Chapter- VI

CONCLUSION

By the middle of the 19th century, when the East India Company had

become supreme in India both north and south of the Vindhyas, Islam had

pressed upon the people of the Indian sub continent as a way of life and

belief, if not as a political force, for twelve hundred years, from the moment

when, not long after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in A.D. 632, Arab

Muslims touched the shores of India as traders. Yet Muslims constituted but a

fifth of British India’s population, a minority most unevenly distributed and

territorially consolidated only in Sindh and in the western Punjab. The highest

proportion of Muslim population was in Sindh, where three out of four people

were Muslim; the lowest was in the area of the Central Provinces and Madras,

where Muslims were about one-fortieth and one-twentieth of the total,

respectively. In Punjab, Muslims were rather less than half of the population,

in Bengal proper (excluding Bihar and Orissa) about a half. In the North-

Western Provinces and Awadh (the latter not annexed to British India until

1856) Muslims formed rather more than a tenth of the population. In the

Bombay Presidency, except Sindh, rather less than that.

At the time of the Muslim rule in India they enjoyed all privileges. When

the Company established its power in India they lost everything. Therefore the

Muslims joined their hands in the reform and as well as in the National

movement.

If we come to the Freedom movement the Muslims were played an

important role until the rise of the Muslim League. A number of Muslim

leaders took part in the Congress activities.

 The works and thoughts of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar are of utmost

importance with a view to closely understand and analyse the Indian society

and the contents of politics as a whole. It is important to study Dr. Ambedkar

more for this reason that justice was not shown towards his composite

outlook. At present his fame and identity has merged in a leader and a

liberator of the downtrodden society of course, he waged a struggle

throughout his life to accord proper and important place of dignity and rights to

the Dalit community in the society and he established himself as an icon of

self-respect, determination, struggle and resistance. Ambedkar was of the

view that untouchability could be easily eradicated by way of activating

Brahmins and cultural socialisation. He was of the opinion "if the Brahmin

community initiates reform process, other will easily follow it". But he became

the arch critic of Hinduism due to reactionary and non-cooperative approach

shown by the Savarna Hindus. In other words his criticism was based mainly

against the Brahmin community. But it does not mean that he opposed

Hinduism completely. Contrary to it he had an attachment with Hinduism and

its cultural values. He simply wanted to remove evils prevalent in it. We get

such glimpses after we read his research work. He has written therein, "there

is no exaggeration in saying that the other nation cannot match the cultural

unity of India." Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhi both were against this social evil

and wanted to eradicate it but they stood apart in their ways. Their differences

have been highlighted to a greater extent but there are some thinkers who

consider both of them as complementary to each other.

There are many ideological aspects related to Ambedkar, which have

been deliberately overlooked by the thinkers and the authors for their vested

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interests. Even today political maneuvering is visible everywhere in his name.

For this reason the composite thoughts of Ambedkar couldn't have been

brought forth so far. 'Dr. Ambedkar and the minority' is one such subject which

has unfortunately not been discussed so elaborately and least Importance has

been attached to it. In this work, an attempt has been made to analyse this

subject. Who are minorities? The issue of minority and majority has been the

most controversial and widely discussed subject in the Indian political arena

both before and after the Independence. The imperial British Government

always aggravated this problem for its administrative interests as well as for

its divide and rule policy. This though (creation of Pakistan/division of India)

had taken a permanent shape by the time of attaining freedom for the country.

Some of the political elements have constantly nurtured this issue for the

power and vested interest of their respective parties. As a result of this

minoritism is the most politically exploited subject in the present political

scenario and with the mention of this very word 'Minority' we tend to think of

the Muslim community instantly. Our attention is naturally diverted towards the

riots related to the specific community, division of the nation in shape of

Pakistan and other related subjects. The question as to who are the minorities

and why they are so is still controversial and unreliable as was before.

