Arjun Ram Meghwal

Union Minister of State for Culture & Parliamentary Affairs and Member of Parliament, Bikaner

We are at Amrit Kaal’s doorstep that lies ahead for the next 25 years when the Nation will witness the independence century. The ongoing Amrit Mahotsava provides the blueprint for the trajectory of the Nation. The forefathers laid down their concrete vision that resulted in our progress so far. In this mammoth exercise of Building New India, the inspiration farsighted & meticulous approach of Dr. BR Ambedkar in multiple domains will always remain as a guiding light. His 131st Birth Anniversary is an apt moment to recall his holistic role as a nation builder and take reaffirmation and inspiration to adhere to his ideal in our individualist & collective sphere.

Dr. Ambedkar greatly pioneered as an institution builder and the present-day constitutional setup reverberates his wisdom. He was the most valuable speaker in constitution Assembly debates with the highest share of 7.5 %-of word count, whereas Nehru stood with only 2.14 %.  The RBI found its genesis in his thesis “The Problem of Rupee-Its Origin & Solution”. As a labor member of the viceroy’s Executive Council, he was instrumental in shaping the water, power & Labour welfare policies. The management of water resources through institutions in the form of the central water commission, Central Technical Power Board, and Integrated water resources Management through establishing river valley authorities, among others, are vital interventions that shaped the will for optimally utilizing the available pool of natural resource. He majorly contributed to developing a federal finance system among the center & states for progressively raising their economic level & without jeopardizing their interest.

He was a reasoned voice of the depressed class and staunched advocates of labor rights. As a labor leader, he advocated for ‘fair condition of life of labor’ instead of ‘Fair Condition of Work.’Other welfare measures such as reduction in working hours to 48 hours per week, provisions of overtime&paid leave, Fixation & protection of Minimum wage, labor welfare fund, and acknowledgment of trade unions were taken spiritedly. The abolition of serfdom of agricultural tenants, abolition of the Khoti System in land tenure, and strong opposition to the Industrial Dispute Bill 1938 for ensuring workers’ rights to strike were prompt measures during his role as a legislator in the Bombay assembly.

Dr. Ambedkar was very much conscious of the progressive role of women in modern society and advocated for ensuring voting rights for women immediately after independence as part of universal adult suffrage. It is pertinent to note that the US, UK & other western countries took more than a century to extend voting rights to women. In Hindu Code Bill, He advocated for conferring adoption & inheritance rights to women. For facilitating their active participation in the economic workforce, he ensured the provisions of  ‘equal pay for equal work’ irrespective of sex& intervened in lifting the ban on women working underground in coal mines. He remains an instrumental figure in institutionalizing these strong fundamentals that now women are leaving no stone unturned and making the Nation proud on every possible front. 

During the concluding speech in the constitution assembly on 25^th November 1949, Dr. Ambedkar felt a sense of satisfaction on obtaining political equality through one man, one vote & one value. Still, he cautioned about the upcoming contradiction due to existing differences in values on social & economic fronts. However, in the past eight years, the initiative taken by the Modi government is eliminating those contradictions, and the Nation is moving closer to the vision of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. The Mantra of “SabkaSaath-SabkaVikas-SabkaVishwas&SabkaPrayas’ ensures the inclusivity of people standing in the last mile and convergence of the government’s multi-directional efforts for uplifting and nurturing their unbound potential.

The Nehru government’s delay from the one-year deadline for constituting the OBC commission &indifferent attitude towards this in-action was among the four reasons that led to the Nehru Cabinet’s resignation in 1951. The Modi government’s intervention to extend Constitutional status to OBC Commission in 2018 & Subsequent 105^th Constitutional Amendment for allowing states to identify the socially & educationally backward class are steps toward building a just society.

The historical records clearly show the difference between Ambedkar & Nehru on various accounts. Ambedkar opposed foreign policy regarding taking the J&K matter to UNO, Mismanagement of affairs with Pakistan, the plight of Hindus of eastern Bengal, & high military expenditure. On 26 August 1954 during his speech in Rajysabha, Ambedkar criticised the Fundamental flaw in Nehruvian foreign policy which was obliging other nations and putting nationalist concerns at stake. He was particularly aggrieved by the government’s silence that lead to china’s invasion of Lhasa, Tibet, and atrocities against Buddhists. India had lost its buffer state & china’s threat looming large on India’s territories Ambedkar, from Planning Stage itself, opposed the special status provision to J&K. The Nation had to pay a heavy toll to these mismanagements in the forms of subsequent war with the neighbouring country and deprivation of innocent people of J&K from the mainstream development programs. The abrogation of articles 370 & 35A of the constitution paved the way for sharing the fruits of development with the people of J&K. He criticized the extra-territorial loyalty of the communist and cautioned their duality in the cause of national progress.

The idea to observe “Samajik Nayay Pakhwada” from the BJP foundation day express symbiotic allegiance to the ideals of Ambedkar. The government programs are resulting towards bringing positive changes and facilitating ease of lives of everyone &disadvantaged and downtrodden section particularly. The development of Panch Tirtha, Dr. Ambedkar International Centre & Implementation of pro-poor welfare schemes such as standup, Start-up, Mudra & Venture Capital Fund, Building Eklavya Modal residential school, PM Awas Yojana, Swachh Bharat Yojana, PM Kisan, PMFBY, PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, Ujjwala Aushmaan Bharat among others are increasing people’s living standards. The revamped Post Metric scholarship scheme facilitates higher education for four crores SC students. The four labor codes – the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Social Security Code, and the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code have been formulated, focusing on the fair condition of life of workers. The National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property, Lucknow, under the Ministry of culture, is undertaking a project to preserve the personal belonging of Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar. These belonging will be showcased at the proposed Research center & Museum at Chincholi in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Now, the 131st Birth Anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, let’s mark this moment by immersing ourselves in the realm of the imagination framed by our forefathers and unsung heroes. Let our action tread towards building a just society and scale new heights for the Nation so that outcome resonates globally with the symphony of our beloved nation.

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