Let's Read Dr.Ambedkar - Lecture1 by Dr. V Geetha - Ambedkar in His Time and Ours: An Introduction

[@adityachatterjee5214]

Summary of Lecture 1: Ambedkar in his time and ours (this is only a paraphrased summary, please watch the entire lecture) What does it mean to read Ambedkar: - When we say ‘reading Ambedkar’ we, more or less, are limiting it to his works in English. A lot of his work that were written in Marathi, for the three journals he edited - Mooknayak, Bahishkrit Bharat, Janata, are unfortunately available only to those who can access them in Marathi. - Ambedkar is amazingly consistent in his position throughout his scholarly works. - Despite his consistency, it is still important to know at what point in time he was writing his works, and in what context. - Many of his essays and works were either in response to a particular person or event, or were essentially meant for his Marathi speaking contemporaries. For example: Ambedkar’s essay - Krishna and his Gita, was in response to public intellectuals like Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Several public figures at that point read and invoked the Gita very often. Tilak’s own work - Gita Rahasya - was a prominent work, and in Krishna and His Gita, Ambedkar is seen responding. What does it mean to read Ambedkar in context: - When Ambedkar is placed in the context of his contemporaries, you see where he agrees, and where he moves away from other contemporary thinkers. For example: Ambedkar was influenced by D.D. Kosambi’s works, particularly his work on Ahimsa, and his play called Bodhisatva. - Kosambi’s influences on Ambedkar is seen in 'Buddha and his Dhamma'. All the same, Ambedkar went on do more with it and also something entirely different. - Ambedkar approached issues as someone who believed that an ethical change in our systems, one where fraternity would prevail, was deeply required. - It might appear that Ambedkar contradicts himself in some places. Particularly, in some of his Constituent Assembly speeches. We do know that Ambedkar had once [as a member of the Rajya Sabha] said that he was a ‘hack writer’ and would burn the constitution if need be. How does one make sense of this? Was he disillusioned? [Mine: To view this in the context of the Hindu Code Bill may shed some light] Words and phrases: - All through his works, Ambedkar has consistently used certain words and phrases. In his submission to the Southborough Commission he described an untouchable as someone whose ‘very persona has been confiscated’. Such usages are seen in the African American context. For example: works of James Baldwin. - In a submission to the Lothian Commission he described the untouchable as someone seen to be ‘generating social odium.’ Note the subtle shift here - from the untouchable to the perpetrator. While reading Ambedkar it may be important to build certain word clusters that attach themselves to a certain idea. - Important to also understand the sense in which Ambedkar used certain words, because we may have a different understanding of those words. For example, ‘class’ is usually understood as developed in Marxist literature. But Ambedkar used it to convey many meanings - when used in the sociological sense, it meant the varnas; when used in response to the Indian left, it took the Marxist economic meaning. Rhetoric and play with words: Ambedkar used words very interestingly as well. While addressing the Indian left in one of his Marathi writings he says - it is all very well to talk of proletarian unity, but how can you have proletarian unity when society is divided into religion and caste! He tells the Indian Marxist that ‘you are trying to build the superstructure without attending to the base!’ (here ‘base’ refers to caste and religion) [Marxist pun intended]. His play with words and use of rhetoric is something that we see throughout his writings. Ambedkar in his own time: - Ambedkar has been followed and adored by Dalits and non-Dalits who are committed to the annihilation of caste. - There was praise for his work from various quarters… Jinnah to Rajani Palme Dutt, Periyar to MN Roy. - He has been criticized for some views. The Indian left, at some point, called him pro-imperialist, some others called him communal, as well. - Many reluctantly admired him. We see this a lot in the Constituent Assembly debates. To call him the Manu of modern of India is a very unfortunate compliment. This is probably because the one’s offering him backhanded compliments did not know what to make of his formidable intellect. The anti-caste radical tradition: - History books show us the nationalist tradition, and the communist tradition. There was another important tradition that started from the time of Mahatma Phule - the anti-caste radical tradition. - This tradition asserted a view of freedom not only from economic exploitation, but also of social exploitation - calling for the destruction of the caste order and of untouchability. - Ambedkar rightfully belonged to this tradition, but also belonged to the nationalist and communist tradition. It is interesting to study the extent to which he shared common ground with the communist tradition, but he was undoubtedly the most eloquent proponent of the anti-caste radical tradition. Mahatma Phule and Iyothee Thass: - Prior to Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule was the most important figure. Following Mahatma Phule there was Pandit Iyothee Thass worked in the Tamil speaking regions of the Madras presidency. - Both Phule and Thass were very critical of the notion of nationalism that had then developed, and also of the demands of the nationalists (since they were unwilling to share it with the Dalit-Bahujan-women communities) - Thass was deeply critical of the extremist nationalism of Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. He wrote about this widely - he asked if the nationalists were willing to address the issue of social inequality and the lack of freedom for Dalits in the larger Indian social order. Universalism, Internationalism, the Aryans, and Buddhism in the anti-caste radical tradition: - Phule owed a great deal to the rationalist critique of religion that came through the writings of Thomas Paine et. al. - Thass however placed himself in the Buddhist critique of Brahminism. He argued that the Dalits were first Buddhists of India. - The rationalist critique and the Buddhist critique equipped Phule and Thass to challenge Brahminical ideologies. - Phule’s Satyashodhak Samaj may have had elements of Buddhism. Thass however converted to Buddhism later on. - Ambedkar had a great deal to take from Phule. He did not, however, agree with Phule on everything. For example: Ambedkar did not agree with Phule on treating Brahminism as something that came with Aryan invasion. Ambedkar belonged to the tradition of Phule and Thass, but he took it forward from where they left off. - To address the position of shudras, ati-shudras and women, Phule drew parallels with the plight of the aborigines of Australia and the native Americans. - Thass also does this. He argued that the agriculturists, no matter where they were in the world, shared a common culture of labour which produced the common wealth of food. - Ambedkar also tried to understand caste by invoking a range of global examples - Roman slavery, African American slavery, and the plight of the Jews, and the plight of the Africans under colonialism. - So, the anti-caste radical tradition viewed the plight of Bahujan- Dalit in terms of world historical oppression practiced by white colonisers, imperialism and capitalism. - Many Dalits who migrated to various parts of the world, came back to enrich our political tradition. For example, those who came back to form the Gadar party, some of them were Dalits, who also became part of the anti-caste and communist movements in UP and Punjab. Someone like Rettamalai Srinivasan, who participated with Ambedkar in the round table conference, brought an international experience to the dalit cause. Several Tamil Dalits who went to Malaysia and Singapore, joined the communist party there. When they came back to India, they joined the communist movement in India and were as committed to the anti-caste movement as they were to the anti-capitalist movement. This indicates a very rich universalism that dalits and bahujans brought to political movements. Other influences on Ambedkar: - Ambedkar admired the social reform movements of other non-dalit proponents like Gopal Hari Deshmukh, Mahadev Ranade, and bahujans like Shahu Maharaj (who was the first to introduce reservation in his own kingdom, stressed on inter-dining with Dalits, passed laws for women’s rights), all of whom were critics of Brahminism. - The Brahmin reformers were far less vociferous, but they too, in some sense, identified the need for reform. Therefore… It is important to read Ambedkar: - with careful attention to historic context. - keeping in mind that we don’t have access to all his works. - because caste and race discrimination have presented themselves today in far uglier forms than we can imagine. Ambedkar’s idea of fraternity or maitree (as used by the Buddha) has become all the more important, and the reasons to read Ambedkar are more pressing than they have been ever before.

