In this country both the minorities and the majorities have followed a wrong path. It is wrong for the majority to deny the existence of minorities. It is equally wrong for the minorities to perpetuate themselves. A solution must be found which will serve a double purpose. It must recognise the existence of the minorities to start with. It must also be such that it will enable majorities and minorities to merge someday into one”
That was BR Ambedkar speaking in the Constituent Assembly on November 4, 1948, while introducing the Draft Constitution. In the same speech, Ambedkar went on to lay out a vision for an assimilated India where identity based demographic fault lines cease to exist.
‘To diehards who have developed a kind of fanaticism against minority protection I would like to say two things. One is that minorities are an explosive force which, if it erupts, can blow up the whole fabric of the State… the minorities in India have agreed to place their existence in the hands of the majority… they have loyally accepted the rule of the majority which is basically a communal majority and not a political majority.’
‘It is for the majority to realise its duty not to discriminate against minorities. Whether the minorities will continue or will vanish must depend upon this habit of the majority. The moment the majority loses the habit of discriminating against the minority, the minorities can have no ground to exist. They will vanish.’
Much has been made about the absence of Muslim candidates in the Gujarat election.
Most notably Delhi-based channel NDTV seems to be on a crusade to make it the central theme of its unofficial campaign against Narendra Modi. We had three prime time anchors from NDTV doing major shows to push a certain slant. Barkha Dutt even went to the extent of expressing a “state of depression” on social media.
Ironically what NDTV seems to have missed, was not just picked up but articulated quite eloquently by another prime time anchor from a rival channel. Sagarika Ghose may still have her misgivings over Narendra Modi and may continue to be ambivalent in her attitude over the change in Gujarat but she got one thing right in her column titled ‘Riders of the storm’ where she argues that Muslims in Gujarat are seeking a new narrative beyond victimhood.
This particular comment of hers needs to be called out:
“A development oriented State that supplies 24×7 electricity to all is also a State which does not hand out sops or special privileges. This paradoxically lessens the dependency trap and lessens the vested interests of victimhood. In 2002 there were 260 Muslim educational trusts; today there are more than 800, all running schools in a single minded focus on acquiring quality education. The Gujarat example shows, ironically, how dynamic a community can become when the state hands out ‘benign neglect’ and forces independence and enterprise.”
Where anchor after anchor in NDTV has got it wrong, Sagarika Ghose in a way acknowledges that Gujarat today is close to realising Ambedkar’s vision of an assimilated India where as far as the state is concerned there is no distinction between the majority and the minority.
There can be legitimate arguments over why there is limited diversity in the candidate slate across parties. But such arguments would be viewed as credible and legitimate only if they acknowledge two things. First that there are a number of Muslims represented in local bodies in a State with a decentralised development model. Second, representation is also a two-way street. A nomination cannot be viewed as an entitlement, as a handout resulting from affirmative action. It needs to be earned as well.
It is not inconceivable in the near future Muslim MLAs and MPs emerge from Gujarat from the current crop of local body representatives as they work their way up, winning the trust of a wider populace.
Meanwhile, Barkha Dutt must cheer up and not be depressed, for the much-riled ‘Gujarat Model’ is the closest thing we have to Ambedkar’s vision where the state works for all citizens, blurring the distinction between the majority and the minority.
Courtesy : Niti Central
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