Ambekar Thakkar and Beyond 2008

8/10/2019 Ambekar Thakkar and Beyond 2008

1/8

From Ambedkar to Thakkar and Beyond: Towards a Genealogy of Our ActivismsAuthor(s): R. SrivatsanSource: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 43, No. 39 (Sep. 27 - Oct. 3, 2008), pp. 96-102Published by: Economic and Political WeeklyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40278006.

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2/8

FromAmbedkar o Thakkar nd

Beyond:

Towardsa

Genealogy

of Our Activisms

R

SRIVATSAN

This

aper

draws n a letter

R

Ambedkar rote

n

1932,

hatwas addressed o

A V

Thakkar,

ecretary

f he

Anti-Untouchability

eague

n

order

o

bring

ut the

implications

or

resent ay

ctivism

n

dalit

truggles.

The etter

tself

as a discussion f

lternative

deas on

how

to work

or hewelfare

f

he

"Depressed

Classes"

and makes

critique

f heGandhian

rogramme.

he

paper ttemptsnunderstandingt thepresent

historical

uncture

f

he tructure

f

Ambedkar's

political

hought

s it

merges

n

he

ogic

f

Depressed

Classes ctivism

nd

its tructural

train

against

he Marxist

osition.

I

would

ike othank

eeptha

Achar nd

Shivaji

anikkar or

roviding

me

with n

opportunity

odo a

preliminary

resentation

f

his ettern

theArt ndActivismeminar, aroda, 004.Aslightlydited ersion

of his

ssay

s due

to

ppear

n the

forthcoming

olume f

ssays

hat

emerged

nthat eminar. his

ndependent

ssay

was writtenn the

context

f PhDdissertationn

thenationalist

oncept

f

eva,

t

the

Centre

or

conomic

nd Social

Studies,

yderabad,

n affiliation

with

r B

R

Ambedkar

pen

University,yderabad.

am

grateful

o

K

Satyanarayana

or is omments

hat ave

trengthened

he

paper

and

given

t

greater epth.

thank

MadhavaPrasad

incerely

or is

provocative

nd constructive

ritical

omments

hich

as

usual)

forced

me

to

ay hings

littlemore

igorously

han n

the

irst

nstance.

R Srivatsan

[email protected])

orks n

development

nitiatives

t

theAnveshi

esearch entre

orWomen's

tudies,

yderabad.

attempt

n

this

paper

o draw ut he

mplications

f

minor

document

rom he

writings

f

the

freedommovement

n a

manner hat s alive to that ontext nd

at

the same time

useful o our

thinking

oday.

his

eemingly

nnocuous

ext s

a

letter

roposing programme

f ction or he

Anti-Untouchability

League

aul),

written

y

B

R

Ambedkarn

1932,

nd addressed

to

A V

Thakkar,

ecretary

f that

organisation.1

mbedkar's

argument

n

this etter

s not

polemic, hough

e

did

ndulge

often

n

polemic

withdramatic ffect.t is rather

fiercely

focused iscussionf deas abouthowto work or hewelfare f

the

Depressed

Classes

and social

reform.2

hrough

his

discus-

sion,

Ambedkar

rovides critique

f heGandhian ctivist

ro-

gramme

nd

structure.

he document

rovides

s

with

ome

of

Ambedkar's ost

rofound

nd

enduring

nsights egarding

he

structure

fcaste

oppression,

he

politics

fthe

oppressed,

nd

the

cope

of ocial

ctivism.

I had

originally

itled

his

ssay

Towards

Preliminary

ene-

alogy

f

OurActivism'

o

suggest

hat his

genealogy"

f ctivism

was

proposed

s

a

future

rogramme

o

be undertaken

y

me,

and thatAmbedkar's

etters

a

vehicle

or

my roposal.3

hrough

the

process

f

reading,

now

think hat t is Ambedkar

ho

sketches

he

genealogy

f

nationalist

oluntary

ctivism

n this

letter,

ritically racing

ts

descentin caste-Hindu

hought

through

is'

roposal

or different

rogramme.

he

activism e

criticises

s

Gandhian,

nd

I

will

primarily

ocus

n this

spect.

Alongside,

will lso use

Ambedkar's

omplex

nderstanding

f

the

struggle gainst

aste

oppression

s

a

viewing

latform

o

examine

Marxist

hought

nd

practice

n the

ndian

ontext.

o

this

nd,

willreadthis etter s

ifhe

s

addressing

arxism

oo,

even

hough

is

writings

n Marxism

nly ppear

fter he

950s,

and his earliest

written eference

o socialism

nd communism

perhaps

ome

four

years

after

his letter

n

'Annihilationf

Caste'.4

My

eading

fAmbedkar's

etter

ill

tress

he tructural

aspects

fhis

thought-in-praxis

hat

omplicates

arxism

s we

know t, atherhandwellon hisexplicitriticismsfMarxism.

These

have

beendealt

with t

ength y

he

writers

ited,

mong

many

thers.

My reading

f this

etter s

not

unprecedented.

ail Omvedt

has dealt

n detail

with he

ame

etter

n her

ecent

iography

f

Ambedkar.5

iven hefocus f

her work

n

that

book,

he

has

readthe

etter s

expressing

more

progressive

iew

hanGan-

dhi's

nd has narrated

he

history

f how t was smothered

o

Ambedkar's

ismay

nd defeat

in

that

particular

attle).

While

Omvedt's

eading

s

almost

ntirely

alid nd

acceptable

rom

my

perspective,

hat

want

o do

here s toread his etter

ith

ess

96

September

27,

2008

0DE3

Economic

Political

eekly

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3/8

- -

=

=

-

SPECIAL

ARTICLE

of

straightforward

istorical/biographical

ntent.

want, ather,

to

attemptnderstanding

or ur

presentuncture

he

tructure

of

Ambedkar's

olitical hought

s

it

emerges

n the

ogic

of

Depressed

lasses

ctivism,

n

mplicit

riticism

f heGandhian

position

nd

its tructuraltrain

gainst

he Marxist

ne.

It

is

within

his

viewthat will

read his etter n

a

way

thatwillbe

significantly

historical.

