EVERY Indian person is in a joyous mood as the city of New York has declared April 14 as ‘Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Day’, thus indicating how the world sees the great emancipator of the down-trodden. Union Minister Dr. Ramdas Athawale, therefore, rightly stated at the United Nations that Dr. Ambedkar’s advocacy for equity, justice for all, and human dignity of the down-trodden resonates far beyond Indian borders, pointing to the fact that Dr. Ambedkar is a global icon. Even as the world recognises the tremendous contribution of Dr. Ambedkar to the cause of human dignity, the need also is being felt to understand him better -- in all the finer nuances of his thought and action -- not just as an architect of the Constitution of India and an emancipator of the down-trodden, but also as a deep thinker on issues of critical national, social, economic and strategic importance.

 

Though people in politics and academia habitually bring to fore many qualities of the great icon of humanity, a need is deeply sensed to know Dr. Ambedkar better. This need is felt all the more against the background of a sad reality that most users of his name and legacy do so only as a political point to score over others in the field. In this unfortunate process, the real Dr. Bhimrao ‘Babasaheb’ Ambedkar is not understood fully by the larger society. Having seen political community indulging in using Dr. Ambedkar’s name left-right-and-centre, it is becoming increasing necessary that the causes Dr. Ambedkar advocated all his life need to be understood beyond the framework of caste and creed. The need, therefore is to study Dr. Ambedkar not from narrow angles that are habitual to us, but also from the broader perspective of genuine social justice for all -- which includes people from once-upon-a-time higher castes or classes. In other words, Dr. Ambedkar’s definition of genuine social equity needs to be expanded to cover people of every caste and creed and gender so that social justice does not get twisted out of shape for short-term political usage.

 

The tremendous contribution Dr. Ambedkar made towards social justice is unprecedented beyond doubt. Over time, however, definition of social justice, too, has begun crying for rethink. If in a particular socio-cultural and economic context social justice meant one thing say 75 years ago, it may mean something additional in the current context. It is in this area that scholars and thinkers need to get engaged in a comprehensive rethink on a new and reasonable interpretation of what social justice can mean. If such a vigorous exercise in undertaken in India, it will do better justice to Dr. Ambedkar’s avowed cause of social justice and equity of human dignity. As the world gets to recognise the greatness of the thought and action of Dr. Ambedkar -- which reflects in the decision of New York city to celebrate April 14 as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Day -- India, too, needs to move forward from the old definition of social justice so that Dr. Ambedkar becomes a true global icon of human equity and opportunity.

 

Those who study Dr. Ambedkar well beyond the normal confines of academic and political definitions often feel amazed at the tremendously wide range of his thought on social discourse. Even as Pakistan was being carved out of the undivided India in 1947, Dr. Ambedkar expressed his views with great conviction. Those views act as guiding light even today. This aspect of Dr. Ambedkar’s thought, his approach to the Constitution, his idea of true social justice -- all make it clear that he was man well ahead of his times. This aspect of Dr. Ambedkar’s contribution needs to be understood by the larger Indian society today in a comprehensive manner -- so that we follow Dr. Ambedkar’s own dictum that the society must move beyond his own point in human journey.