'Some thinkers have placed the Dalits who are the most backward,

downtrodden and undeveloped society in minority category. Such views have

been endorsed not only by Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar but also by

Gandhi who had written in an editorial of his magazine Harijan,” Scheduled

Castes are real minority class of India." Dr. Ambedkar had explained this

issue in detail and said that, there are several minority classes who must get

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their distinct political identity but all of these minority classes are not similar.

There is a great disparity among them and they differ from one another at

large scale. Each of these minority classes has a distinct social status. For

example Parsi community is the smallest group of minority, but the social and

economic status of this community is at par with that of the majority

community. On the other hand the social status of the Dalits which is the

second largest minority group after the Muslim is big zero. Dr. Ambedkar had

sought minority status for Dalits under the Constitutional provisions with a

view to provide equal opportunity to the untouchable groups to develop and to

attain self-reliance and dignity. It has been said about diversity of India to the

extent, "India is a country of minorities." There are many communities in the

majority class in India. There is no uniformity and homogeneity among them.

Like minorities, they too are divided on the basis of language, culture, race,

religious faith and practice. Minority issue and their demands for rights and

their conduct has posed a challenge before the whole world. The problem

related to its definition still exists.

Dr. Ambedkar says that the Muslims should stop calling themselves a

“minority” community. This creates an inferiority complex. The Savamas are

behind this mischief. How can a community representing 15% of India’s

population be a “minority” and just 2.5% Brahmins be a “majority” - how is it

possible? I once heard a maulvi sahib saying at a meeting that 1,000 years

ago the Muslims of India were imported from Saudi Arabia. Stop this utter

nonsense! Muslims, like Dalits, are also the original inhabitants of India and

the whole country is ours. We want peace and brotherhood among all the

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citizens of India. He said the Muslim do not consider the Dalits as Hindus,

because they are not the Hindus but out of their religion.

Ambedkar in his interpretation of the minority community incorporated

the religious and linguistic basis as was done by the United Nations. At the

same time, Dr. Ambedkar also gave importance to the social, economic and

regional basis. This is the reason that the views of Dr. Ambedkar match the

social system, religious condition and nationalism of India. His contemplation

regarding a minority becomes more important for this reason too that India is

the only country in the world, which has not succeeded in analysing and

propagating the counter religious views of Islam and Christianity. Both

religions are of the nature of expansion and these two are involved in this very

process for the last so many years and their commitment is not for the place

of the residence and rather they are committed more to the place of their

origin. Even today there are some thinkers, political parties and leaders who

in their self analysis go away from the truth and hold the majority Hindu

society guilty, which is it divided on linguistic, regional, sectoral and racial

basis. They are still involved in the process of appeasement. Their

involvement has made this problem more complex. They lack even the

inherent sense of Hinduism and the Hindu society. In actual sense, Hinduism

is a way of life which is natural and universal. The basis of Indian culture is

Hinduism which contains different life philosophies, sects, lifestyles and

worship modes. It is very difficult to confine Hinduism into one definition.

Hinduism doesn't consider anyone as minority and it visualises all human

beings as the members of one family. The relevant religious views of the so-

called minorities are inherent in the original Sanatan Dharma. These views

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are just branches of the Sanatan Dharma. The shortcomings appearing on the

surface are the outcome of the social, economic and political environment of

the founders of the specific sect. These shortcomings must be refined as per

the requirements of the time and space for the welfare of humanity.

Dr. Ambedkar was a born rebel. All along his public life he fought with

courage and vigour and wrote into the Constitution the rights of not only the

Dalits but also every Indian including the Indian Mussalmans. He created the

Constitution on the principles of secularism with the fond hope that

irrespective of religion, caste, sex or any other consideration every Indian

could develop his personality and prosper. His struggle for emancipation did

not stop with the writing of the Constitution. It was his life’s mission and

continued till the last minute. Abraham Lincoln was the great leader who

fought for the emancipation of the Negroes. Similarly Dr. Ambedkar is the

great champion of the untouchables and the Dalit communities, who strove to

liberate them from Hindu slavery. He was moved at the very sight of the poor,

the helpless and the exploited people. He was pained at the fact that the

practice of untouchability was on the increase in spite of Article 17 of the

Constitution.