[@anandselvaraj9325]

Awesome explanation mam thank you 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 💙Jai bheem 💙

[@sathya6691]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Ambedkar .

[@aravindhraj8350]

Excellent lecture continue the series

[@babasahebgaikwad3950]

Really right sir

[@jewelsnjoy]

Please upload the second lecture for those of us who could not join today

[@senthilj6614]

Great initiative, thanks

[@andrewd3899]

Thank you for uploading this, and thank you V Geetha mam for the class. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[@kovaisurveyor]

Excellent mam after a long interval watching ur lecture. Nice mam. No new arrivals in "Dhara" Publication in tamil language. The book " சரி நிகர் சமானமாய்" To be reached all elementary school.

[@CTv450]

அது என்ன அய்யா? புரியவில்லை

[@tripathi040]

the coming economic crisis could become worst nightmare for weaker sections.

[@wadhawesfarm3366]

As per Indian scenario is concerned, Majority of viewers don't understand English language, It will be of great help if you can dub it in Hindi. And hence larger population will be able to understand the views and knowledge of ASKS

[@nithishaneethu59]

Hello, please upload the recording of lecturer 2 as well.

[@Saketkanetkar]

Hello, when is Lecture 2 of this series 'Caste : A New Vocabulary' getting uploaded?

[@aravindhraj8350]

2nd video ?

[@wadhawesfarm3366]

Instead of ASKS read as AKSC

[@anandselvaraj9325]

Awesome explanation mam thank you 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 💙Jai bheem 💙