Some"straightforwardistory" ill situate he etter nd its

contentsor he eaderwho s unaware

f he

background.

andhi

started he

Anti-Untouchabilityeague

in

1932

fter he Poona

Pact esolved he risis fhis fast nto eath.Gandhi ad under-

taken his ast

n

protestgainstRamsay

Macdonald's ommunal

Awardwhich ad

provided separate

lectorateothe

Depressed

Classes,

thus

removing

hem from he

Hindu

fold.The idea

behind he

aul

was to

extend

n a

logical

manner

Gandhi's

constructive

trategy

f

demonstrating

hat he

Congress

nd

ts

penumbra rganisationsrovided

n

increasinglyeep political

representation

or he

people

f ndia s

a

whole.6

twas

felt

hat

theuntouchables

lienated

from he

Congress

y

Ambedkar's

crisis-provoking

nterventions

ad to be won back to

the fold f

thenationalists. andhi's itter attleswithAmbedkarncon-

nection

with the Yeravadafast found

ome reconciliation

n

Ambedkar

nd his

Depressed

Classes

colleagues

Rao

Bahadur

Srinivasan

nd

Rao

Bahadur

M C

Rajah agreeing

o

oin

as

part

of

the

eight

member ul

board. G

D Birla

was

president

nd

A

V

Thakkar

f heServants

f

ndia

Society

and

Gandhi's

ife-

long ompanion)

as

elected

ecretary.

Ambedkar's

etter

ated November

4, 1932

was written o

place

hisviews

before

he ul

board

for heir

onsideration,

n

route

o London.

would iketo

imagine

hat he

all too brief

peace

at

sea,

and the distanced

iew

of the

battleground,

ave

Ambedkar

moments

f reflection

hat

haped

the

magnificence

and

generosity

fhis

writing

n this

etter.

Two Methods

of

Uplift'

Ambedkar

tarts

is

rgument

y

outlining

wo

ways

f

hinking

about

he auses

f ocial

uffering

nd the

methods

f

uplift

hat

flow

ogically

ut f ach

of

hese

ways

f

hinking.

hefirst

ay

thinks

hat

person

who

belongs

othe

Depressed

lasses

uffers

because

of some

failing

n his

"personal

onduct".

mbedkar's

critical

se

of

he erm

ersonal

onduct

s

noteworthy:

Ifhe

s

uffering

rom

ant nd

misery

t sbecause

e sviciousnd

sinful.

tarting

romhis

ypothesis

his choolf ocial

workerson-

centrates

ll ts

fforts

nd ts

esourcesn

fosteringersonal

irtue

by dopting

programme

hich

ncludes

temsuch

s

temperance,

gymnasium,

ooperation,

ibraries,

chools,tc,

which

re alculated

tomakehendividualbetternd irtuousndividualibid: 34).7

The second

way suggests

hat f

a

person

uffers

romwant

and

misery,

t s

because

his environment

s

adverse.

Ambedkar

professes

his

econd

way

nd asserts

hat

t

s the

ask f

ocial

work

o

ift he

Depressed

lasses

as

a whole

nd not

ust

a

few

individuals,

s

thefirst

ay

would.This ask

would

be

to

change

the

nvironment

nwhich

he

Depressed

lasses

ived

n

ociety.

Since

he ul

came

nto

eing

o ift he

Depressed

lasses s

a

whole,

t would

be

a wasteful

issipation

f

energy

o focus

n

individual

plift.

This

opening argument

s

significant.

irstly,

hough

t

does not name

Gandhi,

t

targets

is

approach

o

service om-

prehensively.

econdly,

s

we

shall

ee,

the

riticism

rovides

valid

perspective

o

evaluate

many

uture

ersions f

voluntary

activismnd

ervice

hat

re

with

s

today.

n

Gandhi,

iciousness

or

infulnesss

a

matter f

past

ncarnationsf

he ndividual

his

present uffering

s due to

his

past

sins.

However,

he

kinds f nterventionescribed, nd their ocus n individual

conduct,

e,

"temperance,

ymnasium,ooperation,

ibraries,

schools,

tc",

point

o the

new avatarsofthe Gandhian

mode

of

nterventionhatdominate

many

f

our

activist fforts.n

fact,

we need to

pay pecial

attention o those

holy

owsof

our

own

developmental

ctivism, e,

libraries nd

schoolshere.

The

ibrary

nd

school,

whenused as

an

instrumento

mprove

the individual conduct of

the "sinful

wretch"8 romthe

Depressed

Classes,

s as much

n

object

of

criticisms is the

attempt

t

promoting emperance,

egetarianism,

raying

o

Ram,

nd

other

Gandhian

methods f

uplift".

husAmbedkar

criticises

social reform r welfare

nitiative

hat

moulds

he

conduct f

an individual rom he

Depressed

Classes as

if

t

was that onductwhichwas flawed ndneeded mprovement,

without

ighting

he social

oppression

hat

s

the root

ause of

the

problem.

What

hen

does the secondmethod

hat

ries o

improve

he

social nvironment

mply?

Civic

Rights/Civil

War/Crisis

f Belief

The most

mportanttep

f he

ul,

in

Ambedkar's

ursuit

f he

second

path,

would be

a

campaign

o secure civil"

ights.

t

s

interesting

hat

while he

heading

f

his

ection

ays

ivil

ights,

the

ext

ses

theword civic

ights"

r

"rights

f civicnature"

on

three ccasions

nd

never

uses the word

civil.The Shorter

Oxford

ictionary

ives

he

primary

efinition

f ivil s

belong-

ing

to

citizens,

while civic s defined s

pertaining

o citizens.

What

belongs

o

a

citizen

lmost

with heforce

f

possession,

i

e,

civility,

s described

n the

dictionary

s anorderlinessf

ife,

well-governedness

n

civil

ociety, oliteness

f

ddress,

rivacy,

legal

right,

tc.

n stark

ontrast,

he

attribute

f a citizen

hat

pertains

o

his character

s the civic omesfrom

orona ivica

crown

foak eaves

nd acorns

estowed

pon

one

that

aved

fellow-citizen

n war.

t

s

an oathof

llegiance

o theneworder

of

hings,

emanded rom itizens

n

theFrench evolution.9

he

shift

n he

usage

from civil"

n

the

heading,

o civic"

n he

ext,

marks

he hift

rom

politics

f ivil

ociety

o

a

specific

ind f

revolutionaryolitics.

Such programmef arriednto he illages ill ringbout he ec-

essary

ocial evolution

nHindu

ociety,

ithout hich

twill

ever

be

possible

or he

epressed

lasses

o

get qual

ocial

tatus...

irst

f

all,

here ill

e riots etween

he

Depressed

lasses nd he aste

Hindus

hich ill

esultn

breaking

eadsnd n riminal

rosecu-

tions

f ne ide

r

he

ther

letter

egarding

UL, 135).

