent their past mistakes but not to punish them.
4. The fourth ‘R’ is for remedial marriages, which need to be solemnised in a casteless manner. Dr Ambedkar inferred that such marriages will expedite the annihilation of caste monster because such unions would break caste by cementing the feelings of oneness, the true ‘vasudhaivakutumbakam’. In Iraq, intermarriages between Sunnis and Shias were encouraged in order to build an inclusive nation.
5. The last ‘R’ denotes radical reformation. According to Dr Ambedkar, intercaste dining and intercaste marriages could eradicate the caste system only to some extent but not completely. For a definitive social equality, he felt that the documented notions on which castes were founded need to be destroyed. The 16th century’s Martin Luther-led Protestant Movement paved the way for the reformation of Roman Catholic Church. German sociologist Max Weber evidenced that the protestant interpretation of the Bible on work-ethic enabled Western Europe to successfully wriggle out of the clutches of scriptural rigidity so as to promote the spirit of capitalism.
(The author is former DG, Cyber Crimes, Bhopal)
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