“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 history of Europe bears ample and appalling testimony to this fact.
The other is that the minorities in India have agreed to place their existence in the hands of the majority In this history of negotiations of preventing the partition of Ireland Redmond said to Carson
“Ask for any safeguard you like for the Protestant minority but let ushave a United Ireland”. Carson’s reply was: “Damn your safeguards we don’t want to be ruled by you”. No minority in India has taken this stand. 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 to discriminate against minorities whether the minorities will continue or will vanish must 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”
Speaking in general terms about the merit of the Constitution Dr Ambedkar said: “I feel that it is workable it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peace-time and in war-time; Indeed if I may say so if things go wrong under the new Constitution the reason will not be that we had a bad Constitution What we will have to say is that Man was vile”
These above observations made 41 years ago still hold good. They reveal the remarkable manner in which Dr Ambedkar applied his” mind to the problems confronting the country his acute sense of observation and depth of under Standing of the social and cultural background of society in India. It was this profound understanding that enabled him to play that supreme role of importance that he played in framing the Constitution of the Indian Republic which embodies the political economic and social ideals and aspirations of “We the people of India”. Dalit Voice
Article extracted from this publication >> May 3, 1991