What re these

rights,

he

defence fwhich

may

onfer he

corona

ivica?

hey

re

precisely

he

rights

f

entry

o

schools,

public

places, public

ransport,

tc.

Entry

o

school as

a

civic

right

as

a

desirable

onnotation

hat s differentrom hat f

n

instrumento

mprove

he

onduct

f

he

inner.

ere ducation

Economic

Political

weekly

OQQ9

September

27,

2008

97



4/8

SPECIALARTICLE

=

~^- rzzz:

==-

--.==h===f^- =.-l-z=r=== ^=

is a

general

rogramme

f ntellectual

rowth,

ot method f

improvementremised

n the ndividual'slaw.

There

would

be

many

bstacles o such

campaign

o

secure

civic

rights,

he first

eing

the

magistracy

nd the

police

who

would nsure

hat he

dignity

f the caste

Hindus,

ven

f

hey

were

uilty,

as

upheld gainst

he

Depressed

lasses.

he econd

deadly

bstaclewouldbe

a

social

boycott,

hichwouldharass

theDepressed lasses, hrow ut them f obsandstarve hem.

But

his

rauma

was nevitable

n

pursuit

f he

goal,

nd the

ul

wouldneed o have n

army

f ctivistsn therural

arts

o

up-

port

nd

encourage

he

Depressed

lasses o

fight

heir attles.

The

reason

why

his

ampaign

was

necessary

n

pite

fblood-

shed,

ccording

o

Ambedkar,

as its dramatic ffectiveness

n

forcing

he aste

Hindu

o

think bouthis

everyday

onduct. he

caste Hindu

will

never

hink

bouthis

habitual

ractices

f

op-

pression

nless crisis orces im.

Preaching

nd other

asyop-

tions f

onverting

heHindu

pinion hrough

ationaldeas

will

fail

ecause

they

o not

ompel hought,

or

hey

o not

roduce

a

crisis"

ibid:

136).Thus,

he

most

mportant

esson

Ambedkar

teaches

s about

ctivism

or

ocial

ustice

s

that t

must

roduce

a crisisnorder o orce hought.

The

other

spect

of

Ambedkar's ormulations

the

way

in

which

he

imagines

evolution

or he

Depressed

Classes

n

the

context f this etter. he caste battles re

not to

consume

he

whole

of

society

n

flames,

hey

lso

do

not

attempt

he over-

throw

f

he

oppressor they

re acute

in

themedical ense

of

short nd

intense)

ngagements

hat

force

dominant ommu-

nity

o

think

bout ts

practices.

he

assumption

ehind

his

m-

agination

f

he evolutions

thatwhile here re

a

large

number

of

thoughtless

nd

violent ollowers

f

the dominant

radition,

there s

also

a

significantart

f

hedominant

roup

hat

an

be

forced

y

a

critical

ituation

o see reason

and

enlightenment

over he

ssue of caste.

The

change

n

the

social environment

sought y

Ambedkar

hrough

he ul activism

as tocome

bout

by

shift

nthedominantonsensus.10

Against

n Economicsof Caste

Oppression

The next

tep

hat he aul would

have

to undertake

wouldbe

a

struggle

o

bring

boutan

equality

of

opportunity

or he

Depressed

lasses.

The

"bar-sinister"

perates gainst

hem

n

rural

elf-employment

they

re

not

permitted

o sell

vegetables,

milk,

ggs

rbutter

norder o earn

living), overnment

mploy-

ment

where

hey

o

not ven

get

he

posts

f

messengers),

nd

n

urban

private

ndustry

where

hey

re

employed

n

the

most

menial

obs, being

hrown

utat the

slightest

int f business

adversity).ocusingnthe ottonpinningndweavingndustry,

Ambedkar

escribes

ow he

Depressed

lasses

mployees

ever

rise o

the

highestung,

re discriminated

gainst

n distribution

ofraw

material or

iece

work ven

among

women,

where

he

Naikins

ive

ll the

awmaterials

o

casteHindu

women,

eaving

the

women

f the

Depressed

Classes

to face

their

hunger.

he

aul,

in this

nvironment,

ould

have to work

o

create

public

opinion

gainst

uch

practices

nd establish

ureaus

o deal

with

this

ind

f

nequality.

Muchan

e

done

y

rivate

irms

nd

ompanies

anaged

y

Hindus

by xtending

heir

atronage

o

he

epressed

lasses

nd

mploying

them n

their

fficesn

various

grades

nd

occupations

uited o the

capacities

f

he

pplicants

ibid:

138).

The current ebate

mong

dalit

ntellectualsbout reserva-

tions

n

privatendustry

choes

he

political

ssertionmadehere.

However,

he

ptimism

mbedkarhows

n

his

xpectation

rom

caste Hindu

ndustrialists,

hich eems

misplaced

n

today's

context,

as also

to

be

explained

gainst

he

miserable

mploy-

ment ontext f he extilemillshe himself escribes.Why oes

he

think uch a

drastic hift

n

employer pinion

nd

action s

possible

when

he

reality

n that ra was

so

stark?

The

contradictionmbedkar escribes ere s

a

caste

contra-

diction

within he

same

working

lass.11 e does notseeka

Marxian

metahistory

f

lass

struggle

nd ultimate

oal

of om-

munism

o

ground

he

proposed

nitiative;

hat

s,

here s

no

pro-

posal

for base of class

inequalities

hat

gives

rise toa

super-

structural

ffect

f

caste

struggle.12

e focuses n

the

directly

observable

aste contradiction etween the caste

Hindu and

Depressed

lasses.The

struggle

akes n

an

immediate,

ercep-

tible

meaning,

nd

provides

specificogic

f

finding

llies

that

is

based on the

ingular

haracter

f

aste

oppression.

hus,

t

s

possible orAmbedkar ohopeto find asteHindu llies mong

the

managers

f

ndustry

ho

may

help

n

the annihilationf

caste.

n

this

hope,

Ambedkar eemsto

depend

n the nherent

rationality

f

ndustry

hat

will

drive

t

to

find

hemost

uitable

candidates

or

obs,

n "various

rades

nd

occupations

uited o

the

capacities

f

applicants"

egardless

f

aste.13

t

would eem

that his

easoning

s

a

validone for ndustries

eeking ood

m-

ployees

ven

oday.

n

theother

and,

he amecaste ontradic-

tion

woulddivide

he

potential epressed

lasses

mployees

nd

actual aste

Hindu nes s

itdidthen.

