Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, speaking at Bengaluru on Friday, said that truth and power were not the same thing. Dr Ambedkar was a great man because he stood for the truth.
Invoking Ambedkar, he exhorted the nation to educate, organise and agitate.
Civil rights activist Martin Luther King III who began with a tribute to his father, a prominent name in the world that stood against oppression and for affirmative action, also drew attention to the many similarities between Dr King and Dr Ambedkar, calling them leaders with tough minds and tender hearts.
Pointing out the common challenges faced by the United States and India because of its leadership, he called out the inherent danger of both.
“Both nations are being led by personalities that seek to unleash divisiveness and cater to majoritarian forces that stand against the very spirit of democracy and equality. Like Donald Trump’s campaign, the election of Modi has unleashed ferocious animosity against minorities,” said King, drawing parallel between the alt-right in the US and the hindu-extreme right in India.
Taking the argument forward, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “Today, we are told that being a good Indian means we have to ignore the inequality and exploitation in our midst; that we need to adhere to rigid norms regarding food, clothing, language and free speech. I reject that view as totally opposed to the letter and spirit of our Constitution.”
Earlier, Siddaramaiah recalled Dr Ambedkar's warning that political equality cannot become a reality unless we ensure social and economic equality. “Over the last four years, all our policies and programmes have been designed to ensure economic freedom to our citizens particularly those who are marginalised, stigmatised and disadvantaged. We in Karnataka also believe strongly in Prof Amartya Sen’s categorisation of development as freedom,” said Siddaramaiah.
Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar said, "Sovereignty and democracy can survive only if social order is based on equality and respect for humanity."
The international conference titled “Reclaiming Social Justice, Revisiting Ambedkar”, seeks to leverage Babasaheb’s life and work as an inspiration to critically reflect on the contemporary significance of social, political and economic justice in India, and across the world.
