'Ambedkar would have found notion of Ghar Vapsi abhorrent'

Former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Tuesday criticized attempts by various parties, especially of the right, to take the legacy of B.R. Ambedkar saying he would have found 'Ghar Vapsi' "abhorrent to the ethos of India".

The grandson of Mahatma Gandhi said the efforts by various parties to vye with each other in identifying with the legacy of Ambedkar was only intended to reap "electoral dividends".

"As for politicians, there is one compelling reason why they queue up to honour Babasaheb Ambedkar.. it is not love of the great man as much as love of electoral dividends which identification with that icon can bring," he said criticizing the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties for trying to upstage each other in commemorating Ambedkar's 124th birth anniversary.

Speaking while unveiling the portrait of Ambedkar in the Supreme Court's main library, Gandhi contended that Ambedkar should be seen as a "mental phenomena that he was for whole of India, and not just section of its population whose immiserations he sought to remove"."

Besides eminent jurists including Fali Nariman, Ashok Desai and others, the function organised by Supreme Court Bar association was also attended by Justice Kurian Joseph.

Noting that the Congress "could neither ignore him, nor make him one of its own", Gandhi said that if Congress wanted to commemorate Ambedkar's birth anniversary, then it must regret opposing him in 1952 and 1954 elections to Lok Sabha.

"...let the Congress at least be aware that the country has not forgotten the missed opportunities missed by it in 1952 and 1954. Our memories are short; they are not non-existent."

In a dig at right-wing politics, Gandhi said that Ambedkar would have "flayed the notion of Ghar Vapsi as abhorrent to the ethos of India".

Describing as a "farce" the attempt by right wing "religious revivalist, social status-quoist and economic monopolist" to usurp Ambedkar's legacy, Gandhi wondered if it was their respect for him that prompted them to say that.

Gandhi also said that some Dalit leaders may have a point in thinking that they have more right than others to invoke his legacy but they would be mistaken if they think that they have a greater right than others to exploit him.