This

single-minded

ocus

n caste

oppression

lone

s

a

well

thought

ut

policy

or

Ambedkar,

ho

n another ess

amiable

context,esponded

o

A

V

Thakkar's arcastic

escription

fhim

as

"the

doughty

hampion

f

the

oppressed,

epressed

nd

exploited",14

n the

following

ein

Mr

hakkar as

ought

o

give

oint

ohis riticism

y

alling

me

"doughty

hampion

f

he

ppressed

nd

depressed".

etme

ellMr

Thakkarhat

have ever

laimed

obe

universaleader

f

uffering

humanity.

he

problem

f

heuntouchables

s

quite

nough

or

my

slender

trength,

nd should

e

quite

appy

f could

uccessfully

rescuehe

ntouchables

rom is

lutchesnd

hose f

Mr

Gandhi.15

Ambedkar's

ogic

ffocused

upport

o

one ssue s

again

een

in the

strategy

e

proposes

n his

1945

peech

on "Communal

Deadlock

nd

the

Way

o

Solve

t".

There,

Ambedkar

ormulated

a

system

f

reservations

n

parliamentary

epresentation

hat

would ensure that no minoritywould face the oppressive

hegemony

f

majoritarian

induism.

t he ame

ime,

o

ingle

minority

ould

have

to

try

o

find theoretical

ationality

hat

would over

ll the

pecific

ppressions

aced

y

ll

the

minorities.

Thus,

with

n intuitive

ragmatism,

e

rejects

single

over-

arching

attle

against

oppression

heorised

ccording

o

one

"primary

ontradiction".

e

prefers

o

find

onjunctural

art-

ners

to

struggle longside

the

Depressed

Classes

against

he

single

ource

i e,

caste

Hinduism)

f

different

inds

f ontra-

diction

nd different

orms

f

oppression.

ven f here s

one

dominant

ppressor,

he

ppressed

re divided

nd

differentiated

98

September

27,

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by

the structural

ogic

of caste

Hindu

oppression

n

the

ndian

context.We

may

deduce here

that

the

result f the

struggle

against

aste

Hindu

ppression,

ven

f

uccessful,

s not Uto-

pian

community

ree

f

all

struggle,

ut

clearly

nother et

of

struggles

hat

rise

n that

mergent

ituation

n

ways

hat

an-

not

e theorised

oday.

Thus,

while the

first

tep

ofa

campaign

for ivic

rights

s

theorisedn a waythatproblematisesheCongress-Gandhian

concept

f ervice

o

the

untouchables,

he

econd

tep

o

fight

for

quality

f

opportunityroblematises

orus the

Marxian

concept

f class

struggle,

nd forms

f

activism

ased on this

concept.

he

important

hing

bout this

criticism

hoseof us

with

Marxist

abitmust nderstands this.The

ogic

f con-

tradiction

nd the

anguage

of

a

struggle

gainst oppression

have o be born f

he

xperience

f he

oppressed.

mbedkar's

positionmay

e read

s

arguing

hat here s no use

in

trying

o

achieve

n

understanding

f

oppression

ccording

o

a

category

(of

lass)

which alls

for

reasoning eyond

he

trong xperi-

ence

of aste

oppression.16

he

analysis

fforces

n

a

struggle,

f

democratic,

must rise

organically

rom he

consciousness

f

theoppressed.Any ttempto short-circuithis onsciousness

of he

oppressed

ith

eady-made

ormulae funiversal

istory

will

regress

o an authoritarianism

hatundercutshe

experi-

ential

basis of the

struggle.

his

is

why

the

struggle

gainst

caste

oppression

ven

oday

must e

a dalit

truggle,

nd not

n

upper-castegenda.

Sharing

a

Meal,

Shaping

a

Community

The next

aradox

mbedkar

oses

for s

nhis

onceptualisation

of

truggle

s

his

proposal

or

nter-dining

etween aste-Hindus

and the

Depressed

lasses,

...to dissolve

he nausea

which he

touchables

eel owards

he Un-

touchables,nd which

s the

reason

why

hetwosections

have re-

mained o

apart

s to

constitute

eparate

nd distinct

ntities

From

the etter

egarding

UL, 138).

Ambedkar

rgues

hat

nly

common

ycle

f

participation

n

a

way

f ife

an overcome

he

trangeness

ne

feels

or

he ther.

Social

unity,

which

e are

all

striving

fter"

ill ome

nly

with

understanding

nd

a

sense

of

bonding

hat rise

n an associated

way

f ife.

n one of hose

are nstances

hen

Ambedkar

efers

to

Gandhi

s

"Mahatma",

e

says

hat n those

10

days

when he

Mahatma

ndertook

hefast

hat

hook

he

nation,

many

f

he

caste

Hindus

mployers

roke

ules f

untouchability

nd frater-

nised

with he untouchables.

his ed

to caste

Hindu ervants

striking

ork.

nstead

f

pushing

head

with heir

rogramme

offraternisation,heemployersapitulated o orthodoxynd

abandoned heir

newfound

riendship.

uing

he existence

f

such

fair eather

riends",

mbedkar

rgues

hat

he ul should

work o

strengthen

ympathisers

o

that

hey

re

ready

o

fight

alongside

he

Depressed

lasses

gainst

heforces f

orthodoxy.

Trust

n the caste

Hindu

will

come

only

when he is

ready

o

shed

bloodfor

he

Depressed

lasses,

s

thewhites

f he

north

in

the

United tates

id

against

heir

wn

kin,

hewhites f

he

south

for he

emancipation

f

the

Negro".

ympathy

nd trust

are

reciprocal.

owever,

t s

mportant

o note

hat

Ambedkar's

example

s

not

simple

spousal

of the"American

ay".

n the

American ivil

war,

t

was

the

whiteswho

fought

ach

other

over

he ssue f

Negro lavery".

n

Ambedkar's

rogramme,

he

Depressed

lasses

will

assert hemselvesnd

wage

the

primary

struggle

the aste

Hindu

ympathisers

re mere

upporters

nd

fellows-in-battle.

