• Ambedkar and Communism
One of the major reason why communists of India failed to establish a communist regime here beside using both ballot and bullet is that they lack local communist heroes or cult unlike their comrades in Russia and China having “heroes” such as Lenin , Stalin and Mao who were the leaders of mass movement in their respective countries. This is because of negligible contribution of Indian communists in freedom struggle. After continuous defeat communists realised that they need such hero or cult and they’ve tried to appropriate Dr. Ambedker as one because of his ever growing popularity among masses.
– Does Ambedkar qualify to be called ‘Hero’ of Left?
– What was his views on communism and communists?
• AMBEDKAR ON COMMUNISM
1) BR Ambedkar face off with Communists and Socialists on the question of Constitution in Parliament.
“The condemnation of the Constitution largely comes from two quarters, the Communist Party and the Socialist Party. Why do they condemn the Constitution? Is it because it is really a bad Constitution? I venture to say no’. The Communist Party want a Constitution based upon the principle of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. They condemn the Constitution because it is based upon parliamentary democracy.…..The Socialists want two things. The first thing they want is that if they come in power, the Constitution must give them the freedom to nationalize or socialize all private property without payment of compensation. The second thing that the Socialists want is that the Fundamental Rights mentioned in the Constitution must be absolute and without any limitations so that if their Party fails to come into power, they would have the unfettered freedom not merely to criticize, but also to overthrow the State”
Dr Ambedkar REJECTED the idea of inserting the word SOCIALISM in the preamble.
“If you state in the Constitution that the social organisation of the State shall take a particular form, you are, in my judgement, taking away the liberty of the people to decide what should be the social organisation in which they wish to live. It is perfectly possible today, for the majority people to hold that the SOCIALIST organisation of society is better than the CAPITALIST organisation of society. But it would be perfectly possible for thinking people to devise some other form of social organisation which might be better than the socialist organisation of today or of tomorrow. I do not see therefore why the Constitution should tie down the peopleto live in a particular form and not leave it to the people themselves to decide it for themselves.”
(Dr Ambedkar, Constituent Assembly debates, November 15, 1948)
2) Ambedkar on the question communism in free democracy and his alliance with Communist Party.
“The theory that Communism and free democracy can work together seems to me to be utterlyabsurd, for Communism is like a forest fire; it goes on burning and consuming like a forest fire; itgoes on consuming anything and everything that comes in its way.”…..”The Communists say there are only two means of establishing communism. The first is violence.Nothing short of it will suffice to break up the existing system. The other is dictatorship of theproletariat. Nothing short of it will suffice to continue the new system”…..”The Scheduled Castes Federation ( Ambedkar’s party) will not have any alliance with a Party like the Communist Party the objects of which are to destroy individual freedom and Parliamentary Democracy and substitute in its place a dictatorship.”
(Writings and speeches Vol. 17(1) page 402)
3) Ambedkar on social structure of Communist Party of India
“My party will not align with the Communist party for the plain reason that I do not believe in Communism… The Communist Party is mostly a bunch of Brahmin boys.”
Here Ambedkar pointed out the social structure and leadership of Communist Party which consisted of mostly brahmins having no space for Dalits which is true till date even after 7 decades of Independence Communist Party have zero Dalit leaders in their Politburo.
4) Ambedkar on communist’s attitude on the question of Religion.
“Buddha would never allow violence, but the communists do. No doubt the communists get quick results because when you adopt the means of annihilating a man, they do not remain to oppose you. Humanity does not only want economic values, it also wants spiritual values to be retained. Permanent communist dictatorship has paid no attention to spiritual values and does not seem to intend to. For man needs material comforts. But the communist philosophy seems to equally wrong, for the aim of their philosophy seems to be fatten pigs, as though men are no better than pigs. Man must grow materially as well as spiritually. Buddha’s method was to change the mind of man without the use of force. Buddha sought to change man’s moral disposition to follow the path voluntarily. The means adopted by the communists are equally clear short and swift; one is violence and second is dictatorship of the proletariat.”
5) Ambedkar on future of India’s relationship with Communist countries.
“If Mr Mao had any faith in the Panchsheel, he would certainly treat the Buddhists in his country in a very different way. There is no room for Panchsheel in politics, and secondly, not in the politics of a communist country. The communists’ countries have no morality. Today’s morality is not tomorrow’s morality.”
A person having said that “It is absolutely impossible for me to keep relations with the communists. I am an implacable enemy of the Communists.” and having so much differences with communist Ideology and hatred for communists will never be an icon for communists and all the Propaganda of leftists to project Ambedkar as left icon must be put to an end.
Refrences :
• Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Writings And Speeches, Vol. 17
• The Political Thought of Ambedkar, KS Bharathi
• Ambedkar and his thought on socialism in India: A critical evaluation, Ray & Ray , Buddha or Karl Marx, BR Ambedkar The Marxist, Vol. 9, CPI(M), 1991 and other works.