The seeds of reservation were sown when it was decided to give

separate representation for the Muslims and other minorities of India.

Dr. Ambedkar supported the Muslims and demanded to extend such rights to

the Dalits. But there was no sign of giving the same facility to depressed

classes. Dr. Ambedkar played a heroic role in getting reservation for the

Dalits. The Simon Commission was recommended it. It was in 1931 in the

Second Round Table Conference that Ambedkar demanded political rights

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and reservation for the untouchables in the Central and Provincial

Legislatures. Dr. Ambedkar said, “The reservation of seats in the Legislatures

of British India are required for the overall welfare of the depressed classes

and for safeguarding their rights and should be based on separate

electorates.” Further, the Communal Award pronounced in August 1932 by

the then Prime Minister of England Mr. Ramsey McDonald was an outcome

the discussions at the First and Second Round Table Conferences in 1930

and 1931.

The Award provided separate electorate to the Muslims and other

minorities of India and separate but joint electorate for the Depressed Classes

by creating special constituencies for depressed classes to secure fair

representation in the Legislatures. But Gandhi opposed it and went on a fast.

Then the Poona Pact concluded between them. With this Pact we notice a

gradual change in the social, economic and political lives of the Depressed

classes and as well as the minorities including the Muslims in India.

Here we have to understand that the Muslims in India must remember

Dr. Ambedkar’s concern about the socio-economic and political rights of the

Muslims, for which he advocated some reforms to them. The Indian Muslims

much needed reforms in their day today life. He opposed the use of Purdah,

practice of polygamy, and religious oriented education of the Muslims. He

advocated to bring them in to a main stream of the life. Babasaheb speaking

on Islam: “Insofar as Untouchable and Sudra Dalits are concerned, such

endeavors of Islam proved marvelously beneficial. Islam never spreads

unsociability. Islam never spreads unsociability. Islam never makes a man

priest or slave by birth. Priesthood or slavery in Islam is neither hereditary

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nor permanent. Islam offers equal opportunity to every one to be equal to any

situation and to accept any vocation of one’s choice and ability.

Islam does not allow temple prostitution like Devadasi, Sevadasi, it

does not allow burning of women in her dead husband’s pyre; there is no

scope of permanent widowhood in Islam. Islam is open, wide and strong

enough to elevate a slave to the rank of sultan, to elevate daughter of slave to

the rank of Sultana Raziya etc. Therefore, Babasaheb welcomed the advent

of Islam in this country;

Babasaheb was one of the few Hindus, if not the only one, who

foresaw the consequences of not letting the Muslims have their Dar-ul Islam.

He therefore openly and in cold print favoured a partition and in almost exact

details by 1940. He did this almost on the morrow of the resolution

demanding Pakistan which was passed by the Muslim League at its Lahore

session on 26 March, 1940. He was clear in his view that Partition without an

exchange of population was worse than Partition. His reasoning was

interesting. To him dividing the subcontinent was to solve its communal

conflict. It shows his universal outlook.

However, Dr. Ambedkar’s contribution in this regard is significant. He

has become immortal and his own prediction that ‘the sons and daughters of

our future India will worship me as the hero of this nation’ is becoming a

reality. In the vision and direction of Dr. Ambedkar we declare our resolve that

we are slaves to none and we will never accept slavery of any one. With this

firm resolve and confidence every one should surge forward in free India.

Then only Ambedkar’s dream of equality, fraternity and liberty will come true.

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 The present thesis, however, is a sort of attempt providing a consistent

and critically co-ordinated frame work for the study of Dr. Ambedkar’s views

on the Muslim Politics in India for further detailed study. I made it clear that

this not an ultimate work in this respect. In that way, I hope it proves a fruitful

little piece of work and fulfill some gap on Dr. Ambedkar’s thoughts on the

Indian Muslims and Partition of India.

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