Thus

n

the ame

argument,

mbedkar

uns

ogether

oth

referenceo

revolutionary

iolence n the

ne

hand,

nd

plea

o

theemployeroput ntopractice programmefchange hat

will

ffect he aste

Hindu

ervant's ehaviour

n the ther. he

attack

ere s on our

understanding

fhow

community

orks,

howAmbedkarhinks or nd about

he

Depressed

lasses,

heir

political

ondition,

nd what

ustice

onsists f. twould e worth

exploring

ach

of

hese

spects

n

somedetail:

The first

oint

to note is the

complexity

f

Ambedkar's

concept

f

community

or

of a

group

or class as

such)

-

it

s

necessary

o

set

aside

all

imaginary

ommunities

hat find

peaceful

coexistence r are

uniformly

tructured lasses in

their

oves,

understandings

nd

antagonisms.

hus,

we

needto

recognise

hat

ommunitiesre

richly

extured

n

their evels f

oppressiveness,

rrationality

nd

sophistication.

hile

t

may

e

necessaryt one place in a givenperiod o break asteHindu

heads

n

a

pitched

attle,

t

may

be

equallynecessary

t another

place,

n the

ame

period,

o dine

with

he caste

Hindu nd

get

used to

himwhilehe

gets

used to us.

t

s

necessary

o

work

if-

ferent

spects

of the

community

orclass,

or

caste)

against

he

other,

xploit

he failure f

the

logic

of

community,

orce ts

inconsistency,

norder o

bring

bout

change

n ts

tructure.

t

is

plain

that uch

process

annot

provide

final

esolution

o

the aste

question only ontinuing

attle. his s

far rom oth

a Gandhian

magination

f

Ramarajya',

nd from

Hegelian/

Marxist

dialectical resolution

f class contradiction.17

he

Ambedkarite

odelof

community

s one

that s

put

constantly

under

tress,

working

t

part

nd

together

n a

erky,

malfunc-

tioning,

lowly

mproving,lwaysprovisional

nity.

The

second

oint

onote s

that n Ambedkar's

onception,

he

oppressed

o not

hink hemselves

s

victims,

or

o

they unger

for

world

transforming

tate

power.

He

suggests

hat the

Depressed

lasses

recognise

he ontours

f heir

ppression

nd

will

fight

ctively

o overcome

t

o

the xtent

hey

eel

ecessary.

The structure

f

oppression,

ike

thatof

comradeship

n

battle

does

not follow

geometric

ines

and

rectilinear

erspectives;

therefore,

uniform,

igh

modernist

pproach

o

oppression

ill

not

erve

he

purpose.

On the

other

and,

t

s

necessary

o

re-

frain rom

eeing

he

Depressed

lasses

as

passive ecipients

f

pity

nd

alms,

n

the

way

heGandhian

rogramme

id.

Thethird oteworthyointsthe uggestionhat hedemand

for

ustice

n

the

faceofuntold

ppression

ill

be

a

demand

or

blood.

Anything

ike

a "Truth nd Reconciliation

ommission"

which istens

o thevictim

nd

compensates

im

n a

simple ay

without

unishing

he

oppressor

will not be

enough

n

itself,

even

though

t

may

be

part

of

the whole

process.

At

the

same

time

that bloodshed s not

an

apocalyptic

iver f

revenge

there

will be

differentevels f

battle

gainst ppression

hich

willbe

conjunctural,

ontradictory

nd

multiple.

ustice emands

respect,

ot

nly ympathy.

t

requires

ove,

which

will rise oth

through

he

crisis fbloodshed

nd

through

ctsof

ourage

nd

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Political

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^eeeeeeeel =i=^=

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-==

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generosity

hat

go beyond

he

magination

f bloodshed.

This

follows

rom

he

complex,

multilevelled

ogic

of

the

way

in

which caste-ridden

ommunity,

hich s

trying

o become

nation,

ill

have owork.

Activism

orn

of

Love,

Not

Pity

If

he

ctivists

f he ul have to

fightlongside

he

oppressed,

theywillhave obepeoplewho ovetheoppressed,ndare not

"fighting"ainly

or inancial onsideration.Hire

purchase"

f

Depressed

Classes

activism

y organisations

ho are

also en-

gaged

n several ther

rogrammes

s to be eschewedbecause

lovefor he

Depressed

lasses annot e

purchased

n

hire.

Ac-

tivists

ill

have o be

disciplined

o have

a

single-minded

evo-

tion

o he

problem,

narrow-mindednd

enthusiastic

bout

heir

cause"

From

etter

egarding

ul,

p

139).

uch ctivists

illbest

be

found

mong

he

Depressed

lasses

hemselves.

I do not

uggest

hat here renot coundrels

mong

he

Depressed

Classes

ho ave otmade ocial erviceheirast

efuge.

ut

argely

speaking,

ou

an be

more

ure that worker

rawn

rom he

Depressed

lasses

ill

egard

heworks ove'saboura

thing

hich

is o ssentialo he uccessf he nti-Untouchabilityeague.

Thus,

gain, hrough

is

xplicitdvocacy

f

Depressed

lasses

activists,

mbedkar

learly

howshis assessment

f the

imita-

tions nd imits f asteHindu ctivism. mbedkar

eiterates

n

his

closing

lines he need for

ove to

bring ogether,

owever

doubtfully

nd

provisionally,

henational

ommunity.

The touchables

nd theuntouchablesannot

e held

ogether

by

aw

certainly

ot

y

ny

lectoral

aw

substitutingoint

lec-

torates or

eparate

lectorates. he

only thing

hat

can

hold

them

ogether

s ove.Outside

he

familyustice

lone

n

my pin-

ioncan

open

the

possibility

f

ove,

ndit hould e the

duty

f

the

Anti-Untouchability

eague

o ee

that he ouchable

oes,

or

failing

hat s made o

do, ustice

o

the

Untouchable

ibid:140).

What

Happened,

Then?

Giventhe

powerful

riticism

f the structure

f

nationalist

activism

n

his

etter,

e

mayguess

thatAmbedkar

id not

feel

too

upset

when

therewas

no

response

from

Thakkar,

ven

thought

e did

express

hetorical

urprise

n his

retrospective

narration

ibid:

40).

n

omplete

ontradictiono

hisrecommend-

ations,

he ul had decided

to

adopt

the method

f

"peaceful

persuasion",

schew

orce

nd

thecreation

f

rises,

voidrefer-

ence to

inter-dining

nd

intermarriage,

nd

adopt

constructive

work f

uplifting

heUntouchables.

eanwhile,

andhi

egan

o

call Untouchables

arijans.18

e

renamed

he

organisation

he

Harijan evak angh hss),after discussion f ermsn193419

To add insult

o

injury,

he

organisation

ecided

not

to

permit

membership

f

Harijans,

ven

hough

he

original

entral

oard

of

ight

members

ad once

had three

ntouchable

eaders.

hus

the

ul,

through

ts

renaming

s thehss reverted

o its

genea-

logical

escent

it

began

functioning

s

a

caste

Hindu

rganisa-

tion

eeking

alvation

or

tsmembers'

ouls

by

offering

epent-

ance for

he sins

of

untouchability

ommitted

y

Hinduism

n

history.

he

rony

f

his

prayaschitta'

or he caste

Hindu oul

was that

t

was

to

be

achieved

hrough

he

purification

f the

physical

ody

nd moral

ibre f

he

Harijan

The

aul/hss

thus

sacrificed

what Ambedkar

elt

was an invaluable

oncept

f

service

o

improve

he environment

f Untouchable

ife

t

the

altar

f

he onstructive

rogramme

hatwas central o the aste

Hindu ationalist

trategy.

