After squabbling over Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress are now set to lock horns over Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s legacy.
In a clear attempt to pre-empt the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, the Congress on Friday announced the formation of a 21-member committee, headed by party president Sonia Gandhi, to chart out a year-long programme to celebrate Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary starting later this month. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been named co-chairperson of the committee, which includes the party’s Dalit leaders.
In the process, the Congress also hopes to recapture its support base among the scheduled castes, which has been eroded over the years.
Elaborate celebrations
Although this isn't the first time that the Congress has organised programmes on April 14, Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, it has never held such elaborate celebrations to remember the architect of the Constitution.
The celebrations will be kicked off this month by the Congress top brass in Mhow, Ambedkar’s birthplace, and will culminate next year in Nagpur. Although the detailed programme will be chalked out at the first meeting of the committee later this month, K Raju, chairperson of the party’s scheduled castes department, said it will include special seminars at the national, state and district levels to disseminate information about Ambedkar's ideology and to reiterate his contribution to framing of the country’s Constitution.
A Dr BR Ambedkar award will be conferred on an individual or an institution for contributing to social transformation and promoting social equity.
Other events under discussion include padyatras and rallies in the states, along with essay and elocution contests in schools and colleges to make younger people aware of Ambedkar's ideas.
Reclaiming lost ground
Having been wiped out in large parts of the country in a series of elections over the past year, the Congress is now attempting to reclaim lost ground. It has already taken up the cause of farmers with its campaign against the BJP-led government’s land acquisition ordinance by painting the saffron party as pro-business and positioning itself as the party of the poor. It plans to use these Ambedkar programmes to highlight its work for the welfare of Dalits and other marginalised sections.
The party intends to collaborate with SC/ST organisations across the country in the coming year. The effort will be to generate awareness in villages and at the municipal level about the work done by successive Congress governments in securing special entitlements for Dalits. At the same time, the party will hold a national meet of Congress leaders in Mumbai to decide on further measures to ensure the empowerment of the marginalised and to address the social discrimination they face.
“The Congress has always stood for the poor and downtrodden… so it is only appropriate that it should have taken the initiative in organising the programme in memory of Babasaheb,” said former Union minister Selja, who is a member of the committee.
Shifting allegiances
If the prime motive of the Ambedkar anniversary programme is to reach out to the Dalits who have over the years shifted allegiance to other parties , the Congress also wants to counter the BJP’s communal agenda by pitching the Mahar leader as a liberal and democrat whose ideology, anchored in social justice and secularism, is in sync with that of the grand old party.
To ensure that the BJP does not claim Ambedkar as a saffron icon, the Congress plans to emphasise his historical links with their party. “Ambedkar, “ the Congress maintained, “ worked along with Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Rajendra Prasad and many Congress leaders to give shape to our Constitution, which promotes democratic values of justice ,liberty and equality.”
The decision to set up the Ambedkar committee comes months after the Congress set up a similar panel to highlight Jawaharlal Nehru’s achievements on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary last year. The BJP government subsequently set up its own committee for the same purpose. The move had generated considerable controversy because the BJP had criticised the Congress committee, saying Nehru and Gandhi belonged to the entire nation and could not be appropriated by any political party.
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In a clear attempt to pre-empt the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, the Congress on Friday announced the formation of a 21-member committee, headed by party president Sonia Gandhi, to chart out a year-long programme to celebrate Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary starting later this month. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been named co-chairperson of the committee, which includes the party’s Dalit leaders.
In the process, the Congress also hopes to recapture its support base among the scheduled castes, which has been eroded over the years.
Elaborate celebrations
Although this isn't the first time that the Congress has organised programmes on April 14, Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, it has never held such elaborate celebrations to remember the architect of the Constitution.
The celebrations will be kicked off this month by the Congress top brass in Mhow, Ambedkar’s birthplace, and will culminate next year in Nagpur. Although the detailed programme will be chalked out at the first meeting of the committee later this month, K Raju, chairperson of the party’s scheduled castes department, said it will include special seminars at the national, state and district levels to disseminate information about Ambedkar's ideology and to reiterate his contribution to framing of the country’s Constitution.
A Dr BR Ambedkar award will be conferred on an individual or an institution for contributing to social transformation and promoting social equity.
Other events under discussion include padyatras and rallies in the states, along with essay and elocution contests in schools and colleges to make younger people aware of Ambedkar's ideas.
Reclaiming lost ground
Having been wiped out in large parts of the country in a series of elections over the past year, the Congress is now attempting to reclaim lost ground. It has already taken up the cause of farmers with its campaign against the BJP-led government’s land acquisition ordinance by painting the saffron party as pro-business and positioning itself as the party of the poor. It plans to use these Ambedkar programmes to highlight its work for the welfare of Dalits and other marginalised sections.
The party intends to collaborate with SC/ST organisations across the country in the coming year. The effort will be to generate awareness in villages and at the municipal level about the work done by successive Congress governments in securing special entitlements for Dalits. At the same time, the party will hold a national meet of Congress leaders in Mumbai to decide on further measures to ensure the empowerment of the marginalised and to address the social discrimination they face.
“The Congress has always stood for the poor and downtrodden… so it is only appropriate that it should have taken the initiative in organising the programme in memory of Babasaheb,” said former Union minister Selja, who is a member of the committee.
Shifting allegiances
If the prime motive of the Ambedkar anniversary programme is to reach out to the Dalits who have over the years shifted allegiance to other parties , the Congress also wants to counter the BJP’s communal agenda by pitching the Mahar leader as a liberal and democrat whose ideology, anchored in social justice and secularism, is in sync with that of the grand old party.
To ensure that the BJP does not claim Ambedkar as a saffron icon, the Congress plans to emphasise his historical links with their party. “Ambedkar, “ the Congress maintained, “ worked along with Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Rajendra Prasad and many Congress leaders to give shape to our Constitution, which promotes democratic values of justice ,liberty and equality.”
The decision to set up the Ambedkar committee comes months after the Congress set up a similar panel to highlight Jawaharlal Nehru’s achievements on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary last year. The BJP government subsequently set up its own committee for the same purpose. The move had generated considerable controversy because the BJP had criticised the Congress committee, saying Nehru and Gandhi belonged to the entire nation and could not be appropriated by any political party.