"Prabuddhi Bharath" Dr. Ambedkar and the message to Sri Lanka
The
acceptance of Buddhism by several thousand Dalits or Untouchables of
India last week, marking the 50th anniversary of the great Indian
freedom activist and architect of the Indian Constitution Dr. BR
Ambedkar's own acceptance of Buddhist teachings in preference to
caste-ridden Hinduism, together with thousands of Dalit followers, found
only brief mention in the Sri Lankan media.
This was so even about last month's election of the Dalit and
Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati as Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh (UP), in a sweeping electoral victory humbling both the Congress
Party and the ruling Alliance in New Delhi, and the Opposition and
pro-Hindu Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP).
While the deeper political implications within India of the BSP's
success in UP did not seem to interest most political commentators here,
including India watchers, surprisingly the significance of this latest
wave of embracing Buddhism by the Dalits too seem to have been either
missed or ignored on this side of the Palk Strait.
In a largely Buddhist country, following the Theravada school of
Buddhism that was accepted by Dr. Ambedkar in his rejection of
caste-dominated Hinduism, one would have expected both Dr. Ambedkar
himself and the-new surge of Buddhism through its acceptance by the
Dalits on such a large scale, to have a much greater interest and impact
over here.
The lack of knowledge about Dr. Ambedkar, his role in the Indian
Freedom Movement and contribution to the guiding principles of Indian
law, could be attributed to the insular and limited scope of education
in Sri Lanka, and the frightening lack of general knowledge among the
products of this system. (All of the recent applicants I recently
interviewed for a media related position, including several graduates,
could not name the current Prime Minister of India. One of 20 applicants
said it was "one Mr. Singh").
It is in the face of such an appalling lack of knowledge about our
immediate neighbour, relations with whom are very often highlights in
the media, which makes one think it is time Sri Lanka made a deliberate
move to better understand developments in India, both as part of general
and tertiary education, and in the larger fields of cultural and
political awareness.
Pilgrims
Until recently, Sri Lanka was the country that provided the largest
number of tourists to India annually. This may be so even today. The
bulk of these visitors are the Buddhists who go on pilgrimage to Buddha
Gaya, Saranath and other places of Buddhist pilgrimage. (A free flight
to India with opportunities to visit the Buddhist sites there is part of
promotion now being done by an FM station broadcasting in Sinhala.
The SMS and postcard competition is having a huge response). Sri
Lanka has a constitutional provision that gives foremost place to
Buddhism, and there is a political party already represented in
parliament that seeks to establish a 'Dharma Rajya' a system of
governance based on the teaching of the Buddha.
One would expect that such an interest in India, particularly in its
historic links with the Buddha and Buddhism, would make current
developments about Buddhism in India be of much greater interest over
here, than one sees today.
Regrettably though, this is not the case; which calls for a serious
re-think of our understanding and awareness of India and the many
developments there, apart from Bollywood, India's rapid economic growth
and regional influence.
Mayawati
Politically, the success of Mayawati in leading a coalition to
unprecedented victory in UP is a lesson to our own political thinkers of
how a successful coalition of divergent forces could be forged. Although
chosen Chief Minister of UP on earlier occasions as a Dalit leader
having unstable coalitions, Mayawati changed her tactics a few years
ago.
She moved to bring the Hindu Brahmins, whom she once asked her people
to chase away with slippers, as well as the Muslims, into a new umbrella
coalition of caste and religion, realising the growing weakness felt by
the Brahmins and the Muslims due to the advantages gained by the
intermediate Hindu castes today, thanks to the proportions set apart by
law for scheduled and other castes in employment, education etc.
Her new UP Cabinet has an interesting mix of Dalits, Brahmins, other
Hindu castes and Muslims. M.P.
Her approach is one of inclusiveness, which has brought about
electoral success ensuring a stable administration in UP for several
years, and also poses a major challenge to the main political parties of
India, even in the campaign to capture power in New Delhi. For those who
see the importance of inclusive politics as an answer to our current
crises, there is much to learn from the success of Mayawati, the Dalits
and the BSP.
The mass acceptance of Buddhism by several thousand Dalits last week,
following the example of Dr. Ambedkar, brings a new dimension into
Indian politics. Although the post-Ambedkar Buddhists of India have not
emerged as a strong political force as yet, the possibilities of such an
emergence is already seen by political analysts in India.
Immediately after the election of Mayawati as the new Chief Minister
of UP, India's NDTV which gives the impression of a pulse-beat TV
channel, had a participatory talk show that discussed the future of the
Politics of Caste in India.
There were no conclusive findings, but there was general agreement
that the Politics of Caste would remain in place for many more years.
The grip of caste and religion on Indian politics will also depend to a
large extent of the country's economic growth coupled with the rise in
education and the mobility of its work force.
New Dynamic
In the cauldron of political development in India, the new strength
of the Dalits and the acceptance of Buddhism by large numbers of them
bring a new dynamic into the politics of India. Although it may take
many years to achieve fruition there are signs that secularism is on the
rise in India and that the hegemony of the Hindus is under threat.
It is in Sri Lanka's own interest, therefore, to have a good
understanding of these trends and see how best they could impact on
Indo-Sri Lanka relations in the future.
Due to historical reasons, particularly British imperialism and the
plantation economy, as well as the common language and religious links
among the Tamils and Hindus in Sri Lanka with those in South India, the
pressure groups on Sri Lankan affairs in India have been almost
exclusively from Tamil Nadu. While this historical reality has to be
accepted, there is no reason why this should always be so, in the
context of changing developments in India.
Even though late, it is time that political thinking in Sri Lanka
considered more diverse relationships with emerging power centres, and
groups with potential for new pressures on the Indian establishment.
The path shown by Dr. Ambedkar in his break with the Hindu dominance
of Indian politics, which included his disagreements with Indian leaders
including Mahatma Gandhi, is a good pointer to Sri Lanka on the
formulation of new strategies in relationships with our immediate
neighbour.
The mantra-like repetitions about our historic links and cultural
links with India, especially the strong link of Buddhism, would mean
little unless the new developments vis-...-vis Buddhism in India are
properly understood and efforts made to establish lasting links with
this new sector of emergent power in India.
In his rejection of caste-based Hinduism and the embrace of the
humanitarian teaching of Buddhism where caste is anathema, Dr. Ambedkar
has shown the way for those who seek to overcome the dominance of a
powerful establishment, ingrained in the traditions of the past.
Any forward looking policies for Sri Lanka should similarly consider
how best the old formulations of power can change both internally, and
in our dealings with our neighbours.
The search for inclusiveness in domestic politics should extend to
serious attempts to include influence groups and people other than those
in South India in our overall dealings with India. Significantly, Dr.
Ambedkar never saw Buddhism as an option for Hindus only.
His thinking was in terms of a "Prabuddhi Bharat" - an enlightened
India. There can be much common interest in seeking such enlightenment
in our dealings with our immediate neighbour. |