Perhaps

most

mportantly,

mbedkar's

trategic

ove

f

writ-

ing

his etter orced he ul

to unmask ts

genda

nd show he

caste

Hindu

hegemony

t

stood for

nd

expose

ts

imitations.

The ul couldhaverespondedositivelyoAmbedkar'setter,n

which

ase,

the

historical

ituation

ouldbe

altogether

ifferent

today.

he

fact hat t did

not,

does

notbelittle mkedkar's

t-

tempt

t

critical etrieval. erein

iesthe ast essonAmbedkar

teaches

us

in

this etter.

n an activist

truggle,

e did

what

he

implied

hould e

done

n

his

writing,

nd

that

s not o abandon

hope

of

upport

rom

ny

quarter,

owever

nlikely.

artners

n

struggle

ay

make

trange

edfellows.

he

ogic

f

n

oppressed

minority's

truggle

hat

s

taking lace

on the

groundmay

not

e

reduced o

a

simplepolitical

nd

ethical

alculus

of comrades

and

class

enemies.20

t

calls

for

trenuous

fforts

t

working

counter-hegemonic

onsensuswith

ll

parties

who hare elated

positions,

ntil

uchtime

hat

hese

hopes

re belied.

However,

that lliance hould eontermshat ffirmhe ppressedminor-

ity'smplicit erspective

f he

truggle.

t s this allto collective

self-assertion

hat

becomes

he critical

ifferentiatingrinciple

of the term

dalit"

which

rises

n

the same

period),

rom

he

term

Harijan",

hich onnotes

passive,

nce

inful,

ndividual

tobe

redeemed

yupper

astebenevolence.

What ThenDo We

Make

of

AllThis?

The first

uestion

o

be addressed s

how

far

an

a

letter

utlining

a

social ervice

rogramme

e theoretical?s

t alid or

my

nalysis

to

ttributehis

op

heavy

heoretical

nd

philosophical

ntention

to

uch slender ext?

My

nswer s

that nsofars

Ambedkar,

n

exceptionallyharp

heoretician

f caste

and at the same

time

one

of the

most

powerful

ctivists

ndia has

produced,

was

thrown

n the middle

f events

hathad enormous

heoretical

and

practical

ignificance,

t s

logical

to assume

that

ven

his

simple

ctivist

ommunications

ere

driven

y

broader

oncep-

tualframework.

t

becomes

ecessary

o

make

his

ssumption

n

reading

his etter

iven

he

cope

of he

pecific

truggle

ithin

which

mbedkar

ramed

t,

nd

given

hefact

hat ewas

mount-

ing

an

increasingly

ystematic

nd radical

critique

f

Gandhi,

Congress

nd caste

Hinduism.

t he ame

time,

his

onceptual

framework

volved

nd transformed

ts

underpinnings

nder

he

inexorable

ressure

f the

political

attles

he

fought.

hrough

Economic&PoliticalwEEKLY

available

t

Dey

&

Bose

Magazine

Agent

P.O.

eldubi,

adpur

Howrah

11

22

West

engal

Ph: 2198749

100

September

27,

2008

GEZS3

Economic

Politicaleekly



7/8

-

-

SPECIAL

ARTICLE

all

this,

mbedkar

ractised

ully

hat

he found o be

a

residual

fire

n

Marxism,

small

ut

till

ery mportant"

nd

that

s "the

function f

philosophy

s to reconstruct

he world nd not

to

waste ts ime

n

explaining

he

origin

f the world".21or

his

reason,

would

argue,

Ambedkar's heoretical eflections

rarely

riented owards

n

abstract

iagnosis

nd

prescription

for universal

roblem

it s

always

perpetuallyharpening

"theoretico-pragmatic"nstrumenteared othehere nd now

of ctivist ork.

This

reading

f

Ambedkar's

olitical hinking

s based on a

snapshot

iew

provided

y

one letterwritten

n a

specific

is-

torical ontext

f

ctivism.

y

ttempt

as been

to draw ut he

implications

f

he

etter

or

he

different

inds f ctivism

hat

we nherit.hishas

necessarily

ntailed

ketching positive

ut-

line fhowAmbedkar

iewed

Depressed

lasses

ctivism

n that

moment.

owever,

his

positive

utline

s not

a

theory

f

dalit

activism

s

it

merges

nd evolves

istorically

n

his

writings

nd

in

post

Ambedkarite

ractice.22

his exercise

learly

emands

depth

f

primary

nd

secondary cholarship

hat s

beyond

he

scope

of his

ssay.

Given

hese tructural

imitations,

ome on-

cludingautions bout ategorisingAmbedkarism"s it merges

in

this etter

re n order:23

(i)

Even

s this

tage

ofAmbedkarism

roblematises

andhian

welfare

ctivism,

t

ccepts

henotion

fwelfarend

provides

t

with transactionalontent

f

great

ignity,

(ii)

Even

as it

problematises

arxism,

t takes on board

a

practice

f

revolutionary

iolence

whereneeded

and

couples

itwith whole

pectrum

f ctivism

anging

rom his

iolence

t

one

end,

o

trategically

lanned

xpressions

f ove

t the ther,

(iii)

While there s

undeniably

n

element

of

pluralism

n

Ambedkar,

he lement

nhis

hought

hich

oes

beyond ivility

to strife onfounds ur

understanding

f

pluralism

which s

essentially

non-violent

ivil societal

process

of

collective

bargaining

nd

negotiating

or

olitical oods,

(iv)

It

is also not

possible

o

incorporate

mbedkar'sounter-

hegemonic trategy

n

ErnestoLaclau's

concept

f

hegemony

as socialist

strategy

without

ntroducing

texture,

etail

and

range

of

activism

that

exceed the

scope

of Laclau's

abstract ormulations.n addition,Ambedkar'snsightsn the

strategy

f

struggle

re more ncisive han

anything

aclau

has

formulated.

(v)

WhileAmbedkar's

orking hilosophy

s

essentially

prag-

matism wouldhesitate o reduce

t

o

any

imple pplication

f

Dewey's thinking, iven

Ambedkar's emonstrated abit of

completelyeworking

he errain n which

concept

s

originally

proposed.

