Religious impressions are more radical than political impressions. Religion captures popular imaginations more than politics. Political inclinations may change, but religious loyalty is unchanging. How firmly religion grips the minds of the people! That religious proclivity was utilised by Dr Ambedkar for perpetuating democracy in India through the instrumentality of a democratic religion. Against this background he brought about this conversion. Despite political transformations, democratic framework, Dr Ambedkar planned, should not colapsed and should continue to operate through the choice of Buddhist philosophy. The colour of party governments may change, but change of democratic foundation should be beyond the powers of any governmental change. The psychological foundations of democracy should be unshakable, therefore Buddhism was designed as a shock-absorber of democracy.
This is why democracy in India seems to be more firmly founded than any other democracy in the world. And the credit of this goes to none else but to Dr Ambedkar. The foundations of democracies in other parts of the world are to be traced in the French democracy. But it was Dr Ambedkar who for the first time proclaimed that the origins of the Indian democracy are to be traced to Buddhism. He strongly desired that Indian democracy should not be blind imitation of western democracy but should originate from and continue to derive inspiration from Buddhist philosophy and practice.
To lay firm foundations of and to perpetuate the Indian democracy, he used Buddhism as a soil for it and for that purpose he himself became a Buddhist and brought about mass conversions. Why is the soil of Buddhism necessary for the plant of Indian democracy to grow? Indian democracy differs from western democracy not for the sake of difference only.
Before the plant of Indian democracy could be allowed any growth, attempts could be made to nip it in the bud. There are intrigues against democracy. For the democracy in Russia after Czarism was transformed into dictatorship within no time. Why was this Russian democracy so short-lived? Because it could not take firm roots. It was easy to uproot it. It was uprooted because nobody in Russia knew what democracy means. Therefore Lenin attempted every way not to give fair trial to democracy. That is why democracy did not have firm roots in Russia. Dr Ambedkar desired that this Russian history of democracy should not repeat on Indian soil and democracy should not be transfered into dictatorship. Dictatorship and communism are equal to tyranny.
This is why democracy in India seems to be more firmly founded than any other democracy in the world. And the credit of this goes to none else but to Dr Ambedkar. The foundations of democracies in other parts of the world are to be traced in the French democracy. But it was Dr Ambedkar who for the first time proclaimed that the origins of the Indian democracy are to be traced to Buddhism. He strongly desired that Indian democracy should not be blind imitation of western democracy but should originate from and continue to derive inspiration from Buddhist philosophy and practice.
To lay firm foundations of and to perpetuate the Indian democracy, he used Buddhism as a soil for it and for that purpose he himself became a Buddhist and brought about mass conversions. Why is the soil of Buddhism necessary for the plant of Indian democracy to grow? Indian democracy differs from western democracy not for the sake of difference only.
Before the plant of Indian democracy could be allowed any growth, attempts could be made to nip it in the bud. There are intrigues against democracy. For the democracy in Russia after Czarism was transformed into dictatorship within no time. Why was this Russian democracy so short-lived? Because it could not take firm roots. It was easy to uproot it. It was uprooted because nobody in Russia knew what democracy means. Therefore Lenin attempted every way not to give fair trial to democracy. That is why democracy did not have firm roots in Russia. Dr Ambedkar desired that this Russian history of democracy should not repeat on Indian soil and democracy should not be transfered into dictatorship. Dictatorship and communism are equal to tyranny.
No comments:
Post a Comment