(vi)

Whichever

hilosophical

lement

t

akes n

board,

hanges

or

rejects,

t

s clear

hat

Ambedkartresses he elf-assertionf

dalit consciousness

hrough

he

perspective

nd structure f

activism e

proposes.

t

is

this

that

differentiates

nd

makes

specific

he

Ambedkarite,

alit

genda

oday.

The most mportant hing o be remembered ere s that

the

specific

ontent f his

programme

eflects

n

evaluation

of

he ondition

f he

Depressed

Classes

t that

oint

n

history

as

much s

it

reflects mbedkar's hoice

of

political trategy

in that context.

n

fact this

evaluation

nd

choice are

inter-

woven

nextricably.

fwe have to draw on his

thinking,

e

will haveto construct

t new for ur

ituation,

o deal

with

ur

impasses.

This construction

will

surely

put

our

ingenuity

and

analytical

understanding

o test.

What do

we

make of

Ambedkar's

egacy

fdalit ctivism?

ow

then o we construct

our

Enlightenment?

4

notes

i

I will henceforth

efer

o this

etter s

the letter

regarding

UL".

ee

pp

134-40,

Dr Babasaheb

Ambedkar,

ritings

nd

Speeches:

ol edited

y

Vasant

Moon

(Education

Department,

overn-

ment

f

Maharashtra,

ombay,

991).

The entire

Chapter

n which he etter

ppears,

A Political

Charity

Congress

lan

to Kill

by

Kindness*s

a

resource

f

value to activists

nd theorists

nter-

ested

n

ssues

f

welfare

nd

social

reform.

2 In this

ssay

willusethe

erm unrouchables"

nd

"Depressed

lasses"

more

r ess

nterchangeably.

3

The term

enealogy,

which have

used

in the

title,

ut

n

quotation

marks

n

this entence

nd

in

italics

n

the

next

sentence,

s

fromMichel

Foucault,

thinker rom

nother

milieu,

whose

theoretical

ork

stablishes

nteresting

onver-

gences though ertainly

ot identical

hought

processes)with his etter. omake tabsolutely

clear,

mypoint

s not to

say

that Ambedkar

s

Foucauldian,

r

that oucault

s

an Ambedkarite

I

am

ust

trying

o lluminateach

with hework

and

thought

f the

other.

will

bridge

these

convergences

ithfootnotes

t relevant

oints

in this

ssay.Genealogy,

ccording

o Foucault

s

an

effective

istory

or

similarly

functional

description)

f

dominant,

morally

nassailable

concept

r

practice

rom

critical

erspective

subjecting

he

underlying

thical

values to

a

thorough

evaluation.

It

will

uproot

raditional

foundations

nd

relentlesslyisrupt

ts

pretended

continuity.

his

is because

knowledge

s

not

meant

or

nderstanding.

t s meant or

utting."

See

Michel

Foucault,

Nietzsche,

Genealogy,

History'

nAesthetics:ssential

Works

f

Foucault

i954-i84,Vol

,

Penguin,

armondsworth,994.

4

See Annihilationf

Caste',

Writings

nd

Speeches:

Vol

1,

pp

27-96.

The

dating

of his

major

texts

is based on

AnandTeltumbde's

iary

f

mpor-

tant ife vents n his

nvaluableCD

e-compen-

dium of

B R Ambedkar's

writings.

ee

also,

Valerian

Rodriques

ed),

The

Essential

Writings

of

B R

Ambedkar,

xford

niversity

ress, elhi,

2002,

Introduction

or useful

background

nd

rough

hronology.

In thebroad

historicalontext

fAmbedkar's

et-

terwe discuss

here,

we

may

note

n

passing

hat

the Communist

arty

f ndia has

two dates of

origin.

ne was started fter

he

ndianNational

Congress

Kanpur

ession

n

1926,

by

S

A

Dange,

Singaravelu

Chettiyar

nd others. The other

was

started

n

Tashkent

n

1924

by

M N

Roy,

MuzzafarAhmedand their olleagues. Thus,

therewas

a

Marxist

istorical ontext

n India

when Ambedkar

wrote his

etter n

1932.

This

historical

ontext

n

Depressed

lasses discourse

is described

n detail

by

Gail

Omvedt,

mbedkar:

Towards

n

Enlightened

ndia,

Penguin

Books,

New

Delhi,2004.

Omvedt

rgues

hat lass radi-

calism

and

Marxism

were

part

of

the milieu f

dalit

thinking

ven

in the

1930s

(see

chapter

titled

"Against Capitalism

and Brahmanism'

Yearsof Class

Radicalism').

Anand

Teltumbde,

"Ambedkar'

n and for he Post-Ambedkar

alit

Movement',

aper presented

n the seminar

n

the Post-Ambedkar

alit

Movement,

ept

of

political

cience,

niversity

f

Pune,

March

7-29,

1997,

Usha

Wagh,

Pune, 1997,

argues

that it

is reasonable

to assume

that Ambedkarwas

familiar

with Marxism rom

his

earlydays

in

Columbia,

since his

course work

ncluded

a

study

f

Marxism,

nd

his

guide

dward

eligman

was conversant

ith

he materialist

onception

of

history.

5

See her iscussion

nOmvedt

p

cit,

p

49-51.

6

Itwas this se of

heAUL s an

organ

f onstruc-

tive

ctivity

ather han

ervice

s he understood

it that ed to Ambedkar's

isillusionmentith

Congress

nd

Gandhi,

eading

to the

text

hat

begins

with hosewords.

7

This

term conduct" s used

by

Foucault

n a

similar

way.

Power forFoucault

s the conduct

of conduct.

ee his

The

Subject

nd Power'

n

H L

Dreyfus

nd P

Rabinow,

Michel oucault:

Beyond

Structuralism

nd

Hermeneutics,

he

Harvester

ress,

ussex,

982,

p

219-21.

8 "Sinfulwretch"sbechara, r evenpaap bechara

as

they

would

ay

n

Hyderabadi.

imilar

ermsn

common

use would

be

ayyo

paavam

in Tamil

ipaapam

n

Telugu).

9

See

p

342,

Shorter

Oxford ictionary,

xford

University

ress,

ondon, 973.

10

In this

context,

t is

important

o note that

Gandhian ctivism

perated

with Janus

dou-

ble)

face:

Against

he British ommunal

ward,

his

fast

provoked

n immensemoral risisnot

least

forAmbedkar

imself,

nd in the face of

Hindu

opinion,

it

sought

rational,

peaceful

consensus

or

mprovement

f conditions

f the

untouchables,

who Gandhi

begins

to

call the

"Harijans".

t s

precisely

t

the

receiving

nd

of

this

peaceful"

ppression

f heGandhi

ongress

Economic

political

eekly

ODES

September

27,

2008

101



8/8

SPECIALARTICLE

e======eeee===^

^eeeefeeeeeee

--eeeeeep

^eee

tzeeee,

=====

combine

hat

Ambedkar

ives up

this

position

on

changing

the dominant onsensus

within

Hinduism

nd

calls

for

he

nnihilation f aste.

Tracing

he

growth

fAmbedkar's

evolutionary

agenda

calls for

different

roject

with

more

detailed

nalysis

f the relevant exts

nd

their

context.

11 See

"Annihilation...",

here Ambedkar

rgues

that

the caste

system

s not

only

a

division

of

labour,

ut

division

f

abourers,

47.

12 See

ibid,

where e

argues

hat

Thateconomic ower s theonlykindofpower

no tudent fhuman

ociety

an

accept.

That he

social status of an individual

by

itselfoften

becomes

a

source of

power

and

authority

s

made clear

by

the

sway

which the Mahatmas

have held over the common man.

Why

do

millionaires

n ndia

obey

penniless

adhus

and

Fakirs?

Why

o millions

f

paupers

n ndia sell

their

trifling

rinketswhich constitute

heir

only

wealth

nd

go

to Benares

nd Mecca? That

religion

s the sourceof

power

s

illustrated

y

the

history

f

ndia

where

he

priest

olds

sway

over the common

man often

greater

han

the

magistrate

nd where

everything,

ven

such

things

s

strikes

nd

elections,

o

easily

take

a

religious

urn nd

can so

easily

be

given

a

religious

wist

p44)-

13

See

ibid,

where Ambedkar

rgues

about

the

dynamism

f

ndustry

nd the need for

n

open

channel of movemento that

people

an survive

(pp

47-48).

14

A

V

Thakkar,

etter o

editor,

Times

of

India,

Poona,

May

12,

1945

issue

dated

May

17, 945)-

The contextwas Ambedkar's amous

peech

on

the

Communal

eadlock nd the

Way

to

Solve

It",

elivered o the cheduled astes

Federation

in thatmonth.

15

B

R

Ambedkar,

etter

o

Editor,

imes

f

ndia,

Bombay, ay

17,

945

issue

dated

May

18,1945),

emphasis

added. See Michel

Foucault,

Power/

Knowledge:

electednterviews

nd Other

Writings

1972-1977,

olin Gordon

ed),

Pantheon

Books,

New

York,

980,

pp

126-27

n

chapter

ruth nd

Power' or discussion f hedifferenceetween

the

specific

ntellectual

nd the universal ntel-

lectual

(or

leader,

as Ambedkar

ays

here).

Though

he ssue

n

Foucault s

posed

from

he

1960s

onwards

n

the ontext

f

cientific

nowl-

edges,thedifferentiatingoncept f he pecific

intellectual

s useful to

gain

some

insight

nto

Ambedkar'sntuitivedherence

o the

problems

of the untouchables. his

focusof Ambedkar's

intervention

may

again

be understood

in

Foucault's erms

s

a

genealogy

hat

s,

"the

un-

ion of erudite

knowledge

nd local

memory

which llowsus to establish historical

nowl-

edge

of

truggles

nd to makeuse

of hisknowl-

edge tactically

oday",

83.

16

Again,

Annihilation..'

rovides

s

withthe an-

chorage

for he

deeper

theoretical

oint

we are

trying

o make.

n that

peech/essay,

mbedkar

argues

hat he

ogic

f conomic

ppression

ill

notholdbecause

people

find

eligion

source f

power,

nd

thereforesocialist

f

ndia

must

eal

with he

ssue

of caste either efore r after

he

revolution.

17

It

s useful o

ook

p

this

oint

bout

he ialectic

in Foucault'sPower and Strategies'n Power/

Knowledge,

ee

pp

143-45.

18 Omvedt iscusses his

point

n her account.

ee

Omvedt

p

cit, 50.

19

It

was called

Service o

the

Untouchables

ociety

in an interim

eriod,

nd C

Rajagopalachari

b-

jected

to

this erm

aying

hat

y

doing

ervice

o

the

untouchables,

hey

would e

perpetuating

he

experience

f

untouchability

hile

the

purpose

was to

eliminate t. It was then

hat

he name

Harijan

Sevak

Sangh

was

proposed

nd

found

acceptable.

ee

The

Collected

Works

f

Mahatma

Gandhi,

Compact

Disc,

NationalBook

Trust,

Delhi, 2000,

Vol

58,

pp

58,

155,

73

for hedis-

cussion

regarding

he name. Gandhi's

etter o

Birla

p

58)

suggests

name which s

slightly

modified,

n that Sevak"

replaces

Seva" n the

final ersion.

20

Again,

Foucault

provides

s

with

useful

per-

spectiveounderstandhe racticaltrugglesnd

the

rimacy

f

heir emandnAmbedkar's

oliti-

cal

philosophy

nd the

mportance

f construct-

ing

heory

ot s

a

system

f

nalysis

ccording

o

universal

parameters,

ut

as

a toolkit hat x-

plores

(i).

the

ogic

f he

pecificityower

ela-

tions

nd the

truggles

round

hem;

ii)

...This

investigation

an

only

e carried

ut

tepby tep

on

thebasis of reflection

which

will

necessarily

be historical

n ome f ts

spects)

n

given

itua-

tions." ee

Power/Knowledge,p

143-45.

21 B R

Ambedkar,

Buddha

r

Karl

Marx',

peeches

and

Writings:

ol

,

p

444.

22 This s

surely

he task nd

privilege

f the

dalit

activist-intellectualefore

whom ne

must tand

aside

n

respect.

23

These cautions re formulated

n extreme hort-

hand

given

he

imitation

f

pace.

24

The references

to

Michel

oucault,

What

s

En-

lightenment?'

n Paul Rabinow

ed),

Ethics: he

Essential

Works ol

1,

Penguin,

armondsworth,

1994.

n

this

ssay

Foucault verturns

he

gener-

ally

ccepted

meaning

f

Enlightenment

s a uni-

versal

good

to which heworldwould

nd

must

progress,

nto

problematisation

f

dangerous

modernity

hat would have to be

negotiated

through

heuse

of

xceptional

isdom.

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Ambekar Thakkar and Beyond 2008